“People, they don’t change.” Artist Scott Ballew proclaims as the first line of the first song of his junior album, Rio Bravo—an unexpected remark from a man whose life has been punctuated by personal evolution. “Writing has become a survival mechanism,” waxes songwriter, musician, filmmaker and Texan Scott Ballew. Ballew’s perspective is refreshing, a result of directing films on everyone from Ryan Bingham to JT Van Zandt, Margo Price, and Terry Allen. As well as a film, All That is Sacred, chronicling the lives of American literary giants Thomas McGuane, Jim Harrison and Jimmy Buffett. A true artistic visionary, Ballew’s latest endeavor is a near-obsessive pursuit of quality songwriting, a skill that landed him on La Honda Records' coveted roster. Ballew’s writing is a world of contrasts; poignant but humorous, relatable but cerebral, simple but cinematic. “If you can make someone laugh and cry in the same paragraph, there’s no closer reflection to real life,” he says. Sonically, his music—specifically his upcoming LP, Rio Bravo (Produced by Michael Nau) —is as if Townes Van Zandt was produced by Ennio Morricone. Conversations with Ballew are peppered with self-depreciation, snippets of philosophy, poetry, and humor. Says Ballew: "Music can feel frivolous and silly and narcissistic at times–but I think at the most fundamental and noble level of a song, the intention is to make someone else not feel alone." - Anna LoPinto