GARY FLOATER
Who Cares: The Songs of Gary Floater
www.garyfloater.com

Who Cares is the third compilation of Gary Floater songs as interpreted through the voices of B.W. Akins and Puffy Dan Walters, the two-man Floater Preservation Society that may or may not actually be an elaborate excuse for Texas troubadours Owen Temple and Adam Carroll to get away from themselves. For the uninitiated (or as yet unencumbered), Floater is the semi-mythical Miami, Mo., singer-songwriter best known for somehow always being a no-show at his own gigs (leaving the dirty work to B.W. and Puffy Dan) and for his lyrical life story of punching Jeff Gordon, as recounted in his song “The Dirty South.” For this collection, B.W. and Puffy Dan tap a lot deeper into the bowels of Floater, exploring a more personal side of their hero’s songwriting than hinted at on either of the previous two Songs of Gary Floater tributes, A Hero Never Learns and Floater Rising. Through songs like “I’m an Alcoholic,” “Hello Diabetes,” and “Selfish Lover,” listeners get a real sense of what it’s like to be Mr. Floater on a day-to-holiday basis, while “Nature Song” takes Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Hill Country Rain” to the next level (reminding us all that if you’re naked in nature, don’t just dance.) But it’s the album-opening title track that just might be the new definitive anthem of Mr. Floater’s World: It’s damn near impossible not to sing (and drink) along with B.W. and Puffy when they hit that epic chorus of “Who cares? Me cares!” Viva La Floater! — CODY OXLEY

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