World of Music

“World of Music” is another song originally written by my friend Alan. When we first started playing it, I came up with a few of the hook riffs that eventually became part of the song’s identity. The original version didn’t really have a Southern rock feel, but it always had a certain raw energy. Over time, I started hearing it as the kind of song that could become a band’s big anthem — something broad, muscular, and melodic, with those recurring guitar hooks helping to carry it. Lighters flickering in the air. This version grew out of that idea. In creating it, I used an AI model with the settings pushed toward preserving as much of the original performance as possible — the feel, the structure, the guitar parts, the leads, and the overall character of the song — while expanding it into a fuller Southern rock arrangement. The source recording itself goes back some years when Alan and I played acoustic guitars at Mick's Music Bar in Benson, Omaha. Not too far from my home. The song probably sounds a little more dangerous than our own experience actually was. We weren’t living some grandiose outlaw existence, but when we were playing around we certainly met our share of characters, and anyone who has spent time performing live probably recognizes some of the territory. On any given night, almost anything can happen. There’s the long setup, the strange personalities, the occasional tension, the equipment problems, and sometimes the simple hope that you’ll make enough money to cover what you spent renting the gear in the first place. You rarely feel like you’re being paid what the work is actually worth, but you keep doing it anyway. At its core, that’s really what the song is about — the rough, strange, funny, exhausting, and occasionally wonderful world that surrounds live music, and the pull that keeps musicians coming back to it. Lyrics: I was born a gambler's son Played a trick or two on everyone Back in the days of survival When all a man had was an ax and a gun Play the blues and some plays on the run A fucking nightmare Think about the places in your dreams When life is sometimes stranger than it seems Try the world of music World of music World of music World of music What's mine is mine, what's done is done Couple notches on the heel of my gun That's the way of survival When you're playing the blues and some plays on the run And you get your money as the gig is done Avoid a fist fight Think about the places you've seen And where life is sometimes stranger than it seems Try the world of music