Ryan Waters

[00:00:15] Speaker A: This is outside the round with Matt Burrill for Razor outdoor podcast. What's going on, everybody? It's your boy, Matt Burrill. Welcome back to out sides around. And today, a very special guest, a guy we've had as a part of the raised Ratty family for quite a little while now from probably one of my favorite states in the union, the great state of Alabama, where I've gotten to know a lot of talented guys, girls, eating all kinds of food, chicken gizzards, all kinds of shit. And he's been blowing up on social media, been doing a lot of cool things and been playing a lot of our events and looking very good in the limited edition King hat. Right now we've got our boy, Ryan Waters with a broken finger. [00:00:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:59] Speaker A: What happened? [00:00:59] Speaker B: It's really great, dude. Actually, it was a hunting accident, actually, we were filled dressing an animal, and my buddy slipped through it and cut through the bone in my finger. Oh, man, it was great. Felt really good. I said some choice words. [00:01:14] Speaker A: Yeah. I can tell you that that is some typical, like, alabama roll tide kind of shit. But you're roll tide, right? [00:01:20] Speaker B: Roll tide. [00:01:21] Speaker A: But you're from the Auburn area. [00:01:23] Speaker B: I'm about probably an hour south of Auburn. [00:01:26] Speaker A: Okay. [00:01:27] Speaker B: Not too far. I actually grew up loving the Auburn campus. Believe it or not, I was an Alabama fan my whole life. But there's something about the Auburn area that's just tumor's corner. It's better. [00:01:38] Speaker A: Yeah. There's just energy about Auburn versus Tuscaloosa. [00:01:42] Speaker B: It is. And don't get me, like, I love Tuscaloosa. [00:01:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I do. I love them. [00:01:48] Speaker B: Know I love them both. But just the area of Auburn is beautiful. [00:01:51] Speaker A: Yeah. I think a whole lot of country out. Yeah. Last night you played one of our events. You played rowdy on the row. We got three days in a row together, bro, which I do fucking love. So we had rowdy on the row last night, which was what a cool round. We closed it out with you. Your boy Nathaniel, who can sing his ass off, nick was like, yeah, Ryan's guitar player is going to be playing in this round he hasn't played around for. And then we're like, damn, he can play guitar and he can sing and he can write. Talk about your boy. [00:02:24] Speaker B: Well, you know, it's good to have somebody behind you. I think that a lot of these artists out know there's a lot of people that are in kind of the shadow. But Nathaniel's one of those guys. He writes his own music. Like you said, he's got a phenomenal voice and I told him last night when we were playing with Shacklever Lane, I said, these guys don't care. Jump in on it, play some lead, because he can pick the hell out of a guitar. He's just. I've been trying to really encourage him to come and do more of these rounds because he's just as good, if not better, than I am. [00:02:55] Speaker A: But it's cool to be up there with a buddy who you spend time with on the road who's, like, in your team. You guys just seem like you're good buddies. [00:03:04] Speaker B: It is. And we were kind of having the conversation last night about how it takes certain elements to be a frontman in a band. And he was saying, he was like, man, I just don't have that. He said, but when I was playing the round with you, I felt confident because I was up there with you and I play with you when we go out on the road and I get to see what you do, and it gives me the confidence to come up here and do this. And I was like, that's pretty cool. You're like my son right now. And you know what's weird? Nathaniel's like, I think he's 24 years old. [00:03:37] Speaker A: That's it. [00:03:38] Speaker B: Yeah. Everybody thinks he's, like, late 30s, but he's 24 years old. [00:03:42] Speaker A: Same thing with the Shackleford boys. You look at Reed Shackleford, everybody jokes around. Nikki and I have the joke that Riley green is red neck Adonis, the greek God of the south. Reed Shackleford, the younger brother, who's only 22 years old. 22, looks like he's 35. He's like a redneck Tarzan, bro. Like redneck Hercules. That was what was so cool. And I saw that was what closing out was like, cool. We got Ryan and we got the shackle for Lane boys. And this Nathaniel guy sounds like he's going to be pretty good, too. Like your boy and the 40 all up there together. [00:04:17] Speaker B: That was probably one of the funnest rounds I've ever played here in town. I will say that as far as comedic presence and having just the room captivated. [00:04:27] Speaker A: Yeah, we had it last night, bro. You got up and stood in the last song. I was like, fuck, yeah, ryan is in on this shit. [00:04:34] Speaker B: Well, it got to that point, know at certain riders rounds at the end of the night, everybody's like, all right, this is the last know. We're about to go out the red door. We're about to get drunk. And I was like, nah, we're getting drunk here right now. We're about to have a good time. I said I went a little bit out of character. I was like, stand up. [00:04:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:53] Speaker B: And like, we got them, though. Well, we got them. [00:04:56] Speaker A: Yeah. It's on brand for you because people know you as you've got one of the countryest voices you can have singing. It's traditional as great. It's great to listen to. You're one of our favorite dudes in town, but you got this rock side, and you've been taking trips out to the west coast within your team. You've got a great team behind you. It seems like the past, like six months to the last year, things have just kind of been happening and evolving in your world, which I want to get to all of that, but I kind of want to back up because you have a great story. Like, you come from small town Alabama. You've had a roller coaster of a life. Gone through the being married thing, gone through divorce, moved up here to Nashville. You were doing the thing in Alabama, and it's just been like a journey for you. So I kind of want to back up. You're in your 30s, right? [00:05:47] Speaker B: I am. I am 30 years old. [00:05:49] Speaker A: You're 30 years old. Okay. When's your birthday? [00:05:52] Speaker B: June the 17th. [00:05:53] Speaker A: June the 17th. Okay. So you're like a year and a half on me. I'm 28. And when did you start doing music, and when did Ryan Waters, the music guy, start, and what were you doing before that? [00:06:03] Speaker B: I will say this, and I think that every musician as a whole, we probably go through the absolute slums of life before we get to where we want to go. [00:06:11] Speaker A: It's a true thing. [00:06:15] Speaker B: With every musician or singer that I talk to here in town, we all have a similar story in the way that where we've came from point a to point b, and our lives are all very different, of course, and there's different things that we've went through, but we've all went through absolute hell because most people don't understand that as a musician, this is what we do all the time. We're writing songs, we're playing rounds, we're playing shows. This is what we do. This is what we love to do. And regular, like, nine to five people, which I have a huge respect for because I was a lineman. Actually, what you probably didn't know is that when I graduated from Troy University back in 2016, I was a freaking teacher, dude. [00:06:59] Speaker A: You were a teacher? [00:07:00] Speaker B: I was a teacher. [00:07:02] Speaker A: I did not know that. [00:07:04] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't talk about it much because it was like two years of my life, and I was like, I ain't doing that. [00:07:08] Speaker A: What were you teaching? [00:07:09] Speaker B: I was teaching physical education. [00:07:12] Speaker A: All right. You would be a hell of a gym teacher. [00:07:14] Speaker B: Oh, I was a hell of a gym teacher. I actually taught, you know where. [00:07:20] Speaker A: I've been through Greenville. [00:07:21] Speaker B: Taught in Greenville, Alabama, one year, and then I taught over in Troy, Alabama, another year. But, I mean, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the kids and stuff, but it just wasn't for me. And I always knew coming up that there was something more that I was supposed to be doing. And back in 2016, when I graduated, I actually moved to Nashville in 2014. [00:07:41] Speaker A: Really? [00:07:42] Speaker B: And I came up here, and I had no clue what I was doing. I did the whole partying thing. That's all I wanted to do when I got here. I brought my bros up here from Alabama, and every weekend that they were up here, we were getting into some kind of trouble. That's back when the preds were, like, really freaking good, too. I don't know. You remember the year we went to the Stanley cup? So I think that was 2014. I'm not 100% sure on that, but I'm pretty sure it was 2014. But it was one of those years where they shut down downtown Nashville. The penguins are in town, and the atmosphere was unmatched. But it was an eye opener for me because I was like, I'm living up in Nashville. Rent was still really expensive then, even in 2014, and it's gotten twice as bad now. But I had no idea what I was doing. I never played around. When I moved up here in 2014, like, I was only here, I think, for eight months. And then I said, I got to go back and get my degree because I'm barely making enough money to scrape by. [00:08:46] Speaker A: You were doing the lineman thing at that point. [00:08:47] Speaker B: No. I was one year from graduating college when I moved to Nashville. I was like, I want to go do music full time. And I got up here, didn't know anybody, didn't have a clue of what was going on, and didn't have my head on the right way. And I ended up moving back, getting my degree taught for two years, gave that up, and started doing music on the side again. I've been playing since I was 1516 years old, but when I got back home, I started playing a little bit more, playing anywhere I could. Catfish houses freaking. I know there was one time, dude, this is man Braden. If you're watching, this is your fault. This dude booked me. One of my friends booked me at a hot dog stand, bro, in slocum. Alabama slocum. I will never forget it. There were, like, five people, and it was like one of those things where you could hear a pin drop after you play a song. It was terrible. But I remember thinking like, this is okay. I love doing this, though. I don't care that there's five people here. We're at a freaking hot dog stand. It was one of those things. It was like I knew kind of then, not nearly on the level that I do now, but I knew then that this is what I wanted to do. And I ended up getting married, of course, in 2020, and I was divorced in 2022. And that, for me, was like, my life turned upside down. And you know as well as everybody else knows, when you're trying to start over after being married or being with somebody a long time, it's difficult to get back into the groove of things. And I went through a phase where I was, like, partying a lot again and just not acting my age, just being a freaking idiot. And actually, my friend that's outside know, he called me one time, I actually moved out to Austin, Texas. [00:10:45] Speaker A: You were in Texas? [00:10:46] Speaker B: I just left Nashville. I just left, dude, I was living here and I just left Nashville. And I was going to just give it all up over this girl I just met, right? I was just being stupid, stupid, young, dumb, and. Never mind, I won't finish. Anyways, you know, he called me and he was like, dude, you've got a real opportunity to have a career here. And I was like, man, I'm good as fuck, probably, but we won't talk about that. Yeah, I guess they know now. But anyways, it was one of those things where I had to hit rock bottom before I could even think about climbing up out of that hole. And it was one of those things where I kind of credit. I am a Christian, and I kind of credit. I give the good lord all the credit, because even though I was out there doing dumb shit and not paying any attention to my music or my numbers, they were steadily growing. They were going up. We don't know how. Don't know. You know, I wasn't doing anything on TikTok, Instagram. I wasn't posting anything, but the numbers were going up. And then it was at that know, I kind of broke free out of that situation that I was in. I became a single guy, moved back to Nashville, tried to get my life together, especially after the divorce and everything that had happened in that six month time span. And I got back and I said, it's time to nut up or shut up. And I chose to nut up, and I think that's when we decided to do a cover of chasing cars, which just absolutely freaking. Just blew the hell up overnight. And then the rest is kind of history, dude. I can't even explain it. We went from, like, 50,000 monthlies. The first big jump was like, 300,000, and then it went from 300 to 600,000. And we're sitting kind of in this playing field now where we've got MDDN out of Los Angeles. That's our management team now, and we're starting to get the machine together. And you've seen artists, you know, artists on the biggest of stages now, and you've seen them right where I'm at right now, dude. And even before your story reminds me. [00:13:10] Speaker A: Of hitting rock bottom is very important, and I hit that with my sobriety years ago. And your story reminds me a lot of a guy that I know very well, that you know very well. Like Trey Lewis. Trey was playing like you were playing hot dogs dance. Trey was playing Moe's barbecue. Trey was playing american legions. Trey was playing all those that comes from that same kind of world. And then there comes that moment where it's like, do I give up? And it's that nut up or shut up moment. And Trey's a man of faith as well, which a lot of people don't know, but he's very into that as well. And there is something to be said for that higher power and for that plan and just trusting and going all in on that plan. And like you said, your story, it ties right into that, where everything happens for a reason. You had to go through the dive and hit that point to really appreciate all the opportunities that are coming now. And good things happen to good people, man. You're one of the best guys. And I'm not just saying that because we're sitting in here doing this podcast, and Sean's sitting out there and all that. You're a good freaking dude. And all the stuff that's happening right now, man, it's rewarding you for being a good person for that journey. And it's been so cool to watch you grow. And I remember the first time, like many people, the first time seeing you was those videos on TikTok. It was those Instagram reels of you looking off to the side and then looking and singing that chasing cars hook. And people being like, oh, shit, this voice. This voice on this guy. Who's this Ryan Waters guy? And now you've gotten to go out and do shows. You've got music in the tank. You've had good releases since chasing cars. It's all starting to happen. Dude, what's that whirlwind kind of been like of this past year 2023 is going to look back as the year where the rocket ship started to take flight. [00:15:06] Speaker B: Dude, I think for me, and probably the same thing for Trey or anybody like the Shackleford boys, anybody that comes from Alabama, comes from really like a southern small town. In small towns, there's kind of this mindset of, you stay here, you don't leave. [00:15:24] Speaker A: Born here, live here, die here. [00:15:26] Speaker B: You get up at six in the morning, you work your seven to four, your eight to whatever it may be. That's what you do. Like you said, born here, live here, die here. And you're kind of looked at if you leave as a black sheep when you leave town and you try to go pursue something that to small town folks. And even for me, when I was growing up, that was just a dream. That's all that was. That could never happen for somebody like me. But I don't want to get too motivational or anything, but it's one of those things where if you want something bad enough, you'll do anything to get it. You'll go get it. You'll go get it at the end of the day. And I think as far as music is concerned, did I think that I would be sitting here, know what we have now? Hell no. But it honestly took more than obviously just me. It took Sean. It took people like you and know, people that truly believe in what you're doing and your craft. And I think that a lot of that goes into the fact of we're all the same when we break it down. Like, you've been through shit, I've been through shit. And we all like you probably before raised rowdy. I would assume that you were probably thinking, what the fuck am I going to do now? What's next for me? And you had to hit some point where you're like, it's time. I'm either doing this or I'm not doing it. But you chose to do it, and I think it's really cool. Obviously, I've been following you guys for a long time, too, even before I was doing music full time. But we've got a brand new freaking album coming out in 2024 that I've never released a full body of work before, so that's going to be sick. Ten brand new songs. That's awesome. But there's just so much happening right now, and it's happening so fast. And in today's age, like, with social media and everything that we have going on, it happens like that. It truly does happen overnight, and that can be the rise and the fall of you. I think the way we've done it, it's been a slow and steady build instead of just that overnight success. The slow and steady build route, I think, is going to be more beneficial for me because I've been able to go out and play the absolute dog shit shows, and I've played the good shows and I've played the mid tier shows, but the thing that I've really grown in and Sean, I'll tell you, and Josh, I think you spoke with Josh last night. [00:18:12] Speaker A: Josh. [00:18:12] Speaker B: What a dude, right? [00:18:13] Speaker A: Dude, I had 40 minutes talking to Josh last night, and I was like, this guy is awesome. [00:18:19] Speaker B: And he was one of those things. He was like, they come on. Probably it's getting close to five or six months ago now that we first started communication with him, and he said, man, I saw the switch flip in you, Ryan. And I felt it, too. There was a certain point where I was like, I have to let go. I have to become this artist, this face of this band that people are growing to love. And it's weird still, like, seeing people that are, like, true fans, that are like, hey, sign my baby. [00:18:58] Speaker A: Okay, I will. [00:19:00] Speaker B: But it's mesmerizing for me because as a young kid, I always thought that I was going to be a pro baseball player, which it didn't happen. I did play college baseball. [00:19:09] Speaker A: Okay. [00:19:10] Speaker B: Shouts out lbw but no. Coming up. This is just something that was only a fever dream. I didn't think it was going to happen, but here we are. And now that you know, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. [00:19:27] Speaker A: Hell, yeah. Well, I hope you don't go anywhere, dude. We love having this community. So talk about Sean real quick and how you guys got linked up, because he's been a huge champion of yours and somebody that has been in town now and been doing wearing a bunch of different hats and somebody that's integral, and it's so important to have guys or girls on your team and that are all in and on this journey with you, like, in the trenches, as. [00:19:56] Speaker B: I like to say, he's been just absolutely instrumental in developing me as an artist. He kind of prides himself in developing artists and taking them from this level of they have talent to, I know I have it and how to use it. First and foremost, he's been just an absolute gem of a friend. And I think in this town, a lot of this town is really based upon friendships and who you meet and who you're talking to. And it's about showing someone that you really care. Like this guy, I'm telling you, there's not a day that goes by that we're not. It could be like two in the morning, and he'll text me and he'll be like, man, I got an idea for this song. And I'm like, it's 02:00 in the morning. No, I'll drop everything that I'm doing if I'm up. And he's the same way. We're never stopping. We don't sleep. It's like, we'll sleep when we're dead kind of mentality. And, like, Nick has your back. It's good to have somebody in your corner that know absolutely walk through the fire and flames for you. And he knows that I'm the same way for him. And it's one of those things where a songwriting. From a songwriting perspective, it was like when me and him get in a room, we can write hella good songs. And then we started sprinkling in people like Alex Maxwell, Brian Frazier, people that are all part of the raised rowdy family. And I feel pretty confident in saying that I'm part of that family now, too. I love being a part of it, and it's garnered me so many relationships just being with you guys. And, like, I'm playing on the round with y'all tomorrow night, too. That's going to be absolutely a shit show. That's going to be fun. But Alex, he texted me a couple of days ago, and he was like, hey, man, you want to be on this round? And before, I just said yes, and I was like, fuck, man, my fingers broke. How am I going to do this? So I was like, Sean, you got to come play the round with me. You got to play guitar. And he's like, I'm there. And that, to me, having his friendship, not only his friendship, but dude's a hell of a good producer. [00:22:29] Speaker A: Yes. [00:22:30] Speaker B: Hell of a producer. I mean, all of our videos that we do, as far our videography, any recordings, if we were to do a podcast, he would do it. He is a mastermind behind everything that we do. [00:22:46] Speaker A: Yes. And how was that initial connection made? Like, how'd you guys first get linked up? [00:22:49] Speaker B: So this was back in 2018. I was interning at Brantley High School in Alabama, and I gave him a call. I saw an Instagram ad for hey World Studios. And I just called it. I'm out here at baseball practice. It's like, 305. All the guys are getting ready. We're about to have baseball practice, and I call him. I'm like, hey, man, I got this song called wife up that I really want to record. To that point, I'd recorded a couple of things in Nashville that were just. The product was not good. It was just. Just really bad. And I said, dude, I've been burned a couple times. I've spent a lot of money, you know, I want to record this song. I think it's really good. And I ended up bringing it to him. And I'll tell you this, I remember getting the first mix back of it, and, dude, I teared up. I was like, that sounds like it could be on the radio right now. And that's what I wanted to hear this whole time. And from that point forward, we obviously kept contact. I got married. Life happened, things got in the way. And it wasn't until about, I'd say, 2021 that we started recording and releasing a single every now and then again. And then, of course, when I started, the marriage started getting rocky, and I went through that divorce. He was such a friend to me. He was like, just get in the studio. Let's take your mind off that. Let's write some good music. Obviously, this hell of a bad situation you're going through right now is going to garner some really good songs, which it did. That's a funny thing. Like, when you go through absolute hell, you get some of your best music. [00:24:51] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:24:52] Speaker B: And I kind of look at it now, like, doing pretty good now, ain't I? But it was one of those things where security was better in that situation. And people, like I said earlier, they're not used to taking big risks and chances in small towns. And that was one of the biggest things that I think that she couldn't get over was the fact that I was taking a risk. Yeah, she couldn't get over that. [00:25:25] Speaker A: Betting on yourself. [00:25:26] Speaker B: And even after that, there were times where I was like, did I make the right decision? I'm barely making ends meet. Like, what's going on? I'm not making any. Like, I've quit my job. Like, I've moved to Nashville. And when I moved to Nashville, I had not a dollar to my name. I didn't have any money. I had a suitcase full of clothes. I had a freaking big deer head. I was like, where am I going to hang this bitch? I ain't got to where to live yet. And Sean. I lived with Sean like, two was. I was staying down in his studio. We had a la cot laid out, and I was just living there, being just a bum for, like, two weeks. But every day, I would wake up and I was, like, looking for an apartment. I was looking for something, and I would go and play this crap show somewhere just to make, like, I'd make money. And I ended up making just enough money. I ended up getting this lease for this place that I'm still currently at right now, but I made just enough money for the first month's rent, and I have not looked back since. From that point forward, it was like, grind, grind, grind. Fine. Get anything you can to make it to the next month. And before, you know, know, we released a couple songs that went viral for us. And then we were hitting the know, we're playing Morgan Evans, chase, Matthew. We were out there with guys that are doing the damn thing. Know, we started becoming respected, and they're. This guy's. This guy's here to know, like, he's not just a flash in the pan. He's got some pretty good shit. And we've built that. And now that we're here, dude, obviously I don't want to ever go back to that. So I'm going to constantly, I think, as people, me and you are constantly thinking of ways to grow what we have now. [00:27:20] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. [00:27:21] Speaker B: There is never a day that goes by where we're like, we want to go backwards, only forwards. So that's enough of my soapbox, I guess. [00:27:29] Speaker A: No, dude, I fucking love it, man. I love it. What was that first opening date? Like, who was that first tour with? Was that Morgan or was that the. [00:27:39] Speaker B: First date that I had? It was actually a date. We were in grand rapids, Michigan, and we got a show with Morgan Evans. [00:27:46] Speaker A: Was that the intersection? [00:27:47] Speaker B: It was at the intersection. [00:27:48] Speaker A: I fucking love. [00:27:49] Speaker B: And I love freaking intersection. [00:27:51] Speaker A: I like grand rapids a lot. That's a cool. [00:27:53] Speaker B: It's just a really cool city, dude. [00:27:54] Speaker A: Yeah, it's just one of those midwestern towns where it's blue collar. People love music. And the intersection is one of those cool rooms where you have multiple rooms. So was that in, like, the main? We were downstairs. [00:28:07] Speaker B: We were in the mid section, and I think. Which. What is that called? Is it no elevation? The top, isn't it? [00:28:14] Speaker A: Yeah, there's elevation. There's the stash, which is, like, the smaller bar room. [00:28:18] Speaker B: Can't think of the middle one. [00:28:20] Speaker A: There's, like, the one in the basement, and then there's the stash. And then there's, like, the big one. [00:28:24] Speaker B: It was the mid tier one. It was the one before elevation. It wasn't the stash, but it was the one right in between those. And of course, it was a packed house, and I'll never forget that moment. You never forget moments with artists like that. Of course, I was just coming into the fold. I was just getting my feet wet into everything. And I remember walking in, and it was actually the next day, dude, that their divorce was announced. [00:28:49] Speaker A: Oh, wow. What a time to be out. [00:28:51] Speaker B: Next day. But I remember going back there, and there were three dressing rooms in this particular part of the intersection. And actually, elevation is the mid. The intersection is the. So that's what it is. It was elevation. And we go back there, and one of the stage managers and the guys that are working back there, they were like, every room had Morgan Evans on each door. I was like, shit, where am I going to put my guys? We were at a bus, like, what are we going to do, go sit the, uh. So Morgan comes out, and he's like, hey, man, what's up? And we started talking. He was like, y'all take this room. He moved his entire team. He had like six, seven guys in there with him. He moved into another room and gave us his room. [00:29:39] Speaker A: Wow. [00:29:39] Speaker B: And I was like, I really like this guy. This is a cool dude. And that was just one of those moments for me where I was like, he didn't think he wasn't too big for me, and he showed me humility and what a cool dude. Made me want to freaking go to Australia and dance with kangaroos. I don't know, man. You know what saying, like, what's going on here? But he was a really cool guy. Put on one hell of a show, and that was the first show for us that I was like, there's no doubt this is what I want to do because, of course, it was a sold out show. And, man, there's something about those you never forget. You never forget your first time. [00:30:19] Speaker A: Yeah, dude, that's like me. I remember my first time selling merch with the Muscadine guys, and my first show with them was at sidetracks rip in Huntsville, Alabama. And I was just at the merch deal, but I was like, this is fucking cool because Alabama is so good about supporting its local guys. So being in northern Alabama with the Muscadine guys was wild, and I'll never forget that first weekend of Huntsville and then macon down at the crazy bowl. And I was like, I like being on the road this is what I want to do. And then being out with Trey, I got to see a lot of cool shit doing that. There's something about the road life, and you're just right now at the starting point of when booking is going to be happening. And you're going to be 2024, you're going to be gone a lot of weekends, but you're going to be playing your songs. You're not covering. You're going to have some covers and everybody does, but you're going to be playing songs that you create, that you're going to be able to tell your story and people are paying money and buying your t shirt and doing all that stuff. Dude, it's a crazy thing to think about from where you started to where you're at now and where you're going to. [00:31:31] Speaker B: And it's also crazy, like our set, like, the covers that we do have, we released. [00:31:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:41] Speaker B: Obviously we've got this Shania Twain cover coming out in December. [00:31:45] Speaker A: Dude, that's been getting some hype, too, right? [00:31:49] Speaker B: Oh, my be. I think it has a chance. Like, chasing cars was obviously huge for us, but this song has got a chance to be even bigger. Know it's right in the line of, like, it could be a wedding song, it could just be a love. Like, don't get me wrong, like, shania's the queen. That's her song through and through. But we did something with it. My voice did something to it that just like, when people comment on it or they make a comment on it, they're like, it just sounds country now. Just sounds so freaking country when you sing it. And I was like, that's a compliment. I'm from South Alabama. Of course I'm country. But when I met those Shackleford Lane boys, oh, dude, let me just tell you, I'm country. But they make me look not. [00:32:41] Speaker A: They're from. Their family's been farming cotton and soybeans for generations in Otagaville, Alabama. They got like thousands of acres, dude. They're in their own world down there, dude, it is crazy be. And those boys are as country as it gets. But that's what excited me about you guys being on the same ram last night, because I was like, I know you guys have heard of each other, maybe met in passing, but having you boys on stage together, I knew it was going to be something special. And I look forward to you guys writing and creating together because you guys come from that similar background. And yeah, those boys, when they play that honky taunt, that first song last night. The room is like, what the fuck? [00:33:20] Speaker B: Yeah. I didn't know where they were going. They said, we've got a song called deep in it. I was like, this is going to be interesting. And then it took a turn for me, it was like being deep in the Bible. I was like, that's a hit song right there. These guys are. They're the real deal. I really enjoyed hanging out with them. Actually got to go to red door with them for a little bit. [00:33:39] Speaker A: Red door with the Shackleford boys and Nikki T. That is a red door adventure right there. [00:33:45] Speaker B: I walked in and Will was like, man, you ain't going to believe this, man. I was like, what is it, Will? He goes, they got coolers banquet on draft. He said, we ain't got this. Back at a taught of you. I said, I ain't got it, laverde either. I promise you. I thought that was awesome, dude. They're a good group of guys. I actually got to know, when you're in Alabama, there's such a really. It's a small music scene. You think it's huge. You got Riley and you got all these guys, muscadine that are just absolutely tearing up the scene. But then you got these people that are huge in Alabama that haven't quite broken that mold yet. But if you go to a show in Alabama, it's packed. [00:34:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:28] Speaker B: Like Blaine Rudd for, oh, bro. [00:34:30] Speaker A: And he's up here now. And he's up here. [00:34:32] Speaker B: Had never met him until two weeks ago when I did that round with you guys. He was playing the round after me and we got to meet, got his number, and I was like, let's all, we're just Alabama boys. And that was the same thing with the Shackleford Lane boys. It's like, let's do this shit. Let's get in the writer's room. Let's write shit that's like, personable to us because we're from the same state. We've been through the same shit. We're cut from the same cloth. We like to hunt, fish. We like all that shit. Let's put it together. Let's put our heads together and make some killer music. I think we will. [00:35:09] Speaker A: And it is such a supportive scene. I think. I mean, every local scene has its local clicks within it. But that's something that Georgia's been doing so well for years with the guys from South Georgia. Like your swindells, your Luke Bryan's. Now you see, like your Trey Landon's, your Dylan Marlowe's, your Brian Fuller's, like the guys and girls that come out of that Georgia scene. I think Alabama is right there with it, whether it's folks from the center part of the state, the Birmingham crowd, or it's the guys and girls from a little bit lower in Alabama, like the muscadine guys yourself, Jackalford, Ella, Tyler, Braden. There's so much talent that comes out of there, and there's so many of you guys and girls up here now. [00:35:52] Speaker B: Dude, I can remember Matt. I could remember. This is when I first had made an Instagram account. This was like 2012. I can remember hearing this guy posting covers. I followed him. He was from the Montgomery area. And I was like, dude, this guy's voice is just fucking phenomenal. And it was Tyler Braden. Yeah. And I was like, he wrote this song, little red wine, I think. And I was like, man, that is freaking awesome. And then, like, to me, I will say this. I get asked all the time, who's some of your favorite artists right now? He's one of them, dude. Yeah, his voice is phenomenal. At the top of my list is Cameron Marlowe, though. Oh, dude, big Cameron Marlowe fan. [00:36:31] Speaker A: He's such a good dude. He's such a good dude. I first had him on the podcast. He was part of our Covid days in 2020. We had Cameron right as he signed his deal and was really getting going. [00:36:43] Speaker B: Just a phenomenal voice. And he's one of those guys where you can't find a bad song on his record. [00:36:48] Speaker A: Yeah, he could sing the phone book and it'd be a hit. [00:36:50] Speaker B: Exactly, dude. [00:36:51] Speaker A: And I think you're right up there, honestly, honest to God. And that's something people say. The covers that you put out, the thing is, they're covers, but I think they're just a different perspective and a different take because you make it your own, like chasing cars. Great song. The original is awesome, but your version, you make it a Ryan Waters song with the can just. [00:37:15] Speaker B: I remember I actually sat down in the studio with Sean and we were at this point where we had a couple viral videos, viral success on songs, and we were like, what's next? And I said, dude, I think we should do this cover of chasing cars. I've been playing it on lives a lot lately, and people are just. They're going crazy over it. And he was like, yeah, I don't think that's the move. And then I said, let me just sing it. And I was like, we do it all. He was like, oh, shit, yeah, we're doing that. [00:37:48] Speaker A: It's the face we all had. [00:37:49] Speaker B: What was that? We're doing that. I'll do that with you. And we got in the studio and did that. And I remember the first mix we got, he was probably pissed at me, but the first mix we got of it, I went out and sat in my car. I had like, a blue jean jacket on. I was sitting there and I was like, if you're a fan of chasing cars, I don't remember exactly what I said, but I was like, let me know if I should release this country version of chasing cars. Here we are now. That's the most viewed video like, I've ever had. 17 freaking million. [00:38:19] Speaker A: It's insane, isn't it? [00:38:20] Speaker B: It's just absolutely insane. But I had no idea that it was going to have that kind of impact. But here we are. Here we are. And who would have known? Some of the best, in my opinion, some of the best songs of our lifetime are cover songs. If you think about. There's. When you think of I will always love you, you think of Whitney Houston. You do. It's Dolly Parton song, but you think Whitney Houston. [00:38:51] Speaker A: Same thing with Tennessee whiskey. [00:38:52] Speaker B: Exactly. You think Chris Stapleton right off the. The. What was the nine Inch Nails song that Johnny Cash did? Was it hurt? [00:39:00] Speaker A: I think it was. [00:39:01] Speaker B: That's like, I think of Johnny Cash when I think of hurt. And it's one of those things where I think you're not necessarily trying to take away from that, just you're putting your own spin on it, your own perspective. And I think that my voice being this deep southern accent, country boy, that's what made chasing cars so cool. It's what's making. You're still the one. So cool. And let me just tell you, there are freaking thousands of covers of. You're still the. I was. I got on freaking Spotify the other day. I was like, oh, my God. If we get to the top of, like, we're doing really good because there's some heavy hitters, like Teddy swims did a cover that was just absolutely phenomenal. Got a guy named Jonah Baker that has a phenomenal voice. He actually was going to record a few songs with Sean, but he's got a phenomenal voice. There's so many good covers of the song, but the one thing that I noticed is that low register that I bring to the table kind of. It changed. It changed it completely. [00:40:05] Speaker A: You want to have something, and Nikki and I talk about this, too. You want to have something that when you hear the start of a song, you hear that voice you're like, you know, it's a rhyme water song. Like, you know who it is when they're singing. You see it with all kinds of people, dude. And something that's been wild for you and having the team that you do both here in Nashville and out in Los Angeles now, how did all of that stuff come to be? Because I met Josh last night and I got his side of the story and how all that. What an interesting dude, a good dude who has seen all. He's seen everything. He's been an integral part of so many different scenes over the last 25, 30 years. It was funny. He was asking me, he's like, how old are you, Matt? And I'm like, 28. I was born 95. And he's like, that was the year I graduated high school and started doing music stuff. And I'm like, oh, shit. He was around for the Woodstock 99 stuff, the warp tour, obviously, all the good Charlote stuff that his brothers were doing and just seeing so many different things. How do you end up in that world? [00:41:08] Speaker B: Funny story there, actually. I was sitting at home and I got this dm from a guy named Benji Madden. And I was like, I'll be honest with you, I didn't know who it was. I had no clue it was. And he was like, man, I love your music. I want to hop on a phone call. I want to discuss some things. I think that we could have a future know. And I was like, I don't know who this guy is, but he's verified and he's got a huge following. Like, whatever. So I go in the studio that day and I'm talking to Sean. I was like, hey, man, this guy named Benji Madden messaged me and wants to hop on a phone call or a FaceTime. And he goes, benji Madden? And I said, yeah, who is that? And he was like, only like half of good Charlote. That is like one of the biggest alt rock bands of all time. And I was like, or pop know bands of all time. I was like, good Charlote. Like the anthem good Charlote. And he was like, yeah, those guys. And it was one of those things where I was like, how did he find me? Well, funny story, he found me because of the chasing cars video. And the funny thing is, he says, I don't use social media a whole lot. He said, I don't get into the whole reels or TikTok. TikToks. I don't watch them frequently. But he said it was about 02:00 in the morning. I was sitting in my house and he said, your video of chasing cars popped up on my phone. And he said, I heard your voice. And I was like, and this is what he said. He said, that guy's a star. And I was like, you said that about. And, you know, we went out to Los Angeles and we first went to Vegas and we got to see the. When we were young fists, which, let me just tell you, bro, what the fuck was incredible. I was like, 2ft. Lil Wayne's walking by with a huge blunt bigger than him walking by me. And I'm like, oh, my God, I could touch him right now. I would get body slammed, but I could touch him right now. And it was cool. He went out there with good Charlote. They killed it in front of a hundred thousand people. Like, it was insane. I've never seen anything like it. Know, we got to see green day and we got to see simple plan and all these guys that I've grew up listening to. And Sean, that was what he wanted to do when he was coming up was be like those guys. And there's a lot of those elements of that style of music in my music now. You get some pop puck beats in what I do and you're like, this kind of tickles my ear. Like, really cool, like this country ass voice and this, like, what is going on right now? I really like this mixture of things. And it was one of those, know, we went to Vegas, had a blast there. The next morning, we're on a plane trip to LA, and before you know it, we're eating sushi and Joel Madden's in front of me and Benji Madden's across from me as well. And we're just shooting the shit, talking about life. And you're talking about two of the most just absolutely down to earth human beings. They could hold a conversation like me and you are holding right now. [00:44:33] Speaker A: That happened to be rock stars. [00:44:35] Speaker B: That happen to be mega rock stars. I mean, I was like, benji, you're married to freaking Cameron Diaz. That's pretty awesome, right? He's like, yeah, it is. It's pretty. Just. Just awesome. Like, I don't know, it's eye opening for me. I was on a bus. Like, we were in Vegas and we were headed back to eat this really fancy, you know, I'm used to your fried chicken in Alabama. Like, the chicken shack in Laverne. I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but the chicken shack back in Laverne. But we were going to this really, it was like almost like it was underground. It was like a nightclub. Like, you got a singer on stage with the stand up bassist, you got the whole thing. It's like burlesque. You ever seen that? Dancing and singing, it was really cool. And we're in this bus headed there, and I have this conversation for ten minutes with Nicole Ritchie, and I'm like, what is life right now? What is going on? [00:45:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:45:38] Speaker B: And then Sean's like, man, I'm not going to lie. My highlight of the night is making Hillary duff laugh. He was like, he made some kind of dumb joke and she thought it was hilarious. And I was like, you will forever be able to say you made Hillary duff laugh. That's pretty cool. But no, it's, know, when we were there, though, you have to flip a switch and hit a certain gear and think like, you deserve to be here, dude. You deserve to be here as much as any of these people do. You've got a long way to go. Obviously, these people have had 25, 30 year careers, and that's what we dream of having, right? [00:46:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:17] Speaker B: We want to have that same kind of success. And I think that the way we're doing it, building it slowly, brick by brick, and laying just an absolutely phenomenal foundation down, is going to ultimately lead us to those 25 and 30 year careers. [00:46:33] Speaker A: Dude, that's wild, man. [00:46:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:46:36] Speaker A: I remember when I first met you, I think it was at Ella's release party was when I first met you. And Lane Flornoy was like, you gotta meet, you gotta meet. You know how got, you gotta meet this guy. You gotta meet this guy, bro. You gotta meet this guy. He's next to Alabama. You gotta meet this guy. And then we had you on around not long after that. And to see where things have progressed from then back in the summer springtime to now, dude, it's awesome, man. [00:47:02] Speaker B: It's crazy too, because you see so many overnight successes and some of those that are just doing still absolutely big things. One of the things that Sean did early on, he actually recorded Bailey Zimmerman's first song, never coming home. [00:47:18] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [00:47:19] Speaker B: And that was back during, I believe that was in 2020 during the COVID year. And never coming home blew up on TikTok, and the rest is kind of history. He's one of the biggest artists, I'd say he's in the top five now and just heavy hitters. And of course, Sean got to record Chase as well on the come up Chase Matthew. And it's kind of one of those things where he's always told me, I feel like you're going to do something big. I think every artist struggles with this. I've been at points before where I was like, why am I not doing that? Why are people in front of me doing this and why am I not? But that's where you chain yourself up, is when you start thinking about what everybody else is doing, you lose sight of what you're doing, dude, so important. [00:48:15] Speaker A: To put the blinders on, and it's like they teach you in aa. It's identifying, not comparing. Everybody's path is a little bit different. [00:48:25] Speaker B: And I think I wouldn't have it any other way. I would go through the absolute shitstorm of that part of my life that I did again in order to get where I'm at now. I would go through hell again just to get here because I think it not only had a positive impact on my music career and journey, but on me as a person. Like, dude, I've transformed into just what I feel like. A couple of years back, I was like, I didn't know who I am, what's my identity? And now I do. I know who I am as a person and as a singer or musician, whatever you want to call it. And that's a good feeling to have, which I know you probably went through a similar thing. You probably went through a phase where you were like, what am I doing? Yeah, what's wrong with me right now? And then you hit this point where you're like, I'm good now. Yeah, I like my life right now. It's great. [00:49:19] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:49:20] Speaker B: Obviously, there's still things that are going to get in the way and be a damn hassle at times, but you can combat them a lot better now than we could then. [00:49:30] Speaker A: Absolutely, dude. For sure, man. For sure. So what are some goals now looking in? It's crazy. We're at the end of 2023, bro. Like, it's crazy. And, yeah, getting into 2024, big release to close out this year. And what are some of the things we have to look forward to going into the year 2024? [00:49:49] Speaker B: Well, one of the first things that I want to happen is for the tide to win the national championship. Yeah, that would be great. [00:49:57] Speaker A: The power of the SEC with the selection committee. Bro, you lucked out with that. [00:50:02] Speaker B: There are some less than happy people. I will say that in the states. [00:50:08] Speaker A: Of Florida and Georgia right now. [00:50:11] Speaker B: I'm not going to put your feet to the fire here, but if you look at who we've played versus who they've played, no doubt they had a phenomenal season. Yeah, they're 13 and great. But would that team beat Alabama on a neutral side? [00:50:28] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't know, but then it's like, I don't think so. Then it's like, what do you. [00:50:32] Speaker B: But you don't know for sure. [00:50:34] Speaker A: Then it's like, how important is the regular season? How important is winning your conference championship? It's just four teams isn't enough. Well, plus, we'd all love more football. [00:50:44] Speaker B: I really thought that this year, and I know that they couldn't do it, but how cool would it have been if they would have been like, if they would have held an emergency meeting and they're like, hey, we're going to let six teams in this year. Because I really do believe this is just me and I'm a Bama fan. This is coming from a Bama fan. Georgia is one of the four best teams. [00:51:02] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. [00:51:03] Speaker B: They were in it all year, no doubt. [00:51:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:06] Speaker B: Would Georgia probably beat a Washington? Probably be very close. It'd be very close, but I think they would edge them. Would Georgia probably beat a Florida state? Probably. We'll see in the orange bowl. [00:51:16] Speaker A: Yes. [00:51:16] Speaker B: But I think that both of those teams, including Florida State, deserved to be in Alabama. Just happened to win at the right. [00:51:25] Speaker A: Time, and then you even have a one loss Ohio state team. [00:51:29] Speaker B: Yes. [00:51:29] Speaker A: That was a really good fucking team. [00:51:31] Speaker B: Exactly. I think the top ten. Dude, you put a team like ole miss up against a team like Florida state, that's a hell of a game. [00:51:40] Speaker A: Or even a team like Oregon. Their only losses were Washington, and they were both close. They were both pretty. [00:51:45] Speaker B: I got a question for you, because this has been kind of weighing on my mind. This is a football question. If Alabama wins at all this year, do you think Saban retires? [00:51:54] Speaker A: I've been saying there's a path to Dabo going back to Alabama. I've been saying this for a long time. And my girlfriend, Aaron's brother Chris, is a huge Clemson fan, so he hasn't liked me saying it, but at the same time, he's also like, davo doesn't really believe in the transfer portal like the other people do. He's kind of behind the times with that. I mean, Saban's in his 70s. [00:52:15] Speaker B: Could happen. [00:52:16] Speaker A: He's in his 70s. He'd be a hell of a commentator. What do you give the guy that has everything that's been making tens of millions of dollars the last ten years? [00:52:27] Speaker B: One of the things you notice about sports, though, is any of those mega superstar coaches that are just known as the Goats, the greatest of all, uh, Saban, for, like, if you look at somebody like Paul Bear Bryant, it wasn't long after he passed. I mean, it wasn't long after he gave up coaching at Alabama that he passed. [00:52:49] Speaker A: Yeah, same thing. Same thing with Joe Paterno. [00:52:51] Speaker B: And it's like when these guys give up what they've only. This is the only thing that they've known for pretty much all of their lives. It's like they lose. That was their will to live. Like football. Isn't that crazy? Yeah, but it's the same thing. It's with music and everything. It's like when you get to a certain point and you get some age on you, it's like it happens, like, when you're not doing what you love anymore. So I hate to see Saban go. I'm not saying he's going to pass if he retires. I'm saying, like, I would love to see. Obviously, Alabama fans would love to see 1015 more years out of him, but that's not going to happen. [00:53:29] Speaker A: No, but I would say you guys have a really good chance. And it's Alabama against Michigan. It's a classic matchup. And then Texas Washington. And then maybe you have that Texas Alabama rematch. [00:53:39] Speaker B: I want to see it. [00:53:40] Speaker A: That'd be going into Texas coming into the SEC next year. What a way to set all of that up. [00:53:46] Speaker B: Have you seen that though? Like the new east and the new west? [00:53:51] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, dude, I grew up a Virginia tech fan. We're about to have, I think, Cal and somebody else in the ACC. That's on the west coast. It's not even the Atlantic coast conference. [00:53:59] Speaker B: Because of the Pac twelve is like. [00:54:01] Speaker A: Yeah, no more last year of it, which, how cool would it be for Washington the way the Pac twelve gets a national title finally in the BCS. [00:54:08] Speaker B: Playoff, in the last showing of the. [00:54:11] Speaker A: Pac twelve in their last dance. So bama winning it all. That's on your list of how you want to kick off? [00:54:17] Speaker B: That's on my list. I really want to kick off. 2024. Boots on the ground touring heavily. We're fixing to get pretty good booking agent here in town. Of course, MDDN is setting all that up out of Los Angeles. They've got some, obviously some connections over the years in the booking side of things. But I really want to tour heavily this year and I want this album. One of the things that I've strived for in every song that we've put out is to make music that means something to somebody. And I want every, every. Whether it's 810 or twelve songs. We don't know what we're going to get yet. We know at least eight. But no matter how many songs are on this album, I want for it to these songs to all mean something in some way to somebody. And I think they will. We got to play a few of them last night and people, they were like, wow, this is going to be some heavy hitting shit. Like when it don't. I don't know if you remember that first one from last night, but it's going to be a really good one. That one's actually the one that we wrote with Alex and Brian. Going to be a really good song there. And then bloodstream, man, the whole alt rock vibe three doors down meets Creed meets Ryan Waters. Like, what the hell is this? We've got some really cool stuff though, man. There's a lot of stuff I want to see happen in 2024. But if anything, if we grow, I'm good. If we grow even a little bit, I'm good. But obviously I want to play a stadium. At some point in my career, in my life, I want to play a stadium. I want to tour the world. I want to be everything that I've only dreamed of as a kid. Yeah. [00:56:07] Speaker A: Hell yeah, dude. [00:56:08] Speaker B: That's what I want. [00:56:09] Speaker A: That's a good little wish list to have on there. I think a lot of that stuff is attainable and we cannot wait for the new music. Now, when does the next release drop? [00:56:18] Speaker B: The next release is December twelveth and that is our Shaniah Twain cover of you're still the one that we're obviously really stoked about. [00:56:26] Speaker A: So that'll be out by the time this podcast comes out. [00:56:29] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:56:31] Speaker A: I'm excited to hear that and see what that does for you, man. And honestly, I'm thankful for your friendship and your brotherhood and you, Sean, Josh, the whole team is like family to us and we really appreciate and it's guys like you that make it so enjoyable for Nikki, t and I to do what we do with raise rowdy. Because we say we're four fans by fans and we're pro artists and we want to see good guys and girls and acts that we believe in, succeed and do what they want to do and anything we can do to help along the way, that's what we're here for. We're here to tell people about shit that we think is cool and just be good ambassadors to the community and big parts of the scene here in Nashville. And you're a huge reason why we do what we do guys like yourself so means the world to have you on this podcast. Was this one of the first podcasts you've done, or have you done a few already? [00:57:20] Speaker B: This is actually the very first one I've ever done. [00:57:23] Speaker A: This is the first podcast ever. [00:57:24] Speaker B: Very first. [00:57:26] Speaker A: I love. [00:57:26] Speaker B: I love that very first one. [00:57:28] Speaker A: We love popping pod cherries, man. We love. [00:57:31] Speaker B: I was about to make the joke, but I was like, matt's probably going to. [00:57:34] Speaker A: I'm going to do it. Yeah. You know, I'm always good for that. Now, if people aren't following you already, where can they go? [00:57:40] Speaker B: They can go Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. It's all at Waters band. And yeah, that's the three platforms that we spend most of our time on. Of course, we have YouTube as well, which is also at Ryan Waters band, which we're trying to grow heavily because YouTube is huge. [00:57:58] Speaker A: They got money to pay you. [00:57:59] Speaker B: Oh, yes. Monetization on YouTube. [00:58:02] Speaker A: Monetization on YouTube shorts. If you're not doing that, you're doing it wrong. [00:58:06] Speaker B: You're doing it way wrong. Yeah, but yeah, it's at Ron Watersband on everything. And let's continue to build it together, guys. [00:58:14] Speaker A: We got the website. [00:58:15] Speaker B: We also have. It's ronwatersbandofficial.com. If you want any merch, there's merchandise on there. There are our tour dates that are coming up and any information as far as music and anything you want to know, our bios on there. If you want to get to know me and my team a little bit more, you can figure it out on there. [00:58:34] Speaker A: Hell yeah. Well, y'all be sure to check out our boy Ryan Waters. You're still the one I want is out now, along with a bunch of other great songs and releases that Ryan has been putting out and just absolutely crushing. And y'all be sure to follow him if you are not already. Appreciate you guys and girls following along with what we've been doing here at outside the round. Shout out, of course. Whaletail Media, Saxman Studios. Our boy, Mitch Wallace with the digital marketing agency. This is actually going to be our last episode for a little while because we're getting ready to go into a brand new podcast studio. We've signed the lease and we're building out Razorwoody headquarters down the street here in Hermitage. So we're going to be taking a little break from podcasts and couldn't think of a better guest to have to close out this era to get into the new one that we're doing. But you all stay tuned for updates follow raised Rowdy follow what we do at outside the round and visit raisedrowdy.com for more like rate subscribe of course. Tell your mama and them and we will see you next time in the year 2024. For my boy Ryan, I'm Matt Burrill. This has been outside the round. [01:00:03] Speaker B: I never been the kind for stair one place for too long. I never been the best at this. I love you to a girl I love only got a couple tricks on my sleeve. They usually just.