The Lonesome Heroes | Ocotilla Sunrise | Western AF

Rich Russell ft. Hunter Burgamy & Georgia Parker with “Ocotilla Sunrise”

I first met Rich Russell at a music festival in Cody, Wyoming. He was heading down the road, as musicians do, carrying songs and a little trouble with him. I gave him twenty bucks for gas. It seemed like a small thing at the time. A few years later, Rich called me and invited me out on the road with his band. That was my first real education in tour life. I got the whole nine yards. Drama. Hardship. Laughs. Bad sleep. Good people. A road dog sees all these things. And the slow realization that “load-in” is more of a philosophical concept than an actual time of day. The show starts when it starts. Usually later.

Rich has always been a good friend. For years, he’s been that guy in Austin, the keeper of the door for the traveling kind. People come through, everybody leaves eventually. Rich stays like a lighthouse keeper making sure everyone can see the jagged rocks of tour life.
There’s something about a man who has spent that much time on the road. You’d think that would accompany a lot of wear and tear on your heart. And still, somehow, after all these years, the appetite for another night is still in him.

Rich still knows how to party. Maybe that’s what being a road dog really means. To keep going, you look after your people, you laugh at the wreckage, and when the headlights disappear down the highway, you already know you’re going to miss them.

-Mike

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Lyrics:
Written by: By Rich Russell, Georgia Parker, David Longoria, & Hunter Burgamy

Weatherman says there’s snow on the wind, Vedauwoo’s been calling me in
Rocky Mountains get me high, but the desert sunrise is on my mind
I’ve been East of the West & South of the Winds, across the great divide
I’m coming back, but I can’t say when. All I need is the Texas sky

Ocotillo sunrise, faded jeans & bloodshot eyes
Out here living the highlife, under a blanket of stars
But it’s not what it seems leaving it all behind

Already been down the road ahead, guess I’ll give it one more try
Steady wheels with a rearview bed, AM Band on a Friday night
I’ve been East of the West & South of the Winds, across the great divide
I’m coming back, but I can’t say when. All I need is the Texas sky

Ocotillo sunrise, faded jeans & bloodshot eyes
Out here living the highlife, under a blanket of stars
But it’s not what it seems leaving it all behind

Ocotillo sunrise, cut off jeans & bolo ties
Out here living the highlife, under an ocean of stars
But it’s not what it seems leaving it all
No, it’s not what it seems living the dream
Leaving it all behind
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Record by: Mike Vanata
Mixed by: Will Ross
Editor: Manuel Deakins
Cameras: Jacob Peirce & Mike Vanata
Executive Producers: Irvin Maddox, Arron Tschida, and Frank Stelter
Producers: Brian Harrington, Will Ross, Travis Blankenship & Mike Vanata
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