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Posts Tagged ‘Bill Leyden’

🎶 Gringo Corazón II: Amor y Olvido

Posted in Music, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Listen on Bandcamp →

There are some stories that never really end — they just find a new song to travel through.
Gringo Corazón II: Amor y Olvido is that kind of record.

It picks up where the first Gringo Corazón https://bill-leyden.bandcamp.com/album/gringo-coraz-n left off — with laughter still in the air, a little more mezcal in the glass, and the same tender curiosity for love, memory, and the people who remind us who we are.


These are stories told across tables, train cars, and plazas — half in Spanish, half in English, always from the heart.

Across nine songs, we meet friends and ghosts, wander old streets, and toast to everything we meant to forget but never did.
From the playful chaos of Whiskey and Prayer Beads to the smoky elegance of Still Laughing in Spanish, and the dreamlike mystery of La Mujer del Tren, each track carries a piece of the same truth: the heart does what it wants — in any language.

The album closes with The Heart’s Got Its Own Plan, a wry, warm farewell that reminds us we’re all just maps without compasses, pointing south beneath the moon.

This project wouldn’t exist without all those nights of music, stories, and the laughter that followed.
Gracias to everyone who’s joined me on this road — from Monterrey to Colima, from memory to melody.

So pour something good, turn up the volume, and enjoy the next chapter of the Gringo Corazón story.

(A la vida, al amor, y al destino que ríe de mí.)

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My First Rodeo – Wry Wisdom in Song

Posted in Music, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

There’s a certain kind of hero who never looks the part. He spills the kibble on his pants, shows up late to the dance, and somehow wins your heart anyway. That’s the spirit running through my new album, My First Rodeo.

It’s a collection of nine songs about life’s crooked lines, where humor and tenderness live side by side. These are stories of small-town detours, unexpected brushes with fame, cheeky misadventures, and the kind of love that finds you in the middle of the mess.

One of the tracks closest to my heart is Late to the Dance. It tells the story of a guy who means well but always gets caught in the details — walking Mama’s dog, fixing her TV remote, listening to her read from Reader’s Digest — until he finally shows up to the dance a little behind schedule. It’s funny, it’s tender, and it reminds us that sometimes the latecomer sees the night in a way no one else can.

The rest of the album follows in that same wry spirit: from the big buckle bravado of My First Rodeo to the comic wisdom of Zip It! to the warm domestic humor of This Calls for Coffee. There are brushes with luck, stories of legacy, and plenty of pedal steel and close harmonies to carry the ride.

If you’ve ever felt like the stumble-bum who somehow stumbles into grace, this album’s for you.

🎵 Listen to Late to the Dance here: Track Link
🎶 Explore the full album My First Rodeo: Album Link

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🎵 New Album Out Now — The Winner’s Curse

Posted in Music, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I’m excited to share my new 10-song album, The Winner’s Curse, now streaming on Bandcamp.

What It’s About

The Winner’s Curse is a set of small victories and near misses—moments when luck, timing, and human nature twist the outcome just enough to sting. These songs capture the irony of wanting something just out of reach, the humor of good intentions gone sideways, and the quiet grace of letting go.

The Journey Track by Track

Here’s how the album unfolds:

  1. Shut It Quick – When silence makes you irresistible and speaking up breaks the spell.
  2. Wrong Side of Right – No matter what he tries, love keeps flipping the script.
  3. Big Peccadillos – A sly confession of big-little flaws and guilty pleasures.
  4. Missed It by a Mile – Close enough to taste it, too far to hold it.
  5. Shot Right Up to the Middle – Aiming high and landing squarely in life’s perfect nowhere.
  6. Part-Time Hero – Right place, right time, accidental heroism with a humble shrug.
  7. Guess I Shoulda – Small hesitations that ripple into lasting what-ifs.
  8. Breakin’ a Lucky Streak – Catching a sudden run of fortune, knowing it can’t last.
  9. Toronto Layover – A fleeting airport romance that turns into a lesson in grace.
  10. Round and Round – Life’s lessons looping back on themselves with a knowing smile.

Why It Matters

These songs live in the everyday choices that shape us:
– The wave you don’t return.
– The hero you never meant to be.
– The love you almost had but never owned.

If you’ve ever felt like you “won” only to realize there was more to the story, you’ll recognize yourself in these tracks.

Listen Now

🎧 The Winner’s Curse on Bandcamp

Thank you for listening and sharing these stories. Every play, every comment, every quiet nod means more than you know.

— Bill Leyden

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“…. Laugh, and Be Happy ….”

Posted in Family, tagged , , , , , , on July 13, 2013| 4 Comments »

“Sheriff John” Rovick (1919 – 2012)

“Sheriff John” Rovick (1919-2012)

I wasn’t aware that my late father and “Sheriff John” Rovick were friends until years after Dad’s hunting accident, which claimed his right eye and probably contributed to his early death at the age of 53.  Sheriff John hosted a noontime show for children during the ‘golden age’ of television — ask any Baby Boomer from Los Angeles!  I found out after-the-fact that  Sheriff John was with my dad on a duck-hunting trip when a load of buckshot shot by a careless hunter from a nearby hunting party peppered my dad in the face and chest with a careless and errant blast.

Dad never really recovered.  One day, in a youthful, innocent and somewhat obtuse way, I mused with my father,

“Gee, Daddy, Just think: if you had moved one step to the left, you may not have lost your eye!”

Without a beat of hesitation, he looked down at me with a mixture of impatience and love and said,

“And if I had moved one step to the right, I might have lost both of them!”

Independently, my brother and I loved Sheriff John (it seemed) almost as much as our Dad — or maybe even more, if you believe the story that my mother recently told me:

Mother’s Recapitulation

I continue to be surprised and thrilled that my mother lets me record her memories.  At 86, she tells me she is no longer concerned about how she looks in front of a camera.  I think that I will try to break out the camera with her more often.

If I tried, I could easily think myself into sadness when I consider that there are only so many of her stories that I may yet hear, but instead, I will just follow Sheriff John’s musical credo, which is “laugh, and be happy.”

RIP John Rovick

I found this tribute to Sheriff John.  You might enjoy it.

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