otis gibbs

When I first moved to Nashville, I got an email from John Lomax wanting to buy some CDs. I figured it was some other John Lomax, it couldn’t be THE John Lomax. Low and behold, a few hours later, there was John Lomax standing in my living room. It was one of many great “welcome to Nashville” moments.

I can’t imagine what American music would be like without his family’s influence.

I later became friends with John and he’s about the coolest cat you’ll ever meet. This is an interview from back in 2014. It originally aired on my podcast and this is my attempt to adapt it to YouTube. John was Townes Van Zandt’s manager back in the day, so I asked him to share whatever stories he’d feel comfortable sharing.

He talks about starting Townes’ fan club, Heartworn Highways, Townes partying with Gram Parsons, Townes jamming with The Allman Brothers, Townes’ love of Lightnin’ Hopkins and a lot of other great stories.

Thank you for subscribing to my channel and for sharing this with your friends. My channel is growing quicker than I had expected and it’s mostly because of you sharing these videos and leaving comments and likes on my youtubes.

Thanks for giving a damn,
-Otis

Hey friends, did you hear the one about the beat up idealistic folk singer who picked up a 50 year old electric guitar and plugged it straight into a 60 year old amplifier? They say he set out to make an album that he’d feel proud to put his name on–with no record label, no publicist, no access, and no capital. The nerve of that guy! A true independent. An outsider artist, if you will. What could possibly go wrong?

I recorded this album at my buddy, Thomm Jutz’s place. It’s all electric and that’s a first for me. We pieced together a great band of musicians/friends. Thomm played electric guitar, Mark Fain played bass, Lynn Williams played drums, Jen Gunderman played organ and piano, and I sang and played electric guitar. I’ll spare you the colorful hyperbole, and let you listen to the record without my commentary muddying the waters. Spoiler alert, I think you’re gonna love it.

We’re in the middle of a pandemic and I’m feeling it like everybody else. I’ve had two tours cancelled. I was supposed to be on tour in the UK right now, but fate had other ideas. I think it’s safe to say, this is the absolute worst possible time to release a record. Most people would give up at this point, but I’m not most people. So, here we are. An outsider artist and the people who have always supported him. This is the best possible way for me to share this new record with you. You’ve always been there for me and I appreciate it more than you could ever know. Much love to y’all, and stay safe and healthy out there.

Thanks For Giving a damn,

-Otis

Back in 2013, I got a call from Todd Snider saying he wanted to be on my podcast. He insisted that it had to happen right then. It was a strange request, but I said cool. He showed up after midnight and started telling me about his current regimen of ecstasy and mushrooms, two things I know nothing about. He claimed to see bats flying around in my living room as the walls melted. It’s an old house, so it was somewhat plausible. As strange as it was, Todd was a complete joy to be around that night. He was hilarious, fun and sometimes even deep and insightful. It quickly became one of the more popular episodes of my podcast and still gets a lot of downloads every day.

I’ve been experimenting with ways to bring some of my field recordings to YouTube, so I spliced together some moments of Todd talking about his love of John Prine. He talks about partying at Prine’s house with Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Nanci Griffith. It’s a beautiful window into the Nashville that we all wish we were part of.

If you dig this, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and please comment, like and share the video. Much love to y’all and I hope this brings you a smile in this crazy moment we find ourselves in.

Thanks for giving a damn,

-Otis

The great, Mac Wiseman was standing on the side of the stage when Hank Williams made his Grand Ole Opry debut. He was with Hank when he wrote I’m So Lonesome I could Cry. He attended parties at Hank’s house and went up and down the road with him on countless tours. I pieced together this recording Of Mac telling Hank Williams stories from an interview I did with him back in 2014. His memories of Hank are pretty amazing, so I wanted to try to find a way to repurpose them and release them into the wild. This is all a bit of an experiment on my part, and I hope you enjoy it.

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and share this with your favorite Hank Williams/Mac Wiseman fan.

I’m throwing this out there for anyone who might need a video of me singing a song about a giant catfish. Not just any catfish, but the infamous Big Whiskers. This song was released into the wild about 8 or 9 years ago and became a cult favorite of anglers near and far. Rarely does a week go by that I don’t get tagged in pictures of people posing with large catfish. That makes me feel great that folks from all over the world want to share their photos with me, and then I feel bad for the fish that would rather be left alone. I guess that’s pretty much what the song is about.

If you have an angler in your life, or someone who enjoys fish stories, feel free to share this with them. And don’t forget to Subscribe to my Youtube channel while you’re over there.

107 years ago today, Mother Jones was the guest speaker at a rally held on a farm just outside of Indianapolis. She was 84 years old and had just been released from prison in Charleston, West Virginia, where she served a three month sentence for “agitating.” The Indiana farm where she gave her speech is now an all but abandoned strip mall on the east side of Indianapolis. I first learned about this a few years ago, and thought to myself, I should go over there some day and play some songs in her honor. Well, today was the day. I got up early and recorded this session in the spot where Mother Jones spoke to 1,500 Hoosiers, back in 1913. I guess we all celebrate the 4th of July in our own way.

My buddy, Todd Fox helped me film this. At this point, he probably deserves a medal, or something. It was way too early to sing, but at least I wasn’t in jail for agitating.

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