Sins of the Father This whimsical ditty is the closing theme of Yellowstone Season 2, Episode 10 – Sins of the Father. I believe this is written and performed by Ryan Bingham – an Americana singer/songwriter who also plays Walker; a ranch hand on the […]

Touch of the Sun 127 Hours is the story of Aron Ralston, who survived a canyoneering accident by cutting off his own arm after being trapped for 5 days. The film stars James Franco (as Ralston) and is based on the Aron’s book, Between a […]

The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy I love Chris Stapleton’s music. The guy might be the best singer in Americana music today. Between he and Jason Isbell — you can’t go wrong sound-tracking any road trip across the heartland. Stapleton’s Lonesome Cowboy (from Toy Story […]

Until the Heart Whispers Back Listen on Spotify. I wrote this song for my wife Jennifer. She’s the sole reason why I’m a father, and play guitar for a living. As it happens, music is my best currency – and nothing cements my feelings for […]

Like Real People Do I JUST got into Hozier. I couldn’t stand the song, Take Me to Church, so I wrote off his music years ago. However, a guitar student of mine requested to learn some of his stuff — and I was blow away […]

Summer Storm The Glass Castle (the book and movie) recount the unconventional, poverty-stricken upbringing of Jeannette Walls and her siblings had at the hands of their deeply dysfunctional parents. The title refers to her father’s long held intention of building his dream house, ‘a glass […]

Death Letter “We’re starting and ending the season with deep, deep classic American vernacular,” T Bone Burnett – music producer and soundtrack curator of HBO’s True Detective. ‘Death Letter Blues’ was originally recorded by Delta Blues artist, Son House, in 1965. Cassandra Wilson’s 1995 version […]

Jason Isbell To say the least, Jason Isbell is the preeminent singer/songwriter of our time. Almost lost in the superb songwriting and flawless singing — is Jason Isbell’s world class guitar playing. If you get the opportunity to watch a Jason Isbell play live — you’ll […]

The Wings The Wings completes my arrangements for the Oscar winning Brokeback Mountain Soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla. This song is what initially drew me into Gustavo Santaolalla’s film score work, way back in 2005. The film was very controversial then, and I remember cleaning my […]

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs I’m a huge Coen Brothers fan, and the The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Netflix) is one of their best. It’s really the Coen Bros unleashed — as Netflix doesn’t have the same constraints as a Hollywood studio. My favorite of […]

Brokeback Mountain 3 Brokeback Mountain 3 is an achingly beautiful piece of music from Gustavo Santaolalla’s Academy award winning Brokeback Mountain score – most of which was played on a single solitary acoustic guitar. ‘Wings’ is the most memorable theme from Brokeback Mountain. However, the […]

Don’t Worry, He Won’t get Far on Foot Don’t Worry, He Won’t get Far on Foot is a 2018 drama/comedy written and directed by Gus Van Sant. The film is based on the memoir by the late Portland based cartoonist, John Callahan. This motif, by composer […]