Skip Bishop: Radio Legend.

Skin Bishop. Okay, you're telling me that I'm right under Sonny and Michael. I mean, you're you're up there. It's awesome. That's really good about myself. Right now, I'm canceling my therapy appointment for the week. You just saved me a d bucks. Okay, what's your handle? Well for anyone's mom is at caroline hobby. Let's see how that goes. Wat you see what happens? Skip. Why don't you tell everyone how we began our love? Well, I will tell your first.

I always had a crush on you since you were in you know, like you know, appeared in my life as a well. Actually we met at al Gore's house a great place to start. Yeah, that is we met at al Gore's house where uh I was there with uh Sony. When I was with Sony as opposed to Skip, was the head of promotions for Sony Records for years and years and years and years and years and years and years and years. He's broken all of your favorite singers, songs acts. He's like alleged end in the music. Come on,

you are listen. When you've earned a legendary status, you might as well just claim it. Well, I think the legendary means that you're an elder statesman. And you know, even though my hair may be white, I actually put this color in. You know, this is this is not natural white hair. I have this. I pay for this. Oh I love it. And my hair is red and it's called it's called platinum Moonlight. Why do you go from red to frost? It gives me some credibility. I

like it. I like it anyway, So, uh Stealing Angels, which in at the time, right, you guys were playing a set at al Gore's house and I was there. It was a fund raiser and I'm like, oh my god, these this band is just awesome and who is that girl, you know, like Marlo Thomas. You know Marlo. You don't know who Marlowe Thomas is Thomas, He's that girl. Check your history books, you child. It was a tremendous Marlo Thomas is the daughter of Danny Thomas, who had a

who had a show called That Girl. It was a sitcom for years and called that girl. Marlow was that girl. Anyway, this night at our buddy else place, we're all hanging out with it with President Gore, who really won the election. But that's another conversation trouble because back then, like Taylor Jen and I who was in Stealing Angels, we were obsessed with like putting every recording everything, putting everything on social media or whatever social media existed back then. So

we were like filming doing us. We got in big trouble of the Secret Service because we weren't allowed to do that. Huh. I kept coming and going, chatting up the kitchen staff. The kitchen staff was fun. A uh, look a couple of cooking tips and got a couple of three drinks out of the deal. U. I will tell you, okay, I can tell you this really fast.

One thing Al Gore said that I have never forgotten from that performance was someone asked the question, how much how much information do the American people really know about what's going on in government? And he said, yeah, I can believe that. I gotta tell you he I got a moment or two to chat with him, and uh, he's a cool dude. Yeah, cool dude, he's smart, he's you know, lives in Nashville. That makes you even cooler. Uh. And you know, you go back in your you know,

history books to that election and it was funky. You know, remember we didn't know who was the president for the longest time, and it was like Al Gore's every president. No he's not. Now it's George Bush. No, no, wait no, And and it was it was crazy days. I mean, of course we were compared to what now, it's completely bizarre. Anyway, So we're at OL's house. We're all at OL's house,

hanging out, hanging out in the kitchen. You're taking pictures with your phone that you shouldn't take, you know, getting national security problems. And Steely Angels did a set and knocked it out of the park and I and I came up to you after the show and I introduced myself and said, you guys were absolutely fantastic, and we became friends on that day and we used to see each other around and I'd go, hey, you're Caroline and Thomas, yeah,

you're that girl. And that's how we became buddies. And then years later after you like okay, you appeared on national television on the Amazing Race with uh with your lovely, lovely twin sister, Uh, Jennifer who it is just family too now. Uh. You guys came into my life because we were all working under the same little conglomerate and then we all worked for the same record company when oh they were the best. They were the best. I brought you over to the little label that we had

called Hit Shop. You were already working on the publishing side as a writer, right, a song plugger. Oh that's right, you were the song plugger. Jen was a writer. Yeah. And then you guys started calling, right, I come and say, do you know so and so, you know Johnny Chang and Houston. Oh yeah, I'll call Johnny And you'd call Johnny and he played the record for you and I thought, idea, well, it was incredible. You guys were the best to promotion

people ever. And everyone listening. A promotion person is when you hear your your favorite artist on the radio playing and you're hearing your song that you love. There's a whole team of people on that artist label who go around to radio stations across the country and get that song added to radio stations. And so no matter what, no matter what I mean, it is like, it is a serious job. It is hard for and Skip it has been in charge of promotion staff for years and

years and years. Like I said, he's legendary. And so I happened to fall into this amazing experience where I was working in a publishing company and you were running the label. And then Skip, because Jen and I had been artists together and stealing angels, we had all these radio connections and we had all this just this history with radio that was so positive that Skip had this brilliant idea. Well, you know, we let you guys work as one. It was well, it was a duo. It

was like almost like being an artist duo. It was an artist duo. You guys would go out, travel together, put on events together, do all those things, and you would come back with buckets of airplay because really good, Yeah, you walk in with those relationships, with your charm, with your smarts, with your persistence, and you guys, you were lethal. No one could no one could there there is no resistance allowed or possible when you guys went in. Well, I know that Jenne and I used to have it down.

We'd be like we would just a corner. Someone like you could not escape us. We were going to get the ad. You know, I just googled your podcast. This is supposed to be about country music artist wives. I feature where many artists wives, which I think, what what what what? What? What? What? What? What I saw said the show is about interviewing country artists wives. That is a big part of this show. Yes, huh, I think you would make an excellent wife to country star. I

mean the hair alone, there's a couple. Let's let's list a couple of issues, and and thank you for that. I appreciate that. But the couple of issues number one, I'm married to too, to Diane for a hundred and sixty eight years. I I'm the most boring guy in the world, as meaning that I'm white and straight. You know, I'm just like boring your super avant garde. Okay, but taking on a country music husband is not really in my It's not really in my playbook because you know, again,

the physical attractions not there. But I got a lot, but I do love a lot of them. Got a good looking country artists out there. If you had to be the wife to one of country music biggest star, which one? Who would you be married to? And why? Oh my god, that's a tough, tough question. You know, you have an answer right on the tip of your tongue, but I don't. I mean, okay, because again I don't know. It's not about the looks, because again, being a normal

boring dude, you're not. So you've got to take boring out your father. Okay, all right, So I'm you know, I would say I would look for someone with artistic qualities, someone that you know, I like the granola type, So I would I don't know, you know, I find I like the complexity of Brad Paisley's writing and personality. Okay, okay, okay, yeah, And I like complex people much. That's why I like you.

I like the granola crunchiness of of Chris Stapleton, Yes a truth, yeah, but you know it's what about Jason Isbel's he a little too complex. No, it's no, it's way too cool. Yeah. Yeah, and I can walk down the aisle together. I feel like I feel like he's my wife. Across the room is saying, what about Chris Stofferson, he's a little old for me Christofferson, No, he is the one I wouldn't want to be Christo Chris Christofferson's wife. Yeah, well I would two. As long as i'm all of

these people, I'm up for it. As long as we don't have to kiss, well then I mean it's gonna be a really boring marriage, right, No, god, No, we can read books together, travel, cook, all those kind of things. Yeah, no kissing. Okay, okay, okay, I mean it's a new spin on marriage. But hey, it could work. Okay, So if we had, if you had to do your front runner between Chris Stapleton, Chris Christofferson, um Brad Paisley, and Jason Isabelle, who would it be. I don't know. I

haven't really gone through the list. Yeah, it's hard to think. I've never thought about who what man I'm going to marry? But it is I'm a modern guy and I can have these thoughts. But again, you know, I'm sort of comfortable in my own you know, current sexuality. Uh, it's kind of hard to make that determination. Okay, Well, like, I'll tell you who I like. Okay, I like Charles Kelly. Great choice. He's fun, it's nice, he's nice, he's creative. Yeah yeah, good dude, Good dude, he's good dude. It

seems like he's a good dude. Family Ross Kelly beat all the other ones? Is he the number one? No? No, no, that's You're laying out quite a list here. I mean, it looks like you gotta a lot of favorite Can we talk about some babes? Okay? If you had to marry one country music artists, who would it be? Uh? Uh, you know, I don't know. For some reason, my wife, who was across the room is sharpening the knives. Okay about this, let's change this. Let's change this question. You've

worked with many, many, many female country music artists. Who was your who was the most enjoyable experience working with? I'm not saying you want to marry her, but who did you love getting to know and working with and pushing their career into stardom? Um? That's got that's I will tell you I did really for a lot of reasons. Enjoy working with Miranda. Would you love about Miranda? Yeah? I loved her edginess, and I loved that she was

very you know. We uh we went and ran New York and did some promo stuff with her and her fantastic manager, Marion, and I just came to really enjoy her, both of them. Their sense of humor there, uh, there the take no prisoner's attitude. Uh, it's fantastic. I really liked working with Carrie because Carrie, please she I have to tell you, she has her eyes on the prize. She was She was very focused. She knew exactly what

she wanted to do. She is talented to to to be two for the entire planet to hear her voice and know how much talent she had. How did she go about doing that? Because I feel like a lot of artists want to achieve that, but they don't get the level of Carrie. What did you do? I'll tell you what she did. She did, I'm gonna three words,

work really hard. She would do whatever we asked her to do do in the early days and there I mean, I'm sure I'm sure she still does That was her m o. But it was like, Okay, we are going to have to spend Saturday calling sixty radio stations and doing sixty interviews back to back. Okay, all right, you know and whatever. It was a we're gonna have to fly into this city and we're gonna have to go meet with these people and do that. Okay, whatever it takes.

She was always there, and she was she was on point and smart and driven and focused. That's exactly who she was. And it was you know, it was just and that voice. Good God, I'm mighty. So a lot of people say Carrie Underwood is really shy, which like when you see her on TV, she doesn't seem shy, but like knowing her the way that you know her, is she shy? Yes, she definitely is. She's quiet, she's private. Uh, she is all those things. And I think shy is

really a good thing. Some people missing misinterpreted as her being stuffy, but she's not. She's just you know, she's shock and she when but when the red light comes on, the stardom comes out, and you know, she knows what she wants and how she's gonna get there, and um, and she's just she's a she's a very private person, and and there's nothing wrong with that. There's a lot of people that are it's you know, it's you know,

tons of people are like that. She's if it was her choice, She's not gonna walk around and shake hands and kiss babies every everywhere. But when there's a job to be done and a commitment made, she never backs down. That's amazing. Maybe I never made it as an artist because I am opposite of shy. Maybe I should be a little more shy, and that would your You know, your your person Your personality is you're doing what you should do. Your stage, your your your your, The entire

world is yours. All you need is a stage to get out there and be the lovely, charm and hilarious, funny person that you are. I love that you think I'm funny because I always feel like I'm not funny. Like I feel like I'm a really good laugher at people who are funny, but I feel like I don't really have a sense of humor for myself. Well, you got you so fooled. You bring out my sense of humor. There's certain people in my life that make me laugh

and make me funny, like you make me funny. Taylor Lynn, my old trio mate. Yeah, people make me funny. Hear one of those. Well, let me just give you an example. You asked me to be on an interview about country music wives and asked me what guy I'd like to be married to. That's pretty funny. Well, you're a funny skin. Uh. But we have been really important to talk about. Actually were funy things to talk about. But yes, I mean

we're both involved. I'm recently newly involved in this incredible charity that's happening that is literally one of the biggest events for a lot of the now full community. Tons of artists participate. It raises so much money from Mecca School with the Little Yale Schoolhouse in Mexico. I need to hear details and you need to share because people

who haven't heard about this need to hear about it. Well, the Island Time Music Fest has been going on now for twelve years and it's a remarkable and magical thing that happened organically that has turned into this major event. And what makes it so special is all the proceeds go to the school. There's it's a it's a volunteer based concert. Now you think about this, some of the biggest artists in Nashville give their time. They take a

week off because it's a five night event. This year it's only four, but traditionally on the island of Eastleu Moharris it's five nights and they could be out touring making money. This is of course pre covid uh that has that they give up this time and they go down there and they play and raise all this money for the school. Now, the school is for special needs kids in Mexico. Now, a couple of things that you

need to think about. Number One, the Mexican public school system does not have the infrastructure to educate kids at this level of disability, so they don't qualify for the public schools. Secondly, just as in the US, private schools who educate kids at this level are expensive, and there's a lot of poverty down there as it is in the U s and the these kids really don't, you know, the private schools are out of reach, so they don't

really have an option except to stay home. And the Little Yellow Schoolhouse was born from this and several people got together funded a six room classroom, six student classroom one room six students too, and brought in a teacher to educate these kids will. Now because of the festival, it's grown into half a block the school. There are there is a full staff of teachers. There are seventy

two students. Now we have a seventy nine conversion rate of educating children too there at the level of being able to attend public schools. And if they still don't hit that level, they stay in the school so they do get quality education. And the thing, everything, every part of the school, the teachers, salaries, the building, the materials, and the insurance, everything is paid for by the Islandown

Music Fest. For all of that, we raise enough money every year to fund the school for yet another year. So then it's crucial. Oh, it's crucial, and it's and it's beautiful and it's amazing. And every year the the artists that go down to the island will visit the school and it will put you in tears. They will. Every year we'll have an artist that will perform, uh and it's just incredible. They'll perform for the kids, and then the kids will perform for for the artist and

it will it'll just bring you to tears. It's so sweet. And then and then at the end of the visit. We all dance, the kids dance with the artist, and we've got some footage of that which is beautifully heartbreaking. But we take over. Now, we take over the entire island. It used to be a couple of people in a bar and you know, and we'd sell some tickets and everything would be But now the entire island of East lou Maharis is booked. You can't get a hotel room

there during the festival. You have to go to Cancoon to get a room. And people just flocked to the island. All the events are sold out and it's one of the most special things you'll ever see. So people who want to attend as um just participants and enjoying the concert like that's people fly there and have a vacation and then just go to this correct correct and they they buy like a four day pass, a five day pass that. So you know, people are thrown down hard money.

They're paying for you know, a hotel for a week, they're paying for flights there um, and they're you know buying typically two tickets each, which you know is a is a chunk, but you make it a vacation, you make it a very special vacation for yourself, because not only you enjoy this amazing island, you're getting to interact with artists because they're just wandering around two and you're hearing them perform, and it's very laid back, amazing setting,

and you are doing something that is so so so important by funding a little yellow schoolhouse. I mean, wow, Skip, this is amazing. And you are the chairman of this, like you really are, like the brains behind this. The mastermind can go quite that far. I have no brains left, but I am the I'm the co chairman. There's a fellow named Rob Goff who is really funny. We define music business. I'm music and he's business. He knows nothing about the music part and admits it, but he knows

everything about you know. I'll say, oh, I got this great idea. We're gonna fly a hot air balloon and we're going to do this, and he's gonna go and and he gets out as a little calculator and goes they're not and we work well together. But he's he lives on the island most of the year. Uh. Then he lives in the Midwest in some place that starts with an m uh. Uh, and he's he you know, he too does the business part, and I, you know, do the talent and the promotion in the marketing and

all those things I enjoy doing. But we'll tell you what, no, no, no, you you know you I'm about to like take it on a different road. So you wrap up your thought and I have another question for you. Have my thoughts were wrapped up so long ago I have top the head with a hammer to get anything out of here. Nowadays, how has this changed and affected your life? Well, I will tell you it it has. It's sort of there's a spiritual connection. You realize that everybody's got these talents,

you know that whatever they are. I mean, if you really think about you know, everybody has the talent. You know, the people at the grocery store that check you out, they have gifts. And when you find something that you can apply your whatever it is that you can do towards making the world better, it makes a the world better.

It makes you a better person. And I have found a sense of humility and I found a sense of spirituality that I can get together with so many of my great friends, and I said, We're gonna all go down to Mexico and we're gonna make a difference. And these kids lives are changed because of musicians going in there and playing and giving their gifts, their their talent. They sing the songs they wrote, they performed for the crowds, and that's what they give and these kids have a

chance at a normal life. Tangibly, you see it happening from the school to the stage to its to their life on the island, and you see that all of a sudden, they're lifted up and it's one of the most incredible feelings ever. It really aligns your priorities. That's amazing, Skip, that's really really true, amazing. I'm so sad that it can't happen in person this year, but it will not be stopped. This show must go on, and so it

is going to be a virtual experience. And you're so kind to have me host a tiny bit of it and Michael and his Band of thousand Horses got to play for a little segment of it. So tell everyone how they can see it, what it's going to be this year, and how they can give money, because I know everyone listening is going to want to do that. Well, there's there's the easiest way is to right now, just go to Island Time Music Fest dot com Island Time

Music Fest dot com. All the information is there. And we made a major decision just a few days ago that instead of selling tickets, we're going to open it up to the entire world. We're going to um allow anyone that wants to watch the show, watch the show and just make a donation. If your donation is five cents, we welcome it. If your donation is five thousand dollars, we welcome it. Whatever you want to give, give what you can give, what you what you want to give.

And through the generosity of so many people, uh the Vinyl Lab that the new vinyl pressing plant here in Nashville has given us an extremely generous donation to to towards the school and the production of the show. Uh uh, Kicker Audio has given us an extremely generous donation towards the production of the show. Um, this was very big. Intercom Radio, which is one of the largest chains out there, is going to broadcast this show on their digital properties.

And then they've asked for us to cut it down to one night's a four night show. We're gonna cut it down to one night and they're gonna rebroadcast it and ask for donations. Uh. One of the most exciting parts is the production itself is by Sean Silva's tackle Box Films that everyone knows from his history with with Kenny Chesney, with Luke Bryant, with Jason Alden with his mantle full of awards video director. Yes, he is the guy. He's the guy to go to. And he is directing

the show. He's producing the show, his team is all and this the quality of the show, the sound, and the visuals will be as good as any awards show you've seen on television. And yeah, so it's open to the world. I mean you don't have to you know, you don't have to buy a hundred and fifty dollar ticket to get in. All you have to do is go to Island Time Music Fest dot com. It will take you to NUGS TV and UH, and you can watch all four nights of the show and we encourage

you to give what you can. And that's what Maybe when the world even opens back up, maybe this virtual part will still stay a part of it. You know, I think it will. I think it will because it's it. There's a lot of people that just can't really jump up and go to the island for a week in February. They don't have the time off work. And it now gives everybody a chance to experience this incredible music event. I mean, if you, I mean, we've got Vin Skale

this year, We've got thousand horrises. This year, we have Lee, Bryce Runaway, June Uh, Kelly Pickler and Kyle Jacobs always host. They are the king and the Queen of the show and they never stopped giving they every This is their seventh year of hosting and uh, they are incredible and their workforces all year long. They the festival would not happen without them. They work all year to encourage their artist buddies to go to come to the show. They

you know they talk about the school. Yeah, they're just blessings. Blackbird Smokes on the show this year. Fine, I love them. Yeah, Lisa Loebe is on the show again. Here what I want with Dawes and her double pay attention to I mean, I know that whole song could anyway don't understand to be really carefully here negative no, no, no, yeah, okay, they got darn good. Thanks. Lisa should call me. I can help her. Okay, well we'll put that together. But

it's gonna be great. It's gonna be great, and you can also read, uh read about it up in an upcoming edition of Monday Morning Intel. The magazine what's that? Because now you have a magazine Skip Skip Bishop everyone for everyone listening, you're probably gathering this Skip does everything. He has done it all, does it all, and continues to do it all. So you have a magazine as well. We do we uh we We partnered up with some

really interesting people. Uh my business partner for the last thirty five years as a felon in which wi that everybody knows. We have a little company called Studio to the Entertainment, and we partnered up with a guy named Rich Meyer who invented a system called media Base, which is a research monitoring system. He partnered up with a guy named Steve Lahman who was the father of a company called Premier Radio, which is just a massive organization.

And these guys are all about tech research. And we put together Monday Morning Intel, which is a there's a country version and a top forty version and the centerpiece is a new chart. And in that chart, it's not just an airplay chart. We take call out research. We take retention scores, which is a technical thing too. That sounds like nothing unless you're in the radio and mon a during business, but it tells how long people actually listen to a song, just like flipping through and skipping right.

We take streaming numbers on the video, We take audio streaming numbers, We take airplay, and we put it all into a new configuration and rank records as performance, not just on airplane. Okay, where can people go to see this? Monday morning Intel dot com. Okay, So the two big websites that we need to remember for this podcast are Island Time Music dot com, Island Time Music Fest dot com, Island Time Music Fest dot com, and Monday Morning Intel dot com. And one more, one more, if you don't

mind drop it, Island Time Auction dot com. Yes, tell me about that autograph guitars, all sorts of great artist memorabilia packages where you can win to fly out to Mexico and stay on the island of East Luma. Harris packages where you could you could come to Nashville for a star studded weekend. There's so many great things that are all donations from so many generous people that you

could win. But you'll see you on the show. Almost every artist signs a guitar on camera, and those guitars are going to be available on Island time auction dot Com. Amazing skit, Bishop, you never see Amaze me. You're making the world such a magical, amazing better place with your existence in your incredible heart and how you bring people together and how you give to the world. It is truly an honor, a blessing to know you. You're one

of my most favorite people. As I said, you are a magical unicorn in this world, and I feel so blessed to have you as a dear, dear friend. Thank you so much. That's so nice, and I feel right back the same way, like I'm holding up a mirror and I love you that much as will. But but can I Can I stay married to Diane? Do I have to marry like Jason Isabel? Only if you tell me which one you'd pick for your number one husband and then you can stay with Diane. No, you have to.

You have to pick one. You have to. I can't do it. I love them all different ways, but I'm sticking. I'm sticking with my normal, old, boring self. I'm just kind of a white, straight guy. Okay, you're not normal, old or boring. But okay, if you just want to stay I've committed. I've committed for sixty eight years. I'm staying in this lane. Okay, just might as well. Who knows what happens in the future. I mean it's wide open.

You know, we'll keep me updated. If you decided to, like go make a move on one of these guys, let me know. Okay, I'll talk to you soon. Always wrap with one question, which is leave your light. What do you want people to know that love is all that matters. There's nothing else. Possessions don't matter, property doesn't matter, status doesn't matter, money doesn't matter, mansions crumbled. Love is all that matters. Love is all that endures, Love is

all that is eternal. A Men's good Bishop, everyone, I love you so much. Skip m by all right,