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Moonshine and Melodies or How A City Slicker Became A Country Music Fan
The long dusty road to somewhere special
There I was, wearing my new Johnny Cash t-shirt and cowboy boots, holding a glass of moonshine, and singing along to Zac Bryan in a poorly attempted southern drawl. The unlikely transformation was complete. I was a Country Music convert — and damn proud of it.
"Coz the haters, gonna hate, hate, hate." Taylor Swift
Growing up in the 80s and 90s in Melbourne, Australia, there was no country music. It was all about pub bands — beer, bands, and sticky floors. Rock, grunge, punk, alternative — any music you could drink beer and enthusiastically mosh to. It was played out in smoke-filled venues where your shoes occasionally stuck to the floor, and conversing over the noise was impossible. And I loved it all.
To me, country music was considered hick music — listened to by rural bumpkins who married their cousins and had never been to the big smoke. Whenever someone mentioned country, I pictured Cletus, the Slack Jawed Yokel character in the Simpsons. It was a racist and inaccurate stereotype, but I was a fancy city boy who knew no better.
Sure, the occasional song filtered through the cracks, broke into the mainstream, and made it to my airwaves. The Gambler by Kenny Rogers was the first country music song I heard and didn't immediately switch off. I tapped my toes to a few Dolly Parton hits. I even sang along to so bad it's actually good, Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus.
But they were the exception.
"I had a barbecue stain on my white t-shirt; she was killing me in that mini-skirt." Tim McGraw
It was like a line from a Tim McGraw song — exhibit A above. I was in Austin, Texas, when I met Cecilia. She impacted me in two ways; she would eventually become my wife, but perhaps more importantly, she would change my stance on country music.
Cecilia had grown up on a diet of Tex-Mex food and country music. The Chicks, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, and the aforementioned Mr McGraw. She was surprised by my stance on her favorite genre, but thankfully, instead of dismissing it, she decided to help educate me. After a year of long-distance dating, she…
