Americana and country music is about storytelling, and since we’re wrapping up the new record. I thought I’d share some of the stories behind the storytelling. In no particular order…

Call Your Bluff - Have you ever been that guy who “works” for his girlfriend? Always running with a list of honey-dos.  Always promising yourself that someday you’re going to give this lady her walking papers. I’ve been that guy.

Incidentally, bassist Josh Fleeger has an alternative lyric for the chorus of this song. I’ll let you guess what rhyme with “Bluff.” He’s good at alternative lyrics that are disgusting…and usually when I bring a song into rehearsal by the time we’ve learned it, he has a different version that he sings loudly on stage while we’re performing.

Not Another Song About California - Most Saturday night I go down to the Los Angeles Farmer’s Market. It’s a great place to people watch, and the big outdoor bar there is the headquarters for a great country music show. This one particular night there were three acts, and each one did a song about California. I think 2 of the 3 were called California. Now, I love California, but my first reaction to this was, “Geez, not another song about California.” I thought about that while I nursed my beer and puffed on a Montecristo. It only took a few minutes to piece together a story line, but it took about a week to put together a CCR kinda vibe for the music.

There is a line in this tune about the Pittsburgh Steelers and Iron City Beer. Of course, this was written in the fall and I had no idea those guys were going to win the superbowl. And it could be any team…the song is constructed so that if we want to do a version for Green Bay Wisconsin and use Old Milwaukee Beer and the Green Bay Packers it should all work nicely. ARE YOU LISTENING NFL?

Shiner Bock and Vicodin - I’ve had the title Shiner Bock and Vicodin in my notebook for about 3 years. I had a writing session with Sarah Stanley and when it came time to talk about what we might work on, I pulled out that title. I think that first session all we did was talk about the story. I didn’t even touch the guitar. It’s about a guy, and a high school sweetheart, and a wedding, and beer and pills. It was really a puzzle. Does he kiss the girl? Why is he drinking beer and taking pills? Where does he live? How far does he have to drive while high on the pills and beer. How is this different from Garth Brooks, I’ve Got Friends in Low Places? It took a couple months, and several writing sessions to hammer out the details. At first it was very fast - but once drunken night i started playing and singing it slowly…and it just stayed that way.

The King of Sunset Hills - I was driving home one day and I heard a story on the news about seniors who are moving to retirement homes and rediscovering their “youths.” It seems that for many the problems of aging are more related to being isolated and bored than to any real physical issues. When they arrive in group homes with dozens of other bored individuals sometimes the result is more like a college dorm than a nursery home. I pulled up in front of the house, walked in, and wrote down The King of Sunset Hills.

Of course, it isn’t always true. Retirements homes are often full of sick, lonely, bitter people. But it is fun to imagine that one of the reasons you’re old, tired, and bitter is because you haven’t been properly laid in about 15 years. Once that gets sorted out the other physical problems just kind of drift away.

Pretend You Love Me Tonight - When I introduce this song at shows the title usually gets a laugh, and I always feel a little sad about that. Because unlike some of my material there’s really nothing funny about this tune. It’s just that damn title.

I think we’ve all known people who feel this way. They love each other, but the shit just piles up over the years. It’s just one layer after another that builds up between them and after a while it’s more about the dishes that didn’t get washed, or the bill that didn’t get paid, or the grumpy comment - than it is about the fact that they love each other.

I heard a news story about a couple who were having marital issues, and they decided as a last ditch effort to save the relationship that they would agree to have sex every night for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks they decided to keep going for a month, and when that month was up…the relationship was fine. The sex made both of them feel so good all the time that the problems between them just melted away. they laughed at them.

So, sometimes you just have to agree to fight when the sun is up, and pretend like you’re madly in love at night.

More to Come…

Tags: Americana Music, Country Music, Grant Langston, Stand Up Man