The cattle market has been strong and we had a good feed year, generally two things that don't happen simultaneously. That alone has been plenty enough to put a smile even on the face of the grouchiest banker. Besides running the cows I have been plenty busy with my music. Plenty of events and shows to play from Kansas to the Pacific Coast and from the high Sierra all the way to Paradise. Paradise being just north of Winnemucca, NV. If that isn't enough all along I was working on my latest CD titled "The Eyes of a Cowboy." I'm proud to say as of now it is completed and ready to share with anyone who would like to hear it. I can't wait to get it out there as everyone who has heard any part of it has told me it might just be the best yet. I like to think all my work has been good but there's a part of me that says they just might be right.
Needless to say I'm plenty proud of "Through the Eyes of Cowboy." This work has been very special to me and I couldn't have done it without the help of several fine people. I want to thank them once again and let you know who they are. Nick Forcillo - Engineer, Randy Sears -Percussion, Eric Hershkowitz - Resonator guitar, Rod Armstrong - Bass, and Bunky Spurling - Guitar, Lead guitar, and Bottleneck guitar. My son Will who is a professional photographer handled all of the art for the CD cover. I just couldn't be more pleased with their effort and enthusiasm. My most special gratitude goes to Bunky who was literally instrumental in bringing this album to life. He not only contributed his superb guitar skills with extraordinary feel and passion, but served as Producer. It's a plenty long ways from the ranch to the sound room but I sure enjoy the ride. I sure hope you like what you hear. Special Thanks About J Growing up in Bakersfield with the radio playing the likes of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins, and Waylon Jennings, J had little choice but to develop a lifelong love for both Western and Country Music. He draws on both his own experiences of life on the ranch and his deep respect of the all time greats to create a sound that has been widely appreciated throughout the West. Whether he is performing traditional Cowboy standards, good old honky tonk tunes, or songs that are all his own, his listeners not only hear the music, they feel it. J likes to say, "I may not play strictly Cowboy Music, but I play music that Cowboys like to listen to." For many years J played music occasionally at small gatherings, family functions, after brandings, or with a few friends. Somewhere along the line his friends and family convinced him that he should start playing to larger audiences and everyone is sure glad that he has. J has been a featured performer at many events throughout the country including the prestigious Cowboy Gathering in Elko , NV , the Salinas Rodeo, and the Cowpoke Festival in Loomis , CA . His performances have taken him to many states including Texas , Tennessee , Kansas , New Mexico , Wyoming , and many others. J can be seen each week on the RFD TV network program "Cowboy Flavor" where he provides the music while his friends Billy and Sue Ruiz prepare fantastic cowboy meals. He has also appeared at several events with his good friend nationally recognized horseman Chris Cox. Cattleman, horseman, and musician J not only sings about the west he lives it. Whether you hear him perform in person or listen to him on his CD's one thing is for sure you will find his music easy to appreciate. "It's the real thing and I plan on keeping that way." J Parson - Cattleman Finds New Role as Voice of the West
"I have surprised quite a few old friends with my singing. They had no idea that I could sing and that folks would actually like it. It's always fun to watch their expression of total surprise when they watch me perform." J was like a lot of other would be musicians back a few years ago. There were a few people who had heard him sing a song at maybe a wedding, after a branding, or possibly at some small gathering of friends and family and told him he really ought to do something with that talent. But ever the practical rancher J kept his focus on his business. "Now a question that I hear a lot is where in the world did you learn to sing like that? And I tell them holding on to the steering wheel of my pickup and singing along with the radio." Growing up in Bakersfield , California provided a great setting for a young person to have a built in country music background. "Buck Owens and Merle Haggard hit it big in the sixties when I was just a kid and at the time I never thought about how important that really was. But even now wherever I perform when people hear that I'm from Bakersfield folks of all ages always say how much they like those guys and the Bakersfield sound. Buck and Merle aren't exactly what you would think of as cowboy singers but the stories they tell in their songs and the passion that can be heard have a great similarity to what is important in a good cowboy song." Other big influences on J were Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Bobby Bare, and of course Marty Robbins. "I don't think anybody has ever done a cowboy song any better than Marty Robbins."
Although J started rather late in life when it comes to performing for audiences he is making up for lost time in a big hurry. He has performed throughout the west including California, Washington, Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, Kansas, Texas, and recently at the big Road to the Horse Competition in Tennessee. He was a featured performer at the 2007 Cowboy Gathering in Elko, Nevada and received great reviews. He can be seen each week performing music on the RFD TV network show "Cowboy Flavor" while his friends Billy and Sue Ruiz demonstrate their outdoor cooking expertise. He was also recently featured by his good friend Chris Cox on his RFD show. He has appeared at several of Chris' horsemanship tour stops around the country. "These people are my friends and the opportunity that they have given me is unbelievable. I will forever be thankful for their generosity and proud of their friendship." "There is nothing else that I have found that is as gratifying as watching an audience respond to the music that I have to offer while I am performing. To watch their faces and their eyes and see that I am having a positive impact is so rewarding I don't know how I got along without it for so long. Recently a fellow who had obviously been around came up to me after a performance and told me 'You are the voice of the west.' That is such a fine compliment and I'd like to think for just a while he was right." Promotional Photographs
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There are eleven brand new songs on the CD plus one from a previous that I just couldn't help to include. Every song tells a story and is presented from my own personal point of view through 'The Eyes of a Cowboy.' No guarantees on correctness just my point of view and my observations. Just like the lines in the title song.
Songwriting as well as performing has become a real passion for J in recent years. With his cowboy lifestyle coupled with the old country sound, he creates songs that reflect his own stories as well as the experiences of others. "I like to say I don't just sing cowboy songs but I sing songs cowboys like to listen to. Most of what I write is about real life situations that are part of the current time in which we live because that's what I know. To qualify as a cowboy song doesn't mean that the topic of the song has to be about something that happened a hundred years ago. Those old songs were written about current events that happened at that time. I love those old songs and I sing them all the time but there are a ton of folks out there that are living the cowboy life right now. They have important things that are happening to them right now. It's only natural that their stories be recorded in song." 
