Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/62228
Diversions Profile » Lisa Godino Roll on, truck driving woman F Folk songwriter and F&M Transportation driver Lisa Godino crafts tunes for the road by TODD DILLS &M Transportation driver Lisa Godino started writing poems and songs when just a girl growing up near her home in Harmony, N.J. "I was always sing- ing in the closet," she says. "I didn't realize I could sing in a band." She worked various jobs until, on a landscaping job at age 25, she met a man who drove local with his rig. "We started talking," Godino says, "and he said, 'You can do this. If you want, you can even own your own truck.'" While she never did become an owner-operator, that encounter led to Godino securing her first driv- ing job. She joined F&M hauling a tanker locally that, more often than not, was loaded with milk. "I was a farm pickup driver," she says. "It was the best experience anyone could ask for!" It was work that required a versatile approach, with "tons of backing up, down and around all kinds of driveways, barns, junk … I had back-road driving, interstate driving and the icing on the cake was New York City every day: the best experience for this rookie!" To boot, all that was in a 1982 R model Mack "that beat you to death," she says. "No AC, no air- ride suspension. My back and neck took a beating." She had other driving jobs through the years, with Bulkmatic and other carriers, before finally re- turning to F&M. By then, though, the freedom and responsibility of driving had steered her down other paths as well — she'd long made good on the promise of her singing voice. She joined her first band in her early 30s, gigging in the off time, then "picked up the guitar when I was 38," she says. Today, she has a couple records under her belt, both involving her longtime partner and accomplished banjo and guitar player Chuck Winch. The couple was heavily involved in Civil War history and re-enact- ments in years past, and their "No Glory Here Today" (2001) and "No Longer Gray or Blue" (recorded under the name "Plum Run" and released in 2007) discs tracked in Civil War historical themes. More recently, however, Godino's recorded several trucking-themed tracks you can find on http://www. plumrunmusic.com — among the tunes are "Roll On, Truck Drivin' Girl," "Long Way Home" and "Superman." The combination of a classic American folk style and sensibility with themes of the road hasn't sounded quite so good in a long time. "I'm a folk artist just trying to make a little noise anywhere I can," Godino says. With "50 hours a week's worth of trucking, it's difficult to find the time, but I keep trying to write as much as I possibly can." Scan the QR code to check out a video for Lisa Godino's "Roll On, Truck Driving Girl," or find it and others via http://www.youtube.com/lisagodino1. 28 | TRUCKERS NEWS | MAY 2012