WEBVTT - Darius Rucker 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:13.360 Welcome, Welcome, Welcome back Bob left Seth Podcast. My guest 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:18.720 today is Darius Rutger, who has a new autobiography, Life's 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:22.599 Too Short. Darius, how good a golfer? Are you? 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:28.040 Okay? I mean I can play, I get around. You know, 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:31.080 I play a lot, so I should be okay. I'm like, 0:00:31.280 --> 0:00:34.840 I'm I'm like a five, so I'm okay. How often 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:39.040 do you play a five days a week? So you 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:41.479 play when you're on the road, you belong to a club? 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:44.040 What's going on? I'm along to a lot of clubs, 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:46.080 but uh, I do play a lot of the road. 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:47.600 Is why I'm play on both of my golf because 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:50.320 there's really nothing else to do all day. So I 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:52.480 usually get up pretty early, player around the golf before 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:54.640 working out, getting the rest of the day started. 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:58.880 And do you still take lessons at this point? How 0:00:58.880 --> 0:00:59.840 do you improve your game? 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:00.560 I do? 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:00.960 I do? 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.240 I still take lessons when, uh you know, when when 0:01:04.280 --> 0:01:05.920 things start to go a little south, I got I 0:01:05.920 --> 0:01:08.800 got a guy here, Dastviel that uh that helps me out. 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:13.200 So uh, I do definitely still take lessons. And what 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:14.280 kind of clubs do you use? 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:17.120 I played p XG you know, I love them. I 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:18.959 think they're the best clubs in the world. So, yeah, 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:20.560 I love playing those those. 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:23.840 And is that because you have a relationship with the 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.000 company or you how did you discover that brand? 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:29.200 Uh? I thought I played them with the first generation 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:30.760 and I just thought they were really good. But I 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:33.000 took a relationship with the company. But uh, I just 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.039 thought they were really good. Every year they seem to 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:38.600 get better. And and so I'll get a new set 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:41.160 of clubs every every every now and then, and uh, 0:01:41.480 --> 0:01:43.160 you know, every time I get a new set, they're better. 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:46.920 So you played with a lot of pro golfers. What 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:48.640 have you learned from them about the game? 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:49.560 Oh? 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:51.560 I learned that they play a different game than we do. 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:54.240 Oh, that's for sure, you know. 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:55.520 Uh. 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.200 And you know, the best thing about playing with the pros, 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:00.160 you know, everybody I've getting to play with, is they're 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:04.040 always so willing to help you with advice and you know, 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:06.880 let you know little little intricacies of the game that 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.320 you're doing wrong that you can help and you could 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:10.040 improve on. 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:10.520 And uh. 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:12.560 And so I always enjoy when I get to play 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:15.880 with professionals, even though really they don't play the same 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:16.440 game we play. 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:17.400 It should have a different name. 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:20.240 Well, I know, you know, they work the ball, they 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.160 do other things. But tell me how the game is 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:23.480 different for the professionals. 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:26.359 I mean everything, the sound of the sound of the 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:27.360 ball coming off the club. 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:27.800 You know. 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:30.880 The thing that I that I'm so envious of when 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.760 it comes to professional golfers is their consistency. I mean, 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:37.560 they just hit the ball the same way almost every time, 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.799 and they and and you know, it's just that's that's 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:41.480 the worst part. 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:41.720 Of my game. 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.079 I'm not consistent enough. I should be a better golfer. 0:02:44.120 --> 0:02:46.639 But uh but I just love love watching them play. 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:47.960 I love watching him hit the ball. And they hit 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.200 it so much further than we do. I mean, it's 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:51.760 it's not even fair. 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.440 So why do you think they hit it further than 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:56.200 the amateurs? 0:02:56.400 --> 0:03:00.760 Because they know what they're doing. They know what they're doing, 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:02.680 and we're we're also trying to figure it out. And 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:04.360 it golf is one of those games. 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:05.600 I don't know. 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.840 When you get to that level, it's just they just 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:11.560 know what to do. They know, you know how, like 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:13.919 you say, work at the ball, left, right and all 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:15.680 that stuff. They just know how to hit it. And 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:18.800 even coming off the club, it sounds different than what 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:22.560 we do. So they're just you know, they're just a 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:23.200 different level. 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:27.119 And as far as people, what's the difference between athletes 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:30.080 like golfers and musicians as. 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.600 Far as people, I mean, the one thing I would 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:34.840 say with that is like, you know, people are people 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:38.680 and they're you know, their personalities may be different, uh, 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:41.240 you know, the way they see the world may be different, 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:43.680 but but really, at the end of the day, you know, 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:46.960 we're all just human And that's something I learned, you know, 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:50.880 you know, with my success and I've learned hanging out 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:52.520 with a lot of athletes that you know, at the 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:54.720 end of the day, we all have problems, and we 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:56.680 all have kids that we worry about, and we all 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:59.080 you know, worry about our health, and we you know, 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.920 at the end of the day, we're all just human beings. 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:07.680 But golf they scored differently than music. You know, there's 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.200 par everybody plays in a tournament. What separates the winners 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:12.640 from the losers? In your mind? 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:16.640 Oh, the golf is what separation winners from the losers. 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:19.360 I think it's short game and punting because they could 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:20.880 all hit it. You know, they all hit they all 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:23.400 hit the green and they all are around the green, 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:25.839 you know, and the guys that can get up and 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:30.080 down or will make big putts, make long putts. I mean, 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:31.839 those are the guys that win tournaments, and those are 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:33.400 the guys that become legends. 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:34.240 You know. 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:36.400 You know, you think of all the greats and you 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:38.880 could probably picture some putt that they made that that 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.200 you know, that was just amazing, or some ship that 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.240 they made that was just amazing. 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.919 And I think that's what really separates golfers, is a 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:47.400 short game. 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:50.280 And then how about in terms of attitude. 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:52.719 Oh, I think that's got a lot to do with golf. 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:56.599 I think I think that the great players, the great 0:04:56.600 --> 0:05:00.200 players don't let bad shots get them down. And know 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:04.200 you that they all have the attitude of you know, 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:06.000 I got to hit the next shot. And I think 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:08.280 that's that's something we're talking about golfer. I think that's 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.839 something in life. The people who are really successful don't 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:13.800 let the little thing, not the little things, or just 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:15.680 don't let a setback get them down. 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:16.599 You know. 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:20.120 You know, it's like like if me and music, you know, 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:22.960 if there's a setback, if you know, one single didn't 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:25.280 do well, well, you know, we go to the next thing. 0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:25.680 You know. 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:29.240 It's it's just I think really successful people have a 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:33.039 way of not letting things get them down and realizing, 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:35.240 you know, Okay, we got to move on to the 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:37.040 next thing and or move on to the next shot 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:38.560 and do that better. 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.159 And if all the courses you played, if you could 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:44.400 just play one or two, what courses would they be? 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.239 Oh, if I could just play one or two Dustin National, 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:50.520 for sure, you know, I just think that's every time 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:52.960 I've been blessed to play there. It's just there's really 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:56.200 nothing like it. It's just every time I and I've 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:58.720 gotten to play quite a few times, and every time 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:00.240 I go through that kid, I can't believe if I'm 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:02.080 getting to play Augusta, I can't believe I'm on the 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:03.480 grounds of Augusta National. 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:05.560 And probably the. 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.640 Other one, you know, either either Bulls Bay, which my 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.000 local course, or Scottsdale National, which I think is is 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:13.960 probably my favorite place to go play that I get 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:14.479 to play a lot. 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:19.560 Okay, Augustin National where they play the Masters. For a 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:23.560 long time, they kept black people out. So when you 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.240 play there, can you feel that or what do you 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:27.120 think about that? 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:29.320 Oh? No, I think They've come a long way with that, 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:29.640 you know. 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:34.160 I mean, you know, in the sixties and seventies, you know, 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:37.040 they kept black black even out you didn't complain to the tournament. 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:39.760 You know. You think about you know, Lee Elder getting 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:42.440 being the first black to play, and Augusta and all 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:43.919 the stuff he had to put up with just to 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:46.680 go play a golf tournament, you know, And I think 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:49.880 I think Augusta's come a long way with that, you know, 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:55.240 you know, I I look at it, and we can't 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:56.080 just put it on Augusta. 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.240 It was the history of America. You know. 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:00.880 Black people were kept out of a lot of things 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:04.320 just because of the color of our skin. And you know, 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.000 you know, we just you try to overcome that. And 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:10.880 you old people in the here, twenty twenty four year 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:14.160 old people, you know, can get past that. Don't even 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:16.280 get past that, just like it doesn't matter, you know. 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.320 It's you know, like I said earlier, at the end 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:20.880 of the day, we're all just human beings. And you 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:22.200 hope people really realize that. 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:27.560 The fact that Kamala Harris is running and she's black, 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.280 as a black man, how do you view that. 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:32.680 I think it's great, you know, I thought it was 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:35.280 great when Obama became president. You know, I'll be honest 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:38.920 with you. When Obama became president, I was shocked. I 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:40.680 just never thought I would see that in my lifetime. 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.400 I just really, you know, back sixteen years ago, however 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:47.080 long it's been since it was when he was when 0:07:47.120 --> 0:07:49.080 he was first elected, I truly never thought I would 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:52.320 see an African American president in my lifetime. And now 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:56.680 to see an African American woman get the nomination from 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:58.720 one of the major parties, I think it's amazing. 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:01.320 I think it's a I think it's great for the country. 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:04.400 Even though, just like everything else with the race is 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:06.600 going to polarize a lot of us, and you know, 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.040 separate is going to divide a lot of people. 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:10.960 But I think it's a great thing for the country. 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:15.200 And how have you seen race relations and opportunities change 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:16.000 in your lifetime? 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.160 Oh goodness, you know, I think we've all seen it. 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:21.840 You know, Like we're sitting, you know, and I see 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:24.080 there talking about you know, black folks not being able 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.040 to play our stuff. I remember that, you know, you know, 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:31.640 me coming into Country of Music and being told that that, 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:36.120 you know, the audience would never accept an African American, 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:39.199 you know, country starm you know, that was there were 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.480 just places, you know, places we weren't supposed to go, 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:44.160 where we couldn't go, or we were just kept out of, 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:48.160 you know. And a lot of those doors and walls 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:51.440 have been broken down, you know, and sometimes you know, 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:54.319 we still see people try to put it back up, 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.320 and that's sad, you know. But but I think most 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:01.720 of America realizes that there's room for all of us everywhere. 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:07.800 And there's been a big push back against the EI recently, 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:12.960 and certainly an affirmative action. What's your viewpoint on DEI 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:14.120 an affirmative action. 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:17.000 I think, I know it's it's sad for me the 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.040 pushes back on it, and to watch people act like 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:21.840 it's a bad thing, that's the thing. That's the thing 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:25.319 that really bothers me, is people acting like diversity, equity, 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:26.480 and inclusion is a bad thing. 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:30.160 You know. Uh, you know. It's the funny thing about 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:30.480 the EI. 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:33.760 You know, you mentioned the EI or affirmative action, and 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.960 everybody thinks about African Americans, you know, but you're probably 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:41.600 the people that have been most h I saw that 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:44.800 the other the group that's been most that that had 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:50.040 the most affected by the eis white women, you know, 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:52.160 white women getting a chance to do things that they 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:54.600 didn't get a chance to do. But and you know, 0:09:55.440 --> 0:09:58.600 I think, you know, inclusion and diversity is always good. 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.200 You know. It's like I always say about country music, 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:03.199 I'm glad to see country music starting to look more 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:07.280 like America because you know that America is a belting 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:09.839 pot of people, and so, you know, I think all 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:11.319 industries and all things should be. 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:18.600 Okay, you're a star, you travel around the world. What 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:23.840 do people in America, white people not understand about being 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:25.760 a black person in America today? 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:31.560 Oh goodness, I think I don't. 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:38.360 I don't think a lot of people really realize, you know, 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:40.600 how people try to keep how how much to people 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:43.840 try to people try to kept out of different things. 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:44.600 You know. 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:47.760 That's why you have a formative action in de Ei. Yeah, 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:51.440 it's because we were for so long we were kept out. 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:54.240 And I think a lot of people don't really realize 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:57.319 how hard you're how hard you have to work to 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.600 to to get in at some industries, to douce some things, 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:04.520 you know. I mean, I always said everything I've done 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:06.320 in my career, I've realized I've had to work harder 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:08.880 than everybody else, and I'd have to, you know, be 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.280 a little bit better than everybody else to get a chance. 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:13.160 And I think a lot of people don't want to 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:13.520 face that. 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:18.000 Now that you've had a lot of success in the 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:22.400 country world, do you believe you still have to fight harder? 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:26.680 Well, yeah, I do. I believe that one hundred percent, 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:31.199 you know, because I know I do. You know it's 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:33.760 even today to get a single, you know, I gotta 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:36.960 still work harder than everybody else. And I don't mind. 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:40.800 You know, our work has never been something that I've 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:42.960 I've showne away from I'm a bit afraid of. But 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:46.120 but uh, you know, yeah, I think I'll always feel 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:46.520 that way. 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:51.679 And just to be a little more specific, in what 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:53.600 ways do you work harder on a single? 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:58.559 You know? You know, playing yeah, you know, having to 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:02.600 play more radio shows, having to to you know, do 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.240 a little but harder work. And you know, watch my finger, 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:08.160 My singles move flower than other folks singles, even though 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:10.800 you know it might be a better song. But uh, 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.640 you know that that's just part of the deal. I'm 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:16.680 not gonna sit there complained about it, you know, because 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:18.920 it is what it is. I'm just gonna you know, 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:22.360 I just I'll work because I don't mind working. But uh, yeah, 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:24.880 you know, I don't think it's as easy for me 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:25.839 as it is for some people. 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:32.040 And to what degree do you encounter racism in everyday life? Uh, 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:33.560 it's not as bad as it used to be. 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.040 You know, there was a time when, you know, especially 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:38.720 like when we were playing clubs back in the day, 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.160 it was a time where you really did encounter it 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:45.079 every day, you know. But it's still there, you know, so, 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.040 I mean it will always be there. I don't I 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:48.960 think in my lifetime it will always be there in America, 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.240 which is sad, but uh, that's just one of those 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:54.600 things that that comes with the territory, you know, when 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:56.920 you when you do something that when you're in African 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:59.160 American and you do something that you're not supposed to do, 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:03.160 quote unquote, yeah, you got to deal with the consequences. 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:04.760 And sometimes that's the consequences. 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:10.360 And what happens if you're in an environment and someone 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:12.319 makes a racist comment, what do you do? 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:18.319 You know, if it's somebody around me, you I'll address it. Well, 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:23.040 I'll address it, you know. If it's you know, sometimes 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:26.199 you just let it go. I mean, why why deal 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.040 with ignorance. You know, there's nothing I want to say 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:29.760 that's going to change that person's mind. 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:30.320 You know. 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:33.200 I like to change people's hearts, and you know, you 0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:35.559 can only do that when you're friends with somebody. Oh 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.280 and you know you're you're you have a relationship with somebody. 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:44.439 But uh, you know, you just deal with now with athletes, 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:49.120 people are always saying that black men who have success 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:52.040 have a responsibility to lift others up. 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.720 Do you feel that in country music that you have 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:58.920 an obligation or you want to lift other black men 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:00.319 or women up in the world. 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:02.120 I mean, I don't know if I have an obligation, 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:04.480 but I feel like something I want to do, you know, 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:09.480 So every you know, every every African record, I'll cut 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:09.960 your artists. 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:11.400 I mean I let them know. You know, you want 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:13.679 to write with me, you want me any record, I'll. 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:16.679 Do anything I can't help you, you know, just just. 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:17.600 To give you a chance. 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:22.360 But uh, you know, I don't think anybody's obligated to 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:25.360 do anything. You know, people do what they want to 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.880 do and what they what's inside of them. But for me, 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:31.000 I just feel like it's the right thing to do, 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:31.640 that's for sure. 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:35.320 Just to be very specific, you know, and this has 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:38.040 been a topic that's been hashed over a lot. But 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:43.360 since we're on this point, someone like Morgan Wallen uses 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:48.160 the N word, which is inexcusable, But what would you 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:52.880 say as a black man where it's just rawly bad, 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:55.840 he should be canceled. On the other extreme, he is 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:59.160 someone who's not sophisticated, who's listened to a lot of 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:03.000 rap records, Jen was inebriated. What's your viewpoint on that? 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:07.080 You know, among as well as cats. You know, I'm 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.280 part of trying to change his heart. You know, I think, uh, 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.320 you know this this there's both that. You know, it's 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:16.680 both ways. You know, those guys do listen a lot 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:18.800 of rap records and you know they hear the word 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.760 and he's drunk, and you know he wasn't using it 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:24.160 in an adult derogatory way, but he shouldn't. 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:27.840 Have been using it at all, right, And you know, 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:29.560 I don't know. 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:33.760 It's it's a situation where you know, you know, you 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:35.800 try to change somebody, like you try to change his heart. 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:37.840 You try to and and try to make it, you know, 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.040 and I'm sure he does. You see why you can't 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:43.280 say that that's just not you know, it's not for 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:45.200 you to say. You know, I wish no one would 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:46.920 say it. You know, I never used it. I don't 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:48.400 use the word. I wish no one would use it, 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.480 you know. And I understand the reappropriation, and you know, 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:54.160 using it the way we're doing rap is just taking 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.480 it back. But it's like, you know, it's just one 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:58.080 of those words that really doesn't need to exist in 0:15:58.120 --> 0:15:59.160 the English language. 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.800 And if you've actually spoken to Morgan Wing about. 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:06.320 This, yeah, I have you know, I mean, I have, 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.840 you know, and Morgan's trying to do better. Morgan Morgan 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:13.920 is he gets it, and he's trying to do better. 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:19.240 And you know, you know, I mean, I don't want 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:20.920 to say this is what it is, but you know, 0:16:21.160 --> 0:16:23.960 he's either gonna, you know, when you're in that situation, 0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:25.840 you're either gonna look at it and know God was 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.360 wrong and I'm gonna do better, or you know, he's 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:29.440 just gonna be who you are. 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:31.240 And I think he's trying to do better. 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:41.360 Now, there's an impression in Nashville and country music that 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:44.120 everybody knows everybody. Is that true? 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:51.880 Absolutely everybody knows everybody. And what accounts for that, I 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:55.520 don't know. You just see folks. You see folks, you 0:16:55.560 --> 0:17:00.120 see folks on the war shows or just hanging out somewhere, 0:17:00.240 --> 0:17:01.480 or you know everybody. 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:05.239 You met everybody and you either become friends with them 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:08.040 or your acquaintance acquaintances with them. But you know, you 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:09.840 know them, You've met them un in their face, they 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:13.000 know you. And because it's it's naturally such a you know, 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:15.879 most music doesn't have a home. Most music doesn't have 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:18.800 a place where everybody is. You know, rock and roll 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.760 was everywhere New York, La Atlanta is everywhere. Hip hop 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:26.119 is new you know, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, you know, but uh, 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.840 country music's in Nashville, and that's where everybody is. 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:31.920 So yeah, everybody knows everybody. 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.480 What the people who are not fans of country music 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:39.439 and a lot of people talk shit about country music. 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:44.360 What do they not understand about today's country music? Oh, 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:45.560 I mean a lot of people. 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:47.199 I think a lot of people say they don't like 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:51.639 country music because they haven't really listened to it. You know, 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:55.199 there's there's a lot of I believe music's music, and 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:57.560 there's a lot of there's a great song in every 0:17:57.560 --> 0:18:02.040 genre of music, you know, even you know, the baroque vocals, 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:04.159 chants and all that stuff. Is you can find a 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:07.200 good song, and I think it's one of those things 0:18:07.359 --> 0:18:09.200 they don't want to give a lot of folks, especially 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:11.040 you know, especially African American folks, don't want to give 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:13.960 it a chance. Don't want to give it a chance 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:17.119 because of the stigma of what is you know, what 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:17.959 are representative? 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:18.560 You know what? 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:20.720 What what people thought of it for so many years? 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:22.919 You know, and that like when I came in one 0:18:23.119 --> 0:18:26.119 one of the one of the best things about it was, 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:30.080 you know, getting letters or d ms from African Americans saying, 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:31.760 you know, man, I can you know I've always loved 0:18:31.800 --> 0:18:33.600 country music. Now I can tell everybody else I love 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:35.800 it because you're you're doing you know that that was 0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:36.359 pretty cool. 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:39.800 And let's say you're going to write a song for 0:18:39.880 --> 0:18:42.760 Hoody and the Blowfish where a country saw for your 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:44.720 solo career, do you approach them differently? 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:46.160 Oh? 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:47.120 Yeah, totally differently. 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:51.720 Yeah, you know, uh, you know, you know, even though 0:18:51.760 --> 0:18:54.680 who do we wrote a bunch of story songs. But 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:57.439 when you're writing, when you're writing country music, you know, 0:18:57.480 --> 0:18:59.280 you're trying to make a three and a half many movie. 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:03.960 You're trying to the story every time, and you know, 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:06.200 who do you We're just we're trying to write rock songs, man, 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:09.600 you know, we're trying to write yeah, rock songs that 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:12.119 are just you know, sometimes you you don't even have 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:14.800 Sometimes it's really not about much of anything. It's just 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:17.160 about it's just us all the country. Which country songs 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:18.080 are always about something? 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:20.399 And what country acts are you with? 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:20.920 Fan enough? 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:22.840 Oh goodness? 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:23.680 Uh? 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:27.919 You know, I love Chapel Heart, I love I love 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:34.240 Luke Bryan, I love so many ladies great. Uh, Dirk Brentley, 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:38.640 rad Haisley, I love Kane Brown's just amazing. 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:40.120 Luke Holmes is amazing. 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:43.520 Uh, there's a whole there's a bunch of new there's 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:45.560 new kids that I found on the internet. I think 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:47.800 his name is Javonne Newman. I just think he's amazing, 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:50.520 you know, and it's great to see that, to see, 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:53.080 you know, a lot of different artists coming up and 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:54.919 a lot of people doing stuff, and you know, I 0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:56.040 sit don't listen to him. 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:00.680 Well do you think I mean? Historically, I country hit 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:04.639 music has been a controlled market on many levels, certainly 0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:09.080 in terms of exhibition terrestrial radio. Do you believe that 0:20:09.200 --> 0:20:12.919 has changed during your decade plus in country music. 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:16.639 Oh, I think it hasn't changed country music or pop music. 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:19.719 You know. It's all I wouldn't say formally, that's not 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:22.159 the word I want to use. It's just, you know, 0:20:22.640 --> 0:20:27.800 it's a. 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:25.960 It's it's a niche. 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:28.280 You know. You have to write verse course, and your 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:30.160 course has to be big of course, has to be great, 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:32.480 you know, and if you're going to put a bridge in, 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:34.199 that's got to say something, you know. 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:38.400 And and you know, I think writing. 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:45.320 Songs is is. I mean, there's a formula for writing songs. 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:48.360 Even if you're just writing, you know, a song that's 0:20:48.359 --> 0:20:50.080 not a hit, there's a formula writing it. 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:50.399 You know. 0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:53.879 Even even Dylan wrote verse course, verse course, you know. 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:56.000 And I think that's just the way songs are. 0:20:57.119 --> 0:20:58.920 Yeah, but if you go back to the Beatles, there's 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:02.080 verse chorus bridge. Sometimes they start with a chorus. And 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:04.240 you listen to a lot of the Spotify Top fifty, 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:05.600 it's like they lost the formula. 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:10.280 Yeah, you know, And but that's that's music. It just 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:13.520 you know, it just fluctuates and the changes and it 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:17.080 goes back to what was before and then you know, 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:19.440 every now and then something new comes brand new, comes 0:21:19.440 --> 0:21:22.120 out and changes it and then that's just the greatness 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:23.680 of music. It's just gonna It's like a it's like 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:25.360 a tide. It's going to come in and go out 0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:28.760 and just keep changing. And I love that about it. 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:32.639 And are you a hip hop fan? Love it? You know? 0:21:33.040 --> 0:21:36.560 Love it? You know, I can't. I couldn't believe how 0:21:36.640 --> 0:21:39.480 much I loved that. Uh, the Kendrick Lamar Drake feud. 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:42.200 I just thought it was great. 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:43.720 Thought are you well you know this is sort of 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:46.600 a dumb question. Last are you on Kendrick Steam or 0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:47.240 Drake's team? 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:49.000 I want to I want both teams because they were 0:21:49.000 --> 0:21:53.000 both on bangers. So that was what that was what 0:21:53.080 --> 0:21:54.880 I loved about it is they were both putting out, 0:21:55.000 --> 0:21:57.359 you know, great songs out of this. I mean, I 0:21:57.400 --> 0:21:59.560 think Kendrick won that. You know, I'm not gonna lie. 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:00.800 I think people agree with you. 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:01.840 I think Kendrick won. 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:04.800 That that that that that beef. But uh, they were 0:22:04.840 --> 0:22:06.480 putting out bangers and I was like, you know, I 0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:07.679 was loving it. Every time I heard there was a 0:22:07.680 --> 0:22:08.359 new song, I had to hear. 0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:12.520 What about Questlove who said he thought it was the 0:22:12.600 --> 0:22:13.320 end of hip hop? 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:15.320 Oh? Well, he would know better than me. 0:22:16.160 --> 0:22:20.480 I will uh, I will uh, I will requiesk the 0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:23.639 question that you know, I don't think hip hop's ever 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:27.400 gonna end. I think hip hop is here to stay forever. 0:22:27.800 --> 0:22:29.919 Just like even though you know there's no rock and 0:22:29.960 --> 0:22:31.480 roll in the radio right now, rock and roll is 0:22:31.520 --> 0:22:33.200 still never gonna go, and there's still people, there's still 0:22:33.240 --> 0:22:35.160 kids playing rock and rolls in g Rogers right now. 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:40.080 But uh, you know, uh, like I said, I'll go, 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:42.840 I'll let Quest handle that one. I'm just gonna keep listening. 0:22:42.840 --> 0:22:45.400 One I line, and is he a friend of yours? Yes, 0:22:45.480 --> 0:22:47.399 I like Quest a lot. I'm a big fan, and 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:49.560 he is a friend, and he's one of the best 0:22:49.600 --> 0:22:50.080 guys I know. 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:51.040 He's just a good dude. 0:22:52.800 --> 0:22:55.439 So how come you never made a hip hop record? 0:22:57.680 --> 0:23:01.880 Because I can't rap? That's not what you know that 0:23:01.880 --> 0:23:04.560 that's not my thing. Uh, you know, I've never really 0:23:04.600 --> 0:23:06.280 really tried. You know, of course you rap along with 0:23:06.280 --> 0:23:09.159 the songs you're like, you know, and but you know, 0:23:09.359 --> 0:23:11.720 I'm not. I'm not a rapper, you know, That's That's 0:23:11.720 --> 0:23:13.080 something I've never even thought about. 0:23:14.680 --> 0:23:18.880 Okay, you talk about contemporary country artists. Did you come 0:23:18.960 --> 0:23:20.520 up listening to country. 0:23:20.320 --> 0:23:22.080 I did, you know, I was a kid. For me, 0:23:22.200 --> 0:23:25.000 it was Charlie Pride, of course. But uh, you know, 0:23:25.240 --> 0:23:27.520 Kenny Rogers is my man. You know, I still know 0:23:27.600 --> 0:23:31.199 all those Kenny Rodgers, you know Coward County and and 0:23:31.359 --> 0:23:33.960 you know Ruby and and all those songs. I still 0:23:34.080 --> 0:23:36.160 I still know all the songs. They still make playlists 0:23:36.160 --> 0:23:38.400 when I'm making playlists to listen to because I think 0:23:38.400 --> 0:23:41.679 they're great. Charlie rich I loved him, you know, my 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:44.439 grandmother loved them. You know that Blue Eye soul that 0:23:44.520 --> 0:23:45.840 you know, he was a he was a soul singer. 0:23:45.840 --> 0:23:47.400 He was an R and B singer that was singing 0:23:47.440 --> 0:23:48.040 country music. 0:23:48.200 --> 0:23:48.840 It was great. 0:23:48.960 --> 0:23:51.040 Uh. You know, then you can get a little older, 0:23:51.080 --> 0:23:56.159 and you know I discovered Dwight Yoakam and and Nancy 0:23:56.200 --> 0:23:59.639 Griffin and New grasp Re Bivle and Bradney Foster and 0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:03.080 Foster and Lloyd and you know, I discovered these these 0:24:03.960 --> 0:24:06.760 these artists that just changed the way I heard music. 0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:11.640 Those artists were just huge for me. And so yeah, 0:24:11.640 --> 0:24:12.720 I loved it for a long time. 0:24:14.200 --> 0:24:15.919 Well, you know, Kenny Rogers and a lot of the 0:24:16.000 --> 0:24:18.879 acts you're mentioning her from the seventies. How about the 0:24:19.040 --> 0:24:23.360 earlier artists, you know, whether it be Tammy Wynett, George Jones, 0:24:23.359 --> 0:24:26.560 et cetera. Were you exposed to them or so? 0:24:26.840 --> 0:24:29.639 The the one person from that era that was really 0:24:30.359 --> 0:24:32.400 I heard the place because my aunt played or was 0:24:32.400 --> 0:24:33.080 was Loretta Lynn. 0:24:34.040 --> 0:24:34.280 You know. 0:24:34.520 --> 0:24:38.320 Loretta Lynn was just you know, the Pill and you 0:24:38.359 --> 0:24:41.159 know the Divorce and all those songs that were great. 0:24:41.280 --> 0:24:43.800 You know. I remember my aunt played me a kiddie 0:24:43.800 --> 0:24:47.560 Well song once that just you know, blew my mind, 0:24:48.240 --> 0:24:51.879 you know, and it was really, you know, it was 0:24:52.520 --> 0:24:56.159 for me, it was music. I've never I understand that 0:24:56.240 --> 0:24:58.080 we have to put everything in a place, and we 0:24:58.160 --> 0:25:01.479 have to compartmentalize everything and put it in a genre. 0:25:02.040 --> 0:25:04.000 But for me, I say this all the time. You know, 0:25:04.040 --> 0:25:07.000 we use the same chords, the same notes in the 0:25:07.080 --> 0:25:11.080 same words, and we play music and everybody and it's 0:25:11.119 --> 0:25:11.960 just all music to me. 0:25:13.440 --> 0:25:16.240 So when do you first remember hearing music growing up? 0:25:16.560 --> 0:25:16.760 Oh? 0:25:17.200 --> 0:25:19.560 My first memory of music was five years old, four 0:25:19.640 --> 0:25:22.920 or five years old, listening to al Green, you know, 0:25:23.119 --> 0:25:25.960 and just discovering instantly that that's what I want to 0:25:25.960 --> 0:25:26.960 do for the rest of my life. 0:25:28.240 --> 0:25:31.720 A little bit more in depth, you hear al Green. 0:25:31.800 --> 0:25:33.639 How do you decide you want to do it for 0:25:33.680 --> 0:25:34.600 the rest of your life? 0:25:34.920 --> 0:25:38.440 Oh goodness, you know, being a little five year old 0:25:38.480 --> 0:25:40.879 kid and standing in front of my mom and their 0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:44.639 friends with the salt and pepper shakers my microphone and 0:25:44.680 --> 0:25:48.480 basically singing the whole Agreen album and the feedback I 0:25:48.480 --> 0:25:50.679 would get from them and the love I would get 0:25:50.720 --> 0:25:51.040 from them. 0:25:51.119 --> 0:25:53.560 Just doing that, you know, made me go, Man, I 0:25:53.640 --> 0:25:55.240 want to do this. I won't. 0:25:55.280 --> 0:25:57.679 I want to feel this on a much bigger scale, 0:25:58.200 --> 0:25:59.760 you know, if it feels like you know, I mean 0:26:00.040 --> 0:26:01.600 as a young kid thinking it feels like this in 0:26:01.600 --> 0:26:04.000 the living room, imagine what I feel like this, you know, 0:26:04.160 --> 0:26:06.719 and the bigger plans for more people looking at you 0:26:06.960 --> 0:26:07.280 and love. 0:26:07.960 --> 0:26:10.560 Did you do a dream ever waivered? Did you ever 0:26:10.600 --> 0:26:12.199 think at some point, man, I got to give up? 0:26:12.480 --> 0:26:13.320 I did? You know? 0:26:13.480 --> 0:26:15.960 After high school? You know, when I was graduating high school, 0:26:15.960 --> 0:26:18.800 I realized not give up so much as just you know, 0:26:18.800 --> 0:26:20.320 what am I going to do? I mean, I never 0:26:20.359 --> 0:26:21.960 played in the band in high school. I say, acquired 0:26:22.000 --> 0:26:24.320 and everything, and I never had a band until college. 0:26:24.359 --> 0:26:26.760 And so it was like I went to college to 0:26:26.840 --> 0:26:28.840 get a broadcast journalism degree. 0:26:28.880 --> 0:26:32.399 You know, hopefully work on TV talking about sports or something. 0:26:33.480 --> 0:26:36.880 And it's not that I'd give it up on my dream. 0:26:36.880 --> 0:26:38.520 It's just that I realized I was gonna have to 0:26:38.520 --> 0:26:39.800 get a real, real life. 0:26:42.400 --> 0:26:45.480 Okay, that was your thought graduating from high school. How 0:26:45.520 --> 0:26:48.800 did you also believe become convinced that no, you could 0:26:48.920 --> 0:26:49.240 do it? 0:26:50.000 --> 0:26:52.640 Oh? It was my sophomore year when I met Mark 0:26:53.240 --> 0:26:56.439 Indean and we started playing in a band, you know. 0:26:56.800 --> 0:27:01.040 And you know, at first, from that first gig where Mark. 0:27:00.920 --> 0:27:04.480 And I played of ourselves at Pappy's, the local chicken 0:27:04.480 --> 0:27:07.960 one joint, you know, you start thinking, all right, man, 0:27:08.320 --> 0:27:09.960 I can do I want to do this, you know. 0:27:10.040 --> 0:27:10.919 That's what that's. 0:27:10.800 --> 0:27:15.119 Really in my mind where school became unimportant. It was 0:27:15.160 --> 0:27:17.520 in my mind where I don't know how we're gonna 0:27:17.560 --> 0:27:19.240 do this, but we're gonna figure out how. We're gonna 0:27:19.240 --> 0:27:21.679 play a lot more because I want to do this 0:27:21.760 --> 0:27:22.160 every night. 0:27:23.240 --> 0:27:26.480 Okay, let's just go back. Al Green, who's from Memphis, 0:27:26.600 --> 0:27:30.840 is supposed to Nashville unbelievable talent. You know, you have 0:27:31.040 --> 0:27:34.760 Jack White and other people working with old country stars. 0:27:35.400 --> 0:27:38.159 Do you think you could help Al Green have a 0:27:38.200 --> 0:27:39.760 hit in today's country market? 0:27:40.440 --> 0:27:42.800 Oh? I don't know if I could, but I bet 0:27:42.840 --> 0:27:44.840 you know, uh, you know, one of the really big 0:27:44.880 --> 0:27:49.359 superstars could you know, you know, Luke Bryant or or 0:27:49.440 --> 0:27:51.399 Luke Combs, and one of those guys came, you know, 0:27:51.440 --> 0:27:52.919 one of those guys that probably helped them have a 0:27:52.920 --> 0:27:53.560 really huge hit. 0:27:53.680 --> 0:27:56.439 But uh, you know, I think. 0:27:56.280 --> 0:27:59.359 I'm at the that uh, that point in my career 0:27:59.359 --> 0:28:01.000 where you know, I don't even know if I get 0:28:01.000 --> 0:28:01.880 on the radio anymore. 0:28:02.040 --> 0:28:05.280 You know, I'm almost sixty. It's been an amazing run. 0:28:05.359 --> 0:28:08.359 But I think one of those guys could yeah, do it, 0:28:08.440 --> 0:28:10.399 do it with Al Green, then you do the right song. 0:28:10.359 --> 0:28:11.440 They could have a really big hit. 0:28:13.160 --> 0:28:18.480 Okay. Country music is different from rock and roll and pop. 0:28:18.840 --> 0:28:20.919 Rock and roll and pop, you usually have a window 0:28:21.000 --> 0:28:25.159 when you have your peak, whereas you know, George Straight, 0:28:25.280 --> 0:28:28.760 these other people, they have first in country. Traditionally, once 0:28:28.800 --> 0:28:33.280 you have success, your audience will support you throughout your life. 0:28:33.720 --> 0:28:37.520 But a lot of people have hits as they get older. 0:28:38.040 --> 0:28:41.440 It's always hard to climb the mountain again. But why 0:28:41.480 --> 0:28:43.200 would you not have hits in the future. 0:28:43.240 --> 0:28:45.040 I mean I think I might, you know, I could 0:28:45.120 --> 0:28:49.040 have its, It's just harder, you know, it's like, you know, 0:28:50.080 --> 0:28:51.920 like you see Garth put out a single, or you 0:28:52.000 --> 0:28:55.000 see George Straight put out a single. You know, when 0:28:55.040 --> 0:28:57.360 they were in their heyday, the single raced up the charts, 0:28:57.640 --> 0:29:00.520 you know, twenty weeks you got a number one, you know. 0:29:01.120 --> 0:29:05.120 So nowadays, you know, you know, it could take months, 0:29:05.360 --> 0:29:08.280 eight take eight months to get a record up the chart, 0:29:08.400 --> 0:29:11.320 you know. And I you know, I hope, I hope 0:29:11.320 --> 0:29:14.200 they still have I hope. Yeah, I'd love to have 0:29:14.360 --> 0:29:17.960 ten more hits, you know, But that's I don't I'm 0:29:17.960 --> 0:29:19.880 gonna stop trying. I'm gonna keep making records and putting 0:29:19.880 --> 0:29:23.080 them out and seeing what happens. But I'm a realist 0:29:23.120 --> 0:29:26.560 about life and about my career. And and you're right, 0:29:26.600 --> 0:29:28.840 I could go play shows for the rest of my 0:29:28.880 --> 0:29:30.720 life and my fans will come out and see me play. 0:29:31.280 --> 0:29:33.360 But as much as they want to say they are, 0:29:33.480 --> 0:29:35.680 the fans, aren't the people who are dictating what's a hit. 0:29:37.040 --> 0:29:43.160 It's the gatekeepers at radio and you know, the gatekeepers 0:29:43.480 --> 0:29:46.680 you know, at the at the streaming services that really 0:29:47.960 --> 0:29:49.480 they're really determined what's going to be a h. 0:29:57.600 --> 0:29:59.120 Are you working on an album now? 0:29:59.520 --> 0:30:01.920 I'm not right now, you know, I put an album 0:30:01.920 --> 0:30:04.240 out last year. I guess earlier this year, we put 0:30:04.280 --> 0:30:07.520 a record out, and and you know, I'm doing the 0:30:07.520 --> 0:30:10.240 Hoodie tour right now, but I'm gonna start writing the 0:30:10.320 --> 0:30:12.120 next record. I want to have it out next year. 0:30:12.120 --> 0:30:15.720 So I'm start writing next record real soon. And you know, 0:30:17.000 --> 0:30:20.440 I love writing music. I love making records. Okay, So 0:30:20.520 --> 0:30:24.080 what's your process? You start writing songs because you know, 0:30:24.160 --> 0:30:26.280 we have an album. Where you get inspired and write 0:30:26.320 --> 0:30:28.440 a song, how does it play out? 0:30:28.720 --> 0:30:29.040 Both? 0:30:29.280 --> 0:30:31.240 You know both? You know, I might get off the 0:30:31.240 --> 0:30:32.720 phone with you, I might get off the zoom with 0:30:32.720 --> 0:30:34.560 you right now and feel like I write a song 0:30:34.640 --> 0:30:35.480 sitting here right one. 0:30:35.880 --> 0:30:36.080 You know. 0:30:36.160 --> 0:30:39.400 But when you're making a record, I mean it's like, 0:30:39.480 --> 0:30:41.959 you know, it's like a job. You go write songs. 0:30:42.080 --> 0:30:43.840 You know, you get your buddies and you write songs. 0:30:43.960 --> 0:30:45.960 You sit around, you know, Okay, I'm gonna write a 0:30:46.000 --> 0:30:48.240 song today. And because you're trying to get you know, 0:30:48.280 --> 0:30:50.520 for every I've never written less than fifty songs for 0:30:50.560 --> 0:30:53.840 any record I've made some country music, you know, you 0:30:53.840 --> 0:30:57.000 write fifty or sixty and then you pick thirteen, and 0:30:57.280 --> 0:30:59.560 so you just start writing. And then when you think 0:30:59.600 --> 0:31:02.880 you got enough, songs, you really start listening to them 0:31:02.920 --> 0:31:04.920 and decide what you're gonna put on the record. 0:31:05.680 --> 0:31:08.840 Well, on some of your solo albums in the country world, 0:31:09.200 --> 0:31:10.920 you didn't write most of the material. 0:31:12.600 --> 0:31:15.920 I think there's a couple of records that, uh I 0:31:16.000 --> 0:31:18.320 might have had two or three songs I didn't write 0:31:18.360 --> 0:31:21.840 on them, and or at least co wrote on them. 0:31:22.560 --> 0:31:25.440 But you know, in country music, when you hear a song, 0:31:25.440 --> 0:31:27.280 when somebody say to you a song, because that it's 0:31:27.440 --> 0:31:32.000 you know, it's a it's an occupation in Nashville. 0:31:32.160 --> 0:31:34.360 Songwriter, you know, that's what you do your song right. 0:31:34.400 --> 0:31:38.959 You know Ashley Gorley, you know is you know, feelthy 0:31:39.000 --> 0:31:42.360 rich because he's written so many number one songs. And 0:31:42.480 --> 0:31:45.120 you know when when him or or or you know, 0:31:45.200 --> 0:31:48.800 one of the other guys sends you a song, it 0:31:49.000 --> 0:31:52.400 just clicks. You go, Okay, I'm cutting that because yeah, 0:31:52.400 --> 0:31:55.080 I'm a songwriter, but I'm an artist. You know, I'm 0:31:55.080 --> 0:32:00.240 an artist. I want to sing great songs. So do 0:32:00.360 --> 0:32:02.440 people send you songs on a regular basis? 0:32:02.480 --> 0:32:05.200 All the time? All the time? Party sent me a 0:32:05.200 --> 0:32:08.160 song about six weeks ago. All the time? 0:32:08.240 --> 0:32:13.120 Yeah, and how do you separate? You know, they hit 0:32:13.160 --> 0:32:14.720 from the ship. It's like, you know, a lot of 0:32:14.760 --> 0:32:18.960 people send you unsolicited stuff that would be not worth cutting, 0:32:19.040 --> 0:32:20.920 not worth listening to. Does it never even get to 0:32:20.960 --> 0:32:23.400 you because you have a filter or what do you know? 0:32:23.680 --> 0:32:26.120 You know, that's the one that goes back to what 0:32:26.120 --> 0:32:28.720 we were talking about, how everybody knows everybody in Nashville. 0:32:29.000 --> 0:32:31.080 You know that, you know, it doesn't go to anybody else. 0:32:31.080 --> 0:32:34.080 They send it to you, They texted to you, you know. 0:32:34.160 --> 0:32:37.760 And for me, I don't know what's the hit, but 0:32:37.800 --> 0:32:40.280 I know what I like, and that's how I judge it. 0:32:40.320 --> 0:32:41.880 If I like it or I love it like a song, 0:32:41.960 --> 0:32:45.840 Like if I told you you know, but that song 0:32:45.880 --> 0:32:48.000 came in, I had to cut it. I loved it. 0:32:48.040 --> 0:32:50.840 I wish I'd written it, you know. I you know, 0:32:51.200 --> 0:32:52.600 I was talking to one of the writers once and 0:32:52.760 --> 0:32:54.440 I said, how could you write my life without me 0:32:54.480 --> 0:32:56.080 being in the room? 0:32:56.480 --> 0:32:58.440 And you know, I have to cut that song. But 0:32:58.560 --> 0:33:00.800 that's for me, that's all I decide. 0:33:01.080 --> 0:33:02.160 I mean, I don't know what's a hit, but I 0:33:02.200 --> 0:33:02.640 know what I like. 0:33:04.160 --> 0:33:06.840 How often are they pitching you a song and they're 0:33:06.880 --> 0:33:08.600 also pitching it to somebody else. 0:33:10.200 --> 0:33:12.880 I don't know. I really don't know, but you know, 0:33:12.960 --> 0:33:14.719 I'll be awesome. There has been songs that have come 0:33:14.760 --> 0:33:16.760 to me that I turned down that you know, I 0:33:16.840 --> 0:33:19.920 hear on the radio, you know, and you know that's 0:33:20.760 --> 0:33:25.440 that's cool. They And the thing is, I don't know 0:33:25.480 --> 0:33:27.360 how many. I'm sure it happens. I'm sure it happens 0:33:27.400 --> 0:33:30.280 all the time. But those guys want somebody to cut 0:33:30.280 --> 0:33:32.440 their song. But I'm not mad at them. You know, 0:33:32.520 --> 0:33:33.960 if I was just if I was a song writer 0:33:34.080 --> 0:33:35.840 not an artist, I'd be doing the same thing. 0:33:38.160 --> 0:33:40.640 But if you commit to a song, they commit. They 0:33:40.680 --> 0:33:41.960 won't pitch it to anybody else. 0:33:42.040 --> 0:33:44.480 Absolutely, If somebody sends me a song and I text 0:33:44.520 --> 0:33:46.360 them go, I'm gonna cut this, they won't sign it 0:33:46.440 --> 0:33:48.200 somebody else. And if they have said it to somebody else, 0:33:48.400 --> 0:33:50.239 they'll text us go, hey, Darius's gotten this. 0:33:52.160 --> 0:33:54.800 Okay. Have you ever heard one of these songs that 0:33:54.920 --> 0:33:57.760 was pitched to you that you didn't cut and you 0:33:57.840 --> 0:34:00.520 later hear the finished record, You go and I do 0:34:00.640 --> 0:34:02.240 like that that was a hit. I missed that. 0:34:03.000 --> 0:34:05.840 Uh yeah, you know, but I don't. I don't ever 0:34:05.880 --> 0:34:09.520 said I missed it because usually there was a song guys. 0:34:09.520 --> 0:34:11.040 So when I hear a song I use. I like it, 0:34:11.800 --> 0:34:13.520 and I think I get but I just go I don't. 0:34:13.560 --> 0:34:16.320 I'm not gonna cut it. You know, I like it, 0:34:16.400 --> 0:34:18.239 but it's not for me. So when you're here with 0:34:18.280 --> 0:34:21.399 somebody else, you go, yeah, that sounds great, that's a hit. 0:34:21.520 --> 0:34:23.800 Yeah, that's a hit for them. But I still wouldn't 0:34:23.840 --> 0:34:24.080 cut it. 0:34:25.480 --> 0:34:27.520 And how about co writing? How do you approach that? 0:34:27.719 --> 0:34:28.239 I love it. 0:34:28.640 --> 0:34:30.560 I love it, And and the crazy thing is I 0:34:30.600 --> 0:34:32.920 never started co writing until like they in the Nashville, 0:34:32.960 --> 0:34:35.360 like all the hoody stuff, we never wrote together. 0:34:35.680 --> 0:34:35.880 You know. 0:34:36.320 --> 0:34:38.200 We all just wrote songs that brought him into the group. 0:34:39.000 --> 0:34:40.799 Or or you know one of those guys that write 0:34:40.840 --> 0:34:42.239 some music and they're bringing it and give it to 0:34:42.280 --> 0:34:44.960 me and say, write some words to the song. And 0:34:45.040 --> 0:34:48.160 So I love co writing because the thing I love 0:34:48.200 --> 0:34:50.799 the most about co writing is you'll be sitting in 0:34:50.840 --> 0:34:52.879 the room and you'll come up well lined and you'll 0:34:52.880 --> 0:34:54.759 love that line and you'll sing it to somebody that 0:34:54.920 --> 0:34:58.160 you're co writer, and they'll sing it back to you. 0:34:58.239 --> 0:35:00.520 But one note will be different or who knows to 0:35:00.560 --> 0:35:04.200 be different, and one they'll they'll change a word here, 0:35:04.360 --> 0:35:08.080 and you realize, oh, that's so much better because for me, 0:35:08.360 --> 0:35:10.680 you know, I sing the way I sing, and when 0:35:11.480 --> 0:35:14.080 I hear somebody else sing something back to me and 0:35:14.080 --> 0:35:16.000 it's a little different. You know, I want to sing 0:35:16.040 --> 0:35:18.320 that like that because I love the way that sounds. 0:35:18.360 --> 0:35:20.480 And you know it's it's not me being me, it's 0:35:20.520 --> 0:35:22.080 me singing a song. 0:35:23.880 --> 0:35:28.080 Okay. I mean people were writers, weren't even performers. You know, 0:35:28.160 --> 0:35:30.439 five days a week, they'll meet with people to write 0:35:30.480 --> 0:35:32.920 other songs. Do you just get together with people when 0:35:32.960 --> 0:35:35.680 you know you're working up material for an album? What 0:35:35.719 --> 0:35:38.200 would make you have a writing session? 0:35:38.840 --> 0:35:41.479 Uh? Just you know, either it happens sometimes when people 0:35:41.520 --> 0:35:43.279 just call and you know, you see somebody who let's 0:35:43.280 --> 0:35:45.640 write a song, and then you text each other you'll 0:35:45.719 --> 0:35:48.800 set up a session. But when I'm when I'm writing 0:35:48.840 --> 0:35:52.000 for a record, yet three sessions a day, five days 0:35:52.040 --> 0:35:53.960 a week, you know you're just going to you going 0:35:54.040 --> 0:35:54.680 you write. 0:35:55.960 --> 0:35:58.000 And when you go into the room, do you bring 0:35:58.080 --> 0:35:59.920 something or you're totally a blank slate. 0:36:00.040 --> 0:36:02.360 That happens both ways. Sometimes you got an idea that 0:36:02.400 --> 0:36:05.720 you take in and you know, I've walked in with 0:36:05.400 --> 0:36:08.120 a with a verse and the chorus. You know I've 0:36:08.120 --> 0:36:09.680 walked in with two verses and a chorus and just 0:36:09.760 --> 0:36:12.759 need a bridge, you know, And other guys will come 0:36:12.800 --> 0:36:14.959 the same way where they come with you know, versus 0:36:15.000 --> 0:36:17.200 the chorus or or or or just the chorus, and 0:36:17.200 --> 0:36:19.160 you go, all right, that's it, that's right, that one, 0:36:19.400 --> 0:36:22.239 you know, and that's always that. That's the That's the 0:36:22.360 --> 0:36:24.839 great thing about songwriting. It's it could be, it can 0:36:24.920 --> 0:36:27.799 go anyway. There's also great songs that come from you know, 0:36:27.800 --> 0:36:30.880 you're sitting around and nobody's got any ideas. Somebody says 0:36:30.920 --> 0:36:32.640 one line and somebody catches on to that, and you 0:36:32.719 --> 0:36:33.440 go and write a song. 0:36:34.800 --> 0:36:37.120 And what's the right number of people in the room? 0:36:37.400 --> 0:36:40.160 I think three is are perfect a great number three 0:36:40.239 --> 0:36:42.239 or two. I think when you get four people in 0:36:42.560 --> 0:36:45.239 a room for more, it's just too many. 0:36:45.480 --> 0:36:46.040 It's too much. 0:36:46.400 --> 0:36:49.480 And I've done it, neve written great songs that way, 0:36:49.520 --> 0:36:52.439 but it really is too much before or more? 0:36:53.160 --> 0:36:55.720 And is there how do you decide on credit? 0:36:57.160 --> 0:37:00.000 Oh, there's just if there's four people, you split four ways. 0:37:00.200 --> 0:37:02.400 Just three people used put it in three ways. There's 0:37:02.480 --> 0:37:04.440 I've never been in a room that was a discussion 0:37:04.520 --> 0:37:07.480 on percentages. That's just the way it is. 0:37:09.080 --> 0:37:11.959 And if you could write with two people, who would 0:37:11.960 --> 0:37:13.279 do those people be that. 0:37:13.280 --> 0:37:14.000 I haven't written with? 0:37:15.040 --> 0:37:18.040 No, well, let's start with that that you haven't written with. 0:37:18.600 --> 0:37:20.920 If I write with two people I haven't written with, 0:37:23.120 --> 0:37:29.640 it would probably be probably like Keith Urban and h 0:37:30.480 --> 0:37:32.759 Kelly Loveless. I've never rely saw Kelly lovelas. He's a 0:37:32.760 --> 0:37:35.040 big writer that I'd like to sit two of them 0:37:35.040 --> 0:37:35.640 and write a song. 0:37:35.960 --> 0:37:36.560 But I write. 0:37:36.719 --> 0:37:39.959 You know, if people I write with Asthley Gorley would 0:37:39.960 --> 0:37:41.040 have to be in the room. 0:37:41.280 --> 0:37:44.520 He's a He's a freaking genius. Uh uh. 0:37:44.840 --> 0:37:51.360 And Charles Kelly Lady. I love writing with him. He's 0:37:52.040 --> 0:37:54.759 because he's got a voice that I just admire so much. 0:37:54.920 --> 0:37:56.280 Or Chris Stapleton. 0:37:56.760 --> 0:37:59.920 You know, well, let's stay with Stapleton, because Stapleton was 0:38:00.080 --> 0:38:02.719 around for a better part of twenty years before he 0:38:02.840 --> 0:38:08.480 broke through, and he and his music are, if not 0:38:08.560 --> 0:38:11.799 the most revered in Nashville, close to it. But he 0:38:11.920 --> 0:38:15.080 is doing something a little bit different than everybody else. 0:38:15.120 --> 0:38:17.839 He doesn't seem to be playing to the market. It's 0:38:17.880 --> 0:38:20.680 almost more rock and roll. What's your take on Stapleton? 0:38:20.760 --> 0:38:21.759 What's the magic there? 0:38:22.040 --> 0:38:25.279 He's got that thing that all artists wants you know, 0:38:25.320 --> 0:38:28.399 he don't have to play the market. You know, Chris 0:38:28.400 --> 0:38:30.000 could put out anything that's going to be a hit. 0:38:30.200 --> 0:38:35.760 I mean, like you said, he's the standard bearer or country. 0:38:36.480 --> 0:38:41.040 He's the best singer in the business, and so he 0:38:41.080 --> 0:38:42.960 does what he wants and I love it. I'm such 0:38:42.960 --> 0:38:45.200 a big fan, you know, I love writing with him. 0:38:45.520 --> 0:38:47.719 You know, I've had number ones with him. You know, 0:38:47.880 --> 0:38:50.799 he's just He's Chris and that's all he wants to 0:38:50.800 --> 0:38:51.560 be and I love it. 0:38:52.840 --> 0:38:56.040 How about some people in the Americana world, which doesn't 0:38:56.160 --> 0:38:58.480 charge on country radio but gets a lot of respect, 0:38:58.480 --> 0:39:01.359 people like Jason Isbells the world do you pay attention to. 0:39:01.400 --> 0:39:03.680 I love Jason as well. I would write with him 0:39:03.680 --> 0:39:04.240 at Heartbeat. 0:39:04.600 --> 0:39:08.279 I think he's a you know Rihanna Gibbons, you know, 0:39:08.719 --> 0:39:10.960 I would love to write with her. You know, I 0:39:10.960 --> 0:39:15.640 think that that whole genre is is great, and you know, 0:39:15.840 --> 0:39:18.640 Jason is just a crazy great songwriter, a lot of 0:39:18.640 --> 0:39:19.360 a huge fani. 0:39:20.840 --> 0:39:24.680 Okay, let's go back to South Carolina. You know, the 0:39:24.719 --> 0:39:27.440 country is a result of the Internet and cable television. 0:39:27.840 --> 0:39:31.800 There is no flyover country. And I certainly know growing 0:39:31.920 --> 0:39:35.560 up in the Northeast that I had a long term 0:39:35.600 --> 0:39:39.239 girlfriend from Tallahassee, which people don't realize is more Georgia 0:39:39.840 --> 0:39:43.440 than you know, South Florida. So what can you tell 0:39:43.480 --> 0:39:47.680 us about growing up in South Carolina? So it was 0:39:47.960 --> 0:39:52.160 it was a southern town, you know, but it was. 0:39:54.200 --> 0:39:57.400 It was a bastion of of of For me growing up, 0:39:57.400 --> 0:40:00.560 it was I was raised by a village. You know, 0:40:00.640 --> 0:40:04.840 we had a neighborhood that was everybody. We were all close, 0:40:04.960 --> 0:40:07.280 We were all friends, family, all the families were friends. 0:40:07.320 --> 0:40:09.880 You knew everybody in the neighborhood. You know, if you 0:40:09.960 --> 0:40:12.680 went around the corner and you know, miss Simmons had 0:40:12.680 --> 0:40:14.960 to whoop you because you did something wrong, you know, 0:40:15.040 --> 0:40:16.719 your mom didn't get up and go around and yell 0:40:16.719 --> 0:40:18.960 at miss Simmons. When you got home, you got another 0:40:19.000 --> 0:40:21.480 whooping because Miss Simmons had to whoop you, you know. 0:40:22.000 --> 0:40:25.000 I mean, we were raised by everybody's parents and it 0:40:25.120 --> 0:40:27.239 was great for me. I loved it. I mean I 0:40:27.280 --> 0:40:29.320 would say I'd do my childhood to get an harpyat. 0:40:30.239 --> 0:40:36.920 And for me, you know, you experience, you know, experienced 0:40:37.000 --> 0:40:39.360 racism and stuff like that, but it just it was 0:40:39.400 --> 0:40:42.040 just what it was. I mean, it was just you. 0:40:42.480 --> 0:40:45.480 You dealt with it, and you moved on, you know, 0:40:45.760 --> 0:40:49.719 and because it was what it was, and I just 0:40:49.760 --> 0:40:52.440 grew up. We grew up with not a lot, but 0:40:52.480 --> 0:40:54.080 we had. There was so much love and so much 0:40:54.080 --> 0:40:57.719 friendship and so much camaraderie. I mean, I'm still best 0:40:57.719 --> 0:40:59.600 friends with the five guys I grew up with. You know, 0:40:59.600 --> 0:41:01.520 we still text each other every day. We have a 0:41:01.560 --> 0:41:04.360 group text where we text every day. And what are 0:41:04.400 --> 0:41:06.720 those guys up to? You know, guys are doing different. 0:41:06.800 --> 0:41:09.600 One guy's a money guy, one guy's a lawyer. One 0:41:09.600 --> 0:41:14.160 guy runs the school districts in Beaufer County, and you know, 0:41:14.239 --> 0:41:17.279 one guy works at Target. You know, you know, one 0:41:17.280 --> 0:41:19.879 guy whoves out in California as a social worker. I mean, 0:41:20.600 --> 0:41:23.360 everybody's doing their own thing and loving it. 0:41:25.160 --> 0:41:28.880 So everybody this environment in the village ended up generally 0:41:28.880 --> 0:41:30.080 speaking good stories. 0:41:30.320 --> 0:41:33.279 My friends all did Yes, my friends all ended up 0:41:33.280 --> 0:41:39.400 being good, hard working folks who who you know, I 0:41:39.480 --> 0:41:40.960 want to say God out of it, because that's just 0:41:40.960 --> 0:41:45.640 not the word. Who became great, great men who raised 0:41:45.680 --> 0:41:50.920 their families and work their jobs and try to enjoy themselves. 0:41:51.560 --> 0:41:55.520 So how does this affect how you raise your kids? Oh? 0:41:55.600 --> 0:41:58.920 You know, I like I would like to think you 0:41:59.360 --> 0:42:01.279 like his. I think I was a pretty good dad. 0:42:01.320 --> 0:42:04.239 I mean, I just I just wanted them to be 0:42:04.320 --> 0:42:05.239 happy and successful. 0:42:06.000 --> 0:42:06.680 What are they up to. 0:42:07.800 --> 0:42:11.319 I got, you know, one one daughter who lives here 0:42:11.320 --> 0:42:13.359 in Nashville who's doing really well for herself. I got 0:42:13.360 --> 0:42:16.360 a daughter just who graduated college college in Florida. I 0:42:16.360 --> 0:42:19.280 got a daughter just graduated from NYU. 0:42:19.640 --> 0:42:19.840 You know. 0:42:19.920 --> 0:42:21.960 I got a son that you know, went to NYU 0:42:22.080 --> 0:42:23.880 and you know now he wants to get into real estate. 0:42:23.920 --> 0:42:27.879 And they're just healthy, happy kids working their butt off, 0:42:27.960 --> 0:42:30.480 knowing that you know, their parents have their backs. 0:42:31.239 --> 0:42:32.440 And are they off the payroll? 0:42:33.840 --> 0:42:36.759 You know pretty much? You know, the younger ones probably not, 0:42:36.960 --> 0:42:40.080 you know. And uh, the one who just graduated colleges, 0:42:40.160 --> 0:42:42.239 you know, she's still kind of on it. And you know, 0:42:42.320 --> 0:42:46.520 but I'm sure just the way we live, you know, 0:42:46.760 --> 0:42:48.600 I don't ever want them to be totally off the payroll. 0:42:48.640 --> 0:42:50.600 I'm always there for them, you know. I want them 0:42:50.640 --> 0:42:53.360 to get jobs. And they are and living their lives 0:42:53.400 --> 0:42:56.640 and working hard. But you know, they need anything, I'll 0:42:56.640 --> 0:42:57.319 always be here. 0:42:58.000 --> 0:42:59.919 What if they call for money? What would you say 0:43:00.120 --> 0:43:00.360 no to? 0:43:02.280 --> 0:43:05.160 Oh? If they wanted to my house I wanted my 0:43:05.360 --> 0:43:07.560 car and say no, no, like you know, you go 0:43:07.680 --> 0:43:11.279 work for that. But uh, you know, you know I'm 0:43:11.280 --> 0:43:14.600 a good dad. I'm a generous dad. But uh, you know, 0:43:15.120 --> 0:43:18.399 I would never imagine cutting my kids off or saying 0:43:18.400 --> 0:43:20.680 I'm not going to give you anything, because that's just 0:43:20.719 --> 0:43:21.359 not who I am. 0:43:22.160 --> 0:43:25.360 Well, needless to say, you've created quite an asset base. 0:43:25.440 --> 0:43:28.200 When you do pass, which hopefully won't be for thirty 0:43:28.239 --> 0:43:30.840 odd years, what do you plan to do with the money? 0:43:31.640 --> 0:43:34.960 Give it to them, and I'm sure I'll leave some 0:43:35.160 --> 0:43:38.480 to the some charities I love, But you know, I 0:43:38.520 --> 0:43:41.080 want my kids to enjoy the benefits of my hard work. 0:43:42.239 --> 0:43:44.600 So let's go back to South Carolina growing up. What 0:43:44.680 --> 0:43:46.080 kind of kid we like? In school? 0:43:46.440 --> 0:43:48.480 I was a good I was a good student, you know, 0:43:49.640 --> 0:43:56.879 didn't get in trouble at school very often. Until high school. 0:43:56.880 --> 0:43:58.480 I was an athlete. And then in high school I 0:43:58.520 --> 0:44:02.840 became music became you know, the choir and the choruses 0:44:02.880 --> 0:44:06.520 and a small the small group were my life, you 0:44:06.560 --> 0:44:09.080 know that going to rehearsals and we we had a 0:44:09.280 --> 0:44:12.160 show choir. That was that was a lot of work, 0:44:12.200 --> 0:44:13.800 you know, a lot of after school rehearsals. 0:44:13.840 --> 0:44:14.560 And stuff like that. 0:44:15.640 --> 0:44:18.320 Well, some people might have not been exposed to show choir, 0:44:18.400 --> 0:44:19.760 So tell us about show choirs. 0:44:20.040 --> 0:44:22.840 Choirs. Uh, you know, it's it's it's a big it's 0:44:22.880 --> 0:44:24.839 not you. When you take a choir, you think of church, 0:44:24.880 --> 0:44:28.280 and it wasn't that. It was choirs that got together 0:44:28.320 --> 0:44:32.600 and you know, you sang contemporary songs or during Christmas 0:44:32.600 --> 0:44:35.960 you sang all the Christmas stuff and you know there 0:44:36.000 --> 0:44:37.800 was some dancing to it, and there was some uh 0:44:38.400 --> 0:44:41.799 some uh you know, little choreography and a little but 0:44:41.920 --> 0:44:46.320 it was you know, at my school, the Middleston singers 0:44:46.320 --> 0:44:48.520 were a big deal, you know, and you had to 0:44:48.520 --> 0:44:51.000 try out. Not everybody made it. Probably less than a 0:44:51.000 --> 0:44:53.920 halfter people that tried out made it. And so it 0:44:54.040 --> 0:44:58.960 was a big deal. And and so choir was fun. 0:44:59.440 --> 0:45:02.440 It was you know, twenty girls and twenty guys that 0:45:03.239 --> 0:45:05.839 all could say and would go out there and try 0:45:05.840 --> 0:45:06.319 to be great. 0:45:14.200 --> 0:45:16.439 So it's in your book for those people don't know. 0:45:16.320 --> 0:45:19.440 You graduate from high school and then what do you do. 0:45:19.719 --> 0:45:22.720 I went to the University of South Carolina and majors 0:45:22.760 --> 0:45:23.719 in broadcast journalism. 0:45:24.719 --> 0:45:27.880 And what was that experience like? At first? 0:45:27.920 --> 0:45:30.600 It was tough, you know, I had gone from this 0:45:31.680 --> 0:45:34.000 high school. I think my graduating class had three hundred 0:45:34.040 --> 0:45:36.080 and twenty people or something. You know, I was I 0:45:36.120 --> 0:45:37.560 was a senior class vice president. 0:45:37.640 --> 0:45:37.840 You know. 0:45:37.880 --> 0:45:39.800 I went from the school where and I was in 0:45:39.920 --> 0:45:42.560 every clique. I was in the jocks click, I was 0:45:42.600 --> 0:45:44.960 in the you know, the stoner's click. I was in 0:45:45.760 --> 0:45:47.719 you know, the music click. I was in the big 0:45:47.760 --> 0:45:49.160 brothers and sisters. Cause I was just. 0:45:49.239 --> 0:45:51.200 I was just. I was friends with everybody. 0:45:51.800 --> 0:45:53.959 And I went from that to this university of forty 0:45:54.000 --> 0:45:57.440 thousand people, and that was a culture shock for me. 0:45:57.600 --> 0:46:00.000 It really was first semester it was a culture shop. 0:46:00.080 --> 0:46:02.520 And at first I didn't think I liked it, and 0:46:02.560 --> 0:46:06.080 then I did. Yeah, when I found my place and 0:46:06.120 --> 0:46:10.960 my friends, I did like it. And it was it 0:46:11.000 --> 0:46:12.879 was a big university. It was exactly what you're think 0:46:12.880 --> 0:46:16.440 it is. You know, college football every Saturday, and and 0:46:17.040 --> 0:46:19.759 you know, every weekend I haven't parted our butts off, 0:46:19.760 --> 0:46:21.640 and every wanting to go home to visit parents and 0:46:21.719 --> 0:46:25.840 tell Thanksgiving. You know, it was a typical southern college 0:46:26.719 --> 0:46:29.960 college experience. And you know that's something that's another thing 0:46:30.000 --> 0:46:33.400 I would do and get an RP. But you ultimately 0:46:33.440 --> 0:46:35.560 leave there right now. I stayed there the whole time 0:46:35.920 --> 0:46:38.440 I was gonna leave, And then I met a buddy 0:46:38.440 --> 0:46:42.239 of mine right before right before Christmas break, I met, 0:46:42.560 --> 0:46:45.200 I met, I knew him, but he asked me to 0:46:45.239 --> 0:46:46.520 come and have a beer with him, and we just 0:46:46.560 --> 0:46:47.359 had such a great time. 0:46:47.400 --> 0:46:48.200 I decided to stay. 0:46:49.120 --> 0:46:53.840 And yeah, Yo, that's one of those things that I, 0:46:53.880 --> 0:46:57.600 you know, I believe in fate because I looked at 0:46:57.600 --> 0:47:00.280 that moment of where I really was going to transfer, 0:47:00.480 --> 0:47:03.239 and his name was Chris Carney, and he actually he 0:47:03.320 --> 0:47:04.279 runs my life right now. 0:47:04.320 --> 0:47:07.400 But uh, he you know, beating him at not meeting him, 0:47:07.400 --> 0:47:08.320 but just talking to him. 0:47:08.160 --> 0:47:10.759 That day at at that whole meeting and staying and 0:47:10.840 --> 0:47:13.080 having so much such a great time with him, and 0:47:13.480 --> 0:47:15.200 ended up staying in South Carolina. I mean, if I'd 0:47:15.239 --> 0:47:18.080 left South Carolina, I wouldn't be talking to you that rapp. 0:47:18.320 --> 0:47:18.560 You know. 0:47:19.680 --> 0:47:20.920 I don't know if I would have ever played in 0:47:20.920 --> 0:47:22.720 the band if I'd doing this stuff after school. 0:47:22.840 --> 0:47:24.800 So that's one of those things that makes me believe 0:47:24.800 --> 0:47:25.160 in fame. 0:47:26.320 --> 0:47:28.040 And what about finishing college. 0:47:28.600 --> 0:47:32.000 Uh, after my junior year, I had wracked up a 0:47:32.040 --> 0:47:37.600 pretty good uh student loan debt and uh didn't have 0:47:38.040 --> 0:47:40.000 really the money to go back, so I decided to 0:47:40.000 --> 0:47:42.759 take a year off and just never went back. 0:47:44.680 --> 0:47:47.120 So, you know, like Bruce Springsteen has that record where 0:47:47.120 --> 0:47:49.520 his mother says he can still go back to college. 0:47:49.640 --> 0:47:52.080 Oh yeah, oh yeah. And the funny thing is, I 0:47:52.080 --> 0:47:54.200 think about it now because I'm such a gay Flock supporter. 0:47:54.320 --> 0:47:56.840 I think a lot that you know, take online classes 0:47:56.880 --> 0:47:58.840 and stuff and go back just to get the degree, 0:47:58.920 --> 0:48:01.560 so I could up being a graduate of the University 0:48:01.560 --> 0:48:04.759 of Carolina. But you know, like my friends have to say, 0:48:04.800 --> 0:48:06.839 I think you did all right for yourself. So I'll 0:48:06.840 --> 0:48:07.480 see it that way. 0:48:09.040 --> 0:48:11.839 What about your kids if your kids wanted to drop out. 0:48:12.440 --> 0:48:14.799 My nineteen year old has decided he did colleges enough 0:48:14.800 --> 0:48:16.680 for him, and I was fine with it. Collegism for 0:48:16.719 --> 0:48:20.680 everybody in today's world doesn't have to be you know, 0:48:21.280 --> 0:48:23.400 it was just hounded into our head back in the 0:48:23.480 --> 0:48:24.719 day that if you want a good job, you have 0:48:24.760 --> 0:48:26.040 to have a college degree. 0:48:26.280 --> 0:48:28.640 You know. I just don't believe that anymore, you know. 0:48:28.719 --> 0:48:31.439 And and you know, like I said, he was going 0:48:31.440 --> 0:48:35.799 to the NYU and to drop four hundred grand to 0:48:35.880 --> 0:48:36.560 go to the school. 0:48:36.760 --> 0:48:38.240 You know, when you don't want to go to school 0:48:38.280 --> 0:48:39.640 just if he didn't want to go. I was fine 0:48:39.640 --> 0:48:39.800 with that. 0:48:41.560 --> 0:48:44.279 Okay. So you play with your buddy out and you 0:48:44.360 --> 0:48:49.319 have this realization that whoa, I could do this. What 0:48:49.520 --> 0:48:50.640 happens next. 0:48:51.760 --> 0:48:55.160 Oh, we get another buddy and another buddy and we 0:48:55.200 --> 0:48:58.680 start playing shows, and you know, we start traveling all 0:48:58.719 --> 0:49:00.880 over the East Coast after a while. 0:49:01.040 --> 0:49:04.120 A little bit. So first of all, I'm sure you 0:49:04.160 --> 0:49:07.399 don't like it. Many people call you Hoody, But in 0:49:07.440 --> 0:49:11.320 the book it tells the story of how the band 0:49:11.400 --> 0:49:14.879 named Hoody and the Blowfish came about. Can you tell 0:49:14.920 --> 0:49:16.240 my audience that story? 0:49:17.280 --> 0:49:19.360 Oh? I was. I was actually in a show choir 0:49:20.040 --> 0:49:23.600 and that's that's South Carolina and called Carolina Alive. 0:49:24.480 --> 0:49:26.440 And we were we were ship Man. 0:49:26.520 --> 0:49:31.880 We we played inaugurations and all over the place we 0:49:31.880 --> 0:49:35.120 would play, and we were starting the band. Market and 0:49:35.160 --> 0:49:37.359 I played together for a few months and we were 0:49:37.360 --> 0:49:39.200 starting the band. We had our first gig about a 0:49:39.280 --> 0:49:42.440 week after this happened. And there was one guy that 0:49:43.080 --> 0:49:45.600 had really big guys and more round glasses like leaden 0:49:45.880 --> 0:49:50.640 and I started calling them Moodie, and everybody in the 0:49:50.640 --> 0:49:54.879 show choir started calling. And his best friend had these 0:49:54.920 --> 0:49:56.399 big cheeks and he was a trumpet player. 0:49:56.440 --> 0:49:57.200 It could blow them up. 0:49:57.239 --> 0:50:00.279 And I called him the blowfish and I just kept 0:50:00.320 --> 0:50:02.520 calling bow Fish that everybody the show choir was called 0:50:02.560 --> 0:50:06.120 the blowfish. And they walked into a party once in 0:50:06.160 --> 0:50:09.440 my room in Myrtle Beach. We were playing singing somewhere 0:50:09.440 --> 0:50:12.239 in Myrtle Beach and I was in my room and 0:50:12.640 --> 0:50:15.560 they walked in to the room and I said, hey, 0:50:15.560 --> 0:50:18.920 Hoody the bowfishes here. And I thought, my head, but 0:50:19.120 --> 0:50:21.160 Hooty the Bufish has to be the name of our band. 0:50:21.520 --> 0:50:24.080 And I went back and said Mark, although they've been 0:50:24.120 --> 0:50:26.960 Hooty the bois and he said whatever, And we've been 0:50:27.000 --> 0:50:28.040 hooting both ever since. 0:50:28.840 --> 0:50:31.799 Okay, just so I understand the timeline. While you were 0:50:31.800 --> 0:50:34.040 playing with Mark, you were also in the choir. 0:50:34.200 --> 0:50:36.479 Yes, yeah, we were still in college. We were living 0:50:36.520 --> 0:50:38.560 on the dorm hall and we were still in college 0:50:39.080 --> 0:50:41.680 and you know, we were just starting the band. I 0:50:41.719 --> 0:50:44.359 mean I think that was the fourth third or fourth 0:50:44.360 --> 0:50:46.239 time we ever played together when we played with the band. 0:50:47.280 --> 0:50:51.400 Okay, but the show choir was back home was associated 0:50:51.440 --> 0:50:52.399 with the school. 0:50:52.160 --> 0:50:54.320 Right, yes it was. It was at the universityth Carolina. 0:50:54.480 --> 0:50:55.640 It was called Lot. 0:50:55.800 --> 0:50:58.080 Yes, So what was it like being in the show 0:50:58.120 --> 0:51:00.560 choir in college as opposed to high Oh. 0:51:00.600 --> 0:51:02.520 The big difference was the parties. I mean all we 0:51:02.560 --> 0:51:03.440 do was party. You know. 0:51:03.480 --> 0:51:05.960 We went through these great places. We would get to 0:51:06.000 --> 0:51:10.080 go to these great places, these great cities, you know, Pittsburgh, 0:51:10.239 --> 0:51:12.719 New York, you know, go down to Miami, you know, 0:51:12.800 --> 0:51:14.839 go to Hertle Beach, go all these places and get 0:51:14.840 --> 0:51:17.840 to to get to sing, either in competitions or just 0:51:18.880 --> 0:51:23.839 and just singing. And it was it was awesome, you know. 0:51:23.920 --> 0:51:26.560 And we were great. I mean we we I look 0:51:26.640 --> 0:51:29.239 back in those days and we were great. I mean 0:51:29.760 --> 0:51:32.560 everybody in there was a world class singer. You know, 0:51:32.600 --> 0:51:34.680 a lot of people were getting scholarships. 0:51:35.160 --> 0:51:38.880 That's this thing. And it was it was it was awesome. 0:51:39.200 --> 0:51:41.160 I mean you really felt like you when you heard 0:51:41.200 --> 0:51:43.200 other folks singing in that choir, you felt like you 0:51:43.239 --> 0:51:44.719 were doing something because you were part of that. 0:51:46.160 --> 0:51:50.319 And what about the partying, the sex, the drugs, the alcohol. 0:51:50.400 --> 0:51:52.880 What when you're in college to what degree that a 0:51:52.920 --> 0:51:53.880 part of the show choir. 0:51:54.600 --> 0:51:57.759 I mean it wasn't back then the drugs learn so much, 0:51:57.800 --> 0:52:01.480 but the accident. The alcohol was prevalent. It was everywhere. 0:52:01.600 --> 0:52:04.160 It was you know, we were kids. You know, that's 0:52:04.200 --> 0:52:07.439 what we were doing. You know, that's what we were doing. 0:52:07.480 --> 0:52:09.520 We were having a party. And but you know, we 0:52:09.520 --> 0:52:12.319 were we were pros. Party didn't start till the show 0:52:12.360 --> 0:52:15.080 was though, but but yeah, we could have a party. 0:52:16.719 --> 0:52:19.839 And how long after you start playing with Mark did 0:52:19.840 --> 0:52:21.520 you stop being in the show choir? 0:52:22.680 --> 0:52:29.399 Oh? Goodness, probably a year and a half after market 0:52:29.480 --> 0:52:32.400 I started. After the band started, I stopped sitting to 0:52:32.480 --> 0:52:37.239 the show choir. And it wasn't like, you know, I 0:52:37.239 --> 0:52:39.640 just quit the show choir because the market marketing was 0:52:39.640 --> 0:52:41.440 still in school, so it's not like we could just 0:52:41.680 --> 0:52:44.120 get in the vans and go during the week or 0:52:44.160 --> 0:52:46.880 anything or and so you know, and and all the 0:52:46.960 --> 0:52:49.400 all the shows for the show choir we usually booked 0:52:49.840 --> 0:52:51.960 before the semester started, so you know, when you were 0:52:51.960 --> 0:52:53.359 at when I was going to be out of town 0:52:53.360 --> 0:52:56.000 with them, So we just planned our shows around that. 0:52:57.920 --> 0:53:01.239 Okay, so you play out with Mark, the bell goes 0:53:01.280 --> 0:53:03.000 off in your head. What's the next step? 0:53:03.960 --> 0:53:07.840 I found a drummer in the bass player and uh, Mark. 0:53:07.760 --> 0:53:10.319 Can you tell this story about the girl and the 0:53:10.400 --> 0:53:12.399 thoughts etc. That's in the book? 0:53:12.800 --> 0:53:18.960 Well? Which girl? Will Sony by the drummer. Well, you know, 0:53:19.080 --> 0:53:23.839 we our first drummer quit and uh, we were looking 0:53:23.880 --> 0:53:27.520 for drummers, and uh, like seven guys were coming to 0:53:27.520 --> 0:53:29.440 play with us one day and I saw Sony's name 0:53:29.480 --> 0:53:31.040 on the list, and I told Mark and Dean that 0:53:31.640 --> 0:53:34.440 Sony wasn't going to be our drummer because I hated him. 0:53:34.719 --> 0:53:37.399 And the reason I hated him was my freshman year 0:53:38.120 --> 0:53:40.640 in college, when I was in the show choir, I 0:53:40.680 --> 0:53:42.360 had a friend. You know, I was still in the 0:53:42.400 --> 0:53:43.880 friend zone, but I was trying not to be in 0:53:43.920 --> 0:53:46.839 the friend zone. But we were pretty tight. We hung 0:53:46.880 --> 0:53:49.960 out a lot and uh. And so she calls me 0:53:50.040 --> 0:53:51.719 up and tells me to come to her room, which 0:53:51.800 --> 0:53:56.160 was seriously on the opposite end of campus from where 0:53:56.160 --> 0:53:56.440 I am. 0:53:56.480 --> 0:53:59.120 And so I'm all excited. I think today's today, you know. 0:53:59.200 --> 0:54:01.960 And I get up and I walk all the way 0:54:01.960 --> 0:54:05.200 across campus, a twenty minute walk, probably twenty five minute walk, 0:54:06.040 --> 0:54:08.840 and I get to her room and she takes me 0:54:08.880 --> 0:54:12.680 out seat. She rushes me outside, and she tells me 0:54:12.719 --> 0:54:15.360 to stand on the bridge while she runs down and 0:54:15.400 --> 0:54:17.680 take a picture of her. When she got I realized 0:54:17.680 --> 0:54:19.840 when she was running down that she had written we 0:54:19.880 --> 0:54:23.520 had these sand volleyball courts, and I realized she had 0:54:23.520 --> 0:54:27.200 written in the sand I love Sony And I didn't 0:54:27.200 --> 0:54:28.839 know who the Sony guy was, but I hated him. 0:54:29.360 --> 0:54:31.080 And then later I found out, you know who he 0:54:31.239 --> 0:54:34.120 was and everything. But uh, yeah, I told him he 0:54:34.239 --> 0:54:36.560 was never gonna be our drummer. But yeah, I was wrong. 0:54:38.600 --> 0:54:40.080 So where is that girl today? 0:54:40.719 --> 0:54:43.440 Oh goodness, I haven't talked to Devin years. It's been 0:54:44.040 --> 0:54:46.080 I couldn't tell you. I really haven't known it. I 0:54:46.080 --> 0:54:46.879 haven't seen her in years. 0:54:47.480 --> 0:54:52.360 Okay, you become internationally famous, does everybody you ever knew 0:54:52.520 --> 0:54:53.520 come out of the woodwork? 0:54:54.239 --> 0:54:56.399 A lot of people have. Yeah, like I like when 0:54:56.440 --> 0:54:58.080 we first got big, I saw her a couple times 0:54:58.080 --> 0:54:59.440 in a couple of shows. It was great to see her. 0:54:59.520 --> 0:55:01.680 She was She's a wonderful human being. It's a wonderful 0:55:01.719 --> 0:55:05.560 human being. And you know, it's still down. You know, 0:55:05.560 --> 0:55:08.000 I'll be playing a show in some city. A buddy 0:55:08.000 --> 0:55:09.319 of mine that I grew up with, that I haven't 0:55:09.320 --> 0:55:11.960 seen in thirty five years, you know, found me the 0:55:12.120 --> 0:55:15.320 It's social media makes it so easy. You know, found 0:55:15.320 --> 0:55:17.279 me on Instagram the other day. And you know he's 0:55:17.280 --> 0:55:21.120 coming out to his show this week and people just 0:55:21.120 --> 0:55:25.520 coming out of the woodwork and nine time is great. 0:55:25.680 --> 0:55:27.320 You know, it's it's that five percent when it was 0:55:27.320 --> 0:55:30.960 somebody who didn't like back then. You know. 0:55:31.480 --> 0:55:32.920 But uh that that's a rarity. 0:55:34.120 --> 0:55:35.840 And how about people asking for money? 0:55:37.360 --> 0:55:38.720 Uh that that's been a problem. 0:55:39.400 --> 0:55:40.480 You know, that's been something. 0:55:40.520 --> 0:55:41.120 That's the problem. 0:55:41.200 --> 0:55:41.400 You know. 0:55:42.120 --> 0:55:44.879 I've gotten good at saying no. I've gotten really good 0:55:44.880 --> 0:55:45.200 at saying no. 0:55:45.280 --> 0:55:47.560 I think early on it's tough for me to say 0:55:47.560 --> 0:55:50.560 no because I was doing so well, and you know, 0:55:50.719 --> 0:55:52.960 I hate to see anybody. I know how hard it 0:55:53.040 --> 0:55:56.240 must be for some people to do that. But uh, 0:55:56.520 --> 0:55:57.560 I'm really good at saying. 0:55:57.440 --> 0:56:03.600 Now, okay. Friend of mine, Steve Lucather, guitarist in Toto 0:56:03.680 --> 0:56:06.000 and other things, he says when he gives people money, 0:56:06.800 --> 0:56:10.200 just say it's a gift, because if you say it's alone, 0:56:10.600 --> 0:56:13.239 they don't pay it back. You ruin the friendship, et cetera. 0:56:13.360 --> 0:56:14.640 What's your experience been. 0:56:14.640 --> 0:56:15.560 Oh, I agree with that one. 0:56:16.239 --> 0:56:18.399 I don't say it's a gift, and they always go bad, 0:56:18.400 --> 0:56:20.280 I'm going to pay you back, and I go okay, 0:56:20.440 --> 0:56:23.120 But in my mind giving it to him, because I 0:56:23.120 --> 0:56:28.000 can honestly say, of all the times I've given money 0:56:28.000 --> 0:56:30.560 to family or friends and they said they were going 0:56:30.600 --> 0:56:31.080 to pay it back. 0:56:31.120 --> 0:56:32.440 I think maybe one person did. 0:56:35.200 --> 0:56:37.239 Okay, So now you have the band, you have four 0:56:37.280 --> 0:56:40.279 members in the band. What happens after that? 0:56:41.080 --> 0:56:45.359 We start playing, you know, and we we play from 0:56:45.400 --> 0:56:47.319 New York down to Florida and Tennessee and. 0:56:47.520 --> 0:56:51.799 Who whoaaha, you get a band together. What are the 0:56:51.800 --> 0:56:52.920 first couple of gigs? 0:56:53.200 --> 0:56:56.799 Oh? Just I was Chicken Wing Joy in Columbia. That 0:56:56.840 --> 0:56:58.200 was right across the street from my dorm. 0:56:59.080 --> 0:56:59.279 You know. 0:56:59.360 --> 0:57:02.560 We would literally carry our instruments from our dorm room 0:57:02.719 --> 0:57:06.720 across the street and play at Pappy's and it was great. 0:57:07.440 --> 0:57:09.160 You know, it's not even there anymore. It's a bookstore now. 0:57:10.719 --> 0:57:12.880 Well, a lot of people, you know, bands start and 0:57:12.880 --> 0:57:15.359 there's a member in the band who's hitting up every 0:57:15.400 --> 0:57:17.400 club owner. It says, give us a gig, give us 0:57:17.440 --> 0:57:19.360 a chance. What happened with your band? 0:57:19.520 --> 0:57:23.040 Sure we did that, you know, especially especially in the 0:57:23.080 --> 0:57:27.240 first couple of years, where we just called clubs in 0:57:27.280 --> 0:57:29.400 town that we knew had bands and tried to get in. 0:57:30.440 --> 0:57:33.200 And then you start calling outside of town, and you know, 0:57:33.240 --> 0:57:36.200 you start playing frats and you know, I guess we 0:57:36.240 --> 0:57:38.680 got lucky early on. I think it was East Coast 0:57:38.880 --> 0:57:42.320 Booking or something was the David book Is. Somebody saw 0:57:42.400 --> 0:57:44.600 us one night, liked us, and so they would. 0:57:44.320 --> 0:57:44.880 Help us book that. 0:57:44.960 --> 0:57:47.160 They would help us book shows all you know, either 0:57:47.280 --> 0:57:50.840 frat house here or some small club somewhere, and you know, 0:57:50.960 --> 0:57:54.880 so you just start playing and developing a reputation. And 0:57:55.120 --> 0:57:58.040 I mean, I'll say, you know, every club we ever played, 0:57:58.080 --> 0:57:59.640 we might have gone there the first time there was 0:57:59.640 --> 0:58:01.280 ten people there, but the next time we came. 0:58:01.160 --> 0:58:01.800 There was forty. 0:58:02.960 --> 0:58:06.320 Why because we were good, you know, we were good 0:58:06.360 --> 0:58:09.400 and we were fun. And people would tell their friends, 0:58:09.920 --> 0:58:11.919 well that WHOI Wolf's band back in time. We gotta 0:58:11.960 --> 0:58:14.120 go see them, And then the next time they be eighty. 0:58:14.160 --> 0:58:15.400 Then the next time they'd be two hundred. 0:58:16.400 --> 0:58:19.440 Okay, you're the front band. It's your job. How do 0:58:19.480 --> 0:58:20.320 you make it fun? 0:58:21.760 --> 0:58:23.720 Oh? I never thought of it like that way. You know, 0:58:24.360 --> 0:58:26.680 for us, it was just let's go play our music, 0:58:27.600 --> 0:58:30.400 you know. I mean, I think it's still like that 0:58:30.440 --> 0:58:34.800 when Hoodie's together. It's not it's not my job to 0:58:34.800 --> 0:58:36.720 make it fun. We play music and we do what 0:58:36.760 --> 0:58:39.000 we do and we hope you like it. I will 0:58:39.040 --> 0:58:42.160 say to somebody the other day, the difference between playing 0:58:42.200 --> 0:58:44.400 my country band and playing with Whodi is when I 0:58:44.400 --> 0:58:47.760 play with Hoodie, I feel like I'm Jerry Garcia. I'm saying, 0:58:47.760 --> 0:58:49.240 I'm never with my guitar and my job is to 0:58:49.240 --> 0:58:51.200 play guitar and say, you know. But when I play 0:58:51.240 --> 0:58:52.840 with my country band, I feel like my job is 0:58:52.880 --> 0:58:56.240 to be big jagger. I mean, and that's just two 0:58:56.280 --> 0:58:58.600 different things. But with Hoody that's what we are as well. 0:58:58.640 --> 0:59:01.040 We were just we were four. We were a band. 0:59:01.240 --> 0:59:03.680 It wasn't anybody's band. There was no front man. We 0:59:03.680 --> 0:59:04.280 were all the frontman. 0:59:04.360 --> 0:59:08.480 I was just a guy, that's And at what point 0:59:08.960 --> 0:59:11.440 did the money become such? He said, wait a second, 0:59:11.480 --> 0:59:13.840 this is real. Never mind not finishing school. 0:59:14.720 --> 0:59:16.880 Oh before we before we made it, before we had 0:59:16.920 --> 0:59:21.280 a record deal, I think two years about. We played 0:59:21.280 --> 0:59:23.800 for seven years before we had a record deal, and 0:59:23.880 --> 0:59:27.560 I think two or three years before before we got 0:59:27.600 --> 0:59:30.920 a record deal, we each made like fifty sixty thousand 0:59:30.960 --> 0:59:33.919 dollars each and we thought that was amazing. We were 0:59:33.920 --> 0:59:36.160 making more than our friends that had graduated, and we're 0:59:36.160 --> 0:59:38.360 working in all these different jobs. 0:59:38.960 --> 0:59:40.640 So it was like, you know, we're doing just fine, 0:59:40.800 --> 0:59:41.560 we're doing all right. 0:59:41.600 --> 0:59:44.520 And that was how we felt, you know, Okay, we're 0:59:44.560 --> 0:59:46.920 doing fun, and we're making money. We're playing a lot 0:59:46.920 --> 0:59:49.880 of shows. We're making money, and we're working our buts off, 0:59:50.480 --> 0:59:53.120 and we compare our bills and have money to go 0:59:53.160 --> 0:59:56.040 out and drink and have money to buy clothes, and 0:59:56.280 --> 0:59:58.840 it felt good. It felt like we were doing something right. 1:00:00.040 --> 1:00:02.760 At what point did you start to play original material. 1:00:02.840 --> 1:00:05.880 Oh, after the first couple of years, Like, yeah, Sony 1:00:05.960 --> 1:00:09.400 came in. You know, we started in eighty six. We 1:00:09.440 --> 1:00:12.040 started really writing songs in eighty eight, and Sony came 1:00:12.040 --> 1:00:15.160 in the band in eighty nine. And when Sony came in, 1:00:15.560 --> 1:00:18.600 it was, you know, we went pretty much straight to 1:00:18.720 --> 1:00:23.200 eighty percent originals and you know, twenty percent covers unless 1:00:23.200 --> 1:00:24.680 you were going to our frat house then you know, 1:00:24.720 --> 1:00:25.800 you do sixty forty. 1:00:28.120 --> 1:00:30.400 Was there somebody in the band who said, wait a second, 1:00:30.400 --> 1:00:31.600 we have to write originals. 1:00:31.960 --> 1:00:34.360 No, that was just something we wanted to do. It 1:00:34.480 --> 1:00:37.800 was never anything that anybody's sitting down and going, okay, 1:00:37.840 --> 1:00:39.360 we got to It was a you know, we just 1:00:39.400 --> 1:00:42.600 started writing songs, you know, and we'd play them and 1:00:42.800 --> 1:00:45.800 and you know, it was for us. It was always 1:00:46.880 --> 1:00:49.040 when we're in Columbia, let's play the new songs, because 1:00:49.080 --> 1:00:50.720 those people have been listening to us for a while. 1:00:51.360 --> 1:00:54.560 If they don't like it, we should probably scrap. And 1:00:54.680 --> 1:00:55.800 so that's how we started. 1:01:03.440 --> 1:01:06.400 Now you're on the road and rock and roll band, 1:01:06.480 --> 1:01:10.800 you're paid in cash. Most people are not paying taxes 1:01:10.800 --> 1:01:13.000 on most of that money. What were you guys doing? 1:01:13.520 --> 1:01:17.640 Not us? We had our bass player was a business major, 1:01:18.680 --> 1:01:22.120 and we we would take half of everything we made 1:01:22.600 --> 1:01:27.160 every night, put it away from taxes. Really every every night, 1:01:28.080 --> 1:01:32.040 every night. We sometimes we'd get mad. We would get mad, 1:01:32.440 --> 1:01:34.600 but uh, you know, we put away from taxes and 1:01:34.800 --> 1:01:36.760 we pay taxes and everybody would get it all bad, 1:01:37.680 --> 1:01:39.959 you know, but we didn't want some day to make 1:01:40.080 --> 1:01:42.200 it and then ours coming over what happened in these 1:01:42.240 --> 1:01:43.480 three years you guys were playing. 1:01:44.120 --> 1:01:46.040 Have you ever had that experience in your career? With 1:01:46.120 --> 1:01:48.320 the I R S came into what did you want? 1:01:48.320 --> 1:01:48.360 It? 1:01:48.440 --> 1:01:49.040 Significant? 1:01:49.080 --> 1:01:51.200 Some oh knuckle would no. 1:01:53.560 --> 1:01:55.840 Okay, because that's a typical rock and roll story. 1:01:55.920 --> 1:01:58.480 But we didn't live that story. I mean, Dean wouldn't 1:01:58.520 --> 1:02:01.520 let us. We were sticklers with taxes and we were 1:02:01.520 --> 1:02:05.040 sticklers were doing everything right, and because we didn't want 1:02:05.080 --> 1:02:05.720 that to wrappen. 1:02:06.960 --> 1:02:11.000 So you're driving in a van. There are bands who 1:02:11.160 --> 1:02:14.760 literally died with their van flips over. In addition, they 1:02:14.800 --> 1:02:17.760 stayed in a hotel and the equipment is stolen. What 1:02:17.800 --> 1:02:20.320 were your experiences going on the road for all these 1:02:20.400 --> 1:02:22.400 years before you had a record deal? 1:02:22.680 --> 1:02:24.640 Oh goodness, it was usually good. 1:02:24.680 --> 1:02:26.560 I mean we our first van sucked in the navy 1:02:26.600 --> 1:02:28.120 seats in the back, so we'd lay on the ground 1:02:28.120 --> 1:02:29.520 and the equipment would be there, and a couple of 1:02:29.560 --> 1:02:32.600 times until somebody hit the brakes and thank god we 1:02:32.600 --> 1:02:34.840 were all awake because we had all but sleeping. One 1:02:34.840 --> 1:02:36.240 of us or too, was to be dead because the 1:02:36.520 --> 1:02:38.600 equipment started to come forward, and you know, you got 1:02:38.680 --> 1:02:40.800 up and got your hands up in time to stop 1:02:40.840 --> 1:02:43.760 it from killing us. But uh, the worst thing that 1:02:43.800 --> 1:02:47.800 ever happened to us. We were playing the Bayou and 1:02:48.160 --> 1:02:51.080 DC and we were parked out back. 1:02:51.160 --> 1:02:52.160 Our fan was parked out back. 1:02:52.280 --> 1:02:54.400 We packed up the van with all the equipment and 1:02:54.400 --> 1:02:57.560 we went out drinking and we at this point we 1:02:57.600 --> 1:02:59.880 had one other guy with us, Jeff Poland with the 1:03:00.080 --> 1:03:03.640 He was a slash bank tour manager, slash security. He's 1:03:03.720 --> 1:03:06.720 riding with us in the van, and we came back 1:03:06.840 --> 1:03:12.680 and five of our guitarism and there was abandoned house 1:03:12.800 --> 1:03:15.720 right next to the bayou, and we knew homeless folks 1:03:15.760 --> 1:03:18.360 lived in there, and Jeff wasn't having it, and we 1:03:18.400 --> 1:03:20.920 went into that house and we found all our guitars 1:03:21.560 --> 1:03:23.080 and we beat a couple of people up with the 1:03:23.200 --> 1:03:23.960 guitars back. 1:03:26.680 --> 1:03:27.120 Wow. 1:03:27.400 --> 1:03:28.840 Yeah. 1:03:28.880 --> 1:03:31.560 And no car accidents, No car accidents. We were lucky 1:03:31.560 --> 1:03:34.320 with that. No car accidents. I mean when we finally 1:03:34.320 --> 1:03:36.840 had a trailer once one of the guitars fell out 1:03:36.840 --> 1:03:39.120 of the trailer that we didn't know and that that sucked. 1:03:39.160 --> 1:03:40.640 He lost a really good lass ball that day. 1:03:41.440 --> 1:03:41.720 Wow. 1:03:42.240 --> 1:03:42.760 Yeah. 1:03:42.840 --> 1:03:47.400 Okay. Their bands they meet in high school, they travel 1:03:47.440 --> 1:03:50.480 in vans. By the time they have the success, they 1:03:50.520 --> 1:03:53.480 hate each other. And there's certainly mega bands where everybody 1:03:53.480 --> 1:03:56.120 goes in their own limo. You know, you got four 1:03:56.160 --> 1:03:59.560 guys in a van, et cetera. How harmonious was it? 1:04:00.040 --> 1:04:00.200 Oh? 1:04:00.200 --> 1:04:03.280 We were best friends. We were separable. I mean it 1:04:03.360 --> 1:04:06.960 was we would go on the roads for three weeks, 1:04:07.360 --> 1:04:12.280 come home, I'm going to come home, And in an 1:04:12.280 --> 1:04:14.120 hour of being home, we were calling each other to 1:04:14.160 --> 1:04:15.480 find out where we were going that night. 1:04:16.920 --> 1:04:18.560 We were always together and he loved it. 1:04:20.760 --> 1:04:23.640 And you know, I know acts where you know, all 1:04:23.680 --> 1:04:25.440 of a sudden, a couple of years after college, they 1:04:25.480 --> 1:04:29.080 got parental pressure whatever. They had a girlfriend and they 1:04:29.120 --> 1:04:34.040 said I'm stopping. Ready, the members of Hoodie the Blowfish saying, man, 1:04:34.120 --> 1:04:35.760 you know, I can't do this for another year. I'm 1:04:35.800 --> 1:04:36.400 thinking of quitting. 1:04:36.880 --> 1:04:39.920 Uh huh huh. No, that's that four of us. I mean, 1:04:40.120 --> 1:04:43.479 our first drummer quit, Our first drummer left the band. 1:04:43.520 --> 1:04:46.200 He he you know, he was he was really religious 1:04:46.360 --> 1:04:48.960 in this. I mean, his family didn't want him playing 1:04:48.960 --> 1:04:52.080 in the band. And we understood that and we respected that. 1:04:52.640 --> 1:04:54.440 It was probably a good thing because then Sony wouldn't 1:04:54.440 --> 1:04:55.640 be in the band and we would have home my 1:04:55.680 --> 1:04:58.840 hand and you know, some other stuff and so but uh, 1:04:59.040 --> 1:05:00.880 the four of us, it was ever that. It was 1:05:00.960 --> 1:05:05.640 never I'm gonna quit. It was we won't play until 1:05:05.640 --> 1:05:06.160 we make it. 1:05:07.160 --> 1:05:10.360 Okay, okay. Was there a conscious thing because you're making 1:05:10.400 --> 1:05:13.240 good money at this point and you're living quite a life. 1:05:13.520 --> 1:05:15.400 Was there a conscious thing? We got to get a 1:05:15.440 --> 1:05:18.280 record deal, We're going to be big stars. 1:05:18.640 --> 1:05:21.040 At first, at first, that was that though I don't 1:05:21.040 --> 1:05:22.480 think we ever said we're going to be big stars, 1:05:22.640 --> 1:05:27.160 especially the nineties when grunge took over, you know. But uh, 1:05:27.440 --> 1:05:28.919 at first it was that do we got a record 1:05:28.920 --> 1:05:31.360 deal with a company like Capricorn Records or something I 1:05:31.360 --> 1:05:34.439 think it was called, and uh we got a record 1:05:34.440 --> 1:05:36.920 that was so excited and they went under before we 1:05:36.960 --> 1:05:40.720 made our record, and that really, I think put a 1:05:40.720 --> 1:05:45.240 bad taste in our mouth labels, and so we we 1:05:45.240 --> 1:05:47.120 weren't drying to get a record deal because we were 1:05:47.120 --> 1:05:49.800 making money. We were playing shows, we were we were 1:05:49.840 --> 1:05:52.280 selling out, you know, like I said, I'm from New 1:05:52.320 --> 1:05:55.400 York down to Florida and all every every state, every 1:05:55.440 --> 1:05:58.320 six weeks, the same clubs selling them out, you know, 1:05:58.360 --> 1:06:00.600 even some towns moving to a little theater because we 1:06:00.600 --> 1:06:04.280 were doing so well. So we if a record deal came, great, 1:06:04.320 --> 1:06:07.080 If not, we're just gonna keeping make playing, keep making music. 1:06:08.320 --> 1:06:11.560 But then Atlantic comes around. So are you once beaten 1:06:11.600 --> 1:06:13.919 twice shy or how does what goes on there? 1:06:14.120 --> 1:06:17.040 No? We put when we put Kouchi Pop out, which 1:06:17.080 --> 1:06:21.320 was our EP that wrapped for Crack Review. Uh, we 1:06:21.360 --> 1:06:25.800 put that out and we sold like sixty five thousand 1:06:25.840 --> 1:06:28.680 copies out of the back of our van and at 1:06:28.800 --> 1:06:30.280 Mama Pop stores. 1:06:30.040 --> 1:06:32.240 All around the Carolinas and Georgia and. 1:06:32.160 --> 1:06:36.400 Stuff, and and Atlantic was the only one that came. 1:06:36.760 --> 1:06:39.480 I mean, there were a few labels that wanted to 1:06:39.480 --> 1:06:41.640 come see this band that was out selling YouTube and 1:06:41.880 --> 1:06:44.920 Pearl Jam down in the Carolinas, you know, and they 1:06:44.960 --> 1:06:48.160 wanted to sign us. And you know, it was like, okay, 1:06:48.920 --> 1:06:51.200 let's go make a record. You know, hopefully we'll sell 1:06:51.200 --> 1:06:53.120 two undred thousand copies. They'll let us make another one. 1:06:54.240 --> 1:06:57.760 So how'd you end up using Gone Gaming? We talked 1:06:57.800 --> 1:07:00.560 about a few We talked to a few producers, like 1:07:00.800 --> 1:07:04.400 good names, really good names, and we met Don And 1:07:04.440 --> 1:07:06.440 the minute we met Don, we knew he was our producer. 1:07:07.320 --> 1:07:16.160 He was such a calming, laid back, affeelable, invuncular presence 1:07:17.320 --> 1:07:21.080 in our lot instantly, and we knew we wanted that guy. 1:07:21.120 --> 1:07:23.000 And he had also done an RM record and he 1:07:23.040 --> 1:07:26.439 had done those Melicat records. You know, it was like, yeah, 1:07:26.480 --> 1:07:27.480 we want to sound like that. 1:07:29.160 --> 1:07:31.320 So what was the experience of making the record? 1:07:31.520 --> 1:07:34.840 Like, oh man, our first record was you know, the 1:07:34.920 --> 1:07:37.360 four of us all lived in the same house, two 1:07:37.440 --> 1:07:40.560 bedroom apartment we lived in to make that record. 1:07:41.040 --> 1:07:46.720 And it was it was us against the world. It 1:07:46.840 --> 1:07:47.360 was awesome. 1:07:47.920 --> 1:07:50.200 You know. We drove in the studio together every day, 1:07:50.280 --> 1:07:53.120 we hung out all day. After the studio, we ate 1:07:53.160 --> 1:07:56.160 together and went home and watched TV together. We went 1:07:56.200 --> 1:08:00.120 out the bars together. It was awesome. It was it 1:07:59.920 --> 1:08:03.920 was exactly what we needed to make our first record, 1:08:04.280 --> 1:08:09.040 and it was it was never work. It was never working. 1:08:09.040 --> 1:08:12.160 It was it was always God, we're working with Dog 1:08:12.200 --> 1:08:13.720 gave it. We're going to make this damn record. This 1:08:13.800 --> 1:08:15.720 is crazy, Okay. 1:08:15.800 --> 1:08:17.920 A lot of people make the first record and when 1:08:17.960 --> 1:08:20.759 they're done, they're not happy. They feel they were pushed 1:08:20.760 --> 1:08:23.679 around by the label or the producer who didn't sound 1:08:23.720 --> 1:08:27.160 the way they wanted to do. When the record was done, 1:08:27.200 --> 1:08:29.160 how did you feel about the record? 1:08:29.680 --> 1:08:31.439 You know, I remember taking I thought that we played 1:08:31.439 --> 1:08:34.000 everything too slow, but that you know, that's because we 1:08:34.000 --> 1:08:37.160 were still playing used to playing live, and you know 1:08:37.840 --> 1:08:41.360 those click tracks you know, you're drinking songs just get 1:08:41.360 --> 1:08:44.520 faster when you're that in that atmosphere. 1:08:44.960 --> 1:08:46.120 But I thought it was a great record. 1:08:46.840 --> 1:08:50.920 Okay, So you deliver the record to Atlantic and they say, 1:08:51.000 --> 1:08:53.080 this is ship. We don't want to do anything with it. 1:08:53.720 --> 1:08:55.840 I'm not gonna say they say it was ship. You know, 1:08:55.920 --> 1:08:58.120 there were a couple of people up in Atlantic, they 1:08:58.160 --> 1:09:01.679 said it was ship you know. Uh, you know, actually 1:09:01.960 --> 1:09:04.240 Daddy Gober who was the president, loved it. You know, 1:09:04.320 --> 1:09:07.080 Tim Summer right and our guy loved it. You know, 1:09:07.200 --> 1:09:09.439 there were people up there that thought it was really cool. 1:09:10.000 --> 1:09:11.799 But there were a couple of people who were important 1:09:11.880 --> 1:09:16.080 that didn't like it because their mind, their mind was 1:09:16.120 --> 1:09:18.640 on grunge, their mind was on what was popular at 1:09:18.680 --> 1:09:21.559 the time, what was what was the big thing, you 1:09:21.640 --> 1:09:27.000 know at the time, and we weren't grunge. And I 1:09:27.040 --> 1:09:30.639 still think the greatest line of that type of our 1:09:30.680 --> 1:09:34.400 lives was the guy who said that that if Atlantic 1:09:34.439 --> 1:09:36.040 put that record out, there would be the laughing stock 1:09:36.080 --> 1:09:36.479 of music. 1:09:38.040 --> 1:09:41.640 That's a direct quote. I just always laugh at that. 1:09:42.080 --> 1:09:43.160 You know, we all laugh at that. 1:09:43.200 --> 1:09:45.679 I'm sure Atlantic that I bet the guy that says 1:09:45.680 --> 1:09:46.920 that that laughs at that. 1:09:47.040 --> 1:09:52.439 Now, Well, in this process between the record being finished, 1:09:52.479 --> 1:09:56.720 in the record gaining traction, what was your mood, in 1:09:56.760 --> 1:09:59.160 the mood of the rest of the band, We're like, no, 1:09:59.360 --> 1:10:02.000 this is still gonna happen, or man, we cut this 1:10:02.160 --> 1:10:03.960 record and they're not going to get behind it. 1:10:04.360 --> 1:10:06.400 Oh, we do, we do. We knew they were gonna 1:10:06.400 --> 1:10:08.120 get behind it, you know. I mean, they didn't give 1:10:08.160 --> 1:10:12.439 us anybody to make it, so we knew. So our attitudes. 1:10:12.479 --> 1:10:14.160 Let's go out and play shows and get people to 1:10:14.200 --> 1:10:16.280 go out and buy it. You know, Let's go up 1:10:16.280 --> 1:10:18.160 and play. Let's do what we're doing and tell them 1:10:18.160 --> 1:10:20.240 on stage we got a new record out. Yeah, go 1:10:20.280 --> 1:10:22.559 buy a record. Let's start. Let's tell two hundred thousand 1:10:22.560 --> 1:10:24.720 copies and get to make another one. 1:10:24.960 --> 1:10:27.800 We were we were never woe is me. We were 1:10:27.880 --> 1:10:30.840 never those folks. We were never victims. You know. 1:10:31.080 --> 1:10:34.920 We were on a major recordable man. You know, let's 1:10:34.920 --> 1:10:36.559 just go out and play. Let's keep doing exactly what 1:10:36.600 --> 1:10:37.080 we were doing. 1:10:38.479 --> 1:10:40.360 When was the first time you heard the song on 1:10:40.400 --> 1:10:40.800 the radio? 1:10:41.880 --> 1:10:45.960 Oh, I mean the the week the single came out, 1:10:46.080 --> 1:10:47.720 we called My Head came out as a single. We 1:10:47.760 --> 1:10:50.680 heard it Columbia on the radio, you know, and it 1:10:50.760 --> 1:10:53.200 was wow, there we are on the radio. 1:10:53.520 --> 1:10:55.040 You know, it was awesome. 1:10:55.400 --> 1:10:57.759 I mean, were you know there were stations in Columbia 1:10:57.760 --> 1:10:59.960 and Charleston and Bertle Beast that were playing the song, 1:11:00.760 --> 1:11:03.800 you know, but it just wasn't nationwide yet. 1:11:04.000 --> 1:11:06.800 Okay, at what point did you get a manager and 1:11:06.880 --> 1:11:07.799 a major agent? 1:11:08.920 --> 1:11:13.920 Oh, we got a manager before Coucie Pop, like when 1:11:13.960 --> 1:11:16.720 we were when we were we were making our very 1:11:16.760 --> 1:11:19.880 first EP. We got a manager. But he was just 1:11:19.920 --> 1:11:22.880 some dude that we do. It wasn't like he was 1:11:22.880 --> 1:11:24.479 a big time. He was just some dude. We know that, 1:11:24.760 --> 1:11:26.519 and we need people to make phone calls and stuff. 1:11:27.040 --> 1:11:30.120 That could be our manager. You know, we got a 1:11:30.120 --> 1:11:35.479 major booking agent, probably right after Letterman, you know, right 1:11:35.479 --> 1:11:36.400 after Letleman as well. 1:11:36.439 --> 1:11:38.120 We led a major booking agency. 1:11:39.880 --> 1:11:42.439 So how long did you stay with that booking agent? 1:11:42.760 --> 1:11:43.280 Oh? Forever? 1:11:43.360 --> 1:11:45.160 We we I don't think we left him. We were 1:11:45.200 --> 1:11:48.280 living with them for six years, maybe six seven years. 1:11:48.760 --> 1:11:50.880 And how did you get rid of the garage manager? 1:11:52.080 --> 1:11:54.600 He was what We kept him for ten years or 1:11:54.680 --> 1:11:58.320 probably more. Maybe I'm sure it's more than that. You know, 1:11:58.560 --> 1:11:59.639 he was just our manager. 1:11:59.680 --> 1:12:01.120 It was he was. 1:12:01.160 --> 1:12:03.599 He was part of our group. He was just one 1:12:03.640 --> 1:12:05.719 of us, you know, and so we kept him forever. 1:12:06.080 --> 1:12:08.160 And then finally he just wasn't working out for us. 1:12:08.240 --> 1:12:10.320 We didn't like some of the decisions he made and 1:12:10.360 --> 1:12:12.880 some things he did, and we just decided to move on. 1:12:13.000 --> 1:12:14.160 And when we talked McGee. 1:12:15.640 --> 1:12:17.519 So, how did you decide on Doc? 1:12:18.920 --> 1:12:21.519 Oh? I knew when we were when we were firing Rusty, 1:12:21.560 --> 1:12:23.160 Doc was going to be a manager. We hadn't met 1:12:23.200 --> 1:12:25.280 Doc a couple of times, and he loved us like 1:12:25.400 --> 1:12:29.320 Doc was a Rusty's bental and and and you know 1:12:29.439 --> 1:12:32.080 the joke was he would know Russey would call Doc 1:12:32.120 --> 1:12:34.080 and ask him what he should do, and when Doc 1:12:34.120 --> 1:12:36.080 told him what to do, he would do the exact opposite. 1:12:36.960 --> 1:12:40.559 And so, uh, you know, Doc was a no brainer 1:12:40.600 --> 1:12:42.240 for us. 1:12:43.240 --> 1:12:45.720 And what did Doc do that Rusty couldn't do? 1:12:46.120 --> 1:12:49.559 Goodness, exactly what Doc said he was gonna do. He 1:12:49.600 --> 1:12:52.519 said that, uh, we're gonna tour less and make a 1:12:52.520 --> 1:12:55.599 lot more money, and we're gonna do it the right way. 1:12:55.720 --> 1:12:56.920 And that's exactly what he did. 1:12:57.600 --> 1:12:59.960 Well, a little bit more granular, What did he actually 1:13:00.200 --> 1:13:01.439 changed so that came true? 1:13:01.800 --> 1:13:05.320 Oh, I mean everything, he streamlined everything we didn't have. 1:13:05.520 --> 1:13:09.320 We we didn't say yes to the opening of of 1:13:09.360 --> 1:13:12.160 a doenvelope anymore, you know, we we made what we 1:13:12.200 --> 1:13:15.240 did special. He made people see what we did, we're 1:13:15.280 --> 1:13:18.360 doing a special. And he was Doc McGee. Doc McGee 1:13:18.400 --> 1:13:21.760 calls you. You take the phone call and so he just 1:13:22.479 --> 1:13:24.759 big time managed us and he made it. He made 1:13:25.479 --> 1:13:30.639 being us something that was cool and important, and just 1:13:30.960 --> 1:13:32.040 do it on a bigger scale. 1:13:32.400 --> 1:13:34.280 Like it's like John bun Joey said to me. 1:13:34.240 --> 1:13:36.479 When we looked where were when we fired RUSI, we're 1:13:36.479 --> 1:13:39.679 looking for managers. I called John and I asked him 1:13:40.160 --> 1:13:43.960 what he thought about Doctor, and he said, Doc will 1:13:44.000 --> 1:13:47.160 take what you want to do in a theater and 1:13:47.200 --> 1:13:49.360 you'll do it in a in the stadium. 1:13:49.880 --> 1:13:50.559 And that was Doc. 1:13:52.640 --> 1:13:54.040 And you're still with Doc, right. 1:13:54.120 --> 1:13:56.479 I'm not with Doc anymore? No, Doc, Doc's I'm pretty 1:13:56.520 --> 1:14:00.160 much retired these days. I'm with the Maverick now with 1:14:00.160 --> 1:14:02.439 Clarence Faulding. But uh yeah, you know Doc is still 1:14:02.479 --> 1:14:05.040 my dad. I still call him for advice every week. 1:14:06.280 --> 1:14:08.360 So how'd you decide who your new manager would be? 1:14:09.240 --> 1:14:12.320 I do, Clarence. I've got Clarence you know, around here 1:14:12.320 --> 1:14:16.160 in Nashville. And uh I liked them, and you know, 1:14:16.200 --> 1:14:20.000 at this point of my career, at the point I 1:14:20.040 --> 1:14:21.880 went with Class I guess about five six years ago. Now, 1:14:22.680 --> 1:14:25.840 I mean, I just want somebody that I liked, that 1:14:25.920 --> 1:14:28.280 I get that that that wants to work would be 1:14:29.040 --> 1:14:33.080 you know that wants to take what I have and 1:14:33.439 --> 1:14:37.000 maximize it and not work my butt off and make 1:14:37.040 --> 1:14:39.040 me do things I don't want to do. And so 1:14:39.200 --> 1:14:40.960 when Clarence and I had a meeting, because I met 1:14:41.000 --> 1:14:44.080 with every manager pretty much in Nashville, who is somebody 1:14:44.760 --> 1:14:46.880 and you know it was it was definitely Clarence for me. 1:14:48.400 --> 1:14:52.679 Tell us about that definitive performance on Letterman oh Man. 1:14:52.760 --> 1:14:56.479 You know, the legend goes that, uh, you know Letterman 1:14:56.600 --> 1:14:58.120 artists in the radio on Tuesday. 1:14:58.160 --> 1:15:01.840 It was it was it was a DJ. The DJ 1:15:01.920 --> 1:15:02.680 had heard whom I. 1:15:02.640 --> 1:15:07.600 Had in a meeting and they weren't gonna add it. 1:15:08.439 --> 1:15:10.800 You know, it was it was drivetime DJ. They were 1:15:10.800 --> 1:15:15.120 gonna add it, and he loved the song, and you said, 1:15:15.160 --> 1:15:16.640 I'm gonna play this song. You gotta tell me what 1:15:16.720 --> 1:15:18.720 you think? What do you think? Was the only time 1:15:18.720 --> 1:15:21.519 they had ever played it, And you know, Letterman hears 1:15:21.560 --> 1:15:24.559 it on the drive home from the show, and you know, 1:15:25.200 --> 1:15:27.760 the legend is that he pulled over and called his 1:15:27.760 --> 1:15:30.080 book engagent and said, I want this band on my 1:15:30.760 --> 1:15:31.280 on my show. 1:15:31.439 --> 1:15:32.160 This is Tuesday. 1:15:32.160 --> 1:15:36.200 We were on the show on Friday, and first of 1:15:36.600 --> 1:15:40.200 we got a phone call on Wednesday, week Wednesday morning. 1:15:40.240 --> 1:15:42.599 We didn't believe it. We thought our manager was fucking 1:15:42.640 --> 1:15:45.280 with us. You know, no way, because we were says 1:15:45.360 --> 1:15:47.639 fans of the show. I mean that was a staple 1:15:47.720 --> 1:15:52.000 for us, watching Letterman and no way, there's there's no way, 1:15:52.520 --> 1:15:54.760 David Levond, you know. And we got a show in 1:15:54.800 --> 1:15:58.280 Colombia that night. You know, we can't. You know, that's 1:15:58.320 --> 1:16:00.599 the biggest show we've ever had in Columbia, the four 1:16:00.640 --> 1:16:02.920 thousand people. You know, we got to play the show. 1:16:02.920 --> 1:16:07.040 We'll get take the TV show, you know. And the 1:16:07.080 --> 1:16:11.280 first time the label stepped up and got us a plane, 1:16:12.320 --> 1:16:16.280 you know. And I always say we played, we drove 1:16:16.360 --> 1:16:19.679 to uh we we flew to Florida. That we flew 1:16:19.720 --> 1:16:24.080 to New York that day and we we we couldn't 1:16:24.120 --> 1:16:25.480 get on the radio anywhere. 1:16:25.120 --> 1:16:29.240 Except the Carolina's and we left in that Monday. We 1:16:29.240 --> 1:16:32.960 were the most added for the next eight days in 1:16:32.960 --> 1:16:33.360 a row. 1:16:34.160 --> 1:16:34.320 You know. 1:16:34.520 --> 1:16:36.560 It was it just it changed our lives. 1:16:37.600 --> 1:16:41.960 Okay, that album crack re review becomes a phenomenon and 1:16:42.040 --> 1:16:45.439 the band is everywhere. What was it like being on 1:16:45.479 --> 1:16:49.400 the ride? Oh we did, We didn't see it. All 1:16:49.439 --> 1:16:51.640 we saw was that we were so insulated with the 1:16:51.640 --> 1:16:53.840 four of us. That that was a that was the 1:16:53.920 --> 1:16:55.800 point in our career where if you wore a black 1:16:55.880 --> 1:16:57.559 T shirt, the other three guys. 1:16:57.400 --> 1:16:59.400 Would destroy you. You know. 1:16:59.560 --> 1:17:03.160 It was we were so insulated and so conscious of 1:17:03.240 --> 1:17:05.080 each other that all we saw was it the shows 1:17:05.120 --> 1:17:08.519 were getting bigger, and you know, we were doing you know, 1:17:08.600 --> 1:17:10.880 there's more TV shows calling us. That's just the play. 1:17:11.040 --> 1:17:13.280 That's how we saw. The shows were getting bigger, and 1:17:13.280 --> 1:17:14.400 we're doing a little bit more TV. 1:17:14.560 --> 1:17:17.519 That's good. We're good with that, you know. And then 1:17:18.040 --> 1:17:19.080 the money started coming in. 1:17:26.400 --> 1:17:32.120 Okay, you're so successful that ultimately a backlash begins. Do 1:17:32.160 --> 1:17:33.599 you experience that at all? 1:17:33.720 --> 1:17:39.000 Of course, of course, you know, of course you experienced it, 1:17:39.080 --> 1:17:39.280 you know. 1:17:39.520 --> 1:17:42.800 And it was the thing that we had going for 1:17:42.920 --> 1:17:45.920 us with that was that even when we played clubs 1:17:45.960 --> 1:17:48.360 and we were becoming the biggest bands in the clubs, 1:17:49.120 --> 1:17:52.599 you know, other bands didn't respect us. You know, they 1:17:52.640 --> 1:17:54.680 either called us a cover band or they were you know, 1:17:54.720 --> 1:17:57.479 those guys playing that pop music. You know, they so 1:17:57.720 --> 1:17:59.719 like we wouldn't even write our names on the walls 1:17:59.840 --> 1:18:01.960 the clubs were players. Because we knew when we came 1:18:01.960 --> 1:18:06.000 back somebody would be talking ship under Yeah, so when 1:18:06.000 --> 1:18:08.719 that happened, it was just like, okay, but we're still 1:18:08.960 --> 1:18:10.880 sell our baskets, Square Guard, three Nights in the road. 1:18:11.560 --> 1:18:14.479 You know, we still you know, we're still going to 1:18:14.520 --> 1:18:15.880 number one five times. 1:18:16.040 --> 1:18:16.240 You know. 1:18:17.120 --> 1:18:20.200 Okay, you y'all will have to like us, because everybody 1:18:20.280 --> 1:18:23.200 out there that's a couple to see us loves us. 1:18:25.040 --> 1:18:28.240 And you emphasize in the book that you're living the 1:18:28.640 --> 1:18:29.800 rock and roll lifestyle. 1:18:30.160 --> 1:18:32.600 Oh, we were having a party. We were It was 1:18:32.640 --> 1:18:35.759 a flat out, flat out party. 1:18:36.080 --> 1:18:41.160 Yes, it was everything you expected, you know, sex, drugs, 1:18:41.200 --> 1:18:41.800 and rock and roll. 1:18:42.160 --> 1:18:44.280 It was. It was so much fun. 1:18:45.520 --> 1:18:47.680 So no regrets, you say that was great. Glad I 1:18:47.680 --> 1:18:48.280 got to do it. 1:18:48.360 --> 1:18:50.519 None. I'm glad. I'm glad all the four of us 1:18:50.520 --> 1:18:52.160 came out the other side. Okay, I'm glad the four 1:18:52.160 --> 1:18:55.519 of us could be these guys who the party's over for. 1:18:56.720 --> 1:18:58.559 But we had a great time when it was going. 1:18:59.200 --> 1:19:00.480 No regrets. 1:19:01.000 --> 1:19:03.200 What can you tell us about women on the road? 1:19:05.160 --> 1:19:08.800 So they were there. I want to tell you about 1:19:08.840 --> 1:19:09.639 that they were. 1:19:10.520 --> 1:19:14.880 Okay, so a certain number of women were willing. Did 1:19:14.920 --> 1:19:18.240 you have an interest in these women beyond one night? 1:19:18.360 --> 1:19:20.479 Did some of these women have an interest in you 1:19:20.640 --> 1:19:23.120 beyond one night when you weren't interested. 1:19:23.360 --> 1:19:26.360 Sure, I had girlfriends, you know, I had I dated 1:19:26.400 --> 1:19:29.639 people here and there, but uh, you know, at that point, 1:19:29.640 --> 1:19:31.559 it was it was so hard to date anybody because 1:19:31.600 --> 1:19:33.680 we were traveling all the time. We were never off 1:19:33.720 --> 1:19:37.400 the road, you know, so it was hard to date anybody. 1:19:38.080 --> 1:19:42.599 And so, you know, it was it was all about fun, 1:19:43.120 --> 1:19:45.120 you know. And there were folks you hung out with 1:19:45.160 --> 1:19:46.760 and you saw more than once and you hung out, 1:19:46.800 --> 1:19:51.040 but it was it was that it was that this man. 1:19:51.920 --> 1:19:56.320 It was you know, the hedonistic lifestyle. And what about 1:19:56.400 --> 1:20:01.479 drugs everywhere? You know, it was everywhere. We yeah, you know, 1:20:02.400 --> 1:20:06.240 we did our share and probably some other people share too. 1:20:06.320 --> 1:20:07.360 We had a real good time. 1:20:09.000 --> 1:20:11.960 The first check comes in, what do you buy? 1:20:12.880 --> 1:20:14.760 First check came out, I paid off my student loan 1:20:15.160 --> 1:20:17.920 and bought a truck, the first truck I ever was 1:20:17.960 --> 1:20:19.720 the first utumbild of my life. 1:20:22.320 --> 1:20:27.360 Yep, okay, tell me about the experience of the second record. 1:20:29.040 --> 1:20:31.240 Oh, I think we made that record too quick. 1:20:31.840 --> 1:20:36.000 I've said that before, but you know, Marx just really 1:20:36.040 --> 1:20:38.759 wanted to make a record and we we we're banned, 1:20:38.800 --> 1:20:41.400 and you know, somebody feels strongly about it. You can 1:20:41.479 --> 1:20:44.360 talk us into it, we'll all do it. So we 1:20:44.439 --> 1:20:47.880 It was a great experience, you know. We we we 1:20:47.920 --> 1:20:50.960 rented a big house in l A. We went, we 1:20:51.000 --> 1:20:53.160 reread it. Uh, we went. We were up in the 1:20:53.200 --> 1:20:56.320 hills of Sarah Fell and we just stayed. We stayed 1:20:56.320 --> 1:20:58.200 at the studio and we thought it was great because 1:20:58.200 --> 1:21:01.519 everybody had their own room. And but it was it 1:21:01.560 --> 1:21:05.680 was us, a dog and the engineer and you know, 1:21:05.720 --> 1:21:07.360 a couple of other people, and we ate there and 1:21:07.400 --> 1:21:11.439 we worked out there, and we played golf right down 1:21:11.479 --> 1:21:14.640 the street, and it was a great experience. It was 1:21:14.760 --> 1:21:16.920 just once again us against the world. 1:21:18.160 --> 1:21:23.360 So in retrospect, was it the record was released too 1:21:23.400 --> 1:21:25.439 soon or the record didn't have it or both? 1:21:25.680 --> 1:21:27.120 Well, I think the I think it's a better record 1:21:27.160 --> 1:21:29.599 to crecor review. I just think we put it out 1:21:29.600 --> 1:21:33.519 too soon. I mean, you know, our label wanted to 1:21:33.600 --> 1:21:36.000 put out one or two more singles, and their words, 1:21:36.080 --> 1:21:39.160 not our words, go after thriller, you know, that's what 1:21:39.160 --> 1:21:42.160 they wanted to do. But uh, you know we did, 1:21:43.080 --> 1:21:45.400 and you know, we sold five or six million copies 1:21:45.479 --> 1:21:49.280 or whatever it was. You know, that was considered a flop. 1:21:49.360 --> 1:21:52.240 After selling whatever wherever we were at that time with 1:21:52.360 --> 1:21:52.880 record Review. 1:21:54.320 --> 1:21:57.559 Okay, at this point in time, do you still get 1:21:57.640 --> 1:21:59.240 royalties from the Hoodie Records? 1:21:59.280 --> 1:22:01.040 Oh? Yeah, every week every year. 1:22:01.920 --> 1:22:04.519 And do you own the songs you wrote? 1:22:05.000 --> 1:22:06.519 We knew yes. 1:22:06.720 --> 1:22:09.479 And in this crazy rule to the last six eight 1:22:09.560 --> 1:22:12.920 years where everybody's selling their publishing in royalties, were you 1:22:13.000 --> 1:22:14.479 ever approached? Would you ever do that? 1:22:14.800 --> 1:22:17.720 Oh? We get approach all the time, and I don't 1:22:17.760 --> 1:22:19.720 plan to do it. I mean that for me, that's 1:22:19.760 --> 1:22:23.200 an annuity for my kids. And you know, I don't 1:22:23.240 --> 1:22:25.160 need the hard earned I don't need the hard money 1:22:25.160 --> 1:22:27.600 and my bank account or anything you know from that 1:22:27.680 --> 1:22:30.160 when I know that the money's going to come eventually. 1:22:30.240 --> 1:22:34.479 But uh, you know, and people ask the Bible kind 1:22:34.520 --> 1:22:37.240 all all the time. You know, I'm not really interested 1:22:37.240 --> 1:22:37.880 in that right now. 1:22:39.520 --> 1:22:44.840 So at what point do you realize that whod he 1:22:44.960 --> 1:22:48.680 peaked with the first record and it's not going to sustain? 1:22:48.840 --> 1:22:49.960 And how does that feel? 1:22:50.160 --> 1:22:52.639 Oh? I said that before we went into the second record. 1:22:52.720 --> 1:22:54.200 That was that was a direct thing I said to 1:22:54.240 --> 1:22:56.120 the band. You guys know that what we just went 1:22:56.160 --> 1:23:01.680 through is an anomaly and that just doesn't happen like that. 1:23:02.800 --> 1:23:04.759 I mean, you can look at the history of music 1:23:04.760 --> 1:23:06.719 and the history of the biggest records in the world. 1:23:07.280 --> 1:23:09.799 And you know, you look at Michael Jackson from Thriller 1:23:09.880 --> 1:23:13.679 to Bad, you know, it just doesn't sustain. 1:23:14.439 --> 1:23:14.640 You know. 1:23:14.760 --> 1:23:17.040 We just wanted to keep playing playing music at the 1:23:17.120 --> 1:23:18.519 level we were playing it, and we got. 1:23:18.360 --> 1:23:22.439 To So what comes first, your country career or the 1:23:22.479 --> 1:23:23.759 winding down of Hoodie? 1:23:24.240 --> 1:23:26.920 Oh, the winding down of Hoodie for sure. I mean 1:23:27.320 --> 1:23:28.680 I would have I don't think I would have ever 1:23:28.720 --> 1:23:31.360 gone to Nashville if someone hadn't come in and said 1:23:31.400 --> 1:23:33.840 he didn't want to tour anyone. You know, that was 1:23:33.880 --> 1:23:36.280 our job. We toured every year. That was what we 1:23:36.320 --> 1:23:37.880 did for a living. We went out in the summer, 1:23:38.840 --> 1:23:42.519 and so that was just what we were doing. And 1:23:42.680 --> 1:23:45.800 until you know, one of the band members said didn't 1:23:45.800 --> 1:23:49.400 want to do that anymore, that's what we want to done, 1:23:49.840 --> 1:23:51.360 we'd probably still be doing it that way. 1:23:53.000 --> 1:23:56.639 Okay, you have this great success in the country world, 1:23:57.080 --> 1:23:59.360 how do you decide to work with Hoodie again? 1:24:01.160 --> 1:24:04.200 We had we had not played in ten years. In 1:24:04.320 --> 1:24:07.519 nineteen we hadn't played in ten years. And to be 1:24:07.560 --> 1:24:09.599 honest with you, when they came to me with it, 1:24:10.280 --> 1:24:14.040 I wasn't enthusiastic about it. I wasn't because I remember 1:24:14.080 --> 1:24:16.680 the end and when we stopped playing, you know, we 1:24:16.880 --> 1:24:19.160 would still play the fourteen thousands either, but there'd only 1:24:19.160 --> 1:24:22.240 be nine thousand people there, you know. And when you 1:24:22.520 --> 1:24:26.560 look out there and there's five thousand depty seats, that sucks. 1:24:27.080 --> 1:24:29.000 I mean, yeah, there's nine thousand people there, but yeah, 1:24:29.000 --> 1:24:31.320 there's five thousand depty seats the place that we used 1:24:31.320 --> 1:24:34.559 to sell out. And so that was such. So I 1:24:34.560 --> 1:24:37.280 said in the meeting that I didn't want to I 1:24:37.280 --> 1:24:39.200 didn't want to play if it wasn't gonna be huge. 1:24:39.280 --> 1:24:41.479 That was my exact words, this is not gonna be huge. 1:24:41.560 --> 1:24:43.160 I don't want to do it. I don't want to 1:24:43.160 --> 1:24:44.640 do what I don't want to go back and do 1:24:44.720 --> 1:24:46.960 what we were doing before we decided to do that, 1:24:47.120 --> 1:24:51.960 before we broke, before we stopped playing, and everybody in 1:24:52.000 --> 1:24:53.760 that meeting was like, what's gonna be big. It's gonna 1:24:53.760 --> 1:24:59.559 be big. And then the day after that meeting, I 1:24:59.600 --> 1:25:03.960 was playing somewhere, uh and I flew into the place 1:25:04.000 --> 1:25:07.160 and I'm walking back to my dressing room and Rob Light, 1:25:07.680 --> 1:25:10.360 who is the CEO. 1:25:10.280 --> 1:25:13.880 Of of c A, a head of music at the 1:25:13.880 --> 1:25:15.320 top yeah, see he still lives. 1:25:16.520 --> 1:25:19.240 Well, yeah, he got promoted whatever it. Then let's talk 1:25:19.240 --> 1:25:20.080 get into the details. 1:25:20.120 --> 1:25:22.000 He runs the show. He's one of the one of 1:25:22.000 --> 1:25:25.519 the guys who started CIA exactly. And uh, I'm walking 1:25:25.520 --> 1:25:28.360 to my I'm walking into my addressing room. Mate Rob's 1:25:28.360 --> 1:25:31.120 standing there, and I know Robin our friends, we beg friends, 1:25:31.200 --> 1:25:33.160 We've been there. You know golf, we have that golf 1:25:33.160 --> 1:25:35.960 thing that we'd love to do together. And he's standing there. 1:25:36.000 --> 1:25:37.320 I was like, oh man, you came. I was like, 1:25:37.400 --> 1:25:40.840 what are you doing here? Let's go alone to talk 1:25:40.880 --> 1:25:43.519 to you. And we went to the He had been 1:25:43.680 --> 1:25:46.000 dispatched to tell me this thing is going to be 1:25:46.120 --> 1:25:48.760 fucking huge, and they were right. 1:25:48.920 --> 1:25:51.720 That King was huge. Billboard Magazine toward the year it 1:25:51.760 --> 1:25:52.320 was huge. 1:25:53.520 --> 1:25:55.080 Why do you think it was huge? 1:25:55.320 --> 1:25:58.160 People missed it, People missed us playing and it had 1:25:58.160 --> 1:26:00.439 been ten years since who they had been out And 1:26:00.479 --> 1:26:02.599 there was a lot of people when we stopped playing 1:26:02.600 --> 1:26:04.720 that came to see us every year. You know, we 1:26:04.800 --> 1:26:07.280 see a lot of the safe faces every year, and 1:26:07.360 --> 1:26:12.320 it was ten years without that, and the nostalgia, God, 1:26:12.360 --> 1:26:15.640 I want to experience that again kicked in and it 1:26:15.720 --> 1:26:16.240 was huge. 1:26:18.840 --> 1:26:22.719 So going forward, how much, shooty, how much. 1:26:22.560 --> 1:26:27.439 Solo from this point on? Yeah, this is probably my 1:26:27.520 --> 1:26:28.920 last thuty who blow for your store? I don't know 1:26:28.920 --> 1:26:32.479 if I'm going to do this again, so you know, 1:26:33.040 --> 1:26:35.720 just pretty much solo. I mean, you know, this has 1:26:35.720 --> 1:26:38.360 been such a great run and it's been fun. But 1:26:39.439 --> 1:26:42.080 you know, I'm almost sixty. I don't even know how 1:26:42.120 --> 1:26:44.400 much long I don't want to play, you know, so 1:26:44.479 --> 1:26:46.880 like I want to do I want to do country 1:26:46.960 --> 1:26:49.080 music for a while, for a long while. 1:26:50.439 --> 1:26:52.559 And how many gigs a year have you been doing 1:26:52.640 --> 1:26:53.679 over the last ten years? 1:26:54.240 --> 1:26:57.040 Fluctuations between saba D and one hundred and twenty? It 1:26:57.040 --> 1:26:58.519 could get you know, go like I think, who he's 1:26:58.560 --> 1:27:01.680 playing fifty or sixty? They shit here, so you know it, 1:27:02.040 --> 1:27:03.519 it fluctuates. 1:27:04.160 --> 1:27:08.240 Okay, So what point in the hoodie career did you 1:27:08.280 --> 1:27:09.960 say I want to make a country record. 1:27:10.560 --> 1:27:12.600 I would saying that since the late eighties, you know, 1:27:12.680 --> 1:27:15.000 since whody really started. You know, there was actually a 1:27:15.040 --> 1:27:18.000 moment when things kind of died down where I tried 1:27:18.040 --> 1:27:19.840 to talk to guys into making the country records, like 1:27:19.880 --> 1:27:22.800 let's just go and consciously make a country record, and 1:27:22.880 --> 1:27:25.200 nobody wanted to do it, you know, Okay, we'll just 1:27:25.280 --> 1:27:26.080 keep doing what we're doing. 1:27:28.200 --> 1:27:32.080 Okay, just in this interim between you start your country 1:27:32.080 --> 1:27:35.520 career and you reunite with Hoodie, what is your relationship 1:27:35.560 --> 1:27:36.759 with the other three members. 1:27:37.240 --> 1:27:38.760 Oh, we're brothers. 1:27:39.240 --> 1:27:42.360 You know. When we see each other, it's great, you know. 1:27:42.439 --> 1:27:45.200 But when you stop playing, and as much as we 1:27:45.240 --> 1:27:47.599 were playing, you stop really hanging out a lot. You know, 1:27:47.680 --> 1:27:50.400 you call each other and play around the golf, you know, 1:27:50.560 --> 1:27:52.599 call each other and go have a beer or a beat. 1:27:52.640 --> 1:27:54.280 But but it wasn't like we were seeing each other 1:27:54.320 --> 1:27:56.360 every day, you know. But we were still in touch 1:27:56.360 --> 1:27:59.440 all the time. We were friends, like we're like brothers. 1:28:00.360 --> 1:28:05.400 Okay, So you tell Doc you want to make a 1:28:05.439 --> 1:28:10.120 country record, and Doc says. 1:28:09.640 --> 1:28:11.400 He really just said okay. 1:28:12.120 --> 1:28:14.840 And I mean I made it clear to him that 1:28:14.880 --> 1:28:17.080 I wasn't looking for a record deal because I didn't 1:28:17.080 --> 1:28:18.880 think I could get a record deal the country music 1:28:19.160 --> 1:28:22.599 you know, the pop black guy cutting over the country music. 1:28:22.600 --> 1:28:23.080 What label? 1:28:23.120 --> 1:28:24.320 And I told him, if you're gonna get me a 1:28:24.360 --> 1:28:25.720 record with, if you're gonna get me a label with 1:28:25.760 --> 1:28:29.160 Joe Schmow Records or some indie label, I'd rather do 1:28:29.200 --> 1:28:32.040 it myself. I'd rather just get my buddies and go 1:28:32.080 --> 1:28:34.479 do it myself and just make it for me, you know. 1:28:35.040 --> 1:28:38.280 But you know Doc doesn't do things that way. You know, 1:28:38.520 --> 1:28:41.240 he does things like we said, you want to do 1:28:41.280 --> 1:28:43.760 it in the theater, and he does at the stadium. 1:28:44.080 --> 1:28:45.920 And a couple of weeks later he had been a 1:28:45.960 --> 1:28:48.400 record deal with Capitol Records. 1:28:49.360 --> 1:28:51.400 And what was the experience of cutting the record? 1:28:51.760 --> 1:28:54.839 Awesome? Right it and cutting was awesome. It was awesome, 1:28:54.920 --> 1:28:55.080 you know. 1:28:55.520 --> 1:28:58.920 Frank Rogers, my producer, was wonderful, you know, playing Brad 1:28:58.960 --> 1:29:01.400 Hazy coming and singing all playing a single was awesome. 1:29:01.840 --> 1:29:06.960 Vince Gill coming in. You know, it was awesome to 1:29:06.960 --> 1:29:09.400 be a Nashville making that record, making a country a 1:29:09.439 --> 1:29:11.680 real country record. That was the one thing that that 1:29:11.760 --> 1:29:13.240 me and Frank really wanted to do. We wanted to 1:29:13.240 --> 1:29:15.639 make a country record and we did and it was 1:29:16.600 --> 1:29:18.760 one of my favorite experiences making the recorder. 1:29:19.720 --> 1:29:23.519 Okay, the record is done. Do you think you're going 1:29:23.600 --> 1:29:24.920 to have a hit on the chart? 1:29:25.840 --> 1:29:27.720 No, I did not think that. 1:29:27.840 --> 1:29:30.680 I it was another one of the situations where I 1:29:30.720 --> 1:29:32.400 was hoping they would let me make a number one. 1:29:32.560 --> 1:29:34.479 I hope it did well enough that I could make 1:29:34.479 --> 1:29:36.800 a number one, because. 1:29:38.320 --> 1:29:41.720 You know, the rock pop guy coming over is so 1:29:41.960 --> 1:29:43.200 proud upon a Nashville. 1:29:43.760 --> 1:29:44.840 I'm so proud upon him. 1:29:44.920 --> 1:29:47.880 But more than that, I hadn't seen anybody that looked 1:29:47.920 --> 1:29:50.559 like be on the charts for twenty five years. You know, 1:29:50.640 --> 1:29:52.720 Charlie had been twenty five years since Charlie probably had 1:29:52.760 --> 1:29:55.160 his last hit. And there hadn't been anybody that had 1:29:55.200 --> 1:30:00.120 a top forty hit since, you know, And you know, 1:30:00.400 --> 1:30:03.519 talking to some folks and being told that they just 1:30:03.560 --> 1:30:05.720 never thought their audience would accept the black country sing. 1:30:06.720 --> 1:30:10.400 You know, so I don't know what I I don't know. 1:30:10.400 --> 1:30:12.880 If I didn't expect, I thought I might have a 1:30:12.920 --> 1:30:15.400 minor hit, you know, something that maybe cracks in top 1:30:15.439 --> 1:30:20.400 Floridian makes a little noise. But you know, once again, 1:30:20.720 --> 1:30:25.800 you know, Mike Doung in the Capitol said to me 1:30:26.320 --> 1:30:28.080 when he when he signed, when he went, I was 1:30:28.160 --> 1:30:30.519 the first meeting. Now I sided with him that if 1:30:30.560 --> 1:30:32.680 I gave him, if I gave him the record, he 1:30:32.720 --> 1:30:36.200 would give me a shot. And he worked and they 1:30:36.200 --> 1:30:39.840 worked their button butts off. They worked their butts off well. 1:30:39.840 --> 1:30:41.639 In the book you talk about how you worked your 1:30:41.640 --> 1:30:42.519 buttle I did. 1:30:43.200 --> 1:30:46.400 But you know that's of course I didn't. It's my record. 1:30:46.479 --> 1:30:49.479 If if I'm not gonna work it, why should anybody else? 1:30:50.479 --> 1:30:52.800 So what did you do for that first record? I 1:30:52.800 --> 1:30:55.320 went to one hundred and ten radio stations, No five 1:30:55.360 --> 1:30:57.200 days a week, going to two or three radio stations 1:30:57.200 --> 1:30:59.639 a day, five days a week. Went to one hundred 1:30:59.640 --> 1:31:03.200 and ten of those days, and it worked. 1:31:03.960 --> 1:31:04.160 You know. 1:31:04.280 --> 1:31:08.720 Okay, let's once again go a little more granular. You 1:31:08.840 --> 1:31:13.880 go in, you're selling. Okay, what is your pitch? How 1:31:13.880 --> 1:31:15.720 do you convince people? How do you get them on 1:31:15.760 --> 1:31:16.400 your team? 1:31:16.520 --> 1:31:20.280 Oh? My pitch was simple, you know for me. 1:31:20.439 --> 1:31:22.640 You know, you know Jimmy Harden who went with me 1:31:22.680 --> 1:31:27.160 a lot, and uh, you know, the label was really 1:31:27.200 --> 1:31:28.759 trying to get it. But when I talked to people, 1:31:28.800 --> 1:31:31.439 I said the same thing. You know, if you like 1:31:31.520 --> 1:31:36.920 the record, play it. If you don't, I understand. I wasn't. 1:31:37.240 --> 1:31:39.280 I wasn't in their bagging. I wasn't there going I'm 1:31:39.320 --> 1:31:42.280 Darius Rucker, who your blowfishes to play on record? You know, 1:31:42.400 --> 1:31:44.880 it wasn't anything like that. I was just, you know, 1:31:45.360 --> 1:31:47.479 glad to be in the room for a second, you know, 1:31:47.520 --> 1:31:48.479 and if you like it, play it. 1:31:48.479 --> 1:31:49.360 If not, I understand. 1:31:51.240 --> 1:31:53.599 But there was more than that. To what degree did 1:31:53.640 --> 1:31:56.519 you work your charm to try to make them feel 1:31:56.520 --> 1:32:00.160 good about you personally such that that would help to 1:32:00.200 --> 1:32:04.040 play the record. I didn't. That wasn't. 1:32:04.160 --> 1:32:07.160 I just went in and that was me. I really 1:32:07.360 --> 1:32:11.040 was never in there trying to overly charm anybody or 1:32:11.040 --> 1:32:14.120 make anybody. It was just go in there and be 1:32:14.200 --> 1:32:17.360 yourself and be a nice guy that you are and 1:32:17.640 --> 1:32:19.880 talk to people. You know a lot of people like 1:32:19.920 --> 1:32:22.000 the Probably the only reason I got into a lot 1:32:22.040 --> 1:32:25.800 of those buildings is because of who need a bothish, 1:32:25.840 --> 1:32:28.080 you know, and so just go in and play the 1:32:28.160 --> 1:32:30.280 song that if they want you to sit in the 1:32:30.320 --> 1:32:33.000 conference room and play some songs for you know, play 1:32:33.040 --> 1:32:36.880 some songs for for the for the employees, you know, 1:32:37.000 --> 1:32:39.880 if you're lucky enough play play the song acoustically on 1:32:39.920 --> 1:32:43.600 the radio. You know, just just go in and be 1:32:43.800 --> 1:32:47.719 you and they like you, they'll play it. If they don't, they't. 1:32:49.520 --> 1:32:52.320 And to what degree of you maintained relationships with the 1:32:52.320 --> 1:32:53.120 people of radio. 1:32:54.240 --> 1:32:58.240 Oh, I so many guys like probably to do guys 1:32:58.280 --> 1:33:00.960 that uh that told me didn't think their audience would 1:33:00.960 --> 1:33:04.320 play you know, we'll accept a black sat or my 1:33:04.439 --> 1:33:08.080 best buddies, you know, And I'm still for I see 1:33:08.400 --> 1:33:10.960 folks all the time and friends with them, and you know, 1:33:11.320 --> 1:33:14.160 they they're they're you know, I think a lot of 1:33:14.160 --> 1:33:18.800 people are thankful, relieved and happy that that that there's 1:33:19.520 --> 1:33:23.120 you know, there's now radio start. You know, there's you 1:33:23.160 --> 1:33:25.040 get to see so many app more African Americans came 1:33:25.040 --> 1:33:26.920 brown and other guys having hits and stuff like that, 1:33:27.000 --> 1:33:29.360 and and it's just people are like, this is cool. 1:33:29.520 --> 1:33:31.280 You know, this is good for cuntry, this is good 1:33:31.320 --> 1:33:31.960 for everybody. 1:33:32.439 --> 1:33:36.240 What's the difference between being on Atlantic, a rock and 1:33:36.320 --> 1:33:39.960 roll label, and Capital and national and country label. 1:33:40.600 --> 1:33:44.200 Capitol in Nashville really cares about me and will work 1:33:44.240 --> 1:33:46.080 their butt off and do anything for me. 1:33:47.880 --> 1:33:52.320 And let the just use us. That's the difference. They 1:33:52.360 --> 1:33:54.320 just used us. 1:33:56.200 --> 1:33:59.000 And how often will you interact with the people at 1:33:59.040 --> 1:34:02.479 Capital all the time all the time? 1:34:03.040 --> 1:34:06.559 You know, you know, City Babe, the new president, we're ted. 1:34:06.640 --> 1:34:08.160 We text all the time with friends of all the time. 1:34:08.200 --> 1:34:10.760 All the people who work up there. We were friends. 1:34:12.600 --> 1:34:17.680 And the world has changed and country music fans do stream. 1:34:18.080 --> 1:34:22.960 So to what degree have you fostered relationships with Spotify, Apple, Amazon? 1:34:23.960 --> 1:34:25.880 I've got friends in all those places you know, you 1:34:25.920 --> 1:34:27.479 meet because you have to meet those fives. You've got 1:34:27.479 --> 1:34:29.000 to go in their offices and hang out and do 1:34:29.080 --> 1:34:33.599 all that. And you know, streaming is is so important. 1:34:33.720 --> 1:34:36.439 It's the new way that kids are getting music. And 1:34:36.640 --> 1:34:40.120 not even kids now, everybody's getting music. And so the 1:34:40.200 --> 1:34:42.960 cloth red relationships. And you know, I'm sure when they 1:34:42.960 --> 1:34:45.840 can help you, they can, they do, and they don't, 1:34:46.120 --> 1:34:48.120 you know they don't. 1:34:49.600 --> 1:34:54.640 And to what degree are you Internet addicted TikTok, Instagram, 1:34:54.800 --> 1:34:57.040 Spotify or are you old school? 1:34:57.880 --> 1:34:59.479 I'm kind of old school, but you know, I'll look 1:34:59.479 --> 1:35:02.280 at Instagram, I'll look at you know X, that's that's 1:35:02.320 --> 1:35:04.400 you know, those of those Some of those places are 1:35:05.160 --> 1:35:07.439 where I get my news. So yeah, you're going to 1:35:07.560 --> 1:35:10.840 read it. But uh, you know, I'm not big on 1:35:11.160 --> 1:35:11.519 going on. 1:35:11.560 --> 1:35:11.960 I don't think. 1:35:12.040 --> 1:35:14.040 I think I've been on TikTok three times in my life, 1:35:14.400 --> 1:35:18.320 you know, and I'm simple, I'm animals. 1:35:20.400 --> 1:35:24.439 Okay, So the record goes to number one? Does that 1:35:24.479 --> 1:35:25.240 blow your mind? 1:35:25.520 --> 1:35:25.800 Yes? 1:35:26.360 --> 1:35:29.720 Yes, it brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't believe that. 1:35:29.840 --> 1:35:32.800 Uh that don't think. I don't think about that when 1:35:33.760 --> 1:35:36.559 number one it was the number one song country music. 1:35:37.200 --> 1:35:38.640 It was. It was amazing. 1:35:40.800 --> 1:35:43.320 And at what point do you feel you were embraced 1:35:43.360 --> 1:35:44.679 by the Nashville community. 1:35:45.880 --> 1:35:48.000 I think when I was asked to join the Opry, 1:35:48.120 --> 1:35:49.720 it was the first time I really felt like I 1:35:49.760 --> 1:35:51.719 was part of Nashville, that was part of country music. 1:35:53.200 --> 1:35:56.080 I got invited to join the Opry and that was 1:35:56.120 --> 1:35:56.880 just a great moment. 1:35:57.680 --> 1:35:58.559 Tell us about that. 1:35:59.200 --> 1:36:01.800 Uh, you know, when I came to Nashville, I stided 1:36:01.840 --> 1:36:03.400 told Doc I wanted to play the Opery as much 1:36:03.400 --> 1:36:03.880 as I could. 1:36:04.000 --> 1:36:06.360 I wanted to play as much as they would let me, 1:36:06.600 --> 1:36:07.080 and I did. 1:36:08.479 --> 1:36:11.000 And uh, you know, one day I was playing, and 1:36:11.600 --> 1:36:13.439 you know, Brad Paisey stood up in the audience and 1:36:13.520 --> 1:36:15.280 asked me if I wanted to be the news member 1:36:15.280 --> 1:36:19.439 of the Country I love the Grandal Opery, and I 1:36:19.439 --> 1:36:22.760 didn't believe it. I thought he was pranking me, you know, 1:36:23.280 --> 1:36:27.000 And it was just that moment where, you know, really 1:36:27.080 --> 1:36:29.880 that moment I really thought to myself, Wow, I made it. 1:36:30.040 --> 1:36:31.840 You know, I'm in. 1:36:34.400 --> 1:36:38.719 And the first album runs its course. How much pressure 1:36:38.720 --> 1:36:40.640 do you feel for the second album? Uh? 1:36:40.760 --> 1:36:44.920 None, none, you know, because I had the team in 1:36:45.000 --> 1:36:47.160 place and I knew that capital was going to be there. 1:36:47.200 --> 1:36:49.360 They weren't going to abandon me. I knew all I 1:36:49.400 --> 1:36:52.439 had to do was make give given themselves, you know, 1:36:52.560 --> 1:36:54.840 And so we started working on that, and you know, 1:36:55.120 --> 1:36:56.960 it felt good to know that my label wasn't going 1:36:57.000 --> 1:36:59.000 to abandon me. They were in, we were going to 1:36:59.080 --> 1:36:59.880 do this. Let's do this. 1:37:01.280 --> 1:37:03.720 And to what degree did your experience with HOODI in 1:37:03.760 --> 1:37:05.559 Atlanta inform your choices? 1:37:06.880 --> 1:37:10.800 Uh? I? 1:37:11.000 --> 1:37:12.880 Also I didn't think about I didn't think much about 1:37:12.920 --> 1:37:15.519 that when we were doing the country stuff because I 1:37:15.520 --> 1:37:18.400 felt like I was in such a different situation. You know, 1:37:18.439 --> 1:37:23.640 there was nobody. The guy who saw me was the 1:37:23.680 --> 1:37:27.519 president of the latter so I was in good hands. 1:37:27.560 --> 1:37:30.200 He was gonna he told me, you do, I will 1:37:30.200 --> 1:37:31.720 give you a shot. He gave me a shot, and 1:37:31.760 --> 1:37:33.640 I knew if I gave him another record, I was 1:37:33.640 --> 1:37:36.639 gonna get another shot. And so I didn't even think 1:37:36.640 --> 1:37:39.000 about the past. I was thinking about, you know, what 1:37:39.040 --> 1:37:39.800 are we gonna do now? 1:37:41.040 --> 1:37:44.920 Okay, So Hoodie breaks. MTV is still a thing, The 1:37:45.000 --> 1:37:48.880 Internet is not a thing. Songs are bigger than they 1:37:48.960 --> 1:37:53.360 ever are today. You then have success into the twenty 1:37:53.400 --> 1:37:58.040 first century in country music when irrelevant of the record, 1:37:58.320 --> 1:38:02.360 the landscape is different. Do you find that people know 1:38:02.439 --> 1:38:05.679 your country music as well as your hoodie music? 1:38:06.160 --> 1:38:06.360 Oh? 1:38:06.439 --> 1:38:10.519 Absolutely absolutely when we see it doing the hoodie shows. 1:38:10.560 --> 1:38:13.400 Right now, we play wagon wild all right, he plays 1:38:13.400 --> 1:38:18.400 the rupts. You know, it's this this, It's so funny. 1:38:18.400 --> 1:38:20.320 There's people in the world that don't even know that 1:38:20.360 --> 1:38:25.320 I was a singarete who like it was probably goodness. 1:38:26.040 --> 1:38:29.920 It was not even a year ago. And this guy 1:38:29.960 --> 1:38:33.080 comes into my DMS and he asked me why I 1:38:33.080 --> 1:38:36.840 played somebody covers at my show And I said to him, man, 1:38:36.880 --> 1:38:39.880 I only played like two covers, maybe three. 1:38:39.880 --> 1:38:40.479 What you talk about? 1:38:40.479 --> 1:38:43.920 He said, well, you played all those hoodis must be 1:38:43.920 --> 1:38:45.400 a big he said, you must be a big fan 1:38:45.439 --> 1:38:48.439 of Like, dude, I'm the Bofish And he was like, 1:38:48.520 --> 1:38:53.360 no way, go believes it. And I mean and a 1:38:53.400 --> 1:38:56.280 lot of the younger kids are shots when they don't 1:38:56.320 --> 1:38:59.960 know that I'm that I'm the lead singer for the Bothfish, 1:39:00.160 --> 1:39:02.200 that all they know is that I'm Darius Country. 1:39:01.880 --> 1:39:10.879 Say okay, and you're in the mailstream. You're an African 1:39:10.880 --> 1:39:15.000 American and a traditionally white medium. The main story in 1:39:15.040 --> 1:39:19.680 our world today is politics, red versus blue. What do 1:39:19.800 --> 1:39:25.639 you see, and is it possible to bring the country together, you. 1:39:25.600 --> 1:39:27.679 Know, I hope it's possible to really cut together, because 1:39:27.720 --> 1:39:30.879 I think we're always we're always the best when where united, 1:39:30.960 --> 1:39:32.920 you know, like after nine to eleven, even though it 1:39:32.920 --> 1:39:37.000 was a brief time that that was great for the catch, 1:39:37.360 --> 1:39:41.519 how much we were all together. You know, everything right 1:39:41.560 --> 1:39:46.400 now so divisive. Everything's so divisive, and the politicians and 1:39:46.439 --> 1:39:48.720 the media seems to want to keep us that way 1:39:48.760 --> 1:39:51.040 because that way they all make more money, and they 1:39:51.080 --> 1:39:56.360 all you know, but uh, you know, I just wish 1:39:56.360 --> 1:39:58.000 people would realize at the end of the day, we're 1:39:58.000 --> 1:40:03.599 all just Americans, man, you know, and and we should 1:40:03.720 --> 1:40:06.160 we should be able to come together on some important stuff. 1:40:06.200 --> 1:40:07.760 But it just doesn't seem like it's gonna happen. 1:40:09.560 --> 1:40:14.360 And because of the divided nation and being a prominent 1:40:14.360 --> 1:40:18.120 in country music, we have the bud Light situation, we 1:40:18.160 --> 1:40:22.000 have all the we have all these black and white 1:40:22.400 --> 1:40:24.479 not in terms of race, but some of them are issues. 1:40:24.720 --> 1:40:28.600 Does that make you reluctant to stand up or to 1:40:28.640 --> 1:40:30.880 make certain decisions to work with different people. 1:40:31.520 --> 1:40:33.439 I'll work with anybody that doesn't. 1:40:33.680 --> 1:40:37.960 I mean, I'm not going to not be friends with 1:40:38.000 --> 1:40:40.320 somebody or not work with somebody because they're politics. 1:40:40.680 --> 1:40:45.200 Let me say different. Okay, Elon Musk, who has come 1:40:45.240 --> 1:40:48.720 out in support of Trump. If Elon he doesn't do advertising, 1:40:48.800 --> 1:40:50.640 but let's say he got a hold of you and 1:40:50.720 --> 1:40:54.679 wanted to tie you up with Tesla, you would say okay, 1:40:54.800 --> 1:40:56.959 or you would say wait, this is a dangerous subject. 1:40:57.360 --> 1:40:58.799 I would say it's a dangerous subject. 1:40:58.920 --> 1:40:59.120 You know. 1:40:59.240 --> 1:41:02.040 I stay out of politics, man. I believe what I believe. 1:41:02.439 --> 1:41:03.639 I'm gonna do what I want to do. 1:41:04.200 --> 1:41:07.320 And the sad part about politics for me right now 1:41:08.680 --> 1:41:11.600 is there was a time in American history where it 1:41:11.720 --> 1:41:13.600 was okay to say, I'm not gonna be friends with 1:41:13.600 --> 1:41:15.320 that guy because he's white. Well, I'm not gonna be 1:41:15.320 --> 1:41:17.200 friends with that guy because he's black. Well I'm not 1:41:17.200 --> 1:41:19.160 gonna be friends with her because he's a woman. I'm 1:41:19.160 --> 1:41:21.880 not gonna be friends with those And now it's like, 1:41:21.920 --> 1:41:23.879 I'm not gonna be friends with this person because they're conservaible. 1:41:23.880 --> 1:41:25.719 I'm not gonna be friends with this person because they're liberal. 1:41:26.200 --> 1:41:29.160 You know, for me, that's just bullshit. So I stay 1:41:29.160 --> 1:41:31.360 out of it. I stay out of it. Don't even 1:41:31.400 --> 1:41:34.400 want to talk about it. You know, it is I 1:41:34.439 --> 1:41:38.200 believe what I believe? You know, I hope the country 1:41:38.200 --> 1:41:40.200 can find a way to come together. But you know 1:41:40.320 --> 1:41:41.360 it's just so divisive. 1:41:42.800 --> 1:41:45.879 So you would not endorse political candidate? 1:41:47.720 --> 1:41:47.880 Uh? 1:41:49.360 --> 1:41:49.599 I will? 1:41:49.600 --> 1:41:51.280 I would say, I would say I would, though I 1:41:51.320 --> 1:41:56.840 never will. But it's like, you know, I'm not I'm 1:41:56.920 --> 1:42:00.960 not How do you say this? I am not eatistical 1:42:01.040 --> 1:42:07.639 enough or or narcissistic enough to think that I should 1:42:07.680 --> 1:42:12.120 be telling people how to vote. Everybody's got their own vote. 1:42:12.400 --> 1:42:14.320 There's enough stuff out there for you to decide how 1:42:14.360 --> 1:42:17.559 you want to vote. Why should I tell you? That's 1:42:17.560 --> 1:42:18.439 not something I've ever. 1:42:18.320 --> 1:42:22.280 Wanted to do. Do you vote every here? 1:42:23.720 --> 1:42:28.960 Okay? You live in Nashville. Now, what's the difference between 1:42:29.000 --> 1:42:30.520 Nashville and South Carolina? 1:42:30.760 --> 1:42:35.200 Nothing? There both very red states. 1:42:36.280 --> 1:42:42.280 Okay, So you ever take commercial transportation or only private? 1:42:42.720 --> 1:42:44.920 I fly, yeah, fly plays all. I fly a commercial 1:42:44.960 --> 1:42:45.400 a long time. 1:42:45.840 --> 1:42:51.360 Okay, you fly commercial? To what degree? Is do people 1:42:51.400 --> 1:42:51.960 know who you. 1:42:51.880 --> 1:42:55.599 Are all the time all the time? 1:42:56.960 --> 1:42:58.760 And is that a good thing or a bad thing? 1:42:58.920 --> 1:43:01.479 It's a good thing. It's going to suck when people don't. 1:43:01.680 --> 1:43:05.920 You know. The byproduct of success in my business is 1:43:05.920 --> 1:43:10.200 that so that means I don't have a success. 1:43:11.000 --> 1:43:16.719 And as a result of your fame, you've met incredible people. 1:43:16.880 --> 1:43:18.920 Who have you met that? Who have you not met 1:43:18.920 --> 1:43:19.719 that you want to meet? 1:43:20.600 --> 1:43:23.080 Oh goodness, who if I've not met that? 1:43:23.160 --> 1:43:28.719 I want to be. Uh, that's a great question. 1:43:29.880 --> 1:43:32.120 Oh good Every time I think it's not when I go, 1:43:32.320 --> 1:43:36.280 I think I met him. You know, the day I've 1:43:36.280 --> 1:43:39.320 met Paul McCartney was the day that everybody else can 1:43:39.640 --> 1:43:42.200 it doesn't matter. But the day I've bet alt greed, 1:43:42.640 --> 1:43:45.360 you know, the times I've got to hang out without greeding. 1:43:45.439 --> 1:43:47.680 You know, No, you know, I guess right now. If 1:43:47.720 --> 1:43:51.240 I had to think of one person I want to bet, 1:43:51.240 --> 1:43:53.040 I want to be Keith Richards and a Vic Tacker. 1:43:54.439 --> 1:43:56.559 I mean, I'd love to beat the guys with the stoves. 1:43:57.720 --> 1:44:00.760 How'd you meet Paul McCartney? Tell me about that he 1:44:00.840 --> 1:44:02.719 was having a show and I was taking my kids 1:44:03.400 --> 1:44:05.920 to Tampa to see the show, and uh, you know, 1:44:05.960 --> 1:44:08.519 we're I think we're under the same management group, Maverick. 1:44:08.760 --> 1:44:10.760 And I called Clarence and I said, Clarence, if you 1:44:10.840 --> 1:44:13.360 never do anything for me ever again, I'll be okay, 1:44:13.400 --> 1:44:15.200 But you have to get me to meet Paul McCartney 1:44:15.320 --> 1:44:18.000 and he did and I cried, yes when he walked away, 1:44:18.000 --> 1:44:18.640 I cried. 1:44:19.880 --> 1:44:22.919 So a little bit slower because I've met Paul McCartney 1:44:22.920 --> 1:44:27.120 a few times. You know, meeting a celebrity, especially in 1:44:27.240 --> 1:44:30.680 a live performance thing is a very unique thing. How 1:44:30.720 --> 1:44:33.519 did it literally happen? And what was literally said? 1:44:33.680 --> 1:44:38.559 Well, he doesn't do a great and so uh we were. 1:44:38.880 --> 1:44:41.800 They took us backstage and he was about he was 1:44:42.360 --> 1:44:45.040 when he what he done with this interaction was done. 1:44:45.040 --> 1:44:47.679 He walked straight to the stage and he comes out 1:44:47.920 --> 1:44:50.960 and he knew who I was with shock me, and 1:44:51.080 --> 1:44:52.880 you know, we had a conversation. I told him I 1:44:52.880 --> 1:44:54.760 wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for him, and 1:44:54.840 --> 1:44:55.680 he was not important to me. 1:44:56.439 --> 1:44:57.320 And we had. 1:44:57.160 --> 1:44:59.200 A great conversation and took a picture and he had 1:44:59.240 --> 1:45:02.719 on the sergeant upper jacket that maybe lose my mind, 1:45:03.520 --> 1:45:04.280 and it was. 1:45:04.320 --> 1:45:06.800 Just it was a beautiful thing. 1:45:06.840 --> 1:45:11.519 It was like he was They tell you not to 1:45:11.560 --> 1:45:15.040 meet your idols, but it meeting him was damn, We're 1:45:15.080 --> 1:45:15.400 worth it. 1:45:15.439 --> 1:45:17.679 He was. He was a gentleman. He was a great guy. 1:45:18.640 --> 1:45:21.560 And did he say anything of dope, Oh, you know, 1:45:21.680 --> 1:45:22.400 he was about to go in. 1:45:22.479 --> 1:45:24.840 So it wasn't like we had a deep conversation, right, 1:45:25.200 --> 1:45:26.639 you know, he was like, just keep playing music. 1:45:26.640 --> 1:45:28.080 He was like, you know, I've heard some of your songs. 1:45:28.360 --> 1:45:30.640 I love him. I like what you do? You know, 1:45:30.840 --> 1:45:32.560 keep doing it. It was great. 1:45:32.880 --> 1:45:36.519 And what about Al Greed? Oh it was great for me. 1:45:36.560 --> 1:45:38.479 I met Al a couple of times. And the second 1:45:38.479 --> 1:45:40.960 time I met out, I was doing this Al Greed 1:45:41.040 --> 1:45:43.599 tribute and he was there and we were backsaced talking 1:45:43.680 --> 1:45:45.439 and I had covered one of his songs about R 1:45:45.439 --> 1:45:47.840 and B record and he told me he really liked 1:45:47.840 --> 1:45:49.559 my version, and that was pretty awesome. 1:45:52.680 --> 1:45:56.400 Okay, you have this autobiography. People said, I mean, there's 1:45:56.520 --> 1:45:58.479 not a week goes by that I don't get one 1:45:58.479 --> 1:46:03.080 of these books. And interestingly, Alan Eisenstock, who was your 1:46:03.280 --> 1:46:05.880 co writer, he's a personal friend, so that was kind 1:46:05.880 --> 1:46:10.320 of interesting. But what made you write this book? Now? 1:46:12.560 --> 1:46:14.679 I was first, you know, I've been asked to write, 1:46:15.120 --> 1:46:18.120 you know, a memoir for for so long and I 1:46:18.200 --> 1:46:20.920 kept staying no, no, and no, and you know, they, 1:46:21.320 --> 1:46:24.400 to be honest with me, they came. They came like 1:46:24.439 --> 1:46:26.599 big dogs to get me to write it this time, 1:46:27.040 --> 1:46:29.320 you know, and I Ala said I wouldn't write it 1:46:29.360 --> 1:46:33.400 till my kids were old enough. We're adults, so they could, 1:46:33.960 --> 1:46:36.680 you know, deal with be telling the truth because I 1:46:36.720 --> 1:46:38.519 was going to tell the truth and they were adults 1:46:39.280 --> 1:46:42.640 and it was just okay. And actually, when Al and 1:46:42.680 --> 1:46:46.040 I started writing it, it was it was so therapeutic. 1:46:46.680 --> 1:46:49.000 It was it was it was I'm so glad I 1:46:49.040 --> 1:46:49.360 did it. 1:46:51.479 --> 1:46:54.160 And the funny thing about the book is I actually 1:46:54.200 --> 1:46:56.240 got hooked on the book about a quarter the way 1:46:56.240 --> 1:46:57.840 through and sat in the chair and finished it. The 1:46:57.880 --> 1:47:01.640 book is really a good read. What is your experience 1:47:01.720 --> 1:47:03.200 been since the book has come out? 1:47:03.479 --> 1:47:05.400 It's amazing. You know. 1:47:06.680 --> 1:47:08.799 Most people that have talked to me about it have said, 1:47:09.360 --> 1:47:10.760 you know, it feels like I'm sitting in a bar 1:47:10.840 --> 1:47:13.479 with you and me telling the story. And that's exactly 1:47:13.520 --> 1:47:17.240 what we wanted. We wanted to be like, you're sitting 1:47:17.280 --> 1:47:19.680 with a friend who's telling you the story in their lives, 1:47:19.840 --> 1:47:22.200 and you know, it's been amazing. I'm you know, I'm 1:47:22.240 --> 1:47:25.840 a New York Times bestselling author right now. Just saying that, 1:47:26.160 --> 1:47:29.519 you know, makes me want to giggle. You know, it 1:47:29.280 --> 1:47:31.960 was it was every interaction I've had to people who 1:47:32.000 --> 1:47:36.479 read it, even my friends, especially my friends or they're like, 1:47:36.520 --> 1:47:40.080 you know, I learned stuff that I had no idea about. 1:47:40.560 --> 1:47:44.240 And you know, every every interaction I've had about my 1:47:44.280 --> 1:47:46.519 book has been positive, and it's been really awesome. 1:47:48.360 --> 1:47:53.280 So what is your everyday life like now? How book 1:47:53.320 --> 1:47:55.519 did or do you have any relaxation time where you 1:47:55.560 --> 1:47:57.760 just basically work at three hundred and sixty five days 1:47:57.800 --> 1:47:58.320 a year. 1:47:58.560 --> 1:48:00.400 I work a lot. I work a lot to the 1:48:00.439 --> 1:48:02.400 point where I was I was pitching at my manager 1:48:02.479 --> 1:48:06.640 today because I don't work a lot. But uh, you know, 1:48:08.000 --> 1:48:10.679 I've got a happy life. You know, I got three 1:48:10.720 --> 1:48:13.680 wonderful kids, are adults that I get to see when 1:48:13.680 --> 1:48:16.400 there when their lives are too busy. And I got 1:48:16.439 --> 1:48:18.960 a wonderful girlfriend who I probably spend the rest of 1:48:18.960 --> 1:48:22.200 my life with, you know. And you know I live 1:48:22.240 --> 1:48:24.759 in a great neighborhood Nashville. I got a great place 1:48:24.760 --> 1:48:27.320 at Charleston. I'm on the road when I want to 1:48:27.320 --> 1:48:29.760 be on the road. You know, I was good. 1:48:30.240 --> 1:48:32.200 I get to see my brothers and sisters all the time. 1:48:32.280 --> 1:48:34.840 I mean, life was just good. 1:48:36.320 --> 1:48:38.759 Now, you were married for a good chunk of time 1:48:39.360 --> 1:48:42.760 and then you got divorced. To what degree did the 1:48:42.880 --> 1:48:46.720 job you have contribute to the end of that relationship. 1:48:50.280 --> 1:48:54.880 I mean, especially the years we were together and where 1:48:54.920 --> 1:48:59.519 I was mentally. You know, I was you know, I 1:48:59.560 --> 1:49:02.920 was out there and I was partying and I was 1:49:02.920 --> 1:49:08.639 having a great time. And you know, totally, like I've 1:49:08.640 --> 1:49:12.560 said this before, that breakup was on me. 1:49:14.040 --> 1:49:14.960 It was all me. 1:49:16.400 --> 1:49:22.439 And you know, you know, through a lot of therapy 1:49:22.479 --> 1:49:25.800 and you know, a lot of soul searching and really 1:49:25.840 --> 1:49:28.720 a lot of giving up that lifestyle. You know, I've 1:49:28.720 --> 1:49:30.880 become a better person and I live a better life. 1:49:30.880 --> 1:49:33.920 But you know, sometimes things are just over. And so 1:49:34.760 --> 1:49:37.320 I would say my lifestyle and what I did for 1:49:37.320 --> 1:49:39.720 a living was one hundred percent reason for that. 1:49:40.360 --> 1:49:42.920 And what will be different with this new girlfriend. 1:49:43.479 --> 1:49:48.120 I'm not that guy anymore, you know, I really I'm 1:49:48.160 --> 1:49:50.479 a homebody now. I don't want to do you know, 1:49:50.720 --> 1:49:53.600 I don't want to do anything. So, you know, so 1:49:53.640 --> 1:49:56.720 I go work and I come home and don't play 1:49:56.760 --> 1:49:59.639 golf right you know, by but four minutes from where 1:49:59.680 --> 1:50:02.600 I live and I'm home. I don't want to go 1:50:02.640 --> 1:50:04.639 out drinking with you. Don't call me to go drinking 1:50:04.640 --> 1:50:06.639 because I'm not going to go. You know, you want 1:50:06.640 --> 1:50:07.920 to go to dinner. I go to sit and have 1:50:08.000 --> 1:50:09.400 dinner with even have a bottle of wine. But I'm 1:50:09.400 --> 1:50:11.479 going home and I don't want to go to the 1:50:11.600 --> 1:50:15.120 right door. I don't want to go. And like Louis, 1:50:15.240 --> 1:50:19.400 like I said, is your therapy? I've I've dealt with 1:50:19.400 --> 1:50:22.360 my devons and I'm still dealing with them and I've 1:50:22.360 --> 1:50:23.639 figured out a way to beat them. 1:50:24.120 --> 1:50:25.599 How did you decide to go to therapy? 1:50:27.479 --> 1:50:29.679 It was just, you know, I'd go into a couple 1:50:29.720 --> 1:50:32.439 of people, but then I found the right guy. And 1:50:32.479 --> 1:50:34.720 when you find the right person to talk to and 1:50:35.120 --> 1:50:38.800 talks back to you and gives you exercises of things 1:50:38.840 --> 1:50:42.960 to make you be a better person, you know, life 1:50:43.000 --> 1:50:43.800 gets a lot better. 1:50:44.600 --> 1:50:47.240 So what is one thing that your therapist told you 1:50:47.280 --> 1:50:48.240 that help was helpful? 1:50:49.000 --> 1:50:52.720 Goodness? It's a big things, you know. One thing that 1:50:52.880 --> 1:50:56.680 was huge for me was how he you know, to 1:50:56.760 --> 1:51:00.439 let let go on the guilt. You know, that was 1:51:00.520 --> 1:51:03.920 tough for me, you know the way I was raised 1:51:03.920 --> 1:51:04.559 and where I was. 1:51:04.600 --> 1:51:04.960 I mean. 1:51:06.360 --> 1:51:07.960 That was hard for me. But when I finally like 1:51:08.000 --> 1:51:09.599 go with the guilt, I became a better person. 1:51:10.520 --> 1:51:12.960 And since you're a homebody, what do you do at home? 1:51:14.040 --> 1:51:15.880 Like I said, I got a golf course four minutes 1:51:15.880 --> 1:51:17.720 from here that I play golf almost every day. 1:51:17.720 --> 1:51:18.120 I went home. 1:51:18.520 --> 1:51:21.800 I got two great dogs that are awesome. You know, 1:51:21.880 --> 1:51:23.840 I like to watch TV. I like to play video games. 1:51:23.840 --> 1:51:25.519 I like to jump in my pool. Yeah, I'm just 1:51:26.840 --> 1:51:29.840 you know, I've built a home that there's a lot 1:51:29.840 --> 1:51:33.720 of things I like to do, and so when I'm 1:51:33.760 --> 1:51:35.200 not on the road, they don't want to do. 1:51:35.280 --> 1:51:35.719 Much in an. 1:51:37.560 --> 1:51:40.000 Okay, Darius, thanks so much for taking this time and 1:51:40.120 --> 1:51:42.639 being so open and honest with my audience. I really 1:51:42.680 --> 1:51:43.200 appreciate it. 1:51:43.800 --> 1:51:46.080 I think it was a great talking teacher, very great. 1:51:45.920 --> 1:51:49.320 Talking Until next time. This is Bob left Sis