Upbeat "California meets Nashville" country music, traditional in its conception, and full of great fiddle, dobro, and steel support from some of Southern California's finest players.

10 MP3 Songs
COUNTRY: Bakersfield Sound, COUNTRY: Honky Tonk

Details:
Growing up in country music rich Virginia, it is no surprise that nearly everyone there has some appreciation for the stamp it can sometimes make on an artists approach to music and songwriting." It was everywhere when I was growing up", Scott says, " Seeping in while I was playing Little League, delivering papers, and kissing my first girlfriend, all the while denying that it was anything but what my parents listened to". "But everything from Roy Orbison, Ray Charles country album, Eddy Arnold, and George Jones, played frequently in our home and after awhile there is no running from the power it has on you". " No matter what kind of music I have been playing and writing, the influence has always been knocking on the door ". " The bell for me rung the afternoon I heard Patty Loveless' recording of "Don't Toss Us Away" and especially Dwight Yoakam's, "I Sang Dixie," and I knew where I was headed musically for awhile ". While many of his friends headed for Nashville in that country music rennaisance of the early 90's, the Virginia to California relocation seemed perfectly natural for Scott, given the appreciation for the country music made there by Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and especially in more recent times, Dwight Yoakam. Not that this collection of songs borrows much from those artists, except the approach to melody and intelligence in regard to lyrical content...the lyrics never insult the intelligence, even when they are fun, as in the title cut," Why Did I Do Whatever I Did ", which is about the guilt one may have after having too much fun the night before....and Scott swears that this is a true account of his friends ( and himself ) actions many times a month. Then there is the obvious ode to how strong a woman's influence over men can be in, " A Woman Has The Power ". Truer words were never written. This song would have been a remarkable vehicle for Johnny Cash's stylistic vocal delivery. Point is, along with the lyrics ranging from fun to introspective, is a set of ten songs supported by very fine playing from some of the finest and busiest musicians in Souther California. Fiddle and dobro is delivered by a " musician among musicians ", Dennis Caplinger, who just recently supplied his talent to the Eric Clapton / J. J. Cale release, " The Road To Escondido ". The beautiful pedal steel guitar work is courtesy of Rick Schmidt who's playing graces the work of Heather Miles, Dwight Yoakam ( Will The Circle Be Unbroken?", and others. And along with backing vocals on several cuts, there is a duet with everyone's favorite, Eve Selis, on the song, " The Memory Of Her ".

People who are interested in Dwight Yoakam Patty Loveless should consider this download.