tour the music
stories: live & unplugged
Hello again! If you’ve went through the Stories: Live & Unplugged Album Experience, well, this week might be a bit redundant. But if not, stay tuned…this is probably my favorite of this Tour the Music Series.
CHAPTER 1
There was this kid once, oh, probably about 8 years old. Him and his school mates were learning that song from Aladdin, “A Whole New World. One night this kid was at home, in his room, which was this nice little finished area of the basement that his grandpa had built for him. And he was just a belting his little heart out, shakin them paneled walls, singin all “shining, shimmering, splendor” like. Well, them walls and that floor above his head were thin. And folk are always listening. Especially sibling folk. His sister come to the door at the top of the stairs, and he doesn’t remember exactly what she said, but it was the sort of thing that embarrasses an 8 year old, popular with the ladies and proficient on most athletic fields, to button up the showtunes for a while.
Some years later, about 13 or so, after lots of hoops, touchdowns, and a lady or two, some feller who called himself “The Breeze” handed this same kid a compact disc with the name Chris Knight on it. The case was blue and shadowy and it said “A Pretty Good Guy.”
[to be continued below…]
now, ready for some music?
This is probably my favorite song off the record…
(In fact, rumor has it, we recorded a full band, studio version of “Empty Places”)
now, let’s dive back into our story…
CHAPTER 2
A few years after that, there was a guidance counselor at a small Christian school in Indiana who told this kid that if he wanted to graduate college, he’d have to take some kind of arts course. Kid thought to himself, “Self, you been listenin to all them Chris Knight songs. They got this course called ‘Intro to Guitar.’ Maybe ya oughtta take that course, maybe learn one or two of them songs, then graduate.” So he did.
But as he was learnin how to jump from an Am chord to an E chord, graduatin all the while, this same kid started puttin words to them chords. He started makin up songs all on his own. That is, if you don’t count the help from his roommate (see, the truth is, this kid started writing songs before he could play those chords real good…so at first, he’d have to sing them to his roommate to figure out the chords. His roommate knew how to play all the chords real good. Anyways, I digress…).
[to be continued below…]
(These are the two very first songs I ever wrote…you will never hear them…bc they were terrible…)
so, what are people saying?
Let’s face it - it doesn’t matter what magazines, blogs and radio djs think about this record…it matters what YOU think of them. So here’s a couple reviews from real folk like you and me:
“I haven’t listened to it yet, but i will.”
UPDATE: Since the making of this quote above, Jason did listen to the album, and texted me this:
”I have enjoyed the hell outta this album! I don’t like comparing one artist to another, but I have to say, I think you sound like Eddie Vedder on this record. Kudos, my friend! It’s fantastic!”
bonus round
I’m throwing in an extra song, free of charge :)
Its about a guy who gets so drunk he can’t stand up straight.
Humor is important to me. And its important to my writing. And as you’ve probably figured out by now, I’m not generally afraid to offend your sensibilities.
btw, can you imagine what it’s like to be kicked off stage?
CHAPTER 3
Well, you wouldn’t believe it if I told ya, but I’ll be damned if a year later, that same kid didn’t start going around to little bars up in St. Charles, Illinois, askin the pub owners if he could sit in a corner and play songs right out in front of everyone. No basement room or paneled walls to separate them or nothin. He’d learned a little bit over the years, and he figured, so long as he left songs from Aladdin off his set list, he’d be alright.
One night, he was standin up at the front of this long, narrow bar, hangin on to a guitar and standing in front of a microphone. In the middle of this Bob Dylan song about some gal from up north, the juke box comes on. This kid figures it must have been some kind of mistake. So he calmly tells the audience he’ll go get it figured out, walks off stage and heads for the bar owner.
Turns out, it was no mistake. Remember them old skits on TV where some guy would be dancing around on a stage and a shepherds crook would appear from the side, loop him around the neck and yank him off there? That’s pretty much what was happening to this kid. So he had to tear down all his gear – the speakers, the microphone, the guitar and everything else – and carry it all through this packed bar to his truck out back. If he’d have had a tail, it would have been tucked far enough up his ass to tickle his tonsils. Maybe he should’ve played that Aladdin song after all.
[final chapter below…]
Actual Facebook post from one of my first ever live performances.
CHAPTER 4
A lot of years passed. Lots of shows. Lots of songs. Some good. Some bad. None of them Dylan. Then one night, this kid, now on the downhill side of his thirties, announced his very own show. He was gonna rent out a theater, sell his own tickets, sing his own songs, and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t gonna record and video tape the whole thing. No juke boxes or shepherd’s crooks allowed.
Less than 7 hours later, that show sold out. So he had to announce another show. Most of them tickets sold, too.
You might of figured out by now, this kid we’ve been talking about all this time is me. This is my story. And this show I just mentioned is this this week’s featured album. On May 4th, 2019, at the Apollo Theater, we recorded Stories: Live & Unplugged. It’s the culmination of a lot of ups, downs, in betweens and go arounds. For several years, I’ve wanted to record a live, acoustic album. And by God, we’ve done it.
And now, the end result is finally here. Stories: Live & Unplugged is now available on CD, Vinyl, & DVD.
if you haven’t ordered a copy yet, now’s your chance!
(Don’t forget your STAMMILY lifetime discount code)
