#355 - JT Harding on Meeting Keith Urban at a Urinal + Growing Up Adopted and Finding out His Biological Father Was Famous + Having Objects Thrown at him Opening for Linkin Park

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Speaker 1: Hey welcomed Episode three JT. Harding, which he was adopted and they found it his dad's famous when he found out who his dad was crazy crazy, like, he's written so many big songs and had so many turns in his career where he's even and she just has ah and so much energy. This guy came in here. I walked in the room and my own study was clapping for me. I was like, Wow, this is about to be very exciting. Uh. He's written songs like Somewhere with You by Kenny Chesney, Alone with You by Jake O, and Somewhere on My car Key Thurb and Different for Girls. Dirk Spentley like, he's got so many He's got a book out called Party Like a rock Star. They're crazy, coincidental, hard luck and harmonious life of a Songwriter. It came out this year and again he talks about he is the biological son of um I'm not gonna tell you who put him up for adoption an early age and later on they reconciled and it's just a really great podcast. I hope you like it. J T. Harding, I hope you check out his book. And you know he talked about at the end of this to something he's doing for someone else who was adopted, you know, and you can be a part of that. So all that, I hope you enjoy Episode three. JT. Hardy all right, here you go. You guys do not waste time and rule. It's not that we don't waste time, it's that we don't want anything to go to waste. So and you see, we're on now. And what JT is talking about is I walk. And by the way, I applaud you for being early. That's awesome. Most creatives aren't. Yeah, well I had to stay up all night to get here on time, you know, so I don't go to bed as early as you. So what do you do yesterday? What do you do? Yes? Just are we on right now? Good evening everybody. For those of you that don't know me, this is hit songwriter J T. Harding. Hello, country fans worldwide, wide wide. If you're in your car, hank your horn. If you're at work, drum on your desk, and if you're still in bed, dance on your back sending the party drones. Turn up your phones. This is the Bobcast with Bobby Bones. All right, you were made for like more n Zoo Radio. That's that's when I was born. I was kidding, do not adjust your computers at home. I'm actually dressed like this. Hey, thanks for asking. I just played two Bluebird Cafe shows. It's sundance. It's not so much the alcohol, it's the altitude that has me. I played but Tom Douglas and it was magical a sundance meeting and and uh, yeah, so you did that last night and flew over um while we were there all weekend, and then I stayed an extra day and then yeah, I flew in last night. I wasn't gonna miss this. It's awesome. I appreciate that. And congrats on the are you married yet? And yeah, yes, congrats, thank you very much. I walked in the room or when he clapform me too. It's like the usually with these knuckleheads, I walk in and I got crap, we gotta work again. But yeah, yeah, so I bet that's pretty cool. I love Tom like Tom Yes to me, one of my favorite people to kind of, you know, take and extrapolate information from and separating compared to other people's stories and even his his movie which I watched a year or so ago. He sent me a a version and it still maybe the same version, but it's very it's great. And some girl in the audience was like, oh, j T think you're so funny. And I caught you crying during tom song the House that Built Me, and I said to her, yeah, I was so sad I didn't write it. Okay, by my book, move on, okay, anyway, we'll talk about your book in a second party like a rock star. But I think I should tell everybody who's just listening and not watching, is that you're in a full leopard suit, right, yes? Yes, and so you are always dressed as and in something when I see you in pictures. I was telling him like this earlier. I was like, I've never met JT, but every time I see him he has some funky type of suit. And the question I always ask people that have a thing is like where do you find them? And how many do you have? Oh? Well, yeah, I like my money where I can see it hanging in my closet. Yeah. By the way, I'm not going to tell anyone where we are right now. This is an incredible display of hard work your home and it's fantastic. Well, I just I travel a lot, and if I see a cool suit, I just wear it. You know, I'm not a artist. I'm a songwriter, but I do a lot of songwriter shows and I just love to give people their money worth. I want people to leave and say, that's like one of the best shows I've ever seen. And you know, a lot of times I'll do shows with guys and they look like they just rolled off the couch and they're in their muddy crocks. And I know that's a thing, but it's just it's not for me. I grew up loving Kiss and Van Halen, and you know, that's probably why I loved Garth Brooks when I first heard of him. He's smashing guitars and swinging around and wearing those shirts that looked like someone threw a bucket of paint on him. You know, at your earlier Austin show, I want to list and play some of the number ones you have, just so people will listen to you when you talk about how you know your book and what you have, what you have to Yeah, yeah, Uncle Cracker, smile, here you go. That song, especially with Uncle Cracker, an interesting number one and an interesting career in country music for Uncle Cracker. So when he cuts that, do you feel like you got a real shot at something? Because Uncle Cracker really didn't have real history in the format yet. This is such a great question. So I had not had a hit song yet. I you know, grew up loving MTV. Did anything I could. My story is similar to yours, Bobby, although you, of course did everything to be in radio. I did everything I could, and you know, fibbing and all these you know, little tricks and anything I could do to get the attention of the music business. And I met Uncle Cracker. He hadn't had a record out in five years. But I've never been around a rock star before like that writing with them. I worked for a couple of crazy rock stars and we just started. We spent a weekend. You know, he chain smokes. My eyes were as red as the Netflix logo writing with this guy, and we wrote some not so great songs. In the last day. I was like, man, did we just waste the whole weekend? I was, I put the pressure on myself and he'll never forget it. We're packing up our little four track recorder and he said, what about a song called Smile? And I would just like stood in my tracks, and he said, I need a song that my three daughters and my girlfriend and my mom can dance too. And I was like, oh, five generations of people. Great, we'll go to NASA while we're at it. Yeah, sign up. But we did, and then it was his title. He had the best line in the song, cooler than the flip side of My pillow, and I knew it in my blood and bones. Pun intended that it was a hit, but it sat around for a couple of years. I mean that song was passed around like a vape pen and a Morgan wall and after party. I'll tell you no one wanted to record it. Cracker loved it, but eventually his label decided to put it out. That's at least what I remember. And I knew it was a hit, and then luckily a country station in Detroit I believe, played it and it went from pop to country. I've been trying to do that ever since, Bobby. It's not easy. So you're right. What's his real name, by the way, Matt Shaper, But I've never called him that, just like, yeah, I just called Cracker. I was looking at the writers and Matthew Shaper's listed and I've had he's come out and opened a couple of shows for me. It's been a couple of years, and yeah, it was nice, a nice guy. But you know, it was cool to hear some of the songs that he has that kind of border country or pop or you know, because he got he was Kidd Rocks DJ, as how was first introduced to him, and then he had followed me Everything is Alright, which is a country song too, but it was a massive pop song. And you write this with him. But what I'm hearing is when you wrote it and you finished it, he didn't cut it right away. You tried, You wrote it to give to other people. Well, it was I wanted it to be for him. I think he did, but and I don't know the ins and outs of it. He could, he could tell you, I guess, but it just nothing was really happening with him at the record company at that time. But he did co write all summer long that Kid Rock put out, and I think that kind of got a little momentum. And Kenny Chesney was always taking Cracker out on tour, so everyone knew who he was. And I just knew it was a hit. And I write a lot of songs, and I don't always jump up and down and feel like their hits, but I just felt Smile could really be a hit. But I'm glad that he that he recorded it. What I like about your songwriting, your songs that have really achieved, uh not only number one status, but songs that last for a long time. Uh. This next one, Kenny Chesney Somewhere with You. A lot of them are slow, and I love a good slow, like make me feel and remember the place I was when that song came out, And this one does here Kenny Chesney Somewhere with You one of my favorite songs. Three to Come Down made me down listing in my era. Hold on the Cada's in this song though, because it's a slow to mid, but he's also by he. There's a lot of words there, you know. That's me walking down the street bye bye Buda by kind of a weird juxtaposition of a mid to slow with a pretty fast word cadence. So you're writing this song did anyone go? Well? This feels kind of funky because it's a lot of words real quick, but the song is really not that fast. Did anyone go? Once? Again? Hopefully there's some future hit makers listening. Nobody wanted that song. I wrote it with Shane mcinally, who's now as you know, you all know, one of the biggest songwriters around. He was sleeping on his sister's couch at the time. My apartment over off Music Row had been uh had been condemned, and we weill someone actually kind of pawned us off on each other. Well, j T is this rock guy from you know, Michigan, l A. And you know, Shane hasn't been doing anything for he was in town for fourteen years, and so we weren't trying to had a country song. We were just writing, you know, from from our our hearts. We had both been gone through breakups and I just met him. Was the first day I met him, actually, and he didn't want to write a song that day, and we went over to Fido, this little restaurant. We started talking and he was telling me his story and I thought, my goodness, we have the same philosophy about relationships. Um, you cannot make somebody love you. You can only stalk them and hope for the best. So it didn't work for either of us. But we wrote Somewhere with You without thinking if it was right. It was wrong. And then luckily when Kenny ches and he heard it, you know, everyone just kind of got out of his way and he put it out and guys like you played it. Was it wordy when it was sent over in the demo meaning did he change up any of the tempo or did he did he speed up the words but keep the what happened there anything? I think they sped it up a bit. The one thing that he and his producer added, which is great, they added that thinking thinking YouTube guitar. The demo was just kind of uh Shane singing, and I think it was like maybe an acoustic guitar, maybe a piano, but it was very basic. It was very basic. One of my favorite Jaco Owen songs alone with You Here you Go, You Got Me out on Jacob play that song until he dies, Like, that's that's a jac Owen song right there. As much as Jake didn't write it, there are some songs that are kind of meant for artists, and that is a Jaco and freaking Jam and Jake and are close friends. Were dinner week or so ago and we were just talking about songs, and we're talking about his new song and he's like, there are certain songs and he didn't write his new one, I don't think, but he was like, there are certain songs that you just like grab and even though you didn't write, they feel like they're yours. And that to me is such a Jaco Oen song. So you wrote that with Shane as well? Yeah, Shane as well. Um, the the original title was called running with Scissors. Did you know that? I did not. Shane had this book called Running with Scissors, and we thought, you know, it's like I read that book. It's analogy for It's not about the book, but it's like analogy for bad you know, relationships or whatever that closterm and write that, I don't know, Mike, you like, I'm so I've read that book. Yeah, tell you that. So the song was called running with Scissors. We made a demo of it, we heard Jake Ohen was recording it, and then I've never met Jaco On before. Barefoot Blue g Night was a huge hit and apparently standing in you can ask him this standing in the vocal booth, apparently he said to his producer, I don't really love this running with Scissors line, and they called us and since you know he had just had you know, Barefoot Blue g Night. They said, hey, could you change this lyric for us? And because we're shallow when we want hits, we're like, let's change it. So it was a great call and I was actually very flattered that he that he said, hey, I want to record this song. So we took that out. So what's funny is every the title, what the song is about, the lyric that was in there, none of that is in it anymore. And it became alone with you and it became a big hit. I'm really grateful for where you got. People always laugh when I do this live and I'm like, this is actually not one of my jokes. People. You got me running with scissors every time you call, and I know it would kill me if I fall, So we changed it to you got me out on the edge time you call. Yeah. I think it was a good call. Actually, well yeah, because if he wanted it, and then it worked and it's awesome and it's number one. I think it's Keith Urban somewhere in my car from he wrote that with Keith, Yes, with Keith. And do you know how I met Keith Urban? M hmm. You probably have no idea. I was just early for Bumble. Uh. When Somewhere with You came out, my friends started texting me saying, Keith Urban is talking about your Kenny Chesney song. He's telling his fans to buy it. I think he made a little link for it in the pre itune 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 reward 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's 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. He 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. Agree about Blake Shelton, which Mike we back in our parody days, we did a parody of that. Yeah, oh that's flatter, that's great. Oh that's what it was. That's right, Yeah, go ahead when we roll up to a couple more days real quick. Here is Different for Girls by Dirk's and l right o ye, who's just And here is Beers and Sunshine by Darius. So now that we've heard your expert work and 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 we'll get onto some more of your life stuff in a minute. But party like a rock star of 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 Purnos. 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 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 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 Lee roth like Bruce Lee with a jet pack on. I looked on 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. I made my first demo with money. I won on VH one Rock and Roll Jeopardy. I'm glad you were not it. You probably would have beat me. You went on Rock and Roll, Jeffardy, 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, but and I wanted to say that as I just said, Jeff and then if you were gonna say yeah yeah. So he stood real close to me when he talked, and I would like I would jerk my head back like some spit hit my face and I wiped my eye off. Oh. 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 was just one episode? I won dollars. 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 started in the biggest movie Vie of nineteen seventy 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, the top ten song pretty Ubiquito us whenever She's everywhere? Yeah yeah, yeah, but I mean like the biggest movie of the movie, the biggest movie in night. I saw him reading his answer down. I stopped and solo artists out because Debbi Harry is in a band. 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. Do 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 thing? Press one to speak. I'm gonna not know Olivia Newton John and the movie is graz I feel like she's Australian. She is. That's the trick quite Oh my goodness, rule, I know that's what, idiot. I'm not trying to trick you. They tricked me to. I thought Olivia and John, but she's Australian. That's why I came back. She said, yeah, it was, it was. It was awful, but I won and I 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 the FedEx, so I borrowed the FedEx jacket. I 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 h. 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 were coming here. I passed my CD out to everyone. Every celebrity came in there too, Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain, Slow stallone. I tried to give him all my demo. I got a record deal. The guy that signed Tracy Chapman and we all remember her a 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 at McDonald's on Broadway has been broken. People, 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 for get 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'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 City, 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 out a second Kansas City they're doing, 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 starting, 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 arms 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 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. I guess my question, if we take a half step back about your experience with Lincoln Park is why do they put you in the direct support spot and not the opening spot if you're only a guitar. I don't know. And it wasn't a joke. They forgot someone forgot to introduce me. So the crowd things Lincoln Park's gonna come on, and then I'm standing there. It was like thirty thousand Charlie Brown faces just morphing. I don't think anyone thought it was gonna go so bad. And the roadies came out and they had those big brooms like janitors have at high school and there were so many coins, hundreds of coins, and they said j T made a fortune tonight. I mean, I'm really thankful I didn't get, you know, my eye knocked out or something. But they couldn't have been nicer. You know, if you're born in South Detroit, South Detroit, which is actually Canada, I've heard, but yeah, no, I'm American yet. So and we're on in the Canadian version of Detroit, which that town is, That's right. So we're on a windsor so we cross over into camp into Detroit. But I would imagine being from South Detroit. Do you hate that? Don't stop believing the Journey song because that's Detroit. I almost just sang it, you know. I don't because as a kid, I loved music so much and I still put it on such a pedestal. I couldn't believe that Journey knew what Detroit was. So I just I've always loved it, you know. And even there's a bon Jovie song that wasn't a hit, and at the very end of it, he goes Detroit and I was like, oh my gosh, he knows that we're here, you know, So I actually, um sorry to watch your feet started a name drop. I actually wrote with John bon Jovin and he said, you're from Detroit, he said, before I had a record deal. I got in my car and I drove all night to Detroit to the Motown Museum. It was closed, so I stood up. It's like a little house, he said. I put my hands around my eyes and looked in the glass, just to feel all the vibes of the place. Got back in my car and drove back to New Jersey. I was just like, Wow, I didn't expect to tell that story, but you reminded me of it. Also, please name drop. That makes the podcast that much better place. Name drop all you possibly can. Chris Jansen, are you gonna take a drunk girl home or fix a drink? You're confusing us and Winnebago World. Thank you? Are you going to? And I know in your book you talked about your father. You know in my book I spent talking about my dad bailing on me. Didn't know him until and then my second book actually went back and met him like there was a big goal of mine. It was. I haven't read that yet, but that's incredible. No need, I'll tell you the story now. I didn't. I didn't know him. I couldn't write a book about having to face a fear or face failure without having to do what scared me the most, which is going to be my biological father. I did, and you know we aren't close now by any means it. He wasn't a villain to me anymore. But I had to write that. So I'd like a lot of this bubbling up again that I had been through and had repressed for years and years, and then when I went mad him too, was it crazy? So the story about your dad is interesting. Tell these guys here, what what's up with your dad? All right? It's funny to say bubbling up because I'm not joking. This doesn't usually happen. So I was adopted as a child, and it's starting to bubble up. So I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. I was. I was saved, and uh, you're gonna love this. So my my my birth certificate is an apology from a condom company. It's framed next to my Sangrea album. You love that. Bobby's laughing people, This is all true. My biological father was trying to break into radio right out of college and he had a late night radio shift. Don't worry, Bobby, it's not you. He had a late night radio shift, and these sorority girls were calling up requesting songs late at night, and they sounded one of them sounded fun and flirtatious. So they kept calling each other and he would play your songs over the radio. And they met, and speaking of Olivia, let's get physical. They ended up having me, and but they couldn't take care of me, so they gave me up for adoption. And I found out all this all these years later. Um, that was the story. And I met my biological fathers. Is what you want me to go? Yeah? And so basically my biological mother was looking for me forever and I have parents the Herdings. I wouldn't trade him for the world. And she said, hey, after a few months, we're talking on the phone. She said, I want to tell you who your biological father is. And I said, oh, and I knew she was serious. She said he's not like other people and that I didn't know what that meant. You're all probably thinking what does that mean? You know, just being sincere, that could mean anything, And she said, um, he's an actor. I said, he's an actor. I was living in l A already, and she said, yeah, he started on the show Cheers, and my brain like the terminator looking for a human. I was scanning the cast of Cheers. I had three roommates at the time living in that dump and I yelled at them, my biological father is Ted Danson. I'm rich. It's done, it's done, And she said no, No, his name is Jay Thomas. Now I know a lot of you out there. They're younger, probably scratching your heads. But he was on Cheers, Uh Mork and Mindy Murphy Brown. But at the time he was a giant DJ in l A, one block from my apartment, on the side of a building, and he gotten a lot of trouble as a DJ. Yeah, he would have loved you. There was his head on the body of a woman and it said we apologize for Jay Thomas, one block from my apartment. It's such a bad movie. I'm surprised Jay didn't starting it. So I had heckled him at a movie premiere. I tried to sneak into I listened to him on the radio. He had come into Tower Records. My biological father. Can you imagine? But we met and it was great. He was married to an incredible lady named Sally. He has two incredible boys that are my best friends now, and it was fantastic. We were like wild long lost fraternity brothers. I mean, he was, he was wild. So before he passed, you guys were good. Yeah, really really good, really good. I'm a massive Jay Thomas fan. That's incredible, And you want to you know why I was bubbling up unexpectedly. I just I didn't expect it. It's his birthday today and none of this was planned out. And here I am with you. Yeah, so you know you're justin timber Lake video shoot that that really wasn't happening that you advertised. So he did that as well. Forgive me, ladies. He's set on the air, We're gonna give away We're gonna pay for somebody's breast implants, and so many women showed up when they found out it was a joke. He almost got killed and then the station got sued and there's like video of him on YouTube on the news apologizing to all. I mean, it was awful. Wow, you find out that your dad is somebody that you already know, you don't know, but you know, and somebody that's famous and in the same town. I mean, is that a lot of therapy? Uh? Not so much over that. I mean I've been to to a therapist, but more, but not over that. No, because I love my parents so much. I wasn't looking for anything. And I mean my mom wrote him a letter and said, boy, this explains a lot because my fami, my family are real sports you know, a big sports family, and they're like, man, this kid's like hair spraying his hair up and jumping. Aren't doing cart wheels in front of MTV and trying to be real silly. That's interesting too. It goes to nature and nurture. Yes, meaning as much as a sports family as you have, you still had some of your biological father you without even yes, massive massive fan and not and more so the stage work and the radio stuff because even when he went on serious after I had listen to him all the time, every day. It's incredible. I didn't know that it's incredible, and I wasn't dodging the question. If you want to know, this is very healthy. I had a brother that passed away, so not too long ago I went, I'd never talked about it, and it was so your book was so honest. I mean I read your book like a year ago, and um, when I was finishing my book, I was like, this is such a big chapter in my life that I'm omitting, so I put it in there. So I went and talked to somebody I didn't know. I was so uncomfortable about that. So you went back and put it in your book after you were done with the book and was like, what is this in a good way a bad way? I think in a good way, Yeah, listen, if it's raw and real, even if it's uncomfortable, it's awesome because other people are going through very similar things and they may not have the words, or the platform or the capacity to share it. They may be too embarrassed to share it. And I found when I wrote my first book, and there was a lot of stuff in there about my mom and you know, her being an addict and dying and um, some really embarrassing things that I thought, I don't want to share this with people because I don't want to feel sorry for me. And that's really what it was for me. But what I found was because I would tour and I would talk to folks, the things that I was most worried about being embarrassed of and worried about people feeling like I was lesser than they related to. And that's what actually made me and the person that read the book closer. It was the exact opposite of what I was scared of. It actually made them feel like they knew me and me feel like I was actually talking to someone that understood. And so that's really it's great. But it's also like, it's very strong of you to go back and put that in because you knew it was incomplete and you said the best word. I don't know why. I think I was embarrassed, like bringing up I had a brother that passed aways. I think it was weird. I thought maybe people would judge me from it. And I had actually apologized to a few of my really good friends in town. They were like, you never told me about this. I'm like, oh, you're asking me if you know I saw the friends reunion. Oh and by the way, my brother passed away in sixth grade, so you know what, let's go down and get some hot chicken. It just never came up right. Well, but that that's really big of you in many ways to go back because You didn't write it with that in mind. No, not. You went back and thought, all right, that's me. But it's not complete exactly, and it's easy to just go, you know what, completed another story about how great I am. Yes, not at all. Listen that was and and and anyone out there, you know if you can tell I hate attention. Yeah. And I have another brother named Lance, who was incredible, who was not adopted, and he's like, he's as you know, big as this table in the book. He goes by his native American name, dances with Budweiser's but uh, you know, he's my little brother and he's gigantic, you know, so it's great. I'm very, very lucky. And then I got to meet Jane everyone else. When you moved to town. You come to Nashville, you don't know Nashville yet people looked at you as what early on, Oh, this kind of cool rocker guy that came from l A. Let's, you know, let's write some rock songs with them. And then you know, I actually did put out a song which actually was big in little rock, but not on your station. I wish I knew you then I would have called you called party like a rock star and it bubbled up a little bit in a good way. Let me hold on a second. We have a clip of this j bunch of strip in the windows. Endow you and party like a rock stars. I was a star, remember I remember this song, but it was like a like an alternative pop Where did it? Where did it go? It was on Alice like one in Arkansas seven seven? Yeah, I really played. We broke into that station and took it over. I know, I wish I had known you. We played one. This only really happened in Arkansas. In Connecticut, that song really we played it? Is it? One? Is what it's called? That? And there was a huge line out the door. My buddies and I are rolling my equipment in. I put a little band together and like, oh, who are reopening for the in the club owners said there's no one, there's just you. I was like, oh my gosh, you know so it was my little fun rock star moment. I can't believe you have that clip. I mean, I remember that song. I'm on it up about it. That's awesome. Look at all this stuff. It's cool. It's America. I played a little love in America. What was What's the difference in the stuff you put out two thousand nine, two thousand ten is j t X and your first record deal when you were in l A and you never got the call back, like sonically, what was the difference. So it was more kind of Hoodie and the Blowfish. Um. I mean, I probably wasn't that good, but Hoodie and the Blowfish trying to be you know, Counting Crows Ryl Crows singer songwriter. I was out in l A. You know, I was trapped between and I was at the intersection of Brett Michael's hairpiece and Eddie Vetters flannel. You know, I love eighties rock, but I can't play guitar like that, and I wasn't angry like the grunge guys, even though that music is great and catchy. Um. But then, as I said, Counting Crows Hooting the Blowfish, Cheryl Crow came out. Then I discovered Vince Gill and Garth Brooks all working at Tower. I would I would discover all these CDs. So it was kind of like that, but it wasn't. It definitely evolved. It was very singer songwritery, but it just wasn't. It just wasn't meant to be at the time, which is fine. You know, if we're rewinding a second and you say you know you're not after I cried for nine months, it's fine. You said you're not an artist. You're a songwriter. First of all, songwriters are artists, and I think we both know that, and I think you meant in the terms where there you're described now where people will go, he's a songwriter more so than what I guess an artist would be someone who gets on stage in fronts and sales tickets. Uh. That being said, even if that were the case, I think your resume here you are an artist in many ways. You may not be even the version of the artist now, but you've had two record deals or you've had a record deal And did you get a deal with a t X was out a brief? Yes? Yes, I guess it's three. Yes, that's what I'm saying, like, you should never not call yourself an artis You're right, You're right, J Harding, I'm artists. Yes, I'm insulted for you. I'm you insulted you, and I'm insulted that you insulted you. Right now, I gotta tell you, this is like the biggest ego boost, I've had good here. Letna play a couple of songs here. This is field thing. I didn't walk into his bedroom from the Jonas brothers. If I know anything about Jonas and their cycles. This is from the Disney Channel days, right back in the day. How do you get a song to the Disney folks, more so than the Jonas brothers, because I'm sure Disney was picking a lot of their stuff at the time. Yes, the great question. This is the only time this has ever happened. I met a great songwriter named Buzzby who you probably know it. Unfortunately, man, he's he's passed away. I met him. It was like late at night. It was like eight o'clock at night. I was like, we're writing a song at night. I never met this guy. And he said, Hey, the Jonas brothers have a TV show and they're looking for a song for it, so we kind of of course, I knew that the Jonas Brothers were, but I kind of googled. Sitting there, I googled where they were from. From New Jersey, I do not know. I thought they were from the land of Jonas, an island where kids arena. That's exactly that should be a movie. So I think they're from Jersey So I just said from Jersey Town to the Hollywood sign data DA. I think the song was called this is the Night, and they may have changed the title to Feeling Alive. I can't remember. So it's the only time I've done that. A lot of people in town say, hey, who's looking for songs, let's write something just for Carrie Underwood, just for Dirk Spentley, And that doesn't work for me personally, it just never has. But that's the one time. And then we sent it to them and they loved it and became to the theme of their TV show and they put it out. It's it's great. I saw him do it in concert. I don't know them at all, but they gave me passes and said, you know, stay away from all the girls, don't be creepy. Do you make sink money from back then? Like, did you make pretty good money for being on a TV show? Yes? Then better than now where it's more of a you can make more for rights reasons. Uh yeah. I don't know exactly how it all works, but in my like smile has been used on so many TV shows and in movies. It all pays very what the Jonas song like as just a theme song? Did that pay well? Because now I would pay really well. Oh, it probably doesn't pay as much, now what you mean in reverse? See, I didn't know what you meant. I I honestly, I'm not trying to evade the question. I don't. I don't if you don't know that it didn't make you rich? Uh yeah, I guess, Yeah I didn't. Yes, Okay, So can you Chestny bar at the end of the world. Let's play clip of this one next time we come back, and then I want to play one more that I have up here because I'm a massive Googo Dolls fan. Here is when the world breaks your heart now stops. So how did you write with any of those guys, Johnny or Yes? So I was in a studio in New York City, like in New York like here we just ride in houses and whatever. I was in a really great studio overlooking Times Square after all those years back at the same building pretty much across the street where I recorded my E M I record. If you can imagine em, I was the deal I lost and um going back to alone with you. I believe his wife a girlfriend at the time he's married. Now. Uh, Johnny Resident's wife liked Alone with You and he was recording the studio and he came out and just asked me about it, and he had just gotten this kind of like he's really good looking you and he had this kind of like new wave haircutt and I was like, oh, it's Justin Bieber's dad. And luckily he laughed because I don't think he liked that. But uh, we talked about alone with you and he's like, oh, we should write sometimes. So I kind of, you know, lingered about a couple of extra days and he just said, hey, let's write this song when the World Breaks your Heart and it was on I think one of their last albums. So I would make, you know, nixed CDs with um, you know, iris on it and send back to the girls in Michigan. When I was living in Yeah, of course, I was such a Google Dolls fans, and I would get irritated when the basis would sing one or two because every every album and they let the bass like he had this and I was like, no, no, no no, no, I get it, but no, don't we don't need that. Johnny Resnick told me why do you know why I don't. Johnny Resnick would get really down on himself, like most artists like me, I'm an artist, and I think things weren't gonna work out. And apparently the bass player just for years and years was like, Johnny, you're great, keep writing, we gotta keep doing this, we gotta keep doing this, and he just feels really grateful for their friendship. And so he has a I think a couple of songs each record, and then he definitely I saw him too, Yeah, and he goes hard. He's like a he sings hard. He does, and I'm like, alright, alright, alright, He's like the mini Gene Simmons or something. Is where there with all the songs and all the hits and all the close to being number one but are still hits Like Barton of the World. We played that a whole bunch, Wasn't people know that song? Do you ever have a song or a session that you canceled on and that day they wrote a massive song that you'd have been a part of. No, But what a great question. I did write with um Sam Hunt before he had a record deal, and now I realized why his songs are so great. He takes a long, long time time to write songs like they took them about your Probably I'm sure you know this a year to right body, like a back road, but it sounds nursery, rhyme simple. The hardest thing to do is write a simple song. So when I was writing, when I first met Sam and wrote with him, like months and months would go by and we'd be working on one song, and looking back, I wish I got a sleeping bag and just slept on his front door, so that I kind of wish I had been a little more patient. But at the time people were, you know, still now people are writing songs so fast. And also I am very very these are great questions. I'm very, very flattered when I play the Blue Bird and people come up to me and they come right up to me, and they said, I just moved to town. We should write. But I've learned that you have to find your own tribe and you kind of rise together, So I can't just write with every person that comes up to me. Well, she didn't just get to town. But I was walking through a hallway one day and this girl came up and she said, oh, are you the guy that sings love in America and not really many people knew that song on This Girl and Bobby Bones apparently, and I said, she said, oh, I love that song. We should write some time. And I said, oh, thanks so much. But I was like, not in a conceited way. I was just kind of like, I can't write with every single person, and it was case you must grape so that ha ha, yeah, dropped the anvil on me right now, Mike, please, Um, so, I've definitely made some mistakes, and I you know, I mean, you know who knows, you know. Think about the guys that met Luke Combs the first day he came to town. They have all these big hits. So you just people don't have signs above their head flashing I'm going to be a star. I used to hold one above mine, but that didn't work. Yes, exactly, let's talk about right like a rock stars. Something you're doing? Yes, so what is that contest? Oh? Thank you so much? So? Uh. National Adoption Month is in November, so if you were listening, if you know anyone that's adopted or you are adopted, this is totally for free. I'd love to write a song with someone out there over zoom and all you have to do. I have a website. I have not told anyone about this. This is first time announcement. On the phones podcasts, you're talking about writing and I was like, oh, this is a good place to talk about this. Okay, go ahead and ready, So go to the website, right like a rock star dot com. Send me your adoption story in about eight hundred words, and include a little video tip of you singing or playing any song on the radio, just a little clip, and we're gonna choose a winner, and I'll write with someone over zoom once again. It's totally free, and we'll own the song together. I'll record it. You never know, we might write a hit, who knows. And it's just a way to bring awareness and it's something fun to do and I'm really excited about it. And by the way, don't don't lie to me about being adopted. The FedEx jacket does not work on this website, right, like a rock star dot com. So if they win, and you right, they're gonna do some sort of press with you in November, which is National Adoption Month. Is that right? Yeah, well just see what happens. But there, I can't say it enough. There are no strings attached. It's it's gonna be great. We'll own the song together. Who knows, we might worst case scenario we played at the Bluebird and or something, and you can, you know, you can send in from anywhere. It's exciting. If that's worst case scenario, that's pretty awesome. That's what I'm saying. That's that's pretty awesome. So you it seems to me and I can be wrong with this, but you can actually have Bobby Bones sign my book for you. You're playing a lot of shows. It seems like you play a lot of shows. I love playing songwriter shows and hearing people sing the songs. And you know, I don't need someone to run up to me and say, you know, oh I wish you You know your picture was on the cover of that album you wrote the songs. I don't need all that. I love that. I'm so grateful that these big stars sing my songs. But I love doing the songwriter shows. Yes, and what about that? Do you like? Are you still itching that performer like that? Get scratching that absolutely? And it kind of you know, gets you know, my ya ya's out. I I don't know what it would be like to try to get a record deal, try to be you know online and on TikTok, constantly trying to get it all going. So I feel like I have the best of both worlds. I live in this incredible city, Nashville. I get to go and play these great shows like Sundance. The Bluebird has sent me all over the world, you know, London, New York, everywhere, and and then I get to write songs by the day. It's it's fantastic. I'm doing a songwriter night at the Bluebird on like the thirty one or something. There's a big Sunday night songwriter thing, and I haven't done it because it's usually it's too late for me to be even awake. But I'm doing have a couple of shows that I'm doing in Nashville. I've done two already and it's like a Ted talk me to comedy show. And so what I've gotta work material and so some of my materials music, and I reached out and you know, called the people as the Bluebird, and I said, hey, because at times I was just going I play around and work material or I just show up and hop on stage. And what what's tough for me was they would go all right, because you know, sometimes guests will come in and I'll make a big deal about the surprise. And so there I called, and I said, hey, I guess some songs. And with comedy songs, you don't know if they're funny until you play them in front of people and see if they laugh. You know, you can ride a real catchy hook for people comes to that, that's a really good hook, and you know it. You know it. With comedy, you may feel like the jokes great, but until you do it in front of people and they actually laugh, you don't really know. So I write all these jokes, write all these songs, and I said, hey, do you mind if I come up and I and they said sure, we'll bring you on as a guest, secret guest, a big surprise guests. I'm like, okay, sure. So I go up and it's a Sunday night and they say, all right, everybody, and it's the stage, not the round. It's the stage not the round. You guys are never gonna believe who's here. And I can feel people sit up a little taller, and I can see a little bit out there because I'm in the bag, and they're like this guy has been responsible for so many hits, and and now I'm like, oh no, I'm like, oh god, oh no, these people are gonna think like Garth's coming out with something like I can't win. I already know I can't win. By what's about to happen. You've heard him on and they introduced me, and people are like, oh, and they weren't wrong about what they said. It's just what. So I said, hey, guys, I'm gonna come work out some material on this night if it's okay with you, and they said great, I said, but don't make it a surprise. Put it up on the site. I'm gonna sh I'm there, I'm gonna play that win't. Nobody's disappointed. And so I certainly people are excited to meet you. I don't know if they have. You ever met a man that went five years without having sex? This is him. Yeah, that's true. I wish I wish I was a listener that I would have called up as your left hand. I would have said, Bobby never takes me to dinner. He only wants to fool around. Brought to you by Jurgen's Lotion The Bobby Bones Shows. Oh man, I'm I'm playing that Bluebird show on the thirty one to do the same thing, but I'm playing in the middle of like two songwriter things. But he'll be great my point, Yeah, yeah, and I feel fine. They know I'm coming. I'm gonna play four or five comedy songs. I'm gonna sae who laughs, who doesn't. We're gonna move from that. But I guess my point is there, do you like to play in the very intimate round where you go around the circle or do you like to be on the stage where it feels like a conventional show. And that's a great question, I guess in town, I love the magic of the blue Bird and people listening right now, like it's so hard to get in there because if you don't know, it's so small. I do love that, but it's a whole different experience being out at Sundance for two nights. People both night, everyone had their phones up with their little lights on. Unfortunately it wasn't my song, it was Tom Douglas song. But I was still sitting there watch I was on stage. Yeah, someone snap a picture, so I guess yeah. But if someone said, hey, do you want to go play, you know, a shed with like, you know, Bobby Bones band. I'd rather do that than I guess I meant at the Bluebirds scifically. Would you rather play on the stage, Oh, I'm sorry, No, I'd rather play in the round. Yes, because it's like you're with friends. It's just such an unusual and magical experience. And I do other songwriter shows around the country where they try to do like a bluebird thing that isn't part of the bluebird and people don't know, so they kind of talk all through it or say, hey, play Sweet Caroline, or you know, play Luke Combs. I was like, I wish I could. I didn't write it, you know. So it's just so interesting to play songs that you've written in such an intimate place and everyone is just hanging on the edge of their seat, can't wait to hear a hit, can't wait to hear something new. So yeah, I'd rather play in the round. Yeah. Well, you guys, get the book, party like a rock star, get into the contest right like a rock star. Dot com for the website, and then you can possibly right with a rock star, a real life artist. I'm gonna walk around now calling myself an artist. Hey, before we go I would not have hit songs if it wasn't for country music fans country DJs like you that played the song. So thank you very much. I really silly a lot, but I'm very very grateful. I have a great life, So thanks so much for having me on. How many suits do you have? Like with thinking about like seven or eight, I'm looking for some new ones that a lot of people see that I have. You would love, Mike. I have a Star Wars one. It's white with like little um Star Wars uh stormtrooper helmets on it. Yeah, I got a pac Man one that I got last year. So and every time I'm I'm gonna wear this watch like, I don't think this is the occasion for that. I don't like why not she goes because this is a formal you know there, So I haven't really found a time yet for that, but I like it. It's how I knew you visually, right. Yes, I don't know if you remember. I was I don't want to stay where, but I was somewhere having lunch in town and you came out and all of my friends stood up there like that's Bobby Bones, and they all came around you to like that's never no, no, to play a song, no for real, to play a song or something, or to play at your wedding, one of them said. And you looked over all of them and you said, this really happened. You said, it's the guy in the crazy suits. And they all turned around and looked at me, and I was like, holy cow, wonder how he recognized me? Oh, and now are all like, hey, where do you buy your suits? Man? Yeah, they're gonna go crazy. And never have people don't come up to me like that and surround me and lift me above their head to go. I wouldn't make that up. Yeah, And you just went, it's the guy in the crazy suits. You probably saw it on like phil was Sarton's Instagram or something. Was I coming out of like a yo or like a cycle studio and who and I ran into and I saw I do remember this. I saw you, but I the writers of And then God whispered her name yes, and and he was like, hey, I wrote it. I was like, oh, yeah, we're using that in our wedding. And then I saw you and I was like, it's the guy that wears the suits. That's right, I do. But nobody surrounded that whole story about that they lifted me up twice, okay, and they tossed me in the air and saying for he's a jolly good fellow. Once that was it, but after that it was over. Listen. I've really enjoyed this. This has been a real great conversation for me. Thank you. I appreciate it. Your story is interesting, UM. I love the fact that you know you pushed yourself with authenticity when writing your book, like you knew it wasn't all the way out there and you knew what else you had to put into your book wasn't extremely comfortable, but you did it anyway because that was the last piece of that puzzle. I think that's great. There's a lot about you. Thanks so much. So that's fantastic. And I'm a massive fan of your father, of your your biological dad, because I don't call my boy, I don't call my biological dad my father, so I'm stepping back your biological father. I'm massive fan of him. And you know what, your mom and dad too, because they did a heck of a job raising you. And that that is that's really, really, really a great story. Awesome. Well, thanks so much, Thanks for um. Discovering all the new music, and I don't really do anymore like Instagram and TikTok at j t X rock Star. I got a new song for bopopopp Cast Cast Cast Cast Cast Pop Podcast. If you've done that one already, I never know. We probably won't do that one never again. Alright, thanks everybody. J Hardy follow him jt X rock Star And that's it.