A Shadow of Doubt

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            It happened again to me today. Out of nowhere, a shadow of doubt grabbed hold of my mind. Shadows are sneaky in the way they fly around and show up uninvited and unannounced. I have always believed these pesky little varmints are sent up from the bowels of hell. They cause confusion and doubt. They too often cause us to challenge ourselves and sometimes even the ones we care about most. I’m not so sure that the best thing to do when this siege of darkness arrives isn’t to stop whatever it is we are doing and pray. Yeah, I know I’m a little bit old-school. But I believe in crying out to God. I believe that I am weak, possibly a little bit light-headed, and I know I need all of the help I can get from On High.

            So, there I was innocently sweeping out the barn near the horse stalls. I began to wonder what in the world it was I’m doing or trying to prove when it comes to my music. “You are such a fool. Nobody cares what you think, or write about. Nashville wants younger, good-looking people. You have already been told this by the professionals, and this is not new news.”

            I stopped sweeping for a minute and stared at the concrete floor. I leaned up against the back of the barn doorway leading out to the pasture and considered this for quite a while. I could see a hawk displaying his powerful wings at the bottom of the field near the creek. I could feel doubt begin to run through me like warm water. “Maybe I am crazy,” I thought to myself, “but I have put so much work and time into this. It’s what I am. It’s what I do. I didn’t choose this. It chose me.”

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            I caught myself at that moment. I realized what had happened. I called on God to take care of those little doubts and went on with my business of cleaning out the barn. You see, I don’t play or write to impress people. I don’t live for something as fleeting as someone else endorsing what I do. Music and songwriting just happens to be what I do. By the very nature of itself, I find myself being put in front of people and allowing them to critique my every word. Every chord. Every song. But, as I gather my thoughts, I remember how this business of music makes me feel. The emotion that goes into writing a song can’t hardly be described. But, to me it is not unlike the moment you see the Grand Canyon or the ocean for the first time. It’s jubilant.

            As I write this blog, there is a teacher out there somewhere staring at an empty classroom wondering how in the world she can help her kids learn. She feels the shadow of doubt. Across that same town, there is a nurse compelled to crying all alone as she feels the hurt of some young family that just received the news about their ailing child. She wants to help. She wants to say something of value. But there are no words for this moment in time. She feels the shadow of doubt.

            Maybe you are the one that this article speaks to as the sun begins to fall and the day is nearly over. Maybe, you feel alone and doubtful. Maybe you wonder if the man you gave your heart to loves you as much as you love him. Maybe you looked in the mirror today and saw a slightly older face, or a little bit more gray in your hair. Just know that this is not what you really see. This is not what you really wonder. This is a full-frontal attack of doubt. Make no mistake about that. 

  Scott Coner's music video "Sanibel"

            We all walk the same roads I suppose. We all have so much to give, but often we don’t know how. We have something to say that someone else needs to hear, but we can’t find the words. We all have a song to write. Songs don’t always get written with guitars. They don’t always show up in perfect harmony. I know this because I have heard those types of songs before. I have heard my wife tell me she’ll love me until the end of time. I have heard my daughters tell me they love me. I have heard my mom tell me she loves me over the phone. There was no music when this happened. But, oddly enough, these have been the sweetest songs I have ever heard. Don’t allow the devil to stop you from what you need to do. You have something to offer. Tell the people you love just how much they mean to you. Allow your words to sound like a band of angels coming down. Grab your broom and sweep those doubts into the darkest closet you can find, and lock it with the promises of heaven.  Self-doubt has no power over you.       

         Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah (Look at that... Look at that)

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         So, the other day Ray Stevens was on the radio singing one of his crazy classics called “The Streak”. Do you remember that song? It was funny probably because for some reason back in the '70s, people used to get naked and run around ball fields and such. I have no reason why they did this, they just did. I remember as a little boy wondering why “streakers” were always male. It seemed to me they could have made it a little more interesting for young, inquisitive minds like myself.

         So, my wife, Cyndi, is deep into this soulful classic singing along like she may have been one of the co-writers. But when Mr. Stephens sings “Here he comes... look at that... Look at that...", I noticed she had completely different lyrical parts. They “sounded” like “Look at that... Look at that”, but she sang “Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah”. I thought that it was the funniest thing I had ever heard. I laughed for days. She tried to tell me that she was 5 years old when the song came out, and she didn’t understand everything. That only made it funnier to me.

          Some of the lyrics from "The Streak" written and performed by Ray Stevens...

Oh, yes, they call him the Streak...
Look at that, look at that (My wife sings "Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah")...
He likes to show off his physique...
Look at that, look at that ("Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah")...
If there's an audience to be found...
He'll be streakin' around...
Invitin' public critique...

Cyndi Coner

         It’s kind of like those songs from the BeeGees on "Saturday Night Fever". Did anybody ever know what those guys were saying? I didn’t that’s for sure. Sometimes we can go for years and not know the real, solid truth about something. It reminds me of some old Chinese musical. I think it was called “Madame Butterfly”, but I’m not sure. I swear to God I never saw it. But the scope of the entire musical was this guy was married to this “woman” for a long time and never even knew he was married to a dude. I’m not sure how this happened, but I’m sure duct tape was involved. 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Producations)

         I know, I know this is a stupid commentary. But the truth is, I had a slight misunderstanding about some of the lyrics in "The Streak" myself. Do you remember the part in the song where the man and his wife, Ethyl, are at the grocery store? Well, Ethyl takes her clothes off and decides to streak through the vegetable section. The man tells his wife to "Get your clothes back on you shameless hussey!" Well, I grew up with some older cousins, and they were all boys. I can tell you I thought he called her something else. But, it was one of my older cousin's that told me what that word was, and I was young and dumb enough to believe him... "Boog A Dah... Boog A Dah" for sure.

Ethel! Where you goin'?
Ethel, you shameless hussy!

Say it isn't so,
Ethel! Ethelllllll!!!

         Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

Check out Scott's latest video, "Maybe She Lied".

 

Music Has Been My Golden Ticket

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         I’ve been thinking about the journey so far a little bit lately. I sometimes find myself wanting to talk to someone about it, but there really isn’t anyone to talk to. The fact is, I can’t hardly believe what a cool trip it has been so far. I have written and recorded lots of songs, and the songs thankfully, keep coming.  I never dreamed how things would eventually turn out. I had walked away from the business a long time ago in order to raise my daughters, and somehow, the doors in Nashville allowed me back in.

          I would be lying if I told you it has been nothing but newly paved highway since I came back to the music business. There have been more than a few characters that truly needed a physical adjustment in order to overcome their evil ways. But those types of people are in about every circle I guess. They allow us to stay sharp and challenge us to find greener pasture without that type of static in our lives.

          I have stayed true to my own writing style, although I have written with a few other writers in Nashville who have opened my eyes in certain ways. But the truth is, most of my songs come from my own life one way or another. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing, but that is the way it is. I walk around our farm, I drive the old country roads where I live, and I think about my life as I write. Sometimes, those songs come out in a discombobulated fashion that’s for sure. But they are from me, and that’s about the best I can do. 

(Scott Coner's "Nashville Song" offers insights into

the rough and tumble of Nashville's music industry.)

         Sometimes, not often, but sometimes I have wished I had been born different. It truly can be a little bit embarrassing when I admit what I do in music to certain people. I can see in their eyes the amusement as they ask themselves why I would possibly think anyone would want to hear me play or sing. They all respond the same way with a hateful-type smile, and they’ll begin to tell me about some drunken uncle they have that fancied himself a songwriter. I try to be respectful and allow them their little barb. Another fact is, most people from where I’m from don’t even know about my music. I don’t play the bars or clubs around where I live, because those people only want to hear cover songs all night. That would kill me pretty quickly to be honest.

         Those closest in my family, including my wife, daughters, and parents, are very supportive. But once you get out of that tight-knit circle, it may be fifty-fifty if some of my own flesh and blood doesn’t sit around hoping that I fail in one way or another. I think many of those people that I grew up around would be quite a bit happier if I would just shut up and drink the Kool–Aid like they did. Give up on my goals and grab a 12-pack on the way home from work like they do. They will be waiting a long while though, because I won’t quit until I have to be buried on a hill down the road from where I grew up. The fact is simple but missed by most. They only have a limited capacity when it comes to music. You are either a star like Tim McGraw, or you are a complete failure. That’s where they get it all wrong. The journey is part of the joy. The people, the ones who truly care about the songs. What about that part? Does this not matter to anyone but me?

         It is true that I have been blessed beyond my own imagination when it came to working alongside Tanya, or T. Graham, or even Charlie Daniels. But those weren’t the best parts for me. The evenings that I have spent walking the streets of Nashville getting ready for another recording or show have been the best part. Each of those moments had purpose and meaning to me. It is what I do, and there is nothing else. Those times that I spent getting prepared to do a project, or remembering the moment that a song was written, that is what gives me direction. I consider myself one of the most fortunate people on earth because of my family, and what few true friends I have, and of course this music. 

Scott Coner performs in Nashville (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

         I remember everything about the journey. The times I have spent planning the following day with my wife on west end, or the long walks we took just talking with the Nashville skyline in the horizon. You see, music doesn’t just offer me the chance to play music itself. It offers me the freedom to step away from the world I was raised in and visit a different part of me with those that I care the most about. It gives me a break from normalcy. I have always joked with my wife that she validates me with others because of her striking beauty. I swear, I think when people see her with a simpleton, like me, they take a second to listen. They can’t help but be curious as to what she sees in me. What they don’t know about is what she and I have shared, what we have accomplished together. A very necessary truth is I wouldn’t be where I’m at without her. She has believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I just didn’t want to let her down or disappoint her in some way, so I have kept on pushing and going down the road even when there wasn’t a map.

         I love my life these days. Good things are happening for me in Nashville. But, in truth, they have always gone pretty well for me in that town. I have sat across some pretty fine dinner tables with candlelight staring at this woman that I love so much right there in the very heart of Music Row. We have had ice cream at Maggie Moo’s and visited our favorite bookstores. She has captured my music on film. We have taken drives looking at all of the natural beauty that the town has to offer. But mostly, we have had fun. We have made this road trip together, and I’m thankful for that.

         Music and all of her magic has given me something impossible to explain. It has been a true gift that I don’t take lightly. I just wanted those of you who follow my music and all of these other ramblings to know that, when you listen to my songs, I am somewhere smiling deep inside. I’m just thankful all over for the way things have gone. I wouldn’t change anything even if I could.   

         Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

'I Didn't Lie'

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            I have had a pretty good run as far as songwriting goes to this point. I’m not referencing commercial success. I only mean that the songs I have written seem to represent my life pretty much up to now. I know this is not everyone’s approach, but I kind of wish it was. I have been a part of the songwriting mill in Nashville. I have met a complete strangers, had a cup of coffee, and written a song. I don’t like this approach. It feels cheap, and it feels like I am cheating whatever potential listener is out there into believing some conjured up experience that never happened. For what it’s worth, only one of those songs was ever recorded by me, and I wrote most of the lyrics.

            I have always hoped and believed that the songs that I have loved all of my life weren’t just a collection of words that rhyme. When George Jones sang “The Grand Tour”, I felt like I was walking through an empty, lonely house full of memories. When Vern Gosdin sang one of his masterpieces, I felt like he was telling me about his life and not someone else’s. “You don’t know about lonely until it’s chiseled in stone” is a line that haunts me to this day. These men took the songs and made them their own.

            The song, “Maybe She Lied”, my duet with country legend Tanya Tucker, was written after a very good friend of mine went home from work and found his wife gone along with all of her belongings. He never saw it coming, and it shocked the daylights out of him when it happened. I thought quite a bit about his situation and probably thanked God that it didn’t happen to me personally, to be honest. But the song was from a very personal perspective. I sat down with a yellow pad of paper and an acoustic guitar and wrote the song complete in one sitting. At the time I wrote it, I never planned on Tanya Tucker singing with me on it. Honestly, I didn’t even write it as a duet. When she agreed to work with me, I took a green highlighter and pulled the song apart turning it into what you hear today. I knew the song was longer than what what most radio stations will play today, but the song was important enough to me that I couldn’t take that into consideration.

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            Now, saying all this doesn’t mean that I take my music so seriously that each song has to be specifically about my life’s events. No, what I’m saying is that many of the songs I write have a distinct meaning. Some of them are about things I’ll probably never share with anyone. Not because they represent something bad, they would simply be impossible for me to try to explain. Other songs such as “Crimson and Clover,” for instance, were not written by me. But that song as well as the other “cover” songs I have done meant something. They represent a snapshot from a moment in my life, and I wanted to share those songs with others. I always look at those recordings like a kid bringing something to school for “show and tell”. I love those songs and I want to brag on them a little bit.

            There are many ways to write a successful song. Nashville likes to put prolific writers together and churn out hits. There are songwriting teams that strike gold with a certain rhythm or “feel” in their compositions. Nashville, L.A., and New York have all proved that the ultimate way to have a hit is to put big money behind a song, get heavy rotation, and the rest is history. I don’t disagree with any approach. After all, the business of music is about promoting the song and the artist. Remember “Achy Breaky Heart”? Oh yes you do! You only act like you didn’t sing along in your car. LOL!

            Listen, this business has always been about hits. There have been artists that could take a song and make it theirs. Elvis did a fine job covering Leiber and Stoller, and he was very convincing. Lennon and McCartney seemed to show up with a hit every now and again. Alabama dominated the radio for a very long time singing their own compositions, as well as songs written by others. And I have been told that George Strait could sing the yellow pages if he wanted and still have a hit. And the way that man sings I wouldn’t put it past him.

            What I meant to say from the beginning of this awful rant is that, although the other methods bring us joy, it is always nice to hear an artist talk about the importance of a certain song and why they wrote it. It just adds depth and meaning. I remember hearing Alan Jackson sing “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”, and I thought it was one of the most important popular songs I had ever heard in my life. I still do.

            I have the lyric sheet from “Maybe She Lied” that Tanya used in the studio with me. On it, she wrote: “Scott, I didn’t Lie”. Now, I never dated Tanya Tucker. But, sometimes when I hear her sing my song, I swear I think she and I had a little something going on one time or other. Probably not though. I’m pretty sure I’d remember that, and I would have had a lot more to write about.

            Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked with country greats such as T. Graham Brown, Charlie Daniels, and Tanya Tucker. Check out his latest videos and songs at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. You can follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

The Long and Winding Music Row

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            I’m in a West End Boulevard hotel in Nashville tonight. I’ve been here countless times, and if I need to be in the city somewhere or over on Music Row, I usually stay on this end of town. I read somewhere that Waylon, Willie and Kris lived right down the road near the Centennial Park that I jog in. I like to think about what those days must have been like with the writing of some of the planet's finest songs, the laughter, the dreams. That must have really been something. But, I can only imagine.

            But here I am tonight. Set up for more meetings, listening to more plans for my music, then finally, laying all of my songs, my book, and my stats out on a large table for everyone to view. “Just turn your head to the right and cough for me Scott. This won’t be too uncomfortable.” I walk into many of the same buildings that artists much greater than me have walked into. We have walked the same streets. We probably came here with something close to the same dream. It’s a painful process to go through as a writer and a singer. It’s painful because we don’t really talk about my songs as much as I want. They want to know where I have been doing shows. I can feel them sizing me up. I can sense them wishing I was better looking. Maybe a little bit younger. “I probably should have worn some cool clothes and maybe a cowboy hat,” I tell myself. But, the last time I tried to wear something like that, I felt like I would hit every wall in every hallway, and I don’t even own a cowboy hat. I can feel myself starting to heat up a little bit with embarrassment as I hear myself stutter and search for meaningful answers to the man’s questions. 

Scott Coner performs (Photo provided by Cynnamae Productions)

            He asks me what my strongest song is. I answer back, “Well, they are all my favorites. It would be like asking me to pick the cutest puppy out of a litter.” Oh God, did I just say that? Am I mental? Am I trying to screw this meeting up? He laughs politely, but I am certain we have both identified me as an idiot. But the meeting takes a different turn. He actually likes my music! He goes on to tell me that he believes he can do something with my music, my “brand” as they call it down here. I’m not certain what else he said from then on because I’m a little bit freaked out. I walk out of the meeting with Chuck, my publicist, my wife, and my dad. I brought my dad because he’s far more intelligent than me. I brought my wife because she is pretty and makes me look not so hayseed, and I brought Chuck to discuss my social media. I only came to discuss puppies apparently, but I was willing to discuss music if we got around to it.

            I’m finally in the safety of my pickup. I roll down the streets of Music Row with a little bit of wind in my sails for the first time in quite a while. I am so thankful to this gentleman that mere words can’t cover it. He was so impressive yet humble at the same time. I’m apprehensive, but I have a feeling that finally things might go my way for once. I have wanted to give up so many times. I don’t play poker, but I have felt like a gambler saying, “deal me in,” one too many times. Maybe some version of my dreams may be coming true. I just keep driving and try not to think about it. The sky is an uncanny blue for this time of year, but there’s a storm off to the west. I can hear Waylon singing in my mind, “I don’t think Hank done it this way.”

            Life sure has a lot of sharp edges in it, but I can tell you that I wouldn’t change mine even if I could. I’m not at all sure what the future holds, and that is just fine. I’m certain I will have many more opportunities to go to meetings and say something stupid. I’m just glad I tricked 'em into letting me get this far.

            I've recorded a song and music video about my Music Row experiences called "Nashville Song". Check it out at https://youtu.be/X1CIy5T7Trc.

            Scott Coner is a country/Americana/Southern rock singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. Learn more about and and/or listen to his music at http://www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, http://www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or http://www.ScottConer.com. Follow him at http://www.Twitter.com/ScottConerMusic.

Lately, I've been Thinking...

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         I have been thinking quite a bit lately. This isn't always a good thing for me, but it happens from time to time. I've been thinking about my music to be honest. I have been working on the writing side of it pretty seriously since I was around 15 years old. You know, early on, you find yourself taken back with this private love affair you have with writing songs. Being the stupid kid I was, and I was really a stupid kid, I wrote about my undying love for whatever cute girl stood by her locker that day. When you're a teenager, you have all of these crazy feelings running through you. You want to stand for something, but you don't have anything to stand for. You want to be heard, but you don't have anything of value to say. And as it was, I found myself alone quite a bit with a guitar that played a lot like a barbed-wire fence and piece of paper and pencil.

         That's how this process for me started. Truthfully, I would have been a singer in a band doing covers, but most of the music people my age listened to back then I couldn't begin to sing. I played a lot of those singer-songwriter types on my record player, and I studied their phrasings, their dialects, and the lyrics. I didn't have access to much where I lived, so I had to make do with whatever I could find. I didn't know many chords, so I would look through songbooks and copy down the little dots on the strings that represented fingers on chords. One of the early ones for me was "Sister Golden Hair" by America. Those chords killed my hand, but they also allowed me to move around a little bit on the neck and work on my rhythm playing as well. Another early song, maybe the earliest, was "Highway Song" by Blackfoot. I actually tuned my guitar to an E-minor from that song because I didn't know how to tune a guitar.

         As I have said, I don't do covers very well at all. But because I could halfway play some of those songs, I began to realize that I could piece chords together and create new songs. It started then and continues now. You probably knew some guy early on in life that loved working on cars and still does all of these years later? That's me, but I don't work on cars. I work on songs. I think the other thing that I spent a lot of time doing that has helped me has been my addiction to reading. There has always been something about reading and writing songs that go together for me. It's like reading excited the part of my primitive mind that writes lyrics and hears melodies.

         So all of this being said, I have been doing a little thinking lately. I think about those early days of playing and the excitement it brought. I can look back now and see the slow process of my development as a writer. I'm not saying I'm a good writer, but I have evolved to some degree I suppose. Even a monkey would evolve, so it's safe for me to say this.

         I put things on hold 19 years ago to attempt to be a husband and a dad. I never quit writing. I never quit hoping. And I never stopped believing that some day I would get a chance to play music at some other level. I have been so lucky as far as things go, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't find myself thanking God for allowing me to play music and be a small part of something I love and respect so much.

         If you're reading this blog right now, there is a fair chance that you and I haven't met. But I do hope that life has been good for you. I hope you haven't lost that passion that you held a long time ago for something. My advice? Do something for yourself, something that you love no matter what anybody else says. As a Rock once said, "Kick the door in and introduce yourself!"

         Scott Coner is a singer-songwriter who has recorded with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. Listen to his music or watch his videos at www.ScottConer.com, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, or www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic.

'I Still Can't Whistle'

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            A lifetime ago, I started playing guitar and following every major Southern rock act like a bloodhound. Country music had always ruled at our house, but I was a kid, and kids like to go against the grain sometimes. The first time I ever saw Molly Hatchet's debut album was on my school bus. This beautiful blonde girl sitting across from me was taking it to her art class, and I mustered up the courage to ask if I could look at the album cover. The artwork was like nothing I had ever seen, and the guys on the back looked mean and cool as well. I thought I might like this band, and I also thought it might give me something to talk about with the blonde-haired girl.

            We had a tiny record store in our town back then called "The Mystery Train", so as soon as I got a chance to go to town, I went. I sauntered into the store like I knew what life was about and bought my very own Hatchet album. Remember now, I hadn't even heard what these guys sounded like because I was still in hot pursuit of the blond-haired girl. My mom picked me up that afternoon standing there with this cool album under my arm and man, did I feel tough. I felt like I should have had a cigarette or something to enhance my coolness, but my mom would have knocked me out right downtown.

            I went to my room, put the album on, and fell in love instead -- with some stranger called "Bounty Hunter". By this time, I forgot all about the girl because this new music was pushing all my buttons. This Danny Joe Brown guy sang and whistled like he was calling cattle! I didn't know much back then, but I knew that I wanted to be just like him. Problem was, I could whistle like Andy Griffith, but I couldn't whistle like Danny Joe.

            This music was fluid with awesome guitar riffs and breaks and everything I love. By the time "Bounty Hunter" ended, I found myself knee deep in "Gator Country". Man, did I like this music. This offshoot of rock and country felt right to me because it felt down home like everything else I had been exposed to. The songs, to me at least, felt like they were written from a seasoned adult's point of view, but they still rocked. Funny thing about Hatchet is, I have never grown tired or bored with those first few albums.

            I'm no longer a kid now, and Danny Joe Brown passed away some years back. But I challenge you to check out the following songs if you like Southern rock at all. And if you whistle pretty good, you will enjoy it more than I ever have 'cause I still can't whistle. When I call my horses, I have to do it Andy Griffith style, and it's kind of embarrassing.

            Scott Coner's Molly Hatchet Song "Must" List:

            * "Bounty Hunter".

            * "Gator Country".

            * "Whiskey Man".

            * "Dreams I'll Never See".

            * "Boogie No More."

            * "Flirtin' With Disaster".

            * "Big Apple".

            (Scott Coner is a noted country singer-songwriter who has recorded the legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, Charlie Daniels and T. Graham Brown. Learn more about him and hear his music at www.ScottConer.com. Subscribe to his You Tube channel at www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer.)

Kinda Like Surf City (just a little bit hotter)

By Scott Coner

Country Singer-Songwriter

            When I was about 15 years old, I had eight dairy calves I bottle fed to get ready to sell. (I went with dairy calves because I didn’t want my calves slaughtered.)

            Anyway, school started that fall, and a friend of mine told me about a television movie coming on soon I might like called “Dead Man’s Curve” about Jan Berry and Dean Torrence. Where I lived, we didn’t have but a few channel choices back then, so this was kind of big news for a guy that was addicted to “Starsky and Hutch” and “Battlestar Galactica”.

            So, the show came on, I watched it, and it was as if I had seen Jesus for the first time. I became immersed in their music to the point of being creepy. I sold my calves later that fall, but I found out that I could get a great reverb sound when I sang into my empty milk buckets if I could get past the sour milk smell. I actually played hooky from school one day so I could try to call them to let them know what a fan I was of their music.

            Most people won’t believe this, but I actually had a conversation with Dean Torrence's mother. I went through the information on the back of their “Anthology Album” and spoke to her on our rotary dial phone. (I think her name was Natalie, and she was very nice to me.)

            Looking back now all those years ago, I remember a kid stuck in "Nowhere", Ind., that loved all kinds of music. But, what I loved about the beach sound was not only the harmonies, but the innocence. Those songs told me about a time and place where the girls all had tans and blonde hair, and the guys all knew how to surf.

            A few years ago, I wrote a song comparing my world to theirs called “Kinda’ Like Surf City”. I had read that Dean Torrence was working with a group called The Surf City All-Stars, and I wanted the song pitched to them. (Yes, I’m still kind of a stalker after all these years.)

Scott... somewhere in "Nowhere", Ind.

            Well, the song never got pitched, but I recorded it myself cause’ I thought it was kind of cool. Jan Berry passed away, but one of these days I would love to tell Dean Torrence what true joy he brought to my life.  And when I get to Heaven, I’m gonna’ go bug Jan with my milk bucket for eternity.

            If you haven't visited it yet, Jan and Dean's website is a lot of fun to explore. Take a ride into the past at www.JanandDean.com.

(Country artist Scott Coner has worked with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker and T. Graham Brown. To learn more about him or hear his music, visit http://www.ScottConer.com.)

Scott Coner: 'There are no Rules in Songwriting'

By Scott Coner

Singer-Songwriter

            NASHVILLE -- Songwriting seems to be different for all people. I have met and talked with several writers around Nashville as well as other places, and their approach is always consistently different. For me, for whatever reason, my writing seems to improve when I read quite a bit and don't listen to other music. I find that the silence allows me to hear other melodies and phrasings that I wouldn't be in touch with otherwise. I hate to admit it, but I also write better when my wife and kids are gone for a while.

            I find that I may have some line or phrase that I carry around for weeks or even months, and sometimes that leads to a song, or I might have a piece of music that I search for a suitable melody and theme that works. Most of the time I write with an acoustic guitar, but recently I have written several songs on a Les Paul using a loop pedal. I don't know how it all works. I wish I did. Writing songs for me is that place that I go to that is personal, imaginative and without rules.

            Paul Zollo has put together a fantastic book called, "Songwriters on Songwriting". In it, Mr. Zollo has chased down a massive amount of outstanding writers including the likes of Jimmy Webb to Burt Bacharach and Hal David. I actually keep his fourth addition on my nightstand and read it when I have trouble sleeping. I love the backstory of a song. I like to know why the song was written and what inspired the writer. 

            I have never been that guy with a ton of friends hanging around. I stay pretty quiet in my little world when I'm not working in Nashville or somewhere else. Because of this, and I mean no disrespect, I have always kind of understood Brian Wilson. Brian didn't surf, he didn't swim, and he didn't drive fast cars. But he wrote songs that would make you believe he was the golden boy of the California Coastline. The Beach Boys became an American institution, and it was all because of Brian's genius.

            I certainly don't compare myself to Brian Wilson's talent. But, I have written a lot of songs based on other people's lives and stories. "Maybe She Lied" is a song I recorded with Tanya Tucker a few years back, and it is a good example. A guy that I know came home one day and found out that some major changes had taken place while he was gone to work. His house was empty, most of his things were gone, and his heart was broken. I thought about what had happened to him for a few days, then sat down and wrote the song. As the lyrics came, I wrote it in first person as if the damage had been done to me. Thank God the story isn't about me, but as I put the song together, I "witnessed the movie" in my mind and the song wrote itself.

            There is nothing more cleansing to me than writing a song. I don't try to write for radio, and I don't write by radio's rules. I think a song should live and breathe the way it wants to, and this includes the length of the song. There is a theory out there that the hook should be the primary theme in the song, and there is no question that this approach works. But, I don't live by those rules. I don't believe the listening public needs to be on a diet of baby food. I think people still enjoy the journey a song that can be related to, can take you on. For radio stations, it is about getting X amount of songs in between advertisements. To me, it is about writing and recording a song that I feel good about and am proud of.

            So, if your a songwriter like me, you have no doubt noticed that I have no good advice. If you are a music lover like me, then I am certain that you agree that the song and the craft of songwriting is something that is magic and not available in a bottle. A song, if it’s lucky, ends up as part of the fabric of someone else’s life. I consider this to be one of life’s highest honors and most humbling achievements.

(Scott Coner has worked with some of country music's top artists and musicians, including Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown, and Charlie Daniels. Learn more about him and hear his songs at www.ScottConer.com or www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic.)