Finding What Matters

     By Scott Coner

Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author

     I had a long talk with an old friend today. We talked about family and friends. We talked about how quickly time goes. But we eventually always talk about music. We discussed the beauty of the feelings that visit us when we write a song. We talked about the differentiation of music and the business of music. I don’t suppose we discussed anything that hasn’t been discussed a million times before. What struck me, though, wasn’t what took place on the phone. What got to me were thoughts I had as I drove down the road alone considering the topic itself.

     My relationship with music seems to revitalize itself pretty often. As I have said before, music has brought me nearly everything worth having that is in my life. I have gone deep into my personal world and shared my feelings with strangers through a song. My closest friends are all part of the music world. Music allows me to see the world through a slightly different lens than how I might have originally viewed it. It gives me so much it’s very hard to put into words. Somehow, it gently just became what I am. I think it is comparable to a farmer that gives his heart and soul to the earth. He works with. He knows it. After a while, he doesn’t seem comfortable anywhere except in his own God-given world.

              

     Recently, I have pushed myself to limits I hadn’t needed to go to before. I have prepared a show that will be around for quite a while if all goes well. I would compare it to a very small off-Broadway play. During the show, I will discuss why certain songs mean so much to me. I will also discuss the ways and reasons I have written many of my own songs. Along with this, we will be incorporating quite a bit of media behind me on the stage. I will include some portions of video from my own songs. I think we will be including photos and video of my family. I also hope to include quite a few unique videos from around the countryside from where I’m from.  The people that I work with in Nashville have taught me the importance of refining everything that goes with the show. They have helped me understand that I need to keep the things the same at all times. Sometimes life just happens, and we might find ourselves a bit off balance or disheartened. Specific structure will help me maintain the quality of the show. In truth, this probably keeps me from getting in front of people and rambling on unnecessarily. I know I have done this in the past, so believe me, structure and rules need to apply.

     Anyway, after talking with my friend about music, I began to think how truly blessed I am to be able to do what I love so much. I truly hope that whoever is reading this has a personal perspective of being whole and full of what matters. The world seems like a pretty crazy place to me these days. But it all melts away when I turn it off and visit the place that music takes me. Life is hard. I know that we can’t hide from the fact. But, I truly believe that if we could all find our true purpose, most of the world’s craziness would just go away. True peace really does come from within.

I might sound like I need to be handing flowers out an airport, but our busy surroundings 

don’t allow for nearly enough time to enjoy what feeds our soul.   

 

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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. 

Jackrabbits Straight Outta Compton

 By Scott Coner

Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author

 

     Today was different than many days in my life. I went to bed last night knowing that as soon as the sun came up my entire day could be focused on music.  I have been in need of some quiet time to be simply alone and focus on getting the songs ready for this upcoming tour. I wanted to think about each song and how it could be placed into the set. I want to be certain that the songs don’t all stay in one specific chord or theme, or “feel”. I want each song to have a purpose for being there, and I don’t want any wasted movement. I have seen my share of shows through the years where I have been bombarded with a quick look back at most of the popular songs for the artist, “But tonight we want to share a boatload of new material you have never heard before.” I don’t want to do this, even though I will be playing in areas that aren’t familiar with my music. What I will do to make sure the listener has a good time is to include songs from his or her past. I want to push those pleasure buttons with songs that excite the soul a little bit and make you smile. 

     This concept sounds pretty easy. It did to me anyway. At least until I remembered I don’t have a full band on this trip and I might need a few pole dancing jack rabbits in order to keep everyone’s attention. The whole idea was going to work until I realized that although rabbits are insanely sexy creatures, they simply don’t have the proper grip to dance and spin around a pole. I also understand that they can be very rude and demanding and your not supposed to look directly at their ears, or it is considered a threat. And things go south from there because you never feel at ease around a rabbit that would just as soon kick you in the private areas as look at you. Who wants that right? I know I don’t.

     Sorry, I got off topic for a second. Anyway, I want the songs to be thematically aligned with the lights and the video above the stage. I want the people that are kind enough to show up to know that they are about to go somewhere cool without even leaving their seat. Now understand that I am in no way trying to say that I am the golden ticket to musical nirvana. But what I am trying to say instead, is that I have spent my life loving and thinking about music. I believe I have considered nearly everything. I don’t want pre-climactic parts bringing the observer up and down all night. Instead, I want that person, every single individual, to take a trip into their own past and feel emotions that they haven’t felt for a long time. Remember that time you talked to that certain person in the hallway at high school and you couldn’t do much but stand there and look goofy? I want you to feel that again for just a minute. Do you ever think about where you were the first time you heard “The Dance”? What about some Marshal Tucker? Tim McGraw? Hey, what about this new guy they call Scott Coner? He is such a nice guy. If you don’t believe me, just ask his mom…

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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. 

Shot Clocks and Destiny

By Scott Coner

Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer and Author

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      Have you ever found yourself hoping for something so long that you don’t know how to react when the chance finally comes? Consider that particular relationship you have spent countless nights wishing and praying for. What about the time they gave you the basketball with three seconds on the shot clock and the game depended on you? I’m sure you have your own story. And if you don’t, you’d probably better get busy living because these are the moments that define you.

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     Years ago, twenty- two years ago to be exact, the snow was falling on a gray Saturday afternoon. My wife hadn’t consented to marry me just yet, and I had to do some pretty quick talking before my opportunity passed. You might say the three- second clock had been turned on and somebody accidentally gave me the ball. I pulled in to an empty Napa car parts store parking lot in Brown County, Indiana and poured my soul empty. I had to cover quite a bit of ground pretty fast because she would be headed back to Nashville, Tennessee the next morning. The thing was, I knew we could have a good life together, but she probably wasn’t all that convinced. And it is probably important to point out that most of the breathing male species would be willing to do about anything to have a chance at her. I remember explaining in detail every aspect of my feelings. I also remember seeing the clouds of doubt in her eyes. But, this was my chance. It was my opportunity to shoot the ball in the midst of some pretty heavy defense. Long story short, somehow, the ball went through the hoop and as I write this blog, our daughters are in the kitchen laughing with their mother as she cuts up a watermelon. Times are very good these days.

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​​(Scott Coner and his wife Cyndi)

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     More recently, I have been given the chance to finally begin playing music for a career rather than just a hobby. This is the answer to all of my dreams. But, for me to actually go on the road, I need to buckle down and put a show together. You see, for so long now, I have simply been a writer. I come up with songs, and I record them. I have become entrenched in the process of constantly moving ahead as a writer, but the truth is, I don’t remember how to play the songs I wrote well because I have always been in the process of writing instead of practicing. To top that off, I need to learn quite a bit of other material to go along with my own plethora of life stories. Honestly, rather than writing this blog, I should be out in my studio working on songs, but here I sit pecking away.

    

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     I am certain your version of unforeseen opportunity is just as terrifying as mine. Sometimes I think we are all just a bunch of clueless humans wishing and praying but somehow not expecting anything to come from it. You know, if we believe in God, and we believe in His promises, why do we not expect at least some version of answered prayer? I consider myself blessed beyond belief to have what I have. I am happy and complete in every possible way. This whole music thing is too good to get my head around sometimes, but I will truly try my best. I don’t want to let this get by me; that’s for sure. 

​     I hope all of your own wishes and prayers have come your way. If they haven’t, I hope you know that they are in the pipeline coming right at you. We are so fortunate to live here in this country. One of the truly outstanding qualities of our part of the world is that we have room for hope. We can dream. We can accomplish. And when we pray, we can expect results. Don’t ever allow yourself to lose sight of who you truly are and what you offer. Your life is important. Your thoughts are important. And your time here on this earth deserves to be well spent. Don’t ever step back and allow your dreams to diminish. The shot clock will be ticking soon, and you will find yourself holding the ball.

                         Lean back like Larry Bird and take that shot! ​

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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. 

We Have It All... Just Like Bogie and Bacall

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

         A painful childhood does not create talent, and neither do mistakes that we make along the way. An artist may develop cynicism, a mistrust of authority, or an allergy towards phonies, but the development of art begins I think in the heart. Humphrey Bogart happened to be one of those children that came from a broken home. He grew up on the fashionable side of Manhattan and even summered in his family’s Victorian “cottage” in upstate New York. To the rest of the world, the Bogart family was upper middle class people enjoying the American dream. But to Humphrey and his sisters, they had an existence that included marital screaming, neglect, and abusive servants, complicated by the drinking and morphine addiction of both parents.

         Because of this darkness, Humphrey didn’t do well in any of the private schools he attended. His relationships were always on the rails because of his own trust issues. But in the midst of his problems, he found a sense of duty that characterized his personal life and motivated his greatest characters. In other words, I suppose, “Bogie” didn’t just become an actor. He used that emotional combination of pain, mistrust and anger to paint a portrait on the silver screen that the entire world would eventually attach itself to. Mr. Bogart never fully understood the interest that the rest of the world showed him. He was quoted as saying, “The higher a monkey climbs, the more you can see his tail."

         As with any artist or any other life, Bogart had his share of high points and low points. Classic movies and completely forgettable flops came and went. Marriages and divorces, embarrassing tabloids, regrets and joyous occasions all colored his life into one unforgettable legend.

Scott Coner on his farm in Indiana (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

         Maybe in the end, after all of these years, we see a man that the world identified with. Maybe the key to his legend was he was just enough hero to admire from afar, and just enough of a regular guy to recognize up close, Because of his imperfections, his generation identified with him. They counted on his character to do the right thing. They loved him simply because he was just a regular guy.

         I look around at our society these days, and I see a world that has come a long way since “Casablanca”. In a way, we have come such a distance that we are about to repeat ourselves. The speed at which we run, the coldness that we all endure from this technological state, and the lack of morality that our culture has, may have painted us all into a corner. Even though we live in a complex world, when you bring it back to basics, we are in need of a hero. We need a new direction to take. We need something to save us from ourselves. This world we live in has become too confusing due to political correctness and the complete lack of core values in our culture.

         Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to somehow get back to the basics. Wouldn’t it be nice to find yourself in a world that still had some class? A world where it was common again to hold the door open for women, to pray before our meals, to pledge our allegiance to our country that has offered so much to each of us. Humphrey Bogart shined the brightest during some of our country's darkest hours. Our world was at war. American soldiers were dying by the thousands, and our country prayerfully and quietly did the right things in order to be certain our soldiers had what was needed to win the war. We stood behind our troops, we trusted our country's leaders, and we were willing to lay certain opinions aside in order to be in compliance with what was just and needed.

 Scott Coner wrote Indiana Rain with his friend 

Steve Rogowski about an Indiana soldier   

         During those challenging years, those who stayed behind in the United States to support our troops and meet whatever challenges came up, found moments of escape in the “Silver Screen”. Then, like now, there was something special that happened when Hollywood brought us her best. Humphrey Bogart was an actor, but at the same time, he was also an artist. His artistry, his appeal, gave the greatest generation a moment of badly needed hope. This regular, short, little man was a giant among his peers. His art simply put, allowed Americans to escape from the worry and sadness that seemed to blanket the globe at the time.

         These days, although we aren’t in the midst of a world war, we are certainly at war. There are those out there who want to see us brought to our knees. They want us to be punished because we are great, and good, and powerful, and Christian. Through my eyes, I see a country that is in need of direction. We need to find ourselves again. We need to find a way to pull together and leave certain differences in the dust. We need to see the things we have in common rather than the things that tear us apart. We need to pray more and talk out loud a little bit less. We need to find our muscle and leave our weakness on the porch. We need to turn our music up and turn those that oppose us off. We need to learn to love each other again and fight like a junkyard dog when someone else opposes one of us. We are still one, we have just forgotten. We are still under the shadow of the Cross, we have only lost our focus.

         If you are an artist, I recommend that you allow your art to promote these things. We need purity instead of filth. We thirst for winning instead of constantly losing. We need heroes these days. We need men and women who stand for what is solidly right. The art of this moment should lift your country and her character up. If you are an actor, a photographer, a singer or a songwriter, a painter or a model, an actress or a director, the world needs you right now. Stand up with what you have and be a hero. Be like Mr. Bogart. Just don’t "Bogart" that… What was that my friend?  I must have lost my focus.  

     

         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.