The 706 is an online music blog that was first launched on December 14, 2020. Please read below for an introduction and more information about our site, its content and its author.
Welcome to the 706!
Hello readers and fellow music lovers! Welcome to The 706, an upstart music blog from a fan and lover of music just like yourself. My name is Joe and as of this site launch, I am both the editor and sole contributor to what I hope in the weeks, months and years ahead will grow into a communal space for passionate followers of popular music like you and I. A space for us to critique, discuss, and share in the joy of music from all of the genres, sounds, and styles that have made up the past century and counting of American music. For me personally, this is a passion project that has been a long time in the making; an opportunity for me to creatively indulge in two of my favorite past-times: writing and music. I’m not a professional in either regard, but I hope you will find the content here to be intelligent and thoughtful, creative and diverse, passionate and fun. The music blogosphere is a crowded and expansive one, in a fast-paced world where it can be challenging for music fans to even find the free time to listen to music, much less read about it. Nevertheless, I hope you’ll find what is offered to be worthwhile and enjoyable. Read on below for a brief tour through my own musical journey, and the artists and music that have ultimately inspired me in launching The 706!
Writing of many varieties has been a hobby throughout my life, but I first caught the blogging bug in 2011 when I created a small country music blog titled Guitars, Cadillacs. That short-lived site gained a small, quiet following and was a source of great pride for me until life changes and other commitments took precedence over the continuation of the blog. In the near-decade since, my own musical tastes and knowledge have only continued to expand and evolve. Therefore, you won’t find just one genre or period of music covered here. Nothing is off limits. Today, I listen to material from all corners of the American musical landscape. I’m constantly on the prowl to discover something new and exciting, be it from the past or present. That joy of discovery is my ultimate goal in creating The 706. I hope to help you discover your new favorite artist or album, and I hope you’ll return the favor in the conversations that the content will aim to inspire.
To help you further understand my vision and the philosophy which form the foundation of this site, I wanted to spend a moment sharing details with you about my own musical journey. I come from a family filled with gifted musicians, music educators (count my husband, sister, and brother-in-law all in this category) and above all else, flat-out lovers of music. I only fall into that third category but I inherited it from my father, who is undoubtedly the most diverse listener of music I know. Growing up, our home constantly had an endless stream of albums spinning, and Dad played everything. The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, The Doors, James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris, Cowboy Junkies, The Ventures, Amy Grant, Rod Stewart, Rosanne Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Neil Young, Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, Kathy Mattea, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues, Bonnie Raitt, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Allman Brothers Band, Steve Earle, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Diana Krall, Jimmy Buffett, The Mavericks, Joe Ely, U2, and the list goes on and on. My parents’ music collection was without question the soundtrack to my youth and, as it is with the magical power of music, hearing these albums and artists today still immediately warps me back to those happy times. I cannot wait to write about so many of them.
As with any youngster, my listening habits expanded over time beyond the records of my parents and went through multiple cycles, which only proved to inform my melting-pot interests today. My pre-teens found me obsessed for a period with early rock & roll and oldies by the aforementioned Beatles, but also those by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Dion, and The Rolling Stones. Those phases were followed by others defined by classic rock (Queen, Billy Joel, Elton John), Heartland rock (more Springsteen, Tom Petty, John Mellencamp), Michael Jackson, Madonna, and anything 80s pop, and late 90s pop-rock bands (The Wallflowers, Sister Hazel, Fastball, and Barenaked Ladies, who also provided my first live concert experience in 2000).
By my high school years, I found myself gravitating back to the contemporary country scene, first by way of mega-selling country-pop crossovers like Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, The Chicks, and Tim McGraw, and later through creative California country bad asses like Dwight Yoakam and Gary Allan. I became completely enthralled with the rich history of the country art form and began connecting on a whole new level with the legendary country records I heard played earlier by my parents, and beyond. I devoured everything from 50s honky tonk to 60s countrypolitan to the Cosmic, Outlaw, and California country-rock sounds of the 70s.
As I journeyed through those various eras, I became further fascinated not only by how each era informed and flowed into the next, but likewise with how each individual genre branched off one another. This carried me to the sounds of folk-rock, alternative and ultimately, Americana and roots-rock. Americana in particular became my newest addiction when it became clear that mainstream radio was no longer my friend, or primary source for musical sustenance. The Internet-age has burst the world of music consumption wide open. There’s absolutely no reason or excuse to limit your listening habits to any narrow category.
My tastes today still primarily lean toward the roots variety. If you were to ask me today who my favorite artists were, Jason Isbell, Justin Townes Earle, Brandi Carlile, Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Kacey Musgraves would come to mind initially. However, my pop sweet tooth would make me just as likely to be found listening to the likes of Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift, and without shame. Meanwhile, my husband Brian has likewise provided another new influence to my recent playlists with his affection for disco and dance ear-candy by the likes of everyone from ABBA and Beyonce to Dua Lipa and Drag-artists like RuPaul. Again, no one is off limits.
And so, this is the kind of beautifully schizophrenic variety you can expect to be covered here at The 706, a true melting pot of musical genres, generations and tastes. Which leads me to the namesake of the site, the fabled street address of the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. I felt the explosively diverse and experimental records that were made under Sam Phillips’ direction by the likes of icons like Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and others were emblematic of the widespread sounds I hope to cover with our content. After all, not a single sound or artist mentioned in the paragraphs above was not influenced in some way by the rock & roll conceived in that studio all those decades ago. That common ground and the unifying power of music is something we need more than ever in a world that’s far less divided than we portray it to be.
With that, I want to thank you for visiting The 706, for supporting our site and for contributing to the love of music. I hope it’s the first of many visits you pay us going forward.
Sincerely,
Joe
Editor/Columnist- The 706
Listen on Apple Music: Welcome to the 706- My Musical Journey
The 706 