I had been looking forward to last Saturday night for sometime. My boyfriend and I were planning to see the Josh Abbott Band in Indianapolis at 8 Second Saloon. I had never been there before and the show had been rescheduled from March. The Journalist in me was excited about the possibility of meeting Josh Abbott. I had first been introduced to his music by my Texas friend Brittany. Then I came to know a West Texas farmer, Jeremy, who went to collage with Josh through the Face of Farming and Ranching contest. I have spent many hours listening to their music in the barn. It instantly makes me sing and takes me to another place. Most often that place is my love for Texas, farming and my boyfriend.
Before the concert we went to eat at a local restaurant called Grindstone Charlie’s. Little did we know, it was right by the saloon and the recommended place for the bands to eat at before their show. We sat in the waiting area for a few minutes then in walked three men. They asked the waitress how long the wait was and she said thirty minutes. They instantly said no and walked out. It was so quick, but my heart sank because I thought, was that Josh Abbott?! Ryan told me to go after them but they already made it around the corner and were walking down the street. I didn’t want to seem like a crazy fan girl by chasing after them. To say I was majorly bummed would be an understatement. I hesitated and missed my opportunity to talk to Josh!
Later at the concert we confirmed it was him at the restaurant. I saw him by the stage listening to his opening act and pointed out my “We can blame it on the wine” t-shirt. He smiled at me, but that was the extent of our connection. I was so mad at myself for not talking to him at the restaurant. As the night went on, despite the drunken college age people bumping into me, I came to realize I am still blessed to be here enjoying the night with Ryan. I am so thankful he came with me.
I got to thinking how high we put musicians. Most fans would do anything to say we met them and get a photo or autograph. While all that is nice, what comes down to it is the story from any experience. While I wish I was sharing a Josh Abbott band interview right now, I am still happy to share this message of appreciating the people you have in your life. At the end of the night all that mattered was who I had with me at the concert. Someone who cares about me and I love.
I will continue to listen to Josh Abbott in the barn and day dream of the love I have in my life. I am thankful for a wonderful weekend and my man. Remember to always go after your dreams, take chances and opportunities, but realize your blessings when things don’t go like you wished they had. Dolly says it best, “What good is wealth and fame, fine clothes and diamond rings. It just don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got love.”
When I hear a song before I watch the music video the artist has made for it, I create my own music video in my mind. When I first heard “Dirt On My Boots” by Jon Pardi, I imagined myself working hard all day on the farm. Covered in dirt, dust and pig poop. Despite having a rough day, I rush into the house and get cleaned up then glammed up real quick so I can hit the town. I imagine dancing the night away in a honky tonk, having worked hard and ready to play hard.
When I watched Jon Pardi’s music video to the song, I found myself lost in trying to figure out the story. I expected him to show a guy working hard in the field, picking up a hot girl in his pickup truck and whisking her away to a honky tonk for some “dirty dancing and blue collar romancing.” Instead he showed himself getting cleaned up ready to sing to a rowdy crowd interchanging with a beautiful girl riding on her horse. 
I felt lost in the video trying to figure out the connection with the girl. It didn’t make sense to me until the end of the video when she got cleaned up and glammed up then made her way into the same scene as Jon. She walked away with him when he finished the song. It was a good twist to the story and now I will probably imagine this scene when I hear the song.
An artist should take their music videos seriously. They are powerful in storytelling and creating the scenes that play in a person’s imagination when they hear the song. There have been times, I like a song more after seeing the music video and times I don’t. Your imagination is a wonderful thing. It can take you away and show you a preview of life’s coming attractions if you choose to believe in it. Music can be an escape and while life isn’t always as glamours as a music video, you can find happiness being lost in your imagination and then experiencing the artist perform in real life.
“I grew up in a small town in Orange Grove, Texas in a farming family. In my small town a lot of people said things wouldn’t happen for me. When I joined FFA it became a family very quickly. My brother was a state officer in Texas. Watching him, seeing how everyone treated him and the way everyone came together was pretty inspiring. There’s very few things when your living out your teenage years that instill things in you that you feel are going to live with you the rest of your life.”
“Growing up, I thought FFA was strictly for the farmers. I learned very quickly that it wasn’t just about the farmer. It’s about instilling good things in kids. The people in FFA became some of my best friends and have stuck around with the longest. There’s a guy who works with the Texas FFA that taught me a lot of things and became one of my best friends. I learned a lot of lessons and learned people in the FFA stick together and is something that will follow you the rest of your life. I want you (FFA members) to be proud of what you’re doing and to be part of this organization. I promise you and tell you it (FFA) is one of the best organizations on the planet.”
“I grew up in a family of farmers and FFA taught me those people matter. Those people are the reason we have food on the table, the reason we get to live each day. Those people are out there busting their ass for me and you to put food on the table. Go around to all these booths (in the expo) and colleges and talk to the people. You will learn things here. I never got to go to the National FFA Convention; this is my first time. You will learn things that will live with you forever and you will learn exactly why you are apart of this organization. It’s about making friends that are going to live with you the rest of your life. This is the best organization you could be apart of so be proud of what you’re doing and spread it to your friends because you are cool being apart of this. Thanks for coming out to see us and to Dodge for letting us sing on this stage, a truck bed, how much cooler can it possibly get.”
“About six years ago I moved up to be a song writer and an artist. I started writing for a company owned by Roy Orbison. There was a big band in Nashville that cut ten of my songs on a record. I went into write one day and I thought I’m just going to stay home and not write a song today. I was two months from living in my car. I bought way too much because I thought I was going to become and instant millionaire. That did not happen, all those songs got cut. But this one-day a buddy threw an idea out to me, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and walked out on the loading dock and started thinking about things. In about five to ten minutes I had written this chorus, ‘Take it on back, take it on back, take it on back to where the grass is greener.’”
I am from country farms on one-lane roads
I write to clam my soul,
I write to show my love for him.
I write to embrace my aloneness.
