WEBVTT - ITS Home Edition: Parmalee 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:05.600 Welcome to Inside the Studio presented by I Heart Radio. 0:00:05.800 --> 0:00:17.840 I'm your host Joe Lee. So, the country band Parmly 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:21.400 has been pretty busy during the pandemic, and on this 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:24.720 episode of the home edition of the show, our Quarantine 0:00:24.760 --> 0:00:29.080 correspondent Jordan run Tug talks with Parmel's singer Matt Thomas 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:33.360 about what they've been up to. For one thing, songwriting sessions, 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:37.400 which in Nashville often happened in writing rooms during the 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:41.040 daylight hours, not an all night jam sessions like Fleetwood 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.160 Mac in the seventies. Those have switched up to zoom, 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:46.760 so they're less like Fleetwood Mac in the seventies than 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:50.320 ever before. But partly has also been connecting with fans 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:53.400 on YouTube with a stripped down performance series called The 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:56.200 Piano Sessions that they've released as an album. And I 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:58.600 was really interested in what Matt had to say about 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:03.240 playing some socially distant shows, including one that involved the 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:07.319 audience in boats. You know, we started this home edition 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.120 of Inside the Studio to let you know how artists 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:13.600 were coping with quarantine, how it's impacting their lives in 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.000 the way they make their music. And I have to 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:18.880 tell you, as a music fan. Hearing these stories and 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:21.240 listening to the music they've been making it it really 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.240 helps me keep hope alive, although this may be the 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:27.360 first time I've ever hoped to have a boat Anyway. 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:29.520 If you enjoy this episode, be sure to listen to 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.560 the I Heart Radio podcast that Jordan's hosts, which is 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:37.160 called Rivals Music's Greatest Feuds and which is available wherever 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:48.600 you get your podcasts. Hello everyone, my name is Jordan 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.120 Runtalg but enough about me. My guest today is a 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.720 lead singer for Parmelay, the heck country band he founded 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:56.360 with his brother, his cousin, and his best friend. They 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:58.680 burst onto the scene in twelve with the Morning After 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:01.120 Party anthem must have had a good time getting a 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:03.560 hangover just thinking about it. Then they followed it up 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.120 the next year with their smash Carolina, which paid tribute 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:08.720 to their beloved home state. In February of this year, 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:11.080 the band released their latest single, Just the Way, a 0:02:11.120 --> 0:02:15.280 collaboration with Blanco Brown that celebrates the imperfections and indiosyncrasies 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:17.240 of the ones we love. I'm so happy to welcome 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:19.520 Matt Thomas. Thank you so much for being here today. 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:23.720 So happy to be here man first and foremost, How 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:26.400 the hell are you? How does quarantine life find you today? 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:28.920 It's been great. Um, We've been getting a lot of 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:31.440 work done in the middle of a house remodel, so 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:35.639 being home is actually it's a mess. But we're we're 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:37.920 a little bit at a time, you know, you know, 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.120 we're we're doing the best we can with it. Wow. Okay, 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:44.280 so you're feeling not only creatively invigorated, but also remodeling 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:50.120 your entire house. Yeah that's wow. Okay, Yeah, well all right, 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.960 a lot ago with that. Damn. I mean, the music 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:55.959 seed in Nashville so collaborative, Like, how is just sort 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.640 of being apart from everyone impacted your process for making music? 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.480 It's been crazy. Uh, we've kind of gotten back together 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:06.560 with our co writers and I'm lucky our producer has 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:08.760 been staying with us pretty much the whole quarantine, So 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:11.760 we've been, uh, we've been working on stuff. Um, it's 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:13.800 weird not being able to have that connection and get 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:16.280 in a room and you know, just have that energy 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.760 and that the access to that every day is kind 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:22.440 of I'm missing it. But the Zoom rights have been 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:25.239 going actually pretty good. I can't lie. I mean, it's 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:28.360 not bad. I think everybody was scared at first. I 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.040 don't know about this, and then I think it's going good. 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.480 You know, what is the typical writing day for you? 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:35.160 Look like? I mean you approach it almost like going 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:37.360 to the office. You sit down and get your guitar, 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:41.200 go to the piano or I think, Um, it varies. 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:45.440 It's hard to say. Now it's we're writing with a purpose, 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:47.920 the purpose of uh, you know, follow up single for 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:51.640 Just the Way album, that kind of thing. But I 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:54.120 think it's it is like an office visit out here 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.720 a lot, honestly, which can get kind of bored after 0:03:56.760 --> 0:03:58.280 a while. But you never know. It might be a 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:00.920 late night jam session. It might be you know, an 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:03.160 iPhone idea come up and then you just run grab 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:04.960 the guitar and then you start working on it. But 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:10.560 generally everybody has an eleven o'clock writing appointment. He goes 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:12.040 sitting in a room and what do you got? What 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:14.680 do you got? Had this idea? What does that sound like? 0:04:15.160 --> 0:04:16.880 Are your are you have a ton of ideas and 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:19.640 you have guitar legs out? I mean it's just varies. Um, 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:21.920 you'd never know, really what are you working on now 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:25.000 that you're really excited about Oh man, I just uh, 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.600 I just did about four vocals on these songs we 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:32.200 had recorded back in December that I've been sitting around 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:34.599 and waiting and so we're really excited brand new songs 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.320 for everybody. Uh, and and writing. I gotta do a 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:41.200 vocal this afternoon. We are going down to do another 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:43.680 vocal tomorrow on the song. So all these songs kind 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.720 of that are little work tapes of demos, are kind 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:48.760 of getting worked worked up, you know, into songs. So 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:51.080 I do ask you about just the way I mean, 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:53.599 it's such a positive song, which you know, obviously we 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:56.159 definitely need more of that in times like this. What 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:58.039 was the genesis of that sort of loving the the 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:02.440 imperfections of your of your partner. Yeah, I think I 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:05.320 think that message is so strong. It's just, uh, everybody 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:06.880 needs to note that their love just the way God 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:08.679 made them. You know, you're not you can't be perfect. 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:10.479 And you know, when I heard that come up in 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:12.479 the writing room, I was just blown away when I 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:14.599 heard that line. You know, it's like everybody needs to 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:18.120 hear this. Let's just go. And it's been such a 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:20.599 cool thing to see the positivity behind it and people 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:23.359 connecting with it, and the TikTok videos and all the 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:26.520 stuff going on. Man, it's crazy. And the music video too. 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:29.120 I mean, just everyone's reactions to give them the flowers 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:31.960 was beautiful. Did they know sort of what was what 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:34.960 they prepped in advance of what was gonna happen? Not really, 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:37.880 and neither were we We kind of were, but I 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:40.200 don't know. There's some videos where I went out and 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:43.160 gay flowers to random girls, just out in public, and 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:48.640 that was. That was tough. Like it, trust me, it was. 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:52.400 It was really awesome to see the reaction for the 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:54.960 ones who got it, but some of them didn't. They 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:56.520 freaked out, you know, thought I was trying to sell 0:05:56.560 --> 0:06:02.200 them something. But um, that gesture was really cool. I 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:04.000 saw a real person out in public. I was just 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:06.080 handing random people flowers and it was It was really awesome. 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:08.200 So they had the idea for the video, but they 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:11.560 really didn't tell us, didn't tell the girls nor us. 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:13.200 They were like, we're gonna get you to handle a flower, 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:15.680 and so it was cool. Man. I think it's um, 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:18.240 it's very surprising to see people's reaction to that, and 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:20.240 it's just a little gesture, but it's really really cool, 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:24.920 really meaningful. How did how did Blanco Brown get involved? Well, 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:27.720 we met Blanco a couple of years ago at the 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:30.320 c m A Awards, I think it was he was 0:06:30.360 --> 0:06:34.039 talking to the president of our label and the president 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:36.400 of the company. So I looked at him. I said, 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:38.080 who is this guy? He's talking to the top two 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:40.240 people that I record label. I need to know this guy. 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:42.760 Need to meet him. He's he's interesting. He looked interested. Anyway, 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:44.839 I was like, I gotta meet this guy. So we 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:48.040 basically just walked up to him, Barry and I and said, hey, 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:51.200 what's up. We're Matt Berry from Parmay, and who are you? 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:53.479 And what do you do? You you want to write? 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:56.520 Basically just today, let's do it. And so we exchanged 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.240 numbers and I think about six months went by and 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:01.360 he came out to the house and we just hit 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:03.960 it off like that, became friends. And I didn't even 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:05.480 know what he did. I said, what are you seeing? 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:07.679 What he said, well, I do this. I got stuff 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:09.560 called trailer Trap, and I was like, well, let's here it. 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.000 So we sat in my living room, cranked it up loud, 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:13.720 and he just played us all these songs and he 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:16.240 animated it, saying, I was like, I don't know what 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:18.560 this is, but it's cool and I dig it and 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.440 it's gonna it's gonna catch people, I'm telling you. So 0:07:21.480 --> 0:07:23.760 we wrote some songs and then about six months later 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:25.760 he had to get up. I've never even heard it. 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:27.640 This was way before we get up, when we were writing, 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:30.360 and it came out and boom until we had been 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:33.320 buzzed the whole time, and this song we had just 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.240 the way kind of in the pocket, and and just 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:38.080 away kept coming up. We kept playing it on the 0:07:38.120 --> 0:07:41.120 bus and everybody loved it, but it just wasn't quite right, 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:43.760 like something's missing, the production is not quite We did 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:46.800 like five versions of it. They're like, man, we need something. 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:49.400 And David Fanning, our producer manager, he said, why don't 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.880 you get Blanco on it? So I was like yeah, 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:53.720 and I called him up. We went to Atlanta like 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.320 two days later, drove down there and got a studio 0:07:56.400 --> 0:07:59.200 and he never sang it before that night the recording year. 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:01.560 Really I sent it to him, but but our voices 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:04.160 just missed so good, and I knew he could sing, 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:06.160 but I don't think anybody else out here really hurt 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.560 him sing unless they've been to a show. So it 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:10.680 was just uh one of those things, man, just kind 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:12.400 of fell from the sky. How it all happened. I mean, 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:16.440 you know that's where all the best stuff comes from. Yeah, 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:19.360 it's great. I mean it's just it's such a romantic song. 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:21.840 What you call your imperfections, I call beautiful. I mean 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:24.240 that's just such a sentiment of a true romantic which 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:26.480 leads me to ask, what's the most romantic thing you've 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:33.760 ever done? Oh man, that's a good one. Uh let 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:35.960 me think for people listening right now, I see his 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:38.120 face turning very red right now, I have to admit 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:43.559 I'm not too good in that department. I guess um. 0:08:43.600 --> 0:08:46.440 I think probably some some roses in the bedroom kind 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:49.280 of thing. You know, done that a couple of times. 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:51.600 I say, hand and I roses on the street. Is like, 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:56.840 it's pretty damn romantic too, Yeah I did say that. Yeah, 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:59.400 Oh man, I mean you know a lot of bands 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.120 they described themselves like a family, which but that's you know, 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:04.880 literally true from your case, your your your brother, your cousin, 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.440 your best friend, and you started playing music with in 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.280 your father's band. Was there ever a moment for you 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:13.319 when music didn't seem like it was gonna be your future. 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:15.560 Did you know from early on that like that was 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:17.600 really what you're gonna be doing. I knew I wanted 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:21.160 to do it. We didn't know how. We didn't have 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:24.880 anybody to show us anything about. All we knew was 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:29.240 start a band, start playing your songs, and somebody from 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:30.960 a record that was gonna come down and pluck you 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:32.680 up and give you a record deal, and it's gonna 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.760 be all gravy after that, you know. So it was 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:38.480 nobody and my dad played in and like the local 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:42.440 backporch scene and local you know, bars and stuff, and 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:44.760 we played with him and that, and uh, he was 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:47.880 really good and we we knew, but that was as 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:49.680 far as it went. I mean, we never really went 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:51.440 out of town with him to play maybe an hour 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.040 up the road once a month maybe to good play 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:57.520 a show somewhere. But once we decided to be Parmaly, 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.000 we all kind of made a pack together. Before we Parmarily, 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:02.360 we were cover band for about a year and a 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:04.480 half and we were doing like the what we call 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:07.000 menu venues where you you know, you have a menu 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:10.400 and you have a venue. But they paid, they paid guarantees. 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:13.600 I love that they so they were they were they 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.760 paid money because they're restaurant, and but you had to 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:17.320 play four hours and you had to play you know, 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:19.600 at least eight percent covers, and they didn't mind if 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:21.480 you threw in a couple of your songs. But we 0:10:21.520 --> 0:10:23.640 had a couple of songs that people started asking about, 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:26.240 shot a video and it was exciting, and so at 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:28.440 one point I think we were like, hey, do we 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:32.120 want to really do this? And everybody said, yeah, let's go. 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:34.120 And we decided from that moment on we were just 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:37.000 gonna do all our own music and we're gonna not 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:39.200 not really do mini covers. It's all to be an 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:42.040 original band. And we went from making you know, maybe 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:44.880 six hundred dollars a night bringing your p a in 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.720 and playing three or four hours, to making maybe a 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:50.599 hundred dollars a night just a hundred total or of 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:52.960 play for free, to to play thirty minutes or an 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:54.200 hour of your own hour and a half of your 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:57.280 own music. So we took that jump early on in 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:00.440 the start of Parmaly, when we started it and we 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:02.200 knew we wanted to do it, we just kept trying 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:03.960 and kept doing it. Kept doing it, kept doing it. 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.960 Uh ran up to credit cards. When somebody said no, 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:09.800 we said, okay, why And if they explained why, we 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:12.240 would go try to fix that. Why Or somebody said 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.680 you should go work with this person that we thought 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:16.679 might have a glimpse of a chance of getting us 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:19.360 to the next level, we would go work with that person. 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:22.880 Always try to find a positive light in any situation 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:25.840 and chase that instead of dwelling on the negative stuff. 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:28.559 I think that's the key to it. And you're or 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:33.079 just being done them. I don't know. You know, well, 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:35.280 you were working with Nikki six for a while from 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:37.920 Motley Crewe. What was that like? I had no idea 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:41.040 about that. Recently it was awesome, man, it was killer 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.839 Um we around California working on some music just back 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.440 in two thousand six. I think it's really cool. Uh. 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:50.120 The producer had worked with Nikki Uh in his band 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:52.760 Rides of Destruction, so there was a little relationship there 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:54.560 and we hit him up and like, hey, man, we're 0:11:54.600 --> 0:11:56.800 in town. We want to you write and co produce 0:11:56.880 --> 0:11:59.240 with us, like two or three songs, And so he 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:01.640 came to the student you and we wrote and produced 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.480 a recorded a couple of songs. It was really cool. 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:07.480 I mean the songs were okay looking back, I mean 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:09.640 that it was good. It was. But the coolest part 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:11.280 was when he walked into the studio and you're like, 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:14.840 holy sh it, there's Nicki Sis on there. And then 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:18.360 the other cool part was he was in the middle 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:22.080 of writing the Heroin Diaries, so we said it the 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:25.679 mixing board and he read us his actual written note 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:28.720 of the night he died and came back. Oh my god, 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:33.840 it's like story time with Nikki Sids gather around the campfire, 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:51.760 gather on the mixing desk. Yeah, that's cool man. He 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.880 was as a band. You've you've been through so much. 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:57.560 There was the robbery in South Carolina a decade ago. 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:00.280 I mean, it's it's hard to imagine even coming back 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:02.800 from that. What's been keeping you moving forward since then? 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:07.040 And you know now in in in Corona times, Um, 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:09.960 you know it's coming up on the tenth year anniversary 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:12.360 of the shooting. And for those out there who don't know, Um, 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:14.440 we were playing a club on a Monday night in 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:17.640 a little town called rock Hill, South Carolina. I think 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:20.800 we might have fifteen people at the show, maybe maybe twenty. 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:23.240 I don't know. I know we got paid like nothing 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:25.600 at night fifteen. I don't know what it was. But anyway, 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:27.880 we had an r V out back of the club 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:29.720 at the end of the night and Scott and I 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:31.520 are on the r V and Barry and Josh were 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:35.600 in the club packing up, and uh, some dudes, we had, 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.120 some dudes knocked on the door, came in with bandanas 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:40.720 and uh wanted one of our cash. And we didn't 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:42.520 really we didn't have any cash. We didn't make any 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:43.800 of that night, you know, but they thought we were 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:47.240 the you know, the big Rocks fan in the r Yeah, 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:52.559 in the r V, you know, like a r V um. 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:55.480 But yeah, they had guns. They had guns pointed at 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:58.599 me my head, demanded cash. And Scott um, he's a 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.120 concealed carrier. He was in the back of the r 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.120 V and he I was asking for help and so 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:07.600 he came back and engaged that they fired on fired 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:11.680 on us, demanding money. And Scott he had his he 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:14.520 had his handgun with him and he got the gunfight 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:16.320 right there in the r V, you know, five of 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:18.839 us in a little lounge, and uh, he got shot 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:23.000 three times, but he took he took out both the guys. 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:25.920 One guy's not here anymore, the other guys in prison. 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:29.800 But Scott was shot three times and almost died. He 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:34.200 had he hit us for more r so he bled out. Um. 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:37.040 Luckily there was a there was a police officer like 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:40.600 right beside the club at McDonald's, so he came. I 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:43.160 was able to get the ambulance there fast. But Scott 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:46.600 went in and the doctor told us he said, I 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:48.640 mean he he was just shaking his head like this. 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:51.040 He's like most people with this injury have a five 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:56.160 percent chance of living five percent. So uh, he had 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:59.480 to go in and he had like three life saving surgeries. 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:01.160 He was in the hospital for forty days, in a 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:05.760 coma for ten days. Uh. He had They had to 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:10.280 slice his foot open on his calf to drain the fluid. 0:15:10.480 --> 0:15:13.480 And that's his kick throwing pedal, so his leg wasn't working. 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:17.040 I mean, we went from dialysis, not he's going to 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:18.920 stay on the dialysis rest of his life, his foot 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:21.440 not amputating his leg. It was all this worst case 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:26.840 scenario stuff. And not only that, the other guys print 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.520 that the other guy that he shot was on the 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:32.760 same floor. So it's almost like we had our people there, 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:37.000 and once his people came up, it was just a mess, 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:42.920 you know. So luckily, somehow we pounded through it. Forty 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:46.520 days later, he came back to came back home. He 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:49.520 still had open wounds. We had to dress it became nurses, 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.360 he did. We did double physical therapy to kid him 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:54.720 out of there. It's like, I mean, we were a team. 0:15:54.720 --> 0:15:59.840 And and got home and and uh, about four months 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:02.800 or we came back out to Nashville and nobody really 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.000 knew how bad it was, but we were going to 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:07.280 get that record deal. And so we did a showcase 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:10.680 about four months later, and uh that the owner of 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:12.960 Broken Boat Records, like, he said, you boys passed the test, 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:17.880 I'm gonna sign you. So I mean, it's crazy, man. 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.560 And then, uh, you know, it's like this man, it's 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:22.160 up and down. It's always been up and down and 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.440 always gonna be up and down. But I think that 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:27.320 made us. That just locked us in forever. And we had, 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:29.640 you know, we had been a band that was two 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:32.040 thousand and ten. We had already been a band for 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:34.720 ten years at that point, still hadn't had a record deal, 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:37.600 still riding around doing clubs and didn't get shot in 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:42.720 the club. Yeah, but we had Nashville. That was kind 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.280 of promising that. Look, Nashville was on the horizon. We 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:47.120 knew we had to get back out to Nashville because 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:48.480 we could get us record deal. And if you could 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:50.240 get a record deal, we could change things, you know. 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:54.080 So yeah, I mean now to say that's ten years 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.000 or you know that was ten years ago, it was crazy. Man. 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:02.280 It's flies by. I mean, just in time when when 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:05.280 so many musicians are really scared just about you know, 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:07.200 how how are they gonna make it with without being 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.080 able tour and stuff. I mean, that's just thank you 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:12.400 for sharing that. Such an incredible story of just perseverance 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.320 and pressing on and and just following the music too. 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:17.320 And I think it's a good message to share at 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:19.520 times like this too, that you can endure and you 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:23.600 can survive. Absolutely, man, I think, Um, I don't know. 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:26.320 My dad always told us, he said, we sit, what 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:28.520 what do we do next? We never knew, we didn't 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:31.439 have anybody, didn't have anybody to say, well, this is 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:33.440 the game plan, this is the map you should take. 0:17:33.480 --> 0:17:35.360 He's I just keep on plug and keep on much 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:39.359 to us, So we just follow that motto. I guess 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:41.680 I was gonna say, I noticed that I knew a 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:43.480 new not not a face, but a new figure in 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:47.360 a lot of your press photos. Big Blue the pickup truck. Yeah, 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:51.119 oh yeah, dude. We we used to uh that's what 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:53.280 we drove to work in every day. We used to 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:55.119 work with my dad in the logging woods, cutting trees, 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:58.639 and uh that truck from the time we were We 0:17:58.680 --> 0:18:01.320 actually took that truck to our very first uh show 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.600 when we were like fourteen. Yeah, that was that was 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:07.640 the first uh, that was our vehicle, and every show 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:10.280 we ever played with him and his band, we loaded 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:11.919 a gear in the back of that truck. Was always 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:14.680 in the gig. And so when he passed in two 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:17.440 thousand six, we had the trucks sitting here, and sitting 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:19.000 here about a couple of years ago, we took it 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:22.320 into the restoration shop and it's being you know, we're 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:23.680 gonna get it back out on the road so we 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:25.240 can kind of ride in it again. Maybe take it 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:26.879 to a show. Oh yeah, I was gonna say, you 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:28.960 that should like that should be like your big like 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:33.240 grand arrival, like you know, a black and you got 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:37.560 that and maybe to see amazed. We'll take oh man, 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:43.160 drop us off. I mean not being able to perform 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:45.720 right now. I know it's got to be so tough, 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:48.040 but but how are you staying connected to the fans. 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:50.479 I've been watching the piano sessions and those have been 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.480 so great. Yeah, you know, actually we did. We played 0:18:53.520 --> 0:18:56.400 a couple of shows this week. It was yeah, we did. 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:58.919 We played some shows. We um, you know, we we 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:04.000 went and you know, everybody's distance. Everybody wears the masks 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:06.879 when we load in. Every crew guy wears masks when 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:09.639 you load in the other cruise wearing. They had you know, 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:12.840 stationed off places for people to sit. Everybody did good. 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:16.200 They stayed away. It was outdoors. Um, you know, everybody 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:19.960 kind of followed those social distancing rules and it went great. 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:21.639 You know, I mean meet and Greece can't really do 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:23.440 meet and greets, and it's a little strange, you know, 0:19:23.480 --> 0:19:26.119 when you get there, it's not the same camaraderie and 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:27.680 nobody can come up to the front of the stage. 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:30.840 Everybody's way. But the second show we played was the coolest. 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.120 We did a a private show on a boat dock 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:38.440