Paul Cauthen

One Liner: Local-ish outlaw country style guy with humor

Wikipedia Genre: Country, country rock

Home: Tyler, Texas

Poster Position: Small Type 

Sunday.

Thoughts:  I saw this cat play at the 2017 ACL Fest, but his sound then (at least in my recollection) was much different than this sound.  I would have put both the 2017 version and the album version into the same outlaw country type bucket, but back then my recollection of his voice was that it was just a regular singer-songwriter thing.  Now it sounds like Elvis, Waylon, and Johnny Cash smeared together.  Wikipedia actually says that his nickname is "Big Velvet" because of that distinctive voice.

Man, I'm sorry if you liked it, but we have watched about half of that Elvis movie and it sucks on toast.  I don't get it at all.  Random aside, sorry.

Cauthen was born in Dallas (although his Wikipedia says "East Texas" which I wouldn't say for Dallas?), the son of a Church of Christ song leader at the same church where his uncle was the preacher.  If you have ever been to a Church of Christ, then you know that the singing is all a cappella, without an organ or other instruments.  One of my college roommates was a COC dude, and I remember how odd it was when I visited his church with him.

I have more to talk about with his upbringing, but I wanted you to hear this song, because I think it is funny.  Funny on multiple levels.  Mainly because when I saw him play ACL he was a very serious singer-songwriter country type, but now this one is just chock full of jokes.  I grin each time I hear him sing "real cowboys don't rock to Kenny Chesney."

"if you bumped into me, gonna always say sorry" just cracked me up as well.  Just the way he says it rules, especially after all of the boastful stuff right before then.  Dumb and fun.  Dig it.

Anyway, at first, he was in an Americana band called Sons of Fathers, with a guy named David Beck.  Beck is the son of the long-time Robert Earl Keen bass player.  The two met at songwriter nights at Cheathan Street in San Marcos.  "The band was initially called Beck & Cauthen but they later changed the name of the band to be Sons of Fathers when musician Beck sent a cease and desist letter."  Why can't Beck have some damn chill?  Jerk.  I bet I would like those two albums they made - produced by Lloyd Maines.  They broke up in 2014.

His initial solo album was 2016's My Gospel.  Made in Muscle Shoals, AL, it has a good-sized dose of country and Americana, but also a lot of soul.  "As Young As You'll Ever Be" is a soulful little slice of pleasure.  "Saddle" is the only one with a real video, and it was even filmed at the Broken Spoke!  1.4 million streams.

Ah man, Hill's Cafe.  I wish that place was still around.  Their burger was legit good!  Pretty catchy little tune.  After that he released Room 41 in 2019, and it spawned another kind of funny tune as the hit, called "Cocaine Country Dancing," with 23 million streams.

Finally, he recently released 2022's Country Coming Down, and the top song from that album is the one you already heard up there at the top.  I enjoy this stuff, I'd love to go see him again.