I've tended to be pretty critical of country music by and large. I only learned a few years ago that I needed to differentiate between the "new country", and the classic, folk, and honky-tonk country. I liked some of the classic stuff when I was younger — mainstream Kenny Rogers, downstream Johnny Cash, oldstream Hank Williams — but quickly learned from the country radio stations that it was an age bygone. In its place was Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill. You know, the songs that, if you didn't know the lyrics, you could easily mistake for inspirational Christian pop.

I was first exposed to some of the counter-trend by Jeff Tranberry, a member of Accident Clearinghouse, and friend since kindergarden. He had me orchestrate one of the tracks on their album Full Moon Night, and later introduced me to some roots stuff like The Louvin Brothers, brand new stuff like Ashtray Hearts, and multi-genre artists like Ryan Adams and Uncle Tupelo. These last two I like almost as much as anything in my collection.

About fifteen years ago my mom "found" her birth family, having been adopted as a baby, and discovered that her uncle was Doyle Holly, the bassist for Buck Owens' band "The Buckaroos", the group made most famous by their appearances on the Hee Haw show. That makes him the great uncle of me and my siblings, perhaps explaining some of the music in the family. Of course, we didn't know of him until very recently. If we had, maybe I could have gained an appreciation for some of the country he represents. Or, maybe today I'd be wearing a cowboy hat and spurs. Who knows.