Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:12] Speaker B: Come on.
[00:00:15] Speaker A: 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 Brill. Today, a long time, homie. A guy who I've been lucky enough to know since he first got to town, he's been killing it, getting ready to do some huge things, get out on the road with Billy Currington from Woodstock, Georgia. It's our boy, Kenny Whitmire.
[00:00:40] Speaker C: What's up, dude? Thank you so much for having me, dude.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: Anytime, man. How's life, man?
[00:00:45] Speaker C: It's. It's been crazy here lately, you know, just. It used to be trying to stay busy, and now it's. Now it's definitely stay. Definitely staying busy. But it's been a blessing, man. Nothing to complain about, dude.
[00:00:55] Speaker A: It's. You're one of those guys that we really did get to see from you being 18, 19 years old, coming into Live Oak and playing rounds. And you were a quiet kid from Georgia, you and Christian Yancy and Austin Snell and like the whole gang of your crew. And to watch what all you guys have been doing, but in particular yourself here lately, man, just walk me through the journey, a little bit of what these last few months have been like,
[00:01:24] Speaker C: man, it's been crazy. I. I kind of forget about some of it sometimes, right? It feels like it's. It's been like a year in the making. It's only been a few months, but, man, yeah, I wrote song called I Gave her the Moon, and I sat on it for a little bit, and it was kind of getting pitched around, and a few people were showing interest in it, and my publisher, Lauren Liu at River House, was just hounding me to post it. She. There's funny. You can go back and look at post before that original. I gave her the moon post, and she would comment on everyone. This isn't. I gave her the moon, Kenneth, she said. But she finally annoyed me enough, I guess, in a nice way to. To post it. And I. I texted the guys. I wrote it with Lynn Hutton and Cam Newby. They're awesome Salter the Earth dudes. But texted them. And I was like, hey, what do y' all think about me just posting it to see how it does? Because I know obviously it had some interest around town. And they were like, yeah, go for it, man. And it started doing well. And. And then Charlie. Charlie did his little video on it, man.
I say little video, but, man, he really changed my life, man. It's been a blessing yeah.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: When do you think it was that you've really found your voice because you're a guy that the songs that you were playing at the rounds back in. Back in 2022 are obviously different than what you're. What you're releasing right now? Where in the last three, four years did you find the voice to even go from just being the guy playing guitar with your buddies to being the guy in the writer's room with your bud to. I'm Kenny Whitmire. I want to be an artist.
[00:02:51] Speaker C: Well, it was.
I think it was kind of something I always knew that I wanted to do was the traditional sound. But, I mean, like you said, I was 19 when I moved here, and I just didn't know any better. I thought I was supposed to be like everyone else to have any kind of success, you know, as an artist, and I. I wanted to be an artist. And.
And so I. I was trying to be like, I've been telling the story. I was, you know, walking around and kind of like tight fitting jeans and my muffin top was showing and stuff. It just. It wasn't me at all. But it. It was honestly a lot of my buddies being like, man, you sound great doing that stuff. And. And then Zach just kind of kicked a door wide open for it to be possible. You know, I was.
Started really pursuing that sound, you know, well before he was taken off. But, man, it's just been such a blessing what he's done for the, you know, real country music, man.
[00:03:37] Speaker A: Yeah, man. And the. The guys that are your close friends. Like, I'm thinking of the. The Davis Looses of the world, Nicole Goodwins, the Colton Dawsons, the Will Bannisters, and even the OGs like the Jake Worthingtons or Springers.
And it seems like you've really found a good family and a good crew of guys that want to keep that stuff around.
[00:03:58] Speaker C: Yeah, dude, you ain't kidding, man.
It's funny. I've had. There's been so many nights, late nights at the local of me and Colton sitting together and Jake Worthington being like, man, don't give up on country music. You know, he's just so damn passionate. I love it.
But, yeah, it's such a blessing to be a part of this little community and this. This revival of country music. It's. It's such a cool thing to be a part of.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: Yeah. How did you first get to know, like, that group? Like, which one in that crew was kind of.
[00:04:24] Speaker C: I guess I probably met Cole first.
Cole was out on the Road when I was playing for Austin, the first headline tour that Austin did. And gosh, I'd say fall of 23, the first run we did was a Georgia run. And he was our opener for that weekend. And we just obviously hit it off. You know, we're pretty much the same person in a lot of ways, and man, he's just so talented and he, you know, he wasn't, he didn't have much going on at that time, I don't think, as far as social media goes and stuff. But soon after, man, he started killing it and it was, it was awesome to see him take off. And let's see, I met, I'd say I probably met Colton next.
We were, it was when I was still with Austin. We were headed to a show in, I want to say Phoenix, Arizona, somewhere in Arizona. And Colton was headed back home.
And we, I ran into him at the airport. He was on our same flight. And we had followed each other but never really talked before. And I just walked up to him. I was like, hey, man, are you Colton Dawson? Right? And he was like, kenny, what's up, dude? And we just instantly best friends, you know? You know how he is. He's so easy to talk to.
[00:05:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:32] Speaker C: Yeah. And then I met Roger and, and Jake through Colton. Just kind of being around those guys and getting to write country damn music with them, it's been, it's been so fun.
[00:05:40] Speaker A: Yeah, man. And that's just it. Cdm. Country damn music, bro. And you, you mentioned the local, and that's a spot that I've always loved. And we've been hosting the round, our Tuesday rounds for a few months now. But talk about just how special that place has been for you, too. Whether it's the, it's the Monday night. I mean, any night of the week, they're just supporting that traditional sound. No matter what's on the mainstream and what's on the radio and what's on the big playlist. You can find traditional damn country music in those doors.
[00:06:12] Speaker C: Absolutely, man. I, I, if I remember correctly, it might have been the very first round I played was at the local.
I can't remember who it was for, but man, yeah, it's awesome. I mean, just being able to go there on, on a Monday night and see Will Jones and Sam Banks play and just rip it, Rip guitars, dude. And then, you know, Saturday nights or organic country with Kevin Denny and all those legends. You know, you got Joe Spivey playing fiddle and I mean, just the coolest band in the world. And I mean, to have access to that and just so much inspiration through that place, man. And so many great folks that you get to shake hands with and meet and chat with. And it leads to so many, you know, just great networking leading to rights and friends and it's, it's a great place to, to be at.
[00:06:57] Speaker A: Yeah, 100%. Now walk me back to Woodstock, Georgia. What was it like growing up there and what kind of inspired the. The move to.
It sounds like you were starting to come up here when you were 18, but to make that leap at 19, one semester of college in like, take me through back to 2022. What led to you wanting.
[00:07:17] Speaker C: So I was blessed to grow up in. In somewhat of a musical family. My dad is a bass player and a guitar player.
Kind of grew up on a lot of different sounds. He was big into classic rock and my mom just kind of whatever was on the radio, she wasn't real big into music. But my dad liked some of the outlaw stuff like Waylon Jennings and stuff, but mainly it was classic rock for him. And then, you know, on the radio in the early 2000s was Aldean. And you know, you'd have some George Straight hits and some Alan Jackson hits, but, you know, it was Aldean and Luke Bryan and all those guys. And then in high school it was, you know, I went to a very diverse big high school and it was, you know, a lot of rap music in the locker room. I played football, so a lot of rap music and in the weight room and stuff like that. And then it's funny, I, you know, I knew the, I knew the, the main old school country songs like the Mama Tribes and the, you know, Okie from Muskogee. I'm a big Merle Haggard guy. But in high school I really started diving in. And this is so crazy to say, and it's one of the reasons that I love being able to. To do this sound is I found like really deep dive into Merle Haggard on Spotify.
And that's just so crazy to say because a lot of my grandparents and stuff weren't really into that kind of music. It was either kind of like real strict southern gospel music or, or not really being all that interested in music.
And so it's such a crazy thing to say that I found Merle Haggard on Spotify.
[00:08:43] Speaker A: It's the 2000s. Like this is. That's how you find your favorite songs nowadays, man.
[00:08:50] Speaker C: Right.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: And that's one of the blessings of it is it's all that you don't have to Go to a walmart or an FYE or somewhere and dig through CDs. You can access any song from any time period.
[00:09:01] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:02] Speaker A: What. What was the gateway like? What was the. The Take Me into that. Those deep Bside. Merle Haggard.
[00:09:08] Speaker C: Oh, man. Like, the. The Heaven Was a Drink of Wines and the. I mean, you know, bottle Let Me Down. That's not necessarily B side. That's a pretty big song for him.
[00:09:15] Speaker A: But.
[00:09:15] Speaker C: Yeah, just all the stuff, you know, Swinging Doors and, you know, all that stuff that. I mean, I started listening to him, I was like, why didn't the radio sound like this? Well, this is country music. I mean, this is what country radio should sound like. And, you know, it's a blessing to have the opportunity to potentially bring that sound. You know, with what Zach's doing and being. Having number ones on the radio, it's. It's just. Like I said earlier, it's just kicking the door open to. To be able to, you know, inspire the younger folks that are interested in music to. To be able to bring that sound potentially back to the radio would be, you know, is such a blessing.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: Yeah, man, it definitely is. And there's more. Like, it almost is that, like. I think it was Lainey Wilson that said it. Where the. The Country's Cool Again song, you know, or it is back in culture.
[00:09:59] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:10:00] Speaker A: You know, more so than it has been in probably the last 25 years or so.
[00:10:04] Speaker C: Right.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: Which is wild. So to get to be a part of that and even see bars in town. Like, we talked about the local. But you walk into Skinny Dennis and East Nashville any night of the week, and you're like. Or the Music Valley area, which I know I'm sure means a lot to you, with the palace and the Music City and scoreboards and all those venues there, man. So, I mean, you're coming up at the right time, like.
[00:10:26] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. It feels like a God thing, man. Just, you know, really honing in on my sound and. And what. You know, the transition of this music, it's just. It's felt like a. Just God's timing and everything. Yeah.
[00:10:37] Speaker A: What was touring with Tracy Lawrence like?
[00:10:39] Speaker C: Oh, I haven't done any show.
[00:10:40] Speaker A: You haven't done that yet?
[00:10:41] Speaker C: No, we've here recently. We've been out with Aaron Lewis.
[00:10:44] Speaker A: Oh, Aaron Lewis.
[00:10:45] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: That's like a dip into the traditional side, but also a whole other animal.
[00:10:51] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah, man. It was funny. It was.
I think. I think their whole crowd was just super stoned because we got up there and they were just. They were Real chill. You know, it's not the rowdy kind of concert that you typically. The concert crowd that you typically get in front of. It was almost like a listening room. It was, it was neat. Like every song I played, they were dead silent. And you know, I get getting applause at the end and. But it was, it was really neat. So I'm excited we got more shows this weekend coming up and that's sick.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Where was that show at?
[00:11:20] Speaker C: You remember Effingham, Illinois, I think.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: Okay. Oh, so you were with.
On the border of Illinois and Kentucky.
[00:11:28] Speaker C: Yes, that sounds right.
[00:11:30] Speaker A: So you're getting those southern hillbillies mixed with those good Midwestern folks.
[00:11:34] Speaker C: Yeah, man.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: Yeah. Those are fun crowds for dude.
[00:11:37] Speaker C: Yeah, we had a quick turnaround. We. I was supposed to.
Supposed to be traveling with them and last minute I had to travel by myself. So we decided to play the gig and then turn right back around and come back that night. So, yeah, this week I'll get to kind of hang out and watch the show. And from what I heard in sound check, they're. It's a country damn band. They sound killer, man.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Yeah, dude. What's it like now doing the artist thing? Because you've, You've had lots of touring experience. A lot of, A lot of young folks coming up don't have. They, they get that social media pop moment. Not quite what you've had with the whole Charlie Puth thing, all that, but they. It usually works where an artist doesn't have reps being on stage and you have your gigs back home playing at the barbecue joint. Like we were talking before we got on here, playing rounds and stuff in town. But also being on stage as a guitar player.
[00:12:26] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: And being in different bands. But now using that experience, being the artist up there. Talk about how, how you would describe touring to somebody.
[00:12:35] Speaker C: Oh, man, it's. It's brutal. It can be brutal at times, but it's. It's kind of a love hate relationship, you know, it's. You get that, you know, whether it's a 30 minute opening set or a 75 minute headline set that you're doing, that's, that's the little fun you get, you know, other than hanging out with the guys. If you enjoy who you're on the road with, which I've been blessed to, to usually really enjoy all the people I've been on the road with, but it's a grind, man. But it's, it's so neat to, to go to a. You know, I haven't necessarily experienced it myself yet. But with Austin, you know, going to a town you've never even heard of and, you know, anywhere from two to 600 to a couple thousand people showing up and singing the songs back and. And just, you know, being able to be the light. You know, so many people that's their own, they look forward to that concert that they paid tickets for. You know, it's like it's kind of our lives and it. Yeah, we get kind of jaded in it sometimes. But to. To be able to bring that light to. To people and, you know, to know that they've been looking forward to this for years, months, weeks, you know, however long it's been, it's. It's a blessing to be able to do that for folks.
[00:13:40] Speaker A: Hey, man. Quite a 180. Ripping the guitar on Excuse the Mess or Muddy Water, Rock star. Any of those. To what you're doing now. What's it been like changing that up, man?
[00:13:51] Speaker C: It's. I mean, like I said earlier, I grew up. My dad was big on the classic rock, so that sound wasn't new to me, and it was really fun. It was definitely out of my comfort zone to be.
You know, the amount of energy you have to bring into the performance was definitely out of my comfort zone. But it taught me so much. I mean, that whole gig being out on the road and, you know, the do's and don'ts and not having the pressure as an artist, you know, to go back to what you were saying earlier, it was such an awesome thing to. I learned so much and met so many great people.
That gig was. Was really, I think, a God thing, like I keep saying. It's just. I look back and see all the. The stars aligning with, you know, the. Here, learn this and now learn this and meet this person and meet this person and now here you go. You know, it's just been really cool.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: It's all connected, bro. It. It really, really is all connected. Now I got word and we're able to talk about it. The record deal.
[00:14:43] Speaker C: Yes, sir.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: What's it like to say? Kenny Whitmire, the guy with the record deal. Thinking back to when you moved here and tell me all. Tell me the details of it. Who'd you sign with?
[00:14:52] Speaker C: Mca.
[00:14:52] Speaker A: Mca. Let's go.
[00:14:54] Speaker C: Yep. So it's MCA now. Not. Not universal going back.
But, man, it's been a blessing. They were.
They really showed a lot of love from the start. Even before I was posting that first gave her the Moon video, I was posting some more originals that had done decent, you know, Nothing to the effect that gave her the Moon did. But, you know, I was getting phone calls from. From Dave Cobb at mca and, you know, he produced Chris Stapleton for folks that don't know that. And I remember locking myself in my room in middle school and high school and learning that Traveler record and everything. And then to be talking to him and him showing interest and being like, man, I love your stuff. I love your voice. You know, would love to. To have you in for meetings. It was just mind blowing.
And so they've definitely. I wanted to be loyal to them because they were loyal to me. And before anything was. Was really actually happening, they were. They were showing love. So it's. It was always the place I wanted to wind up at.
[00:15:48] Speaker A: Yeah, it's got to be pretty cool working with guys that helped create your. Your favorite records.
[00:15:54] Speaker C: It's insane.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: And you're getting to do that on the songwriter side, too, writing with the Rogers of the world and guys like Jake Worthington that you've looked up to.
[00:16:02] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's. It's mind blowing. And it. Like I was saying earlier with touring, you kind of get numb to it sometimes and jaded. And then you have those moments where you sit back and it's like, damn, I just wrote with Roger Springer. You know, I just sat and had a conversation with Jake Worthington. It was like, I used to look up to these guys, and now I'm. They're almost, you know, becoming peers. And it's. It's wild. Yeah.
[00:16:23] Speaker A: Yeah, man. When was the moment that you felt it starting to switch, that you really felt confident? Because I remember when you were the quiet kid coming into the bar and. No, I know. Well, you were the kid with, with the, with the exes, with the X's on the hand. You'd get up there, you'd play, you'd chill for a second, then you'd kind of get out of. Get out of dodge there and then
[00:16:42] Speaker C: have a lot of awkward conversations.
[00:16:44] Speaker A: Yeah. When did, when did that switch come? Because I think it's important for a lot of guys and girls that move here, move here by themselves and have their friend group, but you get out there and you get in the scene. Like, when did it start kind of clicking for you?
[00:16:57] Speaker C: Man? I, I really, as an artist, I don't think it was until the. I gave her the moon stuff really happened. As a writer, you know, it was.
I. I put out a song a few years ago called Blue Collar, and it did. It did decent on social media. And so that really opened the door for me to start being in the room with some cool writers and then led to my publishing deal with River House.
And then I, you know, I was still on the road with Austin, and just, you know, the further I was, the longer I was away from being an artist, and, you know, I was spending so much time on the road with Austin, I didn't have any time really to put into it. The longer I was away from it, the more I missed it and felt drawn to be doing it because I moved to town, you know, that was why the reason I moved here was to be an artist. Yeah.
And so I had a conversation with Austin and decided that I was going to leave his band. And it was. It felt like a breakup, you know, because he's my best friend, one of my best friends.
[00:17:56] Speaker A: That's your guy, man.
[00:17:57] Speaker C: You.
[00:17:57] Speaker A: You had that gig pretty early in being in town, too. Like, it's what you knew.
[00:18:01] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. And so kind of just took a leap of faith and. And started posting on social media, trying to be as consistent as possible.
And it slowly started to work, you know, especially with, like, I keep bringing up Zach's, you know, bringing back that traditional sound. You know, I would start to cover Merle songs, and they used to get, you know, 100 likes, and then they started getting, you know, 500 likes and then a thousand likes, and just kind of started slowly growing it from there. And then I started trickling in originals. And you're getting Colder, which I think will be out by the time this comes out.
That one started doing decent. And then I posted gave her the Moon, and it's just like, let's do it.
Let's.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Have you figured out what makes a good video? Like, can you tell if it's gonna be good or not or not necessarily, or do you. You're just throwing up darts of stuff you believe in, I guess, authenticity.
[00:18:54] Speaker C: I mean, I definitely. It's definitely. There's something to be said with being consistent. And, you know, as soon as someone swipes, you know, something that. That looks somewhat recognizable other than just my face. You know, I do a lot of my videos outside, and I try to always put the, you know, the same kind of, like, effects on it to where it kind of looks similar in the same vibe. And it's like, as soon as you see it, it's like, oh, here's Kenny. He's gonna sing. Is it a cover? Is it an original? You know, so. But no, as far as, like, songs or certain covers that I did, like, I did a. A 1982 cover Randy Travis song.
[00:19:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:28] Speaker C: And I actually did it in my garage. I was like, I'm gonna switch up my. The scenery and see if it'll do something. I did it in my garage and didn't think anything of it. Posted it and it got like, over 100,000 likes and like 700,000 views, and it's like, holy cow. So you really know. I really never know what's going to work or not. Like I said with Gave her the Moon, it was like, we'll just post it and see what happens. And in a day, it had like 40,000 likes. And then Luke Combs and Tracy Lawrence, and then Charlie Puth is commenting on it, and then Charlie makes. You know, it's. You just never know. So.
It's wild.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: It is. It is wild, man. It is wild because you're just. You're throwing it. You're throwing it out there and just being authentic and just putting out good songs, trying to write and craft songs that you believe in and reflect what you're going through. How's your writing process changed from the past few years of being here?
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Oh, man, I don't know if it's necessarily changed all that much other than just getting more comfortable with it.
Like you said, I'm a pretty quiet guy, so it took me a long time to learn how to be comfortable and. And confident in a room and. And know my place and.
But it's been a. It's been really cool. Now that stuff is starting to work. You know, I'm finally. Because I spent a long time writing for Austin and for a lot of other artists, which is. I. I enjoy that almost just as much as writing for myself. But to. To get put with these, you know, guys like Roger Springer and.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:47] Speaker C: And, you know, Michael White and all these other guys. You know, Lynn Hutton, the guy I wrote.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:52] Speaker C: All these veteran songwriters that have been waiting for this traditional sound to come back that they love.
It's been really cool to get to write with those guys. And I guess that that has been the biggest change is finally getting to write for myself, you know, pretty. Pretty regularly.
[00:21:07] Speaker A: Yeah. Getting to be the artist in the room.
[00:21:09] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. It takes a little bit of pressure off. You know, I used to be where, you know, how many ideas do I have and, you know, what do I need to bring to the table? And now it's like, you know, I still definitely want to be a writer in the room when it comes to also being the artist, and I want to have my ideas, and I definitely have A vision for where I want my music to go, but it's. It's. I've. Personally, I feel a little less pressure going into a writing room, you know, getting to be the artist.
[00:21:33] Speaker A: Yeah. Someone that's been on my mind lately. And he was a great mutual friend. The both of us was. Is Sam Johnson.
[00:21:38] Speaker C: Oh, man. Yeah.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: And just thinking about how proud he must be looking down. I know, man. Well, it's just. It's something I. I was talking with Christian about it the other night, like, just seeing where everybody's at in the whole gang, man, like, talk about how important a guy like that was, man.
[00:21:56] Speaker C: I'm really glad you brought that up because he's one of the main reasons I moved to town. I mean, he.
I met him, I got put with him.
I was. I was cutting songs with Jake Partial and I got put with Sam. We were. I was looking to write some more songs and better songs that I was writing back home by myself. And he was, I think, the very first. A part of the very first C.O. wright I had in Nashville.
[00:22:19] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:22:20] Speaker C: And we just kind of stayed in touch when I went back home.
And, man, he was just hounding me to move to Nashville. Just DM me. I mean, I have a screenshot somewhere on my phone of just all the messages he sent me on Instagram of saying, like, begging me to move to Nashville. And I finally did. And after like three months of being in Nashville, I moved in with Christian Yancey. He had a two bedroom apartment and he was just using the other room as an office. And I moved in with him. He offered for me to move in with him, and we stayed there for like maybe two, three months and then got a rental house with Sam. So he was my roommate, you know, until he passed.
[00:22:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:00] Speaker C: I mean, just.
Just one of the best human beings in the world and a fantastic songwriter and. And such a. Such a champion for people and such a. Such an encouragement.
[00:23:08] Speaker A: That's what I think of. I think of the C word, which everybody really needs to have in this. Anything in life, but especially being in this music world where there's so many ups and downs, you need friends, but you also need friends that are champions, you know? And. And he was a guy that, no matter what was going on, would always dig you out of any BS that you were going through and just bring the good vibes.
[00:23:30] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: And I'm sure he's got to be proud of what you're doing and what Christian's doing and what Austin's doing and what Shelby's Doing and like Yalls whole crew, man, like, he's someone that. That popped up in my head of like, man, if he could be here with. With his publishing deal and just getting to write this record with you, man.
[00:23:50] Speaker C: Yeah. I can't imagine the songs we'd get. It's funny, he.
He'd be one of the first to tell you that he wasn't all that interested in the traditional country.
[00:23:57] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. That wasn't. That wasn't his lane. That's not his lane.
[00:24:00] Speaker C: But, you know, as I started, you know, getting more serious about it and, you know, opening up to him about how much I really did love that sound and was considering doing it, we wrote. We wrote that song I put out forever ago. If this bar had a heart.
[00:24:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:13] Speaker C: Me and him wrote that song together and it was one of the first songs he was like, you know what? When you sang it, I don't mind it.
I remember him saying that. It's so. Yeah, I think he would be. I think he'd be really excited about everything going on, man. I missed the out of him.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: Yeah, man, I do too. And speaking of big things going on, as a Georgia guy, there's people that you look up to and you talked about Aldean and the Luke Bryans. You got to know Brantley pretty well, being out in the road with Austin and all that. But to be going out with Billy Curry, man.
[00:24:42] Speaker C: Oh, man. I said it in my post I made earlier, but I. I definitely grew up on some Billy Currington.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: Yeah, man, everyone knows the words to Good Direction. Come on.
[00:24:50] Speaker C: You know, man, I don't know if I've ever played a cover gig and not played Good Directions.
[00:24:53] Speaker A: Yeah. Have you gotten to talk with him yet?
[00:24:56] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, we've. I met him on the road with Austin. We played some festivals with him a while back and he's a super open guy, man. I mean, he's, you know, some artist or. And I get it, you know, not wanting to. To talk to anybody and everybody, but he was always present. You know, you just walk up to him, hey, Billy, how are you, man? Big fan. And he was always willing to talk and. And we've been messaging on Instagram and stuff. I'm so excited to. To hit the road with him.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: And he's a guy that's such a, like the story of different folks in town. Because Good Directions was a Luke Bryan written song.
[00:25:28] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:25:28] Speaker A: And that's what gave Luke Bryan his first glimpse of success in town, was that song as a writer, that big Billy Currington cut for him. And. And way back in the day was Ward. Ward. Gunther Ward sold merch for Billy.
[00:25:44] Speaker C: Oh, wow.
[00:25:45] Speaker A: And that was. That was one of Ward's first, like, gigs. It was bartending at Tin Roof, getting Whiskey Jam started, and going out on the road working with Billy.
[00:25:53] Speaker C: That's crazy. I didn't know that.
[00:25:55] Speaker A: So it's like, he's a guy that you can't really tell the. The 2010s chapter of Nashville and Country music. Billy, of course, he was putting out hits. He was putting out hits a little bit before that and has had a legendary career. But the people that he's kind of helped along the way, that were huge as well.
[00:26:11] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: You know, and now you're on that list of guys going out and getting to do stuff with them.
[00:26:15] Speaker C: It's crazy. Yeah. He actually. I guess he is a fan of Gave her the Moon. Dude.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: Everybody is, man. It's a great freaking song.
[00:26:23] Speaker C: Thank you so much.
[00:26:23] Speaker A: They're not. If they're not, I want to check them for a pulse, but go on.
[00:26:26] Speaker C: I'm sorry. No, he. It was so cool. I don't know if he actually. I'll have to ask him about this, but I don't know if he actually took the videos himself or if he just found videos, but when it. The day the song came out, he posted something on his story. It was like a bunch of clips of videos kind of following the. The chorus of the song. And then he. It was like a video by Billy Currency, tagged himself, and he said, song by Kenny Whitmire out now. It was the coolest thing in the world. I was like, I cannot believe that Billy Currington is making videos about my song right now. It's wild.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: That is wild, man. And there's going to be people in his crowd singing and your crowd singing them back to you, man.
[00:27:01] Speaker C: Yeah. And he also. He. You know, that tour was announced today. He. He made the post and he used Gave her the Moon as the song on the post to announce the tour day. So it's just coolest thing in the world.
[00:27:11] Speaker A: Yeah, man. It really is. And it's looking like you guys are going. You've got so much, so many irons in the fire right now of, like, different tours and things going, but looking around at where you're going to be going, you're bouncing all over the Midwest. You're getting to go. Have you done the Windjammer before in Charleston?
[00:27:28] Speaker C: No, I don't think so.
[00:27:29] Speaker A: It's beautiful. You're gonna love it. Yeah. It's on the beach.
[00:27:32] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:32] Speaker A: And it's one of those things where like the stage is here and then the venue is like over here and then the ocean's right behind you.
[00:27:38] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:27:39] Speaker A: So that's gonna be a sick.
[00:27:40] Speaker C: Oh, that's awesome.
[00:27:40] Speaker A: That's gonna be.
[00:27:41] Speaker C: You know, you're probably looking at it no more than me on where I'm playing.
[00:27:45] Speaker A: I guess manager, guitar player, different things. But I'm sure you've been through a lot.
[00:27:50] Speaker C: But even just saying, like I've been so busy lately.
[00:27:53] Speaker A: Oh yeah.
[00:27:54] Speaker C: I really had the chance to really dive in.
[00:27:56] Speaker A: I'm cheap, I'm cheating. I'm looking on Spotify on your events thing. So what's on there? Yeah, and it says events near Mount Juliet. You're getting to play the Caverns. Have you done that before?
[00:28:04] Speaker C: No, I haven't, man. I'm fired up. Bro.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: That place is legendary. I've actually got a poster behind you of when old 60 played there. Bro, that place is crazy. It's like if Red Rocks were a club, dude.
[00:28:16] Speaker C: Yeah, like the whole thing's included.
[00:28:17] Speaker A: You're literally in a cage. You got no cell service or nothing. The green rooms, like double wide trailers, like up on a hill outside the cave. Dude, it is unbelievable.
[00:28:27] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm fired up. That's. That one's with Ian Muncick, I believe. Yeah, that'll be fun. Yeah, that'll be a country crowd right there.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: Yeah, bro, his. His acoustics in there are gonna be nuts.
[00:28:36] Speaker C: Oh, dude.
[00:28:36] Speaker A: With how his voice just goes all those different levels, man.
[00:28:39] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:28:39] Speaker A: That's a whole vibe, man. Might have to. Might have to try and make the trip down, honestly.
[00:28:44] Speaker C: Come hang. We'd love to.
[00:28:45] Speaker A: And now are these shows gonna be full band? Are they gonna be.
[00:28:48] Speaker C: No, the Billy Crington shows will be full band, but everything leading up to that is acoustic.
[00:28:52] Speaker A: Yeah. Now, how's it been kind of building out your band? Because being going from band guy to artists, I'm sure you're going to be. You're particular about how the band thing.
[00:29:02] Speaker C: Yeah, for sure, for sure.
I have or had an incredible band back home and the drummer I had from there will be coming out on the road with Nice. So I'm fired up for that. But yeah, just been, you know, social media is a great tool and you know, there's so many great pickers in town these days.
It'll be, you know, starting out if the budget helps, you know, and I'm able to bring a five piece out, you know, I'll have a Steel player and a guitar player and bass and drums. But if I can only bring four people or. Yeah, four pet. Four piece. So three people with me, you know, I'll. I'll probably be having to rip a
[00:29:39] Speaker A: lot of guitar, and that's not a problem, man. I mean, I. I. That's. My thing is, like, when. When. When people ask, like, seeing you live like, you're. You're a shredder, man.
[00:29:49] Speaker C: Well, thank you, man.
[00:29:50] Speaker A: You're a shredder. You're good on that. Get fiddle.
[00:29:51] Speaker C: I appreciate it, man. I take it day by day. It was. I was not a guitar player at all when I met Austin. I mean, I had. I could strum an acoustic guitar, and then, you know, my dad always took the. The picking and the, you know, the bass playing back home, and we would play together, and I would just kind of strum and sing along.
And then when I moved to town, I. I just kind of had a lot more time on my hands and wanted to start learning how to play. You know, just learning very basic pentatonic scales. And then awesome was like, you want to come out on the road with me? Because I could kind of sing harmonies with them. And I was like, yeah, I'm gonna have to learn how to play guitar. I had to buy a guitar and a whole, whole rig, man. But it was a blessing just getting thrown in the deep end. I had to. I had to learn quick.
[00:30:34] Speaker A: It's sink or swim, bro. Yeah, you swam. You swam. Now you're jumping off.
[00:30:38] Speaker C: I was thinking some of them early shows, I was thinking, but.
But, yeah, we. We got better.
[00:30:44] Speaker A: What have been some of your favorite places to play? Like, places you're looking forward to getting out to and having your name on the marquee.
[00:30:51] Speaker C: Oh, man. I mean, the biggest one. I. I've been blessed to play the Opry with Austin a few times, but I still haven't stepped in the circle yet.
[00:30:59] Speaker A: It's coming, bro.
[00:31:00] Speaker C: Man.
[00:31:00] Speaker A: It's got to be coming, man.
[00:31:02] Speaker C: I'll retire after that happens.
[00:31:03] Speaker A: Don't do that. You're gonna have a lot ahead of you after that. Don't do that, man. But the Opry. But we're. We're, like, regional. Some other places where.
[00:31:10] Speaker C: Oh, man, we played. This is kind of random, but we played a place in.
In.
I'm trying to think. Guilford. Guilford, New Hampshire. Oh, bro.
[00:31:19] Speaker A: Yeah, it is beautiful.
[00:31:22] Speaker C: Dude, that. That place out there is awesome. In the. You know, the lobster, everything they have. That. That place is awesome. So I want to go back out There. But man, off the top of my head, I can't necessarily think of any other. I mean the Southeast will be awesome to, to get to go play some real country music for, but other than that, man, I'm just, I'm just fired up to go anywhere anyway. Anywhere that'll happen.
[00:31:42] Speaker A: You are going to be going anywhere, you know, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio. And it's a good little mix of like clubs, but also theaters, but also arenas. Like you're gonna get to do all of it.
[00:31:53] Speaker C: Yeah, man, make stage.
[00:31:55] Speaker A: One night you're in an arena, next night you're in a theater, next night
[00:31:57] Speaker C: you're in a honky tonk collection item in the corner of a barbecue joint back home.
[00:32:02] Speaker A: How do you, how do you keep the, the train on the tracks? Like what do you do outside of music for hobbies or to kind of keep yourself sane? I know you got a lovely lady in your corner.
[00:32:11] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, I definitely do. I'm a dog dad, so I play with my dogs a lot back home I got three, I got a.
About to turn this week he turns one one year old bloodhound and then a six year old husky and a ten year old lab. So we got a big range of ages and it's almost like being a dad sometimes. But other than that, man, I used to, you know, back home I was definitely a fisher and a hunter. You know, the typical hobbies from, you know, being in Georgia. But I just, I kind of have put it on the back burner to, to really focus on music as much as I possibly can.
So I'm I'm honestly probably pretty boring right now. It's. If I'm home, I'm probably picking on a guitar, practicing a Merl Hagger.
[00:32:51] Speaker A: You video game guy at all?
[00:32:52] Speaker C: No, not, not at all, man. I, I played some Madden growing up, but yeah, for some reason wasn't much of an interest to me.
[00:32:59] Speaker A: I was gonna say, I know Christian's a real dog on that Fortnite, so I didn't know if you got into that as well.
[00:33:05] Speaker C: I'll watch some folks play, but I'm no good at it.
[00:33:08] Speaker A: I'm not good either.
[00:33:09] Speaker C: I can't hang.
[00:33:10] Speaker A: I was playing last night and I was, I was the reason our team lost over and over and over again. They were getting frustrated with me and stuff. Where do you like going in town? Like where are some of your, your hangout spots?
[00:33:19] Speaker C: And I think we kind of already talked about them, but the local and music city and scoreboard every now and then. But the local is probably where you'll find me.
[00:33:28] Speaker A: Have you done skinny Dentist yet?
[00:33:29] Speaker C: I haven't played there. I've been there.
[00:33:31] Speaker A: You've been there?
[00:33:31] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. That place is like. It's like time traveling when you walk in.
[00:33:35] Speaker A: Yeah, bro. And they got four dollar Coors lights.
[00:33:37] Speaker C: Yeah, come on.
[00:33:38] Speaker A: Like four dollar Coors lights. They sell the, they sell the. Out of this Surfside too. Oh yeah, we. Whenever Nick. Whenever Nick and I go in there. Nick. Nick makes sure to get a bucket of Surfsides, you know.
[00:33:47] Speaker C: That's awesome.
[00:33:48] Speaker A: But it's a cool spot. Where are some food spots you like in town? You're a big, you big food guy.
[00:33:52] Speaker C: I, I mean, yeah, if you can't tell. I am, man. It's been a while. I mean, I like the, the steakhouses around town. Like I've been to halls, you know, the fancier steakhouses. But I'm. I'm usually just hitting the local barbecue joint back. You know, I live, I live about 45 minutes west of town in, in White Bluff, so I'm usually just going somewhere.
Yeah, I'm a little bit outside of town, so I'm. That's probably not the answer you were looking for, but I'm usually hitting the Pig and Pub or something back home.
[00:34:18] Speaker A: I feel like that's a common theme that people have, is they're in town for a little while and they live in their, their Antioch, their Donaldson or that's Hermitage, like in the, this side of town or, or wherever or in the city. And then as you're here for a while, you get the thing figured out. You kind of bump out of town a little bit just to kind of keep your sanity.
[00:34:38] Speaker C: Yeah, that's, that's the biggest thing is keeping my sanity, man. I mean, the. I can't handle a lot of traffic and, and being around a ton of people all the time. You know, it's. It's a blessing to be able to go into Nashville and, and, and do music and all that. But I got to get out quite often to, to, to recharge for sure.
[00:34:56] Speaker A: Yeah, man. Take a, take a little break. Have that separation where it's like you're going in and it's work and then there's home. You're not living where works.
[00:35:04] Speaker C: It's hard to look at it as work, but.
[00:35:06] Speaker A: Right. Isn't that crazy? You're literally. What. Did you have any odd jobs when you first moved here?
[00:35:11] Speaker C: No, man, I was really lucky. I mean, I, I had very supportive parents that, that would send me a little money every Month, just to get by. I mean, when I moved in with Christian, he was already used to. To paying the rent there, so he was like, man, if you could just throw me a couple hundred bucks a month.
Oh, yeah, it was awesome. And then we. And then he wanted to leave that. So I had to. I had to up my. My rent. But, yeah, no, I mean, I was working. I saved up some money. I was doing heating and air back home before I moved to town. You know, I did a semester of college, and that was the furthest thing from being for me. So I started doing heating and air for a little bit and just saved up money. I worked for a little family owned, just two truck running. I was just kind of the gopher, you know, go for this, go for that, carry this here and put it there and saved up as much money as I could and then. And then moved to town in 19.
There you go. I was going back home a lot and playing gigs that.
[00:36:02] Speaker A: I remember that.
[00:36:04] Speaker C: Yeah, I was. I was back home just about every weekend, and it's not too bad. It's about three and a half hours to get home from Nashville. So. Yeah, playing a lot of acoustic gigs. I had a lot of.
A lot of folks I could just kind of hit up. And it was a blessing to. Hey, man, I'm. I kind of need some honey. Can I. Can I come play your restaurant this weekend? And they pay me a lot more than probably they should have, so it was. It was awesome to. To not have to do anything else and to be able to focus on music. It was a blessing.
[00:36:29] Speaker A: Yeah, man, that's huge. Now tell me about this new music that we've got coming.
[00:36:33] Speaker C: Yeah, it's country.
[00:36:34] Speaker A: Well, I'm sure it is. I wouldn't expect anything else from you, bud.
[00:36:37] Speaker C: Yeah. So, yeah, we've got you're getting Colder coming out in a couple weeks. It's valid. And then got a love song coming out after that. And then we're just kind of working towards, you know, turning these songs we've been putting out recently into an EP and then hopefully a record soon. I'm. I'm. I want to put as much music out as possible, man. So.
[00:36:56] Speaker A: Yeah, dude, you've got. Bro, you're killing it. It's. It's freaking awesome just watching you over the past few years, and it's all so well deserved, man. And you seem to be handling it really well, man.
[00:37:08] Speaker C: Thank you so much. I hope I'm good at acting like I'm handling it.
Getting better day by day.
[00:37:13] Speaker A: No man, you are, dude. You are.
[00:37:15] Speaker C: You're.
[00:37:15] Speaker A: You're so, so well grounded and. And thank you for putting out great music for all of us to. All of us to listen to and thinking.
[00:37:22] Speaker C: It's great.
[00:37:23] Speaker A: Dude, it is. It is, man. It is. And. And that you're only scratching the surface, bro. Like, it's just the tip of the iceberg. So I can't wait to get out to a show and watch you and
[00:37:33] Speaker C: the boys anytime you want.
[00:37:35] Speaker A: Oh, we will. Me and Nick will. Nikki T. And I will take you up spot, dude. I appreciate that, man. I appreciate that. You know, anything we can. We can ever do for you, your
[00:37:44] Speaker C: family, well, you've already done more than anyone any small artist could ever ask, man. I. I can't appreciate y' all enough to. Or you, you know, show my appreciation enough for what you do for the guys moving to town and not knowing a damn soul or, you know, knowing what to do. You've. You've done so much for. For so many people. We can't thank you enough.
[00:38:03] Speaker A: Well, that means the world to us, man.
So I'm going to send you home with some Surfsides. I got an eight pack for you right there.
[00:38:09] Speaker C: We were talking about. You crack.
[00:38:10] Speaker A: You crack that open.
[00:38:11] Speaker C: Have you.
[00:38:12] Speaker A: Have you had one of those before?
[00:38:13] Speaker C: I have. It's been a while, but.
[00:38:14] Speaker A: But have you had the. The iced tea and lemonade one?
[00:38:16] Speaker C: Oh, no.
[00:38:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
The half and half power, bro.
[00:38:19] Speaker C: Yeah. You can send me a little bit
[00:38:20] Speaker A: of this, a little bit of that. I got an eight pack for you to take home, so you enjoy those.
[00:38:25] Speaker C: My wife will like those, too.
[00:38:26] Speaker A: There you go. Perfect, man. Well, appreciate you so much. Congrats on everything. Can't wait for the new music and. Yeah, man, just keep on keeping on, brother.
And also, I'm sure you'll be involved with this. Colton came up to me the other. Probably. Probably about a month ago, Colton Dawson came up to me and asked me, hey, do you know how to smoke brisket? I'm like, colton, what makes you think that I, the New Yorker, know how to smoke brisket? Maybe some, like, pastrami deli thing, but he's like, cigarettes? Yeah, yeah, definitely some cigarettes. You. You've been there and seen me do that. But he. He was like, we got to get together and smoke brisket. So it sounds like I'm going to be getting together with Colton and smoking brisket. So I. I hope to see you
[00:39:05] Speaker C: can take one look at me and know that I'm into that.
[00:39:07] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. With it. With his fancy new Traeger that he's got or whatever. So we'll have to link up. I told. I told Nick and Ike we'll have to bring them out and have Ike film it for.
[00:39:16] Speaker C: Absolutely.
[00:39:16] Speaker A: I'm like, we can do some barbecue content with the boys. I'm like, that could be pretty cool.
[00:39:21] Speaker C: Pick some guitars while we're waiting on it.
[00:39:23] Speaker A: Honestly, that would be a dream. That would be a dream. We'll bring the cigars in the surf side as well.
[00:39:27] Speaker C: That.
[00:39:28] Speaker A: Yes, sir. Well, y' all be sure to check out our boy Kenny Whitmire. Big things coming here in 2026. Catch him out in the road with Tracy Lawrence, Billy Currington, and I'm sure a bunch of other shows that are going to be getting added. And be on the lookout for the new music. Shout out to our friends from Surfside. Check them out. And for more on us, visit razer.com My man, Kenny. I'm Matt Brill. This has been outside the round
[00:39:51] Speaker B: I ain't never been the kind for st one place for too long I ain't never been the best at s I love you to a girl I love Only got a couple tricks up my sleeve they usually just make them leave so if you know me if know me you know I'm just a two trick pony maybe the drink and the lack of money for show I'm just a two trick pony yeah.
