Episode 26 - Chris Janson (12-5-16)

Wayne Newton. It sounds good. It's not unusual. I was in Vegas this last weekend and we ran into your boys, low Cash because they played the same stage the night before, Yeah, in the National Finals rodeo, and they were playing I think six of like eight nights, all in different places, and so I saw I saw Preston walking around because I mean they were playing every night in Vegas there every single They're like everywhere all the time, man, and

they play inn far every year, and You're exactly right. They play like they look a seven day residency in different places. It is just wild. I don't know how they keep up with it, those guys, and Preston came because we had pressed it up well like four five cents ago, maybe more than that. I talked about you, but you guys are close. He's one of my best friends. That's what he said. He said, he said, as far as like Nashville goes, like, you guys have been friends

for like close friends, real buddies. We came up together, and there's a difference in real buddies and work friends that you get along with and work well with, and then just the acquaintances and acquaint the people you don't like to you know whatever, but you're you're like real friends. Yeah,

we're real friends. The weird thing about the Preston when he came over because I like those guys a lot, and Preston and I had only ever spent time together either doing the radio show or we'd we'd be on the road and play We played that thing four shows together, the Raging Idiots, and we get to hang out there, but we never get to hang out like a real

human setting. So we just said at the house and talked for like forty five minutes after after this year, and I was like, dang, like I really I used to like that dude. Not I really liked game because he has a long story dude, Like he's a he's got a lot of wisdom. There's his stories and their story. Because we sat in here and do the same thing. And they've and have been through it all, but you

have to. And Christiansen's here and we're gonna start with In a second, I'm talking about Blue Apron for one second. Blue Apron comes to your house for less than ten dollars a meal. Blue Apron deliver seasonal recipes with preportion ingredients to make delicious home cooked meals. And Blue Apron knows that when you use great ingredients, you make great meals. And they actually they mail it to your house. It's in a box to all the ingredients. You cook it.

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holding her here? It's so the first time I heard the song was on Buy Me About the Record, and I thought it's a good song. It's a good but I wasn't moved by yet. Now smash cut three weeks later, maybe around the time I was watching it something called New Faces in Nashville this last year, and you played this And when you get a new album, you kind of just popped through every track. When you get it,

you're like, Okay, I like that one like that. You really don't spend a lot of time with a lot of songs, and so you played a Hole in Her and I was like, oh my god, that is such a freaking good song. And I was talking to your label head who I really like, to John Esposito, and I was like, if that's not the next song you put on the radio, like you shouldn't even put songs out on the radio, Like just just go ahead and

Chris back, because that song is so good. And as I look today, holding Her is now twenty five and still and climbing, so so talk about this song forer a second. Well, first of all, thank you for the compliments on it and the kind words. It is. You know, well, you know my my backstory, my wife and I met kids and um CR. As you mentioned the country radio seminar show, the New Faces thing where they there was like five or six artists. The thing was, Man, it

was just kind of a no brainer moment. And for me it's always been a no brainer moment because obviously I'm very married to the song, being the writer and singer of it. However, it's such a true it's a true life event for me and I live at daily. And so the fact that it um that it has had the opportunity to come out, the fact that it did come out, and the fact that everyone has embraced it as they have and by the way, thank you,

um It's just an incredible blessing to me. Man. And you know, there's one thing to be said about songs climbing the charts, but when it's climbing the charts in a way that is a song that means so much to you personally, and I mean on a deeper level than just a song that you sing live with your shows and people stand up for. Okay, okay, well talk about that for a second in case people don't know, Uh, why does this song mean so much to you? You know, it's it's the truest out of all the songs I've

ever written, it's the most it's the truest. Um. I saw my wife for the first time in Nashville at the in an underground pool hall which is is called Melrose billiards years ago and she was um working a job for a record label at the time, scoping out songs and songwriters, and I was down there hanging out with friends and I just fell in love at first time. I really did follow up at first sight, and you know, three years later we got married, which was amazing, and

it was just like God's timing is perfect timing. And Um, I walked into a house that was already a home with the kids in it, two kids, and that I started calling my bonus kids. It's like, I don't I hate the word step kids. And then we had two kids together, and really life just became just unbelievable. I mean, my life really changed for the better. It was it.

We've been married seven years agoing on eight, and it's just been one of the most incredible blessings ever, aside from anything with business or music or anything for that matter. And when I wrote this song, James Otto and I were on his back porch and um over in Green Hills in Nashville, and we had just had George, our youngest daughter together and our third, our third child, and he said, man, what do you want to write today?

And I said, dude, I just want to write about my family, and and I just it just came out. We wrote in about twenty thirty minutes. And you know, that song is the oldest song on the Buying Me a Boat record, which is what a lot of people don't know. It's the is the oldest one on there. I wrote it years before Buying Me a Vote or anything else on the whole album. And um, you know, it's finally it finally got to breathe um and live on this album. And now that it's living on the radio,

it's a huge deal for me. And I've been playing it around for so many years that now when people hear it and then they hear it on the radio, it's like they're putting two and two together, going, oh my god. You know, it's it's been a lot of people's favorite song for a lot of years on the you know, from touring and things of that nature. And um, since Buying Me a Boat was such a big breakthrough.

Um it allowed you know, allowed my audiences to get much bigger, thankfully, and now in the year holding there's just a beautiful thing. The cool thing about it is too, it's not a traditional radio song, and the fact that it is still climbing the charts does speak volumes because one it's a valid too. It's a very country ballad with talking in it, and still a guitar and still so there are all these elements that right now aren't

mixed together currently moving up the chart. Right well, thank you very much, uh, and thanks for making light of that too, because I am such a fan of songs man like Sunday Morning coming Down or um. I mean, you could think of a million songs that have a little any kind of Conway song. UM. So many of my favorite what you would call now traditional country music, UM has has some spoken word in it. Even some George Stray records out of the last ten years, you know,

I mean they have some spoken word in it. And holding her I didn't, you know, I didn't really mean to go for that. I wasn't like shooting for anything. It just happened that way. And UM, when it when it feels right to me in my heart. Man, That's just how I fault. That's how I gage everything. That's how I That's how I just do anything in my whole life. When I get up to put my boots on in the morning, if it feels right, I'll put on that pair. If it feels wrong, I put on

another pair. Um, holding too big, I'm getting his shoes. The eyes, buddy, that they're feeling all right, Okay, get some sneakers, man. Uh. But you know that's how Holding there came together. And and um, this is a beautiful thing, dude, I'm I'm so I'm so grateful for it and and for people to take a chance on it at radio and and to be playing it like they are, I mean, um, like you said, for it to still be moving up the chart, and and to be such a different kind

of song as um, it's pretty incredible blessing. So you have actually two songs on the radio right now, one that you sing on now, one that you wrote on, which is this one, My girl How Always Be? That's a good one. So thanks. Funny When did you write that? Was it after the record came out? Was this one that you were writing for tim? Or writing two pitch or for yourself or what what was the process with this song. First of all, I love your I love these questions, and I really I didn't thank you for

having me yet this evening. Thanks for having me probably, Hey, Mike, you the first one I ever bring a gift like whoa. You can thank my wife. You can thank my wife. She had the initial idea, and I said, that's that's a great idea because I don't know what to you know, you're nothing, there's nothing to get me. You're a man of many taste, very peculiar peculiar taste, just as I am. And you know you gotta be, you gotta be, you gotta be touchy feely with what you get. So I'm

I'm glad you liked it. However, thank you for having me, and thank you for these questions because I rarely, I want to say, I rarely get to talk about songs, and I rarely get to give the back story on them and to answer your question about that's how I'll always be. First of all, when you played that, I just love that song. Even if I hadn't written it, I'm so proud of it, say sitting in a room, I gotta tell you this story. Man, this isn't this

is an amazing thing. My my friend Jeremy Stover called me. He said, Um, hi, se j, let's write a song. So okay, fine, So I went over to write with him. When I get to a studio on Barry Hill, which is over on the other side of Nashville, a friend of ours Texas bo at the same time named Jamie Polly said, hey, man, all, hey guys, you know, um can we can I come over and either of you available to write? And we say, hey, we're actually together. I don't know how you knew that, but he didn't. Um,

once you come join us. He got there, he's kind of having a rough day, man. Um. He he got there and he started explaining what was going on is mom had pretty terminally ill cancer, and um, we it just hit everybody pretty hard, to be frankly honest with you, and so we just tried to lighten the mood by doing something and writing songs is what we do best. So, UM, I knew mcgrawl was pretty much done recording at that

at that point. And UM, thankfully I've been able to get to know him a little bit and and um, here's some inside things. So I thought, well, you know, we maybe have missed the record this time, but let's just write something. I said, guys, I would like to write I'd like to write another side of my story, the other side of holding here, like like my backstory as a man, you know, and I tell a little bit of that. Let's write it in the vein of mcgrawl and man, maybe maybe for the next record he

might like it, you know. And so the song really came together and it meant a lot to all three of us, but it really meant a lot to me personally because, Um, all the words in it are my story. It's a very true to life song for me, every every single little bit of it. And the most important part is UM. I sent it to Byron Gallimore, like three days after we wrote it. We did a little work tape demo of it. He's, oh my gosh, I love this. Yeah. Sorry. So Byron Gallimore produces Tim mcgrawl.

He produced part of the Buy Me a Boat record. Um is a great friend of mine, and UM a great friend of ours, and and just just love Byron and Um. He and his wife, they both worked with Tim. His wife finds, you know, find songs for Tim every now and again, and and Byron produces the songs. And I sent it to Byron to see what he thought. He was like, oh my god. So I sent it to Tim and immediately I get put on this email chain. It's Tim loves that he's gonna cut it, just like

I mean, how many days hours. I don't know what we're talking here, from the minute you sent the work tape or the demo to him to the fact that you're on the email going, hey, I love this song. Within within I mean within the first fifteen minutes, I was, I was that quick swear to god, man, I got it from Jeremy. I was like her, you get it to me, her, he get it to me, her get to me. You know. I'm like, I'd like a hurry up and wait kind of guy. I just can't stand it, Okay,

I just have to get going. And I said, can you please send it to Please send me. Yeah, I'm just getting the vocal. Rest forget the vocal, just send me the track. So I sent it to Byron. Oh my god, Chris, I just love this is what Byron said. And uh, and so he talks. He got back and sent it to Tim. Within fifteen minutes. I was never forget I was leaving FedEx in Cool Springs, done in Franklin, and I mean it just happened. And I mean you

never know. I mean some I've had a million artists we're gonna cut oh my god, we love it, and then never cut it. I never even look at it. You know. Dude, Tim is a man of his word, and he's very he's very good about keeping it too. And he recorded the song. He said, and you know one thing that I'll never forget Tim mccrawl telling me was thank you for writing me the song I always wanted to record. This was really amazing moment for me. And I didn't know that I was being a part

of the song that he always wanted to record. I just knew that he likes, you know, he likes Don Williams type things. He likes um uh, Guy Clark. He likes you know, old stray dogs and guitars play, and he likes Tom t Hall, you know, those those sorts of things. And it was just a really it was a really gratifying moment for me. Now fast forward, the songs on the radio is doing good and and and

looking like it maybe that's fantastic. It was doing great, thank you, but the potential to really be a number one, hefully, you know, either either way, it's it's already a hit, it's already a big top ten. But here's the thing, the most part and part of the story and the journey is, you know, rewind Up told you about Jamie

and his mom. Jamie's mom just passed away a little a little while back here, right about the time how long is he was coming out and was about to hit the top twenty, and so this is a really trying time for his family. I know he's I know, he's you know, been going through a little bit personally. He's a great guy. And um, you know, Jamie at this point being the third co writer man at this point, like Jeremy's had a ton of number ones. He just wrote I Love Somebody for our boys low Cash. Like

he's he's on fire. He produces justin MORI mean, he's like all over the board and um and thankfully, you know, since boat Man, things have really been seeming to go my way and and Jamie um has had some good cuts to his name, but this is his biggest one yet. And with the chain of events that everything has happened in his life. That just really makes me smile because I'm I'm proud that he got ahold of Us. I'm proud that he is a third songwriter on this song

and that the story. You know, if we if we're fortunate to have a number one with it, man, it's gonna be an awesome, very emotional party. I saw Speaking of My Girl, you're gonna be playing with McGraw I think at the end of this week or early next week. Yes, Saturday, Saturday night, we're playing in Vegas. Okay. So I just came back from Vegas and I saw everywhere Tim McGraw and Chris Jansen, you know, and it was a picture of you. Yeah, and I was like, that's cool, you know,

because you're everywhere. Like it's obviously a Tim poster, but very prominent Christ Jansen on the poster, which doesn't always happen. Because there was another one that was like Toby Keys and the tiny letters that goes with a big and rich and I was like, wait, they're bigger than they should have just with bigger. But it was really Tim McGraw with Christ Jansen with you know, you had your picture with your trap over and so I'm getting in

the elevator. I was talking about this on the air this morning because they had us in a really fancy party MGM. Because when you we played MGM the Raging Idiots, then they put you in a really nice hotel, put us in the suite. You're in the fancy place. And I got into this elevator and it's all mirrored out and like chandelier on top. And I I'm not exaggerated. I swear to you as I'm in can of snapchat at it. As I'm in the elevator to this fancy hotel,

I hear you know there's playing as I'm going down kidding. No, that's awesome. And they weren't like playing just country. It was all different music and they were playing a hold on hers. I was going to let's talk about how you got here for a second. You are born and raids in Missouri. I was born and raised in Missouri, just above Arkansas. Were you from you? So? As a kid, you were what kind of kid? I was a very shy kid um at times. I boy, we've never talked

about this is gonna be good. I I was very shy kid at times you know. I always was a musician, always a musician. How are you a musician at seven? Right? Where are you playing? Man? I started when I was eight years old. I got my first stratocastra guitar and immediately started playing the blues. And I started playing. My first song ever learned was keep your hands yourself Georgia Satellites. And I love the blues, man, I love the blues.

I love rock and roll. I loved country music. My first album I ever got is Garth Brooks, the one where he tied his belt sideways a double double sided shirt. And my second one was Randy Travisman. And remember my dad used to sing digging up Bones around the house all the time and stuff. And I've always been a musician and I've always been a very musicians at all. And the family that kind of maybe say, hey, you

should pick up a guitar. So my parents are not musicians. Um, my dad took a swing at drumming there for a while when I was like an early teen. Um, but he would tell you like it was just a for fun, you know, garage band, drink some beer kind of thing. But um, you know, traditionally, like my my granddad played a little guitar, but not much, and his father before him was a pentecostal uh a tent revival evangelist, uh

and he played fiddle and that kind of thing. So I guess music probably runs in my in my veins at some point, very kind of appellation, you know, kind of country blue grass kind of stuff. But there wasn't anyone in your life that said, here's the piano or a guitar, you should start playing. No, no, not at all. It was me. It's totally me. I wanted, man, dude, I wanted to be who did you see though? At eight?

That made you want to pick up a guitar? Because something had You had to see something with your eyeball guns and roses. So that's what I was. Oh my god, I was like, I want to be Deaf mccagan, and I want to be that you picked up and now later on you more get the guns and rose than a minute. But later on, I mean, but so it wasn't Slash, it wasn't Axel, and it was Deaf mccagan.

I thought, dude, I do with the with the long blonde hair was like just cool looking, I mean, and he is cool looking, it's like I want to be that. I want to be that right there. And I I always thought David Lee Murphy was the bomb, Like I mean where I come from. I mean, first of all, he is and everybody thinks so. Second of all, where I come from in the Midwest. You know, we grew

up right across the Mississippi River from each other. Literally, I bought my first car with lawn mowing money out of his hometown, two blocks away from the street he grew up on, small world. I was a huge David Lee Murphy fan as far as country music goes. And he was, you know, he's still like, he's kind of a rock and roll type, jeans wearing kind of guy. And um, so those two things made me really want to play man. And it's funny you should ask. I've

never got to tell anybody that. So you started playing guitar at eight years old? When do you start playing where people start watching you? Pretty immediately when I started playing, um, you know, that was right at the brink of about to go into middle school. So you know, I was a skateboarder, and I was also in four h and I was riding horses. I did a lot of different things,

as I could do with a lot of stuff. But I loved skateboarding the skateboarding community as most no will lead you into, like different kinds of communities will lead you, like into the hippie crowd and the cool crowd, and you know the maybe the um the misled youth crowd who listens to punk rock all the time. And I got way into that kind of stuff. And Um, I started meeting buddies who thought like me, who thought outside

the box. He grew up in a small town and wanted to get out of it and and um found outlets in music, and so we all just started skating together and we built like a local skate park in in Felts Park in town. And man, we we started getting our instruments from Shivelbin's Music, which was a town thirty five miles away in Cape Girardo. Was a little music store there and m dude, we we just got the cheapest of the cheap guitars and started playing. And me and my buddy Kurt Brewer and um uh Anthony

Lawnchius and all these kids. Man, we just got together from all different grades, middle school and high school and started playing music and we play anything anybody wanted to hear. What were you in that band that was the drummer? Wow? Yeah, so you picked up a guitar, then you were the drummer in the band. Yeah. I was like the drummer one week, and then like if if we needed a bass player, I would be like bass player. I mean, he's whatever. I mean, we all kind of alternated, however. Um,

you know, my first instrument is drums. I learned that very first, and then the guitar came like the week after. I forgot to tell you that. But I'm a drummer first, and I'm still a drummer. I play drums every night actively in my live concerts, And um, I am the kind of person that I'm gonna try it really quick, and if i can't get it really quick, I'm done. I'm just gonna move on to something else. I'm still that way. Your small why both of us are Yeah,

we know, we're very like, we need it. We gotta figure Okay, don't we have the same birthday? Yeah, so, I mean it's a lot of similarity. We addictive personalities, but exactly exactly. I'm back on the dude, by the way, So no, man, so like, I wanted to play the drums right, let me just tell you. So I learned to play them. I learned to play him in school and I was like, okay, cool. Then I got the stratocaster guitar. I learned to put George the satellites is like,

I got that. So I got a basic car. I'm like, well that's pretty easy, the same thing. And I got on piano and I love Jarreley Lewis. I'm like, and I figured that out, Okay. I taught myself and m dude, I just started hop skipping around and then you meet the right kids. And it was usually kids who were like unpopular, kids who nobody wanted to hang out with.

Kids were like green hair and weird ear rings. And I mean I grew up in a pretty like Frankly, a pretty redneck, you know, white trash, blue collar town man like you just if you're not a farmer, you're not cool, you know that kind of thing. Like everybody hangs out the m f A and city tavern downtown and that's just the way it is. And if you don't play football, you're a punk and that kind of deal. And I was definitely kind of right in the middle.

So you're playing music. Did you graduate high school? I did? I graduated with honors man. I graduated, Um actually got I was actually offered to graduate my junior year. Um, I know, you got a schull. I'm gonna leading to the scholarship with with college credits and stuff. But I chose to stay in school because my senior year they offered a work program where it could actually make some a little bit of cash and and go to work and try something that I thought maybe I would want

to do for a living. Because when you're a kid, you don't think you honestly, where I come from, you don't really think that, oh my god, I can be a music singing star or anything for that matter. I can't even have a job doing this. You know, you

know why. And we come from a similar background. You don't think that's not guess people tell us we can't, but no one tells us we can because nobody else does around because that you're precisely right, like, nobody tells you can't, but no one tells you can because no one else is doing. And we come from and you know what, it's okay because now as an adult, I come to appreciate it. And actually, you know, some things

you kind of missed sometimes weird. But I grew up in such a inside the box kind of mindset I'm sort of cursed with. I'm still still that way a little bit. There's things you never grow out of. But I grew up so much around that that it was

just kind of unreachable. You know. You know when you say that, it resonates with me because I speak at times, and i'll speak at graduations or i'll speak to youth, and and I'll say that a lot, because I'll talk to kids who grew up like I did, and I'll say, you know, these big dreams, no one tells you you really can't do them because they don't seem real. No one tells you you can't grow ten feet tall, right because everybody knows you're not gonna do it anyway, but

no one. So I would say, listen, this is what I've done. No one told me I couldn't, but really, no one told me I can. And so I'll talk to the and say tell them they can, you know, but they I mean, look at you. Look at you. You're a prime example of nobody telling you you can but you just went and did Yeah, I I know one other kid who did it in my hometown. Man, it was the one kid that I consistently stayed in

bands with. It was also the one kid that I consistently stayed in bands and budded heads with because we were both a personalities which now we we even still keep in touch via email and phone. Actually two of my friend can't forget the other one one move to one. One stayed in the States and went on having a great career playing drums for the Aavoite Brothers and Bob Dylan and lots of people. Okay, his nam Jacob Edwards. His dad was our band His dad was our choir teacher.

We had choir teacher and a band teacher in high school. My music teacher band teacher flunked me and did not like me at all and treated me very badly as a kid, very bad. I think that for many years. I don't mean this to sound cocky whatsoever, but I was a natural music and people like him aren't. They are theoretical. They have to read. They like to cocky. For you to say you're a natural at music, you're a freaking number one song right but you know what

I mean. But but I don't. I don't mean it pretentious. It's not, but nothing about it pious, thank you. But but for people who you know, don't know me, I'd like to let him know I don't mean that pretentious. But but Mr Fisher was not nice to me. He was just not He just wasn't nice to me. He did and that's a sad thing. In school, man, a lot of teachers, you know, they probably got picked on at one point. They're really you know, he's a very smart guy. However may be a little bit smarter. I

don't know. But the thing is is I flunked that, but I got an a in chorus which I didn't want to take, and it was Mr Edwards. His son, Jacob is the one I was in the band with. Man. He was a free spirit. He was just about just do what you want to do and and we're just gonna praise your art no matter how bad or good it is, doesn't matter. And believe me, we're pretty bad, okay. And um Jacob was one of the kids who who came out of school and did something with his life

as far as music and became very successful. And I think lives in East Nashville now. And another one of my friends who grew up two towns away, and he grew up in an even smaller, like, very Catholic community where you were very frowned upon if you did any kind of music or rock and roll or anything of that nature, uh Ian Fisher. And now he's a very critically acclaimed singer songwriter in in Europe and and lives in Germany and just in his awesome that's what he does.

He travels around Europe and place shows and just a pretty amazing thing. Man. I feel very blessed to have the opportunities that I've had. And when you mentioned number one songwriter and singer and these things, it still doesn't register for me because again, and you know this coming from where we come from, your great successes with your

career as well, it's just sort of unfathomable. And even even now in my hometown, I only have about five friends who even recognize what I do for a living, or they just don't even you know what I mean, It just doesn't It's just a it's a two way road and it's very disconnected. So you're in the town and now you had an interest in animals like veterinary I did. Now I got the interest from animals and veterinarian because I told you earlier I was. I rode

a lot of horses as a kid. I did horse showing, a whole bunch actually a lot of Middle Tennessee, which is a whole other avenue to talk about. But long story short. When you get older and you get about seventeen, and you know you're pretty poor kid growing up, you gotta have a job. I have. I've had jobs since I was a young man. My dad said, I don't ever want to have to make you work. You know,

you work when you get older. But I always had a job because I never like anybody telling me what I could do with my money, and I don't like asking for money. Is I'd rather make it myself, whether it's if it's two bucks. I got two bucks and not in that asked for Veterinarian work came pretty easy.

There was a guy that played softball with my dad on the little softball leagues there and and um doc and and Doc Freeman, and he always said, man, if you ever want to make some extra bank once you just come over and work for me, you know, And just do whatever. He's a he's a the only like the town, the town main, the main guy, the guy, there's always the whatever. Where we come from, there's one.

There's one person that does everything because we can't handle too We didn't mean we couldn't have to gas stations and we're gonna have to, man, Okay, it's like you know what I'm saying. They're both gonna run from mayor to just go bigger anyway. So Doc Freeman offered that. And so in my school too, even though small town, they had a vocational program because against so many kids grew up in the agricultural business and that kind of thing.

And traditionally you either go to the military, you become a farmer pretty much it, or you work at Walmart. It's one of three things. And um, my senior year, I'd already gotten all my credits out of the way, so I thought, cool, I'm gonna take a vocational class and I'm gonna take him up on it. So I want to work at a vet clinic. And I've darned near almost became a veterinarian. Like I was pretty serious about it, and the fact like I was pulling scholarships to almost go to do it, and uh, I just

kept you from it. I never had it in my heart. Man, I was just doing it too to make some money, and I knew that it would probably pay good at some point. You know, if you become a doctor or a um, obviously it pays okay, Um, dude, I played music.

I've always played music, no matter what I mean. On the weekends, I was playing on hay wagons in in on eighty Acres down and on the East End, and for you know, um, just a bunch of beer drinking hank junior songs and skinnered covers and those kind of things, and I just had music in my heart. I've never written a song at that point, but I loved playing

and whatever band I was in at the time. So when he got right down to it, about a week before I was going to go off to college, I decided, well, I'm not gonna do that, So I'm just gonna go to the closest place that has music. And I wanted to get away from you know, you always want to get away from where you come from, and then when you get out, you want to have some of that back, which is interesting because I'd love I love small town lifestyles. My wife from a small town. I you know, I

love it, um, but Nashville was the closest. So I packed up on I decided on a Thursday and packed up on Thursday afternoon and I moved came back. So you moved to Nashville. You're out old, I was. I just turned nineteen. So you move here at nineteen? And where do you move? I'm moving a two door Monty Carlo that you can um the folks can see. You know that that we talked about that country radio seminar show that I did. We did the video for it and I put the Green Money Carlo my video like

kind of a lifestyle. Lived in the car. I lived in the back seat of a car with the back seats would fold down, you know in those cars. They don't make cars like that anymore. It's really cool thing because it's not safe. Because I'm glad they don't make list they made sense back then there was more room, but we used to stand in the seats. I have written on so many consoles of bills with my head sticking out the old school sun roof. You know what

I'm talking about. We'd run the back of the truck, like you can't all that's gone, dude, lay in the ever lay in the back of the ever lay to get to get warm in the back window of like a cutlass. Yes, and on the on the like the reverse console because that's where the heat comes that when the window comes down in that spot. Yeah. Do you ever travel like nine hours on a camper shell on the back of the truck because with blankets? Yeah, yeah,

that was a road trip. It was. You get the truck and they're like five of us getting the campers shell in the back of the trump with blankets with a grandpa who's like um, kind of mean and and only makes sweet hands to ham sandwiches and will not pull over at Cracker Borough. I mean, I'm saying that in a very nice way. By the way, same moved in Nashville. You're living in your car. I'm living in the Tudor Monty Carlo. How do you find a play the park? I mean, like, what do you park to live? Okay,

here's a good one for you. So I pulled downtown and I pulled what's now Hockey Tounk Central on Lower Broadway in Nashville used to be Shawnicky as Irish Pub, which was before my time here. I pulled into the parking lot back there, and this is still when Lower Broadway is kind of like undeveloped. It's you know, it's still kind of dangerous at night, that kind of thing. And um, so those listening. Lower Broadway is the main

like tourists place in Nashville work. All the cars are where people come and they go to see all the music and where a lot of people go frankly to to try and quote make it, you know, and so um it's just the bright lights and big city kind of thing. So I pulled there. I got a boot on my car the first night because I had never paid a meter. I have never paid a machine to

get a take them out. And no, I mean, who would know coming from I wrote it, boy that in my book that I was like, when I moved to Lot Rock and need to pay for parking, I was blown away. You had to pay to put your car. It was a shot. It was a shock that I had to pay to put my car somewhere. Believe me, I know, I got a boot the first night. So I'm like, well, this is awesome. So but anyway, dude, I'm I'm sleeping in the fold down so half in

the trunk, half in the car kind of thing. And uh, I literally moved to her quintessential story with the back a physical backpack full of CDs homemade you know, just basically what you would call now garage band demos, UM that were really made in a garage on a two track dub recorder and UM transferred over to CD with a sticky on top, you know. And so I came there, and I was just basically busting up down Lower Broadway with a guitar case totally Averacrombie to out Berkenstocks, the

whole deal, and UM, asking for gigs. And I'll never forget I walked into I walked into Twitsias, like at ten o'clock in the morning, and UM, the bartender was like. I was like, oh, I'm here for a gig. I thought they were going to hand him out. Like I could go to my hometown somewhere and just find a gig at a local pub or restaurant, you know which would you could do pretty easy? And UM, I'll never

forget this bartender named Susan, I'll never forget it. She look me around the eyes laughed in my face, and because easy to get the hell out of here. You're never gonna make it here ever, never gonna make it. Just get out of here because of how you look. I think because of how I looked. I was so young. I mean, and believe me, a nineteen, I looked like I was twelve. So it was like you put two and two together. It was a weird thing. So I left, and I'm going up down the street and I'm asking

toga on stage, and nobody let me on stage. Did you ever play on the street? No, I was. I just never wanted to go there. Man, I never wanted to go there. I I just figured this, if I if I'm not good enough to get into the bar, if I can't get in there to sing, which at that point to me was like, holy cow, I'm making it. You're singing in Nashville. I mean, people are in Nashville watching I'm famous, like it's happening. It's like that's the feeling.

You get your right. So I go back that night and I finally get I begged doorman to get me on stage. It puts me on stage was so nice. It was like midnight, puts me on stage, and do you wanna hear something crazy if I moved here? CRS week. So CRS is when all country radio comes to town and the artists are in town and there every labels. I mean, it's a really busy radio e we Yeah. So when a long story short, he puts me on stage.

I played fulsome Prison Johnny Cash and I started the song out, and of course the band I was wondering where they were looking at me and rolling their eyes. Gun, oh my god, because they've already played it twenty times that day, starting at ten o'clock in the morning. It's about midnight, it's two hours left play the song. Crowd goes wild, the owners from the bar, dude leaves over the countercats, can you finish two more hours? I said,

that night right then I said yes I can. So he looks at the other dude I swear to this is swear to God, looks at the other dude who was singing. I just let me up on stage. He goes, you're fired, go ahead, and I was like, okay. So I played two more hours worth of just anything I could think of. Hank Williams, you just called him out to the BANDELM. I mean literally just start songs and they would just do it, you know. And so that was my intro to Nashville. And I got done about

two thirty in the morning. The next morning, I had a gig. They asked me right back, I done, said, can you be here in the morning to play? You want a gig? You want to gig? I said, yeah, ten o'clock in the morning. I said, ten o'clock. Who plays at ten o'clock in the morning. I mean, what are you talking about. Well, there's like They're like, well that's what time the hockey talks open down here and if you want a gig, yes or no? I said absolutely. So I came in, I played acoustic, and then I

got done with that one. It was a four hour show. I got done with that one. Same thing. Dude was like, hey man, we had a two o'clock, actually cancel you want to play the two to six? Go put a band together. So I go on that. By the way, my car is still booted sitting in the parking lot. Okay, never moved. I never really left. Okay, And plus I don't know what to do with the boot And plus I'm trying to get a gig and he's just trying

to make it go put a band together. I had like fifteen minutes, so I just started gathering people off the street, just people walking down with amps and guitars, asking, Hey, what do you play? I there's so many musicians down there anyway, still are I mean, there's you go down there right now in Nashville. There'll be fifty guys walking into different bars and coming out of bars with pedal carts full of nice instruments and things. Okay, drums or whatever.

So I put a little band together and I played the two to six, same thing for the six to ten they go once you go to the back room with tood season and played the sixth ton. Okay, fine, Now keep in mind I started at ten o'clock that morning, so then I played the six to ten, and then I got the ten to two that night. So I played sixteen hours in one day and never left the bar. And I did that continuously for three sixty four more days and until I got discovered for the first time.

So he played a whole year. Yeah, I did sixteen hours a day. Now, what did you finally get a roof though? Okay, so I got a roof? Um, I was crashing in the car man for pretty good a little bit there, and and of course what's a little bit three or four weeks and you know, almost a solid month living in your car. Yeah, but you know you meet people too, and you know I'm talking about from bar backs, you know, just some nice dude slinging

slinging cases of beer or doormantor just whoever. H Tyler farr Um, the the guy who owned the bar's son, you know, who was a college kid at the time, you know, and you you know, you gotta have showers and stuff, of course, So I mean you crash the couch to or three times a week, maybe here and there, but most of the time, I mean I'm living very much living out of the car. And then about a month into it, I was able to, you know, get my own apartment, which I shared with uh a doorman actually,

the guy who first put me up on stage. Um Tyler farr was also crashing couches and doing that kind of thing and kind of jumping from apartment department, so he would sleep at our place a lot than um. You know, pay a little rent every now and again, that kind of thing, and just you just make it and I My first place was over in Antioch. Did you ever I'm wondering if it's you. Did you ever sleep on the lower level on the floor of Eric Passley's wife's house. Was it that Jansen? Who wasn't the

staying in past? It? Yeah, it was Natalie, but it wasn't. It wasn't Jansen, not this guy. Maybe it was still it was one of the stow man because there are a bunch of guys you just hused to migrate around. Oh dude, I lived in Antioch over off of Levin And Road, and um, right on the back of the roilroad tracks. Pretty shady, pretty shady. Appreciate you set. I'm not gonna lie, you know what shady means. Though, uh yeah,

it was pretty awesome. But I was like, there's a lot of money and you know that kind of thing. But hey, you know the deal is, man, you just do what you can. And and before I moved to Nashville, Um, I saved every penny I could to mowing lawns, selling snowcune, a little snowcone business going on. That was a pretty entrepreneurial guy. And um, you know one thing, I have the other and gigs and that kind of thing. And

I'm not talking like big money. I'm talking like maybe twenty five bucks a show kind of deal, or you know, twenty bucks a night on snowcones. But I moved here with a little bit of cash in my pocket and uh and that sort of thing, and just made it from the made it from nothing. He started from the bottom. We're gonna play a spot here for one of our sponsors, with Chris Jansen right now. Looking for the perfect gift this season one to avoid the malls and lines this year.

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less than fifty dollars. If you're looking for convenient and quick shopping for those on your list, go to Omaha steaks dot com and to the code bones in the search bar. Add the family Gift Pack to your card and get a seventies seven percent savings. It's the gift guaranteed to be a hit. All right, we are back. All right, So you played a totees for how long a year? So it's solid here to when you say being you you were discovered? Who who saw you? And and what did they discover you for? So I would

say about three quarters the way through the year. Um, First of all, I was packing it out like like like they say, nobody else ever has was the fire marshal shut us down all through the year, all the time when I would play that kind of thing. And and it's you know, certain times more than others. But um, music business is what I mean by being discovered. People from the industry, you know, A and R executives, label presidents, publishers,

booking agents, those kind of things. Um, My first real break came from a movie director named Jonathan Demi, who, um you know, did hard of Gold for Neil Young and UM stopped making sense. I think he just did the timber Lake thing too. Um, But anyway, he came in.

It was spot checking the rhyman until he's just kind of downtown, just Nashville as a total vibe for the Heart of Gold documentary on Neil Young and saw me playing and um and was like, Okay, I think you might be great for this documentary, you know, and wanted to cast me in it. And that was kind of my intro to um a little bit of success and maybe perhaps my first paycheck, which ended up being my

first paycheck. Neil Young caught his attention and they put me in the documentary a small part, but a part nonetheless. And after that that really, you know, really sparked a lot of talk because I was just some kid in Laura Broadway and not at the time nineteen my first year. Yeah, and um, not to mention. Then you know, then everybody started flooding in from the industry. It wasn't just fans

and things like that. They were coming amongst the fans and I'm talking about um, just anybody who's anybody man, And so you have been scotted by the whole town yeah, I didn't know it though I would had no clue. I had no I would. I would have no problem sending a tip jar around to whoever it might have been at the time. So you say you didn't get a paid chake, you were getting paid in tips, tips only only tips, And so you'd play. If someone gave you a twenty, that was a big one. Huge. You

play whatever they want? Do you play anything for I played something for a dollar. Gives you a twenty? They jumped the line. It's a big deal. May I give you a hundred? Dude? People used to flood my I mean we made likes one night, one night, okay, So how do you split that up? If you're the main guy, and you're really the main guy coming to watch the base although he is doing his work, I'm the dude, right, okay, or whoever, for that matter, is the dude or the chick. Okay.

When it's lower Broadway style, bro, it's mono, I mono. It is. Every man is equal, no matter what. That's just how they look at it down there, and it's just it's just the way it is. So when you're tip jarring it, you just split it. You know, if there's four people there, so you made night? Was there a super corporate vendor something to happen at night? Like? No, No, do an you think special about who it was? Did it know? I just used to hustle, man, I used

to hustle. I still hustle. I am a hustler. Like I know that sounds so good over I am like, I am a hustler, dude. I don't come from anything. I come from like I come from parents who worked really hard and and did o care for themselves. But um, in the grand scheme of things, man, I just never forget being told one time, son, I don't have it to give to you. And I said, from that moment on, I will never live like this. I just I won't. And that's not meaning I'm not meaning dirt floor is

a poor by any means. I'm just saying not extra to go around. And uh, I just said right then, I'm just not gonna live this way. I'm gonna hustle and do whatever I have to do to make money. And when you're playing out of a tip jar, you damn sure have to hustle. You have to learn to make it because, believe me, if you have five people in there from ten o'clock in the morning to ten o'clock at night. You know, any people, that is five people.

And then by the way, you got to give a tips share to bartenders, tips shared a doorman and you're not making much money, so you have to be good number one. You have to know your repertoire. Number two, and you have to be able to sing anything, and I mean anything, because if you don't, they'll go right next door to the next bar and find some other guy who is as you're doing this and you're playing tutsis for a year and listen, I waited tables for

a year, so I know. And it's definitely not the same. But there's a culture, there's a night time there's a nighttime culture, and it's a different lifestyle. Yes, Now, were you ever caught up in that lifestyle with any of the alcohol the drug use, because it's it's crazy. I mean I watched I had to stay away from it because I knew what I would do. I'd go right into it and I would kill myself. Yeah, well, thanks

for asking. Um. I never had a drink until it's twenty two and I've never done a drug in my life ever. Not not ever once, never even smoked the pot. The pot. That's funny we have because I haven't. We have so much in comment. You know, God, it's okay. And I haven't drinking eight years. I'm thirty now used to two. So did you just drink for a minute? I did, And that's how I see you doing, Like I don't see you doing anything. Happened, no, no, no,

no no no. The last date we had. But by the way, my wife and I still didate we're gonna date tonight. Here's the thing before we're married. The last day we had official one, I'm like sixteen long necks in I mean, like, I go hard when I drink. Man, it's like, if you're gonna drink, dude, get drunk. If not, just what is the point? Okay, So I've never had a drink and it's and it feels like it tastes it smells like just piss. Oh God, I just hate Like, why would I drink if I didn't do? Just want

to get hammered? Honestly, why would I? Honestly, dude, I never had a drink. I was twenty two. Do you believe that? Two? And when I did, I was like dude, I don't let me get it so much. Stop. I stopped because I met the love of my life that I wanted to be completely committed to, and um, she had kids. Did you do as I do and just go okay, have a stop right now? Full? But don don don't. I haven't had a drink since crazy. I'm thirty years old. Crazy done. I try. I I take

that back, I'm not. I don't want to lie. I forgot this though. I did drink one time, one time in the last what is eight or nine years? Okay, what was the occasion. The occasion was I was opening up for Darryl Singletary in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York, and there was nothing else to do than just get hammered. And my wife was like, it's okay to have like a glass of wine. I'm like, no, no, no, no, Nona, just keep on straight now. She's like, no, that's cool,

it's cool. And then my guitar player at the time, it's a great guy with a bad influence, he goes, I dare you to drink or try to out drink me, and I was like, it's on, that's all I tasted. Dare with my feet right now. I did you ab my feet right now? Actually, I mean, if you're hurting man or whatever. I look, look, look, I'm comfortable moan skin. But here's the deal. But dudes, but I'm not that way anymore. But um, that's what I wrote. You know,

we wrote better. I don't about stuff like that. But the long story short, man, I was getting so hammered. I mean I was so hammered, and I was like away from Kelly, I was playing horse shoes and corn hole in the back. And if you know, Darryl Seing was hery first of all, great guy and had had big hits, you know, and one of his songs was I ain't never had too much fun? And I was thinking these corn holes and I was like, you never had that much fun? Happy Darrel? Whoa? I mean, I

was turned into like such a smarty pants. So it's a good thing that I don't drink, man. But other than that, I'm completely sober and I've never touched a drug. Man, I would. I'm just not that guy. I love cigars. I smoked cigars all the time. I had two cigars for it before we got on this podcast. But I just I don't. I don't smoke cigarettes. I'm allergic to him. Actually, um, whatever is in a cigarette, I'm allergic to. Not a cigar, though I can smoke them all day and fine, I

guess because you don't inhale them. But I've never never touched a drug. You don't help. I don't know about siguard. You don't have a health cigars? Well, I mean, I guess some people do with the real hardcore, but I mean that's that's that's not the thing was I just thought it was a bigger I what do I know about cigars? That was like a bigger cigarette? No, No,

I think it's just for me. I mean, from what I know and the people I know who've smoked them, it's just kind of a conversation piece and you just kind of puff on them a little bit and enjoyed the aroma. And that's kind of what I That's the only thing I do with them, dude, youth a cigar, right, I haven't eye that. Yeah, I thought they were just like big what do I I don't know anybody. Do you know? The first thing that song I've heard from you was better? I don't moved to town and I

was like, what is this song better? I doubt damn, what's funny? I heard the song and so I come to down and it's a whole to do because for me, I was the first ever nationally syndicated country morning show, and it is, you know, just crazy from the people that were excited to people that weren't excited, all of these mixed basket of emotions. And I hear this song and I was like, man, this guy's nuts. Like I just love that. I was like, man, this guy's nuts.

So I met Chris. Chris was the first ever guest we had on our show period, Like we were on the air and just Nashville for a week before we went on the year nationally, and I was like, hey, you sound crazy and good and that's what I like you, So why don't you come do the show? So Chris showed up and played the song as our first ever guest on on a show that no one thought was gonna last more than a year, like really, so far, we'll see And Chris came in and just and and

played this so well. Now, but I do think I look back at that first time and it was just like, man, it's so good. And then from that time, you know, all the way until now deal or no deal or whatever the occasion, it was just like, let's just call Chris. Charity event, non charity event, single, no single. It was like, let's just call Chris. Let's just call it Chris. And that's just kind of how it's been for three and

a half years now. Our first freaking guest on a show that wasn't gonna make it to a guy that they also told, hey, you're not gonna make it, and hey we're gonna drop you, and hey we're plenty of times. Dude, I wrote that song with Kelly, my wife. Really it was better around. That's a true story, as you well know. Let me ask you this. So your wife also your manager? Okay, how does that work for you? It is the only

way I would do it. So does that mean a hundred percent of the money just goes into the money? Good questions? I have a manager two and I know she gets and so you guys are married. I mean, how's that working? You know what? Um? She has a co manager that she has, um that she teams with. UH that actually teamed with her rephrased that team with her. UM. First of all, let me say, without Kelly, I wouldn't do anything um in this business. I had already decided

that Red for by my boat happened. Um. I was very happy and very content. And once it did, I said, the only the only way that I will go forward with this song and and thanks to you for making a hit that very first moment um. The only way I'll do it is if you manage me this go around, and I won't do it any other way. I just

so she wasn't your manager before. Absolutely, so this round now that you the new Jansen, the new label of the new that the star now it has been with her absolutely And I will tell you and not just because not just because she's my wife, and not just because I'm trying to pat her on the back, but she is the brains behind the operation. Okay I write the songs and I sing that, yes, but without her just sense of the world, I probably be a train wreck.

So you wrote this with her? Yes, bath forward. If you're not going to be an artist anymore and you're writing song because I assume you saw had a publishing deal and someone could you still write a songs? You just decided to doing me a songwriter was that it. You're just gonna be at santime be a songwriter. I was gonna be a songwriter and an independent artist and just be happy and content with that and just tour because I've always had a fan base, thankfully, because I've

all I've ever known is playing live. You know, It's just what I do. So we've been touring forever, whether it be in my truck, I mean we stoid, we stoud get in my truck man on Craig's. I'm a Craigslist junkie, right, So I've had a million trucks off Craiglister, cars, whatever, and flip them and sell them just like people do houses. And Man were getting at Craigslist truck and drive eleven hours on a Friday night to West Virginia. I get up and play for an hour for five dollars, drive

back the same night. I mean, we would just do anything we could to make ends meet and support a family. And and we've Man, I remember just feeling so rich. I mean literally, like I don't know what it was. We were like God, we are like doing We're making it like this is awesome, and we don't have a there's no record, do we not to answer anybody. It's

amazing thing. And I mean just nothing, you know, just nothing, and but do we got to the point we're like rolling in a bus and stuff independent, like just a full blown prevote tour bus and playing show. Has got

a great agent. I have the best agent in the world, like a guy, a guy who didn't care if I had a record doing not like just didn't care and just believed in what I did talent wise and for whatever reason, man, I didn't have to give a sales pitch and he just he didn't have to sell it, and he just joined with us and took it in stride, just like we do. So you're writing buy me a boat. Did you write that for you or were you just writing it to write? It's not just writing it to ride.

At that point, um, brother, I I was listening to Hank Junior Records all morning. Came in Christo Ball and my co writer was like, what you want to write today? And uh, at that point I had already like pre I'd already prefaced him in the in like we had like one co right before that. I didn't preface him like I don't want to be an artist. But but he's like, dude, what are you talking to me? You want to be an artist like you? You're an artists. What you do, it's what you do. We went in and, um,

I wrote the biggest song of my career. When you finished this song where you're like, ah, this is a good one, because you write a lot of songs, yes, I will say that. I was like, that's a good that is awesome. I love I actually loved that. And I remember telling Kelly about it before we got the demo and stuff. I remember like, I love this song. And we got the demo played for Kelly again, the brains of the operation said, that's a huge hit. We're

gonna put that out. We gotta keep your touring going. So you put it up on iTunes? Yes, no label, nope, Yeah, but just did you? I mean you're running your own literally just run them on a little operation. I mean, I don't know anything about it, you know. I'm just like whatever. I signed up on tune core of my with my like personal email and everything else. I mean,

just whatever. It's I was like, God, you can click, you can go on like twenty different now I'm going on on all these man, I won't gonna sell five of these things, but this is gonna be awesome. Five between five. So, um, the quick version of this. You email me the song, I play it. It's skyrockets, Okay, all that happens. Now, what I want to know is that period between that happening in the song blowing up

and the period you've signed a record deal. So I play it like five times in one morning, and it's obviously a hit because the people listening to the radio made it a hit. They download it like crazy. They love so fast forward past that day and want me through the next couple of months as you were trying to find a record that were they coming at you from different directions, different labels, and what happens then whenever there's a song that's huge from an unsigned artist, this

is a fun part. So that happened. And by the way, thank you, you know what to say. That's why I glossed over it. You're welcome moving on. I know I know that, but I'm I'm just you know what kind of person I am, And I'm just I'm always gonna praise you for it. Man. You change your life. It's you change my kid's life. It's unbelievable. I really do appreciate it. Whether you can take it or not, I appreciate it. I'm the same way. I can't take compliments,

but I mean that. Um So, here's what happened. You played the song. I wasn't even awake yet, as you well know, I know, we woke you up. I mean, you gotta understand. We just got back from the beach. Okay, I had that song trucky I'm McGraw, and and we we spent every little penny we made all that to buy an investment property, a little little eaty bitty beach condo. Right, we're down there, we're like redoing it. We're like, oh my god, we're making it so awesome making it. And uh.

In the meanwhile, like I'm like, oh crap, I mean I got tu got tun quarter tomorrow, Kellers, you get two quarter tomorrow. And we're on the way back, and well, you know, we got in it. Like why why did I make you that like two o'clock in the more? You okay, it was we got it like two o'clock

in the morning. And I remember being on for Joy Week three weeks prior to that, and you said, if you've got anything, just send it to me as my buddy, and I was like, okay, and I because people will send me music and when I don't ask, I don't listen to it, right, But I asked you. I was like, dude, whatever you have, send it and you know and you know me, I'm just and for people listening to there, I'm just not that kind of guy. Like I'm just

is not that guy. I don't want it to come off like oh man, and maybe he'll play my song right or maybe not even whoever would play myself. I'm just not that kind of guy. And you gotta understand. The day before you played it, I'm sitting there telling Luke Brian at a table in Deston, Florida. He's like, my on, what you guy going on? And I said, oh man, just nothing, just touring right and saw you know, Bubba, we're down here remodeling this thing. He's like, oh man,

that's cool. And then the next morning you played it, and I saw him three weeks later, he's like, what the hell I mean are you kidding? So anyway, you played the song, I wasn't even up yet. I get up. I'm doing the dad thing. I mean, like Kelly is going to start. But We're just doing the normal deal, right. She's like, um, oh my god, uh turn the radio. Good, good your truck turning radio? Um, my phone's blown up, like probably won't playing your song. Like, what are you

talking about? I mean, that's really what are you what I mean, I didn't. I forgot I sent it to you. I mean, yeah, that's how nonchalant it was, you know. And so I get in the truck and then we talked on the phone. And in the middle after I got off the phone with you and and Eddie and the and the crew there. I never forget that when I was talking to Edie and he was remember he was saying, it's going up the okay, right, I was

talking to him. I never forget then when you hung up the phone and I got my first phone call from a record label, and it was Chris Lacy at Warner Brothers. And she was like, oh my god, um, what's going on. I'm like, I haven't heard from you, and like I never hear from you, you know that kind of thing. I mean what I mean at this point, I'm just whatever, you know, and she goes, do you want to record to it? I mean, do you even want to record it. I mean, I don't know, do you.

I don't know what's up? Oh my god, what's going on? I mean I'm crying. I mean my dad's crying. I mean, what's going on? I mean, That's exactly how the conversation went. I'm like, I don't even know call call my wife. She's like, UM, can I call Johnaspisito at Warner Brothers, just the president of the label, you know, Can I call him? And can we can we just get a meeting with you? And I'm like, I'm thinking, boy, how the tables have turned and you have leverage? Do you

have a you have? You have what they want? Which did they hit? Well, it's so that happens. And in the meantime. In the meantime, phone calls are swarming Kelly's phone, like, how did you get my wife's phone number? I'm talking like people we don't even know, people from like out of state, people from out of country. Literally record labels by one o'clock in the afternoon thirteen thirteen, solid real record deal offers like big ones, the biggest, the biggest

you could get. I liked John Esposito and Chris Lacey, Scott Hendricks, Peter Strickland. I like the team. It was really good sign with them. By the way, thank you listen to this so I get in there. The vestage had to come. There's a very special lady that works at the label, and she would be embarrassing if we've even mentioned her. Probably she's like not that kind of person like to credit take credit for things. Her name is Lisa ray We love her very much, my brand manager.

She pulled over her car. She was the first person I didn't know this. She was the first person before Chris Lacey, before anybody knew or even heard on the radio, who just happened to be listening to your show. I had no idea who I was pulled over a car and goes, oh my god, started calling everybody Warner Brothers. You have to get ahold of it. Do you know who Chris Jansen is? Chris Lace Like, of course the

dude and turn it on. That's how the whole thing started without Lisa ray Man like for real, and she's one of our She's she's our tightest compadre at the label. Um, but without starting with you, bro, like it just I just can't even imagine where we would be. It's unbelievable. We got offered so many record deals. John Asposito was on vacation, flew in, we had a special meeting. Um I didn't I didn't need to take anymore in person meetings than that. See you signed with Warner Brothers, which,

by the way, John Easo also on his death. But it was one of my favorite people in town. Like just a great dude. And also you know, ran hip hop label for a while. That was what I love about Hi, bro. I gotta tell you I've never told you this because we're gonna kick out of this and not gonna mention names because it it doesn't adder and and and I'm still actually you know, acquainted friends with these people. Um, we've had great successes together actually on

other other projects. However, I wanted to tell you that two weeks before you played my song, I was in a label meeting trying to get signed off of not I was trying to get signed up buying me a boat and those kind of things. Okay, um off my tune Core project was about to come out, and they were Um, I just never forget a very very influential executive in town going that is not a hit that

will never work. Country music is not going in that direction, and um kind of liked my other stuff, but basically just in a very rude way, wasted my time, showed up in sweatpants, like I didn't want to be at the meeting kind of thing, and it really, it really got me in a pretty big funk. I'm not gonna lie, and so that was when you played it. It was a big deal, and it was a big deal for my family, and it was it came at a time where I and you know this, I say this with

a lot of pride. And now it's funny. I didn't really want a record deal. I wasn't really looking for one. Isn't that funny how life works. That's how a lot of life works. Yeah, it's like we were not looking for one man. We were not looking at all for one. Okay, we've been burnt. We've been burnt once before. I had one before that one that we got burnt that we didn't get burnt. I just like the label fell apart. It was just, yeah, I just didn't have a very good,

awesome upbringing as far as record labels were concerned. And now I finally feel like we don't have a home. It's really cool because they really respect my artistry and it was more than just buy me a boat. They they let me make the records I want to make, and they respect my songwriting, which really matters to me. It really matters to me big time. And um, you know, we just would love Warner Brothers. And by the way, there was a guy um named Clay honeycut Um who

was with my Heart Media at the time. And um, you know before I signed my deal, before I signed my deal, after you played it, before I signed the deal, um, he picked me as the first independent artist for the on Diverge program would buy me a boat, which is an unbelievable blessing and something that was huge and very um humbling for me. Also, before I signed the deal, c MT. Leslie fram Um came to Kelly. We want to we my my my bosses and and all of

my cohorts and everybody. We want to come together. We want to make a music video independent for buying me a boat. And uh they funded the video. It was really an amazing thing and they did and then then the Warner Brothers deal h came in and took effect. After the you know, I had a meeting and everything was just such on the fast track, and um, then it all just happened and we're still We're like we're riding this huge wave and we we we don't want to get off of it. We really enjoy it it.

But we're very thankful. Were very notice that the Grindstone we're still the same people, and um, we just we've learned a lot. We've learned what it's like to have the great successes of the music business now and um, the upsides and the downsides and then all the in betweens, and um we're join it. So as you talk about songwriting, we're gonna go through and I'll play a song that you wrote on give me about a fifteen second story about each of the songs. Alright, you ready we did

how I'll always be Why don't we do? Truck Yeah, truck yeah? Dude. Um, I got in there with my boys low Cash and another cat named Danny Merick. Danny's a great guitar player and a great guy on a beat box kind of things. I don't know, man, Uh, I said, Uh, I said, well if yeah, you know, talking like dudes due in the locker room, and uh, Preston goes, whoooo, what about truck? Yeah, man, and I was like, yeah, that would never work, and that's how

the song came about. In about twenty minutes later, we had a song and that was my first ever cut recording artist cut period. Yeah, ended up being a single in the number one song. I had a couple of things recorded that like didn't mean anything. My first cut on a major artist was Tim McGraw Truck. Yeah. We were pushing Georgia, our youngest thought her around in the stroller. We just had her. That's how God works. How about

this one? I Love this Life with loque freaking okay, same cruise, truck Yeah, same exact writers, all three entities. What's gonna be interesting is how you tell the story because I heard we heard this story from Preston, but I want to hear how you tell it because everybody's perspective is always different because you come from different sizes. Yeah, no worse, So well, it will probably be pretty similar

because we're we're very much on the same page. We all showed up at Danny's house and I was wired like on fourteen Mountain Dews or something, and I go in and, um, I'm just like you Can Can Can just playing guitar, and Danny's playing guitar as great guitar player, great melody guy, and we all just started rapping off words. Okay. And I have to tell you, I have to give a lot of credits to low Cash on a lot of these lyrics because they were feeling a low Cash

song and I was feeling it for him. Now, I will say when Boys of Summer comes on. Yes, Preston, y asked Chris, It's totally my line. I love that line. Right. But man, we just started thinking about happy things, which, by the way, I don't naturally wake up and write these kind of songs. I naturally wake up and write like Dean Dylan, George Strait kind of songs. Okay, naturally when I wake up. I had to work at this one,

and I'm proud to be a part of it. How about And this is the title track from Justin Moore from his record Off the Beaten Path, number one record. Yeah, Off the Beaten Path. This is my dude here, love him, like him and I have a relationship outside of anything worthwise, like when I need tickets. I mean, this is like solid dude, he is so solid. Um story behind the

song fifteen seconds. Jeremy Stover, the same guy, wrote how will always be with Um who also produces Justin which, by the way, doesn't mean you're gonna get a Justin Moore cut. It just happens to be Um. I sang this demo actually, and it was a very much I don't mean to talk in third person here, but it was very much a Jansen song. It was gonna be on me as an artist, but I didn't have a record at the time, so what did that matter? Justin

was cutting loved the song. Record of the song ended up being the title track to his number one record Off the Beaten Path. What's it like when Hank Junior cuts one of your songs? I mean, that's gotta I mean you mentioned you just go play Hank buddy, And then when he cuts one, thank you Julian Raymond who has uh produced that record and works at They Machined. What a great guy. If you don't know him, you

need to. He's top notch. And thanks Hank Williams. I'm an old I'm an old friend of Hank Hanks, an old friend of mine. We go way back. Hank actually gave me my first opportunity to have a major tour Hank and Leonard Skinner and Lardy Friends tour two years in a row, and uh Ken Levitan also his manager,

which was an amazing thing. Man, I got to Hank Junior cuts, and they are my greatest musical achievements as far as songwritings in certain period, because when you grew up listening to Whiskey Bent and hell Bound and Hank and and Hank Senior music alive. And then Hank Jr. Sends word through the grape vine to brother Jansen that he wants something that kind of sounds Whiskey Bent and hell Bnest but not Whiskey Bent hell Bond, just updated. And you send him those days are gone and he

cuts it right off the bat. What was the other one you cut? God fearing man, It's gotta be cool to have when the hero thinks something your wrote. Bro. Honestly, my here. First of all, let me say my hero is Jesus, and my other hero is It's might surprise you, but my other hero, um whom you will meet at some point, is my father in law. It's great man, great man. We're like two piece in a freaking pod. Honestly,

just different ages. Hank Junior though, is a musical definitely a musical influence, and I would guess you would say country music hero of mine. To have him record those songs do it was like, I'm telling you my greatest musical achievement as a songwriter ever it will always be because when you come from where I come, where you come for where we come from, born to boogie? Is it all my righty friends are coming overnight? That is the deal? And dude, not one but two, it was

that was my great great honor. You played at the Republican National Convention instead of truck Yeah, you played Trump? Yeah? Whose idea wasn't the change of the word. Honestly, man, I got kind of backed into a corner that night. It was the Networks, So you're gonna play truck Yeah. I was gonna play truck yeah. Absolutely, just truck yeah. And um they were like, hey man, how would you feel about doing Trump yet? And I'm like, I don't, no,

no if I feel so good about that? Uh you know, And it's not not because I like or dislike Trump. It's just I don't know if I feel good about doing that. It just wasn't the song in your mind. That's it. The song is what it is, right, and so it is what it is, A big hit. Everybody knows it. I've been warming up all day singing and that kind of thing, and I was like, cool truck, Yeah, whoa right party song. It was their idea. But when in Rome do as the Romans do, you know what?

It kind of worked out because Cruise is getting booed off stage. I started singing it and Trump walks out and goes he gives me that trump thumbs and I'm like with the mouth out, Yeah, it's good. It's so good. It was the song. Actually, excuse me, excuse me. It made me sappy when you did it. Okay, thank you, thank you. I win the debate. It's over. I won. You lost. That's a good oppresion. Dude. Hey man, hey,

you know what to answer your question, It is true. Um, I've only ever played music to play music, that's the bottom line. And it was a gig, and it was a big gig. And you know what, no matter if it's for the left side of the road or the right side of the road. A gigs and gigs and gigs a gig. And at the bottom line is they pay you for that, of course, absolutely no, it was a paid gig. I looked at it as a tour show,

which is exactly what it was. It just happened to get a little blown out of proportion because it's a big deal here this hold on, let's cling it out. I've never talked to you about this, and I wondered, whose idea wasn't to go Trump? Yeah, because they didn't make your bowls change their songs right. Well, you know they were big fans of mine, I guess, and they thought I was a rowdy guy. Like you said, this

guy is a little bit wild and crazy. Um, you know what, looking back, to be frankly honest with you, looking back, probably wouldn't have done it. Um. You know, it's not my song. First of all, it's Tim mcgrawls song. And out of respect to Tim, um, it's a mcgrawl song. However, it is what it is. You do things along your along your career path. You just kind of shoot from the hip and you go with it and you do what the situation calls for when it calls for it.

And I didn't want to get stopped, you know, I was in the moment just happened. They're commercial this out now where they were seeing I don't know who's singing it. I don't either. It's weird. There's something to the truck. Yeah, commercial for a tripper? Is it Dodge or it's uh forward and they're singing truck Yeah. Yeah, it's not you. It's not Tim, it's not low Cash, it's not low cash, but it's truck. Yeah. They come, they come to you and say we're gonna do a Ford commercial queen your song.

They didn't. I was just as surprised as you were when it came on, and just as surprise as you just saw it on TV. Where to god, I saw it on TV. It's a long story, and I unfortunately can't get into all the details. Even though we're getting praised. Um, well, you know, we'll get residuals off of because we're sorry that you get paid when you're a songwriter. Um. For those who don't know, it's it is a job. I mean, it's you know, it's just like any other job, though

you have to work really hard and hopefully you win. Um. But long story short, that didn't go all down as we all wanted it to collectively. However, again, some things just happen, and some things have to happen sporadically and very quick, and um, you know it's it's it just is what it is. The commercial is what it is. I would have preferred McGraw's version be out there again out of respect for my buddy, my friend Tim McGraw, who made a giant hit out of our song and

gave us all a job as songwriters. So before we wrap, let's do a quick highlow of your career. Yes, hi, hi, not hello, the highest point of your career, just kidding, the highest point of my career, in your career, that's like the highlight for you here in that here and buy me about on the radio for the first time that morning. The low, the low, Um, I honestly the lower.

I try not to pay attention too much to the low parts, but I guess, I guess if I had to pick one, when uh, when your record label just falls apart and you don't know what's gonna happen, I want to take you to another play in your personal life. Bring it you're high. My wife, well part of it, meeting her, marrying her, Um, everything, man, I really found true love and that's hard to find. I'm still one

of the old time thinkers, I guess, classic thinkers. I still believe in real love and when you find it, you have to take care of it. And I really love my wife through I mean, I just love her the low the low in my personal life. UM, I would say probably any time before, any time before I give my heart to the Lord. When was When was that a two thousand and one? That's the day it became saved? Day became a Christian? Where were you Shelbyville,

Tennessee First Baptist Church. Did you have a plan You're gonna raise your hand? Nope? Actually I said, I'm absolutely not doing that. I was at a Ken Freeman revival. Ken Freeman is a great um motivational speaker and pastor and evangelist. UM at least he was. I don't know what he's doing now, but never forget it. He uh was talking and it just hit me at my heart, and there I went, and I was the only person who went to the altar. So he walked up as

you're walking freaking out, hearts racing, hearts, unbelievably racing. And I at that point had never been told about the word or at least in a way that I felt comfortable with it. That makes sense, And so I went up there by myself and that was it. Just just like that. I appreciate the talk. Man, It's been good, dude. This has been my honor. And I hope everybody listening downloads the crap out of hold in her thank you, and I hope and I say it not just to

your face. I say it when you're not around, I tweeted, I say it to anybody will listen. Like I think propelling you're the best live performer I've ever seen. Thank you? Is it unfair to compare you and people with a huge pirate. Yet if you put two guys up on stage and you just say perform, I don't know it's better than you. Thank you very much. And I'm not saying that. I don't you've ever told the bails down in this podcast, because it would be alive. I did

go check the day of everybody. But if you get a chance to see Chris out, go see him like he if he's playing with an accoustic guitar, he's got a full band. Whatever. I do think you are the but and I think it comes from having a grind for so long like you. You just didn't grow up with those skills put on too you. You worked for those skills because you can get to hustle. Still grinding, baby, and you're still hustling. You gotta always hustle, man. The

minute you quit hustling, you lost. Chris Jansen download Holding Her or if you're listening to this any year whatever his song is now on the radio, don't let that one yea, I love it. If you're heard this year from now his new single that just came out, I love that one too. On it it's amazing. I trust me. These things last a long time. So yeah, whatever a song is, that's my favorite song on the radio, whatever it is right now, I love that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah, alright, Chris,

Thanks buddy. My point episode is this. Thanks for listening to Episode twenties six of the Bobby Cast. Download the record, buy me about, check out all those songs, and thanks for us songs behind the songs. Thank you for using the artists that you aren't that you wrote for. Who's the guy behind the guy? Who's the big winner tonight? Mike, He's the big winner? That's who Mike? Follow him on Snapchatt he's our wonderful producer. Anything to ask before we go,

You always have a great question or two. Anything you said you're back on the do how many of you drinking mountain dew? Mountain dew one and a half today? Not so, I'm not really back on it. You're the worst in mountain due time. Were you drinking? Oh, easily close to two twelve packs a day? Yeah, I have to drink it three later a day, and I would work out and drink it three. Yeah, I'll be like, oh feel good, let me have you. Let's get another one?

All right? All right, thank you guys. We'll see you next time here on the Bobby Cast.