So I decided to start this series because I thought it would be fun to share and let yall see what I’ve been up to over the past couple of months.
I started doing these recordings about two months ago. A mix of Christian and secular. During the first month, I was just using the WhatsApp recorder, so the sound quality is pretty rough—very lo-fi—but on some of those I still managed to captured some cool moments.
About a month ago, I downloaded Lexis Audio Editor, and the sound quality is a lot better. This week I have two songs for you… Cruise by Florida Georgia Line and Your Winter by Sister Hazel, which I recorded last night. I also tried singing it in the key of D for the first time.
Anyway, I hope yall enjoy them. Thanks for listening.🎙️
When I was fourteen.. my best friend was killed in a dirt-bike accident.. I can’t begin to tell you what it did to me… Crushed is the only word I have right now.. and even that feels too small..
We were closer than brothers..
After the funeral.. I fell into my bedroom. That room became my world — my home inside my home.. I shut down.. Closed myself off.. No access allowed..
Everyone was worried about me..
It felt like I was on a camping trip in the wilderness alone.. And I stayed there for a whole year..
I needed something… but I didn’t know what..
I started borrowing CDs and cassette tapes from my uncle..
I found an old tape in a forgotten box in the attic — Bob Dylan’s Another Side of Bob Dylan… and I disappeared into it.
rock… country… blues… folk… old… new…
Hank Williams Jr… And the only Christian song I even knew back then.. Amazing Grace..
I didn’t just listen — I drank it.. And the more I drank.. the thirstier I got.. So I went swimming in it.. Something I still do..
Meanwhile.. God was walking the edges of me…
One night.. I awoke from a dream that wouldn’t let go… and there in the corner of my room was a silhouette.. shaped like a guitar..
my mother was so worried about me she didn’t know what else to do.. So she got me an acoustic guitar.. And one night.. while I was sleeping… she placed it right where I would see it.. the moment I opened my eyes..
and so I took it
I played it… and I played it… and I played it…
until my fingers bled
until it started playing me..
I learned it — taught myself — until it learned me back..
Song after song.. Day after day.. night after night… Month after month.. From the fall of 1988 into the winter of 1989..
I played it…..
until it became my heartbeat..
And finally…
after a year in the wilderness…
I emerged from my room..
ready to face my giants…
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of the 90’s…
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First song i ever learned on guitar 👇
I had many songs embedded in this story.. but it was causing it to load super slow.. so I deleted most of them…
My Friend Joey’Me`
Psalm 34:18 (NKJV)
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.. and saves those who are crushed in spirit…”
🎧 Two Old Cats Like Us • When Something is Good Why Does it Change
So I’ve written several times about how I started playing guitar in 1988, but officially, it started a little bit before that. It was around ’83, probably. I was like 9 years old.
My friend DJ had a drum set and an electric guitar, and that summer we thought we were rockstars. He brought the beats, and I came up with the riffs and lyrics. We wrote our own songs back then. 😄
Those days are long gone. DJ is a pilot today for Delta Airlines, and me? I’m flying high too. 🎸 🥁 🛬
Here’s a great duet with Ray Charles and Hank from around that same time and When Something Is Good, Why Does It Change?
Hope yall have a great weekend, and thanks for listening.
I woke up around 4:30 AM this morning and laid there for a little bit. Lately I’ve been having a lot of creative thoughts shortly after waking up as I lie still in the dark and think… think… think.
Then the 1955 Chuck Berry song Maybellene came to mind just randomly. Haha… how strange, right? Social D does a great rendition of it. The other one is another well-written Mike Ness original, I Wasn’t Born to Follow.
Also, I’m really thinking back on my life today… if only.
What’s a song lyric that has stuck with you forever?
Umm… all of them? 🤷♂️
Being a musician that has specialized in covers from many different genres for more than 40 years now, it’s hard for me to give you just one. Most days I wake up with a different song on my lips and in my heart. Throughout the day, more lyrics come to me. I’m like a human jukebox with thousands of songs memorized.
I’m the same way with books, poems, and literature. I’ve memorized so much over the years. For example, when I first read Julius Caesar by Shakespeare as a teenager, I memorized the parts I really liked. In 7th grade, I auditioned for All-State Chorus and had to sing a solo. I chose the song version of Thomas Ford’s poem, There Is a Lady Sweet and Kind.
The Bible is no different for me. I have many chapters memorized in several translations. Psalm 91, for example, I know in three different translations and recite almost every day.
The reason I mention all this is because, to me, songs and lyrics are just like reading a book. You often hear writers and others talk about how important reading is. Well, I think songs are the same. They tell stories, they make you feel, they paint pictures with words, and I believe they can even help you become a better writer.
I’m constantly walking through lyrics, poems, Scripture, and literature in my mind. It’s always changing, always flowing. I’ve always been like this.
But I don’t want to send you away empty handed, so here’s some lyrics I’ve been thinking about some today… Jackson Browne, In the Shape of a Heart. I’ll probably cover this one soon.
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People speak of love, don’t know what they’re thinking of Wait around for the one who fits just like a glove Speak in terms of belief and belonging Try to fit some word/name to their longing
People speak of love, don’t know what they’re thinking of Reach out to each other through the push and shove Speak in terms of a life and the learning Try to think of a word for the burning
People speak of love, don’t know what they’re thinking of Wait around for the one who fits just like a glove Speak in terms of a life and the living Try to find the word for forgiving
I was talking with my uncle recently. He’s a guitar picker too.
He wanted us to jam today, but I told him my fingers are in pretty bad shape and that I’m giving them a few days.
We got on the subject of famous guitarists from the past. He mentioned Stevie Ray Vaughan and his struggles with his fingers, loading up on many pain pills before shows just to make it through. I don’t know if that’s true, but according to my uncle it is. I’ve done similar things over the years just to get by when i had to play, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of musicians have.
These next two songs were recorded recently, and I barely made it through them because of my current finger situation.
I’ve been listening to a lot of ’90s country the past few days, so I thought I’d share a couple.
Actually the Randy song was from 1989 and the Keith song was 2oO3 so I just lied lol they just felt ’90s to me 😁
Hope you enjoy, and thanks for listenin’ partner 🤠
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Hard Rock Bottom Of Your HeartYou’ll Think Of MeAlternate AAlternate B
I woke this morning with the blues… the Sunday blues, to be more exact.
I was reminded of Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” and for a moment I could feel myself walking that lonely sidewalk. I could almost smell the fried chicken.
Then my heart turned to others.
So I decided to forget myself, pray for those whose blue is a much darker shade than my own… and maybe even try on their shoes for a little while in my head.
So about these songs…
For the Lauren Daigle song “Still Rolling Stones,” I decided to amp it up a bit with the guitar lick. This is the first time I’ve ever tried to play it, and I just thought I’d do it a little differently.
And “Worn” by Tenth Avenue North was actually the very first song from the bathroom that I ever posted. I hid it inside another post though, so it was easy to miss. I thought I’d share it again.
I once knew an old man… he was a total jerk… so mean and hateful and bitter. His words were like vomit.
The first time I was alone with him, I tried to reach out with a kind conversation. To break the silence, I said, “It sure is a beautiful day.”
Then, for about ten seconds… you could hear paint drying.
As he slowly turned and looked at me in utter disgust, he said, “You’re Captain F#ckin’ Obvious, aren’t ya?”
Honestly, I wasn’t offended. Instead, I let go of the biggest smile.
Over time, he and I became friends. We wore each other down… haha.
The more I was around him, the more he slowly got better. I did things for him like running errands, doing his shopping, and helping him with different things. And whenever he was a dick to me… which was often… I just fired off smile after smile like bullets at him.
As things got lighter, I began to witness another side of him. The walls started to come down. He opened up some. He would sometimes share words of wisdom with me.
Turns out he was well-read, had been to college, had earned degrees, and loved great literature and writing.
He once told me, “If you have a foot in yesterday and a foot in tomorrow, then you’re pissing all over today.”
He died alone… no wife… no family and very few friends… I’m determined to get better the older I get… not stay the same or get worse… the thought of ending like that scares the hell out of me.
And what are great words really? If not applicable.
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I have two great songs for you today… I’m Just a Man and The Blues Medley featuring John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles along with Hank. The three of them together on this Delta blues number is something special.
And I’m Just a Man is kind of the mood I’m in today… because some things make me feel sad. I feel like I could cry… but feeling you next to me? Ahh… that makes me feel alright.
Yesterday, President Trump was here in the Atlanta area. As I watched him on TV, it reminded me of a story my mama told me about how she ended up with COVID.
My mother is good friends with a lady and her husband. The husband is an attorney, and one of his close friends serves on President Trump’s legal team.
When Trump came down with COVID back in 2o2O, the attorney on his team got it. He then passed it to my mama’s friend… and my mama caught it from him.
So around our house we’ve always joked that President Trump gave my sweet mama the COVID…
As we search for meaning and purpose… some things are inevitable in life, like change.
In the pursuit of connection, some things are instinctual… like trying to bond with others, to feel understood, to love, and to be loved.
Some things have always been so from the beginning… like heartbreak, for example. It’s just as timeless.
“Making Believe” is a country song originally written by Jimmy Work in 1955, and it became a massive hit that same year for Kitty Wells. I love Mike’s version of it… it’s one of my favorite Social D songs.
The second song is “Born to Lose.” Although it shares a title with another country song from the ’40s by Ted Daffan and his Texans… it’s an original Mike Ness song.
I also added two great rare live performances of these songs. Mike has a great stage presence and really connects with the fans at his shows. He’s always seemed like just one of the guys… a fan himself.
Some things we just inherently understand, right? Whether we’ve lived long or are trying to figure it all out today.
Heart of Loia `'.,°~ 