September 2006

Brad’s Corner is a monthly commentary written by Brad about whatever he feels like. It’s supposed to be funny, interesting and thought provoking, but most geniuses are misunderstood. Check out the September 2006 edition of Brad’s Corner and see what’s on his mind.

I became an uncle for the third time recently, combine that with being a newlywed and stork calls are starting to buzz about my realm. I’m not ready to be a parent just yet though and I know that writing this article will probably jinx us. I’m amazed and encouraged when I see people around my age that are parents and have been for many years already, because I know I couldn’t do it yet. It’s a cliché, but it’s hard to raise a kid when you’re still one yourself. Being a teacher and three-time uncle I am overly familiar with the trials and tribulations a parent faces. For now, I prefer the ability to give the kids back to their parents at the end of the day and go about my own little life. Selfish I know, but after all I am still just a kid! They say having a pet is the first step towards learning parenting skills, yet I think CPS would be interested in talking to me if I put my newborn outside with a bowl of water, a can of food and went to the bar with my friends. I watch my sister work as a single parent as my brother-in-law does his second lengthy tour of duty in the dangerous Middle East. I know I couldn’t pull it off as well as she does. And she’s far from being the only one in that type of situation. Across the nation we have a multitude of single parents for one reason or another. They are heroes.

No couple in our circle of friends has become preggers just yet. And while the idea has been bandied about, nobody is in a hurry to be the first. How can we celebrate child’s birthdays when we are so busy planning our next roadtrip or party adventure? Several of our favorite artists have become parents over the last few years and it has understandably affected their musical output. It’s a matter of priorities, this I understand. At least I’m willing to pronounce my immaturity, yet still be mature enough to recognize the fact! Artists such as Pat Green, Cody Canada, Stoney LaRue, Doug Moreland and Wade Bowen have all joined the parental ranks recently. While they all admit that it has changed their lives for the better in ways they couldn’t comprehend previously, they haven’t let it change their dogged determinedness to make music on their own terms. Cues taken from everyone’s hero, Waylon Jennings, who kept up his no b.s. matter of fact way of doing things despite having a young son at home named Shooter. Their stories and routines, along with those of fellow Galleywinter admins and great parents JP, Brian and Ryan, give me hope that when that inevitable day comes I will still be able to pull off cool, fun and parenting all at the same time.

Minor Chords:

-Pat Green’s album Cannonball dropped last month and on the horizon we have Randy Rogers Band’s Just a Matter of Time, Stoney LaRue’s Live at Billy Bob’s, and several other great releases including a live album from Reckless Kelly and Drew Kennedy’s amazing record on the horizon. It seems like every few months our scene is flooded with great new music. It’s a good thing because it takes a tremendous well of strong material to balance out a lot of the crap that is released and labeled as “Texas Music”. To keep it strong, the albums must be strong because that will lead to everyone’s favorite: consistently kick-ass live shows.

-Speaking of Green, say what you will about his musical turns of late, but he’s still a great representative of Texas. Whatever PR classes his label and people have been sending him to are paying off. He’s as affable and personable as ever. He’s the best interview in Nashville this side of Blake Shelton.

-Blake Shelton’s dating Miranda Lambert…tell me how does that make sense? How can she date a guy with longer hair than hers?

-Sad to hear that Copperhead is hanging it up. It sucks, because they are a very talented band full of genuinely good guys…a rare find in this scene where many people front like they’re your best friends but are backstabbing band geeks at heart. Best of luck to Jeff, Gabe and the gang.

-Now that John Karr has come forward and been found to be a fraud…maybe OJ will fly to Thailand in his quest to find the “real killer”…and mysteriously disappear on a golf course.

-Snakes On a Plane fizzled at the box office but led to a slew of imitators. My favorite: Snakes at the Record Label.

-A couple of years ago I had a minor chord relating to how we as a scene constantly bashed Toby Keith and were wrong to make him the biggest whipping boy. When in fact, we should have been outraged at Trace Adkins output. His ascent to the top of the ranks of the worst music of the last twenty years is now complete with his “Swing Badda Badda Swing” song. While Toby has slowly gained some redemptive qualities, including: signing Jack Ingram, and putting out better music that’s not as ego driven. His only slight is still working with the same video director (Michael Salomon) over and over again. They ran out of ideas in 1999.

-Hook ‘Em Horns and Go Cowboys!

-The best country video of all time is Doug Supernaw’s “She Never Looks Back”. Directed by the troubled singer himself in 1996, it took aim at all the clichés in country videos such as train tracks, old trucks etc. The video was a parody of a “How To Make a Country Video” instructional video. Someone has got to find this and put it on YouTube.

-This month’s recommended movie is: Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. This movie finds Chappelle at his best, before he made like Gnarls Barkley and went crazy. Man on the street bits mixed with his comedic improv and great music. The Roots are the backing band for the big concert and I’d love to see them play with someone like Stoney LaRue. I was blown away by their prowess and the performances of Erykah Badu and Cody Chestnutt. Not to mention the reunited Fugees bringing the magic like it was 1996. I wish they’d put aside their differences and put out some new material.

-This month’s recommend album: Randy Rogers Band Just a Matter of Time. As if you thought I’d recommend anything else. Read my review on the homepage. It’s as least as good as Rollercoaster, if not better.

-“Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.”-Mark Twain