Speaker 1: Quest Loves Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. This classic
Speaker 1: episode was produced by the team at Pandora.
Speaker 2: What's up, y'all?
Speaker 1: This is QLs classic from November twenty second, twenty seventeen
Speaker 1: with Darius Rucker.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Singer songwriter Darius Rucker talks about Hoody and the Bluefish.
Speaker 1: I know those guys, right, They go for playing frat
Speaker 1: parties to playing with the Dave Matthews Band to the
Speaker 1: Grand Ole Opry and then going as a solo artist.
Speaker 1: And he also talks about the obstacles he faced a
Speaker 1: long way and yeah, by obstacles, we do being racism,
Speaker 1: but we also speak of his love of hip hop
Speaker 1: and other types of music and sports, and his strange
Speaker 1: obsession of his spirit animal, the late Great Nate Dog.
Speaker 1: So you don't want to miss that one, all right,
Speaker 1: Darius Rucker Quest Loves Supreme.
Speaker 2: Right now, Steve looks like a homest truck drivers.
Speaker 4: Supremo, Roll Supremo, Supremo, Roll Call Supremo, something Supremo, Roll
Speaker 4: call Supremo.
Speaker 3: So some Supremo.
Speaker 1: Roll His name is not Hoodie, Yeah, it's Darius.
Speaker 3: Yeah, mister Rucker. Yeah, if you're nasty.
Speaker 5: Roll call Supreme did rhyme roll.
Speaker 3: Some Supremo roll call.
Speaker 5: My name is Sugar.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm being wooed yeah by the podcast. Yeah, I
Speaker 3: could only want to be with you.
Speaker 4: So Supremo roll call, Supremo, Supremo roll call.
Speaker 5: I'm on paid Bill. Yeah, ready to rock.
Speaker 2: Yeah, shout out to South Carolina. Yeah, go game cocks roll.
Speaker 6: Supremo, Supremo, roll cal Supremo, Supremo roll.
Speaker 3: I got boss Bill's name.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Well I forgive you who.
Speaker 6: Suprema Sure, roll call Supremo Supremo role.
Speaker 7: It's like, yeah, and I'm going country.
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: Up from.
Speaker 5: Sam Roll.
Speaker 9: I'm from the country. Yeah, that's where I'll be. Yeah,
Speaker 9: I'm showing a question everybody. Yeah, I'll come and seem something.
Speaker 6: Supremo roll call, Supremo, Supremo, role called Suprema something So Supremo,
Speaker 6: roll called Suprema something something Supremo roll call.
Speaker 3: I haven't screwed up like that since episode four.
Speaker 1: Jesus K, thank you Jesus Christ.
Speaker 3: Practice time, and you know.
Speaker 7: Wasn't around doing nasty darns.
Speaker 2: Clearly did you not hear that?
Speaker 1: Hop your reference, ladies and gentlemen, this horrible show. You
Speaker 1: listening quest Love Supreme only on Pandora. My name is
Speaker 1: quest Love. We got team Supreme with us super Steve.
Speaker 1: Uh unpaid Bill who has looks new. We haven't seen
Speaker 1: you in a while.
Speaker 3: I cleaned.
Speaker 2: Is that like a number's only jacket? It is?
Speaker 3: You like it? You have a new girlfriend, don't you?
Speaker 5: Uh, you're I didn't want to.
Speaker 2: I'm not on bumble. I have a girlfriend.
Speaker 3: Oh okay, what's as one as he used to have.
Speaker 3: I was about to say that is the only reason
Speaker 3: why you look brand right now?
Speaker 2: Like I have to go to things, and I too
Speaker 2: that I can't look like my usual You look great.
Speaker 7: You don't look well enough to go to a thing?
Speaker 3: No, no, no no. But he's glowing.
Speaker 2: He's glowing, and I have a suit in the card.
Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you?
Speaker 3: Oh wow? Okay?
Speaker 1: And uh boss bills here and he also looks as
Speaker 1: good as I do.
Speaker 3: Fan is somewhere handling. Uh.
Speaker 2: He's getting in shape.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's getting getting married in his wedding suxceedo. Uh,
Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen. Uh, I have to say that our
Speaker 1: guest today is literally loved by millions at least at
Speaker 1: least Yeah, it's rare. I think he might be the
Speaker 1: first Diamond artist of a non greatest hits or or
Speaker 1: a compilation to ever be on the show.
Speaker 3: UH Grammy Award winning Uh baby fits. I don't think
Speaker 3: the million people record, but I'm sure I wanted to
Speaker 3: make sure question of Supreme emails from Search. Yeah, No,
Speaker 3: I get it, I get it.
Speaker 1: But I have to say that for for the last
Speaker 1: twenty five years or twenty plus years, I won't our
Speaker 1: guest has been entertaining millions and millions, uh, initially as
Speaker 1: a frontman of Hoodie and the Bluefish and now as
Speaker 1: an artist in his own right. Ladies and gentlemen, please
Speaker 1: welcome to Quest Love Supreme Darius Rockett.
Speaker 10: Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3: Anyway. How are you Today's.
Speaker 10: I'm good man, how y'all doing?
Speaker 3: I'm good. I'm good, not bad.
Speaker 10: I like this. It's really laid bad.
Speaker 3: I gotta I gotta say that.
Speaker 1: You know, for a lot of the guests of the show,
Speaker 1: many of which have had careers in the four and
Speaker 1: almost five decades, UH, you're probably the first act that
Speaker 1: I don't know intimately, as in like the back of
Speaker 1: my hand. But I'm very curious about your journey on
Speaker 1: your your your your whole life spent. It's like I
Speaker 1: I know of you, I know of your music, but
Speaker 1: I never know of you as a person and in
Speaker 1: your beginnings. So I know that you're you were born
Speaker 1: in Charleston, South Carolina.
Speaker 3: Charleston.
Speaker 9: Yeah, just uh this little neighborhood. Uh there was six kids,
Speaker 9: you know. Uh that wasn't really around a lot if
Speaker 9: at all. And uh just uh I had, you know,
Speaker 9: lived in this little neighborhood, this great little neighborhood. We
Speaker 9: had our neighborhood with the small houses and we had
Speaker 9: the projects behind us, and you know, we fought every
Speaker 9: day and it just it was one of those things.
Speaker 9: But ever since I was ever since I heard Al
Speaker 9: Green at the age of four, all I wanted to
Speaker 9: do was be a singer.
Speaker 10: That's it. That really was for me. There was nothing
Speaker 10: else I ever wanted to do.
Speaker 3: I have to say, Uh, I think.
Speaker 1: A year ago I did a show in Charleston and
Speaker 1: I didn't realize how close to New Orleans. It's almost
Speaker 1: like a a cut. It almost felt like I was
Speaker 1: in New Orleans, like in the French Quarter. How long
Speaker 1: has it always had that sort of vibe or is.
Speaker 9: This always it's always been that way. We've always said
Speaker 9: that we were like New Orleans cousin, you know, and uh, because.
Speaker 1: New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. When I
Speaker 1: went there, I was like, oh, I went out almost
Speaker 1: consider like if I had to be one of those
Speaker 1: people that like my grades back down south like in
Speaker 1: there later years, like I'd consider this and considering what
Speaker 1: the rest of the United States heard or knows about Charleston,
Speaker 1: South Carolina, and to still say that that's how great
Speaker 1: my time was in the weekend there.
Speaker 3: So I didn't realize.
Speaker 10: That, oh it's a great city.
Speaker 3: Is it a musical city.
Speaker 10: It's not as musical's normals, but it's a musical city.
Speaker 9: It's music everywhere, you know, there's always bands playing and
Speaker 9: and just always something to do with music.
Speaker 10: For sure.
Speaker 8: Who are some like notable South Carolina folks, So you know,
Speaker 8: I'm just thinking.
Speaker 10: About that rock Chris Rock.
Speaker 8: Yeah, well yeah, Chris Robert musical. There's not you know, Uh,
Speaker 8: it might be Darius Rutgers.
Speaker 10: Uh you know who they.
Speaker 9: Me uh Uh. James Brown's from like north was born
Speaker 9: in North Augusta or something, but he lived in you know,
Speaker 9: in Augusta, So that was he's really known to be
Speaker 9: more from Georgia, right, But how.
Speaker 3: Close to Georgia was Charleston.
Speaker 9: Oh, I'm probably two hours from Georgia too, from Augusta.
Speaker 7: Are you're still there?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 9: I thought I lived. I lived in the city for
Speaker 9: a couple of years. I was making R and B
Speaker 9: record back at the turn of the century. Yeah, I
Speaker 9: lived here. But uh, I love I love it the
Speaker 9: turn of the century.
Speaker 3: Just I know.
Speaker 10: In it was like seventeen years ago.
Speaker 3: There stop, wow, no more years? Yeah? Please? So, Uh,
Speaker 3: you said that your first musical memory was Al Green. Yeah?
Speaker 3: What was it about? Uh?
Speaker 10: His voice that called his voice? Of course?
Speaker 9: I mean, you know, and those records, you know, those
Speaker 9: records that will eventual produce were so still when I
Speaker 9: put them on today, they're they're the sound is my mom.
Speaker 9: Al Green was her favorite, and so when he I
Speaker 9: just wanted to be Al Green.
Speaker 10: Like.
Speaker 9: One of the worst days of my life was when
Speaker 9: my voice changed. It's the true story. My voice changed
Speaker 9: and I tried to sing it Al Green, so I
Speaker 9: couldn't sing it.
Speaker 3: I cried so initially sort of a not soprano but
Speaker 3: an alto. Yeah approach, you were singing, yeah.
Speaker 9: Registered all that stuff. Yeah, and my voice changed and
Speaker 9: went straight to a baritone. I cried for like two days.
Speaker 9: I couldn't say there you go, very white, true, true, you.
Speaker 3: Just changed with it. So was your family musical as
Speaker 3: well or was it just you?
Speaker 9: Yeah? Yeah, my family was a big time in church musical,
Speaker 9: like everybody sing in church. My dad had a had
Speaker 9: a little uh gospel group, and believe it or not,
Speaker 9: the gospel group was named the Rolling Still.
Speaker 7: Got scared when you said he wasn't around much.
Speaker 9: I was like, oh, oh, actually the way I heard,
Speaker 9: the way my relationship I have with my dad was
Speaker 9: every Sunday morning on w p a L in Charleston,
Speaker 9: the Rolling Stones had a half hour Wow and that's
Speaker 9: where I heard my dad.
Speaker 3: McDowell's sort of lawyer.
Speaker 9: I don't like, they never did anything that the Stones
Speaker 9: evenw what was.
Speaker 7: Happening you know South Carolina for life.
Speaker 9: Yeah, absolutely, yeah, they Yeah, they weren't doing anything. The
Speaker 9: Stones didn't like that's.
Speaker 3: The secular where the Christian Rolling Stone.
Speaker 9: Oh yeah, they started the show saying rolling Stone gathers
Speaker 9: no moss.
Speaker 1: So were they uh kind of of like the Backwoods
Speaker 1: Gospel Quartet exactly.
Speaker 9: You know, they came out and did all those songs,
Speaker 9: never really wrote anything, just did all the old spirituals
Speaker 9: and stuff. And they, I mean they were great. I
Speaker 9: mean he was a tenor and he was great. And
Speaker 9: my mom had an amazing voice. Like I used to
Speaker 9: sneak in the living room when my mom was cooking
Speaker 9: and clean in the kitchen and I'd sit in the
Speaker 9: living room just to watch to listen to her sing.
Speaker 10: She had an amazing voice. She was really something special.
Speaker 3: Was it? Of course? I guess when you're traveling with.
Speaker 1: A gospel quartet or whatever, most kids that have the
Speaker 1: experience have to have church all week, not just on Sundays.
Speaker 3: So was it just was this a Baptist or seven
Speaker 3: day of Venice?
Speaker 10: So we were Baptists.
Speaker 9: We were straight Southern Baptists, man, and everything that comes
Speaker 9: with it.
Speaker 10: That's what we were.
Speaker 3: Saturday service, Sunday.
Speaker 10: Sunday service, Saturday service, you know.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I mean we went to we went to church
Speaker 9: at like nine and got out at three. We were
Speaker 9: there all day. It was an all day thing, and
Speaker 9: it was you know, that was just the way we
Speaker 9: were ready to go eat at night. Yeah, in the
Speaker 9: night service exactly. You love the night service because you
Speaker 9: know you can get some sweep tato pie up in there.
Speaker 10: You love that.
Speaker 3: Did you ever sing with.
Speaker 9: The I sing with the choir. I never sang with
Speaker 9: his group.
Speaker 3: Now, okay, how were you when you sing in the choir? Ah?
Speaker 9: God, I started singing in the choir when I was
Speaker 9: I guess eleven or twelve, and I sang for three
Speaker 9: or four years in the choir.
Speaker 3: So because you were i'd assuming you were born in
Speaker 3: the late sixties.
Speaker 10: Yes, sixty six.
Speaker 3: Oh, I'm guessing. I promise. I wasn't going to say
Speaker 3: no more.
Speaker 1: Years to grow up down South.
Speaker 3: Post civil rights period.
Speaker 1: At least I considered the Mason Dixon line to be
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty five.
Speaker 10: Yeah.
Speaker 1: What were your childhood experiences like in those formative years,
Speaker 1: like the first ten years of your life.
Speaker 7: Oh, we're born a year after we got to write
Speaker 7: the vote.
Speaker 1: Yeah it was, you know, it was like we're in
Speaker 1: a adult size.
Speaker 3: Was it like hey, a new day or like, how did.
Speaker 10: You know it was still bad? It was still bad.
Speaker 9: I remember being six and my mom and her friends
Speaker 9: organ She was a nurse, and they organized this big
Speaker 9: march because they were getting paid so much less than
Speaker 9: the white nurses. So they organized this big boycott in March,
Speaker 9: and I just remember that being you know, get our
Speaker 9: you know, people putting death threats in our mailbox and
Speaker 9: stuff like that. It was it was it was the
Speaker 9: South doing it, you know. I always say the one
Speaker 9: thing about growing up where I grew up is you
Speaker 9: always knew who didn't like it.
Speaker 10: It was never questioned you. You never had to wonder
Speaker 10: if this.
Speaker 9: Guy, it's this guy everybody's but down there you knew
Speaker 9: who didn't like you, and they made no bones about it.
Speaker 7: And you still stayed to go to college.
Speaker 10: And I mean, my family was there. Where was I
Speaker 10: gonna go? You know?
Speaker 9: And once I started playing music in college, you know,
Speaker 9: we were playing that little circuit down there, and where
Speaker 9: was I gonna go?
Speaker 3: Were there bands? And in your high school experience.
Speaker 10: I didn't. I didn't. My first band was who the
Speaker 10: Blowfish Really could start? Yeah?
Speaker 9: Wait, seriously, that was my first band?
Speaker 10: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Wow, how lucky. We just tried this band, thinking, oh
Speaker 3: my god, were the biggest band you guys were around
Speaker 3: for a while before.
Speaker 10: Yeah, we were a band for eight years before we
Speaker 10: get a record.
Speaker 7: Though, Dude, your first band of roots?
Speaker 1: Yeah? No, I meant, oh, but I considered like I
Speaker 1: did work with my dad's group, Like okay.
Speaker 8: Your daddy's group, but I got you.
Speaker 1: I did thirteen years in that group before I got
Speaker 1: my wings. Oh wow, Now that's amazing because usually people
Speaker 1: have to.
Speaker 9: Well, my problem was nobody in high school could play.
Speaker 9: Like I didn't have anybody in my high school that
Speaker 9: was a guitar player. I had one guy to play guitar,
Speaker 9: and I don't know, I don't know one drummer or
Speaker 9: bass playing.
Speaker 10: They played in the band, but nobody sick.
Speaker 3: So there was no high school curriculum for music or nothing.
Speaker 9: There was, but there wasn't anybody gonna, let's start a band,
Speaker 9: you know, like I I sing in the high school
Speaker 9: choir and and all that stuff, show choir and all
Speaker 9: that stuff. But it wasn't like anybody was trying to
Speaker 9: start a band, and you know, so I just never did.
Speaker 9: And then when I got into college and I met Mark,
Speaker 9: I was like, hey, man, let's let's jam and we
Speaker 9: started the band.
Speaker 1: So being as though musical aspirations weren't like in your
Speaker 1: your high school years or whatever, like what did you
Speaker 1: want to be when you grew up?
Speaker 3: Like what was your I.
Speaker 10: Wanted to be a singer.
Speaker 9: But when you're from South Carolina, you hear so many
Speaker 9: times that you're never going to make it from South Carolina,
Speaker 9: and so you got to decide you'll do something else.
Speaker 9: So I decided I was going to be a sportscast.
Speaker 9: I went to school for broadcast journalism.
Speaker 3: You know, and sportscaster.
Speaker 10: Yeah.
Speaker 9: I wanted to talk about sports, you know, do the
Speaker 9: sports on the six o'clock news was my goal. That
Speaker 9: was way before ESPN or anything like that.
Speaker 10: Back in eighty four.
Speaker 7: This is in high school, in college.
Speaker 10: Was in high school. I decided that was good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that also explains why he had Oberman ESPN era
Speaker 1: L video. Of course, now it's making sick, so okay, well,
Speaker 1: I know that most down South towns are football towns,
Speaker 1: college towns. Like you, weren't a sports guy at all.
Speaker 9: I like sports, and I played sports until I was thirteen,
Speaker 9: and I just and uh, it was it was tough
Speaker 9: to realize that I wasn't going to play in the NFL.
Speaker 9: But when all my when all my friends were better
Speaker 9: than me and they weren't going to play in the NFL.
Speaker 9: So around thirteen, I decided that I should probably concentrate
Speaker 9: a little more on singing. And so that's when I
Speaker 9: really started trying to become a singer, just trying to
Speaker 9: learn how to sing, and really just from listening to records.
Speaker 9: I've never had a voice lesson in my life. It
Speaker 9: was just listening to records and singing a lot.
Speaker 3: It's amazing.
Speaker 10: It was crazy.
Speaker 3: Oh okay, So and where did you go to college?
Speaker 10: To South Carolina?
Speaker 1: Okay, So that's basically in your freshman or sophomore year,
Speaker 1: you guys.
Speaker 9: Sophomore year, I meet this this kid. Hears me singing
Speaker 9: in the shower and I come out of the shower.
Speaker 9: You know, we had those big community showers with no just.
Speaker 10: Jail house showers.
Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah those and uh and I'm singing some song
Speaker 9: in there and he hears me and.
Speaker 10: I walk out.
Speaker 9: He says, you know, was that you? I was the
Speaker 9: guy's like, I played guitar. Let's see if we know
Speaker 9: any of the same songs. And we went to his
Speaker 9: room and knew about ten of the same songs and
Speaker 9: decided we were gonna I thought. I told him, we
Speaker 9: get us a gig at this chicken wing joint. And
Speaker 9: that's how all started.
Speaker 3: And you guys named yourselves study in the blue Fish.
Speaker 9: Oh dude, I was still mad at myself about this ut.
Speaker 9: First we were the Wolf Brothers. Then we decided to
Speaker 9: get a whole band, and and there's two guys. One
Speaker 9: guy I sang with them, and one guy had these
Speaker 9: really big eyes.
Speaker 10: And I used to be a real asshole. I used
Speaker 10: to give people's nicknames all the time.
Speaker 9: And this guy had big eyes, and I called him Hoodie,
Speaker 9: and everybody started to call him Hoodie, and.
Speaker 10: His roommate and best friend who.
Speaker 9: Literally found out it was his boyfriend, and uh, he
Speaker 9: had these big.
Speaker 10: Cheeks and he played he played trumpets.
Speaker 9: He had these big dizzey gillaspie cheeks and he'd do
Speaker 9: that thing, and so I started calling him in the Blowfish.
Speaker 3: I'm certain that even now do they know this story.
Speaker 10: V H one did a thirty minute special.
Speaker 1: I'm certain right now at the family table, facegiving like, oh,
Speaker 1: I'm sure they tell us there all the time.
Speaker 8: And I'm going to ask the dumb question in the
Speaker 8: room because somebody's listening, and somebody's thinking it, who is
Speaker 8: a fish?
Speaker 10: Oh?
Speaker 5: What I did not who?
Speaker 7: Yeah, don't look at me. It was somebody listening right now?
Speaker 3: Who thought, so you.
Speaker 1: At what point are you guys like Okay, let's like,
Speaker 1: how do you escape South? Because I wouldn't imagine that
Speaker 1: Charleston is a music town like Nashville. Oh no, Or
Speaker 1: wasn't like, hey, why don't we go to Nashville? Like
Speaker 1: for me, it was like, we got to go to
Speaker 1: New York to make it.
Speaker 9: And we were told that by everybody we gotta go
Speaker 9: to Nashville or New York or La or Atlanta to
Speaker 9: make it.
Speaker 10: And we just didn't want to do it. We wanted
Speaker 10: to stay in Columbia.
Speaker 9: And uh so we were playing a circuit back and
Speaker 9: back then you could play from the New York down
Speaker 9: to Florida and the Tennessee and every place had a club,
Speaker 9: and so we would just play the same clubs every
Speaker 9: six weeks. And so after a while we started doing
Speaker 9: great at these clubs. Like I think the last year
Speaker 9: before we got a record deal, we each made fifty
Speaker 9: grand just playing club.
Speaker 7: How how long had you been?
Speaker 3: So we played better?
Speaker 9: We played three hundred shows that year, but you know
Speaker 9: it was and we didn't get a record that when
Speaker 9: we got big Grunge was king. Nobody was trying to
Speaker 9: sign a band like Cootie the Bluff, and we put
Speaker 9: out a little EP called Kuchie Pop and we sold
Speaker 9: fifty five fifty. Shirley Hamphill, We're watching We're Washing Hamphio
Speaker 9: do her stand up and she said her daughter saved
Speaker 9: her whole Couchie Pop.
Speaker 3: I think I know that routine.
Speaker 10: Yeah, and that's where we got it from.
Speaker 3: Yeah, what I think I remember that?
Speaker 9: And absolutely, And so we named the Kuccie Pop and
Speaker 9: we sold like fifty sixty thousand copies of it out
Speaker 9: of the back of our van, just selling it at
Speaker 9: shows and at these Mama Pop record stores. And that's
Speaker 9: when and it was before Billboard had computers, so you
Speaker 9: still had to call the stores. And people were calling
Speaker 9: these stores in the Southeast, going who's selling and we
Speaker 9: were like number three and number four and the people
Speaker 9: who is this? Who do even bofish Man and they
Speaker 9: all came down looking. So this is around like eighty
Speaker 9: nine ninety that's around ninety one ninety two when it
Speaker 9: really started to take off.
Speaker 2: But when did you guys start writing songs? Because I
Speaker 2: feel like.
Speaker 9: We started writing songs eighty nine because it was the.
Speaker 3: Cover was that you guys play covered Yeah, we.
Speaker 9: Covered forever Yeah, And it's so funny down to up
Speaker 9: looking out because you know, Dave Matthews got huge. We
Speaker 9: we played frat parties with Dave Matthews. That's how I mean,
Speaker 9: that's how big the scene was back back then, that
Speaker 9: scene was so good and it's not that way anymore.
Speaker 9: But we made we didn't even care about a record deal.
Speaker 9: We were making good money.
Speaker 1: Well, I was gonna ask, what would you how would
Speaker 1: you categorize yourselves? Because from me, from me seeing you guys,
Speaker 1: and we like there have been a few are those
Speaker 1: big giant festivals were like the roots were on like
Speaker 1: the ninth Stay the backlock stage, you guys are headlining,
Speaker 1: and I would I rarely hear people describe I always
Speaker 1: thought that you guys were more of a jam band
Speaker 1: with pop sensibilities. Absolutely, like not all the way fish,
Speaker 1: but kind of in that length, Like would you consider
Speaker 1: because I never considered it country pop or straight ahead
Speaker 1: pop or I think there's musicality and.
Speaker 9: Absolutely we were jam band with with with with that
Speaker 9: pop such ability because none of us could play well
Speaker 9: enough to be a jaman. Nobody, nobody, nobody wanted to
Speaker 9: hear our guitar player player solo for ten minutes. Nobody
Speaker 9: definitely wanted to hear me play a solo because I
Speaker 9: still can't play so so, but we had that Jampan
Speaker 9: feel about us. So that's what we always that's what
Speaker 9: we always thought we were.
Speaker 3: I see, Okay, So at what point does Atlantic come
Speaker 3: in the picture?
Speaker 10: Like, how does Yeah? They came in ninety A.
Speaker 9: Lanta came out at the end of ninety two and
Speaker 9: started talking to us, and everybody was but everybody was
Speaker 9: talking to us, I mean, and we met this guy
Speaker 9: that we liked, and so we went with Atlantic and
Speaker 9: I remember making Cracked Review. And there's some people right
Speaker 9: now that if you talk to them, they'll tell you
Speaker 9: they signed us, but they didn't. They lie, and uh,
Speaker 9: Danny Goldberg was president of Atlantic at the time, and
Speaker 9: people went in. People at Atlantic went in and told
Speaker 9: Danny Goldberg that you can't put Cracked Review out. Told
Speaker 9: him that if one guy told him, if you put
Speaker 9: Cracked Review out, we will be the laughing stock of
Speaker 9: the music business because it wasn't grunge, and everybody was
Speaker 9: buying up the grunt and grunge was everything, you know.
Speaker 9: Kirk Cobbaine and Pearl Jam and those guys, they were everything,
Speaker 9: and they told him to not put on. Danny just
Speaker 9: told him we're putting the record out, and you know
Speaker 9: the rest, I guess.
Speaker 3: Just it Okay.
Speaker 1: So obviously the one factor that meet you guys you
Speaker 1: need was the fact that a black lead singer and
Speaker 1: this band, Like, how as far as once the majors
Speaker 1: got to you guys and at least we're recording you
Speaker 1: to sign to the label, like, was there hesitancy as
Speaker 1: far as that like, was that ever? The subthing was
Speaker 1: that the ever the white elephant in the room. Oh absolutely,
Speaker 1: how are we going to sell this in the marketing?
Speaker 9: And that was always I mean, I don't know how
Speaker 9: many times people say, yo, Lenny Gravitz that I was like, yeah,
Speaker 9: but we don't sound like Lady Gravitz.
Speaker 3: Guys weren't hippified.
Speaker 1: That's the thing you were so dude's next door, Yes exactly,
Speaker 1: k guys next door, Like, but that's the thing you weren't.
Speaker 1: I don't you guys weren't silly frat you weren't. It
Speaker 1: was so normal that it worked, It was relatable. But
Speaker 1: I'm certain that someone said, like, well, just let the music,
Speaker 1: you know, let the music speak for itself.
Speaker 9: Like you notice, we're not there's little picture of us
Speaker 9: on our first.
Speaker 3: Record, the Motown Theory. Yeah, and that was on purpose.
Speaker 10: That was on purpose. That was you have me for
Speaker 10: Somebody wanted to do that.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 10: They didn't want people to see, you know.
Speaker 9: Because if they and if they saw me on the record,
Speaker 9: they would have thought I was a drummer or the
Speaker 9: basse player.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 9: And and so when we actually when we started making
Speaker 9: our first video, was like people, you know, they were
Speaker 9: worried that, you know, the the video channels working to
Speaker 9: play like you know.
Speaker 10: I was like, well, you know, let's see.
Speaker 1: So there's discussions of just doing an aerosmith and have
Speaker 1: a narrative of the story.
Speaker 9: And you guys, not exactly did bother you I always always.
Speaker 10: You know, because to us it win a big deal.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 9: We had just played frat houses where you know, I
Speaker 9: was called nigger and all this stuff. We had just
Speaker 9: busted our bus to get through where we were going
Speaker 9: through the South playing all those shitty gigs that you know,
Speaker 9: I look back on and go, I can't believe we didn't.
Speaker 9: You know, I didn't have to fight our way out.
Speaker 7: Of that, you know exactly.
Speaker 9: And so when we got there, I was like, man,
Speaker 9: we still got We're on the big stage. Now we
Speaker 9: still got to deal with this crap.
Speaker 7: How did your bam it? How did they deal with
Speaker 7: because this is something new for them.
Speaker 9: I'm sure it was, yeah, but I mean, you know,
Speaker 9: they they were thinner skin than I was. I knew
Speaker 9: that if I was going to do this, I had
Speaker 9: to have thick skin. I knew that the instant we
Speaker 9: started playing in the South that if I was going
Speaker 9: to do this, I gotta have thick skin. And we're
Speaker 9: gonna be fighting everywhere we play.
Speaker 1: And damn I forgot because you're the front man, and
Speaker 1: I know there's always some asshole or a heckler or
Speaker 1: beard or sure, so how you must be have like
Speaker 1: marksmen like that.
Speaker 3: I am pretty.
Speaker 8: Of those clubs with the cages around Rose Pay one
Speaker 8: of those.
Speaker 9: Yeah, like Blues Brothers places that had the fence around
Speaker 9: this day.
Speaker 3: You guys never played Rong Hide just for kicks. We
Speaker 3: played Roigh that night.
Speaker 9: Didn't even know it picked it.
Speaker 3: Oh man, that dog that is that is brave?
Speaker 1: Like does would that ever give you an anxiety?
Speaker 3: Because I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, at the most I would probably fear facing
Speaker 1: an audience that has indifference, but not you know, wondering
Speaker 1: every night where's it going to come from.
Speaker 9: I tell you the times when I got the most
Speaker 9: scared or like, but you know, we took the gigs,
Speaker 9: were go play the gig, But anxiety was playing those
Speaker 9: frat houses in the South, like going to the University
Speaker 9: of Tennessee and playing the freaking Kate, going to Presbyterian
Speaker 9: and playing the KA House. And you know, I don't
Speaker 9: know what it is like that, but back when we
Speaker 9: were in school, KA was the old South frat. You
Speaker 9: know they basically, you know, they should have three k's
Speaker 9: instead of ka.
Speaker 1: Was that ever a redemptive purple ring movement where it's
Speaker 1: like where it's like when you get to that climatic
Speaker 1: song and they're looking at each.
Speaker 9: Other like, yeah, absolutely there was.
Speaker 3: There was.
Speaker 9: But then then we're lowing our shipped down and the
Speaker 9: guy front and I hear this man that was a
Speaker 9: good band, even though they had a nigger singer.
Speaker 10: Oh heard it.
Speaker 9: The guy was right there.
Speaker 8: When he said, and what's crazy for you is you
Speaker 8: had to go through both sides because it's like you
Speaker 8: have that and then you're not black enough on the
Speaker 8: other side, because I'm sure there were situations that you
Speaker 8: you know, you wanted to do or even as far
Speaker 8: as publications that you wanted to talk to and it
Speaker 8: was like, wait, I'm here.
Speaker 9: Absolutely, that's that. That's been the hardest thing for me
Speaker 9: is to have to get it for most sides, Like
Speaker 9: I've sold thirty five million records. There was one point
Speaker 9: where I was in the biggest band in the world.
Speaker 9: And you know, I've never been on the cover of
Speaker 9: Ebony or Jet. I've had one story and Jet they
Speaker 9: did a story. But who was in Bluefish in ninety six, right,
Speaker 9: we just got.
Speaker 3: The cover of Ebony.
Speaker 1: But I'm just saying that it's it's even though he's
Speaker 1: we're in different genres, there is it is a psychological
Speaker 1: mind fuck to thrive in a business where categorically or
Speaker 1: statistically the audience that's supporting you might not necessarily embrace
Speaker 1: you in real life. And on top of that, the
Speaker 1: people that you look like when you look in the
Speaker 1: mirror aren't necessarily supporting you as well. So it's a
Speaker 1: very weird thing.
Speaker 3: Toby. It's well, I mean, there's a lot of acts
Speaker 3: like that, but it's it's.
Speaker 7: Still you know what's crazy.
Speaker 8: Y'all should know that it trickles down to radio too,
Speaker 8: because I've been told I'm come from radio, and I've
Speaker 8: been told, Okay, black people aren't into that, like you,
Speaker 8: we can't talk about that. Oh can we just talk
Speaker 8: about No, black people don't. So it trickles down in
Speaker 8: all kinds of ways. I don't want y'all to just
Speaker 8: think like, you know.
Speaker 1: Well, that's also the difference because he has a lot
Speaker 1: of hits and I got one and that.
Speaker 3: Half hits.
Speaker 1: All right, So so the album comes out and it
Speaker 1: becomes an unstoppable monster. Yeah, like and again I know
Speaker 1: that no one planned any of this. It wasn't like
Speaker 1: you were, oh god, no doing Michael Jackson posted on
Speaker 1: the wall like.
Speaker 10: No, not at all.
Speaker 1: So at the point where it's like where your sound
Speaker 1: skin numbers reports are coming in, deal like, oh guys,
Speaker 1: another million, another million, another million, another million.
Speaker 3: Does it does it get scary?
Speaker 1: Because like, this is your first album and are you
Speaker 1: already thinking like damn, now the second album has to
Speaker 1: be just as good?
Speaker 9: And I was I was the one that said of
Speaker 9: the band, y'all know this is never gonna happen again, right,
Speaker 9: I mean.
Speaker 3: It was even as it was happening.
Speaker 9: It got to like twelve million, and they, I mean,
Speaker 9: they wanted to go. They wanted to chase Michael Jackson.
Speaker 9: They wanted to put too more singles out. They wanted
Speaker 9: to chase Thriller. They really really did. They wanted to
Speaker 9: they wanted to put too more singles up, but we stopped.
Speaker 3: It, respectful.
Speaker 9: No, we want to make another record record, you know,
Speaker 9: the same song as make another record, and uh, it
Speaker 9: was it's getting crazy, but I knew it.
Speaker 3: Dude.
Speaker 9: We sold six million on the next record and that's
Speaker 9: considered a flop. How how crazy is that we sold
Speaker 9: six million records and it's considered a flop.
Speaker 11: That's crazy Today, if anybody sells six million.
Speaker 3: You can't.
Speaker 10: Can't. It's not possible.
Speaker 1: So okay, So when you get to Fairweather Johnson and
Speaker 1: and and the other records, like, are you well, I mean,
Speaker 1: what's the as far as you guys are concerned, Are
Speaker 1: you guys still a tight knit you?
Speaker 8: Oh?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, Because usually when bands get to that level
Speaker 1: like you two dog, their entourage situation is the craziest
Speaker 1: thing I've ever seen in my life. Like even Adam
Speaker 1: Clayton has his own private plane, his own us, his
Speaker 1: own like each band member and YouTube has their own world.
Speaker 1: Like it's something I've never seen before. But are you guys? Like, Okay,
Speaker 1: we're gonna stay humble, stay on the same bus.
Speaker 3: We were so tight.
Speaker 9: I mean it was we felt it was still us
Speaker 9: against the world and the party was on. Okay, I
Speaker 9: mean we we were at that point when Fairweather came out,
Speaker 9: we were raging. I mean it was like, I think
Speaker 9: back to that time and when we get together, the
Speaker 9: four of us talk, we say the same thing, thank
Speaker 9: God for letting all four of us make it out
Speaker 9: the end of that. And so that was something that
Speaker 9: brought us together. We were just having so much fun.
Speaker 9: We didn't care about the record. So the only thing
Speaker 9: we loved is that the shows were bigger.
Speaker 10: You know that. That's that's what we cared about. The
Speaker 10: shows were bigger.
Speaker 9: We're getting to play as much as we want, having
Speaker 9: a great time. I actually con afford to pay off
Speaker 9: my student loan and get me a car.
Speaker 3: First first check.
Speaker 10: My student loan first check.
Speaker 9: Yeah, much just like thousand with you.
Speaker 7: Your first loan was like twenty.
Speaker 9: Exactly.
Speaker 1: You know that the Obama's paid off their student loan
Speaker 1: the first year of being in the White House.
Speaker 5: Wow wow, really wow.
Speaker 7: It was expensive too. They did had a lot of
Speaker 7: schooling they did.
Speaker 3: That's real, that's crazy.
Speaker 1: So to play, what do you prefer like smaller intimate
Speaker 1: settings or is it as intimate when you're playing in
Speaker 1: the stadium.
Speaker 9: Or oh definitely not today, I definitely. But if we
Speaker 9: could play like a two three thousand sedter, that's perfect.
Speaker 3: That's a good small small I love it.
Speaker 9: That's not small. I mean small is a five hundred
Speaker 9: the club, But that's that's I like that. But you know,
Speaker 9: like last night, I pluay. You know, there was you know,
Speaker 9: eleven twelve thousand people in this tennis stadium and you
Speaker 9: just can't. You try to give it up, but you
Speaker 9: can't see everybody. You can't, you know, you can't really
Speaker 9: get it. And that's I like that because you know
Speaker 9: that the checks are bigger, and you know you're still
Speaker 9: and you you're doing all right, and you got all
Speaker 9: these people here. But man, if I could play a
Speaker 9: two thousand theater, I love it.
Speaker 1: I gotta ask a question, So right now, where's your Grammy.
Speaker 3: This This is a running joke on.
Speaker 6: I have.
Speaker 10: I have a man.
Speaker 9: I have this little room where I watch football and write,
Speaker 9: and I got my studio there, and there's a little
Speaker 9: closet area. If you want to see my grammys right now,
Speaker 9: I would have to take you to them. Like you
Speaker 9: never walk in my house and see my Grammys, I'd
Speaker 9: have to take you to Oh.
Speaker 3: So it's not on the floor, it's not a doorstopper.
Speaker 9: Or basically it's basically a bookend. Some books up there.
Speaker 9: The two of them are holding some books up. But uh,
Speaker 9: I mean, like I say, I'll say, any other I
Speaker 9: don't have. I don't want people to walk in and
Speaker 9: like there's not one platinum gold record on my wall
Speaker 9: anywhere in my house. I don't have them. My sisters
Speaker 9: and brothers have them all. I don't have my cousins.
Speaker 9: I don't have any of them because I don't want
Speaker 9: people walking into my living room and seeing all the
Speaker 9: you know, eighteen times blaten Am and all that stuff.
Speaker 9: It's like, I know what I did, you know, you
Speaker 9: know what I did. I don't have to throw in
Speaker 9: anybody's face. So my grammy is just a little they're
Speaker 9: in the corner somewhere, just if you want to see them,
Speaker 9: them to you, but you're.
Speaker 10: Not gonna see it one less.
Speaker 2: They're not in the bathroom.
Speaker 10: Now, They're not in the bathroom. Yours in the bathroom?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 7: Yeah, nice?
Speaker 3: So yeah in the bathroom.
Speaker 1: When did you know that it was time to leave
Speaker 1: the band and start your own solo career.
Speaker 9: I got lucky if our drummer came in. We had,
Speaker 9: you know, you tour every summer, and we were on
Speaker 9: tour in the middle of the tour and our drummer
Speaker 9: walks in and says, hey, man, you know, I don't
Speaker 9: want to be a touring band like this anymore. I
Speaker 9: want to just we we're touring too much, so I
Speaker 9: don't want to be a touring band. And my first
Speaker 9: thought was, Okay, I'm going to go do this country record.
Speaker 10: Yes, I was like yeah.
Speaker 9: I was like, cool, I'll go do I'm gonna do
Speaker 9: my this country thing and see what happens.
Speaker 1: But you didn't, right, huh you? As far as I'm concerned.
Speaker 1: When I first met you two thousand and one, you
Speaker 1: signed it in beach career.
Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, but that was that we were still together.
Speaker 9: That was we took a year off and I did
Speaker 9: that record. Then we got back together and went back
Speaker 9: on tour until two thousand and eight.
Speaker 3: Okay, I thought you left the group and then.
Speaker 9: No, that we were just taking time off for that
Speaker 9: then and then at two thousand and eight was when
Speaker 9: two thousand and seven was when.
Speaker 10: They called it.
Speaker 9: They we just don't want to do this all the
Speaker 9: time was okay, And we weren't that band who could
Speaker 9: have said, Okay, we're gonna get a new drummer. We
Speaker 9: just we're a band. When the four of us play,
Speaker 9: we play. If the four of us are gonna play together,
Speaker 9: we're not gonna play.
Speaker 1: So the grass is always greener on the other side.
Speaker 1: Because I was shocked. Really, I just just as a
Speaker 1: as a working musician, my thought is always about like
Speaker 1: my livelihood and the people have to take care.
Speaker 10: Of Yes, I mean too you can't.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it's just with with black people.
Speaker 1: I mean I would think that everyone thinks like Okay.
Speaker 2: I also feel like.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so to.
Speaker 1: Walk away from something so sure shot and I'm sure
Speaker 1: I'm certain that by that point you know your guarantees
Speaker 1: or nice yeah for you know, yeah, that time period
Speaker 1: to make that every To make your your your grandparents night,
Speaker 1: to make your grandparents' annual salary in one ninety minute
Speaker 1: concert is great. So to walk away from that is
Speaker 1: such a risk. Oh yeah, And I'm not even talking
Speaker 1: about your standpoint because you're still here.
Speaker 3: But for your band members, is.
Speaker 1: It Was it a rastusism or was it like, well,
Speaker 1: let's talk about him.
Speaker 9: No, he had thought about it for a while. I
Speaker 9: mean you could tell when he was talking to us.
Speaker 9: And I think the band actually thought we might not
Speaker 9: play for two years, maybe three years, and we'd be
Speaker 9: out doing it again. And I'll be honest with me,
Speaker 9: I probably thought to say thing because I was going
Speaker 9: to make my country record in my basement with my buddies,
Speaker 9: and because I didn't think I could get a record deal,
Speaker 9: because I say all the time, if I was my brother,
Speaker 9: I wouldn't give me a record deal because at that point,
Speaker 9: who he had run his course on the radio. We
Speaker 9: had done our thing, you know, if we were lucky,
Speaker 9: if our records would go gold, you know, and it
Speaker 9: was one you know, We're still had a touring band.
Speaker 9: We were doing great, but nobody was out buying hoodie records.
Speaker 9: And I thought to myself if if I'm the president
Speaker 9: of the label or ain't our guy, I'm not going
Speaker 9: to give the black lead singer of a pop band
Speaker 9: that was big a record deal to do country music.
Speaker 10: I mean, I just didn't think i'd get a record deal.
Speaker 9: And Doc McGhee was my manager, and he talked to
Speaker 9: president of Capitol and to give me a record deal
Speaker 9: before before he said who I was. And then when
Speaker 9: he said who I was, I got lucky because the
Speaker 9: guy said, you know, I didn't really get that hooty thing,
Speaker 9: but I always thought he was a country singer.
Speaker 5: Who you were?
Speaker 10: They were at dinner.
Speaker 9: The story goes here at dinner and he's with Mike
Speaker 9: Duncan and he says, I want you to give this
Speaker 9: guy a record deal, and Mike was like who. And
Speaker 9: they went around for an hour and Mike was like,
Speaker 9: I can't give him deal with that, telling me and
Speaker 9: Doc pull deal.
Speaker 10: I'm Doc McGee, you you're gonna trust me on this.
Speaker 10: One said all right, I'll give a deal.
Speaker 9: I'll give a deal and said it was me And
Speaker 9: they called me that night and I went and in
Speaker 9: the next day and he gave me a deal. And
Speaker 9: the favorite story that I hear is he said. When
Speaker 9: I decided to give a record deal, I called the
Speaker 9: thirteen people in Nashville that I thought were the tastemakers,
Speaker 9: the guys that are running country music. He's called by
Speaker 9: thirteen friends, and I thought would know that know this business,
Speaker 9: are controlling this business. And I told them all I
Speaker 9: was sudden you and twelve of them told me it
Speaker 9: will never work. Wow, don't even do it. You're wasting
Speaker 9: your money. The guy who produced my record for the
Speaker 9: Rogers was the one guy who said, great idea, call
Speaker 9: me when you do it. Yeah, really, yeah, he I mean, dude.
Speaker 9: When I started going to radio, I had radio guys
Speaker 9: who are now my best buddies. You know, when you
Speaker 9: need that extra spin to go to number one, you know,
Speaker 9: and call them up. They'll play it two times in
Speaker 9: a row. But when I started, they told me straight up.
Speaker 9: I told people I'd never played I've heard people say
Speaker 9: to me, I thought my audience would.
Speaker 10: Never accept the black countries here.
Speaker 7: I thought I had.
Speaker 10: But it's been twenty five years. I came along, Charlie
Speaker 10: Proud had done anything.
Speaker 1: Well, let it not be said that you aren't familiar
Speaker 1: with recording danger. Now the thing is that I I
Speaker 1: thought that that was a natural thing, Like it wasn't
Speaker 1: like I said, really, I felt like, oh, that makes
Speaker 1: sense the same thing if Nald Richie were to make
Speaker 1: a straight up country record or whatever. You know, well,
Speaker 1: yes he did, but I was just saying that it
Speaker 1: it makes sense to me only because, like, especially now
Speaker 1: that I get to talk to a lot of country
Speaker 1: acts that come on the Tonight Show, I'm slowly realizing
Speaker 1: that damn country acts have a lot of things in
Speaker 1: common with Soul seventies acts, Like there's there's a passion
Speaker 1: there that I thought it was a perfect fit.
Speaker 3: And so I mean, obviously, of course.
Speaker 11: If you think about it, like Glass Night and the Pips,
Speaker 11: the imagination now with Midnight Training Georgia, all countries.
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, yeah, you have.
Speaker 9: The porners sisters, they want to cantry Grammy.
Speaker 11: Yeah, the first one was a country, so neither one
Speaker 11: of us must be say good bye country something.
Speaker 1: But before we get to that, so I because I
Speaker 1: know that you were working with dra and Videll and
Speaker 1: and whatnot, what was that whole experience like doing that?
Speaker 9: That's that's one of my that's still one of my
Speaker 9: favorite records that I've ever been a part of. I
Speaker 9: listened to that record probably three weeks ago. That was
Speaker 9: so much fun. Man, work with those guys, work with
Speaker 9: Jill and and work with you know, with the I
Speaker 9: was working with the characters here and working with Jazz
Speaker 9: out in the LA. Where did you record the I
Speaker 9: recorded some of it here, some of them in Philly.
Speaker 10: Yeah, it was. I mean, I love that. I love that.
Speaker 10: I still love that record.
Speaker 9: I think we've had some great songs on that record.
Speaker 9: You make me feel like I've sing the song.
Speaker 3: You love Lizabon know that.
Speaker 9: I mean only that, I hear.
Speaker 10: So fun.
Speaker 3: I want having.
Speaker 10: You got so?
Speaker 12: How would you got so?
Speaker 10: Even got so? Help me too?
Speaker 3: I love it.
Speaker 7: What was that like working in the studio with her?
Speaker 10: Oh? Great, she came in.
Speaker 9: We started writing that song, and you know, I was
Speaker 9: such a big fan, and and we start writing a
Speaker 9: song and we get to the chorus and when we
Speaker 9: started cutting, it was so sexy. You know, her voice
Speaker 9: is so sexy, and I.
Speaker 7: Was with her everything she gives us sex.
Speaker 10: It was awesome.
Speaker 1: So, uh speak of your at least for the transformation into.
Speaker 3: Going to the country world. How hard was that adjustment
Speaker 3: for you?
Speaker 10: For me, it was easy.
Speaker 9: I mean because I'm just I'm still still that kid
Speaker 9: from South Carolina that thinks he got lucky.
Speaker 10: So like they were surprised.
Speaker 9: Like when we got the first single and I went
Speaker 9: to my label, I said, I want to be the
Speaker 9: new guy. I said, I don't want to be. I
Speaker 9: want to start from the bottom and work.
Speaker 10: My way up. They're like, well, we had these ideas.
Speaker 9: I was like, well, I want to do a radio tour,
Speaker 9: and they were shocked because they said they had talked
Speaker 9: about it, but they didn't think I would do it.
Speaker 9: And so I went to one hundred and ten radio
Speaker 9: stations three or four day for five six weeks. I
Speaker 9: mean every day, busting up, you know, talking to people,
Speaker 9: shaking hands, kissing babies, playing for three people in the
Speaker 9: conference room and doing all that.
Speaker 3: How hard is it to.
Speaker 1: Make them this attached themselves from what your past was.
Speaker 10: That was the hardest part. That was the hardest part of.
Speaker 3: How do you win that armless wrestling match.
Speaker 10: To I just went in and was myself.
Speaker 9: I just went in and talked, and that was me
Speaker 9: and and I visited and you know, you got for
Speaker 9: have lunch and drink some beers. And have a good
Speaker 9: time and people liked me and I had actually had
Speaker 9: a good song.
Speaker 8: Was there anybody that was mentoring you like that, anybody
Speaker 8: that went through the process like you did that change genres?
Speaker 9: And No, that was something that somebody said to me
Speaker 9: that I thought of. It was like so many people
Speaker 9: that have gone from popped and tried to trying to
Speaker 9: do country and I'm the only person that's that's made it.
Speaker 9: And I was like, wow, I never even thought about that.
Speaker 9: But I mean, I've had a career. I got eight
Speaker 9: number ones, I get a Grammy, I got five number
Speaker 9: one records.
Speaker 1: It was it's it was crazy, so okay for a
Speaker 1: person that's never played there but has heard about the
Speaker 1: folklore of the Grand ol Opry, what is what is
Speaker 1: the honor or the folkal of playing the Grand Old Opry?
Speaker 9: And it's pretty sacred in country music.
Speaker 1: It's it's like like, is it a jury that decides
Speaker 1: we'll let you play this?
Speaker 8: Or who?
Speaker 10: He tried to play there for years. They wouldn't let us.
Speaker 10: They would never let us on the stage.
Speaker 9: They just said, you're not a country band, you know.
Speaker 9: And so the first time I played it was pretty awesome.
Speaker 9: It was just one of those out of buddy experiences,
Speaker 9: because you know, and the day I got asked to
Speaker 9: be a member was probably the first day I thought
Speaker 9: I was a part of the country music.
Speaker 1: So is it like the Friars Club or it's like, explain,
Speaker 1: do you know, can you explain for audience and me?
Speaker 3: What is so okay?
Speaker 1: Assuming that you're a young start in Nashville, Like, is
Speaker 1: your dream like one day.
Speaker 9: Absolutely, your dream is one day be a member of
Speaker 9: the Grand Opera? And yeah, the play because everybody once
Speaker 9: you're if you're in the business, you could play it.
Speaker 9: If you're a country singer, you could get on the opry.
Speaker 9: But becoming a member, you know, it's just an honor
Speaker 9: that that that everybody in Nashville is trying to get.
Speaker 1: And what's like, what's a member like? Is it like
Speaker 1: the Rock and Hall Hall of Fame or is it
Speaker 1: it's not.
Speaker 3: It's not.
Speaker 10: It's more like the Friars Club is probably a better
Speaker 10: way to describe it. It's it's a it's a big
Speaker 10: fraternity of.
Speaker 9: Musicians and we all give our time to the Opry
Speaker 9: and you know the.
Speaker 10: Charity stuff that the Opry does and all that.
Speaker 9: Stuff, and it's It's like everybody wants to be a member.
Speaker 1: So who initiates the idea? Like does your manager call
Speaker 1: them and say, hey, oh, they have.
Speaker 3: To come to you.
Speaker 9: You have to come to you and say do you
Speaker 9: want to be a member of the Grand Opery?
Speaker 7: Are you the only pepper and a salt?
Speaker 9: Were you?
Speaker 1: Charlie as growing up as a kid with with like
Speaker 1: limited uh television shows on but a lot of variety shows.
Speaker 1: I definitely remember, like Charlie Pride always seen him on
Speaker 1: these variety shows in the seventies. But I'm not that
Speaker 1: familiar with his discography, So I did he get a
Speaker 1: lot of play?
Speaker 9: He got a lot of where we lived, Like I
Speaker 9: was an AM radio kid, where I just sit and
Speaker 9: flip through the radio and whatever song I liked, I'd
Speaker 9: stop on it.
Speaker 10: And Charlie Pride, I.
Speaker 9: Mean, and even in our house because he was big
Speaker 9: in our house, because it was one of the only
Speaker 9: places you could see music. Yes, exactly exactly, And so
Speaker 9: you know I watched you.
Speaker 3: Oh no, no, I thought you said roll call.
Speaker 7: I quoted it in my role.
Speaker 3: Call there is that roll call was derivative of but it.
Speaker 7: Is also a dance in DC. We made up but.
Speaker 9: Continue and so he was really big and he was
Speaker 9: for me as a kid, I was always that kid
Speaker 9: who wanted to do something different, who always and I
Speaker 9: always thought it was cool that Charlie Pride was, you know,
Speaker 9: doing something that we weren't supposed to do. You know,
Speaker 9: we weren't supposed to sing coutry music. And this guy
Speaker 9: was not just saying country music. He was Entertainer of
Speaker 9: the Year two years. You know, he hosted the CMAS
Speaker 9: a couple of years, and I thought, this guy, you know,
Speaker 9: he was somebody I definitely looked up to as a kid.
Speaker 3: Uh have you.
Speaker 1: I know, it's well with a lot of singers in
Speaker 1: the business, like some of them are kind of slow
Speaker 1: to meet someone more successful. I'm not saying like you're
Speaker 1: idol or whatever you don't meet your heroes or whatever,
Speaker 1: but do you guys have a relationship.
Speaker 10: We're friends. We're definitely friends.
Speaker 9: We talk, we hang out when we when we can,
Speaker 9: and the whole ebony and jet thing.
Speaker 10: I didn't even think about that until Charlie said that
Speaker 10: to me.
Speaker 9: Never And when he said that to me is when
Speaker 9: I thought, I was like, Wow, I've never done it.
Speaker 10: I was like because that's those kind of things. I
Speaker 10: just let go because I'm like, it's just not gonna
Speaker 10: happen what I do.
Speaker 9: And then I thought, wow, Charlie Pride has never been
Speaker 9: on the cover of Ebony or I mean, I was
Speaker 9: like wow, And I was like, you know, I guess
Speaker 9: I kind of understand me.
Speaker 10: But that guy is I would, Oh you would? You
Speaker 10: should have one of that. He's he'll tell you too.
Speaker 7: Baseball player.
Speaker 3: He was a baseball player.
Speaker 10: I love what he Charlie.
Speaker 9: Charlie's one of the guys you love to hang out
Speaker 9: with because he loves to tell stories and I'll sit
Speaker 9: there for hours and just let him talk and just laugh.
Speaker 10: And he's you should have one. He's great.
Speaker 3: Dear, guys, have been doing please make this happen.
Speaker 7: Were you guys friends before you decided to do country or.
Speaker 10: We met when I started doing so when.
Speaker 8: He found out, Like, what is the first initial conversation
Speaker 8: that you guys?
Speaker 9: Our first conversation was he was hosting the Opry and
Speaker 9: I was on the opery that night, and him and
Speaker 9: I got there early so we could sit in the
Speaker 9: room just me and him.
Speaker 10: For an hour.
Speaker 3: Are laughing about getting there early?
Speaker 9: Yeah, Yeah, I don't know that about that.
Speaker 2: Your country people get here.
Speaker 3: What you got me? Man, you got me. So you
Speaker 3: guys got there earlier.
Speaker 9: And we just sat and talked for like an hour,
Speaker 9: an hour and a half. We just sat in the room,
Speaker 9: just me and him and talked and I picked his
Speaker 9: brain about you know, but his life and my life
Speaker 9: and what I can expect and and I'll be honest
Speaker 9: with you.
Speaker 10: One thing I.
Speaker 9: Said to myself years ago, we were talking earlier about
Speaker 9: the frat house and all that stuff.
Speaker 10: I said to myself.
Speaker 9: Years ago, no matter what I go through, I can
Speaker 9: handle it because I can't imagine what Charlie Pride went through.
Speaker 9: I can't imagine what he went through to succeed the
Speaker 9: way he did. And I always said, if he could
Speaker 9: take that, I could take whatever they got to throw
Speaker 9: my way.
Speaker 8: But I'm almost scared for you because it's kind of
Speaker 8: like a semi resurgence of Charlie.
Speaker 10: Oh, you're right.
Speaker 9: And the funny thing is the only time I've ever
Speaker 9: really experienced something that was just so blatantly racist at
Speaker 9: one of my shows is we're playing a show in
Speaker 9: upstate New York. Upstate New York. I'm playing a show,
Speaker 9: and all of a sudden we see these six giant,
Speaker 9: giant rebel flax and these guys are walking around the
Speaker 9: crowd carrying real flax. So my boys are like, hell no,
Speaker 9: so we all go together and they went out no Darius,
Speaker 9: and these guys went out and grabbed these you know,
Speaker 9: grab these cats. And these cats were straight up we
Speaker 9: are the local chapter in the KK.
Speaker 7: Were to people don't know about the are you?
Speaker 9: We were like, y'all get out of here, y'all got
Speaker 9: to go.
Speaker 10: We kicked them out.
Speaker 3: It was three years some of the world is we're
Speaker 3: here to visiting?
Speaker 11: Thing about it all?
Speaker 3: Like why is that road playing?
Speaker 9: Hair Rosa, stay at ouse walls tied in here and
Speaker 9: then sit out here and tam world.
Speaker 13: Over us where no matter all, we got him here again.
Speaker 3: Gun, You don't guy, what you see in a.
Speaker 5: Glance on the street?
Speaker 6: What do you want to see?
Speaker 11: Okay, Well, since we're talking about this is really appropriate,
Speaker 11: can you talk about the song Drowning, which seems to
Speaker 11: be quite as relevant now as it was twenty years
Speaker 11: ago when it was first released.
Speaker 9: You know, we uh, the rebel flag used to be
Speaker 9: on top of our state house like it would be
Speaker 9: the US flags, the South Kin flag, and the red
Speaker 9: flag flying over the state House. So there was a
Speaker 9: big controversy that we just wanted it take him down.
Speaker 9: We wanted it take him down. And so one night
Speaker 9: I was out at the bars and there was this cat.
Speaker 9: He was a homeless cat and he uh, his name
Speaker 9: was Spider. We all call him Spider, and he's he's
Speaker 9: sitting on the thing. And so I went back in
Speaker 9: the bar and I grab two beers and I go
Speaker 9: down and I sit next to Spider and we start
Speaker 9: talking and we figuring about beer before I go to
Speaker 9: the next bar, and we start talking about the rebel flag.
Speaker 9: And he, you know, he knew the band, and he
Speaker 9: said to me one thing. He said, you know all
Speaker 9: the you know, all the hate, that hate that's going on.
Speaker 9: You said, you know, it's you the hate. And I
Speaker 9: went wow.
Speaker 10: He's like, well, I was like, what do you mean.
Speaker 10: He was like, you know they're playing with these white boys,
Speaker 10: You're the one they really hate.
Speaker 3: And I went wow.
Speaker 9: And I went home that night and I wrote Drowning
Speaker 9: and Drowning it's a protest song. I mean, there's no
Speaker 9: other ways you could say. It's a protest song. And uh,
Speaker 9: I just I wanted to. I was so frustrated and
Speaker 9: that night and I was so like taken aback by
Speaker 9: what spider it said that I sat down and you know,
Speaker 9: and I wrote it, and you know, when it came down,
Speaker 9: that was one of the songs they were playing at
Speaker 9: the State House when they were taking it down, and
Speaker 9: I thought that was pretty cool.
Speaker 8: Wow, that's do you stand it with the So now
Speaker 8: you know, now that the flag issue is down, now
Speaker 8: there's the statue issue. I'm just curious because I know
Speaker 8: South Carolina. You know, they've been pulling statues down around there.
Speaker 9: The thing that the thing that kills me about, Uh,
Speaker 9: all the people will go you know where you're forget
Speaker 9: the history. These are the people who came to be
Speaker 9: these patriotic Americans, and the South tried to destroy the Union,
Speaker 9: they tried to destroy what America was when America and
Speaker 9: also they could keep black people with slaves and they
Speaker 9: were terrorists and they were you know, and they want
Speaker 9: to keep that up. But all those were put up
Speaker 9: in the Jim Crow era and they were put up
Speaker 9: to to show black people we are still you know,
Speaker 9: we're still the man. We hate it, We're going to
Speaker 9: put all these things up, and people don't realize that,
Speaker 9: you know, that wasn't put up in eighteen eighty.
Speaker 7: We think that it was.
Speaker 9: They think that it was, but it was, and it
Speaker 9: was put up to doing Jim Crow to keep black
Speaker 9: people in their place, so to say. And so I'm
Speaker 9: good with taking them down.
Speaker 1: So based on what's going on now, I mean, how
Speaker 1: awkward is it doing press in that circuit, especially with
Speaker 1: what's going on now. I know that you're a big
Speaker 1: sports fanatic, and it's almost like every day you wake up,
Speaker 1: everyone America wakes up sort of panic stricken because they're
Speaker 1: not knowing what's going to be reported next on the news.
Speaker 3: And second me.
Speaker 1: Turning on and now just dealing with the White House
Speaker 1: and the National Anthem and football and everything. I mean,
Speaker 1: how hard is it to just sell your product in
Speaker 1: that marketplace and and kind of step between, uh.
Speaker 3: You know, landmindes.
Speaker 1: Of of of avoiding being a spokesperson or content.
Speaker 10: And and the thing.
Speaker 9: For me, it's hard both ways because like I sing
Speaker 9: the Nashay, I was in London singing the national anthem
Speaker 9: just a little while ago. But I just the way
Speaker 9: I was raised, I can't kneel during the anthem. I
Speaker 9: understand why they do trust me. I've been stopped. I've
Speaker 9: been stopped for driving a nice car a million times.
Speaker 9: I got brothers and cousins and uncles and friends, and
Speaker 9: I'm totally with what the what what those guys are protested,
Speaker 9: you know, and I get a there. But then you know,
Speaker 9: like you said, you're all trying to sell a product
Speaker 9: and people want to talk about what's going on, and you,
Speaker 9: you know, you.
Speaker 10: Say the wrong thing. Look at the Dixie Chicks. You
Speaker 10: say the.
Speaker 9: Wrong thing one time, and your career could be over.
Speaker 9: I mean, you know, career suicide country country, especially especially
Speaker 9: in country. You got, you got? The Dixie Chicks said
Speaker 9: one offhand thing. The day before they said that they
Speaker 9: were the most played band on country radio by far,
Speaker 9: the day they said that they haven't played since. I've
Speaker 9: never heard a Dixie Chicks song on the country read
Speaker 9: I listen to coutry radio all the time. I've never
Speaker 9: heard a Dixie Chick song. And that that you know,
Speaker 9: you look at that, and so you stay true to
Speaker 9: I stay true to who I am. You know I do.
Speaker 9: If you ask me a question, I'll answer. I answered
Speaker 9: the way that I want to answer it. But it's
Speaker 9: like it's such a fine line to walk out there,
Speaker 9: you know, because you want you always want to do
Speaker 9: the right thing, but then you have to think about
Speaker 9: you know, about this, about my career, about all this,
Speaker 9: and so it's tough getting it sold, but you've got
Speaker 9: to go out there and work.
Speaker 2: It doesn't sound like you you asked to be a
Speaker 2: spokesperson for race, but you seem to have. It seems
Speaker 2: to be this responsibility that's been put upon you just
Speaker 2: because of these lines that you seem to be walking.
Speaker 3: What is that like?
Speaker 2: I mean, like I don't think you know, Like I
Speaker 2: feel like some people they want to talk about race
Speaker 2: and it's very important to them, and this just feels
Speaker 2: like where you live and the genres that you jump
Speaker 2: between your automatically that's sort of yeah, whether whether you
Speaker 2: want it or not, which is.
Speaker 3: And it's just ridiculous, but like it's kind of part
Speaker 3: of being black.
Speaker 2: Well okay, white person. I'm just that I don't know
Speaker 2: what that's like.
Speaker 1: Whenever I'm in this situation, I have a fear of like,
Speaker 1: oh God, please don't let an awkward statement happen.
Speaker 3: Please, I just want to I just want to go
Speaker 3: to Starbucks and get my coffee. I live that every
Speaker 3: day and whatever.
Speaker 9: So yeah, like I did the CBS Saturday Morning thing
Speaker 9: and it goes so crazy because I did the CBS
Speaker 9: Saturday Morning thing and you know, I was doing exactly
Speaker 9: what you're saying. Don't let me say something awkward something,
Speaker 9: you know, And because I started talking about the.
Speaker 3: EMU, not even you, I'm just from with other people.
Speaker 9: Yeah, oh yeah, coming like some question or something that
Speaker 9: that gets me to say something. And then I go, well, right,
Speaker 9: come on man, you know, like you know, it's just
Speaker 9: it's a fun line.
Speaker 8: Plus you're like a double agent in a way, so
Speaker 8: I feel like you have information, you know what I mean,
Speaker 8: you don't. I'm sorry if we're asking to me question like,
Speaker 8: oh I know there's I'm like, what do you do
Speaker 8: when they talk about the NRAs.
Speaker 3: It's so much.
Speaker 7: They're all your fans.
Speaker 8: Man, it's fascinating. You're fascinating. You should be on the
Speaker 8: cover of Ebony.
Speaker 3: Yeah, make it happen you please.
Speaker 1: Okay, how hard is it to navigate a career and
Speaker 1: a personal life?
Speaker 3: Uh?
Speaker 1: Like away from your career? Like, are you a twenty
Speaker 1: four hour I have to constantly tour.
Speaker 3: I have to always make music.
Speaker 1: Is it just like, Okay, I want time off to
Speaker 1: you know, have a family life for that sort of thing, Like,
Speaker 1: how hard is it to.
Speaker 9: I think that's probably the main reason I live in Charleston.
Speaker 9: It's because the place where I live, everybody knows me,
Speaker 9: like I've been living there. I've been living in the
Speaker 9: same neighborhood for twenty years now. Everybody knows me. They've
Speaker 9: they've you know, I grew up with a lot of
Speaker 9: people like I played the show the other night and
Speaker 9: I knew half the people in the crowd. And so uh,
Speaker 9: because I don't have to work all the time. I
Speaker 9: love being off. I love being with my kids. I
Speaker 9: love being home with the family. I love that. And
Speaker 9: so I lived there so I could just have a
Speaker 9: normal life because really, outside of my job, my life's
Speaker 9: pretty pretty normal, you'd be. I mean, like, people are
Speaker 9: surprised when they hang out with me because I go
Speaker 9: to I go to Walmart and Target every day.
Speaker 8: I go to the grocery store every day.
Speaker 3: I do.
Speaker 10: Yeah, you wouldn't see me. I love it.
Speaker 8: What's it like being around because all your brothers and
Speaker 8: sisters are still in the area too, righte, So not
Speaker 8: to be all up in your business.
Speaker 3: But since you did.
Speaker 8: But since you did have such a successful band, you
Speaker 8: are such a successful artist, do you to I've learned
Speaker 8: this request let retire people like are there certain people
Speaker 8: that you like?
Speaker 7: You know, like certain your older brothers and sisters. You're like,
Speaker 7: don't worry about.
Speaker 3: It, you have a hanger on.
Speaker 9: There was, yes, there was a minute question.
Speaker 7: Made it pretty.
Speaker 9: There was one thing I said to my sisters and
Speaker 9: brothers when cracked reviews started taking off. You know, I said,
Speaker 9: I love you guys. I said, I love you guys.
Speaker 9: And you guys will never be kicked out of your house. Okay,
Speaker 9: you always have a car. But we are not rich.
Speaker 7: I am rich.
Speaker 10: I will take care of you.
Speaker 3: I will make sure.
Speaker 9: I will make sure you never ever if you're if
Speaker 9: you're four months late on your on your mortgage, call me.
Speaker 7: You're not getting a new house.
Speaker 9: But you ain't getting a brand new house just because
Speaker 9: you want to have and I'm not writing a check
Speaker 9: for it.
Speaker 3: And and where were you?
Speaker 7: You don't have as many brothers and.
Speaker 10: These they know they can call me anything.
Speaker 3: They know.
Speaker 9: If they called me and say, you know, Darius. I'm
Speaker 9: gonna buyd I'm gonna be there in a minute with
Speaker 9: cash or check or whatever you need. But don't expect
Speaker 9: me to change your life this. I can't change it
Speaker 9: because I want to. I want to stay this way.
Speaker 9: I don't want to be broken. I have not a
Speaker 9: nate fear of being broke some day. I grew up poor,
Speaker 9: you know what. I have to just great fear being
Speaker 9: broke some day, and I haven't it.
Speaker 1: I just want to take about seventeen seconds to appreciate
Speaker 1: this moment. First, the Dyla siren, Okay, because it's just
Speaker 1: hit me that there's a black man in this business
Speaker 1: that has went diamond, Yes, that shows up on time early, early, early,
Speaker 1: and doesn't have uh street dreams and aspirations. Because naturally,
Speaker 1: I'm thinking even whatever, I mean, even whatever, my my
Speaker 1: faux humble approach, you know, even I'm thinking like, okay, Diamond, Yeah, definitely,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have a yacht and twelve houses and blah
Speaker 1: blah blah.
Speaker 2: But twelve oh for your record collect You just have
Speaker 2: storage spaces for your record collection.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well they got to have a home too, No,
Speaker 1: But I'm just saying that you're you're totally going against
Speaker 1: the narrative of someone that.
Speaker 3: Should. I mean, just every person I know that's in
Speaker 3: your position.
Speaker 1: Has family and friends that they have to carry on
Speaker 1: their back.
Speaker 3: They have to show up late. You know.
Speaker 1: There, I know someone who's ex wives live in a commune,
Speaker 1: a gated commune. I showed you, Oh, I'd like to
Speaker 1: see we have, But you said that, you know, like
Speaker 1: if the mentality, especially with black folks, like if one
Speaker 1: of you is rich, we all rich?
Speaker 2: Where not?
Speaker 3: How do you know how to say the word no?
Speaker 12: Oh, well, you were smart enough to do it early,
Speaker 12: which means that you might have had foresight that this
Speaker 12: might be a big thing.
Speaker 9: Yeah. I mean when it started taking off, I realized
Speaker 9: it was going to be a big thing.
Speaker 1: And and how how hard could you How long could
Speaker 1: you sort of squelch and hide?
Speaker 3: I had to do that. I still have my first car,
Speaker 3: I'm still driving my same you know.
Speaker 7: It's I have.
Speaker 10: I have one house.
Speaker 3: I keep it just for it's not very big.
Speaker 9: I got one house, not very big because I didn't
Speaker 9: want a big house, because I didn't want my kids
Speaker 9: to be able to get lost in it. You know,
Speaker 9: you got twenty five hour square foot house.
Speaker 2: You could.
Speaker 9: You cannot find your kids if you want to. I
Speaker 9: got a nice house. I drive a free car, you know,
Speaker 9: free car?
Speaker 10: Yeah, damn. Marino told me a long time ago.
Speaker 9: Let your let your community take care of you. Yeah, Charlie,
Speaker 9: he told me that he's right, let your community take you.
Speaker 7: Can't do that.
Speaker 9: Marino hadn't paid for a car since he was a rookie.
Speaker 9: His kids get free cars dealership.
Speaker 3: Yeah, wait, that can happen. Ye have a.
Speaker 7: Suburban man radio DJ get that.
Speaker 9: I get a new one every six months.
Speaker 1: Do you know any d J gigs I had to
Speaker 1: do to get my birthday gift downstairs?
Speaker 7: Well, your birthday gift downstairs?
Speaker 5: A no sigh, Yeah.
Speaker 3: There ain't no suburban.
Speaker 1: I'm sure maybe some cousins are listening right now, Yes
Speaker 1: they are. Wait, how does that happen? Okay, now I
Speaker 1: need you to mention. Marino told me, oh he did.
Speaker 3: Wow, I did not know I could ask for the stuff.
Speaker 9: Dude. You just get to get with the right guy.
Speaker 8: And athletes know because they're always getting those those deals, because.
Speaker 1: As I also come from management that uh, well them
Speaker 1: free Well no, no, no, it's it's just they they they
Speaker 1: successfully for the longest, talked us out of that lifestyle.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean, Like again, I got my
Speaker 1: license when I was thirty four.
Speaker 3: I got my first car when I was thirty four.
Speaker 7: It was traumatic, wow around.
Speaker 3: I mean, we were a touring band.
Speaker 1: Like the whole logic was even how I met Jimmy,
Speaker 1: Like when I finally begged and begged and begged and
Speaker 1: baked and big, let me.
Speaker 3: Get a house in La please. First day out there,
Speaker 3: I mean Jimmy.
Speaker 1: And then it's like, crap, gotta move back, you know,
Speaker 1: East Coast. So whenever I try to really floss, you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's always backfire. So I was even talked out.
Speaker 3: Of would you like me to floss on your behalf?
Speaker 10: Just give me the access to this what's.
Speaker 8: Happening and don't floss. He don't flows Although I'm sure
Speaker 8: those boots aren't cheap.
Speaker 3: I know. I was like, I was looking at the.
Speaker 7: Where did that snake come from? Ye?
Speaker 3: I'm gonna get a picture that boost on Instagram later.
Speaker 10: Yeah. I like my boots.
Speaker 9: I've had they made a rattlesnake?
Speaker 3: Yes they are? Ye?
Speaker 7: Did you kill it?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 7: Daris? Can you tell me? Is it rude? To ask
Speaker 7: somebody they have like they have their license. Is that rude?
Speaker 9: No, that's not rude.
Speaker 5: I don't think I can't ask.
Speaker 7: Somebody not a driver's license, gun license that.
Speaker 9: I can learn from you everybody's got a license.
Speaker 7: Well, no, I asked, because he said he killed him.
Speaker 9: Even I know I don't think you did he I
Speaker 9: would have ran from the snake, but it let.
Speaker 8: Me in my mind and think, Damn, I wanted to
Speaker 8: Dari's hunts, like you know, you're in that world, blah
Speaker 8: blah blah.
Speaker 10: I got a gun license.
Speaker 3: The other white people, of course you want to.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all the white folks.
Speaker 8: Question country not white, because you know it's more to
Speaker 8: white people.
Speaker 2: I saw you, and why are you all the white questions?
Speaker 7: You don't know about Southern country white neither business.
Speaker 5: They're married a Southern white country person, thank you very much.
Speaker 10: She loves me too.
Speaker 3: Yeah, oh my goodness.
Speaker 9: That you see that key and peels thing that they
Speaker 9: did on me. They they schedule me and say we're down,
Speaker 9: and we're down in Nashville and we're doing the show.
Speaker 10: And I said, hey, I'm doing nice to you.
Speaker 3: Hey, I love you.
Speaker 10: We love Darius.
Speaker 7: That's good.
Speaker 9: I love it when you're on the standing labor means
Speaker 9: you made it. I love that stuff. I don't care
Speaker 9: what they say.
Speaker 3: I love it all right? So what what are you not?
Speaker 2: What are you about the cars? Aren't you?
Speaker 3: I mean for you? Is it?
Speaker 10: No?
Speaker 1: I'm still in my head even though I have a
Speaker 1: question life after when was the last time? I'm still thinking,
Speaker 1: like how do I get a free car? So as
Speaker 1: far as your your career is concerned, like what would
Speaker 1: you hope is your legacy? And as far as like
Speaker 1: what you're at the end of the day, like is
Speaker 1: there anything that you've not achieved besides eminine jet you're
Speaker 1: gonna do electronic connections?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 9: No, The only thing, honestly, the only thing I haven't
Speaker 9: done that I want to do is I'm ever since
Speaker 9: I can remember, ever since really Notorious Big was was
Speaker 9: killing it. I want to sing the hook on a
Speaker 9: big rap record so much. I want I want to
Speaker 9: be Nate Dog so bad. Oh, I'm dying to I
Speaker 9: mean dying.
Speaker 2: You can help dying too.
Speaker 11: You know something, I know the Carolina connections, duet.
Speaker 3: I want you have to get married now.
Speaker 7: It's like.
Speaker 3: You know something.
Speaker 2: I'm that girl.
Speaker 3: I'm going to talk to you way too high. I'm
Speaker 3: going to talk to you after the show.
Speaker 1: Because I have a project you might be interested in.
Speaker 1: It's not an album, but it's concerning that very person,
Speaker 1: and you are the perfect person to do.
Speaker 3: This the question love, I'm serious. Script, Everyone's like, what
Speaker 3: are you talking about?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 9: I want to say this. You could ask me to
Speaker 9: sing pooh, pooh pooh. And the respect that I've have
Speaker 9: that I have for you, and I love you and
Speaker 9: I love the roots, I would do whatever you wanted
Speaker 9: me to do.
Speaker 3: I appreciate it absolutely. Okay, I guess I will reveal
Speaker 3: it because I can't.
Speaker 1: Keep it a secret because of uh, well, twenty eighteen
Speaker 1: coming up will be uh somewhat of a notable anniversary
Speaker 1: year for a lot of seminal classics and music of
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three. I've been we've been going back and
Speaker 1: forth with the Dre camp trying to figure out a
Speaker 1: way how to celebrate his twenty five year milestone with
Speaker 1: the Chronic and Doggy Style both are in their twenty fives,
Speaker 1: so we're still in the talking stage right now. But
Speaker 1: one of the one of these snags and the thing
Speaker 1: was like, yo, who's going to be Nate Dog and
Speaker 1: I've been racking.
Speaker 5: I'm still in I will cancel my tour.
Speaker 11: I don't think your manager will be happy about that.
Speaker 3: And you can show up five minutes.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I'll away for you all, and then.
Speaker 7: We can talk about getting him in the museum. Hope
Speaker 7: he's there. I just I'm assuming, Yeah, the Smithsonian.
Speaker 10: I'm not in this spisode.
Speaker 7: Are you sure?
Speaker 10: I don't think I am.
Speaker 7: You don't think we're gonna check on that?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's probably one of the most amazing experiences
Speaker 1: of any well for black people, especially to see that
Speaker 1: museum in d C.
Speaker 7: Oh, yeah, it's we need more white folks to go see.
Speaker 3: Because you know, you kidding. Have you seen the lines?
Speaker 10: I know I've seen the lines.
Speaker 1: It's no, it is it's almost like I want more
Speaker 1: black trust me.
Speaker 7: We sold it out the first year and now it's
Speaker 7: on them.
Speaker 3: That's right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, it's it's you know, but it's I shall
Speaker 1: make it. Shout out to Timothy and yes, her name
Speaker 1: is Timothy.
Speaker 7: No ebony because you're gonna be in the Smithsonian.
Speaker 2: Oh my god.
Speaker 5: Ye, why.
Speaker 3: Talk about.
Speaker 1: Besides besides singing on a rap hook and see we
Speaker 1: can make that happen. What are some of your other
Speaker 1: bucket listing like, like, do you still get it itching
Speaker 1: to do sports commentary?
Speaker 9: And you know, I always tell the local sports guy
Speaker 9: and Charleston that when I retire, he just's he's just
Speaker 9: holding my seat for me, and he hates when I
Speaker 9: say that. But I might do that when I But
Speaker 9: like musically, I mean, I'm still so far above where
Speaker 9: I thought that would ever be. There's really not much
Speaker 9: else that I want to do. Really, yeah, I mean,
Speaker 9: I'm just I'm having a blast where I am. First,
Speaker 9: I'd like to do this for four or five more
Speaker 9: years if it's you know, but I want to be relevant.
Speaker 10: If it's over, you know, I'll.
Speaker 9: Still tour and everything, but I'm not gonna you know,
Speaker 9: force it down anybody's throat or anything like that.
Speaker 3: Is there such thing as retirement.
Speaker 10: I don't think it's.
Speaker 9: I think retirement means you just play, you know, fifty
Speaker 9: shows a year.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm just saying that if you can stop and
Speaker 1: just let the checks come in or whatever.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't know what the residual game is like as
Speaker 1: far as like songs being licensed.
Speaker 3: You guys, I hate to admit that.
Speaker 1: Have I mentioned the Friends thing already? Oh god, okay, yeah,
Speaker 1: I fell down. You guys are in one episode one
Speaker 1: of yourselves in yes, okay, early earlier this summer, when
Speaker 1: I took the one vacation I ever take a year.
Speaker 1: Alan Yang of Masters of None, Master of None fame
Speaker 1: with Diseasin Sorry, directed a jay Z video in which
Speaker 1: they perfectly mirrored a Friends episode, but Nerd asked me
Speaker 1: had to watch both episodes to see if they had
Speaker 1: it cut for cut, and then somehow I may or
Speaker 1: may not have watched all two hundred and thirty. I
Speaker 1: fell down a vicious rabbit, Friends rabbit. I don't know
Speaker 1: why I did it.
Speaker 3: I had nothing to do.
Speaker 1: I was in Chef Gordon's backyard, and you know, literally
Speaker 1: every day I watched season for season for seasons.
Speaker 3: So I know that there is a hoodie song in there.
Speaker 1: But as far as like licensing songs for movies and
Speaker 1: those things and commercials and that stuff, like, it's.
Speaker 10: It's still pretty good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's one able to retire and not have to Yeah,
Speaker 1: can you say no to that?
Speaker 9: Not?
Speaker 3: Family members?
Speaker 9: Like, yeah, I could, I could retire right, I could
Speaker 9: retire right now and live a pretty good life.
Speaker 7: I looking at you. I'm not gonna rob you, Darius.
Speaker 7: I just looking.
Speaker 3: She's trying to get my face. Well, man, I thank
Speaker 3: you very much for coming on that show. We appreciate it.
Speaker 7: Congratulations on his brand new album as well too.
Speaker 9: Yeah the last time, thanks a lot.
Speaker 2: Wait, you watched two hundred and fifty episodes.
Speaker 3: It's two hundred and thirty six ship, I've only seen one.
Speaker 2: That's like, that's true, I've only seen one.
Speaker 3: I'm a complete this man.
Speaker 13: You know this is not gonna go over Well, there's
Speaker 13: only one reason why somebody would watch all those episodes
Speaker 13: of Friends.
Speaker 2: What's that they have no real Friends.
Speaker 4: Show?
Speaker 3: Yeah, way go, way to go.
Speaker 1: So what what what are your plans? Well with the
Speaker 1: new album, are you going to tour?
Speaker 10: What are you going to tour next year?
Speaker 9: We're going to do a few shows here at the
Speaker 9: end of the year, and then I'll probably take November
Speaker 9: December off and uh going to Australia I think at
Speaker 9: the end of February March while the go to Europe
Speaker 9: for a minute, then coming to the States.
Speaker 3: Didn't you play the Apollo recently?
Speaker 2: Yes, I heard about that Thursday night.
Speaker 7: What was that like for you, that's like Ebony magazine.
Speaker 9: When we were kids. You guys know, when we were kids,
Speaker 9: we didn't talk about the Garden. We didn't talk about
Speaker 9: the Colisee, even Chlobe. We about playing the Apollo. And
Speaker 9: I always wanted to play the Pollow. And when they
Speaker 9: had the show, show Time at the Pollow, who you
Speaker 9: got to play on the stage? You play two songs
Speaker 9: on show Time at the Apollo. Our second record we
Speaker 9: played played the TV show Show at the Apollo.
Speaker 3: How did that come out? What was that like?
Speaker 9: It was? It was a little different, no booze.
Speaker 10: Oh yeah, I was drunk.
Speaker 9: But Thursday night, Thursday night, we set a record for
Speaker 9: white people in the Apollo. Yeah, it was, it was,
Speaker 9: it was. It was awesome, that's true. Yeah, they played
Speaker 9: the Apollo. McCartney played the Apollo too, so they probably
Speaker 9: had us. We were probably even.
Speaker 3: But it was.
Speaker 9: It was.
Speaker 10: Greater than I ever thought it was.
Speaker 9: It was such a great show and be on that
Speaker 9: stage and we like broke out some Temptation songs and
Speaker 9: and all that stuff.
Speaker 10: It was. It was nice, man, It was great. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Do you mix up the repertoire of songs you like
Speaker 3: to cover your show.
Speaker 9: It always because I was I still love covers. I'm
Speaker 9: a cover band singer. I mean, so we'll break out
Speaker 9: like we break we do this thing where we do
Speaker 9: uh Garth Brooks, Uh friends and no places right in
Speaker 9: the no diggity Wow. It's crazy, I mean back to back,
Speaker 9: it's crazy.
Speaker 11: Works to bring up my Garth Brooks analogy. What your
Speaker 11: R and B record? Chris Gaines?
Speaker 9: Remember that Chris Gaines Records Actually.
Speaker 7: Don't concept my stuff, Like, oh, I thought it.
Speaker 3: Was a good concept.
Speaker 1: I did not think of it think about it.
Speaker 3: At home, but I think you he definitely got more tracks.
Speaker 11: Oh yeah, definitely, definitely definitely. Garth kind of ran screaming
Speaker 11: after that failed.
Speaker 3: You know, it was weird. I think when he came
Speaker 3: on our show. It was supposed to come on the show. Uh.
Speaker 1: One of his one of Garth's uh the Internet songs
Speaker 1: like the extra songs that we do on the show
Speaker 1: was from that.
Speaker 3: Uh. What was the name of his? Chris, Chris Gaines.
Speaker 7: Do you have country friends.
Speaker 9: You know like other countries with all those Yeah, that's
Speaker 9: the one thing about the community.
Speaker 10: Country music community is real.
Speaker 9: Try I got on my record, I got Luke Brian
Speaker 9: Jason Aldean all one on the same song.
Speaker 10: Oh yeah, those are my boys. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Question about the industry, the country music industry.
Speaker 11: I have a pretty good idea of what most people's
Speaker 11: grapes are within the R and B and hip hop industry.
Speaker 11: What do you not like about the country music music industry?
Speaker 9: Radio is so slow, Like right now on radio is
Speaker 9: in such a slow burn with songs, and it takes
Speaker 9: if you're not one of the five big ones, it
Speaker 9: could take thirty weeks for your for your for your
Speaker 9: song to go up to charts and number I think
Speaker 9: my last number one took like forty weeks.
Speaker 3: Is it?
Speaker 1: Is it the same system as so with hip hop
Speaker 1: and a lot of clear channel uh related stuff. Songs
Speaker 1: are added way ahead of time, so you know, like
Speaker 1: if you're taking Beyonce's newest song that hasn't come out yet,
Speaker 1: they'll pre program it. Wait, you know, weeks ahead of time?
Speaker 1: Is it? Is it more moment because I know that,
Speaker 1: you know, with a lot of the record sales, like
Speaker 1: you know, Walmart plays a bit like they're still buying
Speaker 1: physical copy. Is radio still ten fifteen years behind as
Speaker 1: far as ads and as far as the country world is?
Speaker 9: Oh? Yeah, yeah, it's still they you know, they add it,
Speaker 9: and you know, you get you're the most added song
Speaker 9: of the week, and you still don't make the top forty.
Speaker 9: You don't make the top fifty, you know, just because
Speaker 9: you're getting spent. You're getting spun at three in the
Speaker 9: morning and four in the morning, five and then.
Speaker 10: It's a slow build.
Speaker 9: They just want to build and they want to build,
Speaker 9: and I don't know, it's just the way it is.
Speaker 9: I don't know why it's like that, And it's like
Speaker 9: that for everybody Taylor, because I'm wondering, Okay, Taylor, like
Speaker 9: Taylor's a unicorn and she.
Speaker 8: Doesn't even new country automatic.
Speaker 1: She doesn't count like Kenny Rogers. Well no, even than
Speaker 1: Kenny Rogers still get played on. Let me don't Scooby
Speaker 1: do me yet? No, just meaning that she's more pop ubiquitous,
Speaker 1: and that's what I thought in the country. So I'm
Speaker 1: saying that, you know, are you chilling with like uh
Speaker 1: Casey Musgraves.
Speaker 10: Or yeah, absolutely, I mean.
Speaker 3: Chris Stapleton, Yeah, Chris.
Speaker 9: Chris, I've written two three of my number ones together, or.
Speaker 3: The real deal.
Speaker 10: He's the real deal. This is how good he is.
Speaker 1: Because I was like every time he performs, man, we're
Speaker 1: always like damn, he got us again, Like.
Speaker 10: Dude, this is how good he is. When we write
Speaker 10: a song.
Speaker 9: He can't sing the demo because he sang the demo
Speaker 9: to one of my number ones, and I wasn't gonna
Speaker 9: cut it because he so freaking good. I kept saying
Speaker 9: to my producer, I haven't seen you.
Speaker 1: Would you would be a Chris Stable to stand what
Speaker 1: you married?
Speaker 3: No, I mean like you he Yeah, he must be cute.
Speaker 1: I would want Chris Stapleton on the Roots album, like,
Speaker 1: that's how good he is.
Speaker 8: But Darius record first because you already told him that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we already got that. But I'm just saying, that's
Speaker 3: how dope he is, Like he's listening.
Speaker 1: I should I I'm trying to look under the hood
Speaker 1: to see, you know, what was there and you know.
Speaker 3: But it's he's the real deal man.
Speaker 10: And Chris is doing it without radio player.
Speaker 9: Chris is never I don't think Christ has ever had
Speaker 9: a record the top ten and he's got the number
Speaker 9: one selling record. How's he killing Yeah? I don't know
Speaker 9: he's killing it because people know it's real to go
Speaker 9: in the shild and everything. I don't think Chris has
Speaker 9: ever had a record in the top ten.
Speaker 7: Oh so he's like too short maybe catching up in
Speaker 7: that way though, Like there's a lot of people you progressive,
Speaker 7: That's what I mean.
Speaker 3: I like him, so that's how progressive he is.
Speaker 10: He's great, he's a real deal.
Speaker 3: He's just it's off the chain.
Speaker 8: So, man, have you ever seen gone to a club
Speaker 8: and see another black person saying country? I'm trying to
Speaker 8: see who's after Darius.
Speaker 9: King Brown who's got a number one right now, His
Speaker 9: record's number one this week King Brown. And there's a
Speaker 9: couple of other young ladies that are coming that are
Speaker 9: coming up that are trying to Mickey Guyton is one
Speaker 9: trying to get a foothold, you know, trying to get
Speaker 9: a hit. And uh, there's there's a few I think
Speaker 9: me coming over and having success. I'm not gonna say
Speaker 9: I open doors, but that that that A and R
Speaker 9: person who would have looked at the CD and so
Speaker 9: is the black person and throw it in the trash
Speaker 9: probably gives it a listen now.
Speaker 10: And and so there's there's Guy's coming along.
Speaker 2: There's a black hockey player now too.
Speaker 9: There's a lot of we're taking hockey. Yeah, there's like
Speaker 9: fourteen of us at hockey.
Speaker 3: Now we're a.
Speaker 2: Black hockey goalie too. Have you ever seen that that's
Speaker 2: the ultimate nominally that exists?
Speaker 9: How could you say that? With Grant Furre was one
Speaker 9: of the greatest ever.
Speaker 3: That's true.
Speaker 2: Sports references Now we go super deep on college football
Speaker 2: right now.
Speaker 10: If you want to be good, goes Dems. You want
Speaker 10: to go man.
Speaker 2: Game Cock is not doing so well this year.
Speaker 9: We'll talk about we're four, we're five and two. Who
Speaker 9: take me at you again?
Speaker 3: They'll just give it up.
Speaker 2: I come from an Auburn My ex wife the same
Speaker 2: one who's from Alabama, she is an Auburn fan. And
Speaker 2: it'd be as a Jewish kid from Long Island. You
Speaker 2: don't know what that's like until you get there, and
Speaker 2: it's fucking insane.
Speaker 10: Absolutely sanity absolute.
Speaker 3: Why is it such a religion though?
Speaker 2: Because they don't there's nothing else.
Speaker 9: There's nothing else. There's no pro teams. I mean there's
Speaker 9: pro teams in the area. Like we got the Falcons,
Speaker 9: so we got Charlotte. But like and and and the
Speaker 9: thing is, when you go to school for four or
Speaker 9: five years, you you're invested in it. And when your
Speaker 9: football team is I mean football is everything in the Southeast.
Speaker 9: Everything Saturday stops. Saturday stops like my tailgating spot. It
Speaker 9: was one of the few things I've spurs done.
Speaker 5: The shoes.
Speaker 9: So much money on this tailgate spot. But for me,
Speaker 9: it's like I want to go be able to tailgate
Speaker 9: without people, but.
Speaker 3: Without people by my friends are there?
Speaker 7: Isn't not Your tailgate spot is not outside.
Speaker 9: You know what's out? You got a la since then,
Speaker 9: I got me a big old it's called I got
Speaker 9: a big old caboose that's in there.
Speaker 5: I love these over Yeah tails crazy.
Speaker 2: It's awesome, Am.
Speaker 10: And we get there four hours before the game. By
Speaker 10: game time, hammered.
Speaker 7: Darius was drinking choice.
Speaker 9: I drink beer, but I like to drink. I'm a
Speaker 9: whiskey drinker. I got my own whiskey out now backstage, whiskey.
Speaker 10: If any of your drinks back whiskey.
Speaker 3: If you have heard of.
Speaker 9: It's good. Next time, I'll bring you a bottle.
Speaker 3: Wait, we're all pulling out whiskey right now.
Speaker 2: I'm making whiskey notes even two pm.
Speaker 3: Right eventually.
Speaker 2: Five o'clock.
Speaker 1: Yes, we will show unannounced at your house anytime.
Speaker 10: You'll welcome anytime my house in Charleston.
Speaker 3: Well I thank you very much for coming on our
Speaker 3: show today, record, thank you.
Speaker 1: On be having Sugar, Steve Unpaid and Boss Bill. It's
Speaker 1: Laia and the newly nuptialed uh Fontigolo. This is Quest
Speaker 1: Love signing off of course loved Supreme. We'll see you
Speaker 1: on the next storground. Thank you, guest. Love Supreme is
Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. This classic episode was produced by
Speaker 1: the team at Pandora. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.