Webster defines “groove” as, among other things, “a long narrow channel or depression,” “a fixed routine,” “an enjoyable or exciting experience,” and of course, “a pronounced enjoyable rhythm.”

In layman’s terms, especially in reference to music, a groove is best described as indescribable. You gotta feel it, man. You gotta hear it. You gotta live it. You gotta dig it. Vinyl records have essential grooves in them, their very existence making playback possible, so maybe that’s where the term came from, but who knows?

If someone were to ask me what a groove is, I’d tell them to listen to some J.J. Cale, The Band, Groover’s Paradise by Doug Sahm or anything Jim Keltner played drums on. Listen to any of those examples and you’ll know the answer like you’ve known it all along.

Most people have likely experienced a groove of some sort at some time… a good run of luck at the bowling alley, a successful streak with the ladies or maybe a strike right down the middle of the plate. There are many types of grooves.

The best of all groves is that wave you catch when you find a connection with someone and everything just falls into place, everything goes right and nothing else matters. Life bounces along like a magical happy-go-lucky melody with not a care in the world. This can occur in life, love, music or I would guess, just about anyplace or anytime – the best part being that when you’re in a groove, you know it!

There ain’t no mistakin’ a groove, so next time you stumble across one, grab it with both hands, hold it tight, turn it up a little louder, spin it around a few times, buy it a drink, take it wherever you go, love it and live it for as long as it lasts and, baby, get lost in it.

Shawn Sahm is a chip off the ol’ block, and does a hell of a job paying tribute to his old man’s signature sound while making it his own. He sent me this idea, and we hashed it out over a few months via email. There never was a question as to what the vibe was gonna be. It just screamed tex-mex from the start. Shawn came in and played guitar and sang on it, and we had a ball laying it down. He also played some Vox continental organ on the track, which really brought it all together. Shawn wasn’t thrilled with his guitar tone, so he laid down a part the next day at his studio in San Antonio and sent it our way. He joked that he wanted to “play this one at home sitting on the floor in his underpants,” so for the rest of my life, I’ll have that image in my head whenever I play this song. There’s not much to explain as far as what the song is all about. (see above) From the start Shawn kept saying “this one’s all about the GROOVE, man!” Nailed it.