Sunday Morning Comin’ Down

                                                                               By Scott Coner

                                          Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author

     It’s a Sunday morning. It’s quiet around here, and I wanted to take a few minutes to write this week’s blog before everything takes off at full speed. We all suffer from this fast flying world, don’t we? It’s hard to know when and where to demand a slower gate. Anyway, Miles Davis is playing me a cut from 1959, and I feel pretty peaceful. I think we give too many other people and things credit for disrupting our lives. Isn’t it up to us what we allow in? Isn’t it up to us to build our own hedge and only allow what we deem necessary to deal with?

     I ask myself sometimes how in the world I even landed here. I was lying in bed this morning holding my wife next to me. The sun was up, the birds were chirping, and I took the time to count my blessings. I thought how wrong it is that we take so much for granted. We buy new cars that we love, but the new wears off, and it becomes just another vehicle. We build the house of our dreams, and we forget to sit in that special spot and take in the beauty of the structure. We marry that person we have wanted for a lifetime then just walk by them without acknowledging how we feel every time we get a chance. And life just passes us by. Before long, it’s too late. The show is over. The sun has gone.

     

     I don’t tell others how to live. It’s none of my business and Lord knows I am no authority. But let me share this part of me with you. When I was about 40 years old, I was given a new lease on life. I changed. I found peace like I have never had and I have held on to those feelings. I consider every day and every minute it holds. I tell my kids I love them every single day. I tell my wife how beautiful she is many times a day and how much I love her. I give my dogs and horses time every single day. I call my parents almost every day. And I even attempt to be nice to the guy in the gas station buying lottery tickets and cigarettes standing in front of me wasting both of our time. The thing is, there is more good than bad. We just have to groom it and nurture it, if we want it to stick around I think.

     This last year has been a good one for me. My music has done well, but there has been a disappointment. I have had someone representing me that didn’t do what she promised. Honestly, I’m not sure how we are going to handle it. It’s awful when people you believe in let you down and then step as far away as possible. But it will be dealt with one way or another. The thing is, it’s out of my hands. I have done my level best. Now it will be up to someone else as to when and where I take another step in this business. I feel confident that the proper course will show itself, but for now, I won’t be playing on the road anytime soon. It hurts pretty deeply. But, there are some good things too! I get to spend more time with my wife, my kids, my animals, my gym, and the ones I care most about. How can this be all bad? I plan on writing and recording more music. I want to go ahead and release a book I have finished. And I want to enjoy every minute of every day.

     We all get hurt sometimes. We step back from the flame feeling the hurt from the burn. But sometimes, there might be a reason for the infliction. Maybe we needed to learn something. Maybe, God Himself was sparing us from something we know absolutely nothing about. Last week, an old friend from high school messaged me about my weekly blog. (Thank you, Theresa Woodall) I told her I was taking a break. I was too embarrassed and hurt to tell her that I was reeling from the fact that the bookings I had expected were not coming. But there it is. I took a hit. We all do every now and again. I am trying to figure it all out. If we allow it, the pain will make us stronger. It makes us wiser. It makes us better.

     I love going to the gym. I love chest and arm days the most. I enjoy the burn. I like taking myself to failure. I love the extremely loud rock music in my headphones. What am I doing? I’m tearing small parts of my own muscle apart. I eat well. I rest. And like magic, my body repairs and replenishes itself. In the meantime, I’m getting stronger as I tear myself down. That’s what it comes down to. We find a way to repair ourselves as we take the hits life likes to throw every now and then. Just go outside today and listen to the birds and the breeze if it’s all going south on you. Don’t give in to despair. Turn up some real rock music and tell the problem where to get off.  

     Yes, I am aware this blog went all over the place. Since this will not be graded, I think it’s cool. The blog is like my mind today, going all directions. But it’s okay! I feel like the old snapshot of Johnny Cash as he flipped of the record industry. Sometimes you just get to laugh a little bit as you throw your arm around the prettiest woman on the planet and say screw it anyway! .... I already won! 

P.S.

If you are reading this blog, do me a favor and share some of my music/videos. I truly appreciate it!

Take care,

Scott

                            

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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.     

Sound Possibilities

                                                                                By Scott Coner

                                             Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author  

     I met Kenny about six months ago. Steve Dean, Carol Chase and I had just finished co-writing a song together, and we felt good enough about the piece to get it recorded. I had been working around Nashville in three different studios, but I had been looking for a place that put more emphasis on vocals. The next thing I knew I found myself in Kenny Royster’s studio and I immediately realized that this guy had a special talent that I needed to add to my music.

     Kenny is originally from Portland, Oregon. He also attended college in Oregon as well but soon afterward moved out to L.A. While he was out there, he began playing lead guitar and singing lead vocals in a pretty solid rock band that worked steady six days a week in California, Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon. It was during this season that he began to record his band with whatever equipment he could get his hands on. He eventually built a home studio and continually upgraded his gear as time and money allowed. He had a natural talent that allowed him to work with an established producer that had worked in the band, “Sugar Loaf” (Green Eyed Lady) earlier in the 70’s rock world. Kenny told me that he used himself as a guinea pig as he developed his approach to recording. It was also during this time that he won a songwriting contest in Sacramento and more people began to hear about him. His small home studio was flourishing, but the idea of moving to Nashville had started to make sense.

Kenny Royster

     Upon arriving in Nashville, Kenny met a drummer that was already hooked up with several capable studio players around town. Kenny set his studio up in a modest area and started working primarily in doing sessions for song demos. (A song demo is usually provided by the songwriter for an artist or a publisher to consider) Kenny told me that he began setting the studio up in blocks of time. He and his players would cut demos all day long and then he would begin doing a follow up on the vocals and the mixes that evening. They stayed busy because they were doing excellent work at very affordable prices.     

     Rene’ Grant Williams, the well -known vocal coach, began bringing her students to Kenny’s studio. This gave her students a great experience, and it gave Kenny a personal insight on better understanding the dynamics of helping singers working in the studio. The band “Lonestar” and Trace Adkins were just a few of the artists’ that showed up with Mrs. Williams. Upper tier songwriters began bringing their material to Kenny as well. Songwriters like, Buddy Jewell, Paul Overstreet, Dickey Lee, Craig Campbell, and Don Goodman started showing up with potential hit songs. The accumulative hours have flown by. I believe it is safe to say that Kenny Royster is a journeyman in his field of business. He has done great work for many artists including myself. I have seen first hand what he can accomplish, and it’s pretty fascinating to watch. Because of his attention to details, I have actually gone into his studio and re-recorded two of my songs. He understands the dynamics that I am pursuing. He listens to what I have to say and then he offers outstanding advice.

     At the time of this blog, Kenny is working away in his studio. He also currently has a number one song he co-wrote and recorded for a band called, “The Long and Short of It” in Australia. Three months prior he also had the #4 song in Australia with the same duo. He has been working in early development with an upcoming Sony artist named, Luke Combs. It is safe to say that Kenny will be around Nashville for a long time to come. I have worked with several different producers as well as engineers all around Nashville, and I can confidently say Kenny is light years ahead of them. Because he is a singer himself, he understands vocals and how to best record them. He has played guitar in a band. He has felt that special “live” sound we all chase while working in a studio. He has taken the art of recording music to a much higher level, and I am truly honored to call him a friend. He’s one those people behind the scenes that have developed music into something that takes your breath away. That is very cool.  

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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.         

Cutting the Heart out of the Song

      By Scott Coner

                                                                            Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author  

     I’m about to do something I have not wanted to do. I’m about to shorten some of my songs in order to be in compliance with today’s market. Even though I believe that the industry itself treats music fans like they have the attention span of a mosquito, I don’t see any other path for me if I’m going to pursue the market at all. This morning I had a conversation with a producer friend of mine. He had a song I had written and recorded with Tanya Tucker a while back loaded on pro-tools. I had given him the track to see how difficult it would be to cut out an entire verse. I hate to do it, but if the song is going to get any play in America, it has to be trimmed down quite a bit. Even with the cut backs, more than likely, it won’t get a lot of play -time. But there is always the chance that a handful of the classic country radio stations around middle- America might like a new song featuring a legendary artist.
                               
                              
     I grew up on vinyl albums. Back then most kids didn’t have a lot of money. So when he or she bought an entire album, it was listened to all the way through. Songs weren’t shortened for the album and often times they would play for well over five minutes. I actually enjoyed finding songs on an album that I liked and having them play out for a while. Early on, I was a Marshall Tucker fan and Lord knows that band wasn’t scared to make you listen for a while to a song. I guess I mistakenly assumed that if a song played nicely, an extra minute or so wasn’t too much of a problem. This is where I was altogether wrong during this moment in time anyway. Sometimes conditions change without us being fully aware. One of the things that I don’t do a lot of is listen to today’s music on purpose. I truly believe that writers, as well as artists, should have their own sound, and I don’t want to accidentally pick up someone else’s approach to a set of chords or an idea.

     I stand strong in the idea that music is art. I don’t believe that art should be copied. When I sit down to write alone or with co-writers, I approach the piece as if it might be the very last song I’m ever able to be a part of. I want the song to say something. I selfishly want the song to share some secret about me that I have never told anyone. Wither it’s a thought or an opinion; it doesn’t matter. I just try to sneak my DNA in there somewhere. My hope is that each song makes some kind of statement. As far as I’m concerned, if we are going to ask the casual listener to give us three minutes of their time, it should be three minutes well spent.

     Recently, I wrote a song with two very successful writers. After the song was complete, I looked at the lyrics sitting there in front of me on a piece of paper. It opened with a chorus followed with four lines in a verse. The verse was followed with another chorus, two verse lines, a chorus and a half and the song was done! I like the song. I think it’s uplifting and I’m proud to have been part of it. It’s just so odd to me that this is where music is trending these days. I don’t think the market is dumbing down its listeners. Instead, I think maybe radio representatives are trying to crunch as many songs as possible into small portions of allocated time due to advertisements. I truly don’t know for sure. 

     So, getting back to the Tanya Tucker song. I will gut the song like a fish and try not to complain too much. We will enhance it a few different ways by changing the bass lines and thickening the drums. But in the end, we will remove an important part of my song. We will re-release it and see what happens. But as we make the song available to the buyer, I will always want the full -length version ready for the taking just in case anyone still cares. To me, it’s like sharing half of a picture. You know the ones. The photos with the odd scissor cut up one side of the photograph and someone from another time or relationship is missing?         

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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.         

I Wouldn't Change Much Even If I Could

      By Scott Coner

                                                                            Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author  

     I couldn’t have met my wife at a worse time. But I did, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I fell all over myself for her and I was pretty sure if I didn’t have her by my side for the rest of my life, I didn’t care to go on. I was in the process of a divorce. She was in the same process. Man, it was just awful. I think everybody that knew us at the time had nothing encouraging to say about our state of affairs. It was embarrassing and I know it looked sketchy at best. The thing is, you don’t get to choose when or how certain things happen. You respond the best way possible and hope for the best. I remember pretty well the day I sat in a truck talking to Cyndi about how I saw things. I told her how much she meant to me. I tried to understand what she was going through. And we both were fully aware that everybody on our little world were staying up late talking badly about us. We both cared about what people thought. We didn’t want to disappoint anybody. But, like I’ve said, I was head over heals and there was no turning back. 

                                                                                                

                                    

     If there have been any issues in our marriage after all of these years, I assure you it has been my fault. If there has been anyone that has brought a level of integrity and beauty into my life, I can also assure you it was because of her. She taught me how to relax. She gave me children. She made our home look like something out of a magazine. And every time I look at her she still takes my breath away. So, after all the dust settled, I came out the winner by a very long margin. I didn’t deserve her. Yes, I’m aware. But, somehow, I got everything I could have ever imagined.      

     As she and I get older together, we talk about this next stage in life that is about to come upon us. Our daughters are grown and it won’t be long until it’s just going to be us. We will be “empty nesters” as they say. It scares us both a little. And we both talk about how quickly time seems to slide by without being noticed. If I could wish for one thing, I would wish for more time with her and the girls. It’s heartbreaking to realize in the not too distant future my life will be nearly over and I just don’t want to go. I’m not scared of dying, but I’m terrified of being without them.

               

     

     There have been moments I have been a total jerk. Those are the times and the memories that I hate the most. It’s true that you can’t take back things you do and say. I just wish it were possible because I would never do anything on purpose to hurt her or my family. As I get older, I begin to better understand that my life has been blessed from the start. I have had opportunities that others would have loved to have. I have walked away from more than most even dream of. And somehow, I still landed right side up. I don’t know how that happened, so I can’t explain it. I do know without any doubt at all that at this moment, I am very, very happy to have my life. I love how things have turned out and I don’t have regrets. I wouldn’t dare complain too much because I think it would fall on deaf ears anyway.

     

     I don’t have any real wisdom to pass along after living all of this life. I always tell young guys to wear good shoes because their knees will thank them later. I also tell anyone that will listen that they should eat well and not poison themselves with fast food. Other than that, make sure you get a woman like mine. If you can do that, you will want to be home every chance you get. You will walk around with a smile while everyone else wants to complain. And when you get older, you’ll be like me. You’ll want to live on forever because you are certain you have heaven right here on earth. You will lay in the dark of the night with a huge smile as you hold in your arms one of God’s greatest treasures. You will realize that you have everything worth having. While others stand in line to buy a lottery ticket, you can know you won a long time ago and you have no room or desire for anything more. 

                                                        Life is very cool.     

                                   

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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. 

Sunsets, Songs, and I Refuse to Grow Old

    By Scott Coner

Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author 

     Here’s something a little bit crazy: “I don’t think I’m ready to get old just yet.” Come to think of it, considering all of the Botox and saggy things being “un-sagged”, maybe I’m not the only one. My reasons are quite a bit different though. The ugly truth is I can’t say that I enjoyed my life all that much until my wife and daughters came into it. They gave me a lift that can’t be bought at a doctor’s office.

​

     Looking back on my world now that I have become a middle- aged man, I can easily see that I suffered from at least some level of depression. I can’t say that I actually battled depression because I don’t remember fighting it at all. But, the day I met my wife, all of that changed. I knew in my heart that if I could find a way to add her into my mix, things would get better. Yes, my music had been there in my life as far back as I can remember. I’m a musician. It’s what I do and it’s who I am. But she brought something else to the table that I had never felt. She brought me the chance to feel complete love and devotion. She gave me two girls that I fall over myself about every single day. And she also energized me to the point that I knew I could actually become something in the music business. The class is still out on what I will become, but it doesn’t matter that much. The fact that she gave me the power to pursue my music is a miracle in itself. I’m thinking she might be my muse, but I’m not exactly sure what that is…

      When I say I don’t want to get old, I don’t mean I’m afraid of the aging process. Instead, what I mean is that I know every day is numbered and I just don’t want to run out of days. I want to walk with Cyndi’s hand in mine. I want to travel and see things for the first time with her. I want to see my daughters become all that they ever wanted to become. And I hope to smell that familiar “baby smell” some day as I hold my own grandchildren.

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     I always tell people closest to me that everything good in my life has happened because of music in some way. The joy of writing a song is way up on the list. For me, there isn’t anything quite like sitting alone with a guitar and a scrap of paper and then watching the little song become something bigger a few short weeks or months later. Because of the music, I have met people that are like me. I’m talking about the ones with the “affliction” of chasing down unwritten songs. Because of being a songwriter, I met and fell in love with Cyndi. (She worked at a label in Nashville when I met her)  And because of Cyndi and my songs, I have these two wonderful daughters. It’s hard to show on this paper here, but I assure you everything is connected through music. It’s like a big, funky, musical tree!

​

     So, let me get back to this aging process we were discussing a little bit earlier. It’s important for you to know that I’m not old just yet. I mean, I’m not exactly a spring chicken, but I’m not really old yet either. But I am old enough to know how precious and full of surprises life is. I know that I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. And I know that all that I have ever wanted from this life is now squarely sitting in my hands. These days I spend a lot more time thinking about how happy I am than thinking about past mistakes. I consider every single day to be a gift. And I look forward to finally seeing all of those sunsets together with my wife as we travel around the country with these songs. It really is good to be alive and believe me when I tell you I take nothing for granted. 

Final thoughts:

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     Every week I write a new blog. Every week I wonder what part of my life I can share with people that might in some way be helpful. I certainly didn’t put this entry together to brag about my life. Instead, what I want you to know is that happiness is there for us. We just have to be willing to make ourselves available to it. You know, years ago, I was in a marriage that wasn’t working for me. I was trying to endure a career and a dead marriage.  And I was on the verge of a pretty big flip out session. You can’t spend your life trying to please everyone. We aren’t house pets. We are individuals with our own interests and our own dreams. There comes a time when a person has to decide how much more he or she is willing to take. Myself, I decided that I needed a little bit of personal modification. I had to start being who I really am rather than what I was becoming.  

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     I don’t know who is reading this article, but I promise whoever it is, understands what I’m talking about. Maybe it’s not too big of a stretch to say that you were the very person this blog was written for. I don’t know. But, if you have a big empty spot in the middle of your soul and you feel like your life lacks direction, consider the reasons why. Ask yourself what it would take in order to find true peace in your heart. What is it that’s missing? Did you lose direction a while back? What can be done? Just allow your mind to put the wants and the needs in order. Compartmentalize the facts, and deal with the issue.  It isn’t a sin to desire to be happy. Like I have said, over and over, sometimes we just need to believe in ourselves and chase down our own brand of happiness. It’s all just outside waiting for you. Life is far to short and fragile to put everything on the back burner. 

We never know what is waiting just around the corner.   

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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.