MAB Q&A

I hope you are feeling better. I can relate to a lot of what you wrote. I experienced the same thing when I was in L.A. Several times, I'd start speaking to someone or ask a question and they would cut me off in mid-sentence just to ask me where I was from (the accent). I would reply that I was from Texas and it would instantly bring this cold shoulder, icy attitude out of them. I soon learned to just say Oklahoma. It seemed to do the trick because I quit getting an attitude about it. People from elsewhere love to hate Texans and Texans love to hate people from elsewhere. But the truth is, in my many travels back and forth across the country, I made friends easily with almost everyone I met. To give a little insight into myself, I'm a card carrying Democrat in a Republican world. I hate politics and don't like talking about them but if someone asks, I'm not afraid to say I'm a Democrat. I've always marched to the beat of my own drum. In the small towns of West Texas, town to town people are very cliquish. In Rochester where I was raised, all of the teens and party crowd would meet downtown every evening and they had their own little world that stopped at the city limit sign. I was different though. I would wave at them as I passed by to head to other towns in the area chasing girls and having the guys from those towns follow me around all night trying to start a fight because I was stealing their "girls". Cops would stop me when I rolled by because I wasn't "from there'. And I imagine the fact I was blaring heavy metal while I cruised didn't help my cause much. In effect, I was always a fairly liberal person in an ultra conservative world. When I went traveling, I discovered that more people are like me than like them. I fit into places that none of those people ever would have. When I worked in Tennessee years ago, I spent time in Memphis, Knoxville and Nashville. I liked it there. But I've known other people who have been there and they hated it. 

Years ago, in the mid to late 2000's, my first cousin from Oklahoma was pursuing a country music career. He recorded a few songs. They were pretty good. He has a nice singing voice and the sound was there for the most part. But I had already been involved in writing lyrics for a few years. Quite frankly, I thought his lyrics were mediocre at best. Anyway, he saved his money and just knew he was going to make it big. He decided to go to Nashville. I spoke with him shortly before he left and tried to warn him. I told him, "Look John, I read lyrics every day. I'm a moderator and member in songwriting forums. And to be honest, they aren't your strength. You really need to develop them more before you go to Nashville or you're going to find that you're in for a big disappointment.". Oh man, he got upset at me. He didn't like my opinion one bit.

So, off he went to make it big in Nashville. He went to some songwriter nights, performed for a few people, pitched his songs and then came slinking back to Oklahoma with his tail between his legs. He quit making music, quit pursuing a career in country music and became a preacher. Years later, he apologized to me for his reaction when I tried to warn him. As it turned out, I was spot on with my critique of his lyrics. That wasn't the only thing that he received criticism about but it was first and foremost. But his experience warped his opinion of Nashville for a long time. And from what I gather, that is something that happens to a lot of artists whether they are from Texas or not. The truth is, there are things I like about Nashville that I don't like about Texas music and vice versa. Both are flawed in their own ways. And there is a beauty to both of them as well. I think the key is to remain grounded and be realistic. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The people who learn how to adapt tend to make it and those who don't, tend not to. And that doesn't just apply to music. That applies to life in general.