It all started in the Gustafson family living room outside the little town of Conrad, Montana. Every weekend, after watching Myron Floren lay down a hot polka on The Lawrence Welk Show, our range born dad would turn off the TV and crack out the old Martin D-18 with his oddball repertoire of old cowboy and folk songs. These musical gems were passed down from family and picked up from ranch hands he had met along the way. And so that special sense of “home” and celebrating our Western heritage was ingrained within me early on.
Country music used to be written about the rural culture of America. In the 1970’s Nashville sterilized the genre and herded it towards selling music to the metropolitan crowd. We still want to sing the honest and gritty songs that celebrate our farming and ranching heritage- the forgotten culture- the silent industry that puts the food on our table. It is the demographic that has been ignored by corporate radio playlists. From traveling across middle America for the last 30 years we have discovered an entire population of good folks who appreciate us choosing the road less traveled.
Enjoy!
You can listen to audio clips on page three of the soundclips.
1. Nashville Never Wanted Me 3:23
2. Stranded on a Gravel Road 3:17
3. Wild Rose of the Range 3:47
4. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding 3:47
5. Cowboy Vernacular 3:15
6. Hot Rod Yodel 2:31
7. Little Secret 3:24
8. Hope Lives in You 3:24
9. Sea of Heartbreak 3:24
10. I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll) 4:04
11. Tears Only Run One Way 3:09
12. Cowboy Daddy 2:13
13. Road to Narvacan 2:58
14. Ukulele Yodel 1:59
15. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky 2:41