Crazy Town

Roll into town, step off the bus
Shake off the where you came from dust
Grab your guitar, walk down the street
The sign says "Nashville, Tennessee"


Every blog needs a schtick. My schtick was to relate my life to music given my very musical family and background. But today I'm just going to talk about some music. Because I can. I spent this evening on the beautiful open road of Central California on my way back to school for the summer.

This is my yellow brick road. "Of course, some people do go both ways." 

-Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz.

If only it were that easy...

Though I hail from the suburbs, I live near the country. I eat locally grown produce. If I drive for about 10 minutes in any direction, I am surrounded by farms. I have been to an Ag Showcase (they were selling tractors and other fun things!). I ain't no city slicker. BAM! Authenticity. So I turned on my "Summer in the Country" playlist, rolled down the windows, and rocked out the whole way. And today, this man captured my ears and heart.

Hot damn. I will go for a ride on your tractor any day. 

No really, he probably drives a John Deere.

Jason Aldean. I would love to wake up every morning next to that smooth sexy drawl. Wow, did I just say that out loud? That's uncomfortable. Anyway, I have always loved Jason Aldean even though he hasn't quite made it to Urban/Paisley/Chesney fame (he is pretty up there though). Don't get me wrong, people know him; he is important and has many leather-bound books and his apartment smells of rich mahogany. His talent precedes his name, a quality that is oh-so-rare in music today. His songs have this hard-rock-meets-country thing going on; if there was no fiddle in the intro, you would never know you were about to listen to *GASP* a country song (Give it a listen before you hate; I have converted many nonbelievers). In my mind, this man can do no wrong. Whether he's taking you for a ride on his big green tractor (Big Green Tractor, and no, that is not an innuendo), asking for forgiveness (Why), sittin' and reminiscin' (Laughed Until We Cried), gettin' down in a hicktown (Hicktown), or living off the tips from a pickle jar (Crazy Town). Jason Aldean is a consistent hit-maker. But he didn't start out that way. No one does.


You pay your dues and you play for free
And pray for a honky-tonk destiny.

Which got me thinking. How much cooler would my life be if I pulled a fast one, blew off the university lifestyle, packed my bags and headed for Nashville?

It's a crazy town full of neon dreams
Everybody plays, everybody sings
Hollywood with a touch of twang
To be a star you gotta bang bang bang
Bend those strings 'til the Hank comes out
Make all the drunk girls scream and shout
We love it, we hate it, we're all just tryin' to make it in this crazy town


Right now, I have it pretty good and cushy. I live in a sorority house, I go to school and intern, and I'm planning my future (also cushy) life as a doctor wherein I will drive a nice car, have 2.5 children and a dog and a Dr. Husband McDreamypants, and probably be a soccer mom (bleh! Future children, listen up: play baseball or volleyball, otherwise mommy won't love you. Not true, but kind of). That's nice. But it's not badass. It's not the kind of life that you hear about and say "Wow! That's awesome!" (more like "Wow! She probably has great health insurance." You can put that on my tombstone). Let's compare: 20-year-old girl drops out of college, leaves cushy life behind, grabs her keyboard and boards the next plane bound for Crazy Town. Plays the Nashville scene, a different bar every night hoping to get noticed, living day-to-day trying to get by...

One year they repossess your truck


... and then one day... 


And the next you make a couple million bucks


...you're this girl. Holy hell!

Granted, T. Swift is not what we would call "badass" in any language, but she is doing alright for herself. Okay, back to the Crazy Town. Becoming a professional musician/badass has never really been my calling. Some people are just born with it. My dad, for instance, was born to be a rock star. Though he never achieved fame, he followed his passion and ended up with a job in the music industry that he loved and, at age 60, he still plays every day, rocks out with his band weekly, and has a nice little guitar and bass collection (I think he's got about 40 now? Excessive? Yes). I was not born to be a rock star, but I was born with a bit of a talent for the piano. So a small part of me will always wonder what if? What if I ditched this scholarship-studious-sorority-good-girl life and pursued that talent?

You know, no thanks. I'm very happy with what I've got. That kind of lifestyle would drive me nuts. The late nights. The uncertainty. The never knowing if people are being sincere. The disappointment after disappointment before finally... maybe... making it. I am too square. Simply not badass enough. I'll leave it to Jason Aldean; he's pretty good at it. (Call me).