Favorite 10 BobbyCast Moments of 2022 (Part 1)

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Top ten Bobby Cast of two. My name is Mike d producer of the Bobby Cast, and i'll part one. I'll be taking you through numbers ten through six. These are the interviews we love the most, the ones you interacted with the most online, and the episodes that if you miss them and their entirety, we highly encourage you to go check out these full hour long conversations. So let's kick it off with number ten, J T. Harding. He has an energy that is infectious and you're well aware of his energy from the very first word he says on this interview. He has an amazing story, a great outlook on life, and it's a really great dresser. So here is JT. Hardening from episode three fifty five talking about some of his cuts as a songwriter and the time he opened up for Lincoln Park Keith Urban's Somewhere on My Car he wrote that with Keith Yes with Keith And do you know how I met Keith Urban? Probably early for yeah, have no idea. I was just too early for bumble. Uh. When Somewhere with You came out, my friends started texting me saying, Keith Urban is talking about your Candy Chesney song. He's telling his fans to buy it. I think he made a little link for it in the pre ituned days or whatever. And Keith Urban did not know who wrote the song. He didn't know who I was. He just liked that. You can imagine what a wild feeling that was. And I was at a songwriter award show downtown. Everyone's dressed up. I was in the men's room washing my hands and I just kind of looked over and standing there at the wall stall was Keith Urban again, and so I waited for him. I invented the long hand wash. I just stood there and he came up, and I, uh, you know, introduced myself to him. And he was so cool and so humble. He said, mate, what a song. If I had just heard that before anyone else, I would have done it. And I said, God, that's just crazy, because you know, I sent it to your record company and your manager. So he said, um, what, you take my phone number? He put his number into my phone. If you can believe that. I texted him at like seven in the morning the next day, which was not good. I didn't answer me back, but we became friends. He eventually called once again Keith Urban. He said, these are the guitar chords, this is the drumbeat I want, and I wanted to be a song about looking back at a relationship. He was like an architect with a blueprint of the song, and he couldn't have been nicer or more talented. So I was so glad to write with him. I agree about Blake Shelton, which Mike we did back in our parody days. We did a parody of this. Yeah, oh that's flatter, that's great. Oh that's what it was, tortilla. That's right, Yeah, go ahead back then, no big And when we're all through a couple more days, real quick, here is Different for Girls by Dirks and l right, oh k yeah, who's just And here is Beers and Sunshine by Darius. And so now that we've heard your expert at work, now it's not enough for you. Flip over the Craig Wiseman, Bobcast people. Come on, I'm doing my best here. And you know, you come in and you have a book. I always like to lay out what would make you an expert and why people would want to read what you have to say, and so, and we'll get onto some more of your list stuff in a minute, but party like a rock star. The book, What's why did you decide you wanted to write a book? And what do you think people are gonna get from it? Great question. So I played a show here at the listening room, and writing a book wasn't on my mind at all. There was a lady in the audience so I'd never met, didn't know anything about her, but I would like to give her a shout out, and I've never heard her before. Her name is Dana Perino. Some people may know her. I didn't. She's on TV. She started saying, I saw this guy j T at the listening room. I think he should write a book. So she actually called around. So I got this book deal. It's not only the stories behind all these hits, which are all co written, by the way, I've had a lot of help, and basically it's a story of my life. I didn't know anybody in the music business. I just loved listening to the radio. When MTV came booming into my living room, it felt like I felt like Dorothy going from black and white OZ, you know, sorry, black and white Kansas into technicolor OZ. I just couldn't believe it. Michael Jackson with the sidewalk lighting up, you know, Madonna singing like a virgin, a wedding dress, David Lye roth like Bruce Lee with a jet pack on. I looked down the back of my CDs and they all said Sunset Boulevards. So before my friends graduation caps were even thrown in the air, I was already living on the most unglamorous corner of Hollywood. And I had a job, and I made my first uh and I used clothing story, made my first demo with money. I won on VH one Rock and Roll Jeopardy. I'm glad you weren't on it. You probably would have beat me. Went on Rock and Roll Jeopardy. Yes, oh, Bobby, I annihilated the competition. You know, when my friends, When my friends were studying the S A T. I was studying MTV And no, that's not in my book. It should be. It was the guy from that eventually went on does Survivor? Yeah, Jeff, did you know that? I don't know. I retained I'm pretty good trivia of it. And I wanted to say that, and why I just said, Jeff? And then if you were gonna say yeah, yeah, So he stood real close to me. When he and I would like, I would jerk my head back like some spit hit my face and I wiped my eye off. All the audience was going crazy and they were like, we need to edit out all these jokes. But you know, I was trying to get noticed. How much did you win on Rock and Roll Jeopardy? Was it one episode? Did you stay up? And it's just one episode? I won. I didn't get the final Jeopardy, but I remember it like it was last night. Can I give you the question? Okay? Final Jeopardy? Ding Ding ding Ding. The category is female singers. She is a member of the Royal British Army. She had ten top ten hits in the eighties, which is a lot, and she starred in the biggest movie of nineteen eight I got it wrong, but I bet one dollar because I knew they couldn't beat me because I was up so much, so British. She's probably born in the sixties. Then there we go, Mike with the sound and you didn't say number one, but again on the pop chart, a top ten song, pretty ubiquit s whenever she's everywhere. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I mean like in the big very biggest movie of the movie, the biggest movie in night. I saw him writing his answer down. I stopped and solo artist out because Debbie Harry is in a band. Yeah, I know, man, I got it wrong. After just crushing it all right, let me give me ten more seconds. Let's see it's a British solo female. I know her? What I know her? Oh? Yes, yes, you're listening to hit writer J T. Harding on the Bobcast with Bobby. But does still hold music? Doesn't it? Every listing press one to speak. I'm gonna not know Olivia Newton John and the movie is grazy. I feel like she's Australian. She is, that's the trick question. Oh my goodness, rule, I know. That's what an idiot. I'm not trying to trick you. They tricked me to. Yeah, I thought Olivia Newton John, but she's Australian. That's why I came out, not her she Yeah, they it was. It was. It was awful, but I won and I used um that money to make my demo. Now this was pre internet, so I couldn't just call a record company. I didn't know anybody, but I knew a girl whose roommate worked to FedEx, so I borrowed the FedEx jacket. Mean, this is like some of the stunts you pulled right and like Obi wan Kenobi, just sauntering into the death Star. I walked into every record company with the FedEx jacket, passed the security guards, passed the promotion guys chewing on their golf teas. Oh, and I put my CD in every mailbox in l A. And then did anything come of all of the CD placement? Uh No? But then I got a job at Tower Records on Sunset, and I was so naive that's something could happen. I'll work at Tower and everyone that makes records will coming here. I passed my CD out to everyone. Every celebrity came in there too, Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain, slides stallone. I tried to give him all my demo. I got a record deal. The guy that signed Tracy Chapman, we all remember her fast Car. He came in. I recognized his name from the record and I made a record with him with John Mellencamp's band in New York. Got a big check, release date. All that stuff flew back to l a put a band together two or dates, and they never called me again. My heart's been broken by the music business more than the ice cream machine and McDonald's on Broadway has been broken. What do you mean they never called you again? They invented ghosting. I never heard from him that the record was shelved. Yes, and and you know, you would think that that eight grand would make me feel better, but it wouldn't. But do you mind if I continue? I was worn out. I'd been in l A for five years chasing my dream. I decided to take a break and recharge. I get a job working for the Superstar band Lincoln Park. This is all true. About six months. Six guys in the band really great, very low maintenance. I would not talk about my music, but they would see me working on my song sometimes and then I would put the guitar down. One night, I'll never forget it. In Kansas City, sold out, they asked me to open up for them. What were you doing for them? Um? Getting? Uh? Their stage closed washed, which were pretty much their street clothes. That that's a great question. They would have food after the show. I would make sure to order it. Always check the food as it's delivered. Because you don't want them food to be wrong, and putting out magic markers for their for their autograph sessions. They were very low maintenance and they couldn't have been nicer. So one night in Kansas any they said you want to open up for us? I said, you bet, you I do. I mean it was like it was like a like a like a bachelor walking to his wedding. So check it out. I think the opening band was Slipknot and then Lincoln Park. I went on in between them with my acoustic guitar. Now, listen to anyone out there, if you ever get the chance to stand on stage and like Bobby has, in front of thirty thousand people holding a guitar, the spotlight on you and hearing every one of them go you suck, you suck. It gives you a chill, doesn't it. They were booing so loud you couldn't even hear anything, but Lincoln Park It asked me to stay out there, so I was or asked me to be out there, so I said, I'm gonna stay out here. So I finally said, all right, Kansas City. I hang on a second, Kansas City. They're brewing. Does anyone out here like Ozzy Osbourne. And there was like a little bit of a rumble, and I said, well, here's some Joan Osborne. What if God was anything not tied down was thrown at me, bottles, lighters, coins. I got struck in the head with a coin and I was bleeding from the head and the audience starts roaring like a jet engine started and I'm thinking I'm winning him over because I'm about to die out here. Little did I know Chester Bennington, the Superstar lead singer, had come out on stage to rescue me, and bless his heart, he's he's passed away now. He takes me off stage. The next day in the newspaper there's a picture of Chester and I. His arm is around me. I'm bleeding from the head or on stage. It's above the review. That picture is actually in my book and the little paragraph says the opening act was a one man band. Despite bleeding from the head, his name is J. T. Harding. Despite bleeding from the head, he finished a two song promising set, and believe it or not, there was some kid in the audience got one of my long lost demos. By the tour of US, I don't even really remember handing him out his His dad called someone and they called someone in Nashville and they said, we saw this guy JT. You gotta you gotta call him up. And that's how I got my deal in Nashville. Can you imagine that? So failed record deals, getting kicked out of record companies. Booed off stage in front of Lincoln Park And little did I know, the universe was like leading me here, and I'm very grateful to be here. And number nine is one of Bobby and I's favorite new artists, Morgan Wade from episode three thirty two. She put out one of Bobby's favorite country albums in a really long time, and she talked all about that and her song Wilder Days, how she started out writing songs in secret, and how she has over a hundred tattoos. So here is Morgan Wade at number nine. In the house that you grew up in, you know, were you raised to speak up and speak your mind or were you raised to, you know, just bide your time and find your place? Yeah? You know it. It's I was such a quiet kid. It was like I say that I was quiet, but it was also not quiet. It just depended on the moment Um. I don't really feel like I grew up in a house where we you know, really spoke our minds very often. My parents divorced when I was like five, Um, and so I spent a lot of time at my grandparents house, which you know, I felt like the safest place for me by then. But my grandma really let me just be whoever I wanted to be, saying my grandmother adopted me for a while. But your grandmother being such a strong influence on you, what what was she like as a woman. Yeah, she you know, she gave me some really good advice one time, and it was just I was just so upset, you know, about different things. And I remember She's just like, don't try to be like anybody else. Don't put you know, all your happiness in one person. I'll never forget that. It was in her front yard is probably you know, eleven or twelve. But she's like, just stopped putting everything into into other people, like, you know, you gotta have that inside of yourself. And and so she she was always very just supportive of me being me. Um, I have like a really fond memory. Um. We couldn't figure out she she got really sick and uh, I remember she she had double vision and we couldn't figure it out. And I had guitar lessons and she put a patch over so she could drive me to guitar lessons that day. You know. It was just stuff like that that was like really important to her. Sacrificed a lot she did. Um. Was she like a mom to you? Oh? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. My my grandma was like my best friend there for you know, like a really long time. And so was she in on your decision to pursue music, um, because it sounds like she was influencing it a bit? She was, she was influencing it. She she passed away not nactually not long after that. I think I was thirteen when she she finally passed away. We found out she actually had pancreatic cancer the whole time that you know, she's been going through all that. But I I just uh, we would always ride around and listen to music. It was funny because she grew up in a different generation, so it was it was funny sometimes the songs that would be on the radio, she'd like, I really, I really don't like that song. Not a fan of that song. Um, But she would you know, let me listen to to whatever, and we would ride around in the car and and then. But even my other my other grandmother was was big into music, um as far as like listening to old records and CDs and stuff like that was her and she comes out to all my shows now and so she's been very supportive. So it's been very fortunate. But it was something that I kind of kept to myself, Like I played instruments and stuff, but I didn't sing for anybody. Where would you play though, at the house or Yeah, it was just it. I remember just being like such a secret. And I'm still not entirely sure why it was such a secret. But I would write and like seeing and stuff until i'd see, you know, one of my parents come home and I put it away. It's like I didn't want anybody to hear me ump that I was told one there was a there was a singing group at school and I was the only kid that didn't make it, and I was told my voice was weird, and that just stuck with me. It's like, all right, no more, no more, I'm not doing that. And and I was I was sensitive, very sensitive. I mean, you know you're young like that and you get told that, and so I was like, all right, you know it's just for me, which I think benefited me the most because I enjoy doing it. So I kept doing it. But you know, you can be really honest with yourself if you're not, you know, out there trying to impress anybody. It was just something I did to like cope, and um, so that's how I right now, you know the only way I not or right. Your entire project is a plus. And I haven't said that about anything and probably maybe old dominion, but other than that, and like a couple of Casey records ago, like, it's as good as anything I've heard in years. Thank you, Like just just love it. And um, I mean from from the Beginning and Wilder Days is the first song on the record, right, it's the first it's crack one and it's the first one you wrote. Why why I put that one up front? Was it because you wrote it first? I think we just really I think it's important especially to like anybody goes a record comes out and you click on that first song right there you want to hook on, man, Like, don't just put some kind of weird something on there, like I wanted to put the best foot forward and and uh Sather Salar did too, and I think it made sense. It was it was the song that we based the whole album around. It was the first one and and to me, I think that's really important. You get that real core piece of that record and then you you're like, Okay, this is the direction I want to take it. And so it made it made sense to put it first. Let me play a clip of Wilder Days. Here you go, Hey Smith, So let's talk about this song specifically. Where did you write it? Who did you write it with? So I actually wrote kind of a version of Wilder Days myself and I, and that's what I'd pitched the Saddler and he was like, all right, this is this is great. Obviously needed to change some things up and um, so we we kind of sat down and and and like I said, I had to draft it out, but we made a lot of changes and and I'm so glad we did. I found the old version of it that I had written one day and I listened to it and I was like, dear God, I would never want anybody to hear this version of it. But we we sat down and really He helped me too as a writer. You know, I've never co written with any body, and so he really helped kind of push me to to dig a little deeper and and and be more honest and authentic with it. And um so we God, we worked on that song. I'll never forget. There's just like parts of it like the Wilder Days, just singing Wilder Days. I stood in front of that microphone for a solid forty five minutes, singing that one line over and over and over, and I was like, I never want to hear the song again, which Wilder Days like that, that part of it he made me. And he was in his kitchen fretting chicken for tacos, and he would be like, yeah, you can keep going, I think if you need and I I could see that part of my sleep now. I hated it, but he I remember we finally finished that song up. It was like eleven PM, and I was like, all right, I'm gonna go back. He's like, no, no no, no, We're gonna go to Jenny's ice Cream and we're gonna listen to this. So we go and we're getting his Honda element and he is blasting Wilder Days as long as he or is out as he possibly can on our way to get Jenny's ice cream at like eleven PM. But he was so excited and that's how it know. Was like, man, this man believes in me more than you know anybody else. Does everyone go straight to the tattoos first? Um? Most of the time. Yeah, they're like a love with the tide who had kissing Kate Kate dixs yep. And so what is your stock answer when someone goes, what's up with the tattoos? Yeah? A lot of times I'm just like, oh, I forgot I had tattoos, you know, I just say something like and then they're just like, okay, this girl's when did because you mentioned earlier? And I've held onto it because I'm the same way. I get addicted to things quickly and hard. When did the tattoo things start? And was it all at once or did you just kind of just mess around with a little bit? No? No. Um. Also my freshman year of college, UM, I remember I was sitting in my like apartment and one of my friends was there and she was just like, I think you would like tattoos. I don't know why she said that, and I was like I should do that. I think I had ninety dollars in my bank account and I went and I got a tattoo, and then I was just like, Okay, I really like this, and I think a few weeks later I went and got like three more at one time. A few weeks later I got paid between with the goal of covering is the goal now to cover your whole body? No, I don't really know what my goal is anymore. I'm gonna be honest with you. The you know, getting tattoos at nineteen and then getting tattoos now at seven, the pain is a lot different. I swear it hurts more now. And maybe it's just because I've ran all all the easy spots. Um. I used to say, Oh, I'm just gonna get like one. I have one on the inside of my arm. Was like that's it. And you know, it was like, I won't go past here, and I promised my mom wouldn't go past here, and then here we are and I have my throat tattooed, and literally, I'll tell you, I'm gonna be honest with you. It really was not It wasn't It wasn't bad. My chest is not filled in because that hurts so bad. I felt that in my throat. I didn't feel my throat at all. Your chest you felt, yeah, in my throat, but the throat in your throat, your knee, I didn't feel it. The throat really wasn't that bad. I mean, I would like to relate. I've got like four or five, but the only thing that hurt me was up near this crease of the army. But that's like, I'm like a second grader being like, look at my boo boo, and you're like a college graduate like that's nothing, kid, No, no it. I complain like the whole time. But yeah, my mom used to be kind of like, please don't. But I mean the other day she's like, when did you get that clover on your hand? I was like, oh cod, She's like that's really cute. I'm just like, what is happening? It does in a way, not that you need it, but especially whenever you're being introduced, it does legitimize you as like I'm an artist, Like, regardless of of how you feel about me or if you like my music, like, I'm an artist. I'm not a prepared little pr singer like you are a legitimate artist. Before you even hear you sing, because visually you go, well, this girl is enough round Yeah at number eight is brilliant. He is a guy who came in and immediately you know he means business. I think one of the smartest guys we've had on the podcast date. This is one Bobby really had to focus in on because Brian was coming with it at all angles. He is a great new artist if you haven't checked out his music yet, but here is Brilan talking about the person who told him he would never have a career as a solo artist and what his mission statement is in country music. Breland at number nine and you want to go back and hear this full episode, it's episode number three D and forty five. Growing up with parents that performed, did they want you to stay away from performance because they had really spent a lot of time seeing that it's not as glamorous as it seems. Yeah, I mean they both they tried when I was a kid to do music professionally, and they put together a couple of projects that uh, you know, didn't really make the waves that they thought it would. And I watched them struggle to get these albums and songs in the Christian world, uh, you know, and just didn't really materialize. And I also think, you know, having kids, they had to prioritize the jobs that we're paying them. Uh So, I don't know if they were ever like, don't do it, but they were also like, get get an education and make sure that you can learn other skills that can be applied different places if it doesn't work out, you know. But um, I don't know if they discouraged me from from pursuing it so much as be cautious and and understand that it's a small percentage of people that do it. And if you're going to do it, it's going to be because you were supposed to do it and so talented. You're only gonna make it if you're so it's all about the talent. Bro's talent, zero percent anything else. Baby. So you go to college, did you graduate? I did nice you? When you moved to Atlanta, did you have anyone there that said, hey, come on, I'll kind of lead you through this town. Yes? Yes, Um. You know. The true story behind that is that I was working under a producer that was very adamant about me only being a songwriter. And I say that because when I first met him, I was I was like, I'm a songwriter artist, and he was like, you're not an artist. You don't have what it takes to be an artist. You're just a songwriter. And over time I realized that he really just wanted to be able to control what it was that I was doing, and if I was able to tap into my artistry, it would become something that he couldn't control as easily. Uh. And so someone only said you're not Yeah, said you're not an artist. You don't have it. He said you don't have it. Yes, he said you don't have it. And and this is someone in Atlanta who you know, has won a few Grammys, he's had number one's, he's had success over a long amount of time. So I trusted his judgment. Do you believe he believed you didn't have it? No, I do not believe that he believed I didn't have it, because as soon as it happened, he was like switched up quick, like I always knew you had it, Like you didn't say that. He definitely didn't say that. So, uh, you know, I guess just kind of being in Atlanta also put me onto different types of personalities that exists in the music industry. There are people that want to help you genuinely, and then there are people that want to take advantage of you, And if you're not discerning, you could mistake one for the other. And so I thought, this is someone that prides himself publicly on mentorship, uh and and having apprentices and people being able to go on and have successful careers out eyed of him. But he was actively doing the opposite in my relationship with him, and so I thought he was trying to help me. As it turned out, it was more of a predatory business relationship. So how do you see that and what do you do once it sets in that this is not something that's healthy? Yeah, when you I mean, I think in any situation, once you discover that that person doesn't have your best interests like something, there had to be something. There was a couple. It was a couple of things, like you know, specific how you find it A couple, a couple of things, you know. I I first brought my truck in and was like, hey, this is a song that I wrote as a demo and I would like to put it out and he was like, I hate it. It sucks like you gotta go back to doing what you were doing before I told you already you're not an artist, and I was like, I just didn't sit right with me, you know. That was that was a red flag because I had already posted a snippet on Instagram and people loved it, you know. I was like, I think people liked this song, you know, and so I put it out anyway. A couple months later, it starts to go viral on TikTok, and he was the first one to be like, those numbers don't mean anything, it doesn't matter, and I'm like, even with data. He was even with the data. So I was like, bro, like, you're literally not You're not acknowledging a thing that I've done. And if you can't champion my success outside of you, then you aren't championing me at all. Uh. And and being able to recognize some of those red flags of of things that I had even maybe overlooked or ignored over the past few years before that ultimately is part of what brought me to Nashville, as I was like, I would like a fresh start. I'm an artist. I want to be around people that can respect me as an artist. And when you talk at the beginning of this conversation about you know, being able to garner that respect. That's that's what I came here for. I came here to be able to pursue this thing and have the support in the city and among my peers of feeling like I can actually do this. I guess the last question I'll ask about your time in Atlantic, why if someone believed that you could provide something, did they not scoop it up themselves? Meaning if if I were a producer owned a record label, I don't know what the guy was. Um, I don't know there was a guy. He was a guy, Okay, why would he not if he believed in you, go ahead like to sign you myself, Like I believe in you. Why don't we do a development? So he did have that without investment into it. It comes down to it. It comes down to mindset and also just how good of a business person are you? He fumbled the bag, to be told, But also in a lot of ways it comes down to mindset. So, uh, you can operate in life with a scarcity mindset, or you can operate from an abundance mindset. When you operate from a scarcity mindset, you make decisions like the types of decisions that he made, which is like you operate very selfishly. Uh, And when you operate from an abundance mindset, it's like, hey, there's there are a lot of resources here for everyone to be able to win. And then you provide opportunities for people for them to be able to get their own. So if you're creating opportunities for people and and genuinely want to see them succeed, then you know, it's a different type of perspective than the people who are like, no, everything has to come back to me. So I think ultimately it was just a difference in mindset. And I also think, you know, at least in my situation, I'm sure you have these two. It helps if you also have a mission statement. So for me, my mission statement right now as an artist is that I want to help make country music more inclusive. I want to inspire people who don't listen to country music and write it off as a thing that's not for them. I want to inspire them to to be a part of it and be a part of the community. Because I think the more diverse country music is, the more country music can interact and and and collaborate across the aisle with other genres. The better that is for culture. And so the style of country music that I make, it's not tradition and all, but I would argue that it is still within the format. And why I do it the way that I'm doing it is because I'm trying to reach across the aisle and and make a space that is more reflective of what the world looks like. That's a long miss to statement. Write that down. It's seconds. That's a long one's let me let me Yeah, I am trying to make country music for everyone. Yeah, it's easier to remember. Yeah, that's that. Yeah, that's a good one. I know you've experienced. That's far greater than what I did. But I'll give you an example. When I moved to town, I was the guy. Now. It didn't matter that I grew up in a rural town in Arkansas and my life was all country music until I was a teenager. But since I worked on hip hop stations and pop stations and did sports talk and I wasn't country, and I fought it so for my life was miserable for two and a half three years because everywhere I went, I wasn't country. Now. When I was pop, I was too country right because I didn't fit because I had an accent. And so that is what I dealt with for a while here. And by your last statement, when you talk about having a more inclusive country music that comes from a place of experience, it sounds like and so I'm assuming that you're getting that now to where you're not country people are saying yeah, people definitely will say that I'm not country. Also, it's funny when you when you look up Breland on Google, at least for a while, people are like, is Breland a country? Like country Land like Iceland or Greenland or something? Um, But no, I mean, I've never tried to authenticate or validate how country I am, because the truth is I'm from New Jersey, from a small town in New Jersey. But at the end of the day, I think that the version of country music that really resonates with me isn't locations pacific so much as it is are you telling a true story to your experience or to someone's experience, And if you can express that thought in a way that is both linear and heartfelt, there's country roots in it. And to me, that's The thing that I'm trying to get at more in the music that I'm writing, in the music that I'm releasing, is let me let me tell stories. Let me tell my story, and let me tell stories that resonate with people, whether or not it's you know, specifically rural or southern or you know, fits checks any of those boxes. It's like, can you can you tell a story? And and is that story real for someone or yourself? The answer to that is yes, then is country to me? At number seven is when I knew once I looked it it was going to be one of our most downloaded episodes of the year, and it easily was. And it was just a really great on his conversation. And this is from episode three fifty six with Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line. He came on and talked about the crazy gift he got from Garth Brooks and what led to Florida Georgia Line breaking up. So at number seven, here's Tyler Hubbard. All right, Tyler Hubbard is here. Hey, something I was gonna ask us Talking to al Dean, I said, hey, Jason just said Garth gave him this role. Like I said, so what's the story And he said, well, I hopped on the Garth like maybe like a tribute album or a duet album or something. Oh yeah, and he said Garth showed up, he goes, but heck he showed up to the FDL guys house with free jeeps. Yeah, well the jeep and a motor He gave me a motorcycle and gave kje So what happens to how Jason made it sounds like he's like the Easter Bunny and he just shows up and he's got stuff just like the Easter Bunny and he was coming or anything. Nope, big Cana. We're on music row in our building in the middle of a right and uh, our manager at the time walking in and said, hey, Garth Brooks just randomly showed up and wants to see you guys. He's actually out on the street and uh, he's got like a trailer behind his truck. So we went out there and saw him and hey, Garth, how are you a holy cow good? And he was like, well, you know, thank you for being on this project with me. I think at the time it wasn't supposed to come out or he was bummed because it wasn't so he felt bad or something. He was also thankful. He was like, thank you for you know, doing this with me. I actually got you a G B K and Tyler, I hear you like motorcycles, so I got you a little something. It's awesome Indian motorcycle. And then he just closes up the trailer. He was by himself, drove his truck, uh, parked it right in the middle of music row, unloaded the toys, and then closed his trailer up and drove off and hit a hit a sign on the way off. Was the best part of the whole thing. But anyway, when you guys were lined out of a cannon, more so than almost anybody that I've seen in my ten years here, um that seemed from the outside didn't like it came quick like that success and all of a sudden, all of a sudden, you're you're rich, and it's just like what's happened? Yeah, I mean I can totally relate to that. I tell the story occasionally. I might have told you this story, but I'll never forget one of the pivotal moments that I'll never forget. I'll tell my kids. But I remember being over in berry Hill recording our first album, and we were literally working on Cruise UM, which you know who did on at the time that that song was gonna do what it did UM. And I was coming back from lunch and I was sitting in the parking lot literally checking my bank account and I had twelve dollars left in my bank account, which was you know, and at the time, you know, I didn't I didn't have a resource to go to other than what where is the next car I'm gonna watch, you know, And so for me, I knew the next day, I can't go to the studio because I gotta go work because I'm I'm down to pretty much one bill left. And so and that was in two thousand and eleven, I mean, that was right before it all took off, and that's kind of the that's all I sort of knew for you know, college was like that obviously, and it's kind of like that for a lot of people. And then that that was three years out of college. So I'm you know, I'm sitting there with a degree and and just grinding and trying to figure it out and really just trying to not get a real job so that I can or continue to be self employed, I should say, so that I can pursue songwriting, you know, because that was the ultimate goal. But yeah, I mean to think from that year, I mean a year after that, I mean the stress level went way down and the money was coming in and it was like, oh man, the patients and the and the uh and the ground was starting to pay off. And when did you start to feel like you were good enough, not to be great, but good enough to be good enough to pay the bills. Well, we started, I would say senior year. Um, I ran into b K. And at that time I was starting to play like writers rounds and stuff. I was starting to get enough courage to like get out, and I had written a handful of songs that I was proud enough to play that I met b K and we started doing our thing together and writing songs and playing writers rounds together. Scott Belmont, Yeah, he played baseball and uh so we kind of connected dots and realize that we both liked writing songs. On the side, we both let's get together and hang and see where it goes. And so we started playing like hotel and to go together quite a bit um as a unit or just Tyler, And at first it was just me and b K. And then like we would get another writer or two, we just do like a round. And then eventually as we wrote more songs together, we had enough to be like, hey, let's just me and you do the round. I'll sing some of yours, you sing some of mine. Will sing the ones we did together, and then and then eventually we ended up like why don't we pull the stools away and stand up? And then turn into like did you have a different name? Did you name it different things? No? We we we landed on Florida Georgia line pretty quick. Um. But that was when it was one night after a hotel end Togo writers around where we were hanging out drinking with some friends at the house and somebody said, hey, you guys should start ap. You guys should make a name and start a thing, you know, and that's what Well, what would it be? Well, let's you know, let's have something that represents who we are and where we're from. And that was about That was about as simple as it was, and it stuck. So what does indefinite what's the term you guys use indefinite hiatus? What's what was it? For yeah, because I'm sure and official, my official than was we're not breaking up, we're just taking a break. So yeah, for me, I mean I told b K, you know, let's we're gonna give this a hundred percent and we're gonna both build something great and then we can reassess five ten years down the road. We can, but I'm not talking. Yeah, but for me, this is the thing that I'm gonna be doing for for a while. You get a million bucks to play a wedding together? Probably not? Probably not right now? You guys get along right now? Yeah? Completely? I mean, yeah, we don't hang out on the weekends becase my bro and I love him and we've you know, created a lot of life together, and when we get back together and play shows, it's it's a good time for sure. A lot of people, and you probably heard it yourself say those guys do not like each other, that's why they split up, or or it was political, you know, I'm sure you've heard that too. And if I don't ask this, people gonna kill me online. As I'm glad you are. Was it a political division that caused you guys to go, we can't do this as a unit anymore. I'm so glad you asked, because nobody does ask. And the problem is, at the time, we didn't want to talk about what was going on internally, or I should take that back. B K did not want to talk about what was going on. I wanted to talk about the shifts that were happening, the decisions that were being made, the conversations that we're being had. I really wanted to sorry in the band, within the band, but I also wanted to respect be Kay's desire not to talk about it, and so I didn't feel like it was my place to tell his story with his decision and his you know everything, that he's the one that initiated this whole solo thing in the first place, So I didn't feel like it was my job or my responsibility, and so basically nothing got said. So it created confusion in which everyone started creating their own narrative at that point to have something to try to understand why in the world would these guys not be you know, why would they want to go do their own thing? And so at the time, it was in the middle of the big political it was actually literally around the same time that the election happened, and all that, and so that was kind of people just said, well, it's political, you know, but ultimately, no, it was never political. Me and b K don't. We definitely don't see out on every single thing, but we don't have any animosity about it, you know what I mean. We totally agree to disagree on certain things. We talked about it. We've never had any beef over any kind of politics. Did you hear that? People were going, you guys are fighting? Oh? I would see it all the time. I still do, because people say why are they breaking up? And then someone else will say, oh, it's political, and I'm like, which kind of bothers me. I'm just side of decided like not to let it bother me. But I'm like, because they gotta they gotta blame it on something other than they can't just say, oh, the guys really just want to have some individuality and do something different. They've been doing this for ten years like so so yeah, I mean, we can blame it on that if we want to, But ultimately it does bum me out because I'm like, no, that's not the narrative, that's not the story. Because you're going down on the Keith tour, So where are you playing? Is it ingrid you Keith? And then how long as the main support? How long do you get a set? There? Sixty minutes set, you get an hour. Wow, that's jumping right in the deep end. So when you geez, that's awesome because you have to you have to get it quick. Yeah, exactly. That's why I say, after this fallt tour, like I'll be ready. So when you play your sixty minutes set and they're like, here's Tyler Hubbard. Obviously I was talking to Ronnie Done about it because he, you know, he's like, he's like, I gotta I'm gonna go and play some shows from my solo now. And he's like, but I'll always play some of the Brooks and John's always he's it doesn't matter like people know me from that. I gotta stay true to that even though I'm gonna do this new project. So what is your goal there? Because regardless of let's have twenty number one in a row, you're still part of Florida Georgia line how you were introduced to folks. So is your dream to not play those songs solo? No, No, It'll all be kind of depending on the amount of time that I have, but I definitely want to have a moment in the show that will probably be rooted in my songwriting, you know, and I'll get to play some we can call them covers now, but songs that I've written, whether it's an Aldane song or um, you know, any of the songs I've written or f g L songs I want in my show. I wanted to tell my story and that's a big part of my story, so you know, and and being a part of writing those songs, and so I think it'll be fun to, you know, within the context of telling my story, going to play a few FGL songs. But ultimately, I don't know if the key set is gonna allow it. Because we were having rehearsal last week and we were kind of working through it and we're like, man, you know, we've we've worked up like thirteen of the new songs, and it's it's like really hard to not want to play those new ones. And so I'm not exactly sure what we're gonna do yet, whether whether or not we're gonna play you know, some covers in the sixty minutes said or wait and do that you know next year. But at number six from episode three fifty seven is Bailey's Immerman, and this is when we really had no idea what to expect when he came into the studio. He is such a new artist, and this is one of the first interviews that he's ever done in his career that he was very ron honest, and we both found that very refreshing. And he just has an incredible story of how he really fell into music by accident and is now crushing it on streaming numbers, just had his first number one of his career, so it's been a really big year for Bailey's Immerman. So here he is talking about how he got started in music all by accident. What are you attributing because obviously you have a big social media presence, but um, what I read though was you didn't start off to the music on any sort of social media, like even TikTok. You were just showing off truck trucks. Yeah, so let's go back then, before music you said I'm gonna get on and did you plan to just do it for like your small circle or did you go I got some real I think truck people will follow me. I'm going to create a brand here. So I started. There's this girl in my hometown as Walmart, and she was to cash here and she was like I was flirting with her, and I was like, I'm gonna catch you on TikTok because I posted one video and it did just a you know, a couple of thousand, and she was like, you'll never hit ten thousand followers on TikTok. So I just kind of got it in me. I was like, oh, I'm gonna do that. So I started. I built this truck. I started just filming it and stuff and putting sounds behind it, and then ended up getting a lot of traction. And then I got hooked on truck shows, so then I started taking I took it from just like building tracks and posting. It's like, oh, I think I'm gonna start going to these shows and maybe get some, you know, try to win trophies. And I got hooked on that in two thousand nineteen and then just kept doing my truck stuff. And then one day I had never sang before, and I was wanting to get out of the pipeline industry just because of not seeing family and being gone so much. And so I was like, Okay, I'm gonna start building trucks. That's a profession. And not only am I gonna post him, but I'm gonna build other people's trucks. So me and my brother John started doing that, and like three days into business, I tried singing just in the shop in the student named Gavin Lucas from the same town I'm in was like, hey, man, I think you've got a cool voice, and I write songs. I can play guitar. Would you ever just want to hang sometime? And I was like, yeah, man, I'll hang some time. I've never really watched anybody play guitar and sing at the same time. That's how it started. That's how the start the wholes thing started. Yeah, dear god, I've never heard of it. More random cooler oops, but awesome story. It was very random. We we like jammed like three times, and I was just so in awe of him playing guitar and sing at the same time. He's like writing, this guy can write songs. So one night we were hanging and he said, hey, man, tonight we should try to like really write a song and see if we can write songs. So that was my first single, never coming home. That night we wrote the first verse and mine just like a weekend hanging with Gavin, and we wrote the first verse and then posted it on TikTok that night at like two am, and I woke up and I like kids, you know. I woke up had almost two million views, a crazy amount of comments. I called my union that I was in, that I pipelined with quit after one video in the next morning. Yeah, and you're already looking to get out, but listen when there's not our paycheck coming. Yeah. Yeah. We were laid off at the time and got it. I just felt like, man, if I'm gonna chase something, this is definitely something to chase. You know, you might as well try it. But what's funny is you're like, I'm if I'm gonna chase something, I guess it is this thing that just randomly popped up a couple days ago. That's awesome. Yeah, yeah, well man, have you did? You never sing? As a kid. My mom would always like tell me in the truck, like, oh, you should sing. I used to be able to sing before I started smoking cigarettes. I used be able to sing and stuff, and I just always blew it off because that's my mom, you know. So I always just blew it off. And then over my life, I've had like three people tell me, man, I think you could sing, but but did you ever sing where people could actually hear? You know? It all started like two years from now or two years back from now. I like sang one day, and then after that I had like three people tell me. And then just random, like a random place. I think it was up at the courts um in Flora, Illinois, like the basketball court. Yeah. So we mean you're just like just right here me and you, and you're like you are my sunshine. You think Luke Luke Combs Hurricane. This kid named Trey Judy was just jamming on the guitar and I was real bored, and you always just went up to the basketball courts to hang out and he was like jamming only I was like, I'll try to sing, And then I tried, and then I tried again, and then that video I like, I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna try it, Like what could it hurt if I tried singing? That's crazy. You're like a kid who's walking by a ball field and you're like, man, there's a ball land down there. Let me just grab you have a glove one over there? Am I supposed to throw it to you? Yeah? Two mile fastball. You're like wow, So if I'm rewinding before the music stuff, because I'm I'm so interested in your passion of car trucks building when you because when you said to me, when I got some money, I built the truck. I figured it was when you got some money from either stuff in social media, signing a deal, but it was when you got some money. We saved up money from like working a real job. So when I got some money, I built my big truck, the one truck. I had no money, dude. Two years ago, I couldn't like afford my truck payment. I had no money. I was living my mom, which I love my mom, but I was like twenty almost twenty one living my mom and I'm like, man, what am I gonna do with my life? And pipeline is not working out? So I had no money. So I just budget built this truck. It was like it was like painted. It wasn't that truck you're talking about. That's the budget truck you built. This is a truck you built. When you're like, Okay, I have some money for being creative. Yeah, that's I thought, Man, if what if I just build the biggest truck, the biggest half ton truck in America. What if I just build it and then I try to brand me because my music isn't very party. It's like super sad and feelings and like, you know what I'm feeling. So I thought, man, but I do want people that I can't know that I have a good time too, So yeah, I'm not always just a sad, really depressed dude to my house. You know, I do have fun. And so I thought, man, I'll build this huge truck and take it to truck shows, and maybe I can get my my fans to come to these shows and see me that way as well. It's pretty cool. I'm kind of in awe of this story. And I've heard all the stories, I've never heard one quite like this. This is really cool. And you're you're young. That's crazy. So you live with your mom at twenty, you have no aspiration to be a performer. Yeah, no, it's not that you didn't want to. You just don't even know that. What is the thing? Okay, so you go, you gotta graduate high school? Yep, you graduated high school. You finish high school? What kind of student are you? It's terrible, hated school, A failed math. I failed. There's a lot of Yeah, if you're talking, I'm not gonna be like I can't believe. Yeah that sucks. Yeah. So okay, you graduated high school. And does your truck fascination just generally come from your dad? You think it comes from a dude in my town named Wade Pray, Sir. I saw his huge truck when I was uh thirteen, twelve thirteen going to school every day. Man, one day, if I can make some money and be able to build that, I would do that. So that's what I think, that's where it all comes from. You had the truck driver, was a truck driver. Yeah, he hauled cars and stuff. So did you learn about trucks and actually the functionality of them and how they work and how to fix it from your dad at all? Yeah? Working on motors. So it all started really with just like anything with the motor. I loved going fast, So I raced a lot of outdoor motocross um, you know, from like fourteen to nineteen and twenty. And Dad and John always built race cars and dirt cars and trucks. Whatever they could build, if they could like work on a thing in your yard, something was being worked on our built. There was Chassiss and motors. So that's that's the early fascination to me, even if you don't know you're fascinating. You're learning sometimes just because you're around it, your dad's around it. But then you go next level and you see somebody with a freaking awesome truck and you're like, I know how to do this, but that's what I want. That's that's so did you ever think about racing? Like with that? That is being a career? Um, I wanted to so bad, I really did. I love, you know, racing outdoors, and I always did love it, but kind of the same thing. And that's even a harder just industry to get into. You gotta be a top five contender to even make a living. I hear you saying that, honest to god, I do. I I respect that. But what you're doing right now is just as weird and odd and hard and and lightning in a bottle and all. So when you're like, man, I don't know about what do you do? You can do anything. Apparently you're nailing it. You can be a astronaut. Just go do it. Yeah, Hey, I tell people that for the last two years, I truly believe a person can do anything and they ever want to do, and they're like, there's nothing is impossible. You can do anything. I just wasn't very fast on it her bike. Is it still weird to you? What's happening to you right now? Every day? Every day I wake up and I'd call my mom and I'm like, hey, Bobby Bones just asked me to come be on the show. I'm blown away that you're so normal. I'll be honest with you. I thought twenty two you're killing it right now. Sometimes you may not even know how much you're killing it. You're killing it. You're talents talking about you your style, and I'm like, oh, this guy's on a douche because just the nature of this town, there's a there's a good amount of douche bags, because uh, creative if and even if I think you're doing, somebody else may not. But there's just enough. But there's enough to always and you're not. You're just a dude. It's awesome, it's so refreshing. You're just a dude. And so but I mean that in the best way of you know, what you care about, you know, and you understand what's just happened to you and how crazy it is, and you're still going full speed ahead at it and like you're dedicated and you're attacking this thing and that is really freaking cool. Yeah, I just you gotta think. Man, Like a year and a half ago, I have I know where it's. I know where being at the bottom is. I know how it feels to have nothing and feel like you just have literally nothing. And now that I know, you know and all honestly how it is to be you know, going towards the top or or going and doing great things. So every day I wake up, I thank God for just letting me be here. She's always just like, no freaking way, that's crazy, you know. And she'll like she's like this is just insane, and she'll like talk to herself like this is just crazy. You know. So Mom is like I love talking to her about things because she has no clue what's going on, as you know, just as much as I do. And I'll just be like, yo, i think I'm like on a private jet and she's like what And I'm like, yeah, like how crazy is that man is I just can't just like I just sit back and a smile and I'm just like, this is insane. Have you done a lot of interviews. No, you're one of the very first I've not. I don't think I've ever done an interview like this. Are you serious? I've never done anything like this. Don't change, And it's gonna be hard for you not to change because you get so jaded. And also you'll get your label people and they'll do a good job. For the most You're a good place. You're a good place. You're warn right, you're warn that's that's a good's a good group. And so you already know how to talk. And some people who are great off might come in and they aren't sure how to talk. But what you're doing is you're talking what out there and just bring it in here like that's the key. They never change. That is going to do it for part one of the Top Ten Bobby Cast of two, come back next week and see what made it into the top five. And if you're looking for more things to listen to, I also do a podcast where I talk about movies. It's called Movie Mix Movie Podcast. If you love movies and want to hear interviews with actors and directors, get spoiler free reviews and recommendations of new things coming out in theaters and streaming, especially right now around the holidays. Looking for something to watch? I have all of that over there for you on movie Mix movie podcasts. Search that wherever you get your podcast, or find the link in the notes of this episode, and I will talk to you next week here on the Bobby Cast.