I share some of my blog posts on my other platforms and with people I’m connected to in ministry. I’ve had quite a few people ask me about what happened to me with the crossroads thing, so I decided to share the story in an audio recording.
I also added 2 songs I just recorded, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and “Love Song.” I hope yall enjoy them, and thank you for your continued support.
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My Crossroads StoryWill The Circle Be Unbroken Love Song
The past few days, I’ve woke up with this song on my lips, along with some drool because I’ve been sleeping like a sedated arctic fox lately.
Take It Back by Sister Hazel.
I’m a huge fan, and I do most of the ones from them, but I’ve never tried this one. So late last night, I messed around with it, and as I got into it, I realized the words reminded me of a past relationship.
The only time I ever said “I do.”
But what I meant to say was… Wait, wait, hold up! I mean, no, no, I don’t!
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Practissimos – Take It Back – SH
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Sometimes when I’m attempting one for the first time, I’ll slow it down. For instance, with this one, as I began, I decided at the last minute to do it in a different key. Also, I’m not doing it the same as Sister Hazel. For the most part, I kept the same progression, but I changed it up some in the moment as I felt.
I try and practice playing guitar every couple of days. Many times I’m trying to remember songs and solos I haven’t played in 20 to 30 years. I also like learning new songs every week or two.
I have a few recording apps I use and I’m still figuring them out, so a lot of times I’ll record my practice sessions so that I can go back later and tinker with all the settings on the apps and try and perfect the sound quality.
So here’s a lil behind the scenes in the bathroom. This is me practicing the Meat Puppets song “Lake of Fire.” You may remember Kurt Cobain performing it on the Nirvana MTV Unplugged album. Kurt was infatuated with the Meat Puppets. I’m a huge fan of theirs also. One of my favorite records to this day is Too High to Die.
This song led me down a rabbit trail and I ended up doing many of their songs and Nirvana too.
My first memories as a child are of sitting beside my great grandmother as she played the piano and sang Christian songs. I’ve been singing ever since.
But I never planned on being a musician. It was more like it chose me and I could take my heart there.
It’s such a great thing to have people to talk to. Friends. Family. A counselor. A therapist. Your pastor. Someone. Anyone.
I didn’t have any of that as a young Gen X teenager.
I just had a dead best friend and God and Guitar.
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Blues ManShooting Star
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I’m just a singer, a natural-born guitar ringer Kind of a clinger to sad old songs I’m not a walk-behinder, I’m a new note finder But my name’s a reminder of a blues man that’s already gone
These next two recordings are some more of my first raw ones from months ago. Both of these were sent as voice text messages and were totally spontaneous and spur-of-the-moment. I had no idea that I was going to do either one in this fashion. Both are pretty lo-fi and were done without any of my studio apps, but I did try to clean them up a little bit.
I had planned on doing “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley, but as I got ready to do it, this idea popped into my head to be funny with it and use an accent on my voice. Then suddenly, an inside joke between the person and me came to mind, and I changed it to “No Punani, No Cry.” 😆 For some of it, I was just making up lyrics as I went along. Lol.
For the second one, I was feeling like doing a ’90s R&B love song. In the moment, I was thinking along the lines of Boyz II Men or maybe Keith Sweat or something. Then suddenly, “All My Life” by K-Ci & JoJo came to mind, but I kind of ad-libbed it and did my own version completely out of the blue.
These two are different from my others, but I think it’s kind of cool how they turned out. Neither one was planned—they just happened in the moment. So I thought I’d share them.
Appreciate yall. Thanks for listening. 😎
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No Punani No CryAll My Life
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ᵃᵈ⁻ˡᶦᵇᵇᵉᵈ ˡʸʳᶦᶜˢ
Close To Me You’re Like My Mother Close To Me You’re Like My Father Close To Me You’re Like My Sister Close To Me You’re Like My Brother Close To Me You’re Like No Other No Other Will Do.
I’ve had this song on my mind all day. “The Man Who Couldn’t Cry” written by Louden Wainwright III in 1973—the year I was born—and later recorded by Johnny Cash in 1994.
So I listened to it a few times this morning. Then, while I was making dinner tonight, I put on my headphones and had it on repeat for about an hour nonstop.
After dinner, I went into the studio… aka the Bathroom. 🚻😛 I tried it for the first time, and this is the result.
Mike Ness has lived a life most people wouldn’t have survived. He was kicked out of his parents’ house at just 15, and that’s when he started learning guitar. Not long after, the band’s original drummer, Casey Royer, handed him a distortion pedal, and that simple moment inspired the name.
At 16, Mike put together the first lineup of the band. By 17, he had dropped out of high school as Social Distortion started gaining speed in Orange County’s growing punk scene.
But success didn’t come easy. The early years were filled with chaos, drugs, jail, and rehab. By 1984, Mike was the only original member still standing. Everyone else had either quit or been kicked out. In the late ’80s, his heroin addiction nearly took his life.
Somehow, he kept holding on. He never let go of the dream, the band, or the music. He fought his way back when it would have been easier to quit. Decades later, Mike Ness and Social Distortion are still going strong. To me, that’s what makes their music hit a little differently. It’s not just songs—it’s the story of a guy who refused to give up.
Here are two great songs from 2oO4 “Footprints on My Ceiling” and “Nickels and Dimes.”
I also included an early years interview and a short behind-the-scenes video with Mike. I think it’s really cool to see him back then as a rebellious young guy trying to figure life out, and compare that to who he is today—a seasoned veteran who has lived through it all. It’s pretty amazing to see the journey.
One quick note “Footprints on My Ceiling” has the F-word in it. I’m not a fan of bad language in music, but it’s such a great song—and one of my favorites—that I look past it. 😄
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 almost 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
Heart of Loia `'.,°~ 