Top 8 BobbyCast Interviews of 2021 (Part 1)

share with you this week and next week. If we don't follow us online, we are at the Bobby Cast on Twitter and Instagram, So I'll be your host this week and next week. We took clips of the best eight interviews from the entire year, and I'll give you some behind the scenes from some of these interviews. As producer, my job is to book the guests, research the guests, pull up all the audio clips you here within these episodes, and then I'm in the room with Bobby while we

do these interviews. So I'll give you a look into that process behind each of these interviews. And if you're not subscribed to the Bobby Cast, wherever you're listening to this right now, hit that followed button, hit that. Subscribe to be sure you get brand new episodes starting in two And if you're looking for something completely different to listen to, I also do a podcast on my own called Movie Mix Movie Podcast. If you're looking for movie recommendations.

I do spoiler free movie reviews, and I also interview actors and directors and talk all things movies every single week. So that's another podcast I hope you check out. But here we go. Let's get into the top eight Bobby Cast interviews. We'll start right now with number eight with Actuley McBride. Now, this was the first time Bobby and I had ever met Ashley McBride, and you actually here in this full interview, the moment she walks into the

room is the first time we ever met her. So I thought that was kind of a cool moment to capture. And another part of my job is to produce her on this show. I coordinate with them getting over to Bobby's house and then I go meet them out front. And this is only hard for me because I am terrible at small talk. So I kind of have this routine in my head that I go through with each guest, so I have things to say as we walk all the way back to the studio. So here we go

with number eight. Come on, guys, I'm gonna put this monster in some airplane mode. Mom loves to call when I'm doing something. It's like a an innate sense that she should call you right when something. I wonder what actually is doing. How often do you talk to your mom? Um? Not quite as often right now, but it's usually I don't know, every couple of days, yeah, or anytime I try to cook something. And is that often? If I

are you a good cook? I'm not bad. I think what I'm really interested is people who do something really wonderfully, like you as an artist songwriter, but also are you what else are you good at? And does that translate like your drive for being an artist and to anything else in your life that that that same drive that I think then drive pops up in um handywork. Really Yeah, I would like to fix stuff myself, and when it's too much for me to tackle, I'm I'm not afraid

at all to call in for for the rescue party. Um. But like I had a problem with my air duct, my my brand new house. It just kept flooding, the downstairs kept flooding, and then that finally results in an air duct getting full of water. And I was like, I can fix that. So did you go? Because what we have now is the ability to go to YouTube for anything, which changes. Before I went to YouTube, though, I called so my drummer is also a mechanic and an eagle scout and he's awesome. I did not call him.

I called his father, who taught that that boy had to be all of those things. So I called um George Hill and I was like, here's what I want to do, and he was like, okay, here are the steps you need to make sure you take. So I

did it. It's also funny too that when you're in an artistic business um like you are UM in in my different worlds that I'm in, your broke a long time and you have to figure out how to do other things because since you're so broke, you have to learn or you just die as you can't do music or I can't you know, try to do radio or be a comedian because there's no money in it for the first forever forever, so you have to fix your own crap and cook your own meals and learn to survive,

and you become a good cook because you get tired of eating crappy food, and you kind of acquire all of these skills. And then then you get it kind of all figured out at once and you think you can have a figured out. Then you realize you have no idea and you kind of start over again. Yeah, but I think it just has to do with your ability to be miserable and your tolerance for it. I mean, I know you're kind of joking, but but it was

about going, well, this is uncomfortable. But I've all it's always been uncomfortable for me, you know, growing up, you know, a poverty kid. And I was like, what's the worst that can happen? I stay the same, Like, right, so let's go. My vacuum broke two days ago, just like the little spinny thing stopped being a spinny thing, and I thought, I can probably get someone to fix it. I can probably just buy another one. But what I'm gonna do now is take it apart entirely. You really

did that fix it myself? Because um, you know, before I live back here, back back in Nashville, I was over in Watertown. There was nobody around to help, and growing up we didn't have a lot of money, and when something broke, my mother would fix it. My father would fix and he can fix anything. But my mom is not afraid to take something apart and see how it works either. So do you feel like a little bit of you does that because you feel like that's

where you come from? Because I mean, at this point, you have plenty of money. I can get another vacuum, right, And I struggle with this too sometimes, Like you could get a vacuum, You could hire somebody to get a vacuum, bring it to you in vacuum your floor. You can do, you could you I didn't think about having someone else clean my house. And that's but a bit of that. I wonder if that is that instilled in you and that's what you just do because of where you come

from and the people that raised you. Yeah. Absolutely, I think our first instinct for for people like you and I is to roll up our sleeves and figure it out for ourselves. And that's cooking or fixing a vacuum cleaner, or how do I make a career making stuff up and expect to be paid for it? And that's where it comes back over to I mean, that's it. You had to go. I mean, listen, you you played what these small biker bars. You know you've been to Cabin,

Arkansas many times. I mean I know every everywhere that your story has gone from Jonesboro, Arkansas stage like that's that's my path as well, you know, one way or

the other. And so you know, when I would know your story, but then I would kind of reread your story to make sure that I was still kind of clued in before I do this, I kind of go back over things, and it's just like dang, Like that's a that's a different way to go about it as someone who wants to be um known as a great songwriter and country music artist and a female to go into these bars. But there's no other way. That's no

one told me. Just like you know, I'm left handed, but I played guitar right handed and um and but no one ever told me that was an option to restring it or turn it upside down or learn it another way. I just thought this was how things were done.

So I, you know, would would play some shows and like borrow people's equipment to do that and then save up and buy those pieces of equipment and run my own sound and um, you know, I didn't need like a fog machine or anything, but you know how to run monitors and how to how to ring out a room and all of that. I'm still not a great sound engineer, but I had to figure out how to do it all and how to fund it all. Talk to me about when you first started playing shows live,

like before you learn how to play guitar. I want we'll get to all that early early stuff, but I want to know about your live kind of your live show experience, like was it out of our or a church, or like where do you for the first time go and ask for the affection of others? You don't know. I didn't play like a lot of talent shows and stuff. In fact, I was pretty shy, it terrified. Maybe maybe just to make me cry for people to so, you mean, like in high school, to pay me any attention, like

middle school. Um, but I lived in We lived really close to Hardy, you know, Mammoth Spring is really close to Hardy, Arkansas. And they have like it's like a um canoe rentals and antique shops and they had a little place in the gazebo where people would play music, and I did that and they gave me a hundred dollars to stand there and play. Who who gave it? The city? Yeah, we're just like go catterwaller out, but this gazebo for a couple of hours and just played

you know, bluegrass songs and stuff and that. So that's probably the first time. And when you first started playing, do you feel like I'm pretty good at this or do you feel like this is something I can do while I figure out what I'm good at. I knew I just I just wanted to do it, and I didn't know yet at that young age if I was good enough to do it. Oh man, I was probably twelve or thirteen when that happened. I started playing guitar

when I was nine. But when I was like a little little squirt, not any taller than you know, what do they say kneehi to a grasshopper? We read a blue grass festival and I had a plastic telecaster. Got a photo of it and it had like Mickey Mouse or Kermit the Frog or something on it, and um, this this band called the Tennessee Gentleman was on stage and they asked my mom, because I'm glued watching these guys, Um, would she like to come and sit on the edge of the stage. So I did, and I didn't take

my little plastic guitar at first. UM. And I sat there on the edge of the stage and I watched them play, and then the audience erupted, of course, into applause, and my mom looked at me and she said, I knew, I knew you had it. Then you wanted to be on a stage and you wanted people to applaud you. Okay of music was played around you as a kid. Luckily all kinds um, I mean, like the carpenters love

and spoonful um. And then also my mom she didn't try to shove classical music down our throats at all, but she would just kind of have it playing in the house. It's sort of so I'm that we would ask questions, what is this song, and she was like, oh, that's on a planet knockm music, Vibe Mozart. There's a movie about him, if you'd like to watch it. And they're like, oh, yeah, I want to watch a movie about the school guy. So luckily all of that was included.

And then my dad, Um was more like Christofferson that area. He really liked those tormented h which version of christoffers, Yeah, why me Lord? That version um To this day my favorite, one of my favorite songs of all time. My favorite Christofferson song is to Beat the Devil? Is that because of your dad? Is there a song that was played in your house so much that let's eliminate that one? But you hear it and it just puts you back, like you feel of that, like dang, I remember being Amanda,

Amanda because we had this UM. I think it was supposed to be like a family room, but it's where my dad kept There was like a gun safe in there, and like guitars and the kids weren't really supposed to be in there a whole bunch unless you were going to go there and use an instrument. And so that is just about half a hallway away from the kitchen where my mom is doing dishes, and my dad was playing Amanda on the guitar and singing and that high

part that happens on the end of Uh. My mom was singing it in the kitchen and here I am kind of walking down the hallway and catching both they're singing together. They don't know, he doesn't know that she's singing with him, and I'm hearing it and just that song, you see what it does. I'm like when I think about why not me from the Judd's because my mom used to sing that and moms you know that's since

passed away. But it's that you. I mean, you kind of feel how you felt then just for a split second. It's like there's also the intro to an Alison Krause record. It was Alison Krausing Union Station. It's the one I had it on vinyl. She seated like a staircase or something with her fiddle in her hand. And I am seven ish or nine years old. As soon as I hear that guitar riff startup and I get giddy. My therapist at one point gave me a book, and I've been through a decent amount of therapy UM at this

point in my life. And that's a superpower. Yeah, it's a tool. It's like Batman's superpower, right, Like Batman had much cool stuff and so he was a superhero and so I feel like, again, I've accumulated coold tools and traits and UM. And she gave me a book that talked about music, and you know, the book talked about how when you hear something, even when you smell something very specific for a split second, in your brain, it reacts the exact same way it did when you were

what at whatever point. So just for a brief moment, you get that feeling again, like in your chest of like, oh man, that's that that reminds me of being seven or nine or thirteen. Yeah, because our brains really don't know the difference between an actual experience and the thought of that expins I suppose, right, And you know what do they call that? It's like our our dumb lizard brain, our caveman brain. They just know that that experience is real,

So that would make sense. It was actually studying the three parts of the brain yesterday, which is wild, and you know, the bottom part of the brain is like the lizard brain. It's they have two modes. They are attacking, running or relaxing, you know what those two or they're just like there's nothing else right. And I try not to live like that, and I really work on trying. As I've gotten older, I try not to react as

much and I try to respond more. I'm trying I'm learning because I love my therapist, and I know it was like probably trying to put overalls on a cat, trying to get me to go to therapy, and finally it did, and I was like, this is awesome. I was talking yesterday with my therapist not to go down a whole therapy train, but I was. He was like, when did you know about therapy? I was like, I didn't.

I'm from the population seven seventy to Arkansas, right that we were trying to afford, you know, Hamburger helper for dinner. Not you didn't know about mental health. It wasn't It wasn't really an option. And everything under the rug is an option. Pray about it is an option in which that it does work, you know, for for a lot of people that simply simply praying about it, but let going, like god, um, but also let go and let therapist, let go and let yeah. And for me it was insurance.

I was like, once I even discover what insurance and they were like, he was like, oh, that's house. Yeah. I was like, twenty six, I did insurance for the first time. So I started going to therapy and talking to somebody who and I mean, this is the best way possible, didn't give a crap about me. Yeah, that was so freeing because I know that you know, you don't have to hang out with me for three days

and deal with me. You're just gonna give me your unbiased advice based on what I'm saying and your education. That's how I feel with them and so but yeah, that's been a big tool for me. Um, did you do you feel like you've had a whole different set of Like I wouldn't. I don't want to sort obstacle.

But since you've become so popular and famous, like, are you finding new struggles with fame with notoriety because I would assume someone that comes from where you come from again, like with experience, like that's just an eye opening world where you're like sometimes I love it, but sometimes I really hate it. Well, yeah, when you all you know is struggle and I have something to prove. I have something to prove. I have something to prove. But I

still feel that way. So, like you know, when you rescue a dog that's spent it's young life really hungry, that dog is always in hunger mode, and so I'm kind of that way. There's some things that I'm struggling with. Um, I mean, I mean I live over in East Nashville, where nobody cares, right, Um, it's a very cool part of it, very cool part of town. Everybody's super cool about stuff. And just just recently, as yesterday, I got

stopped a few times, which I think is great. I've worked my whole life for someone to ask for a photo with me. But then I thought, oh wow, I'm not used to that happening. I don't think um my address got leaked on the internet that was super cool

because I don't live behind a gate, you know. Um. So it's like, as as things get better and you feel like a lot of your problem, what I have learned is that problem is just pivot, and it's all and how, and it's all and how you you you accept them and realize that everybody's got them and they've Like my life has gotten better in a lot of ways. But also I've had to take on a lot more responsibilities and challenges, and I'm very proud of how I worked.

And the same thing. Sometimes I'm so tired, but I have to remind myself, I'm so grateful that I get to be tired doing something I love. Right, I don't know how you have time to be sitting across from me right now. Well everything, I don't have a talent, and now you say that, I'm no. I'm gonna swear to you. I'd have to hustle as my talent like I have nothing. Hut is a talent. I will agree with you there. But if you weren't talented, you wouldn't

live behind the gate, I promise, true. But they're just crazy. You're right, I'll let you have that one. I'm not even gonna argue that I'll let you have that one. Um your talent? When did you start to be told that you might be great at singing? I think it started with not being told to not sing when I wasn't great at singing. I was a little kid. Were you a good little kid singing? Orre you a passionate

little kid singing? I both. I was singing, UM somewhere out there from an American tale, and oh yeah, where up? Oh yeah? And um somewhere over the Rainbow. And then there was a record. Um, there was a Ricky Skaggs record that I loved, was like live in London, and um a record by the whites. I'm hanging it around, just a little kid. Hope then you'll get lonely. Um, and mom never told me not to sing. There's six of us kids. So there's three boys, and then a girl,

and then another boy and then me. The boy right before me. Daniel used to throw like shoes and stuff at me and try to get me to shut up when I'm trying to learn to play mandolin, I'm learning to play guitar and learning to play bass, and I'm singing all the time. And he was the one that was like, but he's also he lives really he doesn't live far from me at all. And um, he's one

of my biggest champions, my biggest cheerleaders. Um. My mom was on a bowling league, and like I said, I was a really shy kid, but I didn't mind singing as my way of communicating. Uh, So I would sing. I would go to her friends at the bowling alley and said, you want to hear me sing something from um an American tale? And they were like sure, you know, And I'd sing a few things and I'd go get back in my chair and color in my coloring book.

So I think not being necessarily told that I was great, but just not being um, not being shamed about it. From a really young age. Your dad played music, your mom loved music. Did that rub off on any of the other kids to where they everybody can sing? Everybody can sing. My sister has a beautiful voice. My mother has a beautiful voice. And in church, you know, we were required to know all of the parts. Alto Tender's

a brand obays everything. My grandmother used to um, take my finger and move it along the page of the hymnal to show me what notes we were going to be singing, even if it was the base we would everybody on on mom's side and Dad's side, everybody can sing. Um. I'm the only one that just kind of took off with it. I even had one of my brother's skin was played guitar in our younger years, and I don't know why he stopped. Had a brother that played trumpet.

My sister played flute. Um, So we are a musical family. I'm just the only one that I guess it kind of stuck. It's interesting because I'm left handed and I played guitar left handed. When I first I went to a pawn shop and I was doing comedy, and I thought, okay, I don't want to have to steal other people's music to do parodies. I want to actually write original comedy stuff. So I went to pawn shop for fifty bucks a bought a guitar was right handed, and I just switched

the strings around. But what happened when there's a nut in it and it holds different? So I kept busting. I was gonna say, busting nut. I kept breaking these nuts. Yea, these nuts. The strings kept breaking the nuts at the bottom of the guitarist. It like fracture, fracturing it. Oh my god, yes, I got your back so overpe So So it took a long time until I actually got a left handed guitar. But I did not take to it well. I I music for me has been very difficult.

I've put a lot of work into, you know, learning chords and bar cole words, and for me, very difficult. And I can't sing. I can sing just well enough to do comedy that people aren't distracted by my bad singing. Boys, now I'm pretty funny. You gotta give yourself for credit that I don't trust me. Okay, I get enough credit, don't with you? Growing up with a family full of music.

Did you feel like it was kind of intrinsic? I love the way it sounded when we all sang in church together, but yeah, it just kind of just is playing guitar. Love it when you started still assuming you got bloody fingers and like everything, but like, do you feel like you got it? Well? They wouldn't let me play guitar at first because I was too small to hold it safely, so they let me bang on a mandolin.

I remember I was probably in kindergartener first, right, going outside of the driveway and rubbing my fingers on the concrete because I thought that would help me get Callice's. I was tired of my fingers being sore. And then when I'm nine years old, my dad takes me to a music store and there Missouri, which is just right across the line from Mammoth Spring, So up until now, I've been playing band then and then I was big enough that I could sort of play with my mom's

Alvarez um but kind of under supervision. But they were going to get me a three quarter sized guitar and I didn't know, So we went into this music store called Fayer Music cleverly named. And Dad hands me this little three quarter sized k guitar and he says, see if you can play something on that, and then he goes and talks to the guy you know. And I was sitting there playing like go talent Roadie or something, and he walked back into where I was he said,

can you play it? I showed him when I figured out. He said it's time to leave. So I handed the guitar back to the guy behind the counter and Dad said, nope, that's yours. Take it home. And so I wasn't great. Mom tells the story that it was like three days. My dad shows me like three chords when we get home, and about three days later, I'm bawling in the kitchen because I can't play and sing at the same time.

So I'm learning Snowbird and by n Murray and I'm learning Steel Rails by Alison Krausse in Union Station and I'm super upset, and Mom said, give it a we just just give it a week and see if if you feel better about it. So I don't know. I think I think there wasn't There weren't a lot of distractions growing up on a farm and with access to instruments. I think that helps everything kind of click. There's nothing else to do. That whole situation. If you upset you

can't sing and play. That happened me last week the same thing. I was like, Okay, I can't sing a play. Why can't I do it? There are still certain things I can't sing and play. I can't do it. Do you ever get um? It's just wild that you started on the mandolin. I don't hear of many people that, because of their size, just start on the mandolin. Mostly people learn a string instrument and they go to the mandolin, but not because you're literally hands are so My hands

were so tiny. Yeah. Do you feel like that was a good lead into the guitar? This is really really different because it is so I feel like it's a bit more advanced. It is more advanced, and I think what it did for me is even though it wasn't great at mandolin, I'm still terrible UM, but it did teach my right hand a lot about rhythm and making it hit the strings of wanted to hit. So I didn't have to struggle when it came to guitar with

how do I strum? And what are the patterns. So I think that that was probably beneficial, but I was just terrible. You guys follow Ashley. She's got her own name, which sometimes it is weird. People like, Hi, it's me. I'm Clint Black, but only Clint black one on Twitter, and I'm like, well, you couldn't get just get Clint Black.

Not that that's the exact case, but at Ashley McBride, you guys go follow her, um, you know, go check out never will maybe if for some reason you've been in a cave and you don't know who she is and you're like, Okay, this is interesting, go go go listen to the music. I think you're one of and I mean this is in a complimentary way. You're one of the few album artists that that I will invest I'm so I need a couple of songs. I'm done, But there were there were a few you Casey Old Dominion,

Brandy's that way. And you know, it's all songwriting. Now that I start to say this out loud, it's all. It's songwriting more than it is anything else. But you're definitely an album artist. And I don't know if that means anything that's comment, but but thank you for coming and I think we'll wrap it up there. All right, There she is Ashley McBride. Moving on to number seven,

we're gonna get into our conversation with singer songwriter Luke Dick. Now, I booked this one personally, and I keep this running list of guests in my phone, just people I find interesting when it comes to like sometimes in the radio studio, people will come in and talk about different songwriters on their number one songs, and I'll always keep a list of those. And Luke Dick had been on my list for quite a while because he's written so many songs that I feel like are always a little bit outside

of the box. I follow him on Instagram. Seemed like a very peculiar dude, so I thought getting him in a room with Bobby would be a great conversation. I actually deemed him on Instagram. He was like, I'm totally down. Showed up the next week and we did this episode, and I can always tell it's a really good Bobby Cast episode. Whenever we get into like twenty minutes and haven't addressed any music whatsoever. Bobby and the guests have just been kind of talking about things outside of music.

Those are always the best one. So it happened on this episode at number seven. Here's Luke Dick and with Luke Dick. You know, I've seen many, uh photos of you have friends who have worked with you. It's just random for me to have not have met someone until this point because you're very established, you know, super well thought of guy. And our pets have a crossed have they? Um? I don't think so. I'm pretty forgettable, though you are not a forgettable guy. I'm pretty forgettable. I hide out,

you know. I just got my little studio and come out when I get eat. I eat now and again, and then I pick up my kids and then I get back to doing whatever it is I'm doing. What is your studio like? Um, you know, I bought this house right when I moved to Nashville, um, six or seven years seven years ago, and there was a garage in the back, and uh, it was unfinished, and I thought that'd be a great place for just have something

close to the house away from the house. And so then I put these opaque glass doors so I could have some light, and put as much of skylights in and really dressed it up and made it into a thing. And so that's where I am all the time. I'm currently looking for another spot. I have too many kids. They're beating on the door all the time. So are you when you are riding in the shore? I assume you do a lot of writing. Yeah, yeah, and you're producing. Are you doing more than just demos? Like, will you

do any like anything for a record in your spot? Yeah? Um, I I'm working on the next Miranda Laveryt record right now. We're almost done. And um, a lot of this stuff were was Um. When I do demos, I don't think of them as demos. I just I'm trying to make something that I love, and so I put more time and effort into it. And so maybe some of that stuff makes it onto the record. It may be the

pre production, um that we just drummed to. Um. There was a single for Kip More called the Bowl a few years ago that was just straight up out of my studio. So I'll do whatever. How did there? I was doing a little more research on because my my vision and version of you has been the last ten years or so. Um. But it seemed like for a while you weren't writing country music for a while. Now you're back, Like, why why why did you quit? I wouldn't say quit. Why did you take a break? And

what brought you back? Yeah? Um? And um, I'm I came to Nashville for a minute and I just didn't have any luck. You know, I was trying, I was made a record, I was trying to get a deal. There are things stacked against me, just logistically in terms of being a single dad and stuff like this, and so I didn't And also people weren't responding in a way. There were outliers you know that had some clouds or something that I really love what you do blah blah

blah blah. But I was like, this never amounted to anything, and it wasn't like people were picking up my songs. And I'm like, I clear either don't know how to do this, I'm not savvy enough or or it's just not good enough or something like that. Did you never think you're ahead of your time? Uh? That's um, I think that like looking back and listening to the record that I made, that's what it sounds like to me. But I also don't want to be um, um have

delusions of grandeur or something like that. It's just like music is important to me. But it's also just a snippet of life and reality, and it's a big part, you know, it's a big part. It gives me a lot of joy. Um, But I also don't want to think in terms like I have a hard time think thinking in terms of that that you're ahead of your time and that's why it didn't work or whatever. And but then whatever whatever is and it didn't work, and

so I left. And then my current publisher called me when I was in New York and um, he said, hey, do you have any songs for Dirk Spentley And I'm and I just said no, Um. I I mean literally everything that I've written has been in falsetto and also about the afterlife for some sort of afterlife adventure. I mean it's too fantastical and whimsical for Derek's I just don't thank you for calling me. Um, but he will

just look me up if you've ever in town. And then one thing led to another in a few years went by and we met and um for coffee and he's like, you need to come right with me and at this company, and um, you need to be writing with Eric and you don't need to be doing what you think you should be doing. You should be doing what you want to do, and hits will fall out of that, I promise you, And and he was he

was right. Um. And so between him and getting in the right rooms and having just the opportunity to show somebody like Eric Church song or an idea for a song, um, that led to a lot of things. And Kip was a big proponent early on too. It was like I didn't have any hits and he was coming over because he liked the sounds coming out of my studio and I would we would work on stuff, and I think it was the Wild Ones record. I got a couple

of songs on there, and we just worked. Um. But then Eric and then Natalie him Be and I started riding together and it was like almost like we fed off of each other's creativity, and so we were like trying to not one up each other. It was like us like pushing each other, like trying to make each other like smile or get excited about a song. And so we'd bring in an idea or a sound or something like that, and that was a real joy. And

then she would also sing my praises. It was like I probably owere a hundred grand and pr fees you know around town. Brought Miranda into the room, and that became a relationship, UM and it's meant a lot of joy and a lot of songs with her, But it was that was kind of the beginning of it. It was running into a publisher, UM who believed in what I did naturally, instead of trying to curb it um to meet a market demand or something like that. And

that's not really where I shine anyway. And I find that if I feel like my cat in a corner when I'm writing a song, then it's usually not gonna be awesome. It's going to be an average kind of thing day or whatever. I've talked to Miranda and Cassie Ashton, Natalie him Be, those that you mentioned there, and they all say the same thing about you is that you know, you're very out of the box and with ideas. I mean, that's that's the easy way to describe you to people

who don't have to write songs. When you started writing with Eric, was he already having success or was it early on m It was the Mr MS Mr Misunderstood record, so he'd had a serious amount of success by the time I was writing with him. So you you start writing with him, I mean to you as a creative, is that intimidating to write with him or is it kind of refreshing because he also you know, win a

different angle at his success. Yeah. I was in New York and when I was living there, they somebody showed me, UM smoke a little smoke and they said, have you heard this? And I listened to him like like, is this what they're doing in Nashville now? And UM, it gave me how you know that that there could be, um, something creatively interesting, sonically interesting. Um, And I feel like people, I feel like Jay Joey's kind of paved the way

sonically for somebody like me to be here. UM. I really, UM have a lot of gratitude for what they with those two have done together. Um it's no small feat to break in with a different sound. And but but more point at your question a little bit better. UM, there's always a bit of intimidation. It doesn't matter how how successful or not commercially successful the artist is coming in. So but that was you know, the first chance at and at an a list situation, UM, for me to

prove myself for whatever. Um, But I had sent him this idea through my publisher that he loved, and you know, there was it was already it was killed a word, and there was already an idea happening there. And the in the first stands and refrained, and he's like, I love this, Let's finish it. And so he came in and we finished that, and then it was like it took us like an hour to finish the song. And then he it was me and him and Jeff Hyde who plays in his band too, who's a great writer.

And then he had the idea for a round here buzz and so he kind of had all around here buz buzz and so then we just sort of took off on that and it just felt natural. Once you get into everybody's a human, you know, it's like, there's no I don't know, there's no there's different kinds of magic, two different human beings, you know, um and different and and Eric is definitely somebody with um a special kind of charisma and a special kind of UM creative UM

capacity and and uh intellect to me UM. But as a human being or trying to impress another human or something like that, it's like, look, you know, we all woke up today, we all needed breakfast and all that stuff. So let's just you try to put stardom or something like that out of your head. UM. I tried to um and not be UM. I guess motivated or or dissuaded or felt feel insecure around UM that kind of

a status. I'm trying to think if there's somebody that would be so star struck that it would be difficult to write with. UM. Uh, you know Tom Waits. I don't know. UM kind of sound like Tom Waits right now when you're talking. I'm Bob Dylan. I guess you know, if you had to go write a song with Bob Dylan, that would probably be one of the most intimidating things situation. UM.

I remember this is not an intimidating person. But this guy came over and he was an Englishman and he had these hits in the eightieses pop rockets, and they were really good, good ones. And I kept playing like guitar stuff and he's like, uh, he'd look at me and go and that's not very inspiring, is it. What do you do to that? You know? I'm just like, what do you got? And he's like here's a list of I'm more of a lyrics guy. Here's a here's

a list of titles. And the titles were like all night long, all night, all of everything, And I'm just like kidding me, what is this? Are you? Are you a lyric or melody guy at heart? When you start to write, I can't separate them really, you know. Um, when Natalie, it's different for different rooms. When I get around Natalie and I have a medal melody already with something and with the phrasing, and she wants to change the melody, I usually defer to her because I really

believe in her abilities to make a melody. Um. There are a few other people like that that I When they say, man, I think this melody could be better, I'm like, all right, let's check it, let's scrap it, let's see what's up. Um. But it all, I really want to marry it all because you can't just send somebody the lyrics to a song and expect it to speak to them off of a page. I mean, there's

a whole thing happening there. It's like, that's the beauty of um music or songs in general, is that there's a sound, there's a you know, there's a chord progression, there's a lyric, and there's a melody on top of it. So it's hard for me to say that I'd be one thing. Um, when you write, are you writing based on will you just chase lyrics or will you sometimes just create a melody and then certain lyrics into it later? Both um? Both um. Laura Els does this to me.

I hope she's listening right now, because when we write, I'll be I'll turn around and I'll start try to get the track going. You know, it's like, okay, we got the first first, let me just put a little bass part in here. I'll turn around. The Laura is such a prolific lyricist that she'll be done with the second first. I'm like, wait a minute, I like this song. Can I participate please? He was hold on to you know, have a have a story, eat some chips or something,

and let me do this bass part and contribute. Um. But there have been times, um that the melody has come first. You know it's like you know, you start playing um and something will just spill out of you and then you just work around the vowels. The vowels might lead you to a phrase or something like that. You know. Um, I read the Keith Richard's book and he talked about the way that they did that, and it's I don't think it's uncommon to do that, um life.

That's the book from Keith Richards, And he said, I think I can't He had a name for it, you know, the way that they do it. But it's you know, you're just playing a chord and you're owow had and so then whatever value sing that feels the most natural, you might lean toward a word with that vowel sound um and then it and then you have to work the concept around the vowel sound or something like that.

You know. It's a really songwriting is really weird. But um, I do find that when I listened to songs and I feel like that's a good melody, those are the wrong vowel sounds or something. You know, I'm like, I can't understand the lyric. It's not the lyrics not sticking out to me because the it's all mushed in there in a way, and the vowels aren't popping in the there's too many words or too many, too not enough words, so there's like an economy, and that's all subjective to right.

It's just like, does that sounds too many? Like too many words to me? Um? It doesn't sound like too many words to that artist or that person singing it. I'm gonna compare you as a lyrictist and a songwriter to Eminem, which you may have never been compared to. But WHOA. When I listened to Eminem, he bends rhymes. Sometimes he doesn't rhyme, but still rhymes. And a lot of or at least some of your writing. You don't even chase a rhyme. There just aren't rhymes where there

should be where traditionally rhymes are. I shouldn't say should be right, Yeah, there aren't rhymes were traditionally rhymes are. Yeah yeah. Is that purposeful on your part to not put rhymes there? Or is it just purposeful to put those words there and they just don't happen to rhyme? I feel like, Um, when you get down to it, it's like, especially if you're chasing a lyric, and it's like is this lyric working? Is this idea working? You just run with it? Um, And then I don't want

to say it's not intentional. Um, Like the way to say. It's not it's not my intention to say every song needs to rhyme like this, or let's try some rhymes in the middle of this of this phrase is rather than at the end of the phrases, which is typical. UM. I feel like you just all you're left with in any creative endeavor is your own esthetic intuition, and you

have to go with what moves you. And when any time, I mean, there's been a countless artist that come in and we end up with a song that I don't care about. Um, and that's okay because they were saying, no, I don't want to do this because I want to do that, and I'm like, well, that does nothing in my head, you know, or heart or whatever. I'm like, that doesn't do anything for me. But it's your career, you know, it's your artistic impulse that you're chasing, So

chase it then, UM, and I hope that. I hope it works if I like you and the demo to kill a word yeah, which is you singing, which we have it right here, well, like play a little bit out of here, I sit down in its place as we used to laugh out of disgrace, lay over under six cold dirt. Yeah yeah, yeah killer, So that you steal that we were at your house last night, so much about your studio broken last night? So change the code?

Is it a How prevalent is it that if you're writing with or for, like an Eric, that that person doesn't sing the demo? And is that purposeful? So the demo doesn't get out with his voice on it. It wasn't purposeful. He just said, put your put your vocal on. I like what you're doing. I'm out, um, do do your thing. I want to hear what you do. Um. And then there's sometimes where, especially if it's a female artist, where where I'm less inclined to go do a vocal

on it. Um. And for a couple of reasons. One is is shrewd. You know. It's like if they just hear a dude on there, then it sounds like a dude song, you know. But if you write it with the artist whose female, and then another female artist the other the other excuse me, the other female writer. If the other female writer sings it, it makes more sense

to me. But I don't like, really if I feel like it shoots you in the foot a little bit, unless it's somebody like Miranda that we know each other well enough to where it's like not like she's like, oh, this sounds like she can hear through that stuff. I trust her to hear through that stuff. But generally, if an artist is there, um and especially if it's an artist that I don't work with that often I'm gonna try to get them to sing it because I want

to hear what they sound like on it too. If I and also see if you face if you did okay or you didn't. What I mean by that is sometimes you write all these melodies, You write the song and somebody sings on it just doesn't sound good, you know. And so if you're off the mark in terms of a lot of structure or something like that, you'll be able to hear it. When they get on the microphone it's like they're not really capable of singing that, or they were really great at it, or it's kind of

in the middle. Maybe we shouldn't have gone that high and you change the key, those kind of technical decisions like that. So it's if it's a if there, if we're the only writers in the room, often times I get tasked with singing the singing the demo on it, and I'm generally I'm happy to do that. It's fun to me. It's a creative endeavor, especially if I love the song. When Bluebird comes out and it's a massive radio success, and I think it was the first massive

radio song from Randon a long time. I remember saying that, like, you know, she'd just had a record, that that double album I had done so wonderful, but it didn't translate into singles. But Bluebird comes and just crushes. It's the number one and was one two Grammys. Um no, we nominated for two Grammys? Did you go? That was when

the COVID was happening. So I bought a suit and in my closet it sits so you didn't even put it on for the night of it on the internet on no. So is that cool to you to be nominated for a Grammy? Or is it to you? Is that just a piece of metal that represents and what does representation? Even me? I would I would really be lying if I didn't say that I would not want to win a Grammy. I mean I would love to

say that I want a Grammy. Um. Sometimes I catch myself, you know, when you win something and it's like, I'm always thankful to win something. Um, there is a truth for me to the the fact that when you write a song like that that was really meaningful to you, that nothing compares to the day that you wrote it with your friends and then you heard the and then you played it back and you heard and you sang on it, you listen to demo and you get excited

about it. Nothing compares to that joy. Winning awards is um, it's another like just kind of hurrah at the end. You know that you're the hard work in the view to the beautiful work is already done. And Amy Taylor calls it the pudding. You know, you've already eaten the meat and all that stuff, and pudding is nice, you know, but you don't need it. You're already full. Kind of um of everything that said. If the Grammy, any Grammy voters are out there, if I have for anything next year,

please vote for me. At Luke Dick Luke, thanks man, Thank you. At number six is Parker McCullum, who is one of Bobby's favorite new artists, and we recorded this episode earlier in the year when he was really starting to blow up, had just moved to Nashville. He's such a nice guy. He pulled up in his really big truck, and the thing I found interesting is that he called

Bobby sir. It seemed like one of the most genuine dudes and country music and really cool to see him blow up this year even after we did this episode. So at number six, here is Parker McCullum. Here with Parker McCallum. Talk to me about the beginning of music for you. When did you aren't playing I won't say bars, but maybe that's where he started. How old were you a teenager trying to play places? And what were those places? Yeah? And I grew up in a town just north the

Houston called Conrow. I went to high school in a town called the Woodlands, which is like five miles from it. I made a bunch of shows at the Yeah, we were headlined for I graduate high school on the stage and we're headlined in October. I'm like, that's pretty cool, um, But there wasn't much of a music scene down there, especially for there wasn't any countrym Every kid in my high school wanted to be a rapper, like I was listening to Old Crow and Robert O'Keene and Randy Rogers

Band and nobody at my nobody. I grew up with listening that stuff my older brother and stuff. But so that's what kind of made me go to Austin. I wanted to go find a bunch of people who are kind of like minded, into the same stuff. But I think I had my first paying gig played on a flatbed trailer in Gettings, Texas the hay Seed Festival. Maybe, um how old I was? Sixteen? My mom let me drive myself and then she showed up to make sure

I got there safely. That's pretty cool. I mean, I guess now school, But at the time, I was like, what are you doing? That's it's cool that she Here's what was cool. She'd let you drive by yourself and then trailed you. She didn't go, I'll drive you. Yeah, I mean, she's it was. Looking back, it's super cool that she was there. Because that guy ended up paying me like nine months later, I think like seventy bucks. He waited that he probably trying to get away with

not pacing me a check. So you you play this at sixteen? Where you going? This would be fun because I like to play a little guitar or were you going, heck, I'm sixteen. I think I'm gonna do this for my career. I knew when I was like a junior in high school is when I really started. My brother and say she were older. They were both in college at the time, so I was like the baby. I was last one. Kind of the reins were kind of looser on me. My mom was not near at strict on me my

last years of high school. She was my siblings. So I was sneaking out on my bedroom window on the roof, you know, every night, coming back in and waging out, trying to write songs. And that's really when and I was like, all right, I know, like I don't stand out at sports. That was okay, wasn't anything special, But I could play guitar and write songs and sing lay better than any of my friends. And that's when I was kind of like, alright, this is it for me.

Were you the music kid? Maybe not the band kid, but were you the kid who played music and they know you as that? If there was a party, would you have you ever have your guitar to play every now and then they'd get me to do it. But I mean again I was playing like, you know, Randy Rogers songs and Pat Green songs and stuff like they weren't Those kids were like who so? And did you decide were gonna wait till you guys got a high school to move off? Um? Well I had to. You know.

It's not that I didn't get the into college. I didn't exactly apply. Um. I felt up my name for a couple of schools on the forum, and then once they sent back insufficient application letters, UM, I was like, Mom, I'm just gonna go to Oscar Community College. And just like I moved to Austin and really I knew I wasn't going there to go to school, so I enrolled. I was enrolled for a year. Did you go to class at all? A couple of times I actually ended

up not going to class. But my business professor I had met on like the first day ended up becoming good buddies and we would hang out outside of class all the time. But I never went to his class. Um, he's super cool guy, and uh, but I was just it was really just a means to get to Austin. And man, I'm at Corby Shaw at the Saxon Pub on South Lamar who had just quit Ryan being him and the Dead Horses, who are my favorite band in the world at the time, I thought they walked on water.

When you say met him though, were you both hanging out? Were you trying to play? Were you asking if you could play? I was not playing there yet. Um. In fact, it might have been the exact next day that David Cotton, who used to book those clubs down there, called me and was like, can you play tomorrow night at the Saccent And I was like, dude, I only got like five songs and he's like, we'll play them all three times?

And um, how did he know you played? Um? A girl named Ashley Monicle was there that night, who had I had kind of she was she thought I was good and was trying to get me to meet some people and she was like, you need to hear this kid. And he didn't even listen. He was just like, all right, cool, you can play here tomorrow night. So you met the guy before you even played there, and what did that

relationship turn into? He ended up producing The Limestone Kid, my first record, because he had he was an original Day Horses. Ryan Bingham like through mess leader on Roadhouse son to my favorite records of all time. Um. And so when I was in the bar that night, and I was only twenty at the time, I was in there with a fake idea. They ended up finding out I'd played there a couple of times, and then they made me stop playing there until I was twenty one and I was allowed to come back. Um. But I

met him, and I just remember that night. I was like, dude, you do you play guitar for Ryan Bingham? And he was like no, I did play guys like I just quit the band like the week before, and I was just crushed. And then, uh, like two weeks later, that same girl was like, Hey, come over to my house. Corby's over here doing some demos for me. And I had just written two of those songs on that first record like the day before and played him for him and he was like, man, let me produce your record.

So I don't think he had ever produced a record before. So what does that mean? Do you let me produce your record? How many songs did you have or did you go out? I'm not there yet. Let me write some more of what was that? I actually the songs I had there was the money problem that and I had my and my dad's very successful guy. He had offered to pay for all of that, and I just respectfully declined because I wanted to do it on my own. So I actually went and took out a loan and uh,

that took. That was quite a process to not I had no credit or anything, had my granddad co sign on it. Once I got the money, it was like okay. And then I didn't take out enough. He was like, right, well, we have enough for four songs. So we did a four song EP, which was called a Redtown View. Um, and he's like, when you get some more money, we're going to do the full album. And so I went and took out another loan and those four songs kind of compiled with the other six to make or seven

to make an eleven song album. Were you playing a bunch as you're making this record, because it sounds like when you met him you weren't playing. You were not playing it often a little bit, but that was Um. I was living my brother, my older cousin, in his house in South Austin, man check and Slaughter. If you know I live right there, I still live Brodian Slaughter. Yeah, so you're talking about one road difference. Yes, and I was. I was living there, I was enrolled in school, and man,

I just I was unmotivated. I didn't know what I was doing. I had no idea how to go get a gig um that someone hadn't just handed me. And so my brother actually one day was like I think he was. He's six years older than I am, so I think he kind of saw me just sort of

not doing anything. But if I think he thought I was talented, and he's my brother's a phenomenal songwriter, so he's he's a very good judge of that and UM, and he remember him saying to me one night, He's like, dude, just go book thirty shows and thirty days and see if you can ever quit. He's like, play those and see if you ever stop. I didn't get thirty and thirty days, but I ended up playing like twelve shows

that month, and I've been playing every since. So, as you're performing and you have this record, are you selling it at the table? How are you? How are you? What are you doing with that record? I had? UM, I had paid a guy to print I want to say like two and fifty copies, maybe three copies and I just always kept with me and I would just hand him out every where I went, Like, do you know Steamboat Music Festival. I used to go up there and and as a fan, and my buddy's parents would

actually take him and eye. They're big music fans, and they paid for me to go when year and I walked around the lobby handing out that even so you're just handing them out, you're selling them. You were like, anybody listening to this, just take a listen and uh. And then right before COVID we headlined the whole festival closed it out. So it's kind of a cool little story, but it was very I was I'm the luckiest human

in my mind to ever live. Like I mean, it's exactly how I thought and dreamed about it happening when I was seventeen. Is besides COVID clearly, which is probably for everybody. Exactly how I dreamed about it and thought it and hoped it would happened and wanted it to happen when I was seventeen is exactly how it's gone.

So who I saw you and said, dang, I would like to invest my brain power, where my money, my time into making this person a better artist like it was the first person to take a chance on you. Corby Shaw was really the first person to take a chance saw me. But I mean I went and took out the money. He just thought I was good, want to produce my record, thought it was worth his time. The first person to really go you got it, I can help you was Randy Rogers from the Randy Rogers

Man And where did you meet Randy? I was first of four open in for him and two other bands. Uh in Corpus Christie. One day. We had a van. We didna have a trailer. Then we took out the backseat and all the gear was in the back of the van. Um and I listened. I had been obsessed with them a whole life, you know. He was like royalty down there to me, and uh, we're opening for him.

We just pulled up. I really we pulled up in the van and look at my tour manager at the time, Jake Murphy, and I was like, all right, let's getut and go talk. We've been playing quite a few shows at that point, just nothing, I mean nothing, no GHO shows, terrible stuff and um. But we were touring a lot. I remember looking at him, and I was like, let's go talk to a bunch of people who don't want to talk to us. We opened the van, Randy Rogers

comes walking up. He's got on Gucci shades hat um, you know, van shoes, Jeorge's gold chain rolling on his wrist. Like not what you think Randy Rogers is gonna walk up and he looks so g um. I remember he walked up and he was like, do you guys have anything? Let me know. I was like, that's cool. He's a headliner to come in, you know, at least holler at us, and then he said I So we went and played our show like three thirty in the afternoon. I looked over on the side of the stage and he was

he watched our whole set. Um. And then five hours later he plays his show at ten o'clock at night, and I was staying inside stage for his show and he walked off and I've never been on the tour bus, and he's like, let's go to bus. But as he walked off stage, um, and we went to the bus and went to the back lound and he just lounge and he sat down and he was like, look, I've been doing some research on you. I'd only had that one record, the Limestone Kid out and he's like, this

record is phenomenal. Um, He's like, you can be a star. That night he was like you could you have star power, you could be a star. I just want to help you avoid some of the mistakes I made. I would love to help you get there. I don't want anything from you. I just want to help. Um, So I'll go home and think about it. That's something you want to do. And uh, I actually ended up. I was trying to call my mom, trying to call my dad,

trying to call my brother. Everybody was asleep, and I was freaking out, and I was like ready Rogers once he had just started management company and um, he didn't really have any but I think he had. He was running doing some stuff with Bruce Robinson at the time, and maybe someone else. UM what they needed like a kind of a main focus and right place, right time

kind of thing. I guess what he uh man, he took time out of his life to come to Nashville and go into Universal Records and Big Machine and so he came and did with you, and he had a condo up here still and he let me come up here and stay in his condo for free and write and got me a publishing deal, walked into every major label in town and said, if you pass on this kid, you're passing on the next George Strait, which over hyping it, I would say, quite quite a bit. He's setting me

up to fail. But um, just for he's a family man. He has a wife and kids, and he's got a whole life outside of touring, and he plays a hundred fifty shows a year and he would take time to fly up here on a weekly basis with me and write and get me in rooms and go in there and say crazy outlandish things like that to major labels, and um, got me a record deal, publishing deal. Um, and they just I call him Dad for a reason.

People always ask why I call him Dad. So when you started to do the tour of Aam Parker and then you have a record, you're a big fancy record label, how did that go for you? Was the first one easy or was it weird? How many did you go through until you settled on where you are now? Um, we met with all the majors and then I think

we met with Big Big Loud as well. UM and kind of Before that, a lot of smaller labels had been kind of coming to Austin wine and dine and doing that kind of thing where they take you out and they do the whole thing, which was really cool, and it's on I read. I had never had any record label, you know, kind of holler at at any capacity. Um. And so once the majors really came out and we're like and once one of them does, it's kind of like they all come calling. It's kind of like a

bidding war. Even if they like you or not. I think they just don't want to miss out more and they don't want to be told no, which I completely understand that. UM. But I remember sitting there in Zo members of it too. I mean, I just, you know, you have every major label and country music sitting there going you know what. And we already had a huge touring base and and generated quite a bit of a new touring so I kind of had all the leverage was on our side. We kind of had were in

the driver's seat. Um. And they offered a bunch of money up front and all this stuff, and I said, look, I don't want your money. I said, I want creative control and I was like, I just want to be able. My whole dream was to be on a major label with creative control and be able to do what I want to do. If it doesn't work, cool, that's it. You know. I don't think you'll ever lose money. We

already make you enough money as we tour. Um. But I mean I bet on me because I'll bet on myself for sure, and you know it probably I don't know how it came off at the time, but I guess it worked because they all made great offers and and I was able to counter and get the deal that I wanted. So you get to the side. So at what point do you start preparing your major we'll call it major label debut? Like do you start immediately? Did you already have that the song that you led with?

Like I did not? I had, Um, Well, I guess Randy Randy Montana was like my first co write in town, first real co righte and um, and I wanted to go in. I'd never really co written before besides with my older brother, and so I wanted to come in and have like a good idea. So I had found this video of me like singing this song. It is what does that say about me? I could love somebody like you was the original line, and it was the melody that pretty Hard is. And I was like, man,

I don't forget about that. I'm gonna take that in tomorrow. And so we ended up wrighting that song and I think I signed my deal not just a few months after that. Um, I think that's the right timeline and um, and so I signed a deal and I was like, these are the songs I have and they were like, that's the one. So it was immediate they knew you knew all good, but it didn't. We were cut it and then it didn't. I don't know if it can probably didn't come out for close to a year. Yeah,

we were just kind of sitting. Did that process feel like I was taking forever? Yeah? I was really um, which I mean I told myself from the beginning. I was like, don't go in here, and and it's really easy to Yeah, you know, anything that's worth working really hard for, I mean, you know it probably just as well as anybody, like as soon as it's it starts, something's gonna go wrong, something aren't gonna be what someone promised. Whatever. So I just kind of kept that in mind, and

I was like, man, just you signed a deal. I was like, just trust the process. It was like, these people have done it. You know, you're the one millionth artists that they've promoted him put on the big stage. And I was like, and he was. He talked me through a lot of that. You know, he's done. He's been through it a hundred times. What you do during the whole time that we're waiting, we're just writing, writing,

And I was coming up here and writing. I'd have my publishing deal for a year at that point, so I was writing a lot um. But I was torn. We're still playing a hundred fifty shows a year, um. So I was as busy as I could be. I mean when I say I wasn't home more than two days at a time for four years, that's has no exaggeration. I would literally would get off the bus and Austin on Sunday, take the last Southwest flight out on Sunday

evening to Austin. I mean to Nashville right and go to meetings Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and fly right back Wednesday night for like years. Any of your music friends in Texas for moving to Nashville everybody loves it. Is that because I feel like that stage is kind of over as well. I mean, Dodd I said, I made it very clear from the start, and I was like, I grew up idolizing George straight. You know, he has sixteen number one, probably I think two or three more than that,

maybe six two, six three something like that. Now he's the epitome of of what I think anybody should aspire to be in country music. Um. And he sold out a T and T Stadium back to back nights residency in Vegas, Madison Square, Go, you name it, you're not. He's just there's nothing he hasn't done in the business. Um, he's a king. And so that was always I was like, man, just you're never gonna get I'll never get to that level, but try to, you know, and maybe you get halfway there.

That's pretty damn good. Um. And so I always made it really clear that was my goal. Um, But it was always my goal to do it on really I was raised on songwriters, um, really really talented, you know, honest songwriting, and so the goal was always to go to that level and beyond country radio without sounding like you know, everything else that is coming out on country radio, and there's a dude. I say that all the time, people are like, WHOA, we'll be careful. Majority of that

stuff I really enjoy. I really like it do no matter what genre is their songs. I don't like um, but I like the majority of stuff on country radio. I just think that there's like a there's a there's a gap in a space for someone that's younger, like Chris Stapleton's phenomenal. He's an anomaly, right, like as talented as a human being could be, but he's a little older. There's no like young kids younger generation that are super like hung up on songwriting that are on commercial radio

country radio. And I just was like, maybe I could do that. I want to play a little bit of to Be Loved by You? Is that the current single? It's quiet, What Sleep Long? When you maybe you're mad at me? The kid tell me the truth? What there's a man? So he wrote that with Red red Akins. That's pretty cool. Thank you, man. I mean, I love Ratt. Oh dude, he's a g just as a kid. You're

you know, obviously younger than I am. But as a kid, WT was on the radio all the time when I was a kid, like I was a fan of him as an artist, and now you know, getting to know him personally, and I just htt I think he was playing. We're playing the operat together and I was doing comedy after he was playing. But right before he went out there, he pulled the biggest dip out of his mouth, through it in the cup and walked right on stage. I

was like, that's disgusting. It awesome, and that's the most red Akins thing I've ever seen in my life. Red Man Silver Label. Yeah, every time we write together, we didn't mind me saying this. Sorry, if you do, he will choot and entire I've seen him go through more than one an entire bag of red Man Silver Label and we're there for three hours. You seem how big a bat it's. It's disgusting And I was like, that's disgusting,

but I'm glad I got to see it. Like I would expect nothing less from rhet when you write this song with him, who, by the way, as an artist, fantastic, but as a songwriter even better, like throughout his career, who he gets both sides of it whenever you write this song. Was this one of those who you're like, yeah, this is special, or what did it become special after you know you cut it? Or like what process was this song special? Man? None of them are really special

to me when I write them. And I think it's because I get so like when I come up with this melody that I'm obsessed with or this idea or whatever. Um, I get so excited then and then I write it and I'm like, oh, it's super cool, and then I just forget about it, like I don't even think twice about it. Um. But this I retually written the first verse in a chorus on the back of the bus. Um, at like eleven o'clock in the morning. We were going

on the road. We've just gotten on the bus, excuse me, and that we just got on the bus and I was in the back lounge and and uh, I wrote it down. I had actually sat out loud. Me and Hallie Ray were arguing at the time, having a little whatever and um, and I set out loud. I was like, man, what does it mean have to do to be loved by that girl? And he kind of perked up. He's like, hey, you might want to write that down, And so I

just I mean in fifteen minutes. I went back and I wrote the first first in the chorus, and then the same thing. I just forgot about it. I didn't even think about it. And then I had to write with Rhet and when me and when when Rehet and I write, it's not like any other code, right, Like we'll go sit for the first hour. You know, he's

having a chew. I'll probably bump some off him a lot of the time, and we just talked about like turkey hunting or deer hunting for an hour, or like he's so many pictures all the deery shot or out is one of his farms here in Nashville. And then he'll be like, hey, so do you have anything. And that day I had it was like a few days after I had written that, and uh, or maybe a couple of weeks and and I was like, dude, I have this. And he was just like all right, we'll

finish it. And I was like, okay, whatever. And he was on his phone and I could be like what do you think about this? And he was like, yeah, that's how about this? All right? What about this? How about this? For the second verse? And uh? And it was really slow. It was not like this big rock and roll kind of rolling Stones feel thing that it is now um, and we did a little work tape and I left and then we went going to the studio like three months later, and I was like, man,

I remember talking to my producer John Randall. I was like, this song could be this and most of the time I'm wrong in the studio, I've learned that. I learned that very early on. Most of the time I'm wrong, and but every now and then I'm like, dude, just give this a shot. And uh. We recorded it and then Rhet called me like probably two months after that. Someone had sent him a rough mix and he was like,

did we write that together? And I was like, yeah, even we finished it that day at your management or his thing is his publishing office that he has, and he was like, dude, that's insane. And I was like, dude, the songs, I was like, and I'm never hyped on my own stuff. I never think very much of it. I get over it very quickly. I'm onto the next

thing very quickly. And that was like probably one of two ever that I've been like, Yeah, this is dope for sure, and probably more so because he thought so. Your EP six songs. It's out now, six songs, right, Hollywood Gold, and five of them you wrote. One of them is a Stapleton cut. Um, how did you get that song? Man? I that was my first outside cut on Universal. Um, that's the only song I've ever cut that I didn't write on Universal. And Uh. I was

driving to the ranch one day. I was in my truck, UM, and I got a text message from Brian Wright at the label and it was just a UM, you know, like an audio clip on a text and uh, they just said Stapleton slash Anderson. And I'm like, he's on He's on Universal as well, Stapleton. So I was like, oh, maybe this is one of the perks of like being on the same label. You get to listen to his record before it comes out. Well, listen to the song. And I called Brian. I'm like, Yo, that's insane, Like

what an incredible song. And he's like, yeah, it's able to never cut it. I was like, what do he means? Like, hey, he wrote it was like two thousand six or something or whenever he wrote a long time ago, and and I was like, he's like, do you think you would want to cut it? And I was like, dude, I sent it to my dad and he was like, that's the best song you've ever written. And I was like, I didn't write that. I was like, I was like, but I am going to sing it, and uh, I

just I was like instantly, I just connected. They sent me out. They send me outside songs all the time, and that's the only one I've ever been like, I'm cutting that song all right. There is Parker McCallum at number five. We're going with Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion and I really love the episodes when we just get a member of a group because I think that's when

you get the best stories. And Old Dominion is always one of the hardest interviews we have to prepare for when they come on the Bobby Bones Show because there is so many members of the group, it's hard to focus your time on every single member. So I love it when we're able to do these Bobby casts and get just one of the members of the group to talk about their path, get their side of how the

group started. And when it comes to Matthew Ramsey's case, all the number one songs he's written outside of Old Dominion and we had had Trevor rosen On from the group before, so I always wanted to get Matthew Ramsey into do an episode and it happened this year. We learned so much about him that we didn't know. So at number five, here's Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion. Alright with with Matthew Ramsey from Old Dominion in your band because everybody kind of has roles in Old Dominion, Like,

what is your role creatively in that group? Creatively, I mean it's tough because we are That's what makes it really hard to be in this band sometimes, is is everyone is extremely creative. So um, you know anymore, I would say that it's kind of evolved. And I've I've recently learned, especially in this last album in the process of making it, that my role is not necessarily in the tracking room while we're recording. It's it's in the control room with our producer Shane. And I'm I'm a

better guide in that way. And uh and and I'm I'm a strong writer, I think too. So I think I have a strong voice in the writing of our songs, but everyone does. Everyone is so talented. Do you have to submit it? Isn't you use or frustrating. You have to submit yourself a bit when you go to record an album, because when you write it and you make you know your work tape or your demo and you have you can get demo itis and wanted to sound

like there. But then Shane comes in, Um, Shane mcinally, who obviously is is the best at what he does. I mean, I don't I don't think you would have a problem with saying he's better at being a producer than you are. Yeah, oh yeah, for sure. It's gonna make sure we're cool there. And if he's like, hey, this is how I see it, Like I really am passionate about this. Do you ever have to submit and go like you know what you know what you're doing and I only kind of know what I do much

I'm gonna do that. Yeah, definitely. But we have a close enough of relationship that, um, if if we still will go down that road, if we if we're not fully believing in it, and I'm not fully believing in it, but he strongly is, we'll go down that road for however long it takes until it until we see it or we go you're wrong. And and he's great at going Okay, thanks for trying, and we do the same thing. He'll he'll listen to us and our ideas, and you know, if we are feeling it one way, he'll say, I

trust you guys, let's let's go down that road. Until he either sees it or doesn't. It seems this is just my memory years later that he was involved really early with you guys. Yeah he was. You know, we were writing music with him, songs um before he had any success. So I think when I met him he had one he had just gotten um Leanne Walmack song recorded this first one, and you know we were all just broke, you know. He I think he had just like moved out of his car into a house, you know. So, yeah,

he's been around for us for since the beginning. I want to go back to in Virginia. The first instrument you pick up, is it the drums? It was the drums? Why the drums? Uh? You know when I was I had an older brother and um, he's he's four years older than me, and he had a friend who was a drummer, and it just enamored me just to that he would come over to our house and set his drum kid up and I would sneak down there and

look at it. And then he played like a drum solo at the middle school talent show or whatever, blew the whole place is mind. And I just saw how that affected everyone, and um so I just was drawn to banging on stuff for their bands that you listen to and drummed along with, and you liked the most as a fourteen fifteen year old kid, where you thought, all right, if I'm gonna do this, yeah, I mean at that point it was starting to get into um

is starting to get into a lot of grunge. I mean, for me, when I learned to play guitar with Chili Peppers, it was metallic because it's some really easy intros. Totally. Yeah. Yeah, So I had at that point, once I started really digging in and playing along to music, UM I had. I was my parents had a basement and I had a drum kit down there, and I had guitar amps and guitars, and I just and it was kind of

like split even then. I had half of the basement was art supplies and canvases and things, and half of it was musical instruments. So I would just kind of live down in the basement and play along too, mostly things like Pearl Jam and Nirvana and smashing pumpkins and stuff like that. And I asked this question, and I'm being as respectful and I possibly can with this question because what happened to me may have happened to you. But being an art kid and a music kid, did

you get beat up a lot? I never got beat up, but I definitely, um, I mean I got tugged on a little bit, you know, um actually ended up. I've never really talked about this ever, but uh, I actually ended up getting plastic surgery on my ears because is uh they were yanked on quite a bit, and they kind of they were like, you know, I always think

about this. It must have been really bad because I kind of don't think about it that much, but it must have been really bad for me to beg my parents to fix this problem and for them to go through with it, because you know, I have kids, and I know if if they if a kid and my kid in the sixth grade was begging, you know, me to physically change them because of what people were doing, it must have been heartbreaking for my parents, and I

know what stuff for me. So they did so for a while there, Yes, I went through some you know, some harder you know punishments there. I suffered similar you know, consequences for not being a you know, finger quotes normal kid. But you're a like cooler than I am. That's why I asked. I mean, you're like cooler and talented, something like did you like break the mold or you're They're like, he's so dowented, let's just celebrate him. I mean I

did wind up once I got into high school. I was kind of friends with everybody, you know, I was friends with the athletes, and I was also in the marching band, so you know, I kind of made peace with with everyone. So when did you transition from being the percussion guy to kind of go on, all I don't even really want to do that much anymore, Like

I want to play guitar. I want to what My first band was born out of the marching band because the whole drum line we were such good friends, uh, and we all wanted to be in a band, but we were all drummers, and so it was, you know, one guy going, well I have I have a guitar, and another guy saying, well, i'll have the drum kit, and I was like, well, I can find a basse. I'll borrow a base. I borrowed a basse from somebody.

So it was just we wanted to play music, but we only thing we knew how to play with drums, So we just kind of learned together and you know, just my ear figuring out that. So then once I started figuring out things on the base, and I had a piano that I would, you know, kind of mess around with, and and and a guitar that my uncle had given me. My dad was like, you're really good at figuring things out. You should pick up the guitar and try that. So so then once I picked that up,

I didn't know how to play it. So that's when I immediately started writing stuff so that I could play what I was writing that it was music natural to you, even though it was hard. It was, yes, it was natural to me. It was wild for you to be able to play a E. G C. E minor, you know, all the ones that you can let me be, all the ones I play for you to play, Like, how quickly were we able to adapt and actually play you know those main chords with your guys? I mean, pretty

pretty quickly. You know, it didn't take very long before we were all writing songs together as a band. You know, they all sounded like Pearl Jam ripoffs, but you know, but didn't everyone. But yeah, it wasn't at that point. Yeah, okay, so you you you go to school, You're gonna do graphic art illustration. I'm messing that episode. You're also playing music. I again, I would understand that nine, nine people out of a hundred are going to make more money doing

that graphic art job because they could probably get work. Maybe, I think it depends on not not necessarily in the in the field that I was headed towards. It was kind of equal to music, I think, because I wasn't interested in sitting at a computer and coming up with like graphic design. I wasn't. I was more tactile and would rather get my hands in paint or sculpt or, you know. So, and at that point, I have a couple of friends that are classmates that are successful artists

now and it's been the same road. You know, it's just been grinding it out and keeping you know, keeping their head down and painting and painting and painting and painting until they finally we all at the same age. They're they're having success as artists and I'm having success in music. What was the first writer I won't even we'll say break that you earned. What what was your first break there? Where you go, Okay, I'm not just now treading water like I might be able to have

some real success at this Yeah. Um, the first sign of hope was a guy named Steve Holly recorded a song that Trevor and I wrote with our friend Matt Jenkins, and then, um, really was watching my friends have some success was really what gave you the real hope was is that because you knew that you could do what they do well, I was doing what they were doing.

I mean we were doing it all together. So it was like it's like Shane, for instance, he came in and played um I remember he played us the demo for Somewhere with You and U NYA, and we were just like, damn, like that's different, that whatever that is is the next step. And we even though we weren't writers on it, we knew that that was going to

change the game for all for all of us. And even now when we watched Kenny play it, like we sit there and go we none of us would be here without that song because he wrote that, Kenny cut it. It changed Kenny's career and because of that, me and Josh Osborne and Trevor Rosen, Matt Jenkins, Brandy Clark and you know, we're all in that rider circle and we get we get to reap the benefits really of of that exposure. So watching our our each other succeed was

really what kept us going. We were like, it's not like I'm doing it, but it's weird doing it. You know what about first success for you were a song actually good, a single like a real life it's got a chance single. That was wake Up Loving You by Craig Morgan. So that was the first one. I can't remember. I can't remember hot went on the chart if it was top ten or not, but um, but it was close, which was you know that's back then that's all you want, is like you want top twenty and then you get

that and you're like, can you watch that? It was your first you are you watching the charts everything back then? For sure? Watching it all the time. I don't watch anymore. But when you hear that at the beginning, the first time you hear it actually cut. Are you like I like what they did with that production? Or that was my alarm clock? Actually it really was, Yeah, yeah I did.

I did that on the demo. I made a little home demo of it with that alarm clock, and and they Meredith and then everyone who cut it after that, A couple of artists cut it. Everyone used that alarm oclock. Then it's just my alarm o'clock. A couple cut it, but they didn't put on a record. Um, I think Keith Keith Anderson cut it, and I think it made a record for him, but it wasn't a single, So then what's the rule there? Because Eric passed who embuddies with?

He wrote Friday Night? I think Friday Nights sung. I'm thinking of lady A cut it but on record. He then said, well he didn't use this single. I want to use this single one number one for him. I want to be Oh friend, is there a rule that if it doesn't go as a single, you can still probably cut it somewhere else? Sure? I mean it, you know, once it is out, once somebody cuts it, anybody can cut it. So so you can put it out as a single anytime? Do you have to ask for single

rites though, no, only one. I don't think so. No. I mean you do that one time, you give you give the license out one time, and once you approve it, it's it's a fair game. So you're telling me I could cut I was on a boat, Yeah, put it out as a single, and then once it beat you guys, is the best streaming song. That's just life. Yeah, but we reaped the benefits of that. So why good? Good

for us? All? Like we all one? Okay? Nice first number one song he wrote, say You Do for Dirk Spanley, And was that a rocket ship number one or was that a we don't know if he's gonna cut it. He did cut it, We don't know if it's gonna be on the record. We don't know it. All of them are like that. I feel like, um, that one was you know, talking about breakthroughs and stuff that as far as writing that song, that was one that I was sure it was something special. Really you knew when

you wrote it. Yeah, So was there any chance you were keeping these songs? Because old dominion was maybe if we were a band at that point he signed no. So even like wake Up Loving You was our like show closer man like to let Craig Morgan have that song was a really tough decision because at that point it started to feel like maybe we were gonna We were so far away from getting signed, but it felt like maybe we were going to. Um So it was

tough to kind of let that one go. Say you do wasn't tough for for us, because we we did play that song and every show and um but at that point, man, you know, we're just trying to pay the bills and and we moved here to be songwriters anyway, that's what we wanted, so um So it was awesome and and he did an incredible job. There was a moment where I was going to sing background vocals on it, but it didn't pan out. Um Man, it was just an exhilarating feeling to hear that song and watch that

song climb to get your first number one. Amazing. This chainsaw from the Bam Perry wrote this one. Here's the was it written as aggressive. It's way more aggressive. Our version is way more aggressive. This one is the light version of it. So my dad, actually, my dad actually made a comment one time about he was like, man, your version is like, you know, I can kind of picture you out in the woods like with like frozen

snot in your beard, cutting Downvagory. It's definitely a lot more aggressive our version before we get over to the old dominion stuff. Ecstasy from Sam Hunt is probably, in my opinion, his biggest non single song. It wasn't a single, but everybody knows it. Um, I wish that was a single. To me, I kind of had to be reminded it wasn't a single. I'm a big Sam guy. I like Sam away from work, you know, yeah, I love Sam at work, you know so, But I love this song.

When he cuts it again, he kind of sol if I'm not mistaken this was on the pre Yeah I think so. Yeah. Um, and Sam wasn't Sam Hunt. But did you when you guys wrote it wasn't written like Wow, this is different, Like this is something like New Territory type stuff. I mean, we knew before everyone knew that it was you know, Sam Hunt. Like writing with that guy, you're like, damn, this guy is something entirely different, friend. And what means like just his creative mind is he

attacks things that different angles. So the things that come out of his mouth, You're like, I don't know how you thought of that. But you know, even like with make You Missed Me, he throws out a line like to keep a slip knot and the strings you attached like something some obscure thought like that. He can make seem very palatable. So just writing with him, that was a moment where you knew something was big was gonna happen.

So that song, it's funny like he he overthinks a lot of things and to you know, to his credit, it works, you know, but he, like most people, you sit in the room and you write, and at the end of the day you got the song. You can write for weeks and weeks and weeks on the same song with Sam. So that's what happened. I never really knew the final version of Ecstasy until it came out, Like I knew what I thought it was gonna the other little changes that you heard in it that you're like, well,

I don't remember that at all. Oh yeah, that all like talking part at the end that there's like a whole like kind of down bridge where he's kind of talking and you look kind of cute and all this stuff. I didn't remember any of that stuff, But I mean, it's amazing were you surprised to see the explosion of him. Yeah, No,

I mean I'm excited. I mean I I'm supposed to be an explosion of anybody, right because it's always so unpredictable of who it's gonna be, when it's gonna be, on, why it's gonna be yea, And with Sam, it hits so hard, so fast, and I feel like Sam is the most reluctant superstar that I know, And when people are kind of bagging on him, I'm like, well, first of all, he's way smarter, way more talented than you, and he doesn't because he loves to be an artist, but he didn't want to be the guy out and

people forget because everything now sounds like Sam Hunt, so it didn't. Then he changed it and everything on country radio half of it is just watered down Sam Hunts Kenny save it for Rainy Day. I have this hook up here. When you write a song like this, how quickly do you send it to Kenney? This one you never, like, I didn't know Kenny at that point point, and you never ever right aiming at a certain artist. But this song has the like quickest journey ever but a huge journey.

But we used to write. Brad and I and our late friend Andrew Dorff used to write every morning at nine in the not every morning every week at nine in the morning, so we would have double booked ourselves. We would write from nine to eleven and then we would go to our normal right, So that morning I didn't have any ideas, but in the shower on the way or getting ready to go there, that kind of course popped into my head. So I showed up and

I was like, Hey, what about this? And they were like yeah, And we wrote that song in forty five minutes. And at that time, Brad was making little home demos and I kept kind of egging him on, like dude, you gotta make a demo, and I was joking. I was like, man, you want to Kenny Tesney Cutter, not

like make the demo. So he's like, okay, okay, and he made the demo and um, sure enough, like we got it right to him and he picked it up like it was it never happens like that, but that's the only time that's ever happened is And then he went and recorded it and the studio musicians told us they only did one take of it. They played it and they were moved on. So they thought, no way that's ever making it. So we wrote it in forty

five minutes. They did one take of the recording session and then it becomes a three week number one songs. Pretty crazy. Thank you very much. I appreciated coming vibe. I know, Um you're doing a lot so to spend a little time here, We appreciate it. You guys can follow Old Dominion Music on Instagram or empt Ramsey. Um. That's that's that's Matt's private account, all right, I guess not private public but solo. Yeah yeah, which every one? Yeah yeah, the private private account the only I have.

That's the other matter, all right, Thanks Matt. So that was part one of the Top eight Bobby Cast interviews of back next week to find out who makes the top four. And you can go back and check out those full episodes on the same feed. Just scroll back through there and you'll see all the episodes from this year. And if you're looking for something else to listen to this holiday break, you can check out my podcast, Movie

Mix Movie Podcast. If you love movies, just need some recommendations, or you want to hear some interviews with actors and directors. I also do spoiler free movie reviews, so you don't have to worry about anything getting ruined. Just search movie Mix, movie podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and my name is Mike d. You can follow me on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok at Mike de Stro That's Mike D. E E S t r oh and I'll talk to you next week on Part two.