#364 - Ronnie Dunn on the Untold Story of Brooks and Dunn + Paying Rent to Johnny Cash + Why He Became Embarrassed to be Nominated for Awards…and Ronnie + Bobby’s Devious CMA Plan

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Speaker 1: Episode Three Sixty Four, Ronnie done from Brooks and Dune, the lead singer of Brooks and done also solo artist, new album, a hundred proof neon, fifth solo album, and we will talk about all of that. This is the rare time we recorded the intro before we do the interview. Sometimes I'm like, be sure to listen for this, be sure to listen for that, but I've had Ronnie on the radio show a few times. The great thing about this, what I'm looking forward to the most about this interview you're about to hear and that we're about to do is that we just haven't really be able to been able to sit with him and just have room and really dive in. And you know, in the radio we have eight minutes or twelve minutes and we gotta keep it moving pretty fast and it's gonna be super interesting and this is super interesting, but we can let things develop, and so I think that's why I'm most excited about this and Ronnie coming over. And it's also cool because when I have somebody that I know in my real life and they come in to do the show, I have the liberty to ask things I would never just ask if we were hanging out. That makes sense, Mike. That just makes sense because if I'm asking hanging out, then it's like can we just be normal humans? But if I ask here, I'm just doing a job. You can't get very specifics and found in normal conferenation. Right. So, Ronnie done from Brooks and Dunne, episode three sixty four. I'M gonna ask him in the interview at some point, and remind me of this, of all of his and their accolades, like what's his favorite professionally? I'm gonna guess that he may say like Songwriters Hall of fame. Oh, not a grammy. I'm gonna Guess Songwriters Hall of fame or Country Music Hall of fame. More than a grammy. I'll go grammy. Okay, winner wins one thousand paper ones. Okay, cool, cool, Oh yeah, Ronnie Donne, Brooks and done, please enjoy. Share this on your instagram story if you don't mind, if you if you liked it. We need organic sharing because we don't have any budget for us to be shared. So check it out. Also, check out movie Mike's Movie podcast. You can check out my sports show as well that it's called twenty five whistles Mike is the executive producer of that show. All right, that's what's up here. Is Ronnie done from Brooks and Dunne. Having this house was like it's like Disney world and what simulators. Here's a here's a crazy that you get to put all your your posters and stuff like. What you do on the wall? I don't well, this is a different house. This is yes, so we live right there in the same property, but this is kind of the workhouse, radio TV. But Caitlin also tells me all the time there's too much of my face when you walk in, which you just alluded to. I didn't even ask you and you're like there's so much of you. I took I take that as a not a compliment. Well, that's cool. So I had to barn, you know, at my house, which was like a quarter mom behind the house. So it's like JENICO's take a quarter mile back there. Yeah, take all your training kits and all your stuff and all your bowling trophies that you wanted over the years and you putting them back there. And how about we just have a real, live person, real people house? And that's what we have now. Yeah, Um, I had my mirrorball in the living room for a long time. Well, of course that one's not anymore. That's not that's it doesn't have a mirrorble. Okay, I had a mirrored steerhead from a tour like like eight ft tall, you guys made for the tour. Yeah, and then I got that's that's a small one. But like there were massive things that they would they would. They were coming on from the ceilings and the arenas we do neon moon. They hit him with blue spotlights and it would just just go the whole place. So you kept the eight foot one. Where's the bigger ones? which the warehouse? I've got to wear a house. What are you gonna do with all that stuff? I don't know. I mean I should have already done something with it, but I have to go through every now and then and just just order a dumpster for real. Our our will auction it off for charity stuff. People are always asking for things to sign and I'll do things like that with it. But but what do you do with the twenty FT disco ball steerhead? You're still trying to figure that out, because it's not like you can charity that one away and mail it no, and too there's there's a cool story about making it. Uh. You know, we got this big back from production company years ago when we were doing all that stuff. You know, Arthur's doing all this crazy stuff. We was dropping from ceilings and all that kind of stuff. So you had to do something, you know, phenomenal, weird or odd, and you're paying rent for that right now. Right. No, no, I on on the building. Are you on the way? That must be nice. I didn't you even worry about rant? Yeah, but I, dude, I just have to worry about room. You know, even with warehouses, but we would wear house all our stuff there. And now that we were doing in another place and everything's digital obviously now. So it's it's more condensed. So you don't pull out any of the old stuff with the new shows. Yeah, some of the old like big stuff. You know, there's a there's a drum set that when we were at was easy top. Uh. That is just fantastic. The symbol holders kids or actual things that are the drum kid. He did the kid and and you know all the stands and stuff, because Frank Uh from from Zz was always had these killer drums, like weird crazy stuff with skulls and any any theme that they used. So we had the guy build their stuff to do one for us and it's it's massive barbed wire, uh drum stands, you know, all all meshed together. So you still use that? Have we can. And I had a steer, a real stairhead that went in front of the kick drum and of course it blew smoke out of it. Of course. I mean if it wouldn't have been a joke. And you that's George, straight conservative country media throw. I just told myself what would George Do? What would George wouldn't do this, and it sounds like you did the opposite. You're like, well, George doing then? Well, no, no, we listen to all the stones every now and then we're gonna do some crazy stuff. Is that your favorite band? Is that one of your favorite band's, rolling stones, Yelp, from the day and still today. Yeah, do you ever see him? Yeah, yeah, we we. We opened for him in Nebraska. Dum Dumb question. I've asked you've ever seen him and then you've opened for them. It's a Prett dumb question, right. Yeah, yeah, pretty. Yeah. So did you get spending time with them? Oh, yes, you get and that were they nice? They were Super Nice, you know. But before the show you get all this this stuff from, I'm sure, the crew and the protocol, a piece of you know whatever. Don't look him in the eye type stuff exactly, you know, and be careful. Just just to go to, you know, go to the rattlesnake lounge, is what they had back then, and I said go in there and make yourself, you know, comfortable and don't make eye contact. Anyway. Yeah, they come dancing in about ten minutes before time for the show and it was like, I mean they were all there was. Could not have been more kind and more hospitable and took all the crew guys up and showed them all of keeps guitars that were set up and just rolled out the red carpet. I ended up with Mike Adams, uh mix, uh, my buddy Mack uh with with make Jaggers, a monitor guy for years, and I mean, you know, the world changed then. It's just like you see what, what kind of talent they get to deal with. It's like, you know, being in a pilot and you you know, a little popera cub and then you step into f sixteen or whatever they are now, just crystal clear sound and office, while still I am was meeting those guys, if I related to a young artist WHO's twenty two and he's listened to you, guys, and listen to you, and they're like, Oh my God, were you like that with him? Or are you not really jaded anymore, because you kind of see what it's really all about? Well, we we, we've been around long enough to be be, you know, confident that what we're we gonna do is okay. And it wasn't a frightening thing, but it was just cool to us to get to meet him and and and do this, do this show irving as off set up. Did you? Do you take picture if you're famous? Do you ask another famous person of for picture, or do you have somebody coming and go, let's get a picture of you guys? Right. Well, that's one thing that they said, dude, don't, don't ask for pictures. So they may do it, they may not, but anyway it was mixed and stepped up and said Hey, let's let's take a picture. So we also end up and get this picture. Uh, and UH. It took no, this is no exaggeration, a minimum of three years to get it back Clarence, our manager, new irving and it was hooked up with all that bunch. and Uh so, three years later the picture comes in to night by ten and they're the same height as we are. I'm six, four kicks and six. Right then we're all the same high. So I guess that's what was going on. A little take a lot longer to edit pictures. Then little sounds like yeah, that's funny that you're all the same height in the picture. You still have the picture? Where is it in your house some night staying right now? Is that one of your favorite pictures professionally of your professional career? It's up there? UH, yeah, I don't, I don't, I think being I found one the other day back then on online. It was Dale Earnhardt, Johnny Paycheck, Merle Haggard, me and kicks, uh, and it was talking about outlaws or something in music. Of course kicks and there weren't outlaws, but those guys were like as iconic as I can imagine at the time in that world. Did you get when you first started to blow up? Well, let's just say you had a hit or two. What kind of lane? I don't, because then again now and kind of revisionist history. It feels like, Hey, that's brooks and Dune. They're killing it, they're awesome, they've got so many hits and look at him go and everybody loves them. was that at all what it was like? Yeah, I mean, yes, no, no pushback on those guys either. Aren't real country. Everybody gets that, you know, from the press and critics and all this. Yeah, Heck Yeah, I mean there's there's a critic Downe in Dallas. You know, I forget his name. I think everybody on the else house too, but he would go out of his way to really get under your skin. With what purpose, I don't just as he was. It was an asshole. was he a traditionalist like and you know, I don't think. Well, I don't think he was. He claimed to be if it, if it served his purpose, you know, if I but like one night we were a book for Billy Bob's early on one and I literally, I mean it seed her fever down there. I just took my know is to lose your voice. Just lost my voice so uh, I couldn't sing and but you have to show must go on and I did the best I can and he just shredded me the next day. Did he mention that you were sick, or just that you couldn't sing? No, he just he just mentioned he said that he couldn't sing. He said it was no good. You know that. That that kind of spirit. So, but he he can. Can he continued that and I don't I don't know, but he was. He was notorious for that. Still Alive. No, I got hit by a bus. This is a joke. You need to tell me if it's a joke. Hit by got hit by bus on the way out of Billy Bob's at night. You're not telling the truth. No, okay, see, that's why I said this is is a joke, because because all of a sudden I started laughing at and we backed over the guy by accident. Well, my wife and I are driving a couple of days ago. Let me before I give you the story about you. What do you consider? And you gotta consider at least five years prime years of Brooks and Dunne on top of it. What are those five to seven years? Uh, it's just chaos and nothing but a blur. I can remember going to Sacramento and playing Arco Arena when it was relatively new and and setting the UH, the record for attendance, uh, you know, above the the team, basketball team and things like that. Like what it would be? Yeah, it would be like nineties six, I would imagine, up to about two thousand or so. Did you feel, and before I get to her story, did you feel the the music sonically changing or were youtube changing more? I remember Sonically, you know, progressively with technology and all the things that are involved, you know, on the that end, my idea of improving and changing has more to do with a sonic deal, you know. Uh. And then then, yeah, it did, you know, in the start started into or maybe early two thousand's, uh, started changing to more of a pop you know. Definitely. Yeah, yeah, she was singing, but she can't take the hog get on out of and she knew every word. And I said what year is this and she was like, well, it's in my wheelhouse, so probably two thousands. She looked up two thousand three, I believe it is the year, and I was like, Oh, all right, that's later Brooks and dined. That's like, you know, outside of the night, because I never heard that song. Well, you know. Okay, speaking of Sonics, are our first record, uh, which sold the most, many of them so far, seven million C ds. But uh, it was cut in Sony a TV. Back then it was called tree publishing, in the basement in the demo studio that was. Those are all cutters demos. So you're saying not a lot of resources went into the biggest record you ever had. We put thirties something thousand dollars into that entire album and that and that's interesting you bring that up because when I heard what's the name of that song, because you can't take that. You still play that, by the way. I can't take the that. That felt a little cleaner and a little Shinier than some of the old stuff. But we might have changed studios, you know, at that time. Do you like that song? UH, yeah, yeah, fine, yeah, the crowd's react to it, love it. No, I didn't ask about the crowd, like do you. Has a lot to do, I know, but we're talking about you, because you know I'm a massive fan. Yeah, well, I look back at it right now and my wife is usually my voice on that. She'll she'll go. You know, you don't need to be doing that now, you know. Uh, yeah, Connie came back from it like a cousin's wedding. You know, I can't take the Hokkut the girl anyway, and she'll she'll go. You know, do you feel we're doing that now? You know, she says take take it somewhere else, try to try to grow or progress, you know, but what does that mean? I don't know. It's just just music to me. I'm not trying to chase a trend. Radio had a lot to do with with with that, you know, in whatever way it always has. Uh. And where where the labels would would get involved, for the most part on the corporate side, and go look, we you know, radio is not gonna play this. Radio, radio players this, you know. But some of my some of my favorite songs, are better songs, are been redi songs that that probably wouldn't have been played on radio. But I think a lot of people say that, but then they're they're more esoteric. Yeah, you know, yeah, not as palatable for it, but for the general part of people who aren't die hard brooks and Dune, yes, right, yeah, that's who you're trying to get. You'RE gonna get your people regardless. It's like, what can you create that's also going to reach out a little farther and hopefully people get a taste and you can't criticize that. People do. I've done my share of it, but now I realize, no, that's that's a that's a business plan that works. You know, did you change schools a lot as a kid? Change Schools? Oh, uh, twelve, twelve to schools in UH. No, thirteen schools in twelve years. What? You can't even really build a group. No, you can't, you can't. No, you're you're always a new kid and uh, all the way. I started on a reservation in farming to New Mexico and I was the only Anglo kid there because we lived on an oilties. My Dad was in the pipeline. Is that why you move so much? Because of Your Dad's job? Yeah, is that a bit? Why you perform? Because you you know, you just like therapy type stuff, but you move so much you never really have stability within a friendship group. You never really have that closeness. So also you have to kind of be somebody new all the time. I have to perform for new friends quickly. You go to one school and you'd be cool, different, different dress, different vibe, different personality of the school, you know, and you need to kind of tell learn to be you know, became a communion at times. Do you think that moving around a lot affected your desire to perform? No, I never I never wanted to be. I never wanted to perform. I was good playing bass in the background and my dad played guitar. His dream was to become a country singer period. I mean everything else was was second nature. He was good enough. He was good enough because he try. He did try. Yeah, he had a radio station, a radio show on at a radio station in the fifties when I was born. Uh, uh, in Abdeen and Texas. Uh, it was called that. The band was called the Fox four seven. I think it's a KRBC. And so he did a show and also had a band that performed on the show. And how far did he get? Like what? What was his well, the big thing back then there was a dj out of Fort Worth in Dallas called Bill Mack, and he was kind of like you know, your name, of the name of Big Jack. You in the day. It's like Jack. Well, yeah, yeah, I'll be bones. Not Me. I'm not a Djil what what are you? You're more than that. But they're always more than that, program directors, all that stuff. No, no no, don't compare me to other they're always I'm not a DJ, I don't. I might play three songs in an hour and don't even pick them. I perform wherever I am. I say things. I'm a personality. Okay, I'll go with that. Not. No, you're not. You're definitely not limited to to to this UH dynamic in space. No, you're not. I see you like doing comedy, uh, you know, out playing with the band on all kinds of TV shows. Now listen to your climbing mountain. Let's go back to your let's go back to your dad. So he's he's got a radio show and he's also a singer in a band. And so can he play his own music on on that show? So, and he's playing? They playing live? Yeah, he would right. Yeah, yeah, they had to play live back then. They would do all that crazy stuff. So he I'm assuming that he toured some, at least regionally, with the band. He did, yes, when I was young, and then then all that stuff. You can he had to move with his job to keep you know, he's still doing oil at and music. Yeah, yeah, and I still had had to go with that and then he had to feed his family. So and never getting transferred a lot. You know, the pipeline business. He isn't theory, you know. Did he always hold on to the dream even as he was doing? Well, yes, I never ever showed any real interest in in pursuing music at all. I can remember my grandmother, his mother, uh like, talking to me as a young kid and I've never understood. I thought was random. There was a guy next door who was in a band that they traveled all the time. She goes, Oh, you don't ever want to be involved with that. You're gone all the time. There's so much downside of whatever it is. And and just they would plant these little, you know, subtle subconscious sea and uh, you know about that's just something you don't want to do. Well, my mother's parents lived a block away, so I'd go down there and they were super religious. My grandfather was big main deacon in the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Eldreda, Arkansas, and uh, you know, David, their deal was. His big thing was I was the oldest of sixteen grandkids. He just goes, I want one of my one of my grandson's place to be a minister and I think that's where I picked that up later on. Just it sounds like you picked up both, just at different times. Yeah, yeah, and I was I was trying to you know, you're you're young, and your your impression when you absorbed, you know, that stuff. So I went off to, you know, the next thing you know, littly behold, I go off to Abilene, Texas to to like study, you know, Bible and the ministry. What did your dad say about that? He was a church Gud. UH, he didn't say any anything about that. It was just like to him for us to even think about college. It was something that wasn't on the on the radar. Was Your Dad resentful at all that he'd never got a fair shot because he had to work in oil and feel like he's gonna Think? So hurt a bit. Yes, and that that was one thing I was afraid of en I sensed, uh yeah, extremely competitive, you know, uh for for numerous reasons we won't go into but uh yeah, it was that. And and he died before he died at the age of sixty two before I really got a got a handle or hold in professional music. What's your mom think about you going to be a pastor, hardened Simmons, abiliant Christian, all that. Yeah, she was all all for it, all for it. Is that? Because she thought it would make you a good dude? Yeah, yeah, it's just a better influence you. You're not getting out there in the real world. So when I told her I was always taught by her and she was very conservative. Couldn't dance, any of that. Couldn't stuff. We couldn't go to the school sack hops back then. She baptist. You said, yeah, because I got up in a Baptist Church and the other Baptist churches couldn't dance. But they never really told us not to, but I knew that was the Baptist thing. That was almost a methodist then. Yeah, so she she never never saw dance. No, no, no, she she felt like that that if you danced it lead to sex and that was evil. I can tell you the first dand it didn't. I'll tell you I never got just to prove it. Until you know, you make it work with a a little te Kay lie, I don't know. You go to school and what's it like, your first day of going to school to spend the rest of your life preaching the word of God. UH, yeah, I didn't know if I would be specifically a preacher. I thought, you know, I could be like a, you know, spiritual or religious counselor or or psychologists. Uh, and then I learned real quick that that, the second that I had to step up and speak in front of a crowd, that that wasn't from me. So you didn't even have the performance like bug whenever it was time to speak. What you think you're gonna do with the rest of your life? No, would know. You had to do it to get to get licensed. This is so weird. I didn't know this. I'm too young to know this. To get licensed as a minister, that you get licensed and then you get ordained. So, uh, if you're licensed, you have to you have to go up and preach a sermon. So this uh pastor we had in UH South Texas port, Isabel, had me go up and do a sermon, which was the biggest nightmare in my life. Remember, horrible, horrible. I remember thinking thirty minutes, thirty what you know? No, I mean it was awful. You know how to do? You know how he is standing up as a comedian in front of people, period and trying to hold that crowd. All you have to do. And it's the same, same concept. You know, do you remember what it was on? No, no, I don't know. I was wrong. I don't know. so you decide through experience you don't want to do this. So that both. Then what do you do? You could you just quit, or do you have to call your folks? No, no, no, no, I tried. I tried to like like in my way over a little bit. So I changed the psychology and then I really got into that and enjoyed it and I did it for but at the same time I was involved in music. We would go out and play. Uh Uh, are you playing bass? Yeah, so you're not. You're not even singing in the band that you're in. Well, I would sing a few songs, yeah, but I would. Obviously I got to where I was a good bass player and I could play by ear. That's another thing, because if you're going out with with like pickup bands and on the weekends, you kind of have to pretty much no how to go, how to wing it, because you're not gonna know all those songs. So I could play by your were you comfortable performing as a singer? UH, not. At first. No, in fact I wasn't comfortable performing as a singer, even with Brooks and Dunna, you know. Well, after Neon Moon came along, that's the first time that I I like. They told me to hold a mic and just stand there and sing or go go to one side of the stage, go to the other. If well, development like shaking, and I did that. So you're playing bass, you're singing some. Yeah, you're going to school. I mean, you didn't. You're not a preacher, you're not a Christian psychologist, I don't know. College was not for me. I hated it. How far did you go? UH, seven years, I mean seven hours from graduating abnormal stye and statistics. You got that close. Yeah, I was gonna come home for the summer work on the pipeline with my dad and then, uh, go back and finish up, and I never, never finished up. I just I got involved with with bands. They had moved to Tulsa Oklahoma about then from south South Texas, and uh, I got involved with all these cool bands. Eric Clapton's band was there. Uh, she's Bonnie Ray, J J Kale Joe Cocker. Shelter records was was working out there in l a at the same time. So, yeah, so you your guys are in Tulsa now. Is that when Oklahoma comes into play for you at that stage of your life? Yeah, so, am I thinking you? I mean I just think of Oklahoma first and foremost. I don't know, I guess probably because that's all you and my wife talked about for twenty minutes before we even did this and you wouldn't stop talking and acknowledge that I existed. But other than that, so usual girl. You move up to you move up to Oklahoma at age three. UH, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I fell right in with these guys who were involved with ly on Russell and uh, when it was an architect buddy, Steve Bush, was his name. Are you playing Bass with these guys? Uh, not with them, no, but but I was playing with base, with local bands, a bunch of good local bands, and tons of places to play, you know, like like like here. When we first moved to Nashville there was no place to play, and now as Broadway as rocking. So it was kind of that deal. We would that people would club hop you know, and uh, go hear bands, but not not many. Are Those guys from that group? Were involved in country at all, but Tulsa had a big country singing or Johnny Lee Wills and a bunch of other people. So are you singing more? I'm trying to find whenever you started to realize you're actually better than most vocally, you know. Are you singing more than you were? Are you still just singing a few playing the base on most? I'll tell you the thing that really broke. Uh, urban cowboys thing kicked off, like started and we were hitting up to them like little you know, little regional clubs and just beer joints really, but that's I mean, where else do you go if you want to be a football player? or I mean it's a Canada. You have to go to the gym, you have to you have to play football school, junior high and all that stuff, you know. So you go to these beer joints and you do it. UH, there was a lady here, Mary John Wilkins, would work with Christmas Jefferson, that I businited with a one point before it all started. Don't let me get you too far off track, but uh, she called him skull orchards. She said she's a love the way you thing. She just says you're gonna have to go get some some experience in these skull orchards, and I was like, what the what? What Reps? She just wants to go. That's not a pretty picture day one. So, anyway, I actually went to Oklahoma and did that. You know, I would call these places up and go book for, you know, three hundred dollars a night, two hundred fifty dollars a night if they had it, and played for the door in Texas. Now, uh, like I said, VF obvious. We played for that and try to build the crowds up over a few weeks or or month two and, uh, whatever work. We'd stayed as long as we could. And it's just working out playing, yeah, but even singing, you're you're you're training that muscle. Yeah, right, I mean you're seeing four week so I'm in Tulsa and the Urban Cowboy Movement thing happens and uh, they start building this massive club called Duke's country, uh, and I mean huge it was. It was a converted furniture factory and I mean there's nothing for three thousand people a night to be there on the weekends, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Sometimes Thursdays. Uh, a guy from a steel player ball thing, from a gate mouth Brown's Band who was a blues player, uh came to my door one one day and, uh, he said, I'm putting together a band. He said, would you be the lead singer for it, for our house band at Dukes, and I'm like no, yes, I guess yes. So we put together a band and uh kept a job for two or three years, several years. There's a good run for club stuff. Was that your first spot at being just I mean you're the lead did you find you liked it more than you thought? UH, yeah, loved it. To make you think of Your Dad, always, always, I always do any anytime. I mean he's always you know. That's always the image and you know the motive back there that I think. You know, I just think that's like how did I end up cosmically living my father's dream? Yeah, do you think he would be proud looking at you now? You think it's super cool. Yeah, too cool. I have to lock him away. You know, he was. He was very pinonated, very country, very, very traditional country. Back to that, you know, Hank Williams days and all that. UH, artist TUB real way into that he takes you to any concerts as a kid? Yeah, did you see? Uh you remember your first ever young loves, sweet love. Who was that? Sunny James? He played guitar with him for a little while. He would come any dude do cup stuff with him. And Uh, yes, I remember going to Sonny James Concert. I was small. Uh. But yeah, did you ever, and I don't know how old you were, when you're dead, taking to concerts? Do you ever see Um? I don't know. He loved Hank Senior. That was probably the way before you, though. I'm sing when he was way before you. Anybody come through town and you can remember and being like, Dang, I saw them before they actually turned into the superstar that everybody knows. Well, I didn't Tulsa. Yeah, a lot we we opened for per ricky's cage when he just had his first song out Lee Greenwood, when he just that's that's where they would they would land in no size venues and then then work their way up. But you know Johnny Lee coming out of urban cowboy. But of course I was a big, big thing at the time. Uh. Yeah, you're singing Rodney kraw yeah, that's cool. Yeah, I love Rodney. Yeah, that's really cool too. You're singing in Tulsa, you're regionally playing. But when when do you go? I gotta go to Nashville. Or did someone said you gotta go to Nashville? She just said, you know, and for the for for you to make this happen, you're gonna have to just you're gonna have to jump out of the plane. Man, he says you're gonna get up. Did you not want to jump out of the plane? I was afraid, you know that Nash Nashville scared me to death. You know, there's it's a feast or famine environment. You know, there's no there's no middle ground here, and I did not I want to be get involved in the dark in the dark side. You Pack Up, you're throwing a car, you get a trailer, like what? What's? What's okay? So Janine had had had been put for five years and uh a friend introduced us and uh she and her ex husband are not ex husband, but past husband. Uh, what do you call it? Help me if you die anyway. Uh, she she was. Come to find out, I didn't know going in that she was friends with June car cash and Johnny cash that they were best friends. Well, he her husband, her late husband, had made the car one piece of time. That the John Thing about. Okay, so she goes, I'm gonna take you to Nashville, and she said that's what I saw somewherey gonna be able to do it and and and introduce you to John. And Jenny said we SCO up their friends. We're not gonna stay much of anything except that Eric Clapton's drummer. Backing up her step here, Eric Clapton's drummer, Jamie oldecker. As a joke one night, had entered my name in the Marlborough talent round up contest. Okay, so you have to submit a tape. You know. They get it. They called it back. She says I was a convenient store one night. I said I ripped one of the like interest forms up and uh sent it into him. Uh, and I'm like a dude, this, this, this is someone cool with. We were cool even at that level. We were we're playing beer joints and S barbander down. So he goes, I did it, I did it, we're going anyway. So sure enough, we get it. We get into the regional part of the contest. Then you go to whatever the next event, and it's bands, bands all over the country, and then you end up here in Nashville doing the final for that and we want it. And remember Ricky's gags was it was a guest. I mean I judge, I can't remember who else was it. We want it. Yeah, and Uh then you get like thirty three thousand dollars and UH, recording session with Barry Beckett at the time and Scott Hendrix and uh we cut boot Scoot and neon moon and one more hold up in some honkey talk by Dean Dillon. Who is we? The band? Had A band. Yeah, I'm sorry, what's the name of the band? They eventually became the tractors. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it's just Bonnie rights, piano player. I got clapped as drummer and we're all like that, we're in a band. Yeah, yeah, so, yeah, so you took that band originally cut a couple of those songs, but they weren't that band at the time. They were just we're just, we're just going yeah, wow. So you make that record on thirty three dollars, basically three or four songs. That's not a record, but songs. Yeah, right, yeah. What do you do with it, though? Yeah, what do you do with the record? Uh No, I mean we thought, we thought, okay, well, at least we get a good, good foothold and uh, you know, we're getting to do some some stuff around it. And we did. They, Marlboro put us on tour, a military tour, which was actually a blast. It was massive, stages, George Straight, Oh God, Ricky Skaggs, Alan Jackson, I mean everybody. I mean we got to open the show for all those people, and uh, we thought, well, this is the beginning of it. We'll get a record doing the way we go. Well, that ended and then, you know, three years later, I'm out weed eating, you know, the fans at the at the farm. So what the Hell am I doing here? I thought, I thought, this is my way too into it. The same principle. That works with, you know, the other you know shows that we watched today. The voice that is not that's not the ticket to the big time, right, it's a ticket to get a little flash that maybe people can pay attention to you so then you can start. That's that's what I tell I'm like, use this platform to get a good place to start. Yeah, you're not. You're not on your way. You know not. You can make a few contacts and relationships through a little flash that you can get enough of a hold. And and that said, I did. Scott Hendrix took the tape to attempt Dubois, who was starting heirs to records at the time and just trying to fill in a balanced roster. And Uh, Clive Davis was was behind it, of course, because that never hurts. UH, at a time in the business when it was not a great, great time to start a label. But tell Clive Davis that right. So Tim comes out and here and here's me in Tulsa, because he's from Grove Oklahoma. Caitlin, I don't know what grove they had like a moment where they're like, you know, groove right on grand leg. Anyway, anyway, here's this play and he goes okay, after we get through Texi back and goes okay, I'm gonna tell you this. He says hold tide for me. He says, just like I'm going somewhere, right, yeah, right, I got the other side of the fence to wheatie. Uh, and he says, I'm I'm putting the record Labor together Alan Jackson and Pam tell us diamond Rio and he said, I'm I'm up to something here. She says, if you're just just have a little faith and patience in me, I'm gonna go there. So you know, a year later I didn't heard anything from him. A year. Yeah, that's a lot of patience. Well, where else do you go? I don't have choice. Yeah, UH, sure enough. I uh. Janine comes down one day and tells me to put the weed either down and come up to the house, get on the phone and she says I called him to bond and see what's going on, because I'm just I'm sure I wouldn't do that, you know. And she's not. I called him and he goes, Mr he said, this is unreal. He said, I'm sitting here with my Rollo decks right now looking for your number. I went, no, you're not, and he goes yes, I am, because I want to cut boots, goot boogie. I'm thinking the flash me with me. He goes with a sleep at the wheel. So I just signed myself. Okay, great, you know, knock it out. And he said come down to Nashville. He says, I'm gonna, you know, talk to you when we get through and listen to the record. So what with? Janine and I got in this car, drove to Nashville and uh, it was he played it for us and it's sleep at the wheel. Did, of course, as a swing song, bomp bomb, and I thought it, I thought and we both just went jenny and I were like, Oh, it's not gonna work and a fly and uh so they ran through their cycle there and then, uh finally Tim said, okay, it's time to move here. You know, this is your your later, you're after that. He said. Time to move here, he said, and I'll get you, I'll get you hooked up as a as a writer at one of the publishing companies. And Uh, he just called out all the blue one day after June Carter had already called Janina said, uh, she called her witter, witter patch. That was that was your name, is married name. UH, she's a witter. Uh would you mind even Ronnie maybe staying at having written Lord of the cabins up on the mountain, which was outside of town in Gillettsville. And Uh Janina started crying. She was like, Oh my God, yes, please, I'll be close to June, was a friend of hers and all this. So we did uh, UH, Tim put kicks and now together to write with another, another writer in town, Don Cook. Don't, don't dump ahead. Hold on. Did you ever got met Johnny Cash? She drove. Yes, she brought me in to meet him. where? To his house and Hendersonville. Are you nervous? Yeah, I'm scared of death. I don't I don't want to meet them. And I know they're thinking, Hey, you know, she's bringing you know, I want to be singer into my house, just just like what I would do with one of my daughters, just like Ah, please, right. Uh. So June takes her out and you know just uh, John had just given June a blue on Blue Rolls Royce for her birthday, you know. So we rolled up to their house and all this austentatious stuff is outside and uh go in. Nervous, yes, more nervous as you walk closer. Yes, okay, it gets worse. So the girls after after day one, you know, we all stopped and eat all this stuff. John's real quiet. He's quite at first, you know, and he says he's intimidating anyway. Right, and then under those circumstances, I'm going. You know, I don't. I don't wanna, you know, I wanna be here like this. So the next today, June and Janine go shopping and leave me and John Alone at the house. Well, there were two big black recliners in front of the TV like that on the wall and uh, he's sitting there watching CNN and I just sat down with a cup of coffee and I sat there. I said something going on in the news and he goes, I always watch it, always watching. He says, I'm an addict. He says I'll watch the TV until the loop changes. He says, you know that the CNN and all that stuff aroung loops, and I'm like no, and uh, he goes, I just watch it, you know, two loops whatever. You know. That was kind of the only thing I remember. It just kind of didn't say much. He's like, you want to go fishing? What are you doing? You want to be in music, nothing like that. So Janine gets back and she's kind of Pale. She's kind of like down, and that's not like her because she's a chatter. And Uh, finally we we went back to the bedroom and she she said how did it go? And she goes, well, June just gave she read of me the Right Act, you know. She goes, look, you know, because Rodney and Roseanne had been been married and the girls carline and all of them, and junior had her struggles with John Too. And she said, uh, it's it's it's not a it's not a pretty business. She goes, you know, these these boys, she says, they're gonna act up on you. You know, they're gonna get out there and, you know, theoretically, do whatever. And she says, you know, it's just not it's not a good life. Even if he does make it, she said the chances are, you know, one in a hundred million that they, even if they make it, will they last? She says, you don't, you don't. You don't want that life. You don't have to have that life. So Janice said, I'm you know, that's just kind of bummed me out and I said, well, okay, let's let's go. But we didn't. We stayed and and and had had I had a good time, but that was just kind of what we were left with their but at the same time, June was kind enough, uh, to to do whatever they could to help and they did. And half the time, more than half the time, I would go to go up to take the rent or play the rent, six hundred bucks or something like that. This house looked like something did Johnny's House. He would take the rent to Johnny cash's house. Yeah, and just drop away. They had like a hole for the thing. The wouldn't take it. No, June, I'd say, June, I'm a run over and and leave the rent and she goes, honey, don't do that, she said, don't do that. Yeah, you don't, there's no need for you to do that. We're not worried about that. UH, anyway. So they wouldn't take it. Did they ever take your rent? No. How long did you live there? UH, year and a half. Two years. No, two years. Did did you ever get closer to Johnny? Uh, yeah, Oh, yeah, yeah, no, no, Johnny would come up. There was another it's a little unclever with cabins in good listen on top of hill that uh, they had built real cool and uh he would come up and stay and spend the weekends and stuff sometimes up there just to be alone. and He'd stopped at the House and uh, and I told him right okay, I get a record deal with their stuff as a solo artists. Well, I'm thinking as a solo artist and I'm still writing and and Tim says, uh, one day he goes, come over here, he says, we're gonna spend the day and I'm gonna take you to every publishing company in town. And I had written, like I said to neon moon boots, could hard working man. She's to be alling that kind of stuff. Uh, no, one actually super excited. And he goes, but I'm I'm waiting to take you to to Sony a TV for to Donna Hilly, and he said that that's where I want you. He said that's that's in his period, but the best place in town. So, uh, sure enough, she calls one day and says, Hey, I'm gonna give you a deal. She said. Then I've been how does like, you know, a month sound? I was like, I'll take it now. and Uh so I was set up as a writer in in in a great spot and uh Tim put me into kicks together and I'm thinking, but you've heard this story, but a lot of people have. But UH kicks. Just thinking, well, he's writing songs with me for my solo deal. unbeknonest to me, he had been working on another duo deal at Aras for him. Ye, him and someone else. Yes, Tim Tim Nichols. It was who the first one was, and I heard that, had I not worked out, it was gonna be Libroy Pardell. That's funny. How about it? They were shopping kicks to a lot of really it was like kicks, you're half of something great. You'RE gonna be. Yeah, you'RE gonna be. Buddy, you know you want to be in a duo. Uh, it sounds like three duos aline. Do you know? I don't know. You have to ask kicks. I don't know, but he'll he'll tell the same story. He said. Man, I thought, you know, he was writing for me and I'm writing to him. So, uh, Tim comes in one day and he has everything in his office lined up and UH plays, plays all of our music together, you know, and he goes. I think I ink with the first song that that we had written together was brand new, man, uh, and working on my next broken heart and, uh what else? But you wrote that in a day or in a week, like a couple of days together. But you stay together right for a couple of days yeah, I'd never co written before, so I didn't know, you know, what the protocol was and uh, we did that, put the records together and, did you know, some work on them individually ourselves. was there a creative chemistry that you felt then, or was it did you just sound good, or did you compliment each other in a way that you hadn't before? It just it felt good. I liked I liked what he had brought to the table. It was lost and found and a couple of songs that were like almost eagles progressive, and I liked that. That kind of I was really, you know, in my creative zen place thinking if we were gonna market ourselves as kind of a southwestern, east west of the missis it be, you know, desert kind of then that's southwest deal. Did you guys? And let's we'll just smash forward just a little bit. But did you guys ever have other names for the group set for Brooks and done? Yeah, we said for a day it was gonna be the coyote brothers and, you know, the CACTUS brothers. We don't know, we said and filled up a notebooks and finally it just you know, I left town and came back for after a weekend. Everybody said, let's just call it brooks and done. Yeah, they were just exhausted at all that, that number desert references. So nothing felt right. You know, I don't know how does it, because you're both singers and I've been to more than a few shows that you guys, and kick sings awesome. It's too awesome too. And he has he, I mean he kicks has. Yes, how was that? His name's first, and then you get to sing more songs or like, how does that when you're both good? Here's the name, here's how the name thing worked out, and people go how that happened. It's like his brother in law owned a big AD company up in Maine. We wanted to logo bad so we kind of laid out the basics, and who came back with you? The Brooks have done, because it laid out graphically better. Uh, there, it could be done in Brooks, but brooks have done. You know by now it just seems natural. You know the Beatles, right, what a freaking name? Really, who would you call yourself? Yeah, it sounds successful. You are the normal. The name gets. Yeah, yeah, when did it get the most absurd to you? With and again. But you guys were also in their thirties right when it started. I wonder if that helped it all with a little bit the absurdity of how crazy it got. It did it did, and a lot of the challenges we would have had. You know, you kind of helps you like fight through the kind of the unspoken ego tension that goes along with with anything you're trying to establish. Your turf is, you know, are you going to be the you know, the lead singer, or am I going to be the lead singer? Hey, we're good to throw it together. We we always have. It's just kind of and I think being older helped help deal with that. When you're in these shows and they're selling out and you guys are crossing over even a bit into not just country music. We got so big like at its most absurd time. Do you can you look back and appreciate it, or was it all such a blur? No, we can look back and appreciate it, you know. No, no, you you appreciate what you have and and and just just from seeing, I mean, other acts come along. You know, countless acts come along and it's like here's the hottest thing in town. Here's these guys are gonna be monsters and all that stuff, and just like boom boom gone. It's like why are we not boom boom gone? I don't know. That's unspoken. Yeah, did you ever have what they call, Um, Mike, what is it called the imposter syndrome, where you felt like, you know what, we're not as good as some of these guys, yet we continue to climb places that they're not? Like we don't really deserve to be here. Do you feel like that? Yeah, sincerely. Yeah, why do you think that? What do you think the element was about you two? What do you think it was? I don't know, I don't have thought that. We thought about it a billion times. I say we, you mean kids. I mean we've talked about it. I don't know. I don't know if you know. I mean I do sometimes. I said I'll lay in bed by myself and just go it's just I mean, was it because we were revolved with Clive Davis and Tim? I've asked him, Dubo, I said what what made this thing work? And he goes, Mr I don't have a clue. What about the songs? Right? Do you ever just fall back and go. Yeah, I think yes, just could be the songs. Well, they say it starts there, so it could be just what those songs were, you know, and there's obviously other things that go into the stew. But if the songs are your meat, that's the foundation of it all. That's that's a bar on, that's that's where it starts. Why put out? Yeah, I think that's your fit solo record you just put out, and I asked this in a complimentary way, but why? Why do you? Why do you do sell the record? Because I don't want to. Now I'm like a cat out of the cage because we don't want a label deal and we're free from that and we don't have to sit in a boardroom and we're not subject to a corporate agenda and schedule. So do you have fun doing it right? Yeah, because it's like, you know, you shoot your ten songs, you know, or eleven, fifteen, whatever for a corporate thing with the label. And Uh, now and streaming helps that a lot. But right now, and I'm just at a point to where it's like, the money is not an issue, but I still have that hunger and desire to create music. I just love doing it. Did you ever lose it? Did you ever get burnt out and you didn't want to write? No, no, and I'll tell you what helped that. Like literally, like quitting, quitting helped. That was a big deal. You know that. You you're going to convey or about quitting. What the band? Yeah, quit. Yeah, how long did you quit? How long do you think you quit? I thought is, there's like ten years and it seemed like five. But you, uh, you know, you you kind of burned out. But it's like we were at a place to where it there's another thing in this business that's called it's the old thing. Is because you live by the awards, you die by the awards. Shows and and we were we had won what what do over and and other things for for for years, and you just kind of felt it waning. And it's like the psychologically impact of setting an audience and not winning. I said, I'm I'm not gonna let this happen. I'm not gonna build a brand and get it up this high and this this high and let it let it be brought down. so by that that piece of Tribua, which is the same going up, it's a big important thing. Coming down it's a big, important thing too, and it's like I was not gonna let it. I was not gonna let it bring us down. So I see the fact that you won all the awards made it hurt worse when then you started to not win the awards, because people want like Hey, what happened? What happened to you guys used to win them all? Yeah, and it got and it got to a point to where the perception, yeah, was hey, you know, you're you're slipping or whatever. But I used to be embarrassed for for the last few years, every time they mentioned our name, I'm going no, it's working against you know. And now it's not like you're the Dallas Cowboys or whatever and you've won. You won the Super Bowl twenty times in a row. People, no matter how much they might like your or how how where you're playing, they're they're rooting for you get beat. Yeah, this culture loves to build up and then rip you down and then watch you climb back up again and then rip you down. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so round two? Uh No, we don't. I don't even really go to a word shows. I mean now it's like if they're nominating us now, but I just I saw you got nominated again. Yeah, but like, give me go in your place and then, if you win, I'll go up and do the speech to it. Please, please, you do a lot better speech. How you know how awesome that would be? What your because I get I'm telling you right now. Please do it. If it happened, so now I have to go sit in this stip but this is don't go buy your suit now. This is you officially saying, though, that if I go and I don't because I have a beef with them not letting me host. Right, that's a whole different, whole different argument. Yes, I know what that's about. So I've purposely just not gone the last couple of years. However, you're telling me, if you guys win, you clear it now. I gotta have that I can go up and accept your award. Yes, absolutely, fact, what about? Hey, listen to this, let's right now. Yeah, right down. We got he kicks on the phone to eventually point to agree. I'm wholehearted. When they do the camera and they show all the people sitting in the audience, I want to hold two sticks with your heads on it and they have to put it on me holding sticks in your heads, but you have to say that so they know we should. It would be awesome. And then when you win, I'll go up and I'm all about it. I am all about it. Mike, mark this clip, write it, write it down, post it. I mean, I got about to the world. I gotta go. I gotta go to the word show. There you go when you win, and I'll give the greatest, most like my speech as to why it sucks out and get the host as. I'm just sorry. It could be all about you, baby. I don't care. Yeah, no, I mean that that's actually a brilliant idea. Yeah, I don't think we may not do that. No, no, he'd go for it. He's totally into that. That would that be awesome. Um, just a couple more things. You've mentioned your wife a few times in a very loving way and also someone it seems like you just value her opinion on things, personally and professionally. She gets consistently been a pillar in both. Yeah, I mean I can't tell you how many times I'm coming to bed like, you know, after listening to a song or two or something and like feeling, you know, an inch tall, you know, and invariable most of the time. She's she's she's right, and she's also that, you know, that that mountain that if, if I feel like I can end up to it and bucket and and break through it and come through with a successful song, ah, then hey, it makes me feel better about me. Does she challenge you? Yes, yes, mine too, but in an awesome way. Yeah, like in a way that never been challenged. No, I hate it at the time, you know, I hate it at the time and I look back at it and go, you know, who else is? Do you want somebody around this just telling you great all the time? Sometimes, you know? Yeah, well, yeah, occasionally, most time, you know what, she's smartest. We're all insecure. Absolutely, my wife says to me. Everywhere you go, people do a great you are, but I'm just gonna be honest and I like and at first that was really uncomfortable for me, but yeah, I've never been challenged in a wonderful way like my wife is challenged. She said before, like that joke, wasn't that funny that you told and I'm like, but everybody laughed, and she goes, but you're better than this. That's that's Janine Dunn. Now that's a gift. If you have a partner like that, that is a that's a gift. When it first happened, did you get offended? Because I did. I was like, yeah, you don't know what anything, you never told a joke. But then, after a few times where she was right, I'm just like that hurts by trust you. Absolutely no, that's that's that's that's a good partner right there. You know, and you and you, you'll learn over time, whether you respect it at the time or not, that they're right enough and they're always right. That that you know you're, you're, you're, you're pretty much you're hooked up with the right person. Yeah, it's tough for me at first as far as I'd be like what do you know about comedy, and she was like, I'm not trying to give you a lesson in comedy, but I can tell it. And then she would start to punch up jokes better than I could write them too. I'd sit in the bed and be like she was what if you moved that word here? And I'm like now I get mad that she was better than me at it. Does the same thing. She would do it and like end up with like her name on a song and then next thing I know she's like from a business meeting with the account of thing that goes. Oh Yeah, there's your names, songwriting, business account, or gift account, she calls it. How much money is in it? What you know? You walked through the room, you were mopping the floor while I was writing a song. You can brutal, but it's fun. Yeah, and it has made me better. Yeah, it hasked me by far. There's no, no, no denying it. As crazy and as as Molltle, is it good? And when my wife tells me I do something good, I believe her because she doesn't pass those compliments out, which is good for me too, because lame Simergen. And she is not. She's not gonna. She's not gonna go that way, you know. Yet she's you know, she's sweet, she's kind, she's sensitive, she's, you know, more more slow than I am, and it's you know. But normally I don't respect that because we're all we're in this business, we're used to the fight, you know. And Uh, but I do with her. What's your favorite accolade that you've ever received? We were debating on what your answer would be and I just don't want to ask this so you can be like bragging, but we were going through some of your stuff and we did a whole preview before you came out talking about your record and stuff. If I said the greatest professional accolade slash achievement, what is it? Oh, it's tough. I picked one, Mike picked. We all what we thought you would say. I've never thought about it and I'm bad at doing this too. I don't you know. I don't know. I don't mean you know. Would it be something that's trus vocal performance for a grammy or something? But no, that is that he's Mike said it'd be a grammy. Yeah, I said it would be songwriter hall of fame. That's it. Which one? UH, songwriter? No, no, you know what country music fame? No, your country Music Hall of fame. Like, like, I never even thought about it. Never even ranked those three though. Could you be the call of fame? Yeah, number one. Go ahead to songwriter. I'll got the grammy with that first. Okay, yeah, yeah, I was that. My stepdad came to town. We took him to go to the country Music Hall of fame and at the time it was like every piece of metal they had ever put in and it's just your name all over every one of them. It just filled up a whole room of all those things, of C M as and a C M S, and I mean do they have to send a dump truck over to all those things out? No, dump truck. Okay, sorry, eight Teen Wheeler wheler. Yeah, you're you guys are playing stage coach. I kind of want to end on this, because what's cool is you were cool, you went away. It's rare that you get to be cool again, not nostalgic. Different. You guys are cool again, and also there's the nostalgia, but it's not all based on nostalgia. You're cool again, do you do? You know that and you understand that right, because you're playing stage coach and they just don't throw up good acts from the nineties of two thousands and the stage of stage coach. You know, I don't. I don't think about that that much. Someone told me the other day that we we played the first stage coach. Was that all? Six? You're asking the wrong guy. I don't know. I know someone in our camp. So that is that right? Yeah, but uh, the music it sounds it's the same a lot of it, but the band is is mm hmm, it's it's different. I mean we're like we're hitting like thirty thousand, you know people, not festivals crowds. Yeah, that's what I'm saying, like you're not. People aren't coming to day to just go oh, I remember these guys. It's also young, young people are coming to your shows, like so many of my friends that I did a show and I had a indvitage to come out and you could do because you had a show. But well, even Caitlin was like, I want to go watch Ronnie instead of your we had that because you're playing the same night in Nashville. She's like you can if I go watch Ronnie, and so but so many of my friends were sending videos from your show and there's thirties and forties and they weren't going for any other reason other than they just love you guys music. And so I don't know what's to be cool again twice. That is lightning in a bottle the first time, but the second time. Are you kidding me? Like, do you guys talk about that? We do, we do, and once again it's all us with wonder and we don't we don't get it. We don't get it, but you know so many things that they do change and I don't know, I'm this is weird just for me to say, but I feel like I'm singing better. UH, kicks is singing great. The band is fabulous. His Band is very tight. Crazy. Is it the real the guys with you, guys share the band with? Well, we've spent, you know, off and on seven years in Vegas and stuff and yeah, it's, it's it's it's part of the part of the her band, part and our our guys, but it's just completely different technologies, different lightings, different all that. But at the same time there's a there's a new energy that's that's not coming from us, what it is, but it's coming from the crowd. The show is always in the crowd. We asked people if they have questions. I'm gonna roll through five of these quick you answer them quick these are from our our listeners here. Um, some of these are simple, like what is your favorite Brooks and done song? Mm Hmm, my favorite. Oh, all right, I guess. But neon moon kind of had a resurgence there. UH, they come and go. You know here you hear this whole thing. They're a lie. My Kids, you know, I don't know. I'm pickle. You know right now, which song would you look forward to on the set list of most? Let's ask him like that. What would it be? You got all these shows, you have to when you hit that first quarter on Neon, it's just they're, they're, they lied up. Here's one something simple. How's he doing? How are you doing? I'm gonna do it. Yeah, I've been fine. Yeah, I'm doing that's that's that's that's a bad answer to saying psychology. You don't say fine. Do you feel good? Yeah, yeah, I feel good. Mental health good. Yeah, never, never should be. No, you ever should always be like a little bit of attention in life is an artist and tortured favorite person or people to tour with. Oh, okay, now, years ago, like we we hooked up at the Ez top now hobnout, they said. I got to know billy gibbons and dusty frank all that. Man became like really good friends, really cool guys really, because be they're like the first car I got had like a killer sound system and it was an old, you know, Chevy Nov or something, but uh, and I had trace hombre's just God, never heard anything like that. Uh, you know brol haggard. I was gonna go back to haggard. I get around haggard and but just couldn't talk. Couldn't talk. Now I wanted to like ask him so many questions and talk and shoot the breeze, and it's like it's like me and you. You talk, I'm just like we're talking about chat. You're the coolest. I can't talk. I said to spit all over myself. When you're you're like, what's up with you drool? I'm like no, I'm just here with you. Okay. So a couple of things and we're gonna wrap up on this hundred proof of neon. You guys definitely check it out. I saw the sign, the billboard, driving down the street. It look you up there. What that cost us? Friend? Yeah, what did that come don't tell me. Also, the lensman project, which you and I have talked about before, but you're really gifted photography and in the eye, and you know you. We've been luck. You have to. I mean you took some nude pictures of me once and we well, you know, you hear chaps on. That's that's at Lensman, that Little Horse Quurt, and you can read all about it. Kylyn, do you have any question? One you want to ask? One question or no? You know, you've been here. She's never come to a single one of these. Ronnie, come do you have any she thought the number one actould be playing it our way. Well, he meant professionally. That was a friendship about. That's great to hear. Hey, and it was. It was your people that came up with the moon that dropped out. All this guy's like that's cheating, but asked like t steerhead that had a mirrorball on it, but they were like we can't find one anyway. Yeah, there's that. Almost I would know. It's terrified. I was someone's gonna ask me to get come out, dance or something. Just get out of here. But you know what, my favorite picture of you, not that I look uh, is on the your instagram thing, is you hanging out the window of the truck with the Sonic Cup. My Wife to this day and all the girls, my my uh niece, runs all of our our touring stuff, but they're all oklahoma girls and they walk around with a giant Sonic Cup every day, all day. Yeah, well, it's been a pleasure of my friend. It's really cool to hear about your dad, honestly, and your wife. Like to be able to kind of get into that a little because, you know, on a twenty minute interview, if we were to normally do that, I wouldn't kind of explore that area. We're always working at a business. Yeah, yeah, but you like that's really, really cool. I appreciate you sharing that with me. You guys follow at Ronnie Dunn on Instagram, at Lensman, obviously at Brooks and Dunn, and they just keep on killing it and I'm gonna hit up kicks and be like I need your consent to on the kicks and if he says yes, I'm going to the show with your heads and I'm gonna walk the red carpet speaking for you guys. Know, I'll have him on the phone by the time I give the front door. We're going on. Thank you, Buddy. Right