Bryan Kennedy

“Everybody’s Somebody in Luckenbach Texas”

bryan — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:52:47 +0000

They tell me these quotes are posted behind the bar at Luckenbach…

“If you need credit, you don’t need a beer. You need a job!”
“If you’re drinking to forget, please pay in advance.”

Ok, so I am going to love just being at this place, let alone humbled enough to get to perform there this Saturday!
I have never been to Luckenbach… but, I have visited there via

Wille and Waylon’s song entitled, “Luckenbach Texas” that I wore out on my “Ol Waylon” tape, and Jerry Jeff Walker’s entire album entitled “Viva Luckenbach”.
I have heard Jerry Jeff on his CD’s talk about Hondo (pictured left) How Hondo bought the place back around 1970. I never met the man, but they tell me his business cards read “Imagineer“… now, that’s my kind of guy. I have felt like an eight year old boy riding down the road in my pick up truck over the last ten years or so…. imagining Luckenbach Texas and this Hondo character. “A True Story People”…. Check out their History page, it reads like a Larry McMurtry novel.
I love the state of Texas, it’s people, and their second to none LOVE for music. I love their belief in spontaneous dancing ANYWHERE when a song they love hits their ears and it reaches their souls, and causes an instant need to hold someone… and DANCE!
I am honored and blessed to have gotten a call from Abbey inviting me to come share some of my tunes this Saturday, where the likes of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Pat Greene, Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, and Deryl Dodd have performed. I am looking forward to hanging with Deryl Dodd and the Homesick Cowboys, Ralph and the Dirt Road Gypsies, and making new friends! I can’t wait.

Take a moment to visit their web site, and visit Abbey when you go hear the great music in Texas!

www.luckenbachtexas.com

Bobbers and Heart Strings

bryan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:18:10 +0000

There is something about fishing that is magical isn’t there? I remember fishing as a young boy with dad and my great Uncle Glenn. I don’t remember each individual fish that I caught, or the ones my brothers caught.. (well, with the exception of Shelby’s giant cat!). But, I do remember.. ‘fishing’. There is something very magical about the word. ‘Fishing‘. To a small child this word places a sparkle in their eyes.
I am sure we would all agree that fishing is all about the mystery. The excitement of going to the pond, lake, bay, or ocean. The excitement of seeing what one might catch from an underwater world that for the most part, we cannot even see! Yes, great mystery!
Oh, fishing is a great word indeed, however it is not without a rival word. It most certainly has a great nemesis. Another word that when placed in the same sentence together.. well you might say creates one of the greatest battles of all time! It produces the greatest of fights, and grand frustrations… but ultimately, if we fish and fish and fish, the two end up getting along splendidly bringing us much success, and all the while teaching us one of life’s greatest lessons. The nemesis word is ‘patience’.
Ouch!
Yes, try to teach that to a toddler, or better yet, try to teach it to them when they have a fishing pole in their hand and they are staring out at a huge body of water imagining giant sharks, whales, bass, snapper, trouts, catfish, and on and on, just swimming around their hook and bait! Try teaching patience to them after days and days, or weeks and weeks of planning and talking about ‘fishing’. After grandma and grandpa, mom and dad have stirred the excitement pot of ‘fishing’. Try teaching patience to them when they are finally in the boat, or on the pier, or standing on the bank, and they are ‘fishing’ and catching nothing!
Teaching Patience while fishing? Are you not laughing? Oh, it’s seemingly impossible! But, go do it.. Yes, go do it. Why? Because we ourselves learn this very lesson as we try to teach this lesson to our children. That is the best kind of lesson right? And, the rewards are amazing. Because we don’t even know when it might pay off? A mystery.. like fishing.
We teach and teach and teach, we coach and coach and coach, and sometimes it doesn’t seem like that bobber is going to sink at all. Sometimes we think we feel or see a nibble and … nothing! And it is so hard to wait, and wait, and wait. And yet even still.. when that bobber disappears.. when that bobber ducks itself underneath the top of the water… our natural reaction is to jerk that line and hook that fish… right? I mean after all this is what we have been WAITING ON.. But, even then we have to be patient! Yes, we have to let that fish sniff around that bait, look at it, explore it, and even for milliseconds that seem like an eternity, we must wait for that fish to take the bait and then the hook. Ah, yes.. then.. then we have not only been fishing, but we have caught a fish!
So, all that teaching, coaching, and patience we are putting into your children.. well, it really teaches us. And one of these days that bobber, that you have tied with an expert knot on the other end of your heart string, well… it is going to disappear for a moment… and you are going to feel that tug on your heart string.. But remember! If you jerk that line too soon… the only lesson you learn is that you haven’t learned your lesson. Be patient people… because you no doubt have something on the end of your line, something real, something very special… and with patience, sooner than later you will get it in the same boat with you.
Be patient people… you’ll learn a lot if you teach someone to fish.

Sally’s Saturday Night!

bryan — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:43:49 +0000

Alright people on the A.. I hope to see you this Saturday night at Sally’s!
Blue Mountain Beach
Let’s get it on at 7:30 — until?
How bout ‘ya come on!

Mosaic…Interview

bryan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:54:22 +0000

Soul Music

bryan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:19:11 +0000

“Unless there’s a Divine intervention, this record probably isn’t going to go head-to-head with anything on today’s Christian radio, and that’s a shame. Nothing against Francesca Battistelli or TobyMac, but this is a recording by two men who obviously love the Lord and aren’t afraid to use the gifts He gave them to say so. This isn’t a contemporary Christian album, a country album, a bluegrass album or a rock album. It’s just heartfelt music by a couple guys who make consistently good albums and love Jesus. In the end, Skaggs isn’t the star — God is. Which was probably the plan all along”. Rick Moore from American Songwriter

Rick Moore wrote this blog, (please click here to read his entire review) and well…. I could not have described this project any better.
Today is the release date for Ricky Skaggs CD “Mosaic”. Today is a day I wish I were in Nashville at the release party.
If you are a regular reader here you are very aware that I love my family, and they are very important to me. I am equally proud of my mom, dad, and both of my brothers, and I love the trail each of them have ridden, and continue to ride. It is always a pleasure for me to see them work, create, and it is the coolest of all things when the ‘work’ is done! Because, I love seeing and hearing the results.
This past year I have really enjoyed and have been very excited watching brother Gordon and my dear friend (and former boss) Ricky Skaggs, literally pour their lives into this one project. As I have mentioned in my other blog.. brother Gordon was working on this project while working on my CD. So, when I was home working with Gordon, he was playing me rough recordings of what Ricky and he were working on. I have to be honest and say I was more excited about their project than mine. Their project touches the spirit within me.
I love the people that were involved in its making, from the studio engineers, Brent King and Lee Groitzsch… to many other wonderful musicians besides the ridiculously talented Ricky Skaggs, of course GK, and our dad.. but then you will hear the likes of Peter Frampton, Blair Masters, and many many more. And I must give a shout out to one of the co-writers on a few tunes.. Ben Cooper. I love this guy, you will too. He is one of my favorite talents in Nashville.
I love everything about this project. Mosaic is rare, and very special.. right down to one of those little tiny photos on the cover being a photo of my mam-maw. (who Ricky mentions in a song on the CD that brother Gordon wrote with Ben)
I know God gave us all music, and we need it… boy do we need it. We enjoy it daily and it is such a blessing in so many ways. But, when I hear this project I can’t help but think this is perfect music.
I like many, have been waiting on this, and I believe there are many that have no idea that they have been waiting on this. Well, it’s here!
I am completely in awe, and completely blessed when I hear this CD, and I listen to it all the time.
Way to go Ricky, and way to go Gordon… love you both, and thank you for recording your souls.

Back to School

bryan — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:11:02 +0000

Back to School! This phrase is visited one million times during the late summer months each year. And, I must admit.. it might ring a bit more true to me.. than most my age.
You see I can say something I do not believe anyone else can say.. And that is that I am the only college football player to play against the great Heisman trophy winner Hershel Walker, and then graduate with Super Bowl Champion Eli Manning! How about that!
How can I say this you ask? Well, I left the University of Mississippi six hours short of my degree, and twenty years later decided to go back and get my diploma. I can honestly say this is perhaps my biggest failure and accomplishment all in one.
But, I share it with you hoping to encourage the welcoming of the phrase, “Back to School” to everyone!
Each time I am back at Ole Miss I laugh out loud thinking of my last two years as a student there, and how I left without my degree because I could not pass the second year of my required foreign language… Si, Spanish. Yo no hablaba espanol cuando llegue a la escuela aqui, y yo todavia no! I think I said; I didn’t speak Spanish when I came to school here, and I still don’t!
But, I do have my degree!
People it’s never too late, and you’re never too old to go Back to School.

Happy Birthday Dad!

bryan — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:27:58 +0000

I wanted to share this photo with all of you because it’s very special. This is one of my favorites for many reasons. It is humbling for me to sit in a chair next to a hall of fame musician, humbling that he isn’t / wasn’t making me feel ‘unworthy’.. (all great musicians have that gift.. especially this one), and most of all very proud to sit next to my dad.
I am just back home from a trip to Nashville for a family celebration for Dad. Happy Birthday Dad! I love you.

(con’t) Who Played on my CD? #4

bryan — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:23:19 +0000

Continuing on from Clog post “Who Played On My CD #3.5 (click here)
Steve Wariner.. 4 Awards, 4 CMA awards, ACM award winner, 16 BMI awards, Music City News award winner… and on and on. He’s been on Letterman, Leno, recorded the theme song for the TV show “Whose the Boss”, and most importantly he is one of the greatest guys I have ever met.
Seriously people, Steve is nothing but class… it exudes from this down to earth, ridiculously talented singer, songwriter, C.G.P. from Noblesville, Indiana.
Now, keep in mind I was blessed to grow up in a home with a father that is in the Musician’s Hall of Fame.. and blessed to watch the greatest players in the world record music. Steve Wariner is among those players, and no doubt right there at the very front of the line. I have no idea how this man can do the things he does on a guitar and make it look so easy, and sound so good. I have watched him play live for years… I was a huge Steve Wariner fan before I ever met him. I would travel to shows near me to hear his songs including; “What I Didn’t Do”, “Kansas City Lights”, “Life’s Highway”… and I would travel to see him play that red Fender Telecaster. Later I would meet Steve and hear him say, “Oh, yeah…you’re one of those Kennedy’s… Man, I love your dad, love your brothers, y’all are Graaaayyyyt”. ! YES… From that pronunciation of the the word ‘great’ forward, I fell right in with this legend and Hall of Fame bound talent, Steve Wariner.
Steve and I were out together with Garth for several shows in Chicago back when Steve recorded his #1 huge hit, “Holes in the Floor of Heaven”. He and I have also written together, and worked with brother Gordon on Jerry Reed’s album at Steve’s Studio (where I hope he left the Radar on).
Many of you that come see my shows have heard my 4 part mini series.. you know the one that I call “The Trilogy”. (no, that’s not a typo..yes I am aware it has four parts) Steve helped me write the part I wish were not in the Trilogy.. “The Things You Do To Me”.
Steve is pretty much another brother to Gordon, Shelby, and I… and I know Dad likes the edition, as my father is a big fan of Steve’s. Which brings me back to my CD.
Brother Gordon had sent me the MP3’s and I sat in Florida listening over and over in total awe of how in the heck Gordon had developed this new ‘touch’! I was thinking, “I have only been in Florida for a little over a year”? “How did he add this new style to his already gifted playing”? So, I texted him to tell him how much I loved him, and I think something to the effect of telling him how awesome this new style of his was, the tones..etc. etc. I hit ’send’ very proud of my brother. Seconds later I receive his reply, “That is one.. Steve Wariner”. People I danced around my kitchen. Oh, if you could have seen it, you would have known something wonderful had happened. And it had. Gordon had gone and captured Steve to play on my CD without me knowing it!
Now, after getting over the fact that what he played was so wonderful, and my dance slowed.. I felt a wave of humbleness flowing over me, and yes.. perhaps a tear of Joy!
Dad (Jerry), Gordon, and Steve Wariner are all playing guitar on my CD.. ! I had to sit down. How blessed am I? I certainly don’t deserve that. I mean I beat on a guitar.. shouting orders…riding it like rough stock in a bad rodeo , and they talk to the world with theirs… and they have.. and do. Three Grammy Award winners on my CD that started out as me thinking of doing an acoustic CD by myself! See people .. God loves you all.. and He loves me too… because He somehow arranged these greats to play instead of me.. making me sound better than I do! Another reason why I am so Jealous of me!
Blessings
Now, go to Steve’s web site and read all about him. He is great about keeping everyone up to date with what he is doing on his Facebook page.. click the Like button there.. even though his button should say “Graaaayyyt”.
And finally on a very personal note.. His CD “Steve Wariner c.g.p.- My Tribute to Chet Atkins” is one of the greatest guitar records ever made. There are few that can play like Chet.. I know my dear friend Mr. Jerry Reed could, and then there is brother Steve. Every one is a Chet fan.. and Reed fan.. You will all love Steve’s CD. And, you will no doubt love my other brother.. Steve. Write to him and tell him he’s Graaaaayyyt.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO SINK A SUB ?

bryan — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:31:17 +0000

THIS IS COPIED AND PASTED
FROM A YAHOO HOMEPAGE TODAY.

TODAY – August 6, 2010

Play Video

Go to Video

Mystery of Civil War submarine remains

“The Confederate sub Hunley has a safe place in history, but no one knows why it sank.” » Powered by hand cranks CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK

More on the vessel
Military uses manga
History of submarines
—————————————————————————

I thought the headline above from Yahoo was interesting because it says ‘no one knows why it sank”…. What? No one knows why a submarine sank? Well, you all know that I am no genius, but my first guess would be…WATER?
But, then after thinking about for a while I concluded that a submarine’s purpose is to sink or to be ’sunk’ …. leave it down there people, it’s doing what a submarine is supposed to do.
bryan

Who Played On My CD? #3.5

bryan — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:57:34 +0000

Number 3.5 in my series of “Who Played on my CD”..
Making this CD began as an idea to just have something available for those that come to see me play that are kind enough to ask if I have a CD.. which I did not. So, I thought in the beginning I would jump in a studio with my guitar and do an acoustic album, just me and my Gibson J-45. Well, that was a great idea. But, only due to the fact that like many of my ‘great ideas’ they are only great because they lead me to see that I am capable of nothing ‘great’ without the truly great talent around me! And, as you can hear listening to this project there are many “Great” around me.
Today I share with you a ‘true story’
Brother Gordon was in Tennessee working on guitar parts after I had been there to watch him lay down the basic tracks. When he would put a new guitar part on one of the tunes, he would email it to me for my approval. (as if I wouldn’t approve anything he played! Hilarious, but very courteous of him). He would send me mp3’s of a guitar part on this song or that.. each making me realize how blessed I was that he was working on this back in Tennessee when I knew he had better things to do. Well, one day I get an MP3 of new guitar parts on three of the songs. I listened to the first, and all the while I am listening I am in great awe of the playing. Again, the perfect parts, the perfect placement, the seemingly effortless notes, licks, and amazing tones. Perfect! After listening to the first song I began the song again, and then again and again. It was normal for me to admire Gordon’s playing, but something was different? Something was slightly different? My brother has somehow developed a new side to his already amazing touch on the guitar! An awesome new side, one that few hear… ever! I found myself daring to say it was kind of Chet Atkins ‘ish’.. Yes, I said the greatest of all.. Chet Atkins! I listened over and over and over, until I had to pick up the phone to brag on one of my brothers once again, I called him up.
Want to know the rest of the story? Well if you have the CD you know the rest…. it’s written all over it..(Well… in small letters)
If not.. look for the rest of this story here soon… you will enjoy a great surprise just as I did when I called him, and each time I listen to the cd! I’m So Jealous of Me!

Blessings