Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Come on.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: This is Outside the Round with Matt Burrill, a rage rowdy podcast.
What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of Outside the Round with me, Matt Burrill. Today, a long time homie of the family. Someone I've been wanting to get on the show for a minute now, it's our good brother from the great state of Alabama, Drayton Farley. Buddy, how you doing?
[00:00:33] Speaker C: Good, man. Really good.
[00:00:34] Speaker B: It's good to see you, man. And we were just talking. It's been a busy summer for both of us, huh?
[00:00:39] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, it has.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: What have you been up to? How's. How are the. How the old lady? How are the kids?
[00:00:43] Speaker C: They're. They're good. Yeah. This is like the first summer in like two or three years where like I was pretty much home the whole time.
[00:00:50] Speaker B: Oh, nice.
[00:00:50] Speaker C: So that was nice. You know, we got to do a lot, man. We went.
We just had our 10th anniversary.
Wasn't summer, but it was kind of like the kickoff of summer for me as far as touring goes. Wow. We went down to Florida Keys, celebrated 10 years.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: The best.
[00:01:04] Speaker C: Yeah, man. And then kids got out of school and we had a. We had like the annual week long beach vacation and.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:11] Speaker C: You know, in Alabama, like that's the vacation.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
[00:01:14] Speaker C: You either go to Gatlinburg or the beach.
So we spent like a week down in Orange beach, and then after that we spent about four or five days over in Arkansas. My buddies got a lake house.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:01:28] Speaker C: It was just like a.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: So it's been like a family.
[00:01:30] Speaker C: It was like a proper family summer. Yeah.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: How many, how many kids you got now?
[00:01:34] Speaker C: Two. Two, seven and four.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Okay. So I've, I get the pleasure being around a little 8 year old. My girlfriend's got an amazing little daughter, so she's. She just turned eight, so I get that, that age of like second, third grade. Going from watching Bluey to doing other stuff now.
[00:01:51] Speaker C: Yeah, man. It's like as soon as you know, because the youngest is four, it's like every phase the oldest got out of like the, you know, Hollis, our youngest, she's going right into it, which helps with like the toys and stuff. Yeah, definitely just pass them right down.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: Definitely. Now when you go down to the beach, are they like getting in the water and stuff? You guys doing like the rides and like the boardwalk thing?
[00:02:11] Speaker C: No, we usually just stick to the, to the beach Haven. Our oldest man, she loves the beach. She like, she wants to get in the ocean and play in the sand and do that all day. Nice Hollis hates it. She can't stand it. So, like, it's just. It's. It's really fun. But it's also like a push and pull between both of the kids. Like, Hollis wants to go to the pool, you know, by the hotel or whatever, and Haven just wants to stay at the beach. So we're kind of like trying to split the difference the whole time. Yeah, I think she'll. She'll get around to it. But Hollis is like our kid, man. And she's. She's like, I'm not. She won't walk outside barefoot. Like, wow. Yeah, she hates it. Haven, though, she'll should dig a hole in the mud and, you know, sleep there for the night.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Yeah. So how nice is it for you getting. Because you're an Alabama guy born and raised to now be raising a family in your home state. And you get to come up here and make these work trips doing media, things like this, any recording, any stuff with within the team coming up here to Nashville, but getting to raise your girls up. We're in the same place that you were born and raised. I don't know. Is your wife from Alabama as well?
[00:03:20] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, she's from.
She's from Aniana. So I'm from Woodstock.
[00:03:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:26] Speaker C: Went to school at West Blockton and now we live south of Birmingham.
But, yeah, we're both from Alabama.
It's nice, dude. I mean, it's, you know, for us, like, we thought about moving to Nashville a lot and it would make some things easier, but I haven't had a need to move to Nashville, bro.
[00:03:45] Speaker B: You're like, you're less than four hours away.
[00:03:47] Speaker C: Exactly. Yeah. And I never, like, I didn't, like, my career hasn't been to like, go to Nashville and like, write a bunch of songs with a bunch of people and try to, like, make it that way, you know, I was like, just got lucky and blessed to have some songs do well enough. Like, I'd never even been to Nashville. Yeah.
Before, like, the career started. So.
So it's been nice. And we haven't really, like I said, had a huge reason to leave.
We don't want to leave. We've talked about it a lot, you know, like, there's my wife's. Anytime we go somewhere new, she's like, let's move here. You know, I'm like, yeah, but, you know, and then something will happen. We'll go.
We'll go somewhere or see. She'll see some kind of like, TikTok about, like, you know, like historic Alabama, you know? Blah, blah, blah. And she's like, we're never leaving this place, you know?
[00:04:42] Speaker B: Yeah, man. I mean, there's something special. And I've. Being from New York originally, I never thought I'd fall in love with a state like Alabama, because, I mean, growing up, I think I could. My geography was well enough that I could point it out on a map between. In between Mississippi and Georgia. But having gotten to spend time with guys like Trey Lewis and Gary and Charlie from Muscadine Bloodline, the history and the tradition of music in your home state of Alabama is unlike any other state. It is in the U.S. man, like, and get to be a part of that tree. And it's not just country music. It's a soul. It's an R and B. You've got hip hop, you've got rock bands out of there. But there's an appreciation for songwriting that I think guys and girls from Alabama have that you can't find other places.
[00:05:26] Speaker C: Yeah, I really. I agree. I mean, it's something.
It's something unique. I mean, you know, like, the big country music states, you know, like, Kentucky is an untouchable thing.
[00:05:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:37] Speaker C: And it's. I mean, I don't know, man. The worst Kentucky songwriters.
Still an amazing song. Yeah.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:45] Speaker C: But Alabama does have those roots, and it has that history, and, I don't know, it's definitely kept up, and it's never gone away. I mean, it keeps producing more and more, you know, just amazing talent.
Yeah. I don't know.
[00:06:00] Speaker A: I don't know.
[00:06:00] Speaker C: I feel like Alabama's kind of an outlier, like, for the. Like, Music City is here, but there's just so many people in Alabama, and it's probably like, the geography, like, it's super close to Nashville, you know, so, like, you can just be an Alabama artist. You don't have to live in Nashville or in Tennessee.
[00:06:21] Speaker B: There's so many opportunities for gigs. Like, Birmingham has a scene. Muscle Shoals, of course, has a scene. You go to. You go into Tuscaloosa or Auburn. You can make money playing of those college kids you can go up to. You go down to Mobile, go down to the institutions like the Florida.
Like, there's not. Like, there's not many other states I can think of that have that. And it's talking about the. The checkered history of the state and the songwriting. It's talking about the. The struggles that people have gone through, but also the beauty of growing up small town. And I think a guy like yourself throws that into their songwriting as well as anybody.
[00:06:56] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, you have to, like, it's just what it is. That's who I am. I mean, when I first started writing songs, like, what do you write about? You know, you can only really start writing about yourself and what you know. And so when you come from that place, you're just gonna. You're gonna put the place in the songs.
You know, if you're not doing that, you're. You're probably not really writing songs that mean a whole lot to yourself. Yeah.
So, yeah, I mean, that's. I don't think we'll ever leave Alabama. Like I said, man. I just. I haven't had a big reason to leave. Like, Nashville's close enough. So when I got to come up here, I come up here.
[00:07:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:35] Speaker C: And I will say, though, like, eventually, I would love to have, like, get an apartment up here, have a spot
[00:07:42] Speaker B: to crash, as opposed to Airbnb telling or crashing on a buddy's house.
[00:07:47] Speaker C: Exactly. And I've got a bunch of friends in town.
[00:07:48] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:07:49] Speaker C: And they're all always like, man, just stay at our place. But I'm like, I'm not intruding, man. I'm just going to grab a hotel.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: Yeah, dude.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: You know, and now I want to talk about the. The music, because it's like, you fit into a few different spots where some songs are more rocking, some can definitely fall in the country. You're part of this. You've been part of this, like, post pandemic Americana folk storytelling wave.
[00:08:11] Speaker C: It's.
[00:08:12] Speaker B: Where do you kind of classify yourself as when someone asks, like, what is a Drayton Farley song? Like, where does it kind of fit? Or do you kind of like not being in a box or category?
[00:08:20] Speaker C: I kind of like not being in a box.
I don't really know where I should maybe put that over here.
[00:08:27] Speaker B: Oh, you put it wherever.
[00:08:27] Speaker C: I don't know where. I don't know. Like, you know, you meet people.
Like, I met one of our neighbors for the first time the other day, and they, like, saw we were in the driveway, and the girls are outside playing, and he pulls up and was like, hey, we. He was like, I've got daughters, you know, and they're older now. We got all this stuff, you know, trying to, like, pass us down things and stuff.
But then the conversation comes over, what do you do for work? And then you try to explain that. It's a hard thing to kind of explain to, because I don't want to be the guy who's like, oh, I'm a musician, you know, because Like, I don't know until people get it, or if they're not in the fold, it's like they just. I don't want people to think, like, I'm like, you know, some drunk that's just always at the bar because that's not it.
But.
But, yeah, Then they're like, what kind of music do you make? And, man, the best way I've ever been able to explain it is I just always try to hit him with, like, someone that's. That should be known by everybody, you know, I'm like, I don't know. Do you know who John Prine is? You know? And sometimes they're like, yeah. I'm like, all right. Well, it's like, similar to that, you know, or I hate to say, because I'm not comparing myself to either one of these artists, but I'm like, you know, Bob Dylan.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:41] Speaker C: It's singer, songwriter music.
[00:09:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:44] Speaker C: That's not held down by just one label. And every album might have technically five or six different genres on it, but. Or maybe one album just straight up rock, you know, and then one's just a guitar and a voice and the song. So that's just. That's kind of my starting point when I'm trying to explain it to people.
I'll use Bob Dylan, John Prine kind of as references.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: I would say those. And I think you fall under the tree of where, like, guys like Jason Isol come from.
[00:10:13] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:10:14] Speaker B: Like the storytelling of an Adam Hood.
[00:10:16] Speaker C: Who's. Who's.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: Who's a big guy. Wayne Mills, back in the day, the King of Alabama. Like, I see that in there. Like, you're just reporting on the world around you. Whether it's a song where you're really digging into it like American Dream, or you're an emotional song, like Pitch and Fits. Like, you're. You're telling stories in your song of where you're at at that point in your life.
[00:10:35] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:10:36] Speaker B: I think it's beautiful.
[00:10:37] Speaker C: Yeah. And it's. It's kind of the only way I know how to write, I guess. I mean, I've written things in different ways, but I mean, it's just.
Yeah. That's just kind of what comes out naturally is like, what is going on right now? Or where are you at in your head right now? Yeah.
And then, like, once. The song has its own life, like Pitch and Fits, man. Like, I was really not in a good place when I wrote that song. Like, I was just really not cool with life.
The job I had, Like, I was. I was Getting older and, you know, thought I'd be doing music by then. And, yeah, that's just not the way things went. And so I felt lost and wasn't sure what I was doing. And so, like, that's. That's. The lyrics in that song is. It's really just like an entry in a journal, basically. I mean, if you take the music away and just read the lyrics, man, you're reading it. My diary, you know. Yeah, it's so. And I don't. I don't keep a diary, but.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: No, you.
[00:11:35] Speaker C: That's what it is.
[00:11:36] Speaker B: You write songs, bro.
[00:11:36] Speaker C: Yeah, my catalog kind of is my diary in a lot of ways. But then there are other songs that have nothing to really do with me. It was me trying to just be a storyteller and write, you know, like, Lucinda is a song that comes to mind for that. It's like nothing in that song ever happened, you know, I'm just trying to make a character in a setting and tell a story that isn't.
Isn't mine, you know, so. But I think, yeah, naturally, I've. I've always just kind of like, written about wherever I'm at in life at the time. And the weird part about that is, like, sometimes by the time the music comes out, I'm not in that place anymore.
[00:12:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:14] Speaker C: I'm in a completely different headspace or in a different phase of my life, you know, and. And then you still have to go and play the songs live and so that, you know, can.
Sometimes it's a roller coaster.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:29] Speaker C: Because I'm like, damn. Like, I'm singing, you know, like, Blue Collar is a big song of mine that it's, like, a fan favorite, and it's literally just about, like, you know, I wrote it at work, and at the time, it was just the truest thing ever. It meant, you know, it was exactly a reflection of where I was and. And I'm not there now. And I kind of lose my mind sitting at home sometimes. Now I'm like, I'm. I don't have a.
A blue collar job anymore.
[00:12:55] Speaker B: I. I would argue that you do. Probably being an independent artist, maybe that is blue. That is, to me, what, like, blue collar within the industry is going out there in a van, in a truck with your guys and singing songs for the people that might not fit super in the commercial vein.
[00:13:13] Speaker C: Like, yeah, that's.
[00:13:14] Speaker B: You've been grinding. Like, when I think of, like, a blue collar journeyman in. In this industry, I think of that as.
[00:13:21] Speaker C: That is like, the blue collar that's true. I guess when I think of Blue Collar, I think back to, like, you know, working with your hands, doing manual labor. But. Yeah, you're right.
[00:13:28] Speaker A: You're right.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: But. But the way that your. Your songwriting goes, like, it is very blue collar because it's for the blue collar guys and girls and families out there, man, like. Like talking about, like, trouble in the pines and your whole heart up life project. Like, that was for the blue collar folks.
[00:13:45] Speaker C: Yeah, that was for. For me.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:46] Speaker C: And I was just part of, you know, that's who I am. It's where I'm from. And I mean, that's literally in the. In the lyrics of Blue Collar.
Yeah, that's what it is, man. And, you know, that record, like, I didn't even know I was writing or. I wasn't writing a record. I was just writing songs, you know, after work, before work, on the way to work in the car, you know, while I'm working.
That was. I was on the assembly line when I, you know, made that record.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: Really?
[00:14:13] Speaker C: Yeah. Like, I wrote Blue Collar while building Mercedes cars.
I would like. There were a couple workstations where you're kind of isolated because you work in a group.
[00:14:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:22] Speaker C: You know, you're like. So I worked like, assembly to trim four was my line. There's like five groups, so I'm like, I was group four.
No. What was I.
I don't remember what group I was, but. But the assembly lines broken into groups. There's team leaders for each group and stuff. Well, like, in my group, there were a couple workstations where, like, you were kind of just so far down the line that you were just away from your co workers. And so when I would work those stations, like, I would. I wouldn't be talking to anybody for, you know, you work a station like, two hours at a time. Wow. So you're just doing the same exact thing over and over for, like, two hours. And when I would get to those stations where I didn't have a buddy to, like, talk to and pass the time, I would just sit there in my head and kind of hum to myself and come up with words. And Blue collar was one of those that I, you know, I wrote. I wrote that song in my head probably in the two hours that I was working this one station.
And then, you know, lunch break hits and I can get my phone, like. And it was good enough I could remember all the lyrics and, like, the structure, you know, I was like, well, this must be good.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:31] Speaker C: Because I haven't forgotten it. You Know, and I was able to just, you know, put it in my phone and then later go home and put the music to it and. And how I was going to sing it.
I mean, that's.
That song, you know, is born straight out of the job.
[00:15:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:15:46] Speaker C: So, yeah, that's about as real as it gets. Yeah.
[00:15:49] Speaker B: And you talk about John Prine and you. And you talk about Bob Dylan and you got to work with Saddler Vaden on the 20 on high project. And I think of guys like, like Jesse Wells out there, what he's doing, and folks that are from the country, but you're singing about real, real stuff. Like you're. You're left of center and you're expressing your ideas and it's. We're in such an interesting time in our country and in the world, and we have been for probably close to a decade now.
[00:16:19] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:16:20] Speaker B: What's it been like being someone that's kind of going against the grain and writing songs like American Dream?
[00:16:27] Speaker C: Oh, man. I guess it hasn't felt any.
I don't know what normal is. So it doesn't. You know, there's no, like, special feeling to it.
[00:16:34] Speaker B: I mean, you're just like. Like deeper, like, deeper things. Like you're. You're fighting for the. The folks in a way that have maybe felt silenced in this time.
[00:16:44] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, I guess so. Maybe that's because I've felt that way, you know, and, yes, I'm just, you know, again, I feel like I.
I guess I fit.
I don't know. I feel like whatever road we're all on ought to be straight. Yeah.
But if you, like, the American person has been convinced to go take a left or a right turn. It's like, dude, the road should be straight.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: Should be straight.
[00:17:07] Speaker C: It should be going down the middle of the road.
[00:17:09] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:17:10] Speaker C: There are no turns. Like, we're all the same. We're all in it for the same thing. We all want the same thing. So, like, the road to the thing that we all deserve and want is a straight path, I think, if you're willing to take it. But there's distractions, and those distractions will take you to the right or the left, you know, and at that point, you start running off the road and you're probably going to crash.
[00:17:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:33] Speaker C: And you're not going to get much further down the road by doing it. So that's just kind of. I feel like where I exist. So, like, American Dream came from that feeling, you know, feeling like.
I mean, hell, I was working, you know, 60 hours a week. Like, I've always had a good job. Like before I was, you know, doing this for. For a living. I did the railroad right out of high school and then I worked the factory, you know, and where I'm from, like, those are both great jobs.
[00:18:01] Speaker B: Those are great jobs where you can support a family.
[00:18:04] Speaker C: Yeah, that's the job. Like, exactly. And, but like, the truth is, man, like, dude, everything costs more.
The paychecks are not really going up.
And even when in my experience, like every time I started making more money, it just took even more money to live.
So you never feel like you're getting ahead. You feel like you're just in a rat race and for who? And so that was just like a really frustrating place to exist.
I think we're still there.
[00:18:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:35] Speaker C: Probably more now than when I wrote that song. Yeah, that's where that song came from though, so. And like, literally the. The video that like I put on the Internet of that song was just me staring at the camera.
I didn't have TikTok. My wife had just gotten TikTok and she was like, you should get this app and like put. Put your music on it. I've seen people blow up on their.
And I was like, yeah, I mean, maybe. So she convinced me to get TikTok and you know, the video, like I put the song out and then the video is me. Like I was at my parents house, I was in the yard, front facing camera, and I'm just like looking down, you know, like, if I didn't have the beard, it'd be all double chin and there's just clouds behind me. And I just put text block on the screen. I'm not talking. I'm just staring at the camera for 60 seconds and the songs playing. And like the body, the text body over my face basically was saying what I just said. It was just like, hey, this is how I feel. How do you feel? You know, do you agree or not? And turns out everyone pretty much feels the same way. Yeah. And so that was the thing that they got attention, you know, and made people discover my music and.
And it kind of blew up in such a big way at the time. Like I said, I wasn't writing a record.
I just had all these songs and I'd never had any amount of attention or people. I had less than 100 listeners, you know, so like on Spotify, I knew I had to put a record out. Like, it's really hard. I don't think music's a competition.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: No, it's hard.
[00:20:13] Speaker C: Attention is yes. And that was a moment and the only moment I'd ever gotten at the time where I had attention.
And so I'm like, you gotta do something quick, you know, because this will go away.
So I just recorded that album Heart of Life. And I recorded it like I put American Dream out November of 20.
It kind of blew up. And then, I mean, I immediately recorded a Heart of Life maybe two weeks after that. It might have been December, like the beginning of December.
[00:20:46] Speaker B: And you self produced that, right?
[00:20:48] Speaker C: Yeah, if you call it produced. I mean, it's just. It's really just what it is. I mean, it's. I hit record and I just played the 14 songs I had and called it an album. And then I put it out January of 21.
And I was kind of thinking like, you know, American Dream would be the only one that would get attention.
And so I put it on the album, obviously. Yeah, now that I've learned a lot, I should have put the original recording that I released on the album so it would have counted towards the album too. But I just re recorded it, you know, another version of it. And when I put the record out, I like just posted another video. This time it was the same thing, but I'm sitting in my car, same idea.
And I put the song pitch and fits. You know, the songs play and I'm in my car staring at the camera with words on the screen, and I'm like, hey, this is how I've been feeling. And that one blew up twice as hard as the American Dream. And then Blue collar was on that record and same thing. And, you know, before I knew it, I was like, I was making more money off of the royalties a month for that record than I was working 60 hours for Mercedes Benz. And so I let that ride for about six months because I don't know what I'm doing at all. No, there is no team, there's me.
And I just put this album out, you know, like, I'm like, kind of like, I think I need to pay taxes on this.
And I got on, but the money was coming in and I have a family. So, you know, after Haven was born, my wife, she. She worked in the. The legal field and.
And we put Haven in daycare. And my wife was driving to Birmingham every day and like, man, it was like, you know, she made good money, but like, dude, daycare is expensive.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Yeah, people don't realize that, man. It is very expensive.
[00:22:55] Speaker C: It's completely like everything else. It's unaffordable.
[00:22:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:00] Speaker C: So like her job, dude, like just paid the daycare fee. Except your kids in daycare. So like, you know, parents out there will know what happens when you put your, your baby in a daycare. Like they're, they're exposed to sicknesses and they got to build their immunity. So dude, it's like they're just sick all the time. Yeah. And I think it's a good thing. I think they're building their immune system and stuff. But basically she's going to work.
Our daughter's in daycare and like her job's paying for daycare, except she's also having to like leave work all the time to go pick, pick our daughter up because she's sick and now she can't go back to school until the fever's gone. And so, you know, or back to daycare.
It's just like got to the point where we were like, okay, you know, what if you did just stay home? And so she started staying home. So that put me in the place where it's like, okay, now I'm just solely responsible for, you know, the finances and bringing the money in. And so I have this music that's doing really well.
People are discovering me and.
But I have the stable job. So I didn't, I didn't quit the job. I mean I, you know, this hard up life, it just kept doing every month was getting bigger and bigger and I mean at the time it literally was making me more money than my job that I'm, you know, busting my ass at and. But I didn't leave the job. I waited about six months to leave and it was a swing shift job. So like, you know, at the time it's like Covid times too. So did the factory was like they, they ramped the hours up so like we were working all the time, dude. And like swinging back and forth between day and night shift. Like I'm dying, I'm a zombie. I'm literally like half alive.
Swing shift is not for the faint of heart.
And so.
But I was too, I was too scared to leave it and like put my family.
[00:25:03] Speaker B: It's what you knew and you had to provide.
[00:25:05] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. And I'm like just expecting the music thing to go away.
You know, I'm like, well this is like it's got attention on now. But like I know how the Internet works.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: Yeah. How long is this going to last until the next thing is something else
[00:25:18] Speaker C: is going to happen.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: Yeah, man.
[00:25:20] Speaker B: That's why.
[00:25:21] Speaker C: So it took me a while to, to really like, I guess have enough like confidence in what I was doing to like, break free from the job and like really jump and take the risk.
I'm glad I did. Like, obviously it worked out.
I do wonder though, because at the time those. The biggest, like, viral moment I've had, I wonder what would happen if I had the equivalent moment now. Now that there's a team, you know, an agent and management team and, you know, you could really capitalize where, like most people have a moment like that to have a team and it's like, oh, that thing we've been working on, like all those songs we've got recorded that we're not sure. Well, that's now an ep. We're putting it out. We're going to put a tour up. Like, we're going to really double down and capitalize on the moment. I didn't have that, so.
Yeah, I mean, I don't know. That's just. I've learned so much, man. Like the way the business works and the industry and like, it's crazy, isn't it?
[00:26:24] Speaker B: Dude, it's wild.
[00:26:25] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, you have to learn it. Like, if you don't, especially being independent, you know, it's like you gotta figure it out, like, figure out how to make your own website. Like everything, everything that goes into it and.
But that's how the career, you know, really jump started. And yeah, the rest came from that.
[00:26:43] Speaker B: That's wild, man. And you talk about adding that team. I know someone early on that was out road dogging with you as those dates started coming and was a good mutual friend of ours, our little, A little brother to both of us, Brennan Cato.
[00:26:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:26:55] Speaker B: And talk about those, those early runs of getting outside of the state of Alabama and getting outside of the Southeast and kind of realizing, oh, shoot, I gotta go play these songs for these people.
[00:27:07] Speaker C: Yeah, man. I mean, so before I had an agent, like, I, I'd quit the job and now I'm just completely doing music and I'm like, I'd been playing bars and stuff, you know, before I ever quit the job. But I, like, just started reaching out and like, people were reaching out to me too, you know, like my DMs were blowing up all the times, like bar owners and clubs and just different things, private shows. People are like, hey, would you come play? And so I just started reaching back out to those people because I kind of just left them red because, like, dude, I gotta work.
[00:27:40] Speaker B: Yeah, when am I gonna have time to play these shows? I gotta work my shifts, dude.
[00:27:43] Speaker C: One of the stories from that part of Time was the Red Clay Strays, where they had reached out on a couple occasions asking me to open shows. And I told them no because I couldn't. Yeah, you know, I think one was in like Virginia maybe. And it was like one show and I'm like, dude, I have a full time job. Like, I can't, I can't do that.
[00:28:05] Speaker B: And what great guys those are too. And Alabama, similar, similar type of style where they were just, they were just grinding and figured it out over the past few years. But guys, Mobile.
[00:28:18] Speaker C: Yeah, well, there's a lot of opportunities because I didn't know what I was doing that I feel like I did miss a little bit. Like the Red Clay Strays, you know, trying to have me open a couple shows at different times, I literally just couldn't do it.
And so like I even right now, like, I'm not like super close with those guys at all. I mean, we probably barely know each other.
I really, I like them a lot. Yeah. But like, I just looking back, like if I would have been able to go do those shows, I probably would have had a deeper relationship with them, you know, probably would have been touring with them way earlier on and, and stuff. And at that time, I mean, they didn't like their music had not popped off, you know, and that came years after what I'm talking about. But so there was all those opportunities that I see now, like probably could have been, but just weren't. I wasn't able to do things because of that job, you know. So removing that and going all in was absolutely the answer.
But yeah, man, I just booked my own shows. Like I started going up to Kentucky. Like John Grace, man, he, he's putting on shows like the Bell Theater, you know, and the, the Middlesboro Fall Festival and Laurel Cove. I don't even, I don't know if Laurel Cove was a thing at the time, but John found my music and invited me up to, you know, come up and play. And I discovered like a whole family in Kentucky, man. Like, and they really took a great scene, man.
[00:29:55] Speaker B: They love, they do and love storytelling.
[00:29:58] Speaker C: Yeah, there's a lot of Alabama artists, but there's no scene out there that exists that's like the Kentucky scene. And if I hadn't found them or they hadn't found me and I'd never gone up there on a whim, like it was them that really, like no one had ever cared that much about what I was doing. And so they gave me a lot of confidence to not stop and to keep doing it and so, you know, and through that I met people like Cole Chaney and like Logan Halstead and Justin Wells and just that whole circle of that music family up there and, and you know, W.B. walker, he's like earliest supporter ever, you know, like, man, he's.
I got a lot to.
And his story and the way we connected was crazy. But he was a railroader. And I didn't know it. I just, I knew, I knew about him because of like the Culture Wall ep and he was like a part of that. And I knew that he was kind of like the first person to like discover Childers.
[00:31:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:08] Speaker C: You know, and him and Tyler were like, they were close buddies, you know, when Tyler was in his early days and he had the old soul radio show and, and he lives in Dingus, West Virginia, man. Like, you ain't gonna find it. Like, you gotta go to the nearest Walmart. He meets you there and, and you gotta follow him back to the, to the house. Otherwise you would never find this place, dude. I mean, so go by going up there, I met like Arlo McKinley.
So I booked my own little run and I had no clue what I was doing, man.
I had like, I think it was like six shows in seven days.
[00:31:47] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:31:48] Speaker C: And I'm in a Corolla.
[00:31:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:31:51] Speaker C: And I'm like, I think the first one's first show is Indiana.
And then there was a Wisconsin show in there, an Illinois show, an Arkansas show, an Oklahoma show.
[00:32:11] Speaker B: You were bouncing all over the place. You were putting some miles in that role.
[00:32:15] Speaker C: Dude. When I say like, I played a show, drove four hours, went to sleep, woke up, drove six more hours, hours to the next show that night.
Just did that for like six days straight. There was one show that was like a 12 hour drive to it. And I mean, I was dead by the, by the end of it, but I just knew I had to do it if I'm going to go out, you know. So I'd booked that and then I had the show, I think it was in Kentucky that I met Arlo McKinley and I met Tommy Prine, John's son. And Arlo offered me, he was about to do a tour. He offered me like five shows opening for him.
And then Zach, Brian got out of the Navy at this time and he started booking shows and he booked a Birmingham show.
And I just like, I was just cold dming anybody and sending emails. Like, I'm just doing everything I can do, digging up emails, you know, Sent Zach's management an email. Hey, I saw this Birmingham show. Like I'm an artist in Birmingham, and if you don't have an opener, I'd love to do it. They immediately got back, and it was like, his first manager, who was, like, a long, long time friend of his, and he was like, hey, sorry, man, we.
We already have an opener, but the show sold out, like, immediately. And so we're probably gonna add another night in Alabama.
[00:33:33] Speaker B: Where in Birmingham was it or where did.
[00:33:34] Speaker C: It was at Avondale.
[00:33:36] Speaker B: I love that brewery, dude.
[00:33:37] Speaker C: Yeah, it's a cool vibe.
[00:33:38] Speaker B: I love.
[00:33:39] Speaker C: So cool, man.
And so they came back, like, a day later or something, and they were like, the show sold out, like, immediately. Like, literally, I think in three minutes, he sold Avondale out.
And they were like, we're booking another show in Huntsville the day before the Birmingham show.
We'd love to have you open it. And so I did that show, met them up there, opened for Zach at Mars Music Hall.
[00:34:04] Speaker B: Love that venue, too.
[00:34:05] Speaker C: Yep. And then they invited me to come to the Birmingham show.
So I went. And that's where I met Jonathan Peyton, because him and his wife Abigail were the openers for that show. And now I'm, like, super good friends with them. And. And so that was kind of the start of me booking my own shows, you know?
And then it was after that that I met Jacob at caa, and. And he called me, and then he was like, hey, man, like, you know, super interested. I know nothing about the industry, and all I've ever heard is, like, you know, don't do deals with people. They'll take everything you got, you know, kind of stuff.
[00:34:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:43] Speaker C: So I was like, well, a little hesitant. By this time, W.B. walker had put me in touch with David Macias at 30 Tigers. So I'd been talking to David for, like, a year.
[00:34:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:53] Speaker C: And David gave me a whole lot of connections and. And advice and stuff like that. And so I had the call with Jacob at CAA and wasn't sure what all that meant. And then Macias called me, and he was like, hey, man, you'll never guess who just called me about you. And it was Brian Greenbaum. And I was like, who's that? You know, I've never heard of him. And he was like, dude, he's. It's like Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt's agent, and he's at caa.
I was like, well, that's. You know, this other guy from CAA just called me. And so I called Jacob back, and he's like, yeah. He was like. He was like, we're all interested in Like, Brian would be on the team and me and. And I think Jacob had kind of. He. He was a new agent, like, on his own. He had just. He had 49 Winchester.
And I was the second artist he signed.
[00:35:43] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:35:43] Speaker C: And it was that Zoom call. It was me and Jacob and. And the team over there. Brian was on the call and I was like, what does the deal look like? I don't have a. An attorney. I don't. How does this work?
[00:35:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:55] Speaker C: And they were like, it's a handshake deal, you know, like, you don't have. There's no contract. We do our part, you do yours. We're both happy. We keep working together. We can always, you know, split at any time, like, just, you know, so I was like, well, that sounds great. And before that Zoom meeting ended, like, the first.
Literally had the meeting and then talked to talk to them. And at the end of it, Brian was like, well, first. First order of business, do you want to open for Willie? Two nights. I was like, are you kidding me? You know, and did all this is within, like, three months, four months of wow. You know, going all in on music.
And so I immediately. Every domino was falling. Like, I knew it was the right choice. And then that all led to the next record and 30 tigers distributing it. And I met Sadler Vaden, and obviously Jason Isbel's music's a huge, you know, inspiration. And so the 400 unit is, you know, these guys are like, heroes to me. And, yeah, I met Sadler and he's going to produce the record and he was going to use the band he used for Morgan Wade's record that he produced. And it was kind of like, pretty soon or pretty close to, like, the studio time. Sadler called me and asked about the 400 unit being on it. And I was like, man, that'd be insane, you know, but, like, I don't want the budget to increase and all this stuff. And he was like, no, you know, nothing's going to change. Just I'd have those guys and. And so I ended up making the record with basically the 400 unit. Wow. It was. It was missing just a few people, but, I mean, I had saddler Chad and Jimbo on there and I made that record and just immediately started touring, dude, like, the next.
Then I got a band together and
[00:37:42] Speaker B: it's crazy how that all.
Yeah, like, what a whirlwind for you.
[00:37:47] Speaker C: A lot.
[00:37:49] Speaker B: Leave the assembly line and go up to Kentucky. And then folks start reaching out and, yeah, Zach, Brian, where were those Willie shows at the.
[00:37:57] Speaker C: So the Willie, shows I got booked for never happened. Oh, yeah, it was. It was going to be me and Charlie Crockett.
[00:38:04] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:38:04] Speaker C: And it was going to be at the.
I think it was in Franklin and in Brandon, Mississippi. And the first show was Franklin.
And I'm like, the day of the show, I'm almost to Franklin, to the venue. And Jacob called me and he was like, hey, bad news. And I was like, what's up? And he was like, the show's canceled. I was like, what?
He was like, yeah, both shows are canceled. I was like, dude, no.
And this is 22, I guess. Yeah, 20, 20, 22. Like the beginning of 22.
He was like, yeah, sorry, man. Like, it is what it is. And it was just.
I couldn't say anything about it. But at the time.
At the time, they weren't saying anything about it. Will, he got Covid.
[00:38:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:38:56] Speaker C: And so I knew that on this phone call and I'm like, dude, there it goes. Like, I almost got to open up for Willie Nelson.
[00:39:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:05] Speaker C: And like, knock on wood, you know, And God forbid, like this, he's. He's older and now he's got Covid. He's at risk, hugely at risk. And so I was just like scared, you know, I was like, dude, I hope this isn't it for Willie, obviously. And like, how crazy of a story would it be all together for me? You know, it's like I almost had the opportunity to open for him and.
[00:39:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:39:29] Speaker C: And then that just went away.
Like the day of, you know, it was wild. And then the shows got rescheduled.
Willie did this show at his ranch at Luck.
I really don't know what it was or if it was just like a one off show at his ranch or something like that.
It was two nights.
And so instead of those two shows that got canceled, it was like a month or two later, you know, he's better and he's going to put the show on as ranch. And they invited me to open it.
[00:40:03] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:40:03] Speaker C: It wasn't Luck Reunion. It was just a show at Luck.
[00:40:06] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:40:07] Speaker C: And so I went out there and I played at, you know, Willie's ranch and I opened. It was me and Drew and Ellie Holcomb and Willie. And so that was the first show open for Willie.
[00:40:19] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:40:19] Speaker C: And then how cool is his ranch?
[00:40:22] Speaker B: Like, what is that place? Like, I've heard stories.
[00:40:24] Speaker C: Have you been. You've never been to Luck Reunion? No. Oh, dude, it's awesome, man. It's like a. Like a movie set, you know? Like actually, that's wild.
Yeah. It's like a little western town kind of thing. There's a church there.
It's crazy. It's really cool. It's awesome.
It's literally in his backyard. You know, it's completely surreal, like, being there and just seeing, like, the little Western town and.
And then just, like. I don't know. I'm just. Nerves are shot because, like, it's Willie Nelson, and I got to open for him and stuff, but it was really cool. And after that, I did a few shows.
Yeah, that was the one. That was the first time I opened for him. And then.
Then they had the Franklin Amphitheater got put back on, and so I opened for. For him there, and that was me and Ray Wiley Hubbard and Willie.
[00:41:22] Speaker B: Oh, another hero.
[00:41:23] Speaker C: Yeah. Dude. It was just like.
[00:41:25] Speaker B: Like, what is life? I've come a long way.
[00:41:26] Speaker C: I don't know why I'm here. Yeah.
[00:41:28] Speaker B: Swing shift to this.
[00:41:29] Speaker C: Yeah. And then I did the Iroquois Amphitheater.
I think that's in Louisville, Kentucky.
That's where I met Willie for the first time at that show.
And then.
And then I got. They offered me another show down at.
Dang. What is it? Pompano Beach Amphitheater.
[00:41:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:52] Speaker C: And so me and my wife got on a plane and flew down there and opened for him there.
[00:41:56] Speaker B: And what's your wife's reaction to watching you?
[00:41:59] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:42:01] Speaker B: Opening for what?
[00:42:02] Speaker C: Pretty much the same one I had. It was like, what are we doing here? I mean, she believes in me, obviously, but it was just so not, you know, this isn't normal. This doesn't happen to everybody, you know, so.
But I got to. You know, she got to meet Willie that night, and so those were like. Those are my Willie experiences at the start of it. And then.
And then I got to do luck reunion. Somewhere in that they give you the. If you play luck, you get, like, a luck ring. It's a silver ring.
Yeah. It's like they custom make the rings for all the artists that play. It's kind of like a. I don't know. It's like a rite of passage in a way. I don't know. It's cool, like, seeing other musicians with a luck ring on. Yeah, it's. It's like a part of the head nod.
[00:42:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:50] Speaker B: Part of the Willie family.
You've been there, and you've gotten to go out with. With Willie, Dwight, Yocum, Ryan Bingham, Charlie Crockett, our good friend Wyatt Flores, and the 49 guys. Man.
Talk about your friendship with a guy like Wyatt Flores, because he kind of came up around the same time that you did.
[00:43:06] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:43:06] Speaker B: Coming out of the Pandemic. He was out of Oklahoma. You were out of Bama?
[00:43:10] Speaker C: Yeah, dude. I played my first ever headliner in Nashville at the Basement OG Basement, and the show sold out, you know, so it's really tight inside. And after the show, I was gonna go meet fans, but there's, like, nowhere to meet because there's no room.
[00:43:28] Speaker B: Tough place to do a meet and greet. Yeah.
[00:43:30] Speaker C: So, like, I just told everyone to just meet me in the parking lot, you know, and it was. Me and Jacob were there, and my agent and Wyatt. I didn't know Wyatt, but him and Braden were there, and they. They walked up to meet me and started talking to Wyatt, and they just came as fans to the show. And I was. You know, he was like, yeah. He told me I was an inspiration and stuff, and I was like, oh, you play? And he's like, yeah, he was. I think he had just moved to town maybe, but he told me he's from Oklahoma, and I had an Oklahoma show the next weekend. I didn't have an opener yet, and so I was like, dude, you want to open the show? And he was like, hell, yeah. So he met Jacob, my agent, at the time, and.
Or he's still my agent, but at this time, Wyatt met Jacob and wide open for me in Oklahoma the next weekend. And I don't know if it was then or shortly after that, Jacob signed Wyatt, and.
And then Wyatt's career, like, really took off. Yeah. And exploded. And so that was my, you know, me and Wyatt meeting each other and.
Yeah. And then after, you know, like, just a few years later, me and 49er, we opened Whitewater Amphitheater. It's Wyatt show sold out 5,000 people.
[00:44:52] Speaker B: How full circle, bro.
[00:44:54] Speaker C: Hugely full circle, man. Yeah. It's just crazy. He's an awesome guy, dude. I'm super proud.
[00:44:59] Speaker B: I love his new record, too. I love that he's like, you've said, like, each record is going to have something a little bit different, and he's taking the jump and showing the artistry of this is Me right now, you know?
[00:45:10] Speaker C: Yeah. And that's a.
That takes balls as an artist.
[00:45:14] Speaker B: Yes. Big time.
[00:45:15] Speaker C: And, like, I've tried to do it a little bit myself, you know, it's like that. That record everyone found is literally. I mean, it's acoustic demo tapes, man.
[00:45:23] Speaker B: It's just you and your house.
[00:45:25] Speaker C: I'm so proud of it now. Yeah. You know, at the time, I was a little embarrassed of it. I was like, I can't believe this is being discovered. This is what I'm gonna be known for.
But now, like, especially with AI like, being huge and infiltrating music, like, dude, everything's about to be so clean and sparkly and polished, and it's just what it is. There's nothing wrong with that. Maybe I'm not a fan of it, but, like, it's going to get hard to distinguish real, like, you know, human work and not.
[00:45:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:57] Speaker C: And so, you know, albums like A Heart of Life, it's just the proof is all there. It's like every mistake I made is recorded.
[00:46:06] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think people are craving that human element and craving that real experience. And I think that's why live shows are about to have an uptake. And those shows at those breweries and those bars are in an intimate venue like the Basement, which I know you have a show coming up. And like 3rd and Linsley and those house shows, like the IRL in real life, experiences are so important right now, bro. They are so important. And for the generations coming after us, like, we're. As your little girls grow up. As my little girl grows up, you know, it's gonna be so important.
[00:46:39] Speaker C: It's going to be. Yeah. More than ever before.
I mean, we're just at the beginning of AI Yeah. It is not even here yet, but it is, you know, we think it's here now. It's not like we're just tasting it, you know, we haven't even tasted yet. We just.
We smell it cooking in the kitchen and we think we know what it is, you know, and so I just, you know, another 10 years and what does anything else look like?
So I think, yeah, I think live shows are gonna be way more important than they've ever been in history. I think attendance to live shows is gonna go way up.
I think right now we're kind of all suffering this weird phase of live music, and I don't know whose fault it is, you know, I mean, I think it's a fact that people are more willing to buy a $400 ticket to go to a stadium show, you know, or a festival than they are to buy a $20 ticket to go to a club show to see the. The band that's gonna be in the stadiums in a few years.
[00:47:48] Speaker B: Yeah. Which to me, that's. That's what I love. I love looking back and, like, looking around at these posters right here. Like, we got Muscadine at Iron City. You got Haley Witters right up there. Like. Like getting to see Harley or Hardy. A special night at the Basement. Like. Like getting to go to a 49 and Colby show at the BAS.
Like, there's something special about getting to see that guy or girl or that band, bro. Like, my first time watching you, I forget who you were opening for, but it was at the B. It was at the Basement East.
[00:48:15] Speaker C: Was it.
[00:48:16] Speaker B: It was a few years back.
[00:48:17] Speaker C: Was it Americana Fest or.
[00:48:18] Speaker B: No, it wasn't Americana Fest. It was a.
[00:48:20] Speaker C: It was Dylan Wheeler.
[00:48:22] Speaker B: I think it was Dylan Wheeler and
[00:48:23] Speaker C: Giovani and the Hard Y. Yeah.
[00:48:25] Speaker B: Which I was like, which. When I saw that you.
[00:48:27] Speaker C: I got paid $50 to play that show.
[00:48:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:29] Speaker C: It was at the beginning of the, like, viral moment with a life for me and an agent that worked for what used to be an agency that's now gone, but.
Or they got, like, you know, absorbed by a bigger agency, but they reached out to me, and that was the first shot I think I'd ever played in Nashville. Wow. And, yeah, he was like, man, there's really not much wiggle room to pay much money, but we could do 50 bucks.
And I was just like, I gotta. This is at the time I decided to, like, break off and do music. So I was like, well, I gotta take what I can get.
[00:49:08] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:08] Speaker C: And so I came up and did that. You know, Like, I remember there were. There were at least 20 to 30 people that were like singing, pitching fits.
[00:49:17] Speaker B: Yeah, dude. I was. I was one of those people, man. I remember being in that room, man.
[00:49:20] Speaker C: And all I remembered in that moment was like, this is my first taste of Nashville. Like, literally my first trip to Nashville.
[00:49:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:49:28] Speaker C: And I'm here playing like a last minute add on to a show. I'm the first of three. Acoustic opener for 50 bucks and tickets are like, I don't know, 20 or something.
[00:49:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:49:39] Speaker C: And there's 30 people singing my song. So I'm like doing rough math. I'm like, this is horseshit. I was like, I should get paid a little bit more.
[00:49:46] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. 100%. Yeah.
[00:49:48] Speaker C: But at the time, I was just coming here to come here for the
[00:49:53] Speaker B: first time, hearing folks singing back pitch and fits. Had to give you some confidence early on.
[00:49:58] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. It was. Definitely gave me confidence.
It's emotional too. Especially, like it could have been anything, you know, like, it could have been any song.
Could have just been one of those songs that I just wrote that don't really mean anything to me. But it was like a deeply, like, personal song that I got lucky was discovered. And so, like, to have people sing it back Something that is just so important to you. Yeah. And you're sharing that, you know, it hits you a little deeper than if I had written some silly song that just went viral.
[00:50:30] Speaker B: Yeah, man, it's. It's important. I think that's a huge reason why fans connect with you and why you've built. Built the following that you have and have your. Have your pockets of folks that are believers and are followers of what you're doing with your music, man. Is that authenticity and it, it shines through in your recent album. Talk about Heavy Duty Heart.
[00:50:49] Speaker C: Yeah, dude. All right, so a Heavy Duty Heart is the new record. Put it out in March, man. That record was, you know, Heart Up Life was just me and a guitar. 20 on high was sadly rain produced, you know, like Hero Band on there and immensely proud of those songs.
The first album, I've always, you know, I've heard like you have your entire life to write your first record. And it's true.
And so like, there's so much depth on the first record and I'm just a deep thinker anyway, and that's just kind of the way I write. So. 20 on high came and I knew I was. I was really trying to capture like the.
Whatever my journey of my 20s was. That's why I called it 20 on high because it's supposed. It was supposed to be like, it's not a concept album, but like it was supposed to be the stories of my 20s and yeah, kind of my
[00:51:48] Speaker B: journey through that chapter in the book.
[00:51:50] Speaker C: Yeah. And then it came time to make another record and I just realized, like, you know, a lot of my catalog was like deep thought songs and stream of consciousness songs and like sad songs. And I didn't really have many love songs, but I'm married, I've got, you know, two kids and like, life's pretty good. Happily married, my kids are awesome. Like, not everything doesn't suck. And so I was like, I need to at least like, try to make, you know, something that's a little more light hearted. And so. And I wanted to shake up like the live show a little bit, add some moments that weren't just so heavy or introspective and stuff. And so that was the goal for that record.
Got Sadler to produce that one.
So Sadler produced the new record also. I had my own band play on it. And I just told Sadler I was like, whatever 20 on high was, I want this one to be twice as produced. I want it to be a little more shimmery, more upbeat.
There's a lot of love songs. And so that was the goal. There was like, I was just looking at my catalog, like, what songs do I not have?
[00:53:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:53:05] Speaker C: And I need to. I need to put those out, you know, and so I wrote those and that's the new record. And, man, it was.
I recorded it in 24.
[00:53:17] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:53:18] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:53:18] Speaker B: So you've been sitting on it for a minute.
[00:53:21] Speaker C: Yeah, it's. It was recorded in 24, paid for, mastered in my pocket, and I didn't know what I was gonna do with it.
I thought I was just gonna, like, completely independently put it out, but I wasn't sure.
And I had, like, all these labels started calling us. And so we just got into all these meetings and conversations with record labels, huge and small labels.
And I kind of was just like, I don't know, man, like, nothing ever really came of it. And so I got to really just feel like I was. I wasted so much time because I didn't want to put it out because it's already finished.
[00:54:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:06] Speaker C: So I'm like, well, I mean, how, you know, if you're gonna jump into a label situation with a completely ready to go record, that's a pretty good spot to be in.
[00:54:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:16] Speaker C: And so I was just hearing everybody out and kind of, you know, that took a little bit of time. And so I was intending to put the record out in 2024. I was gonna release it that fall, but then the label talks kind of pushed things.
And then 25 I was gonna do it, but, you know, it just.
Just kept going along and along and I was just. Nothing felt right. And so finally landed on getting it out. And so I went with One Riot and I licensed the record to One Riot. So it's my label, Hardware Records, licensed to them, and it's like a one album situation, and they're really cool. And I already worked with them on the publishing side of things, and I really liked the folks over there, and so it felt right. And then before the record even came out, Sheriff Country, I mean, the record got passed around, you know, they wanted to use one of the songs on it in a show. Yeah. In Sheriff Country. And so.
But the record's not even announced or out or anything. And I'm like, well, I should let him use the song, you know? So, like, I guess we're gonna put the record out real soon. And Turnaround was the song. And so we released it as a single the day that the episode is featured and dropped and then.
Which got the ball rolling on, like, the whole rest of the record. Rolling out. And right after that, Landman wanted to use.
[00:55:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:55:52] Speaker C: It's called Doubt off the record too. And it's not wild. The record's not even announced, you know. And so like Sheriff country wants. Wants to use one song on it, and then Landman's wanting this other one. So it was pretty obvious that, you know, that's what we're gonna do. And then in between those two singles, I had a Touch and Go is a song I co wrote. I'm not.
I haven't done a lot of co writing.
[00:56:16] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:56:17] Speaker C: But Andrea Forrester, Avon is.
She's the music supervisor.
She works with Taylor Sheridan. So like, she's the supervisor for Yellowstone and Landman. And you know, she's put together several co writes in town. And the first co write I ever did was because she called and was like, hey, I'm gonna do this writers camp. I'm gonna have. I'd love to have you. And she named off all these other songwriters and artists that she wanted to be a part of this camp with the goal of we're all just gonna get together and write songs that they might could use for Yellowstone.
[00:56:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:56:54] Speaker C: And so I think, you know, like, my first co write was a few days in Nashville. I can't remember who all I wrote with, but I mean, I wrote Touch and Go with Sonny Sweeney and Danny Rose. Yeah.
[00:57:10] Speaker B: Or awesome.
[00:57:11] Speaker C: Yeah, they're awesome, man.
Me and Kaledo Cordero and Liz Rose wrote maybe one or two songs. I know we wrote one, but that was like my first taste of co writing.
And it was. It was interesting too, because I didn't have to dig so deep.
[00:57:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:57:31] Speaker C: You know, I didn't have to do my own thing. Like the thing I do.
I was able to. And there's like some guidelines, kind of like not what we want you to write, but here's what we don't want you to write. Which really narrowed the path.
[00:57:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:57:46] Speaker C: Which really helped.
[00:57:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:57:48] Speaker C: Because like, when it's just me, I'm like, did the world is.
You know, it's a huge world.
[00:57:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:57:53] Speaker C: So that. That can be a thing is like, what are you gonna say? You know, and you have a lot to say. But like, you could say anything.
[00:57:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:57:59] Speaker C: So whenever they're like, you could say anything, but don't say these things. It really, really narrows it down. And that was a fun kind of exercise and experiment for me. Well, then Yellowstone came to an end.
And so all the songs that were written that week, I think I can't remember everyone. That was Parker McCollum was there.
Miranda Lambert. Wow. Brent Cobb.
There was a bunch of people, man. Like, I didn't. I didn't even know.
I don't even know if Miranda Lambert knows who I am.
[00:58:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:58:37] Speaker C: And I didn't even really know who she was. And I'm in, like, one of the rooms, and I think she had, like a.
She had, like, a little, like, a glass of wine or something. This is like the second day.
It's like the day's almost over, you know, and someone walked by with a glass of wine, and I, like, walked out of the room. I was like, hey. I was like, where'd you get that?
And she was like, oh, it's in the kitchen. I was like, where's the kitchen? You know? And she, like, walked me to the kitchen, and she was like, yeah, there's like, beers and stuff. And she, like, grabbed me a beer, and I was like, hey, I appreciate it. Thanks so much. You know, I had no. No idea who she was.
I didn't know if she worked there or like. Or what.
[00:59:17] Speaker B: This blonde lady with a glass of wine, dude.
[00:59:19] Speaker C: It wasn't until I was, like, leaving the next day that I realized, you know, that was Miranda Lambert, because I didn't get paired with her. Right.
But, yeah, I was like, well, damn, I met Miranda Lambert, and she got me a beer. And I didn't even say hey or introduce myself or anything, like.
But so then Landman comes, and that's going to be a thing. And Avon called and was like, hey, we want to use one of the songs that you wrote for Yellowstone. We're going to use it in Landman.
So that was exciting.
[00:59:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:59:48] Speaker C: And.
And that was, you know, when that came out. So I put Turnaround off the new record out last fall.
And then it's called Doubt. Off. The new record is going to be in Landman in December or in January, but then they're going to use Touch and Go in between those two singles. So I had, like, you know, like, three sinks at the end of last year.
[01:00:17] Speaker B: Yeah, three sinks. That's crazy.
[01:00:19] Speaker C: Sinks at the end of last year. And I had Blue Collar. Was. Was in Landman at the top of 25. Yeah. So I went from having no songs and TV at all. Two in one year, I had four songs. One was off my first record. Two were off of a record I haven't even announced yet. And one was from a co wrote I did for Yellowstone like, a year or two before.
[01:00:41] Speaker B: So, yeah, it all Universe works in wild ways.
[01:00:44] Speaker C: It's a weird thing, man. Yeah, so that was really exciting. And then, and then that led into the new year this year and, and getting the record out and yeah, I did a run with Charlie Crockett and right after that that was like a week, week long run. There were like a couple headliners in there and then came home for a few weeks and then we went out as direct support with Willie, which was awesome. Yeah, that was the first time I'd opened for Willie. You know, four I guess if you count Luck Reunion four or five times before.
But I was always just solo and so this was the first time I got to bring the band out on
[01:01:27] Speaker B: the road and put on your show.
[01:01:28] Speaker C: Yeah, it was like a completely different thing and like I had, I already had a relationship with, with like the Willie Nelson camp and stuff. So like it was, it was really cool. I was, I was so excited about it, man. And I'm so glad it happened because those first, you know, times opening for Willie, I was like, I said just by myself and like nervous and I don't, you know, I don't know these people well and I hope they like me kind of thing. Just like all the just self doubt kind of mindset but like going into it now, like new records out, my band's with me. Like, you know, I'm friends with the camp. Like this is going to be awesome. And so I was able to like really soak up what was happening.
[01:02:07] Speaker B: It's important to be able to soak those moments up. Dude.
[01:02:09] Speaker C: Dude. Yeah. And we like every night we got, me and the band got to go back out on stage and, and sing a couple songs with Willie and the band.
That's awesome, dude.
[01:02:19] Speaker B: That's special, man. I want to talk about this new project that's going to be coming out and I think you're the perfect guy for this. Our vinyl, the live eps, like, because again you go back to project one, it was just you and the guitar. It's, it's, it's a live thing. So I feel like the live recordings are such a huge part and you're a perfect artist for it. So talk a little bit about that project and that thing coming out.
[01:02:40] Speaker C: So in 23, after I put out 20 on high, our vinyl wanted to, to do a session with me and so I, I came up and I did like a four song live session with our vinyl and I got Sadler and, and Chad and Jimbo to do it with me.
[01:02:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:02:59] Speaker B: Which is awesome.
[01:03:00] Speaker C: Yeah, man. And like, and that too is like looking at it now. Like I was, I was A little like, sick when we recorded that too. Like, my vocals are like super nasally. And I was like, man, this is gonna suck so bad. But.
But having that band come back and play with me was awesome. And you know, they were such a.
They all like, those musicians played such a huge role for me as an artist, like, as a young artist.
When I was in high school, like, when I discovered Jason Isbell's music, I was in. You know, I was in high school and he was on the Southeastern tour. I discovered him from Southeastern and.
And talking about these show posters, you know, like, dude, I saw Jason Isbel at Iron City with Sturgill Simpson opening.
[01:03:47] Speaker B: Wow.
[01:03:47] Speaker C: And that was when I was like, I've got to do this. Yeah, I'm going to find a way to be able to do this one day. And that's how I found out about Sturgill and what a tour that must have been too. Dude.
You know, I wish I could go back so that I could soak that up a little more than I did, but. So to have, you know, those guys back for the hour vinyl session 23, that was awesome. And not. And Jimbo's not a part of the band anymore. So, like, you know, in a way, like, I'm.
It's. It's a. There's a cool layer there from. For myself where it's like the 400 unit has evolved over time and like the original lineup's not there anymore, but like, I got to do the session, you know, with like OG players and, and they're all great guys. And so then last year, kind of, I guess in the midst of like the Sinks happening and knowing the record's gonna come out, Alvino reached back out. And we're like, hey, we're doing a new thing. It's gonna be like a live EP instead of just like a four song session.
And they're like, we'd love to have you back. And the goal was like, do seven songs.
Well, I had already been tossing around the idea of taking some of like the fan favorite songs of mine that are only acoustic because so much of my discography is acoustic. Yeah.
And like, me and the band have worked up some arrangements to those songs that were playing live, but like, there's no recordings that exist with the band on those songs.
So I already had kind of the. The idea to take some songs like Blue Collar and Pitch and Fits and. And try to like, how am I going to record that with a band? And I'm not trying to like replace the original versions.
[01:05:31] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:05:33] Speaker C: But I do want there to be like a band version that people can go find because they might get that at a show. Maybe not because I change up, you know, but whatever, you know, exist.
But I didn't know really how to do it. And what I didn't want to do was just like make like a studio EP of just like some random songs. Because I'm like, what if at the 10 year anniversary of A Heart of Life, I re released the record with a studio version of the record and with every songs, you know, produced with a band. So I'm thinking these things like years down the road from now, and I don't want to diminish that if it ever happens.
[01:06:07] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:06:08] Speaker C: So this live thing could be the perfect way to play these old songs with the band. And so that was it. That's. That's what I decided. So I picked like seven songs that I thought yout know, were really cool with with the band and songs that we had already kind of made up arrangements for over the last several years playing live.
And that's what this, our vinyl live EP is.
[01:06:29] Speaker B: Let's go.
[01:06:30] Speaker C: So, yeah, it's. It's like Chewing on Fire.
Lucinda Evergreen Eyes, Blue Collar, Trouble in the Pines. Love it. Pitch and Fits and maybe that's it. Is that seven?
[01:06:42] Speaker B: I think so.
[01:06:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:06:43] Speaker C: So. So that's. That's the. Our vinyl thing. And dude, it's. Man, it's. Honestly, so. I love it.
[01:06:49] Speaker B: I can't wait.
That's coming out. That's coming out this weekend.
[01:06:52] Speaker C: This Friday.
[01:06:53] Speaker B: This Friday. And then you've got the shows coming up. The back to back nights in Nashville with. Yeah, the basement and 3rd and Lindsley. Two of my favorite venues.
[01:07:01] Speaker C: Yeah, that's all around Americano fest.
The Basement thing is the Laurel Cove Music Festival. It's like.
[01:07:10] Speaker B: Oh, dude, that's so full circle for you with your history with those folks.
[01:07:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:07:13] Speaker B: For that to be.
[01:07:14] Speaker C: And the venue.
[01:07:15] Speaker B: And the venue. Yeah, man, that's gonna be so cool.
[01:07:17] Speaker C: It's cool, man. Yeah, they're. They're calling it the Laurel Cove Music Blooms here. It's like a Laurel Cove Americana fest. Shindigs.
[01:07:26] Speaker B: What a perfect venue for it too, man.
[01:07:27] Speaker C: So I'll do like an acoustic set there and then the next night, 3rd and Linsley.
I think maybe that whole night's acoustic, but I'll be acoustic and then Nick Shoulders will close the night out.
[01:07:39] Speaker B: Awesome. So, yeah, that's awesome, man. Well, dude, seems like you're in a great place. I'm excited for all these releases And I'm glad we were finally able.
[01:07:46] Speaker C: Dude, thank you, man. I know we've talked about it for, like, over a year.
[01:07:49] Speaker B: Yeah, man. And I appreciate you taking the time, man.
[01:07:51] Speaker C: You, like, I know you text me, like, probably a year. It was like a year and a week ago.
You're like, hey, man, would love to have you on the podcast. And I literally, like, I've seen you, I think a few times since, but I was like, I got to, like, I was working on the album at the time. Like, I didn't know what I'd have to talk about because I was.
[01:08:10] Speaker B: Dude, we. We have a lot. You had a lot to talk about today. And I appreciate you coming on your story and thanks for doing what you do.
[01:08:17] Speaker C: Thank you.
[01:08:18] Speaker B: Seriously, like, you. You fit in a lane that we. We love at Raise Rowdy. And it's important for folks to hear the songs that you're writing.
[01:08:24] Speaker C: Thanks.
[01:08:25] Speaker B: Putting out and can't wait for what next year is going to bring to.
[01:08:28] Speaker C: Yeah, there's. There's already some stuff coming. There might. There's even something coming after the sour bot go for next year, dude.
[01:08:34] Speaker B: I love it, man. I love it. Well, we appreciate you. Y' all be sure to go check out our man Drayton Farley. I'll be on the lookout. Our vinyl ivp. It'll be out when this episode comes out. If you're coming to town for Americana Fest, pop by the Laurel Cove. What is the Laurel Cove reunion?
[01:08:49] Speaker C: It's the Laurel. It's music blooms here.
[01:08:51] Speaker B: Music blooms here.
[01:08:52] Speaker C: The Laurel Cove Americana Fest shindig.
[01:08:54] Speaker B: The shindig. Join us at the shindig over at the basement. And then the following night over at 3rd and Lindsley. Shout out to our man Drayton Farley. Big shout out to our friends from Surfside, where no bubbles means no troubles. Delicious iced tea, lemonade, vodka. Check out their new products. Super light as well. And for more on us, visit raisedradley.com from Andrean. I'm Matt Brill. This has been outside the round
[01:09:19] Speaker A: I never been the con for stay one place for too long I never been the best at s I love you girl I love only got a couple tricks up 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 drink and the lack of money for show I'm just a two trick pony yeah.
