Sunday, April 30, 2017

Sunday Morning Comin’ Down

                                                                               By Scott Coner
                                          Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author

     It’s a Sunday morning. It’s quiet around here, and I wanted to take a few minutes to write this week’s blog before everything takes off at full speed. We all suffer from this fast flying world, don’t we? It’s hard to know when and where to demand a slower gate. Anyway, Miles Davis is playing me a cut from 1959, and I feel pretty peaceful. I think we give too many other people and things credit for disrupting our lives. Isn’t it up to us what we allow in? Isn’t it up to us to build our own hedge and only allow what we deem necessary to deal with?

     I ask myself sometimes how in the world I even landed here. I was lying in bed this morning holding my wife next to me. The sun was up, the birds were chirping, and I took the time to count my blessings. I thought how wrong it is that we take so much for granted. We buy new cars that we love, but the new wears off, and it becomes just another vehicle. We build the house of our dreams, and we forget to sit in that special spot and take in the beauty of the structure. We marry that person we have wanted for a lifetime then just walk by them without acknowledging how we feel every time we get a chance. And life just passes us by. Before long, it’s too late. The show is over. The sun has gone.
     
     I don’t tell others how to live. It’s none of my business and Lord knows I am no authority. But let me share this part of me with you. When I was about 40 years old, I was given a new lease on life. I changed. I found peace like I have never had and I have held on to those feelings. I consider every day and every minute it holds. I tell my kids I love them every single day. I tell my wife how beautiful she is many times a day and how much I love her. I give my dogs and horses time every single day. I call my parents almost every day. And I even attempt to be nice to the guy in the gas station buying lottery tickets and cigarettes standing in front of me wasting both of our time. The thing is, there is more good than bad. We just have to groom it and nurture it, if we want it to stick around I think.



     This last year has been a good one for me. My music has done well, but there has been a disappointment. I have had someone representing me that didn’t do what she promised. Honestly, I’m not sure how we are going to handle it. It’s awful when people you believe in let you down and then step as far away as possible. But it will be dealt with one way or another. The thing is, it’s out of my hands. I have done my level best. Now it will be up to someone else as to when and where I take another step in this business. I feel confident that the proper course will show itself, but for now, I won’t be playing on the road anytime soon. It hurts pretty deeply. But, there are some good things too! I get to spend more time with my wife, my kids, my animals, my gym, and the ones I care most about. How can this be all bad? I plan on writing and recording more music. I want to go ahead and release a book I have finished. And I want to enjoy every minute of every day.

     We all get hurt sometimes. We step back from the flame feeling the hurt from the burn. But sometimes, there might be a reason for the infliction. Maybe we needed to learn something. Maybe, God Himself was sparing us from something we know absolutely nothing about. Last week, an old friend from high school messaged me about my weekly blog. (Thank you, Theresa Woodall) I told her I was taking a break. I was too embarrassed and hurt to tell her that I was reeling from the fact that the bookings I had expected were not coming. But there it is. I took a hit. We all do every now and again. I am trying to figure it all out. If we allow it, the pain will make us stronger. It makes us wiser. It makes us better.



     I love going to the gym. I love chest and arm days the most. I enjoy the burn. I like taking myself to failure. I love the extremely loud rock music in my headphones. What am I doing? I’m tearing small parts of my own muscle apart. I eat well. I rest. And like magic, my body repairs and replenishes itself. In the meantime, I’m getting stronger as I tear myself down. That’s what it comes down to. We find a way to repair ourselves as we take the hits life likes to throw every now and then. Just go outside today and listen to the birds and the breeze if it’s all going south on you. Don’t give in to despair. Turn up some real rock music and tell the problem where to get off.  

     Yes, I am aware this blog went all over the place. Since this will not be graded, I think it’s cool. The blog is like my mind today, going all directions. But it’s okay! I feel like the old snapshot of Johnny Cash as he flipped of the record industry. Sometimes you just get to laugh a little bit as you throw your arm around the prettiest woman on the planet and say screw it anyway! .... I already won! 

P.S.
If you are reading this blog, do me a favor and share some of my music/videos. I truly appreciate it!
Take care,
Scott

                            

Keep in touch!







Our Finest Moments

                                                                          By Scott Coner
                                          Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author

     The moments that come unannounced are usually the ones that we remember for the rest of our lives. We all remember where we are on 9/11. We remember the day we met that special someone. We may remember hearing grandma downstairs moving around in the kitchen as she made breakfast. You remember your first kiss. These special memories are what make life pretty special. I would hate to think that I could ever fall so low as to question my own existence. All of our lives matter. All of our memories are locked away for a reason.
      Too may of the friends I have had all of my life seem to have fallen into the trap of “existing” rather than “living”. I don’t know what causes this bitterness. But my theory is they have become hardened because life has dealt a few pretty hard blows. I know life can be tough. Believe me, I have had plenty of dark days in the full sun myself. But, it doesn’t make sense to re-live the bad any more than it does to live in your best day from twenty years back. The past is the past. I relish the good memories but I don’t dwell on my mistakes. 
     I sat with my daughter the other day as we watched an old Charles Shultz cartoon about Easter. I enjoy the purity of those times. As I sat there feeling ten years old I wondered if any of my friends ever take time to watch Snoopy. Make no mistake. I am a man, a husband and a father. I’m not trying to be a kid. But I do like sharing parts of my childhood with my kids. I still like some of the old television shows, the music, even the clothes from my old world. I still like flying kites but don’t tell anybody.
     Age is just a number. We put too much emphasis on time and mirrors I think. We shouldn’t get caught up in the age thing. Instead, we need to lose ourselves in doing what we enjoy. We need to be around the ones we love. There are so many things I do today that I have done most of my life. I take walks down along the same creek I have been around my whole life. I notice tree’s that have always been around. I walk nearly every night with my dogs in the middle of nowhere.  I still listen to music about as loud as it will go. I’m probably half deaf, but I have no plans of changing anything at all. I am older now, but I am still young on the inside. I am hopefully wiser now, but I like to act foolishly whenever possible.



     I don’t think a lot about getting older. I try to take care of myself. I work out a lot. I eat good food and get lots of rest. But, when I run into old friends I sometimes feel awkward. Not because I’m not glad to see them. I just don’t always know where I stand with people I suppose. I feel great. I enjoy almost everything. But, I don’t like being around negative people. I think being negative is nothing more than a mind set. We don’t have to be down in the dumps. God gave us life. It is up to us to live it to it’s fullest. If something or someone doesn’t align with my world then I try to avoid whatever it is. These minutes that you and I have been given are ours to live as we see fit. We don’t have to be bummed out all of the time. We can make a better choice. We can improve ourselves, and our situation. But it all comes down to us.
     Our finest moments are the ones we pursue.  If we allow ourselves to fall into the day like a young colt, then we will have a pretty good day. Like I said, I am bit older now. But I believe I feel good because I have forgiven those that have wronged me. I have tried to be the best version of myself. I love the ones in my small circle about as much as they could ever be loved. I make it my job to laugh and joke as much as possible. I am nobody special. I haven’t accomplished all that much as far as the world is concerned. But I live well. I grab every minute of every day by the throat. Not because I wish to defeat it. But, because I want to hold it close as possible and never let go. When my spirit leaves this world, I hope people will notice and care that I am gone. I hope they can know for sure that I went to heaven. And, that while I was alive I truly did my best to seize every minute and every occasion.     

                            

Keep in touch!





Saturday, March 18, 2017

Do What I Say Cause’ I’m Really, Really, Smart!


                                                                               By Scott Coner
                                          Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author


     It’s pretty amazing when you think about all of the “brainiacs” who seem to have your best interest at heart. Or, at least say they do. They will tell you exactly what you need to hear if you care to listen. These are the people that like to tell you how you should live. What you should do with your career. Who you should marry, who you should divorce and why. You know whom I’m talking about right? I’m sure you have your own version of this person on your speed dial. What a gift it is to have a for real “know-it –all” at your fingertips! I have a few. Heck, I think they are drawn to me like a magnet. The truth is, I don’t have any use for them at all.



     I always let people say what they feel they need to. A few people told me not to get a divorce twenty plus years back. I didn’t listen, and I can’t tell you how glad I am I didn’t. Others told me never to get married again. They know who they are, and I hope they feel foolish as they see my wonderful daughters and my wife around town. Although, I’m sure they don’t look at things that way. They probably assume I just got lucky. Maybe I did. I’m sure that drives them wild too.



     Lately, I have been told how I should be doing music. Recently, I had someone tell me how I should be writing songs if I ever wanted to do anything with the major artists on the radio. “You have to keep it simple. Don’t take so long to get to the chorus. Give all kinds of ear candy too. And by the way, make sure you run over the chorus until they can’t stand it. Because people are stupid and they need to hear nursery rhymes set to music.” (Well, this is what I heard anyway.) Maybe it wasn’t quite like that. But I hope you get the picture.

     I had another guy tell me that if he came to one of my shows, he would walk out because my music pretty much stays the same throughout the show. Well, maybe I didn’t show him all of my dance steps. Or maybe I didn’t do my spoken word part. Or I didn’t show him how we were going to have flames and blood all over the place. I don’t even understand where he was coming from. Nearly all artists have a particular sound, don’t they? I am no different. We blend a lot of country, a bit of Christian, a bit of mid-western rock and that about covers it. This is what I am. This is who I am. I’m really not all that exciting, but I am pretty good at what I do.



     The thing is, we can’t be all things to all people, can we? We are better served to try and be who we are. I believe God made all of us different. We all have different passions, and we come at things differently. This is what makes things like art and music interesting. We need to pull it back just a bit I think. I don’t ever try to dictate what other musicians or writers should be doing within their craft. And I don’t much care for others trying to tell me how I should be doing things either. The thing about music is that it has to be from your heart or it pretty much sucks. I don’t want to be a part of something that isn’t from deep inside me. I don’t want to hear fake news, I don’t want to listen to fake music, and I don’t need people telling me what I should do all the time. I hope you feel the same. Listen to your heart. If you have a question, ask someone that is truly your friend. They won’t say things just to hurt to you or keep you down. On the other hand, if you need to be told exactly what steps to take in all matters of life, get in touch with me. I have these clown acts calling me randomly trying to “help me out.” I’m sure they would be happy to jack your day up if you feel the need. Let me know!

Keep in touch!