Rod Essig

And this week is so exciting because I have the man, the myth, the legend on today's episode Rods. He is one of the power house players at CIA, which is a huge booking agency, one of the biggest in the world. And booking agencies book acts at shows. So that is how all these artists show up at all these shows, because an agent books them and does so much more

than just that. But he has worked with everyone from Tim McGraw, Sonny and Share, Martina McBride, Julian Huff, Taylor Swift, the list goes on and on, and he's hysterical and amazing and you're about to get all the inside Scoop on what really happens. So welcome Rod Sig. Everybody. Okay, Hi Rod, Well hello, how are you doing. I've been told to lower my voice, so I'm trying to speak in a more now. This is a lovely We're sitting in your beautiful office. Rod Sig. By the way, he

is the badass like team captain of CIA. What is your official title? I am Department head of the Nashville office. Could you explain to me what CIA is? C A is the are just um Motion Pictures, television, music and sports agency in the world, and you are the division head of Nashville, so that makes you quite a big deal. I don't know. I don't think. I don't think so. I think I just have to work harder than everybody else.

That's all. That's a big title. Okay. I want to know how you got started, But first I want to ask you a few rapid fire questions. What song best describes your work ethic? Live like you're dying? Okay? Okay? Who's your celebrity free pass? Who's sharey okay with? Because your wife's awesome, So this is all in respect to her because I love her, And who's her free pass. Uh, my free pass would probably be um cure nightly. She would approved. I wouldn't ask her permission. I'll tell you

a great story. There was one this is way way way back when, and um anyway, I went to l A and I represent Jeff Jeff FOXFORDY at that time, and we had you know, there was no there was no fight flights going in and out. So he had to go to night before for nine o'clock meeting next next day. So anyway, I'm sitting in Brian Lord's office. And Brian Lord's one of the one of the original partners of CIA. And he said, what are you doing tonight?

And I said, I'm not doing anything that I had to come out here because I got a meeting in the morning. He said, so you're really you're free tonight and I said, yeah, I'm free. So anyway, it's very rare for you, Yes, very much so in the meantime, so he said, so just stay here for ten minutes. So I stayed it for ten minutes. I said, what do you want? He said, I need you to go someplace tonight. So I went in the door walks DEMI more And anyway, I was her date that night. I

don't know anymore. Anyway, she was cute, that didn't matter. But she was blond, totally bald, was for g I j and she so anyway, I went with her to all the Hollywood stuff that night. She never left my arm. And I always have a rule, and I get back to the hotel room no matter what time, as I call my wife. We got back about four five l a time, which is about a court of seven Nashville time.

That's the running. And so Sherry said, she said, you know, this is really late, and I said, well, it's really early. But she said all night long, you've been out with Damny Moore. And I said, I said, Sherry, if anything would happen, if I got that lucky, I tell you about it. We go to counseling for the rest of our lives. So I mean, come on, that's what it is. Share Your wife is pretty awesome. Yes, yes, she's totally awesome.

Did she like let you be you? She just said, if I don't come home, it will cost me a lot of money. And I'm a real capricorn. I don't want to share anything. Okay, all right, okay, fair enough, Okay, if your house is on fire and you can only grab three things before leaving. What would they be and why? And they can't be your family members? Uh, your pets. I grabbed the pictures, uh, and I grab well obviously a little safe in the house because that's got stuff,

jewelry and stuff in it. And I get on my motorcycle and leave. You have to take your motorcycle. Oh yeah, you love Harley's. I love Harley's And you're a big part of Sturgis. Is that what it is? Well, I'm very involved in booking a lot of Sturgist and I go there every year. Is that how you got into Harley's? Yes, Well, to be very honest, the first my first Harley was given to me by Tim McGraw. We had a we had a very successful run of dates. And he knows

he's a writer too, you know, I love Harley's. So he bought a Harley and through the keys at me and said, okay, here's your Harley. Have a good time. That was a very successful run, right, that's it was the cheapest Harlihood he had at the time. But there was a sports but you know, he could have bought me a road king or something big. But he didn't. Yeah, I'd say we are. Who are your best celebrity friends? Um,

Tim McGraw lean rhymes, Julian Huff. She's having a big year. Yes, we're having a big, big, big I just got a text from her from doing such a great job. I congratulated her on Sunday night because it was like the biggest musical on TV since UM forgot since what they well, this was, this was was Greece and they what they do Peter Pant I think it was Peter Pant. Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. She's the perfect Sandy's did our l a opposite? Yeah,

I knew all about it. She's got she has a lot of stuff going, you know, and I mean her her career will guide her to some way just take over Broadway like Christian channels. I mean she's just like she's that dancer, she's that singer, you know, all that stuff. So she's got all that going. But she's still working on a lot of motion picture stuff right now. Okay, awesome, Okay, So, Julian Huff, who else your besties? Um? I said, probably then you got in there. Martina mc bride, she was

over here this morning. She's a real good friend. And then probably my bestie motion picture friend is Reese Witherspoon. She's been, she's been, she's been my date for friends. Yeah, no way, what's she like in real life? Like you are just totally fun and cute and gorgeous and yeah, she's just twins. Are you calling me twins of threes? Yeah?

You could be. You know, she's so awesome and she has that production company and she's doing all those amazing movies that are highlighting women as leads, and she's she's going to move back to Nashville. Really, she started her store, her clothing store, and her Sprinkles. Have you had Sprinkles cupcakes? That's he's the sprinkle store right next to it, Sprinkles cupcaction. And she's mom and her husband is a very very

very successful agent at c A. Jim Tough. You have these little people like Matthew McConaughey and things like that, Oh my gosh, do you know Matthew? And in fact, Tim McGraw is doing Matthew McConaughey's benefit this year Une four, New Orleans, New Orleans. Okay, have you ever been arrested? Uh? For real? No? For fun? Right where I used to

grow up. There was a number of us that got in trouble a lot of times, so we would get they would arrest us basically of October thirty and hold us in jail for thirty one, so we would wreck stuff. So you actually have spent a night in jail? How was that horrible? Did you get hit on in jail? No? Oh, you're so cute, thank you, But I did not. No, I did not. Okay, And last rapid fire, If you were going to be in the circus, what would you do that? I I would probably be an animal tamer

because that's basically what you do in real life. Yes, it's true. Basically what your real job description is. I'm really a fireman. I put a firehead on every day and put out fires all day long. Who gives you the biggest fires to put up? You know something that it varies. It's certain times. Certain tours could be really hard. Other tours are very easy. Um, you know there's some I'm doing. I'm doing the one right now with cheap trick Joan Jet and Heart, And I'm the direct agent

to Heart and Joan Jet. And as a rule, as an agent, you should never put two of your acts on a show together because when you go see them, they both want your time, and so they're always playing you against each other. So this one's been every day is one more. They're not big problems, they're just little things. And then so you have to put that fire out a little bit. So but the tours, the overall too, are selling incredible, So now a lot of the lot of the part, a lot of the problems are gone

because the ticket sales are so good. So are you in the middle of a lot of cat fights? Usually females? Is it? Artists? Is it? Age? Is it? Who? Do you find? It? Would be everybody artists agents because here we do so much conflict of interest, so you even if you have the project in CIA, everybody is fighting for their own client and they're fighting really hard. So we compete to get that second or third slot in front of a Tim McGraw or Keith Urban or something

like that. So we really compete with each other, calling the managers and all that kind of stuff. But you know, as far as if you put the two artists together, there's never a problem, right. It's only a problem when they're not sitting in the same role, because then they go through the middleman, always at the problem, and then you assume it's a bigger problem than it really is, you know. So I like to have people sit down face to face and talk to each other because that

problem is gone. Then it's not who said or we said, or what what happened? So smart run. So tell me walk me through a typical day in the life of roads, because I don't know if many people know what an agent is and how big of a role this plays in a career for an artist, Like, what is your typical day and week? Looking like? Well, my normal day

is about between five and six emails? You read them all, yes, you have to, and then uh, then normally I've seen you like four emails in a day before, just for fun, So I'm just stop doing that and then and then normally, I mean, in today's world, normally I have a hundred phone calls. So some of them are just yeah, no, it's okay, that kind of stuff, But you get into a lot of stuff we still sell. So an agent is to go out and obtain work for your clients.

That's that's your basic working gigs are you know, being shows or opportunities and television or motion pictures or endorsements or sponsorships and all that kind of stuff. You ever see all of that, you oversee all that. You're really the hub and then you also the hub of that manager, of the record company, of the publicists, because you're the one.

I always figured when I booked a day on Tim McGraw, there's probably a thousand people that go to work, from ticket takers to security to you know, think of all the ushers and all that stuff, bus drivers and you know hotel. I mean you're gonna go into hotel. So because of that one day, there's a thousand people that work. So you have to get it right. So it's gotta be totally right, and you have to take it very serious.

And you can only go when you're route. You can only go miles a night because they have to load in, load out, set up and all that stuff. And then you have to really watch who else is in the marketplace because you can't be Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw in the same city at the same time because there's only so many people that have money to buy tickets. Have you ever messed up? Yes, what happens when that happens? Uh, It affects the ticket sales and you have a big problem. Yeah.

So I mean, yeah, but that's I mean, and you sit in a lot of meetings and plan this out. I mean, right now, I'm meeting with Gil Cunningham, who's a big producer of festivals. He wants to talk about two seventeen. Really, he's already done with sixteen. Sixteen is all done on sale everything, so he wants to know who we can do in seventeen. I said, Gil, every's open. I mean, I haven't thought about seventeen. We're just going

into February. So is it kind of like a puzzle piece, like putting together act and say you're get an offer for one act but they're kind of large and they don't want to do it. Well, you go to smaller act after that, oh yeah. Or you have to make sure your basic your your basic instinct is to make sure that everything sells. So we're in the business. We compete hard with other agencies, but we work very closely with other agencies because the bottom line, we have to

sell tickets. If we don't sell tickets, nothing happens. That's a good distinction. So you're competing hard, but you also need them to be success. You want to put together the greatest package. So how do you that line? I don't have done it for forty years. It's just because you kind of like hate them in a way, but you also like love. But you have to talk to them because you need and they need you. So just it's it's a give and take on both sides. They

want your hot act to be on their shows. Interesting, Yeah, so you so you can't. You cannot as an agent. You cannot sell or be responsible for anybody's festival or anything. Everything. You just don't have the right acts. If you do them one year, they don't want to repeat them the next year. So you just you just tell them, I'm I mean we have dates that I just tell people. I don't have anything to sell you. Yeah, I mean,

that's gonna sell your ticket. So but the only time an artist really gets really mad at you is if they look out and see empty seats and a big artist an extra fifty means nothing if there's a big hole in the middle of that don't doesn't have anybody sitting in it. Have you gotten yelled at by an artist before, anyone in particular, just a number of them. You know, when you're responsible for artist's income. And remember today in the day's world, it's probably is what they

do on the road, and that's what we do. You know, before these used to be was record income and publishing and all. Well, now, I mean there was. I was telling somebody the other day, I went two years of Lee and Rhyme's first album. Two years every week she never sold under a hundred thousand units. Really, so to this day Lee and Ryan's has sold forty six million records. Okay, she has sold six million records. Taylor Swift will never ever even do that because this record sales are record sales.

It's all streaming and all that. In those days, you had to buy the album to get the single. It's kind of sad that that's gone well. And that's where the record companys made a lot of their money. I mean at that point her records records were like or something like that. Now there, you don't have a record over ten dollars and so figured the profit and so. Anyway, but we went almost a little over two years that she sold at least a hundred thousand years a week consistently.

That was everything I wanted to be a singer because of her. A lot of people Taylor Swifts is the same thing because because of Leanne. That's why I'm in the music business. Okay, so how did you get into music business? Like? How did you even know what an agent was to even dream this up? The real in way back when I was in college, the colleges had the biggest budgets to buy entertainment. So everybody had a

student activities fund or whatever. So I used to buy talent at my college and I went to school in Lamar's, Iowa, So I used to buy talent John Denver and Johnny Cash and all those things in those days from the talent buyer at your college. That was a big position that you had to work together. You had to serve

on the committee when you're a junior. When you're a senior, you could become and you had money at that point, and I remember there was no You couldn't buy films at that time, so the only entertainment they got was touring artists. So you had money. There's a I mean, American University probably had three or four hundred thousand dollars that's been on artist. So you So then I went and I in that day you don't even remember because you were born. But there was a draft and I

got drafted and went to Vietnam and came back. So then I came, No, we weren't talking, so then so we came. I came back and I called this guy, Gordy Singer that I used to buy all my talent from, and he said, you think you want to be an agent? He gave me a phone and I understand, and that day it was a dial phone. Okay. And so within six months I signed this guy named Jim Croce and because again we're the largest college agency in America. So then I went from to live there to a living

John mac Davis, Helen Ready, the fifth dimension. I just kept signing things. So within within the five year period it I end up owning half the agency that I went to work for, and then I was with that agency for twenty years. And then I moved everybody to California and we had to write at Chili Peppers. Motor had all these big metal bands, and then Sea came to me and said, would you ever come to work over here? And at that point they didn't have anybody

did fairs, festivals, privates. They just did. They had twelve promoters and that's all they sold to. And so I literally went over there. In the second day I was there, My very best friend the life was a guy named Bobby Brooks, and Bobby got me to come to see A. And the next day he died in the helicopter with

Stevie Vaughan in Wisconsin. Yeah. So I worked in l A for a while, for in a year, and then rob'sons, John Huey and Ron Baird, We're gonna open up Nashville, and those are the founder of l A. They were the founders here, John and Ron. So then I came here and the three of us, now we started with three agents and five acts, and Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Billy Dean, Clint Black, and I'm trying to think one more,

Randy Travis Nice. So then it just I got into town and I kept being able to sign people that were in house. But I say, you know, because c A had motion pictures and television. So I signed Reba McIntyre and I signed um Tricia Year and all these people because of that reason, they wanted to be in television. They don't want to just be a touring act. Barbara Mandrell is another one. So anyway, that's kind of how

it all came. And now we've got a hundred and twenty two people here and we uh and we've got probably a hundred ten acts of which you know, so it's just grown out of here into a very large company. Now, So did you go to this college because you wanted to get involved in this program or is that just an accident? I had a music education degree and in those days, I want my mother wanted me to be a teacher, so you don't have music in your family, like the fl I'm the first job, and it was

just sort of a coincidence. Yeah, But in the means, in the week perfect storm from when I when I literally ended up, um when my number was thirty one in the draft, so nobody would hire anybody in that year. They were taking up two hundred and twenty people. So you'd have to go and apply for a job and they say, what's your draft numbers? Thirty one and then they wouldn't hire you because you're gonna get You're gonna get drafted. So I went and saying that summer was sunny,

and share saying you saying with sunny and Share. No one knows because you're such an amazing agent and you are such a powerhouse. But I have heard you sing, you saying a duet with your daughter Frank Frank Sinacho Duett. You were a singer. So what was it like being on the road with Sunny and Share? Well, they were at that time. I mean again, it's very different because all they did was play the Playboy club circuit. So you hated it? Oh, I love it. It was the

best time in my life. So you played for Playmates, Yes, that's you're performed for. I performed for Playmates and they were cloth Uh, they were the bunny outfits. Where is it? What is the playboys? And early part of the evening? After that? You never know, but do a lot of time at the Playboy Mansion. I didn't. I didn't. Mainly we see in Wisconsin, Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, and then we played the Playboy Mansion. But Sunny and Share we're just starting at that time. What does the Playboy

circuit mean? What is that? I've never heard of that. There used to be a lot of Playboy clubs on the top of hotels so like, so they were all over America, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and they were always on the top floor of a hotel. Torture. I know, it's just this is just horrible for you. It's a young guy starting out seeing it was sunny and share the playboys circuit. I mean, this is the start of your And then I got drafted, so my hair was

down to here. I'm telling you what I got. Showed up at Fort Leonardwood, walked in and it took thirty seconds cut your hair off. Was that sad? It was very sad because you have great hair. It was very sad. So that and then you know, and then tell having people tell you what to do, I'm not I'm not that guy. No, you're the one that tells people what to do, so you know the I remember one time the sergeant said, we're just standing okay, who has a

college education? And I raised my hand. The dumbest thing you've ever done in your life. Don't ever do that in the army raise your hand because we clean floors for the next three days because we had a college education. You're punished for it. Yeah, why do you think you're smarting everybody else? I'll show you your little college kids what's going on? It was horrible, horrible, horrible. How long

did you serve? How were your verses? Uh? Now, this is the nineteen seventy two and seventy three, so normally you were in for twenty four months. I got out in fourteen months because the war was was getting over seventy three seventy four, so everyde's coming home. So I was only the other for two months. That's good. So why did you not pick up singing when you got back? Why did you you know the other side, because I've

I don't want to starve to sing. I'm I made a lot of when I was a student teacher, I made a decision how much music music? Okay, now there was there was this great senior, that good looking senior that I went, okay, yes, Well most of my clients are women. So in the meantime I think women are gorgeous. But the meantime, so I at that point student taught in Rock Rapids, Iowa. So just you can picture that in your mind, you know. And so in the meantime

I had long hair. You couldn't have a drink in town you were, so I just said, from this point on, no one over tell me how much money I can make, what I have to look like, and who I can date? Ever, and you stuck by that, and I stuck by that, and here you are. What was the first sold out show that you ever booked? John Denver? Oh? John Denver? John? How was that? So? Now Ames Iowa, which was about twelve thousand seats was huge? How did that make you

feel incredible? You know? But again, everything in those days were so different. John Denver on that day got paid twenty dollars. The promoter made all the money. There was no one knew anything about bad agends, the percentages and all that kind of stuff. So you know, I mean I would still represent sticks and sticks to this day. Now they make grand a night they played the forum, and so that six forums. They get paid dollars per

night in their hey day. But now remember tickets were five dollars, seven fifty and twelve fifty, so the grossers were not big. So it's it's it's a very different world that we're in. When did that change? When did the ticket sales and how it's distributed change? Probably on the onset of the computers, because in your accounts would go on the road, or you could equally send it in and and you know, and your your managers just got a lot smarter. I mean, you're it managers it

at that point. Now we're just dealing with we gotta make as much money as we can in the road. We gotta grows our acts out as much money as we can. That kind of stuff. That's crazy. So that when was the first time you had the feeling of like, this is what I love, like I'm doing my passion. I will tell you the first time I had that was Tim McGraw when you shot up Lean Rhyme through the roof. There was no stopping these people. What does it feel like when you're on that rocket ship right

of you? Nothing goes wrong? It's just you can't nothing goes wrong. Any thing is you have to really watch that your artist doesn't believe in all the hype. You have to just keep them as much as real as you can. How do you do that? Because they'll have they'll they'll stop your toe, you'll have it. You'll love a show that just doesn't do it, and they go like,

what happened, what happened happened? Well, you didn't do an interview and you didn't do this and you didn't do this, and you didn't wait long enough to play the market after somebody else had played the market. You know, I mean, I've got one right now. Cam's going through the roof. I mean, she's she's blowing up. She's blowing up totally, you know. And she called, that's a call in. She called it said you have would would you have a

meeting with me? She came to you and she's a woman, which is hard right now for women, especially in country music. So is that a risky sign in the beginning, because you believe, first of all, back again, this is ten twelve years ago, when at that point I had lee and Rhymes, Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Tricia Yearwood, Martina McBride, Dolly pardon Um. They were and they were all happening, and you knew women could work totally. The very few have done what Reba has done or Dolly has done.

You get you go really fast because most guys want to have a female as an opening act just because they don't want anybody to compare them with them. That's the thing. It's a very big thing. We gotta have something for the guys to come to the show because the girls all come to see the guys, so it's something that for their husbands at least to entice them

to come to the show. So that's that's But you can build that to a certain point of about ten twelve thousand seats to get from twelve to eighteen thousand like the Tims and the Lukes, and that takes a lot of you have the package properly. Who tour is a big deal? Yes? Yes, big deal. Do you want someone who's going to sell a lot of tickets to go on tour someone or is it more like a cool factor or what do you look for as an opening act. I'm totally into radio hits, radio hits, radish.

I mean I'm not I'm not a Americana kind of guy that you know. It's really hit the book this club with this act. Yeah. I like representing big stars and doing a lot within their framework of an artist. I like making and it's fun growing them into a into a brand as opposed to just an artist, so that they have all these different things around them. What do you like to how do you like to maneuver that? Like when you get the music cemented, where do you

like to go next with the brand. Is it dependent up the plan. It depends. Like with Taylor Swift, Taylor of came in and she knew exactly who she was. She was first of all, she she was a writer, she was a singer. She was the first really really really um digital person that was would go on and tell you where she's going. She's seeing what she's doing every part of the day. So she was on her life was exposed, exposed and then she then she like

she said, she wrote really good songs. But the very first tour I put her on was George Straight because she was sixteen years old, and if in country music when you're sixteen years old, you don't know anything, you're just dumb. When you're cute, that's it. So we had to make make her a country star. So by being on George Straight and her wearing cowboy boots says she's country.

That's very strategic. So the cowboy boots are strategic, yes, and she wore those for probably the first three years of her that was her thing, little dresses in cowboyods exactly right. In the same when she had a song Tim McGraw, I said to her and Tim, because I'd luckily had both of them said, you guys can never meet until we do this in national television. They did, smart, they did, and they were at the A c M. She's saying and walked down to Tim and face. Remember

that that was a big moment. So you set that up because because it's real, why should they lie? And it's a great story. And but I also remember when I told Tim McCraw that she was doing a song about him. He was going like, why would she do something about me? Why don't you say about George Jones? You know I'm not an icon? What to her? You are? Yeah? Because it's the exactly which is the kind of crazy, right.

So so that was a really fun, fun moment. Do you have a lot of creativity like that where you can dream up wild ideas and make them happen? Yeah, but maybe only ever do because there's there's some really crazy ones. You know, what's something you've dreamed of? This? Wow, that's that's happened. That's been an amazing event. Um Man. I had to think back, it's been so long on how many people I've done? Um, I can't come up

with the one right now. Susan, here's a manager at red Light and we were actually talking about you because you're amazing. Do you speak things into existence because you always are super positive and you like it's just happening. It's always happening with you, like it's never not going to happen, but then it actually does happen. And I feel like that is a talent that not all people can actually materialize. I do a lot of that just because I've done this for so long. So I have

so many friends in the business. I mean, you know a lot of them are dying off now. But that's that's a bummer. But you know, again in my in my world, every you talk to every they're your friends. In your world, you text and email. I tell all the time, email or my assistance call them, call them, get a relationship, find out about them, because when when they need something to call you, when you need something, to call them and get just get it done. So

that personal relationship. Do you think that's gone a long way? It's done a long time. I mean I can actually say that, you know, uncertain things. Jack Sessman will do this at CBS because he's been a friend of mine for so many years. You can't give him something that's really a dud. You have to give him something that's on fire, and you know him and you know what

he gravitates. That's interesting with speaking on the phone because it is such a texting digital I'm on the phone twelve to fourteen hours, but you actually want the human contact. It makes a difference. It's harder to say no and you experience half of it getting ship done. Human relationship goes so much farther. I feel like people want to help you when they know you, and you want to help someone who know them. There's so many people that

are touchy feely. You just gotta get get to know them. No, I mean you have to get to know them, and once they get to know you, they'll kill for you. Yeah, you know. And so I always really work on that. I always try and put people together other it's artists, managers, agents, whatever. I'm always trying to network people. I love networking people. I'm very good at networking. So how do you deal with radio because radio is such a separate beast and

booking because you have all these great acts. There's a lot of great female acts in particular to females are having a hard time in country music right now. A lot having to do with radio and not playing him, changing it. How are you changing that? Because we're getting Kelsey Bellerini, We've got Cam happening, gret Brooke Eden starting to happen. We've got a lot of stuff that's happening, you know, And a lot of that is my friends

carry Wolf and Milwaukee. There's a bunch of playmakers, your friends with the radio, because they all do they all do radio shows and they need artists, so they buy a lot of stuff from from us directly as opposed to promoter putting him in there. And then they're also these guys on the air. I want to know that they have Taylor Swift and I can call up. And I got Martin Bride calling in. I got this calling in. So some in some regards as an agent, I'm much

much more of a manager agent. And sometimes that's good, sometimes it's bad. But I'm really involved with my clients and the managers. Their managers all know that I'm really involved. I think that's important. I do too, But I have other friends of mine they are great agents, and until they tell their artists asked for something, they would never

do anything. I like to be proactive. I like to keep bringing them stuff and keep bringing them because I think they work harder than because they know how hard you're working, right, And also there it's an opportunity they haven't thought about, you know, I mean things and or else. Martina will talk about she she loves cooking. So we went and made a cookbook. So we went to I called. She said, it was her, it's her idea. I was able to make it happen with Simon Green in New

York City. Yeah, so you're like, done, you want a cookbook. We're gonna make a cook book. Well she had to go, you have to go sell it. You can't, like I said, you can't sell duds. You have to you have to have something behind it. But once Martina went and met the publishers, they were in yea. And in fact, I think they came down here and went to her house for dinner and they were totally in cooked for him. And that was it. Why do you think women haven't

been a big presence lately? Why they're coming back? But why do they have a little Well, we just got into this whole broke country for so long and it turned out to be just male dominant. And you know, and again there was a cut off. You said some of the people who were just getting older and you didn't have to blow away people that were younger. And I think right now some of the younger kids are

just incredible artists. I think they're really, really good. And unless you're really great, you're not going to make it. And I think I think cam Kelsey. I mean, all these people are not overnight success. They've been doing this for a long time. They just happened to get the brakes right now. Who are you most excited about this new batch of artists? Who are you most on fire for? Um? I'm really really onside on fired for Brooklyn brook She's awesome.

I think she's cute. She writes Harley with me, Yeah she does. She's She's my Harley bitch. But in the meantime, I think she's also really good. Her voice is ridiculous when you put it again, if you can't deliver, I can sell all day lyng, it won't happen. And she's really good. So all of a sudden, all the artists are loving who she is. And you have to build the artist network as much you do the fan network, because then they all talk about because it's a community.

I feel like National in general is a community. It's a total community, and the writers are all and there's people that are great writers and they're just not ready to be an artist yet. And there's people that are great writers that never become an artist, and they shouldn't be. They don't have the artists. Look, they don't have the they don't they don't have the work ethic. Being an artist is really hard. What kind of work ethic do you have to have? You got to just kill to

be obsessed. You have to be obsessed. You get to bed at midnight, you're up at four in the morning, so you look great six am for being on the stupid radio. You have to look great because that if that guy in there sits there and go, yeah, she didn't look that good this morning, they won't play. It's that simple. Huh, that's simple. It's very different. Or if you're not funny enough, you know, or if you're not funny just naturally, you better figure out how to be funny.

You're well, then you should be a writer. If you don't look good, you're not funny. You need to write, just write great hit songs, you know. That's true. Yeah, but that's I mean there's just so much to do in that world that we get people to come in here. And I have to say this, Normally, if they're from the Voice or from uh some of some of those

TV shows, they've learned how to sing four songs. I'll take anybody that's been playing in front of a crowd in a bar and develop them any day before I'll just take someone that doesn't know how to do it. That's so true, you know, And I just I got cringe every time you come in and like, okay, here we go. So you have seen a lot of stuff, You've done a lot of stuff. Some you might not be able to talk about. What is some of the wild? Tell me a wild story that like people could not

believe could really happen. Well, this you don't even know who this guy is. Jerry Jeff Walker? Who that is? Okay? He wrote Mr bo Jangles. Well, Jerry had a major lely drinking problem is early and I was his agent and I remember going to a show and anyway, the bands on stage playing, playing, and we couldn't find Jerry. He was so drunk he was in the audience waiting for himself to come on. Yeah, so we put him on stage and took towels and wrapped around so he

wouldn't keep hitting his head against dingy. Well, Jerry Jeff never was a great singer. He was just you know, but he's saying, but that's why I could write Mr. Bo Jangles too, you know. So those kind of things, you know, just fun stuff like that. I also remember with with Um Andrea Agassi. I used to do all the entertainment for Andrea a grassy yeah and stuff. They're still friends. So anyone when you're I put Tim McGraw on that on the evening and you used to be

David Foster had a big orchestra and everything. So that night there was was uh I think it was Elton John. It was Elton John, and Elton sang his song and he said, with Tim ever sing with me? Tiny d answer, I remember, Tim, should I want to do it? And he did it, but he was the wreck, a total wreck, just nervous service. He went out and he nailed it and they put out as a single for real. He

was one of Tim's singles. That's amazing. Yeah, But those kind of things are just the things that's what fires me up, because like you could even dream that up. You can't. Some things you can they just happened, or other things you can just try and make them happen and they still never do. But when they do their magic and you'll never see that again, it's like you cannot recreate it. I remember we did. We did this thing um called off for the Hall. We do off for the Hall, l a off for the Hall of

New York. So this one year it was it's always Emmy, Lou Harris, Vince Gills. It's a it's a singer songwriter thing. We had Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie, and Christmas Offerson. Now Taylor was on fire saying her Tim McGraw's song and everything. Well, Lionel sings one of his career anthems, and I remember a little Christmas Officers sitting over there and going, you know, I wrote this song, and this little girl Janis Joplin saying it. But it was you know, I used to

call my manager. He never talked to me, so I kept talking all the time to his assistant, his secretary, and her name was Bobby McGhee, and he started singing me and Bobby McGee. That's how he wrote the song because he was talking to secretary. His manager wouldn't talk

to him, so Bobby McGhee was his manager's secretary. And I'm telling you to this day, I mean, I'm telling you, if you walked up the lionel or Taylor and say what was what was an event in your life, they'll say christmasofts and singing Bobby McGee because you know he's old and he's got sort of onset of Alzheimer's and you know everything, but it's just kind of it was such an emotional moment that night for these major stars.

Dang and yeah, they because you don't know all the back stories, you don't know, and it was just, you know, we just did the one this last year and that had Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, Emmy, Lou Harris, Vince and Paul Simon. And when Paul Simon starts singing, every just dropped her guitars and went, oh my god, how how do we even do this? You know, just you know, it just it just I mean those kind of things

to me are that's why I do this every day. Well, I'll take ship all day long to get those moments because people don't get those moments. I agree, with you like you don't want an ordinary life? You never want How did you know you didn't want an ordinary life? Like you just aren't made for it. I grew up in a little town. I leven kids in my graduating class, and all I want to do is get out of that. Get out. I wanted to get out, and a big thing to me was having someplace I lived in my

life that would have something open all night long. It could be a Perkins waffle hall. They didn't care. It had something. So then I just, like I said, I just kept signing and signing and signing people, you know, and it just it's kept going through all these years. It's been a very good life with that same thing. That's why I travel over the holidays and go to all these crazy places. I've never been these places. So you want to, like, is your goal like rod esse

mission statement for life? Do it all, be it all, see it all big, and have fun at it. But you want to experience everything? Yes? I want it all. So what are the coolest things you've experienced? Well? I had last year in November. I've always wanted to land in an f A ten on an aircraft here, okay, and so I do a lot of work with the with the US Afghanistan. You convinced me that Iraq was gonna be safe going over there, that it was not scary at all, and then we're getting Now we're sitting here.

It's great and it was a great experience, wasn't it. It was a great experience. It wasn't I'm so grateful I did. It was the most amazing experience. Meanwhile, though, you're telling me you had just gotten back from Afghanistan where a bomb dropped right by y'all, I think that you're in You're like, but don't worry about it. It'll be fine. It's fine, and you're fine to it, aren't

you totally fine? You're fearless now. So anyway, so I got to land on an aircraft carrier in November and stayed there all day long, shot guns off the aircraft carrier and the next day take off, cat catapult off in and f a T and go back and those are I had that wish for probably twelve years, and he did it. How was it? Finally? Was beyond incredible. It was beyond And some people say, why did you do it? I've always wanted it, that's I don't. I don't want to skydive. It's not my thing, so I'm

not gonna do that. You know, I do want to go to Africa and African Safari, which is have you done that yet? No, that'll be next year. So you just got back from India And how is that? Chaos? Chaos, chaos. I loved it. I'm glad I did it. I won't go back and do it again. Incredible, incredible, just crowded, crowded, crowded, crowded. I mean, it's like I said, it's chaos at its best, and I just I'm glad again. I'm glad I did it,

but it's not my thing. I'm much rather go to Spain or you know, or do go to Italy or you know. I mean, I loved we went to um when year went to Tahiti, that was great, and then we went to Thailand, Cambodia. Thailand. Thailand was just amazing, It's amazing, and Cambodia Anger Watt was a highlight too. But we've done that with with our kids and hopefully they have great memories. You know, where where are your top places you've traveled? Thailand? Uh, Spain, Oh, I love Spain.

I lived in Spain, did you love I'm gonna go back to Spain. Where in Spain would you want to go? I'll go back to Barcelona. I loved it with all the gaudy stuff, and I think I loved it. The people were great. You know. I like the Italy. So I didn't like France. You didn't like France? Why not? I thought the people were snooty. Really, I'm not. I'm not. Wasn't. The people in Italy was so nice. But yeah, I was into it. Okay. So I mean, I love the louve and all that kind of stuff, and Martie Monte

Carlo was incredible. But it's just I just think the people were a little obnoxious. You have to you have to get rid of that when you can't say that I have French people. I don't need French acts. Okay, that's crazy leaning on Hurt Love I love On and Michael Bolton. She's a great singer, the best in the world. I love singers. You do you appreciate it? You love singers? If you are you know what they call that spot it got it? You are a great singer, rod Esse,

So you noticed that in other people? It's a big deal to walk into a showcase and they get two songs. If they're off pitch for two songs, I'm out the door. I don't care. But how good they look or what if you can't sing on pitch and you're a singer, don't go into business. I don't care. Auto tune is not going to save your ass, you know. So now, why do you think so many people have addictions in this industry? I think it's just very difficult. It's seven

So take yourself, I mean you do. That's a normal

day that you go. It's it's kind of crazy. You you spend twenty hours waiting to perform thirty minutes, and then you got to keep up and happy for the other three and a half hours until everybody leaves, and then you then you're so wired that you have to somehow try and slow down to get up at four in the morning to take a shower and be wh So then they go down and you go back up again, and then you get done with that in the mornings nine o'clock in the morning, Well, do I really want

to go to sleep again? I mean, it's just it's just a really really roughing have to be on all the time. You've got to be on You could never have an encounter with someone and they have a bad experience with you. And let me tell you the in your world today, your world, our world. I'm still here, You're still definitely here. But you know, the cameras are on everywhere right here. I mean yeah, I mean you're any place it used to be somebody do would screw up.

It would take three days for any ways to find out about it. You know, even during the war it took twenty four hour hours for that that stuff to come back here. Everything is documented now anything in the world going on, and it's there, even in your own bathroom if you have somebody put a camera there. I mean that it's just it's just it's not somewhat not fair that there's no place for you to get there's no place to Okay, So who who do you have any problem? Max? No, all of them are perfect m

M for this interview, Yes, Jim. Any favorites that you just love to be around, Yeah, I love I absolutely love to be here. I'd like to be around Tim McGraw. He's a great guys got he's very intense. He runs four miles afore he does a show every show that's he's in great ship. He's just you know it is he's a guy that, um he's your partner, but he never leaves. He may get mad at you, but and that is he's questioning what you're doing or he's done

something or whatever. But that's what I love about him because he's he's I always say, if you go into an alleyway for a fight, Tim will be right next to you. He will not stay in what you have to fight and say how you come out? Really, and there's there's a bunch of people like that, you know. I mean, I've had, you know, a fun acts to be I love. I love being around John and Martina. Yeah, they're fun. Leanne is great, but she's she's like my daughter.

So it's like she's been with me for so many years. It's like, you know, and that's great. And yet when she opens her mouth, she's a incredible Singer's the best. She just blows your socks off. Tim and Faith as perfect as they sing. Yeah, I think they really are.

I think that they really are. Um. I think Faith is just I'd love to walk into the house and she's got all these what she used to have all the you know, all this yellow pages full of all their itineraries and what they're gonna do, what the girls do this day, and what they're doing, what they're doing. I mean, I think she's just incredible that way. She's a great decorator. She's gorgeous. But they're both really nice people. That's the big They're really nice people. They're not unhappy, yeah,

you know, they're just they're good people. So you can have great wives. You have a great wife. How did y'all meet? Because she's a saint to be here and you're you're an angel, but you're a wild man. Years well, way back when again I was a singer. She fell in love with your voice, did you? I was, so I met her. I my partners son was getting married to her cousin, and I was the wedding singer, no way, and I thought you had a great ass. So that's where I went. So she loved you before any of

this happened. Before playmate tour, Oh no, no, that's OK. You had I was in my late twenties early thirties, so there was I had a lot of playmate time. I think that's good for all people to have some so I had some time and everything like that. In fact, for the first couple of years, there was a number of people that would come up and say hi to us, and she didn't appreciate that. I mean, the past is the past, right. So you have two amazing kids. They're

both in this industry. They're both in the industry in different facets. Yes, your daughter Laana is super talented. She's a great singer, and she's being an actress and doing her yes and doing her thing. And my son is so be on what I can even understand. It's like a genius. Yes, in the gaming world of you know, of game apps and has his own company and it's kind of crazy and hopefully he'll sell it in the

year so now and we'll be fine. Okay, So anything else I missed that You need to tell me that it would be awesome for listeners to hear. Do we get to talk about some of our times in Vegas and stuff? What happens in Vegas? That's saying for a reason. I do love Vegas, Yes, you do. We had some fun. We had some fun there, I know we've had We've been in Vegas many times a day. Yes, we have so it's been good. It's been fun. But I love the stuff. I love the direction you're going in now.

It's great. You do Do you support my hosting career? I totally do. Will you get all of your artists tweet about this podcast? Yes I will, you will, And also I'll go book a nice, big fat date for your husband so you can so we pay for this. Thousand says Yes. That's one of your other favorite bands, isn't it. I love I think they're great. Michael's great, but a lot of years too. You both have that hair. You both have a sex hair. It's that flowing locks, so it gets all the ladies. But his his is

still black. Mine is beyond it. You're still color. Yeah, that's good, that's good. I know, Rod, you're already married, so I mean I had to marry Michael. I know that's true. That's okay, But I also remember when you left him. Know, we had quite we had a road. Know we can talk about. I like to call it our halftime show. All great acts have a halftime show.

That's true, that's true. Yeah, okay, So to wrap up my podcast, I'm wanting everyone to have a little segment called leave your Light give me some inspiration that either has affected you or that you can affect on other people. I think the one thing if everybody, if I could tell all the young people, if you have a passion, just stay with it. Tenacity is everything, because it maybe not be the right time right now, but it'll come round.

Everything goes in circles, and so if you really have that passion, just stay true to it and don't change it, because it'll all happen. It will. Well, I'm just I mean, so many people change, change change. If they just did this way and people got to know who they were for that, then it happens. That's what it is. Yeah, it is. And you know it's not gonna be always easy every day. Nothing's ever easy. But uh, you know, like I'm I always said, I'm one of the lucky people.

I got to do my life what I want to do. I've always wanted to be an agent. I got to be an agent my whole life. So I'm very I'm still happy. I still get excited about every day. I mean, I have my ups and downs, to believe me, but most of them. I never dislike anybody I get. I get frustrated with what they do but I don't dislike anybody, So frustration is the biggest thing. And and that's just because somebody did some dumb thing, or somebody had announced

something before they they didn't tell you the truth. And so you have grace for people. Oh yeah, totally. Well, I never I never say never with anybody. I I don't have anybody that I've ever left. That's just no. I'm not gonna see him. Were gonna talk to Himgain? Never quite an accomplishment. I don't know why. Right, it's too it's negative. It takes too much energy to hate somebody. I love that. Okay, Rod, Rod, everyone, thank you for joining me. This is amazing. Oh shooting a Carola, She's

the queen of talking. He she's only inside. She got the scoop one no one can do with Carol. I hope you guys loved hearing all of the inside skinny from Rod es. That man knows everybody and knows everything about the entertainment industry, and it was so awesome to get to hear it from his own mouth. I hope that you loved it, and I hope do you feel more enlightened about what goes on behind the scenes. Next week,

I have the Warren Brothers and y'all brace yourselves. I mean it, like get ready, because these guys are wild. They are wild maniacs in the best way possible. There two brothers. They had a big artist career and then they morphed into just becoming hit songwriters. They wrote so many songs for Tim McGraw. If you're reading this, they wrote that song. They've written a ton of stup from Martina McBride. They're actually also best friends with timargraw and

used to tour with him. And they tell some stories and they're funny, and they had a show on CMT called Barely Famous. They're absolutely insane and so much fun and I cannot wait for you guys to hear them next week. So do not forget to tune in and subscribe on iTunes to hyper Caroline Hobby and leave comments. We'll see you next week. By