Kendra Beltran: When you had been younger, what music had been you listening to? Has that changed, or are you still listening to those identical artists nowadays?
Floyd Tolston: I listened to most of the music that children growing up in the 50′s and 60′s listened to. There had been two radio stations in my hometown. 1 played pop music and the other country and western. I grew up on Hank Williams and the Faron Twins, who owned the country station. When the Beatles came along I became a large fan and I loved the folk music of Bob Dylan.
KB: Can you keep in mind the moment that you knew music was some thing you wanted to do?
FT: I had numerous buddies who had been attempting to be musicians. 1 was a fairly excellent folk singer. I bought an old guitar at a pawn shop and began attempting to find out to play. When Dylan went electric I definitely began working at playing.
KB: You’ve accomplished music some time now but yet another factor you tackled was the education world. How long was that your career?
FT: I was in education for 35 yrs. Seven yrs as a history teacher and 28yrs in secondary administration.
KB: Music and education are fields that permit a individual to give back. Is that the reason you went into both?
FT: I began out in education with the thought of it being a short term job, but I enjoyed it and stayed with it. It was for the most component a rewarding challenge. Music was some thing that I enjoyed performing. I played with a band throughout my college days and discovered that for the most component it was not some thing I may well make a living performing.
KB: What’s a harder profession, music or education?
FT: Music is the harder of the two professions. In education you do the job that is assigned to you and show up for work everyday and do the finest that you can do. With music you do the most beneficial that you can do and you still have to gain overall acceptance from the public in order to be profitable.
KB: You have two albums under your belt. How do you believe your very first album, Some thing Unique, differs from your newest, Redneck Cheer?
FT: I do not believe SS is fairly as polished as the RC album. SS provides a wider
range of “stories” and styles although RC is closer to hard line country.
KB: On both of those, you have a song that’s turn out to be a small cult favorite in some areas. “Wal-Mart Lovers.” What was the inspiration behind that? And what are your words to those who could say it\’s offensive?
FT: A couple that I saw at Wal-Mart gave me the inspiration to write the song. There is an individual who will be offended by anything that you do. If you are offended by the words to “Wal-Mart Lovers” or any of my songs, don\’t listen to them. As far as I am concerned there are no sacred cows that shouldn’t be touched upon if you have the urge to say some thing about them.
KB: Speaking of, have you visited that site peopleofwalmart.com?
FT: Yes, I have visited the People of Wal-Mart site…the images just add credence and truth to the words of the song.
KB: I suggest you check it out if you haven’t and I also suggest people check out your site, floydtolston.com to hear your single, ‘Redneck Cheer (Fall Down Drunk)’ which did very well on the Music Row charts this year. Is that tune based on real life account?
FT: Every thing that I write has some real life expertise that I have seen or dealt with in it.
KB: With that I have to ask do you have a favorite drink?
FT: My favorite drink can be summed up in the title of and old Tom T. Hall song, “I Like Beer.”
KB: Back to the music, you have a song that takes on the new country. The type with the “bling.” When do you believe Country went from the roots of the days of George Jones to the commercial pop tart sounds of Taylor swift?
FT: I believe when Nashville realized the success that artists like Willie Nelson had in appealing to the younger generations they decided to capitalize on that segment of the population and draw in a group that preferred the rock sound. They transformed the country sound to a sound that is closer to pop music and start to sell sound and appearance quite than words to a generation that cares a lot more about gyrating than dancing. Artists like Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings couldn’t even get a main label to put out there music due to the fact they just sang songs that told stories quite than put on a large production. Waylon didn’t have the legs that Taylor swift has.
KB: You have a tendency to say what’s on your mind, but what is some thing fans could possibly be surprised to understand about you?
FT: Like just about everybody who picks up a guitar and starts to write songs and sing I want acceptance for what I do…but I believe that far more people would be surprised by the fact that I was a competitive handgun shooter for a number of years and was fairly effective at it.
KB: Besides music, you invest your time in music and working at a gun shop. Do you have any crazy stories from the shop?
FT: 1 of the issues I have discovered in working at the gun shop is that not everyone who calls themselves a hunter or that goes hunting knows beans about firearms. There are a large number of stories that revolve around this and prove that Will Rogers knew what he was talking about when he said, “When ignorance gets began it knows no bounds.”
KB: You’re also a Texan. They’re a proud Persons, why do you believe that is?
FT: Texans, very those who grew up in West Texas are an Independent group. In the far reaches of West Texas there are countless miles between towns and neighbors. You find out to do issues on your own and there is a particular quantity of pride in ones self and the land around you that grows out of that feeling of Independence.
KB: Lastly, you have some new songs over on your Reverbnation. Any plans for a new album?
FT: At this time I do not have any plans for yet another CD, but that is 1 of those issues that develops once sufficient songs are written that I believe are worth sharing with other people.
Kendra Beltran
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