"Driver 8" is a song by the American rock band R.E.M. It was released as the second single from their third studio album, "Fables of the Reconstruction", in 1985. The song was written by R.E.M.'s primary singer, Michael Stipe, and it features a distinctive guitar riff played by Peter Buck

The title "Driver 8" refers to the operator of the train that used to run between Atlanta and Athens Georgia, where R.E.M. originated. The song tells the story of the train operator and his experiences on the job. The lyrics are are generally thought to be about the working-class experience and the struggles of everyday life

"Driver 8" describes the physical and emotional toll of working long hours, and the need for rest and rejuvenation.
The song also touches on themes of the changing landscape and the impact of progress on the environment and communities. The history of land being divided and a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm and power lines with floaters to prevent airplane snagging convey a sense of a rural America being encroached upon by urbanization and industrialization

Overall, "Driver 8" can be interpreted as a commentary on the human cost of progress and the need for balance between growth and preservation of tradition and nature

I first heard REM recordings in the early 80s on Antidote Radio, an underground FM show on WVVX from 1983-85 in northern Illinois. My teen musical friends from rural farm towns into Chicagoland all knew REM. Their songs were a mainstay of 80s Gen X music nerds. Fast forward to 1987, a friend who lived in the same building in Tempe AZ was a big REM fan - he played a Fender Mustang and would be later know as the legendary guitarist Spiral Stairs. Spiral invited me along to see REM with his friends who were in town from Northern California. That is when I saw historic REM play the historic Ffrank Lloyd Wwright Gammage Auditorium with the guys who would become the rock band Pavement. Was a good show. Michael Stipe did a Grateful Dead acid trip ballerina dance while wearing a flowery oldtime flower-sack dress as he sang Flowers Of Guatemala

16 November 1987 - Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ  support: The dB's  set: Finest Worksong / These Days / Welcome To The Occupation / Cuyahoga / Disturbance At The Heron House / The Flowers Of Guatemala / Exhuming McCarthy / Orange Crush / Feeling Gravitys Pull / King Of Birds / I Believe / Sitting Still / Driver 8 / Superman / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / Oddfellows Local 151 / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) / Begin The Begin  encore 1: Strange / Wolves, Lower / Pop Song 89  encore 2: The One I Love / What We All Want / See No Evil  encore 3: Harpers / Crazy / After Hours”

Some years later in 89 I was in Berlin, the real-deal Berlin with the wall and all:

11 June 1989 - Metropol, Berlin, West Germany  support: The Go-Betweens  set: Pop Song 89 / Exhuming McCarthy / Welcome To The Occupation / Fall On Me / Sitting Still / Turn You Inside-Out / Belong / Orange Crush / Feeling Gravitys Pull / World Leader Pretend / Begin The Begin / White Tornado / Pretty Persuasion / Get Up / Auctioneer (Another Engine) / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)  encore 1: Stand / Underneath The Bunker / King Of Birds / You Are The Everything  encore 2: Harpers / Ghost Rider / Finest Worksong  encore 3: Perfect Circle / Dark Globe / After Hours

The Metropol was an ancient cavernous club with sweaty walls packed with about 1500 hundred people, many of which were US soldiers. I had long curly red hair back then and was pressed to the stage barricade in a dense crowd. I remember being groped on the chest from behind by a big drunk US army guy while watching Michael Stipe dance around dead-stoned in black eyeliner from ten feet away. Army guy looked quite surprised for sure when I turned around and yelled WTF about to beat his ass but then we laughed it off and enjoyed the show. Me too, JTS

DRIVER 8

Driver 8 (1964 B-25N-12)

An American folk performer with roots in the 90s Seattle and Tempe music scenes, JTSunrise weaves classic tunes and tales from the heart with modern images mixed with fingers and breath - - - Genuine Gen X Folkspunk Seattle Americana acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, uke, autoharp, harmonica an old school stringband songs recorded down home

If you're an acoustic player/singer-songwriter of any kind please get in touch. 

All Music Matters
Your Music is Real
Thank You All
God Bless You
See u in the Pit (ole$chool punk $aying)

     JT
7777777

Angel Number 7777777 indicates that new chances have arisen in your life due to your hard effort

Engage in things that feed your spirit. If you pay attention to your guardian angels, they will lead you along the appropriate path

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I don’t buy anything, process anything, or sell anything- i don’t process anything sold or bought or processed, or sell anything to be bought or processed or sold

JTSunrise, like a cryptic melody echoing through the mist, A silhouette against the dawn, veiled in an enigma’s twist. Their chords weave secrets, harmonies untold, In the dim-lit corners of the soul, they unfold

Is it the owl reflection of their eyes, the echo of forgotten lullabies? JT strums the strings of mystery, A troubadour in the shadows, lost in history

Their lyrics dance on the edge of dreams, Whispers of forgotten realms and moonlit streams. Enigmatic, they wander through star-kissed nights, A minstrel of the cosmos, chasing celestial light

Perhaps they’re a riddle wrapped in stardust, A cosmic wanderer, both mortal and just. JTSunrise, elusive as the morning mist, Their music lingers, leaving hearts gently kissed

**In the gentle strumming of strings and the raw authenticity of JTSunrise’s compositions, you’ll find echoes of love, nostalgia, and the human experience**

New tracks tagged #12-String Blues