Tag Archive: Southern Plains Revisited


I figured better a picture of this than the actual toe. You might be eating at the time.

I was staying in a hotel in Amarillo Saturday night. I was coming back from Colorado after playing an album release (Southern Plains Revisited) social distanced show at World’s End Brewing in Canon City on Friday night. There was a bench at the foot of the bed in the hotel room. The bench had a metal frame with a tuck and roll type cushion on top.

I got up to go to the bathroom and banged my shin on the bench, cursed, took care of business, and went back to bed. The next time I had to go to the bathroom, I tried to give the bench a wide berth without running into the dresser. It almost worked. But I caught my little toe on the frame of the bench. It hurt considerably more than my shin earlier. So I cursed more.

When I got through and started to move, it felt like I’d stepped on something sticky. I was curious because it was clean before. I didn’t think too much about it though and started to go back to bed. As I was getting into bed I realized my little toe was bleeding. I went back to the bathroom, turned on the light, and realized I had been standing in a pool of my own blood.

I wiped my foot with a hand towel and put a bandaid on my toe. I used toilet paper to wipe the blood off the floor. The towel was bloody enough. I noticed a spot on the carpet where I’d stepped out of the bathroom. In the morning I noticed there was a spot of blood on the sheet. I cleaned my foot good with a bath towel and put a new bandaid on it.

I didn’t say anything when I handed in my “key” as I left. They probably weren’t the ones cleaning the rooms anyway. But I do kind of wonder what scenario enters the cleaner’s mind when they see the bloody towels, the spot on the carpet, and the blood on the sheet – and probably on the frame of the bench. Oh, and my toe still freaking hurts.

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

I’m doing a Colorado album release show and a Dallas album release show for Southern Plains Revisited. While the show at World’s End Brewing in Canon City, Colorado on November 20 will include some songs of John Prine, the album release at Poor David’s Pub on December 4 will be just mine and John’s songs in a more intimate setting. It will also be livestreamed on the Poor David’s Pub Facebook page as well as my own. Up to 30 people will be able to see the show in person, following social distancing rules, and donating. The club can comfortably hold 300, so there is more than enough room to spread out. If you are interested in seeing my show live, please contact david@poordavidspub.com. We would love to see you.

Tickets to the livestream are $10 and are available on my website. All tickets include a download of the album when it becomes available. Currently, it will only be available as a download and will be available in all the usual places online on November 20. In John Prine’s honor, a major portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to Poor David’s Pub to help David Card keep the doors open. The Pub has been around for 43 years and we’d like to see many more years of shows at the iconic venue.

Keep writing the songs that are on your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

(Read the first part of the Southern Plains story here. Along with what the cover of the album was supposed to be like if the distributors had let me use the cover I wanted.)

The next time Joel, Bruce, and I got together – with guitars and beer – we each played songs we’d written. We enjoyed each other’s songs, re-playing some so the other two could harmonize. We were excited about what we were hearing. I hadn’t had anyone singing along with me on my songs and I was blown away.

Joel returned to school in Nashville, Tennessee at Scarritt College, which is now the Scarritt Bennett Center. He came back to Dallas over the summer and we played gigs before and after Joel’s summer courses in Nashville, including a show at a party in Slidell, Lousiana. Joel then decided, after three and a half years, that he would forego returning to school to play gigs. I paused my own schooling to move to Nashville with Joel so he would finish his last semester (and play gigs) and live with his other two roommates on the second floor of an old house.

The painting pictured above is a painting of a picture of mine and Joel’s guitars crossed. More to come!

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

I will be playing for about half an hour at 6 p.m. (CT) this evening (6/19). It’s last minute notice, but my son, Conner, had to finish setting up his new computer and connecting everything. We ran a quick test last night and everything seems to be set.

I’ll be streaming on the Refrigerator Records Facebook page, as well as my personal and music pages. I’ll begin with River That Flows, the song I’ve been trying to release as a single from the upcoming cd, Southern Plains Revisited (with Joel Nichols). But, thanks to Covid-19, the release has been delayed.

Included in the show will be a John Prine song – my first chance to publicly pay tribute after his passing. And a song I wrote after the shooting at the peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas in 2016.

Tune in at 6 and listen to some songs. It should be a good time.

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

For some reason which I not only do not know, but have no control over, River That Flows – the first single from Southern Plains Revisited – will be released on a future date. Please look for it and stay tuned.

While you’re here, a poem.

Moments

 

Transcending forests,

hovering above trees,

Romantic concepts,

Bringing men to their knees.

 

It is a hint of loneliness

with a dash of hope,

There is always promise

Where there is water and soap.

 

It is possible to trip

on a man’s heartstrings,

reach into his mind,

and repossess the memories

or help the mess unwind.

 

It could very well be a blessing,

or hinge upon a curse,

If he chooses to depend on miracles,

or simply expects the worse.

 

It comes to the magic of the moment

and how the magic is spent,

Between the meaning as it has been received,

and the meaning as it is meant.

 

Confusion enters the arena,

Yet joy wins out over all:

When everyone just goes for joy

decreasing the chances of a fall.

 

And when you see the magic

of the moment,

You realize you have it all.

_________________________________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

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