#287 - Niko Moon (In-Studio) on his First No. 1 as An Artist, Writing No. 1’s with Zac Brown + Surprise Appearance From His Wife + Best New Music Releases of the Week!

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Speaker 1: M h, What's happened to friends? Welcome to episode to eighties seven. We'll talk to Nico Moon on going from number one songwriter to his first number one as an artist because he had written a bunch of other number ones. Also a surprise appearance by his wife in the interview. That's fantastic, didn't you mike that guy? When you see him, he's covered in tattoos, but there's something about him that is an extremely positive vibe, very welcoming. Yeah, you just want to hug him here, like I'll take COVID give me a hug, but he's he's stopped by. It's great. That's coming up in a little bit. Let's do the top five songs or projects that I'm pumped about this week. I think the number five I'm gonna do Nick Jonas. And here's why. Nick Jonas has a new song out called Selfish, but it's Nick Jonas featuring the Jonas Brothers. I don't know here it is fish. They just want to hold that for the Jonas brother guess not. They want to put on a Jonas Brothers song and Nick Jona's album technically featuring himself. Yeah, true, I just admire he did that, So I about that at number five. At number four, Harper Gray has a new song called still Your Mother. I still feel like you're all man, wonder what you'd be like. It's even though we never got the whole holy sh other. Still Your Mother. At number three, New country artists Morgan Wade has a new album called Reckless. Here's a new song called Wilder Days you can see. Number two. Justin Bieber's put out a new album called Justice. Here's a new song from the Beeb's called Peaches. I got my Peaches Georgia. Yes, I get my one from California. Luster had so much, took up to the Nortia, packing my night right from the Socia, Happy and number one. Dustin Lynch has a new song out with Mackenzie Porter. Now if you know this song, it's from his record. Lauren Elena is on it, but they had to re record it to put it out to radio with someone other than Lauren because Lauren's already on a duet with John Party and her record labels like, hey, you can't have two duets out the same time. What I want to put some out with you too? So here is Dustin Lynch and Mackenzie Porter doing Thinking about You. Here's that bad we get I don't come any Bay. And then with saving Pat and Bruce will be made out in the rain where we went Chase Ms stars on Here Dads. We had them in the studio on Friday's Bobby Bones Show and you know they performed. I hadn't met her ever, but she came in and first of all, really good. She got that spot in a blind audition apparently where he just had a bunch of people singing, didn't know their names, listened to them, picked her. There was something else about her performance I was gonna bring up just now, she's also an actress. She was in a Netflix show that Amy knew. What else was I gonna say? Her brother one Canadian idol, I forget, I don't know. She's good. Huh she was really good? Yeah she she I know what it was. She is the number one Canadian country music artists most played in and so now she's living in Nashville trying to make it, you know, on the big stage. But yeah, it's a big deal. Good for her. More new songs out honorable mention. I'll play you this clip from Gary Lavox. He put out a new song called The Distance. He is the eat singer of Rascal Flats. This is the first track office solo Christian Project success Shots for Everything for You, It's goin on across the streams put you Can't All. Asha Monroe has a new song I called Till It Breaks. Kanan Smith has a new song called Sweet Virginia. Uh Brelan released a new version of a song across Country. I think that's it. A Gabby Barrett released Live from the gold Mine EP. What's that? It's from her live streams. You just took it and put it as a live album? Okay? Yeah? I was like, because I don't know she's putting that new stuff, but it's music from her live stream Midland put out the Sonic Ranch. Is that an album? I think it's a documentary the soundtrack of it? Okay. Chris Cornell, no one's things like you do anymore? Um, it was this He's not alive anymore, so he didn't just record this. What's the still? What's the do this? I think you just rereleasing it now as a hard copy because it was only released digitally. That makes sense. Landa del Rey, Loretta Lynne, Paul Stanley, soul Nation. Paul Stanley from Kiss Ringo Star Sting has a duets record and the lead singer of System of a Down. His name is Serge. He has one called Elasticity. Do you ever liked him? I liked him a lot. Yeah, great work on music. I never quite got in the system of Let me bring Eddie on, he said over there, did you ever like System of a Different? I love it because it's so spastic, like it's it's such a different again, man, I love different and it's so different than all the other medal you hear out there. I love and then he and then he goes from yes, beautiful, extremely disting, and that's the golf. I just I just never got into it, dude, I love it. I saw him play once solo guy in in south By, Southwest, him and a piano. It was beautiful. Imagine he's pretty fantastic. I mean, listen to this part of it. So this is beauty and it gives metal heads a reason to like slow melodic piano music because he definitely takes it out there. Hey, what do you think about Garth Brooks revisiting Chris Gaines Eddie? I don't like it. I didn't like. I didn't like Chris Gaines. I want to. I don't know about many, one of many or many of one a few. I didn't like it at the beginning. I was a huge Garth Garth fan and I didn't get it. And I still don't really get it, even because it didn't happen. So I just don't. I'll never get into it. He created a movie character and this was the music, and he was an Australian singer, pop singer, right, and he'd been in a car wreck. Is that part of it? I think? So he'd been an accident, or at least an accident, and so it was his life story that they never made. The movie never came about, but they put the music out. I thought the music was fantastic. Yeah, But the problem was Garth had to explain it all the time. And if you like you just did, how many years later? If you have to explain something like he did, SNL is both and he's kind of explaining it or nobody knows who it is, it's hard um. But here is Garth talking about it on Inside Studio G. When it comes to Chris Gaines, I can't tell you anything except you're gonna have it in every format you can possibly imagine. It's coming in vinyl okay, and you're gonna have Chris Gaines stuff nobody's ever heard for either. It's all coming. So but the Chris Gaines thing, you just gotta handle it with kid gloves and put it together. But it's coming. I I love that project, and so I'm excited that there's I don't even know how to say it. I'm just excited me too. I was the only one I liked it. Back in the day. All my friends were like, why does he have blue hair? This is stupid? Why did Garth dies hair blows like, it's not Garth, that's Chris Gaines. Don't get it mixed explaining character. They're like, we'll explain it to me. And I was like, Chris Stapleton has rescheduled the first dates of All American Road Show, just made a few adjustments. He will not be heading out next month as planned, but he will still be going out. Listen. Shows are gonna happen. Brace yourself friends, July. It's kind of party on. You'll start to see stuff now. I saw Brandy Carlisle doing a show for just people that are vaccinated. Pretty cool. Yeah, do you see that takes people that are vaccinated. Let's have a show that that sweet. I'll go to that. Bonaroo won't be happening until September, but in the meantime they're doing three socially distance pod style shows Billy Strings John Party May twenty nine. At Brothers doing three separate shows on July two, third, and fourth. The Avatt Brothers Eddie Ever get into them for I think I had a moment with them, and I still like if they come on. I like the Avit Brothers. I don't pursue it brother for some reason. I like their music and anytime I hear him like a Santa commercial or something like, I know it's them. But they did a documentary a few years back, and I tried to watch it and it was a little too serious me like they they took themselves very serious. There was a moment that I caught in the documentary where like they were in the middle of the session and they were just not feeling it and one of them had to run out and they all had to check on him outside and he said, I'm just not it's too emotional right now. And they talked about it and then they went in and it's like, what is happening? Like I didn't get it and it was just a little too much for me. So personally never really get it. Got into the av It Brothers. But musically I like the sound. I like how they like their music. I like their sound too. I guess I just don't love it so much. I pursue a Vett Brothers albums if it shows up because it's often in playlist because it's like other things I listened to yes and they don't turn it off. I like it, but I am never after it. He Knew has a good documentary though, is Kings of Leon. Yeah. I love that documentary because of the way it's shot, like they start the interviews and the lead singers got a bottle of something whiskey vodka, and as the interview goes, you see the bottle get drink of. The volume of liquor gets lower and lower and lower, and then he starts getting real. Do you remember that part? I don't. I just remember them growing up in like the church and traveling around with their family, playing at different and different tents, and major fights with his brother. Major fight. It's a good one, even if he don't like Kings a Leon, that's a really good one. It's like the Bags one. Mike didn't like it that much. I thought it was fantastic. They haven't seen it even if you didn't know the Begs, because you learned so much about their impact on all music that you listen to period. There's a cool one on It's on Hulu. I don't know what network it's on, but it's The Beatles eight days a week, and it's directed I believe by Ron Howard uh And it's just the touring years of the Beatles, and it's just all footage of them touring. But you got you get to realize that that when they went to America they were scared. They had no idea. They thought they were going to fail coming to America because they had no idea what what it was like over here, and they came and they were the biggest thing in the world that when they got back, they're like, well, we don't even know what's next, like like do we just keep doing this or how do we keep being successful? And it's pretty crazy. Things that I've never thought about the Beatles really get covered in this documentary. The only thing I think about when you tell that story is when they go back home to the UK. I hate flying so much now. I hate flying over water. Back in the sixties, flying over water from the UK to America, I've been p and my pants every time, and old airplane like that just well. And that's the thing. When they flew to America for the first time, they just got on a plane with normal people, and so there's footage of them getting on saying hi to all the passengers, and they're like, Wow, the Beatles are going to America for the first time. That's pretty cool. And they show up and all the passengers are getting out and there's mobs of people and the best is like, what is going on here? So pretty cool footage I've never seen in my life. Still being on airplane in the sixties, I don't like it right now. Snoop Dogg, ice Cube, Too Short, and Forty have formed a new supergroup called Mount Westmore their debut albums coming next month. They're set to release their debut album next month, with more volumes come in the future. Uh, Kanye West. The headline was He's worth six point six billion. But I'm seeing now, Mike, that may not be the case, they're saying it's worth easily one point eight billion. One point a billion, still pretty good. I think his the six point six story and correct me if I'm wrong, is based on what they how much you can. Yeah, it's like when an athlete signs a two hundred million dollar contract, but it's incentives. It's if he gets picked up for the last two years. It's that kind of could be confusing, but again, one point at billion. Kanye West with one point billion dollars crazy godly. Another documentary in the works on Britney Spears. I think there are a couple. I think Netflix is working on a little something too that is that this one. Yeah, The Arita Franklin bio series debuts on Sunday on that Geo Areta. A celebration and recognition of her genius is coming out. It's the moments where she created things that will last forever. I like to read the Franklin. That seems cool. I don't know a lot about her, so that that'd be cool to watch the Did you watch the Billie Eilish documentary? Mike? Yeah? On Apple Plus? You did? I see it up there? Because I go to Apple Plus A decent amount. What do you think. I thought it was actually pretty good. I don't know if you would like it because you don't really like her music. Yeah, and I'm not supposed to. I'm too old. Yeah. I mean, if you do, great, but I don't. I'm never gonna hate on the music that's young and I don't understand it because the music I liked when I was sixteen, people that were forty didn't understand it. I know my place and my places to go. That's really cool what she's doing. I didn't get it, but I was not supposed to get it. It's not for me, so bad god, No, no, no, no no. Did you see the clip about that sound? Yeah? So this is that sound? So this sound and bad guy Bag they used it to sample it. They took it off like an Australian walk sign when you press the button to walk across the street. Do you have a couple of the song and then this is it in the song? I hear it? What was that in the documentary? No, that was I just started researching stuff after I watched it because I was like, they're so crazy talented, Like she never goes into a recording studio to record anything. Did that all in her bedroom. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, she goes into record, but it's in her bedroom. She doesn't go into a studio and her brother does it all pretty cool? Yeah, Okay, what'd you learn from this documentary? I didn't know she had turetts. She talks about it on the documentary, like she doesn't have verbal ticks, but it's like her physical thing, like her hands. I didn't know she had that. And then she doesn't know who Orlando Bloom is. There's a scene where she goes to Coachella and meets Katie Perry and Orlando Bloom is with and she's like, who's that guy. They like, it's Orlando Bloom. She's like, wait, bring him back. Oh she doesn't recognize. She thought it was just a guy that she was dating. He's a pretty good looking guy. Yeah you've met I met him. Yeah. What else? And then yeah, just the thing that they do, all that stuff in the bedroom. Never, she doesn't she doesn't even like writing songs, Like whenever she sits down to write a song, she's I hate doing this. I don't want to do it because she's still afraid of how people will react, in what they'll say online you give it what score? I give it four out of five bad guys, Like, Yeah, it's really interesting to see how young she is and that she's so inspired by people like Justin Bieber, who that's like her idol and that's how she was like fourteen when she was a fan of him. I'll tell you what's cool is that she never smiles. That when she does, I get excited, Like, like I think the Grammys or whatever, she she never smiles. She's always got that phase, like I'm a bad mood, right. But the Grammys, they had that set up where they can all watch the other bands while they were playing, because it was kind of a circular thing, and she would smile when like Harry Styles is playing. I'm like that makes her feel cool because whatever he's doing is making her move. You like, probably kids are playing a lot kids play it. But I mean I like the I guess I kind of like her brother more than her because the beats that he makes and the musical he makes is really good. You like her? Yeah? I like her music more now after watching back and listen to it, like this is awesome. What do you like better? The Taylor Swift documentary of the Billie Eilish. Oh this one really, this one a lot better just because how famous he is now, and it makes it really seem like he's just a normal kid who got famous. So I thought it was cool. There you go, Nico Moon coming up. Thank you guys for hanging out. If you don't mind, share this with your friends. And also, I'm gonna promote two things about Mike d here. He's got movie Mike's Movie Podcast. If you love movies, check it out. And also he's on a quest to get ten thousand TikTok followers. Heck, so is Eddie. Yeah, I am. You guys give your names out here, because once they get ten thousand, they've officially made it. Yes, how many? How many are you away? I'm about halfway there? Okay? What is your name on TikTok? Mike de stro d e s t r Oh, Eddie, it's a raise. I'm about halfway there too, and it's producing at producer. Eddie is my TikTok same as all my other stuff. Uh, dude, this is gonna be great. I can't. I want to beat him so bad. I think I could beat here. All right, Nico Moon, You're gonna love this interview coming up. M hm al right here with Nico Moon, which, by the way, before when you came in, we were talking about The Bluebird. Have you played The Bluebird one time? Okay? What what was that experience for you? Like, it was awesome. Bob Dapiro asked me to play with him, and we had probably written two or three times together at that point, and he's a big hero of mine, so him asking me was awesome. So yeah, we sat down and do you feel nervous playing with someone that you really admired? Yeah? Yeah, Honestly I was more nervous about that than I was about playing The Bluebird. I don't know why, but the whole time leading up I was really nervous. And then I started playing, and I wasn't nervous no more, except for the fact that I had like Bob sitting across from me looking at me, and he's playing like all these like jacketic songs. You know you can pull those, you can, don't know, worry about the headphones. Nichol's got a cool hat, and I feel bad being like, hey, there's some headphones there, but I'll just tell you if you need to throw them back up. How about that. Um. I've played the Bluebird a few times. The last time that was probably the most weirdly embarrassing because so I do comedy music, right, and I'd probably played three or four times, and I get some friends together, like I got John Party and my buddies that I knew I can go out there and just do funny stuff. They're gonna cover me with the real stuff and we're gonna have a good time. Well, so I was going out and we're about to record my latest comedy album, and I was like, I called the people the Bluebirds, said, hey, I want to come out. I just need to play some stuff for some people. I need to test it because with comedy stuff, you're right, but unless and you may think it's funny, but until you get out there and you actually deliver punchlines, you don't know if it's gonna work. And so she was like, great, come out. So I'll walk and they and it wasn't in the round. I've only ever played in the round my friends where then I feel secure because I'm we're all sitting around. They got my back. I got there's whatever. I don't have theirs. I suck it, but they have my back. But you feel like you're in it together. Yeah, in it together. But this was when they had the little stage up and everyone's just watching the little stage, sounding like I have my guitar, and the guy goes up. And at the Blue Bird, it's known for people just randomly showing up at times. It could be a big star playing there, you never know. And guy walks up and he's like, all right, everybody, this is pretty pandemic. So everybody's just having a great time. It's a probably a Thursday night. It's like, we got a big surprise for you. And I'm like, oh no, no, don't build me up. Don't build me up. And he's like this guy here, you guys have heard stories about famous people coming to the and I'm like, oh my god, oh my god, don't do this, don't do this. And he does this whole build up and he's like and they got to be thinking George Straighter, Garth Brooks about they gotta be like, oh, well, like we're crossing our fingers. He goes Bobby Bones and you heard like it was like the opposite. And now I didn't go how to make them laugh when they were they just thought they were about to have Alan Jackson come out and play instead it was me and then I'm out there playing dopey songs like my name is Hove, you love You Bobby and so anyway, yeah, I didn't do the walk out thing, and we just kind of like, you know, did this sit in the middle. That's what we I did the other times, but you are, people are right on top of you. Are like they're literally she's like eating pancakes six ft behind me. Yeah. So well, man, congratulations. Let me say this, this is a big time in your life. You hit number one as a as an artist, as an artist because you've been one as a writer, but now it's your face and your voice, and there's gotta be a different kind of man. This is freaking cool. It's a different feeling for sure. I was wondering if it would feel the same, and they don't because because people also know, right, people know that you're now number one. When you when we'll play some of the songs that you wrote, maybe they didn't know you wrote those, like the Random Fan. So I when I was tracking it because I like you and I was tracked, I was like, man, I hope this song hits. And then when I could tell it was gonna hit because there's a point where you know it's gonna be the number one song. What did you think when when they're like, Nicole, there's no way we're gonna miss this. You're gonna be number one? That you know. My manager probably wanted to kill me last week because I was calling him like five times a day, just asking and he was like, when I know, I'll tell you. I'm like, okay, So I just laying that on that, you know. I couldn't sleep the whole week, and then when he finally told me it was it was the best film. I never have slept good as the night after I found out, I save like a baby all night long. It was like this relief but also this unbelievable feeling that I mean, the whole reason I went from being a songwriter to an artist is because I love people. I love connecting with people, and I wanted to do that directly on the only way an artist can, you know, because when as a songwriter, you're almost kind of doing it vicariously other artists, and to know that good Time has connected to that degree with that many people is such a sweet feeling. It's this feeling of of like it means that all that hard work and and and all that time and everything and all that passion put into it was was worthwhile. I was meaningful because people took it and made it their own. And I've had so many people tell me it's like, man, this this year has just been more stress. I've had more stresses here to ask me the rest of my life, and this has kind of been like a like a three minute and thirty second audible vacation I can go on when I need. Is just kind of put that to the side for a minute. And that's I was saying on the radio, and at times of me saying stuff like this gets me in trouble, especially in Nashville. But I think this is the first legitimate I think this is the first song that I feel like is a number one that has fully earned that song number one since Luke Combs. Because what happens here, and you don't have a comment that you get in trouble. What happens here is record label starts to trade out number one. They start, they do They're like, okay, well, okay, you you got this week, and I'm gonna take this week. And Luke Combs has the number one, and they just moved number two and then everybody else jump them over, which in real life, if it's for the pop world, Luke Comes would have just kicked everybody in the balls for eight weeks. But because Nashville is not like that and they're all trade number one, what I said on the ear was, I think you're the first legitimate number one since Luke Combs. Not that those artists aren't fantastic and their songs aren't great, but think they're probably capped out of number two honestly, because Luke Comes was an under undeniable force that last song of his. But I feel like your song was the one that was gonna regardless of what was up there. Your song was taking them down. And that means nothing. You don't a trophy, you don't get a ribbon, but it's it's just a it's a freaking jam. And I didn't and I didn't always feel like that. When the first time I heard it, I was like, what if this will work? Like I liked it, but I was like, oh, it's so different. And this comes from someone who has also been treated well and people have treated me like I've been completely different where people will go, you know what, like, we see what you're doing, but we don't know if it's going to be warmly received. And when I had seen you play a couple of the showcases, especially before, like you did the I Heart, you did the I Heart like, um, summit, yeah, and I was like, there's something about and I had met you at all. I take that back, I didn't know I met you. You came in with Zach didn't know that you didn't And I was like, there's something about that guy where if it's hit at the right time, it's gonna be massive. If it's hit at the wrong time, people canna be like, I'm so confused, But dude, you hit at the right time and you're so good that it's so cool to see this song and like you're total vibe win when one for the little guy, man, that's awesome. You know what it means a lot of you saying that, because it took a lot for me to like stick to my guns, And there was numerous times so at the making the producing of my album that I thought, you know, should I do this? But my original thought one out decided I'm gonna make my own album was to be true to myself. And for years I've been songwriting, and so a lot of times I would make the songs that I wrote in my style and pitch them and they never ever got cut much letting, They never even really got put on hold. And I asked my publisher one day, I was like, how come when I do songs like this, like in this vibe, like they never no one wants to cut them. He's like, man, this is no one. No one does that vibe. He's like, you gotta make it sound like like the vibe, like the vibe yeah, you know, or like what they do, and you know, to be honest, that was really great advice. And I started doing that, and that's when a lot of cuts started happening for me. And that's when that seed of you know, what I feel like what I'm doing is my thing, you know, and that's okay that like they're not feeling it. It just means that it's it should be me doing it. And then but even I second out of myself numerous times throughout the making of it, where for instance, like I put on like organic drums and stuff on the record and and lived with it for a couple of weeks and I mean, I spent probably two months tracking organic drums on the album, and then I was like, no, this it does sound like the radio, but at the same time, it doesn't sound like me, and I can't go through all this and then I feel like I'm not being myself. I described two months with the work, and then when I muted muted that, I was like, there it is like that sounds like honestly me, you know it. The hardest thing to do is to be yourself when no one's like you. But the best reward is that when you win and you were yourself, because everyone's trying to get in a lane here, but when you create your own lane, like you own that there's nobody that has your sound right now now that could have that could have hurt you because like and it did. It probably did for a bit or people like you talked about writing songs like your sound where people are like, this is not what we do. Nobody else DoLS what you do, and you know what, you just wont doing what you do, so now other people are gonna start doing a little bit of what you do. I saw what Sam. Sam comes to town. People like what the heck is? They're like what is this crap to Sam wants doing but his own thing completely, And then you saw other artists that were like, well let me, let me stay telling that water. Yeah. So so I commend you for it's the hardest thing to do to be different and to to stay pointed at the goal when other people are going, I don't know if that's it. Yeah, And it's tough. And I think a lot of maybe a lot of people out there may think that because we do our own thing, that there wasn't times of like doubt that you may question yourself. So the only reason I say that is because I think that it's possible that maybe someone's listening right now who has a thing that they're doing that's different and they may be questioning themselves. And you know, wonder like the people who are in their own lane that are doing the thing right now, did they ever feel like that. I don't want to know. It's okay, you know, because I I do, you know, I have, you know, But at the end of the day, stay true to yourself because that's the most important thing people can feel that. I feel, you know, like you can hear honesty and an artist you can just hear through the music, if it's real or not, you know. And the worst thing, and I've been the victim of this, especially early in my career, was failing when you weren't even you to begin with. That's when you when you try to mold yourself after what you think people want, and then you don't hit and you're like, man, if I was gonna fail, I just would have rather failed to be in me. At least I should have been myself. Yeah, you're like, listen, if I was gonna fail, could at least tried what I really feel. And so anyway, man, just like shout out, and if you're your things, man, and if you're yourself, then you're gonna sound like nobody else because there's only one you, right and and so if you really just hone in deep onto that. And so I spent two months before I made my album just thinking about like who am I? And I started going through all my influences from childhood, what my parents listened to, that I kind of grew up on. And then when I started to get into and I really took the time to think about that and put it in a pot and say, all right, now that's my life. What does that sound like when it's and you know what that's. That's a great analogy, like a pot in what's your life? Because like where you grew up and listen. For me, I grew up and I was the first generation that had freaking napster and downloads and be influenced by things. I grew up in a small rule town in Arkansas where country music was dominant. However, I now I got to go L L L cool, j U L and every kind of music. So I also got to pick. It wasn't just what was at the store, it was what would connect to me. So it was hip hop, it was nineties grunge, especially for me, and it was also you know, a lot of country. But the same situation happened with you a bit, right, like you're just surrounded by all kinds of different music. Yeah, I was growing up in the country, about an hour outside of Atlanta, So I was literally fifteen minutes from where Travis Trent lives in aram Georgia, in about thirty minutes from where Alan Jackson lives in noon And Georgia. And so those guys were massive influences to me. I mean I remember I ran across country in high school and in college, and I remember literally training along the Chattahoochee River listening to Down But at the same time, I'm I'm right next to Atlanta, the you know, the epicenter of hip hop music, you know, so I'm getting that influence of Outcast and and all of that, and yeah, all music was a big thing. Nine nine x the big alt station in Atlanta was playing all of that music, so, you know, and to me, I've i've I've always wanted to be open and receptive to anything that moves me. You know, if that's what music is there for, right, If it moves you, then it's valuable, it's meaningful, and you should like you shouldn't like, uh say, oh well that's not what I would typically listen to. If you dig it, then you did and it's part of you. Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna play a little bit of good time with Shaggy here because go and hit that mike? Are you just trying to catch it the time we get talk? So how did this come together? The song already had a lot of heat on it, So was it, hey, let's do this for fun or did you think would help a little bit? Like what was the mindset with putting Shaggy on the record. So my label reached out and said, hey, we would love for there to be a remix on the song, and I was like, okay, let me think on that, you know, and who I think would would be a great fit for it. And ironically enough, a couple of days after that, Shaggy reaches out and says, Yo, I heard good Time. Really he heard it and called. He heard it and called, and was like, this is cool. I really dig it and I would love to do a remix on it and do my thing. And immediately I think to myself, reggae music is all about good vibes and having fun, and that's what good Time is all about, you know. So this is perfect. And I wanted it to be someone that no one would expect. I didn't want to go with something like oh yeah, yeah, I can see that he reached out to that person or whatever. I wanted to be like so out of left field because I like doing that with people, you know. I just it's my first remix I've ever done. I wanted it to just completely catch people by surprise. But at the same time, it works and it makes sense. Do you meet him we we hung out over Zoom. Yeah, but he's he's far far away. He's in Jamaica. So that guy, because I've met him a couple of times. He's always interesting because he talks to you like I'm talking, you know, he just talks. And then when it's like time to perform, and you're like, dang has a whole different voice. Like he walks in the room, he's like, hey, man, get to meet you. And he's like, all right, you ready, yeah, three two one, like like two different people. I noticed that, but I he came into the studio once and then we worked together on American Idol where he was performing with some of the contestants I was working with and great guy, like super nice, super nice, chill dude. And when I was young, like man Angel, it wasn't me universal everybody like he hit it all, Mr boom Bostick. Even before that, Yeah, I wanted to mention a few of the songs that you wrote before you hit good Time as an artist with Zach Brown Band. Keep me in mind me that's a number one. So down the road to get a homegrown I got some good friend down got him loving you easy, beautiful drug. That's a beautiful job, and you had a number one as a rock song, Heavy as the Head with Chris Cornell. Back to Life from Rascal Flat's peaked the number seventeams. It's like a drum shakes and then out right now Dirk's new single gonell heard this last night? You did? You heard it last night? Because it's starting it's starting to pick up a little bit. Did did you write this with him or outside of him? And he heard it? I wrote it with Nicole guy In and Ben Johnson And so when it's first Dark's cut right, And what's funny is we wrote it like two years ago, before you know COVID or anything, and it's it's crazy how that works out, because now it's like, you know, I've been going, I've been sitting on the couch that's a TV all days. You write it that long ago? Huh? Did anybody else put on hold? No? How does this song? It talked me through this as a guy has a lot of success as a writer. How does the song sit for that long and nobody pick it up? And then all of a sudden one of the biggest artists in the the format picks up. It goes you know what this is a freaking single. I wrote good Time almost three years before I released it, so before I decided to to do, you know, give it a go as an artist and pitched it. You pitched a good time. I pitched good Time and then didn't even get put on hold by anybody, much less cut It's a good story. Nobody wanted it, did You always keep in your back pocket and go all right, when I do my thing, I'm cutting this song. You know, at the time when I wrote it, I was I was just a hund percent focused on songwriting. But I was really bombed because I believed in it and I knew in my heart that it was a big song and that it was important, you know. But uh, as soon as I started, uh making my album, I brought it up to my wife and I said, all right, check that song. I wrote the song like two years ago, but it's not on Amy's in the back of my head, and I felt like it just would be perfect for this album because it really is like my little heart in a song, you know, just a simple song, you know, about hanging out with with friends and family and enjoying life, living life while we're here, right, life is short, so and that's what I'm about, Like, I just want to make people happy with country music and do it in just like a fun way. How did you get in the Zach Brown camp? I got into Zack Brown camp because I played a little bar at the University of West Georgia called the Mansion and it wasn't a mansion. I don't know why they called it that. But this is before he broke out with Chicken Fry. This is about a year before that, so he was a really big local Georgia thing, but that was it. So you knew him before he opened up for him and he he he said, at the back of the bar and watched me open up for him. And then after this is perfect for maybe two people. And then after the show, we were just sitting at the bar hanging out with the bartenders, just having a couple of drinks and we got talking. He was like, would you want to write some time next week? And I was like sure and asked pretty much it. You know, from then on out we've written all over forty released songs together and it's been a cool collaborative friendship. Does he call you when he's okay, we're getting the team back together? Start thinking about a new project. Are you one of the guys? Well, usually it's always been I would go out on the road with him because he doesn't like to ride at home because he's got five kids, So his time to focus on riding is on the road and he won't start until midnight after the show. So are my round schedule when I go out with him would be like midnight to six am? Dang? Yeah, so you're going to bed when the sun's coming up? Yeah. Which of those songs that you wrote with Zach where you like, dang this one? Like this one could really do some damage? Like you knew it was gonna be good, homegrown for sure. I just knew it was a gut feeling. It was a good feeling. Which one of those big ones were you like, I don't know if this is gonna be it that ended up just crushing? I think beautiful Drug probably. You know. He came to me and said, listen, I want to do a song that has a lot of electronic um elements to it. You know, almost like if a country guy was to do something with a tinge of avici to it, what would that sound like? You know? Um? And so I wasn't sure at first, you know, I was like, I don't know, you know, but uh I wracked my head on it and and and kind of grinded away on on how to bring those two worlds together in a way that I thought country listeners would would with a dig. So it was definitely touch and go with that one technical backgrounding music then like how did you learn to play music? What do you play? Because again, if if he's like, hey, we want to do something with a little bit of of you know, electronic, like how did how did the crap do you do that? Man? I just you know, I'm self taught. Yeah, my well, my dad uh plays guitar and plays drums, and my mom plays guitar, and as a kid, I was always interested in music because they were always writing songs. So I was really brought up in a musical household. But I first learned on drums. So that's why drums are such like a big part of my music, and I think really percussive when I think of melodies and with music structure. But uh uh, he would always be at work and I would just sneak into his room and I kind of like figured out how to just kind of taught myself how to play on his guitar because the rule was not to touch the guitar, you know, it was it was an important thing, a special thing, and you don't want, you know, to break the guitar on exitent or something. But when he found out I've been sneaking in his room, I thought that was it. I thought I was gonna get it, you know, but he actually thought it was pretty cool. I had the guts to sneak, sneak in there and like try to figure it out. So it all worked out in the end. How do you figure it out? For me? No musical ability. But I went to Walmart and I bought a chord sheet from that poster section. You know it loves big flip tiles, and I bought it. And I went to a pawn shop and I bought a guitar because again, I just wanted to do it on stage to play comedy. I wanted to play mu to can joint combinations and I'll be like, all right, but I knew, even though it hurt, I knew where to put those fingers. For e. When you're self taught, what does that even mean? Because you didn't have a Walmart court sheet. Well in the sense of I didn't have like a person uh in person teaching me. So what I do is I would just go online and just look up how to play, uh look up the chords to songs that I liked, you know, So I would look up you know, friends and low places, and then I would see the chords, and then I would look up, how did you how did you make that cord? And then it's so similar ish, except you're good self taught. I'm bad. So that's I almost saying like I'm self tied. Hey, guys, have a self taught guitar player. As far as production goes YouTube, I'm telling myself how to do pro tools and how to produce music on YouTube. It's all there. People there. People always ask me. It's like, oh, man, how do you get your tracks to sound the way that you do? You know? Or how do you how do you do this? How do you do that? It's like, man, I learned everything on YouTube? Did you have to fight to keep that? The end? Talking part of a good time on the radio, because like, what do you say to me? Like I think I gotta I gotta b that's it? Because usually I'll cut that stuff off at the end. It wasn't intentional, it was, Um, the last thing I'll do when I'm recording vocals is I'll do what's called ad lib tracks, where I just kind of wing it, you know, and just kind of do a little like like little sugar moments, you know, where in the background I just say, oh, yeah, let's go you know where whoa you know. And for some reason, on that take, I just at the very end I went, oh, I think I gotta bite and then I started laughing, and uh, she started laughing too, and I was like, I don't know, it's kind of worked, you know, It's like there's something about it that I like, you know, even though it is kind of goofy it. I don't know, it just it felt good at the same time, so I kept it. I long, you guy's been married five years? Nice? Where'd you guys meet at Facebook? Well that's how you know it's five years ago? Yeah, because now there I was gonna say I had a show, but technically it was Facebook. And then I invited her to a show because I was playing bars and clubs at the time, you know, so we uh, I was playing this bar in Atlanta, she came out she's watched me play. I thought we were gonna hang out after the show, you know, and she just came up and like congratulately on the show. And then she's like, all right, well call me sometime and just left. And I was like, what listen? You power played her by going hey, come to my show while I get up on stage, and then she hits you right back with you don't have the power good bye. Yeah, exactly funny. Yeah, she got me on that one. And so did did you guys live in Nashville? Did you live in Nashville? Time? No, we were living in Atlanta. We've been here for so we've we that was eight years ago and so we knew each other for three years. Sofore we got married and we've been here for four almost five years. Does it feel like home yet? Yeah, it feels like home, It really does. It's interesting when I go back home it still feels like home, but I don't know, this feels like home. Two. Does that makes sense when you go home? Do you feel that way? It does to me. This feels like home now because I actually have a couple of real roots here, Like I'm now engaged, so my fiance and my dog is here until about two years ago, even maybe less than that, it didn't. It just felt like a place where I was working, I had, I had a nice house and at all my friend I brought all my friends with me here, meaning when I moved here from Texas, my radio shows always just been my friends. No, I've never really brought in anybody from other radio shows. That's why people always probaly sucked is because we don't sound like a real radio show. Which but so I took all my friends with me, so that kind of felt homey because I brought them. But now it's like I have legitimate roots here. But when I go back to Arkansas, I still feel like, all right, this is home. Also lived in Austin, Texas for twelve years, and nothing felling home in Austin, Texas. So it's like all three places I kind of feel. You know, how you go somewhere and it's like you talk about how you slept really hard after went number one. You go somewhere because I should have been traveling a lot. You go somewhere and it's like the big way to backpack has taken off your back, Like Nashville. Finally feels like that for me. Once I cross over that line, there's something to it. It's like, yeah, I can just kind of go and use my own soap, and like I feel good about the store. Or even when you start getting like thirty minutes away and just like the way that the land rolls and the way the trees look, you could tell that you're closed, you know, and that you that kind of feeling washing even that mile markers on the signs, you're starting to go, like, all right, feeling pretty good. Almost Your first concert was Amy Grant? How old I was like five or six? Do you remember it? Barely? Just barely? But I knew? I knew I was there? Who took you to Amy Grant? My parents? Were they a Grant fans? My mom is, yeah, that's a fun concert if you remember it, but a safe concert, right if you're super five year old to it. That's the one to take a five. Yeah exactly. Yeah, you didn't gotta worry about nothing crazy going now, and then I gonna have past your kid anything to smoke, you know, Then I get yelled the f work girls gonna be lifting. That's a good one. Having tattoos you have, he doesn't even know a Well, it's funny because just like they start running into each other, so then you start thinking, is that six or is that one? Now? Yeah? Yeah, what your first tattoo is a tree? Yeah? Yeah, I gotta, I gotta. Well it starts kind of here. It's like a red pine tree. And what's what? What's the tree about? Isn't you know we're coming from Georgia, pine trees or just everywhere? So makes me think home? So home is very important to you for sure? Yeah my mom My mom lives there. But my dad recently just moved to Portugal though, so he's no longer in Georgia. Wow, have you been over there? Haven't yet? He just moved there. He retired over in Portugal. Do you know Portuguese at all? Know what we're trying. We're trying to do a little learning with it. We're taking like one of those uh at like language azz and that that would be cool. Yeah, I'm excited if you could go somewhere that's so foreign like that, but also have a safe place like your dad's house, because anytime I go anywhere four and I'm in a hotel, I'm like, I'm for sure and get robbed i'd said PARANOI anyway, like for sure watched taken too many times. I'm walking out of the airport, they're tracking me back. For sure, I'm robbed. I get pared note about that when I'm like in a city and I don't want to look at my phone too much to see like where I'm going. You know, I don't want to be that tourist with the map outlet, you know, because you're just like a dead giveaway to get mugged. Are you weren't watches? No one, no, no, no, just what did you do anything to celebrate good time? Did you get your anything nice? You know what? I went and got myself a pair of custom new cases. Yeah, so, and I took my wife. I got her a pair because we wrote good Time together. Wait a minute, you wrote that with him? Come up to the microphone for a second. I didn't know that. I saw you. I saw the name, all the names of the writers. That's all me for not looking not Google imaging them. Mike, Can you hear? So you wrote good time to you that by the way, for four riders a good time. Two of them were YouTube, But you get half the check. So when you wrote this, I mean do you write a lot? Yeah, we actually write all of his songs, every song on the album Hold on a minute, did you know it's a little so okay till I met you before you came, But tell our listeners your name Anna and a Moon? Okay? Is Moon your real last name? So I changed my name about twelve years ago, so it is now your last name. Yeah? Yeah, because Bones isn't my real last name, but it's all my license and everything is my name. It worked out for me though, because now I get a cool Yeah. So your name's Anna Moon. So you meet this guy, are you like, hey, I also do music? How long? How early on did you tell him that? Yeah? I mean that was one of the initial things that attracted us to each other is our love of songwriting. And we actually both speaking of tattoos, have a inc and quill tattoo because that's kind of the premise under which we met. Um. So writing has always been a big part of our relationship and and something that we've always enjoyed doing together. Do you ever get tired of writing together though, and be like, you know what, I'm gonna go write with Jim and Troy? You know, no, she's my favorite person to write with. Our only rule is no writing before I have my morning coffee, because sometimes he'll wake up with like all these ideas that he's had like during his sleep or something, and I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me drink some coffee, then we'll get into it. My most creative moment is like the first ten minutes after I wake up. I don't know a a while wake up. I grabbed my phone and I just started writing lyrics, but I can't I can't tell them to her for about thirty minutes. It sounds just waiting for her to get her coffee. This is even more exciting than I initially thought. I was just like, how exciting for you? How exciting for you too? You've been able to celebrate it together. That's my first number one as a songwriter. So it's been a been a really exciting week at the moon House for sure. Man, that's a that's really amazing. I'm extremely more than I when I come home. It's like we're able to jump up and down together and it's something that we did. Were you as nervous as it was climbing the chart? Oh for sure? Yeah? I mean maybe it's because it's also my my first song at radio as a writer. But there was definitely a lot tied up in it and just you know, yeah, definitely definitely just as nervous. I'm super proud of her because now like everybody gets to find out how amazing of a song long writer she is. I mean, that's that's the main thing that really impressed me about her when we first met was you know, we were hanging out the first time around a guitar, and I said, just find me some stuff that you wrote, because I knew she was an artist, and I mean I was just floored, you know, I mean, blows me away. It's singing, ridiculous songwriter. And and so we've always had that mutual respect with each other, and now like I feel like everyone's going to get to find out about that. You know what's cool too is that she was just sitting back there. She wasn't like notice me, but you also like wanted to say, hey, look she did this too. Like you guys are both like working against each other, but in the best way and like the most and the healthiest way possible. He's my he's my number one fan, and I'm his for sure. But we see it as a as a little family family hustle. I guess you could say. So, we're we're definitely in it for each other. Are you writing all the time? Are you just a full time songwriter in town? Only for him? Pretty much? Only right with him? Yeah, for now, I mean it, he's me. We're so busy doing that and and right now we're actually working on some new new music for him, and so we're constantly busy. We haven't in a few times with some other artists or yeah, but I mean, it's so much fun writing for the person that you love the most in the world. And obviously we know each other so well, so it's just fun. It's easy, and it's something that we just love doing together. And it's not typical, like we don't sit down at eleven and have our writing session from eleven to five. We just right throughout the day. You know what, if it was a song called this and it kind of went like this, and she'd be like okay, you know, and she'll kind of be walking around home and why she's you know, doing this or doing that, and the song will get written over the span of like a week or so. You know, do you have a publishing deal. Um, yeah, I own my own all my publishing. Oh my godness, number one and publishing. She has admin with Warner Yeah, good for you. Yeah, I'm excited. She's gonna be making more money. You gotta pay. You can bring it home baking. They got to get yours back first. So are you open now to signing a publishing deal because now you've got all the you have a leverage like crazy. I'm pretty good at the moment. I think I'm gonna keep my eggs, you know, to keep the eggs in the basket. I do know what you're saying. Congratulations, thank you, than would you? Are you going to sing? Um? I don't know. I mean right now, I'm really enjoying the songwriting path and and seeing what happens and and things are going so well with um the Nico Moon project as we call it, and and and I'm just so pumped about that. And I'm a hundred percent on board for you know, just making sure that we have the best songs um for him, and and all about that right now. One day we will do a song. Yeah, we will do something. We're just waiting for the rat time in the rat song. Yeah, you guys have kids. No, not yet? Okay, not yet, not yet? Yeah, yeah, okay, we're going on it. Which again, parents, if your parents and you're writing, you got more stuff to write about. I'm just saying, let's get four or five of those out, gets a good life stories, right, righte? Some song about all those kids? Yea brother and sisters, only child? Really? Yeah? So my mom got sick right after I was born and she had to have a his direct to me, So that was it. What about you? I have one brother? Yeah, I have one sister. Yeah. Yeah. You guys want a bunch of kids? You want one to three? Do you care? Are you talking yet? One to two? Yeah? We're gonna start with one. See how it goes. I don't. We don't have any kids yet. But we were talking about I'm forty years old and I have no kids. So we're like, all right, we're gonna do this. We gotta go. I don't want to be papal squirting out kids, but I'll be able to wrestle with Yeah. I would just like I'm good at two. Yeah, but she's like, I want three because she comes from three and I come from you to have three. Honestly, that's probably what it's gonna be. We talked about it. We decided to do what I would like to have twins and they call a day. Yeah, that to me, that's like the ideal. Right, yeah, I just have twins. We got it all. But she's like, but you're not the one carrying twins. She's like, do you know how fat I'm going to get with ends? And I'm like, I don't matter to me. Let's have them. Let's do it. Sounds like a personal problem. How many how many hats do you all like that? Uh? Probably ten or Levin? Are they as expensive as nice cowboy hats? Yeah, because it looks like thick quality, like substance, and yeah they're hard. Yeah. When did you decide that was gonna be your thing? Uh? Years and years ago. I just I've always I've always loved like really well made hats, and this is called a cattle man hat, and I've always just liked the crown style of it and the brown style of the pencil roll, you know. So it's just something I've always been into and whenever I find a good one, I just snag it. Yeah it's a good it's a good look. I could never pull off something like that, like even when I wear a chain like a dope and he's over there wearing watches and bracelets and I'm like, I wish I could do that. No, there's a hat for I'm a firm believer this when everybody tells me, man, I don't know, man, I just don't look good in a hat, because my dad told me that for a long time. And I'm like, no, let's go to the hat st I'm telling you we can. We'll find the right hat for you. You You just gotta find the right one for you, you know, because he would like put mine on a laugh and say that it didn't work, and you know it didn't, you know. And then we went to uh I think was Gorn Brothers hat shop, and then he found this heat that just works for him and now that he wears it every day. The only one that worked for me is I had to wear a nun hat, Okay, the only thing that fit my bagby Abraham Lincoln Head. Yeah. Are you still writing songs to pitch out two folks? Yeah? Or you full Nico Moon project. I'm still right and actually got a song coming out real real soon with a big artist that it would be my first cut with him. But don't tell me on the microphone. You can tell me. Don't tell me on the microphone. Yeah, I can't say yet you got the next thing go for you yet? Yep? Can you say that? I can't? What's it rhyme with? That's? Sorry? It? Does it already exist? I mean, is it out? Is it able to be streamed right now? Um? Maybe he's not budget? Over hey, I don't hear anything. I don't hear anything over there. Well, man, I'm pumped for you. You You come around. I tell you're like a light in the room. You just you show up. You got a big smile on your face. People are drawn to you, and it's a it's a rare quality that you can't just produce. It's a quality that you have to own, and you you do have that. Thank you. This was a lot of fun, man. I got so much to be happy about it, you know, I mean, I can't help a smile. Life. Life is such a blessing right now. I feel so much gratitude. I mean, you know how it is. They're literally thousands of artists and songwriters here working their tail off that are so talented, so good in such a few amount of us get the opportunity and get the platform to like hang out and talk like this and get on the radio. So to be one of those very few new artists that gets like the chance to like get that shot, it's unbelievable. Man, living a dream. You're like everybody today. I I wouldn't got the vaccine today, and they were so pumped, like you are everybody there. You're walking like, what's like living the dream. It's the happiest place in the world. And that's the way to get the vaccine so we don't die. You're just like that every day. Man. You know what I feel like when live shows come back, I don't know. I think the twenties are gonna be like the war and twinies, Like the thirst for living life is gonna be so high. It's almost like when you get something taken away, like you realize just how important it is to you, and like it's being kind of cooped up as long as we have. I think that thirst to get back to just enjoy life, enjoy being around people, sharing sharing time with the people that we care about, the people that we love, the simple things like just like a cold beer and a and a live concert. Those things like that are going to I think, really be really important to people. And I think shows are just gonna be crazy for everything, oh for everybody. People. Yeah, just the whole experience is going to be beautiful. Well, let me say this is a real treat for me, for both of you. I hould have brought you on earlier. And when you walked in and we met, I was like, Okay, cool, nice to meet you. All right, let's sit down to the interview. Who knew you were the star of the whole show. I wouldn't say that. Yeah, anybody out there, I imagine marry up. It's the way to God. I will also agree with that. I did the same thing all right. By the way, I'll mention this because I saw in an article that someone had written about you. The guy on my show who's like one of the side guys Lunchbox. Yeah he uh. It was just like under pressure to critic character's name, whatday, and you had just left the studio And so now he has this kid the first time. Yeah, now he has this character called Nico Jackson that calls and Frank because he couldn't think of a Nico checks. So you are the inspiration. That's all right, you guys. Check out Nico's music. He's got an EP out right now. It's called good Time. It's got five songs on it. Um, did you write the song that we played the clip of You couldn't hear with that your yars? Did you go? You on that one too? I don't know what that song is, but I'm just saying you're out that one too. Dang. What's like to have rich friends? I need some of the friends, all right? Follow at Nico Moon on Instagram and TikTok. Good to see you guys. That's it