Skip to main content

Maverick Ad

Home

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Cover Stories
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Legacy Awards
  • Past Covers
  • Weekly Archive
Arizona Americana Artist Gene Moran Channels Road Woes and Personal Struggles in New Single “In A Flash”

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Arizona Americana Artist Gene Moran Channels Road Woes and Personal Struggles in New Single “In A Flash”
Gene Moran
Fri May 17, 2024
Cashbox Canada

Country music was built on the backs of musicians who spent grueling hours on America’s endless highways between low-paying gigs, self-medicating in their downtime to deal with chronic pain, loneliness and boredom. It’s what Americana upstart Gene Moran has witnessed all too often from people in his life. He explores the danger of those long, slow hours in his new single “In A Flash.” Check it out on YouTube here:

The former teacher out of Mesa, Arizona has worked through a lot just to play smoky rooms and juke joints. Born with cerebral palsy, Moran had to develop his own playing style and get over a crippling stage fright before he could bring his high, lonesome tunes to audiences.

“Starting from when I was 15, I’ve always wanted to be in bands like my friends in high school,” he explains. “But I had a hang up about being disabled and playing on stage and thought I would look stupid.”

“In A Flash” deals with putting anxious thoughts to bed with an unhealthy mix of alcohol, nicotine and prescription pills. In a dusty croak reminiscent of Steve Earle, Moran delivers an unvarnished look at life on the road over a rambling guitar line that wouldn’t sound out of place on any ‘70s speed-addled trucker tune.

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/track/4cOLakW5thP79V2oBZ5BlO

“Smoking cigarettes for breakfast, my dinner's alcohol, two hours of shut eye, if I even sleep at all, so I just keep on going, life goes by in a flash,” he sings. “I gotta bad, bad feeling, tonight might be my last." 

Moran says the tune has caught on in the rooms away from those long white lines, with audience members approaching him and sharing how relatable they found the strung-out bit of honky-tonking.

“I wrote it in the parking lot of a pharmacy while waiting for a prescription refill,” he said. “One of the things I like about this song is almost every time I play it live, people come up to me and tell me that they can relate to this song because they have similar experiences in their own lives and they don’t feel so alone.” 

The single follows “Dead Man’s Guitar,” a direct reckoning with the events that pushed him to overcome his disability and develop his own guitar-picking style. Both tunes are chock full of the sort of lonely, twangy songwriting that would have filled up jukeboxes in desert diners during the era of the 45 singles.

genemoranmusic.com

Reviews
Album
Gene Moran
Month: Apr 2023
Mike Bern Indigenous Singer/Songwriter Mike Bern Releases “no words for…
The Manic Boys and Girls Club The Manic Boys And Girls Club’s “We’ll Be Fine” New Single Out Now
The Prairie Dogz Country Blues Rockers The Prairie Dogz Can “Almost See The Sun” In New Single
Doug MacNaughton Doug MacNaughton Takes Us On A Reassuring Walk Through Grief In “So…
Highwind Alt.Rockers Highwind Storm Back With Aggressive “Weighing You Down”
Lady Charles Ottawa-Based Indie Rocker Lady Charles Glitters Confidence In…
Lisa Richard Rising Country Star + ECMA Performer Lisa Richard Releases “Sunday…
Sonic Exploring Modern Andy Releases “Beginnings” From New Self-Titled EP Sonic Exploring Modern Andy Releases “Beginnings” From New Self-Titled EP
The Holy Gasp The Holy Gasp’s New Album '…And the Lord Hath Taken Away' Is Out Now
Sultans of String and Dr. Duke Redbird Release New Single “Our Mother the Earth” Sultans of String and Dr. Duke Redbird Release New Single “Our Mother the…
Nanaimo-Based Laura Kelsey Releases New EP ‘Hunting Season’ Nanaimo-Based Laura Kelsey Releases New EP ‘Hunting Season’
Miss Tammy Darling Conquering Rockabilly, Toronto’s Miss Tammy Darling Makes Sparks Fly…
Leaving Eden Sharron Katz Singer-Songwriter Sharron Katz Reinterprets the Adam-and-Eve Tale…
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils The Ozark Mountain Daredevils Kick Off Their 51th Year with New…
Katelyn Lehner Country Pop Singer Katelyn Lehner Releases New “10 Bucks” Single and…

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 92
  • Page 93
  • Page 94
  • Page 95
  • Current page 96
  • Page 97
  • Page 98
  • Page 99
  • Page 100
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

CEO/PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF
SANDY GRAHAM

email:sandygrahamemg@gmail.com 

Canadian Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Don Graham
email: dongrahamwriter@gmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Lisa Hartt
email: lisahartt87@hotmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada 
Michael Williams
email: greydread@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

International Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Malin Osth
email: malin@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Jonas Tancred
email: jonas@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - USA
Rob Durkee 
email: rockster2746@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Developer/Technical Support
Chris Wardman

email: info@chriswardman.com
website: chriswardman.com

Cashbox Cover Design and Graphic Artist
Jain McMillan

email: jainmcmillan@gmail.com

Contributing Photographer 
Tracey Savein - South Paw Productions
southpawproductions@rogers.com

 

 

 

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Archive
  • Issue Archive
  • Past Covers