Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:01 You don't have to air. It's just the way youre, that in't like a right. It's called
Speaker 1 00:00:26 And we're
Speaker 2 00:00:27 Back. And we're back.
Speaker 1 00:00:28 Welcome Mr. Adam Hood to the Raise Rowdy podcast.
Speaker 2 00:00:31 Yeah. Thank you guys for having me.
Speaker 1 00:00:34 Yeah, I'm here. My name's Nicky T and that is,
Speaker 3 00:00:37 Is Curtiss on? Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:00:38 Hey fellas, Nicky t and Curtis,
Speaker 1 00:00:41 We are, uh, sorry that this isn't the most fancy podcast studio you've been to, but we're happy to have you here.
Speaker 2 00:00:46 This is really fancy.
Speaker 1 00:00:48 Yeah. It's luxurious. What
Speaker 2 00:00:49 Are we gonna put behind me?
Speaker 1 00:00:50 Um, great
Speaker 3 00:00:52 Question.
Speaker 1 00:00:52 How about like, some like Alabama Pines or something? Uh,
Speaker 2 00:00:55 I've always been to Alabama much. This is something special. Yeah. All right. What about Venice? Venice? Yes. I don't know. I
Speaker 3 00:01:01 Don't know. Venison.
Speaker 2 00:01:03 Venison.
Speaker 1 00:01:03 Maybe like the gondola. Is that where they have the gondolas in
Speaker 2 00:01:06 Venice? Yeah, I think so. No, that's where, see, I've never been, I don't
Speaker 1 00:01:09 Know. Yeah, there's gonna be a gondola guy right behind you
Speaker 2 00:01:12 Right now. Maybe I could be the gondola guy. It could die. Yes. Right. I know, I
Speaker 3 00:01:16 Know. It's just gonna be a Wikipedia article on Italy or something. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:01:20 We're making so much work for Ike right now, and I love it.
Speaker 2 00:01:22 I know. Poor Ike. Look at him.
Speaker 1 00:01:24 He's like, damnit, this is gonna be hard to find
Speaker 2 00:01:26 All. Oh, he looks eager. Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:01:28 He's young and good. That's what we like the best. Uh, well, man, thanks for coming out to Old Hermitage, Tennessee.
Speaker 2 00:01:35 Glad to be out here at Old Hermitage. Just a nice drive.
Speaker 1 00:01:37 You're, uh, you're based out of Alabama normally.
Speaker 2 00:01:40 I am. We're in Tuscaloosa.
Speaker 3 00:01:42 Tuscaloosa, you drove all the way up here for this podcast. We appreciate that.
Speaker 2 00:01:45 Yes, yes. I'm going straight home after this. Yes. Uh,
Speaker 1 00:01:48 We've been working on it for a little while, so I'm glad I finally
Speaker 2 00:01:51 Lined up. Yeah, me too. I'm glad I've tried to get up here. Uh, me once a month at the least. Yeah. You know, so we have a little place up here, Brent and I rent a place from Randy Rogers. Oh, heck. It's right down there. It's, it's one of the few places that's been here a while and hasn't been torn down yet. I mean, like, we're right there behind losers.
Speaker 1 00:02:08 Oh,
Speaker 2 00:02:08 Dang. That. The fact that it's been there a while is,
Speaker 3 00:02:10 Is it Americana building?
Speaker 2 00:02:12 No, it's a, um, university Square is where it is. Yes. Very. I used to live there. Did
Speaker 3 00:02:17 You really? Yes. What? Yeah, I used to live in, I'm gonna say this song now because I don't live there anymore, but I live on the sixth floor. Oh. So yeah, man, like the pool and everything, and Yeah. As when I first moved to town and I was 27, I think I was mm-hmm. <affirmative> living that close to red door and losers and everything. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:02:37 It's dangerous.
Speaker 3 00:02:37 It could be dangerous. Right. I'm a good boy, but it could have been worse. I'll say that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:02:42 Yeah. I'm really thank, I mean, so, you know, I don't drink anymore, so it's nice that this is a good spot for me, you know what I mean? It's like, I can be safe,
Speaker 1 00:02:50 You know? Well, you're in the middle of the town there too, which is great. Oh,
Speaker 2 00:02:52 Man. I mean, I could, I don't walk, but I could walk to anywhere, you know, I don't, let me, let me rephrase that. I don't, don't
Speaker 3 00:02:59 <laugh> When I lived in Midtown and when I first moved to town, you know, 2012, it was like every time I came home from the road, it was like, that part of town was just completely different. Yeah. And then now it's like, I couldn't even imagine like, living there full time. It's just, it feels so like congested and like, and there's so much traffic and drunk people stumbling around and screaming and those razor scooters let people rant and all that crazy.
Speaker 2 00:03:20 Oh man. They're everywhere. Yeah. And I mean, buildings are growing up mm-hmm. <affirmative> left and right. You know, I mean, they're, it's really growing around us pretty fast. I'm really thankful that I think that we don't, we, you know, it's still there. I can't imagine it's gonna be there two years, but
Speaker 3 00:03:33 University Square. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:03:35 I've heard, I've heard for it to be, but I don't think it's going to.
Speaker 3 00:03:37 Yeah. So we, I mean, we had a condo there for a while and then sold it cash to some like Chinese investors or something. Classic.
Speaker 2 00:03:44 Yeah. <laugh>.
Speaker 3 00:03:45 Yeah. That's awesome. Typical Nashville stuff. But, um, yeah. That's, that's a good spot. It's kind of small world, man. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:03:51 It is a small world,
Speaker 3 00:03:51 Little big town, I guess, honestly, as they
Speaker 2 00:03:53 Say. As they say. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 00:03:54 <affirmative>.
Speaker 3 00:03:55 That's cool. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:03:56 So, um, well, let's talk, I mean, usually we start from the beginning, but let's start from the end. Okay. So why don't we go through and talk about the new record first.
Speaker 2 00:04:05 Okay. That's great. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, bad Days Better is the name of the new record. Yeah. Came out September 16th, so it really hasn't, man. It's crazy. It hadn't been out two months, three months. Yeah. So, uh, lot's been happening since then. We recorded it at Capricorn, uh, in Macon. Brent Cobb produced it. Uh, the guys from Blackberry Smoke, some of them, Charlie and Brit and Richard from Blackberry Smoke. So Charlie played all the, everything with strings, pretty much. And then Brit played drums. Richard played bass, and then, uh, yeah, Adam Wakefield did all the Oregon parts and stuff like that. Uh, Leroy Powell played some harmonica, so we had a, we had a interesting lineup. You
Speaker 1 00:04:43 Know, that's a pretty darn cool lineup.
Speaker 2 00:04:44 It's pretty cool. Yeah. <laugh>, I know it's hard to imagine that we did this for an Adam Hood record, you know?
Speaker 1 00:04:50 Yeah. Where, um, what time did you guys record that? Like, when was
Speaker 2 00:04:53 It This was, I mean, it was right in the middle of Covid, pretty much. So we got in this, it was the last week of August, 2020, so, I mean Right. We were, we were still wearing masks, but I think that they had lifted, I can't remember. It's all a blur, you know? Totally. But I mean, you know, March was the shutdown, so August was where we, where we kind of were. Nice. You know, so. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:05:15 Yeah. It's, it's crazy to think about that, but like, is there any time in the world where you would've been able to get that
Speaker 2 00:05:21 Album done? Absolutely not. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. Absolutely not. Yeah. It, it worked out great that way, just because I mean, nobody had anything to do. Yeah. Especially, you know, I mean, Charlie and them, Brent and I had been talking about this for a long time, so we'd, we'd have carved out the time. Yeah. But it would've been hard to find a time for those guys to get in the studio for a week. I mean, just to go down to Macon and stay there all week. And we got Airbnb there and like, you know, went ahead and invested in it.
Speaker 3 00:05:45 So, and probably got a good deal on the Airbnb too. I bet.
Speaker 2 00:05:48 I think so. Yeah. I try not to ask those questions, <laugh>. Yeah, true. <laugh>. I don't wanna
Speaker 1 00:05:52 Much you don't wanna know. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:05:53 That's right. If it's under budget, we're good.
Speaker 3 00:05:55 Yeah. Hell yeah. So, man, that's so inspiring. I just have a conversation today with somebody's talking about how, obviously they don't miss C, but it's just like, part of it is you do miss, you know, it's like I had this group of guys and we would get together every week and smoke, um, we, it's like a cigar club or whatever mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And now it's like trying to balance the four of us. It's like impossible. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:06:16 You know, the time for other people and stuff. Yeah. I, you know, also, like, there was, I got a lot of writing done. I mean, probably I'm, somebody had asked earlier and before Covid, I had probably written a song by myself like once every two years, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I mean, c I wrote eight by myself, you know what I mean? Right. Enough to wear, I mean, I kept count of them, you know what I mean? Yeah. And so it kind of helped me get back into, into writing by myself. I still don't do it as much. I don't enjoy it as much. I I do it because I know I have to. Yeah. I know I need to be able to do it by myself in case anything ever happens or anything like that, you know, and you just need to know that you're still creative like that. But I'd much rather, much rather write with other people. Yes. And, and that was the neat thing about that too. Like, you know, we, two years before that, we couldn't have stuck a gun in anybody's head and got 'em to do anything on FaceTime. And now it happens all the time, you know? Yeah. And it doesn't, well, it, it does. Yeah. I wrote, I wrote FaceTime today, so, you
Speaker 3 00:07:12 Know, that was gonna be my next question, if you're still right in that way.
Speaker 2 00:07:14 Sometimes I have a, I wrote with a guy named Johnny Woods today that lives in Oklahoma. And so that was kind of the only way we could make that work. And so, and especially now with we're, you know, traveling to promote the record my time to get up here, because, you know, when I'm up here, so I usually, I'll come up on a Tuesday and I'll, I'll do like morning, afternoon on Tuesday. I'll try to get two or three things in on a Wednesday, Thursday, I'll get up right. 10 o'clock, try to leave before three. And so I can, you know, we're Tuscaloosa is three and a half hours from Nashville, so, I mean, I can get home by dinner time on Thursday, you know, so, which is really nice. Um, I say all that to say that like, that time's just not as available to, and if, if I'm playing every weekend, I can't come home on Sunday, have Monday off to do all the things that I need to do. I mean, it's just my, my children aren't gonna mm-hmm. <affirmative>, my wife's not going to either <laugh>, you know what I mean? They're not going, they're not gonna tolerate it.
Speaker 3 00:08:06 Were you playing like a hundred shows a year, or would you say, or,
Speaker 2 00:08:09 I mean, probably I'm probably under one 50. We're probably over a hundred, but about, you know, under one 50, I think like around, it's a lot of shows. It's, yeah. I mean, considering that, that we were, that we've been balancing it, you know, between band shows, acoustic shows and time up here riding, I mean, it's, it's significant.
Speaker 1 00:08:25 What percentage of those are band shows compared to
Speaker 2 00:08:27 Acoustic a lot now? I'd say probably 75%, you know, since the record came out. But that's usually what we'll do. I mean, you know, I'll, I'll make a record and, and then let the band shows be the things that are, that are intentional to promote the record. We need to go out and sound as close to the record as we can for this show. And then, um, you know, I, as much as I like doing band shows, I mean, there's a lot of rooms that I have in the, around the country, Texas, blah, blah, blah, that stuff, stuff that, that are there songwriter rooms, there are rooms that, you know, a band's not gonna be conducive to. I can either go play by myself or play me one or two other people, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So, so I have enough of those rooms to where I still keep those,
Speaker 3 00:09:06 Like a rowdy on the row, for example.
Speaker 2 00:09:08 Exactly. There you go. For example, for example,
Speaker 1 00:09:10 Which you have played when we did the Muna Takeover.
Speaker 2 00:09:13 That's right. Yeah. That was a Monday Night
Speaker 3 00:09:14 Crush. Man, you sounded so great. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:09:16 Man, thank you guys for having me. That was awesome. That was an awesome show. It was
Speaker 3 00:09:20 Awesome. I always found, like when I photograph those shows, the people's music that I resonate the most with, that I like the most, I end up getting the most good images with. Oh,
Speaker 2 00:09:28 Nice. Really?
Speaker 3 00:09:29 Yeah. So I got a lot of good photos of you from that night. Well, thank
Speaker 2 00:09:32 You for doing that. I appreciate it. You're good at what you do, man. I
Speaker 3 00:09:34 Appreciate it. Thank you. I love doing it.
Speaker 2 00:09:36 Well, and it's, it's cool because, you know, there's, I think you realize the value of it now, you know, with social media, I mean content, even if it's images, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like, just anything that's fresh, you know? Cuz now we have just all these media outlets and stuff, and so the more different unique pictures that you can have of yourself in different environments and stuff like that, the better off you
Speaker 3 00:09:58 Are. So I know like a lot of people complain about like, looking out into a crowd from the stage, you know, from our perspective versus Nicks and seeing phones out. But I think there's something really to be said for actually capturing a moment. And I think it, like, one of my favorite ways to watch a concert is from the photo pit. Yeah. And obviously one, because I'm so close, you know, like I got this like, photograph like Willie Nelson and John Mayer, like from the photo pit. And it was just like, I remember like, we opened for Willie and then I used my laminate to go sit and I watched his entire show from the photo pit. And it was just like part of like, identifying what the moments were like to capture them also helped me like internalize what the show's like, I guess. If that makes sense.
Speaker 2 00:10:45 No, 100%. And like you said, I mean, when you, it's funny that you mention that cuz I, I do, I hear people complain about it a lot, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but I'm with you. I mean, if their phone's out, that means they're
Speaker 3 00:10:54 Having a good time. They're
Speaker 2 00:10:56 Documenting this to remember it later. Number two, they're gonna tell everybody else about how cool it was. Yeah. Are you crazy? You know what I mean? Like, why would you not want that to, I mean, whatever, suit yourself. I, I like to see how your career is in 10 years <laugh>. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:11:09 I know. I, I have gone like, run out like on the long catwalk, like at a festival and, you know, everyone's screaming and go to do my guitar cell, I get right up in this girl's face and she was just like posting something and I'm like, up here, I'm going, man,
Speaker 2 00:11:26 I'm just shredding your face and you're looking, you're looking at your phone. I just melted your face. I just
Speaker 3 00:11:31 Wanna like taper on their head and just like,
Speaker 2 00:11:33 Do you hear this? Do you hear this magic going on? Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:11:37 That's great. It is a strange thing though, like, there's definitely positives and negatives to it for sure. But yeah, that's where we're at now. There's nothing much you can do to change it. What are
Speaker 2 00:11:46 You gonna do?
Speaker 1 00:11:47 Yeah, yeah. You know, live in the modern world or get passed by, you
Speaker 2 00:11:50 Know? Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 3 00:11:51 I feel like your music has like an old soul to it. For sure. And it's funny to hear you talk about all this like, modern thing. Oh, I know, I know it. And, uh, I know it's a lot of artists, it's kind of like the bane of their existence, but, um, it is important I guess at some point, right?
Speaker 1 00:12:07 Oh, absolutely. I mean, I think any part of it is how do you get your music to the people,
Speaker 2 00:12:12 Right? Yeah. Right. So
Speaker 1 00:12:14 Well, and that's creating good products one.
Speaker 2 00:12:15 Yeah. And, and that's the thing. I mean, I, I do it because, because of that and number, you know, I mean, but my, my goals and my agenda is really not to do anything more. I mean, you know, you don't see me doing a whole lot more than sitting in front of a wall playing my songs. I mean, you know, I mean, granted, I, I have a couple of pictures or videos of me and my kids and stuff. Yeah. But that's it, you know, I mean, I'm not, you know, it's either, it's either me at a show, it's either or me at a show me in front of a wall or me with my kids, you know? And so that's really, I, there's, I don't know. It's
Speaker 3 00:12:45 Maybe you on the Raise Rowdy podcast That's
Speaker 2 00:12:47 Right there. See, and that's right. Here's another avenue and a facet of what I do.
Speaker 3 00:12:52 You're not doing any TikTok dances yet?
Speaker 1 00:12:54 No.
Speaker 2 00:12:55 No. I don't think you
Speaker 1 00:12:56 Have to. I think that's the key is like, you figure out how you can make it work for you.
Speaker 2 00:13:00 Right. I, I mean, I don't have a choice. Nobody wants to see me TikTok
Speaker 1 00:13:03 Dance. No. Yeah, no.
Speaker 3 00:13:05 I like to check it out. At least once. You wanna see
Speaker 2 00:13:07 It, you wanna see it. No, I can't <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:13:11 No,
Speaker 3 00:13:12 Don't,
Speaker 1 00:13:13 I think that's the, uh, that's the key is like finding that thing that you can make it work for you, the lane. Yeah. You know? Totally.
Speaker 2 00:13:20 Absolutely. And I mean, that's kind of, you know, I feel like that's what I've always done. I mean, I, I, I've always had an understanding of what I'm good at and what I'm not good at, you know what I mean? Like it, and that's kind of what helped shape has helped to shape my music for sure. Like you're saying, you know, you can, you can tell the same way that it's been intentional for me that like, there's a lane, you know, this if, if you want, hey, if you want something to sound like X, y, z call Adam. You know what I mean? Yeah. And like, you know, that was kind of always what I wanted to do. Just sort of be able to be really good. Cuz I know I'm not gonna be the best at everything. I'm not gonna, I mean, I'm not even wanting to be the best at anything. I just wanna be the best I can be at whatever it is that I'm best at. Yeah. And I know, I know that's a lot
Speaker 3 00:14:02 The best, Adam. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:14:03 Yeah, exactly. You know, and I know what I can do. I know what my stuff ought sound like, and we're still trying to define that sound, but, you know, I, I know, like I said, I, you're not gonna hear me doing like, you know, tender ballads or anything like that, you know what I mean? I'm, I'm no good at
Speaker 1 00:14:18 'em. Well, yeah, it's not that comes with like, comes to you.
Speaker 3 00:14:20 Yeah. Right. And and having that confidence comes with experience.
Speaker 2 00:14:24 Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:14:25 Which I, it's great.
Speaker 2 00:14:26 I feel like I've got years of it. Decades of it <laugh>. Yeah. I got decades of it. Hard
Speaker 3 00:14:32 To cash it in, you know?
Speaker 2 00:14:33 I'm with you. Let's do
Speaker 1 00:14:35 That. So, on the record, um, on your song Harder Stuff, you actually had Miranda, who I know you have a relationship with, right? Um, to play on the track as well.
Speaker 2 00:14:43 Yeah. She sang on it and, and, um, you know, that's what Brent and I were talking about. I mean, there, there have been, I've known Miranda a long time, uh, and she kind of is responsible for me being in Nashville, period. I mean, she introduced me to Frank Ladale, who was the first guy that I, I mean, that was my first publishing deal. I e my first job in Nashville. Yeah. And so that was, she was the reason that Door opened. And, um, and so we've known each other long enough and, and she's been that supportive for that long. Um, and so, you know, that I've had that favor in my pocket for a while. You just wanna make sure that you can, you know, do it at the right time with the right song. And I think, I think we chose pretty, pretty well for it. Yeah. You know?
Speaker 3 00:15:23 That's awesome. Is she as cool as I think she is, she's
Speaker 2 00:15:26 Just, yeah. Yeah. Everything. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:15:28 She seems like she would be a great hang
Speaker 2 00:15:30 For sure. She's pretty fun. Yeah. We have a good time.
Speaker 3 00:15:32 Yeah, no doubt. Yeah. Who did you write that
Speaker 2 00:15:34 One with? Uh, Davis. Nicks, uh, came to me with that idea. Um, and so he wrote the chorus pretty much by himself. And then he and I went the next day and sat down, uh, between shows and wrote the first, like, we finished it, but then weren't really all that happy with the second verse. And so that song just kind of sat around for a little while because it was unfinished. And then when Brent, uh, you know, Brent went through and like, listened to my entire catalog for this record. And so
Speaker 3 00:16:03 That's awesome. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:16:04 It was really cool of him. I don't know that I could have done it
Speaker 3 00:16:06 <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:16:07 And so then he, uh, so Brent said, we need to finish this song up. And so we finished Brent and Charlie and I finished it. We wrote that second verse to it. Um, I guess Tuesday night we recorded Wednesday. Oh dang. That's awesome. Yeah. It's cool.
Speaker 3 00:16:21 What's, what's it like working with Brent? Cause I know he's producing a lot of like, the cool like records. I feel
Speaker 2 00:16:27 Like it seems like now. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I feel like I was kind, it, it's a privilege to be the first guy that he produced. Yeah. I think, I think, you know. Yeah. But I mean, it's great. You know, he and I know each other well enough to where I think if anybody understood my music, and I feel like that's kind of the, the case sometimes. Like, I've been in situations where I've hired producers and, and, and I hate to say it like this, but like, I've been excited about working with certain people that you get into a studio with, and they, they don't, they haven't even listened, you know what I mean? Like homework. I didn't know you played guitar. I mean, I, you know, one of my first records, I worked with a guy that said that after the record was made, you know, and <laugh>
Speaker 3 00:17:06 What, it's crazy what, there's a lot of people, and it's not just Nashville thing, but phoning it in and just, we'll take the money
Speaker 2 00:17:13 And this was in la you know, there you go. You know what I mean? And so that, you know, there's, there's that kind of stuff. And, and so Brent is the polar opposite of that, you
Speaker 3 00:17:22 Know? That's what it sounds like. He did
Speaker 2 00:17:23 His homework. Yeah, totally. And I mean, it was really, it, it wasn't, the intention wasn't to, you know, I don't think we ever considered producing a record until it was time to make a record. And, you know, he and I, like I said, we share an apartment and so, and so we're in close proximity enough to where we have these conversations and we'd sit around and talk about songs and we got to talking about songs and we started picking songs and he started giving his input on, well, I like this song, but I think, you know, you sounds to me like you need need this, that, and the other. And I was like, oh, this is a conversation you have with a producer. You know? Right. And so it, you know, I said something to him and he said, if you're serious, we'll, you know, we'll
Speaker 3 00:17:58 Continue this. I would never have the confidence to be like, Adam, this is what you need to do to this song.
Speaker 2 00:18:02 <laugh> Brent does
Speaker 3 00:18:03 <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:18:04 Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:18:04 Well,
Speaker 1 00:18:05 You guys are frequent co-writers too, right?
Speaker 2 00:18:07 Yeah. We've written a lot. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I was at Carnival a year before he was, and so, so we were, you know, we were, and he's still over there, but I was there for seven years. He copy do. Yeah, that's right. Copycat copycat me all the time.
Speaker 1 00:18:20 <laugh>. But yeah, it's, I think there's some kind of magic too, like when someone knows you very well. Right. And sometimes that happens when you do multiple albums together, right. They get to know you very well. But like you said, like you guys are kind of like part-time roommates and good buddies, frequent co-writers.
Speaker 2 00:18:36 Yeah. We just think alike, you know? Yeah. And I mean, we have have a lot of, a lot of the same, uh, musical influences. And, and I've, I've played him enough stuff of mine and the things that I like and, you know, we've, we've kind of barred from each other's, you know, Hey, listen to this song. Listen to that song. To where like, you know, if anybody knows how, not only does he know how I how I want sound, or I'm sorry, not only does he know how he wants me to sound, he knows how I wanna sound too. You know what I mean? Like, he can, it's nice to be able to step, like, I can't look at my style. I can't look at myself from an outsider's perspective. I can't look at myself and go, you know, if you would just do that as opposed to this. Like, that's when you need a, that's, like I said, that's why you additionally, you hire a producer, they just, a lot of producers that don't do the homework, and we've already covered that, but Brent had done the homework and, and so he could look at it objectively and um, and then, and then he could sort of help me kind of figure out where to go, you know? And that's, yeah. I mean that I need that. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:19:35 I think we all need that sometimes.
Speaker 2 00:19:36 100% in life in general.
Speaker 1 00:19:39 <laugh>. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:19:39 For sure. A lot of people like will have me fly them steel tracks or do bro guitar, whatever. I like doing it at Charlie's house. Cause Charlie would be like, that's not in time. I'd be like, okay, I'll do it again. You know, <laugh> like, that ain't it. You know, that kind of stuff. It's good to have your buddies that can, that you trust to like, give you real advice that won't hurt your feelings, I guess.
Speaker 2 00:19:57 Would you rather do it that way? You'd rather get live in the studio?
Speaker 3 00:20:00 I think so, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:20:01 Yeah. I mean, it's, it feels more organic that way.
Speaker 3 00:20:04 I think so too. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:20:05 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:20:06 And that's kind of what you're shooting for at the end of the day. I mean, the, the holy grail is to make the album sound as close as you can to the live show, right? I mean,
Speaker 1 00:20:16 In most cases.
Speaker 2 00:20:17 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's just hard to do. It's hard to, and even with, with nowadays, you know, it's just hard to make it sound as three dimensional as the show is. But we're close, you know, we're close.
Speaker 3 00:20:29 I've definitely been on the, you know, given the hard task of making the live show sound like the record when there's like just a wall of mini guitar parts and you've got only a couple guys, you know? So it's like, how do you do
Speaker 2 00:20:42 That? How do you do that?
Speaker 3 00:20:44 I don't know. <laugh>, I play power chords really loud, I guess. I don't know.
Speaker 2 00:20:49 Yeah. But you kind of work as a utility guy, so you understand the, the importance of the layers, you
Speaker 3 00:20:54 Know? For sure. And it's just like, you know, on gigs, other gigs, like with Luke, we have a bunch of guys. And so, right, right. So one guy can go, you know, and then one guy can strum and one guy could do this and that. But like, when you have less guys, that's kind of like, ah, what do you do? Right. You know?
Speaker 2 00:21:11 Yeah. I guess you just pick the ones that are the most important. Uh,
Speaker 3 00:21:14 Yeah. So
Speaker 1 00:21:16 Interesting. And I think that's, yeah, there's different ways to produce a record. One is you make it sound big and make it sound like a wall of sound or whatever, you know? And some other ways are, you make it sound like you're gonna play it live, you know?
Speaker 2 00:21:28 Yeah. And there's, there's, I agree. There's different ways of doing it. You know, there's, there's, there's records that are made to where, um, every bit of space is, is occupied by something. And those records are cool, but there's also records where there's, I mean, like, you look at a Stapleton record, I
Speaker 3 00:21:44 Literally, that you read in my mind space. Yeah. Right. It's a piece of guitar based and dramas
Speaker 2 00:21:48 All times and it feels great. Yeah. And to me, those are the records. The ones that are more spacious are the ones that you almost can't, like, somehow by not filling the space, you allow it to be more three dimensional Stapleton's record. Like you listen to it, like listen to it in a, in a, with a good system. You, I mean, you can like feel the positioning of of their instruments in the room and stuff. Yeah. And, and that's the thing that kind of the layers sometimes I feel like that takes away from it. However, you know, there's environments to where, you know, that doesn't really translate, you know, it doesn't matter. And so you need to feel space. It's important to do both of 'em. Right. They are both valuable
Speaker 3 00:22:25 To quote the genius inve mob teams.
Speaker 2 00:22:28 Yes. Go ahead.
Speaker 3 00:22:30 How can less be more if more is more, you know, <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:22:34 Say it in Eastern European accent.
Speaker 3 00:22:36 <laugh>. I, I'm the worst accent guy, but, um, it's such a brilliant quote. I mean, it's ridiculous at the same time, you know, because it's like, I grew up, I like guitar teachers, like, man, like, play, play, you know, like, you know, and then he's just like, fuck that. Like, play more, you
Speaker 2 00:22:52 Know, play all the notes. Watch this. I'll play every note. <laugh>
Speaker 3 00:22:57 That got a trip, man. Oh man. Is he still around? Yeah, I think he like plays, oh, actually our front of house guy, Todd Lewis, shout to Todd, uh, lives in North Carolina and mixed him live recently. Whoa.
Speaker 2 00:23:11 So got the big hair. No way. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:23:13 What? Yeah, I don't know if it's like a wig, like a, what's his name that wrote the, uh, the ride? Um, David Allen Co. David Allen CO's wig. I don't think it's like that. But he said that he had this wall, wall of Jcm 800 s, which is for those at home is a marshal rock guitar amp, and
Speaker 2 00:23:31 A really loud one.
Speaker 3 00:23:32 Yeah. And Todd is like, I'll put a mic in front of it, but I'm not putting it through the pa at all. Yeah. It was just like, it was the loudest thing by like a lot. And he's like, it's not even the fucking pa, so it sounds terrible. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:23:46 So he, he like had a wall of them and used them
Speaker 3 00:23:49 All. Yeah. Not, I wouldn't say all of 'em, but he used more than he should.
Speaker 2 00:23:52 Significant amount. Yeah. Yeah. Whoa.
Speaker 3 00:23:54 Isn't that weird?
Speaker 2 00:23:55 That is weird.
Speaker 3 00:23:56 I'm not even using a real amp anymore. Out on the road. We had to go to like, quiet, like computer amps last fall. What are you using? It's a neural quad cortex. Oh,
Speaker 2 00:24:05 Woo.
Speaker 3 00:24:06 Yeah. I know. It was our production manager, Jerry, who I just respect with every fiber of my being. He, when he asked me to do it, and he's an old school guy too, and was just like, Hey man, like, where are you all going? Noises on stage. Cause we've got this 360 stage and all the crews gonna be under there and, you know, it's just gonna hurt their ears and they're not gonna communicate and blah, blah, blah. Like, do I have to? He's like, no, but I strongly suggest it. And I was like, okay, Jerry, I'll do this for you. Yeah. And honestly, it's been pretty
Speaker 2 00:24:38 Great. I mean, don't you feel like that we've kind of come, I say we like the industry's kind of come a long way with modeling and amplifiers like, it, like, I mean, they sound like 'em, you know? Yeah. I
Speaker 3 00:24:48 Mean, it really, it feels like it too.
Speaker 2 00:24:49 Yeah. Foxy the guy that plays guitar for me, so I just went out and did a run and it was Job Forner came out, and so we played Yeah. And we played in New Orleans. And so my guys played with Job when Job does band shows. And it was cool. Like Tyler, he, he has, uh, what's the one everybody uses? What's
Speaker 3 00:25:05 The
Speaker 2 00:25:06 No, yes, the Kemper. So he has a Kemper, but he has one with the, uh, with the, um, speaker in the back. Yeah. Yeah. And so, uh, but the difference between job set and my set was impressively different, you know what I mean? Like, I like, like you could tell that he was using Mod completely different amp tones. Yeah. And, and it was significantly different. And I mean, you know, odds didn't sound like that. Yeah. Just different, you know, just completely different
Speaker 3 00:25:30 Sound. Those red beans back in the day sounded terrible. I'm like, listen, never
Speaker 2 00:25:33 They sounded bad. That's right. And they don't, I mean, they sound, the Kemper stuff is
Speaker 3 00:25:37 All, it's all good. Now. You
Speaker 2 00:25:39 Guys deserve an endorsement from me saying that You're a welcome everyone.
Speaker 3 00:25:42 Well, I already have an endorsement from Quiet. Oh my.
Speaker 2 00:25:45 Nevermind.
Speaker 3 00:25:46 That's awesome. Yeah, man, what a time. What a great time to be alive, really. I
Speaker 2 00:25:50 Mean, it is kind of cool, you know, especially live stuff. You know, it's, I mean, it's, it's interesting that you can, you can really sound good for a lot less work, you know? Yeah. <laugh>,
Speaker 4 00:26:02 It's a great way to say it, you know?
Speaker 3 00:26:03 Yeah. <laugh> like with my photography, I'm like, I've got the lenses and the camera bodies and all the things and the software. And then with music, I just like, don't care about the gear, like at all. I don't know why. I'm just like, if it sounds good, like I'm cool.
Speaker 2 00:26:18 Yeah. Cuz it's sufficient. That's right. Yeah. The sound is sufficient. It, you know, everybody always used, oh, that was the thing. Like, you know, and to date myself back in the eighties, everybody liked, uh, they liked tube amps because the solid state amps sounded like crap. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that's the difference, you know, the difference is when, when, you know, when Tube a when a solid state can, can sound like the, the original tone, when it can actually achieve that goal, then they're, they're pointless to have, they're cool. But I mean, you know, man, they're high maintenance. They're high maintenance. They are, it's a lot of work. And if it tears up, like, you know, it's not like you can't just, one can't replace not when Yeah. When that's right. Yeah. It's a matter of when and how bad and if it burns your house down for doing so,
Speaker 3 00:26:58 You know. Right. Let me give you a thought experiment here. I'd love to ask an accomplished songwriter this. Oh, okay. So a buddy of mine, and he's got this book that he's putting out, and it's like a Dungeons and Dragons book or whatever. Okay. And, and he uses this AI software to get all the images for it. He types in like skeleton sword with like a helmet on and it, and it gothic style, and it'll produce this image and then he'll take that and he pays like $20 a month to get the, he could download as much as he want. Um, do you think that anything like that is ever coming to the songwriting world? The music world?
Speaker 2 00:27:34 Like, as far as like, subscription based songs
Speaker 3 00:27:37 More like just AI being able to write stuff like that?
Speaker 2 00:27:40 I don't know. I mean, I, I, I would, I would doubt that that's not gonna be the case. Yeah. You know what I mean? You can see evidence of these things happening. Now, you
Speaker 3 00:27:48 Know this cause like the images, this thing comes up with, like, they just won this art contest somewhere and the guy was like, oh, I did that in ai. And everyone's like, oh, what?
Speaker 2 00:27:57 Okay, ex explain it to me. What, what, when it says ask ai, what do you just, you don't ask
Speaker 3 00:28:04 Siri this? No, but there's a couple websites and you pay like a subscription for like, to use this software mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and it's a website and you type in a different things and you could say, um, Adam Hood portrait in the style of Van Gogh. Ooh. And it'll bring up and you have to pay, and then you, and you get to, it's your image. Like, you know, like you own the license to it, I think, and it Wow. And it does it, and then you can click slightly different variation and you can just go and tweak everything till you get it. Right. And that's what he does. And then he sends the image that he likes to someone on five and they like tweak it just the last five or 10% to get it where he likes it. And that's what he uses for his print book.
Speaker 2 00:28:47 The Okay. It, it sounds to me like the big canyon between that and music would be the, uh, it's like, because of the fact that music is an oral thing as opposed to a visual thing. Like, I don't know how you would get, like, you can get it to write a song in G but like, I don't know. I mean, man, if computers can do this, you know what I mean? Like there's, it's a matter of doing it. But that would, I mean, to me that would be the gap. Like how are you gonna design it in order to wear it? And you could prob, I mean, you probably could, I mean, you know,
Speaker 1 00:29:21 In my head you can maybe get it to like do a melody or something
Speaker 2 00:29:24 Like that. Yes. Correct. Like understand like a chord structure or make like, like if you, because that's the thing. I mean, your brain kind of works like this, like crazy. And it's crazy. I know. And I mean, I could, what, I mean, honestly, I write songs and, and can be having a conversation with someone and while, while they're talking, I'm just putting bullet points down, finding ways to make it right. And, and while you're, while you're explaining this imagery to me, I can just document it and make it rhyme and make, I mean, there's the first verse, you know what I mean? Yeah. So, I mean, if, if my brain can do that, I bet you could probably get a
Speaker 3 00:29:56 Computer. I have like searched like computer made music before and it's not good. No, not,
Speaker 2 00:30:05 I
Speaker 3 00:30:05 Can't imagine. Not even, not even like simple mes just sound like the, the timing and rhythm of it is, even if it's like in time, it's like the phrasing is feels really strange. Interesting. I'm not sure why. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:30:16 And sometimes the magic in a song, specifically if you're talking about lyrics is what it, where it hits you and what it means to you. Yeah. You know what I mean? Totally. So you'd almost, for the system to know that, you would have to know like what part of what songs mean the most to the most people kind.
Speaker 2 00:30:32 Yeah. There's an emotion that, that Yeah. Just, you know, the, the delivery would be different. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:30:37 Absolutely. Yeah. I don't think that it would be as easy to do songs as it would be
Speaker 3 00:30:42 To do. I I hope not. Yeah. I
Speaker 2 00:30:44 Need to for
Speaker 1 00:30:45 Sure. Yeah. Yeah. That takes, I think part of it is, is as funny as it is, sometimes the songs that are most personal to someone, um, are the ones that are most personal to other people. Right. Just because that story just hits home even if it's not their story. Yeah. Very true.
Speaker 2 00:31:00 You
Speaker 1 00:31:01 Know, Uhhuh. So I think that's like with music more than almost anything that's like the medium where it's like, can really just just go through the ringer emotionally.
Speaker 2 00:31:11 Yeah. The organics of it. Totally.
Speaker 3 00:31:14 I love songs. Songs are great. Songs
Speaker 2 00:31:16 Are
Speaker 1 00:31:16 Great. They are the best. They are great. So like, did you start writing songs as a means to like, play out live? Or like, how did that process start for you?
Speaker 2 00:31:25 Mm. I was playing out live before I was writing songs. Yeah. You know, so, I mean, and that's probably, I mean, I'd say that's, that's
Speaker 1 00:31:31 Majority.
Speaker 2 00:31:32 Uh, yeah. I mean, I know a couple of guys that, that never played in cover bands and I never played in cover bands, but I'd say the first five or six years was, was doing Steve Warren songs and stuff like that, you know what I mean? So, um, but yeah, and it got to the point to where like, all it took was just one song that I could finish and play in front of people. And as soon as somebody said, that's good, I was off to the races, you know what I mean? And, and you also just kind of got to a point to where like, you just got tired. Well, I say you, I just got tired of, of learning other songs that just didn't quite do what I wanted them to do. I can go learn another Steve Earl song. That's, that's, I love the course of this, but then I'm bored with this part and just borrow from 'em and write 'em, you know? Yeah. I mean
Speaker 3 00:32:14 If and then innovate.
Speaker 2 00:32:16 Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Because I, I started, I started finding spots in my set to where like, man, I want something to sound like this, but I don't have it. Cause I don't know, I don't know of a song like this. And so I would write one. And so, you know, by doing that, that kinda started my creative energy. And that's kind of how I, how I make records too, you know? I mean, it's like, okay, we got, we got nine songs. We really need a barn burner. Okay. Write a barn burner. You know, we, you know, got nine songs. I want something that's kind of a towns van zza field, and then just write one. Or you, you know, I can go
Speaker 3 00:32:46 Just write one Nick. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:32:47 There you go. Just write it. Just
Speaker 3 00:32:48 Do it. Nick. What's
Speaker 2 00:32:49 Wrong with you dude, right now? Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:32:51 Well that's, and that's the part of the, the process that kinda like for me, right? So your first time you're doing an album, you don't know that, right.
Speaker 2 00:32:59 You're just oh,
Speaker 1 00:33:00 100% writing the songs that are the best songs that you can write. But then when you get to the point where you're at in your career, where you've written enough music and you've done enough album projects where you're like, okay, I know what the people want in a live show. Right? Okay. I know how I want this rollercoaster of a record to go, you know, ups and downs. You gotta take people on that journey. 100%. And so now you can write to that. You can write to the live show. You can write to, you know, the, the record. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:33:26 I think that it does take catalog in order to do that. For sure. I mean, you gotta have a variety of it. You can't even, I mean, you know, you think about it like, I mean, nine songs that doesn't cover what, that didn't cover 20 minutes of a set if you're, if you're blowing through 'em. And I don't, you know, ironically you would think that I talk a lot on stage, but I don't, you know, <laugh>, I just don't, I don't, I'm scared of the dead air. Yeah. You know, I'm scared and, and, and I'm so easily interrupted
Speaker 1 00:33:48 <laugh>,
Speaker 2 00:33:48 You know
Speaker 3 00:33:49 What I mean? Yeah. You're not screaming at the people like Aaron Lewis or something. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:33:52 Exactly. That's
Speaker 1 00:33:54 Funny. That's great. Um, I got to catch your show, live show, I guess it was not, not too long after Covid at, um, the Palace Natural Palace. Oh yeah. Why Coven opened up. Yeah. Um, that was my first time catching you play. Well,
Speaker 2 00:34:09 Thanks for coming to that one.
Speaker 1 00:34:10 Yeah, of course. It was a great show.
Speaker 2 00:34:11 That's funny that Wyatt opened that show. He's kind of killing it.
Speaker 1 00:34:15 Wyatt is killing it, man. I love him. It's funny, I saw Wyatt play for the first time when he was 17 years old at a festival in
Speaker 2 00:34:21 Ohio.
Speaker 1 00:34:21 Really? And I didn't know he was 17. I knew he was young, but then I ran into him in town and I was like, man, I saw you play. How old are you now? And he's like, he said how old he was. And I was like, damn. How old were you when he played in 2012?
Speaker 2 00:34:34 <laugh>? He was years
Speaker 1 00:34:35 Old. Yeah. I was 17 years old. But he opened up, he was
Speaker 3 00:34:38 The Walmart yoing guy.
Speaker 1 00:34:39 <laugh> basically he opened up for Florida, Georgia Line two sets in a row. Wow. Underneath a tent at a festival called Country Concert that I still go to, um, in 2012. Wow. He was 17 years old. That's
Speaker 2 00:34:52 Crazy. That's Wow,
Speaker 1 00:34:53 That's
Speaker 2 00:34:53 Crazy. 2012 was a long, but 10 years ago.
Speaker 1 00:34:55 10 years ago, that's
Speaker 3 00:34:56 When I moved to town.
Speaker 1 00:34:57 Yeah. Yep. So it was, it was nuts. And then running into him in town and we're buddies with the 58 folks Uhhuh. So like, you know, we've had him play a few writers rounds as well. Yeah. And he's actually played again that festival, um, Kurt and had tried to do a podcast, but festivals are tough. So we didn't
Speaker 3 00:35:14 West Key West Songwriters
Speaker 1 00:35:16 Festival. No, that was when we were at Country Concert. Oh yeah. When you played it. So Kurt played with Luke mm-hmm. <affirmative> and then Wyatt played too, like on a side stage. Right. And we tried a lot of a podcast, it just didn't work out.
Speaker 2 00:35:26 Why? Is that because of like logistics or like just the like sound
Speaker 3 00:35:29 And all that? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Like I have soundcheck and then Wyatt plays a little earlier and then Luke plays late and mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 00:35:35 <affirmative>. Yeah. Day of shows are always tough. And if you can get something, usually it's like 15, 20, 30 minutes maybe. Yeah. Where you gonna go that's quiet. It's just like, sometimes it's
Speaker 2 00:35:46 Tough. I can imagine. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:35:47 This podcast started in green rooms and they would, all the podcasts were 30 minutes cuz that's all the time you had. Yeah. You know, <laugh> Yeah. To Green Rooms
Speaker 2 00:35:54 Is a good place to do something like that though.
Speaker 1 00:35:55 Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Get 'em done quick. They're almost like many like extended radio interviews almost. Yeah. You know. Exactly. You don't get to know as much about the story, but you get to do like a little check in kind of thing. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 00:36:07 <affirmative>. Yeah. So it, I agree. 30 minutes is a, is is a pretty short period of
Speaker 1 00:36:11 Time. Yeah. It can be.
Speaker 3 00:36:12 Especially sometimes like when you're on the road, if it's just like, if you're playing a club, it's like you sound check at like, whatever, two o'clock and then you're like, all right, well we don't play till 10, so what are you gonna do? Just sit around and wait, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.
Speaker 2 00:36:26 Yeah. But that's the thing, you know, I've got buddies that right on the road and, and I'm, I'm the same. Like, I can't do that. And I don't even with hours to kill, like, I can't, I can't find time and space and a place to just be creative and it's not that I need, you know, I don't consider myself very high maintenance. Like, I don't need like burn incense or anything like that. Yeah. But at the same time, like, you know, you kind of need a little bit, a little bit less distraction than the average bear. I can come up with ideas, but I couldn't daily finish a song on the road. I could try, but it, it would have to be, it would have to be something that's like an intentional effort. Hey, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna spend this month going out on the road and write, like, leave us alone for two hours. You know what I mean? So I don't know.
Speaker 1 00:37:09 Have to build it into your schedule.
Speaker 2 00:37:10 Yeah. And I just, I don't, I don't find the time like that, but I Well
Speaker 3 00:37:13 That's why people send like writers buses out with folks, you
Speaker 2 00:37:16 Know. Exactly. And sometimes that's even difficult. I mean, I've been out to write with Luke a time or two. Yeah. And same thing. I mean, he's a big fan for sure. Well, and I love his stuff too. And I mean, and it's nice, it's nice that he loves my stuff, to be honest with you, <laugh>. But at the same time, his day's busy, you know? And so, I mean, it was one of those things where he could sit for an hour, he'd go do something, he'd pop back in for 15 minutes and go, do you know what I mean? Like, so, you know, it's cool to have that time, but I mean, you, I couldn't do it by myself. It would take that, you know?
Speaker 1 00:37:42 Yeah. I think that's one of the things too, is it's like, how are you the most inspired? Right. Because that's when you're gonna get the stuff that you want to get.
Speaker 2 00:37:50 Yeah. That's when it's the garbage in. Like that's when the, I absorb the most mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. Cause people say things, you hear things all the time, then you hear different kinds of music and mean just in anything. And you know, guys, you're opening for guys that are opening for you, the stuff they're playing in the overhead and the bar, the stuff that the drunk is saying to you at the merch table. You know what I mean? Like, there's all kinds of just different ways to just come up with ideas. Yeah. It's just hard to write 'em down.
Speaker 3 00:38:13 And then once you're, like, once you're in that mode, once you become a songwriter, it's like you're always eagle eared, you know, always hearing stuff. I know, like when I started shooting photos, I would just see light hitting stuff and I go, that's a photo. I don't have my camera on me. But that's a, I see that. Yeah. You know, it's like someone says something.
Speaker 2 00:38:31 It was like, it takes mileage. It takes time to have to make that a second nature, because I've, same, I'm the same way. I remember like first couple years coming up here, I was like so jealous of those guys. I was like, man, how do you get in the head space to where you're like, that's a song. That's a song that's a song. And it, that's what it is. It's just, it's, it's it's years of doing it, you know, years of doing it enough to where you learn to always keep your, your, like you said, you know, you keep your antenna out mm-hmm. <affirmative> to where even if you're distracted, that you can, oh, that's a song. I gotta write that down. Yeah, totally. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:39:02 Who were some of the guys, like songwriter wise that you like, learned from or like were envious of when you were in a room with them?
Speaker 2 00:39:08 Uh, pat McLaughlin is the guy that I wrote the most with. Um, and Pat is, I mean, I wrote way too long with Pat. I wrote Tennessee Will with Pat. I wrote Try and write a love song. Like, I mean, like he, that Shape of Things record, he probably wrote half of it. Uh, the, um, welcome to The Big World. There were probably four or five songs on there. Um, somewhere in between he wrote enough of those songs to where like, he and I, like we recorded my, like, my guitar and vocal. It was Pat and I in the same room across from each other playing the songs to feel like us in a writer's room. Yeah. Because he had written, you know, Dan Auerbach's, one of his records, uh, pat wrote like nine songs on that record. And I was like, what? I, I said, you wrote nine songs on this record.
Speaker 2 00:39:53 He said, oh yeah. I said, well, how'd that come about? He said, man, we just started writing songs. And Dan said he just wanted to make a record that was like, you know, just us sitting around in the writer's room. And I thought, I wanna do that too. <laugh>. You know? So, and that's what somewhere in Between was. Yeah. Um, with the new record, I think there's only, sadly there's only one song, but I mean, the problem is with that was we did, we did a lot of back catalog stuff mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and then we didn't really write during Covid. So, you know, like that's the stuff with, with this record with Bad Days Better. It's either stuff I immediately wrote or stuff I wrote a long time back. And so, like, you know, with Pat and I, we had kind of sifted through. We got a lot of good stuff, but we'd sifted through the best, you know? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So, but I mean, he's, yeah. I, I really always looked up to Pat. He's, he's kind of, I mean, sort of responsible for my sound, you know? Love that. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:40:42 And I know like you now are, you know, very responsible for other people's sounds like we're talking about like Musca, I Bloodline, you're one of their frequent co-writers, right. And you can hear a lot of Adam Hood in their music. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:40:54 I'm glad to hear that. Yeah. I, it's, I don't know if I've accepted it yet, you know what I mean? Because I don't, to me, like, I don't know that I've necessarily feel that way. I can look at my catalog, I can look at my co-writes and go, oh, okay. Yeah, I've, yeah, I've written some songs, you know, but in real time it really doesn't feel that way. Like, you know, I mean like that Musk iron record, I mean, you're right. I got six songs on that record, you know? And so, but I listen to the record and I don't feel that way. I don't listen to it and go, oh yeah, this sounds just like me. Look at listen, singing my song. It's a real collaborative thing. Right. And it's just kind of, I mean, especially with those songs, because it was Brent and I and sitting down with Gary and Charlie, and, and so there's, there's songs that, that I brought, there's songs that Brent brought, there's songs that Gary and Charlie brought, you know what I mean? Yeah. And so, so everyone contributed equally to all the different songs in that, you know what I mean? Yeah. And so that's, that was kind of, especially with that scenario, that's the nice thing about it, you know, it's, it's easier. I don't hear myself as well because of the fact that I'm not listening for myself basically. You know what I mean? So, but yeah, it's, I mean it's, I'm, I'm glad where I am. I feel like I'm an okay place. Need, need a couple of hits though, <laugh>. Yeah. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3 00:42:06 Like,
Speaker 1 00:42:06 Use a couple radios.
Speaker 2 00:42:07 It would be nice to have something that was a little bit more well known, just saying not
Speaker 1 00:42:12 That happens sometimes though. And sometimes that'll happen when you don't think it's gonna,
Speaker 2 00:42:16 You know. Yeah, exactly. And sometimes it never does, you know, I mean, some of my favorite writers don't have really anything that was a chart success, but at the same time, a lot of my favorite writers do. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, it's just a matter of, like you said, it, if you keep plowing long enough, the the right thing will pop up. Yeah. You know, so.
Speaker 1 00:42:33 Yep. Yeah. Keep those good hooks and pitch 'em to Luke, I guess. That's
Speaker 2 00:42:37 Right. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:42:37 <laugh>, right. There you go. Well, I'm looking forward to playing some good stuff with you, man.
Speaker 2 00:42:43 I know, likewise. Yeah, me too.
Speaker 1 00:42:45 Yeah, it's, uh, it's one of the things that I think is the craziest is getting to how the artists perform here. You know, coming from just being a music fan, um, I remember the first time we did it, you know, when we got Charlie as a producer, when Kurt came on as a co-host, and just like hearing these songs come, come to life or a version of them come to life and, you know, a luxurious place in Venice like this, like I know behind you.
Speaker 2 00:43:09 Well, I mean, you know, how inspiring is this place? You know, do you enjoy learning these songs and stuff like that too? Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 00:43:15 Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:43:16 It's fun. He likes learning them and he just likes rocking out on 'em too. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:43:20 Yes. I like playing music more than I do talking about it a lot of
Speaker 2 00:43:23 Times, but yeah, me too. Yeah. I don't know, talking about is fun if, if you're talking about the right stuff, you know what I mean? Agreed. I'm sort of I'm with you. I'm glad we started from the end instead of the beginning. Yeah. I mean, I'm 47, like, where you get, how'd you start? We don't
Speaker 3 00:43:36 Enough
Speaker 2 00:43:36 Time for that. Yeah, I know. It's so
Speaker 3 00:43:37 Long. <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:43:38 I would tell you this, I kinda have, I've gotten good at the paraphrasing though. Like I, I think, I think I can get through my cliff's notes of my story really, really well. Like I I've worked it out. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:43:49 Yeah. That's funny cuz like, that's when I did my first podcast with Jonathan Singleton. That's what like, we kind of started that way and it's like, here's how it goes.
Speaker 2 00:43:57 So
Speaker 1 00:43:57 He's said that story so many times, you know?
Speaker 3 00:43:59 Yeah. It's like the, the, the speech, what do you call it? Like when you're a politician? Like you're Elevation
Speaker 1 00:44:04 Speech or whatever. No, yeah.
Speaker 2 00:44:06 Oh yeah,
Speaker 1 00:44:06 Yeah. Podium speech. It
Speaker 2 00:44:08 Is much, very much that. Yeah. Yeah. My life story is that, well
Speaker 1 00:44:11 You get, you get to a point where you're doing a lot of the same stuff, you know? Right. And so it's, how do you make it a little bit different
Speaker 2 00:44:19 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, and still be interesting. Yeah, exactly. To where this, because I mean, that's the, I mean, I don't know how it is with everybody, but you know, with me when I was, and I still do, you know, when I, when I, when I get into somebody, I absorb everything, you know what I mean? Like, I, and I'll, if, if they did an article here, if they did an article there, I, I would like to read both of them. And if you start hearing the same, you know, the same thing in interviews, which is, it's unavoidable, you know, I mean, especially when, you know, at the end of the day we're promoting a record. And so if, you know, if we're promoting a record, we're gonna talk about the, the process of that record. Yeah. So, you know, there's, there's redundancies, but at the same time, we
Speaker 1 00:44:55 Covered that right. <laugh>
Speaker 2 00:44:57 Okay. Just making sure. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:45:00 Yeah. And part of that too is like, what means the most to you at that point in time. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And that's what I like to think about, like, the makes a podcast cool. Is even if you did a podcast 10 days ago, something might have happened to you in that last 10 days. That changes something or makes you think something differently. Totally. Especially like if you did a podcast pre-release of the album and then the album comes out and you know, here you are, you're played on the, you know, the out on Outlaw and Right. XM and like, you know, like you see where the album charts and things like that. So
Speaker 2 00:45:30 That's game changer stuff, man. Yeah. You
Speaker 1 00:45:32 Know, it gives you different things.
Speaker 2 00:45:33 And this has been the first record that I can say that that has really, I mean, we've been able to do some benchmark stuff. Yeah. You know, I mean like, you know, talking about outlaw country, I mean they've by far played this record more than anything else. And they've played other stuff, but I mean, it's been, it's been daily with this one, so, which is
Speaker 1 00:45:51 Cool. It's cool to see them lean in on that, you know what I mean? Mean too, and I can't, I think that's great too cuz that kind of tells you like, okay, here's what's happening. This is what is outlaw country that is current and I'm part of that. I know it has
Speaker 2 00:46:03 To be a great thing. It's a good feeling man, because I don't feel, I feel a little liberated now. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, I feel like, okay. And not to say that I can't do anything wrong, but I feel like that that, alright, this is there, there have been a lot of years in, in my career to where I've felt more like an outlier than I am someone in the pinnacle of things. Yeah. And I don't, I'm not an innovator. That's not the point. But the point is, you know, I I I I, I understand the ebbs and flows of a career because I've had the ebbs and flows of her career. Yeah. But you know, it's nice to be able to sort of relax and know that, okay, alright, this is what I do and for this time period, it's okay to do that. Yeah. You know what I mean? Instead of going, oh, this is what I do crap, I better not do this. You know what I'm saying? This
Speaker 1 00:46:46 Is the center of a lane. Right.
Speaker 2 00:46:47 Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:46:48 Even if it's not the center of the center lane, there is a bunch of lanes and it's down the center of a lane and
Speaker 2 00:46:53 I can drive through
Speaker 1 00:46:54 That and there's a lot of people that enjoy that.
Speaker 2 00:46:55 I know. It's really, it's a, it's a good feeling.
Speaker 1 00:46:57 Love that. What are some of the rooms that you've gotten to play since CO's been back that you've enjoyed either full band or acoustic? Well,
Speaker 2 00:47:05 The Grand Opry was pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 00:47:06 Yeah. Pretty great
Speaker 2 00:47:07 <laugh>. Yeah. That was pretty awesome. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:47:10 That just happened. Uh, man, how to be a blessing. I mean, how did they, uh, tell you about that?
Speaker 2 00:47:15 So I went into my publicist office in fact and just mm-hmm. <affirmative>, he just kind of dropped the old ball on my face right there in front of everybody with a camera and stuff, you know? And so, um, from what I understood, uh, I think the cat was almost out of the bag. I think my, uh, agent at the time, I think he almost sent the old email <laugh> and they were like, don't read your email. Don't read your email <laugh>. I was like, okay, alright. I don't know what's going on. And so that was why so, so awesome. Yeah. But it was cool. It was a great experience. I mean, I get it. You know, I, I mean, and not to say that I didn't get it, but I, I sort of, now that I, now that I've stood there, I understand the weight of it, you know? Yeah. And it's, it is really, it's, it's more special now than I realized it was gonna be <laugh>. You know what I mean? I love that.
Speaker 1 00:47:59 Were
Speaker 2 00:47:59 You nervous? I wasn't nervous once I rehearsed. I mean, I was pretty, very scared. But I mean, you know, first time they give you two songs, like, you know, you get to rehearse, like, you know, I picked my guys and I got Davis and Justin to play with me, but then I gave them my songs. And so the first time like, you go stand on stage and do like a real live rehearsal with a band as opposed to a practice rehearsal. And man, I mean, those guys are so good. I mean, it was just, it was, it was singing to the record, you know? Yeah. And so once I, once I got that and once I could gauge sort of what the room was gonna sound like, and it's pristine, you know? And so once that happened I said, okay, this is a piece of cake. All I gotta do is keep my eyes open and not fall down and don't forget the words. Yeah. And that's it. You know, and I mean those Yeah. Most days I can do that. Exactly. If I was was gonna do it, that would've been the moment. So. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:48:53 It's, it's one of those things that's like, yeah. It's like that checklist of like things that, you know, to kind of know that you, you're doing the damn thing. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:49:01 Totally. It really
Speaker 1 00:49:02 Is. And you've been doing the damn thing for a lot of years, you know, so it's like, it's good
Speaker 2 00:49:06 To, like, it is really good.
Speaker 1 00:49:07 Get that stamp it there. I
Speaker 2 00:49:09 Know, I know. And it's good to be able to do it. And a reasonably, I mean, I'm, I'm considerably older than most, but my knees don't hurt yet, you know what I mean? You know? Oh yeah. I'm not that age yet, so, yeah.
Speaker 1 00:49:22 So, yeah. Well, you have had a great career both as an artist, as and as a songwriter. Thank you. And I think that's like one of those things where it's like, okay, got that one down.
Speaker 2 00:49:31 Yeah. Right.
Speaker 1 00:49:32 You know? I know. What's, what's the, the next thing like that? Do you have anything left like that, either as a songwriter or
Speaker 2 00:49:38 An artist? Yeah, that's a good question. Um, uh, the chart thing was, uh, that's pretty, you know. Yeah. And I mean that, and truthfully, you know, it would, I, I do think that there's, that there are songs of mine that are more well known than others. Yeah. But you know, you see, like, you and Singleton's probably a bad example of it because Singleton has a lot, he has a lot of songs that he can really attach himself to. Like he's had a, a pretty significant share of hits. But like, it would be nice to sort of have one or two that you sort of understand, oh, Adam wrote that one, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we have that in some ways, but, but not, not the ways that it's supposed to work. Yeah. You know what I mean? So, I mean, that would be, that would be nice.
Speaker 2 00:50:21 But I don't know how to create that as a goal. I don't know that you could make it a goal because at the end of the day, it's the goal for every song. I mean, not necessarily to make it the song that everybody knows, but to write the best song I can. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, those are things that just, that's, that's all God's stuff that's lightening in a bottle, you know? I mean, so you can't really plan for it other than just to be able to, you know, like we're talking about sort of, you know, write with the right guys at the right time and, you know, just bring your best, best stuff to 'em and, and, and hope it takes, you know. Yeah. That's all you can do.
Speaker 1 00:50:49 Do you have any dream co-writers that you haven't got a chance to write with yet?
Speaker 2 00:50:52 Good question. Um, I don't know. I mean, I, man I feel like I've written with a lot of great people. I mean, Combs and I have written, me and him and Brent have written together. We've gotten some Brent, it's been Brent's a good buddy, <laugh>, you know what I mean? Like Yeah. He drags me into some things that I probably wouldn't have been able to get into.
Speaker 3 00:51:12 Well we have a, uh, a playlist of music that we listen to and like before we go on stage and we all hang out in Luke screen room and you know, just kind of chum up. And cuz you know, during the day we're all all over the place and we all meet half hour or 45 minutes before and just be friends. And it's got everything on there from like Post Malone to Willie Nelson and then Adam Hoods on there. Nice. Thank you. We're always singing along too. That's why I requested bar band. Cause that's the tune that's on the pre-show playlist. Oh
Speaker 2 00:51:41 Really? That's cool. See, that's a deep cat, man. That's a deep cut. So
Speaker 3 00:51:45 It's just relatable for us kind of in a way, you
Speaker 2 00:51:48 Know? Yeah. And it's nice to sort of be able to put yourself in that environment, you know, because it's, it's, you guys are a long way from the bar. Yeah. But at the same time, you can still have that bar band feel there's uniform.
Speaker 3 00:51:58 I think we do. I think so too. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:52:01 I love that. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:52:03 Good shit man. Good shit. Yeah. Appreciate you coming on man's great.
Speaker 2 00:52:06 Thank you guys. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. I, I knew this was gonna be fun. Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:52:11 Yeah. We're, we're pretty easy going.
Speaker 2 00:52:13 I like it. I
Speaker 1 00:52:14 Like it. Yeah. We're not so much like a radio interview, but uh, we don't go as off kilter as some podcast movie
Speaker 3 00:52:22 <laugh>. Thank
Speaker 2 00:52:22 You. Thank you for doing that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:52:24 <laugh>. But man, we appreciate your time and thank you for coming out here to Venice and uh,
Speaker 2 00:52:29 Thank you guests for having me. It's been so beautiful here. Venice has been so great,
Speaker 1 00:52:33 <laugh>, and uh, I can't wait to hear you and Kurt Jam.
Speaker 3 00:52:37 Let's play. Let's do it. Let's do it. Right buddy. Thanks for coming
Speaker 2 00:52:39 On. Thank y'all.
Speaker 5 00:52:50 I woke up this morning to see things a little differently Last night I made my mind up and that's how it's going to be. Well, I opened a, my to these words swimming in my mind, uh, tapping my toes and a hums melody. I'm a man on a mission. I'm the only one I could change. Cause this mean world is always going to, to stay the same. But even in the bad time, the sun's going shine on. So I'm the bad days better than the good days. It used to be I spent 40 long years being way too hard on myself, Lord. It was right on my mind and even worse on my hair. Oh, dragging down way around nearly pull me down. So now I'm going to lay down my cards and play the hand. I'm, and it's the best that I've ever. I'm a, on a, I'm the only change
Speaker 0 00:54:15 You
Speaker 5 00:54:16 Cause this world is always going to stay the same.
Speaker 0 00:54:23 But
Speaker 5 00:54:23 Even the bad times, the signs going shine on me. So I'm going the bad days better than the good days used to
Speaker 0 00:54:33 Be.
Speaker 5 00:54:49 I'm a man on a mission. I'm the only one I could change. Cause this world is always going to stay the same. But even in the bad time, the signs going shout out me. So I'm going to make the bad days better than the good days used to
Speaker 0 00:55:12 Be,
Speaker 5 00:55:14 Lord, I'll make the bad days is better than the good days. It used to be. Yeah. <laugh>. Yeah. Yeah, man. Yeah.
