So...What's The Story?

Meet Steve...self-proclaimed ultra conservative and reluctant entrepreneur. I am using the picture on the right without his permission so I suspect I'll be hearing from his attorney shortly. Just kidding...he'll probably just have my legs broken. Seriously though, Steve Chapman came closest to being my manager, agent, promoter, producer and spiritual adviser over anyone. Frankly, people weren't standing in line for the priviledge but he took it upon himself to help bolster my music career and help me get heard.

Steve had a lot of talent back in those days. He was a musician himself and he knew virtually everyone else out there who wanted to play too. Anyone familiar with our small town of Slidell back then could tell you that it was tough to get noticed because there were very few venues of opportunity available. Enter Steve. Steve Chapman was always thinking of ways to make money and a lot of those ways involved me investing money in those ideas. I was always skeptical but I have to give him his due. I watched in amazement as he opened his own music store with virtually no money and I saw first hand what a flair for organization and sales he had while he sweet talked representatives from music companies. Without going into a long explanation let me just say that Steve was responsible for encouraging me to write and record my music. Not only that, but he set up the recording sessions through connections that he had and at one point arranged to have my music played on the local radio station while at the same time promoting his store. I believe that's called marketing. In a perfect world Steve would have been an agent or concert promoter and I would have been a star because he saw potential in a lot of people who had no clue about self promotion.

Over the decades Steve never veered far from his love of music and the hardware it took to make it happen but I will always wonder how things would have turned out if he had himself been pushed to at least try his hand at realizing his own larger dreams.

Jamie

Not everything I write is about me and that is the case with this song. Jamie Abney was a girl who worked with me at the theater in Slidell back in the mid-seventies. The song was the result of a conversation between Jamie and me about her boyfriend of many years. It is written in that form with recollections of how the two were seemingly falling out of love. The core message of the song is obvious as one listens and furthermore I still believe it is true even today. On a side note, I was inspired to write this song after hearing a recording of a Kris Kristofferson 1970 composition called "Casey's Last Ride." I was impressed with the power of his lyrics and his ability to create and tell a story so poignantly.

"Casey's Last Ride" was recorded later by Johnny Cash and then even later by John Denver. I began to consider that maybe songwriting could actually be it's own reward above and beyond performing.

The New Horizon

I met Marian for the first time in the Spring of 1979. She was searching for a piece of sheet music one Saturday morning and walked into my friend's music store while I was visiting him.

She walked in the door while we were in mid conversation and the minute I saw her I was struck by her look. Her long blonde hair fell softly down on her shoulders and her complexion possessed an ethereal quality of delicateness and fragility that pierced my heart. Dressed in jeans, she wore a flattering sheer peasant-style top with string straps, one that stubbornly insisted on slipping off her shoulder, and as she spoke her voice was soft and sweet. As I recall she could not find what she was looking for but as I fumbled to find out more about her she confessed that she might be looking for a job of some sort for the summer after graduation. I suggested that she apply at the movie theater where I worked hoping I would again see or hear from her. At the time I really didn't think she would follow up but she did. At the risk of sounding like a jerk I must confess that I wanted to date her more than I wanted to hire her. And that's how it began. The relationship escalated quickly and I got my first clear indication of her impetuous nature when she made me wait outside in front of her house one night as she went inside and cancelled her date for prom to go with me instead. And the afternoon of her graduation she turned her beautiful blonde hair orange while trying to add highlights. That's what I loved about her.

That was the beginning, but the end came soon in late Fall of that year when I visited her at college to watch her in a theater production on campus. As much as I enjoyed the play, the relationship was already over. She knew it but I didn't. Her plans included Barbizon Modeling School and involvement in the Drama Department at college. She had found at least two other admirers at school that had no knowledge of me whatsoever. The big revelation for me though was that she fully intended to pursue some kind of career in live theater. I understood her desire to do that. I myself wanted to play music and be on stage and be admired...dare I say adored by fans and audiences. At that time I had stopped playing rock music and instead concentrated on songwriting and acoustic performances. I cut my hair and trimmed my beard. It was for me a more satisfying experience. My idols at the time were Jim Croce, John Denver and Dan Fogelberg. I wanted to do what they did. So I tried. My songs were personal and heartfelt and crafted from my own heartbreak and sorrow. The recordings that I made back then were done hastily and with little knowledge of the process. The studio in Slidell was small and the sound engineer was a guy named Joe who for eighty dollars and a bottle of scotch agreed to oversee the sessions. The song that accompanies this photo from 1979 (provided by Marian) is written for and about Marian. It's just me and my guitar. Girls have been the inspirations for countless songs through the years ( Walk Away Renee, My Sharona,etc.) and my songs are no different The relationship lasted for less than a year but in it's brief time contained more than it's share of low and high drama. There is another song written for her called "My Poetess, My Troubadour" and it was composed while we were still together but never recorded. I have posted the lyrics to that song on my blog as well. It was meant to be a duet but it too was filled with romantic fatalism...love lost and lamented. That's just my style.

Me and Jesus

Up until my high school years I was pretty much the dutiful Christian boy having been conditioned to love Jesus with all my heart by parents who unfalteringly believed every word in The Holy Bible. My parents were faithful conservative Southern Baptists and because they were, my sister and I were too. I was taught to believe in an omnipresent God, The Holy Spirit and, most importantly to me, Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the human embodiment of God Almighty. Before his death in 2005 My father was an avid reader and student of history. He read countless books on biblical history and ancient civilizations and he used that information to solidify his knowledge,credibility and faith as a Christian. My mother was then and still is a gentle comforting Christian spirit who never faltered from her faith. I watched her for many years as she assumed the role of the powerful but comforting hand of God. As if on call for the Almighty, she arrived in the middle of the night and at all hours of the day at people's homes or in hospital rooms to pray with and comfort those who were troubled or in pain or near death. I was humbled by the goodness of my parents. I hesitate to say any more because frankly after I left for college and got out from underneath their parental influence, I began to search for my own truth. Some would say there is no truth, there is only opinion and with that thought in my head I looked outside of Christian literature with it's pre-conceived conclusions and illogical incongruities contained in the scriptures. Perhaps that was where I made my first mistake...questioning the veracity of religious tenets by examining contradictory viewpoints. And I read them all. I scoured book stores for books on the life of Jesus and the early church. I read books about how so called biblical miracles were performed with explanations on how ignorant people in ancient civilizations were duped into believing they were witness to God's wrath and power. I read several books on flying saucers, time travel and ancient alien astronauts that claimed to explain away events previously misinterpreted as visitations from angels and messengers of God. Demons were explained away as mental disorders and miracles performed by Jesus were merely tricks of technology known only to him and the planet where he really came from. It all sounds ridiculous but I gave all these ideas thoughtful consideration because I was searching for God and the Truth and I was never convinced that any one school of thought was sufficient. I was particularly impressed with a book written by Michael Moorcock in 1969 with the provocative title "Behold The Man." It was a science fiction story about a man named Karl who was himself searching for truth...and he was a man with a time machine. And who could forget "Jesus Christ Super Star" and the 1973 movie with the same name. It portrayed Jesus in a different way but also in a different light... as a man not truly convinced of his divinity and furthermore unconvinced that he has to die. These are the images and ideas that have brought me to where I am today...believing in God but with doubts about who and what Jesus really was. I really do wish I felt differently. It would be simpler...more of a comfort... but for all I've seen and heard... nothing...even just simple faith...is sufficient so far to make me a true believer. I am still waiting. Don't quote the standard "He's at the door knocking...you just have to let Him in." It's a cliche to me.

I remember singing hymns in church as a young boy standing next to my father and looking up past the back of the Baptist Hymnal into his face. It was full of joy and assurance as he sang his distinctive harmony to "The Old Rugged Cross." It was my favorite too. Oh, how I wish I could feel that way again. To be re-convinced of what is true.

Quantum Candidate Under Homeland Security Microscope

AP Newswire

March 1,2010

R. Otis, Louisiana resident and self-proclaimed time traveler candidate for president of the United States, returned home over the weekend after being questioned by Homeland Security officials and released without incident following what Otis called "an extensive and invasive scrutiny of my identity and personal life." Otis had little else to say other than that DNA samples were taken and compared, followed by protracted Q&A sessions all designed to ascertain the veracity of his claims regarding his bizarre candidacy. Said Otis with a touch of sarcasm,"The premises where I currently live were searched in an attempt to uncover any device that could be construed as a threat to national security. My civil liberties were violated on numerous occasions but I knew that was to be expected with the world being the way it is today."

Otis confirmed that he will continue his bid for the White House because he feels it is the best way to proceed but he noted that he does not need it to accomplish his goals. "I would prefer to have the blessing of the American people but many are unwilling to acknowledge what lies ahead for this country if we don't take these measures."