Singer/songwriter Tim Styles was “home” on the North Shore this summer, appearing at several venues and on stage at the Fisherman’s Picnic. He is pictured here at his concert at Betsy Bowen’s What’s Upstairs. Left: In addition to an entertaining and diverse mix of music on his Just Bein’ Alive album, there are some fun photos of Tim Styles in Nashville.
Singer/songwriter Tim Styles, a 2008 graduate of Cook County High School, returned to Cook County from Nashville this summer to perform at Betsy Bowen Studio’s What’s Upstairs and at Fisherman’s Picnic, delighting hometown fans with a concert that included songs from his newest release Just Bein’ Alive, an album that Styles describes as having a “live in the moment kind of feeling.”
The CD is certainly a celebration of life, with several heartfelt songs penned by Styles and Michael Odenthal, such as Oklahoma Mourning and Smoke’m If You Got’em, a song written in memory of Style’s friend Jazz McGrath. Both songs are reminders that life does not always offer second chances. The Beginning, by Cris Moore and Mitchell Ogelsby, complements those songs, offering hope that there sometimes are new beginnings.
Styles and Michael Odenthal also co-wrote Just Call My Name, a romantic song that is destined to become a slow dance favorite.
Styles has a serious soul and shines on these poignant songs, but he mixes it up on Just Bein’ Alive, offering a North Shore favorite—That’s Good, which he also co-wrote with Odenthal—a cheerful tune that celebrates a happy relationship with the refrain—That’s good, but this is better…
Another upbeat and enjoyable tune is Bubble Gum Love, a whimsical look at love written by Hugh Prestwood, who wrote Remember When for Trisha Yearwood.
It’s a tossup of which song on the album is the most fun—The Haunted Jukebox, by Brian Burns, a tribute to classic country in which Styles really shows his strong country vocal skills, or the title track Just Bein’ Alive.
Styles is especially excited about gaining permission from songwriter Brian Burns to use The Haunted Jukebox. He had recorded a sample on his laptop and sent it to Burns, who liked Styles’ version and gave the goahead for the recording. Styles said his version is “a lot different” than the original 1993 song. “We wanted to give it a really old feel. We miked an amplifier to get that old steel guitar sound. We had real strings—there is a lot going on.”
Then as Styles sings the title track Just Bein’ Alive by Jon Ims (a songwriter who wrote another Trisha Yearwood hit She’s in Love with the Boy), the listener can almost see Styles grin as he shares the wisdom of a bartender, a brother, and a mystic—
Things will just get better…
Or they’ll get worse.
Your life will be a blessing
Or it’ll be a curse
But as long as you can breathe
and your heart’s got a beat
You’re doing all right
Just being alive.
The CD liner notes and photos are fun as well, with photos taken in Nashville—Styles next to a giant microphone (which is actually a bike stand) and Styles playing on the street—literally on 16th Avenue, Nashville’s Music Row. In an early morning shoot to avoid traffic, Styles was definitely living in the moment!
Styles visited Grand Marais fresh from a trip to Washington, D.C. where he appeared at the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally and two other veterans’ concerts in Illinois and Michigan. He is now back in Nashville, but fans can pick up a copy of Styles’ CD at Beth’s Fudge in Grand Marais or by calling his grandmother and Grand Marais’ representative Sally Suck at (218) 387-2299.
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