Welcome back to my regular weekly Wednesday jam. This one goes out to all the Waylon fans there are out there, for there will never be another voice like his, nor a rhythm section like his legendary band. His bass and drums are the sound of a title fighter, and as far as I’m concerned, that voice is the incarnate voice of God himself.
Being a 70s kid raised on the Dukes of Hazard, Waylon’s voice grew into what I imaged to be the voice of God almighty. This song is a doozy, it gets the blood flowing, it’s one of my favorite songs, to listen to and perform, period. Its delivery can be boiled down to just ‘a take no shit from anyone’ message, written at a time when country music was overflowing with men crying in their beers about 2 timing women. I think I first heard it on one of my all time favorite albums ‘Waylon Live’, when you can hear , Ralph Mooney at the full height of his musical abilities. He’s hands down one of my favorite soloists across all genres.
Speaking on the topic of Ralph Mooney, in 2023 I was lucky enough to come in contact with the local pedal steel player Aaron Brownwood. I was working on one of my songs, which was finished, but needing something else, out of my reach.
I cold called Aaron, scheduled the session, and he knocked it out of the park. The song, ‘Cut Loose’ is a love letter to my Aunt Sally who’s no longer with us. I was moved and just straight up floored by his contribution to the song which meant so much to me, so I decided to add more pedal steel to my home recording projects. After he played on 2023’s ‘The Ram’s Dead, Vol. 1‘ ( a release of Grateful Dead covers which I will get to next week with Jack Straw), I asked him to sit in with the band, we became instant friends. The rest is history.
This happened the first day we met. One take.
For me, as a bandleader, the addition of a pedal steel to the live show has had an electrifying effect. Few things sound better than hearing Aaron set up a groove with our keyboards and rhythm section. I know for a fact that there are not too many bands doing what we do, at the level of musicianship we deliver it. I just hope we do old hoss justice when we play his music.
Musicians | The Camp Store Carlsbad, CA | 3.29.2024
Dan Greenbaum
Aaron Brownwood
Mike Hunt
Mark ODonnell
Lyrics
I hope that the friend
You've thrown yourself with
He gets drunk and loses his job
And every road that you travel on
Is dusty, rocky and hard
I couldn't make you love me
You only made me blue
So all in all, if the curtain should fall
Lord, I hope that it falls on you
I will have sweet, sweet, sweet mental revenge
I will have sweet, sweet, sweet mental revenge
Well, I hope that the train
From Caribou Maine
Runs over your new love affair
You walk the floor
From door to door
And pull out your peroxide hair
You never was my woman
Because you were never true
So all in all if the curtain should fall
Lord, I hope that it falls on you
About the Day
2023-24 El Niño weather made for an interesting few years. Our mountains were inundated with snow, our coastal weather was wetter than normal. All of this coming on the heels of a historic 10 year drought. When it rains, it pours. Once again, I was spooked as the local weather forecast said it was going to rain, it didn’t. The week before, I saw another local bank play the stage right up until the moment the sky opened up. The good lord wouldn’t have it any other way, so the weather held. He wouldn’t piss on our first show of the season, I knew that in my heart. Too much practice went into this show, and besides, I had to share my new songs to my friends and family. So we willed the day to be excellent.
Our live shows are about celebrating life, friendship and family, giving back to the newfound community (built by Anthony Marrocotti at his work at The Camp Store), and celebrating our collective enduring spirit. This was the first show our band performed the newly written ‘Warmth of the Fire‘ publicly, and the first time I used my 80s custom Telecaster at live at a show through a Fender Chris Stapleton Princeton. Same combo that effortlessly wrote and recorded my new song ‘Warmth of the Fire‘. During the show, it stayed in tune better than my SG or my es335, but I think I play better on Gibson guitars. I don’t know, I love the way all guitars sound. Could be just the jitters caused by the first show of the season.
About the Ram
Mark "The Ram" O'Donnell is an independent American composer, producer, filmmaker, multi-instrumental performer, designer, and visual artist based out of Carlsbad, California. He performs original, surf-inspired rock-and-roll music on the West Coast.
For more information about the Ram and his music, go to www.TheRamMusic.com
More Information
I currently use DistroKid to get everything out to the streaming platforms, Disco for all sync requests, Bands In Town to list live shows, and Substack for just about everything else.
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