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00:00And, um, speaking of great music, great songwriters, let me switch up my headset here, get myself ready, and, um, we have, joining us, the incredible, the talented, Miss Bridget London.
00:24Can you hear me, Miss Bridget?
00:25I sure can. Hello.
00:27Hey, how are you? Hopefully everybody can, uh, you know, I never had a bad day, and I just had the best, the most amazing experience, uh, being down there for the Pensacola Singer-Songwriter Festival.
00:44Hey, how are you?
00:45And I can't thank you enough for the invite and for having us down there and for sharing everything.
00:49So, ladies and gentlemen, this is Bridget London.
00:53Bridget London is not just a beautiful person, she, her singing is up there with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Carter Robinson, you name the great voices, her voice is there, and her songwriting is, again, it's just amazing.
01:11So, thank you for being here and joining us, and appreciate you sharing your time and your expertise on the art, the craft, and the business of songwriting.
01:20It's my pleasure to be here. Thank you, Redneck.
01:24So, a quick question for you.
01:28Female songwriting, you know, there's a few names out there, but they're, they're not, you know, it seems to be a male-dominated business.
01:35When you started writing music and started, you know, did you, did you find it made a difference, or is it just a numbers game?
01:45Well, I think that, um, you know, writing, those of us who write, it's, it's, it's in us.
01:52I mean, we get inspired by other people, of course, but it's, it's in us.
01:56You know, a lot of times we start with poems and, and writing, but, um, there weren't a whole lot of female country writers that I was aware of.
02:03Of course, the legend, uh, Cindy Walker, but very few people knew who she was or all the great songs, the hit songs that she wrote at the time.
02:10So, a lot of my songwriting inspiration came from people like Johnny, you know, came from men.
02:16But then I got into other kinds of music, even though I'm a country artist, I was inspired by the group Heart and Stevie Nicks.
02:23You know, you see, you see where I'm going?
02:25Yeah, absolutely.
02:26Even though I wrote country, I was, and I love all kinds of music.
02:29I was inspired by the women who were writing their stories, you know?
02:35And do you feel like, do you have to transition much when you go, you know, with the rock and roll influence of the country?
02:43Or is it, um, yeah, I was always curious because I know people who write everything.
02:49AJ Coch, who I just spoke of, is a perfect example.
02:51He does blues, he does folk, he does rock.
02:54Um, do you feel like you have to put a different hat on, or is it just, uh, the, the, the songwriting?
03:00It's where you're going.
03:01Yeah, where you're going at the moment, at least for me.
03:04I can't speak for everybody that writes, but, um, my personal experience is, you know,
03:10I can get inspired listening to a really great song, whether it was written by Aretha or just performed by Aretha,
03:17and go write a country song, you know, or vice versa, because I, I write all genres, you know, well, not all.
03:23I write, like, country, blues, soul, you know, but I think it just comes out the way it comes out, you know,
03:30and, and you get inspired, and you see different people, and different artists can trigger different things within you.
03:36That's why it's so amazing, and, and we always tell people, make sure you're being authentically you,
03:41and, and whatever you're doing, because when you're authentically you performing,
03:46you're inspiring other artists, and other people to write from their, from their authentic place, you know?
03:53You know, you talked about inspiration.
03:56A lot of these young ladies that were at that event, uh, use you as an inspiration, um,
04:02for your songwriting talents, and, you know, who you are as an artist and a performer.
04:07Do you feel any pressure behind that?
04:09Well, it's, it's pretty amazing to have artists saying that now, because I'm always the one that
04:17has been saying it about other artists who came before me, and it means a lot, and the
04:22pressure, I, the only pressure I feel is, well, I guess maybe it is, but I definitely feel
04:29like a responsibility.
04:31I reach out when I can to help.
04:34I never want to tell anybody what to do, or, or, you know, direct them in a way that's away from
04:40themselves, but I let them know that I'm here.
04:43Try to guide, you know, if you need anything, um, you know, try to impart some wisdom for all
04:48the mistakes I made, so that they're valuable to somebody else, um, and, and try to give them
04:53some heads up about some things that happen in the industry.
04:56But as far as speak any language at the touch of a button, yes, now it's possible.
05:00Meet and then encourage them again to be themselves, to have the courage to be themselves as an artist,
05:06and to work hard at their craft before they're presenting it out to people, you know, because
05:12people can, when you're in the early stages of developing as an artist, you can be easily, easily
05:18broken, you know, if you're not careful by the public or by people's inputs and whatnot.
05:24But it's certainly an honor that some of the younger artists feel that way.
05:28I'm grateful for that.
05:29And I do feel a responsibility to help them as much as I can, as much as they want.
05:35You know, I don't want to infringe on them.
05:38I'm just here if they need me.
05:40You know what I mean?
05:41Oh, absolutely.
05:42What I want to do is I want to get into a little bit of what you have going on.
05:48I know that you have a gig in Texas that you're doing, and it looks like it's going to be a long-running thing.
06:00Well, I had been out of the business for, out of the public eye for a few years for health reasons,
06:06and I came back this past March, this past spring, with like a homecoming show in Luchenbach.
06:14I recently moved back home to Texas, and I wasn't expecting it to be as big as it was because
06:20I'd been out of pocket so long.
06:22So I'm grateful that we had, you know, huge attendance, and we had incredible special guests a lot.
06:29You know, I'm very fortunate to have a lot of wonderful friends that are phenomenal.
06:33Some are, you know, Texas legends at this point.
06:35And it was such a wonderful experience, and we had just such a great show and turnout
06:42that Luchenbach asked me to do an annual event with it, which is great.
06:47Years ago, I used to do different events in Luchenbach, had different running things,
06:52and so it was great to be welcomed back home in that way.
06:55And I don't take it lightly, and like I said, I'm very grateful for it.
06:59And it's a big thing.
07:01We're really excited about it.
07:02It's going to be, the next one will be, it's called Bridget London's Angels and Outlaws in Luchenbach.
07:08And it's kind of in the spirit of the old tradition of Luchenbach, the way it used to be, and yet with a fresh new perspective.
07:15And I've got a killer lineup that we'll be announcing soon.
07:18And it will be on Saturday, March 28th, and it's free to the public.
07:24So make your plans now to attend or make your RV camping plans so you can camp right there at Luchenbach.
07:30You know, it's amazing that you were able to do so many of these things, like you're a performer, singer, songwriter, and now you're a promoter, event organizer.
07:42How do you manage to keep all that in perspective and balance it?
07:47I don't know.
07:47I've just always done it.
07:49I guess, you know, as a woman coming up when I was coming up in Texas, my first couple records that I had out after I had a deal in Nashville, you know, it didn't go the way that I wanted it to.
08:00Like, the story that's a million artists.
08:04And I found being in Texas, you know, there was a freedom in that.
08:09I could be myself, but I was still, at the time, there were hardly any other women.
08:13Pauline Reese was the only one, and we are still very close friends to this day.
08:16She's like the queen of Texas country.
08:19She's incredible.
08:21And so I found that if I wanted an opportunity, I had to create it.
08:26Or if I found myself in a place where things were going well, I wanted to share that opportunity with other people.
08:33Like when I brought Waylon Jennings guys together and they had become my band, then I wanted to share that with other people.
08:41So I created an event called Spirit of the Outlaws.
08:43That was in Nashville at Douglas Corner, and we ran it every month for a year.
08:47And I would find all these people at MySpace.
08:49Remember MySpace?
08:50Oh, yeah.
08:50And that I felt would, you know, resonate well with the band and be really good and give them an opportunity to share their music in Nashville with Waylon's guys.
08:58And then it kept it fresh for Waylon's guys, you know.
09:02So you mentioned Carter Robertson.
09:04Barney Robertson was a part of that.
09:05And Carter came through and played, and Carter's Chord came and played that event.
09:09This was years ago.
09:11But I've always believed in sharing.
09:13You know, I think that that's sharing your opportunities and sharing what you have, and it's just so much more fun.
09:21It's just so much more fun to involve and play with other musicians.
09:24I mean, you know, when you're in music for music's sake, it just goes so much further to do that.
09:31And it can be a challenge.
09:32It can be a challenge.
09:33You know, there's always challenges with all these different events and different festivals I've had throughout the years.
09:37But at the end of the day, it's so worth it and so much fun.
09:41And, you know, for me, it's like I put something on and I invite my friends.
09:45You know what I mean?
09:46Like, I mean, it's just, it's cool.
09:50And I know it's not like a normal platform.
09:51There's a sense of fellowship around you whenever you do these things.
09:55And, like, we experienced that.
09:57Hundreds of artists down there in Pensacola, and the whole thing was a sense of fellowship.
10:01And you talk about sharing.
10:02I want to share some of your music.
10:04And you make it difficult on me because there's so much that I like, so much of your original stuff, so much, you know, the covers of other people's stuff you do.
10:12So I'm going to put you on the spot here, all right?
10:16Hard Woman, that's a great song.
10:17I love that song.
10:19Bare Bones, Reckless Kind.
10:21You've got to help me pick one or two.
10:25So Reckless Kind, out of all of them, is one I didn't write, but it was written by the great Roger Allen Wade, who was an old friend of mine.
10:31He wrote, like, a lot of hit songs that you know, and is a phenomenal songwriter.
10:38And I love that song.
10:39I love that track.
10:40It's just an acoustic track.
10:42And Hard Woman's always been a favorite of folks when I play out.
10:46So maybe why don't we pick those two?
10:50All right, perfect.
10:51Or one of those.
10:52You pick one of them out of them.
10:53All right.
10:54Maybe Hard Woman.
10:54Let's go with Hard Woman, because, again, that is like, when I was down there, and you would do that song, I think you did it once or twice when I was there, it kind of, you could see these young rising artists were like, oh, that's an anthem.
11:09They're like, oh, I can relate.
11:11And I know there's a story behind it.
11:14If you want to go ahead and share it.
11:15Well, that song, I was dating, actually, probably, I'm sure you play him on your show, a kind of well-known Texas artist at the time.
11:24And he kind of called me a hard woman.
11:28I didn't go with that.
11:29I didn't like that too well.
11:30And then I met somebody else later.
11:32And, you know, it was safe to be vulnerable with them.
11:37And I could let my walls down because they were, you know, really good to me.
11:41And so I wrote the song, Hard Woman, about the new man that I had fallen in love with.
11:45And speaking of Waylon's guys, so that was produced by Richie Albright, the legendary Richie, who was Waylon's drummer and producer for years and played on it.
11:57And B. Spears, who has left us now, but he was Willie's bass player in the family band for years.
12:04And those guys played on the original Honky Tonk Carols album.
12:07So all that was just, like, the best times of my life, getting to play music with those guys and have them in my band and be amazing to be a part of them, you know, while they were still with us.
12:21And so those records will always mean the most to me, you know.
12:25All right.
12:26So, ladies and gentlemen, this is Hard Woman, Ms. Bridget London here on the Gumbo Ya Ya Radio Show.
12:32Sit back, relax, enjoy, and we'll come back and we'll chat with Ms. Bridget some more.
12:36When did my heart get so open?
12:57When did you walk in?
13:04Can't think past the thought of you
13:09Sleep or the dream of you
13:12Ever wanting you again?
13:17Don't you know, don't you know, don't you know, don't you know that I'm a hard woman?
13:26Don't you know, I walked on glass, don't you know that I'm a hard woman?
13:39Someone forgot to tell you then?
13:46When did the walls crash down?
13:51When did love begin?
13:52When did love begin?
13:58Consumed in the need for you
14:03Drunk in the feel of you
14:06Lost in the smell of your skin
14:12Don't you know, don't you know, don't you know that I'm a hard woman?
14:19And don't you know, I walked on glass, don't you know that I'm a hard woman?
14:33Someone forgot to tell you then?
14:40I feel so soft and soft
14:47I feel so soft and soft
14:53I feel so soft and gentle
15:10Lying in your arms
15:18Don't you know
15:22I'm a hard woman
15:26Don't you know
15:28I walked on the glass
15:33Don't you know
15:35That I'm a hard woman
15:39Someone forgot to tell you that
15:45Someone forgot to tell you that
15:55Don't you know
16:00I'm a hard woman
16:05And I tell you, I don't know about a hard woman, but I can say a hard-working woman.
16:10And she's a singer, songwriter.
16:14She just spent a couple weeks down in Pensacola performing and helping out with the Pensacola Beach Singer-Songwriter Festival.
16:22And now she's back in Texas.
16:25And headed for
16:28Actually, getting ready to do some Lukenbach.
16:34So, did we lose you, Ms. Bridget? We still got you.
16:38I'm right here. Can you hear me?
16:39Yes, ma'am.
16:40So, look, there's so much about what you do that is just inspirational, you know.
16:49And I've always been curious, you know, when you're writing music and you have a song,
16:58How do you decide whether or not you want to pitch that to somebody?
17:03Or you want to keep it for yourself?
17:05Or is it just you do a song, somebody hears it and they come ask you for it?
17:10Like, what's the process there?
17:13Well, for me, I was always an artist first.
17:17So, I would, you know, if people want to do my songs, I'm definitely always willing to listen.
17:22I've had some songs on hold over the years by some bigger artists.
17:25And when I was younger, I didn't really want that.
17:27I was, I didn't really understand.
17:29I thought, oh, you know, I wrote it, I should sing it.
17:31Now I look back and I think I should have been more open to that.
17:35But I've been, you know, I've had a lot of great artists, like independent artists who wanted to cover my music.
17:40And I'm really grateful for that.
17:42You probably play a couple of those artists on your show, like Daryl Wayne Dasher.
17:48He did my song, The Next Win, on his first album.
17:51And then he put one of our co-writes on his second album.
17:54And I've done some co-writes that people have recorded on.
17:56And, but I don't, I didn't follow the traditional songwriter, like go get my songs cut kind of thing.
18:03You know, now that I'm a little bit older, I'm a little more open to that.
18:06And, and I know that it's an honor if somebody wants to cut your, cut your song.
18:11You know, they feel something in your song and they want to share it.
18:14And so, you know, I'm definitely, I don't, I don't go out and pitch my songs per se, but I'm not saying that I'm not going to do that now.
18:22If that makes sense, you know?
18:24Oh yeah, absolutely.
18:25A hundred percent.
18:26There are people who start and they just like, they want to get their songs cut and match their path.
18:30But, you know, without them, we wouldn't have a lot of really great songs.
18:35So, but I, I, I was always artist first, even though I did all my own material, you know?
18:41But I love it.
18:42Like, you know, I've got, um, actually hard woman, Brooke Falk is, um, going to cover that.
18:47She's always loved that song.
18:48She's performed it live and got a couple other songs.
18:52Yeah, Brooke is wonderful.
18:53Brooke is absolutely wonderful.
18:55Now, people want to go out and if they want to see you, um, I know that, um, you kind of put a little bit of strain on yourself physically, you know, with all this running around.
19:04Hopefully you're recouping and getting ready, but.
19:07I'm doing great.
19:08Oh, perfect.
19:09I love you.
19:10Are you, are you performing anywhere anytime soon?
19:13If you want to get your music, how do they buy it?
19:15Well, I wasn't, I was, I'm actually in the middle of a really big recording project that, um, I can't announce.
19:21Any details yet until certain aspects have come through, but I'm really a project that I'm probably more excited about than I've ever been in, like, probably since I worked with Wayland's guys.
19:33It's been that long.
19:34Um, I'm really, really excited about this project.
19:37And so that's kind of taken up a lot of my time, but I just decided that, um, because I'm, I'm just doing so well physically and I want to get back out there.
19:46So I'm going to be booking some shows for over the winter so they can keep up with my schedule at BridgetLondonMusic.com.
19:55All right.
19:56Well, listen, um, we're going to let you go.
19:59Thank you so much for bearing with me and putting up with my time change, uh, stupidity.
20:06And, uh.
20:07Not at all.
20:07Listen, thank you for everything you do for music.
20:10You are such a vital part in this internet, in internet industry cog machine.
20:17You are so important and you're one of a kind and I love you and I appreciate everything and all your support over the years and, and all the great music that you play.
20:26So don't ever change, okay?
20:28Uh, yes, ma'am.
20:29I appreciate you.
20:30You know, it's your show.
20:31I'm just a host.
20:32We wouldn't be able to do it without artists like yourself.
20:34So you're a blessing for us and, uh, let me do this.
20:40We're going to get out of here with some bare bones and then later on, ladies and gentlemen, y'all stay tuned after we, uh, finish our chat and some music with Miss Bridget London.
20:49We're going to stick with our songwriters round session.
20:52Y'all heard from, um, we play music by my all time favorite Dave Loggins, who I just absolutely love.
20:58We had AJ Croce just joined us, uh, Tony Ramey.
21:02We got the beautiful, the talented Bridget London, and, uh, we're going to hear music from, um, some Randy Newman, who is one of the more prolific songwriters of, you know, don't forget about Randy Newman.
21:13We also heard from, uh, Chris Christopherson and, and.
21:19The man.
21:20Yeah.
21:20So, like, ladies and gentlemen, we're trying to introduce you to, um, music by these artists that you probably are not familiar with, but, like, these are people who've written for some of the best people out there.
21:33And Bridget London being among them, not only is she an amazing songwriter, she's an amazing performer and amazing person.
21:38So, Miss Bridget, I'm going to make you a DJ, since I know you know how to do that.
21:43Um, how about you introduce yourself, introduce the song, we're going to play Bare Bones, tell people who are listening to the Gumbo Ya-Ya Radio Show.
21:51We'll play some music and hang up on you.
21:54Well, hey y'all, this is Bridget London, and you're listening to the Gumbo Ya-Ya Radio Show, the best show around for independent music by your host Redneck.
22:03And this song you're going to hear is the title track to an all-acoustic album I released in 2010 called Bare Bones.
22:13What if, if you take away the imprint of your mom, your dad, your government, your neighbors, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, the church, the press, the media,
22:29that's been bombarding every cell of your being since you were born,
22:35if you take away the labels, white, black,
22:42straight, gay, Democrat,
22:45rebel,
22:46if you take away the beliefs of those around you,
22:51what are you
22:55at your bare bones?
22:57who are you?
23:01Who are you?
23:11All's faded away
23:15No more smoke and mirrors
23:24Everything is clearer
23:31Everything is clearer
23:31Everything is clearer
23:31Everything is clearer
23:31Everything is clearer
23:32And vacant time
23:35To bare bones
23:38All's gone away
23:47No more memories
23:54No more memories
23:55No more memories
23:56In my cells
23:57No more comfort in my hair
24:04It's all come down
24:06To bare bones
24:10The soul has no sense in grieving
24:20No sense in grieving
24:23For what's not found
24:27In bare bones
24:31All's faded away
24:45All's faded away
24:46No more pain
24:51In my flesh
24:55No expectations
24:59No expectations
25:00No expectations
25:00No expectations
25:02No expectations
25:02Just falling down
25:05And bare bones
25:08All's gone away
25:17Truth and fact
25:22Aren't the same
25:26And only I remain
25:32Way down to bare bones
25:39My love is still breathing
25:49Still breathing
25:52And rattling around
25:58And my bare bones
26:03Rattling around
26:09And my bare bones
26:15Bridget London, Bare Bones
26:24Here on the Gumbo Ya Ya Radio Show
26:26Here on the Gumbo