Episode Transcript
[00:00:15] Speaker A: This is outside the round with Matt.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Verill for Razor Outdoor podcast.
[00:00:26] Speaker A: This year's been, like, a huge year for sobriety. Like, everybody. Nikki T. Stopped drinking. Right?
[00:00:33] Speaker B: Did he?
[00:00:34] Speaker A: He did, he did, he did, he did. Honestly, swear to God.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: What does he shotgun now?
[00:00:39] Speaker A: He shotguns, actually. High rises. We drank the high rises that they have here. That they have here at Sony. Dude.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: So how the heck have you been doing, brother? It's been probably about a year since we last saw you. It was down in Rome, Georgia, at peaches, the luxurious establishment. Rip, that place doesn't exist anymore. What? It closed?
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:00] Speaker A: I was just in Rome for a wedding, and Nick and I were like, let's go to peaches. And then we went to go, and it's like, all boarded up and shit.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: I hate that, man. I've heard about a handful of venues this last year that we kind of cut our teeth playing that I love. And it's just sad to hear when things go under like that. But, yeah, sometimes it's out of their control. Sometimes maybe they didn't handle stuff the way they should have, or sometimes it's just like, look, we don't own the spot. And the landlord sold to some big developer, and those are the heartbreaking ones. Yeah, but it's sad. I didn't know that.
[00:01:37] Speaker A: Yeah, I just found it out and all that. But in the past year since we last saw you, life's been pretty crazy, bro.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: It's been good, man. It's been really good.
Things have grown fast, but also feel like, I'm sure from the outside it looks like it's gone fast because it always does. But on the inside, it's always like, what can we be doing to accelerate? What can we be doing to capitalize on momentum? So it's like this crazy back and forth of acknowledging what's already happened and really being grateful for what we have, but also, like, how do we keep pushing? How do we keep evolving? How do we keep finding success and selling more tickets and getting bigger songs? And how do we keep doing that? And, yeah, it's a balancing act, trying to find the middle ground.
[00:02:30] Speaker A: Yeah, now you've got to go out on tour with all kinds of people. You've gotten to do, like, arenas, sheds, big festivals. I remember the first time I met you was at Live Oak at the whale tail. One of our whale tail tail.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: Never forget.
[00:02:47] Speaker A: I had to go up there and confiscate something from that final round. All them Texas boys, I told them, hey, guys, you could do it out front but we're going to do it on all the boys, Pegasus, Colby and Dylan. And that was in 2021. And that wasn't your first time coming to Nashville. You spent a stint living here. You had a whole chapter before early on when Nikki, and you've kind of been in the raise rowdy family since before all of that.
[00:03:13] Speaker B: 2018 is when I crossed paths with Nick and raised rowdy. I remember seeing the hat, the logo, the microphone, and somebody gave me a hat at a show in Pennsylvania. It was Nick. He was just out working the show himself and kind of just boots on the ground trying to get the brand off the ground. And I was playing a show at some tiny club opening for Steve Moekler.
[00:03:37] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: Yeah, in 2018. But yeah, I was living in Nashville at the time when I went on tour with him. And that was my last year in town was 2018. And then we moved 2019 to Texas.
But yeah, I lived here from, I would say, on and off. I've had a really crazy winding story with Tennessee.
I moved out here when I was 17.
Did the whole have no money, sleep in your truck, crash on Budy's couches, didn't have an address here. I did that for a year and a half, and then I got to go back to Oklahoma State, go to college for a bit.
[00:04:20] Speaker A: Love Stillwater, dude. One of my favorite places. Shout out to Carrie and the crew at.
[00:04:27] Speaker B: Tumbleweed venues, bro. I love Tumbleweed is where, first off, I have a song called Tumbleweed. One of my favorite place. Dude, that's because of that place. But secondly, that's where my wife and I used to go two step. They used to do like a $5 night, I believe it was Tuesday night. So you could go out there and dance for $5, get in and have a blast. So I love that town.
But yeah, it's been a freaking great year. But it's also just how do you find the balance and Nashville, that season, for the year that we've had, the mountain and valley roller coaster it was to get here. That stint in Nashville felt know after I came back from Oklahoma state, moved back out here about halfway through my college career, and I was like, this is it. This is going to work this time. I have a feeling like I've lived real life. I've got all these songs.
I was playing shows with my band the whole time through college.
Now I'm back and I feel like I kind of understand the town.
And I ended up getting a record deal offer, and it just was not right. It was super reputable company. Super reputable people involved and probably would have worked. Like, by all accounts. I mean, it had all the recipes of being successful, and when it got down to the music, it was like, I kind of had this more eagles ish vision for it. And I think that everybody else is more excited about more of a Rascal flats version of this. And I grew up listening to that stuff. But in terms of what I think I'm good at, it was more rock and roll and less pop ahead of its time.
[00:06:22] Speaker A: Because where the scene is now 100%.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Like, this rock country thing, this is not news to me. This is what I've been doing for years and years. And thankfully, it's like, what we have been doing is finally there's a lane that makes it popular and accepted on a big.
Just. Just. There was so many almosts in my life in Nashville. And then I ended up saying, respectfully, I'm not your guy for this thing.
And walked away from that deal, and then got a publishing deal, started writing songs for other people, had some hits with William Clark Green, had some Texas number ones, and kind of had things rolling. But I just wasn't fulfilled. I didn't love writing songs for other people.
I wanted to be singing the songs live, right? And I was watching guys I was writing with William Clark Green, sold out shows and writing with Brandon Jenkins, and watching him sing those songs that we'd written and been like, man, I want to be that. And so I got dropped for my pub deal, and I was like, well, the only thing that was keeping me in Nashville at that point was I wanted to learn how to craft songs, which I had done. And I had this contract, and now the contract was gone. And since I had already accomplished my goal, it was time to move to Texas and raise my kids around grandparents and aunts and uncles. And to be honest with you, I had been so caught up in chasing the dream here that I was taking for granted my wife and my little girl and things that I should have had so much gratitude for. And I just was so caught up in chasing something that Texas was a reset. And then when we got there, another long, winding story, but went to work for a pavement company and against all ods, released some music that exploded.
And now I spend some time here, but I'm doing it from Texas. And if it ain't broke, the fact.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: That you get such a great position to be in, and there's guys and girls that eventually, a lot of folks that live in bordering states to hear that a lot of the Georgia guys live back in Georgia and then come town when they need to. So the fact that you're able to do that and give your kids and your wife that experience of living where you want to live out in red dirt country is. That's amazing.
[00:09:02] Speaker B: It's a blessing, man. And George is a little shorter.
[00:09:05] Speaker A: I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. There's guys that get to do that. But there is such a movement of Texas in Nashville and Oklahoma in Nashville right now that there wasn't when you first came out here and started, when you first stepped up to the plate that first time coming out here and living out here, that now. It's amazing what a difference a few years can make.
[00:09:27] Speaker B: It's cool, man.
For the last few years, I go to Casey Donahue's boots on the beach. Oh, nice thing in Mexico, where it's like, last year on the week I was there, it was me and Pat Green and Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen and Josh Abbott and Casey. And there are just so many great Texas artists out there, and they were talking to me about my career, and I always am looking for wisdom from those guys because they've done so many really cool things and I look up to them in a lot of ways, but they were really just like, dude, you're going to be able to do what the industry didn't like. The timing is perfect for somebody like you or like Parker, like Kojo, to be able to start it here, build a loyal fan base, and then launch and do it on a massive scale. And so it's been cool to have those legends of that scene in my corner, and it is cool to see what Parker's done. We're on tour with Parker McCollum right now.
[00:10:35] Speaker A: How's that been?
[00:10:37] Speaker B: You know, he's.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: That's your boy from, like, back in the day. Y'all came up in the clubs together.
[00:10:42] Speaker B: It's really cool to see.
First time I heard about Parker. I mean, it was so long ago, and to see how far he's come and how big he's built this thing, and then for it to come full circle and for us to be back on tour together, I don't know, it's just cool. It's inspiring because he's kept much like us. He's kept a lot of the same original crew of the guys that were in the van or the guys that are selling out arenas now. And it's just inspiring the culture that he's created. And he's a live band, which is increasingly rare, man. It's increasingly rare for when you go to a show that every sound that you hear is coming from a dude that's playing that sound on his instrument like that. I know that sounds crazy, but that is a lost art in a lot of ways. Kojo's like that, Parker's like that, and that's the scene that we grew up in, so we are like that, too. And I just have so much respect for the guys that can achieve the level of a show that they can achieve.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: Bro, the production is insane at a Parker show.
[00:11:51] Speaker B: It's great, man. It's so good. And it's just like, not that anything is right or wrong, but I have an added layer coming up in that western swing world when I was a kid and live musicianship was everything. And so to watch a guy that I've watched build it from nothing to this monstrous thing and sell tickets and have a fan base that will follow him, whether he's on the radio or whether he's whatever the next big thing is, whether he's on the streaming services or whether he's selling music to his fans directly, he has a fan base that will be there for forever, and it's cool to see somebody build that, and it's inspiring. That's what we're building now, and that's the goal.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: Yeah, and even they know the words to the limestone cowboy shit.
Going way back with limestone kid.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: I think it was limestone kid.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: Those early days when him and co. Were cutting their teeth. Who were some guys in your crew coming out of that Texas era of when you were out there? Because I feel like there's a lot of, like here in Nashville, too, where guys and girls kind of run together and go out and hit the clubs for the first time together. They're out at the bars, they're doing the acoustic gigs for, like, 100, $200, and then they're opening for each other. Who were some of those guys for you?
[00:13:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I would say the first one gave me a shot before.
There's a couple of people that really gave me a shot before. I deserved one. One was Colby Cooper. He had a thing going that was larger than life, and I had nothing going on. And he let me open some shows. I had written some songs for him, and he had cut some of my songs that made me aware of him, and then he was like, hey, dude, you should come out and open some shows.
[00:13:39] Speaker A: So I did Eastman east here in Nashville.
[00:13:42] Speaker B: We were at that show, my first Nashville show ever. I was opening for Colby, and then the next time we came back, we headlined that place and sold it out. And the next time we came back, we did the Brooklyn bowl, and it sold out. He gave me a chance in Texas especially, but also here in Nashville, and we're at the same publishing company. But I've known that kid since he was 18 years old, and he gave me some cool opportunities. And same with Parker. Parker gave me some opportunities well before I deserved them. Just taking a chance on a guy that he thought was talented, that didn't necessarily have the track record or the ticket sales that would make sense. But he's like, I think this guy's good, and give him a shot.
But the guys that I would say I've come up with, the bands that I cross paths with, one of them that I'm so freaking excited to see these guys blowing up the way that they are, is treaty oak revival.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: I saw them for the first time, like, two weeks ago at Bowles bands and barrels out, Lexington, Kentucky, opening for another Okie, Wyatt Flores and, dude, the crowd. For a treaty oak crowd, I was like, this reminds me of when I was out with the Muscadine guys opening for co in the clubs in Texas, when co was at that level. It's like, there's just this energy. It's like this force coming at you for 45 to 60 minutes.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: Dude, those guys are great. And the first time, obviously, our music is different, but also, it's like the scene that we came up in was the same scene. And in order to have success in those scenes, you have to have a certain DNA, and the music can sound however the music sounds. But if you don't have that DNA, then the fans down there, they're not going to buy in. And I don't really know. Nobody can really put the finger on what it is, but Josh Malloy has it, Treaty Oak has it, co has it, Parker has mean. If you can sell tickets down there, then you've got whatever that thing is. And I remember they played right before us at LJT Fest, and that was really my first interaction with those guys. And Lance, guitar player, was just one of the greatest dudes. I mean, I text that guy all the time, and they're fans of us, which I didn't know.
That was kind of the craziest part to me was like, for some reason, in my mind, these guys didn't like.
[00:16:11] Speaker A: Us because it's just such different styles.
[00:16:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
And we had already had, for the first time ever, in the long time that we'd been doing it, we had just had mainstream success. And a lot of times in that scene that we kind of cut our teeth in, it was like, we didn't always love it when somebody had mainstream success because things started to change, like.
[00:16:36] Speaker A: The underground kind of thing, that community.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: So we probably had some insecurities the first time that we were playing and crossing paths with the treaty guys, because we had just experienced this mainstream success.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: Which song was that?
[00:16:48] Speaker B: It was wild as her.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
I don't know where it was, but it was, like, all over the radio, and it's like, man, in my mind, I was like, we have done nothing different. It just blew up. I don't know how else to say that. It's like, go listen to the last two records. Like, nothing's really changed. We're still making same brand of country music we've been making, and it just exploded. So I probably had some. A little bit of insecurity about that, of having mainstream success of, like, I don't want people to see me as some sell out, but really, we didn't do anything different. It just blew.
So I meet these guys, and I just remember wondering if they were going to like us. And then Sam, he was like, hey, dude, I don't know what you're doing, but if you're free on April, something like, me and my girl are getting married and gold is, like, one of my favorite songs ever. And I was like, oh, this guy knows the music.
And so from that point on, dude, because we were already my band and crew, we were aware of them, and guys in the band were kind of listening to their stuff, going, hey, these guys are pretty good. And so it's been cool to see that friendship has grown. Like, those guys are buddies of ours, and it's just so. Just like the red clay strays, too, dude. Yeah, we played the opry, and it was my second time ever playing the grand o'opry. And the guys that go out right after me are the red clay strays.
[00:18:21] Speaker A: What? A one two right there. That's sick.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: I got off stage and I was like. I felt amazing about how everything went, and then I walked off and I don't know.
It's easy as an artist to be thinking about yourself and your own performance and be caught up in that. And then you step off stage and somebody talks to you about your performance, and you're in me mode. And I remember I zapped right out of me mode because I heard what they were doing on stage, and I was just like, man, this is such a cool moment that I don't want to be focused on what I can do with my career by talking to so and so here. And I was just like, pause all that, dude, I'm hearing some great music right now. I'm going to walk back to the side of the stage and just enjoy this. And they played, wondering why. And I was just like, I literally looked at Jordan, who books the operator. I was like, who are these guys? And where did you find them? They're freaking great.
And that was when they had maybe 200,000 people listening to them on Spotify.
And I was just like, these guys are fantastic. And it's just really cool to see treaty Oak revival, to see red clay straits, to cross paths with these bands and these guys, because it's really my first time doing that. Like, coming up and crossing paths with other artists at your level and then watching them go on to do great things.
The only thing better than winning is winning with friends 100% and seeing people that you like win. Yeah.
I've loved watching Josh Malloy blow up, bro.
[00:20:07] Speaker A: Great guy.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: Anybody that's got that, you know, that's where I went to school, and I have an affinity for the artists that come out of that community.
[00:20:17] Speaker A: How is the cap Fry festival? Because I never get to go to it. So it's always the same year as Key west, which is where we're down at the Key west sonitors festival every year. I think next year we might try to divide and conquer. I told Nick, I'm like, bro, I got to get Nicky to Stillwater. He's got to experience the to. I want to see it because Carrie has told me about it so many times. Like, bro, whenever you want to come out, come on out. And it just looks like a blast.
[00:20:44] Speaker B: It's a muddy. That's.
[00:20:46] Speaker A: That's raised rowdy.
[00:20:47] Speaker B: That's us. Yes. You would fit right in.
[00:20:50] Speaker A: We would love that.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: Yeah, we would.
Mean, it's like everything else in that town hits pause because nobody's in class.
Everybody knows calf Rye is happening, so people are just like, why know? I'm not going to try to force kids to go to class or force. Everybody's just like, that's calf Rye. Nobody's going to be here. And they're all out in the middle of this muddy parking lot in the middle of nowhere where the tumbleweed is day drinking. And then they go into this great festival with this killer lineup, man. And I have so many cool memories of just attending, you know, seeing turnpike play. It.
It was just a fond memory. And I've played college days, and I don't think I have played Cafry.
[00:21:40] Speaker A: Really?
[00:21:40] Speaker B: No, we played college days, which is the same. I take that back. I've played Cafry once. It was really early on, haven't played it since. We've had all the success that we've had. But we played college days, which is the same festival grounds put on by the tumbleweed, just at the opposite end of the year. It's like in the spring instead of the summer or something like that. So we played that. And the last time I played that guy by the name of Zach Bryan was rolling through and playing that festival. And another Okie boy.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: Yeah, dude.
[00:22:11] Speaker B: So I just love seeing all these Oklahoma kids win, and there's really something special going on there right now. Like you said about the Texas Oklahoma scene, that it's just the perfect timing. It's like this art has been there.
It just never has had a national spotlight, and it's never been embraced the way that it's being embraced now. And it's an exciting time to be an Oklahoma musician.
[00:22:37] Speaker A: It's authenticity, bro. People want authenticity and they want emotion. And there's just something about folks, y'all. I don't know if it's the trail of tears stuff that happened there. I don't know if it's just small town stuff. I don't know what is in the water, but there's just sad emotion that comes out of it, because there really is. But there's party too. There's party too. You have like ragweed and that kind of stuff where there is that upbeat. But you have some songs that sing about some serious topics. Wyatt Flores, Zach Bryan, obviously. Turnpike. There's just something where you guys just say it like it. You tell your stories, they're like storybooks. They really are.
[00:23:13] Speaker B: Well, and I also really appreciate that it doesn't all sound the same.
Um, I think Josh Malloy has a really different vibe. I think there's guys that I looked up to in the Tulsa scene coming up. Ben rector.
[00:23:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:25] Speaker B: Oh, dude, he's a great songwriter, man. And he could not be more different than all the guys that I just mentioned. But there's something artistically in that spot that great songwriters, John morland. There are some great songwriters coming out, and John Fulbright and Jr. Carroll. Like Caitlin butts. Like, I knew Caitlin in high school. Yeah, dude, I didn't even know she played music.
One day I just heard that Caitlin had a song that was with Flat Lane, and I was like, what? Caitlin, like the girl that we went to high school? Parties with that went to the school over there. Yeah, that Caitlin. No way. And she's freaking great. There's just so many cool things. There's a band right now in Tulsa called, and they are. They're a rock band. They've played some shows with, like, dawes and kings of Leon, and they're just a great. And I really. I'm big fans of them. And here's the other thing is, a lot of times when you hear people talk about where they're from and the music scene there, they're like, oh, it's better than everywhere else. That's not what I'm saying. There's some great art. There's some fantastic art coming out of there. But what I'm saying is, I think it's important for people from the areas that they're from to champion the areas that they're from.
[00:24:41] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:24:42] Speaker B: Like, I think it's important for the Muscadine guys to be know the guys that they believe in that are next in that scene, or paying tribute to the guys that paved the way for them in that scene. And that's all I'm saying is, I'm not sitting here saying that all these people are greater than anybody in Georgia or anybody in wherever. I'm just saying I'm proud to see the quality of art that's coming out of the place that I'm from. It's really cool. It's really cool to watch.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: Amen. So what's living back in Oklahoma? Like, how many kids you got? Like, what's the family dynamic? What's the Kent household like right now?
[00:25:17] Speaker B: So I married a texan, as I live in Texas. If you're an Oklahoma dude, you marry a texan. You know how it's about to happen. Okay. But I live in Salina, Texas, so it's, like, in between Dallas and Sherman, Texas. Nice.
Right off the highway. And it's great, man. We got three kids and my oldest girl. Actually, my family's with me here in Tennessee right now.
[00:25:41] Speaker A: Oh, awesome.
[00:25:42] Speaker B: I had some business to handle out here, but my oldest girl turned six yesterday.
[00:25:47] Speaker A: Oh, awesome.
[00:25:48] Speaker B: So I was like, well, I'm not missing that.
[00:25:50] Speaker A: What'd you guys do?
[00:25:51] Speaker B: So we went to the zoo. We woke up, we went to the pancake pantry.
[00:25:54] Speaker A: Oh, classic.
[00:25:55] Speaker B: She loves pancakes.
And then we went to the Nashville zoo and walked around, and it was awesome. And then I had to go to work for a bit. I had to play the iHeartRadio summit, which was a really cool event.
And then immediately after that, I hightailed it over to this italian spot downtown right off Broadway.
Tratoria el Molino.
[00:26:18] Speaker A: Yeah, good stuff.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: Which is like, the horrible white way. White boy way to pronounce that. I'm sure my wife's italian. She's probably cringing at how I just said that. But we had dinner reservations there, and just. My wife took my little girl out and said, for your birthday, what we're going to do is you're going to get to pick out your outfit, and we're going on a date with dad. So the other two kids stayed at home so that we could have intentional, really good time with my oldest daughter.
[00:26:44] Speaker A: That's great.
[00:26:45] Speaker B: And I walked in, and I walked down the stairs, and my wife and my little girl are sitting at the bar having a Shirley temple. And it was like, dude, that she's just growing up, man. And it's just real life is hitting me, and I don't get emotional about much, but, man, just seeing my little girl all dressed up, and it's like, God, life is coming for me. It's not slowing down. It's happening, man. But I'm just so grateful, man, that I thought about this the other day. I've lived the life where you're paycheck to paycheck, and I've lived the life where you're like, man, how are we going to make this work?
We can't let the kids know.
I've lived a real and full life, and the lows make the highs higher, you know what I mean? When I die, I'm going to be like, I lived the full experience.
[00:27:36] Speaker A: Amen, bro.
[00:27:37] Speaker B: 100%. I lived the human experience, and I wrote songs about it, and I traveled the world, and I've had the hard times, and I've had the good times, and I've been in love.
I'm just grateful for the path that I'm on, and I'm grateful that I didn't hit pause on real life for my dream, because it is entirely possible to do both things. It's very hard, but it's like the fulfillment level is so much greater. Being able to go after that, for me, just being a dad, being a husband, that was two really important things to me that I didn't know if they would ever happen. And the fact that they did and on top of that, music is going well, dude.
[00:28:23] Speaker A: It's just like, dude, in this life, it's tough to have that. I just started about a year into probably the most serious relationship in my life. It's going great. Right on she's a few years older than I am, had already done. Had been married, and has a little five year old girl. And being around a little girl has changed my whole outlook on everything. And there is something, like, there's something fun about going to the trampoline park and watching a bunch of kids jump around on a Saturday.
[00:28:53] Speaker B: I just think it's perspective, man.
To me, this is what I say. I have, like, a human clock.
My kids growing shows me how fast time is going. Outside of that, every year kind of felt the same. And it's not a bad thing. I had a lot of, really, some of the greatest years of my life, but this makes everything feel more meaningful. Like, I take my days more seriously.
I weigh my options more seriously, because when I say yes to this, it means I say no to this. And this is. I'm watching six of the 18 summers I get with this little girl are already gone.
How crazy is that? It's a third. And it felt like she was born yesterday. Sound like a freaking old man right now, but it's a reality when you're in it, it starts to feel that way. People can try to prepare you all you want, but little girls will change you, dude. So I believe you 100%.
It's great, man. It's the greatest, most fulfilling thing, but it's hard, and music makes it a lot harder.
[00:30:01] Speaker A: Yeah. They go out on the road with you quite a bit.
[00:30:03] Speaker B: We're working on it.
My goal is to have. We just really got to our first bus.
[00:30:12] Speaker A: I remember the red van parked outside, rooster parked outside the spot, having a cigar on the balcony with you, Kurt and Nikki T, and some of your guys, and you being like, yeah, that van right there and telling that story about that van and how many miles it's gone. And you guys went to war in that thing, like, going all over the place and grinding. So now to be in a bus, how does that feel, bro? Because I know what it's like to go from a van to a bus.
[00:30:38] Speaker B: It's amazing.
[00:30:39] Speaker A: Big deal.
[00:30:39] Speaker B: It's a life changer. It's a lifestyle changer, really. The biggest thing for me is you get sleep.
[00:30:46] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:30:46] Speaker B: That's it. For years and years, we rolled around, we didn't get any sleep. And then I'd get home, and I'd have little babies, and I definitely didn't get any sleep at home. So it's just, like, complete and utter survival mode for years and years and years. And it was only fitting that we had our first big number one hit, platinum single and we celebrated and got right back in the red van that had taken.
[00:31:08] Speaker A: I remember that post, bro.
[00:31:10] Speaker B: Drove home and drove home to mother's Day, where it was like, mother's Day is mom's day off. So have a number one hit. Humble yourself. Get back in the red van that got you there. Get home, humble yourself because you got the kids. Mom's chilling. And it was great, man. It's just my.
The rooster, man.
First off, that thing is, like, part of my country music history, like, for forever. That van.
I have so many memories. The band and I have so many memories in that van.
But honestly, we had a lot of opportunities to get out of the van and go to a bus, and we just kept putting it off. We were like, listen, do we want to bring home a little more, or do we want to live a little better? And at every turn, we were like, you know what? We can do without the van, or we can do without the bus.
Let's take some more money home. Let's keep grinding. Let's keep our head down. Let's keep the overhead low. Let's keep building as fast as we can. And that's a huge credit to the band, too.
But to have a bus now, it's like, when we set foot on that first bus, it was because we couldn't do the tour without a bus.
[00:32:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:31] Speaker B: And it was 100%. That moment of, like, there's not an ounce of me that feels guilty or privileged about this, because this was earned over years and years and years of delayed gratification. And now we're here, and it was super rewarding. And that was one of the things I said in the very first post about having a bus, is if there's one thing I've learned in my life, even though it's painful to learn it, and I hate that I have to relearn it so many times, it's like, delayed gratification is always better. It always feels better.
[00:33:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:07] Speaker B: I don't know why. It's just like a law of the universe almost. It's just like, if you have to wait for something and work your ass off for it, it just is better.
[00:33:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:18] Speaker B: And so this bus, I'll tell you this, too. When we got off the Aldean tour, we had two straight weeks of headline shows in the state of Texas. So we were, like, going home.
Let's go back to Rooster. It's just two weeks, and then we'll get back on the bus and have to go on this Parker tour or whatever.
Just two weeks. We can do it. We'll be fine. We got in and night one, we were all like, what are we doing? We did this to ourselves.
[00:33:43] Speaker A: The back and forth is brutal. I've had to do that before, bro.
[00:33:47] Speaker B: It was horrible. And we all just laughed because we're like, man, now we're spoiled. Right? But it's like a saying is one of my favorite sayings, is a luxury. Enjoyed once becomes a necessity. Yeah, and that was very true of the bus. I mean, just people having the ability to catch up on rest and to be fresh and to be able to eat well, having a fridge, not stopping.
[00:34:14] Speaker A: At every loves or Bucky's and eating that chopped brisket sandwich or that party's.
[00:34:20] Speaker B: Biscuit camaraderie goes up, you have more time downtime together. That's not all work.
And in the van it was just like, play the show, load out, don't go to bed. You just drive 6 hours through the night to the next show, sleep in the van for a couple of hours, unload, go to work, play the show, pack it up, do it all again. And it was survival mode. There wasn't a lot of time for just like the overall camaraderie to increase because we were all just dog tired and we're just trying to get through. And now the energy at the shows is that much better. Thankfully, adrenaline is a thing. And even in the van days we were putting on great shows and having a blast doing it. And you live for those like 90 minutes on stage. But now it's like, I think we really get to bring our a game every single night. And it's in large part due to being semi well rested and having a lifestyle that means that now we can repeat it at a sustainable rate for years and years and years to come. But all that to say, I completely blanked. But my goal is 2025. I know we just got the bus this last year, but my goal is for 2025 is to get the second bus.
Mainly because I want my family to be able to enjoy and be out with us as much as possible. Because those years are so fast, man.
And I know that I'm at a point in my career where you can't take your foot off the gas and you got to work hard.
Just saying no and going home and not working is not really an option right now, but it is an option to bring them with. Let's keep putting the work in and let's do it while getting that quality time in. So that's the goal. It's a lofty goal. But, dude, I mean, my whole life has been. Ods are stacked against you. Yeah, dude, long shots and whatever. So we just, at this point, just manifest crazy things and go for it. So, yeah, in the next year, get that second bus and bring the family out 100%.
[00:36:33] Speaker A: Dude, that's awesome. Have you had an o ship moment lately?
I feel like they happen quite a bit, especially when you've had the. I know you've been grinding for years, but the last year, it's just been nuts. With Wild as her, with the Aldean tour, now the park tour, with now you're in a, like. So like a venue where you were like, oh, shit. Or any of that stuff happened yet.
[00:36:59] Speaker B: Yeah, definitely. I would say it's more of a moment than like an accomplishment. But we played this thing in Augusta, Georgia, where it was a radio station thing where they had six, seven, eight artists out.
[00:37:16] Speaker A: One of the guitar pole guitars. Like a writer's round almost. Yeah.
[00:37:19] Speaker B: And I was sitting there on stage with.
See if I can remember everybody. It was me, bret, young lady a, Scotty McCreary, Megan Moroni, Jake Owen.
I believe that was it. If I'm forgetting somebody, I'm sorry. I'm doing my best here, but just looking down the line and going like, oh, my.
Is. These are the people. I've heard these guys on the radio for years and years and years. And I could sing you five songs by each of these people because they're drilled into my mind. They're just part of the last 1015 years of my life because I've just heard them that much.
[00:38:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:04] Speaker B: And here I am sitting on stage swapping songs with this. And there was a moment where I played this song called once or twice, which is not by any means a hit. It's a deep cut, but it's my story.
It's a very real song. The hook of the song says, I've never seen the face of God, but I've stared down the devil once or twice. Yeah. And I played that and the crowd went crazy. But also Charles from Lady A and Jake Owen. These guys stood up and just mean. It was like a standing oat. But it was like more than that because it was a nod of approval from guys that have done it at a massive level that are just like. It's like being accepted into manhood by a bunch of men. They're like, you're one of us now. It was just like that moment of like, oh, shoot, man. I'm up here with nothing but me and my guitar and a deep cut.
[00:39:05] Speaker A: And that's a testament to your songwriting.
[00:39:07] Speaker B: And a deep cut song. And these guys are like, yeah, man, you got it. And I don't know. That was just a moment to me that I won't forget. And I think artist appreciation from artist to artist is a huge thing, and it's something I need to work on more. I need to show more honor, because this is a really hard thing to do. And we're all insecure artists, and we're all constantly probably facing that impostor syndrome of, like, man, do I really deserve to be here? Is my art that good? But I think that's just, like, the crux of being an artist is part of what makes the art great, is the insecurity, is the vulnerability. Right?
We're all confident people, but at a certain point, you're still wondering how much of this is luck, how much of this is hard work, how much of this is God?
There's no way to know.
[00:40:07] Speaker A: We never do.
[00:40:08] Speaker B: No, but it's life giving when those moments between artists tap in, where one artist just goes, yeah, dude, I respect that.
It's just a show of honor. I'll never forget that. And so, yeah, it's something that I want to get better at, is just giving that honor to other artists when they do something great. The treaty oaks, those people, man, I just want to be like, hey, good for you. Like red clay strays, good for you, man. You're doing the thing. You deserve everything that's coming to you.
[00:40:44] Speaker A: Yeah. Aside from red clay strays, Josh Malloy, the treaty oak boys, who are some young artists that you're. I know you're just as much like one of the many things I love about you. You're just as much like a music consumer as you are. There's a lot of artists that don't listen to a lot of stuff. You're a guy that loves listening, whether it's like old shit but also new shit. There are some folks that have caught your ear recently that you know about. You wanted to put us on. I know you mentioned that band out of Stillwater, Wilderado, Tulsa.
[00:41:13] Speaker B: I love them. It's one of my favorite song. It's one of my favorite bands. I can put on the whole record and just jam. I love it.
And that's outside the country genre.
[00:41:25] Speaker A: Yeah, dude, that's us, too.
[00:41:28] Speaker B: It's my favorite thing to see, and it's my least favorite thing to see. When the person that I've been like, my go to answer is now popular is, like, the thing that I was like, I've said in a few interviews, and I've just been listening to the record for a while, and I'm sure it seems like I'm trying to be like I was one of the first guys. But, no, to be honest with you, I heard a song quite a while ago that I played for my wife, and I was just like, listen to this. Listen to the sounds, listen to the production, listen to the diction. Like the word choice here. Listen to moments where most people would have written the new idea, but they just chose to make it. There's a moment of repetition, and it just adds to the vibe and, yeah, listen to all that stuff. And then I played her the song, and it was american gothic, steven Wilson jr. With Haley Witters.
That was the first song that I heard off that record. And I loved know I have a song called flame.
[00:42:29] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:42:30] Speaker B: Which is one of my favorite songs I've ever written, and I put it out June of this past year.
And the whole premise of the song is, call me old fashioned, I guess. I like some things that are outdated. I like some things that maybe other people don't like. And that's cool.
You do your thing, I'll do mine. That's the whole point of the song. And he has a line in that song that says, a red bick lighter in a blue jean pocket. Lost in the land of american gothic. I was just like, you.
[00:43:00] Speaker A: That's you right there. Yeah.
[00:43:01] Speaker B: I just identified with it so much. Not because we wrote something that was similar, but because I loved the imagery. I loved the attitude of it. I could see it, I could feel it. It's just a great story.
He painted a great picture, and I honestly was late to the record. I think the record's obviously getting all the critical acclaim that a record can get, and that's awesome. But I was late to the record. I had a few songs that I loved off of that, but I hadn't deep dove into the record. So Stephen Wilson Jr. Is an answer.
Let me think about. We just had a guy out on the road with us named Jonathan Hutchison.
[00:43:39] Speaker A: Oh, dude, Jonathan's awesome.
[00:43:41] Speaker B: He's awesome.
[00:43:42] Speaker A: He's been cooking in the scene here.
[00:43:43] Speaker B: For a little while, dude. Well, I was aware of his ep shoot maybe two years ago, and I just posted I'd never met the kid. I just posted and I said, I'm just turning you all onto great art. I just think this is great art. It's really good. And it's not like what I would do. It's not my lane necessarily, but I can appreciate things that aren't in my lane. That is super cool stuff.
Like Kentucky blues is like a. I love that song. It's great.
And I saw know he came out and opened some shows for us this past weekend. And yeah, it's just cool to be able to give some know. Parker was giving me opportunities and now it's cool to be in a position to be able to like, hey, we got a sold out show and we can put whoever we want on it. And so do you want to play the show? And he's like, heck yeah, we'll be.
[00:44:37] Speaker A: So it's the full circle thing, dude.
It's giving back to the community that you were in their spot at one point and somebody did that for you. It's helping that brother climb up the hill. Climb up the ladder. Well, dude, I want to give you this. We got a little bag of raise rowdy goodies right here.
[00:44:52] Speaker B: Right on.
[00:44:53] Speaker A: I'll pass that over.
If you open that up. It's from me, Nikki and Kurt. We have got you a stash of crown head cigars, bro. A stash of cigars. You're loaded up now. You've got some good stuff in there then. We got some new shirts in there. We got an outside the round shirt. That's like that one right there. Yeah, that's mine right there. Soprano style. Because I'm New York. Yeah, there we go. We got the sopranos shirt right there. Yeah, we got you with the classic.
[00:45:20] Speaker B: The raccoon trash panda.
[00:45:22] Speaker A: Oh, dude. Yeah, that's us phrase rowdy. We're cute and cuddled. Don't put us in a know. We'll jump out at you like the you're. We're happy to have you as a part of the family, dude. You're one of our ogs. When people are, ask Nick, like artists that we've connected with and that we consider like our homies at raise Rowdy, you're always like one of our guys that we're like. We love kicking it with Corey whenever he's in town or whenever you put out a project.
Anything you ever need from us, like, you're family, bro. You're as raised rowdy as it gets. You and your guys, we really appreciate the hell out of you and we want to try to get out to see. I know you're doing a lot of opening stuff. I saw you're in Georgia next week.
[00:46:01] Speaker B: I don't know.
[00:46:02] Speaker A: I think you're in Savannah, Georgia.
[00:46:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:46:04] Speaker A: Funny enough, we'll be down at Statesboro, Georgia, the night before at the blue room. Okay, so I know you've been there. Al Chapman said to say hello by the.
We. We definitely want to get out there and see at some point.
[00:46:18] Speaker B: We got plenty to choose from, man. Like at the end of the day, we are always going to be a live band and we will be on the road and we playing a lot of shows. And so, yeah, there's plenty. We're touring with Parker through the end of August, I believe. Yeah. Also we're playing red rocks with Parker, which will be.
[00:46:34] Speaker A: What the fuck?
[00:46:34] Speaker B: Awesome.
[00:46:35] Speaker A: What the fuck? That's crazy.
[00:46:37] Speaker B: But then the other thing is, I want to say the second week of September through probably the end of November, we're going to pick our favorite markets and we're going to do just like a blowout headline tour. Let's go where it will just be like my favorite clubs that we've ever played.
[00:46:58] Speaker A: We're going to be there. We do rowdy on the road where we go out, like we did with you in Rome and we'll come out.
[00:47:05] Speaker B: It's going to be so fun, man.
One of the cool things about coming up at the rate that we did was getting to play all the clubs along the way, all over the country, everywhere, dude. And coming across clubs that you might not ever find out about if you weren't building it the way that we were building it. And so we're going to go pick some of our favorites and go play them.
It's going to be a good time, dude. I have no idea who's opening, by the way, but enticing offer. I still have Rooster, so if you're like, hey, we're good, but I don't got a van, man. Do I have a deal for you.
[00:47:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Opening for you guys on tour in Rooster. Yeah, tour in rooster while going. Follow the bus in Rooster. That'd be awesome, dude. Well, brother, I appreciate you coming on and super stoked. Love the new music that you got coming. And dude, we really appreciate you and happy to call you a member of the raised Rowdy family, brother.
[00:48:02] Speaker B: Always appreciate you, brother.
[00:48:04] Speaker A: Hell yeah. Y'all be sure to check out our boy Corey Kent if you haven't already. And be sure to like, rate, subscribe, tell your mama and them. And for more information on us, visit raisedrowdy.com. That's Corey Kent. I'm Matt Burrill. This has been outside the rap.
I never been the kind for still one place for too long I never been the best at this 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've two trick pony maybe the drinking, spending like a money for show I'm just a two trick pony, yeah.
