photo/Bart Budwig “The Moon and other Things,” coming soon to a turntable near you.

Anyone who’s serious about their country music has to be shaking their heads watching the today’s country music videos. Guys populate the screen who look more comfortable in designer shirts and jeans than in Levi’s and cowboy boots. Other guys wear shorts and drink girly cocktails as they warble away about Caribbean beaches and look like they spend more time in the gym than indulging in the wild side of life.

Where are the Merle Haggards, the George Jones,’ the Waylons and Willies? Where can you find real country?

Bart Budwig is a musician changing the present by mining the past. His new album, “The Moon and other Things” is getting its initial release on an LP or vinyl, just one of Budwig’s nods to yesterday. Budwig sings real country about real people and doesn’t apologize for it.

The Moscow, Idaho, musician moved to the Wallowa Valley early in 2015 at the behest of OK Theatre owner, Darrel Brann. The two met through music acquaintances in Moscow.

Budwig is a singer-songwriter who plays guitar and oddly enough, trumpet.

“I feel like trumpet’s my strongest instrument,” Budwig said. “I would say that and songwriting are my strongest skill sets.”

Trumpet was Budwig’s main instrument through his school years, and he particularly enjoyed jazz trumpet.

The trumpet is still a part of Budwig’s music arsenal and he attributes his abilities in song melodies to his trumpet playing.

“On trumpet, I could play melodies people connected with, and I learned how melody works through playing jazz and improvisation,” Budwig said.

Budwig got into songwriting through writing poetry while in high school.

“Then I wrote a couple of jazzy things where I would play the trumpet and sing, kind of like Louis Armstrong,” Budwig said.

Budwig’s guitar came from his mother, who died when he was 12.

“She always played songs for us, and we kept the guitar. I literally picked up the guitar, plunked some chords, wrote a song and played an open mic – literally within a couple of weeks,”Budwig said.

The idea of pursuing music as a career evolved slowly as Budwig learned to play guitar and write songs. Early on, he purchased recording equipment and used it to record himself and friends.

“I ended up spending a lot of time recording, and ended up going to Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Arizona. I enjoyed writing, working with other musicians and recording, and it turned into me doing a lot of that,” Budwig said.

He added he supported himself working as a Certified Nursing Assistant for the better part of a decade as he honed his music and recording skills.

Budwig currently makes his living as a musician. “I’m trying to make it happen, making enough money so I can focus all my energy on music as long as possible, and I’m lucky to be in a position to do that,” Budwig said.

“The Moon and Other Things” is described by Budwig as an outlaw Americana album.

“I listen to a lot of mid-60s Waylon (Jennings). It’s kind of lo-fi, super “verbed” out, I love the way it sounds, and he has a really killer band. It really influenced the tone of this record. The first song on the record is directly influenced by that sound,” Budwig said.

Some of the album songs have a fast, 2/4 feel, while the slower-paced songs delve into the Patsy Cline/Van Morrison 6/8 time, which Budwig described as smooth and jazzy. All the songs, with one exception, are written by Budwig.

The album’s title is inspired by a John F. Kennedy quote: “We will go to the moon in this decade and do other things. Not because it is easy, but because it is hard.”

“It kind of matched the album art I was thinking about,” said Budwig.

The album art is the creation of a Budwig friend, Nancy Charles.

“She’s an incredible artist, and I told her the album title and sent her the single, and told her to do whatever she wanted,” Budwig said.

The digital and CD release will feature a different cover shot.

The new album is a followup to his first solo album, 2012’s “Whisky Girl.”

“It took awhile to get to this one because I wrote the songs slowly, and I needed to get comfortable enough with them to put them down forever,” he said. “Over the past couple of years I’ve also been working on a duet album of 15-16 songs that’s available for free online.”

The LP was recorded on a four-track TEAC reel to reel analog recorder as opposed to today’s digital wizardry.

“I’d spent a lot of time over the past couple of years recording bands to cassette and experimenting with the lo-fi side of recording. My goal with this record was balancing hi-fi, the kind of stuff the average person would like, with my love for lo-fi. I hope people will hear it and like it because it has the warmth and vibe of old 50s or 60s recordings,” Budwig said.

The album is self-produced although Budwig said the four-track recorder probably influenced its development more than anything else, although he also credited his collaborations with other musicians.

“Basically, hanging out with other musicians and playing them what I’m working on has an influence as did the musicians who played on the record,” he said.

Budwig didn’t make the record with the idea of making a statement.

“This isn’t a concept album. If there’s a theme, the songs talk about the balance of wanting to be on the road or going somewhere or being at home in community. There’s always that aspect of always wanting something to make you comfortable, but always wanting to go somewhere or be uncomfortable,” Budwig said.”

“The Moon and other Things” is available Oct. 20 in its initial, limited-edition LP form on fourescent-pink vinyl or digitally for a name-your-own-price online at bartbudwig.bandcamp.com.