Dean Ferrell
College Station, TX | Established. Jan 01, 2008 | SELF
Music
Press
For one former student, a good song doesn't need to be entirely true. Dean Ferrell, class of 1995, plays at 3 p.m. Saturday at The Beer Joint. Ferrell is an American singer-songwriter born in East Texas who has landed his way in College Station. He grew up writing music, but just started writing for copyright about 10 years ago.
Ferrell said that there's some truth to all of his songs, but not everything is true.
"You can't let the truth get in the way of a good song, but there's got to be [some truth], or people aren't going to connect with them. I won't connect with them," Ferrell said.
Sometimes names are changed to "protect the guilty," but Ferrell writes from personal experience about each song.
Whenever friends claim that things in his songs didn't happen, he said he counters them by saying, "I know it didn't happen, it's a song. It's made up, but the emotions are there."
While not everything is true, that doesn't mean that the emotion isn't real, he said.
Ferrell's new songs are based off of very personal experiences. Ferrell was divorced a few years ago, and the feelings have influenced his writing. Some of the songs might be sad and hateful, but he said they are inspired by real feelings coming from that trying time.
The singer-songwriter lives in College Station, but he originally came from a small town in east Texas. Ferrell began his education at East Texas State, which is now A&M Commerce, but always wanted to attend Texas A&M. Before he graduated, Ferrell was able to transfer to A&M.
Once at A&M, Ferrell hit Northgate, maybe a little too hard. Failing out after his first semester, he moved back to east Texas, got married and then went back to Texas A&M working at the Dixie Chicken.
After his wife had a baby, Ferrell decided he needed a "real job" and joined the Air Force. When he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, he saw an ad in a local English-language newspaper for Aggie Muster. Muster in Japan might have only had 20 to 30 people, but the tradition was mostly the same.
At Muster, he talked to a few of the higher-ranking officers who stressed the importance of finishing up his degree at A&M. Ferrell returned to A&M once more to finish his degree, graduating in 1995.
The Beer Joint is a new venue for Ferrell, and he said he doesn't know what to expect.
Ferrell has played on Northgate multiple times, but he expects that the crowd at The Beer Joint will be a bit older. The Beer Joint is located off of Highway 30, which is not as close to the A&M campus as Northgate. The different location might mean an older crowd.
Ferrell hasn't played only on Northgate though, having recently played shows in Arlington and Round Rock. Ferrell said that he likes to start shows off with a familiar song first to get into his comfort zone. Once he gets into it though, Ferrell likes to play his newer songs.
Ferrell's favorite place to play used to be the Hullabaloo Bar in Wellborn.
"Those guys are always really good to me, there's always a great crowd. I actually got married there.
"We were going to just go to the JP or have a preacher come out or something real simple, but I thought about my show coming up at Hullabaloo's, and decided we'd just do it and we don't have to invite anybody. The people who want to see us will be there anyway.
"The night came and I didn't tell anybody but my fiancé at the time, now my wife, and the preacher, who's a friend of mine. He showed up about midway through the show. I said I had a song I wanted to sing to my wife that I had written for her, and she came up I sang it to her. I said, ‘Is there a preacher in the house?' and of course I knew there was. He raised his hand, came up and we got married right there.
"A good friend of mine who was in the audience went next door to the diner and bought the closest thing to a wedding cake he could find, which was the nine-pound pie that they had at the time. We found some sparklers in the back and stuck them in the pie.
"Great times. I thought it was a great way to get to get married. Plus, it's a great story, right?" he said.
It might not be true, but it sure does make for a great story. - The Battalion
Discography
Cooks Point Demos 2009
Photos
Bio
Now booking solo acoustic shows only.
"The lyric content of Dean's songs & the heartfelt way he delivers them are going to make you an instant fan! He is a true Texas poet of the highest order." - Marlin Lee, Armadillo Hall, Taylor, TX.
Non-executive Summary
Raised on a Dairy in Northeast Texas, bailed a lot of hay, scrapped a lot of manure, milked a lot of cows, started writing songs, moved away to school at Texas A&M University, worked as a bartender at the famous Dixie Chicken Saloon in College Stations Northgate District drank a lot of Lone Star, joined the US Air Force drank a lot of Asian beers, found a job on a scientific research drill ship, drank a lot of other foreign beers, back at Duddley's Draw on Northgate writing songs and drinking domestic.
The Rest of the Story:
Dean's songs are mostly stories about life. And there's a little truth in all of them, but as the saying goes, he never lets the truth get in the way of a good story.
"Fixin' fence and cuttin' hay, workin' in the sun all day, pray to God that it won't rain 'til the bailin' through, that old cow with the crumpled horn, has gotten down behind the barn, go get the truck, pull her out like I asked you to."
That's how it started, making up songs to keep his mind off the Texas heat and the dust and the bugs and the deafening rumble of the tractor. Dean really never intended to leave the family Dairy, but got married too young and needed a decent job. Day man bartender at the Dixie Chicken in College Station, Texas was not that job and after getting kicked out of Texas A&M for spending more time on Northgate than in class, he joined the US Air Force to do his patriotic duty. Dean's assignment wish list was full of Texas bases, so of course they sent him to Okinawa, Japan. He hated Asian food, but was able to live off fried rice at Mickey's Billiards at 2:00am. Dean got to study more night life in Korea, Thailand, the Philippines before heading back to school for the third time. He found a job with a research drill ship and so got to study even more night life in Rio de Janerio, Brazil - Guam - Guayaquil,Ecuador - Valparaiso, Chile - Balboa and Christobol, Panama - Bremen, Germany - Gamagori and several other ports, Japan - Galveston, Mobile, San Diego, … you get the point. After going all over the place he ended up back in Texas, and back on Northgate spending a lot of time a beer tab throw from Bottle Cap Alley, next door to the Dixie Chicken, in front of the wooden indian at Duddley's Draw. He's still making up songs, and it's still hot. You can listen to more of his stuff at DeanFerrell.com if you're are so inclined.
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