#180 - Morgan Evans and Bobby compare airline points, on why you can’t hear accents in songs and winning a singing competition.

00:00:00
Speaker 1: About to hop into this podcast with Morgan Evans, who is a friend of mine, and I guess he just left the house here. We usually come up right afterward and do the intro to these podcasts and kind of promote a couple of things. But I always feel comfortable with people that I super no just to go sit down, don't talk, and then let's just start. There are my favorite, yeah, because if I don't know them, you have to do the hey, how's it going. And then sometimes they say stuff that you wish they would say on Mike and to me like, oh, that's I wish you wouldn't have wasted that here because I was like, oh, we were doing this today, we wrote this song today about whatever. We kind of gotta agree with that having them just like all right, let's just start. But I feel like we have to do that with people that I know, like Morrigan and I will occasionally make time away from things and go and hang out, and so we know each other. So I was like, he just walked and I was like I pointed them around the table and I was like, just put the headphones on and we just started. So at the beginning of this it's just a bit of us talking before we kind of get into anything about his career. Um, but not like I got a lot. He's one of my favorite people around town. Um. And so yeah, that's just kind of how it started. It was one of those where it's just like, all right, don't talk, don't waste anything, and then away we went. So, uh, yeah, Morgan Evans about to be episode one eighty, some some fun stuff coming up. Um and I I thought that his biggest American song was the biggest Australian song, but you'll hear that confusion come up in a bit, which is pretty cool. His story is pretty cool. And also that a big song that he wrote for another artist that he was actually just trying to write for himself and the other artist gets it and that's the whole thing. So uh, coming up with Morgan Evans. Let me promote though, first of all, the podcast Get Real with Caroline Hobby, because there are some awesome interviews that she does with some of the wives of country music stars. I would recommend the Thomas Rhett Lauren Aikins. She talked to Lauren about t R which is fantastic. Um. I always recommend Luke Brian, Caroline Brian's Caroline. When that's good. She want with Philip Sweet recently Philip Sweet's wife, and so, um that's good too. And they have names obviously, but my point is that that's her angle as she goes and finds the wives of country music stars, and so yeah, it's good. I mean, I'm into it. Um anything all, be sure to catch the Raging Idiots out on tour. We were writing some of the We're doing it intro kind like a musical at the beginning. We were up with the house writing this whole intro piece me Eddie and Emma, where I wanted to feel like a musical when we start the show, more so than just like two cats walking out with guitars and doing partial comedy like come out to it. Yeah, pretty funny, it's pretty good. It feels like a bad Broadway show. But I want our show is gonna be half comedy, half music. I've been writing. I've spent the last few months of trying to write jokes for it. Um, some which I share coming up in a second. Um. But yeah, I've come out Raging Idiots dot Com, Chicago, come on out Denver. There's only like three shows that aren't sell that aren't sold out or selling out. Um one is Chicago, and that's an early show. So if you're in Chicago, there's I think we've only sold it like three quarters of the theater. It's still a good show. But um, their tickets to that one. But some of them. We're just so surprised that. I mean that people will come. It will be a fun show and it'll be funny. Um, I'm always surprised of people buy tickets to anything. I'm like, man, people are still buying tickets. It's it's a whole new show and Walker Burrows, but I'm just shocked. I look sometimes I'm like, I cannot believe people bought tickets to come watch watch me tell jokes and watch us play a dopey songs. But it will be a fun show. And we're playing a show on Friday and Bilexi. But it's that that's a sold out show. But we start the real tour in July, and I hope people come out of her from Louisville to Vegas to you know, i'd say Austin. Some of these shows are are gone, but anyway, that's the deal. UM. Check out Amy's podcast Four Things with Amy Brown. That's a that's that one's is creating a life of its own, not living in life of its own, but creating at is a monster podcast. So congratulations to Amy and check that out. Do you know what her four things are this week? Uh? This week? I don't know what else she has, but last week she had Eddie. I'm talking about being a foster to Dan, and all of Eddie's kids were over the pool party and it reminded me of Walker Hayes came over with his kids. Walker, I think six kids, Yeah, I think six, and Eddie has four now because he's fostering two children. So you can listen to Eddie's story on the podcast Four Things with Amy Brown her episode last week. So that being said, I do think we'll get started here on the show this week. This is Morgan Evans. Follow him on Instagram Morgan Evans Music, Morgan Evans Music. You can also follow me on Instagram, Mr Bobby Bones. And I'm getting so much closer to one million. I'm nine. I'm looking at it too. Following account doesn't affect me unless it gets to one of those numbers. And I'm so o c d about numbers that I'm like, I need that to be just. I can stop looking at it because I did I just eat eight hundred thousand. I was like, I needed to be nine hundred at seven hundred, it didn't matter. I don't like those odd numbers. And also it'd be pretty cool to get to a million, because I don't mean people really like me. All my value obviously comes from one from from followers on Instagram. That being said, Okay, we're gonna go on Morgan Evans here, you go tell your friends about the Boby Cast. Please if there's an episode that you like, and here's today's show. In a way we go No, not the house, No, it's all on this. That was fine. Episode one eighty with Morgan Evans. You good. It's good. Good to see. It's always most of time when we hang out, we're sitting. Yeah, and so randomly are we standing beside each other? But you're I'm always a little taken aback. How big boy you are? Have big old boy? Are? Yes? Yeah? I feel like we're revisiting the coal that you made after I saw this guy at the gym the other day. Yeah, that's funny too. I'm I'm not that big. It's like six one. Maybe maybe a little taller than that, because I just got measured to the doctor and they told me I was six one. We're probably the same one. Yeah, you probably got me. But I don't think if he's six one, I'm not a sixth one, like I have to measure it. Maybe maybe I'm still growing. And you're heading pretty hard though, Like at you in your tight T shirt like Mike he says, he says, you working out with what's the forties in each arm? Said in each arm? I was, I was bench pressing, cause it's just a myth around him, and it's just you see him and you think that. We were in the studio one day and Miked he goes, yeah, saw Morgan. He's working out at the gym, because the same gym, right, yeah, yeah, And I was like, yeah, what what's because I'm always curious what other guys can do, of course yeah, and he was like, oh, they had like eighties in each arm. That's doing what he's like curling eighties? And I said, like once to get the perfect Instagram funny picture, It's like, no, man, he works out the eighties. And so we called you on the air like right away, and yeah, I remember I got the text from you, and I had no idea. Are you free to talk right now? Nine am? I was just waking up on the bus in the middle of somewhere and um. But actually that at the gym that time, I was listening to one of these I was listening to the Palmerly Yeah, the conversation you had, and and I saw Mike and I was like, do I go over and say hey? Do I? I don't know? And then I just sort of, you know, well, everything didn't interrupt the workout, But did you know who he was? Mike? Yeah, I saw him before and I was like, oh, it's Morgan Evans. And I don't want to say anything because at the gym you're kind of in the zone. You don't want to go up and talk to anybody. And I didn't think you knew. I was come on, you're the award winning producer of the Bobby Cast. Uh good though, I am, yeah, really good. It's it's been good to be home like the last couple of days. Well, I was just saying, I've been back in the studio the last time today and yesterday, so it feels it's productive but also a full filling you know, but in studio you mean writing report. Well, today it was kind of a finishing day. I feel like I've done a lot of rights in the last few months where I'll be like, oh, we've done cool, I gotta go do this now, and uh, we just sang down at five five vocals today. So on your couple of days off, you're working. Yeah, because you don't get to write a lot as you become an artist, which is kind of a shift because you write right right to become an artist. Then you get a deal and then they're like, oh, now you have to be an artist for for super free, not just for free, but super free, like you get paid nothing. You're actually go on the whole for a while. And so but then you can't write anymore because you're out trying to serve all of your brand new artist needs. Yeah, that's I mean, the best way that I can describe that is the year before we put out Kiss Somebody, I think I wrote a hundred and eighties songs, and the year after I put out Kiss Somebody, I wrote ten. And that's the best illustration, I feel like, is to how much time you have just because all your effort goes back into being an artist now more so than writing. Yeah, you just never around. And thankfully at this point now that we're out on the road with a little more structure over the summer where we can kind of ask ride us to come out and make the most of making it a little bit. You get a hit or two, get some notre writers will come on the road with you. That's pretty cool, I will say. I will say the first moment that I had with the living the dream feeling was the first time that writers came out on my bus and when we were writing, got up, wrote all day and then I had to take a break for sound check and back into it, and then a break for the show, and then back into it until we went to sleep. And that's as as good as it gets on the road. How many writers come out on the road, uh, like to you take two with you? Yeah? Yeah, usually a producer style track person and someone that you write the lyrics and melody with you, and you can't take them out and then wake up and decide, you know what, I don't feel like writing because I mean, you know too, like with all the different creative stuff you do, sometimes like being forced into the situation is the best inspiration, you know, like just sitting. Someone told me that sitting in the room is the best inspiration. So it does. It forces you to get up one and then it forces you to kind of Okay, I purposefully haven't been writing anything as far as book writing or essay writing at all. Like I finished my last book a year ago, checked out. I was like, I'm tired and I'm done. And Darius reached out to me, Darius Rucker Thursday or so, he says, hey, um, wife's doing this book. She would love for you to write, because Darius and are tight. She was like, she'd love you to write in the book. And I thought, okay, but I hadn't written anything, right, I just didn't want to write anything, had nothing in me, wasn't motivated, no inspiration, nothing to write. Like what did she want to recommendation or essay? She wanted like a like a like a chapter. But I write all my stuff in in essay forms. So and if anyone out there's ever ready my books, you know, it's it's pretty stream unconscious where what I do. My process was I just right like a thousand words or so, sent it to the editor right like a thousand words. So sometimes two thousand, sent it to my editor and then she gives it back to me. In ways it would be a book, and so I just I got so tired of writing. So but Darius asked me, was forced into it because what was it? What was he want? Book? Semen like a finger. I'll give it to him. Whatever Darius wants he can have as that's my dude. And I feel like I could ask him the same and he would do it. And so I sit at home and I was like, I just did not want to right, not into it, but I said I would do it. Opened it up. It was like Unicorn fingertips man, but just riding away. I really wrote something. And then I wish I could keep because I thought, yeah, just to your point, yeah, I was forced into it. I had no interest in doing it. And I started writing this thing and I was like, oh man, I wish I this could start my next book. But I promised it to Darius and so I sent it off to him and I got the nicest note from him. Uh. It was it was like eleven o'clock at night and he was like, hey man, because I just read that, I just cried and I was like, well, I would like to have a hoodie unreleased h ballot please like to cry that's sent me one. Um So, But to your point, because you're right, sometimes you can be forced and not feel it, but you can be forced into feeling it because you'll just kind of get into it one muscle memory and two you kind of remember like what it's about, Like why you why that's your thing? Yeah? Absolutely, And I feel like too. I don't know if you get this, but if you haven't done it for a while, you kind of there's like a fear inside you that you're not going to be good when you start doing it again, especially if you had any success at all. Yeah, I mean, do you have a number one song? Yeah? So now it's like everything's gonna be better than that. But that's the new or at least that, like if you don't have another one, is that even a success? I mean I'm not saying that, I'm saying that's got to be and it's a great problem to have. Yeah, totally, because you'd rather have a number one than not, of course. I mean I feel like you have these feelings at all stages of definitely at this business, and I see it with my friends that are doing much better than I am and further along than I am, And I see it with my friends that are not not as far along, and it's the same kind of feelings, but it's a bit about different things, you know, whether it's like I've had one song that did well, I need another one, or whether it's like, am I ever gonna get booked for another show again? Or you know, do you have those feelings still? Yeah, of course. Do you have post syndrome imposter syndrome. I've heard you talk about that. Maybe that's what it is. Well, you feel like it might Maybe can look up the clinical definition, because this is the thing, this is my impostor syndrome that I feel like, oh, I'm not really as good as people think I am. Right, Okay, I don't deserve to have the accolades that I have. I've kind of looked into it. I kind of a faking it so much that people just go, oh wow. But really, I know deep inside that I'm not. I'm nothing as to what people think I am. Right. I think I'm okay, But Mike, what are the post syndrome? You doubt your accomplishments and you fear being exposed as a fraud boom that's me in any way? Is that you I'm not sure that how I feel people perceive me as being as high maybe two live up to. But I will say that I do feel that, and I feel like probably if I was a comedian, I would feel the same way. But because I perform solo, there's nothing to hide behind, and before I go on, especially at a festival or something like that, way people that didn't necessarily come to see me play. I do feel that then, of like, should I be here? Is this going to work? If it doesn't, I'm gonna be standing there by myself and you know, all those kind of feelings. So I'm not sure if that's impostible, maybe not a post syndrome, but you're it sounds like you're a normal human. Yeah, maybe maybe it's just really being normal. You know what's funny about us is, um, we're both fans of comedy. We've you know, spent time socially talking about comedy. Um, you bring up jokes you on here, a couple of new jokes. I wrote, Of course, it's kind of bad share jokes. But I'm only doing this because we literally have set and talked about yeah, you like that. The Australian guy who you don't what's his name, Jim Jefferies. Jim jeffries Us who stand up is funny but his tears show didn't translate. Well, he stand up is way better. Yeah, I mean, but that's like I mean, if you if you work so long on a stand up special and then all of a sudden you have to do a show every week, it's gonna the standable suffer. You know, different talent. Okay, I'm gonna read. I'm gonna give you one joke. Alright, alright, jokes on my phone. If you say the joke on here isn't it isn't a blunt whatever. Okay, I'm not a real comedian, right, I go to a comedy I do stand whatever. Okay, Um, I'm trying to I'm doing my last am I Dancing with the Stars jokes? I got about ten ten more in me, because I mean, what else am I gonna do write with Dancing with the Stars. But I have a couple here and I don't mind shaming this, So I'm gonna tell it on tour because we're doing Eddie now, are doing our comedy tour and it's like half music, just two men and then half half com Okay, here we go. I'm just gonna read it to you, and it's not funny, Red, but you can tell me everything. Think it's funny. Okay, Okay, it's a quick one. Okay. I gotta do this whole thing where I talk about all the endorsements I got. I said, hey, on my season, I actually beat Olympic gold medal gymnasts Merrily Retten. You know America's sweetheart. You know what that means. I'm the new America Sweetheart? Kind of funny, Thank you very much? Do you know? Do you know who she is? Though? You know that's a She's really really not as America sweetheart. That have been funny, They're kind of funny. Huh, you should do some comedy. I don't know if I I I got on stage by myself with a guitar, and it's terrifying, let alone going out with the microphone. You know, I can't imagine it. Yeah, you can. It's like anything else. I think. You just go up and you're not good the first and then you do an open mic. But there's nothing to do when you're not good. You know what I mean to sit there and figure out and it's like you have a bucket and you're trying to get the water out of the bottom of the boat as fast as possible. When I say something stupid on stage, like I'm just like huh, and I go to the next song. You know. Do you remember your first time playing a paid show? Um? Yeah, I do. I was. I think I was fourteen and I was playing in a sports bar with my brother and my best mate and we played for three hours and I think we got paid fifty bucks or something like that. So you your brother and your best friend is your brother musician? Yeah, he's not professional. I mean he is a sessional musician, but he works in construction now. He's younger, but much more grown up than Does he want to do music? Uh? Well, we always played together when I was in Australia and um, but he always had another career as well. He was a coal miner for a little while and now he's building a huge building in Sydney and he has a family and um, that's definitely his life now. And he's sort of jealous jealousy or resentment because you're overa maging it. No, I don't think so. He because he was. He was never a songwriter as much, and he never, I guess, dedicated as much of his life to it. You know, he's seen he's seen the hours and the flights that I put in and and um, honestly, I don't know that he would show me that if he felt that honestly anyway. But yeah, he's um. I mean he stoked about the first mate you say, yeah, he just um, he just texted me the other day actually he uh, we just put on a bunch of say, a bunch of shows in Australia and a bunch of them sold out straight away, and he texted me congratulations, but parentheses. Can I come over and be part of the group. Well, I don't know, he didn't say that. Do you have people from home and hit you up on Facebook? They're like, hey, old best friend, do you want to be friends again? Remember me a little bit? Um, No one that I haven't wanted to hit me up though it's generally pretty nice, you know, like, Hey, I heard this song on the radio and I looked it up and it was you sounds great something like that. So um, yeah, I haven't had any weird hometown encounters. We are going back this soon, so maybe I'll have a better story for you. My problem is I get on twenty three and me that you know, you like, do your DNA. I have to do that. I haven't done that yet. Well I did it, and now everyone that's like my eighth cousin messaged me. It's like, we're related? Can I get tickets whenever you come to Chicago? And I'm like, we wait, how we related? Like, well, our cousins they are cousins. And apparently what I'm looked up with mail man and now we're and I'm like, man, they come out everywhere with twenty three and me, they send you the receipt or whatever. Well what happened is you can open up and go, yeah, I hear from people I'm related to and so didn't yeah, because then it's like, oh, we're related and so and then so everybody's a cousin, and so then I get a lot of cousins. Did you you opened that rabbit hole? And I opened it by wanting to see if I was gonna die of bacon eating you know, weird meats or cheeses artistanal cheeses that you're not supposed to have. Um, Yeah, that's a you didn't do that. You guys will do that? Ty three and me. I mean every time I talk about it with someone, I intend on going to do it, and then I don't do it. Maybe I'll do it tonight. There's it takes longer than that. What do you need to do? You have to like send hair off or something like that. Yeah, you have to spit and then mail it and then wait like a month and wonder am I gonna die? And then they come back and it gives you this whole thing where it's like do you want to know if you're gonna die tomorrow? And you fight with yourself do I? And when you say you're gonna like you mean like some sort of like history of disease, it's like you have the gene that will open you up to possibly getting X, Y or Z. And some of the stuff is like crazy stuff like cancer. Some of the stuff's like do but worts, you know, and obviously I have about all. There's probably some good stuff that I don't think, so it's not and nothing goes. They don't ask you if you want to know anything goodhead. It's all like are you open to knowing if? And then you have to click yes, and then it tells you what I know, it's crazy, but it also tells you if you're allergic stuff like kale, so there's some light stuff on there too, and then who you related to? You know those times when every day feels the same, like you're pretty much on autopilot, how you're so caught up in your routine that you forget to take care of yourself and do the little things. Well, Dollar Shape Club makes it easier to take care of yourself when that happens. Their quality products help me look and feel and smell my best. I get everything I need from Dollar Shape Club without going to a store. I've been a Dollar Shaped Club member for years. It started with the executive rays are in shave butter. I would talk about that that I went to face cleanser, and now it's everything from shampoo, to toothpaste to body wash, you name it, they have it, and actually I use it. Dollar Shape Club has spent years developing, crafting, and refining their products so much better than anything I've used before. Right now, you can get a Dollar Shape Club Starters ever just five bucks. It comes with everything you need for a great shave. The executive raiser of the Shave Butter the Face Cleanser. I do have a feeling that you will love it. Get your starter set for just five bucks at Dollar Shave Club dot com slash bones, Dollar Shave Club dot Com slash Bones. You know, I went to Australia like a year and a half ago, and um, I didn't know. This is fun fact that you probably knew that I did it. I didn't know that Opera House only been built for like thirty years, forty years. This in the Opera House and opening the seventies I thought was open. I thought it was like an eight hundred Well I don't even know if there's many people in Australia at that point, but yeah, yeah, you've obviously right. Uh it's one of those things I feel like growing up. It's just always been there for me. And so it's the It's Australia when you think about it. You know, um, it's pretty amazing building though, isn't it. Go inside. I went to a tour. I did the total touristy thing. You gotta do it. Yeah, it was fun for me. When you I imagine when you talk to people, people always do your accent back yeah, a little bit. A little bit gets old. I'll tell you what though. We just did a promo trip in Australia a couple of weeks ago, like four days straight in like ridiculous and um, and I reckoned seventy of the interviews. They're like, oh, so you sound American now, m So that's happening. So they think you're losing your accent. Yeah, I can't work it out. I did work it out once. It was on the word awesome. I said awesome, And where did you say that in an interview in Australia And you said the American awesome? I said awesome, that's awesome. She was like, what what's happened to you? I was like, I guess, I mean hanging around a little. I'm interested in your origin story here because I don't even know that. I know that it's not really something you sit down and talk about, Like I don't sit we don't sit down and go hey man, so tell me your musical origin story. Yeah. Mostly it's like, as I even, what's been happening, what's been cool, what you've been watching? What do you think of this album? Yeah, it's mostly that kind of stuff. But like you moved to You start coming to the States at what point? The first time I came to Nashville was in two thousand seven. Was Nashville your first place to come to? Like did you try l A or New York or was it I'm gonna go to Nashville. And why Nashville? Well, actually there was, UM there's this competition in Australia and it was a nationwide competition and they went they went around different towns or whatever, and the winners of these talent competitions gout and sing a song. And the winners of these um competitions go to the final and the prize was when a record deal, go record your first single in Nashville. And so I started going in that when I was like sixteen. So you started in during the contest. Now are you playing playing your guitar as well? There's it strictly singing and do you get to write it playing guitar? And always, um, I was always singing songs that I wrote. Um. I started writing songs because I thought that's what you had to do to play to play shows. And UM I went in at like four or five years in a row, and then like the fourth or the fifth year, I won this competition, and that was how I first got to Nashville. So let's let's three wind four years or five years. When you start to get in this competition, you don't win the first thing. Did you already think you're good enough to do music or was it kind of just I'm curious about this and it kind of hopping in. I mean, I was already playing around town a bunch and playing at school and and all that kind of thing, and I've always been impatient to get out and do whatever it was that I wanted to do. Um. I guess going into competition, I was hoping I was going to win it every year. But it wasn't like something that I like rested my whole year around. It was like, Oh, that's coming up. I'll into that, you know, and um hey, I guess when it got to the point where I actually one this thing, it really did open up like a whole world of Oh, that's how that works. That's how that works. You know, I get to do this, and my first time here in Nashville. The first thing I did was, UM, I played at this They called it the Global Artists Showcase, and it was basically anyone that's not from America during CMA Fest goes and plays this show. And I went and played my part of it. How long ago was this? This is in two thousand and seven and um and that day I met a guy named Tony Conway and that I think it was the next day, maybe a Thursday or Friday, and he was like, Hey, what are you doing tonight or tomorrow night. It's like, I'm going down to the stadium to play the stadium And he's like, Oh, how would you feel about opening the stadium? Playing at the stadium sounds pretty good? I loved And so within four days of getting to Nashville, I was playing at that stadium on the Friday night of c m A Fest. And that was my first experience of Nashville. So you come Nashville and you're opening up a stadium for c m A Fest. That happened? Is that how you thought it worked for everyone? I had no idea, Like, I don't know that I took it for granted intentionally, but there was no way to appreciate what had happened without being here. You know, what does that even mean? Open the stadium? So what do you do? Well? I went along and now they do it now it's a thing like where someone acoustic plays at the stadium, right, But this was before they were doing that, I guess. And so I just went up and whoever it was that was hosting the stadium that night was like Bla from Australia, Morgan Evans, whatever, and then I went on and and I remember being just so nervous and like I had to thank two songs, and when I get nervous, my like my hands don't work very well. And I remember struggling to play guitar, but I remember my being able to sing, and I remember that was actually like a crazy high point to have so early in a career. And I feel like that moment definitely was something that referred to later on when things like obviously we're not happening as easily as that. I was like, that's that's why you're doing it. That feeling right there, you know, yeah, And man, that's crazy. I still when I tell that story to anyone, they're like, what he what are you talking about? But um, yeah, that happened. Did you just blow them away at whatever? This world singer eatery contest is that? I mean, like, how do you, I don't performed that where they He's like, hey, because they're you know, there are a ton of artists here, probably knows fifty artists. Yeah, I mean now it makes no sense to me now, but at the time, I mean that that Global Artist show was like me and someone from Canada, someone from Scotland, someone from England, you know, someone from New Zealand and um, someone from South Africa. UM. I have no idea how it happened where he got to ask me to go play that show, but I mean, of course when he said do you want to do it? I was like, yeah, I'll be awesome. And then and I remember Brad Paisley played that night and Miranda Lambert played that not it's awesome. So it's two thousands oven and after how long were you in town? That first a little set? A week? Two weeks it was a week. So we recorded to three songs and played those two shows, and yeah, that was it. So you go back home, back home, and you gotta figure it out. You just played the stadium like you're ready to go, right, I guess it's so funny. I remember I went back and one of my best mates at the time, he was thinking about moving over to Nashville. He's like, how was it? Man, It's like best place on Earth. It's like there's nowhere that it compared to that place. And he was like, cool, I'm moving there, and he moved to Nashville straight away. Um, but I guess part of my the prize for that competition was the single that you recorded, you go back and you put it out and so and I put it out like a few months later, and um and it did really well. And it you know what was it called. It was called Big Skies Love that here it is? How is it? There is no accent in singing. I hear no act that. You just sound like a dude turn that. I hear no accent there. Yeah. I get off that all the time, to the point where I actually started doing some research. Okay, I mean for me, I just learned how to sing singing along to American accents. That's like if I was singing along to a Goth Brooks song or Glenn Campbell's song, or even to Keith Ove and you know, it's like it sounds like an American accent. And um, I in the research that I found, I did find this one video of this um collection of experts talking about the way the American accent approaches vowel sounds and the way that it approaches vowel sounds when you sing is more pleasing to the human ear. And so that's why you will like even like people you know from the UK or Australia or whatever, all those other countries I mentioned before, they all tend to lean towards an American accent, even like someone like Ed Shearon that doesn't necessarily for certain words he does, and I think it just sounds better, so because it's easier to take in. I don't know, it's it's so it's so nice, scrubbles thing. I don't hear crap accent and they do like like this video was funny though because you had super long hair, The Big Guys video, Yeah, it's funny, man. Things changed through the use that he had a full full band of the video. Yeah, was that it was theres your bandmates? Yeah, I mean that was. The drummer in that video is my best friend since I was five, and the bass player is my brother, and the guitar players my first guitar teacher. That's what that is. Yeah, we played together for a long time. We like switched out a few different guitar players and and we had another druma later on. But yeah, that was a that was the format from like when I was thirteen years old. How did Big Skies do? It did great? It's it's funny too, like quite kind of statistics compared to what you would understand in terms of success here. But I mean it was I put one song out and I ended up on two of two years, and I got to open up shows for Brooks and Done when they came, and um, Gary Allen was doing really well down there at the time, and uh and then when Taylor Swift came down for the first time, she that song and asked me to go and open her shows. And so it was just this crazy kind of year and a half. The two years of like, wow, is this what I only have one song out? Here? We go? You know, you played a stadium and you've had one song? Is it? Yeah? That was it. You got it all figured out exactly. So you're on Australia. Are you the guy? When the American k necks would come through, they would go, oh, this is the cool Australian guy. You should put him on he'll be your your our our popular local player to like. At the time, it wasn't really it was just starting to become a thing for American country acts to come to Australia because that never really happened much through the nineties. Garth Brooks would come down and play stadiums and stuff, but not many others would. And it was actually Brooks and Done and Alan Jackson were the first two that went, hey, we're gonna go check it out down there, and and their sort of success sort of you know, news kind of spread in Nashville and and my manager at the time too, was also the promoter that would bring them over and so that that kind of opened the gates too to Nashville for Australia, which is now huge. You know, everyone's going down there and having a great time. So you're playing these shows in Australia. Are you thinking I gotta get back to Nashville or are you thinking I'm just gonna rule Australia. I don't know that I was really thinking. I was just enjoying it. I mean, I love playing live and and I'd never got to play the crowds like that before. You know, it was like just thrown into an arena or like a path club of like screening Taylor Swift fans at that point, you know, like love Story, it just came out like it was like the Beatles or something, you know. And yeah, it wasn't really until I guess maybe a year or so into it it was like I need to put on more music out and um and at the time I just didn't have the vehicle to do that. Were you kind of locally famous with that song? Yeah, I mean in the country, well, look locally in the country Australian world. You were kind of a deal in Australia. It was like people would like, no that song or that would know the guy who won that competition and then put that song out and went on those twos or something. Yeah, is there a big country It was there a big country market period, even for local Australian acts. Yes. It was very different though, and it's it's funny. I feel like the best way to describe it is kind of like Texas, where Texas has their own country music, but they also Texans also obviously enjoy You Have and and Luke Brian and things out of Nashville, and so we have our own like Australian country music, and um, that was kind of the main scene at the time. I was in Australia and I know Keith all over the well, yeah, let's right on the road from me here and lived I was in austraight. He's like, hey, Texas, Hey, come over, we're doing the things, so I won't go over to his place. And I'm like, what is the country music like here? And basically he made that same analogy. He was like, well, it's definitely a niche yeah, he said. But for what he told me was for him, he knew that he had to get somehow get on pop radio for him to actually like pierce the consciousness of the Australian music listener. And for him it was the he I think he went on the Voice. Oh he was a judge. Yeah, yeah, not as am, not as a contestant, but he was a judge on the Voice and that was big for him over there. And then the extremely popular Yeah, people who loved him on that said people love him everywhere. But but he was like yeah that he said that really mainstream to me. And then they started playing him on pop radio and I I remember at the time that that him and carry song was, Yeah, it was really crushing it and he was like, what about about to be number one on the pop station. It's just funny now we're now in and to kind of see that happened with you too, because but not the band YouTube, but with you as well. Is that you come over here and by the way, this song goes number one for you first here on the country charts. Here we'll come back to how much of a grind it is to get a song up, but this song goes over and goes number one? Right? And did it hit the pop chart at all? Or is it that your next one that does this? This was top but oh your next one is the one that went number one? Forever they drinking? Was the was the big one over there? Yeah? Yeah, it was number for like twenty weeks weeks on the country out it was, and there was a couple of weeks pop number one. Yeah, And so did that change everything for you in Australia Now that you have a pop number one song, it's like a different place. Yeah, it's a wild and I can't believe that it's you know what I mean, Like we didn't. I just came to Nashville and made music because I loved it, you know, we didn't just that's the thing. There's no just you're being humble because it's a lot of freaking work. Absolutely, absolutely, But I mean I guess, I guess what surprised me was that we didn't We didn't do like a pop remix or something, you know what I mean, Like there was nothing. We didn't change anything. That just radio down there really took a chance on it, and people just reacted to it, I guess. And yeah, when I go down there, that's the song that everyone wants to talk about. That's the song that everyone's singing to me and more so they kiss somebody. Huh. Yeah, I mean it's it's wild. Yeah, it's an amazing feeling. I've never had a song like that before, So yeah, I appreciate it all. So okay, let's go, let's go back. So you go, you go back home. You have this this big Skuy's touring on it for a couple of years. When you go, I I gotta go to Nashville at least some and are you going back and forth? Did you move? How did that work? It took a few years. Um and in retrospect, if I had one regret in my life, which I don't like any regrets because you're not who you are without what you've been through. But it would have been come back here sooner. And that's the only advice I offered to anyone that asks for some But it was probably three or four years before I was like, Okay, I'm gonna start going back. And I guess a lot of that is because it's so far away, you know, it's not it's not like just getting in your car and driving. Yeah, it's a huge investment of time and money and just also out on a limb to you know, like you show up in Nashville with a guitar and you're like, you're ten in line. You know, there's like not nine people before you with that guitar, and um, it can be a very intimidating place as well like that. And so to work up the courage, I guess, and and have that time and the you know, the ability to come over took took me probably longer than it shot off. But do you move? What do you move with? You said you put on a boat? Are you moving up in suitcases? Well? I came back and forth for probably three or four years before I moved here, so I would come over for two weeks or three weeks to write songs, and then I would go back and tour and then come back. And it got to the point where one year I went back and forth nine times and at the end of like I worked out, I spent almost a month on an airplane that year. That was it. That was like, all right, I'm moving there, this is it, And um that was just over four years ago. Now, how do you find how do you find people to write songs with if you're not here all the time? Like cultivating friendships? Well, that's the thing. It's it's one. Like even after I moved here, they were like, oh, so when are you coming back? When are you coming back? Like, I'm here now, guys, this is happening, you know, and and I feel like too for for anyone that shows up in town with the guitar, Like, the biggest challenge is to find who it is that you're going to the best music with. You know, there's the best songwriters in the world here, but it doesn't mean you're going to make the best music with him, And um, yeah, I spent a lot of a lot of that time back and fourth thing, and even when I got here, just writing with as many people as I could, you know, with that was someone I met at a bar, or someone my friend introduced me to, and and just trying to find who it was that you're going to click with. You move here and how well when did you especially move to the States? Were you? Uh? It was four years ago, so it was that. So you've been going back and forth for a few years. You move here, So but what do you kind of move into? Do you have something, you have a publishing deal already established? Are you able to slide in and have some income coming in? Are you playing off of are you using a lot of your money that you've saved up touring? Like how are you able to live? It was pretty much like tour save out and coming. I didn't have a publishing deal or anything. I mean, publishing deals in Australia are kind of a different different bast published here though you didn't come over. I didn't have anything here, know and m dude, I couldn't even rent a place here because I didn't have any credit history here, so you can't. So I actually had to stay at a friend's place um for a few months to like get a phone and like work all that sort of stuff out, which is just stuff you don't think about when you move to the other side of the world. But I do feel like once you get here though, it's kind of like what we were talking about creativity was before. It's just like you here, it's like you have to do it, and um, you have no choice. You're living in a place where you know nobody. Just yeah, what else you gonna do? And but I will say that about Nashville is a lot of people come here by themselves, so most people understand what it's like to show up in in town by themselves. And there is especially Phil Barton, who I know that your buddies with. He was really good at the time, off like he's obviously a busy dude too, but he would always like take a call or reply to a text and you want to catch up and just talk, or you want to write a song and you'll be like yes, Sunday afternoon at three o'clock or whatever. You know, he was that guy. So it was cool that was it was a handful of people like that, even when it was like what am I even doing here? You know, there was people like that that were they kind of to inspire you when you were doing your Phil Barton impression. I know Phil because Phil also has an accent. But I don't think Mike heard an accent change because I heard you. I saw your eyes do an impression, but we did you ever hear an accent change it? So what what wars fell from? Specifically? Do you know he's from Melbourne? I think, yeah, so he's Phil and Eric pass and I wrote When I Grew Up Together the Kids song. But Phil's an Australian and everything he seeings it's all. And you did an oppression of Pelm but your accent didn't change, but I think in your mind it did. Yeah. Yeah, I saw you kind of shift when you did him, and you shifted back. Well. I do feel like he's one of those people that when you say his name, like anyone that knows him sort of lights up when they remember him yelling he is very bright, baby or chicken or something. You move here, and like, how long did it take before you kind of got all right? I can actually do this and not be so intimidated by everyone around me, because I think that's uh the common theme with a lot of people who moved to town is they look around and go, oh my god, everybody's so good. Like, where do I fit in this the sea of all these giants? Yeah? Where how long I take you before you got okay? I can I can actually get in the mix here? Well, I still wonder about that. But as I was mentioned before, but um, I will say a guy named Brett James too. I'm not sure if you know he and he and my my former manager, um, we're friends as well. They met on the c M A board or something like that, and so he as a favor to my manager at the time, wrote wrote with me one time kind of really early on, and I remember him kind of being one of those guys. It was like, chick, this guy's number ones, Like what am I even doing in a room with him? And and uh, and we just we always had a good rapport and he would always like kind of, well, that's a cool idea. Let's work on that, you know. And and so when you're sitting with someone like that who has had that much success and you're having you know, playing the game of kind of songwriting tennis or whatever, just hitting them back and forth and like going through that creative process with someone as successful as that. That kind of gives you confidence to know that, hey, well maybe like I can't contribute, you know, in a meaningful way. And um, yeah, I would consider him one of my great mates. Now I barely see him, but when I do, it's like we're back on again. And having that early on was great. But I do feel like it really clicked sort of ironically when I went back home for Christmas at the end of that first year living here, and um, I was in my hometown of Newcastle, but there was this songwriting camp on in Sydney and they invited me down to it, and I went down for three days and it just so happened that the first day I got teamed up with Krista Stephano, and the third day I got teamed up with Ashley Galley. And by that Wednesday night, when everyone was doing their like hang party, Chris and Ashley and I disappeared into a studio and they were like, hey, what else you got show us you demos? You need to come to Nashville. Let's make a record. And I was like, really, I just moved there. Here we go, you know. And I remember that night and and that was so that was in December and the following February we started to work together. And I remember the first session we did together leaving that thinking like not that we wrote the best song in the world, but leaving it thinking like, oh, this is something, like we're onto something here. And um, those two started introducing me to the songwriting community that they work with, which is obviously like that's the upper talented people. Yeah, and and I mean I was getting to work with people that I just kind of, you know, looked up to for the for the previous sort of ten years. And I think it wouldn't have been maybe six weeks and we wrote Kiss Somebody, and that was kind of the start of what became the record. So you write this song. When you finished the song, you're like, Okay, that's the best song I've ever written, or that's the most radio song I've ever written, or that's just another good song. It's funny, man, because I I loved writing it. It was a really fun song to write. It was the first day I met Josh i was born, and we just had a great time writing it. We the demo we made whilst making it is a lot of what you hear on the on the oltle like it's very like just an inspired kind of recording process. And and I remember afterwards we went to the tin roof next or to Chris's studio and just had a drink to celebrate, and he just land over to me and he was like, I think we got one today and that was it. He just said that. I was like, no one's said that before, you know, And uh, yeah, I knew I had fun writing. I knew I loved the song, but I'd loved many other songs that I've written before, so I sort of don't trust myself in that way. But when he said that, I I feel like I'll always remember that as like the start of whatever we're gonna do next. Do you have a record deal when you're at the song? No, you did not. I had a deal in Australia, but not in the States. Not in States, No, I remember, and to speak out of place here, but I remember you being here and not having a deal and you kind of seeing where you were going to land. Yeah, So was there a I know the answer these questions, I'm going to ask them in a way I thought you answer these questions. How was that process for you in finding a label? To partner with or to be your label? Does it turn into a big bidding war? Is it? What? Does it? How did it happen for you? Um? I mean for me because I was signed to Warner in Australia, so there was kind of an open line of communication there that had been opened because of me. Like, Hey, our Australian guys over there in Nashville, take a look at this stuff, you know, had they looked when you first moved here and they were like it's not not the right time. Yes, um, and we like f this. But I will say my manager at the time, who like he sort of he was like real switch switched on to the point where he was like, I'm not going to go take music into anybody until it's ready. He took it in when I moved over and then you just let it sit, you know. And Um, it wasn't until we had kissed somebody and we had everything changes day, drunk and dance with me. And once we had those four that's when like Chris who had become invested in the project at that point, and um rolled my manager were like Okay, now it's time, Like let's let's let's put this stuff out. And that's when the real conversation started happening. And did you have conversations with multiple people? Yes, we did have conversations with a couple of different labels. But in the end of the day want I had DIBs on me because of my Australian deal, and honestly, I love the team that I get to work with now anyway, so that worked out for the best. I like that team too, and I try to stay out of the mixes of teams and I try not to play the label stuff game at all, but it's hard to not get to know and not be friendly with people that are good people. And so you know, I like the president of your label. Yeah, I mean there's not a more passionate guy about music, about music in general. But man, wait wait, he's a def jam for a while, like he did hip hop. I mean they got, they got loves music like I've rarely well I go to dinner with anyone in the in the business period, but I will go and to sit with him. We don't talk about country music. It's just like he just loves music, and I liked that. I would like to work for someone that with that comes someone who knows a lot, and it's very and with passion comes, you know, sometimes we're tough to work for. But but but I wonder you go over and they're like, okay, we'll take you now. Are you like okay? Now? You want why anyone were two years ago? A little bit? I mean you you always feel that a little bit because everything's personal when everything you're speaking to the yeah, and and it's so you just have to remind yourself, you know. I say that like I've got it all worked out, but I say it because I need to say it to myself all the time. Um. And I will say, like, if there's anything that I've on, it's just everything is to do with songs, you know. And I didn't have that. I didn't have those songs at the time, and those songs were way better like when you play big s guys. I was like cringing, you know, when you're playing kids somebody. I'm like, oh, it gives me, like, you know, a good feeling because I'm so proud of that, and um, and I feel like having those songs was it was just the right time that everything happened in that way. So, um, it was definitely hard to feel kind of any sort of bitterness about that moment when you sign a deal. Are you rich when you sign a record? There? When you sign your deal like that, you know the answer to that. I'm asking questions here. No, no, absolutely not. So how does that work? Do they say, here's here's a little bonus you can pay your rent because we're gonna need you out on the road doing all this stuff. Um like a little uh yeah, it's it's it's sort of you can't tell me. I know the answer to that. I know the answered to a lot of I'm kind of walking around a little bit because I want to hear what your take on it is true. I mean, no, I didn't get one of those deals where you get a bunch of money up front that that's not at all true. I did sign a publishing deal at the same or like very soon after with with the same with one of Chapel. So so they're paying you to write and to record. Yeah, And so the way that those deals work is you get like a certain amount per month or whatever you can live on and you know, be out there promoting whatever you're doing without freaking out about being able to pay the pills. You know, isn't it crazy that you get to go and create art and get paid, like when you just look at it, like when you lay it out, and not to take anything away from the fact that you have worked super hard to do what you do and you're talented, but there are a lot of people that are talented. Yeah. Absolutely. Isn't it crazy that you get paid and get to live a life, a wonderful life, a wonderful, grinding life. But to just make art, to just play songs, Yeah, it sounds real. It is incredible. Do you ever have to take those to have those moments where you start to get upset at the whole process, in the whole talent and the whole and you're like just stupid. But then you have to go, wait a minute, let me take let me take a break and just examine what we're doing here. Yeah. All the time, man, I feel like my whole life is a balance of that of like, oh, like work harder, work harder, you know, grind, Like I totally dig all of the stuff you say, you know, like grind, repeat all that stuff that could feel like that's what I do day in and day out. And sometimes at the end of the day when maybe you haven't accomplished whatever you thought you might have accomplished that day. It is easy to get down, but again, you just got to remind yourself, man, like, this is so lucky to be doing this, and I mean I've been doing it for so long to appreciate the level that I get to do it at at this moment in my life is incredibly special. You're out with the flats now. Yeah, we just did the first weekend. Yeah, so that on Instagram? How did they go? A? Yeah? I love those guys are good guys, Huh. I love the like the the number of hit, huge hit songs they have is just like you forget until you see the show and it's wild and there's such great guys too. Yeah, they're good dudes. Um. We have had J over here last week two two weeks ago or so. Listen to that pod us. Yeah, and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed him. We you know, we hung out for a while and talk. You brought up something earlier that I wanted to hit back on and it kind of goes back into this Jay things. I know those guys. I don't ever see those guys in town, like you kind of established these relationships, and if you don't prioritize, you never see each other. You may like each other, but unless you go we are making a point to actually see each other on this day, it never happens. And so Jay was over. We were like, let's just hang out and talk for a few minutes. Because in this town, like you said, you meet people and then you're gone. That's it. I see more people on the road than I do in Nashville. Me too. Yeah, Like I'll spend like if raging idiots or if I'm doing I'll need to spend more time with people. If we're out and there's a bunch of busses hanging out than than ever in town. That's like a rare moment of downtime, isn't it. After the shows, Like hang on, you know we we had a really good hang with Gary the other night, just sort of knocked on the bus door or and sort of popped in and hung out for a couple of hours. And he's like, God, bless the broken road, come on him. He's the craziest singer. Him and Shane Mooney, they're like a different, different level of singer. Yeah, I think Shay and in my head, I always have this list, this power list of the best singers, and it's hard to compare because everybody's so good. But I think it's always been shay there. There are a couple of those, Lauren Elena pound for pound because she's even, but like Daniel Bradberry, she's like one ft one and it's a monster of awast like that when she came in, actually measure she's one ft one and she thinks like that, She'll, yeah, she's that. How good of a singer are you in your mind? Uh? I feel like I write to my voice, so I enjoy singing the songs that all right? Would you go up without a guitar and do an entire set with no guitar? No? One time. One time my luke stationed and my guitar died on the same gig, which is very unusual for both things to go down. And I was in sugar Land, Texas, opening for Reba McIntire about three years ago, and I remember trying to tell a joke and then I remember starting to sing the American anthem that's that's a desperate God. But everyone sang it with me, and that was it. I was like, thank you A good time to walk up stage. Isn't it funny how when things aren't going exactly as we feel comfortable to, everything speeds up like oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, my god. If you have just taken a beat even ten seconds, you know, like, all right, let me think about this for one second, even on stage in front of all those people. But instead, as humans, we react like this, this is not feel normal. Oh my god. It must do them to quick and then you do things like trying to tell a joke and sing the national anthem. It's like the longest ten seconds of your entire life. You've doubted everything you've done up to that point, and then you sing the American national anthem. It's funny to me that this song that Dylan Scott cut Um hooked, would you wrote? I did? Yeah. I'm always curious as to how songs are hits for other people and what and did you just not want the song or was it not timed right with your record? Like how did he get this song that obviously is really good? Um, it wasn't for me. He I wrote that song with Seth Ennis and an Australian producer, Lindsay Rhymes and Um we all loved it straight away, and I loved it at the time, and it was actually in the pile of songs that I was gonna like the cut pile, you know, which it wasn't like, we're going to cut that song, but it was in the pile that we had at the time. And um, I was in the studio one day with Chris and we were cutting something else and um I got an email or a call or something and it said, hey, Dylan Scott has just cut looked are you okay with that? I remember thinking, let's see my pile there, but he's already done. Man. I never met the guy at the time, and it was definitely like a weird feeling for a couple of minutes. But then I mean, for someone else that writes songs, to cut one of your songs is the absolute highest compliment that you can be paid as a songwriter. And I had that conversation with Chris, who is obviously Christo stephanos Holm referring to he's obviously had a level of success that's like just crazy, and so he's a good dude to ask about it, you know, and a little bit you're past I would have been no I mean, I guess I'm still learning how it worked. You know. I was like, but you cannot be is not the right word. You cannot know how something work. Can still be upset unintelligently, Yeah maybe, I mean, I wish someone had asked me before it had happened. But it's so funny, like when you look back on moments like that and feelings like that two years later, and this is like one of the best things that's ever happened. This is so cool that he put that out and had a big hit with it, and and I get to play that in my shows now, you know. And and honestly, that song probably wouldn't have fit my album the way that it is, and um, it all works out for the best. But yeah, it was a weird day. I remember when it happened. Of like it should be a day you're probably high fiving everyone, but you kind of like, what about you know, it's a precious thing. So the song goes and number two, not number one. That's a weird thing that songs peak at number two. Yeah, it's a rare thing that songs peak at number two. It is usually if they're gonna peae a high, they'll peek at four or five, but usually if they get to two, yeah, well I can. Usually they go to know what what what? What? What happened? Do I know what happened? How idea? I mean that I do. Someone told me that's like the the equal longest chatting single or something like that, like a fifty six week single, which is pretty amazing accomplishment. And um, I mean, I wish it had a number one next to it, but it's It's one of those things. I feel like that's a stressful time too, when you're looking at a song like that, if like, is it, is it gonna is it gonna work? Is it gonna be a number one song forever you know? Or is it gonna be a hit song, a top five song or whatever? Did you even know it was gonna be a single when he cut it? Uh? I think so? I think they. I think they said he's cut it's going to be his next single, which obviously made that feeling. Yeah, yeah, it wasn't gonna be like track eight that no one ever heard. You could do and like Eric Pass, they did on Friday night because Lady A had cut Friday Night and uh mind pulling this stup for me, Mike Lady and abell Um cut Friday Night and according to Eric that we're gonna put it out as their next single. Well, they decided to shut the record down and move on to the next record, so they never put it out, and so it was like basically a track eight and he's like, well, what am I gonna do? So he re cuts it, puts it out, and he goes, I think it is number one. Ya. They cut it, and then he but he wrote it and then he ended up recutting it and put it out number and went number one. I had a conversation like that with a couple of much more successful right than I the other night about that, the fact that that doesn't happen often enough, and and great songs get left behind, you know, um, especially by big superstized you know, like someone like Thomas Rhett. It's like fourteen songs on an album, probably twelve of them could be singles on the radio, you know, but he only has time to put out he has time to put out four or five now maybe, but because they moved so fast, Yeah, but still like there's still seven songs on there that are incredible and why why should that be? Where they kind of live forever. They can have another lot somewhere else. Put I think there's sixteen on his next album. Yeah, yes, something like that. It's sixteen tracks. And I was like, dude, I'm talking to Hi about it. Last week. I was like, how in the world I'm i supposed to listen and like fall in love with all sixteen of these songs like this is three EPs just hit me like every three months of the new EP, like let me fall in love with all of them. Um, you know, he wrote, he tells a good story where you have like Friday night from not working our computer shut down where we'd on the studio too, because one of the last one of the last trip, we don't have computers. We have a tape deck over there. We're trying to pull tapes. Um. Thomas Rhett wrote Old Dominion's new song Oh some people do, and that was it was a similar story that he told me. He said him and Matt Ramsey had written it together and they were like, well who gets to keep it because we both love it and Old Dominion you know it's it's they cut it on the record. Crazy. It is crazy. I feel like then maybe the two most guilty artists of just cutting like an album full of singles. The Old Dominion do it too? Old Dominion, I think is my favorite album artist. Yeah. I see that they've put out two records, and every song on both records have just I can just turn it on and listen, and I can't do that with everybody. Yeah, there's something like really special about what those guys have going on. We played a couple of months opening for them at the start of the year and watching this show every night. Even the songs that haven't been hits on the radio sound like it when they played them live. And then they do this thing where they break it down in the middle and play all the hits it they've written ten or twelve just verse choruses of like all these massive smash It's an incredible show. Yeah, whatever they're doing, they're doing right. I got to write with them once on the road. Them all them are like Trevor Matt. It was Trevor, Matt and Brad. I felt like I joined All Dominion for about hours and it was so cool to see how they all work together, and it's it's really special. It's cool to be a part of Last Week in Australia. You want two a p r A Awards for country Work of the Year. Is that the is that the title country work of the Year is how you guys a song? Uh apera is what you would say? It's like as cap or b M. I it's those awards and Work of the Year. I think. I don't know why they call it work of it they call it though, yeah they do. It's for day drunk. Yeah, which has made you super famous in Australia a lot more than I was before, that's sure. Like who's more famous? What's the actress's name? The funny actress in Australia kind of the blonde here? Who's most fast personal Australia right now? Like current? Like current famous like Chris Hamsworth or something like good one. Let's do this power five Australian famous people right now, Rebel Wilsons. I was thinking about, okay, at number one? Is Chris Hams work? Dude? I don't know, no, no, but I'm just I'm not saying everyone but in your mind right well, it's funny because my mind is like walked by. I guess who I follow on Twitter? And fair enough Chris Hams warred the number one Hugh Jackman. It's like, what absolutely at number two Hugh Jackman. Uh, Kole Kidman and Keith gotta be up there, right if they're on your list, well, okay, they're on there. And maybe in the next one b and be Russell Crowe or something like that. People that have been doing it at a really high level for a long time. I feel like other most known people, anybody from Australia that's in the States, reach out and be like, hey, good to see a home homeboy making it. Uh yeah, I mean whenever I whenever I run into people back in home. I ran into a guy named Dean Lewis the other day. He was we were staying in the same hotel and he was the first person I ran into at the coffee shop outside and he was like Hey, I was okay, it's congratulations and everything. Who's like, I said, the same thing, guy named Dean Lewis, He Um, yeah, what what's his big hit song? Mike? You just had this song blow up on the on Spotify and be all right, yeah, b all right, um Dean Lewis, Huh do I know him? Mike? I have to ask Michael, I know at this point. I've heard of me. It's pretty good. So he's Australian anyway, he was an example of that. We just kind of ran into each other and I said, I know this cru from the ground to see you sad into your eyes. Oh this is the Parmaily guy. Parmaily cut the song as are single. Yeah, nights are single. It's Parmaly single. No, God, I knew that guy. Awesome cool? Yeah, yeah, look at you so that you recognize that dude. Is it a coffee shop? You recognize Dean Lewis? Yeah, you recognize you bumped into each other at the front. Yeah, it was awesome. Look at you guys. Are your Australians fantastic? Where was was that in town? No? That was that was in Australia all right. He played in Nashville recently, but I wasn't not in town to see it. Oh, there we go, there it is. That's the Parmily Virgin right now. We got three three running at once. We had nothing more there. It is, so you win for day Drunk when a couple awards were there, which is that's your big song there? Huh? You wouldn't end the show with kiss Somebody? You now in the day drunk in Australia. I guess how long you're sat here in the States when you opened for Flats minutes? Have you done the thing where you go you run around the whole stage and go over your time because they love that. We the first night, I think I've played three minutes over or something the first night and the stage man manage it like quickly let us know, And how does he say that to you? It wasn't directly to me, but then the next night, before I went on stage, he came and checked in. He was like, so you know you've got a twenty five minutes, said tonight, right, yes, sir, here we go. I have heard that story, the Eric Church story, the legendary, and I've had them both tell it, the Flats the older version, and Churches told me his version. Basically they're basically the same version. And the crazy thing from that is that when they kicked Carry Church off the tour, Taylor Swifts filled in all right, and then that was kind of the start of her. Yeah. Well the next thing you know, um that Dylan Scott's on and they make you a good amount of money a songwriter. I just got the first check for it the other day just now. Yeah, we talked about this last time I saw you, well it was probably six weeks ago. Now, last time I saw you, remember, I said, people keep telling me about this check. I've never seen one. One came in and it was I mean for me completely that long. Yes, it's a long time. Yeah, but that was the seventh most played song on radio last year. That was a really big song for him and obviously for me as a right. I so um, very very grateful for that one. I saw Ryan her tweet do something funny. I guess you got are going to play together in Memphis You're donn show and he tweeted out Guys with Famous Wives Tour nineteen pretty. Do you feel I know Kelsey was that I think I saw in its story Kelsey was at the flat show. Yeah, she actually came out for the whole run on the weekend. Do you feel pressure that what she's here? I gotta put her on stage with me to the fans, like if they know she's there her. I don't know. That's kind of a weird thing because I never want that to be an expectation obviously because she can really come out. But I love it when she comes out personally, Like if if I was playing around the house, I'd prefer it if she was singing with me. So um, we played three shows and I brought her out on one of them. I thought that was a good I kind of defer to her and all that kind of stuff, like, I leave it as an open invitation whenever you want, no pressure, if you want to sing, if you want to do your hair, come out. If you can pressure her, you're her husband, so you're you're the one who can pressure her. I guess I could, Yeah, but you don't. No, I don't feel like anything anything good creatively comes out of that kind of pressure. So, and I'm also very aware of that. I've kind of been hyper aware of everything to do with her career and my career since we started dating. So it's kind of I kind of leave most of it up to her whether she wants to make it work together. You and I we both share the distinction of having a really amazing on or given to us. We're the only two that I know they've had this given to us. Do you know what I'm talking about? No, for me, it was a really big deal, and that I didn't know that you had been given this on or either, and it makes me feel oh happier frankly, because it's you know, two cool guys just making it and a lot of people see it. It's it's printed. Okay, what do you think it is? It's printed. It's printed. Yeah, picked, there's a picture of you. There's a picture of me somewhere that there is a picture of you. Well, let's just say it was in the same magazine. Oh are you talking about the flight magazine magazine? There's a whole feature you opened up this as airline. You pull it out of the back of the flat and there you are. Moran Evans Aline. I feel like I've had more text and tweets about that than any interview I've ever done. Yeah, well, I'm glad we share the the only two I know that that have gotten that on Or. Did you have to go do to a photos shoot? Because I did. They came. I guess they have a Nashville photographer or something like that. He came to the label one day when we were do and a bunch of pressed. Yeah, and we did a photo shooting about five seconds and then he left. Though that was it. Here's what you said in your interview. I rack up rapid rewards points traveling for work and use them for vacation. I like to spend time with my wife and disappear for a bit. I look at you, there, you are. You can just you can just see that coming out him my mouth, exactly like that guy. He's an avid surfer and his first close encounter in the water where the shark was last year he saw four ft sharks swim right by him. He used to go to the beach almost every day and go surfer swim before the day would start. Jump out one of these wadis like, are you big time over there? Meet our may a lister Morgan Evans. The show is yours now, all right, do you have it? Listen? We've been here for an hour, just here talking it up. I think that I have a lot of notes on you, because you know, when you know somebody just kind of see where it goes more so than following notes, and then feel like I had much many notes to go by. I didn't want to run through some of your songs for a second. As he as he pulls us up and I put Mike on double duty. Uh, I love this dance with Me song is probably my favorite song. I think I texted you that when it came out and I was like, this is my favorite song. I listen to it alone in the closet. Here is Dance with Me right here feeling obviously Kelsey's there. That's your favorite song to that's my that's my favorite song. I love it. I love it, love it, love it. Hi, here's young again from Morgan Evans Switcham. Well, there's me in the magaze. Hey, my picture looks I don't. I guess I didn't see yours in the magazine. Which You's that big in the actual magazine? Yeah, I think it was exactly this. Of course it's probaly bigger. They're probably the better looking guys bigger, bit smaller, and you're probably they probably put his height so you're like an inch taller. In you haven't made the page a little bigger, just the one page. Yeah, yeah, so look at us. Put in the hours. You'll mess up a lot, but you've got to make mistakes to get better. That's why I said I love it. I believe it. How many points do you have in Southwest Point? Do you have it? You know? I have so many too, I like I would like half million, do you really? I just I have a million. I don't know if I have half a million. I might have close to that though. I just spent like eight thousand to fly because my system was going home, and I was like, just use my points because I fly so much for work that I have all of them. I'm gonna pull my nup real quick. I have three fifty thousand. Let me see, that's a good amount. That's a lot of flights. Yeah, he's not three thousand. Let's see what I have after using there you go, that's a lot. How much lot? I don't even know how much? How much? Does Like? Can you fly someone from New York to Nashville for eighty thousand points? I flew my assistant here in Boston to back with like one day notice for forty five thousand points. So yeah, okay, we can just fly all over the world to make all the stops. Listen, it's good to have you up here, it's good to see you. We have to go now, find a cool place because the whole thing now is taking cool pictures. But I want to put on my feet so I can promote things. You have to go find a cool arts about to take a picture. So if that's our our next mission. You have a beautiful house here, Thank you very much built it. It's always weird. It's almost like, hey, man, you're beautiful. It's almost like when I would when I would have a girlfriend, they'd be like, man, your girlfriend so hot? Like what do you say? Thank I didn't build her? That's her? I mean, are you saying that because you're surprised that I'm dating her? Like? Wow, your girlfriend so hot? Uh? Are you? It's like, people go, you have a nice house. I know that's the normal thing to say, and thank you very much, But the part of me that feels um anxious and self cond just goes, did you not expect me to have a nice house? Do you think I'm a loser? Do you secretly talk bad about do you hate me? Are you gonna it? Just broke go down that spiral? You know? This neighborhood is beautiful too, though, this is this, this street makes me want to go and move to a neighborhood like this. Um, I like and and I'm not gonna mention where you live, but I like where you live too because everything it's close, there's everything's around. We live in a condo so and I used to live in a condo downtown and I like that walking around. But now it's like I got a little space. I guess I'm good. Do you feel like you're more relaxed to you? I don't get to come here enough. I'm not at home enough. But yes, when I do come, I do feel like I feel pretty good about it. Good, feel pretty good? All right? Well that's it. Are we done? Mike does there? Sounds working? All right? Morgan Evans, It's been a pleasure of my friend. I thought you had done this show like three times already. That's fine. That's the funny thing. We're actually talking where I was like, hey should come up and uh and I stop talking to Mike last week and I was like, Morgan has never done the show and he was like no, I said, oh, I'm a heart he has many times. Morgan Evans I follow on Instagram at was is this this your name? Morgan Evans music music? Somebody got you on just Morgan Evans. Yeah, somebody got me on just at Bobby Bones and I can't even get it back a mry bibbones. Yeah. It wasn't missed for a while, but then got a nice house and I changed it to mr. So that's the whole thing, all right, that's they'll see you next time. Everybody