1 00:00:02,740 --> 00:00:03,740 Speaker 1: Life Audio. 2 00:00:04,620 --> 00:00:07,180 Speaker 2: Hey, Charles, thanks for joining me. Thank you for having me. 3 00:00:07,180 --> 00:00:09,480 Speaker 2: I appreciate it. Actor Charles Esten. 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,430 Speaker 3: Known for roles in Outer Banks and Nashville, currently starring 5 00:00:13,110 --> 00:00:15,890 Speaker 3: as King Ross on Homestead, the series for Angel Studios, 6 00:00:15,970 --> 00:00:17,910 Speaker 3: and also as part of another Angel project. 7 00:00:18,370 --> 00:00:20,389 Speaker 2: The movie Drummer Boy. Everybody I've talked. 8 00:00:20,210 --> 00:00:21,869 Speaker 3: To says this is amazing, so I'm looking forward to 9 00:00:21,890 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 3: watching it. It's a story of America's fight for independence. 10 00:00:24,660 --> 00:00:28,620 Speaker 3: Joel Smallbone for King Country is in it. His brothers 11 00:00:28,660 --> 00:00:30,310 Speaker 3: are behind it. He and his brothers are behind it, 12 00:00:30,340 --> 00:00:34,890 Speaker 3: I should say. Charles, you portray a British person, a 13 00:00:34,909 --> 00:00:35,710 Speaker 3: British officer. 14 00:00:35,890 --> 00:00:38,409 Speaker 2: Lord Balfour. I believe that's how you pronounce that. 15 00:00:39,210 --> 00:00:41,170 Speaker 3: Tell me why you wanted to be a part of this, 16 00:00:41,220 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 3: what sparked your interest, and why you like this movie 17 00:00:43,460 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 3: so much. 18 00:00:44,580 --> 00:00:46,920 Speaker 1: Well, at the very beginning of it was my relationship 19 00:00:46,940 --> 00:00:50,500 Speaker 1: with Ben Smallbone, one of those Smallbone brothers. Ben is 20 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,279 Speaker 1: the main director, by far, and a producer on Homestead. 21 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,090 Speaker 1: And he and I had worked together side-by-side on two 22 00:00:58,130 --> 00:01:02,370 Speaker 1: seasons of Homestead, and that experience and just getting to 23 00:01:02,410 --> 00:01:05,390 Speaker 1: know him as a fantastic guy, but also as an 24 00:01:05,430 --> 00:01:10,350 Speaker 1: incredible storyteller and both in terms of helping make the 25 00:01:10,430 --> 00:01:13,670 Speaker 1: scenes of Homestead work. And he put so much heart 26 00:01:13,730 --> 00:01:17,410 Speaker 1: and hard, hard work into that one that we became 27 00:01:17,430 --> 00:01:19,050 Speaker 1: real close. And then he had been telling me along 28 00:01:19,069 --> 00:01:21,790 Speaker 1: the way about this project they'd been working on for years. 29 00:01:22,110 --> 00:01:25,190 Speaker 1: People don't know a Homestead drummer boy. It's not a 30 00:01:25,250 --> 00:01:27,430 Speaker 1: new project that just up and got made. There was 31 00:01:27,450 --> 00:01:28,970 Speaker 1: a whole lot of heart, a whole lot of time 32 00:01:29,030 --> 00:01:32,950 Speaker 1: and waiting and Writing for the Right Moment, ultimately, I 33 00:01:32,970 --> 00:01:35,580 Speaker 1: think it was the perfect moment when you sort of 34 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: look and go, it's the 250th anniversary of our country. 35 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: So it's probably the right time for it to have 36 00:01:41,340 --> 00:01:43,500 Speaker 1: come out. So he was the first connection to it. 37 00:01:43,500 --> 00:01:45,400 Speaker 1: And then he sent me, and of course, I knew 38 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: for King and Country, which are his brothers, Joel and Luke. 39 00:01:50,350 --> 00:01:52,810 Speaker 1: And he sent me the script. 40 00:01:52,650 --> 00:01:53,470 Speaker 2: And the songs. 41 00:01:54,430 --> 00:01:56,630 Speaker 1: And the songs are easier to listen to than read 42 00:01:56,690 --> 00:01:58,750 Speaker 1: a script. So I listened to the songs first. Yeah. 43 00:01:59,890 --> 00:02:02,590 Speaker 1: And I'm also, I love music. I'm a singer-songwriter myself. 44 00:02:03,300 --> 00:02:05,880 Speaker 1: And I was like, whoa, wow. If this script is 45 00:02:05,900 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: half good, this is going to be great. 46 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 2: And this script is way more than half good. I 47 00:02:08,900 --> 00:02:09,660 Speaker 2: really enjoyed it. 48 00:02:10,100 --> 00:02:11,620 Speaker 1: And then on top of that, to get to play 49 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:19,190 Speaker 1: the bang-on bad guy, your antagonist there. But not just that, 50 00:02:19,230 --> 00:02:21,430 Speaker 1: but in this career of mine that has been going 51 00:02:21,490 --> 00:02:24,230 Speaker 1: on for a while now, it's very cool to get 52 00:02:24,310 --> 00:02:27,130 Speaker 1: to do something unlike anything I've ever done. And a 53 00:02:27,370 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: revolutionary war musical where i play a british officer and 54 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,460 Speaker 1: british lord on horseback an awful lot that is different 55 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: i can tell you then there's there's no other project 56 00:02:39,100 --> 00:02:41,540 Speaker 1: i think that is sort of like this one so 57 00:02:41,660 --> 00:02:44,380 Speaker 1: for all those reasons i was i was really thrilled 58 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:44,980 Speaker 1: to get to do it. 59 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:47,340 Speaker 4: I'm a big fan of musicals and i'm a big 60 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,019 Speaker 4: fan of history so this is kind of like perfect 61 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 4: intersection of my interests. 62 00:02:51,660 --> 00:02:55,210 Speaker 1: Well, I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, right across the 63 00:02:55,250 --> 00:02:59,270 Speaker 1: river from Washington, D.C., right down the river from Mount Vernon, where, 64 00:02:59,310 --> 00:03:03,430 Speaker 1: of course, George Washington lived. And it was King Street 65 00:03:03,470 --> 00:03:06,050 Speaker 1: right down by the river. It's still extraordinary colonial. 66 00:03:06,490 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 2: It's brick and all. 67 00:03:07,010 --> 00:03:08,780 Speaker 1: And then I went to school in William and Mary, 68 00:03:09,510 --> 00:03:12,900 Speaker 1: which was, of course, right down the road is Jamestown. 69 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,900 Speaker 2: Where it was founded, but from. 70 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,060 Speaker 1: Yorktown, just up the road. It was the capital of 71 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: the states for a while there. And the Civil War 72 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,430 Speaker 1: happened a lot around there as well. So, Growing up 73 00:03:22,490 --> 00:03:24,660 Speaker 1: in Virginia, as I did, I was steeped in that 74 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: history and a big fan of it as well. 75 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,239 Speaker 2: So that was another great reason. Absolutely. Tell me about 76 00:03:29,260 --> 00:03:29,780 Speaker 2: your character. 77 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 3: It's my understanding that this film portrays what was actually 78 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,620 Speaker 3: real during the Revolutionary War, which is families were divided. 79 00:03:36,650 --> 00:03:42,170 Speaker 3: This war divided families, divided towns, and it certainly wasn't 80 00:03:42,190 --> 00:03:43,970 Speaker 3: the fact that everybody's opposing the British. 81 00:03:44,670 --> 00:03:45,390 Speaker 2: Of course. 82 00:03:45,670 --> 00:03:45,869 Speaker 1: Yeah. 83 00:03:45,890 --> 00:03:47,910 Speaker 2: A lot of people were loyalists and Well, of. 84 00:03:47,910 --> 00:03:50,070 Speaker 1: Course, in other words, it's funny because we look back 85 00:03:50,110 --> 00:03:51,810 Speaker 1: now and it's obviously who is good and who is 86 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: bad in terms of, you know, history gets written by 87 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: the victors kind of a thing. But it was clear 88 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:59,780 Speaker 1: for me to see that if you had come here 89 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,100 Speaker 1: as a member of England, as a member of an 90 00:04:03,140 --> 00:04:06,839 Speaker 1: English lord and loyal to the king and that's how 91 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,170 Speaker 1: you came across and that's how you got your property 92 00:04:09,190 --> 00:04:12,530 Speaker 1: and that's how you raised your family. And yes, here 93 00:04:12,590 --> 00:04:14,910 Speaker 1: comes some things that maybe we don't agree with and 94 00:04:14,930 --> 00:04:17,830 Speaker 1: here comes some, but And then the rebellion starts. It 95 00:04:17,870 --> 00:04:20,299 Speaker 1: wasn't that hard for me to wrap my head around 96 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,980 Speaker 1: why somebody like Lord Balfour would consider it wrong to 97 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: be disloyal to the very crown that sent you. What's 98 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: so interesting and good about the story is that these 99 00:04:29,820 --> 00:04:33,789 Speaker 1: two brothers, whose father died on the trip over, my 100 00:04:33,850 --> 00:04:36,289 Speaker 1: character is on that trip as well, we are attacked 101 00:04:36,350 --> 00:04:40,089 Speaker 1: by a French ship because we are an English ship. 102 00:04:40,150 --> 00:04:44,210 Speaker 1: So the one brother has every right to say, And 103 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:46,390 Speaker 1: this is the brother, of course, played by Joel. This 104 00:04:46,450 --> 00:04:50,239 Speaker 1: is Jeremiah, has every right to say, our father died 105 00:04:51,060 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: defending the British flag. Why in the world would we 106 00:04:55,020 --> 00:04:58,380 Speaker 1: attack it now? But his other brother has every right 107 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,020 Speaker 1: to say, Benjamin Clinton, played wonderfully by Lucas Leach, has 108 00:05:02,140 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: every right to say, yes, but our father was seeking 109 00:05:04,620 --> 00:05:07,770 Speaker 1: a new world and seeking the freedom that this could offer. 110 00:05:07,810 --> 00:05:10,850 Speaker 1: So I love any argument or any on screen where 111 00:05:11,010 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: both of the people are ostensibly right. It's not like 112 00:05:13,779 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: one of them was terribly wrong. But both of them, 113 00:05:17,060 --> 00:05:19,180 Speaker 1: and of course, that's the story as old as the 114 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,900 Speaker 1: Bible itself, Cain and Abel, the first real story of 115 00:05:21,940 --> 00:05:25,020 Speaker 1: the Bible after the Garden of Eden. So that kind 116 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: of thing happens. And I've seen that story before in 117 00:05:28,460 --> 00:05:30,479 Speaker 1: Civil War, brothers, on both sides of that one, when 118 00:05:30,500 --> 00:05:32,840 Speaker 1: a country itself was split. But in a real sense, 119 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: a country was split. These were English colonies. So like 120 00:05:37,550 --> 00:05:41,910 Speaker 1: you say, that's a really, really great place to explore larger, big, 121 00:05:42,380 --> 00:05:48,510 Speaker 1: global battlefield issues that also come down to two brothers 122 00:05:48,570 --> 00:05:53,390 Speaker 1: facing off in their discussions and all these things. So 123 00:05:53,810 --> 00:05:55,950 Speaker 1: the bigness of it, the smallness of it, that kind 124 00:05:55,990 --> 00:05:58,990 Speaker 1: of world, it's very attractive. And then I'll add on 125 00:05:59,029 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: top of that the music. So, yeah, it's wonderful. 126 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 2: Yeah. 127 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 3: Like I said, I haven't seen this yet, but everybody, 128 00:06:05,060 --> 00:06:07,539 Speaker 3: every media person I speak with tell me it's fantastic. 129 00:06:07,580 --> 00:06:08,860 Speaker 2: So I just want to tell them. 130 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: I haven't seen it either, but I've been hearing the 131 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: same thing. 132 00:06:11,180 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 2: Yeah. 133 00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:15,620 Speaker 3: What do you hope Dremel Boy reminds audiences about our 134 00:06:15,690 --> 00:06:18,469 Speaker 3: nation's founding? I mean, that's a big question, but we're 135 00:06:18,770 --> 00:06:21,990 Speaker 3: celebrating our 250th birthday this year, and there's a lot 136 00:06:22,010 --> 00:06:23,590 Speaker 3: to celebrate. Do you have any thoughts there? 137 00:06:23,610 --> 00:06:24,390 Speaker 2: Sure, yeah. 138 00:06:24,430 --> 00:06:28,290 Speaker 1: I think, you know, everybody talks about how divided we 139 00:06:28,370 --> 00:06:33,630 Speaker 1: are at this point, and sometimes we lose our historical comparisons. 140 00:06:33,730 --> 00:06:34,830 Speaker 2: Like, are we. 141 00:06:34,770 --> 00:06:37,419 Speaker 1: More divided than we were during the Civil War or 142 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:38,300 Speaker 1: the Revolutionary War? 143 00:06:38,810 --> 00:06:40,010 Speaker 2: Perhaps, perhaps not. 144 00:06:40,050 --> 00:06:42,210 Speaker 1: But in any event, the story itself says in the 145 00:06:42,270 --> 00:06:44,270 Speaker 1: middle of that, in the midst of that, you can 146 00:06:44,290 --> 00:06:46,910 Speaker 1: be cleaved right down the middle of your family. But 147 00:06:46,990 --> 00:06:51,130 Speaker 1: with your faith and your family and forgiveness, they're in grace. 148 00:06:51,610 --> 00:06:54,610 Speaker 1: They're these things that are larger than these divisions that 149 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: can heal and can bring us together again, even in 150 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,820 Speaker 1: the face of bad guys like Lord Balfour, who, by 151 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: the way, I call him a bad guy, and he is. 152 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,910 Speaker 1: He's the antagonist of the movie. But again, as I said, 153 00:07:07,930 --> 00:07:12,030 Speaker 1: his reasons are not that easy to dismiss. What happens 154 00:07:12,150 --> 00:07:15,410 Speaker 1: is these are his ends, but they don't justify his means. 155 00:07:15,490 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: And so often we do, perhaps we do the wrong 156 00:07:18,390 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: things for the right reasons. And so he does like 157 00:07:22,180 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: loyalty to crown, caring for his family and the property 158 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: and what will keep them in a good state. All 159 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,290 Speaker 1: these are good things, but when you prioritize them above 160 00:07:31,310 --> 00:07:33,790 Speaker 1: your own character, above the things that you. 161 00:07:33,730 --> 00:07:34,530 Speaker 2: Should and shouldn't do. 162 00:07:34,890 --> 00:07:36,690 Speaker 1: I've said before, you can be on both sides of 163 00:07:36,730 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: this story and still be a good man and even 164 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 1: a Christian. Or you could be on both sides and 165 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,500 Speaker 1: be a bad man or be a Christian. So that 166 00:07:47,580 --> 00:07:51,620 Speaker 1: decision is larger than this, which is important to remember. 167 00:07:52,020 --> 00:07:57,410 Speaker 1: And so don't lose yourself in your cause. Take who 168 00:07:57,430 --> 00:08:00,310 Speaker 1: you are in the fullness of your humanity and put 169 00:08:00,350 --> 00:08:03,530 Speaker 1: it towards that. And hopefully that includes someone there, love 170 00:08:03,570 --> 00:08:07,550 Speaker 1: and grace and forgiveness. My character puts himself wholeheartedly in 171 00:08:07,590 --> 00:08:09,230 Speaker 1: the service of things that he thinks are good and 172 00:08:09,290 --> 00:08:14,170 Speaker 1: even may be good, but he loses his goodness, his humanity, 173 00:08:14,230 --> 00:08:14,750 Speaker 1: his heart. 174 00:08:15,530 --> 00:08:18,250 Speaker 2: He loses those things. And that's the story, I think. 175 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:20,620 Speaker 3: Yeah, there were definitely Christians on the both sides of 176 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,980 Speaker 3: the Revolutionary War, no doubt about that. You've enjoyed a 177 00:08:24,020 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 3: very unique career, Charles. I would call it an eclectic career. 178 00:08:27,700 --> 00:08:32,010 Speaker 3: Comedian on whose line is it? Anyway, you sung on 179 00:08:32,030 --> 00:08:34,429 Speaker 3: the Grand Ole Opry more than 200 times. You have albums. 180 00:08:34,890 --> 00:08:35,550 Speaker 3: You're an actor. 181 00:08:35,590 --> 00:08:36,590 Speaker 2: That's why we have you on here. 182 00:08:37,170 --> 00:08:40,490 Speaker 3: Which of those interests came first for you? Comedian, singer, acting? 183 00:08:40,510 --> 00:08:42,949 Speaker 3: That's interesting. 184 00:08:43,690 --> 00:08:48,900 Speaker 1: I was probably a little joker first, probably trying to 185 00:08:48,940 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: make people laugh. 186 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,660 Speaker 2: That was easier than acting. That had not come along yet. 187 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: Music came soon after. My mother says I was singing 188 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:03,570 Speaker 1: aloud from the grocery cart. She remembers me singing Simon 189 00:09:03,630 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: and Garfunkel. Singing, and here's to you, Mrs. 190 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:09,460 Speaker 2: Robinson. 191 00:09:09,900 --> 00:09:12,500 Speaker 1: Jesus loves you more than you will know. 192 00:09:12,540 --> 00:09:14,260 Speaker 2: So I don't know. 193 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,680 Speaker 1: I just listened to the radio a lot. The acting 194 00:09:17,780 --> 00:09:22,220 Speaker 1: really didn't come along until I did one play in college, 195 00:09:22,260 --> 00:09:24,780 Speaker 1: but I was in a band in college. So that 196 00:09:24,830 --> 00:09:26,770 Speaker 1: was the main one. That was the thing. But throughout that, 197 00:09:26,830 --> 00:09:29,740 Speaker 1: I was always sort of, I remember in like ninth grade, 198 00:09:29,780 --> 00:09:34,439 Speaker 1: I was voted wittiest in my class. And I don't 199 00:09:34,490 --> 00:09:36,750 Speaker 1: say that to brag because the story is I remember 200 00:09:36,790 --> 00:09:41,610 Speaker 1: so clearly my mother, I'm coming home, she's like, wittiest? Wittiest? 201 00:09:41,670 --> 00:09:43,089 Speaker 2: Why do you want, why not? 202 00:09:43,790 --> 00:09:45,910 Speaker 3: Your friend got most likely to succeed. 203 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,200 Speaker 1: And I got wittiest. So you take what you get. 204 00:09:51,340 --> 00:09:53,359 Speaker 2: And honestly, on a deeper level. 205 00:09:53,380 --> 00:09:55,620 Speaker 1: Though, I think a lot of that was, my parents 206 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:56,900 Speaker 1: divorced when I was young. 207 00:09:58,160 --> 00:09:59,750 Speaker 2: And I think. 208 00:09:59,910 --> 00:10:02,650 Speaker 1: and I had a grandmother who, while very loving, could 209 00:10:02,700 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: have benefits of darkness and sadness and all. So I 210 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:07,900 Speaker 1: think I look back and I see a little bit 211 00:10:07,940 --> 00:10:10,420 Speaker 1: of me trying to entertain, trying to lighten a moment. Like, 212 00:10:10,980 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: you know, I was real good at smelling when a 213 00:10:13,100 --> 00:10:14,780 Speaker 1: storm was brewing down the road. 214 00:10:14,820 --> 00:10:15,460 Speaker 2: And I think I. 215 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,179 Speaker 1: Would step into the gap and be like, hey, everybody, 216 00:10:18,540 --> 00:10:22,010 Speaker 1: I could juggle. You know, that kind of thing, which 217 00:10:22,870 --> 00:10:24,850 Speaker 1: is a lot for a kid, but I think it 218 00:10:24,890 --> 00:10:27,020 Speaker 1: probably honed a lot of those skills. 219 00:10:36,740 --> 00:10:39,380 Speaker 3: Let's talk about your Grand Ole Opry appearances. More than 220 00:10:39,380 --> 00:10:41,790 Speaker 3: 200 or– I don't know if it's almost 200 or 221 00:10:41,830 --> 00:10:42,390 Speaker 3: more than 200. 222 00:10:42,390 --> 00:10:42,650 Speaker 1: Almost 200. 223 00:10:42,630 --> 00:10:43,010 Speaker 2: Around 200. Yeah, yeah. 224 00:10:46,090 --> 00:10:48,709 Speaker 3: What is that like each time you step on stage? 225 00:10:48,770 --> 00:10:50,550 Speaker 2: Is it just an adrenaline rush? 226 00:10:50,630 --> 00:10:52,929 Speaker 3: I mean, most people haven't even been on it once. 227 00:10:53,290 --> 00:10:55,830 Speaker 3: You've been on it that many times. Why do you 228 00:10:55,870 --> 00:10:56,370 Speaker 3: like it so much? 229 00:10:56,830 --> 00:11:02,370 Speaker 2: It's the deepest, warmest thrill and honor. None of it 230 00:11:02,450 --> 00:11:03,090 Speaker 2: is lost on me. 231 00:11:03,130 --> 00:11:07,100 Speaker 1: I was raised by a father that loved country music. 232 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,319 Speaker 2: Unfortunately, my father passed in 2009. 233 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 1: It breaks my heart that he never got to come 234 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: along in person and see this. I know he's watching, 235 00:11:14,380 --> 00:11:16,210 Speaker 1: but It would have been nice for me to see 236 00:11:16,250 --> 00:11:19,750 Speaker 1: his face out there. But I remember we had a particular, 237 00:11:19,770 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: we would drive like on vacations and I was always 238 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,199 Speaker 1: his oldest son. So I was shotgun and rest of 239 00:11:26,220 --> 00:11:28,700 Speaker 1: the family sleeping in the back there. And I remember 240 00:11:28,780 --> 00:11:30,380 Speaker 1: one time we pulled into a gas station in the 241 00:11:30,420 --> 00:11:33,059 Speaker 1: middle of the night and he found this cassette tape 242 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,810 Speaker 1: collection called Lee Cash's 50 Golden Years of Country Music. 243 00:11:38,330 --> 00:11:42,150 Speaker 1: And it wasn't just the songs. It was stories of, 244 00:11:42,770 --> 00:11:45,010 Speaker 1: about the songs told by the people. 245 00:11:45,070 --> 00:11:46,370 Speaker 2: Like, uh, they would tell a. 246 00:11:46,350 --> 00:11:49,280 Speaker 1: Hank Williams song would come along and they were talking 247 00:11:49,300 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 1: about Hank Williams. First night at the grand old Opry, 248 00:11:52,940 --> 00:11:56,080 Speaker 1: which was at the Ryman auditorium here in Nashville. And 249 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 1: they were talking about how, when he went into his 250 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,830 Speaker 1: first yodel on lovesick blues, the crowd got on their 251 00:12:01,900 --> 00:12:05,530 Speaker 1: feet and they couldn't, they couldn't calm them down. And 252 00:12:05,550 --> 00:12:08,070 Speaker 1: they go, many Pearl remembers. And then you hear this 253 00:12:08,130 --> 00:12:12,010 Speaker 1: voice of many pro going, I heard the noise. Yeah. 254 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,750 Speaker 1: And we were all pretty proud of Hank on that day. 255 00:12:17,150 --> 00:12:20,270 Speaker 1: So it's not just these songs. It's them telling the 256 00:12:20,330 --> 00:12:23,689 Speaker 1: foundational stories of the Grand Ole Opry. And then here 257 00:12:23,770 --> 00:12:25,809 Speaker 1: I am because I'm on the show Nashville playing this 258 00:12:25,850 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: guy Deacon. And I should say that Deacon got to. 259 00:12:29,929 --> 00:12:31,020 Speaker 2: Be on that stage first. 260 00:12:31,059 --> 00:12:33,939 Speaker 1: In the very first episode of Nashville, Deacon is playing 261 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 1: guitar behind Raina James on the stage of the Grand 262 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,679 Speaker 1: Ole Opry, which was such a blessing that I got 263 00:12:39,740 --> 00:12:43,350 Speaker 1: to absorb it all under the mask of this other guy. And, 264 00:12:43,500 --> 00:12:45,210 Speaker 1: you know, you know, when you shoot one scene, you 265 00:12:45,230 --> 00:12:45,870 Speaker 1: shoot all day. 266 00:12:45,910 --> 00:12:47,170 Speaker 2: So we were out there a long time. 267 00:12:47,970 --> 00:12:49,670 Speaker 1: That helped me a lot for my when it was 268 00:12:49,710 --> 00:12:51,850 Speaker 1: finally time that they were kind enough to ask me 269 00:12:51,890 --> 00:12:54,530 Speaker 1: to perform there. I'd been on that stage a moment 270 00:12:54,550 --> 00:12:56,449 Speaker 1: that helped a little bit because, yeah, it was a 271 00:12:56,470 --> 00:12:57,310 Speaker 1: bit overwhelming. 272 00:12:57,670 --> 00:12:59,700 Speaker 2: It still is. It's one of the greatest gifts that 273 00:12:59,740 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 2: came from that show. Amen to that. 274 00:13:01,420 --> 00:13:02,620 Speaker 3: Let me ask you a couple of questions as we 275 00:13:02,660 --> 00:13:06,540 Speaker 3: close here. You hold the Guinness World Records Guinness World 276 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 3: Record title for them. I'm going to read this for 277 00:13:09,179 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 3: the most consecutive weeks to release an original digital record. 278 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 3: single by a musical act. I think 54 is the record. Well, 279 00:13:17,260 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 3: what made you want to do that? That's an incredible record. 280 00:13:21,700 --> 00:13:23,819 Speaker 1: It's funny because as a kid, as that little kid 281 00:13:23,860 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: I was telling you about, I loved the Guinness Book 282 00:13:26,140 --> 00:13:29,849 Speaker 1: of World Records. I was always pouring through it. I 283 00:13:30,450 --> 00:13:33,210 Speaker 1: was carrying it with me and trying to see how 284 00:13:33,230 --> 00:13:35,490 Speaker 1: many pieces of bubble gum I had to fit in 285 00:13:35,510 --> 00:13:37,209 Speaker 1: my mouth or how many times you had to jump 286 00:13:37,290 --> 00:13:39,050 Speaker 1: on a pogo stick, just trying to figure out how 287 00:13:39,070 --> 00:13:41,740 Speaker 1: to get in this thing. And of course, you grow up, 288 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,620 Speaker 1: you forget that stuff. It was being in Music City. 289 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:46,630 Speaker 1: A guy that had been making music his whole life 290 00:13:47,050 --> 00:13:49,309 Speaker 1: is finally in the town. I remember going to the 291 00:13:49,350 --> 00:13:52,510 Speaker 1: Bluebird Cafe and there were some songwriters there doing a 292 00:13:52,610 --> 00:13:56,490 Speaker 1: writer's round thinking, I need to start over. These songs 293 00:13:56,550 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: are so good. 294 00:13:57,150 --> 00:13:59,860 Speaker 2: These artists are so good. And I did. 295 00:13:59,900 --> 00:14:02,860 Speaker 1: I just started writing more and more songs. That's in 296 00:14:02,860 --> 00:14:05,860 Speaker 1: 12 that I got here. By 2016, I had released 297 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,179 Speaker 1: two songs. And it suddenly occurred to me, and I'm 298 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: grateful for it, that We never knew if that show 299 00:14:11,780 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: was going to get another season. I thought to myself, 300 00:14:15,460 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: if we get canceled and I have to go home, 301 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: I'm going to look back on this and regret not. 302 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:22,850 Speaker 2: Making the most of it. 303 00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:25,660 Speaker 1: There's a song on the show Nashville called A Life 304 00:14:25,700 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: That's Good that says, I want to look back and 305 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,750 Speaker 1: say I did all that I could. I really resonate 306 00:14:30,780 --> 00:14:33,570 Speaker 1: with that. I can take any outcome as long as 307 00:14:33,610 --> 00:14:36,130 Speaker 1: I know I did my best. So I started saying, 308 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:37,460 Speaker 1: What can I do? 309 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 2: I'm just going to dig in. 310 00:14:38,740 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: So I grabbed my phone and I created a deadline machine, 311 00:14:42,420 --> 00:14:45,020 Speaker 1: which I recommend to anybody who's creative. If it's just 312 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,540 Speaker 1: something you're going to do and it's in your own head, 313 00:14:47,580 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: you can't do it that way. 314 00:14:48,540 --> 00:14:51,670 Speaker 2: My chair just clapped. That is so funny. That's okay. 315 00:14:52,230 --> 00:14:55,030 Speaker 3: People who are listening wonder what happened. 316 00:14:56,490 --> 00:14:58,130 Speaker 2: I was wondering what happened. You shrike. 317 00:14:59,030 --> 00:14:59,790 Speaker 3: People know you're bad. 318 00:15:00,530 --> 00:15:00,730 Speaker 2: Yeah. 319 00:15:00,890 --> 00:15:03,220 Speaker 1: If there's something that you really say you're going to 320 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: get done, tell everybody. I went online, I told on 321 00:15:05,820 --> 00:15:07,300 Speaker 1: my phone, I said, I'm going to release a brand 322 00:15:07,340 --> 00:15:11,800 Speaker 1: new single every Friday until it's stupid. And I thought 323 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:14,860 Speaker 1: that I would probably do maybe 20 at the most, 324 00:15:15,460 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: but they just kept coming. And there's so many great 325 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: songwriters I could write with. And there's so many great 326 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,460 Speaker 1: players that I could play with that they just kept coming. 327 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:26,330 Speaker 1: And it was 54 weeks later, I finally said that 328 00:15:26,370 --> 00:15:27,970 Speaker 1: ought to do it. And I had no idea it 329 00:15:27,990 --> 00:15:29,850 Speaker 1: was a record. I had no idea it was a record. 330 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:32,860 Speaker 1: until the Guinness people said, yeah, it was, and gave 331 00:15:32,900 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: me that award. I'm so grateful. 332 00:15:34,820 --> 00:15:36,989 Speaker 3: That's awesome. Many of those songs are about your faith. 333 00:15:37,300 --> 00:15:38,350 Speaker 3: You've been open about your faith. 334 00:15:38,410 --> 00:15:40,450 Speaker 4: I just want to ask you before we close here, 335 00:15:40,990 --> 00:15:43,490 Speaker 4: what role has your faith played in your life and 336 00:15:43,530 --> 00:15:44,090 Speaker 4: your career? 337 00:15:44,130 --> 00:15:48,770 Speaker 3: Because this is a faith-centric project. Homestead had a faith 338 00:15:48,810 --> 00:15:51,100 Speaker 3: element to it and some others. So what role has 339 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:52,440 Speaker 3: faith played in your life and your career? 340 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:55,020 Speaker 2: Foundational, fundamental. 341 00:15:55,740 --> 00:15:59,150 Speaker 1: It's the thing that undergirds everything else. None of this 342 00:15:59,230 --> 00:16:02,670 Speaker 1: really matters without that. So, yeah. 343 00:16:03,370 --> 00:16:06,690 Speaker 2: And it's interesting. I don't know how. 344 00:16:06,650 --> 00:16:09,750 Speaker 1: Somebody without faith could ever be, of all things, an 345 00:16:09,890 --> 00:16:15,420 Speaker 1: actor or a musician. It's such a hard business in 346 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:18,620 Speaker 1: terms of losing faith in what you might be able 347 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:22,060 Speaker 1: to do and all those. There's so many rejections and 348 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,700 Speaker 1: humiliations along the way. If I didn't have a stronger, 349 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: firmer foundation for it, I don't know how folks do that, 350 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 1: and I feel for them. But not that it can't 351 00:16:34,220 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 1: be done, not that you have to be a Christian 352 00:16:35,940 --> 00:16:38,620 Speaker 1: to do it. I'm always saying that personally, I feel 353 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,650 Speaker 1: I've had to rely on it so often. It's always 354 00:16:43,030 --> 00:16:45,690 Speaker 1: been a part of my life. Both my mother took 355 00:16:45,710 --> 00:16:48,310 Speaker 1: me to church growing up. My parents divorced, and my 356 00:16:48,370 --> 00:16:51,690 Speaker 1: mother always took me to church growing up and gave 357 00:16:51,710 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: me that foundational and the vocabulary, the glossary, the understanding 358 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,410 Speaker 1: who the Bible characters were and all. and just the 359 00:16:57,450 --> 00:17:00,810 Speaker 1: time going and learning all the prayers and everything. My 360 00:17:00,850 --> 00:17:05,550 Speaker 1: father taught me more from his being born again, his 361 00:17:05,650 --> 00:17:09,340 Speaker 1: really realizing the things he had done wrong and how 362 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,400 Speaker 1: they had affected him. And he found his faith later 363 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,719 Speaker 1: in life, the deeper part of his faith, and was 364 00:17:14,780 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: able to share that with me too. 365 00:17:16,500 --> 00:17:21,200 Speaker 2: And we talked of those things all the time. And so, yeah, 366 00:17:21,220 --> 00:17:22,889 Speaker 2: that to me is the ultimate reality. 367 00:17:23,150 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: And not that, And again, it's such an odd caveat, 368 00:17:27,020 --> 00:17:28,840 Speaker 1: but you have to say it. So now I've got 369 00:17:28,859 --> 00:17:31,360 Speaker 1: it nailed and I'm the perfect Christian. I don't mean 370 00:17:31,420 --> 00:17:35,139 Speaker 1: that on any level. If anything, when I read the 371 00:17:35,180 --> 00:17:38,970 Speaker 1: Bible and it talks about how difficult it is to 372 00:17:39,770 --> 00:17:42,510 Speaker 1: do that, especially on our own, how impossible this life 373 00:17:42,590 --> 00:17:43,490 Speaker 1: is to do on our. 374 00:17:43,470 --> 00:17:46,730 Speaker 2: Own and how we have to, we fail again and again. 375 00:17:46,770 --> 00:17:48,780 Speaker 1: And in the liturgy, you say that you don't say 376 00:17:48,820 --> 00:17:53,220 Speaker 1: the confession once a year, you say, You say it 377 00:17:53,290 --> 00:17:55,030 Speaker 1: every week. And if you're doing it right, you probably 378 00:17:55,050 --> 00:17:57,270 Speaker 1: say it every day. We're somewhere within the Lord's prayer 379 00:17:57,310 --> 00:18:00,530 Speaker 1: itself is the confession. So that's almost to me a 380 00:18:00,590 --> 00:18:03,750 Speaker 1: very valid proof of it, that it speaks to how 381 00:18:04,470 --> 00:18:08,210 Speaker 1: unfaithful a heart, even a heart that believes can be 382 00:18:09,090 --> 00:18:11,510 Speaker 1: to these things you confess. 383 00:18:12,490 --> 00:18:16,460 Speaker 2: That is almost, more than almost, that's kind of a 384 00:18:16,540 --> 00:18:16,990 Speaker 2: proof of it. 385 00:18:17,020 --> 00:18:19,260 Speaker 1: Like if I went to the Bible and it said, hey, 386 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:22,910 Speaker 1: once you Once you say this, it's all easy from there. 387 00:18:23,730 --> 00:18:26,130 Speaker 2: I'd be a little disappointed in how it's turned out. 388 00:18:26,490 --> 00:18:28,909 Speaker 2: But I don't have a Bible that says that. I 389 00:18:28,930 --> 00:18:30,530 Speaker 2: have a Bible where. 390 00:18:30,070 --> 00:18:32,370 Speaker 1: It said, you know, I do the things I wish 391 00:18:32,410 --> 00:18:33,990 Speaker 1: not to do and I don't do the things I 392 00:18:34,050 --> 00:18:37,350 Speaker 1: wish to do that, Paul said. You know, so it resonates. 393 00:18:38,050 --> 00:18:40,020 Speaker 1: It's interesting to me that the deeper you get into it, 394 00:18:40,050 --> 00:18:42,250 Speaker 1: the more truthful it resonates. It's not you get to 395 00:18:42,290 --> 00:18:44,530 Speaker 1: some depth of it and go, oh, wow, it's not 396 00:18:44,570 --> 00:18:46,810 Speaker 1: really what I thought. It's again and again, I'm shocked 397 00:18:46,869 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: by it. Oh, even at this level, it's more true. 398 00:18:49,380 --> 00:18:50,180 Speaker 2: Okay. Okay. 399 00:18:53,190 --> 00:18:55,850 Speaker 4: If you enjoyed today's interview, please make sure to subscribe 400 00:18:55,890 --> 00:18:57,170 Speaker 4: and share the episode with a friend. 401 00:18:57,650 --> 00:19:00,090 Speaker 3: A big thanks to the team at Life Audio. 402 00:18:59,810 --> 00:19:02,760 Speaker 4: For their partnership with us on the podcast. If you 403 00:19:02,780 --> 00:19:06,879 Speaker 4: go to lifeaudio.com, you will find dozens of other faith-centered 404 00:19:06,900 --> 00:19:08,880 Speaker 4: podcasts in their network. 405 00:19:09,380 --> 00:19:09,980 Speaker 2: See you next time.