She Wants Moe, Moe, Moe!

                                                                                   By Scott Coner

                                                                            Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author   


     Moe is one of those really cool people that you never anticipate meeting. He has a 60’s “hippy” vibe to him. I met him accidentally. I needed a place to practice with a few guys I have been working with in Nashville, but I wanted a place that had a bit of character. I find that when I work on music, my surroundings matters. I don’t like to be in a sterile environment for music or anything else for that matter. I spoke to a bass player in the studio one day, and he turned me on to “The Musician’s Co-Op” in the 5 points area of Nashville. As soon as I saw the place, I knew it would be a nice experience. 

 

     I think maybe Moe and I spoke on the phone before my first practice, but I honestly don’t remember. But, as I pulled into the lot outside the building, there he sat. He had longer wavy white hair and a beard. He was wearing an old army coat and blue jeans, and I half expected him to give me the peace sign. He just had the type of personality that makes you feel like you just met somebody pretty special. After our hello’s, he opened the door into the practice room. I smelled incense as I walked into room that offered all kinds of old art, music posters, and even Dr. Suess books. The PA was set up on an empty stage, and the sound of the room was as warm as a blanket. I liked it there, and we hadn’t played a note yet.

     Moe told me that in the mid 70’s he had spent time traveling the country as an actor. His one-man show was called, “I Believe In Music” and he mostly played in schools. He eventually ended up in LA with a little girl and took a self-imposed thirty- year break from the business. These days, his now adult daughter is living in LA working as a CPA, and Moe has been a “Nashvillian” since 1986. He has been one of those guys that stands just outside of the flame and has seen some pretty historic moments that most of us never get a chance to see. 

 

     “When I put this place together, I was working with and around a guy they called, 'Cowboy Jack'," Moe told me that Cowboy Jack had worked for Sam Phillips at Sun Records when Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee were beginning to emerge. He later worked with Waylon Jennings during the “Outlaw” movement in the mid-70’s. "Jack helped me put this place together.  Since I have been open, I’ve seen all kinds of artists pass through. Everybody from Todd Schneider, Wynonna, Trick Pony, Wanda Jackson  and Kacey Musgraves just to name a few." Moe told me that he hopes to develop a live streaming concept from the place soon. "This will allow the artist to be relaxed and keep things personal,” he told me. He went on to say, “You have to find the pulse of the song. The pulse is different than the beat.”    

     People like Moe are the souls that offer a different perspective. They are very different than the mannequins you endure near music row. He doesn’t have a hidden agenda he is into art and he loves people. He understands music and the need to allow it to breath. What I love most about Moe is the fact that he and I are from completely different worlds, yet we share the same perspective about the industry. He doesn’t put sound in a box. He understands that we all have something a bit different to offer musically and there is plenty of room to do that. 

So, we have worked in his facility three times now. Every time I pull away in my truck, the last thing I see is Moe’s big hippy smile. He makes me want to see the world from his perspective. He represents everything we should have tried to hold on to from the 60’s. That and maybe bell bottoms...

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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 his music page.         

Another Conversation with Beverly Gosdin

                                                                                  By Scott Coner

                                                                            Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author            

   It must have been a hard hit for Beverly to walk away from being the wife of Vern Gosdin. From where most of us stand, it would appear that she had everything. She was married to one of the most beloved country music singers of the time. She traveled with Vern; she sang backing vocals for Vern, and in many ways, she was his manager. There was a very deep problem in their marriage, though, and she had reached the point where she could no longer stay in such an environment. I am going to leave this part of the story on the table for Beverly to tell in her upcoming book, though. Today, we are going to go in a bit of a different direction…

(Beverly and her parents)

     It was a brisk morning as she got out of bed in the darkness and grabbed her first cup of coffee. The house was silent, but she could sense there was a heavy frost outside. She felt miles and miles away from her former life. All was calm here. It was a new day, and she was at least an hour ahead of any resemblance of sunlight. She parked her truck at the edge of the woods and quietly stepped into a world of natural beauty far away from the wear and tear of the city. After about thirty minutes of walking through darkness, she arrived at her deer blind. This blind was special and close to her heart. Her brother and his best friend had designed this blind. It opened up like a large umbrella, and the sides dropped down like curtain walls. It gave the hunter room to move around and also to have more than one direction to monitor for deer or other game. “ I threw myself into hunting after being given the opportunity to promote my brothers “Pop Top Hunting Blind.” I know it seems odd to most folks, but I had grown up around hunting, and it seemed like a natural transition to me.” Beverly told me that around that time, she just wanted to be as far away from her old world as she could be. She said that being in the woods and being surrounded by the people that loved the outdoors and hunting gave her the opportunity she needed to breath and allowed herself to finally begin the healing process.

     Honestly, I was surprised when Beverly told me what she did to work through her divorce. In today’s world, everything that a couple has is cut pretty much right down the middle like a big slice of pie. “When I left, I walked out with the clothes on my back and a few of the clothes out of my closet and that was it. I didn’t want any of the things we had shared. I didn’t want a house or a car, and I didn’t want any money. I just wanted to be gone.” Beverly told me that her life began to slowly make sense while she was alone in those woods. The cool, crisp air and the quiet seemed to give her a chance to finally understand who she really was and not who she had allowed herself to become. “I began doing shows around the country demonstrating the hunting blind. I only wore RealTree camouflage in those days. Other outfits like Mossy Oak tried to give me endorsements, but I was a Realtree gal. I loved shooting guns as well as a bow. But I suppose I was partial to an open sight 30/30. I also had a 243 and a muzzleloader.” Beverly has much more to say about these days as well as others. She and I have talked privately, and I am of the opinion that most of her stories need to be saved for her book that comes out in the spring.

(Beverly on the cover of her ex husband's album)

     We are all different. We process pain and loss differently. I find that talking to Beverly Gosdin gives me hope in my own future. She has seen hard days and just kept going on. She didn’t let bumps in the road send her too far into the weeds. By being the wife of Vern Gosdin, I suppose she saw many of the finer things of the time. But she was smart enough to know that it took more than just “things” to make a home. She understood that if she stayed, she would never find true peace. She stepped out on her own and walked away from the sparkle and the glitz of Nashville. Her next stop would be a deer blind in the middle of the woods drinking hot coffee waiting on a buck. (Sounds to me like she would have been better suited for Hank Jr.)

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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 his music page.