8 Ball Corner Pocket. Episode 2

Friends,

Just remember...

If you are reading this, you are alive and well.

You are “winning” at this moment…

Fact.

Strap yourselves in. This week we are going to go a little closer to the gonzo edge. I tend to throw the word “gonzo” around freely. Whenever I talk about anything “gonzo,” it is not just about showing up and being an active participant in the circus, the wild and the unpredictable, it is also about the revealing human honesty that tends to unfold and emerge as we near the “edge.” Sometimes it is the edge of reason, or the edge of humor (and good taste), and definitely the edge of sanity. All of the above. That is one of the things that has always drawn me to good music - especially country music. The lyrics and stories help to take us to those honest places. 

Aside from the obvious allure of the original life of the party band, I was always drawn to the fact that Brooks & Dunn is one of those acts that really managed to be bigger than the moment, riding the zeitgeist rocket like a prize bucking bull. Their unique sound and energy left a permanent and significant imprint on a generation of music. Apple music co-founder Steve Jobs talked about wanting to put a dent in the universe. In the universe of music, I think Brooks & Dunn punched a hole right through it. After a 10-year hiatus, they hit the great gonzo road again. Then what happened? They have won the vocal duo awards at the last CMA and ACM awards, their new music is burning barns down, and their hot tour is still filling arenas. Oh yeah! But I wanted to take an opportunity to pull back the curtain and give you a little more insight into the inner workings of Ronnie Dunn, and sort of let you see what makes him tick. Not too-long ago, RD and I started kicking ideas around for writing a book. One morning over coffee questions, I came up with the idea to have Ronnie answer the same 10 questions that James Lipton stole from French journalist Bernard Pivot to use on Inside the Actors Studio. These probing questions were used to interview many of the greatest artists of the 20th century, from Spielberg, to Newman and Redford, Duvall, DeNiro… you name it. The questions were cleverly designed to do a quick, deep dive, into the lives and minds of our favorite entertainers. Well, you are in luck! Ronnie played along, and you will find his responses to the 10 famous questions below.

1. What is your favorite word? Motherfucker

2. What is your least favorite word? Loser

3. What turns you on? I get bored easily… so, adventure, intelligence, good music,                         creating, diversity.

4. What turns you off? Arrogance, ignorance (kind of the same) closed-minded people, out of tune instruments.

5. What sound or noise do you love? Loud rhythm driven music.

6. What sound or noise do you hate? I HATE the silence of getting ICED by my wife Janine! She is my soulmate, rock, sparing partner…my lover.

7. What is your favorite curse word? Also Motherfucker

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Entrepreneur

9. What profession would you not like to do? Religious leader. Or digging ditches. Being a guy that lays asphalt in the hot sun. Most hard, physical labor.

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? “Have a seat. Let’s talk.”

So there you have it. Now for a little something from the wild world of rodeo.

As the original gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson noted about “the edge” in his (1967) book Hell’s Angels, “…there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. …But the edge is still Out there.” While this is not a celebration, glamorization or endorsement of any gonzo/edge activities and behaviors, I thought some of you might still enjoy reading about a few of them. The one I offer up today is, well, just see for yourself.

True Tales from the Gonzo Road - Today we will cover some rodeo terminology. Whether you think you know rodeo or not, sometimes we find ourselves getting educated on things we only thought we really knew. Case in point: the "piggin' string." You can decide for yourself if this falls under extended rodeo terminology, cowboy crazy, or gloriously-other. 

Definition -  1) Piggin' (or pigging) string for cowboys, ranchers and those with rodeo experience:

A short length of typically rawhide string or strap, often used to tie or tether legs of an animal together to help make the animal less-mobile while vaccinating, branding, etc. This is also being "hogtied." Cowboys and ranchers use these leather piggin' strings to take care of business. 

That was definition #1. However, cowboys from the late 1970's and early 1980's got a little more creative. They specialized, adapted, and went beyond - somewhere out there on the Gonzo road. According to a few good rodeo cowboys from that era, sometimes "piggin' string" took on new, extreme rodeo cowboy meaning. Gotta love new uses and repurposing. One rodeo cowboy from that era, Pat Manley, shared a very different definition of the "piggin' string." Based on his personal experience on the road, here is paraphrased definition 2)Piggin' String:  

When a bored rodeo cowboy is driving from one competition to another, on long stretches of "very straight and light-traveled highways..." (all while at the wheel of an R/V), tethers a string, rope or strap to the steering wheel and to the column shifter of the vehicle. Relying on the “piggin’ string” method to roughly simulate automatic pilot, the driver would then race from the driver's seat to the fridge in the back of the R/V, with the purpose of getting a fresh beer, and returning to the driver's seat before the vehicle had "substantially" departed from the lane in which it was traveling. 

See what I mean?  

Probably about as close to the edge as I would ever want to come.  

Ill-advised? Yes. 

Cowboy crazy? You tell me.

Shifting Tides? - I found it interesting that a new Grammy Award category, "Best Traditional Country Album," has been added for 2026. Is this the sign of a pull back and retraction from hip hop and other contemporary country? Just nostalgia? Typical Grammy “roots music” category stuff?   Are we ready for a bonafide honkytonk resurgence? A fella can dream.

What are we looking at here? 

In Memoriam – We lost two musical visionaries and creative giants this week, with the passing of both Sly Stone and Brian Wilson. They changed the way we expect to hear pop music, and helped us to see the possibilities.  

HOT TIP (in the spirit of summer vacation): Hey TSA - As an entirely self-appointed representative of flyers and humanity, I think we need to have a little talk. We appreciate you doing your part to keep the airways safe and free of various terrors in the sky. We truly do. 

At the same time, some of us would also appreciate it if you would get over the authoritarian personality power trip. Maybe you were on Santa's naughty list for just a little too-long? So I forgot I had a pocket comb. I do apologize for that. I'm not sure a karate chop to the crotch was really in the neighborhood of a proportionate response.

Just do your job, go home after a day of knowing you did your part, and maybe take up racquetball or something as a better outlet for relieving all of the stress, disappointments and pent-up frustration. If you do, I will personally write a letter to Santa on your behalf.

8 Ball Corner Pocket! 

Join us next week for more…

      8 Ball Corner Pocket!

               With Dr. Rodeo

I promise you’ll get your money’s worth