I first “met” Brian Futch online last November when he joined our site after learning about us from our Twitter account (gotta love new media) and immediately fell in love with his music.  I was so impressed that I invited him to be one of our featured artists at BigDawg Music Mafia’s Liberty Fest at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this past Feb.  Before reading Brian’s bio, I knew there was something special about him as soon as I heard one of the first songs he shared at our site, When A Hero Dies — this one got me seriously choked up as it is about our our fallen brothers and sisters who have paid the ultimate price for freedom, and their loved ones who mourn their loss.  I love the line:  “Even Jesus cries…when a hero dies…” Tissue alert on this one…

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His fabulous rock anthem, Don’t Forget Me, a moving tribute to our troops, is another one of my favorites and was recently aired on The Alana Burke Show.  His latest political tune, a wonderful bluesy rock number, Something For Nothing, laments about those who would take from those who work and give to those who do not.

There isn’t a song I’ve heard from Brian that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed listening to.  It was no surprise when I learned more about this husband of 25 years, father of six, and former U.S. Army officer (HOOAH!) who has a very impressive resume of musical accomplishments including garnering the coveted title of “Memphis Songwriter of the Year” two years in a row, having swept the categories of Pop/Rock, Country and Western, and R&B.   He also served as Vice President of the Memphis Songwriter Association, and was recruited to become a full-time songwriter in Nashville for Split Publishing, where Brian wrote alongside Earl Bud Lee (Friends in Low Place  s), Marty Haggard and Jeff Pearson, and performed acoustic shows at the Bluebird Café and B.B. King’s.

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Certain phrases come to mind when I think about the military: Our boys, our men and women in uniform, our guys. The key being the word “our.” They represent us in uniform, or to be more specific, they represent me.

I can’t fight because I have a different job to do as an American citizen. But my rights, my personal property, my family and my life are all fought for by proxy… our guys.

When I see any military person of any age I tell them, “Thank you for your service.” Recently, I’ve had a few ex-military friends try to dismiss my gratitude by expressing their own regret for having joined, “Don’t thank me. I’m not for these wars. I just joined to get a free ride to college.” I still thank them, because they did their time. That’s their neck on the line, riding in a helicopter in Afghanistan in my place. (more…)