WEBVTT - Remembering the Trailer Keys and Forgetting Fans 0:00:15.760 --> 0:00:19.119 What's up. It's Granger Smith. Thanks for listening. This is 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:23.320 the Granger Smith Podcast, Episode eight. Hey, if you got 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:25.520 a question for me you need to be an answered. 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:30.720 Go to social media hashtag Granger Smith Podcast. Ask your question. 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:33.040 I'll search for it and then I'll get it answered 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:36.479 right here on a future podcast. Man, what a crazy 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:38.800 fall this has been for me. The new album When 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:41.640 the Good Guys Win is now out. If you listen 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:45.240 to episode seven, I went through every single song, told 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:47.640 the story of every song from my point of view, 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:52.120 not just how I wrote it, but why I recorded it, 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.520 you know, the reason that I chose each song to 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:57.360 be on the album. But now the album's out, we've 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.400 been playing it live and it's a whole new game 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:01.880 putting it in the live show and seeing what song works. 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:04.520 Where should it start the show, should it finish the show, 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:06.560 and where does it go in the middle. That's all 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.360 something we have to discuss all the time to try 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:11.800 to figure out the perfect combination of the perfect chemistry. 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.000 It also has to work with the crowd. I mean, 0:01:14.040 --> 0:01:16.480 we can't put together a high energy show for a 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.120 very laid back crowd, and then in turn, we can't 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:21.560 put together a very laid back show for a high 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:24.240 energy crowd, so we have to know these things before 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:26.600 we hit the stage. Now, that took years and years 0:01:26.600 --> 0:01:29.319 and years, and I'm still trying to perfect that. But 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:32.200 I'm proud of those years. The Honky song heres and 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:34.240 I want to talk more on where I came from 0:01:34.360 --> 0:01:38.200 in this podcast. Something that I did on this new 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:43.120 album is a little insane, but it has been so 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:46.080 much fun. I decided to call every single person that 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:49.560 bought this album the first week. This is gonna take 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:52.560 a long time. It's a lot of people. In fact, 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:54.600 it's probably gonna take me months and months and months, 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:58.920 but anyone that bought it and submitted their receipt to 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.120 the special website that we set up got added to 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:05.840 this call list, and so I personally call everyone on 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.120 that list and thank them for buying the album, because 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.920 buying is rare these days, and I don't know if 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:15.600 people actually understand how much buying actually does affect the artist. 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:18.519 And in a world of being able to find the 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:21.760 music for free anywhere, it's pretty amazing to see that 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:23.920 kind of support from a fan. So I thought it 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:26.280 was the least I can do to call these people, 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:29.760 and I think on this podcast. It would be kind 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:31.800 of fun if I pulled up this list right now 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:36.200 and we called the next person. All right, so here 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.480 we go. This is Josh and he's from Tennessee. It 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:51.679 looks like, hey Josh, it's Granger Smith. How are you, man? 0:02:54.120 --> 0:03:00.840 I'm right, how man, I'm doing? Go hold on speak 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:10.360 I see your name will come. Man, this is Granger Smith. Dude. 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:12.440 I am calling you to say thank you for buying 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:14.800 the album. Man, that that means a lot. I know 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:17.480 that buying records is rare these days. And and uh, 0:03:17.720 --> 0:03:21.639 I really appreciate you, buddy, No carble, man, just keep 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:28.120 doing I will, I will keep doing. Earl man, I 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:32.200 promise you did you really? You really put on a show. Well, 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.040 thank you, buddy. I appreciate that. Man. What's your what's 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:39.840 your favorite song so far in this album? Welcome very 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:43.080 old Devil song. Well, uh, buddy, I hope to are 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:47.240 you in Tennessee? All right? Well, I know we'll be 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:49.680 back to Tennessee soon and hope to see you when 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:54.080 we head back out there. That's awesome, awesome man. Well, 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:59.600 I hope you have a good rest of your Sunday. Hey, Hey, Hey, 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:09.520 who's hey? Girlfriend. I uh uh, we hope to see 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:13.320 you guys down the road very soon. All right, all right, 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:19.240 y'all take care, Hi, bye bye, there we go. I 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.800 got two of them in that phone call. That's that's 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:27.000 so cool to me. So Josh there says that don't 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:30.359 treadle Me is his favorite song, which doesn't surprise me. 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:32.880 It's one of my favorites too. Everything Earl Dibbles Junior 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:36.880 does is polarizing. I love every bit of it. And 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:39.599 I asked you to ask me some questions on social 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:42.520 media hashtag Granger Smith podcast and I would answer them. 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:47.000 And so here's one right here from Jonathan Seppenfield. It says, 0:04:47.640 --> 0:04:52.240 how did Earl Dibbles Junior become a thing? Now, Buddy, 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:54.360 I could go in here and answer this question, but 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:56.680 it's gonna take a while. So I think I'm gonna 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:59.760 save that for its own future podcast because the story 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:03.000 of Old Dibbles Junior it's gonna take some time. I'm 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:06.280 a survivor, you damn right, I'm a bidder, I'm a 0:05:06.279 --> 0:05:09.640 big bucks head and Trump I'm bringing Dank Junior disable. 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:13.880 So don't just be offended when Granddad needs defended. This 0:05:14.080 --> 0:05:18.000 back up Wakeman says, I'm staying break. Don't tread of me, 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:35.159 don't tread off me. So I'm sitting in the back 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:39.440 of my bus Wildflower. I'm in the parking lot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:41.919 parking lot of the hotel that we're staying in tonight 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:45.039 on an off day. We're playing Tulsa tomorrow. But yesterday 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:49.800 we came from clear Lake, Iowa. Before that was Columbia, Missouri, 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:54.400 before that was Chicago. So this is a typical place 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:57.000 for me to do a podcast, is a little bit 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:00.720 of time off between shows. Things weren't all It is crazy. 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:05.040 I didn't always have this many shows to play. In fact, 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:06.320 I want to take you there now. I want to 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:09.200 take you back to the scene. And I believe it 0:06:09.279 --> 0:06:14.599 was podcast episode six that I was last talking about 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:17.080 my history, and I've talked about moving back home to 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:20.240 my home state of Texas and starting a band, and 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:22.039 I look at that that was in two thousand and four. 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:25.360 I look at that is the beginning, in a lot 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:45.800 of ways of my touring career. So it's the year 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.760 two thousand and four. I've just moved back to my 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:51.919 home state of Texas and college station. I'm living with 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:55.279 my uncle Johnny. Life is good. A few years before, 0:06:55.279 --> 0:06:57.800 I put out an album called Waiting On Forever. It 0:06:57.960 --> 0:07:00.680 was ten songs. But you know I've grown since then. 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:03.080 I have a lot of new songs, songs that I've 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:06.000 already recorded as demos for this publishing company I've been 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.680 writing for. So I collect ten of those songs and 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:11.880 I make an album. My second album is called Memory Road. 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:15.480 I take this album and I'm armed and ready to 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:19.400 find a band and get some gigs. And they came 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:22.960 pouring in. Actually they didn't. I didn't. I didn't have 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:25.400 any gigs. But I did go down the street to 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:28.840 this place called Bourbon Street Bar, and I asked them 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:32.240 if I could host and start an open mic night 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:37.600 on Thursday nights. No money guaranteed. The only thing for 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.280 me would be exposure. I would play a bunch of 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.920 these songs off of these two little albums that I 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.920 had out, and then I would host open mic for 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:47.880 everyone else in the bar could sell beer, and I 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:50.240 could sell CDs and make a few tips, and everyone 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:54.360 was happy. It wasn't long after I moved back that 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:57.200 my uncle Johnny said, Hey, I've got this buddy. He's 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:01.240 a drummer and he's in a band right now, and 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:04.080 their singer just moved to Florida and they're looking for 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:07.240 someone to take over. And I said, man, this sounds perfect. 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.640 Let me meet him. So he takes me over there, 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:13.240 and these were great guys. There was a drummer, bass player, 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:17.280 a guitar player, and a keyboard player. And all of 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:20.560 them were significantly older than I was, fifteen twenty years 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.760 older than I was, And that actually was a huge 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:27.080 blessing because these guys had a lot more touring experience 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:28.760 than I did. They had a lot more knowledge of 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:33.120 the music business, a lot more understanding of building PA systems. 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.960 They knew how to tour and I didn't. This was 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:39.520 such a key thing for me, and what I provided 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:44.720 to them was a young singer with a fresh outlook. 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:48.199 It gave them another round, another shot at it, and 0:08:48.240 --> 0:09:00.640 we became a very tight knit group immediately. Never too 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:03.640 old to finde a two lane road. See how fast 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.560 that four by four can go, burn the tread right 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:11.040 off of them tires. You never too to turn the radio. 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.280 I'm so loud that the speakers flown. Let your neighbors 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:20.240 know you're about to throw it all night, Woo, Let's 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:25.160 go to night, is to night for the rest of 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:28.000 our lives. They ain't never too old to die young, 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:31.679 never too tall to grow up, never too late to 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:35.640 did to living because you only did one, never too 0:09:35.720 --> 0:09:38.320 good to be back. He ain't never too scared to 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:41.960 be tough. Don't count them candles on the cake, over 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:45.880 the trips around the sun. I ain't never too old 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:53.560 to die jump. So during this year I also re 0:09:53.679 --> 0:09:55.920 enrolled in Texas A and M University, so I had 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:58.480 a lot on my plate. I couldn't tour too much 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.760 and steady enough to pass classes. I needed to finish 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:05.200 college before I could really focus on music. This year 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:09.719 was a lot about playing private parties, private weddings, friends, 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:14.400 graduation parties. Of course, the open mic night on Thursdays, 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:17.280 an occasional gig that we might have picked up in 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:20.800 a club here and there. But it wasn't serious touring yet. 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:23.160 I did buy a little white trailer, a little six 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:25.760 x ten. I was pullting it behind my pickup truck. 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:27.640 There was five of us in the band, and we 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:30.839 were cramped in the cab making do There's so many 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:33.280 mistakes you have to make when you're just starting out 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:39.079 touring to learn everything that everything we progressed with over 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.640 those months and over those years was from mistakes that 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:45.480 we never wanted to do again. I remember a lot 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.719 of trailer mistakes. It seems like trailers have been one 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:52.000 of my biggest problems for a long, long time. I 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:55.839 remember a trip driving to Amarillo for a gig. Now 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.520 Amarillo from College Station, that's a long way. It's about 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.400 eight hours. I new to touring. I don't have any 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:04.160 kind of checklist, I don't have a tour manager. And 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:07.720 I remember thinking, about six hours down the road, I 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:11.440 wonder if I've brought the key to the padlock on 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:13.679 the trailer so that I can get to the gear. 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:16.480 I ask around. No one knows where the key is. 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:18.800 We ended up leaving it at home. So we pull 0:11:18.840 --> 0:11:23.440 over to this middle of nowhere, small town, Texas welding shop. 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:25.440 We got to get the guy with the cutting torch 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:29.319 to destroy the lock so that we can get in there. Now, 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:33.560 this is one of those circular master locks. It's theft proof. 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:36.199 It's also idiot proof, because I'm an idiot, and you 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:38.760 wouldn't believe how long it took us to sit there 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:41.040 and put a piece of a sheet of metal behind 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.440 the lock, so the torch didn't destroy the wall of 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:46.559 the trailer. But this thing took forever. I think it 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:50.280 took like fifteen minutes of straight cutting to finally get 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:52.720 it off so that I could learn the first lesson 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.840 in touring, don't leave your trailer keys at home. Man. 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:03.600 This podcast is brought to you by my ninth studio 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.400 album called When the Good Guys Win. I'm so proud 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:08.240 of this thing, and thank you if you've heard it, 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:10.960 if you've streamed it, if you've heard us play it live. 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:14.880 I hope you like it and it means a lot 0:12:14.920 --> 0:12:16.920 to me to get your feedback. So let me know 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:18.679 what you think about it. Go to social media, let 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:20.680 me know your favorite songs so far. Of course, this 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.520 is also brought to you by Yee Yee Energy, my 0:12:23.720 --> 0:12:26.480 energy drink. I'm so excited to tell you guys that 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:29.000 out of this homegrown business that we have my brothers 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:31.600 and I, we have now made our first re order, 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:34.439 which is a lot of cans. It's like two hundred 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:38.120 thousand cans, so that's a big deal. They are shipping 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:40.960 to our warehouse in Texas as we speak. That means 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:43.320 a lot of you are liking this drink, so thank 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:45.200 you for that. I hope you like to drink so 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:48.320 much that you drink it all the time responsively because 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:50.320 it's got a lot of caffeine in it. I drink 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:52.000 one before every show, and I love the way it 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:53.840 makes you feel. I love the way that it tastes. 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:56.600 Go to grangerspent dot com you can find out more. 0:12:57.280 --> 0:12:59.760 That's a lot of information. Let me go back to 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:03.120 the that had no information going on in fact, but 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.760 two thousand and four version of myself was very much 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:09.719 looking forward to two thousand and five because that's when 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:12.680 I decided to take the last of my demos, my 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:16.640 songwriting demos, and put them together ten more songs, and 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:33.040 make another album called Pockets of Pesos. Pockets of Pesos 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:35.280 was different from me for a couple of reasons. One 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:38.920 I recorded and played my own acoustic guitar that had 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:43.679 never happened before, and two I recorded my own vocals 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:45.920 right there by myself at Uncle Johnny's house in his 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:49.079 living room. Now, this was the beginning of something very 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:52.000 very important for me in my career. I had no 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:55.160 idea how valuable it would be to me to record 0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.040 my own vocals to record my own band eventually. I 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:01.000 had no idea that someday being able to do this 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:08.240 would actually save my career. My pockets of pay A 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:12.000 twenty dollars bill in my pails. Phone tell me what, 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:17.600 tell me? What's in gona take? Two thousand and five, 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:20.160 I was very much coming into my own pockets of pay. 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:23.960 SOS was the most original so far music that I 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.040 had made, even though I had always written my own music. 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.640 I was getting closer to becoming the artist that I 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:33.000 needed to be. We were touring a lot more. I 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:35.400 was still in school, but we were stacking up our weekends. 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:39.240 We called ourselves weekend Warriors. At this point, it bothered 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:41.880 me a little bit that I didn't have as much 0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:45.200 control as I wanted to on the actual recordings themselves. 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:48.120 On the previous three albums, I knew I had a 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.840 dilemma coming up because those are the last of the 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.760 songwriting demos that I had paid for me, and if 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.080 I was gonna make anything else in the future, I 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:58.840 was gonna have to pony up my own cash, which 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:01.320 I didn't have. I'm a call and I'm making tip 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:05.080 jar money now out of that necessity. The greatest challenge 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:09.280 with the greatest reward showed itself in this new opportunity. 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:12.760 If I was going to make another album, the only 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.600 way that would happen was if I recorded it myself 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:19.400 in my own house. And what happened at the end 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:36.560 of two thousand and five changed everything. So the song 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:39.880 you're hearing here sounds like it's live. It's even called 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:42.480 Mockenberg Road Live, but it's actually not live at all. 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:47.600 This is my first experiment at recording my band myself 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:51.040 in my house. Actually every instrument is recorded separately by 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:55.000 me putting microphones around and experimenting. I was getting pretty good, 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:58.240 pretty savvy with pro Tools, which is a computer software 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:01.680 for audio recording. It's the same software I'm using right 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:05.000 now to record this podcast. After recording the instruments, I 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:07.400 brought in some friends and the band. We got some 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.600 glasses of beer and clanked them together. I recorded that, 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:13.040 added it to the background of the song to make 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:15.840 it sound like a live performance that I'm going to 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:22.760 burn out to where my favorite lives, you know, good 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:34.760 friend Chap Sacond every time between Calisande, the winning thing, 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:42.560 but burning so there. It is the secret behind Mokenbird 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:46.760 Road Live. My very first attempt ever at recording a band. 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:51.120 It's funny. I just looked on Spotify and iTunes and 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:56.160 it's on there, immortalized forever. Uh set in stone? Is 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:59.920 that memory? For better or for worse? But that was 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.720 a very important transition for me because once I knew 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:05.920 I could do that, once I knew I had broken 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:08.680 the ice of home studio recording, I knew I could 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:13.160 attempt maybe to record my next album completely by myself 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:16.200 at home, in the living room, in the hallway and 0:17:16.240 --> 0:17:20.119 the closet, utilizing everything, utilizing my band, And so that 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:24.200 was my new mission. What I didn't know was that 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:28.000 concept would change everything for me. That would put me 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:31.560 on a path of musical freedom. It would give me 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.159 the opportunity to put up music no matter what, to 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:36.879 change my mind, to change the songs, to put out 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.159 a funny song, a parody song, to put out a 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:43.200 tribute song, regardless of what people said, and most importantly, 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.320 regardless of budget, because this would cost me next to nothing. 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.480 That would put me on the path that got me 0:17:50.520 --> 0:18:11.280 here today. Hello, Hey Brooke, it's Granger Smith. How are you. 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:17.800 Oh my god, I'm good. How are you here? I'm good. 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.240 I'm calling to say thank you for buying the album, 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:22.160 and I hope you like all the new songs so far. 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.000 Oh my god, I love this so much in this 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:30.359 obviously I want that day. Have no idea good good? 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:34.200 Do you have a favorite song yet? Yeah? I love 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:37.480 it A loving wine. That one's a beautiful song. Well, 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:40.720 thank you, thank you. Where are you right now? I'm 0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:44.720 in North Carolina? Okay, awesome, we love coming to North Carolina. 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:47.920 I've actually seen you. I've actually seen you a few times. 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:50.359 The first time I ever saw you, you were you Goes. 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:53.240 That was the true where I ever saw you playing. 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:56.800 I have such a great time with much after that, 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:02.879 I'm so talking, don't it's okay, No, you don't. You 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:04.680 don't have to say anything. I'm calling you to uh 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.920 to say thank you and uh You're an amazing fan 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:11.439 and and I appreciate people exactly like you, Brook, So 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:13.960 thank you, and I hope to see you next time 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:17.800 we come to North Carolina. Well, I appreciate you, and 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.359 thank you. Be greater and really I love your music. 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:25.600 Thank you. Take care of Brooke. Have a good Sunday. 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:32.600 You all right, bye bye? All right? Nice but loving 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:38.160 blind he last see it all the time tonight, it's 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:44.320 wearing a dress, making me smile, stealing my friends. I 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:49.160 used to think it was you lop a baby. It's 0:19:49.520 --> 0:20:01.720 love loving blind because I see so by now, two 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:04.000 thousand and five is turning into two thousand and six. 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:06.480 I mean, the band are still together, the same guys, 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:09.600 were playing more and more shows, but no one's coming 0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:11.320 to these shows. I mean a lot of times it's 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:14.320 just us and the bartender. But we're playing these shows 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:17.320 like we're playing arenas. I remember staring out into dark, 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:21.199 empty dance floors, closing my eyes and just envisioning what 0:20:21.200 --> 0:20:24.439 it would be like to have a full arena singing 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:26.520 these songs back to me. And we couldn't have been 0:20:26.560 --> 0:20:28.960 any further away from that dream. Do you know? We 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:31.199 are having a great time. I look back on pictures 0:20:31.240 --> 0:20:33.960 and videos from those days, and we were always smiling, 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:37.240 We're always laughing, we're always joking, because it's all relative 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.399 and ed. At the time, that was the dream. That 0:20:40.560 --> 0:20:43.080 was as good as it got, you know, And if 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:46.840 anyone was listening, if anyone was clapping or smiling or dancing, 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:49.639 that was it for us. That was worth it. We 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:52.640 were getting better. I had T shirts for sale. Now. 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:55.840 My first merch I had blue navy blue shirts with 0:20:55.920 --> 0:21:01.119 a silver Texas Ranger style star. I said Granger Smith. 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:03.480 I was kind of playing up to that Ranger and 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:06.720 Granger thing. I wanted so badly to have a brand, 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:09.359 something you could see and look and identify, like a 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:11.959 Nike swoosh, and so at the time, that was it. 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:15.560 That was the star, the badge related to Granger, or 0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:17.479 at least I wanted it to be that way. And 0:21:18.000 --> 0:21:20.920 no one really bought those shirts. I still have one though. 0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:24.960 You know. Early on, I loved the business of touring, 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:28.800 and I loved the challenge of trying to make touring better, 0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:31.960 trying to overcome the challenges and the rigors of the 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:36.040 road to make our show better. Early two thousand and six, 0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:38.880 I was still driving that same pickup truck and we 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:41.720 were changing before shows in the parking lot. Usually we 0:21:41.760 --> 0:21:43.840 put our boots down on the ground and you could 0:21:43.920 --> 0:21:46.439 kind of switch your jeans, you know, while you're standing 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:48.159 on your socks. You're standing on the boots so you 0:21:48.160 --> 0:21:51.880 don't get dirt on your socks. I was thinking, Man, 0:21:52.600 --> 0:21:55.720 why can't we transform this trailer into a dressing room. 0:21:56.040 --> 0:21:57.919 So I started getting in the white trailer, and it 0:21:57.960 --> 0:22:01.560 was difficult because you have to put them down. And 0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:04.040 so I eventually traded in that white trailer and I 0:22:04.080 --> 0:22:07.760 got a slightly larger black trailer. It had a side door. 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:10.800 Oh that's a big upgrade. So now that I have 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:13.480 a side door entrance, I had this idea that I 0:22:13.480 --> 0:22:16.359 could build a partition wall right after that door to 0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:19.920 close that space in like our own personal dressing room. 0:22:20.640 --> 0:22:22.720 We hung a pole in there to hang our clothes on, 0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:26.480 had lights inside, a little bench where we could sit down, 0:22:26.880 --> 0:22:29.920 carpet on the floor. I mean, we had it figured out. 0:22:31.200 --> 0:22:33.640 One night, we're playing this dance hall and this girl 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:35.800 I was kind of dating has this little yippie dog 0:22:35.840 --> 0:22:37.400 and she didn't have a place to put it during 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:39.960 the show, so she sticks it in that dressing room. 0:22:40.320 --> 0:22:42.879 My guitar player goes out after the show and opens 0:22:42.880 --> 0:22:44.960 it up to get a guitar case out, and this 0:22:45.119 --> 0:22:48.960 dog jumps out. He says, granger, Come on, man, since 0:22:48.960 --> 0:22:51.639 when is our dressing room become a kennel? Somehow that 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:55.000 name stuck and from then on, that homemade dressing room 0:22:55.040 --> 0:22:57.040 in the front part of our trailer would be called 0:22:57.480 --> 0:23:13.800 the kennel. So I was almost finished with college. I 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:17.520 had one more semester left. I'm calling myself a weekend Warrior. 0:23:17.560 --> 0:23:19.840 We're playing these shows, dragging this black trailer with a 0:23:19.920 --> 0:23:24.320 dressing room all around Texas. Meanwhile, I have something even 0:23:24.400 --> 0:23:27.159 cooler going on at home. I was right in the 0:23:27.160 --> 0:23:29.600 middle of recording a brand new album, but for the 0:23:29.640 --> 0:23:33.920 first time ever, recording every instrument, every vocal right there 0:23:33.960 --> 0:23:36.439 in my house. Whether it was good or if it 0:23:36.480 --> 0:23:40.000 was bad, it was mine and there was something so 0:23:40.000 --> 0:23:43.280 special about that, and I was so so motivated to 0:23:43.320 --> 0:23:45.880 get it out there. So there I was in two 0:23:45.960 --> 0:23:49.800 thousand and six, just graduating from Texas A and M University, 0:23:50.640 --> 0:23:53.520 just putting out a brand new album called Living Like 0:23:53.560 --> 0:23:56.520 a Lone Star. The most proud I'd ever been so 0:23:56.680 --> 0:24:01.960 far in my career of my music. It seemed like 0:24:02.040 --> 0:24:05.560 everything was going my way. It seemed like the next 0:24:05.600 --> 0:24:09.560 stop was George Strait right, and I couldn't have been 0:24:09.560 --> 0:24:12.800 more wrong. I didn't know it, but this right here, 0:24:12.920 --> 0:24:15.880 this moment in two thousand and six, was another beginning 0:24:15.920 --> 0:24:18.960 for me. It was another milestone for me, and I 0:24:18.960 --> 0:24:22.080 think because of all that excitement around what I was doing, 0:24:23.280 --> 0:24:26.280 as passionate as I was about it. I think that's 0:24:26.280 --> 0:24:29.920 what caused the crash. I think that's what caused the 0:24:29.920 --> 0:24:32.760 bottom to fall out. But when the bottom fell out, 0:24:33.840 --> 0:24:36.320 that's when I had to reinvent again. And every time 0:24:36.359 --> 0:24:40.679 I've reinvented, it seems like that's when things changed. In 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:43.720