1st Single!!

     Guys and gals, we have a winner!   After debating this for a bit, and guaging crowd reaction for a while, we've decided to ship "Sometimes the Bottle Hits Ya Back" to radio next month to be my first single off "Crazy Like Me".....  This song's been one of my favorites for a while, and I'd appreciate it if you all would call your local stations and request it!  I'll letcha know exactly when it goes out...and we'll go from there.....

     Alot of folks have commented on this song along the way, and some have asked me where the idea came from....  Well, here's the skinny.... A couple years back, we were doin some shows up north...maybe Wisconsin....  At the time, my keyboard player, we'll call him....Ward....was partyin' maybe a little to hard and often for his own good....  Mornin' after mornin', he'd wake up lookin' like he got hit by a bulldozer....Enough double Crown n Coke's will do that to ya....  So, out of the blue, I looked at him one mornin' and said, "...Bottle hit ya back didn't it buddy?"....   Immediately, I knew it was a song... and it probably took me about 20 minutes to write right there in the back of the bus....   Ward thinks he deserves co-writer credit for inspiring me to write it....  I just think he deserves rehab!!!

Lemme know your opinions!  I know ya got em!!

T-I-O-S-I

7:04 PM - 14 Comments - 24 Kudos - Add Comment

Crossin the border....on a goat....and other exaggerations...

     About 12 days ago, the HTTP headed south of the border to Chihuahuah, Mexico for a big show....Now, I've been to Mexico, mostly vacation destinations like Cabo, Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen, etc.....  Been to jail in Tijuana... This town was a couple hundred miles from the border though, so we really didn't know what to expect....  Well after going through all the customs BS, we were greeted at the airport by a Mexican entrepenuer by the name of Armando....  Lemme tell ya, this guy took care of us gringos first class, treated us like kings the whole time, fed us some great Mexican food, and gave us the VIP tour of Chihuahua... It was great...  and the show...well, it's hard to describe....You just had to be there....  Anyone who's familiar with my show knows the drill...At the end of My Kinda Music, everybody always yells out "Kiis My Ass"!, basically finishing the song for me....  Well, they did it in Chihuahua too....and they didn't even know English!....proving what I've expected all along...."Kiss My Ass" is a universal phrase, known and used with passion across the globe...;)    Later that evening, a few of us took shots of Tequila to celebrate....  This was no tequila we were familiar with though...This was special tequila....This tequila had a picture of a goat on the label, which was fitting, 'cause I woke up the next day feeling like I'd been eating out of a dumpster!  Damn!  Here's to "Ridin' the Goat"....  May I never lose my good judgement in such a manner again!!    Viva La Mexico!!  ....and GRACIAS to Armando for takin' care of us like he did!

     The next few days were a little different....  After passing through customs again, we headed northwest for shows in Rapid City, SD, and Mile City, MT.....some of the best crowds yet showed up!   We appreciate you guys and gals comin out to support us, and showin' us such a great time up there in "God's Country"   Alot of 1sts on this trip....Rushmore, Sturgis, Deadwood, Bozeman....It was all awesome...  It just went by way too fast!   Thanks to Kodak!   and Dave Goodwin, you are a prince among peasants for the hospitality you showed us!     I, for one, look forward to gettin back up that way real soon!

All in all, it was a quite memorable run....Ain't that what it's all about though?!

One one negative note, I managed to lose my cell phone somewhere out there, along with every contact I had inside it....So....call me, damnit!!

T-I-O-S-I

6:05 PM - 8 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

Waylon quote

We flew into Lubbock Texas this past weekend on our way to do a show in New Mexico....   Waylon Jennings' hometown, Littlefield, Texas is in the Lubbock area....  My manager, Shelia, just the day before sent me a quote Waylon made years ago that pretty much says it like I feel it.... and I thought I'd share it with you folks out there that truly "get it"...

     'YOU'VE GOT TO CARE.  YOU'VE GOT TO CARE ABOUT THE MUSIC.  YOU WORK WITH OTHER MUSICIANS WHO CARE, AND YOUR AUDIENCE CARES.  YOU BETTER CARE TOO, HOSS AND IF YOU DON'T, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOIN' IT.  YOU BETTER NOT BE DOIN IT FOR THE PUBLICITY, THE FAME, OR THE MONEY.  AND YOU'D BETTER NOT BE DOIN IT BECAUSE ITS A WAY TO MAKE A LIVING,  CAUSE THAT AINT ALWAYS GONNA BE EASY.  YOU GOTTA BELIEVE IT, BELIEVE IN THE MUSIC.  YOU GOTTA MEAN IT, THATS ALL'               

WAYLON JENNINGS

......my sentiments exactly....                T-I-O-S-I


    

3:51 PM - 32 Comments - 43 Kudos - Add Comment

Favorite Songs

     Alot of folks put me in the "retro/trad country" box when defining my artistic style, and yeah, that might be a big part of it, but it's not the whole picture....  I wanted to share a few of my favorite songs with ya'll....  My tastes have always been a little more diverse and off the wall than some would figure...  Remember, I started off playin' in Rock bands way back when, but when I started taking songwriting more seriously, it became clear that country music just suited my voice and mindset the best...sort of a natural evolution...I'm gonna keep this list at 12 for now...and they aren't listed in any particular order...

"Put Another Log On the Fire"  Tompal Glaser.........."Wanted-The Outlaws" was a big part of my youth, and my country music education.... It was also the 1st country album to ever sell a million copies...  The presence of Willie, Waylon and Jessi Colter was a big reason why, and while I obviously love all of them, this was the song that stood out most to me....  The humor of it was what I appreciate the most. I think it just appealed to some sensibilities I didn't even know I had back then....  I mean, hell, I was probably 6 years old...If you haven't heard it, do yourself a favor....

"Good Ol' Boys Like Me"    Don Williams...........This is one of those amazing Bob McDill songs, sung by the incomparable Don Williams.....  There's an unexplainable nostalgia that comes over me whenever I hear this one....  and I took so much stock in the words McDill wrote, that I went out and discovered Tennesse Williams, who became one of my favorite literary authors.....   That aside, this song's melody is beautiful, and the words take me to a simple place I miss.

"Folsum Prison Blues"   Johnny Cash.........This was such a defining song for the Man In Black....  It's the sound of loneliness and regret, set to that unmistakable trainbeat....  Anyone who doesn't like this song has the soul of a cardboard box....
On a sidenote, I had the opportunity to sing this song with John Carter Cash and Marshall Grant (Johnny's original bass player), this past January at the Musician's Hall Of Fame Induction ceremony here in Nashville....  Of course, I wore black....  It was one of the highlights of my life...hands down...

"House of the Rising Sun"    The Animals.......Everybody alive probably knows this song, to the point of making it a cliche'.....  The melody's undeniable and the story's classic, but what makes this one so special to me is the memory of my Dad playing and singing it, while my Mom sang the OOOOOH's in the background....  They sounded so good together....  I think it branded me from a young age...

"Someday"    Steve Earle..........The first time I heard this, I thought the great Steve Earle had written it about me...  I could identify with it on so many levels.... The first line of the song goes, "There ain't alot that you can do in  this town, you drive down to the lake and then you  turn  back around"....  I literally did that myself as a teenager,  to fight off boredom, and mainly listen to my  music in the old souped up Monte Carlo....so familiar....  Richard Bennett's guitar playing on this song was so infectious....  This one made me a Steve fan for life...

"Lake Marie"     John Prine........My wife and i used to listen to this song over and over....It became our official road trip anthem!    There ain't but one John Prine Ya'll, and the lyrics and images in this song are so awesome, masterfully off the wall....I dare anyone to not be entertained by this one...  Go out and get the cd, "Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings".  You'll see what I mean...

"Broken Hearted Savior"    Big Head Todd and the Monsters......These guys were probably my favorite alt. rock band from the early nineties....  This song, for my tastes, is one of the coolest, best feelin' rock songs ever....  It'll never get old to me....Don't be surprised if you hear me play this at a show someday.....  If you've never heard it, make it happen!

"Tangerine"    Led Zeppelin.........I've always loved this band....  None was ever more innovative in my humble opinion....  This song's melody never leaves my mind...  It's got an ever so slightly ethereal sound, and the guitar work by Jimmy Page is, as always, beyond this world....  Hell,I  loved all their songs...  This is just one of 'em.

"Gold"    John Stewart......   I bet you're probably thinkin', "Who's John Stewart?"  John was one of those artists that came out of the California valley back when the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and others were so hot....  As a matter of fact, Stevie Nicks sang backup on this song for Stewart....  I just always loved the groove and the guitar and keyboard work on this song.....  Thematically, it captured the buzz of the musical boom going on out there back then....   Oddly enough, I discovered this song on a K-Tel compilation album I bought when I was a little kid....   I can't even remember the song that prompted me to buy the record in the first place though....  I may be showing my age here....  Anybody remember those K-Tel records?

"Last Dance With Mary Jane"    Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.........This song sounded so fresh and cool to me back when it came out....  I didn't really like much of what was on rock radio, and then along comes Tom with this instant classic!    How can you not love Tom Petty?  What a stylist, and damn what a writer!   Some day this guy's gonna get the recognition he deserves for being the musical icon he is...... Believe that!

"El Cerrito Place"    Charlie Robison........A great artist and guitar player in his own right,  Keith Gattis wrote this song, but Charlie took it and really made it his own....   The first time i saw the video on CMT, I ran out lookin' for the cd, had to have it right away...and that reaction doesn't strike me often....   Unfortunately, mainstream radio as a whole didn't spin this song alot, so it wasn't the big ol' smash hit it should've been.......But damn, what a song!   This is probably my favorite song from the last five year's....  It's on Charlie's "Good Times" cd....  Go get it!

"Smoke Rings In The Dark"      Gary Allen........ Gary's still one of the coolest voices to come out of the Nashville machine in the last decade or more....  This great song was written by Rivers Rutherford and Houston Robert.    It's one of those rare songs I'd describe as commercial poetry....  I've always wanted to write and/or record something like this......   It's also one of my favorite examples of masterful production....  Mark Wright outdid himself on this one...


Ya'll, keep in mind, I could have come up with 12 more just between Waylon Jennings and AC/DC alone....  These are just a few....  

T-I-O-S-I
 

4:35 PM - 9 Comments - 18 Kudos - Add Comment

Jets?! etc....

Ok, I think i just woke up in the twilight zone....  I just saw the news on ESPN...  Brett Favre's gonna be a New York Jet?!   I'd have never seen that comin...  Oh well, maybe the Jet's will finally steal some attention away from the Giants in the Big Apple now....   We'll see...  It's a shamed the Packers shafted him like that...  Thoughts?

     I wanna send a shout out first and foremost to the great folks in Dayton, Iowa.....  We played a FUN show there a few weeks back with some great people out there in the rain, getting soaked and mud wrestlin!  It was awesome!  ...one of those shows you remember forever....and not to mention, we got some good ol down home cookin too....  Thanx Dayton, and forgive me for not mentioning ya sooner...

     Last week in Illinois was a blast too!   I threw "I Didn't Come Here To Talk" into the set this time around...  It felt good to play it again after all this time....   and again, new places, new faces...  I saw a great vintage tractor parade!   Love the small towns man....  I miss home....   and guys, the sweet corn and ribeye sandwiches were DA BOMB!    Thanks to Yorkville, for bein so great to us!    Ward Davis, also formerly known as D-Minus rode up with us....  He was back to normal form....  No explanation needed....

     Hey guys and gals, we're getting some GREAT pics for the "Hell Got Raised.." vid contest!   A few notes.....  Please send your pics to the official addy shown on the contest link!   Sending them to my myspace page doesn't work....  And to clear up any confusion about it, this is actually gonna be a photo slideshow, from start to finish....  No actual video footage of me or my band will be used...  This is entirely devoted to the pics ya'll send in!   So, send me your best!    This is already shapin' up to be hilarious!

T-I-O-S-I

2:08 PM - 9 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

"HELL GOT RAISED" PHOTO CONTEST!!

Ok guys and gals....  Here's the lowdown....  We've been out there partyin' with alot of ya'll for the past few years...closed down a few bars....woke up with our share of fat heads!    This is what I'm gonna do....

You're familiar with my song, "Hell Got Raised Again 2night".....  Well, I'm gonna make a slideshow out of photos YOU send me, that will be used all over as a video for the song....So send me your partyin' pics, hungover pics, or just gettin' crazy as hell pics!!..  The best pic wins and autographed guitar....and so on.....   Look for the link on my myspace page and click on it for details.....  Just keep it clean...;)

I know ya'll are crazy....so let's have some fun with this....  I'm lookin forward to seein' the final result!

T-I-O-S-I

8:33 PM - 15 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

HTTP so far......

    Ya'll, after a good few months out there, I'd say we've settled into the show pretty good....The sets have really come together.....  I've been toying with makin' a change or two song-wise....  Most of the songs I've been playin' from "Crazy Like Me" have never been played onstage before this tour, so it's been interesting seein' what feels the best to play, and what FITS in such a short set.....  There are lots of songs I'd love to be playing, but I'm tryin' to keep the focus mainly on the new album....  I'd love to have your thoughts on the setlist, and maybe requests for what you'd like to hear....  Just remember, I'm playin' 6 songs...   ;)  

     One thing that's been a cool surprise is the encore, and how good the four of us guys sound harmonizing....  Folks are already requesting more of that!   Very cool!   I gotta admit, I've never "Bobby Sue"  before this tour.... It's a blast!!   And the crowds have been awesome!  I've never seen so many folks willin' to stand in the pouring rain just to raise a little hell with some hillbilly singers!  Ya'll all must be "Crazy Like Me!"   Bless ya!

     This past weekend, it was New England, great venues and beautiful places....  East Falmouth was really cool, right on Cape Cod....  I'd always wanted to see that place.... Cross it off the list!  We were only 6 miles from Martha's Vineyard.... and I got a damn tasty lobster for 12 bucks!   Can't beat that....and Webster, ya'll were awesoime!  again, standing out in that rain!  Indian Ranch has gotta be one of the funnest places to play I've ever been!!    ...and Penn's Peak, what a great venue!  You guys know how to go first class!  A guy could get spoiled playin that room too much.....All in all, it was an excellent weekend, and the bus air decided not to stop workin' til we were gettin' close to home this time! 
One negative note....Paying 9 bucks for a number 3 value meal at Micky D's is bullshit!   and I couldn't even get iced tea with it!  Come on New Jersey?!  What's up with that?!

T-I-O-S-I    (Twang it or slang it...for you folks that still don't know.;)

3:32 PM - 22 Comments - 29 Kudos - Add Comment

Reviews...

     I've slways heard you should never read your own reviews...good or bad....and while I do agree with that, sometimes it's almost impossible not to catch wind of one here and there, especially when fans are talking about it....  Fact is, i've had alot of really great reviews of this new record,  and that's obviously flattering, but there have been 1 or 2 that were less than favorable...  In both of these, the reviewer accuses me of "having little to say" or of the project sounding "thrown together".    To be honest with ya, I'd have to agree....It WAS thrown together....  I  was dealt  a challenging hand, but I had to play it...

     A year ago, I had a new record practically finshed for my old label....  Alot more time and money was spent putting that project together...  It was one that I was  really stoked about, and it included alot of songs I'm very proud of, and some that I know some of you guys liked alot...  It was supposed to be my 2nd record....  However, after a changing of the guard at Warner, things went south for me there, and after I left the label, my new project was left to sit on a shelf and collect dust.... They wouldn't give it back to me.....  and that, in a nutshell, is why "Crazy Like Me" became my 2nd release.....but this is not an apology...

     "Crazy like Me" is a collection of songs....mostly just fun, lighthearted songs, with a measure of reflection thrown in....  It's not a "concept" album....I didn't try to "Make a statement" with it..... I just recorded some songs I loved.... and that's what I'll always do.....

By the way, California was great, like always....Thanks to all you folks that showed up!   Hanford really hurt for a couple days!

T-I-O-S-I
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9:44 AM - 29 Comments - 44 Kudos - Add Comment

Sooners!!
Current mood: fermented

     Well guys, up until this past weekend, the only place I've played in Ok was a place called the Wormy Dog in Oklahoma City....It was a great place, but hell, nobody was there when we played.....  This time around, it was a blast!   Riverwind Casino in Norman was one of those parkin' lot throwdowns....The show went great and there was a killer fireworks show afterwards....I thought I saw a tear in Buddy Jewell's eye....I thought it was raw emotion spurred on by thoughts of freedom and independance......turns out he was just upset 'cause the friggin bus air wasn't workin' worth a shit!!    I was soon misty eyed for the same reason....  12 guys on a bus with no ac's a bitch!!  Trust a brutha


     I can now also say I've been to Elk City, Ok. as well......  We don't get many private party gigs on the calendar, and man this one was awesome!   The hospitality was top-notch!  The beef brisket made me wanna move in!   You know, they say everything's bigger in Texas, but I saw the biggest bottle of Patron' ever in Elk City!   and yes...that bottle did hit me back....;)

Thanx to everybody who came out!   We'll see ya'll again!!

Now....let's see what kinda trouble we can scare up in the Golden State this weekend.....  I got a feelin....

T-I-O-S-I

2:05 AM - 16 Comments - 18 Kudos - Add Comment

Tailgate Update....etc.

     Ya'll the tour's goin great!  Over the last few weeks, I've played in towns and on stages I've never seen before, spreadin it out a bit, givin' folks a little preview of "Crazy :Like Me".   It's a good life!    For you guys and gals feeling cheated for the short set, sorry about that....  I'm workin' on it... Remember though, i've gotta earn my way to that top slot!  It's still a little ways away thanks to a certain record label with Crazy Glue on their boots...  We'll get therer though!  Thanks for being so vocal about it!   Nice to know ya care!

    From what I hear, the new cd's gettin' some great reviews all over the internet, as well as a few major market newspapers like Miami and Dallas....not bad for a little indi outfit, huh?   See what I told ya?   I've got some great team members!  Like I said before, sometimes the way to do it right is to do it yourself!    They say a good review by critics is the kiss of death, but I'll take that over a "This record sucks" review any day!

     To all the folks in St. Ignace, Michigan, and Richland Center, Wisconsin, thanks for makin' me feel at home this past weekend.... I had a large time!  

See all you Sooners next weekend!

T-I-O-S-I

7:20 AM - 19 Comments - 30 Kudos - Add Comment