Activity On The Music Front 

What’s Happening at RpT’s Library

A Bluebonnet Evening was a success. The three shows were well received and everyone, including the cast had a great time. Here is local coverage of the event: https://www.kwtx.com/video/2022/06/27/salado-museum-hosts-bluebonnet-evening/

The show took up much of my time last month with planning, rehearsals, set-up, etc. so it was my focus. I was able to get in a few other sessions working on songs with:

-         Michael Wesley Stinson - I finished the tracks, and he was able to swing by and record his vocal for Three Quarter Time, a fun tune with an Irish feel.

-         Crain Mytton came by and recorded his vocals on Wanted You to Stay and Ella’s Song. Linda just finished the slides for an Ella’s Song Lyric video. Two more songs to finish in July.

-         Brenda Merz recorded her rough vocals on He Rescued Me. We hope to finish this song in July and start on another new one ASAP.

-         I have two songs in the works with Merel Bregante and hopefully getting two more ready to send to Chris Gage. I am way overdue on these.

-         Emma Jane Conley is stopping by this weekend to continue pre-production on her project.

All in all, it’s going to be a busy month. Thanks for reading!

WELCOME TO SUMMER!

We are hitting it hard here in Texas this year. I’m not sure how many 100-degree days we have had so far but we are due for 12 more in a row counting today – July 4^th. It’s going to be a long, HOT summer if this keeps up until the Autumnal Equinox. This is not a complaint, just an observation. I hope things are much cooler and refreshing where you live.

SALADO

The Story Behind the Song

Salado YouTube Video - https://youtu.be/_3mtTOeFVsw

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Have any of you ever attended Tablerock’s Salado Legends? This song has been a part of that outdoor spectacular for almost 3 decades. Here’s how it came to life.

I’d been coming to Salado since 1976. I took my SCUBA open water certification in Still House Hollow Lake. A few years later, when Linda and I started dating, we used to drive up to Salado from Houston at least once a month. Salado is the home place of Linda’s mom & dad along with six generations of both their families. During these drives I would think about the people who settled this land and how difficult their travel must have been. I bet it took a week to get from Houston to Salado by stage if that was even possible. The old stagecoach stop is now a famous hotel and restaurant. A few of the other facilities of those early days are now stores and Bed & Breakfasts. If you could take away the 21^st century influences like streetlights, paved roads, cars, and weird tattoos on everyone’s arms and legs, I can almost picture what this town looked like back in the 1800’s.

In 1983 on one late winter trip from Houston, I found myself deeply absorbed in thoughts about early travelers and out came this song written from the point of view of a stagecoach driver on his final run home. I used to dream about settling down here. Now I have!