Adventure Hat Podcast

In this episode, I interview the one and only Meredith Shaw. Meredith is a singer and songwriter based in Columbia, Missouri. She has a country heart, a rock n roll sensibility, and a whip-smart sense of humor.Also, full disclosure: I (Seth) am in her band, Meredith Shaw and the Borrowed Band. I play lead guitar, sing some harmony, and do bandleader things.And so, I have an insider’s perspective on her songwriting and how she puts her music together. Even so—and even though I’ve worked closely with her on bringing this song to life in the rehearsal room—I didn’t know a lot of the details of how this song came to be.Have you ever been driving home down the highway and thought… “Maybe I don’t take the exit. Maybe I just…keep going.” That’s what this song is about. But like a lot of Meredith’s songs, it’s not sad; it has gravity, and weight, grounded in life experience. Because “Any Given Day” is so new, it’s not been recorded in a studio yet. But we have a rehearsal studio version cooked up for you. * Meredith Shaw - Voice, guitar* Erica Kallis - Fiddle, voice* Seth Colaner - Guitar, voice* Jared Smith - Bass* Bridger Creed - DrumsHere are the lyrics:She starts drinking, she starts thinking, bad days, a haze, someday, she prays for some way outWalls are caving, she starts craving, Sunny knees, trees, oh please a breeze, on some rural routeLife’s a heavy load. Heaven’s open roadAnd she’s three drinks, two paychecks and one heartbreak away, on any given day, from hitting the highway…South to Alabama, stop and see her Grandma, bring back her smileBeaches up in Maine. See the Atlantic once again, lord it’s been a while….Reba on the radio is telling her to go…And she’s three drinks, two paychecks and one heartbreak away, on any given day, from hitting the highway…With sunshine on her face, find a happy place..Pack a tent, head out West, Colorado’s always best, for her soulKeep on driving on to Utah, prettiest thing she’s ever saw, the red rocks rollLeave the world behind, it’s always on her mindAnd she’s three drinks, two paychecks and one heartbreak away, on any given day, from hitting the highway… Get full access to Adventure Hat at adventurehat.substack.com/subscribe

I read something that said grief is not a feeling or even an emotion, but a container for all of the feelings and emotions one experiences around loss. I think grief is one of the most misunderstood human experiences. We tend to think of it as something to avoid—a dark, sticky, scary place where you can become trapped and drown in black quicksand. Although it is of course dark where grief exists, and some people do become stuck there, it’s not a dangerous place to avoid. It’s a necessary stop on the road to healing. (Or rather, it’s part of the road to healing.)Because I remember lessons much better when I turn them into songs, I wrote “Water from a rock.” The lyrics are particular to what was on my heart, but I bet a lot of folks will resonate with it.Here’s the story of how I wrote it, including the lyrics and the music nerdery behind it.* Soundcloud link to the song* YouTube video* Adventure Hat Instagram, Facebook, and website* Written version Get full access to Adventure Hat at adventurehat.substack.com/subscribe

Sometimes, songs just write themselves. In those rare and delicious cases, the task of the songwriter is primarily to pay attention and gently deliver the song-baby into the world like a musical obstetrician.So it came to pass with this tune, “Carrboro,” a sappy, cutesy love song.The song emerged towards the end of a stretch of days when my partner was far away, visiting family on the east coast. I was missing her terribly, and I guess my heart was all full up with feelin’s.Here’s the story of how I wrote it, including the lyrics and the music nerdery behind it. * Soundcloud link to the song* YouTube video * Adventure Hat Instagram, Facebook, and website Get full access to Adventure Hat at adventurehat.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve long wanted to treat other artists’ songs the way I’ve started sharing my own—here on the Adventure Hat Podcast, in a format where we dig deep on a single song and talk about where it came from, what it means, and how it was put together. (Like my recent episode, “Arizona Pines.”)And so it has come to pass! In this episode, I interview one of our local (Columbia, MO) country favorites: Travis Feutz. Best known as the frontman of Travis Feutz and the Stardust Cowboys, Travis just released a new single called “Utah.” It’s a long, sad song, with subject matter that pulls from the heritage of vintage country, old bluegrass, and rock n roll. And it’s more stripped-down than the usual full-sounding 7-piece Stardust Cowboys menagerie. It’s just Travis, along with Natalie Murphy (fiddle, vocals), Kyle Day (bass), and Scotti Iman (drums). Listen this episode, and be sure to stream “Utah” on Spotify, repeatedly! Here are the lyrics:“I’ll always love you,” were the last words you said as the bullets ripped the life from your eyes. Two young lovers turned outlaws, like Bonnie and Clyde. Newlyweds running from the law…We got married in a fever. Your daddy didn’t approve. A true southern belle and a sharecroppers son. I promised you the moon and stars on our wedding day. Darling, you are forever mine.Let’s go to Utah and disappear among the pines. We’ll leave all these troubles as long as you are by my side. Let’s go to Utah and forget these outlaw lives we’ve led. Maybe slip into heaven before the Devil knows we’re dead.Darlin’, I believe we’ve got ourselves into trouble this time. As the lawmen surround the bank and pin us down.One last job, and we were out of here, leaving this life behind. But honey, I think our train’s at the end of the line.Shot to hell and dying, you reached for my hand. Please hold me close one last time.“Can’t you see the promised land,” she whispered in my ear as we cocked our pistols and kissed goodbye.Let’s go to Utah and disappear among the pines. We’ll leave all these troubles as long as you are by my side. Let’s go to Utah and forget these outlaw lives we’ve led. Maybe slip into heaven before the Devil knows we’re dead.Legend swears we both died that day in an epic gun fight. While some say we both made out alive…Let’s go to Utah and disappear among the pines. We’ll leave all these troubles as long as you are by my side. Let’s go to Utah and forget these outlaw lives we’ve led. Maybe slip into heaven before the Devil knows we’re dead. Get full access to Adventure Hat at adventurehat.substack.com/subscribe

This is the story behind a song I wrote called “Arizona Pines.” It was inspired by a generous family member, a trip out West, personal musical renaissances across generations, and gratitude.Surely that’s enough words to entice you to listen? I’ve embedded this podcast episode into a post on the Substack, too.If you subscribe to the Adventure Hat newsletter (and if you don’t, please do), you don’t have to do anything to get the podcast episodes—they’ll just show up in your inbox embedded inside the written story.But/and if you want the convenience of getting new episodes in your preferred podcast app or feed, just search for “Adventure Hat Podcast” and add it there. It’s available on Apple and Spotify, and likely will populate out into all the others as the little RSS feed web scrapers do their work.Enjoy!(By the way…did you know Arizona had pine forests?) Get full access to Adventure Hat at adventurehat.substack.com/subscribe

So we spent a week in Paris. Avid readers of Adventure Hat will recall that I wrote several stories about our time there. Well friends, in case you don’t feel like reading 7,000 words, now you can just listen to all of them at once here in one big ‘ol supercut! This episode of the Adventure Hat Podcast contains all of those Paris stories, with new original music and narration. The stories include:* The Eiffel Tower is beige* How to Louvre yourself* The Arc de Triomphe is a cathedral with no roof* Sacré-Cœur, Sacré Bleu!* Je suis flâneur!* Smoke and perfumeAs I’m rolling out the new Adventure Hat podcast (which is basically just audio versions of my written stories), you’ll see some episodes like this one—a story you’ve perhaps already read that demanded a podcast version.Over time, and in the future, I’ll embed the podcast episodes into each respective post, too.If you subscribe to the Adventure Hat newsletter (and if you don’t, please do), you don’t have to do anything to get the podcast episodes—they’ll just show up in your inbox embedded inside the written story. You can click play and enjoy.But/and if you want the convenience of getting new episodes in your preferred podcast app or feed, just search for “Adventure Hat Podcast” and add it there. It’s available on Apple and Spotify, and likely will populate out into all the others as the little RSS feed web scrapers do their work.Enjoy! Get full access to Adventure Hat at adventurehat.substack.com/subscribe

Hey there good people. This is a story that Adventure Hat readers should be familiar with. (It’s the first one I posted, actually, back in 2020.) It’s about the worst travel day of my life…a day full of poor decision-making, faulty planning, terrible luck, a refusal to acquiesce to the laws of physics, and one volcano. As I’m rolling out the new Adventure Hat podcast (which is basically just audio versions of my written stories), you’ll see some episodes like this one—a story you’ve perhaps already read that demanded a podcast version. Over time, and in the future, I’ll embed the podcast episodes into each respective post, too.If you subscribe to the Adventure Hat newsletter (and if you don’t, please do), you don’t have to do anything to get the podcast episodes—they’ll just show up in your inbox embedded inside the written story. But/and if you want the convenience of getting new episodes in your preferred podcast app or feed, just search for “Adventure Hat Podcast” and add it there. It’s available on Apple and Spotify, and likely will populate out into all the others as the little RSS feed web scrapers do their work. Enjoy! Get full access to Adventure Hat at adventurehat.substack.com/subscribe

Hey there good people. I’m Seth. This is Adventure Hat…the podcast!Actually, this is a podcast introduction…to the podcast. (Actually actually, what you’re currently reading is a modified version of the script for the podcast introduction to the podcast.) So, uhhh welcome to the Adventure Hat Podcast!First, what is Adventure Hat? Simply put, Adventure Hat is an umbrella for all of my music, stories, essays, and images… all about music, and life, and travel, and adventures of all kinds. The best way to find all of it is through my newsletter (adventurehat.substack.com, which you’re reading right now, but do subscribe to get it delivered to your inbox) or my website (adventurehatgo.com). On Adventure Hat, I write a lot of music, and I write a lot of stories. And I write a lot about the music. This podcast is simply the audio version of all of that, so folks who prefer to listen rather than read have a handy way of doing so. Because as a red-blooded human person I CANNOT resist categorizing things, you’ll be able to follow along with these audio adventures in an orderly fashion. For example, there are several episodes about our time in Paris; if that’s all you’re interested in hearing, and you don’t care about our adventures in, say, Gulf Shores, or you don’t want to hear my singing voice (hey, why not?), you can find and enjoy just that limited arc of six episodes. Also, because audio versions of 1,000-2,000-word essays are actually pretty short, I’ll be making supercuts of these arcs so you can tuck into one longer-form podcast ep to catch all the stories in one convenient go. Make sense? So if you like Adventure Hat and would rather listen to stories on the go, or while you’re working around the house, or whenever and wherever…this podcast is for you. But if you prefer to just read everything, you can stick to the newsletter and you won’t miss much.You can find the Adventure Hat Podcast here on my newsletter site, or your favorite podcast app, or…wherever you usually find your podcasts.  (Or at least, you will soon. I’m busily working on submitting it to All The Things. Update: Here it is on Apple and Spotify. The RSS scrapers should do their job soon and send it most everywhere else.)And we’ll go from here. So subscribe and stay tuned. And…please share! The Adventure Hat Podcast! Love ya!OH! And don’t forget to wear appropriate headgear.  Get full access to Adventure Hat at adventurehat.substack.com/subscribe