The Eye of the Hurricane

Owen Temple - City of the King

I first heard this song about 6 months ago at an acoustic song swap and was instantly drawn in to the lyrics. Owen is one of the best songwriters out there and has been making some serious headway in the scene this past year.

Owen had amazing vision with the “pre-release” of this song, as well as 2 others, on a digital only release, called “Broken Heart Land, Part One”. This summer he put together a band and recorded the 3 new songs written and decided to just go ahead and release them as a preview or pre-release to the next album “Broken Heart Land”. This just flys in the face of traditional album releases and I love it! You can get it on iTunes, Amazon MP3 or for free on Noisetrade. (More on why I think Noisetrade is awesome coming soon…)

This song has a great beat to it that draws me right in and gets my shoulders moving and feet taping. But don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s a “feel good” song. The tale of the song is told in a way that reveals a dark story that most of us only think could happen in the movies. It’s amazing to me how Owen (with the co-write from Gordy Quist and Evan Christian) can draw me in and paint a picture with the words and use the music to take me exactly where he wanted me.

“City of the King” by Owen Temple

I heard they named St Louis after some French king
She said she’s named Marie after the last French queen
The city of the king comes callin’ when the sun goes down
But she only likes to call me when no one comes around

The lights on the river shine like a diamond ring
But I haven’t got ten dollars in the city of the king
She’s bruised behind the make-up painted on her face
Another man, another night, another spaded ace
More pain she can’t erase

I may be just a jack but I treat her like a queen
Give her only love in the city of the king
One day the Mississippi will wash over everything
In the city of the king

Bottles on the table, dagger shining clean
East side Sunday mornings in the city of the king
We play a game of hearts when times for her are slow
I tell her that I love her but she only says I know

One night I came by saw a man with Marie
Fear behind her tears for the city of the king
I saw him raise his fist for the last time I swore
I cut him with my knife, left him bleeding on the floor
I can’t come back here no more

I may be just a jack but I treat her like a queen
Give her only love in the city of the king
One day the Mississippi will wash over everything
In the city of the king

I laid low down in Memphis and for a time in New Orleans
Waitin’ to return to the city of the king
News rolled downriver hit me cold like lead
Marie told folks she’d killed a man
Then they found her dead
In the river dead

I may be just a jack but I treated her like a queen
Gave her only love in the city of the king
One day the Mississippi will wash over everything
In the city of the king

Direction for 2009

So I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ll be writing about this coming year…

I’ve got 4-5 posts in the bag trying to finalize a few thoughts, but other than that they are ready to go.

I’ve got a really fun project that will involve some fans, some artists and some other people in the “business”.

I’ve got the Steamboat project coming up next month which will include more videos than last year, a streaming twitter feed from people up there, and daily wrap-ups.

I’m hoping to give the site a bit of a facelift since I’ve been lax in keeping the featured video and music updated.

I’m hoping to get more active in the comments. I read them all.. just not good at responding.

What I really want some feedback on is the idea of maybe taking on 2-3 more writers. I’ve looked back over my posts this year and there are a lot of  “songs” or “this event is happening” but not near enough from the gut commentary or concert reviews. So if you’re interested in writing something like once or twice a month, let me know. Or if you think it’s a bad idea… let me know as well.

Street Art Festival

This afternoon Meg, Christy, Lori, myself and all our kids went down to the Via Colori Street Art Festival in downtown Houston. It was such a beautiful day to be out and taking in all the great art, hearing some great music, and eating some tasty lamb tacos (I LOVE festival food!). The talent out there was really amazing, especially considering the medium of a rocky street as a canvas. Can’t think of a more wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Here’s some pics of us and the art