A Time-Out for a Tune-Up
By Paul Wiseman, Special Contributor
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be in Amarillo by morning—that’s Automatic because I’m in a Lone Star state of mind. Later, there’ll be a Grand tour of the studio and when we’re done we’ll be In the arms of the angels.”
Those were the titles of some of the songs sung at MudRock Studios’ ballroom on Tuesday, April 28, upon an invitation from Mudsmith founder and president, Ken Goldsmith. A few days prior, the ever-positive Goldsmith had posted the following on his Ken Goldsmith Music Facebook page: “Hey guys & gals, there’s so much negative sentiment & depression in the industry right now that we need to do our part to break the intensity & spread a little joy. So, let’s have a big karaoke party next Tuesday night, the 28th!” Included in the offering was a tour of the studio hosted by recording/mixing engineer Anthony J. Nieto.
I, your humble reporter and occasional songwriter and performer, saw an opportunity to follow Goldsmith’s lead in encouraging the Basin and to mingle with some fellow area performers, so I worked an invitation, myself.
Goldsmith, himself an accomplished singer and songwriter, built MudRock Studios in 2012 during a boom-time expansion of the Mudsmith facility, allowing him to make recordings in the comfort of his own home town. The studio features Nashville-quality design, equipment, and engineering. He included a ballroom as part of the mix as well, which was the scene of the karaoke party.
As expected for a Texas-style shindig, there was plenty of beer and barbecue in the ballroom, along with about 80 people involved in various aspects of the oil business and, in most cases, in music as well. At the risk of making this sound like a society page for oilfield musicians, the spotlight was peopled by Ron Eckert, Tommy Tarango, Christy Lewis, Ray and Lana Straub, Kari Honea, Dusty McNew, the erstwhile Mr. Goldsmith, Yours Truly, and nationally known singer-songwriter Josh Tatum, among others. The story of how Tatum left a lucrative career in Nashville and Los Angeles to sell oilfield services in Midland, Texas, is itself worthy of a whole story, if not a book.
Goldsmith told me he felt like a music get-together would give opportunity for a release, a sort of “therapy for the industry” in times of layoffs and cutbacks. “I thought this would be an opportunity to stir up some enthusiasm and joy. People are reeling from the pain right now. A lot of people are just trying to survive. That’s our common thread, no matter what aspect of the business we’re in,” he said.
Attendees came from oil and gas operations, service companies, trucking companies, and others, he noted, adding that, “Music drives us all.”
Ray Straub is president of the Straub Corporation, a Stanton-based specialized groundwater services company. His wife, Lana, is a freelance journalist and independent radio producer. They’ve been in the oil business and writing and performing songs for about 20 years—all of their married life. They heard about the show from independent landman Kimberly Smith of Development Resources, and “We’re musicians, so any time we’re offered a chance to play music, we’ll come,” Ray said, adding that they also wanted to help encourage the people in the industry.
The Straubs began by playing in church, said Lana, and then began to branch out. She also admitted that sometimes they solve marital conflicts by writing songs, with lyrics directly or indirectly related to the disagreement.
Smith herself, who was one of the non-musical guests, said, “I was thrilled that Ken chose to let everyone rest from their worry about the loss of income or projects. The Permian Basin is positive, and I have been tweeting #permianstrong. However, we don’t [take] enough time to realize the loss of income [and] added stress because of our sense of pride. Ken brought us together to laugh when we most needed it!”
Tarango, saying “God has been good—He has opened a lot of doors for me,” has sung on the Grand Ole Opry and other major stages. The Ft. Stockton-born West Texan says his opportunities continue to grow.
Attorney Ron Eckert has recorded four albums of original material, including duets with John Carter Cash (son of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash) and Marty Stuart. He has recorded in John Carter Cash’s Log Cabin Studio, installed at a cabin the elder Cash used as a retreat in his later years, doing some recording there himself. Eckert has also recorded at Willie Nelson’s home studio.
Eckert also went there to see friends, adding that, “Music is the great common denominator—it can help unify us in times of trouble, especially in times of trouble. [Music] gives people a common bond, brings them together.”
On my part, I obtained the invitation from Ken Goldsmith on Monday night before the Tuesday of the karaoke night. I woke up Tuesday morning with an odd idea for a song parody. The old song made famous by Ray Price, then by Engelbert Humperdinck, “Release Me” was running through mind. “Release” contains the oilfield word “lease” in it, so “Lease me, and let us drill again” got my creative juices going, and I went from there. Goldsmith’s gathering seemed like the perfect context for a song like that. The text is in a sidebar.
In a mostly off-the-record conversation, Tatum told me about the challenges of being a professional musician, including travel, promotion, and more. An amazingly talented guitarist and singer as well as songwriter, Tatum throws everything he has into even off-the-wall songs that include inside jokes only familiar to fellow employees and associates. It is obvious that he did not leave the business because he was tired of music itself—just the merry-go-round of promotion and travel. He still opens for some big name acts that perform at the Wagner-Noel Performing Arts Center, including Robert Earl Keen and 2 Cellos.
Did the get-together help? Well, in the days immediately afterwards oil prices inched up toward $60, so maybe it won’t be long before they indeed “Lease me and let us drill again.”