It all started with a book, my last non-fiction to date. As I traveled around the country, writing about NASCAR, I started doing interviews with favorite musicians on the side. Robert Earl Keen in Newberry, S.C.; Tom Russell in Berkeley, Calif.; Pat Green in New Braunfels, Texas; James McMurtry, and Slaid Cleaves in Austin, Texas; …
Tag: songwriting
Clinton and Laurens … and Life
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, August 26, 2017, 10:58 a.m. There are those who believe I waste my talents tramping around small-town football stadiums writing about what I see. They are so wrong. Last night Laurens held off Clinton, 24-18. In a small tract of land known as Laurens County, named after a statesman from the …
Sittin’ Around, Feelin’ Groovy
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, April 19, 2017, 9:33 a.m. It seems as if life is back to normal. For instance, take now. This Is Spinal Tap is on TV. I switched over from The Andy Griffith Show (how’s that for contrast?). The writing of Lightning in a Bottle both strained and inspired me for three …
Lord, Coach Lombardi, What Have You Done?
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, February 4, 2017, 9:43 a.m. The weather has cooled, though it’s still a poor excuse for winter. I just got through playing “Facebook Friends” on my Pawless guitar. Earlier this morning, I wished a few of them – the Facebook friends, not Pawless guitars -- happy birthday. I had almost exactly …
You Can Hear the Music Burning Down Copperhead Road
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, January 30, 2017, 6:59 p.m. It was about ten years ago, at Robert’s Western World in Nashville, where I was working on a chapter of a book called True to the Roots: Americana Music Revealed, and the subject of the chapter was Jesse Lee Jones, who owned Robert’s. I was sitting …
Continue reading You Can Hear the Music Burning Down Copperhead Road
It Happens Every Winter
As I don’t have a heap of money – and it’s been a while – a limited number has constituted the recipients of my Christmas gifts this year. Therefore, I feel obliged at this time to do something modest to express my appreciation for what you’ve done for me this year. No telling how many …
It All Works in its Way
It’s probably a little aggravating to follow me on Twitter. My main account, @montedutton, covers a lot of territory because I cover a lot. Many of my followers are NASCAR fans. A reputation lingers after 20 years traversing the beat as a reporter and columnist. I still write a few columns each week from afar. …
Keep Your Eyes and Ears Open
My social calendar stays relatively free. Mostly, I get invited to events because people want me to write about them, or it, or them and it, whether they are ballgames, media conferences, or something else. I don’t think people trust me. They think I might write about them. Which is true. Not by name, though. …
Songs Sung Longer
Friends, I didn't always write these novels. For the better part of thirty-five years, I was known for eighteen-inch stories in newspapers, and for the final twenty, they generally consisted of tales of race cars running wide-ass open around and around. I still rely on such tales for spending money. If journalism still ran on …
Stuck in a Rut, but with a Plan Now
Some of my songs have gotten longer. I've got some big news. A volume of short stories, Longer Songs, will soon be available. In fact, apparently it's available now, through the CreateSpace store, as a Kindle book. The print version will be available on Amazon and, perhaps in a bookstore here and there, soon. Writing …
Nightrider's Lament 