Full Transcript for #278 - HARDY In-Studio: Writing No.1’s for Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen to Becoming An Artist + Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees on Why He Hasn’t Seen Their New Documentary + New Music Top 5!

to three albums in April. The first one is called Heart Out April. Here's the trend. Morgan Wanlan puts that to Church puts out three. I heard Luke Bryan's got a nine album coming up. Yeah, they're just gonna out album each other. Now here's the shipment of records. Uh, the first one's Heart, then there's Soul, and then there's one that's called End like the End Sign. What is that called the ampers And it's only available on vinyl First Church Choir members. By the way, you'll probably be able to get it to eventually somewhere else, but that's just me guessing. So Heart and Soul, So Heart, Soul, whatever you get it. There's three albums, Heart and Soul, but and only goes to the choir, all right. Speaking of Eric Church, Eric Church and R and B singer Jasmine Solomon will team up form the national anthem at the Super Bowl. The game is February seven on CBS. The last time two singers performed it together was Aaron Neville and Rita Franklin at Super Bowl in Detroit. Lady A the newest members of the Grand Old Opry. They were invited Thursday by Darius Rutger during a taping of the Grand ol Opera Nine Years of Country Music Special. Their membership becomes effective immediately, which was a bit odd to see them be invited and they were already members, because usually what happens is you get invited, then you have the night where you're inducted. But I guess because of COVID, it's like, all right, we want you to remember, and you remember because you can't really do the big pomp and circumstance. That show should be interesting. I'm supposed to be a part of it that because I worked with the opery and play the opera a lot. But the struggle for me is that show is on the same night that American Idol debuts. But I don't do the first episodes of Vital because I was off shooting my other show. I don't know what's gonna happen, but hopefully I can still be a part of the opera show. I think it'd be pretty cool. Dolly Parton's brother dies Randy Parton, has died of cancer. He was a singer and musician who played in Dolly's band, also had a show of his own at Dollywood, probably best known for his duet with Dolly Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You, which, by the way, Dolly celebrated her seventy five birthday on Tuesday, Brandy Clark postponed are tour. She's lightest artist to postponed or canceled tour DIDs. I mean you kind of have to write it's getting there. Yeah, it's getting there in what way? I feel like it's not near close to being there? Well, Tori, you like, you can't have anything that's not gonna happen people still holding tickets for so help me here, help me out here? Was this the tour that she was already doing, like she announced a long time ago and rescheduled, so then it's like done, got it? Okay? I was thinking, because you're not gonna go, We're gonna start touring in February, and then yeah, so it was the tour that originally was played and then rescheduled like Marion had, like Mary okay. Olivia Rodrigo is the youngest ever with a number one song with her song Driver's License Get My Driver's License last week. It's like we I'm gonna hear the song all the time. Captin loves It. She was in his in high school musical and she was dating the other dude in high school musical and then he started dating Sprinting Carpenter Sprendy Carpenter, thank you, and then she wrote this song and come Drivers Light since last week, just like we always talked about, because you're so excited for me to finally drive. She turns eighteen next month. A debut number one on the chart, which happened fewer times in fifty times in history. Boy. Uh, finally, now I got to two or their left hip to be squared by Huey Lewis and Metallica. They match exactly. Someone posted this mash up on YouTube. Check it out. I feel like they sped up the vocals a bit, so it doesn't match perfectly. They said that it's a nice little mix that someone did, but that's sped up the Metallica stuff. It's so fun to hear, all right. Cool. Barry Gibb has the second best selling album of the week, Who We'll talk to You Later. Barry gibbs new soul album did pretty well. Barry Gibb and Friends a debut at number two. He's from the Beg's. I mean, I didn't realize really the impact of the Bags. I knew their songs, but the impact in general until watched that documentary. It is fantastic. I mean, they were before me. But you just realized what a legend this guy was. I mean, holy crap. They got famous like three times, all different levels, and after they weren't famous anymore, they wrote massive hits for people, including Islands on the Stream. Taylor Swift's two records were number three and number four. Drake's new album, Certified lover Boys, it coming out this month. For all, he says, all his energy has been dedicated to his recovery from knee surgery. There you go. It's the second delay for Certified lover Boy. It was originally supposed to come out last summer. That's your music news, that's your music releases, and that is it. What's the order we're doing here? We'll do Hardy first. Okay, you're gonna love the interview with Hardy and then Barry Get from the BGS. Thank you guys. Check out Mike's podcast movie Mike's movie podcast. What's on this week? Mike? I have Eddie on. We're talking about Matthew mcconaughhan. Eddie's your guest. Yep, all right, he's not guesting on this week, so I guess he's gotta find a spot somewhere alright. Check out movie Mike's movie podcast, Thank you guys, alright with Hardy here in the studio. We never met before this, which is weird. Could you've been around for a bit now and I've been around for a bit, but we didn't even run into each other the few chance times that we were both out, you know what, m yeah, yeah, yeah a c M S. I feel like to the last time I was at like an actual awards show, like a red carpet where people were you know, pre COVID had was like over a year ago obviously, so um yeah, I think I've only literally seen you like once ever, like in passing then. But I mean except for

kind of the would you say, that's a mullet not a mullet longer it's it's it's a weird tweenter. Other than that, I would say something, we're similarishly looking. Yeah, I would think, so we got that we're thinner than me, generic white. We're both generic white guys though that have dark rimmed glasses. You can still pull off the flat bill cap. Once I turned forward this last year, I was like, I'm out. I go hats anymore, not hats, but I can't do flat bills, and I feel like I'm a little too old to really rock the flat one. I think that for the most part, every body is too old. I think they're like just going away. For the most part. It's literally talking somebody about that earlier. It's like people just, no matter who you are, look less cool these days on a flat bill. I don't know. Why has it been a bit odd to finally get recognition as part of the artist and you really can't do anything with it? What do you mean, well, because here you have number one song on the radio, you have a ton of songwriting hits, but nobody outside of our community knows who the songwriters are. For the most party, that's that's a celebrated job, a well paying job if you hit big inside of our bubble. Yeah, but you can't go to you know, Tupelo or Lexington and play a full show as a songwriter. No, you can't sell out you know, rupp Arena. No, definitely not so your your success as an artist, and you can tell me if I'm wrong. It's mostly you're the peak of it has been when we can't do crap. Yeah, that's true, Okay, I get what you're saying. Um, Yeah, it's been tough dude. Um And and I really felt like I can think about timeline. Our last few shows were uh, I guess around this time last year and we were finally um, you know, selling out like bigger, biggest rooms and stuff. And I mean our set was like amazing and we were really dialed in and and everything went away. So um. But yeah, it's been it's been kind of tough on that end. But the sungwriting school, I mean it's like I get to play covers quote unquote, and you said that I wrote, and so I kind of don't have to do real covers and and get to play some of the stuff that I've written, and I try to explain it live and I don't know if it translates, you know, if people really are listening. But um, yeah, that's cool. I wonder how many people, because again we're so into the industry in different ways, but I wonder how many people that go to a show that don't know the ends of it actually know what you're saying when you're talking, going, hey, I wrote God's Country from Blake Shelton, and then you play it and how many go, oh, yeah, he's governing this on This is a good one. Yeah, I probably a lot. I would think so too. I think we give ourselves too much credit that people listened everything we say. Yeah, I think so, especially like in bars like arenas and stuff. I are probably different. I haven't gotten to do that in arenas obviously, but um, but like in bars and they're loud and everybody's drunk, and and do you know that they're probably not paying attention. You're number one as an artist song, your first one is. And this is mostly what I was referring to, because I know you've you've built a base and you've opened up for other big artists, but for you to have a song that has extreme massive hill and people to go, oh, it's the guy that did one beer like that hasn't been able to happen quite yet. No, I mean because no, we haven't really played shows since it happened. Let me play this first. Here is one beer on the record. This hits slightly different than the rest of the songs. So whenever this was decided to go to you know, radio, conventional radio, was someone really pushing that and it was like, Wow, we can't believe we're gonna do this, or was that kind of the consensus to go with that song. Yeah, it was just the Internet. It was data of it stood I mean oddly enough to It was on Hicks tape. It wasn't even originally on my um My Rock, my actual record. It was a Higgs tape song. And of all the songs we knew we were probably gonna do a single from Higgs tape, and Seth England kept saying like, dude, it's gonna be one beer you just watch and I was like, okay, and uh, sure enough, I mean exponentially beat everything else on the record. And and I've always been uh I say always, I've only been doing this a couple of years. But like anything that I cut, I would be willing to do to have as a single. So whatever that they, you know, say, is blowing up on you know whatever Internet, any app or whatever, I'm good to go with. So I just said, let's let's do it. I know it's different, but go for it. There's only ever been one of the person to say that in that way to me when when doing these long form conversations, and he said, you know what, I write almost all my stuff, not always like I'll take a couple of songs that that I don't write because I'm a songwriter and I appreciate songwriters. And he said, but if I cut it, I just go, it's good enough to put out. So you decide, because I wouldn't have cut it if I didn't think it was good. And that other that was Chris Stapleton, who goes, I cut it, I gotta believe in it, So label you take it and do what you're good at, because I already did what I'm good at. That's how I feel pretty much exactly the same. I'm cool with anything. And I know there's kind of a whole spectrum of of sonically of of stuff that I put out, But I'm cool with anything going out there. When you move to town, uh ten and a half years ago, that's when you moved here officially? Yes, when did you come to town the first time? Ago? I can't believe people get paid to do that. Um, about eleven years ago. Well, my sister, So, my sister moved here before I did. She's a year and a half older than me to do music. Yes, originally, and now she's you know, found her own path and she's doing something completely are different. But um, and so I was in like late high school like senior year high school slash junior college. And she was going to Belmont and she hit

me up and she was I just started like writing songs and stuff. And she was like, hey, I don't know like what you're trying to do with your life pretty much, but there's a thing called a publishing deal, and you there's a whole industry where you get paid to write songs if you ever wanted to do that. And I just kind of on a whim, was like sure, and just moved up here and and you know, that's kind of when everything started. So you moved up here from Mississippi. Where were you living because you're from Philadelphia, Mississippi. Yeah, I played up from Arkansas and we played a lot of ball all around you know, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. Have you ever been there? Yeah, I've been through really Yeah, I've been through almost all of Mississippi. You just when you don't have when you don't come from a place that has a lot, you go to other places that don't have a lot. Yeah. Sure, wow, that makes sense. Yeah, so totally, you just move around. And so yeah, I've been through there a couple of times. And so you were living there in high school? Is that when you moved out to high school. I moved. I went to one year of junior college, and it was like a joke. I mean, I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I was such a terrible student, and I ended up going to college here. But um, I just I knew I needed to leave too. So I was technically in UM. I would come home on the weekends. But Decatur, Mississippi, which is like twenty five minutes away from Philadelphia. UM. But yeah, technically I was in Philadelphia. I want I moved here, so you move up here to go to school. Yeah, I went to MT s U UM, and so I lived in Nashville for the summer and then I went lived in Murfreysboro for like a year, and then I moved back and just commuted for the rest of the time. When you're at MT. S U, who has a good music school, Yeah, it's like the poor man's Belmont. Yeah, that's why I said it's a good music school. You know, Belmont's. It's like the end of music. That's like the castle on top of the hill. Yeah, Like, you graduate, you could get a number one record, but you go and you study songwriting there, What in the world do you learn in school as a songwriter? You know, it was really interesting. Um and I hate saying this, but the class itself, you kind of either got it or you don't. And I don't know. It's the I learned more about publishing and like the music industry and kind of how not to get screwed in a contract and which that's what lawyers afford to. But um, I learned more about that, I think than the actual craft of writing a song. But I did learn a lot about publishing and a lot of music industry terminology and like three sixty deals and stuff like that. I I really got. Um, I got a lot. I took a lot in from that based on that major. And also you meet people who then introduce you to people who then introduce you to people. Yeah, totally, And that's and that's what I always do at It's like I understand that if I didn't do that, I definitely wouldn't be here.

And I and I kind of had a weird college experience and and only had a couple of friends. So I stayed in my room a lot and just really learned how to write songs by myself. And if I didn't do that, you know, I wouldn't have kind of developed my portfolio for signing a publishing deal and all that. So it's definitely worth it. Did you finish school? Yeah? I have a degree, dude, I believe it or not, I definitely do. It's in. It's in uh commercial songwriting, which is insane. So you finished school, you're in Nashville full time? How long and I assume you finish school twenty three around that age? Yeah? How long until you're actually getting to pay the bills writing songs? Um? So I signed a publishing deal. Um I graduated August, so I had to do like a four and a half semesters and I did summer to finish and so September, October, November, December, January, favorite six months, six months after college. Um I I signed my first polisting deal. What song or songs do you remember sending out? Because you kind of have this collection of material to go, hey guys, please sign me. Yeah, do you remember did you have anything that is still floating around or ended up getting cut in that first batch of No. I didn't even get a cut on my first publishing deal until I signed my second deal and then I got one cut. They paid you for a whole deal and made no money off of you. Yeah. Um, I had one song about a dog that was really good that like got pitched around and that was like on my schedule a so it was one of the songs that I came into my deal with that Still, uh I will hear maybe we'll go on hold or something. But no, nothing, nothing that I wrote before my pub deal has seen the light of day for the most part. Did you resign with your original pub company for your second deal because they've just been screwed. They just spent all this money on you didn't get anything. It's well, it's kind of um interesting, but my publisher is a relative of mine, no kidding. And uh so we we kind of right at the beginning, sort of had a dream together and and he just kept saying, dude, it's gonna happen. It's gonna happen, and uh yeah, I went with him again. How many years was your first deal? Three? Are you after year two? You're going into the year three? Are you? Like, like, I don't know if this is gonna happen. Yeah, I was discouraged for sure. I was why wasn't it happening? Were you not good enough yet? I think so yeah. And it's so funny because I was so like mad. I just I wasn't bitter and I wasn't um what's I didn't blame the industry, and I wasn't that guy, but I was very frustrated. But I know, and and there were a few songs, but there is proof in the pudding that I only got like one cut from my first deal, And I just I was just I wasn't there yet. The songs weren't. I would go back and listen to him all the time, and I just kind of picked them apart, and I'm like, yeah, I just wasn't It wasn't the radio yet. Do you ever go back and listen to an old song and then a bit

rewrite it and make it better no years later, like as a just like an exercise, if anything, I would And I don't even think I've done this on purpose, but you know, you write a thousand songs, so you gotta write the same title eventually, even if you forget about it. But if anything, if I had a great, great idea or title that maybe I didn't know how to write, I would or I might like rewrite the whole idea and if it was a co write, just split that with the people or either we write it with them or something like that. I'll be down for that. Your first money making song was up Down. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it was that. The first song that ever got cut. No, my first cut was, but that was actually so I sold two cuts. Updown was on my old deal. Um I should go to Church sometime by Tyler Farr. Oh yeah, that was my first cut and it was my first single. I died like in the sixties, I remember it. Yeah, yeah, but still exciting to get that first single when you get the call and they go, hey, it's a single. Are you pumped? Yeah, oh dude, yeah, I mean I thought it was gonna be rich. Not that that's why I do it, but um yeah I was. Yeah, I mean that's yeah, it's a it's a huge milestone and and and uh, you know, just a confidence booster and it's like you are doing this and somebody legitimate cut your song and yeah, it's it was. It was all the wind and the sales I think that I needed. And then after that everything just kind of started happening, which is everybody says like you get one and you get X amount or whatever. And I've seen that happen with a ton of my friends too. It's just funny how that works. So as much wind gets put in your sales when they say, hey, it's gonna be a single, did as much get taken out when it didn't hit. Yes, but up Down kind of cross faded with that, so I had a little hope there. Um, But around the time it died was when Morgen cut it, so we just still didn't know, and he had only had the way I talked, um, So it's hard to you know, really gauge that, but um, yeah, it was a good It was enough cross fade for me to not like be super down and think maybe that was my shot. There had to be too a bit of excitement whenever it's not only Morrigan who who at the time was an unknown artist on a label who had no history at all, not even if success or not success, but no history. Big Loud have no history. But then when FGL gets on the song, you gotta go, oh man, I got another bullet for the gun inside of the song. Yeah, it was a huge um booster for him, and that was kind of a sigh of relief for you. I'm saying, like to write a song, you know, I fgl Is on the song It's not Gonna Die at sixty. Uh yeah, and that was that was kind of the Okay, this is gonna be a hit. There's no way it's not gonna be a hit. And uh, that was definitely a huge thing for all of that. That was all me, Brad Clawson and c J. Soler was our first really a few of our first cut or maybe mine and somebody else's like first or second cut, and our first hit together too, So it was good for all of us. Let me play this here is Morgan walling up down. Damn, Dawn, damn. You mentioned Brad Clawson. So when I heard about you the songwriter about to start turning into you the artist, it was from Nicole Galley and who's a friend, and she was like, yeah, hard he's he's gonna try to be an artist. And I didn't know who you were. I just yeah, nobody did. If she was talking about the songs she had written and she was like, I don't know, I'd try that, you know, because a lot of songwriters in town have either tried and it was unsuccessful and not a good experience, or they just don't want to do it. Yeah, you see all their friends do it, and they're like, I don't know by that. You never have someone who's a songwriter who hits it big for a couple of songs, goes you know what, I'm good. I don't only do it. It's never that way. So you know, if you with the songwriter, mostly they're they're like, I don't know, I want to live the artist lifestyle. But for you, was I always kind of the goal on the No, it was not. When I was in college, like I kind of wanted to, and then I signed a pub deal and I was just like, this is awesome and all I gotta do is write a song every day, and and uh no I had. I had. I had reached to the point where I had zero intentions of being an artist or at least like signing a record deal and like doing the thing. I might have had aspirations to put music out or something, but no, I had no. I had no plans to to do it. I'm gonna ask you, this is a weird question to ask, and I know what the answer is, but I wonder what your answer is when you say you didn't have aspirations to be an artist? Can you sing? Yes? Like like can you are you? Like, I'm a freaking I've never heard you sing? Right, it hasn't been you haven't been on the show, the radio show to play, and I haven't seen you live. So I just go by the records. And some of my friends that are great artists can sing pretty well, but they go, you know what, I'm not the best singer a song. I had a great performer, But can you sing? I think so? Yes? Do you think that? Do you understand the question like do you think that you can see compared to Nashville? Yeah? I do. Um, I think it took me a while to figure that out or to find my voice, but um, yes, I do. I consider myself a vocalist very much. So whenever you were coming up and you were looking at artists, or maybe you even just listen to artists when you're growing up in Mississippi, who was it that you were like, dang, let's because I assume you're in your thirties. Yeah. So I grew up with napster and and we started to download and then stream, so I was able to get music from every direction. Really, I was the first generation to do that, where just because I grew up in Mountain Pine, Arkansas, population seven hundred didn't mean I wasn't listening to Tupac and and Limp Biscuit and Bruson Done. So we have all of this music coming from different angles. So I'm gonna ask you what came to you from outside of country music?

First we we were like, goddamn, man, this is what I love. Dude. Well that I mean rock and roll in general. Um, I didn't grow up listening to country. I know that's like against the country music bible, but um so it was all rock and roll, old, a lot of old just from my dad. And I still love classic rock. But Stone Temple, Pilots, Uh, Sound Garden, Publo Mud, Limp Biscuit. Yeah, the whole nineties vibe for you sounds like it was late, kind of late, and he's transitional to like early two thousand's. Honestly, Nickelback dude, when they came out, when they first came out, dude, that some of those songs there were such hits, and I just my mom was blown so that I'm a Nickelback defender to my core because the only reason people hate Nickelback is because they got so freaking famous, and when somebody is so famous, you can't help but get people start to The cool thing to say is I don't like them. Yeah. Sure, I just watched the Bags documentary and I didn't get to experience the bejs. I was like, that was a way too old for me. But they got so big and there was such a backlash that people just started hating on that. It was just the cool thing to do. Yeah, because everybody loved him, So I'm gonna be cool and go like, you know what, I don't love them. And then it slowly starts to be a movement. And I've seen that and I don't know what. And listen, I have friends up hung out those guys and they're like, they told Duch Bags, it doesn't matter to me. Their music was great at the time. It was, I mean it was it was just to me it was mind blowing too, and kind of you know, the that was like even though, like like you said, Napster and whatever, all the lime wire or whatever, all the illegal things, where we still kind of had that beauty of hearing music for the first time without having like complete access to it like we do now, and and so when I heard stuff like nickelback Lincoln Park is another one. Um, that stuff just it did something to me, man like just completely inspired me. I don't even know how to explain it. But favorite artist of all time, um, Pink Floyd. Oh yeah, so similar. I grew up listening to classic rock radio, and so I was like CCR credence was is really one of the most influential parts of music history to me. But I would assume that had to be your dad classic rock radio. Um yeah, I mean my first memory, like my first few memories were, um, my dad had a chicken farm for a long time and um uh he had like this little s ten and we would listen to the classic rock station out of Jackson, Mississippi, and those are like I was probably three years old. I remember hearing free Bird for the first time, and then like I heard it. I don't know how I remember this, but like later that day I heard it again on the radio and he was singing it and I was still kind of learning the concept of radio, and I remember asking my dad how he how do you know that song? Because the first time we heard it was earlier today and he was like, no, son, that's like actually an old song. But um, yeah, classic rock radio was like very early in my my childhood, your death still alive and what do you think about what you're doing now? He's taking it all in stride. Both my parents are they love it. Their mind is kind of blown a little bit. My sister was I was very much a black sheep, and they will even admit this that she was. She's saying growing up and and um, I was just a kid and play baseball and sort of she moved to Nashville and you know she was that was this was kind of her thing and and so um, it's just still sort of people are still in shock a little bit that the roles are kind of reversed. But my parents are they love it. Have they seen you perform to pretty crowded room? My folks, Yeah, the first time they saw that, they trip out a little bit. Yeah. The first time that they saw a good show was in Atlanta, and it was the first time that a crowd ever sang uh Rednecker. But it was when Rednecker was like kind of peeking, and um, they were in the crowd. And when I came back stage, like my mom was like crying a little bit or whatever, and they were just they I had never seen them freak out like that. It was it was really cool. Mike de Wo's producing this. I was doing Standout and playing theaters around the country and Mike d had was opening for him and he was doing, you know, five to seven minutes of comedy, but his parents didn't even know he was doing comedy. So we're so we're in Austin and it was the first time they come to see your first time ever. Oh my god, so similar. What did they think? They freaked out, Like they saw me walk out on stage and start telling jokes and like people laughing, and they were like, what is happening because he's so quiet, he says nothing, but then he gets up on stage and it's a pretty funny guy. And I just kind of wonder if that was the same thing with your folks a little bit. I think so, Um, I've yes, I think so. And they hadn't really seen that side of me, but they did. Also, like, my first show ever was like this Halloween show I did in Nashville and it was like packed with industry people, so everybody was like extra hype just because it was like my first show and everybody knew, like we knew each other, but the real like to see it in front of real fans, I think was a whole different experience for them and for me. Where did Rednecker peak twenty three? Maybe twenty four? So you were right on the edge of really feeling it though, Huh yeah, it definitely took Uh. It's interesting though because it didn't like one Beer, the fan base was like kind of learning the stuff before even one Beer kind of went top twenty and they knew Rednecker and it's still like the biggest, if not second biggest song of the night. But um, yeah, I mean it was. It took a different different turn. One Beer came out for sure, after Up Down goes and hits what was it crossing with any other songs at the same time? Yeah, so, um Simple came out right after that. I think Simple came out and like June

or something, and uh, up Down went number one in July, so that was like the first like crossover and um I remember Simple Up Down at the number one party. Simple was number one. It's like a crazy cool kind of moment, you know, here is f g L Simple whether your second song that that hits sorry you starting to go, Hey, I think I'm really gonna do this for a while, Like there's a pressure off your shoulders. Yes, definitely, Um yeah, I think like up down, like stood alone. And then I started really going on the road with f GL and Morgan was out there and Chris Lane was they were all on tour together, and the next thing I know, um, Chris uh Lane um came up and I was like, Hey, I'm gonna cut the song you wrote. I don't know about you, and then like um and a couple of others, and then Morgan was he and I started writing a lot, and he was like I'm gonna cut this and this and this and this with you, and then kind of f g L sort of followed suit. And that's like when I really knew, like, Okay, I think I have a camp, and you know, because that's kind of the name of the game for the most part, you know, if you can at least find a crew and then you branch out and get cut sort of here and there everywhere else. But um, I I had never really had like a solid camp of people that I could trust in and and like felt like I was maybe their guy or this dude's guy or whatever, and that was the first time that I felt a lot of security from that. There's Chris Lane, I don't know about your bay was miss Stead battle Birds Day. Do you want to run through some of these? Here's low Cash One big country songs gone around here is Jamison Rogers. Some girls get them take a trip back home and say they got song drinking. Here's Blake Shelton, God's Country. When Devin Dawson was in here, how about a week or so ago, he said, you sang the demo to this, yeah, and that when you guys finished it in his recollection and he said, hey, you're going to writing. Everybody has different memories of what happens when that. He felt like that was a song for you. Yeah. I made a joke to uh Seth and Joey Um Joey moy Um, and I sent it to them and I said, I can't remember, and I tried tried to find the text, and that you know, I give gets deleted after a year or whatever. But I said something like, unless somebody like Blake Shelton cuts this in a week, I want this for myself and Blake cut it like basically now you can listen, you're pumped when he cuts it. Yeah, but it was one percent of You're like, man, I should wish I could have cut that song. I had never dude, I had modeled my uh like there. Blake had had put out so many songs that I loved and that I had like sort of gravitated towards that craft, and a lot of that was because of Craig Wiseman and like just other people that had Blake cuts. But um, it was such a dream of mine, uh to have a Blake cut, and especially one that he was hyped about. So I didn't even think twice about it. And I don't think that the song would have been as big for me

as it was for him. I think it was so big as because it was so different. Well for him, it was the biggest song of the year. I mean that song with the song I suppose so no, no, I suppose it one one song of like it literally was the single of the year. Yeah, so there's no supposing that it. I'm gonna play here's one more Morgan Wallen, more than my hometown. So by doing math here let's see one number one, two, three, four or five, six, seven nine, number one, you're worth about ten million dollars. I don't unless you're meant to be or something. I don't. I don't know if those are much alright, Alright, So your record, and again I'm gonna reference Staple too for a second because when Staple to put out From a Room part one and part two, the big thing was is it from a room or from a right? And it's from a room, right, because that's the room a room. Yes. Now with your record, is it a rock or is it a rock? Uh? You know what's funny is it's probably a rock because the rock sounds like Iraq. Why. I've heard that joke a lot recently, Like man, I didn't think about that. Why a rock though? Um, well, it's you know, it is a song on the record. But also uh, I think there's a little bit of a word play there with that. The record sounds like a rock record. Um, I never, Okay, I didn't. I didn't cross where I decided on that. I thought about like, I thought of a million ideas and I can't even think of him now. But um, I just that's what we ended up with. And I do think that, you know, the record does definitely sound like a rock record. And that was just, you know, aesthetically pleasing or whatever. Yeah, is the new single out if you goes? It goes for ads Monday? What is it? Give Haaven some hell? All right? Let let me play a little bit of this. This is from when you Got Stories? Give you write this one? Did you write all the songs on the record? I've heard this song a few times. Where have I heard this that it would play other than just me checking out the record? Do you know? Uh? Have you played it anywhere? I put the only played played it at a w W E thing. It was like the Troops thing. It was on TV. I don't know if you saw that. Um, I mean, I don't know. I missed that one. Tell us so give me the you know that that the thirty second version of You're in the room, the concept what the song means to you? Okay, So we were writing The first song on our record is called Truck, and originally the second the last half of the second verse there's a line about a guy that has sticker on the back that says ninety two to twelve and in memory of his buddy, and and we were gonna we originally made the line he misses him our uh stories he can barely tell because he's giving heaven some hell. And me and Hunter Phelps and Ben Johnson we were all like, we that needs to be its own idea, and so we changed the line and we we wrote down give Heaven some hell, and we wrote it like a week later. And to be honest, um, you know, I don't I've never lost like a best friend, thankfully or anything like that, and so, um, I wasn't pulling from like a like a real like experience or anything like that. Um, but I've definitely experienced it, uh you know second hand or or you know, there's stuff like that happened in my hometown a lot. So um, there was no particular person in mind. But uh, I will say, man, it's been the most the heaviest, Um, like my Instagram and Twitter and stuff, and dude, just literally like thousands of just stories of people and I try to respond to all of them. But I know that it's reaching people and it makes That's really the kind of the realization I've had this year's is to have a platform where I can help people or at least trying to make people feel something. So I'm really proud of that one. I mean, you're hitting on all cylinders. Usually it's one or the other, and sometimes they shift, sure, but right now you're kind of hitting in all areas. Do you have any other songs that you have written for other folks that are out or starting to kind of flutter around a little bit like that? I wrote that just other singles, Yeah, maybe not even singles. Are there other you know, I'm assuming I don't. I don't know this is true. But on Morgan's record, you're on some of those songs. You wrote some of those. Yeah, I had a few Morgan's and uh, right now I have like col swindale single single Saturday Night. Uh, it's guy, Robert Counts. He has a single out called what Do I Know? And then um, Dylan Carmichael has a song called Hot Beer. Um. I've been writing a lot with Dirks recently. Um it isn't Dirk's the best dude, Like, aside from just being you know, this songwriter, and I've been lucky to be friends with Dirk's on a different level than Yeah, he's just the best guy, dude. He's Yes, he's as solid as you could you can get in town and I found. I found, I've like found that a lot of the guys that are like at the top are like that. And you know that Luke Brian uh, Blake Shelton and a lot of those guys like you're around him and you're like, man, y'all are just normal. You're just like you are, you know, on TV and everything and just good dudes. And I love that. Man. I if I ever get there, that's a testament to how I want to be one day, you know. And here's why. Because people at that level don't have to prove anything to anybody. Sure you know I would. I'll say, um, a two single new artist, no offense to yourself, I just know, or like a soap opera star or someone that's new on a TV show, and that when you get that first taste of success, you start to go, I gotta prove that I'm worth to be here, and to prove my worth, I need to be a certain way. And you have this and I think I went through it a bit too when some of my TV stuff. Not that I treat people different, but I was like, I gotta show people that I'm actually worth what I'm getting to do. And it's a weird feeling to have, but then once you prove it to yourself, you're like, you know what, I kind of have? What is sustainable? I'm just gonna be who I am. And those

guys are like that Keith Urban, Yes, he's another one, dude, the greatest dude, so nice. Man. You just would be like, are you a little big town? Yes? Oh dude, yes, You're like, are you guys real? And you hang around them and you're like, one day I'm gonna catch you getting out of character character. Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting too, and like just how they handle success and and uh yeah, I just I like, look at them. I mean they I don't know if they know, but all those people that you mentioned are like role models at this point because I just want to be like that as a person if I ever get to be to that point. You know, I think it's just an insecurity that every listen, you can't create and be secure, Like, you can't be a creator and not be insecure in some way. I agree, because you're laying it out there in a vulnerable way every single time. Yeah, totally. It doesn't matter if you're writing songs, writing books, you gotta go, Okay, I've created this, will you please like it? To do that? And you want people's approval, you need it. That's why you what you didn't do it. You know wouldn't have done it in the first place. If you do that, you gotta open up your ribs a little bit. And so when that happens, I tend I was tending to get extremely insecure and just be withdrawn more than be angry. I was just or mean. I'm just I was just completely withdrawn. Now not so much. I'm like, Okay, I think I'm gonna be here for but I feel confident. But I think it's the same thing you made up. I just brought up a great point. Luke Bryant. We're together all the time shooting American Idol. People are always like Luke for fifty six seventy million dollars and like the nicest, coolest guy in the world. You never know almost much as you with all these songs. When you tell people you're from Philadelphia or do you ever say Philadelphia and see if they can put it together? Dude, Every every time I meet somebody new, I have to go through the thing every single time. Yeah, I say it. And when I say Philadelphia, like I see their confused face for like a split second, and then I say Mississippi and they're like, oh, make a joke about it. But when you started writing, did you go buy a full name or you always party? You did? Yeah? I did. It's just that hardy, like all my friends called me hardy, and I don't know, it's just like kind of one of those like I have a couple of buddies that I just have always called them by their last name for whatever reason. And uh so when it just came time to sort of do the artist thing that somebody kind of brought it up and I was like, yeah, I think that's cool, something different, and why all caps? It's just bold? Um. I think it's just kind of you know, redneck or being the first song, and I think the music being a little more intense than than maybe some of the stuff in the format. I just you know, I think it just stands out are you are you feeling? And again, I don't want you to take this the wrong way because I compared to you and I both to average white guys. If you just see us, we're just normal dudes. You know. Um that there's I would call it kind of a normal core happening in country music. In this hardcore but like you look normal. Yeah, Uh, Luke Holmes looks normal. Colmes created a normal core I think for the longest time. Uh, a lot of country acts before him, and really Stapleton kind of in a way, in my opinion maybe sort of helped develop that, but I think Luke Holmes kind of delivered it to everybody. But uh, yeah, it's cool to look normal again. I think before that it was like everybody was like it was or was trying to look like a professional wrestler or something. Yeah, either an extreme cowboy, a chained up wrestlings. Like you had to have your esthetic niche. But you don't have to have that anymore. Just show up, do what you're good at. And if you're good, I mean, the more normal you look, I feel like if you're you know, if you're good, people are gonna go nuts. Yeah. When Jamison Rodgers was here, he was leaving that night after we had talked to go and playing the softball the league that you guys were playing in, and so I know you were on the team. How how physically are you holding up when you go back and play ball? Uh, I was sore. I hurt. Uh, I can't even hurt my knee or something like the last game. Um, dude, that was a big like oh god, I'm getting old kind of thought. Uh but dude, that was fun. That was so fun, And you guys didn't win the whole thing. Huh, you're freaking stacked. Uh man, it was. I tell you why we got beat and myself included. Everybody tried to hit a home run every single time they got up to bad so we we I would bet eighty percent of our outs were long fly balls. It just we couldn't help it. Like everybody wanted to hit a home run, I swear because we were good in the field. We had great outfielders. We had good infield. We didn't make a ton of errors. Uh, we just we would have to. All right, bats were tough, We we were good. We want a decent bit of games. But now we didn't go all the way. Do you feel like you had a target on your back because you were all the singers? Like when you were without a doubt, dude, Oh my god, you were the duke of college basketball. Like even the bad teams are getting up because they're about to play as hard as they've ever played. Absolutely. Oh man. There were some teams some of these guys are really cool and they would like kind of yell at us and make like a song reference joke or you know, just something like that. And then there was there were a couple of teams that, like you could just tell they were like these freaking country singer YadA YadA yadas and uh, oh dude, we felt it every single game. It was intense. Did you ever finish the game? And the other guys be like, hey, ge get a picture before we get out. Yeah. And by the end, Um, you know, Morgan only was only at a few He had a lot going on, you know, but thank god he wasn't at every game, or I think it might have been chaos because it was just

sort of at his he was really starting to peak. Uh and and uh with which there was a ton of you know, like celebrity singers on our team. But Chris Lane, let's walk to it. Yeah, Chris Lane, you Jamison, Jordan Davis, Jordan Davis. Obviously Morrigan, there's five five. Riley Green played one game. Uh, hey didn't come back. Um, John Langston was there. Um, God, you don't not the team I would want to fight either. No, I know we were, we were thick, but yeah, for sure, Ernest you I don't know if you know Ernest I say him on Twitter sometimes Yeah, I don't know. He was on there and then and then some some of the younger guys Jeb Gibson, Hunter Phelps and uh yeah, but it was cool man. It was a you know, our team name was the Recoupable. So I don't know, I just probably saw it on Jamison. Was he wearing this jersey? And I then guys saw it on Instagram maybe Jordan and posted a pictures yea, and which I think is hilarious because in case you don't know, are recoupable you have to pay the money back that the label pays you. They're like, hey, we're gonna give you a five dollars to go make a record. Well you gotta pay that five dollars the five bucks is yeah, so yeah, that's and you guess that jerseys yeah, no, I guess they were not like jersey in form or in um material. But yeah, we had uniforms. We had like, uh, just very classic looking baseball shirt. Does someone buy all them for you? Do you all have to go out, and Jamison handled the whole thing and we just we just paid him. So that's like old school softball. Yeah, that doesn't give them all the money. We're gonna try to do it again in the spring if the code stuff kind of uh is still you know that it's not looking like it's gonna be uh happening in the spring as far as tor goes. So I think we're gonna try to do it again. Are you a gambler a little bit? Are you gambling more now that it's legal here? Uh? No. I was doing it the same before to me though, and I was to a bit, But I was so tired of paying in bitcoin to an offshore site. How I was gonna check from like Armenia and the bank want cash it or like like for sure they think there's some terrorist activity going on worse. Yeah, And so I started to get tired of that. But now I'm on draft kings, yeah, three or four times a week. It's the greatest new part of my life. I've never done DraftKings, like, because you do that kind of in a fantasy format, right you can. Yes, I gamble on games just just regularly straight up. Yeah, that's what I do lines, you know, money line spreads just like anything else. Yeah, So I mean especially during the break because you know, I'll do the radio show Monday through Friday morning immediately even go shoot TV on the weekends and whenever I'm doing. You can't gamble in every state, so I have to get I have to give my betsand before I leave, I did that before I went to Colorado with Dirks and him, I had to do all of my national all of the playoff and all that stuff. And I did it like in the airport because I was like,

oh my god, I'm about to screw up. But that's how you know we have a problem. Well we're going, okay, I'm acrossing the state line. Then yeah, it's fun. It makes it, dude. It makes any game interesting. Like if there is a game on and it just started and it's the Nicks versus the Sons or whatever, and you don't care about it, then just put like fifty bucks or whatever on it, and then it's like suddenly the most intense thing ever. Last night, I had a seven and I don't usually bet long partleys, but a seven game partlay, and I got to the seventh game and It was the Brooklyn Nets. I don't bet NBA much because Brooklyn Nets Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn was down by about nine with three minute left. They come, they tie and go to overtime. This is my seventh game. Yeah, by the way, who did you have money? Brooklyn at Brooklyn and and it was a money line. I wasn't playing to spread. I needed to do was freaking win seven games. I had put down a hundred bucks. I was gonna all they have to do is win the game. They lost my seventh game. They lost in double overtime and double overtime, all freaking overtime. How do you lose with James Harden, Duran Kyrie Irving and you can you can also go you know what, I'm gonna take the money I've already won and check out. You can like go cash in. And I felt so good about the bed. Oh yeah, I wanted to pull my hair out. Um dude. My my favorite one this year was I put a hundred bucks on l s U versus Florida money line. I had a gut feeling and football, Oh that's right, because everybody and Florida was still on the hunt to be in the National Change. You about the money line, yes, And I was like, dude, I just have a gut feeling LSU's gonna play at least a really good game when they beat him, And I was that was that was my best of the year. You play golf, Yeah you're good. Yeah, oh you are yeah? Oh neveryone? Why that's just annoying. But you know, not the scratch You guys that come in and you can sing and you can write, and you can play golf and you can play like all that's just annoying to somebody like Mews had to like hustle and grab my teeth for every single thing to play golf, to play ball everything. So when did you start playing golf? When I was like twelve? Okay, so you've had a bit of history at it. I haven't. I mean like, I'm not like fundamentally like you know what I mean. I don't have like the perfect swing or anything. But I've been playing a long time. I love it, dude. It's my favorite sport to play. Who do you play with in Nashville, um Brad Terci, Yes, a pretty good bit. I got a songwriter buddy of mine, James McNair, that I play with a ton Um, play with Devin a good bad I play with amoson a good bit. Uh. There's a great community of of dudes that that play. A lot of people play golf, and I think a lot of people really picked it up this past year. Um, but I love it. Dude. You see my you're lefty, so am I? How are you? Yeah? I can never see a lot of lefties here. Never. I can never use anybody's clubs. I

can never play anybody's guitar. Yeah, you play left handed guitar. See I played right handed guitar. We is it because there were right handed guitars available? I think so, Like my first one as a gift was a right handed guitar. But um, it still feels like natural for me to play right handed and not I don't feel like I could play left handed. So I think it is a natural thing somehow. Yeah. If people are playing and they're like they do that funny song that you do, and I'm like, all right, well, there's no freaking guitar that sucks. It sucks. That is that's worse than golf clubs, because like, at least you have your own in that situation. But that's like dinning is like that. I've played trap, says he plays left hand guitar. He's probably good. Keith took my guitar once, who's not left handed. He goes, let me see if I can just probably this and he has a little conversation with both of his hands and he goes, all right, you do this, you do this, and then he starts to play. I don't know, four times better than I do. That would make me. He's unreal, dude, Like he had a conversation, are you gonna do what you usually do? And you do that all right? Break and he's like, oh my gosh, that's insane, amazing, slash annoying. I wish that there was more, uh more, there were more things like products and stuff that appealed to left handed people. You right, left handed, especially when we had these pencils at all, because you got you have, you have the I thought about getting a tattoo one time where like this, like to get this whole thing shaded, like to represent like the yeah, because if you're left handed, for those that don't know, and most of you don't, you have to drag your hand across the paper like you right, you're right, and then you go across what you just wrote. So you always so it's always all over your life stucks me. Even you guys don't even know Mike, you have no idea how stuff it is. Um in the winter, it's been because I have the gold I have the simulator, and I saw it. Yeah, that's been where it's that I want one. I've had more friends in the winter than i've had all. That's funny. They're like, hey, man, what you're doing today? You can play any course on there, right, Yeah, mostly that's amazing. Yeah, so that that's been kind of the winter project. Is is it pretty? I mean, of course it's just a tripeman. So it's like super accurate, right, yeah, it's it's it's yeah, it's accurate. I say that, and I'm like, man, real life, I wouldn't hear the shot that bad. Let's be honest, I would hit that bad. So well, man, it's been good to hang out, good to talk with you, and thanks for having me. No, for sure, I'm looking forward to see what happens with you next. I mean it's that odd mix of you're kind of hitting in a lot of different ways at the same time, and and for that, I commend to you, because that doesn't happen without a ton of hard work, Like you can be good. I have a lot of friends are good at stuff but don't work and it doesn't pop, or maybe it just pops for a second. So to have this success, it's all kind of hitting you at once. It isn't by accident, and it isn't just because you're talented. You know in this town where everyone is a giant, that the talent around you, everybody's amazing for you to have this much success, like like, I respect it, thank you, I appreciate what you're doing, and congratulations, thank you, and everybody pleasure. Check out a rock? Rock? What is it? Say it? I would say a rock. Okay, that's what I was. That's what in conversation, I would say a rock. Check out a rock. It sounds like, all right, that's what's up. There is following on Instagram at hardy tough to get the handle or I had to pay five bucks. I just had to pay interesting. Well, first of all, I can't get at Bobby Bones for anything. For I've said yeah for five seven, eight years, I've offered money and the person who has it doesn't even really use it is it a guy or is it you? They're posting stuff of yours. It's a guy that's just like, he's another Bobby Bone. Who in the world. It's a stupid name. It's not my real name. Obby is Bones? Is it? And so I've given up and so I just used Mr Bobby Bones right all across the board. Well, we started this kind of online cooking show my fiance did, and it's called Unfancied Cooking. And I was like, this is be a good name. Let's name at that. She's really talented at it. So we did it. Somebody's squatted as soon as we put it up. Someby squatted the Instagram. So I get a message going, hey, I have this, gonna buy it? And I was like, all right, get fifty bucks because okay, I'm gonna reward you for your ingenuity. Okay, as sleezy as it could be. That is legal. Yeah, you're right, I said, get fifty bucks. They say give me a thousand. No way, one YouTube episode. It's not worth So I say, don't message me again, just playing, just being negotiating here and there. In about a week later, they come back, Okay, we'll do it for seven fifty. I said forty dollars because I didn't need it that bad. And so in the end, how much you think I gave for it in the end, uh, seventy. I'm not that good of a negotiator, I gain. I ended up giving him. That's not bad. I mean, you got him down like seven fifty, that's not bad. I would have probably gone up a bit, but they kind of chickened out and thought I was gonna walk. And that's the key. Yeah, you're right, I'm so bad at that, dude, I need to be better. Well that's the risk of Well listen, if I screw this up, I'm gonna get no nothing. Yeah, you're right, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well listen at Hardy follow him. Good to talk to you, man to man hopefully, Well listen. I won't see out anywhere because I don't go out. But other than yeah, I out there all right on right now is Barry gibb Who Hey, Barry? How are You'm Bobby? It's really good to talk to you, Hubby. How are you doing? Really good? I watched First of all, I gotta say I was born in the eighties, but I always love the beaj's growing up. But the doc the documentary, Holy

crap was so good. I watched it last night. Oh wow, So yeah, you know what. I haven't seen it? Are you kidding me? You didn't watch it back? No, I worked. I watched the first cut and made a couple of comments, and you know, deep and deep inside, I knew that there's certain things were sort of different people's truths and that you just have to go with that. And thank Marshall did an amazing job, and Nigel think Claire and I let go of it. I just can't watch my family disappear one by one, you know, and that's just too much. And you don't plan to go back and watch it. No, wow, Well, let me say they did a fantastic job at taking me, who is a music fan, I mean, I do music for a living, taking me on an emotional roller coaster. Because and again, since you haven't seen it, I'm sure you're gonna know all that I'm talking about. I know what it is. I know what it is. I don't need to see it. You know. It was the many times, like the Rise and Fall or the rise in slow Stop for the Bags, for example, you get a little famous and then it kind of shuts down, you go back to playing like the club, you know, back at home a little bit. Did you think then on the first kind of hiccup with the basis that it was over or you guys could climb back. That was a one time only thing. And we were working and put in in about nineties seven, beginning of the seventies. We were working in a couple of clubs in in the north of England, in the same places that Chuck Berry and Roy Orbison were playing. So you know, there's nothing to be ashamed of there. So while we were doing that, yeah, it was a quiet period before that, but while we were doing that, we had two number one records in America, so it was a little bit of a two edged sword. You know, you're doing great over there and you're not doing so well here. And you know, we never did We never were able to be um constant. We just never were. It was never that. It was always it was always what's next and take another shot, you know, dushed yourself off, get back in the studio. We never we just sort of never start. We never gave up. You know. You go and you're in this French chateau or yah, you know, and it's Elton John had done a record and it was all fancy, and you guys go and it wasn't quite as fancy as you thought, but you you pushed on. But as you're there working on the next album, you get the script for what was going to be Saturday Night Fever. Yeah, that that's true. And we didn't we didn't read the script. We listened to Robert Stig would describe what he wanted to do with the film, and we started writing from there. We didn't want to be we didn't want to be affected by the script. We just sort of wrote. So that was gonna be my question, like, did you read part of the script? You read none of the script? No, what we knew what it was. And we already knew about John Travolter and Robert was often running and he wanted to do this and and you know, we wrote for him. We always wrote for Robert, you know, to please him. It's great to write for other people, you know, to have someone in mind that you want to please. And that's that's how we did it. When when when that record is out and you guys are now turned into not just superstar of the mega stars, unlike anything, really you know seen in twenty years since the Beatles are Elvis. Was there ever a point where you felt like you can't even go outside? Well, yeah, of course, Um, you know there are people climbing over our walls and the kind of thing that you might expect, um that comes from that kind of thing. It was. We had a time of our lives, you know, we had a bath. I think a lot of people don't see the seventies the way we do if you live through it. It was. It was quite an amazing period. There was no war, there was everybody wanted to go out, you know, there was a lot of fun being had. And and our record label, Armattica in fact that you know, you guys are got to kick it up. And that's where that that's where they knew where we reinvented ourselves. And the songs like Jive Talking and Fanny We Tender and songs like that main course album Children of the World they came about because of that, and yeah, and and and then Fever so and and Fever's a compilation so it wasn't actually our albums, but boy, we had the time of our lives, you guys. And again, I know, Dolly, um pretty well, and I knew Kenny a little bit before he passed away. And you know, Islands in the Stream is such a mega hit for both of their careers and brands, and for for for you guys, for you to have written that. Now. Is it true that you were thinking about Marvin Gay when you first did Islands in the Stream? No, we were thinking of Diana Row, you know, because because Diana had asked us to write it as a song for her. So I was in the stream was probably going to be sent to Diana when I got the call from Kenny, and and shows you how are I beacon somehow coincide with country music. I'll never understand that, But say he said, I want to do a duet and I'd like to do it with Dolly, So that that that song did it. He loved it, and so did Dolly. And she she just set it on fire, you know. And and and she's it's her birthday today, and I wanted to have a happy, happy birthday. And she's become one of my dearest friends. And I could not wish more happiness on her than I am doing. You know, she's on track six words. It's you know you and Dolly and so when you called Dolly, do you send her a text? Do you have a friend reach out to her? How does that work to get Dolly on a song? Oh, Danny, Danny nozell Um. We've become good friend and he represents Dolly. And I think that it was probably between Dave Carl and and other I don't I didn't contact her directly, and it was it was I just got the message Dolly wanted to do worth. I didn't. I didn't tell anyone what to sing. I didn't make the choices. Also wanted to do too much heaven and the greatest thing in the world, Bobby is that, they said yet And there's some of the artists, by my most in the world. So it was it

was me just rolling around in country music and blue grass and and and working with the people I admire the most. You know. Now, I was introduced to all of this, Tom to TG Shepherd and Kelly Lang and they introduced me to Ricky Skag. Ricky and Ricky got me on the opry twice. I did it and one of the rhyman and I was I was, I was chucked in. I was done. This is the only this is the only world. I want to be in and and and Nashville is a city of music, you know, and and I wanted I wanted to be there more than anything. So it's that's how it came out. You know, you talk about some of these amazing artists that's on the record, and I encourage everybody to check it out. It's you know, the Gid Brothers Songbook, Volume one. It is out now. It's got Dolly Miranda, It's Livy Newton, John Jason, Isabel, It's it's just loaded with talent. But I wonder, when you were twelve years old, who did you whose record did you want to hear? Royal pison, royal person without a hobby, without without a second thing to think about it. And my song whatever I do songwriting is inspired by royal person. And I loved how his songs grew and and and took shape as they went along and got bigger and bigger and bigger. And I think running scared and blew by you and crying and in dreams and it's over. And I was just I was just in love with the guy, in love with the music. And Johnny Cash, I think was right there too. And I wanted to I wanted to sing light Royals and I wanted to write like Royal version. He would have been the single inspiration for me. Was there ever a show where when you guys were blowing up or maybe you were, you know, hitting peak success And I know at one point Barbara strides and shows up in the documentary coming to your show. But was there ever someone that said, I'm a big fan, I'm gonna come to a show, and you're like, I cannot believe they're coming to one of our shows. I couldn't believe that. I mean, I couldn't believe that Barber was there and Olivia was there, and Olivia was one of the main peaks at that point, and you know, I could never believe. You know, I believe carry Grantfre's in the audience at the front, and I would if anyone had told me, I wouldn't have believed that either. So well, yeah, life is just full of surprises if you really want them. You know. I think that the record is great. I hope people check it out. And then the documentary on HBO Max is just so good. And you know, if you even if you were a fan already, and I consider myself, you know, if if I know Massachusetts, I feel like I'm and like that that and I knew it and it was a big part of it. And when Ed Sharon sings it at the end, I was like in tears, Wow, well you know I love Massachusetts too, And that's the sixties, you know, It's it's just amazing that that's that's fifty years ago. You know that's outrageous. Boy. Well, Mr Gift, thank you for your time. You're a big superstar. I'm grateful that you give me a few minutes. And are you kidding me? Telling everybody to check out the record? And my friends did the look a little Big Town was so they were wonderful. They were so grateful to be able to work with you. What was it like working with them? Pure pleasure and pure pleasure. They they are extremely what is instant? They know exactly what they're doing, very professional, wonderful harmonies. It didn't take long. And and how do your love is? Is their feature? You know? And I think they did another song, wasn't the Yeah they did they did the they did how Deep as You Love Them? They did Lonely Days? There you go, Yeah, you trust me. I'm a big fan. I already know. I'll tell you the whole thing. You've got a better memory than movie they did. How do We Love Wonderful? I mean, that was wonderful. They didn't have to do that, you know, they didn't have to do two songs, and that's that's that's when you know, that's when you know people are real. Well, thank you for your time. I hope you have an amazing day and a big fan and hope everybody checks out the record and the documentary. Thank you very much, Mr GiB Thank you sir. Bye bye, all right, bye bye there