RA Huskins

 

 

Scavenger Studio

 

 

North Carolina
Songwriter Artist

 

Hybrid Country


 

 

The Nala Street Band



 

 

Possum Forge
Blacksmith Shop

 

 

Living Free

 

Living Free was a song that was written for my late cousin Rick. The song is a revisit to a time long past. A large portion of this time was centered on family, farm work, fishing, music, and hunting. A large portion of this time was spent with my two older cousins, whom at that time were more like my older brothers. In looking back now it is seems that we were always together. I can remember I could not wait until the weekend or the need to arise so we would go to their house or them to come to mine to catch up on work. I remember the old folks hitting Baseballs across the cotton field to the other side where we would fight over who was to catch the ball, Cow Pasture Football, fishing on the Catawba, hunting, popping Firecrackers and  playing in the woods. It may be hard to believe however we could get all of these things done in one Sunday after Church and family dinner, if we didn’t get caught going fishing or hunting, which was not allowed on Sunday. I find it hard to imagine now how we had time to play with all the fishing, hunting, hoeing Cotton, bailing Hay, and splitting firewood that had to be done. If I remember correctly the hoeing, splitting and bailing took up most of our time. After moving to the Island I was surprised with a visit from another younger cousin that I had not seen in a long while and the fact of his unfortunate accident while at Shaw AFB in which he got burns to a large portion of his body. He had recovered from the burns, however the ordeal damaged his heart and a transplant was required. As he walked in his first words was “where is the FG-110". As I dug it out from under the bed and opened the case the evidence of neglect was shown by the 2 inches of dust that I had to dust off. With his trademark snicker he said “not picking much I see”, and I replied with a reluctant “not as much as I should”. As we talked he began to tell of his new gig, and the excitement and sparkle in his eyes took me back to when we were kids. Unfortunately I now can’t remember the names or places however he told me of the new songs he was working on and how he loved to play the keyboards. He asked me if I had started to do any writing, my reply was “say what”.  He laughed and said “its in your blood, its just a matter of you discovering it”. Rick kept coming by and inviting us to come to his shows that were in the area before they went on tour. I kept putting it off and all of a sudden Rick did not come by as he always did. Some weeks later he stopped by and to my surprise he had a new girlfriend which was the reason for the missed visits. While at this visit Rick did not seem to be himself. He did ask if I had any new songs for him to try out, and I just laughed it off. After he left I found myself picking up the FG-110 and attempting what was a miserable attempt on what I wont even call picking. All of a sudden a thought came to me and I wrote it down and began what would become a never ending quest that would consume my soul and change the way I would look at life from then on. Living free became an obsession and it was my hope that Rick would use it in his show. While Rick was inland taking care of some medical problems, and I was at MACS New River, I finished the demo of living free and was looking forward to giving the demo to Rick. I remember making the call home to check when Rick would be coming back and finding out that that he had just died. I remember looking at Rick in the casket and all the thoughts that were running through my mind. After getting back to the Island all that I could think about was Rick and music, and how I was missing the joy of picking. This sparked an inspiration for writing and music that I never knew existed. I became possessed by the passion writing and composing. As I began to think more about Rick’s short life, I could not understand the reason why he had to leave this earth so early. These thoughts and a trip to visit the Wall Memorial, which rekindled the memory of another cousin from across the creek, inspired a thought for another song that could pay tribute to Cousin Wayne and his short time on this earth also. Cousin Wayne was killed 3 Dec. 1968 in the the Nam while serving with an Air Calv. Unit. As many others do I went to the Wall searching for Ghost, however I found none there. After the visit I did realize that I did find many memories that would inspire me to follow my passion for art. While traveling back the idea for Searching just popped into my mind. In working with the song I realized that the Ghost I was searching for were in fact there, however as inspiration in a spiritual sense. I tried to follow the inspiration that was being revealed to me however it was hard at first to put down lyrics due to the fact I do not have the proper education to be proficient in doing so, and would always find something more important to do. A shop accident that almost took my ability to be a picker opened my eyes to see through the trees to the actual forest. Now I was more determined than ever to make my dream happen no matter what. Before long with a lot of determination a good Doctor and Physical Therapist I was back in the “gruv” again. I got all those ragged pages out and began a catalog and working on lyrics and melody’s, and to my amazement picking again. I truly believe that if Rick would not have stopped in and I would not have had the accident, I would be ashes in the Catawba River. Rick gave me the inspiration needed to follow my dream.  I will never forget him or those special memories that we shared together.  I owe Rick a lot for those last few visits and I would like to share something that he inspired me to write. Rick never lived on a farm. He did not hunt or fish. However we shared one important gift that is bountiful in our family. The gift is Art, and it is in many forms and styles. Rick and I shared the love of music more than anyone ever knew. In some ways music for us was as important as life it’s self. I can rest assure that Rick at least tasted his dream in the short time he had on earth. Unknowingly he inspired me to take a second look and realize my dream before it as too late. These following inspirations in words are inspired by the memory of my late cousin and friend. “Don’t make the same mistake I almost did, using your common sense to follow your dreams, think two steps ahead walk two steps behind, never wait until time is right, it will just run out, never depend on lady luck, make her depend on you, last but most important remember, some of us will not have a Cousin Rick, some of us will be Cousin Rick”.

 

                                                      RAH © (p) 2005

 

 

 

Of Memories (uncompleted)

 

 

This song is an instrumental piece I used to break boredom that plagued me during the 1990’s, while on out of town projects. When possible I would take the FG-110 with me and pick while not working. The bad food and the rat hole motels just seemed to make things miserable. This song started out as a riff that would get me in the mood for writing. After several years and some thought it grew into a song. I mostly just used it as a warm up piece and for quite some time it was only written down in my head. After a recording was done in the studio the song (if you want to call it that) was put on CD. One fine day a special friend was listening to it on a CD and mentioned that it would make a good instrumental piece. We played around with it and came up with an interesting melody. Shortly after a demo was done and I decided to put it on the Old Boots Old Bikes Old Flattops CD, Only a few folks have heard it, and few have commented about it. I still play it while warming up and it seems to get attention, and it is my hope the attention was positive. I also wish that my cousin’s wife which has a beautiful voice will do the background vocals for it. Until that time it will be on the CD and anywhere else as uncompleted.

 

RAH © (p) 2005

 

 

Searching

 

Searching was inspired by yet another cousin from across the creek. Cousin Wayne was several years older and lived in a different community which I considered distant then. Every year at reunion time we would get together play ball and swim in the muddy pond at my mother’s uncle’s farm. My two cousins from the river cousin Rick and the rest of the family would make the journey in cars with out air conditioners filled with all types of country cooking and gallons of sweet tea in stone crocs. All through the years due to my closeness with the cousins from the river I really got to know Wayne. Through the years we played ball on opposing teams and went to opposing High Schools which will cloud a young person’s better judgment. On 3 December 1968, the announcement came that Wayne was KIA in a Firefight while in an engagement with the enemy in the Peoples Republic of Viet Nam. This time the trip was not the same. Upon viewing him in the casket, I can still remember the sense of reality that came over me. The next weekend like always I was back with my with river cousins and learned that the older one had received his notice of induction. We were all thrown in to the realization that his younger brother and I would be next in line. With no end to the war in sight at that time, everything seemed much different. All the things we loved to do together now all seemed empty. We did continue to hunt and fish and now engage in a new past time, raising hell and chasing women. Eventually everything past by and somehow all of us survived. We all eventually drifted into our own lives and life went on. After many years and the death of my younger cousins Rick and Larry and I had an opportunity to visit The Wall, I began to revisit past times that I remembered. This series of events caused a big change in the way I would think. All those river experiences, trips on vacation and the amount of fun that we had with meager funding all started a inspiration that would consume me like a Wild Fire. The fun we experienced back then were improvised out of whatever junk we could find and made complete by our imaginations. We made the best of what we had, and I remember those times as some of the best times that I have ever experience. I thought then as I do now that I was the richest person on earth to be able have those experiences with the two people that I hold so dear in my heart even after all those years. They taught me so much and didn’t even know it at the time. Even though we knew people at school laughed at us because we were Rednecks it was ok because we knew we were Rivernecks and I can proudly say that I would not trade those experiences for all the gold in the world. This song visits the growing up part of a young boy’s life when all the uncertainty of change becomes evident. It also has inspiration for Cousin Wayne’s family and the supreme sacrifice that was made. Last it revisits the journey from childhood straight to adulthood as was the way things were back then. I will never forget those times and intend to write a book about them.

 

                                                       RAH © (p) 2005

 

 

Somebody Please

 

Somebody please is another song from the 90’s during a extremely tough time for me. It was difficult to find work near home, and most of what was found was not desirable for a musician or songwriter or anyone that wanted to do anything but work all the time. Multi-track software was new and was no fun to use, you would spend more time working on equipment than writing and recording and sometimes the results were not favorable. I was somewhere on the interstate between Clarksville and Baton Rough when the song appeared. I always carry a pocket recorder with me, so I began working on the song at 75 miles per hour. While driving and trying to come up with ideas, it occurred to me that a Millennium was coming to an end and I was looking at a half a Century. At this time in my career it was up to me to have all the answers and I suddenly realized that I was not sure if the answers were right. It also became evident that I would not have anyone to bail me out if things went wrong. I don’t know how I made it through those times in my life however somehow I did, and I’m sure that it was not me making the decisions. I later realized that all those years working as an apprentice under those masters were where the answers had came from.  This song reflects life and its uncertainty. It also reflects on the others that we affect while dealing with those uncertainties, and all of us have similar experiences in life and we are not alone in our quest.

 

RAH © (p)   2005

 

 

 

I’m Headed Home

 

I’m headed home was written during the Christmas season of 2002. The idea arose some years before while jamming with Dad’s band during a Christmas show. Always at these shows there would be a request from the band at the end of the show for me “to do one” as they would say.  For me it was always difficult to think of something that we had not done, and the band and I would know. I always would smile and pass and Dad would take the spot and eventually we would end the show. After thinking about this dilemma and wanting to have something to do the next time I was asked a song came on the CD player by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The song was would be perfect for us to do. It was somewhat Rock, Country, Bluegrass, Folk and a history lesson all rolled together. The chance to do the song  finally came and to my surprise the band found it acceptable due to way it brought back memories and the names that the “Old Folks” could relate to. This is what inspired I’M Headed Home. On the first occasion that we done the song the request came unexpectedly early in the second set and to my surprise another request came at the end and like before I declined. At this time I was working on a song that would be a look at life back on the river, when I was younger. I had just begun on putting together the collection that would be known as The Old Boots Old Bikes Old Flattops Collection. I began working on the song and as always It just came together all at once. I made several demos and that year at Christmas I gave one to my Cus to get some feed back. As he listened he said “you got to do it at your dads show this weekend. At the end of the show while the Bass and Banjo player were still on the stage I “broke” into it and right away the Banjo and Bass player jumped in. To my surprise the Fiddle player came back and joined in. Before I knew it several other Pickers and to my surprise Dad was in to. “Where did that come from” The Fiddle player asked, “Just finished It”, I replied, well let’s try It in A. We done the song several times in different keys and everybody seemed to enjoy it. Since then we do the song every chance we get. It is a simple song about a simple time now past. I am delighted how it revisits the life we once knew back on the Catawba. I was told by many folks from that area that it hits the nail on the head in describing how my two cousins and I went through the motions of life. Folks say it is a mixture of Country and Blue grass. This was enough to convince me to keep it on the Hybrid Country CD.

 

copyright 2004 RA Huskins BMI

 

 

Thinking

 

 

Somewhere back many years ago a young boy with his Silvertone Electric Guitar wired through an old fuzztone effects box screaming away on a old single tube amp which sported a busted speaker patched with fingernail polish and airplane glue for the effects loop, was composing his first song and did not even realize it. It would be inspired by the Buddy Holly and Graham Parsons sounds. In those days I thought that this song would take me to the AM radio charts for sure. Through the years I have done the song but usually after the 3^rd set. (All musicians know the drill) It is easy to get by with anything after the 3^rd set. Everyone deals with rejection in different ways, mine was after the 3^rd set. As time passed I found that that is exactly the wrong way to go about dealing with rejection. I have not done the song in many years and the original recording is rough. At first I was going to re-write and re-record the song with the band however after the demo was done, and realizing this was the first original song I done in public, I decided to keep the song in its original version. Someday I hope I can perfect it and evolve it in to something that will be usable in mainstream market.

 

Copyright 2003 RAH  © (p) BMI

 

 

Treat Her Right

 

Treat her right started out as a phrase used in my construction management endeavors. Using think two steps ahead walk two steps behind in safety meetings gave flavor and change to a rather mundane task that had to be carried out on a weekly basis. Looking for new material to use in the safety meetings the phrase came to me one day just we were starting a meeting. All the crews seemed to like it and we used it as a guide line in carrying out our daily task, after which new projects caused a shelving of the phrase.  After deciding to make the CD collection I thought it would be great to have a title song with the phrase Old Boots Old Bikes Old Flattops in a verse in the song. After several months of failed attempts, I began writing down all the phrases that the old salts I worked apprentice under had shared with me. One night while in the studio a somewhat Hybrid and Bluesy riff just sprang out of my Martin D-15. In just a flash a melody in E with a Hybrid Blues beat. While in this mood with everything going good I began a track. In less than 4 bars a new B cord popped out which my good friend calls the Hybrid B. Somehow in just a few minuets I had a song with the needed phrase. “Well I wore Old boots, and I rode Old bikes, lordy played Old flattop, Guitars late at  night, never found me a wo’mon, and treat her right”. This was just what I wanted for the song, and several minuets later it was on paper. In the song most of every line has the advice that someone offered, and I did not pay very good attention. This song is not a true Blue’s song but it is as close as I can come at this time. With that in mind I felt like it must be added to the Old Boots Old Bikes Old Flattops CD even though it is a fairly new lyric.

 

RAH © (p) 2005

 

 

 

What Happened (to our love)

 

This song is one I do not have any notes on where I wrote it or when. I do know it was written in the mid to late 90’s.  The words were found on a scrap piece of paper which resembles something off of a plane flight. With that thought and the time I think it was actually written, I do not want to revisit that time in my life. For now it will stay in the original version, which was live I think and probably recorded on a 4 track. Anyhow it has a place on the Old Boots Old Bikes Old Flattops CD.

 

Copyright 2005 RAH © (P)  BMI

 

 

When I’m Away

 

This song was written long ago, and were only as lyrics kept in a note book. Going all the way back to the late 70’s When I’m Away was started and added to for many years. The song is in the abstract and was back when Rock style music was to more of my writing interest, or at least I thought so. It was never demoed until around 1996 or so and was done on the primitive equipment I owned back then. Later around 1999 it was redone on a 10 track, after which pitched to a solicit through the A&R folks that I used back then. After several negative critiques it was shelved until a few years ago and was changed a hook added and acoustic backup instead of the 3 Guitar Rock styles I used back then. It is much too simple for today’s music scene, and not well written. Due to the fact that it was the actual first idea I ever worked with and it has an abstract sound that I finally decided to add it to the CD. I learned much on how not to write a song by this first ice breaker that I keep it out in the studio and listen to it from time to time. I plan to do another version to the words later and add both versions to another CD. With all said it will be on the Old Boots Old Bikes Old Flattops CD right or wrong, because it was the first.

 

RAH © (P)  2005