#382 - Kameron Marlowe on his Failed Proposal That Lead to His First Hit “Giving You Up” + How He Found Out His Grandmas Smokes Weed + How Much Money He Made Performing on Broadway

here's the clip. I do no, but I'm stocking filsome prison. You can find it on YouTube channel. Because legal rules, we can't play the whole thing, but we did figure out a way to skirt that during this episode. Yeah, it's cool. We're it's not fraud. We're not doing the illegal. It's just the recording. Yeah. So, and here's the weird thing about this situation with Cameron and myself. I walked into the room because what I like about camera got

there fifteen minutes early any day every day. I love it, But most don't. Most get there because they know it's my house to get there five minutes early. I love them. People early but I remember I was using the bathroom and he calls and I was like, oh, I text Mike because Mike's over studio, and I'm like, hey, give me just a minute. And so I'm a little I wouldn't say fully frazzled, partially frazzles. I'm trying to get

over there. So you get over there and walk in, probably still seven eight minutes before I supposed to start, but love somebody that it's early and his managers there and it's him, and I'm just still like rushing and I say to her, Hey, good to see you again. And I say to him, hey, nice to meet you. It should have been the opposite way because I never

but I meant it the other way. I was just like, I never met her, and obviously, and so it was like a little bit through I realized that I said nice to meet you to camera, and I was like, I'm such an idiot, but I know that that's where I was when this started going. Oh I gotta get going here. But it's it's really good. I joyed Cameron joy hanging out with him. He's really talented and I hope he checked his music out. So here we go.

Cameron Marlow here on the Bobby Cast. The first time, Cameron, I think, I guess I knew about you, But the first time that somebody that I was close to was like, hey, this Cameron Marlow guys pretty good. Was I'm good friends with Jake Owen and we were going out on the boat. We were somewhere not here, I don't remember where we were, but we had a boat and he was like, I was driving, I was listening to one of his playlists and everything sounds the same, he said, except for he said,

you know, Cameron Marlow, I don't know him personally. Night you had anyway, he goes, Man, he had a song. They was like, this song is so good? Did he like post that he did? Man? He uh remember him shooting like I guess doing a little story about her. So I thought that was pretty cool man, Yeah, because he just genuinely was, you know, moving through music, and you know what it's like, you hear a lot of music songs that you've written, other people have written, songs,

are on radio songs, and same for him. Hear stuff all the time. But he was like, man, this stuff just like feels and hits a little different. I love that and yeah, I would assume coming from somebody that has done it successfully for a long time to have that because you didn't ask him his opinion, and that's tough. Somebody ask your opinion on something that's tough, and he just kind of came out like that's gotta be good, right,

like like a peer. But also somebody who has has done it big is complimenting your work without a doubt, man, And it's Uh, it's one of those things where you kind of I feel like I have to pinch myself sometimes just because I wouldn't ever expect you to be here. So what's happening like right now career wise? Is it coming so fast at you or does it feel like you're so close to it that it's not moving fast

enough a little bit of both. I feel like when I first started this, it was like everything was so quick, like gotta get meetings, gotta getting meetings, and then COVID happened, and then it was just completely shut down, and then we picked back up, and it was like, I think I got a little obsessed with it to the point where I was like, oh, I don't feel like things are happening at all. So I think I'm in all three stages. When did you move to town? About four

years ago? So you were here? How long until COVID started to affect things? Um, I'd say about a year. Did you feel that you were getting some traction, like real traction whenever everything had to stop? I did, man, because I put out my first single and it was the first thing that I'd ever put out ever, and uh,

it started blowing up. It was called Giving You Up, and it just started rolling and people are listening to it, and we had all this momentum with it and taking meetings and everybody was excited and getting tour offers and things like that. And then it all just kind of shut down, and I was like, oh, man, now what do we do? What did you do? I just sat at the house and wrote a bunch of songs, I think, just like everybody else, man, I went back home to

Carolina and just spend time with the family. I mean, it's such a tease. It is right, you got here, and it's all right, we like you, let's get some stuff, go out, and then you have to fight that fight to get back in front of people. I guess, and uh so I guess that's kind of what last year was about. It was just kind of fighting that fight to get back in front of people's faces and rebuild momentum. What are you doing now every day here in town? Or are you on the road a couple of days

a week A you're touring constantly right now? We are. We took January off just because we toured so crazy last year. Um, But yeah, this year is gonna be on the road as much as I can, as brighten as much as I can. Are you gonna ride on the road because that's a different a whole different thing. Man. I try and uh, I don't feel like I get my favorite songs. I've gotten great songs that are gonna go on this next record, but um, writing on the road.

But it's a whole different mindset. I feel like for me, I'm more of a like if I've been show modeum, and show mode, if I'm in writing Modeum, in writing mode, I don't know. Some of my friends will come right off stage and hop right under the bus, you know, in the rigs already going and they start writing and that's just exhausting. That is man, that's they're better than me. And then it's you know, you're on the road for two or three four days and you come back and

you only have a few days. And I'll deal with this little bit too. If I'm out doing comedy and then doing the radio show, it's that I've only got a few days to kind of catch back up, and I'm trying to catch up on life stuff and make sure bills and dogs and and laundry, laundry. Man, it's like, now got to also be creative. So it's just when you're touring, it's just hard to be as creative that's possible.

So you've used this time to just right January, like in the last year, do you write a bunch of songs in definitely? Man, And like, when you're on the road, I feel like it's like this group you use all that I don't know. I'm kind of an introverted person, so like I feel like I when I push out all that energy and stuff like that, I have to be at home and I just kind of sit in silence a little bit. So I don't like have that

creative flow going. So I have to like just book myselves or book myself a like week just to focus on writing. I've tried to make this year a year where occasionally I get bored. That's a good way to do it because and Mike and I were talking about it, it's like we're running hot all the time, and if you're always run into the next thing, there's no time to really gather creativity. And a force creativity. To me, I mean, you can get the key in the keyhole,

but it barely fits. It's like you know, and it's never, like you said, I never get my favorite stuff when it's a forced I feel like it becomes monotonous at that point. And and just like a task, and it's a it's job, for sure, it's a job. It's a job that we do because we love it and because we got to be creative. But it is it's a balance.

I I'm excited to see how you balance this now because you're going on the road, you're playing, your shows are getting bigger, obviously, and but now because your record came out last year, right that's one month uh September, like right like close to last quarter of the last year. I should know that, but yeah, so should I I knew it was late last year. But and now that you have this record that people really like, they're ready for new stuff and so but but now you gotta right,

you gotta get better at the same time. Absolutely, And it's crazy, man, I feel like there's been a shift in this past couple of years where like there is no rules, Like there's not like an album cycle or anything like that. It's like people just want to consume music all the time. I mean, you put out one or you put out forty exactly. It's good and people like it, and it's it's within the strategy that you can maintain and really give it the love and support

that it deserves. There is no you're right, there are no the ones you make for yourself without a doubt. But it's tough to commit to a bunch of stuff and then not really have the capacity for it. And I think, you know, what's what's good about you is you've now worked hard enough that you're about to work so hard you want to vomit. And it's sucks and it's awesome at the same time. I remember when when

it happened for me. I was on plane constantly. I was working on radio show at three o'clock in the morning, I was up on stage you get off at eleven, and I was like almost vomiting because you don't get enough sleep, you're not eating right, but you're doing all this work. And I remember feeling sorry for myself, but it was I've worked this hard to get to work this freaking hard, and you're there and it's a really

great thing. I'm super pumped for you. I get I appreciate that, and I I get that though, man, because like I'll get into that my own de party sometimes and that drives me insane. And I think ending last year I was in like a real this weird spot with that when I was like, man, why do I why don't I so like in this weird spot of not feeling like I'm doing enough even though I'm doing all the all the stuff that I can all the time.

And that's normal though, rights It's it's absolutely normal. Everybody gets in funks and tireds, and but I just have to like check myself out of it and go, Man, I begged for this. I worked so hard to be this time, not right now. I worked so hard to get to this point where now I now get to be this tired. Yeah, and then eventually you'll kill out so much you have to be this tired anymore. You got planes, he got five buses. Yeah, it's all a cycle.

What's how do you say your hometown Cannapolis? What's Cannapolis, North Carolina? Like so, uh, it's been through quite a change. Um. When I was young, we were a mealtown. It was just like cotton meal basically getting linens and stuff like that all across the country. Um, when I turned I think ten years old, to shut the meal down, and uh, it just kind of set empty the town did. There's

nothing really there. Um until about i'd say three years ago we built a cancer research campus downtown where the meals used to be. And then now they have a baseball park was down there a lot of life back into the town. Yeah. Man, it's it's really been cool. Like every time I go back home, there's like a new building down there. And when I was young, like nobody went downtown. It was just it's all it's kind of a ghost town. That's exciting. I'm from a town

of eight hundred people in Mountain Pine, Arkansas. We had a saw mill, warehouser and the whole you went to work there after school. Almost nobody went to college, but you went to work at the mill. And that's what you did. But when the mills shut down, very similar, the town died. Yeah, man, and people had to mood fine jobs And it's super cool to hear you say that they built something else there and now new jobs and there's like a new economy and it's wild to

see it. And how many people lived there? Oh? Shoot, I couldn't tell you. I know when I was young, we got five. How many dollar stores you've got, like Dollar General, Dollar, Oh, they're all over so not it's obviously not super small, but it's still a small town. How your high school? How many kids graduated with you? Um? I had a hundred kids graduate with me. Small yeah, yeah, yeah, so small Yeah, not too bad. Whenever you were in high school? What what kid were you that? Cameron is

the blank kid? I was always the music kid, I'd say, Um, I never I thought I'd chase it, but I love Yeah. I don't know why. I just wouldn't. Didn't think it was a realistic thing. Did you play? I'm assuming you started. This is a lot of assumption here. Now. You started playing, or at least singing young, because you're from the South North Carolina. To me, the South like singing church girls playing the church, So you do that. Did you learn

to play guitar young? Um? Yeah, i'd say so. About when you say music in high school, then were your guitar music kid or were you also learning music in the band? Oh? Man, I did the band thing for a year Marching band. Realized, real cool, that's not how you get girls. What instrument? I was a snare drummer, so my very first though, I was just out here getting him. That made movies about that. That might look a lot cooler on the movies though. So you didn't

like marching Marching band, I didn't, man and Uh. I kind of talked to my band teacher there and I was like, I want to start a class that, like I can learn how to perform and he was like, oh, that's interesting. So he started this class called rock band and that's kind of like where I started to learn how to play guitar and pretty cool. Yeah, so they would do that at your school, they would, Man and Uh, it was me and like four other kids that was in this class. But I didn't take it for granted.

I loved it, man, I was I just learned how to put a band together and things like that, and I look back and I'm like, man, that really actually kind of helped me. Yeah, I did some kid get forced to play the bass? Oh yeah, it's like the little brother A lot of times he's forced to play bas because a big brother plays guitar. I just figured there's some kid in that class. It was like, I, man, I wanted to play guitar. So in this class is four or five of you guys? And what are they?

What does he? What's rock band about? Like? Are you going in learning about some of the great rock bands? Are you individually working on things? There wasn't ever like strict like assignment, Like we never had an exam or anything. Basically all we did was going there and we learn a song a day or try and learn a song a day and be able to perform it. We never really performed anything with it, but we just tried to like make a band. I guess did you guys? Jam

was that part of the class. Wee kind of figured out it was a great third period. Man, that sounds pretty awesome. So you're you're singing in church at how old? Oh? Man? I started when I was probably six years old. And are you singing? Because the baptistchurts and I went to growing up. It was really gospel. E wasn't a lot of stuff like when we go down here, it's newer music, even pop sensibilities, country sensibilities, but ours was old school gospel.

What was your church music like? Zact same way. I went to a small Southern Baptist church too, so it was a lot of hymns like Rock of Ages, I fly Away, Yeah, absolutely? And so did you love music then or was it something that your family was like, hey, Cama, we need you to do this, Like when did it become kind of a like a burning part of you that you wanted to You said you didn't know you

do it forever, but you wanted to do it years old. Man, I loved music, and I knew I did, and I knew that I had been gifted to be able to play and sing. So I I started, uh just when I went to college. I went to study music, but I didn't make it long in college. But I um, like basically to make side money, I would go play random places, playing cover songs and just kind of set up in the corner of a bar and just uh take tip money if they'd give it. To me or

if they were paying, I wouldn't. I would just try and do it and enjoy it. Would you love playing the most when it comes to came to cover songs like or what did you know you were gonna get paid the most if you did? Oh? I knew if I did like the newest songs out, I would get tip more. But I love like older stuff for some reason, man, Like I love Ray Charles and Steven Ray Vaughan and stuff like that, Like I love that blues heavy like

real singabowl kind of melodies and things like that. So I grew up loving a lot of older country music like George Jones because I mean his voice was one of my favorites, and and getting into like that Blue Side with Great Charles and P. B. King and that kind of stuff. Um, your parents did you grow up with both parents? Are they both still alive? Are they together still? Okay? I just want to make sure if I get into these questions. Um, So either one of

your parents musical at all? Um? I think my dad sang when he was really young, and I don't think and my mom saying when she was younger, but not so much that you were heavily influenced. No, No, they're just sang in a church kind of thing, like everybody did choir and stuff in the church. When you tell them that you want to be uh, full time songwriter, artist, musician, full time different than playing during college or high school

or like what do they say to that? Um? They knew I was pretty miserable at the job I had. I was basically selling car parts for General Motors. And I was like, you know what, I think I'm a chassist in Nashville and they were a hundred percent behind me. I mean I came to town. I slipped on an air mattress for about six months before I could get a little or not a real bed, but like a little. That's where we need to get in that market, the rental bed market. Yeah, I have sounds gross. I wouldn't

rent one, but I rent them out. So you're twenty one or so when you move here. So you move here at twenty one, and where do you live on an air mattress? Donaldson with two other guys. I met him at red door randomly and they were like, man, we're gonna get a house. And I was like all right, and they were like, you should move here, and that's kind of where my wheel started turning. You were a red door from home. You came from North Carolina. Came

from North Carolina. I was traveling up here quite a bit. Sorry, I'm not feeling in these pieces, but I feel if you mess it, I'll go back to it, thank you. Uh yeah. But I was just kind of traveling back and forth, just trying to meet as many people as I could understand the town. I didn't know what anything about the music business was like. I didn't know what a publisher was, a record label, what they really did, or anything like that. So I was just trying to

learn as much as I could. What was the first time that you came to Nashville. You could have been whenever you decided that you were gonna come to Nashville and you were gonna try to figure out music, but you weren't moving here yet. You remember the first time you came here? Just explore? Yeah, definitely, what do you do in that time? I'm always curious because it's not like you know some songwriters already. You're the first time.

What do you do? Definitely? And I had met some friends that had been coming up and like back from Nashville, so they kind of took me around. I did the Broadway thing. So they were from North Carolina. Yeah, I got it. Yeah, And uh then they were like, well, we gotta go to Midtown. That's where all the industry people hang out. And I thought that was cool. I was like, oh man, And so I went down here and uh just kind of talk to as many people that that would talk to me and tried to set

up rights. And I was being that guy at Red Door and be like, oh, we should write some time. So did that work? Did you make rights? Did? I did? And I would travel up as much as my job would let me to get up here and try and write. And I was writing terrible songs. Well you have to before you can write kind of terrible then pretty good. Yeah, you gotta know how to write bad without a doubt. So you move here and you're move in a house with some dudes you didn't know except you met at

Red Door. How did that roommate situation go for you? It actually went really well. Um. I just met them through mutual people at the bar, and they were like basically said they were getting a house, and I honestly kind of blew it. Off. I was like, they're never gonna call me back to see And two weeks later they're like, we found a house. This is when we're moving in. This is down payment. And I was like,

all right, so I guess we're gonna do it. And that's what actually got you to move here, was them going, hey, we got this, let's go. It was I had to play a show that night. I picked up a show just so I could bake that down payment to be able to move up here. And I just packed my stuff the next week and moved to town. And what'd your parents say as you drove off or moved away?

Good luck on the butt? Yeah, good luck. I mean they they've always known that I wanted this, like deep down, they didn't know that I would chase it this hard. I think they felt like I was gonna move back after a while, but once this thing started moving around or moving along, they've just always been their supporting me. Man. I've been very blessed by that. How did you start making money here? What was your first paying job? Um? I don't do you have any jobs here that weren't music.

I went straight in to it, so you go straight into it. How do you start making any money at all. Broadway. I'm played Broadway like crazy man. Old Red was very good to me. They've had me on like three three times a week, so I was able to make good tip money and uh good check as well. So I was actually doing better here than I was back in Carolina. How long were those sets? Three hours? And at times do you have the phone in front of you, like on the stand and you know you're playing as you go.

I have to imagine again that that makes you actually a better player though, just out there for three hours, learning by doing it in the pressure of eyeballs on you all the time, and the pressure of if you're not good, they're not going to tip you exactly. Yeah, It's there is a weird pressure there because like it's they're not really there to see you, as much as

you want to think that they are. They're there to have lunch and have drinks and hang out with their buddies, But you've steal in the back of your mind want to command them to pay attention. So that's when like you have to kind of take the bricks off and sing as hard as you can to try and back and pay attention. What's a big night. What was a big night? Tip wise? It all read and what night would make the most tip? Ah? Man. I actually never did nights, so I was always the early day. Yeah,

I was early day. But the best day I made I think I made five hundred bucks and I about lost my mind. I was excited. But what was so different about that that day? Just a bunch of bachelor parties came. It wasn't you like I was really feeling it? Man, my g chrd. It was so, you're playing all these shows. Do you feel like you were getting better as a songwriter even in the middle of you hustling to make money? Definitely, because every night I would try and song right with somebody.

It didn't matter if I was playing two shifts that day or whatever it was. I was still trying to song right every day. How long do you live with those guys? I lived there for about two years and then they ended up moving. Did you guys have any big I hate you? You ate my bread? No? Nothing like that. Man. It was actually somehow by the greatest guy I was asking. I was like, Wow, what a situation.

It really it really worked out great, man. We all became friends and we still talk all together all the time. Still yeah, are they still in music? No? Neither one of them, man, But that's what they came down here to chase. I was a lucky one that got to

keep going. Are they gone from Nashville? They are ones in South Carolina, ones in Chicago now the most folks, because I don't get to know folks until they're starting to get to a certain place the most like when you move here and there all the people to move here at the same time, kind of your class? Did most of them not stay that? Most of them hit a wall and go, you know what, this isn't for me. Either they're hear a songwrite or two to be an artist?

Did they go back home? I'd say you. Out of my initial group that I like hung around and stuff like that, there was three of us that have really stayed and kept chasing it. Of how many I would say, probably, Wow, that's some electrician. I haven't really thought about that, but yeah, man, miss him, get him crying on this? Did you fall off stage? But it was like it was like on

Morgan's tour what happened there? I just took one step too many and I thought I had one more step of stage left and I was just about to say thank you all so much, and I woke threw my hands up to say thank you all, and just went straight down. So how bad where you hurt versus how bad were you scared or embarrassed? Um, I would say embarrassment was through the roof hurt. I didn't feel the pain initially, I just kind of jumped up and ran off. I went and got checked out and then started getting

a little stiff. But now, man, I went to a chiropractor. I think she messed me up or so once before I've I've been limping and stuff now and if cold mornings get me so, I'm like, oh man, I got a long road ahead. Wait? How long ago? Was this? Five? Six months ago? That's what I thought, because I remember seeing the video or like it was a grainy yeah somebody, and you're still like feeling the effects. Oh yeah, man, I got that like nerve pain goes downy legs now,

I feel real old. Oh man, I'll be hi, that's that sucks. But how's it going on on that tour? Oh man, it's that was blast. I got to learn a lot from them. I mean, I'm trying and learn from everybody that I'm around, but I mean they there's nobody more professional than Wallance Camp and Hardy's camp, So learning from them and getting to hang with those guys, I mean, they're they're tough much. There's this song during morgan set where Hardy comes up from under the ground.

He went to Jared Man that that moment, that that's a cool moments, an epic moment. I mean again, I feel like I've seen it all at this point, and it went to Morgan's show. It was good. It's just I mean, I know Morgan and things that happened to a sudden, Hardy shoots up and they hit that song. God dang yeah energy man, Yeah, it's some energy there. That was legit. Where do the blues? Why are you a fan of the blues? Like? How did that get to you? Um? The singing? I think the but who

exposed you to your grandparents? They like blues music. I just kind of when I got Spotify one day and I just kind of went down a rabbit hole of like chasing that kind of stuff. And I didn't really get into Ray Charles until I watched that Ray movie. Really, I heard all that all that music off there I was like, man, this stuff is great. So I just went down that rabbit hole and just became a massive

fan of him. And I just love the way that he kind of commands somebody when he speaks, and I mean when he sings, and it's almost like it's gospel e in its own way. My my grandma was a massive Ray Charles fan, but I was introduced to him through modern sounds of country music and because she was from from Arkansas, and anybody from Arkansas was a god to her because nobody came out of Arkansas and so if they did, obviously Johnny Cash was massive to her. So he listened to a lot of Johnny Cash, but

also a lot of Ray Charles. But I really just knew him as Ray Charles who did the gospel records and modern sounds of country music until you get older and you were lized. He was also a big pop

star too, of all those big songs. But man, talk about like soul and You're right, command is a good word for him when when he would perform, at least through watching videos of him, Yeah, definitely, I was watching the because you brought up, I was watching the Uh George and Tammy watch because you brought him up a second ago to watch that back and the fact they

did not if they would have had social media. Dude, talk about crazy And I've talked to some old timers now who would talk to old timers about George Jones and how for a lot of time was out of control, Like we think that some of those nineties alternative guys or Motley Crewe or yeah, that's that. That that was.

I think that was easy stuff. I was watching with my wife and in the first scene they're taping up his legs so he can't bend him that makes him walk out on stage, and she was like, is this real? I was like, from what I've heard it was this Crazy is a good series that the guy who plays George Jones, what's his name, Mike, Mike. Wasn't he so good? Yeah? He was, man, he did great and sounded just like him.

And I don't know, Jessica chaftin't get sing. I didn't need it, but I thought I thought that you Stairs was so good and I didn't get into it, going all right, I'm gonna love this because I thought maybe they would take some liberties, and I'm sure they did take a few but I did you watch all of it, like all six episodes, eight episode. I have one last episode that I watched. It's like you think people you think people go hard, Now that's when they went hard.

You ain't kidding, man, Yeah, some of those early episodes. Yeah, watching the like the just the pills and stuff like that, I was like, man, I'm scared to take advil. Like I don't like take a medicine at all. I can imagine doing stuff like that. Are you getting it all out of your system right now? What do you mean? Have you got out of your system? Like the whiskey, the you know, I'd say I have, man. I when on my very first tour, I was lucky enough to go out with Brad Paisley, and I was like, Oh,

this is what rock stars do. This is this is how I need to be. I need to be drunk all the time and just like really enjoy myself. And I think, man, I was started to hurt and it just my mind was cloudy all the time, and like I still have like a whiskey drink far going stage. He kind of calms your nerves and everything in modern ration, even mediumation, as long as it's not affecting what your day to day is absolutely or as long as you're

not being controlled by it without a doubt. And that's the big thing, because I never want to be a person that feels like they're controlled by substance, by any means, whether it's marijuana, any anything, and it's uh so I just kind of backed away from it and kind of got that out of my system a little bit. Your grandma smoke weed, right, didn't you find out? She spoke when you wrote a song about that? So how do

I ask this? Okay, how did you find out? I came over to her house high and she smelled it on me, and she kind of I thought she was gonna rip me a new one, and she was like,

we need to get talk. She takes me back to her, to her room and she's like acting all mad at me, and my grandpa's laughing in the kitchen and I could hear him, and uh about that time, she pulls out jar weed and rolling papers and rolls up a joint and then we smoked before breakfast at More and she's say anything like, don't go telling anybody else about this. She told me just not to tell a church. Now, her church is probably they probably heard the story told

a couple of times. Now, So did she give you any advice during that, because I would imagine if your grandma's with you and she's like, hey, let's sit down. You think you're in trouble, You're not in trouble. You actually have something in common. That's like, that's a cool moment. It was, man, yeah, that's a cool moment. But I don't know if we had much advice. You don't remember. Maybe I don't remember. Breakfast was good that. Um I

read a story to about you. But you're away young, you're planning to propose to your girl, and the story there was a story because you wrote a song. Whatever. I say whatever because that to me, that wasn't the headline. I think you were the fact that you were maybe nineteen. I was twenty years old. I was planning on getting crape. Man, I'm looking back, I was white out of lot what came from it. It's like, why are you trying to propose? A kid? And I didn't realize how much I had

to learn. And at twenty years old, I thought I was growing up because I had like the boy job and I was like, man, this is like this is what people do back home. They get married early, and uh they settled down. And that's kind of what I saw life as. So when it didn't work out, that's kind of another reason why I moved to Nashville. I was like to get away, and then I found so much more life out here that I didn't even know

I hadn't lived yet. Well what a blessing, though, without a doubt, because you were okay, so walk me through what you were gonna propose. You have to get a little vulnerable here to share some some stuff that makes you feel not as in control. But you were gonna propose that you did propose. No, I was going to propose. I was two weeks away, ever ring, I had a ring, and you were two weeks away. Then what happened? She say,

I don't want to get married. She was in college and she we basically like I went over to her college one night and uh, we're just kind of talking and I could feel things were a little off, and uh so I walk her or we walk outside kind of walking back to my truck, and uh, she was like, you know what, I just don't think this is gonna work out anymore. She was like I want to experience college with them or and I mean just the normal

shoes growing up to you. So I don't hold it against it or hold it against it any you were kids, yeah, I mean we were literally kids. So yeah, so it worked out for the better. Thank god. You was extremely mature, without a doubt. That's one of those where at the time you're like, I'm never gonna get over this. This sucks. So what was the song you wrote after that? Giving you Up? So that was the That was the very

first song I put out. So we have these new rules and it's so stupid, okay, because well you don't. You can do whatever you want, but we can't play clips of songs anymore because we get sued all the time. So Mike, we've never done this before. But what we should do is because we we'd come on and we'd played the whole hook of giving you up, and you'd be like data, and then we wouldn't get sued. It would be a great day, you know that. That was every time we did one of these, we wouldn't get suited.

We play some clips, So don't sing it hard, but give me like them giving you up like melody. If you were just kind of mumbling it. So Coulson, Oh, I can't say words. You can do whatever I want, but I don't want to pressure. You'd have to sing because I did not warm you up. No, you've because I'm giving you slack. I did in marble lights, him giving you that's a good one. We can't get suit for that, right if he sings it, we can't get well, yeah,

you're not gonna yeah. Um, So when you put a song out like that, or when you just record a song like that, do you send it to her after you write it? Oh, I'll send it out a spike man. Oh heck yeah? And do you do you just? Do you send it out of you recorded on your iPhone after you finished, or do you wait and go into a studio or you do it at the house? Like, how did she get the first version of that? Um? I think it was after the studio. I sent her

the rough out of the studio. But how long from when you guys broke up till you made her rough out of the studio? Probably a year? Dang, you waited a year to hit her with that. We had talked in between A year later She's like, what is this a file? Giving you the camera in a year. Do you tell her it's coming? Oh? Yeah, yeah, I had told her and I was like, well, this is like

I have a song, and uh I didn't. I don't know if I I guess in my young mind, I didn't want to like open any more doors by like playing something like that and then when I was gonna come out and I didn't want to get blindsided by so I just or did you really just wanted to hear it a little both? Yeah, I mean human nature. Yeah, I'd be like, listen, how good I am? Now? Really messed this up and now? And I ponderr ring like

that's what I'm that was? That was it? Uh So you signed a record deal like um, you know, and things are happening, pandemic, that happens. I mean when when you sign a record deal, I would just think at least I would be like, oh, about to rock. This is gonna be awesome. A record deal with a major label to get the stadiums ready, and that's that's the first thing. You think. It's like, oh, I'm going you

don't work. Yeah, you don't see the work at all, and you're like, oh man, this everything just fell into place. I'm about to be arena headline toward next year. It's gonna be great. And uh, then you realize, oh wait, I gotta really work like I'm just a baby, like nobody artist. I don't know aboudy know me. When you came to the studio and played Falsome Prison, I just remember, and I've heard again ten thousand people play that song.

God dang it is. It was so powerful and your tone there's a big part of it, not just you being loud as she do. And I didn't know you from being on the Voice. If a wire is getting across stop you here. You were on the Voice, right, Okay, I didn't know you from being on the Voice, but I remember a video seeing a video of of that post, which is why I think we were like, hey, come in and play the song. And to have a lot of people know you from playing that song. Do you

ever want to not play that song? Do you feel the pressure to play that song even though it's a cover and but a lot of people know and discovered you from that song. No, Uh, I actually enjoy it because I never did that one on the Voice. I just kind of came up with that at the house one day and uh, it just like I said what it was. I must have just seen a collection of videos because I'm I watch all your videos at home alone.

I take videos of you and you aren't looking. But that one blew up though, right, or wouldn't have been said to me? Yeah, okay, So you don't feel the pressure because it went viral to play it, No, I'm and it's part of our set. But if we hopef we take it out, it doesn't hurt my feelings, I'll do. I love playing it, yes, oh great, and that's awesome if you love playing I played every freaking Sea's like twice, like I want to write more songs that are in

that vein. So I love having that kind of I didn't know if you would get annoyed by having to place or feeling like there was a pressure I need to play something that you did previously that went viral. I think I get more annoyed from from some of the songs that I don't feel like I wrote to the best of my ability that I sang every night, like even giving You Up being one of the first songs that I really wrote. Um, like, I feel more pressure to play it, and I did that covert for

some reason. Yeah, but you have played that big. Yeah, you have to, and you're all the goal is to always feel that way. Honestly, in three years, you want to be annoyed at the songs you just wrote, now, fair enough, because it means you've grown. I will hear or read old jokes that even I wrote two years ago, or here's and I'm like, oh, like, I'm almost embarrassed.

But man if I wasn't and I was just the same, and I was like, oh, yeah, I look at that's still rocking, I would feel on surface good, but I would go, man, I guess I'm just not get any better. But when I do see a clip of me telling a joke or doing a bit on I'm like and and it does make me cringe a little bit. Like you said, you're embarrassing in these songs you wrote. Like then I'm like, that's awesome. That means I'm actually getting better. That's that's a good way to look at him. And

I had never looked at it like that. But I make me want to vomit. I'm so over me. I hate me. Sometimes I spend my whole career life every day it's all me, me, me, MEI because that's the business that I'm in and I'm over me and so I look I'm and the fact that you talked about that's great, that makes you've grown so much as a songwriter. Good man, Like, I like, that's a I can't talk. That's a good way to look at it is because if I don't, I'll go crazy if I don't. And

also I avoid listening to me. Will you listen? I was gonna ask, what's the deal on that? Will you listen to a live show that you did well you recorded? Will you listen to work? Like? What's what's your rules

on not going crazy? Um? Okay? Work tapes? If I'm I know that I really truly love the song like a ton if I listen to the work tape like four or five times on a row, what an Yeah, So i'll know if like, if I love that song and I'm like, oh, I'm probably gonna put this song out, I'll catch myself wanting to go back and listen to it. If I'm gonna listen to it like once or twice, I'm like, I'll put it in the pile. And if I don't listen to it, yeah, I will never say it.

Let do you ever do the thing because you're a real artist and I'm a junior varsity. But I'll write something funny, a funny song, and I can't listen to it for a while because I'm so close to it, and in the middle of writing it, I started to second guess everything. And then it's to me, it's not even good anymore, about halfway through the writing, and I'm like, this sucks. It's not funny. I suck. I'm not funny.

My career is over, so I have to take and I'll put it back without a doubt, and then I'll have some separation and like two months later, one of my buddies, so I'll write it with I'll be like, dude, this song we wrote a hobby lobby is freaking awesome, and he's like, what month are we in? But I have to do that because I'm too close to it at the time. Without it, do you are you able to have that perspective? Or can you write a song stay with it? No, it's good the whole time and

be like, let's go. I kind of did that with my album and like where I fell in love with those songs and I got got in the studio pretty quick to cut them, and then I was like, by the time they all got done, I was like, oh man, it's anybody even gonna listen to this because it was in my mind so much so before we even put it out. I didn't listen to the album until probably right before we sent it to get mastered. Yeah, and I was like, all right, yeah, I believe in this.

Is this you trusting Dan? Yeah, definitely. I trust him with my wife man me and him, or we've we've gotten so locked in over the over this record. I'd say that we just put out because we did a couple of odds before that weren't my favorite sonically, And he even agrees with me with that, where he's like, we we didn't really nail these, and uh. I just kind of took that with a grain AsSalt when we went back into the studio for the record and I

was like, well, we know where we're going now. So me and him really work together, which I kind of was in the back seat, and that was to my own fault, like I did that on purpose because I was kind of letting him him guide the ship. But he really he works really well when somebody else is giving him direction. So when you say, sonically, is it your voice is a guitar tone? Is it? What are like?

Who are you now? As far as no, not even musically, but um, son I want to stay sonically because musically you can write from these places and you know what you want to say and why you want to say it. But who are you? If I just listen to a song for the sake of just turning it on and hearing it and not listening, I'm all over the place, man, And uh, I don't mean to be, but I love so many different styles of music. Um, you'll hear a little blues, you'll hear a little rock. Um do you

fiddle with tone on guitar all the time without it? Oh? Yeah yeah my best friends that are guitar player. Oh my god, Like stop it sounds exactly the same, dude. Yeah, it's kind of a habit. And I've become like, not you, you should keep doing sure, But that's how I feel. I'm like, there's no difference in the two tones. It's like when I'm at the eye doctor, it's like, what

about this one? What about this one? It's the same one? Yes, So why are you giving me differently, but you're like you just constantly for that perfect time constantly man, and uh, sometimes to a fault like where I'll like get obsessed with it, like bassed tone. For me, it's such a big thing, and like you, we're making that joke about bass, but like bass is such an integral part to to

the song and the way that the song feels. And uh, if the bass doesn't have the right roundness or the right flatness or however it should sound it, it really can throw a song off, at least in my ears. I bet you listen to music so different, dude. I missed the days when I could just listen to a song and listen to a song that those were the

I bet you have that. Yeah, um, and I have certain things in my career are on the same thing where I just can't enjoy it because I know, and I've spent so much time in the middle of it, start learning too much. I know, and I listen to it a whole different way now. I don't have always that with music like you do. Also, because you're really good and not You're not just a great singer, like

you're a real life musician, And there's a difference. But I bet you it's hard for you to listen to anything without trying to pick it apart unless it's something old that you have been any four that you've loved for a little of doubt. And even then I'll go back and I'll be like, man, I thought this record was so much bigger, like and you listen back and there's like four instruments on it, because like, how did they make that sound so big back in the day?

And then I'm like, well, maybe our stuff sounds big. I don't. I don't know. I just keep kind of wandering around in those worlds, and you'll never stop wandering, honestly. And to think of these artists that got in the same room, even if talking about Georgia Tammy and they would show the back, the background singer and the piano player, the baseball. They had to be in the same room and play at the same time, and it all had

to all right. Here we go three eight of them don't and they be perfect or close to it or that's just what got on the record. Absolutely, And man, we actually we just went back into into the studio not too long ago to cut some more songs, and we we did it that way, which was fun. We did it all the tape because I wanted I wanted that realness. I wanted some of those mess ups to be on these new songs and kind of makeing it just a little bit of a classic or classic class

that classic classic. Did you listen to a lot of classics? I listened a lot of classic rock growing up. Sixties and seventies. Definitely was that. Does that influence how you're making music now? Without a doubt? Man? Uh? Seventies rock from me, seventies and eighties rock was where my dad listened to more than anything. My grandpa is where I learned all my country music through UM. And then my mom was just I guess she was more than that

nineties rock. What she loves She loves some Nickelback, So I arned. We had we had the nickel Back on the show today. I've never met Chad was in Chad Krueger. I was calling Kroger. Oh shoot, I didn't know that anything. Well, he didn't tell anybody that like a year ago, and so I'd always I wasten Knickelback like crazy. I was younger. We had him on the phone once, but he came in today, a lot of energy, right, Mike, it was good and and talks very dirty. He's very much a

rock star. He's like, I'm sure it was a rock star like the band. They told me that I couldn't get a song with the first line, Uh put her pants around ankles on the radio and we were like, we're listening to this going what's he where's he going? Where's what's happening here? And he goes, you know what, number one hit a rock radio first line? She had her pants around right, And I'm like, all right, we'll put that on the podcast on later. So what your parents?

What did they do white when you were a kid. My mom was like a eye technician, so she worked at the ode doctor for a while, and then my dad used to work at a I don't even I still have no idea what he did. He was like a raw chemical engineer for five Yeah, I hear Mike Spive. He made magnets for the inside. Hey wait wait, yeah, Sherry did, buddy. He carried blueberries from city to city. Olga. Uh, your TikTok or sponse has been strong, and I still

figured it out. I don't know what the heck I'm doing on but but you've still been able to do really cool things on there at same time without a doubt. And isn't that kind of what TikTok is is the fact that the raw stuff really does do better most of the time. It does, man, And I spent a lot of time hating it. I think I out of jealousy watching other people just blow the heck up and

be like, why can't I do anything like that? And uh, I had to like kind of get my mind out of that and get my mindset out of that to be like, man, these people are just trying to do the same thing I'm doing. They're just using a different platform to do it. And once I figured that and flip that switch, I was like, man, this is this is actually a really cool tool and a really cool way to discover new artists. That's it. It's a cool tool.

I absolutely agree. I have a friend of mine who's just won't get on TikTok and he's a big artist, and he's like, you know, I don't want to like be tiktoki, and I'm like, bro, being tiktoki may have been a thing like two years ago, but now it's just like anything else, like they're all roads, you're all on. You're you're on the road, going all from places, like just use it so people can find you and maybe they want to find everything else you've done. You don't

have to get on, do dances, you get on. Just play your songs. That's it. And if nobody watches it, okay, nobody knew was there anyway. If they don't watch, it's not you're not embarrassing yourself. And he was like, I just don't want to do TikTok. And I said to him, you will do TikTok. You will, And you're gonna six months after you're gonna be like why didn't I start earlier? And I said, and I'm not going to be supportive. I'm gonna be like, yeah, that's right, idiot, because I

told you to get on TikTok. And so yeah, like I think you thrive there because you sound so good even when it doesn't matter what the acoustics are, if it can be a microphone with a speaker, bathroom or just in a room where the acoustics are terrible, Like you have that voice that kind of takes command, you know, we talked about earlier. Rah Charles, like, that's you in a different way. And I like the one you did in your speedo Like I thought that was I thought

it was brave. Yeah, definitely a brave Uh So what's the deal with the new music you're talking about? Recording songs? Man? Just uh like, what's like when? When? What? What can you tell me? We've got no rules anymore? Man, I'm just kind of I'm not saying anything when you say there are no rules. Oh man, I'm just I'm putting out whatever I kind of feel like right now. I don't know. It's uh, I don't really I have a

project in mind. Yeah, whether these songs aren't recording now we're gonna live on that project or just be random singles that I throw out, I don't know yet. I'm just kind of I'm just recording the songs that I love. And uh, I'm gonna hopefully have a song out next month. Hopefully we'll see February. Yeah, that's what he's saying. Hopefully

who who makes that final call? I do, But it's uh, it's gonna be a song that's a little bit more dear to my heart that I was kind of in a dark spot when I wrote it, and it's called take Me Home to Carolina or take Me Home, um and uh, it was kind of written like right at the end of the year, right during Cmas, and I was just like, I was kind of pissed, and it's kind of a as much as I didn't want it to be, it's kind of an f you to the industry.

And I learned a lot about it or about myself when I was writing it and being like, why why am I so bitter towards things that I can't control? So that song, I'm just putting it out as a voice momo. It's gonna be like a voice momo. That's my master basically, and just you can master a voice of them, I guess. So that's what they told me. I've done a lot of fus to the industry. Mine aren't rarely that well received. I hope you're oh yeah, I hope your song and it's like, hey, this is

a good song. My fews don't end very well for me sometimes. Well, man, I'm super pumped for you. You're like really good. Appreciate them and not just everybody's really good here, I mean, everybody's a good absolutely. If if I see you at this point, you're pretty good with

the possibile being really good. But and I may have told you this, when you're up in the in the in the room with us, it's rare that somebody comes in and those other people care in my room because those are all my friends who didn't get into this for any other reason except they were my friends, like Amy and Lunchbox and Eddie, those all my friends. They didn't they were like, yeah, we'll do the show with you. So they didn't get in because they have some sort

of some sort of love for they like music. Everybody likes music, and sometimes people love music for different reasons, but they don't. They didn't. They don't care enough to be moved. But you came and performed and you walked out and they were like, god dang. They were like that's that. They're like, that's they don't say that about anybody, maybe one or two people a year. So yeah, that's like my my lasting impression of you, it was when you walked out, all those people that usually don't care

cared and that's really cool. And like Jake, for example, cared. He didn't know you thinking back and putting all those dots together it's I mean, that's that's really cool. How that all happened. It was like, you know this guy, Nope heard of him. Listen to this song? Oh yeah, it's pretty good. And then we were I'd seen that video of you um doing the spot. No, I have that, that's on my phone. I watched one all the time.

I've seen that and maybe as I saw that one and maybe as a voice video two, and we were like, let's get him up the show. Then you did that, and then it was just it's just really cool. Do you leave like a trail of like authenticity appreciate it? And that's hard to do here. Man, That's hard to do in this town because everybody's just trying to get it. You know, everybody's trying to get it. Who. I just asked you a couple more questions because I'm just interested

you as a person. If you were to create like the four people in this town that have been good to you, that can mean they gave you food when you're hungry, they gave you a record deal when you were good, They put you on a tour. Who are the four people in this town that you would put on your amount rushmore people have been good to Cameron. Uh, I would say my manager and my girlfriend. Um, wait, are the same person? You said it so quickly. No,

I'm sorry, I was. I knew those two are my Like, say their names to your manager, so Megan, my girlfriend, my manager, Caitlin it And then um, i'd say Anthony de Vincenzo, he's always been great to me, And um, who's Anthony de Vincenzo. That's her my manager's boyfriend, and what and he scrubs or no, he's just don't want

to know how they've affected you. Okay, I'm sorry. They they've all just had my back in this in this town where if I'm even in the roughest spot that I could possibly be in, they've always kept kept me grounded and kept me reminding who I am as a person. And I feel like it's really easy to lose yourself when you get into town and get into this industry, especially when you start to make it a little bit.

You can give yourself real quick. I agree, man, And uh, I think I don't know, I don't know if I speak for everybody, but when you start going from headline shows and like selling out a show and then go to a fair or something like that that where maybe four or people show up, you really have to check yourself because your ego will start getting big and they keep the grounding and I appreciate them for that. Who's the fourth one? I let's say, uh, can it be

like a conglomerate? It can be whatever you want? All right, my sony family, They've been really good to me, man, They've they've really let me steer the ship when it comes to my career in the music that I want to make, and I respect that no one's ever asked. Can maybe I conglomerate questions that have been asked back? Um? Now, let's do this professionally only and you don't even have to meet him. But like artist wise, who do you

put up on those four as? Like your favorites? If you only got four artists to listen to for the rest of your life, their bodies of work would be there for you. Wow, let's go George Jones, We'll go Kings of Leon, We'll go Brooks and Done and George straight you met the Brooks and Done guys. That's awesome. They're awesome. Just for dyous. Ronnie is one of the coolest guys ever. Man, he's yeah. Ever like he's a dear friend, and it's crazy to think that who I

listened to and idolized musically growing up. We go to dinner with our wives, that to me is bizarre, and there are times where we're there and I'm like, it's like I cannot believe what is happening. Do you have those moments here now with some of the people that look at you and go, dude, you're really good but you're like, no, but you're really better without a doubt man. And it's so what's so cool about running done is like, dude,

he sounds I feel like better now. It doesn't even make sense, Like you see his show and it's like, hole, how does how does this even happen? He We've got my wife and I got married a year and a half. So I go back here in the back and Ronnie saying at our wedding and you know, there's two hundred fifty people, three people there and it's we you know, built a little place back there for the reception. And I was like, yeah, I see, I'll sing whatever you want.

And so he comes out and he does Neon Moon and not only does your Neon Moon, he like does the breakdown part. Hey, he's like doing runs. That's pretty cool man, And he's somebody's so good. Still. The crazy thing is he has somebody in his eater is telling the words all the time. Dude, why not? I would have prompt up, prompt her up? You have somebody back there you having to hear and sing. Just put a prompter up so you can see the words. I don't want to do that. He's like, then I'll look old, bro.

I put I tell jokes. I put a prompt o my jokes down there. Dude, if I could figure out how to run one of those things, I'll do it in a hard But you're not supposed to run it yourself. Like somebody to run it? Can you by him singing running the prompt your rolling it up? Yeah? Do you feel like you have to be sad to write sad songs? No, I'm actually opposite, alright, happy songs when I'm sad and said songs when I'm happy. Okay, what does that mean to you? I don't know. I don't know why I'm

like that. I think about it. Why do you think will end on this? Maybe one more? Why do you think you write happy songs when you're sad. I think I try and change the perspective and I try and change and put myself in a different spot. And I don't know if that's a creative thing that I do, but it's just kind of how my mind works when I'm writing songs. What's the saddest song that you have? Oh? Song called break It, and it's not out. It's just a song that I wrote. And Uh, it's like, are

you gonna put it out? I'm Mike, how's it going? Give me a little bit of that that deal again? Where you do that? She's a little singy breaking news. I gotta think I hadn't listened to the song and song I'll sing it break Uh, it's basically the hook is I'd rather lose it or lose you than break it. Basically, I'd rather lose us or lose this relationship than keep breaking your heart over and over and over again. And uh, it's a it's a cool song, man, what's the saddest

song You've ever heard? I just had this conversation yesterday and just to see you smile, it's actually not supposed to be this like love song. And once I heard that and found that out and listen back to it. It is sad, and you look wonderful tonight. You look wonderful. To know. Everyone thinks that A is like a real happy so, but it's actually not happy. He's like, hurry the freak up. It's not like I love it. There

are also upbeat songs that are very touching. The and I would have walked five hundred you know that song. I have no idea what that song is about. Well, what's the most beautiful thing ever? It's like I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more just to see the look on your face because I've been so in love with you. But when you have those two do no, no, no no, it kind of makes it this big, jovial song. But it's such

a beautiful song. That is. It's, you know, an upbeat song, but it's really cool to hear some of those up beat songs that are really sad and just see smiles kind of a mid tempo, but that feels like just who so you smile? I do. It's a happy but it's really not really what it feels like. Man, Yeah, that's he stopped loving her today. God dang. Yeah, have you ever heard Broken Window serenade? Huh, you should check that on out. It's by Whiskey Myers and it is

that wouldn't make you sad? That one was like, but it's meant to make you sad, Like it's about some girl I get hooked on drugs and ends up passing away. Uh diamonds gasoline, but who's that? But I know, I know. Yeah, it's like if I don't give you a diamond, I'm gonna I've gotta have gas links I get out of here. Oh man, man, that is it too. That's a jam. We can sit there and do sad songs. We'll cry on each other's shoulder. Sad songs are my favorite me too.

I want it slow, I want to understand the words. I want to like feel it r e M. Everybody hurts one of my favorite songs. Everybody to play it all the time, just alone. I wasn't even sad. I'd just be like, play it. I wanted to get sad. Look, we've we talked about it. This. This has been awesome. You guys follow Cameron, but the K they get a lot of seas. Yeah, Cameron with a K Marlowe, I mean even your last name spelled a little difficult camera. If I'm being honest, there's still time to change it

with a sea And um, you guys follow Cameron. Uh, we were Cowboys came out in September. So at last year, he says, there are no rules and he's just gonna put out voicemails. He leaves people apparently songs at this point, voicemails. Um, really looking forward to. I don't want to say what's next, but I want to say I'm really looking forward to. You know what what what you decide? What path you decided to walk down, you know, because you're gonna go

down a bunch of them. You have so many different, like really cool influences. Your music is gonna sound different over two or three or four projects, which is super cool because again you do have such a blues and old country and new like the Infant And I'm just super excited to see where this goes, man, and then where it goes after that. Appreciate that's really cool. I'm a fan. And when you drove up, your truck was too big for the security camera. Now did you hear

me out there? Yeah? I gotta he put the button and and and be honestly, I was on the toilet and camera pulls up and all I see's a truck door. It's like, I was like, hello, he goes Cameron, and I was like, I guess that's camera in what kind of gas elege? I think it actually does really well really yeah, it's good. All right, all right, look I've said it all. I like you a lot, appreciate Yeah, cool, my can think for Cameron. Alright, Camera Marlow, You guys

follow it. And when you put out a new like maybe next month, is that a new single or is that just a song to kind of chum the water, just chum the water. Just let me know when you get that that when you're ready again, come on back up, do it again. Let's do it. Let's do it again, all right, Camera Marlow, everybody