Clint Bullard!

I was born with country and western music in my blood. That’s all we ever listened to in my house growing up. At the age of five, I asked my mother if we could buy a radio that played rock and roll. I did not know that all radios would play rock and roll if you just turned the dial to the correct frequency and it never occurred to my mother that there was anything but country on her radio.
Mom ended up buying a honky-tonk in West Tennessee just a few miles from where Buford Pusser of “Walking Tall” fame was run off the road and killed back in 1970. The place was called the “Pub and Cue” and was a dirty roadhouse that served bootleg whiskey out the back and pickled pig’s feet at the bar. The jukebox was full of country twang, the floor covered in sawdust, spilled beer and blood.
So when my editor suggested that I interview a real country singer, I was happier than a hippie in a bag full of tie die. Until I found out he was from Texas.
Texas has never been known for producing quality country and western music. I mean, really, who have they got? Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys? C’mon! Waylon and Willie? That’s the best you’ve got? Lyle Lovett? David Allen Coe?? The Dixie Chicks?? Lightning Hopkins? Stevie Ray??
So you will understand when I say that I was a little disheartened by this turn of events.
Clint Bullard is from Waco, TX and like a lot of country musicians, Clint began singing in church. He graduated from Baylor University, a Christian college. He is hard working and intelligent. He worked for two years on the production staff of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” and was a good friend of Jack Palance. As hard as I dig, I cannot find any scandal in his past. No stints in rehab. He doesn’t do drugs. Happily married to his lovely wife, Tricia, whom he claims he has never cheated on. He doesn’t drink to excess. I know, I tried to get him drunk. I have found out that alcohol is an unbeatable truth serum and I wanted to get at the skeletons hiding in Mr. Bullard’s closet. There weren’t any. No time stuck in prison, no dirty bar brawls, no drunken lawnmower rides through Nashville, nothing.
Lifestyle-wise, Clint Bullard is kind of boring.
Musically speaking, He is not.
Before I met Clint for drinks at Cowboy Bill’s Reloaded, I bought his CD and watched his videos posted on YouTube. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. His music has a jouncy rhythm and a trop-rock delivery that I am not sure was intentional. There are a lot of copycat artists out there but I have the feeling that Clint is just being Clint. He has an adept and easy-going story-telling style both on and off the stage. He carries a wicked sense of humor as casually as he does his guitar. Nothing seems forced with him. He is a genuinely nice guy.
I also found out that not only has Clint shared the stage with some of Nashville’s finest but has co-written with the likes of Highway 101, Tracy Byrd, Brooks and Dunn, and Linda Davis.
I love his songwriting and his delivery on originals such as “Give Me a Bar to Steer By”, a great trop-rock song that deserves more recognition and “Dom Perignon and Left-Over Chicken” has been stuck in my head for a week now. Thanks, Clint…
Key West has some of the finest musicians in the world playing in intimate venues for our enjoyment every day of the year. However, the distinct lack of good old down-home country music and I am positive that I will get many letters disputing this fact, is depressing to say the least. What is a redneck to do with his evenings?
I have a suggestion.
If you find yourself with a hankering in your redneck bone for quality country and western twang, delivered with a mellow energy and a mischievous grin, head on down to the Galleon Resort Tiki Bar and catch one of Clint’s shows. I promise you will have a great time listening to a REAL country and western musician.
He may be from Texas, but we won’t hold that against him.