Sometimes in life what one might consider an inconvenience... can be a blessing.
If you are a road musician, which most musicians sometime in their lifetime have been, one of the worst things that can happen is to run afoul of the weather. It is not unusual for musicians to play a show then pack up and drive hundreds of miles to play a show date the following day or night. But bad weather can really hamper that effort or in some cases with the worst happening, the date being canceled because of bad weather.
Sometime ago I sat in the audience at the Bluebird, a legendary songwriter's venue here in Nashville, and heard one musician tell of one such bad road adventure. He said they had played a show in Tulsa, OK but got socked in there because of such terrible weather. Missing dates can also cause missing income. Often if "no show" in turn "no pay." Not being able to travel can also create issues for musicians. Time on their hands often is not something some manage well. Sitting around in hotel or motel rooms is as the line from the old Statler Brothers song says,
"Counting flowers on the wall."
Well in this case this musician did make good use of his time. Danny Flowers who over the years has played in numerous bands for the likes of Vince Gill, Marshall Chapman, George Hamilton IV and the country gentle giant Don Williams made good use of his time holed up in a motel room in Tulsa, OK. He wrote the country hit "Tulsa Time." While the opening line to the song may say, "I left Oklahoma travelin' in a Pontiac," he had to wait a bit for the weather to clear.The song went to number one for Williams and even rock star Eric Clapton had a huge hit with the song.
So while sometimes what might be considered an inconvenience...can end up as a blessing.
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October 26, 2017
Keep on,
Larry Adamson