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Pat McLaughlin

A Conversation with Pat McLaughlin (continued)

PM: So what about songs--you've popped a couple of songs out there, haven't you, as the years roll by?

Pat: You mean in the song market--Nashville song market?

PM: Yeah, or any song market. A couple of your songs got covered significantly, right?

Pat: Yeah.

PM: Wasn't "Linda" your song?

Pat: Uh-huh.

PM: And who cut that, Steve Wariner?

Pat: Uh-huh, Steve Wariner. And because of the guy I wrote it with, Bill LaBounty, who's a good friend of mine--you might be familiar with Bill. He's made records. He's a real talented guy. He wrote "I Know This Night Won't Last Forever," and some really nice songs. A couple big Michael Johnson songs.

PM: Oh, really?

Pat: And he knew somebody in Steve Wariner's organization. It was Randy, the piano player, who got that to him. The inner workings of the Nashville song scene is something I don't know a lot about, but I have been fortunate to get a couple of songs cut. Well, quite a few songs.

PM: Oh, really?

Pat: Yeah.

PM: If you don't mind, I'd love to detail them or find out something about them.

Pat: Well, Tim O'Brien [see our interview with Tim] has cut a couple songs, Maura O'Connell, Alan Jackson.

PM: Alan Jackson? What did he cut?

Pat: "It's All Right to Be a Redneck."

PM: [laughs] What record is that on?

Pat: It's on--I don't know, but like the second to the last one. Very recent.

PM: Oh, so that's making you a ton of bread, then.

Pat: No, it isn't making that much money.

PM: How come?

Pat: It wasn't a single.

PM: Wasn't a single. But is he moving a lot of units?

Pat: Yeah. I mean, now--right now I've got a song that's on the radio by a guy named Gary Allan. It's called "Songs About Rain." And I wrote it with a girl named Liz Rose.

PM: She's getting cut all over the place.

Pat: It's a miracle to get that song on the radio, but it is. And I'm really lucky to be able to work with Liz. And you know Jody Williams?

PM: Yeah. He's one of my favorite guys around here. [Jody's a popular publisher in Nashville, and an actual music person.] And Liz writes for him too, right?

Pat: Yes. And so I got a nice situation in that I have some footing in the Nashville market if I write a song that makes sense for them, you know?

PM: Right. And you know how to do that.

Pat: Well, I don't know how to do it on purpose, but I get lucky and do it, and Jody can figure out if I've done it or not.

PM: Yeah.

Pat: And then I just play in my band, and that's about it.

PM: Yeah. And I'm going to be there tonight. [And it rocked.]

Pat: You know Paul Cebar? You ever hear of Paul Cebar? [As it turned out, our other interview this month, Kris Delmhorst, also mentioned this artist! So, we're getting on it...]

[Here we digressed into discussing the local gigging scene, and some of the players and symbioses involved.]

PM: Well, thanks for going into your story with me, Pat, so the readers who get turned on to your music will know from whence it came. We're very big on Next Five Miles, and think everybody should hear it.

Pat: I appreciate you coming out, Frank, and I'll see you at the club tonight, man.

 
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