Gator Nate Augustus - Tailgating For Tomorrow (2024)

After a nearly 10 year lapse in studio releases, Gator Nate is delightedly back in the proverbial saddle again. The hardships and natural disasters endured over the last decade have not stifled the flame of this “staple of the swamp” on the Florida landscape. They say there is no life without water, and joyously, the well of creativity overflows. With a new year and newly found inspiration, the glow of the future shines bright for the legend of Gator Nate. Tailgating for Tomorrow, the newest release from Swamp Song Records, is a selection of 8, succinct, no frills tunes, written, recorded, produced, curated and lived out by “The Only Child Family Band” man himself, Gator Nate Augustus.

Upon opening, a lone whistle leads into a stripped down acoustic number penned for a high school sweetheart-turned lifelong love in “Into the Now." Things take a dogleg turn quickly at the second bend, with a herculean epic, “Scared of Nothing” -a proverbial middle finger to the rampant hurricanes plaguing Florida's gulf coast. Nate gives a nod to his local-living legend cohorts in “Coach's Catchup” -a sort of, how-to for happiness, and the swamp-hop banger, “Follow the Wildman” -a toast to the defenders of the Everglades. The singer/rapper is deliberate as he bellows “Big sugar/big growth/big problems floating up the coast” in the funky “Little Streams” a call-to-arms confronting the water quality issues of the sunshine state and the transgressors held responsible. The listener's faces light up with smiles in the “go-to” live show standard “Ochoppee” -where the lyric takes things back to a simpler time with a ride down a lost highway to visit old acquaintances. All in all, the ear-worm melodies on the record would be a fitting soundtrack for Andy and Opie's whistling walk to the fishing hole. In the title track, the baritone crooner claims “Sometimes life is good and well/ sometimes it's pain and sorrow/ take it day by day/ tailgating for tomorrow." Rose colored glasses shade a bright, sunny future on the horizon for the author, and this album is a beacon of hope for it's audience. The closer, "Sea & Sunshine" is a somber maritime send off to the folks and friends met along the way, admitting “I ain't as tuff as I once was/things grow harder in time” -ending with a Hawaiian inspired guitar solo and a bid farewell,"I couldn't have done it without you/until next time." ~Hector Berlioz-The Musical Times