MUSIC > WAITIN' ON JOE > Story

Waitin' on Joe

1. I DON'T HAVE TO BE ME (TIL MONDAY) 2. HOW LONG IS THIS TIME GONNA BE 3. DAMN THE MONEY 4. WAITIN' ON JOE 5. MY HEART WANTS TO RUN 6. THE UNDERDOG 7. ONE GOOD REASON WHY 8. LAY YOUR HEART NEXT TO MINE 9. GOIN' TO BEAT THE DEVIL (TO SEE MY ANGEL TONIGHT) 10. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS 11. RIVER'S ON THE RISE

I DON'T HAVE TO BE ME (TIL MONDAY)

This is my first single off my Mercury Records debut "Waitin' on Joe". It's what my producer Rafe van Joy calls, "Mental Floss". This song was inspired by my friends' much needed long weekend. So overworked, that he was practically to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. Real life can wear us down and at times totally consume us. It's good sometimes just to get away.


HOW LONG IS THIS TIME GONNA BE

During the course of making this album and tryin' to land the deal, we were constantly being told "We like it, but we just need a little more time". I asked my producer, Rafe van Hoy, during a phone conversation "How long is this time gonna be?" We both got quiet for a moment - I told him I would be right over to write it. Ironically, this song was very instrumental in securing the deal. Thank goodness.


DAMN THE MONEY

This song was 14 years in the making. When I was a kid I wrote the first verse and chorus and just left it alone. Some years later it found it's way back to me. So many of us are in search of that pot of gold. Unfortunately, while working on whatever we think makes us successful, we take for granted what we already have. It's right under our eyes, and we don't see it slippin' away. Can we really ever have it all?


WAITIN' ON JOE

This is the title cut to the album and definitely the "center piece" of this project. In a whole lot of ways "Waitin' on Joe" represents my personal struggle with having to wait for the things that were important in my life. On the surface this song is about how I find myself constantly waitin' on my brother, Joe. The underlying interpretation could be that "Joe" symbolizes a place, thing, dream, career, or whatever omeone finds themselves longing for in life. His tragic death represents the fear that you may never see, or obtain your "Joe".


MY HEART WANTS TO RUN

I wrote this song shortly before we finished the record. Everybody has seen this happen. One person in the relationship knows it's wrong, but can't walk away because they're trying to salvage something because it's comfortable, or trying to spare feelings. They end up hangin' on way too long. It's funny how the heart can manipulate the mind.


THE UNDERDOG

I grew up a big fan of the movie "Hoosiers". Everybody loves to see the smaller and supposedly outmatched pull out the victory. The bigger moral is that we're all an underdog at one time or another. The story of David and Goliath is the perfect example of how anything is possible, with enough heart and determination.


ONE GOOD REASON WHY

This is another let down your hair and let go song. More about just getting out for the night, this song is where Delta meets Cajun. I grew up too close to the Louisiana Bayou to not be affected by its grease and groove. Rafe van Hoy and I were fortunate enough to get the legendary Sonny Landreth to play on this record. We felt Sonny's unique style was an absolute must for this record. He validated it.


LAY YOUR HEART NEXT TO MINE

This song confronts the obstacles of every day life. It talks about the way it feels when you're leaving to go to work, and the routine of the day. But it's focus is the reassurance that at the end of each day when you lay down with the person most important in your life, you find peace.


GOIN' TO BEAT THE DEVIL (TO SEE MY ANGEL TONIGHT)

This is literally the drive I used to take from my home in Greenville, Mississippi to somewhere deep in the Louisiana swamplands. To this day, I'm still not quite sure where I was. Why I was going is pretty obvious.


YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS

Man, looking back, this one was really important. It was the first day I met Rafe van Hoy. I went over to write a song with him and ended up writing two. But more than that, it was how we clicked immediately. He listened to some of my other songs and said, "I love it, let's don't change it. We recorded "You Don't Know How it Feels" that same day. I watched him do his magic in the studio, and I remember going, "Wow. How can one man do all this. How can anyone be this talented.: There's two reasons why Seattle is the setting. First and foremost one of my sisters and her family call it their home now and whenever I play this song, it constantly reminds me of her, and it bridges the thousands of miles between us. Second, come on, we all know it rains there most of the time.


RIVER'S ON THE RISE

I grew up hanging out by the Mississippi River. It's been a huge influence on practically every aspect of my life. It's an amazing sight to behold, and one of the most tranquil places I've ever witnessed. Just to watch the sun slowly sink and finally disappear into it, man!! Yet with all its serenity and calmness, there's a power just under the surface, that could overtake you at any time. Ya' know there's that period of time in a relationshipwhen nobody has said it yet, but it's there, just under the surface, ready to unleash...just like the river. They're both intriguing mysterious, and most of all uncontrollable.