Chiseled In Stone or Maybe Just Written In Crayon

  By Scott Coner

                                                                            Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author  

    We all leave a legacy. So, I would imagine it is better to plan the one that we’d like to deliver rather than just leave a few faded memories. The choices we make right now inside of these very moments may be the ones that end up mattering the most. Where do you stand with the ones that matter most in your life? Do you still have time to talk to your parents? Have you let your friends know that they matter to you? Have you tried to do what has always lived deep inside of you? These are just a few of the things that come to mind when I consider what a legacy means to me.

     One of the things I love about my life is the people I get to meet. My wife and I have talked for hours upon hours with Carol Chase about her life. She was just a young girl when she arrived in Nashville with her own dreams. She had left a little town in North Dakota to build her legacy. Because of her inner strength, she has written music for legendary artists. She has worked with George Jones and Ronnie Millsap and many others. For the last 27 years, she has traveled the world with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Lately, she and I have been writing and recording together. All told, I’d say she has built a legacy successfully.

     Very recently, I have had a few phone conversations with Beverly Gosdin Knight. She is the widow of Vern Gosdin. She has told me about some of the hard times she and Vern endured during the early stages of their life together. She was right there with him as he gave the world some of the most powerful country music ever recorded. Through her eyes, we will soon be able to see the world she and Vern shared together. She has just finished her life story, and I believe it is going to be something truly worth reading when it hits the stores very soon. She is a strong woman that has built her legacy.

     I have a friend named Kenny in Nashville that owns and operates a successful studio. Lately, he and I have been working together on some of my music, and I have found him to be the kind of guy I need to listen to. He has worked on the west coast but was drawn to Nashville years back. The thing about Kenny is he digs into a song like no other. Several times over he has forced me to re-consider my delivery of a song with pretty special end results. My wife has had the good fortune of seeing me freak out as I have tried to re-learn a song that I wrote in order to put proper emphasis on certain words. Kenny has given me some of the best players on the planet to work with. (I’m talking over 100 million in sales type of players) He is strong enough to challenge me without blinking when I need to do better, and I respect that. But what I respect most is the fact that he has built his legacy squarely on what he has a special gift for. He has made a difference in a huge industry.

     In the coming weeks, I am going to begin writing more about these people as well as others. I want you to be given an insight on some of the things I see with my eyes. I have written weekly blogs for well over a year now, but most of them have been about me, or my opinions. I’d like to share some of my friends with you. I want us all to better understand just how important each of our lives truly can be. God gave us these heartbeats. He sent His Son down here to die for our salvation. I’d say the least we can do is live this time that we have to the best of our ability. We don’t know what’s around the corner.

     Again, each of us has something to share, something to leave behind. Soon, we are going to put a link up on my web site. It will be a place for you to share bits and pieces of your legacy and your life with others. I will do my best to bring good examples from my world. I would love it if you did the same. If we connect the dots, it’s pretty easy to see that we are all connected in this life.  

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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.         

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. 

Faded Jeans and Flannel Shirts and Pretty Brown Eyes

      By Scott Coner

Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author

 

     Fall is coming! I can tell because red, yellow, and brown M&M’s are showing up at our house. Fall placemats, a cinnamon broom on the wall in the garage, and pretty fall colored lights are on the fireplace mantel.  My wife, Cynthia, makes our home incredibly comfortable year round, but I guess I enjoy fall the most because the season promises cooler temperatures, family gatherings, and of course Christmas is right around the corner.

  

     I love to go down to the creek at the back our farm and watch the leaves fall on the water. I like to watch the changes across the fields where I live. And most of all, I love to spend time with our little family. My wife, my daughters, and our dogs make for some pretty special times that I hope I will remember even when I get to heaven.  My wife keeps all kinds of cool things to decorate our house with and every day for the coming weeks the house changes just a little bit more every day. It goes from summery bunnies sitting around to scarecrows and pumpkins. She keeps fresh apple cider in the refrigerator for us, and an occasional spiced doughnut may even appear every now and then, but not for long.

     Campfires are always nice, but I think they are best in the fall. The night skies are clear, and the air is crisp. Where we live, it is always quiet, and I can think clearly as I stare into the flames. That is until I look across the glow of the fire and see how pretty my wife Cynthia looks in her faded jeans and flannel shirt. Then, I usually forget all about whatever I was contemplating. It doesn’t matter, though. I have all I have ever wanted these days. My family is happy and healthy. My mom and dad are healthy and doing well. And I feel pretty good too, knowing that all is good with those that matter most to me. I remember not having the same feelings about fall. I saw it as the season that brought an end to things. As far as I was concerned, it represented nothing more than a killing frost and the beginning of bitter cold. Our opinions change as we grow in age and wisdom, though, and that’s probably a good thing in my case. These days I see fall representing a chance to slow down a bit and reflect on things. There just isn’t any good reason to dread the changing seasons any more than there is reason to ever give up hope. To me, reminding myself what a lucky man I am is easy. I walk through our home and see the pictures of my beautiful daughters and wife, my parents, grandparents, and even our dogs. I know that I am blessed with far more than I deserve and believe me, I don’t take it for granted.

     I won’t waste my time being cynical about things I can’t change. I refuse to be a part of that thought process. As far as I’m concerned, the world is still a pretty great place. I see all the crazies burning down their towns across the country on the evening news and wonder what in the world they are thinking. I hope I never become so bitter as to have that much hate in my heart. I want to enjoy every moment that I’m given. I want to hold my wife’s hand and speak without speaking. I want to know that my daughters know in their hearts how much I love them. I want to play music and write songs. I want to drink hot cider beside the campfire at night. I want to live my life with the volume turned all the way up and never stop looking into the future or missing the minute that I’m in. And when winter gives us her coldest wind and darkest clouds, I want to know that spring is right around the corner. Go ahead and let the leaves begin to fall.  

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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. 

Speaking In Tongues, Eating Fried Chicken, and Chasing Dreams

 By Scott Coner

Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author 

Years ago, I did a paper while in college about glossolalia. Basically, glossolalia is the gift of speaking in tongues. I found myself in a Pentecostal church for a while, but I’m actually a Baptist. I know plenty of people that feel it is pretty important to receive this gift. I don’t speak lightly of it because I do believe in the gifts of the Spirit. I believe that God can do anything He wants so, I’m certain he can allow someone to speak in a foreign tongue or a dead language if it glorifies Him in some way.

For a while, I remember being troubled that I didn’t ever have such a gift given to me. I think a lot of people probably thought I wasn’t living clean enough to meet the standard. They might have been right. I just don’t know. But, now all these years later, I look back and see a flaw in their approach. I think maybe they were trying to put the Power of God in a box. They knew a few utterances that they seemed to provide to the church body every single Sunday during the service, but that was about it as far as I could tell. They might hop around a little with a tambourine, but I am not for sure that was the Spirit. I think most of it was overkill. But you know, it’s not for me to judge. I was just a guy trying to find his place in the world and apply a little bit of Truth along the way. I remember wishing they could try to get a handle on things before the lunch lines in town got so long. It seemed to me that just about every Sunday during final prayer so and so would want to start winding up about some sin someone’s husband was involved in and jack up my cafeteria time. 

I find my quiet time alone is usually when I can think the clearest. I can pray. I can thank God for what He has done and continues to do in my life and in the lives of those that I love. I have also found that songwriting is probably His gift to me. Songwriting has allowed me to better understand myself through the years. It has allowed me to process certain things that have happened and given me the chance to measure my own response and how I choose to live. I’m not perfect. None of us are. But I think as we get a little bit of age on us we begin to look back and see certain things may have happened for a reason. Other things happened, and we made the best of whatever it was. And sometimes life throws curve balls that make no sense at all and never will as long as we live on this earth.

I have found quiet moments with some paper and a guitar and allowed my mind to go over to that place that speaks for me. I may sit there and play some chords and all of a sudden a melody or a phrase just presents itself. I follow the rabbit as it leads me down some unknown path and sometimes it can be quite surprising. The very concept of a song may speak to me on a personal level that allows for some explanation that I can apply to my own thought process a little bit later. I feel like that is a gift from God. He works through some very limited vessels sometimes I am told.

There are those around my hometown that grumble a little bit as they eat their fried chicken in their polyester flower print dress. They talk about how I have wasted my life because every single song I sing and write isn’t always about God. They seem to like the idea that I am probably miserable, and there is no way I am happy.  Well, I would be lying if I told you that I care even a smidgen about what those people think. But let me tell you what the whole thing is about. I have written many songs about my relationship with God. I have written about my beliefs and understanding, and I am proud of those songs. But, I have been living a life while those church ladies have been talking me down while eating fried food. I have fallen in love. I have raised kids. I have made mistakes. I have accidentally hurt hearts that I care about. And I have pursued a career in music that allows me to share my songs with a lot of people at a level that has surprised me more than you could imagine. Mostly, though, I have found happiness.

You see, I think God gives us all kinds of special gifts. If we look around, it doesn’t take long to see them. I was in the back of our farm today by the creek. The sun was coming through the thick leaves of the trees. The birds were making all kinds of cool sounds, but in the midst of it all there was a dove hidden somewhere that continued to make his song speak to me. This is just one little moment when I can feel the presence of God. The warmth of the sun, the beauty of the water and the woods, and the breeze that we can’t see are all reminders of His hand.

The music that is in my life is just one component. It is important, but there are many pieces and parts that make up my life that I want and require. Your life is just like mine. We may not have the same interests or backgrounds, but we are still pretty much the same. The Gift of the Spirit is what is living and breathing in our world. Yes, I am sure if you want, you could receive the gift of “tongues”, but there is so much more. I wrote a song years ago that speaks about the presence of the wind itself. You can feel a cold wind, can’t you? But you can’t see it even though you know for sure it’s there. Music is my thing. I love to listen to it. I love to write it. And I love what it has allowed into my life. I truly hope that you have something in your life that is just yours. It can be anything. But just remember to take the time to allow whatever it is to flow through your world. Let it give you the enjoyment that you need and deserve.

Man, sometimes I read my blogs, and I think I might be Joel Olsteen without the giant smile. But I swear to you that what I’m telling you is important. Life has so much to give, and I don’t think we take the full helping sometimes. Maybe we feel a little bit guilty. Maybe we think we have as much as we can handle. Or, maybe we don’t feel like we even deserve anymore because of past mistakes. I’m here to tell you that all of those thoughts are wrong. We all have it in us to be more than we are. We all have it in us to chase our dreams and grab those suckers by the throat. You go grab a hold of what you want!

And let me say one last thing. If you are that person that had his ears perk up a little a ways back when I was talking about speaking in tongues, I’m going to tell you about a shortcut. Go outside and slam your hand in your car door. It will be like magic. You will find yourself speaking in a language nobody else can interpret, and you may actually even see God. You are welcome. 

Keep in touch!

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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.