Me, Too!

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            What's your earliest memory? How far back can you go? Mine is a hodgepodge of memory and weird dreamy thoughts. I think I may remember actually being in my crib. It was light blue, on the right side of my room, and there was one of those mobiles at the foot of the crib. I remember having some white plastic pretzel-type teething toy. It's strange to be able to go that far back. The styles and the sounds of the sixties were gaudy, yet cool. It's too bad that during the moment we don't realize what a special moment in time we are in. I was just a little kid though, and my whole world revolved around waiting for the next cookie or bowl of Quisp cereal. (Remember that little pink space guy? Me too!)

            I watched some of the very first "Sesame Street" programs along with "Captain Kangaroo". I remember all of the pretty girls in school. I remember wishing I was cool like the school jocks. I remember wishing school would finally be over forever so I could be an adult. But I don't remember ever considering how hard it would be to actually be a grown-up.

(Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            The whole world was my oyster. I actually believed that I could do anything I wanted, and it troubled me that I couldn't do it all. I, honest to God, remember considering the pros and cons of being the president of the free world. Arrogant? Not really, just a little bit under informed about how the world really works. But the truth is, it is actually possible for us to reach our dreams or at least some version of the dream one way or another. Do you remember pledging allegiance to the American flag and praying in your classroom before you had your milk break? Me, too!

            Sometimes, the memories are warm and sweet. Sometimes, memories are just cold and dark. I don’t want to let any of my past go because each moment is a small piece of who I am. But, I know there are far too many people that would give anything to let some memories go. Just remember that wherever you came from, your life matters. Maybe you have some part of you that should be shared with someone else. Sift through some of those memories and share them with your kids and others that you care about. Maybe, when you weren’t looking, those memories morphed into wisdom. By the way, do remember that really cool red Torino on "Starsky and Hutch"? Me, too! 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

         For more information about Scott Coner or to hear his music, visit www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

Where Do We Go From Here?

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         Well, This year is nearly past, and I can't help but think about the following year that's just around the corner. Musically, as far as my career goes, we have covered a lot of ground. I have been inspired and truly touched by so many kind people out there that have talked to me through this "world wide web" contraption. It just feels personal and not so far removed when I can actually see the people that listen to our music and read the blogs and other posts. I never knew how my career would go. I simply jumped on its back and grabbed a hold of its mane as we took off together galloping wildly.

         I am different from so many other writers and singers out there because I put music on the back of the stove until I knew my kids, my wife, and I were ready for the changes that are required in order to attempt something like this. Of course, I have heard all of the advice everyone wants to give freely whether I ask for it or not. They like to remind me about the "odds" of making a dent in this business. I don't listen to them. I do not hear them. And I do not care what they have to say to me. I already know about the odds. I already knew the deck was stacked before I started. But it never was about the chances. It was about what I needed to do. I needed to do this one thing for me as well as for others.

         I have taken into consideration how blessed I am to have a beautiful, healthy, well-rounded family. My parents are both alive and happy and healthy. I can't help but feel like I am asking too much of the Universe to allow me to have a music career. But, I still ask. I still pray. And sometimes I think I might even beg a little bit. I am not complaining, but I didn't ask to be a songwriter, although I am happy beyond measure to be one. It's true. I look in the mirror sometimes and see a man who needs to be adjusted a little bit because he can't see the trees for the forest. He needs help in the fact that he has been blessed beyond his wildest dreams, yet he continues to come back to the trough complaining that his cup isn't as full as it could be. Sometimes I feel a little guilty about that.

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

          As we plan for the first quarter of next year, my publicist, my wife and I know we are about to swing the bat and aim for the lights in the parking lot. I find myself freaking out a little bit every day wondering if I have a better song in me than what I have already provided. I want everything to be perfect as label representatives consider my songs, my stories, and my life. I wish I could tell them all that my music is different because my values are a little bit different than theirs. But that sounds pretty drastic and full of itself even as I write it here. I want to promote stories from my past. I want to allow people to see into my life and understand that my life is probably very much like their own. I usually don't write about bar scenes or pickup lines. I write about love and loss, marriage, and life and death. I try to share my world with the listener in hopes that he or she can identify with that and maybe make it their own song. It matters to me that we can all be members of this small community of listeners, real-life people with real-life relationships and problems with answers. This is where I want to go from here.

         As we take this music on the road next year, I want to meet as many of these people as possible. I want us to have dinner together. I want to drink coffee and hear their stories. I want to be part of something that lifts "them" up, not me. I want the music to be more theirs than mine. I want us to have a revival of sorts. I want us to celebrate through music as well as laughter. I want the songs themselves to allow for real-life application. I hope that we can all grow a little bit together and build an internal relationship that matters. We have all seen the "dead-heads" and the "parrot heads". We can begin something together that promotes family and purpose, music and art itself, and the realization that our music represents our lives.

         At this current moment, I am open-minded about what the future holds. I am willing to follow the rabbit into the hole. But, what I believe in is people. I believe we still have common ground in the fact that we haven't fallen too far away from where I have always stood. I believe we still like loud guitars and big drums. I believe we still stand for what is right, and we will stand for family and life values. This is where we will go from here. We will go together. Maybe we can call ourselves "Life-ers"....

         For more information about Scott Coner or to hear his music, visit www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

If I Leave Here Tomorrow, Will You Still Remember Me?

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         Putting everything into some type of perspective, I find myself troubled when it comes to my music. I'm pretty clumsy around the barn and a pretty bad driver to boot, so clearly, my days are numbered. I have songs lying around half finished. I have songs in my head that haven't seen the light of day. And I have songs that I've recorded that are important to me that haven't been promoted at all yet. What the heck is a man supposed to do about this? It's not like I can have a will written with specifics regarding my music.

         I think I write because I have something I want to say. On the other hand, maybe I write because I want my family and friends to remember me. I'm not even sure about it to tell you the truth. But, if you are reading this right now, and I happen to be dead already, go to my sock drawer and give my wife all of my unfinished lyrics.

         I realized early on that I could write songs and say certain things without certain people knowing the song was even about them. I mean, Paul McCartney wrote a song about his dog, so there really are no rules, right? I wrote "Put a Line in it" one day about the current administration that I have so much trouble enduring. But you haven't heard that song because I don't guess we want to make people mad. I wrote "Close to You" about my wife along with many others. I even wrote a song about one of my uncles when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I have far more songs than I can promote, and I don't have enough time to get all of my work done. So, I'm a little bit freaked out about it all. 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

         I have decided to begin releasing EP's every quarter or so along with full-length albums at least once a year from this point forward. The problem with this approach I'm being told is promotion. This is certainly a problem, but honestly, it is far more important to me that I finish this mess I started so many years ago. When I say I'm freaked out, I'm just kidding though. I have never been as happy as I am these days. My goal has always been to play and write full time, and it appears we are about to do just that.

         Now, I need to go find my algebra teacher and tell her once again how useless her class was to me and that I was right all along. Life ain't nothin' but a song.

         For more information about Scott Coner or to hear his music, visit www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/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.

Becoming a Song

By Scott Coner

Country Singer-Songwriter

            There have been moments here lately that I find myself in the beginning stages of a meltdown. I see the videos, the songs, the photos, the interviews, and everything else that goes with this business, and I begin to panic. I feel humiliated and embarrassed as I realize what I have allowed myself to give to this music. It isn’t a natural act for me to be so outward with my feelings. Yet, as I look at my own private diary set to music, I see that it is far passed too late to pull back now. It might be comparable to the “sexting” that we hear about on the news. Take a picture of your private parts in high definition and share it with the world, and you can’t retrieve it no matter what. 

            The issue with me is this: I started writing at such a young age, I didn’t take time or have the capacity to process the act of writing itself. When you’re a kid, you take everything literally. So when I began writing, I wrote about what was going on in my own life. Even though in truth there wasn’t much going on in my simple little life, it was big and important to me. I remember the fall of my sophomore year. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, and I was wearing a jean jacket. I remember a girl that I thought a lot of telling me she didn’t feel the same way. I was beyond crushed. But I wrote a song about how it felt, and it was then and there that I realized that life’s little punishments had a silver lining. 

Scott Coner (photo provided by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            Dan Fogelberg wrote a song called “Same old Lang Syne”. One of the verses of the song says, “Just for a moment I was back in school... I felt that old familiar pain... The snow was falling on my way back home... Then the snow turned into rain….”  

For me, that pretty much sums everything up. As a man, I have thought a lot about that perfect line or verse. Capturing childhood feelings or feelings in general is hard to do sometimes. I think we lose touch with those emotions after we enter adulthood, pretty much the same way we forget how to imagine a bicycle is a motorcycle or a box is a spaceship. But you can find a song if you allow yourself to open up and forget about the protective walls we all have a tendency to build. At least, that’s how it is with me... just a man sitting alone in his Avengers pajamas writing about life. How’s that for being too transparent?

            What allows me to find balance these days are the thoughtful and kind people who reach out to me. They tell me how they feel about certain songs. They let me know that it matters to them. I know it sounds strange, but knowing that something I have been a part of actually matters to someone else is extremely important to me. Those people may be the reason I wrote the song in the first place.

            The natural beauty of the craft of songwriting is simple. For me, it is a story that begins with a melody or a few chords. It is a connection that is made when I least expect it. It is one of those special moments that God allows me to have. Even though I will probably always have episodes of doubt, I am truly happy that I have been given the opportunity to write and share my songs. And if you are one of those kind souls out there who have supported me along the way, I just want to say, “Thank you.” It is because of you that I don’t grow a long beard, use Kleenex boxes for house shoes, and take myself off of the grid.  

            Scott Coner is a country/American/Southern rock artist who has recorded songs with legendary artists such as Charlie Daniels, Tanya Tucker and T. Graham Brown. Listen to his music and/or watch is his videos 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.

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.

I Was Born in a Small Town

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            I was raised in a small Indiana town. I still have a home just outside that same town, and I must ask myself, “Why?” two or three times a day. My mom and dad and other family members live here, but like me, they stay pretty busy. Any other roots in this area for me are long gone. But, there was a time, a moment really, that happened right here that would set my path for the rest of my life. And, even though I don’t actually go into the town around here often, when I do, I usually hear the ghosts from my past. I hear the music, the laughter, I see the young faces, the cars, and sometimes, I even smell the smoke.

            That special, directive moment I spoke of earlier took place when I was around 15 years old. It was the fall of my freshman year that I heard a different type of music that I had never heard. It was called Southern Rock. By the time it touched my soul, it had pretty much already come and gone. But there were still remnants of the movement such as Blackfoot and Charlie Daniels and of course, HankJr. As you already know, if you know anything about me, I truly loved this genre of music. But, there was another small band of players that I loved just as much. I still hear their music as well in my heart and memory to this day. If it hadn’t been for them, I wouldn’t be speaking to you today. I wouldn’t be singing and writing songs. I’d probably be selling shoes or selling shaved ice at the mall.

            Their names were Jeff Lewis, Frank Russell, Marty Eldridge, and Johnny Burbrink. Each of those guys were my friends. We played music together, hung out in the park downtown together, and had a pretty good time simply loving music together. Jeff and Frank were a year older. My God, those two guys were talented. They both played guitar and sang. Frank wrote songs that I still remember to this very day. He inspired me to write. Jeff could play like the wind. He introduced me to so much music, and he and I would take long country cruises listening for hours to the likes of Molly Hatchet and Skynyrd in his Pinto wagon set up with Jensen speakers. Life was good. Marty, Johnny and me were a little younger, but we played in our first band together and were pretty good for our ages I think. Although, looking back, we probably should have taken our schoolwork a little more seriously.

Scott Coner (Photo by Cyndi Coner)

            The years kept forging ahead though, and responsibility pulled us in different directions. The time for being kids without a care finally came to an end. But the time spent around these guys, my friends, was invaluable. I haven’t been around anyone since that inspired me the way each of those guys did. These young men all had different, yet important attributes that affected me. Frank wrote on and played all kinds of instruments, and his rhythm style was simple and pure. Jeff could sing very well, but his true strength was the guitar. I would sit in a chair, mesmerized as he would play Steve Gaines' licks flawlessly. Marty had a lot in common with Jeff. He was an outstanding guitarist and even as a kid was playing Gary Richrath just like the record. Johnny, my closest buddy, played well and was an exceptional fit for my music. He and I spent many hours together playing guitar. He excelled as a player as I took a different path and focused more on writing.

            The troubling part for me is they aren’t by my side now. I never wanted to be here alone. But, people change as they grow up. I like to think I did. But, my dream was to be part of a band, a gang really. Those guys gave me strength when I needed it. I either worked on my craft, or I got left behind. In the end, I suppose, I found myself alone anyway. But, it’s not like we parted company on bad terms. It was just life. For whatever reason, I have always been driven in whatever area I find myself in. If it’s time to clean out the barn, I am exhausted by day’s end. And the music is no different. I work hard at writing, networking and planning. I’m just not very good at giving up, and it’s kind of worked well for me.

            I just wish things could have worked out different for us. There are times when I wanted to call them up and give them an update, but it feels odd now. It shouldn’t have been me here at this moment. All of those guys were more talented than me. Everything I do today in the music business is from quiet, private practice. But, they were the ones that proved to me that this could be done. They were the ones that I wanted to be like.

            Today, I write and play music with some of the best players on the planet. I am very happy with the artistic freedom I have. I am happy. But, if there is one thing I could change, it would be to have each of those guys playing music with me here today. I truly miss the laughter and songs from that moment in my life. In closing, I simply wanted to thank Frank, Jeff, Marty and Johnny. You guys were the best friends somebody like me could have ever had. Each of you was a true inspiration, and I will always be grateful.

            Scott Coner is a country, Americana and Southern Rock artist who has worked with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can hear his music and learn more about him at www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer.

Elvis is Dead, and I Think I May Have a Sore Throat

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            The summer was hot in 1977. My dad's boyhood friend, James Loveless, came up from Kentucky and stayed with us for several weeks, and he and I did several odd jobs together. He was tough as nails but always really nice to me. He and I dug out and framed sidewalks around the front and back of our house. It was August, the state fair was going on up in the city, and Elvis died. That's what I remember most. Elvis died. I also remember my mom making us a lot of Country Time lemonade.

            As we set the string tight from end to end across the grass, I learned how to dig along the line and set rebar for the frame. We had a small radio near our work area, and all that played that week was Elvis. I had never been exposed to such love for an artist. It seemed like the whole world stopped and wept for the king. I remember my dad came home from work one afternoon and told us about a winter he spent in New York and had actually seen Elvis in the early part of his career, gold coat and all. I was pretty impressed.

            I remember not saying anything about it, but being more than a little bothered about Elvis controlling the airwaves entirely though. Oddly, there was a song that was out on the radio I was crazy about. It was called "Telephone Line", and it was by a band called Electric Light Orchestra. I loved the compression on Jeff Lynne's voice on the recording. I'm not at all sure about this, but I have always figured that the song fell quickly out of the charts simply because Elvis Presley died. 

Scott Coner (Photo by Cyndi Coner)

            I have already told you about my exposure to early rock and roll via a monster stack of 45's. I had listened to a recording that had "Don't be Cruel" on one side and "Hound Dog" on the other. That was powerful. I had listened to "Jailhouse Rock", and it took me to another planet. Everything that guy did until he joined the service seemed slick and perfect. His voice seemed like an instrument itself, and the guitar and bass seemed to jump off the vinyl.

            Our television, the one with five channels, showed Elvis movies back-to-back every weekend. It was during "Viva Las Vegas" that I saw Ann-Margret for the first time, and once again, I was pretty impressed. That woman was freaking beautiful. Sorry, I got off track for a second. What I didn't understand (remember I was a kid) was why the movies didn't have deep pockets of quality songs. But Elvis was alive and healthy on our television at least, and we watched and wondered what could have happened if he could have lived a full life.

            It didn't take long for the countless new compilations of Elvis singing country, Elvis with pictures on the record itself, and Elvis like you had never heard before. Nothing but cheap and sad attempts to make money, but I expect a lot of records were sold. All kinds of books came out from people that had known him in some way. I admit I bought into some of the books, some of the made-for-TV specials, and everything else. But I noticed even as a kid that his music was tarnished by such a circus. He didn't deserve how he was treated. He was the king.

            Before I go, I wanted to tell you first, that his pre-army music was and still is some of the best music ever recorded. But he had many special moments in his career. One of my favorite songs he did later in the '60s was called "If I Can Dream".  I hope he knew that the whole world loved him, and I hate it that he had to leave at such an early age. Anyway, school started not long after his passing, and I got chicken pox. It's a pretty cool little sickness, and if you ever get the chance to catch it, I say go for it. Because of my pox, I got to stay home and truly study the music he left us with. Up until that moment in time, I knew about the talent, understood the charisma, and a collection of B movies had been viewed. But, sitting there alone in my room with corn starch all over my body, I began to better understand that he was not just a great voice. He had truly harnessed rock and brought it to all of us without any pre-existing road map. Now, that is impressive.

            Scott Coner is a country/Americana/Southern rock artist whose latest music video has been downloaded more than 150,000 times on Facebook. Learn more about Scott at http://www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, http://www.ScottConer.com, or http://www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer. Download his latest single, "Sweet Mary", at https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/album/sweet-mary-single/id1052955133?app=itunes .

'I'll Have The Vanilla, Please'

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         Yesterday (35 years ago), music had depth. It always seemed, to me at least, to be taking us somewhere different. Today, I find myself less taken back with most of it. The other day I heard Adele's new release, "Hello", and it touched a deeper chord. Last summer, Eric Church caught my attention with "Wrecking Ball", and a year ago, Alt-J blew me away with "Left Hand Free". The trouble is, I have listened to an awful lot of music in between. A while back, I talked about really liking the newest double album by Warren Haynes, but you probably won't hear his material on the radio, and the radio is what I'm really talking about. If you get off the beaten path, you can still find some things of value.

         I find myself wondering why radio has settled for such normalcy. I read quite a lot about the business, its artists, and music history, and it always hasn't been this way. Even though I was just a small child in the '60s, I still remember music from that moment. I just wasn't old enough to attempt to grasp what was actually happening in that moment. The '60s obviously got off to an amazing start with The Beatles, and I wonder what it must have felt like to have heard their sound for the first time. There were so many artists just blowing the doors open I couldn't begin to list. Glen Campbell was one of those people, one of those sounds that I have grown up with that always seems classy and fresh. Herb Alpert is another. Consider George Jones or even Willie Nelson. "The Red Headed Stranger" was truly a gift if you ask me. 

Country artist Scott Coner works on his Indiana farm (Photo by Cyndi Coner)

         Maybe, today's radio releases only mirror society's drab, unexciting culture. The investors in radio, the people that purchase ad time, are looking for sheep, not out-of-the-box thinkers. They want their radio ads to target car buyers with bad credit. Ad purchasers want to promote their products to a "C" curve of our society instead of a smaller listening crowd that enjoy Lucinda Williams or Chris Knight. As with everything, our culture is driven by the dollar bill. Radio is a perfect example.

         I suppose what I am hoping you will do is to look around a little bit. I don't know how or where you should look, but you found me didn't you? By the way, I wonder how you found me?  I challenge you to take control of the music you listen to and step away from the vanilla flavor of our current world. The low-information crowd must be willing to eat whatever they are given and like it, but that doesn't mean we have to. If we dig deep, we can find music that we can identify with. It just shouldn't require so much energy to find music with power and depth. And if you find something that really shakes your world, let me know because I'm bored to death.

         Scott Coner is a country artist who has recorded with legendary country artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.ScottConer.com, www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer.

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.