Episode Transcript
[00:00:15] Speaker A: This is outside the round with Matt.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Barrel, a razor alley podcast.
[00:00:26] Speaker A: Chase Bryant, my guy. It's been since long time BC before COVID brother.
[00:00:32] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: How the hell have you been doing, man?
[00:00:35] Speaker B: It's been a great ac now. Yeah, been great. I've been great, man. I've just been sort of, you know, in this process of putting all these projects out. So it's kind of been a, you used to, you used to sit around and like, when are we going to get one project out? And I was like, oh, holy shit. What are we going to get five out? You know what I mean? It's like, now I'm working on this. It's just wild.
[00:00:57] Speaker A: Yeah, new record.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: Yeah, new record. Well, it's like, it's weird because I've got, you know, I joke around and say this, but it's not a joke, actually. Like, I had these, this little craftsman toolbox full of hard drives, and I've always had a studio at home to some, some extent, or I've always been kind of the guy that wanted to travel and, like, make records in, like, random places.
And so, you know, when I took kind of my little hiatus, like around 2018, I guess it was after the Brad Paisley tour, I think it was 2018, and my manager kind of knew I was cutting all these projects, and at one point just came to me and was like, I think we put them all out. Like, all in a year. Five projects, span it out, put them all out, break them up into EPs and just see if people dig it. And I was like, all right, great. You know? And I. It was just really wild. And so that conversation arose. I wound up cutting another one, which became Somerville, my first project. Yeah, this year. And then Ashland City, you know, is my next project, obviously, that just kind of like, I've just never been able to stop. It's like, I don't, I've never known when to stop.
[00:02:12] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:12] Speaker B: You know what I mean? And. And I feel like while the inspiration hits, it's like, just get on it, you know?
[00:02:19] Speaker A: Yeah, dude. And you're a guy. So you and I first met back in, of all places, freaking New Jersey.
[00:02:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: Because that's where I was living. And it was. I'm trying to remember if you were like, what if there were any club shows up there, if you did Hoboken or.
[00:02:34] Speaker B: Yeah, well, there was that, but then I remember there was an infamous night that we played a place called prospectors. Oh, and there was a big bar fight that night.
[00:02:44] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:44] Speaker B: Like, everyone offstage, we're all in the middle of this bar fight, it's Laurel, New Jersey.
[00:02:50] Speaker A: That is south. That is. New Jersey is an interesting place because obviously, you've got, like. You've got different sections. You can get from one side of the state to the other in about three and a half, 4 hours. Small as fuck, but there's a lot of people. And it's, like, so. So dense. But it's like North Jersey, which is near where I grew up in New York, just over the border. It's like sopranos. Like, how you doing? Like, the guinea shit. The real guinea stuff. And that's like your Italians and more like your New York City influence. Then you have, like, the middle, which I call, like, the armpit. Like, it's Newark. It's a little dirty, a little grungy. And then you get down south, and they call it the Garden State because of all the produce that comes out of there. And there's some rednecks.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: There's the.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: We call them the pineys that live in the pine barrens in the state and in the woods in South Jersey. And those are the folks that join you at a place like prospectors. Yeah, that venue is wild. I think I was there that night.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: I think it was that night, because what I remember was we were trying to come up with a new show intro that was, like, just, like, just down your throat. Right? Because at the time, I think only I take it on back was, like, out, and it was obviously doing really well. And. And we had changed our show intro from, like, jack Ingram keep on keeping on to Metallica fuel.
We walked in the video, people were, like, scared, like, what the fuck is going on?
[00:04:10] Speaker A: That was before the whole rock and country thing, really.
[00:04:13] Speaker B: Exactly. So Hardy wasn't quite, you know, hardy yet. And so we were trying things early on, and then we get up there and play these, you know, like, pop country things at the time, you know? So anyways. But it's. Yeah, man. So I'm kind of glad to be here today with you and hanging out again, man.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: Yeah, man. And then last time I saw you in the flesh was at red Door.
[00:04:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: Pre COVID. Yeah.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: I moved here 2018. I moved there October 2018. And I know that's kind of when the transition of stuff and just life kind of happens and everything, man, because it's like you were. You were road dogging it.
[00:04:48] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:49] Speaker B: Hard. We played a lot.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: Headlining and opening and just, like, random gigs, which I got to do some of that, too. Like, I got to be a tour manager for the last few years before. And then I got off the road last January, and the road life is. It's a lot, especially at that level. Like, where you have a song that's popping, but you're, like, figuring out who you are. But music's always been in your blood with your family and things like that and going all over the country.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it's odd, too, because I took a break at the weirdest time because it's like I kind of came off the road a little bit and trying to figure out what I was doing musically and kind of wore out on what I was doing musically and then. So, like, going on the road now, it's like I'm still kind of dealing with the anxiety of it because it's like, what am I doing? Like, how does this work? You know, it's like a. It's another world. And, like, we've been doing a lot of fly dates and, you know, privates and festivals and things of that nature. It's like, we haven't quite gotten back into, like, the me headlining my shows and stuff necessarily, like, my kind of, like, clubs or whatever. And so it's definitely. It's definitely been a change of pace.
[00:05:59] Speaker C: But.
[00:05:59] Speaker B: But, you know, there's. There's also another kind of, like, gratification that comes from the road. Like, when. When it's good, you know, like, when you're. When you're. When people are dialed in and, like, really getting into new music also feels really good. And I think that was kind of a sign, like, we got to do something, you know? And. And so, yeah, it's. It's like the whole COVID thing happens, and then you go back out on the road, and it's. Everyone's excited to be there, and you're trying to figure out where do I fit in this equation. Like, how does this work?
[00:06:33] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: You know what I mean? But, yeah, I was doing. I mean, I was touring hard, you know, like, first tour, we did the Brantley Gilbert thing, and that ran forever.
[00:06:42] Speaker A: I saw you on that tour, too.
[00:06:43] Speaker B: And that was nuts.
[00:06:45] Speaker A: You know, VG Nation, especially back in those days, I was a machine, dude. Those fans, that was.
[00:06:51] Speaker B: It was rabid, and it was, you know, it was me and Aaron Lewis and him, and then Tyler Farr came on later, and then it was like the four of us, I think, or maybe just me, Tyler, and Brantley. And then we, you know, we come off that and we're not sure what's going to happen. Well, then McGraw calls me on the phone, like, just cold calls me one day and I kept. Funny story, but I kept declining the call because it came through as, like, I didn't know the number. And I just was like, what in the world is this? And it was like, private or unknown or whatever. And then finally I'm like, hello. And he's like, hey, this is Tim McGraw. You're in my wife's hometown tonight, or wherever. We were playing, like, she was. I think it was star Mississippi.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:07:33] Speaker B: And old Dominion was opening up for us. What I remember.
[00:07:35] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: And I dropped my bag on the ground, and I was like, what do you want?
He's like, well, will you go on the road? You know, do you want to go do some shows this. This next year? And I was like, yeah. So we.
Boom, we're off doing that, and then we're doing that headline run, and then we're, you know, then it's like, paisley. We're on the paisley, and then we're at flats, and it's like this just like, I just never saw the light of day.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: So I think coming off the road for a while was, like, the greatest thing that ever happened to me because that's the first time I ever really felt normal.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: You finally breathe.
[00:08:09] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: And it was nice, but I'm also at the point now where I'm, like, craving it.
[00:08:14] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:08:15] Speaker B: You know what I mean? Because I'm in a different headspace now than I was then. And I just feel like I'm a lot healthier, you know, see life in another way now where I can appreciate it more because I've had so many things to be appreciative of, but they were all happening so fast that I never really got to slow down and accept the fact that what I was doing was, like, most people killed to do that.
[00:08:38] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: And how old were you when. How old are you right now?
[00:08:40] Speaker B: Well, I'm 31 now, and I think. Am I 31? I think I'm 31. Yeah, 31.
And so, and so. But I was a kid when I started playing.
[00:08:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:08:52] Speaker B: You know, and I was doing shows locally and so on and so forth, and then got a record deal in LA, and I moved to LA when I was 16 for a couple years, and then I came out here and then I didn't tour for a while, you know, because I was trying to be a songwriter and, you know, wanting to be a producer and wanting to do all these different things, and. And then I had this little rock and roll country band, really was just this really cool, like, reckless little band I had, and it was me, the Adam box, the drummer for brothers Osborne, a guy named Andy Prince, was playing bass in our band. That is in a band called Manchester Orchestra now.
[00:09:31] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: And, and, God, I'm trying to remember who else played with this guy. Ford was playing guitar with us. Anyways, Ford's great. And, uh, and, uh, man, we just doing these little residency shows at a club called the High Watt, which is over at cannery ballroom.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, dude, I loved, love that place. And I believe it just. It's just come back.
[00:09:51] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:51] Speaker B: And execution. Well, so, like, we were over there doing, like, these kind of, kind of one off shows. Me, and there was a girl named Lucy Silvus.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: You know, Lucy, John's wife killer. Unbelievable. And so we would, like, trade off, like, she'd open one night or I'd open one night, and we're just kind of doing these little, you know, things. We did a handful of shows, and, and then it kind of parlayed into, like, we just started doing the show, and I was obviously the artist and the writer and, you know, and the guys were just. We were just. They were playing in the band, but we're obviously a big part of it. And we're rehearsing this little garage. And then slowly here come, like, record execs, you know, John Esposito is there one night, and then Benny Brown starts walking into the equation of John Loba, and then it's Scott Borchetta's in the room. And then, you know, it was just this Brian Wright, and it just like, started this underground little swell started happening, and then, boom, it was like, record deal hits. We get I heart on the verge. We where it's like, it's just a freight train that never stopped.
[00:10:58] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:10:58] Speaker A: Being young, like, that's when folks are figuring themselves. I was a kid, I remember being 19, 2021 years old and not knowing what I was, what I was doing my life. So to get thrown into that, bro.
[00:11:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:10] Speaker A: Like, it makes sense why you needed to take a break.
[00:11:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:14] Speaker A: You were just on this train that had no stop and you need to catch your breath.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: Yeah, had to. I mean, I really had to. And. But I feel like now doing that, I feel like I'm in a more central mindset of the music that I want to make and need to make.
[00:11:26] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: And it's. It's definitely, you know, there's parts of these projects coming out that's a total departure from anything I've done in the past. And there's some stuff that feels like things that I've done in the past, you know, but, you know, I'm thankful for the music I made before, but, you know, I'm thankful for the opportunity to still get to do that, you know?
[00:11:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: To get to do what you want to do. There's so much power in that, bro. There's so much power. And you've learned so much on your journey to now. You're like, I want to be me. I want to be chase Bryant, and I want to do my thing. And with projects that you're putting out now, you're getting to do that. That's got to be very rewarding to be able to do what you want to do and have a team that believes in you and really has your back. Not saying that you didn't have that before, but being in the position that you're in now and being wiser, that does come with age.
[00:12:14] Speaker B: Well, there was a time where I thought about. I moved to Texas for a couple years.
There was kind of this time where I was like, I don't know. I don't know if that was kind of coming out of a publishing deal and trying to figure things out. I was like, I just don't know if this is like, I don't know anything else. And is this the end all, be all thing for me?
[00:12:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:37] Speaker B: And anyways, my wife made a statement at one point. She said, well, and she would be like, rude, but she was kind of making the joke. She's like, well, I hope you don't do anything else. Cause it's the only thing you're good at.
And I sat down and thought about that and was like, why would you put so many years into something to just see it all go up in flames? You know what I mean? Because you're the guy that's got to torch it, you know?
[00:12:58] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:58] Speaker B: You got to burn it all off. And I'm still in love with it. I still love writing, you know? I still love writing. I still love making records. I still love playing shows and getting to do things like this. It's like there's that you always say, like, oh, I'm so thankful to be here at 05:00 at a radio station, and the last thing you want to do is be there at 05:00 in the morning at a radio station, because you've been doing it for a hundred days before that.
[00:13:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: But now, looking back, it's like, I really meant that. I just didn't know it. You know what I mean? And now I look at it like, I really meant to be thankful for all these things, and I've got to sort of reflect, you know? So it's been good.
[00:13:40] Speaker A: Yeah, dude, and seeing your live shows back in the day, bro, and I can't wait to see one. See one here coming up. We definitely have to get out to one. You with a guitar in your hand, bro.
[00:13:50] Speaker C: There's.
[00:13:50] Speaker A: There's guys in. There's guys and girls in this town that. That can sing, that can entertain, but there's not a whole lot that can do that with a fucking guitar in their hand. Like you. Yeah, there's you, bro.
[00:14:01] Speaker B: Well, man, there's something like.
[00:14:02] Speaker A: Like, it's just you with a guitar, bro. I remember being front row at those shows and being side stage at those shows and seeing that be like, damn.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: Yeah, well, there's definitely. There's definitely, like, you know, I've got some guys that. That I could just name off the top of my, like, John Osborne, I think is incredible. Yeah, like, stupid good.
He's, like, definitely more technical than I am. Like, technically good.
[00:14:25] Speaker C: Yeah, like, he.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: He knows, like, he can tell you everything about it. Like, he can tell you everything about a guitar and everything about a solo and knows how to take it from somewhere. I don't. I'm not that guy. I just. I just, you know, like, I was always scared of guys like him and Charlie and. And, uh, you know, like, man, I was thinking the other day, like, hunter Hayes, like, yeah, one of the most, like, dangerous human beings on earth at any instrument. And, uh. And then, you know, I sort of. My thing has always just been kind of, like, free willing and just trying to be as reckless as I can, which I.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: Which is, as somebody who was with ladies rowdy, we say front row or don't go.
It's like, we love that.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Yeah, man. That energy, that's my. That's my thing. And I feel really weird without not having that guitar there. So I've always sort of, you know, I've always sort of relied on that, and that's. And obviously, that's been a big part of my career. And I think it's funny to know how many people, like, don't understand that. Like, I'll come see it being like, oh, I never knew you played the guitar. It's like, what?
Come on. You know what I mean? And it irritates me now because, like, okay, hot take here for a second. But how many times have you honestly been sick on, like, TikTok or YouTube or Instagram and you're. And you're watching it? Some guy is sitting behind a piano. Like he's actually Elton John or something, and, you know, he's not playing. Yeah, or it's like an unplugged keyboard, and it's like, man, when I came here, like, dude, I remember seeing Hardy play at soul shine pizza.
[00:16:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:03] Speaker B: Doing writers nights going, holy crap, that guy is good.
[00:16:07] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:07] Speaker B: And, like, watching him play, like, guitar solos on his Instagram page, like, on a Paul Reed Smith guitar or something, I think it was. And, like, I remember reaching out to him being like, man, I think you're. You know, you're incredible. Like, killer tone or whatever, and. And you had to have those weapons in your pocket. Like, you had to be a writer, a player, a producer, something. You had to have all that. And it's like, there's still a lot of great music, but there's also a lot of, like, these people that try to fool. Like, it's. You know what I mean? It's like. It's like driving a Ferrari to a party to impress a girl or something. But you don't actually own a Ferrari.
[00:16:49] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:50] Speaker B: Why drive it?
[00:16:51] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:51] Speaker B: Like, why not just drive your Honda civic up there and be cool?
[00:16:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:55] Speaker B: You know what I mean? It's like, I don't know. It's like, don't go to a rodeo and carry a rope unless you're willing to get on the back of a horse and rope a calf. You know, it's like, this is so I. You know, so I'm trying to be more proving in the fact that I still have to prove that I can play a guitar and sing songs for a living. And that's really strange to me.
[00:17:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:13] Speaker A: Because you came to town at a time when obviously, it's like. It's like, even, like, a little bit of a different era. Like, post COVID with the. With the tick tock stuff with. With guys and girls getting an opportunity without getting reps of playing shows, without having those residencies and things like that. Like, what year did you get? Did you get out here?
[00:17:31] Speaker B: Well, I got here and got here as soon as I could, but it was like, 2011, 2012, something like that.
[00:17:38] Speaker A: Which is a huge time in the chapter of Nashville. Yeah, that's when the boom kind of.
[00:17:42] Speaker B: My rent was, like, $300 a month, everything included, when I was living here.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: Absurd.
[00:17:48] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:48] Speaker B: And I mean. And I mean, man, like, that's what I missed most about this town was the fact that when I. When I came in, man, like, we. We lived in this little house over on. I lived in. I lived in this house over on south, in south Nashville, kind of like off Paragon mills. All that stuff over there by the zoo fitting and. And, you know, I lived in this basement. The guy that lived upstairs would fill in for Junior Brown's wife when she wasn't playing acoustic guitar with him. You know, the pedal steel, the lap steel telecaster picking dude. And anyways, so I was learning from him some things. And then two doors down, this guy Ford Thurston lived in. And he was like, he was. He was a great guitar. I mean, still is a great guitar player, but he. He was already playing on some bigger gigs and doing some stuff. And then. And then me and my buddy Adam were kind of living together. And then he's living over there playing with me, and then goes on to play with the brothers. And then it was like this guy Luke Nias was in and out of there living there. He went on to play with Aaron Lewis and played with a bunch of people. And then it's just like this constant flow of people. But what we did was we were always in that garage and we were always working on our craft and trying to get better and trying to be seen.
And it's wild now that you're still. You know, it's. It's just crazy to me that, like, I think about, like, Tracy Lawrence, right? Like, being over at our. At our management company now and, like, how crazy it is that, like, 20 years later, someone's like, have you ever heard paint me a Birmingham? Like, that's a great song, isn't it? It's like, yeah, I heard that shit 20 years ago. Like, he was valid then, he's still valid now.
[00:19:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: You know what I mean? It's like the weirdest thing in, to me, it's like, it's like, you know, it reminds me, like, going into target, like in, like, circa 0708, and then you find a Beatles shirt, you know, and then you're the coolest kid in town. But it's like, dude, the Beatles been around since the six. They were good at then, and they're still good now.
[00:19:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:19:52] Speaker B: And that's how I feel about it. It's like, it's crazy. We're in a whole new world of music, and it's done a great. And I think it's, like, done bad and done good.
[00:20:01] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:20:01] Speaker A: There's pros and cons for sure.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: Well, okay, so, like, look at someone like Tracy, though, right? It's like, I'm sure he probably feels like he probably did in the nineties, like, where he's like, people have caught back onto that, and it's. And it's given us great music all over again.
[00:20:18] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: Him or Clay Walker or, you know, whoever is part of that whole, like, regime of those guys from the nineties and so on and so forth, and then other artists, like, you know, like what Riley Green done, taking guys out and Blake Shelton doing that thing the other night in Oklahoma and so on and so forth. Like, I think that it's really cool, but then I think there's some things where I'm like, is this real? Like, is this actually good? Is there a lifespan in this? Cause you look at someone like Bailey Zimmerman.
[00:20:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:46] Speaker B: Who's like, I watched this thing this morning on him. I think those songs are great. I think they're great songs.
[00:20:50] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: I probably wouldn't sing, but they're great. Like, there's a place for that. And so I think it's done really good, but then I think there's some where I'm just like, I don't get it. I won't ever get it.
[00:21:00] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:01] Speaker B: And that's okay. You know what I mean? But it's just a different time, and it's completely different from when I moved here, you know?
[00:21:08] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:08] Speaker A: It's even different from when I moved here, and that was only, like, six years ago.
[00:21:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:12] Speaker A: And it's like a. There's a lot of differences in the sonic sound of Nashville and coming in when you did in 2011, 2012, that's like the bro country era.
[00:21:21] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:21:22] Speaker A: And, like, there was, like, a movement, and even then, there were folks, like, hating on the changes that were going on then.
[00:21:29] Speaker B: Well, dude, let me tell you. So let me tell you this. I'll tell you one of the. I've never told this story with this crazy story, and you'll get, like, what? I mean, in the timeframe of when I was here.
So it come out of those Hiawat gigs, and there's some label interest.
And at the time, I was working with two managers, great guys, and we. Benny Brown at Broken Bow wanted me at broken bow, and I told him, like, I was in. Yeah, like, great. But Scott Borchetta calls us, and I. Man, I was. I had never done a business deal in my life.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: Oh, you're just making music with your buddies.
[00:22:07] Speaker B: And I'm just like, everything's being thrown at me, and I'm like, this is awesome. Like, this is cool. So I got to take the opportunity, just got to feel it out.
So I'm driving down division with my. In my manager's car, and I'm only in town for so many days because I don't even know if I live here yet. I think I might have lived. Yeah, I think I was living here. I was living here because I was already doing the high watt gigs. Anyways, so we get this phone call from Jeff Gregg, our agent at CAA, and he says, jimmy Harnon wants to meet with chase at big machine, like, not tomorrow, like, right now. And we're like, okay, well, can. Do we turn? Yes, turn around right now. So we turn around, and we go back to big machine, and we go down to this room, and it's like this cage room thing, you know, that was, like, fitting for some. Something they had. There's, like, a boardroom type thing. We go down there, and I meet with Jimmy, and jimmy's, like, smiling, and he's cool, and I'm playing some songs for him and so on and so forth, and he's like, I'll be right back. And he comes down. Scott Borchetta walks in, and I'm like, what the fuck? Because Taylor was such a big deal that you knew about Scott. Like, scott was a celebrity in his own right. So he walks in, he's like, all right. He sits down. He's like, just tell me about yourself. And I'm like, telling him about myself, and I love. And there's. Scott's a great guy. Like, for anybody that doesn't know, like, he's a sweet guy, but also, like, very smart guy. So Scott sits down, and he goes, play me your favorite song ever at the time is Fleetwood Mac dreams. So I play it key of f, you know, doing the Lindsey Buckingham acoustic stuff, and then singing the song. He's like, all right, play it in f hash.
And I go to reach for key. Don't capo it. I was like, okay. So I play it f sharp. I play it in g. So I started playing in g, and, you know, moving these inversions, like, up the neck, making it sound like just transitioning, you know, like transposing these things. Like, all right, keep going. So, where do you want me go? Play it. And b flat. So I'm like, so it was like a test for him, to me, to, like, how legit are you? Because people are saying you're legitimate. But I'm about to find out, like, how deep this goes. I played it every which way I could, and we were in talks of doing a deal, and it all fell through. But what it taught me was, you better be ready at every freaking moment, because if someone asks you and you say you're legit, then be legit.
[00:24:27] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:24:27] Speaker B: And own up to it. You know what I mean? And so it was a learning lesson, but it was just a different time.
[00:24:32] Speaker A: Yeah, it was a different time. It really. It really was. And now folks are able to have success. Not even be here. Like, not even have to do the Nashville thing. Radio tour blows my mind, and radio tour even changed during COVID when it became zoom tour, and people didn't. People just had to get up and just be sitting in front of their computer as opposed to traveling around, taking planes, trains, and cars and whatever they could take to get to those gigs. Radio tour just. I saw it on the other side, being a radio guy, we were spoiled. Radio folks get spoiled. But what was. What is going on a radio tour, like, especially at a young age when you're getting thrown all that stuff and you're on that train of just go, go, go?
[00:25:16] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:25:16] Speaker B: Well, I wasn't, like, in a bus. I was flying and staying in cities for multiple nights.
[00:25:21] Speaker A: Rental cars.
[00:25:22] Speaker B: Rental cars going all over the place, driving through New York City. And what a joy that year. I think I was gone, like, almost 300 days that year.
[00:25:31] Speaker C: Nuts.
[00:25:32] Speaker B: And it was nuts. I wrote down every pd md, every.
Everyone that I met at a radio station. I've got a book at my house that I wrote down every person I met. If they said they had kids and I could remember their name, I would do that so that when I got back, so it was always a constant reminder of, like, I could keep up with those people.
And it was really cool, and I met a lot of great people. It was exhausting. And it was also really weird, too, because I was always sort of, like, I got a bad. Sort of got a bad rap. Like, people were always like, hey, thinks he's too cool, or I think she's whatever. And I. So the confidence and cocky thing kind of kicked in, and I would admit that I had a cocky side, arrogant side.
[00:26:16] Speaker C: I feel like you have to have.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: A confidence to be an artist, though.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: But what they don't understand at radio is, you know, like, we. Like, I was a weird kid. Like, I'm not saying I didn't have friends, and because I did, I had friends. I played sports, and I did all the stuff, but I was odd. I was, like, different, and I talk a lot, but I'm also, like, really anxious in those scenarios where I'm like, what. What am I gonna say next? And. And so I think I got a bad rap for a while, and then I had to make up for that. But I was also the person that when people would say things like, you know, I'd try to be better, and then people say, take it on back to repetitive. It won't be a hit. And I'd go play the radio show, and I'd play take it on back six times in a six song set.
So I paid for it. You know, to a certain extent. I mean, I sort of made the bet. I laid in, but it was. It was. It was exhausting, realistically, I mean, but it was also, like, really awesome to be riding in a car. And then you get out, you play the radio station, you leave, and they like you, and they play your song on the radio, and it's like, whoa, what is this? You know? And it was really cool. I mean, I wouldn't trade anything for the world. Cause it was hard work, but it was good work. And I met a lot of great people in that, and I still, you know, I still have people that I love dearly at radio, and I think there's some great things, but it was just. It was. It was nutty because when I came in, there was no Bobby, and then Bobby Bones came to town, and then that was who I think that guy. I know people look up to Steve Jobs and think Steve Jobs is, like, a brilliant. Like, Bobby Bones should go down as one of the most brilliant people. He really should.
[00:27:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:54] Speaker B: Because what he has done for radio and what he has done for young artists and the power behind country music as a whole, dude, but behind the power behind him pushing a fader on a new song on radio is incredible and something that he believes in, and he's also really smart. And so, like, when he came in, it changed the whole, like, the whole mindset of radio was so different. Yeah, the billboard. Yeah, I'm on my way to San Jose. Nope, you're coming back. You're playing Bobby Bones this morning, and it's like, okay. So you go in and you meet him, and you're almost terrified because he's just larger than life radio guy. That, at the time, I didn't even know what he looked like because Instagram was a thing, but it was still kind of like, social media was still kind of figuring itself out, you know? And so, like, the radio game just changed drastically, you know what I mean? And I call it, and people say, it's not a game. It is a game. It totally is a game. It is. It's. Who likes you? What crowd are you running? You know? It is. But there's also that's what people don't understand, that there's music and there's business and there's a music business, and both those things stow together. But I always used to say that it should just be called the business of music, because at the end of the day, if you want to be successful, that's what happens.
[00:29:09] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:29:10] Speaker B: And if people say that's not true, what is true? Because TikTok is business.
[00:29:13] Speaker C: Yes, it is.
[00:29:14] Speaker B: Instagram is business. YouTube is business. Gigs are business. And so it's just a. It's an interesting way of seeing how the world turns in the music industry. And. And it's just a. It's a. It's a really cool wheel to be a part of.
[00:29:29] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:29:30] Speaker A: Yeah, man.
[00:29:31] Speaker B: Challenging it is.
[00:29:32] Speaker A: It is a challenge, and that's what keeps people going. And it's just like, just like any business that there is, you have to adapt. You have to figure out how to continue on the road that you're on. Like, nothing's gonna be just given to you. You have to earn it, and you have to be cerebral with it, and.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: You have to be ready for change because, you know, this, like, music has changed drastically since then. You know, and, like, country music is. There's obviously some that's really accepted now, and then there's some where I'm, like, shaking my head, like, how did this get here? How did we wind up in this spot? I don't hate anything because there's 30 some flavors of baskin Robbins ice cream nobody likes. The same exact thing as the person before him a lot of times. And so I think everything's got a place, you know, I struggle sometimes trying to wrap my head around certain. I've got theories on certain things and I'm probably wrong about them, but, you know, I gotta say, it's like, with change, I found myself. I never wanted to be the jaded guy, you know? You never want to be that guy.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: No, you never. Especially when you move to town and you meet the jaded guy, you're like, I'm not gonna be this guy.
[00:30:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:46] Speaker B: Cuz you write with him three or four times, and the minute that you write with someone else, he thinks you've traded him. You know, it's like, you don't want to be that guy. You didn't ever want to be the guy that's jaded and the guy that hates on other things. Yeah, I just. My.
My Persona or my thought on it now is like, when you come here, be good to people and be accepting of people and. And try to get as close to understanding everyone as you can, but don't be fake. Like, if you don't like something, don't like something.
[00:31:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:31:13] Speaker B: Like, if you like something, like it.
[00:31:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:31:15] Speaker B: But we don't have to go on instagram and bash everyone and their mother because it. Because it did. You woke up, and that's not the tea you wanted to drink.
[00:31:23] Speaker A: Go drink the tea that you want.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: To drink and just leave it alone.
[00:31:27] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:31:27] Speaker A: And that's what we're passionate about with raised rowdy. Like, you have a lot of sites and things like that that talk about things they don't like. And Nikki and I have this philosophy that you spend this energy talking about something you don't like. You can be putting that and be passionate about what you do like, and it'll be that much better of a piece of content. Because it's something that you're passionate about.
[00:31:47] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:31:47] Speaker A: Talk about the shit that you want to talk about and that you want people to hear. Because if you're putting out something that we're hitting on something, people are going to go and check it out.
[00:31:55] Speaker B: Here's a brilliant concept nobody ever thinks about. You ever listen to records you hate?
[00:32:00] Speaker A: Not usually.
[00:32:01] Speaker B: Right. So why talk about shit you hate?
[00:32:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:03] Speaker B: You know what I mean? It's like, just. You just. I don't hate anything.
[00:32:08] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:09] Speaker B: I'm just not gonna listen to it.
[00:32:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:10] Speaker B: I'm gonna listen what I like.
[00:32:12] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:12] Speaker B: And right now, there's a lot of stuff I like.
[00:32:14] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:14] Speaker B: What are some of the. I mean, like, dude, like, hardy. That stuff's brilliant. And Morgan Wallen is. It's brilliant. It's like. It's great songwriting. That's what I like about it. Like, the Morgan thing, dude.
And I don't even know if you would remember this. I mean, Morgan and I kind of came out around the same time. You know, like, he had the way I talk, and I was on take it on back, and Morgan and I came at the same. About the same year. Cause I remember in that year, it was, like, me and him and Kanan Smith and Sam Hunt. And there was a bunch of us kind of coming out, whole name.
[00:32:51] Speaker A: That was your class almost.
[00:32:52] Speaker B: You just knew that you didn't want to be on an acoustic round with Sam Hunt, because if you were, nobody gave a damn about what you had to say about, you know, because it was just girls and they were all there to see Sam. But anyways, this quick Morgan story, because I just. I love this. I love it. Because now I can look at it, and just from an outside perspective. And I'm not the kind of artist that, like, I don't have a ton of artist friends, you know, like, I have a lot of artist buddies, but, like, we don't, you know, like, I don't have a lot of guys that we don't, like, go hang out, but we have good. We have good repertoire together.
[00:33:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:33:24] Speaker B: We have good conversations, and then we just, we might have dinner, and then we go on.
[00:33:28] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:33:29] Speaker B: But the thing I remember about him was, I was. I was. We were at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, tennessee, for St. Jude. The country cares.
[00:33:40] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:33:41] Speaker B: And I'm standing outside, and he comes out, and he's like, hey, man. He goes. And he's. Why? You know, he's wild. He's, like, high strung, like, really, you know, just funny, dude. And he goes, you want to go down Beale street? I was like, not really. He goes, man, I can't find a damn person in there that wants to go down there. He's like, come on, let's go have a beer. I'm like, dude, I'm going up for the night. I'm calling it a night. And he was so.
[00:34:07] Speaker C: But.
[00:34:07] Speaker B: And it was only a quick little moment, you know? But what I remember most about it was thinking, now, here goes this guy in town that nobody wanted to go give him. Just get a beer with him that was there, you know, because he, he made the comment like, I can't find a damn person wants to go get a beer. And, uh, or whatever it was he, you know, wanted to have a drink or food or whatever it was. But thinking about it is like, boy, I bet this whole town would kill to be in that circuit now. And now, everybody, Morgan wants the greatest thing in the world. What about then? Did you go get a beer with him?
[00:34:41] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:34:41] Speaker B: I wouldn't ever try to, like, get ahold of him now because I didn't do it, either. No, but if he came up and said that, you know, I'd talk to him, and he's always been super nice to me, and. And when I've been around him, I mean, I can't say we're buddies or friends or anything, but. But I just think about this thing. So, Morgan and Hardy. I love that I heard that Riley green. Damn. Good day to leave. And that was like, holy Moses.
[00:35:03] Speaker A: Talk about a song.
[00:35:03] Speaker B: There's a hook. I love that.
I think this post malone stuff getting ready to come out, it's gonna be awesome.
[00:35:10] Speaker A: I think it's gonna be very cool.
[00:35:12] Speaker B: I really like it. I mean, and then I still like the same things I've always liked. I mean, I, you know, I love, you know, I love Randy Houser, obviously, and I'm. And I love, like, Joe Nichols. I still love, like, to hear those guys sing because that's my era of, like, growing up and hearing those kind of records. But then there's, you know, there's tons of new stuff that I like. I mean, I think there's a lot of great stuff out there and then there's just a lot of stuff that's just whatever, you know. Yeah, I don't know. Like, I'm not. I always listen to, like, new music Friday, Spotify or whatever, like apple. I'll listen to a newer music, like. Like, playlist, and just try to. Just try to go through some things and find some things I like. And, man, there's some great stuff. Like, I heard this girl the other day that I'd never heard. Cassie Ash? Is that her name? Yeah.
I was like, holy crap, this girl sings.
[00:36:07] Speaker A: I've seen her on writers round.
[00:36:08] Speaker B: Like, this girl's a singer, dude.
[00:36:10] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:36:10] Speaker B: Like, she's. She can sing.
[00:36:11] Speaker A: She's one of those people that you go to see her, like, where she just happens to be on a round in town or when she was doing that and the whole bar would get quiet, which is my favorite moment at a round we host. A lot of them is when somebody's singing and people are. It turns a bar like. Like a live oak or a tin roof into the list upside down.
[00:36:31] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah.
[00:36:31] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:36:32] Speaker C: But I.
[00:36:32] Speaker B: But, you know, to be honest, like, I like Stephen Wilson.
[00:36:36] Speaker C: Oh, dude.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: I wrote with Steven for a long, long time. He's the first guy I ever took on the road to write. Like, I was one of the first trips I think he went on as, like, a songwriter on the road. And so we became like brothers, you know, and he lost his dad, and I was kind of around for a lot of that stuff. I say around during that time.
[00:36:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:36:54] Speaker B: And we were. God, I don't know how many songs we've written together, but written tons. I always was like, this guy's got to be an artist. He has to be.
[00:37:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:37:03] Speaker B: Like, inevitable that this guy's going to be great. And. And I love him. I love. God, I love lamp. No, I mean, there's so much stuff that I do hear now that there are things that catch me. Like the Dustin lynch stars, like Confetti. Like, that's not my type of song, but I, for some reason, can't quit listening. To it. It's great song. Zach Bryan and the stuff he did with Casey Musgraves, I love it. Like, the rest of it's cool. I don't know that I totally connect with it, but, like, there are songs that hit me and I'm like, this is really, really great.
[00:37:34] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:37:34] Speaker A: The Zach Bryan thing. Myself and Nikki, be honest, we didn't get it. I didn't get it. And I saw him at a festival this past year. I got to see him at two festivals. I saw him at rock the south in Coleman, Alabama, and Auburn Rodeo in Alabama. And, bro, he comes out with, like, a twelve piece band. It's like a two hour day band.
[00:37:52] Speaker B: Banjo players passing out on stage.
[00:37:53] Speaker A: Bro, it's like a date. It's like a Dave Matthews concert. And seeing the way that people react and sing every song, the live show is what made it.
[00:38:01] Speaker C: Made it for me.
[00:38:01] Speaker A: Because I'm like, why aren't the records, like, this twelve piece big band thing, you know? Yeah, it's interesting. Like, that whole subgenre that's kind of coming up where it's, like, songwriter y, but it's not like the Nashville songwriter.
[00:38:15] Speaker B: Well, but then there's like, did you listen Beyonce record yet?
[00:38:19] Speaker A: I've listened to some of it.
[00:38:20] Speaker B: How are you with it?
[00:38:21] Speaker A: I mean, I get it. Like, I get why it's that. I mean, country's the cool thing right now. Yeah, country's the thing that everybody's pivoting to. Like, there's all the rock guys moving right now.
[00:38:30] Speaker B: What's like. But what do you like, what is the country thing when you say country is cool? Like, what part of it?
[00:38:37] Speaker A: Just the aesthetic of the western style of Nashville. I mean, bro, like, we're big in, like, the butt rock space. That's something that raised rowdy has gotten raised rowdy. We've found ourselves butt rock.
[00:38:50] Speaker B: That's so good.
[00:38:51] Speaker A: That's our biggest social media account. We have an account called butt rock, and it's got, like, almost 90,000 followers, and it's memes of Creed, Limp Bizkit, Hinder saliva.
[00:38:59] Speaker B: Okay, all those bands keep going. But that limp Bizkit, the last records that they just put out with, like.
[00:39:06] Speaker A: Dad vibes and all that.
[00:39:07] Speaker B: My God, I've spun that record so many times, I can't count.
[00:39:11] Speaker A: Yeah, it's coming back. And those kind of guys are moving to Tennessee. We're good buddies with the Madden brothers from good charlotte. Yeah, they are here in Nashville now. Lit is here in Nashville. Fred Durst is rumored to be moving to Williamson county, there's, like, that whole. Everybody. We're like, what the. What? What LA must have been like back in the eighties with Sunset Strip. That is what the energy is like. That's like, yeah, we like folks from, like, New York and big media companies. Like, everybody's trying to get into the country space and Nashville specifically. Like, we are having our moment right now as a genre.
[00:39:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:39:46] Speaker A: And it's gonna bring in the outside things.
[00:39:48] Speaker C: Now.
[00:39:48] Speaker A: Am I gonna listen to the Beyonce record? I still haven't yet, but, like, I understand where it's going, and I don't hate it. Like, oh, my God, this is blasting.
[00:39:57] Speaker B: I think. I think, like, my only thing I always, like, I wonder about, because there's still some great, like, first off, like, Keith Gaddis big city blues and going back for me, like, jack Ingram Electric. Like, those weren't necessarily, like, straight down the middle country.
[00:40:13] Speaker A: No.
[00:40:13] Speaker B: At all. And there's this massive umbrella of what country music has become. There's also a massive umbrella of, like, what pop music has become.
[00:40:21] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: I think it's really cool that there's a number of records coming in. The only thing I get confused on sometimes is when I listen, there's a. I'll just say this. There's a record that I have a couple songs on as a writer that's coming out, and I can't say anything yet, but another artist, and I listened to the record, and I was like, God, this is so good.
And it's in Texas.
Texas record. And he was a hero of mine growing up, and I'm like, so good. And there was a writer in there, and it really made me think, and this writer said, how do they create a Grammy category for guys like y'all down there who make these really great records?
But they don't necessarily get up the totem pole as to where the rest of the world conceded the Grammys. And, man, I went home that night, and it just, like, it crushed me because of guys like the Keith Gaddis records or the Waylon Payne or, you know, randy Rogers, which is, to me, like, one of the goats, you know, just a matter of time, is one of the. To me, is one of the pinnacles for me as a country artist records that I love.
[00:41:38] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:41:39] Speaker B: But I get to the spot where I'm trying to figure out there are still genres of music, no matter which way you look at it. And I don't claim to be the country as guy. I don't claim to have ever, like, been a horseback rider. And a cowboy and whatever. I've done it. But I wouldn't claim to be. You know what I mean? Yeah, and. But what I'm trying to figure out is, like, I don't ever. There are some records that don't get the recognition they can because something else comes along with some name on it that proposes to be what? It's not really hitting the mark. Yeah, but we're going to run with it because we're accepting. We're very accepting in this. Whereas I would say LA is probably not as accepting as Nashville is. And how badass is it that Beyonce wants to be a part of the country music genre?
[00:42:29] Speaker A: Yeah, the post.
[00:42:30] Speaker B: And I'm only using Beyonce because it's like the most current thing.
[00:42:32] Speaker A: Yeah, and.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: But I'm just saying it's like, at the end of the day, if. And no one's asking my opinion, but if someone ever said, like, you know, how could. How could, you know, it's like, don't confuse Grammy ballots just because someone came and claimed to make a country record. Yeah, don't miss on, like, don't miss on great records. Don't. Because it's inevitable that those will want, like, they just go away and then they reoccur later. And that's the sad part, is when they reoccur because that person may have already moved on and you could have gotten the best of it when it was there.
[00:43:12] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:43:13] Speaker B: And it's like that confusing line. And so, like, I've, you know, it's so funny. Like, I just. I love hearing people's thoughts as to, like, I think it's awesome. Like, what do you find? Country, you know, because, like, I'm from South Texas and I'm telling you right now, like, I can't sell tickets in Texas to save a donkey's ass. Like, I can't. It's hard as shit.
[00:43:34] Speaker A: Yes, it's very difficult.
[00:43:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:43:36] Speaker B: I go down there and I play this gig and. Or, I mean, I show up to a gig is Wade Bowen and Jake Worthington. Jake's another guy I love.
[00:43:44] Speaker A: Oh, dude, one of the best.
[00:43:45] Speaker B: And Wade. I love Wade. But the love lamp. Anyways, I show up to this gig and it's like everyone's looking at me like I'm in the boots and I'm in my wranglers and I'm. And I'm, like, living that life down there, but they still could. There's another side of you. Come on, where is it? Like, there's another side. And we're up there singing, like, a Brooks and Dunn song together or whatever it was.
But they know.
What's that other part? And how much are you in this? Like, how much you doing right now just because you love those guys?
[00:44:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:44:16] Speaker B: How much are you that guy?
[00:44:17] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:44:17] Speaker B: You know what I mean?
[00:44:18] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:44:19] Speaker B: Neat to, like, go home and get bashed to hell.
[00:44:25] Speaker A: Interesting, though, because you were. You were here in the era and you grew up in the era when the Texas guys didn't come here. Some of the songs came from here, but they didn't come here. And there was, like, this divide. And there's that famous live video from one of the ragweed shows where they're. They're not. They were not. They were very anti Nashville.
[00:44:43] Speaker B: Always 17 in your hometowns. Great one.
[00:44:46] Speaker C: Yes. Yeah.
[00:44:47] Speaker A: And it's like they. But now you have guys from that red dirt world that have label deals here and are part of this thing in Nashville. Guys as far out there as co Wetzel, guys like Corey Kent who are journeymen, guys like Parker who are journeymen. And then you have guys in Nashville now where Morgan Wallen. I mean, he's big.
[00:45:07] Speaker C: Big.
[00:45:08] Speaker A: It's like biggest. One of the biggest things in the world, but selling out a whole damn baseball stadium in Texas.
[00:45:14] Speaker B: Crazy.
[00:45:14] Speaker A: Like, the crazy. The bridge between the red dirt scene and the Nashville scene. And just.
[00:45:20] Speaker B: It's interesting to see the things that work is like, Morgan could go down there and probably sell out Cowboys Stadium.
[00:45:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:45:25] Speaker A: I mean, he's going to London on the 4 July, which I think is just hilarious. We're sending a guy from East Tennessee to play in England on the 4 July. I kind of love.
[00:45:35] Speaker B: I didn't even know that. That's wild.
[00:45:37] Speaker A: But it's like the. But, yeah, it's like. But then there's guys that are from Texas that can't sell tickets in Texas.
[00:45:44] Speaker B: But what people don't understand, like, down there is like, man, I've seen some of the craziest redneck as shit I've ever seen New Jersey and New York and Pennsylvania and Washington and Canada. I mean, Canada.
[00:45:57] Speaker A: Oh, dude, we love.
[00:45:57] Speaker B: Canada is nuts. It's nuts. And so it's just, like, really cool. And I love the fact that, like, just beyond music, like, I just love the fact that the western side of things are being paid attention to again because man, like, God lived a cowboy man. Like what? What? Like one of the greatest lost arts. That's just like people wanting to be a part of those things again and, like, going to rodeos and seeing, like, this giant, diverse crowd of people and, like, I love that.
[00:46:28] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:46:29] Speaker B: You know, I really, really do. I think it's like. I think it's really cool. And so all that to say, it's like. It's just really interesting. You know, it's like music has become a giant blender of just. There's so much out there. And that's the great thing, is you and I can not agree on something, but we can go in there and find something we like.
[00:46:46] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:46:47] Speaker B: It just. The way it is.
[00:46:48] Speaker A: Yeah, there's so much. There's so much out there now. In this era where folks can really put out, it's a lot easier to get music out now. It's so much easier. It's so much easier to get an audience now.
[00:46:59] Speaker B: Well, you think? I mean, it took me, like, four years to put something else out, but here we are.
[00:47:04] Speaker A: Yeah, everybody's. Everybody's a little different. And the traditional movement in country music, like, coming back, and it's like you have these outsiders coming in put like the Beyonce's, the posties, the Lana Del Rey's. Like, folks like that doing the reverse Taylor Swift thing where it's like, instead of going pop, they're going. Going country. But then you have guys and girls like, this traditional sound in the songwriting. I think there's so much love for songwriters now.
[00:47:30] Speaker C: Yeah. Not.
[00:47:31] Speaker A: Not in the. Not in the Spotify payments that we're still working on a lot of that stuff. But it's like the appreciation for the. The songwriter d style of. Of songs, I think, is higher now.
[00:47:43] Speaker B: And I think it's a big deal that those. Those projects recognize because in that kind of songwriter, too, because, I mean, you gotta. I mean, there.
To me, it's like, there are some great songwriters. Like, how has Tom Douglas not had, like, 1050 number ones? Because all those songs are amazing. Yeah.
And to know that people.
I don't think you have to just write this song to a hook anymore. And I keep saying this, like, I've caught myself saying this recently, like. Like, I love. Like, I love the fact that I am so appreciative of the fact better. Like, I'm so appreciative of the fact that take it on back or a little bit of you or songs of that nature did what they did. And I think there's a place for those songs, and I think there's a place for songs that aren't so deep because not everybody's willing to get. It's like going to therapy, you know?
[00:48:43] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:48:44] Speaker B: And I've done a lot of that and it's like, there's some days I just don't want to get that deep. I don't. I don't want to talk about certain things some days, and some days I do. And when I want to go find one of those songs, it's nice to know that people still connect with that. You know, like, Cody Johnson's perfect example. Like, the guy that can do that. I think Parker is, too. Like, I think Parker's, you know, like, I think burn it down is a little light hearted. You know, as far as in the sense of things that he can't, like, is obviously fully capable of writing. But, God, what a song. Like, it's a great freaking song. Song. I love it. I mean, I love John Randall. He's one of my dearest friends on earth, and he can make a damn good record on guys, and.
But I also love the fact that artists are still willing to go both ways with that. It's like Zach Bryan writing something like, I remember everything, which is really, like, this art to me, that's like a. That's a piece of art. And then he can go do. I don't know any of his. I'm sorry. I don't really know any of his other songs, but. But I know that there are things in there that I've listened to that are light hearted, and they're just. They're just. They're meaningful for them. And I think it's awesome that the songwriting element now is more than just light hearted.
[00:49:56] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:49:56] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:49:57] Speaker B: You know what I mean?
[00:49:58] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:49:58] Speaker A: And now talking about Ashland city, bro.
[00:50:00] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:50:01] Speaker A: With that, now where you're. Where you're getting to put releases out into the world again, and this obviously being a huge year for you, what went into, like, having what you just said, where you can have that mix of stuff and there's room for it all. Yeah, well, talking about Ashland City and the name for the project, I love that, too, people. Ashland City, a part of the middle Tennessee that doesn't get talked about a whole lot. That is just beautiful country, and there's good, hardworking people in there, but there's also some dark sides to it.
[00:50:34] Speaker B: Yeah, there is. I mean, I always say that that's, like, Ashland city, for me, was the perfect mix of, like, Texas and. And, you know, the way I grew up and then the city, you know, because it had elements of both. So Ashland city came about. I built. We'd moved back from Texas and moved up here, bought a house and built a little studio, and it was kind of like, I had just made. Let's see. I had just come off of.
I'd met. Well, I made a record. God, I've made so many dang projects. I made a record in Texas. I'd come back. John was getting really busy with everything he was doing. I mean, from Miranda to Parker to everything. And John was like one of the first guys, like, really say, like, you should just take this on yourself and, like, see how far you can take it. And so I did. And I just started trying to figure out what songs fit. And there's a couple songs on there that are older, like wild and tame, which was me and Keith Gaddis and Ray Wiley Hubbard wrote that together.
[00:51:36] Speaker A: What a writing one to be in.
[00:51:38] Speaker B: What a room to be in one of those moments that, like, now, like, then I didn't get it, but now I look back like, I bet I'm probably one of the few people that can say they got to do that, you know, what a cool. What a great experience.
And so there's that. And then there was another one I wrote with Casey Beathard and Ryan Tyndall. That's kind of the single off that project called never got around to that. But the rest of it was just like wanting to make a studio or wanting to make a record in a new spot, in a new place and try to find some new inspiration. And I wrote with a number of different people, wrote with some people that I had kind of written with but hadn't spent too much time. Like Ryan Beaver, one of my dear friends, him and Neil Medley. We wrote a cool song for that project. And then it just. It was just kind of like. I don't know that that was necessarily like, here's what I'm going for. It was just kind of like, I just want to see what this place brings out of me.
[00:52:30] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:52:30] Speaker B: And we. And I found that record, you know, and it's just a. It was a really cool project to make. I mean, I was looking out and I kind of named all these projects, like, their names, and I think it was like, they were kind of. Kind of like Easter eggs, you know what I mean? And there's. There are. And there's some things. I'll just let it be, you know, like, let people kind of see what they want to see until I. Till I kind of put it all out, then, yeah. Make all makes sense. But it's just. They're just projects from different places and just different inspiration. Nothing's supposed to sound the same because they came from different. They came from completely different places of the continent, you know, so it's like, I mean, there's a record I made down in Alabama in a cabin out on the woods in Alabama, where there's, like, no one there, and then there's, you know, the Somerville project, which came from going out to South Carolina and spending time there and finding inspiration, writing songs there. So it's just. It was. It's just been a process of, like, trying to figure out how to. How to. How to be open to accepting new ideas and things to push me as an artist. And that was kind of my first foray into, like, producing something completely by myself that was going to get released.
[00:53:44] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:53:44] Speaker A: And so that's rewarding feeling when you can. When you can be that hands on with your own. With your own project, bro.
[00:53:50] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and, I mean, I tracked it myself. I engineered, you know, the front half of it. And obviously my buddy Casey Wood, who's an incredible engineer, mixed everything and edit, did a lot of editing and so on and so forth. But it was a. It was a great project. And it was also like, I got to get with some guys that, you know, Adam and I had, you know, obviously when. When he went to play for brothers, and we kind of. We kind of fell out for a few years, and. But he's still like a brother to me. And that was my first time that we got to do anything that would get to go out into the world. And because of stuff we did years before, it obviously never did. And so I got to work with him. And Russ Paul, killer steel player, came in and played some steel on it. My buddy Ryan, that's out with Kelsey Ballerini now playing guitar. It just. It's just, it was not like I wasn't going after every studio guy in Nashville. I was trying to call buddies, you know, because I just moved back here, I wanted it to feel very like, you know, just get friends in a room and make a record.
[00:54:47] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:54:47] Speaker B: And so that's what we did, and just kind of built it from the ground up.
[00:54:50] Speaker A: Yeah, that's the way it's supposed to be. That's the way it used to be was.
[00:54:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:54:55] Speaker A: Making cool shit with your friends and for you to be able to come back to town and reconnect with all those guys and that being a focal point of that reconnection, that rekindling of the friendships and those relationships, bro.
[00:55:07] Speaker B: Like, and I'm just. I mean, I'm just excited for there to be a body of work out there that goes back to, like. And hence the reason that I kind of brought up, like, you know, like, the Beyonce record or the Zach Bryan stuff or the Morgan stuff is, like, they're all different projects, and I'm not sure that everyone's gonna relate to every single one of them. I'm not looking for that. I'm just looking for. To. For my own sake, too. Like, kind of looking at it going, like, what's most valid?
I'm still figuring me out. I feel like we're always doing that. Like, I feel like music is a constant bowling ball. It's like, you know, what pin is it today? You know, which 01:00 a.m.. I going after? And. But I feel like I've just kind of figured out, like, there's no one thing for me. Like, yeah, I just. I just. I. Whatever. Like, I want to capture feelings, and I want to capture emotion in a moment when I'm there, and I want to put that on tape.
[00:55:57] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:55:58] Speaker B: And. And so that's been a very, you know, integral part of, like, my growth as an artist. And. And, you know, I'm a little older now, too, so, like, you know, it's like, I I'm starting to understand things a little more than I did then.
[00:56:11] Speaker A: Yeah. What's. What's. What's life like at 31 now, being back in Nashville versus.
[00:56:16] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:56:17] Speaker A: Young age, moving here?
[00:56:19] Speaker B: Different, for sure. You're not gonna see me at a bar.
[00:56:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I remember seeing.
[00:56:23] Speaker C: What.
[00:56:23] Speaker A: I remember seeing you at red door, bro.
[00:56:25] Speaker B: I remember those days. I had my days of I could rage and I could go all night, but, man, I, you know, I just think now it's like, just. I take life more seriously now than I did then. I, you know, I. I went through, you know, my mental health struggles, and I went through a lot of that, and I think for me now has been more just kind of like, falling back in love with, like, the kid that I was.
[00:56:48] Speaker A: That 16 year old kid.
[00:56:49] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:56:50] Speaker A: Being like, I can do this music.
[00:56:51] Speaker B: Exactly. It's like falling back in love with the idea that, like, I love what I do, you know, it's like. And understanding that, you know, my best work has always come from being, like, very well aware, not rolling into a studio, trying to sing, you know, the note that's way up here after a night of all night beer and pickleback shots at red door, you know?
You know, so it's just. It's like, it's different, but it's also like life before then, because I'm still trying to find my way back in. You know, I'm still trying to find my way back into this world of, like, you know, the unknown again. And that's been the fun part, is, like, not thinking that you. Well, you had a couple hits, so you can go, like, I don't even think about those things anymore. All I think about is, like, now in this new growth and this new period of music and this new period of being an artist, it's like, that's what I'm most excited about, you know, like, I don't doing. I don't look backwards anymore. You know, there's no looking back, and there's no, like, trying to. To.
You know, I try to mend certain things, but. But for me, it's just, like, what's next? Always.
[00:58:01] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:58:01] Speaker B: I'm not getting caught up. I mean, we're sitting here talking about this project, and I'm thinking about, like, well, I need to go home and cut this song and do this and do that. And so, like, I'm always trying to just keep moving forward, but also, like, be very present in a moment because I don't want to look back and be thankful for what? The time we're spending now. Like, I don't want to realize that a year from now. I want to know that now.
[00:58:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:58:24] Speaker B: And so it's like, just understanding more now, just how to be more present, how to be more, you know, in the moment, but also, like, not go backwards.
[00:58:33] Speaker A: And that's something you can do a lot more now and that you've had that reflection.
[00:58:36] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:58:37] Speaker A: Period. To where you can be in the moment, and you have to have those moments of. It's all a wave, bro. Yeah, it's all a fucking wave. Like, up and down. I feel like right now we're getting right up there, but now, you know, having been down to get back up.
[00:58:50] Speaker B: Why go to a right after this? So it's just gonna go back down.
[00:58:54] Speaker A: Who you writing with today?
[00:58:55] Speaker B: I'm writing with a new girl that I've never written with her. This girl named Lauren Larue, like, I guess, wrote Roxanne.
[00:59:01] Speaker A: Oh, nice.
[00:59:02] Speaker B: So there you go, man.
[00:59:04] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:59:04] Speaker B: Speaking of Nashville and people just, you know, writing things completely outside of what a Nashville.
[00:59:10] Speaker A: Does it feel weird being, like, the veteran in the room now?
[00:59:13] Speaker B: No. I mean, I. Dude, you know, here's what's funny.
There's an artist I will not name, and I will not say it off camera because I just. I just. I've kept it to myself. But there is an artist that I saw one day at a publishing house. And I come into. I'd come in. I'll never forget this. I came in to write, and the artist comes up. He's like, hey, man, I gotta tell you something. I was like, okay, what the hell is going on? And he's like, dude, I was your biggest fan in high school. Giant fan. And, like, meanwhile, dude, like, I was basically. Should have been in high school, and I started having success, you know? Like, I would have been in, like, a freshman, sophomore, whatever, in college.
And I was like, well, man, he's. You don't under. You don't know. And I'm like, no, dude. I, like, I know you don't understand it. And now, like, watching him pop off and then him, you know, like, I'm still getting used to the fact that, like, I've been here for a minute.
[01:00:15] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:00:16] Speaker B: I mean, yeah, so I don't necessarily have, like, people coming up, like, hey, if I take a picture, like, oh, my God, we're your biggest fan. Tell us about how you wrote this. You know, like, that. That doesn't.
[01:00:25] Speaker A: But I mean, just, like, you talk about, like, coming in as. Coming in as a young guy and getting in these rooms with these guys that have been doing it for a while, just being, like, being with.
[01:00:35] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:00:36] Speaker A: Like, writing with someone that's newer to town.
[01:00:38] Speaker B: Oh, yeah.
[01:00:39] Speaker A: I mean, what's that kind of. Do you feel that, like, full circle kind of thing or.
[01:00:42] Speaker B: Like, I think I'm probably learning more because they're, what got them here is current, you know what I mean? And so, like, I'm kind of adjusting to, like, their speed a little bit, but then also knowing, like, okay, well, this is what I know about writing a song, and that's what I know will happen and won't happen as long as I'm in the room. And. But. But I learn more, probably, than they do because, like, I'm curious to see what makes their will spin.
[01:01:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:01:11] Speaker B: Because what makes mine spins a whole lot different. I don't listen to a ton of new music. You know, I listen to a lot of old stuff and. Yeah, and. And they're so dialed in that that's what I like. Like, today, I'm looking forward to it. It's like, I've got an idea. I've. You know, I would consider myself to still think very currently, but. But it's very much like I've never tried to let fall behind. I've always tried to stay up to date, but I know that my speed and their speed is a little different because I'm very slow. I have an idea, and I got to see it. I have to see the visual.
[01:01:42] Speaker A: Got to let it marinate.
[01:01:43] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
They can come in, and it's like rocket fire. And so that's kind of been interesting to be the older guy in the room that's still not that old, but been around a little longer. It's like. It's really interesting. And so for, like, today's. Right, like, you know, girl, like, this is, like, obviously she's wildly talented. She's had a ton of cuts and had hit songs, and. And so I'm willing to, like, let me learn today. Like, what do you have? Like, I want. I want to. I want to, you know, I want to ride that boat for a day, but. But here's an idea for me. And how can, you know, how can you help me take this somewhere? Because, like, you look at, like, guys like, Keith Urban. Like, man, what a genius. Like, sure, he made golden road and be here and, you know, love painting the whole crazy thing. All these great records that were very guitar driven and band driven and. But look at him now. Like, dude, he might be whatever age he is, but it's like, he's 20.
[01:02:39] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:02:40] Speaker B: Because he's still keeping up. You know? It's just brilliant. And because he's that way because he's willing to learn.
[01:02:46] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:02:47] Speaker B: From these younger guys. So it's really.
[01:02:48] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Dude, that's awesome. What's something you wish you could tell yourself?
That's a loaded question.
[01:02:56] Speaker B: It's like, God, like, going back.
[01:03:00] Speaker A: Going back to that kid.
[01:03:01] Speaker B: Younger me.
[01:03:02] Speaker A: Younger you? Yeah, like, younger you. Like the kid that's playing at. At high watt, the kid that's jamming and you're having all these. You're doing all those meetings and, like, shit's, like, popping and everything.
[01:03:14] Speaker B: Like, close the door behind you, probably. Yeah, I think so. Because it's like, don't let everybody in, you know? It's like, not even the ones that you think are, like, the greatest. Just leave some space for yourself. You know what I mean? It's like, because I gave a lot of myself to everyone, including people that were, like, really close to me. And certain times I watched that backfire and, you know, from friends and stuff, and it's like, I just wish that I would have made a little more time to myself to, like, really hone in on. On me, but also think, like, to just tell them. Like, it gets rough, but it's, like, smooth sailing after. You know what I mean? It's like, I. That I love that. And, you know, I watched, like, I think about this a lot. I watched this thing on Diane Niad the other night. Swam from Cuba to Florida, Florida keys. And I was watching her swim, and, you know, the first, like, however many miles she did. And she's, like, almost 70 years old when she swims this, by the way, done it, like, five times and stung by man o wars and stung in the eye by box jellies and, like, made it while. While the doctors got stung and going into, like, cardiac arrest.
And she's swimming through the night, and she gets in that gulf stream, and it just starts whipping her ass, and it's, like, really hard wind, and it's choppy, and she's not really going anywhere. But then she gets to the other side of it. She makes it to the shore, and she just, like, you know, she obviously, like, vomits all this stuff. And I was thinking about. I was like, man, isn't that funny? It's like, when you're a kid, it's smooth sailing. Then you get to the Gulf stream, and it's like, oh, God, what am I doing? Then you get to the other side of it. You get rid of all that crap.
[01:04:52] Speaker C: Yes.
[01:04:52] Speaker B: You get it out of you, and it wears you out. But then you wake up and you realize, man, I really accomplished something here.
[01:04:58] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:04:58] Speaker B: And that's kind of how I look at life now. It's like, there's gonna be some things that. That. There's gonna be some days that are tough, but I think they just get better if you let them, you know? And just being thankful, it's like.
[01:05:11] Speaker C: But.
[01:05:11] Speaker B: But, yeah, I mean, just keep the door closed behind you, you know what I mean? You decide to go in there, keep it closed.
[01:05:16] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:05:17] Speaker B: Leave some space, man.
[01:05:18] Speaker A: Well, dude, I appreciate the hell out. Thanks for having on and talking. I've been looking forward to this one. And thank you for. Thank you for doing this.
[01:05:26] Speaker C: Yeah, man.
[01:05:26] Speaker A: Congrats on the new project. Congrats on, like, I'm excited for what. What's coming. This chapter of Chase Bryan.
[01:05:33] Speaker B: Well, man, I'm excited. I have no idea what it is, but we don't.
[01:05:37] Speaker A: We don't either. But I can tell you what, everybody that I told I was doing this episode with, like, that I was having you on, they were like, fuck, yeah.
[01:05:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:05:45] Speaker A: New chase Bryant coming. Like, we're excited. So, dude, there.
[01:05:48] Speaker B: It's.
[01:05:49] Speaker A: It's awesome.
[01:05:49] Speaker B: Thank you so much for taking time to have me, too. I appreciate it.
[01:05:52] Speaker A: Of course, man. Anything we can ever do with you're part of the Razor family now, so we appreciate the heck out of you, dude. And thank you so much. Y'all be sure to check out our boy Chase Bryant, Ashland City, the new project it is out on right now, it dropped today, the release of this episode. And be sure to follow along with Chase Bryant as all the stuff transpires and all the new music is coming out. And yeah, everything that he's got in the world, follow him on all the socials. Thank you guys, as always, for listening, watching. For more on us, visit raised rowdy.com and follow along. Subscribe rate like all of that stuff, tell your mama and them and we will see you next time. For my boy, Chase Bryant, I'm Matt Brill. This has been outside the row.
[01:06:37] Speaker C: Been.
[01:06:37] Speaker B: The kind for still one place for too long I never been the best at sin I love you to a girl I love only got a couple tricks on my sleeve they usually just make them leave so if you know me, if you really know me, you know I'm just a two trick pony but maybe the drinking and the lack of money for show, I'm just a two trick on it.
