WEBVTT - Getting Injured on Stage 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:19.120 Hey guys, it's Granger Smith. This is the Granger Smith Podcast, 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:23.200 Episode four. I wanted to change pace a little bit today. 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:26.200 I wanted to give you a different perspective, something that 0:00:26.239 --> 0:00:31.600 I'm deathly afraid of on the road. What could that be? Here? 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:36.960 It is on episode four. Today brings me to the 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:43.120 Missouri State Fair. We're in Sedalia, Missouri. Beautiful, warm blue 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:46.160 sky day here in Missouri. This fair has been around 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:49.360 since nineteen oh one, and so it's got a lot 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:52.960 of traditions. It's got a huge grandstand, Old school Fair. 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:56.080 Should be a really good day and a really good concert. 0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:58.400 Chris Lane is playing the show with us tonight. Love 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:00.600 Chris Lane and his band and crewer. We get along 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:03.480 really well, and so that just about sets the scene. Here. 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:05.960 I am the back of my bus Wildflower, looking out 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:10.440 the window doing another podcast, and this one is going 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:14.000 to be interesting, a fun one. This is my greatest 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:19.480 fear on the road. It's something I'll do whatever I 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:23.720 can to avoid it. It is the one thing that 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:26.560 could completely shut me down. It's the one thing that 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.560 stops me from playing a show. It's happened to me 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:33.440 a few times. I'll tell those stories. It's getting injured 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:37.319 on episode four. I want to give a shout out 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:41.759 to State Fair Community College Roadrunners. It's a baseball team, 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:45.600 really good guys. I met them this morning at the gym. 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:49.320 We got to work out together. There's about four or 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:54.120 five six of us that work out every single day religiously. 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:58.120 It's very important to me. Eating right on the road, 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:01.640 staying in shape. These are all things that are very 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:06.040 important to me because they affect my ability to be 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:10.120 on my a game, to work my best on stage, 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:12.919 to have the best brain power, to write songs during 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:15.960 the day. I write songs only on tour on the road, 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:19.000 and I can't waste any of those days because I'm 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:22.280 too tired or too sore, or sick or have strep 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:25.600 throat or allergies. I need to do everything I can 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:30.200 to avoid all those problems. I can't afford to not 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:33.519 be at my best every day. Right, I only have 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:38.680 a decade left MAX of touring, I hope if I'm 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:42.399 lucky and I need to, I need to use those 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:45.880 ten years to the very best of my ability. Not 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:48.639 I was sick most of my music career, or I'd 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.920 struggled with allergies every day, or I was constantly sore, 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:57.400 So how could I prevent those things from happening? Well, 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.960 it's having some kind of regiment, kind of routine on 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:03.840 the road, and it's definitely not sleeping. I don't get 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.120 much of that. I get five or six hours, and 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:08.720 out of those five or six hours, I'm tossing and turning, 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:11.920 bouncing down the interstate going eighty miles an hour. So 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:16.120 why am I so fearful of these things? Why am 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:19.080 I so mindful of these things? Because I've been on 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:23.200 the downside of it, yes, many times, or at least 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:26.760 a handful of times. So let me talk about that. 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:37.000 We'll just finished soundcheck here at the Missouri State Fair, 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:41.120 and the stage is positioned facing the grand stand, and 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:44.880 the grandstand is for a dirt track, so the stage 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:47.400 is right behind the track and that's where the people 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:49.400 stand on the track. We play a lot of dirt 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:53.520 track shows that are dog racing, horse racing, car racing 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:57.000 as today, but it's fun. Can you imagine a better 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:59.480 place for country music than a hundred year old fair 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:04.240 with a band playing over a dirt track into the grandstands. 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:09.520 That's country and country music has definitely gotten the best 0:04:09.560 --> 0:04:12.600 of me. A few times, and that's when I've gotten 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:16.040 hurt on the stage. And it sounds crazy, but it's 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.200 starting to add up for me, and these stories are 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:22.200 worth telling. They were horrible, all of them at the time, 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:26.760 but they make really good podcast material. The first time 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:31.440 this happened was in twenty thirteen College Station Texas a 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:35.359 venue called Hurricane Harry's let me set the scene for you. 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:46.400 Anytime we go back to play College Station Texas, it's 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:49.000 like a hometown show for me. So I feel like 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:51.080 I got to be at my best, better than my best. 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:53.159 I feel like I have to convince all these people, 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:56.480 look how far I've come, You're not going to believe 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:59.120 the kind of show I could do now. So I'm 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:04.200 over the top, super dynamic, over engaging. I want to 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:09.520 put on the best show I can. One of the 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:11.480 reasons I remember that night is because that was the 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.200 first time I met Johnny Manziel remember him for the 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.400 redshirt freshman Johnny Manziel Manzell trying to spit out of 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:21.600 traffic there nearly caught from behind, makes the bow a 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:24.800 highlight kind of touchdown. So he's standing side stage watching 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:28.080 the show along with several other of the football players 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:30.960 and as if I needed any more reason to go 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:34.400 all out, there's that. So it's a great turnout. The 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:37.440 crowd is rocking. At the very end of the show, 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:41.359 I come out as Earl Dibbles Junior. If you haven't 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.279 seen that or don't know about that, that's another episode, 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:48.279 another podcast for another time, but it's essentially the encore 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:52.159 of the show. I come out overalls on. It's the 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:57.760 ultra redneck Earl Dibbles Junior. He plays the song at 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:00.880 the very end, I feel like I need to get 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:05.520 down off the stage and give some high fives, shake 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:07.920 some hands. I mean, the people are crazy and I 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:10.680 want to I want to get down amongst them and 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:13.720 fill that energy. So I jump off the stage. I 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.479 start on the right, work, I work down left. I'm 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:19.520 slapping hands, you know, fist bump and feeling like a 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:22.200 rock star. And when I get to the end, I 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:24.480 need to make a left turn and there's some stairs 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.040 there right via our monitor console. I need to go 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:30.720 up those stairs and go back and finish the last 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.120 little piece of the song. So when I get to 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.880 the stairs, I give my last little fist bump on 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:39.360 the right and I take a left and I'm sprinting 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:41.640 up these stairs, and without looking, I don't notice if 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:45.040 there is a speaker hanging low, a giant speaker. It's 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:48.600 one of the main speakers of the PA. All I 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:52.240 really know after that is I hit that speaker right 0:06:52.480 --> 0:06:56.560 dead center my forehead and it felt like I got 0:06:56.600 --> 0:07:00.560 hit by a truck, which is probably similar impact. But 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:02.680 you know, you get that, you know when you hit 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:05.919 your head so hard and you taste metallic in your mouth. 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:09.920 So I get that weird metallic taste. And of course 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:13.440 I'm seeing stars and dizzy and a little bit a 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:17.640 little bit lightheaded. But all that being said, I've got 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.080 a show to play. The crowd's still amped up, so 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.320 I shake it off. I'm not one to get embarrassed 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:26.360 that easy, so I go back like it's, you know, 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:30.080 no big deal. But as I run to the center 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:33.040 of the stage and turn to face the crowd, instead 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:35.440 of being all jazzed up and excited like they have been, 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:38.960 now there's a different look amongst the crowd, and it's 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:45.120 this look of horror. There's wide eyes, jaws dropped, and 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:49.160 I'm like, man, what is going on? What happened to 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:52.680 change the crowd so drastically and that's when I started 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:57.880 filling drips down the tip of my nose, down, off 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:00.480 my mouth, off my chin, and it's blood. I'm just 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:07.440 gushing blood. My face is completely covered in blood. I 0:08:08.080 --> 0:08:11.280 hit ripped a gash in my forehead. I hit the 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:14.040 speaker right on the edge of it, on the corner 0:08:14.120 --> 0:08:19.720 that the sharp edge of it, and it just blunt trauma, 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.480 split open the skin on the on the front of 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:26.080 my forehead. And you know, your forehead bleeds like crazy 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:29.880 when you cut it, so it was just uncontrollable blood. 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.160 I look over to the right and there's Johnny Manzel 0:08:33.240 --> 0:08:36.920 and my brother and my sound engineer, and all of 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:40.600 them are saying they're holding towels right, and they're saying, 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:45.360 come on, get off the stage. Quit playing. So I, 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:49.040 you know, put my hand in the air, do a 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:52.559 little bow. Make sure that I got a picture of that, 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:55.240 which I do. I love the picture that I got 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:58.480 from that moment. And then I ran off the stage. 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:02.000 I remember asking some of the players, I said, you 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:04.640 guys are football players, I'm sure you'd deal with this 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:08.400 all the time, and they were like, not like that, man, 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:11.840 your head is ripped open. I mean it was about 0:09:11.840 --> 0:09:17.480 a four inch wide at about half an inch a 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:22.920 width of just open flesh on my forehead. What's crazy 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:26.240 is there happened to be an EMT in the crowd, 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:32.640 and he had the foresight to make it backstage and 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.400 get into the green room where I was, and he 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:38.240 had he had a little kit with him and he 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:41.600 had some butterfly bandages, which is exactly what I need 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:44.640 because a normal band aid wouldn't hold that skin together. 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:48.080 So we cleaned it up, put some alcohol on it, 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:52.720 and then he used those butterfly bandages on the top 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:56.240 and the bottom to hold it down. And I hate 0:09:56.280 --> 0:10:01.120 going to the emergency room, mostly because it it's so expensive. 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:03.800 You know, for no reason, they're just going to do 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:05.920 a little work on you, give you a few pain pills, 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.600 and then charge at four thousand dollars whatever they do. 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:14.040 But everyone said, man, you gotta go get stitches. So 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:18.920 I kept those bandages on. I went back down to 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:25.199 the merchandise table, did my meet and greet autographs, met 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.960 the people that wanted to hang out that night. So 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:31.040 after about an hour, my brother and I headed to 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:35.200 the emergency room and they put in eight stitches. The 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:37.360 best part of the story is I didn't miss a show. 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:40.760 I didn't even miss that show. I just had to 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:43.440 leave a little bit earlier than I wanted to. And 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:45.320 it gives a story to tell, and it was a 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:47.880 really cool picture that I have on my phone. It 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:51.200 probably scared a few people in the crowd, and ultimately 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.360 I learned a good lesson. And to this day, when 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:57.800 I'm running on the stage, especially upstairs, I always look 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:01.360 up and make sure there's no speaker's at forehead level. 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:08.560 You know, I do this podcast whether I had a 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:10.800 sponsor or not, and maybe one day I will, but 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:13.960 right now I have an unofficial official sponsor, and that's 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:18.120 EEE Energy. Another reason they're my sponsors because it's my drink. 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:21.880 Me and my brothers, Parker and Tyler created this drink 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:26.160 about two years ago, and I love it. We went 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:29.160 through every recipe, we did all the taste testing to 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.280 make it exactly like we wanted it. We did all 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:35.120 the design, all the graphics to make a drink that 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:39.000 really represented us and our fans. Now right now, we're 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:42.400 in a lot of small businesses around the country. A 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:46.000 lot of them are gun stores, outdoor shops, sporting goods stores, 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:49.000 and a lot of them are family run small businesses, 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:53.080 which really helped support our American made mentality, which you 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:55.720 know we're all about that. So if somebody's selling Eeee 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:57.840 Energy in your town, go help them out, Go help 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:00.880 us out. Go Toyee Energy dot com for more details. 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:03.640 Back here at the Missouri State Fair, I just talked 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:06.080 to Chris Lane, who's playing the show with us tonight, 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:08.400 and I'm gonna bring him on stage later. And guess 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:15.440 what song we just talked about singing together? Oh, an 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:19.959 old nineties classic, my good old Sammy Kershaw Sheeto, No, 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:29.920 She's beautiful, Sun No, She's beautiful, sheet No, She's beautiful. 0:12:31.000 --> 0:12:35.440 Little time and time after So after these stitches in 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:39.200 College Station, Texas injury, it took me less than a 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.760 year before I was hurt again. This time was a 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.920 lot worse. This time I actually had to miss some shows. 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:53.319 Here's what happened September fifth, twenty thirteen. I remember the 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:55.640 day partly because it was the day after my birthday, 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:59.640 and partly because it was one of the stupidest things 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:05.439 I've done in my music career. We were in Illinois 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:10.360 on tour and we were parked before a show. My 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:13.040 sound guy Blake was having girl problems at the time, 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:15.160 and he was just in he was in a bad mood. 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.080 He was shuffling around, he was mumbling to himself, and 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.080 that kind of thing is contagious. So I'm trying to 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:23.440 lighten the mood. And I say, Blake, if you don't 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.520 get in a better mood quick, and I'm gonna tie 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.120 you up with tape and throw you in the trailer 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:32.120 so no one has to deal with you. So he 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:35.640 mumbles a few things under his breath, and I'm trying 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.880 to be funny, and so I storm off the bus, 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.080 I go to the trailer, I get a big roll 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.960 of tape, start stringing it out, come back on the 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.320 bus and I'm, you know, unwrapping this roll of tape, 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:51.040 and Blake is mad, he's mad at me, and I'm 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:53.760 laughing and I and everyone else is there, the rest 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:55.160 of the band, and so I'm, you know, trying to 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:56.960 get a few giggles, trying to get a few laughs. 0:13:57.480 --> 0:13:59.760 And I blew up this tape and I'm I'm going 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:03.400 for I'm I'm gonna start wrapping him up and he 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:08.360 slaps my hands down, jumps on my back. Now, this 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:11.640 dude's from East Texas, right, he's pretty scrappy. He jumps 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:15.520 on my back and immediately puts me in a choke hold. Well, 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:20.440 this goes from this is really funny to oh shit, 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:23.840 I can I'm not gonna let this guy choke me 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:26.360 out because he's he's trying to choke me out. He 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:28.600 wants me to pass out on the floor of the bus, 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.040 and I'm thinking, hell no, He's not gonna make me 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:35.480 pass out in embarrassment in front of my band. So 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.840 I'm fighting back and I'm I'm all coiled up, and 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:43.360 so he has to squeeze tighter and tighter until finally 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.360 I get him off of me and we go face 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:49.280 to face. Right but when we go face to face, 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:54.160 at that time, I realized something really wrong happened to 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:58.080 my throat. The way that he didn't have me in 0:14:58.120 --> 0:15:01.800 a headlock in his elb, in his bicep. He had 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.480 it right on his forearm. And he looked at me 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:07.800 and he said, you out of breath, And I said no, 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:12.400 But when I said no, it came out no. I 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:15.800 had no voice, and I was trying to play it off, 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:18.040 but I knew something was really wrong with my throat. 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:21.360 And as the day goes on, my neck is swelling 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:24.120 on the inside. I could feel it, and I could 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:28.120 still moderately talk, and I could still sing in lower tones, 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:32.160 but I had no upper register at all. So I 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:35.520 go ahead and play the show, and I avoided any 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:38.040 kind of high choruses. I kind of just sang the 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:41.320 lower parts of every song and got through it, and 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.480 I went to sleep that night. The bus fires up. 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:48.720 We rolled to Chicago, Illinois. I wake up in Chicago, 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:53.960 normal day, parked outside of the venue about seven am. 0:15:54.600 --> 0:15:59.240 Opened my eyes and I talk and nothing comes out. 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:03.160 I have zero voice. Nothing a little bit of gravel, 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:06.680 a little bit of whisper, but nothing audible. No words 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.360 are capable of coming out of my mouth. And I've 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.960 never experienced losing a voice before. I've never even had laryngitis. 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:17.600 So I'm freaking out. I'm like Superman with Kryptonite all 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:20.840 over him. I can't fight. I have no power. The 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.600 only thing I have on tour is my voice, and 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:28.280 it's gone. I text my tour manager, Chris, I said, hey, 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.960 we have a big problem. I don't have a voice, 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:35.920 and he doesn't understand. Nobody could really understand that there's 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:39.720 gonna be no show tonight. In Chicago. We've never played 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:43.960 Chicago yet and we're gonna have to cancel, and they 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:47.720 think you have some coffee relax. We have what eight 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:50.520 hours before we need to play a show. It'll be 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:55.240 back and I'm thinking, somebody call it doctor. I can't talk. 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:12.600 Made an appointment with a ear nose and throat doctor 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:16.639 in Chicago. She sticks this camera down the back of 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:20.280 my throat to check out my vocal cords. Come to 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.639 find out, I have a burst blood vessel on my 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:29.880 vocal cord. This happened during the choking. So there's absolutely 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:33.880 nothing I could do about it besides rest. And that's 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:35.840 really tough on me because I'm the kind of guy 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:38.880 that you give me some kind of rehab program, give 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:41.560 me some kind of stretching exercise, give me a new 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:45.600 diet plan, and let me fix this. So hearing that 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:49.000 there's absolutely nothing I could do but rest is the 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:52.440 worst news for me, because a we need to call 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:55.480 the venue and cancel the show tonight in Chicago with 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.320 people that I've never even met before, and then we 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:01.480 need to cancel tomorrow in Louisville, we need to cancel 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:05.240 the next day. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, et cetera, et cetera. 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:07.560 There's two weeks of tours when we're supposed to play 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:11.119 every day. I have to go back to Texas and rest. 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:16.200 This is the lowest moment of my career at the time. 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:20.879 Keep in mind, I have I've never played any of 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.720 these cities at the time. So these aren't fans that 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:26.920 are you know that we've grown the market for years 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:29.520 and years and they love me and they're used to me. 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:32.840 These are brand new fans that don't know anything about me. 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.320 They're taking a chance by buying a ticket. A lot 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:38.920 of these shows were either sold out or almost sold out, 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:41.800 and so we've got to refund all these tickets and 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:45.399 I have to rebuild trust with these people. This is 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:50.200 driving me crazy. It's really hard on me. I needed 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.439 to wait about six weeks for the vocal Cords to 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:57.439 completely heal. I took a chance. I wanted it to 0:18:57.480 --> 0:19:02.479 be well in six days. That's me and I was 0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:05.679 being realistic too. I was doing a lot of research. 0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:10.240 I revisited a doctor back in Texas and I needed 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:12.080 to I needed to be back up and running in 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:14.200 six days because I needed to play a show in Texas. 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:18.800 So after a few days I started doing these vocal exercises. 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:23.280 I learned a lot about warming up the vocals. I 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:26.480 did play that show in Texas just saying kind of 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:30.439 lower register stuff. I never pushed anything. I limited my 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:34.600 talking during the day. And you know, what started as 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:38.880 the lowest moment of my musical career ended up being 0:19:38.920 --> 0:19:41.879 something that I learned a lot from. I still remember 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:44.800 it like it was yesterday. I still do everything I 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:49.800 can to avoid injuries and not having my voice warmed up. 0:19:51.040 --> 0:19:53.840 And then you ask, well, what happened to Blake. Blake 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:56.959 is actually still with me, and I don't blame him 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:00.240 at all because I went and got tape. I was 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:02.000 gonna tape him up and hang him up in the trailer. 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:04.159 I mean, people are like, how did you let an 0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:07.679 employee of yours do that to you. I'm a brother, 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:11.800 I have two brothers. I definitely egged him on, and 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:14.040 so it's my fault. I take the blame for it. 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:17.600 I learned a lot from it. But unfortunately, that wasn't 0:20:18.080 --> 0:20:20.360 the worst injury yet, and that wasn't the last time 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:22.760 I had to cancel shows. I'll tell you about that. 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:27.679 I am the midnight I'm the only heart throw them 0:20:27.720 --> 0:20:30.920 on the surgeon souls. I am the ways he said, 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:34.359 up you drink insteatic going home. I'm win to the 0:20:34.520 --> 0:20:38.480 other stock. I'm win the dreamer's drag. I am a 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:42.520 little bit of home. When you need another day well 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:49.840 to night, it's a matter time. I am the midnight. 0:20:52.359 --> 0:20:55.919 That's been a interesting day in Missouri so far. We 0:20:55.960 --> 0:21:00.399 had a production meeting with the abandoned crew and something 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:10.000 that never happens happened. My seven year veteran monitor engineer, 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:17.520 Frank resigned today. I know it's crazy. I'm still kind 0:21:17.520 --> 0:21:22.280 of soaking it in, but you know, the road being 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:26.880 on tour. I don't want to compare it to deployed 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:31.280 soldiers because it's we're much less noble of a cause 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:34.840 than that. But essentially, we're gone so much from a 0:21:34.920 --> 0:21:39.880 regular life that sometimes you lose who you are. And 0:21:39.920 --> 0:21:42.560 Frank kind of poured out his heart. He stood up 0:21:42.600 --> 0:21:46.040 and he has You know, I love Frank. I've known 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.040 him for a long time. I consider him a huge friend, 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:52.440 and he has a lot of character to be able 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:54.840 to stand up in front of all of us and say, guys, 0:21:55.560 --> 0:21:57.800 this job isn't for me anymore. I need to be home. 0:21:57.880 --> 0:22:01.280 I need to find myself. I need to find what 0:22:01.440 --> 0:22:05.159 makes me happy again, because the road man, it's a 0:22:05.480 --> 0:22:08.800 it's a bitch, could it could. The monotony could kill 0:22:08.840 --> 0:22:14.440 you if you're not careful. It's an evil sorcery. We're 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:17.720 we're very, very blessed to do what we do, but 0:22:17.800 --> 0:22:21.399 if you get sucked into that monotony, it's quicksand to 0:22:21.440 --> 0:22:24.280 put it in perspective. Right now, recording this podcast is 0:22:24.320 --> 0:22:28.119 mid August. The buses have not been home since March. 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:32.960 That's six months gone. And I care. I told Frank, 0:22:33.040 --> 0:22:36.600 I care more about him being happy then I care 0:22:36.640 --> 0:22:40.439 about him being my monitor engineer. And I really really 0:22:40.480 --> 0:22:42.840 want him to be my monitor engineer. If that makes 0:22:42.840 --> 0:22:51.199 sense anyway, That's our life and we'll move on and 0:22:51.240 --> 0:22:56.160 Frank will move on and we will remain friends. Frank 0:22:56.200 --> 0:22:58.879 has been there for me a lot in every show, 0:22:59.160 --> 0:23:02.520 and he was a part of this next story. Actually, 0:23:02.600 --> 0:23:08.280 he was a part of Waco Texas twenty fifteen and 0:23:08.320 --> 0:23:26.320 I completely dislocated my shoulder on stage. So let me 0:23:26.359 --> 0:23:29.680 set the stage. It's the Heart of Texas Fair, Waco, Texas, 0:23:29.760 --> 0:23:32.800 and it's the very end of the show, exactly like 0:23:32.840 --> 0:23:38.280 the scenario of the forehead stitches in college station. I'm 0:23:38.320 --> 0:23:43.840 out slapping hands in high five and fist bumping, doing 0:23:43.880 --> 0:23:47.480 some autographs to the front row. There's a group of 0:23:47.520 --> 0:23:50.120 really crazy fans over to me on my stage left 0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:52.800 and I'm trying to get to them, and this guy 0:23:52.840 --> 0:23:55.280 has this hat that he wants me to autograph. He's 0:23:55.280 --> 0:23:58.720 holding a sharpie pin and a hat. And I remember 0:23:58.760 --> 0:24:00.280 this guy because I've been watching him for an hour 0:24:00.320 --> 0:24:02.720 and a half. He's a great fan. I need to 0:24:02.720 --> 0:24:05.200 get to him. He's just a little bit out of 0:24:04.920 --> 0:24:09.160 arms reach, and so I step out onto this speaker 0:24:10.680 --> 0:24:13.360 and I reach for him. As I'm reaching, the speaker 0:24:13.800 --> 0:24:18.480 starts wobbling, and I think, oh, this is gonna tumble 0:24:18.960 --> 0:24:21.359 and I'm gonna drop this whole speaker into the crowd, 0:24:21.359 --> 0:24:26.400 and I'm going with it, so instinctively, I reach back 0:24:26.440 --> 0:24:29.080 with my left hand and I grabbed the stage truss 0:24:30.560 --> 0:24:34.880 and the speaker goes forward. I gripped the stage trust 0:24:35.080 --> 0:24:39.159 to support myself and I stopped myself, but it ripped 0:24:39.160 --> 0:24:42.520 my shoulder out of socket, and you know, you know 0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:44.520 when you dis look at your shoulder and the entire 0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:48.600 ball comes out of the socket and it's just this 0:24:48.680 --> 0:24:52.800 horrible deformity on your shoulder, and it hurts like hell. 0:24:53.920 --> 0:24:55.879 I don't think anybody noticed. I don't think the crowd 0:24:55.880 --> 0:24:57.879 noticed it all. And I turned to walk off the 0:24:57.880 --> 0:24:59.920 stage and there's Chris Lee and my tour manager, and 0:25:00.400 --> 0:25:02.760 he's like, hey, you know, great show. He has no idea, 0:25:02.880 --> 0:25:05.800 and I go, Dude, my shoulder and he looks over 0:25:05.840 --> 0:25:09.200 and he goes, whoa, I go, you got to help 0:25:09.200 --> 0:25:11.639