Louisiana top blues artist offers good music, advice on success

[caption id="attachment_15207" align="alignleft" width="289"] Edd Greer, top music artist[/caption]

Carol Forsloff --If you are one of those old musicians who believes you are washed up because you haven't "made it" yet or that young person who looks at the competition and thinks the big dream of becoming a music star may never be realized, then you must learn about Edd Greer  whose success is clear evidence of good things lasting and growing forever in the world of music.

Edd  Greer is one of those Louisiana originals who had a dream as a very young man to do something wonderful with his music.   He is one of the great talents  from the very soul of American music.  And he gives us more of that soul in his creations now,  to the extent that he is a favorite on the blues and country circuit.  At age 62, Edd stays busy and is in demand for his music, including by the big boys in Nashville.

I interviewed  Greer recently.  The following is the narrative of that interview:

Q:   When did you first start playing music?  What was your motivation for playing?  How old were you when you started your music career.

A: Carol, I started my music career when I was 6 years old. My family would take me and dress me up like Elvis --white shoes, black leather jacket, slick my hair back, sunshades, and put me in front of a jukebox and I would imitate Elvis. People would throw money on the floor in front of me and at 6 years old I always had both pockets full of money.  Later on down the road I played guitar in a high school band. At age 15

I had 4 guitars.

Q: .  What types of music do you commonly play and where?  Where are you planning to expand your music and what is your ultimate goal?

A: Carol, I was on road for years in bus with my tour band from my record label--opened lot of shows for Willie Nelson, Randy Travis, Earl Thomas Conley, etc.  After getting my record deal, I went on road with Nashville musicians --8 piece tour band along with my 2 cowgirl dancers. I have had shows throughout the South, from Nashville, to Salt Lake City, out to Hollywood, Atlantic City, New York, and London England.  I am currently working on my #6 album with my lable and my ultimate goal is to keep my music playing on radio internationally.

Q:   You mentioned you travel to different venues and make tours.  Where are some of the places you have recently played?  Where will you be touring next?  In what type of venue are you most comfortable?

A: For the last 5 years I fly into airport and am picked up by customer. I use house bands nowdays and they know my music so I just come on at a set show time --usually for about 1 hour and when its completed I usually catch a redeye out of airport the next morning.  My booking agency sets my shows up and they keep it streamlined --in and out and on to next show.

Q:   Do you write much of your own music?  If you do, what are the principal themes of your music?  How do you choose your themes?

A: I have 16 songs I wrote on 5 albums released by Castle Records.  I play piano or guitar until I hear a melody I like,  then put down words to it.  I submit all this to my producer, and he files paperwork through ASCAP and BMI for us to clear copywrites.  I have a song titled INTO YOU--which made the charts back in 2004--sometimes I play new songs live to audience before I record them to see what response I get back from them.

[caption id="attachment_15208" align="alignleft" width="300"] Greer's music room[/caption]

Q:.  What instruments do you play?

A: I play, piano, guitar, base, and harmonica

Q.  Where do you think American music may be headed?  What barriers do you see for musicians of today?  What recommendations would you make to new entertainers?

A:  I told my producer last week in Nashville there are no more classics being recorded--just packed cd with new singers and couple years down the road they are gone.  Nashville is like a swinging door nowdays with all the new singers.  I believe the best advice I could give to a new entertainer would be this:  You have to believe in yourself and stay the course even it takes years.  I believe you become a star the first time you step up on that stage to perform for an audience.  It's just a matter of time before you make it if you believe in yourself and don't give up.

Greer's awards and accolades are numerous from hard work and the kind of talent and discipline it takes to be successful in a competitive music industry.  They include 2002 Broadcast Male Artist of the Year,  2004 NAR Entertainer of the Year and 2005 Indie Blues Male Vocal of the Year. 

A busy 2012 is anticipated as Greer makes his way from one part of the country to another to prove again and again that a dedicated and talented artist can make it from here to there with a dream that can come true.

Three Wooden Crosses

[caption id="attachment_13401" align="alignleft" width="262" caption="BJ with son, Aaron"][/caption]

A Dad’s Point-of-View, by Bruce Sallan - I have the joy of living across the street from a beautiful man-made lake. There is always roving fowl and other wildlife in and around the lake and it’s an ideal
location for an early morning walk. Often, I listen to music and often I am inspired by ideas along the way. On recently hearing the Randy Travis song, Three Wooden
Crosses, I had to write a seasonal column based on its message. 

The first time I heard Three Wooden Crosses was at a Randy Travis concert just a few short years ago. The lyrics captivated me and it’s become a favorite song of mine
ever since. Country music often tells stories that have heartwarming messages. I’m a sap for that stuff and I love it. And, the holiday season just magnifies those
emotions for most of us. 

Let’s take a look at the first words of this song, which begin telling the story: 

A farmer and a teacher, a hooker and a preacher,
Ridin' on a midnight bus bound for Mexico.
One's headed for vacation, one for higher education,
An' two of them were searchin' for lost souls.
That driver never ever saw the stop sign.
An' eighteen-wheelers can't stop on a dime. 

In a few short lines, we are on high alert that a tragedy is coming. We’ve met the characters and we’re hooked. Who will die? Who will survive? What lesson will we be
told?

There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway

Why there's not four of them, Heaven only knows.

I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you,

It's what you leave behind you when you go. 

Ah! One person survives. Who is it? We don’t know yet. But, the chorus has revealed the heart of this song’s message and the part that GOT me, “it's not what you take
when you leave this world behind you,   "it's what you leave behind you when you go.” 

Those of you that follow the A Dad’s Point-of-View Facebook Page know that every Sunday is #Faith Sunday in which I ask the same question, “What are you doing to
repair the world?” I then share a link to something that I hope is inspiring. 

That expression about repairing the world comes from the biblical expression,“Tikkun Olam,” which literally means to repair the world and is expressed in the
Bible as an obligation of our lives. When I began my second career as a writer, my first goal was to make a difference (in the lives of parents). So, this song and its
message resonate very strongly with me. 

No one on their deathbed wishes they’d worked more! No one on their deathbed wishes they’d had more possessions. No one on their deathbed wishes they’d had more fun.
Mostly, we wish we’d spent more time with and touched our loved ones. And, mostly we hoped that our lives had some value and that the world was a better place for our
having been here. 

The song continues,

That farmer left a harvest, a home and eighty acres,
The faith an' love for growin' things in his young son's heart.
An' that teacher left her wisdom in the minds of lots of children:
Did her best to give 'em all a better start.
An' that preacher whispered: "Can't you see the Promised Land?"
As he laid his bloodstained bible in that hooker's hand.

Again, the song reels us in and we think that the hooker has died holding the
preacher’s Bible. But, like every good country song, there’s a surprise a-comin’.

That's the story that our preacher told last Sunday.

As he held that bloodstained bible up,
For all of us to see.
He said: "Bless the farmer, and the teacher, an' the preacher"
"Who gave this Bible to my mamma,
"Who read it to me."

The first time that I heard this last part of the song, I was completely suckered in. I loved it. I had to immediately get the song and hear the story again. Again,
that last line of the chorus struck me to the core: 

I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you; It's what you leave behind you when you go. 

As we head into the mania of the holiday season, I ask you to reflect a little less on the shopping and cheer, and a bit more on what your life purpose is. What impact
do you want to leave the world? Is that promotion more important than attending your kid’s soccer games? If you miss that business convention to attend your daughter’s
recital, will you miss anything of lasting importance? Have you helped someone in need or bought the newest iPhone?

What are you doing to Repair the World?

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Bruce Sallan, author of “A Dad’s Point-of-View: We ARE Half the Equation” and radio
host of “The Bruce Sallan Show – A Dad’s Point-of-View” gave up a long-term showbiz
career to become a stay-at-home-dad. He has dedicated his new career to becoming THE
Dad advocate. He carries his mission with not only his book and radio show, but also
his column “A Dad’s Point-of-View”, syndicated in over 100 newspapers and websites
worldwide, and his dedication to his community on Facebook and Twitter. Join Bruce
and his community each Thursday for #DadChat, from 6pm -7pm PST, the Tweet Chat that
Bruce hosts.