Chris Sand

The headshot shows a stubbled chin with unkept but appropriately short hair, the quiet comfortable eyes and a pinched smile say, “I’m being well paid for the work and I enjoy it.” The plain blue T atop a plain white-T says, “there are more important things than a collard shirt.” and the white background says, “I took this photo for a reason.”

So, when PaisleyTunes opened his file this week, our assumption was that Chris Sand, AKA The Sandman, was a google programmer, burning the midnight oil to bring the rest of us pleasant dreams and reliable computing. We were eager to have him tackle some of our more complex computing problems and had already begun to draft our State of the Site dispatch, heralding the arrival of the new tech-genius.

It wasn’t until later that our PaisleyTunes intern suggested we read beyond the Google-Doodle and that’s when we learned the startling and dumbfounding truth about Chris’ twisted occupation.

Sandman, the Rappin’ Cowboy?

Rapper, Cowboy, Programmer?! (our intern later indicated Chris has no programming experience listed on his resume) Fortunately for us, we’re a music blog, so we filed our State of the Site media-blast and set to work doing something we’re good at, listening as Chris surprised, as expected, with the unexpected.

We found The Sandman offers a complex rhyming-rhythmic view of the modern cowboy (non-programmer) beyond the ones and zeros of heavy-bass musical manufacturing. Seemingly it’s his older lady friends list and their entrenched support that give him the motivation to perform his way to the top of the Rapping Cowboy scene in his North Dakota farm town, Dunn Center, of one-hundred and two folks.

Bridging the philosophical divide, Chris is performing the modern music of the geriatric townie and is readily applauded. While he claims the chasm he crosses is one of ‘red’ and ‘blue,’ in reality, he is unifying “down home” and “news-corp.” His tunes churn with current events, pop-culture, and modern musical sounds but are threaded together with his social understanding of his peers, the Dakota diner bar-fly. His raps and yodels present the playful nature of a plains-state do-nothing who’s managed to lay off the meth, while his instrumental tunes pluck at the pieces of folk that fire the Portland music scene.  And though he is missing a harmonious sing-along sibling, his lyrics appear to cary enough modern meaning and surprising turns to keep this listener entertained.

If that’s not enough, The Sandman has his very own documentary. Roll Out, Cowboy, and encourages listeners to read his journal, buy merch, and listen to his tunes at his wonderfully simplistic webpage.

[itunes id=”477430425″].