Just a quick update on how things are going to date. I have completed the five tracks for "And The Horse You Rode In On" and have released the songs online, which you can now listen to on YouTube. The tracks will be released to radio internationally later in 2011, perhaps even in early 2012. They say that folk songs generally do pretty well during the later winter months of the new year, so it's possible we'll find out for sure before long.
Also, while I have been spending time working up new material and declining any opportunities to play live at the moment, I have made a great change in my career path. After over two decades in the broadcast industry, I have decided to leave radio and pursue opportunities working with my wife as a buyer of precious metals, jewelry, coins, guitars and fine art. I had achieved many successes and reached countless goals in my broadcast career, and the time seemed right for a new challenge and a new direction.
I will be continuing my work as a performer as I have always done, however, and look forward to continued efforts in striving to refine my artistic productions. I am excited about sharing that effort in the years to come.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Back To Nashville
Following up on the previous post regarding the Josh Pruno CD Release Party, it was an unqualified success. The management of the Hard Rock has stated, "On Saturday, January 29th 2011, Scott Kubala along with several other notable acts from the Nashville area hosted a live music event at The Hard Rock Cafe in Music City. The event recognized 395 guests in attendance and since it’s execution, my team and I have received numerous compliments regarding the performance lineup. Scott along with Josh Pruno & Jessica Roadcap (who joined him on the bill), are welcome for return performances at the Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville anytime they like! We had a blast getting to work with them!"
While I always look forward to working with Josh and Jessica again soon, I have continued to aggressively book shows in Nashville. I'm returning to the Commodore Grille on February 17th, and will be a featured perfomers with one of my all time favorites, The Flat River Band, at the Red Rooster and the Hotel Indigo during Country Radio Seminar week in March.
I continue to get requests to book some shows back home in Southeast Missouri, and we continue to work on that as well. I hope I have a chance to perform soon for you at an upcoming show.
While I always look forward to working with Josh and Jessica again soon, I have continued to aggressively book shows in Nashville. I'm returning to the Commodore Grille on February 17th, and will be a featured perfomers with one of my all time favorites, The Flat River Band, at the Red Rooster and the Hotel Indigo during Country Radio Seminar week in March.
I continue to get requests to book some shows back home in Southeast Missouri, and we continue to work on that as well. I hope I have a chance to perform soon for you at an upcoming show.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Josh Pruno CD Release Party
"The thunder rolls in Nashville, it's just another day.
I'm walking up and down these streets, see the stars come out to play.
I've been here once or twice before, I know I'm always welcome back.
It's good to see your friends are doing well, you know,
I love your latest track."~Scott Kubala, "Nashville"
Nashville has been a great love of mine for awhile now. But it's not the bricks or the mortar that make up a great city; it's the people. And in what is rapidly approaching a decade in working with the people who make up this wonderful city, I've made a host of great friends and business acquaintances. I realize, of course, sometimes that line between friend and business associate can get a little fuzzy in any other town anywhere in the world, but somehow it's all very clear in Nashville.
On Saturday, January 29th at 7:00 p.m., my friend Josh Pruno will celebrate the culmination of years of hard work in an effort to achieve his dream, with a CD Release Party at the Hard Rock in Nashville. Josh hails from Crystal City, Missouri. There will be an enthusiastic crowd from back home supporting him. Josh has been blessed with a large group of supporters over the years, made up of both family and friends. Some time ago, he caught the eye and ear of Bob Minner, who grew up in Southern Jefferson County, Missouri, and made a name for himself as a member of Tim McGraw's Dancehall Doctors. Bob's a guitar and dobro player, and as it turns out, quite a songwriter, producer and perhaps manager in his own right. They worked together with some other talented professionals to put together the project that we'll be celebrating on Saturday night.
Being a broadcaster, professional host, and singer-songwriter, I was in a great position to cross paths with Josh the last time he called Missouri his home. I was impressed with his talent, sincerity and his ability to get a crowd on it's feet in celebration. Josh always said, "If I make it, we all make it." It's a pretty wise business model, to say the least. But it's also evidence of Josh's philosophy of teamwork and loyalty.
Because Josh doesn't forget his friends and believes the concept of helping others as you've been helped which seems to be a prevalent attitude in Nashville, I've been invited to open his show along with another talented singer-songwriter from town, Jessica Roadcap. This promises to be a great night of entertainment, and while this is clearly Josh's night, I believe it to be so much more. It is truly a celebration of all the things that make music one of the best professions ever, in a town that reminds the world of that fact every day. I hope you can join us.
Josh Pruno, with special guests
Jessica Roadcap
and Scott Kubala
Live at the Hard Rock in Nashville
Reverb Room
Saturday, January 29th, 2011 7:00 p.m.
Tickets $5.00
I'm walking up and down these streets, see the stars come out to play.
I've been here once or twice before, I know I'm always welcome back.
It's good to see your friends are doing well, you know,
I love your latest track."~Scott Kubala, "Nashville"
Nashville has been a great love of mine for awhile now. But it's not the bricks or the mortar that make up a great city; it's the people. And in what is rapidly approaching a decade in working with the people who make up this wonderful city, I've made a host of great friends and business acquaintances. I realize, of course, sometimes that line between friend and business associate can get a little fuzzy in any other town anywhere in the world, but somehow it's all very clear in Nashville.
On Saturday, January 29th at 7:00 p.m., my friend Josh Pruno will celebrate the culmination of years of hard work in an effort to achieve his dream, with a CD Release Party at the Hard Rock in Nashville. Josh hails from Crystal City, Missouri. There will be an enthusiastic crowd from back home supporting him. Josh has been blessed with a large group of supporters over the years, made up of both family and friends. Some time ago, he caught the eye and ear of Bob Minner, who grew up in Southern Jefferson County, Missouri, and made a name for himself as a member of Tim McGraw's Dancehall Doctors. Bob's a guitar and dobro player, and as it turns out, quite a songwriter, producer and perhaps manager in his own right. They worked together with some other talented professionals to put together the project that we'll be celebrating on Saturday night.
Being a broadcaster, professional host, and singer-songwriter, I was in a great position to cross paths with Josh the last time he called Missouri his home. I was impressed with his talent, sincerity and his ability to get a crowd on it's feet in celebration. Josh always said, "If I make it, we all make it." It's a pretty wise business model, to say the least. But it's also evidence of Josh's philosophy of teamwork and loyalty.
Because Josh doesn't forget his friends and believes the concept of helping others as you've been helped which seems to be a prevalent attitude in Nashville, I've been invited to open his show along with another talented singer-songwriter from town, Jessica Roadcap. This promises to be a great night of entertainment, and while this is clearly Josh's night, I believe it to be so much more. It is truly a celebration of all the things that make music one of the best professions ever, in a town that reminds the world of that fact every day. I hope you can join us.
Josh Pruno, with special guests
Jessica Roadcap
and Scott Kubala
Live at the Hard Rock in Nashville
Reverb Room
Saturday, January 29th, 2011 7:00 p.m.
Tickets $5.00
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Summer's Gone
"Summer's gone, summer's gone. We could see fall coming, you couldn't have missed it for a mile.
She turned eighteen, she turned eighteen. Round her leaves are fallin', but you can't see them for her smile."
-Scott Kubala, "Summer's Gone"
The fall season in poetry has often been associated with melancholy. The possibilities of summer are gone, and the chill of winter is on the horizon. Skies turn grey, and people turn inward with their thoughts, and with their actions. It was in fact, Irish poet William Butler Yeats' poem The Wild Swans at Coole where the poet observes symbolically the maturing season represents his own aging self. Like his world around, he too has reached his prime and now must look forward to the inevitability of old age and death.
It was with that feeling in mind and that time of season when I began writing "Summer's Gone". It was a time of transition, not only of seasons, but in my personal life as well. I recall feeling as grey as the skies, and as reflective as the pool of standing water in the garden in the yard. I was in need of the warmth of the summer sun once again, at least as best as I could recall how it felt in better days as it made me feel as it heartened my soul.
I had been listening to the music of Brian Wilson, as I recall, getting the therapy I needed and my morale back on track. I found long ago that music is great for helping out any kind of mood shift. And there's nothing like the illustrious harmonies of Brian Wilson to bring back memories of summer and sunshine and warm those dark inner sanctums of the heart on a cool fall day.
Of course, I have also always loved a good double entendre and couldn't resist reflecting upon the subjects of my recent deep thought at that time, and making comparisons with the changing seasons (in this case, as I've always stated publicly during shows when playing this song live, this song was written for my daughters).
Now, when I play this song, it always reminds me of the cyclical nature of life, in that the good that we desire will always come back around. Whether it is children who have left the nest (who seem to surely find their way back at some time or another) or the seasons, I can always bear the melancholy, wear a smile, and wait a little bit longer.
"Summer's gone, summer's gone. And I can't help but feel some sadness,
that she'll be gone for quite a while.
But she'll come 'round...yeah, she'll come 'round.
Then we'll all be smilin'. 'Cause she'll be dressed up summer style."
-Scott Kubala, "Summer's Gone"
She turned eighteen, she turned eighteen. Round her leaves are fallin', but you can't see them for her smile."
-Scott Kubala, "Summer's Gone"
The fall season in poetry has often been associated with melancholy. The possibilities of summer are gone, and the chill of winter is on the horizon. Skies turn grey, and people turn inward with their thoughts, and with their actions. It was in fact, Irish poet William Butler Yeats' poem The Wild Swans at Coole where the poet observes symbolically the maturing season represents his own aging self. Like his world around, he too has reached his prime and now must look forward to the inevitability of old age and death.
It was with that feeling in mind and that time of season when I began writing "Summer's Gone". It was a time of transition, not only of seasons, but in my personal life as well. I recall feeling as grey as the skies, and as reflective as the pool of standing water in the garden in the yard. I was in need of the warmth of the summer sun once again, at least as best as I could recall how it felt in better days as it made me feel as it heartened my soul.
I had been listening to the music of Brian Wilson, as I recall, getting the therapy I needed and my morale back on track. I found long ago that music is great for helping out any kind of mood shift. And there's nothing like the illustrious harmonies of Brian Wilson to bring back memories of summer and sunshine and warm those dark inner sanctums of the heart on a cool fall day.
Of course, I have also always loved a good double entendre and couldn't resist reflecting upon the subjects of my recent deep thought at that time, and making comparisons with the changing seasons (in this case, as I've always stated publicly during shows when playing this song live, this song was written for my daughters).
Now, when I play this song, it always reminds me of the cyclical nature of life, in that the good that we desire will always come back around. Whether it is children who have left the nest (who seem to surely find their way back at some time or another) or the seasons, I can always bear the melancholy, wear a smile, and wait a little bit longer.
"Summer's gone, summer's gone. And I can't help but feel some sadness,
that she'll be gone for quite a while.
But she'll come 'round...yeah, she'll come 'round.
Then we'll all be smilin'. 'Cause she'll be dressed up summer style."
-Scott Kubala, "Summer's Gone"
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Setting A Course By the Stars
"Staring at the stars at night, isn't it an awesome sight? Heavens lights are looking down, tonight upon this sleepy town."
-Scott Kubala, "Sextant and Soliloquy"
An intimate knowledge of the sky helped maritime navigators throughout history. For example, Polynesian sailors, could accurately determine their position in the ocean using only the stars, allowing them to safely navigate between remote islands without getting lost while traveling across thousands of miles of open ocean in the South Pacific. Western sailors from Europe used the Sun and the Pole Star to estimate their latitude. and make a rough guess at their longitude.
In 1731, the sextant was invented, a device which can accurately measure the angular distance between heavenly bodies. With the sextant, latitude could be determined to within a nautical mile or two. Using this device, explorers could also finally calculate their longitude using the lunar-distance method, which required a book of astronomical tables, though this was a difficult process.
So, the first astronomers were farmers, sailors, and religious leaders. Not much later, astronomy became a pursuit to gather knowledge and understand the Universe, purely to satisfy human curiosity. Greek astronomers started this systematic investigation, which was picked up much later in Europe.
The quest to quench the thirst of knowledge has proliferated now at such a rate that we've reached the point of technological development where astronomers have discovered a group of at least five planets – with hints of two more – circling around a star in an arrangement similar to our own solar system. Confirmation of the extra planets would make this the highest tally of alien worlds ever spotted around a single star. The planets and their own sun-like star are about 127 light-years from Earth, astronomers with the European Southern Observatory said. It is one of just 15 planetary systems known to have more than three worlds.
If I ever lose my ability to have some kind of place to get a good view of the stars above, then I shall surely lose my bearings and focus in life. The universe has proven above all to be a trusted roadmap, a compass true. When I'm feeling emotionally blocked up, when I can't seem to move forward with my thoughts, a good walk under the night sky is always usually guaranteed to do the trick.
Somehow, the lights in the night sky have always been a trusted friend and have been an inviting ear to my problems in life. And by the end of that seemingly one-sided conversation, I feel as though somehow as though I've worked through all of those problems that have perplexed me, as if I've been through some kind of cosmic therapy.
So what is this connection that we have with the universe? What is this brotherhood that humankind shares with the stars? What sort of cosmic connection drives us forward to reach out into the vast unknown searching for meaning? Perhaps it's something as simple as the primal bond that we have with all of creation, in that all of the elements of the universe are essentially the same. And we look out there, and should, at least in a sense, be able to see inward. I've always thought it was intruiging that the deep sea currents of the world's oceans seemed to be strangely reflective of the way blood circulates through the human body; as if we were designed from a common cosmic template.
But often, aside from these deep philosophical and scientific queries, it's simply enough to gaze into the vastness of the night sky as you appreciate the beauty of the vastness of the universe, and to stand in awe when it somehow manages to speak back to you.
-Scott Kubala, "Sextant and Soliloquy"
An intimate knowledge of the sky helped maritime navigators throughout history. For example, Polynesian sailors, could accurately determine their position in the ocean using only the stars, allowing them to safely navigate between remote islands without getting lost while traveling across thousands of miles of open ocean in the South Pacific. Western sailors from Europe used the Sun and the Pole Star to estimate their latitude. and make a rough guess at their longitude.
In 1731, the sextant was invented, a device which can accurately measure the angular distance between heavenly bodies. With the sextant, latitude could be determined to within a nautical mile or two. Using this device, explorers could also finally calculate their longitude using the lunar-distance method, which required a book of astronomical tables, though this was a difficult process.
So, the first astronomers were farmers, sailors, and religious leaders. Not much later, astronomy became a pursuit to gather knowledge and understand the Universe, purely to satisfy human curiosity. Greek astronomers started this systematic investigation, which was picked up much later in Europe.
The quest to quench the thirst of knowledge has proliferated now at such a rate that we've reached the point of technological development where astronomers have discovered a group of at least five planets – with hints of two more – circling around a star in an arrangement similar to our own solar system. Confirmation of the extra planets would make this the highest tally of alien worlds ever spotted around a single star. The planets and their own sun-like star are about 127 light-years from Earth, astronomers with the European Southern Observatory said. It is one of just 15 planetary systems known to have more than three worlds.
If I ever lose my ability to have some kind of place to get a good view of the stars above, then I shall surely lose my bearings and focus in life. The universe has proven above all to be a trusted roadmap, a compass true. When I'm feeling emotionally blocked up, when I can't seem to move forward with my thoughts, a good walk under the night sky is always usually guaranteed to do the trick.
Somehow, the lights in the night sky have always been a trusted friend and have been an inviting ear to my problems in life. And by the end of that seemingly one-sided conversation, I feel as though somehow as though I've worked through all of those problems that have perplexed me, as if I've been through some kind of cosmic therapy.
So what is this connection that we have with the universe? What is this brotherhood that humankind shares with the stars? What sort of cosmic connection drives us forward to reach out into the vast unknown searching for meaning? Perhaps it's something as simple as the primal bond that we have with all of creation, in that all of the elements of the universe are essentially the same. And we look out there, and should, at least in a sense, be able to see inward. I've always thought it was intruiging that the deep sea currents of the world's oceans seemed to be strangely reflective of the way blood circulates through the human body; as if we were designed from a common cosmic template.
But often, aside from these deep philosophical and scientific queries, it's simply enough to gaze into the vastness of the night sky as you appreciate the beauty of the vastness of the universe, and to stand in awe when it somehow manages to speak back to you.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Saving Vinyl
"This version of the world will not be here long, It is already gone It is already gone."
T-Bone Burnett, "Palestine, Texas"
Murray "Music Man" Gershenz has spent 72 years amassing his musical collection. He has century-old operatic performances captured on Edison cylinder tubes, 1930s-era Big Band crooners on fragile 78-rpm discs, early rockers on 45s, show tunes on LPs and pop artists on cassette tapes and CDs. The collection is crammed into homemade shelves in a two-story cinderblock building, as well as two nearby warehouses. Last summer, the 88-year-old Gershenz announced his intention to close his walk-in and mail-order record business in order to pursue his dreams of being an actor. He said he hoped to find a museum or college willing to acquire his $3-million trove. That hasn't worked out, he said. So his next stop could be the dumpster.
Like "Murray the Music Man", I also had at one time accumulated a very large collection of vinyl. Not nearly as large as a warehouse full mind you, but impressive enough I suppose. Much of it included out of print items, imported U.K. vinyl, bootlegged material, a rare mono edition of Sgt. Peppers, and on and on. Some very collectable material, and all of it holding sentimental value. And it was an eclectic collection covering many different genres of music. It was not a hobby perhaps as much as an obsession in my teenage years.
At the beginning of my first marriage, which for me was at a very early age and at the beginning of my broadcast career, I needed cash to fund my future plans. I sold that collection, lock, stock and barrel to a well known music store in downtown St. Louis for a little cash on hand to get a bit of a start and some deposit money for rent on a place. That marriage lasted ten years, and resulted in three great kids and a grandchild, so a stunning success by a number of qualifiers.
I still visit that music store from time to time, and I browse through the albums, and I sometimes run across a title or two, and I swear that it feels really familiar in my hand, like it may have been mine at one time. And then I think about the fact that it could have been just sitting in that shelf for a couple of decades, unwanted and unrecognized for it's value. Kind of sad really, and it makes me think about this guy and his warehouse full of albums and how much more poignant that story really is. But as a friend pointed out, old dreams give way to new ones. And may we all be granted the wisdom of knowing when to let go of the old to make room for the new. But every now and then, it's still nice to be able to stop by that old warehouse and browse a little, and remember what was, and what might have been.
T-Bone Burnett, "Palestine, Texas"
Murray "Music Man" Gershenz has spent 72 years amassing his musical collection. He has century-old operatic performances captured on Edison cylinder tubes, 1930s-era Big Band crooners on fragile 78-rpm discs, early rockers on 45s, show tunes on LPs and pop artists on cassette tapes and CDs. The collection is crammed into homemade shelves in a two-story cinderblock building, as well as two nearby warehouses. Last summer, the 88-year-old Gershenz announced his intention to close his walk-in and mail-order record business in order to pursue his dreams of being an actor. He said he hoped to find a museum or college willing to acquire his $3-million trove. That hasn't worked out, he said. So his next stop could be the dumpster.
Like "Murray the Music Man", I also had at one time accumulated a very large collection of vinyl. Not nearly as large as a warehouse full mind you, but impressive enough I suppose. Much of it included out of print items, imported U.K. vinyl, bootlegged material, a rare mono edition of Sgt. Peppers, and on and on. Some very collectable material, and all of it holding sentimental value. And it was an eclectic collection covering many different genres of music. It was not a hobby perhaps as much as an obsession in my teenage years.
At the beginning of my first marriage, which for me was at a very early age and at the beginning of my broadcast career, I needed cash to fund my future plans. I sold that collection, lock, stock and barrel to a well known music store in downtown St. Louis for a little cash on hand to get a bit of a start and some deposit money for rent on a place. That marriage lasted ten years, and resulted in three great kids and a grandchild, so a stunning success by a number of qualifiers.
I still visit that music store from time to time, and I browse through the albums, and I sometimes run across a title or two, and I swear that it feels really familiar in my hand, like it may have been mine at one time. And then I think about the fact that it could have been just sitting in that shelf for a couple of decades, unwanted and unrecognized for it's value. Kind of sad really, and it makes me think about this guy and his warehouse full of albums and how much more poignant that story really is. But as a friend pointed out, old dreams give way to new ones. And may we all be granted the wisdom of knowing when to let go of the old to make room for the new. But every now and then, it's still nice to be able to stop by that old warehouse and browse a little, and remember what was, and what might have been.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Welcome!
"I cannot move, my fingers are all in a knot."
-Bob Dylan, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
I have to imagine that the computer guy in this outfit, my son, after finishing up work on this website, must have felt the way Bobby Dylan did when he wrote that song. My job was to sit back in the comfort of my chair and cheer him on, and approve everything. And that is no exaggeration. All the design, all the choice in content, everything down to the font came from Mike Kubala, the brainchild of Delta Triad Productions. And I just kicked back and said, "Wow, that looks awesome!"
Of course, this site has been in production for some time to be fair. I'm sure there were many months of thinking about how things would actually look and working out the functionality of it all. And being on my payroll isn't keeping anyone employed full-time at this point either, so such a great time consuming project such as this becomes a labor of love and it reaches it's natural end as it does.
The project cames to it's conclusion just about a week ago while Mike was supposed to be enjoying himself on vacation in North Carolina. Suddenly, the project flew from the development stages into reality. And like most creators who find the time to get a little bit a much needed rest and the time to escape the demands of their everyday world, he was reenergized and finished something that it seemed so long ago he started.
I hope you enjoy my website, not so much really as a celebration of all things ME, for I was able to discern the functionality of my ego a long time ago, I think and I'm able to leave it at the door at will. But if you appreciate the craftsmanship that went into putting this site together, as well as the future improvements that are promised, I'll be happy for my son and his work. And of course, I won't mind at all if you enjoy some of my stories in song along the way. All the more reason for me to stick around a while longer and keep doing what I do.
-Bob Dylan, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
I have to imagine that the computer guy in this outfit, my son, after finishing up work on this website, must have felt the way Bobby Dylan did when he wrote that song. My job was to sit back in the comfort of my chair and cheer him on, and approve everything. And that is no exaggeration. All the design, all the choice in content, everything down to the font came from Mike Kubala, the brainchild of Delta Triad Productions. And I just kicked back and said, "Wow, that looks awesome!"
Of course, this site has been in production for some time to be fair. I'm sure there were many months of thinking about how things would actually look and working out the functionality of it all. And being on my payroll isn't keeping anyone employed full-time at this point either, so such a great time consuming project such as this becomes a labor of love and it reaches it's natural end as it does.
The project cames to it's conclusion just about a week ago while Mike was supposed to be enjoying himself on vacation in North Carolina. Suddenly, the project flew from the development stages into reality. And like most creators who find the time to get a little bit a much needed rest and the time to escape the demands of their everyday world, he was reenergized and finished something that it seemed so long ago he started.
I hope you enjoy my website, not so much really as a celebration of all things ME, for I was able to discern the functionality of my ego a long time ago, I think and I'm able to leave it at the door at will. But if you appreciate the craftsmanship that went into putting this site together, as well as the future improvements that are promised, I'll be happy for my son and his work. And of course, I won't mind at all if you enjoy some of my stories in song along the way. All the more reason for me to stick around a while longer and keep doing what I do.
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