Off To A Good Start

Last night was kind of casual. We didn't have a speaker, but we still had a neat program. We extended the business portion of 2nd Tuesday to discuss with every member and guest what he or she wants from the DSA. We have a lot of eloquent people, and it was a warm, enjoyable "conversation" with the brave and kind souls who came out on a cold night. We had about 15 people. It shouldn't surprise you that most of us want to improve our songwriting skills. Some of us want to be better performers. Many want to explore the mysteries of melody, and others want to build a fun and beneficial organization, to extend boundaries and broaden participation. We can only do what we can do. The magic is in the "do", and we can do anything. We had fun voting on the Grammy's Country Song of the Year. Our votes didn't count, but Barbe's did. She led us through six of the songs. I wish I could recall them all, but the one that won our vote was The House That Built Me, which was co-written by a former DSAer. I don't recall his name, either, but maybe Barbe can tell us who she ultimately cast her vote for and also recognize our DSA success person. Our own success story, current and past, is Vern Dailey, who once again out-pointed stiff competition to win the song critique. Vern's Ask Your Heart had a 6-point cushion over new member Guy Rourk's beautiful For Just A Moment, which just beat out fine songs by Bobby, Kevin and Steven. You should have heard Steven's au cape la rendition of Middle of the Road. Great performance, wonderful song. Hope to see you at Tino's for Song Swap next Monday. Buck

WE'LL MISS YOU, BOB PATERNO

Two or three years ago, when I was feeling out the DSA as an organization, I went to a meeting in November. My interest was pricked, and I joined. I found out about the song swaps and showed up on 1st Monday on a night when the regular leader was out, but Bob and James were there. I liked Bob's songs right away. (I liked James' stuff, too, but this isn't about James. It's about Bob.)

I had a song that night that I was trying to do in 3/4 time, then change to 4/4 time at the bridge, then go back to 3/4. Bob listened. He listened to the whole song, and he told me, that's not 3/4.

That night sold me on the DSA. Bob and James listened to me, and they listened to my songs. They liked them, but they saw ways to make them better. They spoke the truth. They didn't let me fool myself.

I still have that song, and I'm still trying to get it to go 3/4 time.

Bob Paterno is a smart, straight shooter. He's a caring, crafting, damn good songwriter. When he tells you something, you listen or go stupid. I couldn't help but first be happy for Bob when he told me he was moving to Nashville. He's taking meat from the table, but he's moving to a position of strength, and he has made us stronger while he was with us. Bob wanted something, so he did something. He made the DSA something that would make him a better songwriter. He wanted something and was willing to work for it. He made the DSA a better group.

Someday, I'll bet, we'll be reaching out to Nashville, saying, hey Bob, can you do a program for us? Free membership if you do.

Hope you hit a homer, Bob.

Buck Morgan
DSA Prez