WEBVTT - ITS Home Edition: Jimmie Allen 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:04.920 Welcome to Inside the Studio presented by I Heart Radio. 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:13.080 I'm your host joe Leevie So the guest on this 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:15.960 episode of the home edition of the show, Jimmy Allen 0:00:16.360 --> 0:00:18.599 says that one of the hardest things about life and 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:21.680 quarantine is being in the same place for more than 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:24.160 a couple of days at a time. And I think 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.640 even those of us who are not touring country musicians 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:32.960 probably know exactly what he means. But Jimmy also says 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:36.280 there's a sense in which quarantine was a blessing in 0:00:36.320 --> 0:00:40.640 disguise because when things slowed down, he was able to 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:44.800 land a pretty remarkable set of guests for his new EP, 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:48.600 which is called Betty James, and those guests include people 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:52.280 like Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and on a track called 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:56.080 Why Things Happened, both Darius Rutger and Charlie Pride. We 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:58.480 started the home edition of the show to let you 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:01.840 know how these times were impacting the way that artists 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:05.480 make music and how they're coping with life in lockdown, 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.080 and Jimmy shares some personal lessons that he's learned along 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:11.880 the way that they are really moving. So if you 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:14.399 enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to the I 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:19.360 Heart Radio podcast hosted by our QUARANTINEAM correspondent Jordan run Talk. 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:25.280 It's called Rivals, Music's Greatest Feuds, and it's available wherever 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:34.720 you get your podcasts. Hello, everybody, my name is Jordan 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:37.640 run Talk. But enough about me. My guest today is 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:40.560 one of my favorite country music success stories. He went 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:43.280 from working three jobs and sleeping in his car to 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:45.400 earning a pair of back to back number one's on 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.320 the country airplay charts, Best Shot and Make Me Want To. 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:51.680 Now He's assembled an artistic dream team for his new EP, 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:55.480 Betty James. The seven track collaborative collection feature songs with 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:59.320 Brad Paisley, Tim mcgrawl, Charlie Pride, the oak Ridge Boys, 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:02.240 Darius Run. The list just goes on and on. We're 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:05.600 gonna talk all about that, his life in Quarantine and uh, 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:07.640 I'll probably slip at Disney World question in there to 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.000 what the hell? Jimmy Allen, Thank you so much for 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:12.800 taking the time. It's a real pleasure. Oh man, no problem. 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:17.120 Thanks for letting me do this. I'm glad, I'm I'm 0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:19.520 I'm worth a little something that people want to spend 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:22.079 time talking to me. Oh man, absolutely, I got I 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:23.639 got so many questions for you. I want to talk 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:27.200 about life and quarantine, probably slip at Disney World question 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.919 in there too, you never know. But but this EP 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:35.919 is incredible. Betty James, You've got You've got everybody on there. 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:37.960 You've got Brad Paisley, You've got Tim mcgrawl, You've got 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:40.200 Charlie Pride, you got the oak Ridge Boys, Darius record, 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.440 the list just goes on and on. This is gonna 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:44.720 be like a childhood dream for you come true, right man, 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:46.840 It is a childhood dream. I remember being a kid 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:51.320 wanting to do a song with Charlie and Darius together, 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:55.239 you know, because at the time, you know, Darius Darius 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:57.520 was the lead singer the one of the biggest rap 0:02:57.560 --> 0:02:59.799 bands of all time. But yeah, man, it was it 0:02:59.880 --> 0:03:02.600 was dream come true man. And for me, it was 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:06.040 just crazy that these artists would even want to, you know, 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:09.399 waste their time, not waste their time, but take their 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.040 time to do something with me. You know, really you're 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.720 surprised by that, yeah, man, Like I only got two 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:19.239 singles on out, you know, I had my little project out, 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:23.760 but these these these artists are legends, you know, and 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:26.880 oh't no, man, it was just it was It was 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:29.400 a wild moment for sure. It was a definitely a 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.239 I can't believe this is happening sort of thing. Oh man, Now, 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:35.640 what was the process like recording this? I imagine they 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:38.280 did their vocals separately in isolation and then and then 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.640 sent them over or Yeah, so me and uh Nelly 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:44.320 were acts in the same place because we wrote it 0:03:44.360 --> 0:03:48.840 before quarantine. Uh. And then Mickey Guidon recorded her vocals 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:57.120 before Quarantine, and then Darius oak Ridge boys, you know, Rita, Wilson, 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:03.000 turn Wells, Brad m All did their vocals doing Quarantine. 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.080 So Quarantine was kind of like a blessing in disguise, 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:07.680 because I don't know if I could attract all these 0:04:07.680 --> 0:04:11.000 people down if they were they were still torn. I'm 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:13.360 bummed for your sake because you're doing an album of 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.000 duets with some of your heroes. I wish you were 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:16.719 able to like be next to him in the studio 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:19.880 and no, we want to get some behind the scenes footage. 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.200 One day. We'll probably go back in and like fake 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.200 do some stuff, you know, so we could just have it. 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:27.720 I think it'd be cool. And I got some footage 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:30.520 of me Brad and Tim and Darius weird Brad's house, 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:32.880 like just playing around on the guitars and stuff like that. 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.960 So I'm sure we can incorporate that somehow. Oh man, 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.200 I would love to see that. I mean, Nashville is 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.240 such a collaborative place. What made you decide to go 0:04:40.320 --> 0:04:43.080 big and make the whole ep of collaborative effort? So 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.839 I plan a lot of things out and my plan 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.520 from day one was, Okay, I want to get best 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.720 Shot the number one, and then I want to put 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:58.680 out my first album with no features at all, just 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:02.160 to there's just something I just wanted to do when 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:03.680 I said my second and I said, I want to 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:07.920 do an album EP album EP, and EP could be 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.960 whether it's three songs or five or six or whatever. 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:13.799 But I wanted my first thing to be a collaborate 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:17.359 because I actually got a song with Wide Cleft I recorded, 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:19.200 but there's a bunch of stuff that we couldn't get 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:21.560 done in time to get on the project. So I'm 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:23.640 still sitting on that Wild Cleft song. So hopefully one 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:25.600 day we can we can we can get we can 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:27.039 get that out there. But it's just something I wanted 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:31.280 to do because collaboration happens all through the music process, 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:33.880 and it normally stops when it gets to the artist. 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.360 Because you figured when you write the song, most songs 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:38.800 are ninety percent of songs are co written. You know, 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:41.360 you got producers, you got players, You've got so many 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.800 people that collaborate to make the project what it is. 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.040 I said, let's just take it all the way to 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.360 the delivery, to where you have different artists come in 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:52.240 and and and uh and sing it, to where the 0:05:52.279 --> 0:05:55.359 packets to finished package start to finish. Is just a 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:58.159 full collaboration with people. Now, when you wrote some of 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:01.000 these songs, did you have the collaboratives in mind when 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:02.280 you were working on them or did you kind of 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:04.480 almost cast it later like you cast a movie. I 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:06.960 kind of cast it later, you know, like me and 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:10.440 Nelly and my buddy Zack Cale wrote Good Times Roll Together. 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:13.080 But the rest of the songs, after I got them, 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:15.000 there's a few that would pitched to me, and the 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:17.160 other ones I wrote, I just little it for a while, 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:20.599 and I started hearing a different artist's voice on the song. 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:25.960 And I remember the woman Darius and Charlie. I actually 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.240 pitched another song first to Darius and he was like, 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:30.920 I love this song, but I don't know if our 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:33.480 first song out should be a drinking song. You know. 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:35.880 He was like I wanted to, you know, he said, 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:39.320 because it's a it's a moment in history because I 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:44.080 think me and Mickey were the first ever recorded country 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.599 duo with two black country artists, and I think me, 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:50.760 Charlie and Darius were the first ever trio with three 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:52.880 black country artists. So he was like, we need to 0:06:52.920 --> 0:06:57.200 say something. So I wrote Why Things Happened with my 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:00.960 bass player Tate, Carrie Barlow and Brandon Day the day 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:08.120 after Kobe died um And then we we're in Amsterdam 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.239 and March playing a show with Darius and in Berlin, 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.680 and I played on Why Things Happened and he was like, 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:17.920 that's the song. I mean, it's an incredible So you 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:20.720 got three generations in there, and it's hard to write 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:23.400 a song that works for you know, that transcends anything, 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:26.560 But to work on three different generations of artists, that's 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.640 that's really something special. Man, It's crazy. I still can't 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:31.600 believe it happened. I can't believe I got all these 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:33.960 artists to say yes and then do it, you know, 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:36.560 because getting somebody to say yes and getting them to 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.400 do it are two completely different things, you know what 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:41.720 I mean? How mean how many times you didn't tell 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:43.560 people yes and you ain't do it? Like, man, you're 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:46.560 gonna come over with barbecue? Yeah? Man, yeah, man, when 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:50.720 are you coming about that? I'll be there later, be 0:07:50.760 --> 0:07:53.040 there later. Oh you see me? Oh he stopped. I 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.080 didn't see me, and I stopped by. I didn't know 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:57.120 what the park and it was crazy, you know what, 0:07:57.800 --> 0:07:59.960 David's crying of dogs and crying. I had to get home. 0:08:00.440 --> 0:08:03.320 Oh man. I mean, I'm so glad for for all 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:05.480 of our sakes, they all said yes because the results 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:08.720 are amazing. I mean, I gotta ask Charlie Pride, what 0:08:08.760 --> 0:08:10.400 was it like working with him? And what does he 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:12.240 mean to you? Just as like as as a when 0:08:12.280 --> 0:08:13.840 you were a younger artist, Like did you look up 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:17.560 to him in a major way? Yeah? Man, Charlie, did 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:19.200 you figure out? I remember being a kid with my 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:22.080 grandmom and my dad listening to Charlie Pride, and you know, 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.320 when he first came out, it was like the sixties 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.559 in seventies, and you know, this guy is a black 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:32.400 guy getting number ones in country music while black people 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:35.599 were still getting hosed down in the streets. You know 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:40.040 what I mean, Mike, what what this guy did you know? 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:44.560 For not only for country music, but also artists that 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:48.240 looks like me. Man, he really showed that if he 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:53.560 could make this happen, then yes, they're still obstacles and 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:56.920 stuff that you have to overcome. Uh, but if he 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:59.720 can do it, man, there's no excuse for us to quit. 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:03.560 There's no excuse. Man. You mentioned your grandmother and your 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:06.360 father talk about the the name of the album, Betty James. 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:09.760 I know it's named for two big influences on your life. Yeah. Yeah, 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:14.040 So my grandmom died in thousand fourteen and my dad 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:18.960 died September of twenty nineteen. And you know, growing up 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:21.880 with my pops, man all he listens to his country music, 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:24.800 he was he was a redneck, for sure. I finally 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:29.640 accepted the fact that my dad was red neck. Uh, 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:34.880 you know. And my grandmom, you know, quiet church going lady. Um. 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.640 My dad always talking to take risk, to be yourself 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:39.800 or take risk. My grandma always talking to be patient. 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:42.320 You know. So I wanted to start to leave a 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.280 trail of their legacy through my music. You know, it's 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:48.960 super important to me because when I create music, I 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:51.240 don't I don't think in my head this is the 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:55.319 number one song people are like it. I create for me, 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:58.040 you know what I love, like what's special to me, 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:01.400 because at the end of the day, I feel like 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:05.040 that's what makes music special. You know, you create what 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:07.680 what matters to you, and then along the way you 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:11.520 find people who are like minded and lighthearted and and 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:16.920 that's what the connection is, you know. Um So I 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:21.160 wanted to take risk and do this collaboration project, even 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:22.640 though it's a bunch of people told me, oh, it's 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.559 too soon, you won't be able to get no artists 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:29.640 on it and not but I had to take a risk, 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:32.240 but at the same time still be patient and writing 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:35.600 the songs and finding the right artists for those songs. 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:38.320 I mean, I'm sure this EP took care of most 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:40.680 of your bucket list collaborations, but is there anyone else 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:42.520 left out there that that you still want to do 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:44.319 a song with? Me? Know you mentioned Sia Twain in 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:53.280 the past. Yeah, Snia Twain, Reba, Rob Thomas del Huge, 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.120 Matchbox Twin Fan. I'm actually I'm actually writing Robbing a 0:10:56.160 --> 0:11:00.600 couple of days. Who else Uh, right and tether from 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:03.840 one Republic. Man, that's a lot. Man. I want to 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:08.760 do something with Keith uh Love Brother's Osborne. Just there's 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:11.440 so many, man, so many people that I want to 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:13.760 work with that I'm gonna try to make it happen. 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:15.280 I want to do I know this is crazy and 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:17.320 it might never happen, but I want to get jay 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:19.599 Z on the song. I want to get Usher on 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:23.079 the song. You know, just so many people. Oh man, 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:25.400 you mentioned having a session with Rob Thomas in a 0:11:25.440 --> 0:11:29.439 couple of days. Are you feeling productive in Quarantine? Yeah? Man, 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:31.560 I've actually had time to work on a lot of 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.520 my side projects. Like I signed a book deal, working 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:38.319 on a kid's book right now. Uh. I started publishing company. 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:42.320 I signed my bass player Tate UH. Working on a 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.720 TV show right now, talk show UH with me and 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:50.600 Kathy Lee Gifford. Uh. Working on a movie uh of 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:52.800 my life right now. The guy named Brandon Camp who 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.120 did like Love actually and stuff like that I'm working on. 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:01.840 There's a there's a there's a network slash media outlet 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:08.000 that's interested in me doing this fifteen part comedy series 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:11.400 to where that each one is a different subject. And 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:13.720 I just because I did stand up comedy in college, 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.120 and I just get on each subject and just rant 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:20.200 and talk jokes. Um, you know, I'm trying to do that, 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:23.480 trying to start this ac sceptic company, trying to start 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:26.800 this transportation company, so a bunch of different stuff that 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:29.080 I've actually had time doing this quarantine to like do. 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:33.240 So I'm like, let's just do it. That's my my 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.640 mouth is hanging open right now. That is the most 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:40.200 productive quarantine I've ever heard. That's like several people's lives 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:42.360 right there. That's I don't even know where to start 0:12:42.400 --> 0:12:44.800 with that. I mean, so the movie of your life 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:47.880 I mean you you're writing the script for it? Or Yeah. 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:50.480 This guy named Brandon Camp who did like Love Actually 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:52.640 and a bunch of other movies. I met him through 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:55.520 my agent and we just started talking to told him 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:58.400 about my story and everything, and he was like, houses 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:01.720 not being captured. I was like, I don't know, let's 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:04.000 do something with it. Do you want to be you? 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:05.520 Do you want to cast somebody who if you had 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:07.559 to cast somebody as you, who would you cast? Well, 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:09.800 since I want to get into television, I'm going to 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:15.000 play the older me, like post college on younger me, 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:17.520 I know, to kid me, I'm gonna have my son 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:21.320 play it, and then like that middle teenage years. I'm 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:24.400 not sure yet, and then the plan is to cast 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:27.240 like one or two A list actors around me. That 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:31.840 kind of really helped sell the movie. Oh so yeah, 0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:34.559 I'm just trying to trying to figure that out. Get 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.880 somebody to play my best friend. I would love if 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.320 I could get Samuel Jackson to like play my dad, 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:46.040 and that would be amazing because my dad, Loki, looks 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:50.240 like Samuel Jackson. Oh man, you gotta ask him in 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.800 the same if you ask everybody to be on the EP, 0:13:52.920 --> 0:13:54.960 gotta ask him me old Jackson to be in your movie. Man. 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:58.600 All they can say is no, yeah, oh that I've 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:16.080 heard no a lot, a whole lot. I mean, your 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:20.400 story really is incredible. What you came to Nashville, what seven, 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.000 working three jobs, sleeping in your car for a while, 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.160 and then you got back to back number one songs 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:30.120 on the country airplay charts, Like that's incredible. Like that 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:33.280 perseverance is that you don't see that? You know? Yeah, man, 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:37.840 I I am. I don't know. I just tried to 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:41.640 picture myself not doing music, and even though I'm all 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:43.680 about when you're chasing a dream, you got a family. 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:46.080 I had had a son at the time. You know, 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.040 he's six now, but when I was first starting off, 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:50.480 you know, he was a newborn, and as a parent, 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:52.440 you chased your dream, but you still have to do 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:55.760 whatever it takes to provide for your family, because your 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:59.800 kids shouldn't have to sacrifice, you know, eating or getting 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.280 those are going on vacation just because you got this 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:06.800 dream you're chasing. And I remember I was a server 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:10.040 at the time, and I worked at Walmart for a 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:13.800 little bit, and uh, I would pick up extra jobs 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.400 just to make sure we had enough money to go 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.720 to Disney World two or three times a year because 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:21.880 that's what he wanted to do, so you know, get 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.200 it done. Was there a moment when you knew, Okay, 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:26.360 this is actually gonna work out. We're good now. This 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.360 music thing is it's really gonna happen. Yeah. The crazy 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:34.400 thing is I'm definitely a lunatic to where I've I 0:15:34.480 --> 0:15:38.720 always knew it would happened, you know, I didn't know when, 0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:43.440 I didn't know how, but I knew it would. And 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:48.640 I was going to this writer's around at Pucket's grocery 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:52.880 store in Franklin, Tennessee. It's a grocery store, a restaurant, 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:57.240 and a music venue. Wow. And I got a call 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.120 that's said, hey, I got this opening at this writer's round. 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.280 Would you want to fill in? And I say yeah, 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:09.359 because my dad always told me always make yourself available. 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:12.080 And I was like, all right, I'll at least get 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:15.280 to play some songs. I make two hundred dollars and 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:18.280 I get a free meal. Let's do it. And that's 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:21.160 where I met Ashbowers, the guy that signed me to 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:25.160 a publishing deal. Now he's my he's my he's my manager. Now, 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:27.920 so many great messages in your life and in your music. 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:31.360 I one of the tracks on your EP. Uh, when 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:33.880 this is over, I thought I just had a really 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:36.200 beautiful message, I mean the lines. When this is over, 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:37.800 I hope I take a little less for granted. I 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:40.080 hope I'm a little more understanding when some things don't 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:42.880 make sense. What are some big lessons you've learned throughout 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:47.280 quarantine and the pandemic. I know it's been troubling for 0:16:47.320 --> 0:16:51.680 many reasons. I've learned life is short. Do what you love, 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:55.160 love who you love, and do not listen to the 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:57.920 opinions of other people. Never let someone else's opinion stop 0:16:57.920 --> 0:16:59.760 you from being the person you want to be, because 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.120 at in the day, the only pinion that matters is 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:05.560 your own. It's it, you know. I've seen so many 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:10.080 people make career changes during quarantine and everything because you 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.119 realize life is short, man, Like, why are you just 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:15.840 waiting around, uh for other people to tell you what's 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:18.560 okay for you to do instead of you just chasing it? 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:21.520 What's been the hardest thing about quarantine for you? Being 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:25.120 in one place longer than four days, because I'm used 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:28.119 to every two days going somewhere else. So we've actually 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:32.160 been taking the tour bus back and forth from Delaware 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:38.560 to Nashville to Florida so I can go fish. Oh man, 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:45.600 are yeah? We uh we went to Delaware. We're actually 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:47.000 going to Della in a couple of days again so 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.199 I can go fishing. And then we go to Florida. 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:52.080 A lot we go to a lot of people go 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:54.080 to like you know, thirty A and stuff. We go 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:56.920 to We go to real Florida. We go like Orlando, 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:00.280 Tampa in real Florida. And to me, that to pay handle, 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:06.439 that's Alabama. That's Alabama, And of course you got Disney 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:09.960 down there too. That's that's But talk to me about 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:11.959 Disney a minute. How many times have you been there? 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:15.720 I know it's pushing fifty. Man. I've been to Disney 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:21.280 at least seven times a year every year for since 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:28.400 two thousand and fifteen and two thousand thirteen, two thousand, fourteen, 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.320 thousand and twelve, I went about four times. Is this 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:34.360 for your son or for you or for both? For me, 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:38.320 it's for me. I love it. Luckily, my son loves it. 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:42.200 My fiance likes it. I think she tolerates it more 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:44.800 because I love it, But we start going so much, 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:46.760 I think she's starting to like love it now too. 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.520 I love that place, man. It's because for me it 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:55.080 represents more than the mouse. It represents perseverance. You know, 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:57.679 when you think of Walt and how he could have 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:01.119 just quit after his first character, Oswald, got stolen, he 0:19:01.240 --> 0:19:04.479 kept going. You know, this guy had nothing. He literally 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:08.639 betted all himself and it worked out, you know, um. 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:10.760 And it's just that's why I go to think. Man, 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:13.200 there's there's no other place to think and just feel 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:18.440 pure innocence and the future impossibility, and then just surrounding yourself. 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:20.240 When I go there with my son and you see 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:22.000 all these other kids and they're happy and they have 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:24.760 no care in the world. Like once you enter those 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:27.360 gates of Disney, everything else, all the nonsense in your 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:30.880 life doesn't matter, man, it just disappears, you know. And 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.040 for me, that's where I go to think and plan 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.280 and just enjoy life, you know, with you know people 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:40.080 I care about when you're when you're not thinking. You 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:44.000 have a favorite ride there? Oh yeah, I'm a classic 0:19:44.400 --> 0:19:48.159 I'm a classic Disney fan. So my favorite attraction is 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:52.320 actually Caresel of Progress. It's that Magic Kingdom in in 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:56.080 Tomorrowland over by buzz light Year. The thing you sit 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:58.480 around and go there is a great big due to 0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:03.000 fol Tomorrow Row shining as. I love that. I love 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:07.960 uh to Marline Speedway, Uh Epcot, I love Test Track 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:14.440 and uh what else do I love? Man Figments imagination 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:16.440 thing is cool as cheesy is I don't know what, 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:23.000 but I love it. Purple Dragon at Animal Kingdom. I 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:26.040 love when I got Avatar there now, which is Monday. 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:30.760 They got Star Wars Land there now at Hollywood Studios. 0:20:32.359 --> 0:20:36.120 So yeah, I'm all about my Disney bron and there's 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:37.840 so much other stuff to do that like you can. 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:40.600 They got fishing guys there will take your out bass fishing. 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:44.600 You used to be able to pay shell go horseback riding. 0:20:44.960 --> 0:20:47.200 It's a bunch of stuff to do. Wow, I haven't 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:49.040 been since I was a kid. I definitely gotta gotta 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:51.639 see it with with a doll eyes now. Oh, you 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:53.840 gotta go back there as an adult, especially Epcot. You 0:20:53.840 --> 0:20:58.120 can get your drink on all around the world, man, 0:20:58.240 --> 0:20:59.920 I mean. And what I love is they actually have 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:03.800 people from those actual countries working there. I didn't realize that, 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:06.000 Like when you go to Germany, those are people from 0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:07.760 Germany work because they I think they come over like 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.080 six months at a time. I know, you became a 0:21:10.119 --> 0:21:12.879 father again in March. I guess probably even had a 0:21:12.960 --> 0:21:15.560 chance to take your your your new daughter down there. Yet. Man, 0:21:15.640 --> 0:21:19.440 what the crazy thing is when quarantine started, we went 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:25.000 to my daughters born the first the same day. Uh 0:21:25.240 --> 0:21:28.840 make me want to with number one? Uh. Two days 0:21:28.920 --> 0:21:32.600 later there was tornadoes in Nashville, so I had to 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:34.120 leave to go to Germany, and so my tour bus 0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:38.320 driver took um. If y'all say, my daughter and my 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:41.720 uhay's mom in Florida because her parents have a house 0:21:41.760 --> 0:21:44.399 in Florida. So when I came back in March, they 0:21:44.400 --> 0:21:47.399 were still in Florida. So we went to Disney a 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:49.720 couple of days. We just didn't post any pictures on 0:21:49.720 --> 0:21:51.560 social media because we want to look like bad parents. 0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:54.280 Because I got back on like the thirteenth, and Disney 0:21:54.320 --> 0:21:57.480