Here's where I'll be all weekend:  http://redantspantsmusicfestival.com/chris-sand/.  My set is tomorrow at 6:15 sandwiched between Todd Snider and Robert Earl Keene.  On Sunday it's Merle Haggard.  Can't wait!

Nashville

Greetings from Music City, USA!  I'm on the ninth floor of the Hotel Preston, contemplating joining an open mic that's taking place downstairs.  I've grown to loathe open mics, but . . . I'm goin' down.  Maybe I can make a friend or two.

Two hours later:  I sang three songs to a rowdy crowd, then strolled outside to smell the sweet scents of southern summer.  With magnolias and fireflies and the near-full moon, Nashville is magic this time of year.

I'm here this weekend for the Nashville Songwriting & Music Business Conference.  My songs are getting heard and appreciated.  Amanda Williams, who runs the show with her partner Todd, is teaching us the business of song peddling.

I first met Amanda when I lived in Nashville in 1998-99. She's an excellent songwriter who has written hits for Garth Brooks and George Jones. Here's an R-rated song of hers that you might enjoy -- "Asstastic"!



****

I flew to Nashville a few days early, hoping to visit several friends who live here--Jack & Kitty Norton, Jonny Fritz, and, in particular, Camo Davi.  The former three are touring, so I've had lots of quality time with Camo. He lives next to the cooling waters of Percy Priest Lake--a real bonus on these 90+ degree F. days.

Camo was my first band member.  We started collaborating in 1995.  Three or four of my first CDs feature his harmonica, human beatbox, vocals, and more.  Here's an example: Until the End of Time.

Monday I fly to Seattle for the mother-and-child reunion.  We'll stay in Olympia for a week, then it's Missoula-bound and back to work. 

Stevie at St. Mary's Lake

My four-year transformation--from rappin' rural hermit to domesticated urbanite--is almost complete.  First came courtship, marriage, and daughter, along with a move from ND back to MT.  Then, six months ago, we moved into a four-bedroom house in the U District in Missoula.  All I needed was a job to pay the rent.

I can now report that I've been hired to work full-time at The Roxy Theater!  My coworkers and I are refashioning the space into an art house cinema.  More on that soon.

My life as a rambler is over for now. Such is fatherhood.  I still sing and play when I can, though.  A week ago I entertained a classroom of third graders at Hellgate Elementary.  Last night I played a campfire show at the beautiful Lazy Sousa Ranch.  Next week I fly to Nashville to attend The Nashville Songwriting & Music Business Conference.

I was once a sheep in wolf's clothing. Now I'm just a sheep.  The adventure continues . . .

My new job is Coordinator for the 36th International Wildlife Film Festival.  Tonight is our opening night! I'm truly excited about the next eight days of panels, parties, parades, and, of course, wildlife films.

It's thrilling to be part of a great team that combines creativity and community building. Our office space is above the Roxy Theater on Missoula's hip strip.

Here's our festival trailer:
IWFF 2013 (Trailer) from Marshall Granger on Vimeo.

The only bummer is that this job is temporary.  Hopefully it will lead to something full-time.

Tomorrow night I'll be playing my first show in months, and I'm looking forward to it.  My favorite Missoula band, Butter, will be headlining.

Details here: http://tophatlounge.com/event/butter-395/

I started a new job two weeks ago.  I'll write more about that soon.

Tweet!

A few of my "tweets" from the last week:

Gather in the lunch room at noon; the issue is whether we take over the factory and move to a worker-owned society or not. Please attend.

Old-time post cards were the original and best tweets. Found: "Dear Son, it is supposed to get cold here and I am low on wood. Love, Dad"

Bangtail Boneyard Broomtail Buzzard Bait Cayuse Crowbait Fantail Hammerhead Hay Burner Man Killer Ringtail Gut Twister Choppin' Horse Nag

La tierra está lista para sembrar. Ahora, vamos a regar de asiento.

10 Ways to Make Money in the Country: 1) fish pond 2) apples 3) goats 4) meth 5) squash 6) fur 7) poultry 8) melons 9) corn 10) asparagus

The stars are Her eyes, the grass and trees are Her hair, and the rivers are Her bloodstream. She is the heartthrob behind all hearts. God.

Passed my drug test! Looks like I'm back to driving a truck... not long-haul and not a semi, though, fortunately. http://treasurestatetree.co 

Remembering my Grandpa Bob Sand this morning: swimmin in Wolf Creek, ridin horses, herdin sheep. No rules, no utilities, no fences. . . 1919

Consensus is such that the factory is now owned by us. Who will b the delegate 2 discuss w/ the other factories how we coordin8 production?

Follow me here: https://twitter.com/rappincowboy

Who knew parenting would take so much out of a blogger?  Anymore I feel lucky to post anything, even a baby picture on Facebook.

Life is going swimmingly, nevertheless.  Daily I move more and more away from my solitary habits and toward the big community.  Wife, daughter, town life, house, nine-to-five job, regular meals.  No traditional church yet, but something similar perhaps.

Pretty soon I'll be completely unrecognizable as the skinny, rappin', truck-driving, bug-spray sprayin' cowboy in the movie.

It's for the best.

What I ache to do is write the real story.  Something almost anyone could relate to.

And maybe, when I find sufficient time, I will.



"Don't start me talkin', I'll tell everything I know . . ."

Coincidentally, Hana and I bought a king-sized bed today.

Happy 1st Birthday, Stevie!

Happy 1st Birthday to my wonderful daughter, Stevie Angela Kasm Sand!

Pre-party swimming at Currents.

She LOVES her birthday drum from Deb!

Thanks Deb Tomas for the decadent chocolate cake. Also in attendance, besides me, Hana, & Deb, were friends Evie and Joyce.

Moonshine & Dirt Weed!

Emails like this one are a good cure for the January blues.

"Hey Chris, AKA Sandman, AKA Rappin' Cowboy,  

Good to see you are still making music. I saw you perform back in the day at the Voodoo Room in Astoria OR. You had everyone in stitches--even a table full o' Republicans. Good times for all. 

Have you ever been to Johnson City, TN? Would you be interested in stopping by sometime? We could easily provide space for a house show if you are up for it.  

So, if you get an itchin' for some moonshine, hillbilly dirt weed, Bluegrass, and BBQ drop us a line or give a shout 423.xxx.xxxx!  

Best Regards,  

-J"

In the irreverent words of Woody Guthrie, "so long, it's been good to know ya"!



12/20/12 yo, 12/20/12 yo

We're gonna party like it's 12/20/12, yo

We're gonna get down with anyone, every one!

We're gonna party like Prince at the millennium

O'Hare to Heathrow, here come the party people

Fresh from the clubs, and the cabs, and casinos

Coulter's in the sauna with Obama and Clooney

We got Shiites & Sunni's reading Rushdie & Rumi

We got C-Lo & Tebow, in the gazebo

Like Buddha & Christ breakin' bread like amigos

Talkin' politics, Taylor Swift, and the ego

And how last Spring when Lin hit that free-throw, ohhh!

12/20/12 yo, 12/20/12 yo

We're gonna party like it's 12/20/12, yo

Live for today & forget about tomorrow

Buy another round and drown all your sorrows

Red Solo cup, fill it up with some beer, bro

Is that Ben Stiller?  What the heck's on his earlobe?

Looks like lotion.  But it smells kinda queer though

Rub it in your hair.  Dude yr such a weirdo!

12/21 now, 12/21 now

Winter's done come and you ain't havin' any fun now

No sun, no moon, just gunpowder

End of the dream for the turtles and the sunflowers

So let's party like it's 12/20/12, yo

Let's party like it's 12/20/12, yo

When you wake up you'll be livin' in a hellhole

Next to the Devil, he'll be yellin' on your cell phone:

"Can you hear me now, can you hear me now?!

Can you hear me now, can you hear me now?!"

So let's party like it's 12/20/12, yo

So let's party like it's 12/20/12, yo

So let's party like it's 12/20/12, yo

Live for today and forget about tomorrow

Hana and I will be moving into our house soon! Packing and preparing this week.

Hana & I found a perfect fixer-upper house to buy in Missoula.  We now need to find $30,000 for part of the down-payment.  I may need to sell my infamous Dunn Center, ND, house (pictured)--the one featured in Roll Out, Cowboy.

I bought this house for $1,000 in 2005 before the oil boom.

It'd be nice to make some money by getting a song into major motion picture.  I had a tantalizing bite with my dirge "End of America," but it appears to have slipped the hook.

I've begun looking for local work in Missoula.  My long-distance, long-haul trucking days are winding down.  So are my troubadour jags.  I'm a family man now.  I need a job.

Excitement + heavy feelings.

Endorsed by Mom!

Russell Means  (1939-2012)

Two mornings ago as I rolled through Watertown, South Dakota, I noticed the flag at half-mast.  I'm assuming that was for the controversial George McGovern (from Mitchell, SD, who died Sunday) and not for the also controversial Russell Means (born in Pine Ridge, SD, who died a day later).  I salute them both.

Another Dakotan I've come to admire--this one alive and well--is a rancher named Ryan Taylor who's running for Governor of North Dakota this year.  He's a fan of mine, too, I've heard; he likes my music.  Good luck, Ryan!

Tomorrow I head back home to Hana and the baby in Missoula.

The Hilltop Heritage Foundation held their 24th Annual Steak Fry & Auction last night at Buckskin Dance Hall in Killdeer.  Larry Schnell did a great job of auctioneering.

After supper the auction began.  I bid on, and won, an "Obama Basket," which amounted to several blue-themed items stuffed in a hand-decorated box: Blue Nun Wine, Winterfresh gum, Berry Blue Jell-O, Gourmet Blueberry Licorice, Smucker's Blueberry Syrup, and a four-piece box of Donkey Truffles.  

In a crowd of 300--and only one other bidder for this item--raising the bid was my small effort to stand up for the President.  I ended up winning it for $35.  I'm pretty sure the red-themed "Nobama Basket" did better.  

I hit the road trucking today to Toronto and then back to Calgary.  I haven't seen Hana and Stevie for almost seven weeks.

Also: Happy 67th birthday today, Ma!

I've had the last week off from driving truck, so I've been working with Dad to get his and Mom's house insulated.

Last night I took a break and drove to Dunn Center to meet friends at the Ilo Bar for beer and pizza.  One of them was my buddy Max Haendler from Brooklyn, who is out here doing construction for a rancher from Marshall.  I hadn't been to the Ilo Bar since the "shrimp reception party" documented in Elizabeth Lawrence's Roll Out Cowboy, so I was glad to see that Sadie is still running the bar.  She has been since 1979, when I was a youth.

Instead of driving back to Killdeer Mountain last night, I stayed over at Grandma Edna's place in Killdeer.  In a few minutes we'll be heading to church.
-----------------------------------------

The new pastors.

Post-church update:  Grandma has been raving about the new pastors at St. John's Lutheran Church--John and Rachel Simonson--and now I see why.  Normally my experience at St. John's is one of trying hard to stay awake, but today I stayed alert.  Reverend Rachel held the service; she and her husband John take turns.  In her sermon she explored Matthew 19:24, which is where Jesus tells a rich young fellow to sell everything he owns and give it to the poor.  When the astonished man refuses, Jesus warns him that, ". . . it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 

I'm pretty sure the congregation has tripled since the last year.  More young people, too.

Afterwards there was coffee, cookies, and talk of the warm weather.

I've been away from Hana and Stevie for the past month, so this video that my friend Amy Greene took of Stevie crawling yesterday truly warms my heart.

When I left Stevie could only slide backwards, which left her feeling frustrated. Now she looks ready to take on the world!

Much has changed since my last journal entry of ten days ago.  Instead of reuniting with my sweet family this week, Hana and I decided that I keep trucking with Goodall until the end of the month.  Alas, the wheat must be threshed.  The fish must be netted.  The diesel must be burned.

I'm currently in Minneapolis at a Ramada Inn, taking advantage of downtime between hauls to Toronto.  Today I caught the new Clint Eastwood flick, Trouble with the Curve, at Mall of America.  Arnold Schwarzenegger also happened to be at the Mall, signing books.  It was the second time I've accidentally run into Mr. Universe.  The first time was in 1997 at a stoplight in Venice Beach.  He was smoking a cigar and driving a convertible Mercedes Benz.

Last night I borrowed a guitar and played a spontaneous house show in St. Paul.  Thanks everybody who attended that, and thanks to Eric for the auspicious invite!

At 4 a.m.--two hours from now--the alarm goes off.  Then it's down to Renville to pick up tilapia and back to Toronto to deliver 'em.

Again . . . Midwest bound and then up to Calgary, AB.

Next week we might string back-to-back Toronto runs.  After we unload the second one I'll bail in Minneapolis or Chicago and fly to Seattle to meet up with Hana and Stevie.  Then we'll all drive east to get back to the West.

P.s. Happy autumn!  It's already colorful here in western North Dakota.  We need rain, though.

Stevie turns eight months old tomorrow.  She now has a couple teeth, eats food, weighs 20 lbs., and crawls backwards.  She can say "mama" and "dada," sort of.

At present I'm in North Dakota, on Killdeer Mountain, between trucking runs.  I've been helping Dad roof for the last two days.  I head off again tonight for 5,000 miles of driving, with runs to Toronto (tilapia) and Calgary (buffalo carp).  Next week might see a trip to Vancouver, BC (tilapia), and perhaps another one or two back to Toronto. 

As for music, there is lots to report, but little time.  In brief:

1. A song that I collaborated on with Giles O'Dell, Andras Jones, and Calvin Johnson made it onto an artful Kris Kristofferson compilation-2X-LP.

2. Regarding Calvin Johnson: A book about him and his record label, K Records, came out this year-- Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of Independent Music.  I get a brief mention in the last chapter.


3. I played seven fun West Coast shows earlier this month.

4. My brand-new CD, Horse Graveyard, has been well received and is selling steadily.

5. I've written enough songs this year to record another country record.  This one will be heavily influenced by my experiences driving truck and living back in Montana.

6. I'm jonesin' to write a book about my musical adventures.  I think it would be funny and a good read.

BRAND NEW MUSIC VIDEO!!!!!! - "WITH A BEARD"



I do a 50-second rap cameo (starting at 2:28) for this Tony Rogers jam to help raise awareness about men's prostate health. EXCELLENT special effects, please check it out and share! The project's goal is to eradicate prostate cancer.

It took a village to create the video, and I'm proud to have played a part. Special thanks to birthday boy John Nilles for directing my part, which we cranked out long-distance from Missoula. Great work, Lauren Loehr and team BEARD!!

Lots of shows coming up!!!

Tonight and tomorrow I'll be doing my troubadouring in Astoria, OR.  Tonight I play at The Voodoo Room (free!), and tomorrow the movie Roll Out, Cowboy will screen at The Columbian Theater ($5).

Monday (9/3), which is Labor Day, I'll be at Mississippi Studios in Portland, OR, sharing a bill with Dan Weber.  That show will go from 4-7 and the cost is FREE.

Wednesday (9/5) I'll be back in Olympia, WA, for a house show with Mary Water!  $10.

Thursday (9/6) I'm up in Seattle for another house show at Jonas' house. $10.

Friday (9/7) I sally farther north to Anacortes, WA, for a mystery show.

Sunday (9/9) I fly to Los Angeles, CA, for my final show of my End of Summer 2012 tour.  More details coming soon.

Monday (9/10) I fly to Chicago to rendezvous with Goodall Trucking and start driving again.  Hana will stay in Olympia to help with the birth of our friend Hali's third child.

Helsing Junction Sleepover

Had a blast this weekend at the Helsing Junction Sleepover!  It was the perfect choice for Stevie's first music fest.  So many great bands and the food was excellent.

Chris Sand & the Big MT was well-received, but, alas, 'twas our last show as a trio.  Alex and Arif drove back to Missoula yesterday, and Alex will keep going until he lands in New York.  He and his banged-up banjo will be sorely missed.



Here's one of the songs that Hana captured on her Nikon camera: "Ain't All Good." Please note that the first verse isn't about me.  I'm just a danged storyteller.

Last night's Horse Graveyard CD release party went swimmingly.  I am grateful to You Are Plural and June Madrona for opening the show, and Pat Maley for letting us sing and mingle in his backyard.

The CDs look great, by the way (pictures coming soon).  They arrived hot-off-the-press from Bicycle Records midway through You Are Plural's last song.

Here is the Horse Graveyard tracklist:

1. Johnny Thurman
2. Bad Becky
3. Sandy Bob
4. Horse Graveyard
5. Queen Patricia
6. Go Easy on Me Boss (My Heart is Breakin')
7. Miller Killer
8. I Ride an Old Paint
9. Typical
10. Damascus
11. When I Love
12. Sugar Bank Hank

I'm very proud of this CD and hope it travels far and wide.

Horse Graveyard CD Release Party!

Sandy Bob at Wolf Creek (north of Wolf Point, MT) ,where he was raised.

UPDATE: TONIGHT!

This Tuesday (8/21) in Olympia, WA, at Little House on on the Perry - 124 Perry St. NW!

"Horse Graveyard" is a collection of North Americana-flavored songs filled with western characters I've known, living and dead. You'll meet Sandy Bob, Bad Becky, Queen Patricia, Sugar Bank Hank, Cowboy Moses, and others. Recorded at Dub Narcotic Studio by Bob Schwenkler, it features the volunteer talents of a gang of Olympia musicians, including Chad Austinson, Abigail Ingram, Pamela Margon, Kelly Ray Smith, Jen Grady, Ephriam Nagler, Jes Raymond, Kendl Winter, Adam Oelsner, and others.

"HORSE GRAVEYARD" will be my first release on Bicycle Records.

From the Facebook invite page:

Chris Sand (AKA "Sandman the Rappin' Cowboy") teamed up with Bicycle Records to create an album of country songs spit from the breaks and badlands of Dakota Territory. It features fiddle, pedal steel, drums, piano, cello, sweet back-up vocals, and, yep, trombone ALL by local Oly musicians. 

Please come help celebrate its release into the stratosphere. He'll be backed by two punk rock North Dakota banjo-pickers. Well, ok, one banjo and one . . . banjelele. 

Opening up the show will be sweet rebels from around the corner, You Are Plural & June Madrona.   

Sliding scale admission $5-$10.  Ten gets you a Chris Sand CD, shirt, or pillow case.

Stevie's almost seven months old already.  We love her!

After sixteen days away from my family and Missoula, I'm back.  Most of my journey was filled with truck driving.  The last four days, though, were spent in New England celebrating the marriage of two of my closest friends, Nima Samimi and Amanda Graff.  In fact, I had the honor of co-officiating, with Nina Berenfeld, their wedding ceremony!

Below is my brief "sermon" which was written very last-minute.  I didn't even have time to proofread it, but it turned out fine, I think.

Hi everybody!  What a perfect day for an outdoor wedding, right?  I really, really love this place.  I learned earlier today that Khalil Gibran, the fantastic Lebanese-American poet, author, & artist who penned some of the most mystical, beautiful, and overused wedding poetry in the canon of world literature, spent a couple months here on this land and in that building, recovering from an illness.  He may have even penned parts of his most famous work--The Prophet--right here on this very lawn. 

Photo credit: Hanon Rosenthal

I won't be reciting any of Gibran's poetry today, but it does seem fitting somehow, the connection.  Nima and Amanda are, after all, prophets of love and pioneers of affection.  They love you.  They really do.  You are all so very important to them.  Do you know this?  They've told me and shown me 1,000 times in their impeccable and generous ways how much they adore me, and it still hasn't fully sunk in.  It's hard to LET it in.  I'm not used to it.  I never know what to say.  I've met few people like them who emanate the kind of love and affection, dignity and humanity, that they do.  They are open-hearted.  They are open-minded.  They are curious.  They are adventurous.  They are smart.  They have retained their passion for life, and they mean what they say.  

So when you hear them exchange their vows today, and when you hear them appreciate you all for coming here and for being part of this ceremony and for supporting them over the years in your untold, vivid, and generous ways, believe them.  They couldn't have done this without you.  And they wouldn't have wanted to do it without you.  You have made their lives infinitely richer.  And believe me when I say that they want YOU to stay close to them, forever, in a way that is not unlike a marriage.  Today let this ceremony be bigger than the miracle of two fabulous, earth-shaking human beings uniting.  Let it also be about all of us being bound together in a similar spirit. 

Nima and Amanda, now is your opportunity to come up here and stand together in front of your friends and family and just tell each other what's in your heart.

The wedding was magical, and Amanda and Nima shone like the stars they are.  Tomorrow they fly to France for the honeymoon.  Bon voyage, lovebirds!

Just finished 106 hours of driving with Goodall Trucking.  Tomorrow we head off again for a shorter run.

I'm on Killdeer Mountain with the folks today.  Grandpa's old paint horse, Shorty (pictured below, rear), has been sick for the last few days.  This morning the vet diagnosed him to be terminally ill.  We led him over a ridge on the south meadow just west of an old Lakota burial mound, and I used Dad's .30-30 carbine rifle to put Shorty down.  We said goodbye to Partner there last year, and before that Peanut, Topsy, Beaver, and others, when they were dying.

Goodbye, Ol' Paint

It's been emotional for all of us saying goodbye to Shorty.  Besides his being such a beautiful, gentle, and curious horse, he was Grandpa's.

Now, except for Freckles, all of Sandy Bob's ponies are gone.