The best advice any song writer can give you is “Write what you know.” Which is great advice really, but it doesn’t really tell you how to start. In Nashville, song writing is HUGE. A lot of people make a living as song writers here, and even more people try to make a living as song writers. I was a member of the Nashville Song Writers Association, for a year, and I learned a lot about it. Most importantly I saw that Country song writing is very competitive, and a lot of it is “What’s hot right now” This is a little discouraging to a guy like me, because most of my musical hero’s have not had a number one hit for 20-30 years. Guys like, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, Hank Thompson, Roger Miller, Tom T. Hall… etc. As a Banjo player, I am drawn to Bluegrass, I love the musicianship in it, the back and fourth of shear instrumental talent that cannot be faked. So when it comes to my own song writing, lyrically I get “honky-tonky” Singing about trucks, drinking, broken hearts, and lost dogs, ok not really about lost dogs. However, I have recently realized that if I am whistling a tune, or making up a little melody, I can usually pick it out on banjo, with some practice.
I met Andrew McBride at the Church Service I have been going to on Tuesday nights. The fact that I met him at Church says a lot in its self. Andrew is a guitar player and singer/songwriter, we talked a little and decided we should get together and make some music, and that is exactly what we did, made some music. Every time I’ve played with people before, it’s usually trying to play a bluegrass standard exactly how it was written in whatever book I learned it from, which is great, but takes away from some creativity. The first time Andrew and I got together, he played some of the songs he had written, and then asked, “What’ve ya got?” So I played. I played Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Rocky Top, and the cool thing was he actually recognized these songs... welcome to Tennessee. Then I played him some original tunes and we started playing off each other, it was WAY cool, and new for me. We can start with a little tune either on banjo that I made up, or something he has, and then count it out, look in the back of his Baptist Hymnal, find a song in the same timing, and boom, a song is made. The cool thing about this is we have instant words, now, we can change these down the line if we want to, but for now the song is done. The other cool thing, is we are singing hymms that are over 200 years old and turning them into completely different songs.
My Dad always talks about living in Long Beach with his room mate, Tennessee Jimmy Harrell and Gary Spangler. Not only was I named after Jimmy, (the J in Cooper J Nelson) but musically, he and Gary taught me EVERYTHING I know. Gary was and still is my banjo teacher, and up until I came to Tennessee, Jimmy was the only guy that I knew that knew all the country songs I know and then some. They often talk about the old days when Gary and Jimmy would play music out and then end up back at one of their places and pick all night long, sometimes with guys like, Vince Gill, or Dwight Yoakum, back when they were just another couple musicians hanging out. Now I finally understand what was going on with them. It’s a lot of fun to play with people and have a musical connection at the same level. I truly believe that no one can sing a country song like Tennessee Jimmy Harrell, and if you’re ever in Central California (Paso Robles) you need to go see his show. Just ask around, you’ll find him, he’s famous around those parts. Now I know what was going on with them musically back then, and I better understand how Jimmy and Gary got to be “Jimmy and Gary” I may have a lot of musical hero’s, but those are the guys that truly shared their talents with ME. I can already see improvement in myself musically since I’ve been in Tennessee, just going to show that I might be on the right track coming from California with a banjo on my knee. Andrew and I could be the next Brooks and Dunn, or we could be the next Jimmy and Gary, and honestly I would be ok with either one, at this point I just give is up to God and have fun a pickin’ and a grinnin’!
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