What If It Changed You Somehow?

 By Scott Coner

Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author

 

     Well, it has finally happened after all of this time, all of these years. I have become a cover artist. Well, sort of. When I agreed to work with the folks out of Nashville on my tour, one of the things I had to agree to do was music that wasn’t mine. I have to admit that as a songwriter, this wasn’t originally what I was looking to hear. I wanted them to tell me that people were going to be knocked out by my original sound and everything was going to be on my own terms including not having yellow M&M’s in my dressing room.

     So after months of starting and stopping the process of learning other artist’s songs, I have pretty much settled on the sets. I think it is important, to be honest, and tell you why I don’t do many cover songs. The fact is, I’m not usually very good at doing them. It isn’t personal against anyone. I have spent most of my life writing songs, and I am not very effective when you take me out of my own little box. I remember as a kid when I played in different garage bands I failed miserably at trying to sound like someone or something that I’m not. It’s not that I didn’t try. It’s just that I wasn’t one of those fortunate guys that sounded like any of the big names back then.

     I don’t know how many songs I have combed through trying to find what I wouldn’t single-handedly destroy. I have looked all over the map trying to find songs that people in the audience will recognize and hopefully relate to. In doing this, I have found a lot more than I ever bargained for. I have worked through songs that I couldn’t actually add, but I fell in love with just the same. I have also found artists that I may have only known a little bit about, and now I find myself thinking about their sound quite a bit. One of those artists is Eric Church. I truly like his writing, and I also like how he is recording his music. I have added his song, “Wrecking Ball” to my set list. I wasn’t sure if I should because it is obviously a personal song for him. But the deal breaker was my wife. She is the one that brought me a handful of his songs to check out. Her opinion matters quite a bit you understand. Another artist that I would never have dreamed of covering was Tim McGraw. I had been in Nashville recently working on music with Carol Chase and she kept on playing one of his songs when we weren’t writing. I went home and checked out one of his older songs called, “Live Like You Were Dying” and honestly, I sat at my kitchen table alone in tears as I worked on the song. Obviously, I had heard the song and liked it before. But as I looked at the lyrics and put myself in the song, I found it to be a truly beautiful piece I have made a special note to myself to try not to screw that song up. It doesn’t deserve anything but respect. 

     I remember hearing a Mike Wanchik interview years and years ago when he was talking about working on, “The Lonesome Jubilee” album that John Mellencamp released in the late eighties. During the interview, I think I remember him talking about John demanding that each player in the band learn 100 songs from the 1960’s, and I believe that he also insisted that each player becomes proficient with another instrument as to add to the recording of the upcoming “Jubilee” album. Obviously, he was on to something. I have tried to approach what I am going through the same way. I never actually asked for this, but it’s funny how you get the true privilege to experience certain things if you will just try to be open. Working on this music has opened my mind in ways I never expected. I just want people that take time out of their lives that come see me to enjoy their evening and hopefully be touched in a way that may be new to them. Like I have said, I want to build the show around the listener. I want that man or woman to come and think about their world. I want those songs to reach out and touch them the same way they have affected me. I don’t know if everyone listens to music like me, but there are a lot of songs out there that I put myself into when I listen. It isn’t unlike a short film. I may not actually find myself in the vision, but if the story and song are strong, I certainly see and feel something different. That moment changes me somehow and I never forget where I was at when it occurred. I don’t think I could ever ask for more. You know to be a part of something like that would be the best possible outcome for someone like me. I find myself looking at the names and faces of people that listen to my music on social media. Early on, I was just writing my blogs and posts, and my publicist would take it from there. My wife and daughters have brought things to my attention, and it has been a good thing for me. I think as a songwriter your one true desire isn’t really to be seen. Instead, the songwriter wants their words and music to touch someone in such a way that they become different. To me, when it comes to music that is all that there is.   

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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. 

Growing Along the Way

By Scott Coner

Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer and Author

     I have spent more than my share of time complaining. I have found reasons to blame others for my own shortcomings. I have pointed towards anything or anyone but me far too many times when I alone, was the culprit. Somewhere along the way, thank God, I have been able to find clarity. I have been able to humble myself long enough to accept the fact that I may have been my biggest enemy. It would be easy to blame my shortcomings on my sinful nature, but that again would be taking the blame game of original sin all the way back to Eden and not truly accepting what is deservedly mine.

     I have always felt protected by God. I have always felt in my heart that He had some type of plan for me. I’m not trying to say that I am “special” in any way. I suppose I have just truly believed in His love and protection. I know with every cell in my body that God loves and protects us all. I believe He has plans for us if we are willing to allow ourselves to be molded into what is needed.

     So it seems as though my dream of playing music is finally beginning to qualify itself as something more than just a dream. I am engaged at every level these days preparing for this new role in my life. As I have said several times before, I have allowed myself to drift away from the original dream of actually touring and meeting people and assumed that I would always be a songwriter that works behind the scenes most of the time. The change in direction has caught me off guard, and I can only say that there is just no way I could be happier. I truly look forward to what is around the corner. I want to meet people that have supported me, and my music. There have been many times when I wondered how I could go one more step, and then almost magically some kind and thoughtful person would send me a private message. I remember a lady telling me that one of my songs had helped her through the loss of her spouse. That message meant more to me than I could ever put into words. It gave me the energy to keep pushing on and not give up.

     I know now that the good Lord was there beside me all along. He gently nudged me down the path that I needed to travel in order to grow both emotionally as well as spiritually. Through the years there have been so many false starts with my music career. The cold, hard fact is, He wouldn’t allow things to truly begin until I was ready. It has been hard to live with all of this time, but I am so glad things have happened the way they did. I feel good these days. I am probably healthier than I have ever been in my life. I find myself thanking the Lord for nearly everything. I have a perfect marriage, healthy children, a beautiful home, and my parents are healthy. I think God’s timing was just different than my own, and I am absolutely fine with the outcome.

     I tell you all of this very personal information because I am willing to use myself as an example. I have made nearly every mistake imaginable, and one would think that my future would be over. But that isn’t how things always go. If you feel or have ever felt that your options were in the past, I would ask you to re-consider. These days, the way I see it is, those of us that have weathered the storms may be better served to help others along the way. We have felt the hurt and disappointment that life often brings. If we all had a perfect record, how could we listen to and help others? How could I write a song? You and I have become journeymen in this career called life. We have felt the pain that is necessary in order to understand others. We have made catastrophic mistakes, so maybe it will be easier for us not to judge others.

     What’s that? Oh, you haven’t made catastrophic mistakes? That’s ok; that’s probably just me. I have always been slow in the developmental department. Just know that you have insight like no others, and you are truly valuable. Don’t give up on your dreams. Don’t lose your faith. And always remember that no matter how much water is under the bridge, it’s never too late to change your position in life. Allow yourself to, “Be who you are rather than what you have allowed yourself to become.”  

We all need each other. Don’t ever forget that.    

Scott Coner: 'There are no Rules in Songwriting'

By Scott Coner

Singer-Songwriter

            NASHVILLE -- Songwriting seems to be different for all people. I have met and talked with several writers around Nashville as well as other places, and their approach is always consistently different. For me, for whatever reason, my writing seems to improve when I read quite a bit and don't listen to other music. I find that the silence allows me to hear other melodies and phrasings that I wouldn't be in touch with otherwise. I hate to admit it, but I also write better when my wife and kids are gone for a while.

            I find that I may have some line or phrase that I carry around for weeks or even months, and sometimes that leads to a song, or I might have a piece of music that I search for a suitable melody and theme that works. Most of the time I write with an acoustic guitar, but recently I have written several songs on a Les Paul using a loop pedal. I don't know how it all works. I wish I did. Writing songs for me is that place that I go to that is personal, imaginative and without rules.

            Paul Zollo has put together a fantastic book called, "Songwriters on Songwriting". In it, Mr. Zollo has chased down a massive amount of outstanding writers including the likes of Jimmy Webb to Burt Bacharach and Hal David. I actually keep his fourth addition on my nightstand and read it when I have trouble sleeping. I love the backstory of a song. I like to know why the song was written and what inspired the writer. 

            I have never been that guy with a ton of friends hanging around. I stay pretty quiet in my little world when I'm not working in Nashville or somewhere else. Because of this, and I mean no disrespect, I have always kind of understood Brian Wilson. Brian didn't surf, he didn't swim, and he didn't drive fast cars. But he wrote songs that would make you believe he was the golden boy of the California Coastline. The Beach Boys became an American institution, and it was all because of Brian's genius.

            I certainly don't compare myself to Brian Wilson's talent. But, I have written a lot of songs based on other people's lives and stories. "Maybe She Lied" is a song I recorded with Tanya Tucker a few years back, and it is a good example. A guy that I know came home one day and found out that some major changes had taken place while he was gone to work. His house was empty, most of his things were gone, and his heart was broken. I thought about what had happened to him for a few days, then sat down and wrote the song. As the lyrics came, I wrote it in first person as if the damage had been done to me. Thank God the story isn't about me, but as I put the song together, I "witnessed the movie" in my mind and the song wrote itself.

            There is nothing more cleansing to me than writing a song. I don't try to write for radio, and I don't write by radio's rules. I think a song should live and breathe the way it wants to, and this includes the length of the song. There is a theory out there that the hook should be the primary theme in the song, and there is no question that this approach works. But, I don't live by those rules. I don't believe the listening public needs to be on a diet of baby food. I think people still enjoy the journey a song that can be related to, can take you on. For radio stations, it is about getting X amount of songs in between advertisements. To me, it is about writing and recording a song that I feel good about and am proud of.

            So, if your a songwriter like me, you have no doubt noticed that I have no good advice. If you are a music lover like me, then I am certain that you agree that the song and the craft of songwriting is something that is magic and not available in a bottle. A song, if it’s lucky, ends up as part of the fabric of someone else’s life. I consider this to be one of life’s highest honors and most humbling achievements.

(Scott Coner has worked with some of country music's top artists and musicians, including Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown, and Charlie Daniels. Learn more about him and hear his songs at www.ScottConer.com or www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic.)