CMT Blog: Archive

Momma always told me that if you have a handful of really good friends by the time you’re my age, then you’re doing pretty dang good. Well, I don’t know about a full-on handful, but I’ve got one real good one! She is my saving grace in this business and she is the most talented person I know. We stumbled upon meeting each other one night over three years ago. Her boyfriend was playing on the same bill as us, and while she was there to watch, she ordered a pizza in the bar. (I knew I liked her from the beginning.) I was starving so I went up to this stranger I didn’t know and asked if I could have a piece. The rest, as they say, is history.

This is Brennen Leigh I’m talking about. She’s just that friend in my life that will forever be there. We write songs together, we play shows together, we go see shows together. She’s just my partner in crime when it comes to loving country music.

So, this is funny, and a PERFECT example of what I am talking about. I was poking around on MySpace (what else is there to do when I’ve had the flu for four days) and read her blogs. I knew she was funny, but I was cracking up. She has one blog entry titled “South Austin Herald,” in which she is an interviewer for a fake magazine interviewing herself. Another one, “Thoughts on Hank Locklin,” made me realize that this girl is my rock when it comes to country music. Even the fact that she’s 24 and knows who Hank Locklin is makes me happy. She and her brother, Seth, are well-versed in country music trivia, and hey old guys, she can probably whoop ya on the mandolin, too.

A couple months ago, I get this phone call with a blood-curdling scream on the other end. I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with her, and then when she stops long enough to get in a word, she goes, “You’re not gonna believe this, but I met Charlie Louvin, and that’s not the best part! He asked me to play mandolin with his band tonight!” Then the blood-curdling scream was happening on both ends. Turns out, she did such a great job playing with them in Austin, he asked her to join him in Houston the next night. She even shocked Mr. Louvin by knowing some of the more obscure Louvin Brothers songs. Duh, she’s their biggest fan.

She has some really good CDs out: Lonesome, Wild, and Blue; Too Thin to Plow; Devil’s on My Trail; and a new duets record with Jesse Dayton, Holdin’ Our Own. She outshines on the whole record. Her voice takes you back, waaaaay back, to the days of Tammy Wynette. She is unapologetic, too, of her old-school voice. That’s what makes her different, you see…. and different is a good thing.