 Backroads is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money by the vote of the people November 4th, 2008. I'm looking for the perfect place to sit, I'm looking for the perfect seat The one that feels most comfortable is the perfect one for me If I shouldn't find it, if I'm forced to stand Happy or beside me, here to hold my hand I'm looking for the perfect place to stand, the perfect place to see The one that feels most comfortable is the perfect one for me If I just can't find it, honey We'll make do, happy or beside me And I love you too I'm looking for the perfect place to be, relax since where it's at Doesn't matter what I'm doing or if I stood or sat as long as You're beside me honey, I'm where I want to be Happy or beside me baby, happy or with me I'm looking for the perfect spot, a perfect space and time The spot that feels most comfortable is the spot that I'll call mine There it is, plain as day, my spot's right next to you The perfect place beside my honey, next to Connie Lou The perfect place to be, relax since where it's at Doesn't matter what I'm doing or if I stood or sat as long as You're beside me honey, I'm where you're beside me baby Happy or with me, I'm looking for the perfect spot A perfect space and time The spot that feels most comfortable is the spot that I'll call mine There it is, plain as day, my spot's right next to you The perfect place beside my honey, next to Connie Lou My spot's right next to you The perfect place beside my honey, next to Connie Lou Hey, thank you so much. What is your history with music? When I was young, my older sister Jackie hooked me up with a ukulele and her husband taught me how to play, I was four and then at six my brother got a guitar and he taught me how to play I had an uncle named Uncle Roy who was a singing cowboy kind of guy and I wanted to emulate him When I was a kid we used to come up north as a family and then I started bringing my own family up north that's what this next song is called, all about, this is called Chasing My Blues Away It seems those were downshacked out on a crystal lake The smell of those old pine trees and my blues Yes, I've ever seen Those soothing strings make my old dog smile Put another my blues and chasing my blues He's kissing all the kids I'm so glad she creeps into my soul and makes me feel so mean It makes me wonder Chasing my blues and chasing my blues Chasing my blues, crystal lake Thank you so much. And what are some of your influences, specific artists that kind of influenced how you perform and sound? Well I've been performing live ever since I was young and so probably the greatest influence on me was the musicians that I was able to work with When I was 18 years old I played with a guy named Dan Rinaldi from a Twin Cities band called The Litter and he emphasized to me the importance of the rhythmic structure of a song and the economy of sound used as a rhythm guitar player He influenced me greatly I was also able to work with a bass player named Donnie Larson Both of these guys are in the Minnesota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame And Donnie Larson plays bass like nobody I've ever heard and simply working with him brought out so much in me All of a sudden you're playing a lick that it's familiar to a lick that you heard 10, 15, 20 years ago, you know? What's the importance of having that kind of musician fellowship kind of atmosphere? The thing with music is it's constantly evolving and as a musician you're constantly evolving There's things that you can play after you've been playing for 10 years that you couldn't have played the first two years and it goes on and on and on and then you think that you've mastered something and you hear some guy on TV like Tommy Emanuel and he blows your mind and it just gives you more stuff to work on It's constantly evolving That's one of the things I love about music As a player you're always challenged, always Just look at the view Just look at the view How would you describe the experience of playing live music in front of an audience? It can be a complete lift If it's the right audience for the right music, you know, if it goes together it's great There's a bond that develops when the audience is into the music and if the audience isn't into the music it can be like pulling teeth But as far as reaching an audience I think one of the best ways that has worked for me is talking to them Don't isolate them, don't isolate yourself To get the audience on your side you have to reveal something of yourself and you have to just put it out there and it happens as it happens, you know The thing with songs is you can express yourself in a song and it turns out that it touches other people for different reasons but it means something to them too, you know So you're giving it away Every song was written at a certain period in my life and they reflect my head at the time You know, we'd have to have a three hour show to talk about the meaning of each of these songs because they're all really important to me You know, they're very important A song, Winter Blues, it just deals with the guy being alone facing the fact that there's nothing he can do He just has to go through this heartache and then all of a sudden he's got a spring fever and life changes You know, and that's the song I think that's a really interesting thing about music is that it's like a personal diary with music Yeah, when I released CD Chasing My Blues Away friends made the comment that it was the story of my wife and I It was a story of how we fell in love and where we're at now, you know And I look at the lyrics and they're pretty right, you know That is what it is, they're all real life stories The thing with songs is you can express yourself in a song and it turns out that it touches other people for different reasons but it means something to them, too