One Less Thing To Worry About - Music

North America Is Many Different Places. Of Course There Are Different States And Different Provinces But That’s Not Really Where The Big Differences Happen. The Really Fundamental Distinctions Happen Between The Different Regions. One Great Thing About My Job Is I Get To Travel. I Travel Mostly On The Highways And Frequently From One End Of The Country To The Other. Some Of The Most Interesting Travel Is When I Get To See How The Different Regions Fit Together As They Unroll From End To End. Occasionally If The Booking Agent Is Sadistic Enough I Get To See Three Or Four Different Regions In Three Or Four Days. I’ve Been Traveling Playing Gigs And Making Records For Twelve Years. I Got Started Playing Music In Austin Playing At A Dark Wooden Barroom Downtown Called O Henry’s Back Forty Now The Site Of The Downtown Hilton . I’ve Worked Different Jobs Lived In Houston Dallas New York And Madison Wisconsin And Made Good Friends In All Those Places. I Read A Book Last Year The Nine Nations Of North America That Was Recommended To Me By A Fellow Traveler And Songwriter Brian Rung. The Author Joel Garreau Argues That State Borders Are Basically Irrelevant And Artificial And That North American Society Can Be Better Understood Grouped Into Nine Larger Regions. Nine Regions That Have Distinct Economic And Cultural Features. He Breaks It Down And Labels The Regions New England The Foundry Dixie The Breadbasket The Islands Mexamerica Ecotopia The Empty Quarter And Quebec. He Says That The Regions Are Basically Defined By The Jobs That People Have Or Don’t Have And The Work That People Do In Those Regions. Whether You’re Sold On The Details Of This Idea Or Not I Thought It Was An Interesting Idea. I Decided To Write An Album With Songs Set In The Different Regions Exploring Characters Trying To Make Their Way And Make A Living In Their Respective Places. Dollars And Dimes My Fifth Record Is The Result. I Wrote The Songs Myself And With My Songwriter Friends Adam Carroll Gordy Quist And Scott Nolan. We Recorded The Songs In July 2008 And January 2009. Gabe Rhodes Produced The Project And Played Guitar Piano And Anything Else With Strings On It. Will Sexton Played Bass Sang Backup Vocals And Played Some Guitar And Hunt Sales Played Drums. So We’re Releasing The Record This Summer Driving And Playing Shows All Over These “regions” Seeing If There’s Anything To This Idea. Trying To Find Some Good Coffee On The Way. Owen Temple Waiting For Sound Check Houston Texas April 2009 read less