More than twenty years after Scott McQuaig's self-titled album with MCA/Universal Records was released, a new album by the Meridian, Mississippi musician is out. The November 2012 release, I'm Still Falling, is the result of Scott's unrelenting drive to create music that describes real experiences and reveals the true emotions that stem from them. So many listeners throughout the years have connected with his words and music-so many that he was encouraged and was finally convinced to record again. Scott's first album, recorded in Nashville and released in 1989 by MCA/Universal, featured legendary musicians and co-songwriters and led to several years on the road full-time. He achieved moderate success with his first single, Honky Tonk Amnesia, which reached #46 on the charts. Two more singles, Johnny and the Dreamers and Old Memory, were released on Capitol Records. Eventually, Scott decided his family needed him more than the road. After his return to Mississippi, Scott remained active in music through songwriting and playing locally from time to time. The past few years have been a great deal busier with Scott forming a five-piece band and playing frequently in local clubs and for special events. Playing live on a regular basis allowed him to further develop the original songs he had been working on, and he began receiving positive remarks from listeners. Requests were piling up from fans about getting a copy of his new music. Friend and music legend, Chris Ethridge, known for his work with The Flying Burrito Brothers, Willie Nelson, Ry Cooder and countless others, also performed regularly in the same venues as Scott. Chris expressed to Scott on many occasions the importance of sharing his songwriting with others, and he strongly encouraged Scott to record one song in particular, I'm Still Falling. With Chris' encouragement in hand, Scott teamed up with his band, The Tomcats, and Point Recording owner Clay Barnes, former guitarist for Steve Forbert. Scott decided to make the most of everyone's time there and record three or four songs. Then a few more songs were added, and eventually the project evolved into an entire album of twelve original songs. Scott explains, Once we decided to record a complete album, the goal was to have a collection of my songs that would be a good representation of what you hear when you see us live. Scott gives details about some of his favorite songs on the album: I'm Still Falling was a work in progress that I first started writing 10 years ago. It had a beautiful melody and real potential. I had worked on it and re-written it so many times, but I was never satisfied. Something was missing and I couldn't figure out what it was. Meeting my wife, Kelly, a few years ago changed the way I felt about a lot of things and it allowed me to approach the lyrics differently. I was able to put aside the way I was thinking before and approach it from a different direction. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and the song finally made sense. I incorporated it into my live set, and the positive response was overwhelming. It is very satisfying to get that positive feedback after working on it for so long. I would never have guessed that finishing this song would lead to an entire album being recorded. 32nd Street was always one of my favorite songs. I've always thought of it as my Wonder Years song about growing up in the 60's. I grew up on 32nd Street in Meridian, but most of the memories that inspired the song come from my grandparents' house, which was actually on 40th Street. My sisters and I spent a lot of time there when we were growing up. Losing our father at a very young age gave me an apprehension about what life was about and what we would have to face in life. Occasionally, I still take a drive through that old neighborhood and think back to those times. The lyrics of this song are about just that. 1862 is obviously about something that happened all throughout the South during our second war for independence. My songwriting buddy and harmonica virtuoso, Steve Smithson, called
