Phil Vassar's 2008 CD, photo by Jim Wright, courtesy of Universal Records South.

This really came out of paying $86 for a tank of gas. Then you fill up a tour bus a couple
of times at a grand a pop and...I'll tell you what, that's not fun either. I wrote three songs with Tom on this album. I've known him for years, our kids go to the same school. We finally hooked up and wrote five or six songs together. On this one, we got together and talked about what concerns us – Virginia Tech, all this stuff happening. It's like, are you kidding me? Especially coming up on an election. We're a year-and-a-half out and I'm so sick of all the candidates I could puke. We're inundated with all this crap about stuff that doesn't matter, and they pay no attention to so many of the important things. I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, just do something you said you were going to do. There's always the chic issue or the Hollywood charity of the moment that gets all this attention, and there are people all around us who can't afford basic necessities and nobody really does anything.

"Around Here Somewhere"
(Phil Vassar/Charlie Black/Tommy Rocco)

There are certain songs I've written where the timing just has never been right. We wrote this a long time ago and I've wanted to cut it forever. It really felt like it fit the project. I
played it for Mark Wright and he flipped out. This is something everyone has xperienced after being in a relationship for any length of time. You can get to the point of just going through the motions. And it's like, hey wait. Weren't you the girl that used to drag me into the backseat of my car? What happened? At this time in my life, this song was something that really described things I had gone through recently.

"My Chevrolet"
(Phil Vassar/Tim Ryan/Billy Alcorn)

We were talking about cars, parking with girls, riding with friends. Jenny was my girlfriend. There was a place called Timber Lake we used to drive out to and park. Drive-in movie theaters. Those were great days. When we go home I'll drive some roads and smell fresh cut hay and it'll bring back memories. I was back not long ago and something hit me and for some reason I started thinking about the first time I ever dipped tobacco. It's funny how those memories come back.

"Love Is a Beautiful Thing"
(Craig Wiseman/ Jeffrey Steele)

I fell in love with this song the very first time I ever heard it. It reminds me of growing up
back home in Virginia. It really paints a portrait of Americana. Every time I hear that second verse about giving away your daughter at her wedding it makes me tear up. In a way, the song reminds me of every family reunion or get together we had in my family.

"Prayer of a Common Man"
(Phil Vassar/Tom Douglas)

Tom and I can get into some really deep discussions. Like, people having to choose
between a tank of gas and milk. That's what I remember about growing up. That's how it was at my house. In my hometown there was a paper mill and GE. Everybody worked at one of them. Nobody got rich on my side of town.

I think about some of those moments that can define you, and I've got a lot of them. It's
Thanksgiving and I'm eating a Wendy's hamburger. The power's not on. Whatever. You laugh when you think about it, but it also gives you the creeps. "Common Man" comes from that. The braces conversation came out of talking to my guitar player Jeff. Both our daughters got braces at the same time and it's expensive. Wow. We wrote it at the last minute and it really came out well.

"I Would"
(Phil Vassar)

I was in Las Vegas for a show around Christmas and met a guy while I was killing some
time. I met this old man who was talking about his life and kept saying "If I could do this over again?.I would. If I could do that?I would." It made me think about all that has happened in my life recently and I went back to my hotel room and wrote this song in about 30 minutes. It’s a song about hopelessness and regret and wishing you could fix something you can’t. It just sort of flowed out. When I got home we went in and recorded it on a whim and I just felt like it was something that had to be added to this record. It says a lot of what I have been feeling.

Phil Vassar photo by Jim Wright, courtesy of Universal Records South.

Sean is Doug Sahm's son – from the Texas Troubadours. Los Lonely Boys are on the
record with me. One of my old friends is their lawyer and Mark Wright produced them so we had the idea to ask them to come in. It turned out really cool. I love the accordion. There's a guy in my band who plays accordion and he flipped out, because how many songs can you have with an accordion in them? "American Child" and now this one. That's it.

"It's Only Love"
(Phil Vassar/Rodney Clawson/Julie Vassar)

That's another breakup song of course, but it's more my tongue in cheek way of looking at it. Hey, it's only love. No big deal. It's only everything. Writing this was a good time.
I've almost put this on my last two records. I've got a few of these songs where it takes a few passes before it clicks in. I've got one song I've cut, Tim McGraw's cut, Jo Dee Messina's cut, I think Faith Hill has cut it. Four or five of us have cut it and it's such a great song, but it's never made a record because nobody's nailed the cut yet.

"Let Me Love You Tonight"
(Phil Vassar/Jeff Smith/Julie Vassar)

If I have a favorite performance on the record, that's it. It's a pretty bleak song, but
we've all been in that place. As far as writing, performing and playing, it all came together on that song. I had a melody and that chorus came out and started a flurry of ideas. We were just thinking about being in that place where you're face to face with someone saying, "I know, I get it, we're done." That's where the real songs come from.

"Baby Rocks"
(Phil Vassar/Billy Alcorn)

That was just silly and we had a great time writing it. Every once in a while you have to
let go a little bit. I'm a Rolling Stones fan, Jagger and The Beatles, The Who – all that British Invasion stuff. This was just goofy and fun. As the album goes, that's my brainless one. It was really fun to record, too.

"The World Is a Mess"
(Phil Vassar/Tom Douglas)

I told Tom, "I've got this idea: The world is a mess, I feel like dancing." He just looked at
me and said, "That's great! Let's write it." Tom's that guy who I'm in the zone with right now. I can just go to him with the most bizarre idea and he runs with it. He's not afraid of anything. That's easy to do when you write by yourself, but it's hard with a co-writer. He's that guy I can go to who doesn't think I'm out of my freaking mind. My kids love that song. Dad, play it again! My three year old loves it.

"Crazy Life"
(Phil Vassar)

I wrote that song about 10 years ago in the middle of one of the most horrible, defining
days of my life. I remember coming home, sitting down and writing. I kept thinking about my day, what happened and how screwed up it all is. But you know, it's a crazy life. This is just the time for that song. And it needed to be the last song on this album.