11 Weeks of Movin' On

Week 11

For those of you who downloaded the album from iTunes etc, firstly thank you, but you may be a little puzzled by this blog. Maybe even some of you who have the CD may be puzzled. Well. I'm not going to say too much about "The 11th track" other than that it's a hidden track ONLY available on the physical CD. It's a cover of a song recorded by an icon who was always playing around my home growing up. He's my mom's favorite singer/songwriter and it's a song that I personally love. It wasn't one of his biggest hits, in fact some of you may never have heard it. But it's a timeless song which epitomizes "what music is" to me. It's a tale of love lost and how, hopefully, the power of an old song may somehow make everything alright again.

I cut this song for my mom and never intended anyone else to hear it. It was the last hour of the last day of recording and we had these amazing musicians in an amazing studio in Nashville and I just asked them to take a listen to the original and go play it.... a little more country than that :)

I sang one take on it and cut the track. It wasn't mixed or played about with in any way. Just a very raw, simple recording. I played it for my mom and she made me PROMISE that I would put it on the album. I tried to explain that it's really just a rough and there's no place for it, but she insisted so it ended up tagged to the end, and it's wih much love for my incredible mom.

If you have the cd a d haven't found it well just put the cd in the player. Press play. And don't touch anything! You'll find it. Eventually. If you are only in the download generation well....its not available online, only on the cd but .... If youre in the download generation the song probably wouldn't interest you anyway lol

Thank you all so much for buying my music and supporting me, for following this blog and my career. I hope to meet you all along the road somewhere, sometime

Until then, happy listening and God bless

Week 10 - Honey Run

Ok how do we put this one politely!! Brady had the idea. He said, quite rightly, that if you feel like having a party you make a beer run, if you're feeling something else you make a honey run! Lol that was the concept and the song was born from that. We wrote the song in one session and I wasn't sure what to do with it. It wasn't until we started working it up with the boys from KingBilly for some live shows that the song really came to life. Josh Osbourne came up with that signature lick at the beginning of the song

We pretty much always end the show with it and it's a great closer and a great way to close the album I think

For those of you who have the physical album, not the download. Tune in next week for THE HIDDEN TRACK. just in case you haven't found it yet :)

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 9 - Good Boys (When We're Sleeping)

Ok, we're going way back to when I first came to Nashville. Almost as soon as I moved I was booked to play a full band show down at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX for their annual Fiesta. This is a relationship that has since grown and whenever I'm in Texas I swing by and do what I can to entertain the troops down there. For those of you who don't know, that is where the "Center For The Intrepid" is located and for years Fort Sam Houston has been the base for the army hospital. Guys and girls who are injured during their service are transferred there for treatment and rehabilitation. The Center for the Intrepid has been set up to offer state of the art rehabilitation facilities to those who need it most. Next door to the center is the Wounded Warriors care facility, which was recently opened to help ease the stress on the warriors and their families who find themselves at Fort Sam. I digress, but it's an AMAZING place. So I was going to play there back in 2007 because of the songs that were on my first album, "Songs From A Dirt Road", which really spoke of a guy being away from home, family and loved ones. The title track, "Life On A Dirt Road" specifically put the listener into the mind of a soldier who makes a pact with God and says that he will come home a better man: "I would sell my soul, just please don’t leave me here to leave my life on a dirt road", words that hit home with a lot of serving men and women. All good you say; HOWEVER, most of the album was written from the place I was in my life at the time, away from home. It’s all a little sad, down… thoughtful… and I'm supposed to go play that live in front of 10,000 Texans who want to party and have a fiesta!? So I called the man who wrote the unofficial Texas National Anthem (God Blessed Texas) Mr. Brady Seals and said, "Dude I need some up-tempo stuff here, otherwise these Texans are gonna' KILL ME."

Well, he laughed a little, and as only Brady can do, he pulled out this little gem of a song. It stuck, so I kept playing it when I came back to Nashville. Everyone loved it so we cut it and there it is. Stretch and Tweedy, by the way, are Hot Apple Pie’s old roadies. The song was originally cut by Hot Apple Pie but was never released. It was a look into their life on the road touring. It all comes 'round because right now I'm living that life (minus throwing TVs out of hotel rooms :)), and loving it!

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 8 - Someday We'll Get It Right (featuring Emily West)

I wrote this song with the incredible Mr. John Wiggins. He, of John and Audrey Wiggins fame, is also the writer of 'Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off', 'Who Are You When I'm Not Looking', 'Anything Goes' and many more.

We just started talking about a friend of his who was going through a rough time in his relationship. John said, "They are just one of those couples. They break up and get back together again". All will be ok. One of us said, "Yeah.. Someday we'll get it right." And an idea was born.

Songwriters are shrinks without certificates, I think. We just talk through scenarios, pros, cons and looking at life from the outside, so to speak. We started "Who knows what goes wrong, with a love that’s so strong, God knows we tried with all our might" and that set us off on the mindset. We took a look at couples we knew who loved each other but struggled to live together. Just being around the same person too much, any person, can put a strain on relationships. But so long as they always come to the conclusion that it's still better to be with someone than without them, despite the arguments, they stay together

I guess we all know people like that.

It's a very simple melody. There are no crazy vocal athletics. It’s almost a narrated story. I think that is what conveys the song so well at songwriter venues. I started playing that song once it was written and it had such an immediate effect on the listeners that I knew it was one for the album. I was playing a run of shows with a full band in 2009 and half way through the show I would get off the stage and sit on a stool in the middle of the audience and sing this and another song. Just me and an acoustic. I had an idea that it may work as a duet so to try it, the last week we played I asked Julie Forester to sing it with me. I didn't tell anyone we were doing it, not even the band. I gave Julie a radio microphone and I sang the first verse; just as the second verse started Julie came walking out of the crowd singing. She walked up next to me and we sang the song as a duet for the first time. I loved it and it still sends chills up my spine when I think about it. We cut the song but I kept thinking about this duet. I mailed Emily West and asked if she would be interested in singing it with me. I was thrilled when she agreed. She came into the studio and brought a whole new life to the song as only Emily can. She actually sang it as the full duet even though the version that made it onto the album just features her. It's such and INCREDIBLE version, we’re saving the duet for something special. :)

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 6 - That's What It’s Like

A good ole love song. I wrote this song with Greg Friia. Greg was my roommate when I first moved to Nashville. From what I remember, he had the idea and I laid the music down. We just explored those feelings you feel when you fall in love. The simplest way to take that feeling and put it into words was, finding money, shooting a hole-in-one and getting that bike on Christmas morning. OK, so if you’re a girl reading this I get it that those feelings are different to you, but hey, we’re both guys and... well... that’s what it feels like to us. I can hear the women "tut" all the way back here in Nashville… :) SHOOTING A HOLE-IN-ONE IS LIKE FALLING IN LOVE??... Guys back me up on this.. the feelings we have… well they're all pretty primal, and finding money, shooting hole-in-ones, Christmas morning, and falling in love... well... all good... Right?? :)

It's a classic G C D country song, and I guess it’s a lesson, the simpler the better. This is the song that the whole team gravitated towards and it gets a great reaction when we play it out live. I love singing it and here's the secret: I especially love the little breakdown chorus. It feels so good to sing and it gives me chills every time I get to that point in the song. There you go... secret’s out! Haha

I hope you enjoy it as much as I love singing it. Next week, Two Months Tuesday.

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 7 - Two Months Tuesday

This was the first song I cut in Nashville. I had just started working with Brady Seals, we were looking for songs to cut and he played me this song that he'd written with Andy Sturmer (from the band Jellyfish). It was, I guess, my first trip to Nashville. I'd been in Nashville for 2 months and my girlfriend at the time was coming over from England to visit me. She was due to arrive that Wednesday. "It's been two months Tuesday and come Wednesday you're mine". It just struck a chord with me.

I was taught early on that to sing a song is one thing, but to deliver it to an audience with belief and passion is another. To do that you should write or find the songs that mean something to you. And you take yourself to that place every time you sing them. I take a moment before I sing a song to take myself mentally to the place that the song lives in me. Sometimes I do that by telling the story behind the song, and sometimes it's just a personal moment. Well I knew I could always go back to that moment when I first heard the song - sitting in Brady's studio on music row. It just felt right, that's all I can say about this song. Oh that and I love the harmony parts. If you listen carefully there are some really clever harmonies going on.

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 6 - That's What It’s Like

I hope you enjoy it as much as I love singing it. Next week, Two Months Tuesday.

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 5 – If You Cant Make Money (Make Love)

Hmmmm ok what to say about this one. This song was written by an incredible duo, Jon Randall and Brad Paisley. I was in my office of the publisher who Jon Randall and I write for and Jon and Brad had just finished up this song. They had a rough guitar/vocal demo and as soon as I heard it I knew it was the perfect fun song for right now. With the economy the way it is right now a sense of humour is essential. We checked to make sure Brad wasn’t going to cut it for his album and we set to work. It was such a fun track to cut and we had a bunch of guys hanging out at the studio the day we cut the vocals. We wanted to keep it as live sounding as possible and I remember hearing "that joke" a couple days before and it seemed a perfect way to kick the song off. Its not really R Rated but definitely PG :). Its just a fun song, great to sing out live.

Next Week .. That’s What It’s Like

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 4 – Hard Time Moving On (feat. Rodney Crowell)

This has to be one of the most well crafted songs I have ever heard. It was co-written by Rivers Rutherford and Gordie Sampson; both titans in the songwriting world and both hugely inspirational men to me, personally. Although this is a break-up song, I used 'Movin' On' from the hook because this album, I feel, signifies my journey these past couple of years from being an oil engineer who really barely allowed myself to dream the possibility of one day making music my life. That’s a very positive message I take from the title every time I read it, even though this song touches me very deeply when I sing it. Who hasn’t lived through break-ups right?

I first heard the song at a writer's night in Nashville. Rivers Rutherford was playing and someone, probably a very dear friend, Susan Greene, shouted the title out to Rivers. He thought for a second and said "hmm I hardly ever play that but I'll see if I can get through it"; and in true Rivers fashion he proceeded to rip everyone's heart out. It must have been almost a year later that we were looking for 'that one song' to fill the gap on the album, that one powerful song which would reach out from the speakers deep into the listener. As my publisher put it, 'we need a When I Get Where I'm Going' (also written by Rivers), and I remembered … that song. I tracked a copy of the song down and played it for a few people and the reaction was all the same.. WOW. So I sent it to my manager, publisher and producer in an excited email saying "I THINK I FOUND THAT SONG!" Unfortunately the reaction wasn't quite what I expected. All three said, well… it's OK but I don't think it’s the one for you. So I pouted for a bit, but if that's the way they felt, I wasn't going to argue. It took another 2 maybe 3 weeks of me playing it constantly to make up my mind… The song WAS for me and if for no other reason than the way it made me feel when I heard it, I was going to cut it. We had a recording session lined up with other songs ready to be cut, the band was booked, the studio was booked and I slammed the breaks. I believe that was the moment I really became a recording artist. I sat all of my peers down and said, I’m cutting this, like it or not. They smiled back and said, OK. If you feel this strongly about it, then you cut it.

We went into the studio and cut the track. I had just finished singing the vocal and Brady Seals, my producer, a man I respect and who's opinion I value so highly, smiled from the control room and gave me a big thumbs up. When I walked back in he said "Dude.. you were right, good call, it’s a great song and you sang the s#@& out of it". That was enough to make me a happy guy for the day let me tell ya', but what happened next tipped me over the edge. Brady looked up at me and said "Ya know.. I hear someone like Rodney Crowell singing background vocals on this". Now, Rodney Crowell is Country Music Royalty. Brady may have well said, "Ya know .. I think this would sound great if we built a recording studio on the moon and cut the song there.. just to get some atmosphere" ha ha. You know?? DREAM ON. He picked his cell phone up, dialed and I think I remembering him saying "RODNEY!". I guess I must have blacked out at that point. I picked myself up round about the time the legend himself comes walking in putting on a…. Well I have to say, a pretty shocking British accent, and asking to hear the track. The rest is history as they say.

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 3 – Soak It Up

Oh I’ve been looking forward to this one! Look out your window right now…. Is the sun shining? If it is then we timed this just right :)

I wrote this song with the incredible Mr Brady Seals, and neither of us really remember writing it. We laughed about this on the tour bus that we have really no memory of coming up with the riff, the melody or the lyric. Maybe it was divine intervention, who knows. Anyway the story behind the song is this; When I first started coming over to Nashville from the UK I was sharing a condo in the Green Hills part of town, real close to the row, to downtown and everything that goes on in Nashville. "Which is great!" I hear you… think… well it is but it also means you never get away from it to switch off. So once I moved over here full time I went looking for a place to live out of the way a little. I really wanted to be out in the country with no neighbors so I could open up the doors in the summer and blast my music and no bother anyone. Well I couldn’t find a place quite like that, but I did come across a nice house out by the big lake here in Nashville. Lucky for me the house came with a dog who belongs to the owner of the house and was being looked after by a family member. I’m an animal lover and if you’ve seen the photos on my myspace of this soppy lump of fur and drool we call Lucy then you will understand why I adopted her as my own. It was December 2008 when I moved in and cold out but as the spring came around Lucy and I would take our daily walk down to the lake and back. All was peaceful and quiet during the winter, but I couldn’t help but notice all the BBQ pits and little beach cove areas. As the weather warmed up every weekend more and more pick-up trucks full of guys and girls came to party. They'd take small boats and jet-skis over to small islands in the middle of the lake and camp there for the weekend. And one morning, I guess maybe it was a Monday after the weekend, I was telling writing with Brady and I told him about this and how really … who needs to spend all the money going to expensive holiday destinations when you've got a beach, warm clear water, BBQ pit some beer and good friends right here in Tennessee. Sometime shortly after that conversation Soak It Up was born. We went into 16 Ton Studios on Music Row and Rich Redmond laid down his groove and the band jumped in and instantly we knew we were on to something. The song was the first song mixed off the album. We mixed it early just to give Bobby Terry (who mixed it and also played guitar on the track) something to get his teeth into and he did an amazing job. Soak It Up has become the lead off single from this album, we sent it tentatively out to radio at the end of 2009 just to see what they thought and to our amazement a whole bunch of them started playing it.

We now have www.soakitup.org, stickers, koozies and bags that we’re going to be handing out in Florida to the spring breakers and we've just completed a Soak It Up Club Mix which you may just hear if you’re in the country dance clubs around the coast this spring/summer. The song remains one of my favorite songs to sing live. The crowds wherever we play seem to soak it up and really enjoy the feeling that summer 2010 has FINALLY arrived!

So if the sun is shining where you are as you read this, open all the windows in your home, go to my myspace, click play, turn the speakers up to 11 and enjoy the day!

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 2 - High

Welcome to week 2 and song 2, High. Originally cut by Mr. Trace Adkins, this song was pitched to me by my Publisher at Wrensong. Growing up where I did I, thankfully, never had the influence of drugs in my life. And certainly working around the world in the dangerous business of getting oil out of the ground, not only were drugs out of the question, but most companies would regularly test their workforces for alcohol and drugs. I believe strongly that life can give you all the natural highs that you need if you just breathe it in and live it. And when this song came across my path the message in the lyrics hit me. I was playing a series of shows in Nashville and the band and I tried the song out on the crowd. It was immediately apparent from the first night we played it that it was a song that touched people in a special way. I knew then that I had to cut it. It’s a song that I specifically look forward to in our sets when we play live because of the effect it has. I set the song up with this story before we play it and hope that the audience takes away the message that I took the first time I heard it. I hope it has the same effect on you as you listen to it on the album. I feel a great adrenalin rush right before I go on stage and the more hyped up I can get the crowd the more intense that rush is. After a show it takes me a good couple of hours to come down from that high. It's an amazing feeling and what makes it all the more special is that I get to share it with everyone watching. Even if life doesn't afford you the opportunity to stand on stage and perform, as the song says, you can soak up that feeling, that rush of being alive just on a beautiful spring Sunday afternoon, "just knowing that it’s Sunday and you got no place to be". It's out there for us all to experience. And summer is JUST around the corner, next week... time to SOAK IT UP!!

See ya then!

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby

Week 1 - When The Devil Goes Under

Hey guys welcome to week 1 of 11, each week we'll post a blog with a little information about each of the songs on the album 1 to 11. "Ahhaaaa but there are only 10 songs on the album!" I hear you say. Well if you downloaded from iTunes you’re right there are 10 songs. If, however, you have bought the actual CD from me directly at a show or from CDBaby.com then maybe, just maybe, you have discovered the hidden 11th track! So… here we go. The song “When The Devil Goes Under” was written by my friends here in Nashville, Eric Paslay, Greg Friia, Alan Bennett and Angie Broberg. Greg, as some of you may or may not know, was my room mate when I first moved to Nashville so he has always played me the stuff he’d been working on, he played me this song and I instantly knew it was a song I'd enjoy singing. Eric Paslay sang the first demo on it and he NAILED the song. But I’ll tell ya… it takes a lung FULL of air to sing the chorus full volume with a rockin band behind you. Try it with me! Turn the song on nice and loud and sing over the top….ready?…. Big breath. "In the moment of truth you’ve got to choose what you gonna do when hell breaks loose, are you gonna rise [BREATH] gonna fall when your back’s against the wall [BREATH] Are you gonna follow the flames or roll with the holy thunder, when the devil goes under." Turned purple?? Haha. Well any song that beats that devil back down where he belongs gets my vote. It’s a song about how we are surrounded by temptation in our lives and it’s all down to us whether or not we choose the flames or to stand and fight with the holy thunder. I know which side I'd rather be on. Which is precisely why HIGH is next on the list… tune in next week to find out more

See ya then!

Download this track:

iTunes
AmazonMP3
CD Baby