Scott Coner: 'I Count Myself Incredibly Blessed to be a Songwriter'

By Scott Coner

Singer, Songwriter and Author

            When do you need to throw in the towel if you're involved in the music business?

            The better question is, "Why would you throw in the towel if you love what you are doing?"

            Like countless other songwriters, I have spent far too much time asking myself if I can make it one more step. But the truth is, if you are a writer or musician, you already know the answer to the question. The writer has a different perspective of the world that he or she lives in. It may be words thrown around a coffee shop, it may be a movie or a book, might even be a sunset. But the world will give you something to write about.

            I count myself so incredibly blessed to be a songwriter. The way I see it, we are given the chance to actually speak and be heard. Our words might promote healing in someone's heart. They might push someone a little farther in love. We might even be helping people get a little closer to God. Just ask yourself what you would rather be doing than chasing songs down? Personally, I can't think of anything. But this may be because I don't play golf.

            I was recently given a chance to play at a songwriters night in Nashville called "Tunesmithing". I sat there waiting my turn, scared to death at first. I had arrived earlier that afternoon and my guitar was like an oven from sitting in the truck all afternoon. I tuned it down a little bit, so I didn't break any strings and took my turn. The fear left quickly as I began to realize I was amongst friends and loving people. I can only relate it to the feeling you may get when you are in church and you stand up to testify about what God is doing in your life. It just felt good.

Scott Coner Performs at "Tunesmithing"

            That evening, I sat in the back of the room watching and listening as these people played some of their songs. Now I have daughters at home, so I watch more than my share of the Hallmark Channel, but more than once I had to stop myself from tearing up. As each artist played their songs, it just felt so comfortable and personal, and real. I felt incredibly indebted to each of them for allowing me to be part of something so nice and pure.

            Maybe we get a little bit too caught up in trying to accomplish certain things within the industry itself and temporarily lose sight of what is golden. I know I sometimes do, and it bothers me that I would allow something like that to happen. I sometimes forget why I wrote the songs in the first place. The truth is that I simply enjoy the atmosphere that music provides. I love the people that I have met, I love the excitement music brings, I love Nashville, and I love being able to write, record, and share my songs with people.

            Some people take photos, some people make scrapbooks, some people write diaries and books. Me? I write songs. When I am dead and gone, I hope my grandchildren will take a ride in their rocket, and as they cruise the same country roads that I drove so many years before, they will remember me and what I loved and stood for. This matters to me, and I will never quit writing and playing as long as the good Lord allows me to.

           

            (To listen to Scott's songs and watch his videos, visit www.ScottConer.com or www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic.)

Scot gives a rousing performance at the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville

Scott Coner Shares His Insights on the Shooting of an Online Concert

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            (Note from Scott: I spent the day in Music City on July 16 recording songs for my upcoming online concert. I thought it might be interesting and helpful to fellow artists to share insights about the process.)

            I had made a recent, yet uninformed decision to begin a steady process of "live streaming" acoustic concerts from Nashville recording studios. It did, and still does make sense to reach out to the people who support my music and attempt to raise an overall awareness. The problem I found myself faced with though was the fact that, because it was a live show, it would be too easily missed. I decided instead to maintain the same theme, but "record" the concert and release it in fragments.

            My goal has been to allow people to "ride along" as I do what I do if they find this sort of thing interesting. I didn't want the songs to be too polished as we began the process of recording four songs. We played each song three times, and the best "take" will be the one we release. We recorded this particular time at Blu Grotto Sound Studios in Brentwood. (I love working there. Sean Spence and his wife are great people, and they have an awesome coffee machine, a beagle dog, and an outstanding facility.)

Scott Coner records songs in Nashville (Photo by Cyndi Coner)

            The players I worked with are not guys I have a long history with, but I am familiar with their work, and I respect them very much. Logan Schlegal is the one guy I always reach out to. He is one of those people I connected with early on and feel very committed to. Logan came to town as a very young kid with more natural knowledge than most producers around Nashville will have at the end of their careers. Logan engineers, co-produces, and helps with video and photography. He also knows music and understands that I don't want to sound like anybody else.

            We are still assembling what was recorded yesterday. It will be raw, but I am okay with that. This video will begin emerging late next week I suppose. My intention is not to try and impress people with showmanship. Instead, I hope that they will listen to the songs and understand and appreciate the attempt to go in a direction that is a little bit different. I just thought maybe it would be a good time to go with an organic acoustic approach. More than anything these days, I simply want to always remember what a true joy and honor it is to make music with some of the most talented people on the planet. If I ever lose sight of this, please smack me up the side of my head because I will surely have it coming.

            For more information about Scott Coner or to hear his music or watch his videos, visit www.ScottConer.com.

Country Artist Scott Coner Releases 'Nashville Song'

           

            NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 2015) – Hit country artist Scott Coner has released "Nashville Song", a new single and accompanying video that express the highs and lows of working in Nashville's country music industry.

            When it comes to music success, Scott has accomplished much more than the average singer-songwriter. He has recorded songs with country legends such as Charlie Daniels and T. Graham Brown -- even landing a number one hit in Britain with the Tanya Tucker duet, "Maybe She Lied". But the Indiana artist has also faced a number of disappointments, especially on the business side of the industry. His experiences (good and bad) are reflected in the heartfelt, soulful country ballad "Nashville Song".

            "I wrote 'Nashville Song' about my feelings and opinions of the music business," said Scott, who recently taped a concert in Nashville for future airing on You Tube. "In truth, the business side has been hurtful at nearly all levels. But as I have continued on, I have reminded myself that I write and play because I love doing it. I have been truly blessed to work with some great musicians. To me, the song is not about being defeated. Instead, the song is about standing strong and doing things my own way."

            To download the "Nashville Song" song and video, visit the artist's website at www.ScottConer.com, his Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, or YouTube at https://youtu.be/X1CIy5T7Trc.

            "Nashville Song", which was recorded at Nashville's Java Jive, was arranged and produced by Scott and engineer Logan Schlegal. The recording features Scott on vocals and acoustic guitar. Members of the Matthew West Band accompany him on background vocals, electric guitar, bass, keyboards and percussion.

            Scott added that the "Nashville Song" lyric is reminiscent of Alabama's "My Home's in Alabama" in the specific way the story unfolds. His wife, Cyndi, helped bring the video to life with scenes from the artist's recording session, as well as popular downtown and Music Row hangouts such as the Ryman Auditorium, Tootsie's, Hard Rock Cafe, Sony Music, Curb, and RCA Studio B. Cyndi, who oversees the Coner family's Cynnamae Media Productions, said she wanted to take viewers on a "field trip" that showed the places where Scott has experienced musical highs and lows.

 
            "The lyrics are pretty specific as far as my working with T. Graham Brown and Tanya Tucker is concerned," Scott noted. "But the chorus delivers the other side of the story. I have been in many offices around town and foolishly, I have put my trust in people who were undeserving."

            Scott's lyric gives listeners a realistic look inside the Nashville music industry. Like many singer-songwriters before him, he drove into town with a batch of original songs and a wishful heart. He later heard a lot of false promises, even outright lies from some of the professionals on Music Row. That reality is expressed loud and clear in the chorus with the line,  "If you're gonna sleep with snakes man, you better be tough."

            But any resulting hard feelings were temporary. Eventually, Scott realized that happiness and success could be found in the music itself. He sings with assurance, "Well I just kept plowing ground... I had my song and I had my sound... Nobody's gonna tell me what to do... It seems to me that if you have a plan... You stay on course and you take your stand... Every man finally gets his chance...."

            The artist hopes his fans will understand that sometimes artists need to channel their hurt, as well as their happiness, through their songs and other works of art. He has no intention of ever quitting the music business or allowing himself to become bitter. Songwriting is just as fulfilling to him now as it was when he was 15 years old.

            "As an artist, you find yourself simply wanting to concentrate on the music itself," Scott continued. "I have faith that if you believe in what you are doing, and continue down your own path, the right people will show up. I believe this because it has finally started to take place."

            A self-proclaimed family man, Scott Coner lives with his wife and two daughters on rural farmland near Franklin, Ind. He has recorded songs with a who's who of country legends including Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown, and Charlie Daniels. Scott's single "Maybe She Lied", a duet with Tucker on Reedy's Dream Records, hit number one on the United Kingdom's Hot Disk Top 40. Other songs, including "Sanibel" (a duet with Brown) and "Reedy's Dream" (with vocal and instrumental contributions from Daniels) have been heard on terrestrial and online radio stations around the world. Also an emerging author, Scott recently penned the book "Lynyrd Skynyrd: Ronnie Van Zant and Me" with Gene Odom, a survivor of the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash.

            To learn more about Scott Coner or to download his songs and videos, visit www.ScottConer.com.

Scott Coner: Pursuing Music in Nashville Has Not Always Been Easy

By Scott Coner

           I suppose we all have a passion for something, and I would be lying to you if I said I haven't wished for a different one than music. It hasn't been the music itself that has caused the pain and disappointment. It has been the business side. In my world, Nashville has been the primary area I have worked out of. I have been in countless offices, far too many dinners and luncheons, and heard way too many false promises and lies to believe anything at this point.

          It's a shame to me that music is shadowed by such activity, but what doesn't have its dark side when there is money involved? I have made up my mind though, that I am happy in whatever music allows me to have. Writing and playing music for me, like so many others, gives me joy and feeds my soul in a pretty special way. Those days when a new song is written by my hand is still as fulfilling today as it was at 15 years old, and I have no no plans in quitting or allowing myself to become bitter.

          I have a new song and video being released this week called "Nashville Song". I was a little hesitant to allow anyone to hear it at first because it comes off a little self-centered, and I didn't mean for that to happen at all. I hope people will understand that sometimes we all need to channel our hurt as well as happiness in one way or another. I am a little older and hopefully wiser these days. I don't spend a lot of my time trying to write for whatever sound Nashville is looking for. I just write for me. Earlier today, I drove home from our family farm in Nancy, Ky. I walked around there and drank some coffee, thought about things a little bit. The fact is, I am what I am, and I will never change in order to fit anyone else's mold.

          I have been asked, and I am sure you have, too, "What 'brand' of music are you?" I don't know much about brands. What i know is that I grew up in a household committed to some very cool music, and we never called it anything but country. 

          (To learn more about country artist Scott Coner or to hear his music, visit www.ScottConer.com.)

T. Graham Brown and the Nudes Sunbathing in Sanibel Pines

By Scott Coner

            I wrote my song "Sanibel" sitting at my kitchen table one night alone with a cup of coffee. My family has been there many times together, and I suppose I was just thinking about the beach that evening. Oddly enough, I wrote the bridge to the song at an old movie house while watching "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken". (I know that's weird...)

            I arrived in Nashville with a really cool rhythm groove. We sort of built on it at the studio and hoped we could get a solid sounding, dimensional mix. Having T. Graham Brown work on the song was unbelievable for me. He and his wife are such kind and gentle people. When he belted out his parts, it gave me chills. I'm telling you, that as a writer, there is nothing like having a country music legend sing your words. It just doesn't get any better.

            T. Graham Brown is just a fun-loving, gentle man. We worked hard while in the studio. I remember feeling a little sorry for him though when he asked me where Sanibel was. He didn't get the reference to the Australian pines at first. I told him the backstory about the pines.

            My oldest daughter Emily was still in diapers when I took her for a walk down the beach at Sanibel. I saw some pines down the beach about half a mile away. I thought they would be great taking pictures of my beautiful baby daughter. So, I walked the beach holding her little hand, constantly looking down to be certain she wouldn't hurt her little feet on a sharp shell or jellyfish, etc. We arrived at the fallen pines, and I climbed over them with her. I looked around stunned trying to figure out exactly what was out of place. I realized I had accidentally walked into a nude bathing area. At that precise moment, an older man and woman came up to me asking a question about something. I only remember staring at the man's hat... good times.

            Anyway, back to Mr. Brown. I told him that I thought some of his work had been perfect. He had incorporated a Memphis feel into some of his music, and I have always felt his vocal delivery was awesome.

            I remember my mom and dad went to see him years ago, and my dad talked about how cool T. Graham Brown was.  

            You can download my "Sanibel" video at https://youtu.be/OK_fIxfmycY. 

           (To learn more about country artist Scott Coner or to download his music and videos, visit www.ScottConer.com.)