#310 - Lisa Loeb on Why She Was Never Invited Back to Perform on Letterman + Her New Musical + Shy Carter on Writing Songs for Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Charlie Puth

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Speaker 1: M h welcomed. Episode three ten. The super Cool Lisa Lobe is on and she tells the story why she was never invited back to perform on David Letterman. She performed and something happened, she was never invited back. Pretty wild story. And also Shy Carter is on. He talks about writing songs for Tim McGraw, Key Thurbin, Charlie Pooth, how that Charlie Poot song came together, the massive one which was I'm Only One called wait that song. Pretty cool story, I'll be that same. Let's look at the big new music releases of the week. Travis Denning has an EP called Dirt Road Down Here is the title track, and a little Boss Summer, The Love the World, She Love This Time, How Solidays used to be in Laris Made We Like Travis di Any, We're Travis Any Podcast for Sure Number four. This week, Ingrid Andrews has a new song with Sam Hunt called Wishful Drinking Thanking You Nice mess Me, It's a dreadful time to meet you. I JA. At number three, Luke Brian has a song out called Songs You've Never Heard. I think about it and I laughed the tune because I can hear you sing it along songs you never heard. Jake Owen has a new song out called best Thing Since Back Roads at number two you says, backgrounds Baby and head into the middle, Little Windows down said the cross see review and her childs late everyone hell got on dropping this? You don't want more crazy Saints back Toby and number one who I just think she's great and worked with an American idol, Lacey K Booth with Charles Kelly of Lady A. She released her debut EP Here's a song called Broken Heart. Still Beats because He's getting hot, keeps playing the yeats thanks to and He's bapties and spoke the spoken huts. They're here the heartbeat in it. That's pretty cool. We should get her in here? Okay? Cool? Would lay? Uh? Some other songs coming out that you've I want to check out. Thomas Rete put out a song called Redneck be Like the Weekend put out Take My Breath. Maddie and Tape put out a song called Life Ain't Fair. Ashley Cook has a new song with Jimmy Allen called good Goodbye. Uh, Let's See. Scotty mccourry has Same Truck. Cheryl Crowe put out if It makes You Happy Live from the Rheman, Do we have that clip or no? I could find it. That's okay, that's a jam though, if it makes you happy for all your kids out there. And Carly Pearce put out a new song as well album releases. Billy Currington has a new album called Intuition. George Harrison All Things Must Pass the anniversary edition nas Let's see Barbara strives In released Me to Chris Young various. Now that's what I call decade nineteen eighties. Yeah, alright, quick news is the quick news is Garth Brooks is reassessing the remainder of a stadium tour because of the COVID outbreak. Country Stories, Tippy wofle House Waiters one thousand dollars. We have discovered who that is. That is Struggle Jennings. Shout out Struggle Jennings, yellow Stone prequel. It's happening with Tim and Faith three. They'll play the Duttons and then Nickelback reveal they're working on a new album. How about that at Lisa Lope coming up on a second. You may remember this song stay you say fantastic, I only hear what I want to This is Lisa Loban Nine Stories. I guess that was her band, but then that disappeared Nine Stories. Like the first album, Here is do You Sleep because they saw you as you walked across my room. You will double it, double loop and sat on the corner of my smokes with a ghost in the back of my head. So I don't know and I don't have Here is one of my favorites I do from a kid's record. Here is Feel what you Feel with Craig Robinson. You would know from the office. You just want to gramm me, just want to grant. Yeah, yeah, pretty cool. So Lisa Love coming up in a second. Just a massive match. That's a massive fan. All right, thank you guys. Here is today's podcast. Hey, we're on now with Lisa lobe who I'm a massive fan, you know, just just so you know at Lisa, I'm a massive fan. I love it, I love it. We both got our glasses. Um, I'm using a virtual background on the zoom portion of our interview. Now you are like so distracting, and no wonder my kids get so distracted in their zoom classrooms, especially my son, and you are in your zoom background, which I find there are pictures of you in your zoom background that is you, right, I have I know, well, I have this musical that's opening um this week on Broadway and Demand, and I'm literally like having some kind of asset trip. I don't even you know, I've never tried acid, but um, only a light acid peel on my face. But I've never used the virtual background, but I have this musical theater poster kind of background behind me, and my face is indeed on it. And I do want to talk about that in one second. But here's how we came together on a weird twist of events, is that I have from your music to your reality show to um, you know what the kids record the kids music, because we did a little kids project to and I and I saw how, you know, awesome and difficult that that can be at times. And so I've just always been a fan of yours and I have this show that's on that gio on Disney Plus, and they just knew I was a fan. I didn't send that box to anybody, and I saw you get one of these boxes, and I was like, Lisallo got one of these boxes that you posted about it on Instagram I thought it was one of the coolest things ever, and so my producer was like, Hey, why don't we reach out to her because she has a Broadway project we can talk about, And that's how it came together. They Disney knew I was a fan of you, sent that to you, you posted it, and here we are. It's crazy, you know. I have to say, um every day when we finally did get in person in school with my kids, there's a huge billboard of your show up and as I'm driving my second grader and now he's going to be a third grader every day to school, it was like so aspirational to see a picture of you with all those like tools and weapons and a lot of stuff I wasn't good at using. Honestly, well, it was. It was sort of aspirational because my son is super into swords, and you know, anything that's like, uh, something I don't really want him playing with basically is what he's into. To see it up on a poster and know that we get to watch a show about somebody who does get to play with all that stuff, um, it was very aspirational. And so then um I did get a box of Really it was a really nice promotional box. That's like one of the nicest ones I've ever seen. I had like a Yeti water bot and like work gloves, like a really nice lunch pale, like I want to go somewhere, and like you want to go have lunch just because of that. Yeah, that's well, I'm super pumped that you're here. Has anyone ever come up to you and said, hey, you look like Lisa Loe. I'm not realizing that you are her. That happens all the time. Happens all the time. It's hilarious. It's hilarious. Actually, there was a guy who was helping me my toaster of and broke last December, and you know, it's like this big, it's this really important piece of equipment in our kitchen, the toast of, and and then I realized, I want one of those air fryer toast drivens, you know where you can like make your fake chicken wings and French fries. So I kept trying to do research, and I finally realized, Okay, this is the one that I want, this revel this one company. And then I started looking and I was like, oh, you know, I'm one of those people who have to overthink everything and like do all the research. Finally, I was like, I'm going to get this, and I went to bed Bath and Beyond. I'm going to get it. They didn't have it. They had it on this but didn't actually have it. But the guy from the company walked and he had his company name on his mask and on his hat, and I was like, oh my gosh, do you know where to get this toaster of? And so for weeks he was calling all these different stores, even from bed Bath and Beyond. He was calling like sir La Table and like Williams Sonoma. I'm like, dude, you can't make a speaker phone call in bed Bath and Beyond. Calling other stores. He's like, no, no, no, it's cool, it's cool. And he finally he tracked down the one last remaining toaster of and thing in the whole state of California for me in the right color. And I was like so happy. I was like that guy was such a great rep, Like he was so nice, he really cared about getting me that toaster ofven And then at the end he texted me and said, oh, and by the way, if you're ever playing a concert in town. I was like, I thought it was I thought it was just like a nice lady he was helping. But people always stopped me and say that or they say, oh, your glasses look like Lisa Lobe or whatever. Yeah, do you go that is me? Because that's an awkward thing because people will do that to me times, to be like, hey, have you ever tell you like Bobby Bones and and it's weird to go I am him. It's it's it's it's kind of that weird. Do you ever go that is me? Or do you go, yeah, I get that? Sometimes I think it might cool when I was more cool, like in in my twenties and more like hip and like yeah, I might have said like yeah, I get that a lot, but I would say yeah. But then I realized as I've gone along, um you kind of want to treat everybody like a grandma. You're like, yes, it is you know, like let enjoy their moment with them so that they can enjoy their moment more and not be the one who's like, uh, I mean I've done both. I've done like yeah I get that a lot, or um, yeah that's me, Yeah it's me. Do you what do you do? Do you give them the enjoyment of like it is I am well, I am yes, I do look like well, I am Lisalla. And right now I have on clear glasses because usually if I were clear glasses, nobody stopping, nobody knows what I look like if I work cluar glasses, so I never get studied. So but if I am wearing my normal glasses, someone will say, hey, does anyone ever tell you like a Bobby Bones? Depending on if I think they hate me or not, because sometimes if they're just not, I just know they're just they are not a fan whatsoever comedy or radio show that I do, I'm like, I do, Yeah, I do get that a lot crazy. He's a real he's a real loser. Huh. And it depends how they play it back. But most of the times I'll be like, hey, that that's actually me, thank you. You know. Most of the time I do, yeah, figure it out. I know. In college, actually, um, I was taking dance class and it was African dance and I was really not good at it. And I had a couple pair of contact lenses for auditions or whatever. But I'm kind of allergic, so I can't wear them really much, like maybe to a three D Imax movie or something every once in a while, but even that I don't do anymore, or like for an audition, I'll wear contact lenses or if I'm trying on glasses, you have to wear contacts so you can see what they look like. But anyway, I I purposefully did not wear glasses at my final, um, my final African dance class out on the middle of campus because I didn't want anyone to see me and be like, oh, there she is. And literally my friends didn't even seem they couldn't. In college, I war glasses too, and in high school people just didn't even see me without my glasses. They didn't recognize me people that I knew. Well, Yeah, I have three music questions for you, if um, if you'll allow them. Um. My first one is when you when you put together a set list, like do you still play all the massive hits? Like do you feel like you you are going to play that for the fans regardless even though you've made so much music in between, when Stay came out or Stay with number one to today? Like do you put them all in? And where do you put them in your set list? Do you open with a big one? Do you close with you know, Stay, like what happens there. This is all very well thought out. It's been a process over thirty years to like really home in on and figured out I put Stay. I always, well, it depends if there's a bunch of fans and they have so many requests that I don't end up playing Stay, that's fine, but I am really aware of it. Um I remember early on when I played at CBGB's and I remember my drummer who I'm still friends with now, he was my drummer at the time. He was like, I can't believe we have to play Stay, And I'm like, that's one of the songs, like, you know, it's like one of every other song. It happened to get really, really really popular right now, but there are people driving in from New Jersey and stuff to like see us play that song, like we've got to play the song. Um So I understand being a music fan myself. If I go see Holland Notates, which is an old example, but if I go see Holland Notes, I want them to play rich Girl. I want them to play Kiss on my list. I want them to play those songs, you know, Like I respect the fan who knows that song and that's it, and you know and I know that it's again. It's like that grandma perspective. You see people who really enjoy it and they have a really close connection with it, and it's a song I'm very proud of. So I play it. I do play it about halfway through the set because early on, when I was doing a lot of radio shows when the song was really popular and like outdoor radio shows whereas a bunch of different artists, if we played it early in the set, people would just walk away. They're like OK. I'm like, oh my god. Usually I play seated theaters now, so it's not an issue people don't get up and leave. Um. But I do love giving the people a hard time who do get up and get a beer? Uh during during the middle of my set, I'm like, how can a person get up in the middle of a theater show to like go get a snack or whatever? And then they come back in and they request say later in the set, I usually do request. I'm like, you know, when you got up to leave, that's when I play the song. But anyway, so I play stay in the middle. Um, I usually play my song. I do at the end, which was also like a top forty hit. And then I usually start the set with something upbeat, and I mixed up new songs and old songs and songs that I have stories about and songs that are upbeat. And I also have a usually a few kids songs I play in my grown upset, and I usually play some requests as well. But I try to mix it up because you can kind of feel the crowd, um, you know, they're in engagement. And usually I like to I have different categories for songs in my head, and I like to split them up so that you kind of you get a good again, a good range from the beginning to the end. You don't feel like you're hearing you like some answers I go too, I'm like, are they still playing the same song? Like what's what's happening? I remember you playing David Letterman and I looked it up because I was a huge David Letterman fan. He was my hero, and I was a huge, huge fan of yours. Do you remember what it was like playing that show? And Dave actually coming over afterward and like being like, hey, how are you? Because it seems like he was a big fan well, that's an interesting thing too. I was a huge fan of Letterman. I joined his fan club when I was a kid. I signed up for the fan club in the back of Rolling Stone magazine. I think I did it too because I love kitchen stuff and like he sent out a fly swatter and like all this weird David Letterman stuff was like the the David Letterman fan club, um. And so it was really exciting to being on a show. I felt very like minded with David Letterman. I have, I like having a dry sense of humor, and I just I've been a big fan of like Father, Brito Sarducci and um, I don't know, like a lot of different adians. Um. So when I went on the show, I felt like, oh, this is so cool, you know. And I and it was really cold there. We didn't speak to Letterman at all. He didn't speak to us. And we played and it was like a big deal, you know. And at the end I was being coy and I played and he came over say thank you so much, and I went and I like, I pet him on that should like I went like to pet him like that, you know, as if this is his here's a water glass Um. Later I found out they thought I'd put a sticker on him and they never asked me to come back. That's what I heard. That was the story. I was like, what what I know? And I'm friendly with like the producer of the show, and I'm friendly with you know, the band Willie and all those guys in the band. And I was like, this is so weird because you know, you go on Conan and Conan's like a person you have a conversation with him, He's like a a person of him being Yeah, Letterman didn't act like a person to me, and I was so sad about that because you know, we're huge fans, right There's some people you meet like Standler, he's a person you like, you have a conversation with them. Um, But Letterman, I still I'm still waiting for the day when I can like have a conversation with him and understand what is going on. You know. I've heard that from quite a few people who have done that show, where you don't meet him. He might come over and it's very cold and then you just go away. It's I mean, the sticker thing. I've never heard that story before, the part about going on and him not coming over and giving you a big hug, or like jay Leno j will go over what when he was doing that show or Jimmy Fallon visit you backstage? Jay Leno would the dressing room every time and say, hey, how are you doing? Good to see you, like ask how's your mom and dad? Like if he had met them before, like he had ever he was prepped, you know he knew um. But Letterman, you know, and and it's hard, you know his show biz like like meeting people who they are versus who their persona is. You know you see him on TV or like we could be friends. We should be friends because we have the same sense of humor. And you know, I listened to Bob and Ray growing up, and I bet Letterman listened to Bob and Ray growing up, and like we have the same sense of humor. And then you don't actually even you meet like shaking hands or when they're speaking to you, they're not like they're speaking to you, like we're speaking to each other right now. It's so weird to be on a talk show and then person is not actually connecting and speaking to you. It's weird and that never resolved itself. Huh. I mean weird, that's weird listening. He can connect. Yeah, No, I would love to connect all three of us. We just get in a room and and and have it watch it out, just to hash it out. I do want to talk about your project together apart, So let us start with like, what what what was the inspiration behind getting this together? Well, it's um, it's a little of a long story. But I went to Brown University in Rhode Island and because of COVID. Um, basically we can start any sentence lately of because of COVID. Because of COVID, we started having some inner I mean some zoom reunions. So we had Brown Zoom reunions last summer. Um there was like an l G B t Q one and then that led to a Zoom theater people reunion, and then that led to a musical theater reunion. And during that reunion, one of the more organized professors. There's a lot of professors who a lot of people who I graduated with who are now like theater professors and writers and actors and all the and some people are doctors. But anyway, um, we had pages and pages of people. So a friend said, let's go around and each person say what they're doing, how how COVID is affecting them, So that that's how we came together through a Zoom reunion and for a lot of us, even though it was strange being at home during COVID, it's also been a really creative time for a lot of us who normally live lives in a different way to be communicating and connecting through Zoom. And that's also what the musical is about. If you guys want to watch it, it's at Together Apart Musical dot Com. You can go there. It's the Broadway and demand platform Together Apart Musical dot Com. Am I saying that right, like that's that's okay. It's called Together Apart. And originally we thought that artwork would say together Apart, Together Apart, because you know, it's like when you're in Zoom, you're in these little windows and you're together, but you're also separate and yet like when we wrote the musical, even the meta side of it, UM, there were people in Italy and Germany, California, at Chicago, New York, Ohio. We were all connecting in this amazing way and getting to be better friends and collaborating. UM and although we were so apart, we were also together, so you know, I think there's a lot of focus on that during this time. I don't know if you found that during this time, like were you at home doing most of your Oddly we were out shooting that show. I would do my radio show every day, but we would shoot Breaking Bobby Bones, that TV show. We did it right in the middle of COVID, all of it and it was extremely difficult. But a lot of the time on the road was being locked in a hotel and having a quarantine before we all got together. So even though I was out, you're still kind of alone. Ours would be out and alone, set it together alone and be out and a loan, out and a loan. But you guys go to together apart musical dot com and proceed support the Actor's Fund, an organization that provides emergency of financial assistance to members of the entertainment community. And so that that is fantastic. Congratulations on getting something up and going. There were so many people who, you know, we're friends with a lot of professional actors, and not everybody is, like you know, able to make a living during this time. It was really tough. So the Actor's fund has really come out to help not only actors with people behind the scenes, and we were able to raise over thirty dollars so far for the Actor's Fund and you can still do that. To watch the show itself is free on this great platform. But like you said, you can go straight to the website together Apart musical dot com and you'll see where to you know, sign up in it. You'll you'll be able to watch for you for a few weeks and you know, it's very it's I've heard a lot of positive reviews. It takes you a lot of different places. Well, if you allow me to talk about your music career for a second, because again I'm such a big fan of your music. Are you going going back out on the road right in September in the fall? Are you excited about that or no? I'm I'm excited to see fans and I have been doing a lot of live streaming shows and connected again, connecting with people in England and all over the place. Like doing these live shows, I missed performing in person. I did an event in San Santa Fe the other day, but it was like in an open air. It was an indoor space. But with all these huge doors that open to the outside. Um, I'm nervous with the delta variant. I've got to say me too. We have uh now, all of a sudden, I agree we have three music festivals my group does, and that we're putting on festivals, entire festivals ourselves. And I'm starting to get nervous about it too, frankly. And these are outdoor and but you know, you are seeing things go back up, and so are you kind of like I have these shows scheduled, but I don't know. Um, I had the caveat when I when I booked the shows that look, if things are not looking good, we're gonna do everything to be safe. Um, there's a little bit of an issue and that I look back in the nineties when I started, I was playing concerts all through the eighties and nineties. It used to be the thing. Everybody was smoking, right, and you would go to a concert. I don't know if you knew this, and you would go to a concert and you'd come home and you're close smelt like smoke. And when you're on stage and everybody's smoking, it's like I used to tell the club owners in the theater people, I was like look, we're not going to have any smoking. You have to tell everybody it's a no smoking show because I don't want to be a singer in this room with a bunch of smokers. And they used to give me a hard time and say, well we can and ask the audience to do that. That's not cool, and I said, you gotta do it. I don't want to play a show you know where people are smoking. So they would do it. But with the mask thing, I said, look, you got to ask the audience to wear masks like they're not even They're not even gonna be like lower capacity or sitting far apart from each other. It's not an outside show. These aren't outside shows. And I've been hearing since the government or the states or whatever can't mandate the masks, I can't either, So living day to day, I'm hoping that these shows are going to happen. I'm so excited to see my fans. I love playing music. I put a record out right before COVID. I've got a million songs and stories to tell, and it's so fun to connect with the audience. Safety first, let's see as we move forward. Uh, this is my life. I want to play a clip of this can you hear clips? Mike? Okay, let me play a clip of this is My Life? Didn't know that sleep was that dream? Emma, dream is heaven to me? Yeah, so this is from your album, A simple trick to happiness. But you you put it out right before the pandemic. Did you feel like any sort of you know, any sort of you know, uh press that you were doing, any sort of momentum that was being built was all lost immediately in the record kind of floated away or did you Were you able to keep it going through the pandemic by by doing stuff on social media? Yeah, it was, it was just it was just it evolved, it changed. You know. It's funny when started, I always since or earlier, my friends and I, as a joke would make up like a catchphrase for the year, like more than ninety four, which meant like more drinking, and I still never did enough drinking. So in two thousand four that came back again more in two thousand four, um, and it was like see you in person. Part of it was like I'm going to see people in person, I'm gonna really connect with people. And then you know, a few months in it's like, well, you're actually not going to see anyone in person, and uh, but it because we ended up connecting with so many more people through Zoom then I probably would have connected with in person maybe and even my neighbors and like people in my own community I really connected with. But um, it just changed. You know. Luckily, we had shot a video for every single song already, um, so we put those up. It was just a time. You know. In the back of my head, I think I'd always been trying to grow my social media presence, my connection with my fans through I didn't know about Zoom, but you know, through through virtual concerts and stuff. So it gave me finally an opportunity to to learn my technology in my house a little bit better. I'm not in my house right now, I'm in Texas, but in my own house, I've got lights and I've got really good WiFi, and I like, I know how to set up at my stuff. So it became a time of learning and connecting with people in other ways. And definitely it's a bummer. I mean, I had gone to Japan because the album always comes out first in Japan, so I did get to go to Japan. Before covid Um, but yeah, it was. It was just a different times Together Apart. I want you to check it out. It's collection, a new short musical is written, composed, directed by, and featuring Brown University alumni, of which Lisa is. She speed ahead of the musical. It does premiere today August six on Broadaway and Demand and available to watch for two weeks on the Broadway on Demand platform. You can go to Together Apart Musical dot com for more info Together Apart Musical dot com. Um, well I will. I'm definitely gonna check it out. I'm a massive fan of yours. Thank you for taking the time to you know, hang out and tell me some stories and again, just appreciate your time, Lisa, and good luck with the project, and congrats on your show as well. I hope to meet you in person one when you come through Nashville, because that's where I am and you're doing a show and we're able to not get covid. I will be there. I will be there and I will be singing along great and you'll bring some grits and I'll bring it. You got it all right? Bye, Lisa, Hi, thank you, take care of We're good all right in studio now with Shy Carter, who comes in and brings the energy every went on before we went on, he's like, who part of I'm like, you know, wake up when we did? We woke up three o'clock this morning and you said you just woke up? Yes, I did. But you've been on the road all weekend right playing Yes your watershed. I was pretty cool up there. Huh. It was amazing. The views incredible, man, Difficult to get to but worth it once you're there, absolutely, man. Yeah. And how did you and McGraw become friends? Because on Instagram I saw a picture of you with him because I think you did a song with him. I did, but but I've seen you with him, And I remember talking to Tim maybe a year and a half or so ago even, and he was talking about you. So how did that relationship come together? Well, it's been a long uh long time thing. Um. Missy Gallimore she's Byron Galimore's wife, and Byron produced all of Tim, Tim and Face records in because I did Stuck Like Glue with sugar Land back in two thousand ten and Byron produced it. So one day around that time, I was here in Nashville, and I met Missy. She said, hey, you know, uh you'r Shock Carter. You did that song with my husband? Said yeah. She was like, would you like to work with Faith Hill? And I was like yeah, of course. So you know, next thing, you know, I was like pulling up to their house and Faith was just like such an amazing Uh. She just showed me so much love and was so nice. And then eventually I met Tim and you know, we did a couple of songs on the album that they did together. I did Speak to a Girl for them, and uh, they just always just showed me love man, and they liked my music and they've just been so kind to me. So we just became friends and whenever I got something and he helps me out of you know when you said you did speak to a Girl, you produced that for them? I wrote it? You wrote it for that? Yeah, I was one of the writers. So did you get that to them purposefully or did you write it and go I think this is good for this project that you're doing. Um, we we got it to Missy because Missy would would always find songs for them and still doesn't. She's just a beast at it. And we actually wrote the song in Jamaica, me and these two two other writers, and Missy got ahold of it. Think BMG might have sent it to her or something, and she she far hard for She's like, we need this song, you know, like, hey, cool, I love y'all to have it. Where'd you grow up all over the place? I tell people I grew up in Memphis because that's like my main formative years. But you know outside of Memphis, outside Atlanta, when it's smaller town in Michigan. What moved you all over the place? Oh? My dad, he's just They always say, are we a military family? Which he was in the Marines, but at that time he was just working for the I R. S. And wherever we would he would get a promotion, that's where we would go. So what was it about music as you're moving around? I mean, was that a stable part of like your childhood? Because regardless because I moved around to a lot, was music to you always important? Because regardless of where you went, you still had it? You know? I never even looked at it like that, But that's absolutely true. Yeah, because I just remember riding when we had to leave a place, just riding and crying and listening to the song's like listening to boys to Men songs and Mama playing Tracy Chapman and Ben Morrison and uh uh there was Yeah, I can't remember another them. But whenever you guys are moving around and you're a kid, are you playing music at all? And worded? And why what got you into actual? Like I think I want to do this for my career as a song writer. Yeah, when I was in Memphis, I was like ten, eleven twelve I started. I remember I got a keyboard from my uncle and I was like eleven years old and it had these little pre made beats. You could kind of make the beats and hit a couple of chords on there, and uh so I would have a beat going and I would just make these rhymes and just make whatever little silly song I could to it um and I just loved it. And I would just be in room also just pretending like I'm singing to a crowd and stuff. And like shortly after that, I formed a little group and we sang at talent shows and stuff, like we're saying the Mid South Fairs. We won the talent show at the high school. Kind of group was it a singing group? Like a boys to men type group. Yeah, just like that. And a lot of times we didn't have the music we wanted, so we were just singing our compella. They had the good harmonies. I couldn't even sing the harmonies. I had to like close my ear so I wouldn't jump on their note. They were good with the harmonies. I just sing the middle note and but I just loved it so much. And then eventually I found a guy who Um. I was working at sears and there was a guy named Chris who and this is in Memphis who Um was giving out cards that he was selling selling beats like seventy five bucks or something. So I went over there, got cool with him, made my first song with him, and I just had the bug after that. Did you pay him? No? What happened was was what I was hoping would happen. That we we we got cool and we just wanted to work together. So you know, he was very kind and just helped me out and try to help him out where I could. So how did that bring you to Nashville? Because you've been pretty prevalent in kind of my periphery for the last few years. Because I mentioned to you maybe even off the year. Like Keith Urban and I are buds, and you know, I went over to his house once and he was like, he's just playing some stuff from you, and he was just so high on you. And Keith is like next level. Sometimes I feel like I know music, you know, play it a little study to learn. But he like talking to in the language. Sometimes I don't even understand. He's just in a different planet. He's brilliant man. And when he's talking about how much he really like loves someone's music and sound, I'm like, okay, I should listen to this. And that was you. And so first I'll ask you about Urban. How did you guys get in kind of that same little little world? And but then what is it that brought you to Nashville? Cool? Well, once again, Missy gallum Or she she was finding songs for Keith too, and she put a Keith camp together, and so she just called me and asked me if I wanted to come. That was a few years ago, and and I went, and well, actually I just did a couple of sessions with him. First, actually that song speak to a Girl. He loved that song, and so I wrote with him and a guy day that I wrote that song with was um and yeah, we just hit it off. He's just real cool. We like to talk talk about you know, the songs just flowing and coming um and not not overthinking it, just just just letting it flow. And Uh, he's just he's just a brilliant dude. Obviously, he's incredible on the guitar and it's just fun to like create with him because he wants to push the envelope. He wants to make something new and fly. So it was Missy's managing me now so because she's looked me up with everything I've had. Man, so I want to come and go, Um, I want to play some of these these songs real quick. So your first, your first number one. I'm trying to look at years here because I've got it all. Get your whole life right here. Um. Two thousand nine, someday that you wrote that Rob Thomas recorded. Did you write that with him? Or do you write that for him? He wrote most of that song, but so you wrote it, but you but you wrote it with I wrote it with I wrote it. I started it with matter Letic who's produced all of the Matchbox twenty and Rob Thomas albums. I started it with him and then they finished it together. Okay, so I'm gonna place him with this Here's Someday sound what do you mean you started? Like, tell me the process of this song, because it doesn't sound like you're all three. Like a lot of songs do. They come together at different points, at different times and years later. Sometimes you started it with Rob, with Matt okay, and then Rob finished it. Yeah, they finished it together, and so I don't know exactly how that how that was never met him, that's crazy. That's funny. It's like sometimes you'll see or you'll listen to a duet from two folks and you'd be like, I love it, and then you hear an interview like, yeah, we didn't think it together. We don't even were not we never met. Yeah, I mean that. That's pretty wild that you still haven't met the guy. He's in Nashville decent amount too. Now, yeah, I went to the show. That's funny. Wait, you went to a show and you still didn't haven't met him. Man, it's like I'm trying to see how long I canna make it. That about meeting him here is stuck like glue Number one for sugar Land from two thousand, Who Like You and Me? Whoa You? Almost? So a couple of things about this song. One of one of the guys that I listened to a lot as a kid, and you know me growing up in the nineties, it was a lot of alternative rock. There's a lot of hip hop up and growing up in Arkansas. For me, it was a lot of countries. So that was kind of my three my tent poles. Yeah, but I went to more Better Than Ezra shows than just about anybody. And I got on stage once with Better Than and they were like, They're like, who knows how to play this time of year? And I did. I was like I do, and so I was pumped. I was gonna get up on stage and they handed me a guitar and then left handed. I was like, and they didn't. I ain't gonna play it, man, Kevin that story now and Kevin and I have become friends. But you wrote that song with Kevin the lead singer Better Than Right and then Christian and Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland. Yes, sir, how did that Right come together? That was cool. I had just gotten to l a because the Rob Thomas song was going and I talked to my publishing company. I was in Atlanta, I was coming to Nashville. I was hearing the music in Nashville for a few years, and I was like, man, I want to do that UM. But they also said that they could just get me more rights if I came to l A. So I went out there and actually was a guy named Casey Robinson. I was working for b M I, so she's right with Kell and Griffin. I was like cool. So I met up and we wrote one one session. It was great. We had a great time. And that was the second time we hooked up UM, and we just we just wanted to write a song. And he put up some drums in the computer and I had actually broken my drum machine. I used to go everywhere with this big old drum machine MPC, and I had had broken it. So it brought me back to what I used to do with my friends, just beat boxing and beating on things. So I didn't I said, man, just give me a guitar. I just started beating on it and just making the sounds of my mouth and stuff, and he loved it, and we put a little loop together and we just that was just that's just a simple song. We just we just threw together, just trying to make something, and we got a lot of it done. He was like, this would be perfect for sugar Land and I was like, really, you know Sugarland And he said yeah. My drummer from Better Than Ezra was playing drums for them, so he sent it to them. He said, leave you know, leave space open. They want to write on it too, and and they did. They made that wild bridge on there and everything. I mean, that was a massive song, mass of the song. Have you met them? Okay, it's been funny if you had it, if every song he hadn't met the person? Did you know better than right at all from Kevin? Like before you met Kevin? Or was that not really how because you're probably not as old as I am, I'm close. Did you know them at all? I knew the songs? I didn't really you know, sometimes you just hear songs and it got big and I didn't realize that that that was him. Did you know WHOA? It's good? Yeah, yeah, so that song is massive. But you're in California. What what made you move to Nashville? Well before I had moved out there, I was coming up here um to see a young friend I had up here and and her uncle was playing I remember it was like two thousand seven, two thoight. And the thing that really made me um gravitate towards the music here was hearing like the live instruments, the way they would mix the songs, just the beautiful songs. And I heard whatever it it blows me your way, and at the time I try to tell how I feel, it comes out I love you. Yeah man, it's that Brown band. And like I started hearing all these songs that it just like kind of refreshed my soul, man, and it reminded me of the songs I grew up on that were like Van Morrison and Tracy Chapman that really my mom was playing. And there wasn't really a big the R and B genre had kind of shrunk, and you you couldn't like when I grew up, you could write like Babysit Face was writing these songs for boys to men that would go number one and in the top forty charts. And then also like you had songs like I'm Amazed by You or or which became a top forty song too. But you have songs like I swear like all for One. I loved all for One. And then there was a country version of that song. You know, um, so that what I loved about the R and B songs and stuff was always right there in country music. It was always the same. And so it just clicked in my head that man, I need, I need to be writing this. Music like this encapsulates what I want out of music right now, and there's no other place for me to write it except for the country music and in Nashville. So I was just always coming down here, and I had a place Carla Wallace, a big yellow dog. She had an apartment above her her her publishing company on music Roll, and she rented me that apartment. So I was just splitting time between here and there and Missy us always telling me come down here, comany just move down and just leave. I just like, man, I'm not ready to leave in l A yet. But eventually I left. I went to Santa Barbara. I was tired of the air is bad, too many people. I relaxed in Santa Barbara for a minute, and I came down here and hit it hard, baby, way out in the country. How long have you been here now full time three years, so I want to go to two thousand and fifteen. It don't hurt like it used to. Billy Currington, Yeah, here's a clip of that. Did you write this one here in Nashville? Yes, sir? So what was it? Was this your first big Nashville like you were in Nashville when Nashville folks getting a Nashville head? Was this the first one? I guess it. I guess it was. Yeah. Didn't feel different because of that, like you're you kind of had, you know, put yourself in this Nashville culture and now you've actually done it here as well. Yeah, because actually it was hard for me to connect because I didn't realize that the writers here in Nashville would book their sessions out like four or five months in advance. I would just pop up and be like, yeah, I want to write, and you know, some people like the Warren Brothers, you know, they would they would make make room for me. But I couldn't get it, you know, my I couldn't get everything moving the way I wanted it too, because I didn't. I was just on my own. I didn't have really a manager or a publisher. That was connected down here, and so that's why I wasn't having a lot of success. And Billy was a great friend of mine. I had known Billy through Carla Wallace as well. Um I put a talk box on one of my songs and he heard. He was like, what does that? What does that sound? I want to do? Uh? And so it was actually very special to me because Billy was involved and we we've been friends like for years at that point, and he just showed up at the studio and it wasn't even a writing session and he just so, you guys wrote that and not even a schedule writing session. Yeah, that's cool. How fast did that come out? You know, sometimes you sit down to create and stuff just falls out again. Sometimes you just beat yourself in the head and you're like, I don't have it today. But that song, if it's not a planned session, that just kind of come out of you guys pretty quickly, very fast. It was. It was a miracle. Like I feel like all these songs are really just super blessings man when they when they work, we just got to be available and ready to receive the beautiful blessing. Man. Let's play Speak to a Girl. You mentioned this earlier. This is from Tim and Faith tell you talk to one that's good, that's telling you get with the It's gotta be pretty cool whenever a song that you write and you know you have people out pitching these songs or finding these songs, and somebody like Faith and Tim go, hey, we think that's good enough for us to sing like, that's gotta be like one of the greatest feelings is something you created one of the biggest, most influential, most powerful country artists in the past hundred years. It's like, that's good enough. I love it. Yeah, I mean do you need those sometimes to kind of go oh man? Like if you're if nothing works for a while, you're like, man, having written, nobody's picked up anything. Do you ever have one of those that are like, we love it? You're like, Okay, I'm back in I feel like I'm kind of back in the game. I'm rejuvenated. Yeah, for sure, Like I would think with me, because this this industry is so many failures. It's it's most it's mostly failing, yeah, and it's can you kind of withstand all the failing to get to the success? You know? Absolutely, man, that's what it's all about. When Tim and Faith they said, we want to sing that song. I gotta imagine that feels great. Yeah, make you want to cry, man. And the first time you heard it, you remember the first time you heard it after they cut it, Yeah, it was on the radio. That's the first time you heard it on the radio. And they played it like on every single radio station. Um that for they like premiered it, and so it was pretty cool. Man. You wrote Heavenful Kane Brown, Matt Massive. Everybody's talking about the Massive. Did you write this with Kane? No, Kane was there though. He was upstairs writing another song. That's funny. Yeah, he ranted a lake house or and you guys all got got a bunch of riders out and all, and so you guys wrote that while Kane was upstairs right another one. Yeah, he even came down. We went we hadn't even finished it, and we were like, you want to finish this. He's like, no, y'all go ahead, man. And that was cool of him to do that though, too. Dude, Kane is Cane is a man. That's one thing I love about country music too. And these artists I've I've met so many genuine people that have just not been you know that the l a pop thing or it can just be very real sharkish, you know. And just so I've I've just met so many good people that just are like family and friends around here. Man. And if you're listening and you're wondering why I say that's cool to him to do, Kne could have easily walked down, written a liner to change a couple words earlier, and then been a full songwriter and taking part of the publishing. For sure, Like that was that was him going, no, you guys keep that money. Yeah, that's that's what that was. And that's what exactly, that's what happened. You guys made a whole lot more money because Kine was cool for sure, man, And I'm very grateful. Thank you, Kane, Love you, big dog. Kane's a good dude. Man. Um One call away from Charlie Poot two thousand and sixteen, I gotta imagine finance this song has been the biggest for you, Yeah, for sure, because I mean it's it pop, it's international, it's it was just an everywhere you went. Yeah, man, you ever go to like Kroger's playing over the top, Yeah, I've been all over the place it's been playing. Man, when you wrote this one, tell me about that. That was a That was a great blessing too, because I really, I really wanted to get out of l A and I didn't want to leave until I did something I felt, you know, I really got something great out of the place, and I could I could move on, you know, because it is it's it's it's just vultures man and his sharks, and it's hard. But they called me one day said hey, we got this soulful guy. He please work with him. And he had the fast and furious song like getting ready to it. It wasn't even I don't even think the movie was out yet, but they had him and him and with Khalifa had sing the song on on a late night show. I looked at I was like, that's cool. So I went and hooked up with him, and so I started writing with him. As I'm writing with him, the songs blowing up and he's becoming his massive star. And so then he he rented a house and it was in Montcito, California, by Santa Barbara. And asked why I moved to Santa Barbara after that, and because it was nice but you know, we stayed in that house for like for like three or four days, man, and you know, everybody wrote and I don't know where all those songs went, but it was like the last day and they just said, let's just go sit by the fire pit. And we sat by the fire put I have this guitar because you saw me played a mandolin, So I have this guitar to that tune. Like a mandolin has only got four strings on, it's called a tenor guitar. And I had it with me, And that's one of the best lessons I could tell anybody. Like that was not a scheduled session either. It was just let's go sit by the fireplace late at night. And so because I brought that, like it changed everything and I changed my life just because I picked that up. Because otherwise we would have just went and sat by the fireplace and just talked and laughed and then maybe drank from training went to sleep. But instead I brought that. I'm picking around on it. We're just kicking around ideas, and that song just came out pretty instantly too. Whenever I've talked or worked with some l A songwriters versus Nashville songwriters, and I'm curious to know how your creative process is a lot of I would say more so of the l a people that I've either talked with or worked with, right the melody first. And for those if you're listening, the difference would be like one call away there would be no words to it, but you would say, you got Dawn dada, you have to sign any words yet, but you're writing all the melody where some a lot of my friends in Nashville are very like they've got concepts for lyrics. They've got a bunch of lyrics that don't have any melody to it. Yet they'd be like, all right, well only one call away, Like they know what they want to say, but they don't have a melody yet. When you write, are you writing melody first most of the time? Are you writing like concept lyrically most of the time. I am more like the melody thing because I feel like, like even I remember Michael Jackson saying a long time ago that like he goes all over the world and people don't even know the language, but they know the song because the melody is so important. So and also when I get to Scat in Vada, thing that like I will say something like Scott almost say a word and we'll just listen to it. The beauty of the fact that we can record it all right there, saying through auto tune, have fun with it, you know, hit all these different and then you're like, wait a minute, it sounds like you're saying this, like maybe we should write about that, or it just gives you a feeling or an emotion, so it can it can you know, bring a concept to you by that. But I also love you know, sitting around, you know, when you're just walking around every day somebody will say something and uh, he said, oh, yeah, that's a good song. Let me put that in my phone or something. And so I love the Nashville way of, you know, just having really really thought out ideas and how how they want to approach it, and then just you know, I love both of them. It's great to switch it up. When you did One call Away, did you melody at first? Were you sitting around? No? Actually, um d J Frankie he was sitting there and he said, I got idea. I just want to write one call Away. He said, I got this much. I'm only one call away, And he had that much and I had the guitar and I said I'll be there to say the day, and I just started playing the chords. And Mozilla is another great writer. She said Superman got nothing on me. And then I just booked ended it. I'm only one call away. There's the look like instantly man. And then I just when we just started kicking around the verse ideas man and and there was a A and R guy sitting right there with us who was the A and R for Charlie and he's he's this is a hit. This is his is nothing like writing the right writing something with the Usually you don't want them around and they wouldn't be in the studio, but we're just hanging out. And the fact that he was just saying it was gonna be a hit the whole time, like let's do this here is never coming down that you're on this song with Keith Keith Urban here you go you beatboxing this song? Is that right? I'm trying to remember correctly because we just put in clips, but I'm thinking back to this this record in general, there's a whole beatbox here that right? Are the band is it to going? Did you do this in the studio with Keith. Yeah, it was a blast, was a funny session. You feel pressure to perform in a small room with Keith or does he make it loose where it's like, hey, just go do your thing and have don't work this time. We'll figure something that next time he makes it loose. Yeah, yeah, I felt pressure. I've been doing it a long time, Like uh, Nellie was the first person to give me a chance of real chance in the industry. And when I used to go around him like I was a super nervous man, and you know after time, I just less nervous as time goes on. Here is good as you number one, Cam Brown again, Baby, I just want to be good as you go your more than just deserve it. And then I'll play this one and we this is this song here God whispered your name like I love it so much. We I got married a couple of weeks ago here at the house and we played this is the song that we played as right before she walked down the aisle. And I've told Keith this many times because I don't think Keith wrote it. I know you wrote it. I think you guys wrote and got it to Keith right, and he produced it and I talked to Keith. I was like, man, that song means so much to us. Uh and he would have been at the wedden. They were out of they were out of the country, but we played it as as all of our h what do you call the bride's brides maids walked down. But this song to me, like in the last few years you wrote it. I can tell you to your face like, this is one of the best songs that that my ears have been EXPO was doing a long time because I was feeling it in my life when this song was out. Yeah, you know, and I think that's a big part of enjoying a song too. Yeah, connecting to it, right, It's like the actual connection of it. Yeah. So congratulations on that one too, man, Thank you. That means so much to me. I appreciate that. I got, like, you know, goose bumps. What you're saying that, man, I want to see some of the footage and um, you you still play saxophone at all? No, I'm gonna pick you back up though. When did you stop playing? Uh? Well, I was really playing like in middle middle school, in the um, in the banding school and stuff. And when we went to high school. The band had to play during the football game, and I said, I can't, I need to go play football. I can't, I can't let them play football. And I come out with a saxophone in the middle of the football game. There was a There was a player in Arkansas named Dan Hampton who ended up being in the NFL Hall of Fame. But he would go out in the Arkansas Football ga. He wouldn't go in a halftime and it's full football uniform. Hall of Fame player would go out and play in the band. Where Yeah, pretty crazy to look back at. Now, did you ever go play like on Bill Street? I did? Yeah, you know what's upping? Man? And so were you playing saxophone out there? I was. My dad took me down there. And what was the goal? To get better? To make money? Both it was just for fun, Yeah, to get better, definitely get better. Like he would put me in there with musicians that the whole thing was just a freestyle impromptu, you know, think jazz music. And they would just give me a chance to just hit a solo. As long as I know what key is in, I just whoop? Is that an instrument? You could pick back up throwing in a week to be able to play a little bit. Yeah, maybe a little bit longer than a week. I could figure it out if I put one, pull it out. Could you figure out something if I handed you one right now? Just to be serviceable? Yeah, I could. I could do a little something on there. It's all about that read and like you gotta suck on the read. Make it all where that that if you just pick it up in this dry and it will start screeching. I just it's like nails on the chalkboard. Man, you played at Watershed this past weekend? You do a whole set? I did? Man, when you do your sets? And how long was this set you played this weekend? An hour? Okay? Do you play some of the songs that you've written? Yeah? I play a lot of them. Do you tell people so they know you wrote it and you're not just covering it? Yeah, I gotta tell them. I hope they're listening, you know, because the beauty of having these songs is that I get to play songs people know. There's nothing like playing songs people know that they can sing along to, as opposed to here's twelve fifteen songs that are coming out that you guys have never heard. It's not as fun. You played at Lollapaloos as well. Yeah, had a big weekend. That's why I wasn't giving you a hard time. And You're like, I just woke up. I was like, if I had had your weekend, I don't know that I've woken up at all on Monday. But so you went from Gorge, Washington, Seattle, Ish to Chicago. What was that? What was the difference in the for those two festivals. It was one of the funniest weekends in my life, dude, because the Gorge was crazy and the weather like in Seattle. We flew into Seattle for and first and got to the weather was just perfect. Man. I got to see one of my childhood friends out there and then Tim. I literally got on stage with Tim McGraw and saying I like it, I love it with him. I couldn't believe I got to sing that song with him. You know, do you have to riff? And and this as far I was gonna tell earlier, I was I was doing something in Austin. There was a festival and sugar Land was playing and they were doing it was when Christian and Jenniferen got back together and they put out a record and they were back and they were doing um stuff like Glue. And I know Christian really well. He had opened for me when I was doing some comedies and theater stuff and I'd like, Christian, come out and you know, just played before me for half an hour. And so so for part of like that that area Georgia, Alabama, it was easy for him to get to so come out into some shows with us because he lives in Atlanta, and so we were in Austin and they were together and he was like, Hey, you want to come out and do a song with us with sugar Land. And I was like, not really, because I know what I'm good at and what I'm not and I don't need to go out and try to sing some sugar Land stuff or anything. And he was like, well, come out and do like the rap part. This stuck like Glue, and I was like, I was like, I don't know, I don't I don't know that. I'm just gonna be in it enough to just walk out and feel that immediately like there was I said. But and so the network was going, hey we do something, come in and do something. So we can put on on TV that we're looking for one of these performances from Sugarland if you want to go, if you will do this, this will be the one we used for TV. And I was like, that's a that's for me. That's a weird kind of hip. I don't know what you call Jennifer doing that. I mean I would say it zimp hop. It's kind of rap, but it's like, uh, damba dabada. I don't know. I don't know what to call it either, And I hope that's not defensive to you anyway. And so I go out and I try. I tell you, I went out and I did it. I give it a C minus. But my point is I looked over all the words and that the words to that they weren't hard to remember. But I didn't want to mess up that that project. Right, you go out with Tim and you're doing I like it. I love it. You can't mess up those words, do you? Are? You staring at it beforehand? Is going? I know I know the words, but I need to make sure again. Definitely was man because I was doing that too, like I knew every word, just talk like and I was like, all right, I was sweet sweet, let me see okay. Oh then you feel like you're good. You come off stage like I nailed it. Um, you know, just gonna be honest. I think I might have. I think I might have goofed up the first line, which was which it was pretty I think I played it off okay to you know, Tim. Tim helped me out, but I think I killed the rest of it. I gotta watch my eye truck and dress up. I don't think got that truck line right right away. I kind of just went up there and I was like, oh, shoot, it's really time, here we go. I gotta watch what earlier that day. That's how do you perform? Okay, so you're still in it though a little bit? Yeah, man, it was. It was. It was blast like we could they did. They didn't know, Man, No, they never know. And I'm gonna tell you to reel man. As long as you're smiling and you're having a good time, the crowd is too. That's what I learned a long time ago. They don't know if you mess up, you play it off, you know. So many of my friends would go like, hey, if I freaking it worse and I'll just put the mic out there. Everybody just things it back ung man. Yeah, So let's talk about the new song for a second, because you guys came in on the show Bear with My Friends. Yeah, Man, and Cole Swindell and David Lee Murphy came in. I played a little clip of this for you stop seeing. So how's this song doing right now? How do you feel like I do you feel like starting to cut through a little bit? Yeah? I think so for sure. Like as soon as we put it out, people were hearing it all in Florida, like, Man, you know, uh over the holiday weekend or something it was, and uh, yes, it's been really uh doing good on the on the stream and stuff. And could you write that one with David Lee Murphy and Brian Simpson. Yeah, and Brian's been replaced by colsch One dog. Yes, right, it's right. David Murphy is like the greatest dude though, right, He's so phenomenal, man, He's just everybody always says he's the coolest guy, and he is. He just comes around and he's got great ideas and he's a phenomenal writer. And it was just fun to hang out with man and whenever you guys, because you have this song. Were you writing it for you to cut, or you're writing it you're just writing a song that day. We're just writing a song. Most of the time, I don't try to even you know, make it so make it about me. I just want to make sure we're getting the best song. But uh yeah, there's another one that just came out real fast. It was Brian's ideas like that just be with my friends, like all right, that's cool and not not not not too complicated, you know. And we just wrote it on the guitar and it was It was great and they loved it. I loved it. But once we really demoed, it was like, oh, this thing is like slapping, you know. And uh, Man Kenny helped us out. Man Kenny and Buddy Kenny, Kenny Chesney and Buddy Buddy Canny went and studio. They sped it up and got all those guitars rock. And once she sped it up and stuff, I was like, oh, this thing is the party sent trial. So why did you cut it? Why did I did it? Because I loved it. Yeah, I loved it. Man. I was like just bona fide hit to me, you know, And uh, I just I wanted them. I wanted to get some cool guys on there with me to just be with my friends. And David I was like, I loved love for you to just get on here with me. Man, let's just do it together. Because it was that was the demo. Me and him just did the demo. I was just I love this, let's just do this. And what about Cale? How'd you come to inviting Cold to the song? I've always liked Cole. I love his music, and you know, we wanted to do We've been wanting to do something together and we're on the same label. So as Chris Lazy after, I was like, can you can you just send this to Cold? And right away as soon as he heard it, he loved it and it just came to to the studio. Man, it made it happen. Were you planning on pursuing the solo artist's career at this point or did you write this song and it kind of shoved you into doing it and committing to it. No, it's actually been my plan ever since I was a youngster man, like a long time. So I've had this is my third major label record deal. I've probably had five or six record deals and I just really finally got a great team with Warner brother you know, s BO and Chris Lacey and all these great people that um at Warner here, and I had just put out Good Love was was the song that put out you know, like last year or like whatever. But so we we've already been promoting and pushing, pushing the artist thing. Man, I was like this want to hit them hard, right, how do you feel like you feel like it's going good? Like you feel like like radio is like this is one. I mean, yeah, that's the one they really wanted. I went on. I went on a radio tour I did in the middle of COVID. I was the first one to actually go out like they had a whole idea to send me out there on a bus and bring the speakers out and and through this whole presentation on people's in front front yards, in front of their house or in front of their uh you know, radio station, and we hit a whole bunch of them. And every time I played that song, They're like, we want that song, we want that song. And so I'm just so glad I finally can give it to him. Man, let me play a little bit of Good Love. So people know what you're talking about. If you had to pick one artist, songwriter, producer, and that was all you could do, Which one you're choosing? Oh, just for me, just for you, you can only do one. If I can only do one, Nobody's ever put it like that. I would I would have to say, just just writing, because then I would be singing songs I didn't write, right, Yeah, So I love singing to people, but I love to create, if I if I you know, I would love to create. Man, what are you doing? What do you do for fun? What are you doing Nashville? Like create songs for fun? For you? Yeah? I mean that's probably why you're so good at what you do, right, I mean I feel like for me that's the case. Like I enjoy what I do, so I get better at it because I love doing it. Yeah, you know what, I'm kind of inspired by the job for sure, man, which makes me better at the job. If you take yourself out of music, though, Like, what do you what are you doing around town? Yeah? I've been trying to, you know, have more fun outside of music like that. But mmm, I'd like to play basketball, like to uh, you know, be out in nature, get on a boat somewhere. You gonna jump on one of these horses out there in the country, bare back. See what they're gonna do. See what they're gonna do. Never works out for me, that's see what they're gonna do. Never, never good. But listen, man, I'm super pumped you came by. I know you had a crazy weekend, but I'm glad you came over the house, said what up? And I'm so grateful to be here. Man. I think it's what I like about you coming by as we were able to because we've been talking for forty minutes or so. But once people see your entire package together, they don't realize how much they've been secretly influenced by Shuy Carter like. And that's kind of the plight of the songwriter sometimes. I got buddies have written a ton of number ones and nobody knows who they are, and they always wanted to be an artist, but they never either committed to it or they never felt confident enough to go for it. And so I mean, you wrote all that and now you're just like, let's go, let's let's go. And I'm you know you're gonna be the face of you. That's right, man, it's really cool. That's awesome. Man. I'm a big fan. Thank you, sir, I'm a big fan of yours. I have a question for you is how how do you possibly do a radio show, podcast, TV shows, all these different things? Man? God gave you a little bit of extra hours in a day or you just take up at three every morning. I don't know if it's extra hours. And I say this, I say this as and I mean this as I say because I'm not that talented at anything like this. Now to hear me out, I don't have a skill. I don't have something. I don't have a gift of a skill that God gave me that I'm like I naturally I'm good at music, or I'm a great communicator, or I'm great. But what I but what I was given was no one is more tenacious than I am. Like I don't. I don't. If I have a goal, I don't stop. And even if I suck and I don't stop, I get better as I not stop. Noe of this makes sense in the English language. Everything I'm saying here's wrong. But I don't quit. And because I don't quit, I continue to learn, so eventually I get good at stuff because I've been bad at it so long and I've I've just kept on so and so now I'm pretty good a lot of things. I can write books, I can do TV, I can do radio. Not great at any of it. But my my trick, you know, in my pocket, has been I just don't quit. I appreciate that question. That's how I have time, is that I just grind. But now I have a wife. I just got married, and I have a wife, and her goal with me sometimes is stop, like you're not your job. It's a big part of who you are. But I put so much worth into what I created because I never had anything going as just a poor kid, you know. And now you've got somebody who sees the worth in you, and they're like, you don't even need all that you You are already worthy. Man, you can relax a little bit. She tells me that I don't know that always believe her. But we're getting there. So for me, I appreciate that question. But that's not about me. It's about you know. But I've seen like that's the that's the number one thing I see in life in general. Man. It's it's never the person that's this the most talented a way, it's the person who works the hardest man just never gives up, that always went, that becomes the real winner. Man. And most of the times we're talking about this is an industry where you don't have a lot of success until you get some success. Like you're always fighting failure. Like nobody sees when you're failing. So if you can just continue swimming, you'll get to the other side. The same for me, man, Yeah, nobody sees. Nobody sees all the songs that you're right that don't get cut right. Nobody sees all the times I didn't get hired or I get told no for projects. But what they do see is when it does work out, and as long as we can continue, we can withstand the nose, they can't keep us from the yeses. Then one day you'll be ballroom ballroom dancing. I did win that one, and I was not good. Not good? All right, you guys. Follow shy Shy Carter official on Instagram, stream berea with my friends. Check it out and see him in your town. Go see him. I'd love to I again. Follow him at Shy Carter official. Should I gonna talk to you? M.