Ep. 82: Hometowns, Keith Whitley, and Coaching Little League with Justin Moore

What's up? You're off in God's Country which your boy read and and isbel also known as the Brothers Hunt, where we take a weekly drive to the intersection of country music and the great outdoors. Two things to go together like arm tattoos of a fire breathing dragon with its claws coming at you, and three year old tattoo artists. Pretty dope. Actually, there's supposed to be eyes right here. When I first saw it, I was said, he it was just real. What if I just showed up with that?

We give on pribes because to call us Spotsman show.

Now, baby, we're getting pretty good at harmonizing that part. Now, even I never really know what I'm gonna do there. I just try to stay on the major scale. Sounds pretty good. Training musical on sounds pretty good. Dude, Justin Moore, Uh, quickest guess we've had on the show. And by quick, I mean quick, catlike quick. Busted a move on us, busted a some more move on us, and he kind of caught us off guard. He said, I'm not fast, but I'm quick. He did quick like a cat man.

He had he not passed away, I think he would have been Alan Jackson, George Strait big.

Yeah, I'm with that as well, because what was he like? How old was he forty thirties? Was he thirty early? Thanks? Yeah, yeah, he was early thirties. He just road hot. You know his road hard? Yeah? Is that what it was? Really? Oh?

Yeah?

Drank himself that lord, yeah, that Lord Morgan allegedly Orry Morgan. What that's what I mean? Are you saying she killed him? I mean made him drink himself to death? Right? Arax, she made him drinking? Never mind, let's get into this. We got a dad and a deer killing thirteen number one song singing, including Viva Wasn't So Far Away? Small town USA. This is mind Dirt and Bada Hook baseball and softball coaching, our Kansa and mister Justin Moore himself

Man, somebody recently, I forget who it was. A friend of mine sent me, you know, hey, you can send the song from iTunes or whatever on text. They just sent it to me like a two three days ago. It was great song. Wow, And I forget who it was, but it was a great song.

You when you cut that, you know how you know how Nashville works? That was that your first? Was that your first second? First? It was my second cut in Nashville, my first major label, major record. Randy's great. Randy's one of the best fuddies. Yeah, we love Randy. He's awesome. I love him. Yeah, great human love his dad, Billy's great, all of them. Yeah.

Yeah.

We probably write once every two months, just kind of he lives out there kind of close to me, and we just pop over there in the barn and and and we had been writing that day. And uh then when when I heard you were going to cut that song, I was like, oh my gosh, that's going to change my life. And it did. It really set me on the path to to have it.

I wish it would have been a single same, So yeah, yeah, but that.

Was pretty much great song. That's pretty much our childhood. I mean all those Daddy drove a bibcab ma'ma poor skilling, Yeah, yep yeah poor at the cast iron Skilling shared the same part as co Yeah. Yeah, ude, dude, dude, let's do it. I'll sing it. I remember me and my brother poor busting through a screen door. I can't remember the words clearly, but I try. What's the has the start? This is a did we never start with the.

Song drove a bobcat Mama, Poor Coffee had the cast iron skillet to share the same line as I am a co Wow, what's next? I remember me and my brother he busting out the screen door like a couple of wild Indian sansity for horses, as fast as as we could go.

Yep, I ain't a shame, and I was raised. Couldn't watch the dirt dust smile off my face.

I still got the scars from growing up.

There ain't a barefoot summer gone bad. I ever changed a Baptist song ball way, God bless the rebel kids bad.

Come on, man, say we changed my life for that? Hey, let's play that song that justin cut tom Mie. I'm just kidding, man, I'll set you a few. But you write song that is a great song, you know, the think about the great song. Honestly, there's so many great lines in that song. Well, we were so young, we didn't even know what we were doing. And Randy, Yeah, and Randy, when we were writing it, it was just kind of like, I remember he had the title rebel Kids,

I learned that with small Town, USA. Really because so my first single was back that Thing, uh, which was I blame on uh Randy Houser, Yeah for it.

Not being a hit. Why why do you blamed Randy because he wrote it? I love that. So that's a saying song of gun too. Yeah, that joke.

The whole crew is man, one of my great friends in this business.

But when so at the time.

When I uh signed my record deal, if you had like two singles that missed.

You're out, like you're gone. Really you know you got too sh remember that? Yeah, yeah, I remember that.

And so, like I said, I'm your age and so.

So your first one missed and first one it went to like thirty eight. I remember the I remember hearing the song. It wasn't like it just completely missed. It just didn't It was it was pretty pretty big man, Okay, Okay, I'll let you say it's like an honest man. Yeah.

So the label wanted to put out small Town USA, and I thought, I don't know, man, Like I don't I don't know if that's going to connect with Like you said, I don't know if that's going to connect with people.

Sure because that's twenty ten ish, I don't know exactly when twelve is eight earlier? Okay, yeah, and and so.

Maybe even O seven I don't remember. Sometime back in there, and I learned with that song if you could connect with uh, if it's if it's true to you and it's honest to you, it connects with people.

It's pretty honest your point. Yeah, I remember hearing that because that was kind of like that was kind of the first time I think i'd heard you're you as an artist, you know, kind of like your your vocal and your thing and that that and a son and on and on a boat array. I was like, yeah, yeah, who's doing that? I think that perked everybody up, like because there ain't nobody on the radio that doing that.

Yeah, live, I'm kind of pissy at myself that I did that because I have to do that everything I'm like, why did I do that?

I mean, yeah, yeah, that was a great song. I think it set you apart too as a as a real life country singer, you know what I mean. It had been a minute since we had an old, good Southern singer that could get it. Yeah.

Yeah, you know, at the time, it was still somewhat traditional country.

Yeah, you know.

Yeah, and then through the middle part of my career, you know, then it turned into like the FGL world, Yeah, the bro country.

And I didn't name it that, but other people did, kind of the kind of where the genre went.

Yeah, and we just kind of kept doing traditional country, and thankfully country radio stuck with us, and yeah, we just kind of kept rolling.

I don't know why, but I'm certainly thankful. Oh. I think it's because you stayed true. And I think your fans they won't that they want you to, they do, you know, and if you would if I think if you had turned, but you're data turn. Sorry. You're also the kind of artist though that can like, I mean, one of my favorite tunes you've done, and we're all ready we're nine minutes into this thing, talking deep into the music. This never happens. We had hardy on like

Best dude all day long, jump Bone.

So like somebody else Wheel the final.

I got slapped by my ex girlfriend by uh dancing with a girl at a dance to pony.

Ex girlfriend slashy. Yeah, I didn't marry dog. I've been slapped by a girl. Before and you would think like, oh again, slap by a girl, doesn't she clubbed me and almost knocked me out in the garage, And yeah, it was tough, wouldn't somebody I forget?

I think that was maybe our like third album, fourth album, something like that, and it was totally different for us, Jack, we had never done anything like that. So that's that's uh funny to hear you say that's your.

Favorite song, and but I think it was. It was like your country, your your vocal, country vocal on it, the timber of your voice on something on top of that, man like that was. I think it opened the doors for for other people to write songs like that and be able to do that type of thing. It was definitely r and b ish. Yeah, like you said, Yeah, I love Adam Hambury. I'm a huge Adam hay fan. He's from missip He's a missive kidds.

So funny story about Adam. So he was playing he's from Arkansas, where I'm from.

It's right, he's from Arkansas, moved to Corinth. That's what you're thinking up in Corinth. Yeah, Yeah, I went to high school Arkansas. Yeah, and so yeah, he's a big Arkansas basketball fan. Yeah.

So I'm watching Good Morning Arkansas. This was golly, this had to be twenty eleven, twelve something like that, it was, and I see him on there and I'm like, oh, this this should be good because normally, you know, normally on those local shows.

It's not good. Yeah, it's not good ever, man, I hate to be that way, but it's not.

And I'm like, damn, this guy's pretty good. And I come back and I go, he's real good.

Like, wow, he's stupid.

So I texted Stover, yeah who we both know, my producer, and I go check this guy out because I think he's really really good. Uh, maybe I'm crazy, and he goes, he's amazing.

I go, yeah, I thought so too. Okay, good So anyway, Uh.

I had his uh one of his first cuts. Yeah, it was a song that I did with Miranda Lambert called Old Habits Yeah, and then somebody else will Yeah He's a Killer was another one.

That was his second number one. He had a number one before, not to with Danny shap Yeah, Danny shav that was yeah. So he's that guy too. He's got that R and B bone him for sure, no doubt. He's smooth oh yeah. And he's a great singer. He great writer, a singer, he's just a musician. You see what you think about this song where I wrote it on the way into day. We wrote it on the way and if you want to cut it, put both of us, I'm gonna do with justin more style. H

Is it?

You're in and lost kids? My bee bass, ma'am can't hear with your neighbors cat. Just tell us what you mad? You like that I do. I don't think it's a hit. Did you hear his voice code? I like the melody. Uh, you can change some things. Yeah, you can ride a second con. That's the maybe we should get with Montana. Yeah, that one we don't need. I don't need. What are you mad at?

Dan?

You're mad? My three year old dropped a nerf gun on my toe and I think he broke my toe. Oh gosh, dude, you just break your tonguey, So now I got your pinky bro toe and the thing is for a month. The nerf gun up and it's not even that heavy. It's not a heavy gun. It's just the exact like, oh, the drop you can yet, I've done it with Champago, get it. It just popped. And I was like, God, what the I didn't say nothing? What the what? What? That's what you gotta say? What

This is probably monotonous and boring, but I hate when people drive slow in the left lane.

God just going in that same thing I did my Yeah, probably boring, but mine mine. I just drove from uh, my wife and I we have a place in Florida. Uh we just went to the beach.

And we drove from our place in Arkansas to the beach, and it was constant.

I'm like, get the f over, please, please go go over there. Yeah, that's what it's made for. Blanker own or don't don't even care, get over, Yeah, get out of your dude. Yeah, excoot. You should obviously see I'm on you. Yeah. And then when they get like with another car, that's they're going the same they're both doing. Yeah, sixty five and seventy five stairs. I'm glad this morning because I fixed my running boards that Dan broke didn't

Down all the way down already in the truck, and he's going to help it, help it from the.

Boat in the lake. And I'm like, he's help it, Oh, you mean reach out the window and go all the way and pull your stupid cheap running board up. Man, she lived them things up on the internet. They ain't cheap. I didn't buy them, but they ain't cheap. So yeah, there's the intar story. So anyway, I got her there and fixed them. I fixed them. I just I went mechanic on them and fixed them. And now they're working because you broke them and they're fixed. Now. About hunting

Probably at home Arkansas because I know the area the best. But I look, Arkansas is world famous for duck hunting. Yeah, you know, I live iron and a half from Stuttgart, which.

Is more central. Are you like close to a little rock in there?

Yeah, I'm like south a little rock about fifty miles. But I love whitetail for some reason. I've hunted elk and and mules and above. For some reason, I just love white tail hunting. I don't know why, I just do. So that would be my pick.

Yeah, I mean I always say mine too, Mine, mine's white tail. Mine's white tail hunting. Probably now in Kansas, I mean in the midwest, Kansas and Iowa. Pretty awesome. I was great. Yeah, it's amazing. But uh but yeah, so do you have did you did you grow up hunting? What? Like? What was your first introduction into the outdoors.

My grandfather was a big hunter, my dad's dad, and he was my hero, Like he was.

The guy, the dude. Yeah for me.

He passed away unfortunately I don't know, fifteen twenty years ago, but he was my hero still is even though he's gone. But he's the one that took me hunting and taught me how. And and then my other grandfather, my mom's dad, taught me about fishing. So I got hunting from one and fishing from the other. And but I mean, I love both, but I love to hunt.

What time of the year is your favorite? Telling me to home, Yeah, Arkansas is kind of a sleeper white tail statement. I don't want there's a lot. There's not a lot of big ones. I've heard some bigger deer on the road on the river. Yeah, I mean, now if you delta, like.

To the Delta, yeah, that area, it's there's big deer and.

That's that's where that's running all the way up and down the river. Though I'm in.

A pretty good lease back home as well, where there's pretty big deer, but we manage them like you can't shoot. But this type of deer, you know what I mean, Like it's so that makes a difference obviously, but uh but yeah, the Delta is where you know where they soybeans and rice and all.

Yeah. Yeah, so they're studs. The duck bug everybody you not.

Really, which is weird, man, because it's a huge thing in Arkansas.

Like I said, I mean, yeah, just like talking to you from that, like just knowing you now, you don't seem like a duck guy. Like guys have a thing like I mean, I'll go, but I suck at calling and given.

Here's my thing. I don't like to eat duck. I don't think it tastes.

Good, not even like duck poppers, not really just more creamy. So I'd rather go kill something I'd rather eat, you know what I mean. For sure, I'm with that. This is my best tip. That's all I can do. That's way better than me. Give them. You gotta give them the clouds too loud, too loud.

Now I'll go and hang out and like like normally, like when I go, it's with guys that are you know, uh ballers or whatever, and uh, that's what we do. They're pouring drinks in the blind and I'm like, whatever hard, what are those ice teeth?

Like one of the tea twisted teas? Oh yeah, that's what we We crushed those, and but uh, yeah, that's what we do. We're we're like a one time a year, go for a few days, kill a bunch of ducks. Just see it and then shoot a bunch. Yeah, shoot a bunch. It's gotta be after deer. I ain't trying to break ice. I ain't trying to set up there thirty in the morning out there. Yeah, screw that two hours. Yeah, I'm with that. I like to go sit in my red neck blind.

Uh.

And I got my heater, Not that I even need it, because red neck blind they're pretty warm.

Are you sponsored by them or something?

No?

I wish I was. I could use a sponsorship, sponsorship, but no, I'd rather go sit in that and chill. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's the a loneeness of deer honting that that really draws me into it. Honestly, is the conversation and the lack of talking. That's the thing about duck hunters is they can't they the camaraderie of a blind is what draws them to the blind. They can't sit like I got like John Pickle, love him to death.

My two youngest daughters both killed their first dear this year.

Come on.

Sitting with me. That's that's the coolest thing of all time. One of them is ten and one's thirteen.

How many kids you got you got? We have four?

We have three daughters fifteen thirteen, ten our boys seven and so.

So the two middle girls are the two younger girls both killed their first deer, and I cried literally. I mean, I've got.

A video I can show you guys of us tracking their deer. Wow, And I mean it was the coolest thing of all time.

So set it up. How'd you take them? When'd you take them? Where? What were the deer? Did they show interest before it? Were you like, hey, we're going today and you're going with me? No? Both of them are like way in.

My oldest daughter she scoped herself a couple of years ago.

Take out of them and she's out right now understandable.

One wants to, but he's seven, Yeah, so he can't. Yeah, he's a little too young. But uh, I tell you what. My ten year old is the one that gets obsessed and she is a dead eye, Like she shoots better than me.

What you got to shooting?

She shot a two twenty three perfect, And then my older daughter, thirteen year old, shot a two seventy.

You haven't suppressed, are you like that one's suppressed? Yeah?

But uh she waited for it to go from one hundred yards to about two hundred yards and she shot it right in the backbone.

But the other one, just the other one shot.

My ten year old shot a deer that was probably the size of that guitar bag over there.

I literally picked it up and just threw it in the back of Yeah.

But yeah, it was awesome, lot of fun.

So do you feel like you're hunting now is more geared too, because we have this conversation all the time, like we both have young kids and they're coming up. And we saw it with my dad too, Like my dad was super. I mean he's he's the biggest and talk about a whitetail guy. I mean he literally will will pass up an elk hunt to because he's like I can't miss a rut in Tennessee, like I ain't

Yeah, I'm telling you, I told you guys, I cried when my daughter killed the steer, and yeah, I remember my grandfather, you know who I talked about teaching me how to hunt, and I saw him make the switch. He's like, I don't even need to take a gun now because you're doing it. Yeah. And I did the same thing this year. It was so much more. I've killed so many big deer as you guys have, I'm sure, and I enjoy every experience, and I've killed a lot

It was amazing. Yeah, yeah, I can't wait for that. Honestly, it's so awesome, dude, It's so cool. It seems like you're hunting just kind of kicks into a new gear, you know, and it means something totally different to you than you know. And we got a few years. I mean, my oldest is six almost, so I got some time.

And to me, the moments inside the deer stand or what makes it, you know, so like I'm handing her a blanket and she's watching her iPad or you know.

Whatever, seeing the first deer come across.

Yeah, it like this particular deer. For my ten year old. She slaps me like this with the back of her hand.

She goes, Dad, there's a deer. I go, all right, I go, you own it? Are you on it? All right?

Squeeze, don't jerk, squeeze the trigger. Bam, just hammered it. Yeah. Yeah, so that's super cool.

That's awesome.

And then my thirteen year old, like I said, it came out at like one hundred yards. I'm like, yeah, shoot it, shoot it. It walks to like one hundred and twenty yards. It walks to like one hundred and fifty yards.

I go, it's about to go over that fence out there, two hundred yards and she squeeze it.

Squeeze, she squeezes and it hammers it hit it in the backbone, broke his backbone. But but yeah, put them down, hammered it.

I've heard I've heard guys that like take their kids. They'll say, like, you know, it's hard to get time with them at home because especially when they're growing up, they getting into their teens, they want to do their own specially with.

The iPads, iPhones and all that, and they talk about it.

They're like, you talk about quality time. I mean, that's what you're saying is getting getting them out into the woods and in a deer blind where you're sitting there for hours on end, just you and them. They're like, well, I can't I can't wait to do it. Some of the best, you know, some of the best time I get with my kids. Yeah, it's awesome, you know.

And that looking back for me, so, you know, a ride of passage for guys who hunt is when you can sit by yourself, without your dad or without your papa or whatever. For me, I always sat with my grandpa, even when I was like eighteen nineteen years old. I sat with my grandpa because I just love spending that time with it.

And so you for recognizing that that young you know, uh m yeah. And so.

You know, I hope my kids will, you know, feel the same way.

I don't know that they will, but I hope. So, yeah, that's awesome. J Just cook it up. Oh yeah, oh yeah, uh right, can't beat it, can't beat it, can't gravy and biscuit, a little little rollet paded out and tender eyes it go dad.

Italian and dress them yeah oh yeah, and then bread it and fry.

Yep. You we're going elk hunting this year for like the where are you going the for real first time? New Mexico.

Okay, you've never been to New Mexico. I've been to Colorado and Montana.

It's the one thing in our hunting kind of like careers that we haven't done is go out there and chase them.

They're so huge, Like, I mean, I know you know that, but when you actually see them, you're like, holy cow, like they're huge.

Yeah. We ran up on one in Montana when we were Miliere hunting and I literally thought somebody's horses had gotten out because it was the first one I've ever seen. You're just not then you even see them standing next to horses and they're they're big. They're huge. Yeah, they're big. Yeah, they're enormous. Tell us a little bit about your Colorado hunt last year, or just tell us about your best your elk story, best elk story you got my best one? Yeah,

Last year, but my favorite hunt was I hunted in Browning, Montana, which is the northernmost part of Montana.

Western guess eastern uh the Glacier National Park.

I think it's called the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life. And uh, we were on we would ride in on horseback at like three am, which was it was like cowboys and Indian, yeah kind of stuff. And so we were riding around and we're glass and off of.

Ridges and all this stuff.

And literally the last day, I think we had hunted five six days and I finally got a pretty nice six by six and then showed up at the show. We were opening for Miranda Lambert at the time. Showed up at the show with blood like all over me.

Come on, it was pretty cool. Yeah, do you get to do a lot of hunting when you're on the road, like when you when it a little and stuff like that, when it when it works out, you know, Yeah, I'm excited about it, just because I've never We don't know anything about it, honestly. It's it's just something that unless you're you know, get the opportunities to go do there's we don't. We don't have any of that over here, you know what I mean, anything even comparable.

It's they're kind of like white Tail really really, I mean, I think.

Like Mule deer stupid. My tail are pretty smart. De mule deer a curious like they'll just they'll come check it out.

Like the first mule deer I killed, I shot completely whiffed, missed, and he just stood there and looked back at me like this, and I shot him.

That Tennessee and Arkansas white tails headed to the next county happens.

Yeah, yeah, exactly a little. But I think elker somewhere in between.

How was it?

How was the eating great? I've got a freezer full of elk as we speak. That's delicious, man, So yeah, it's great. You see any any wolves in Colorado? No, I don't think we saw any wolves, but I will say I did say on top of a horse, glass and a ridge, like I'm literally like a mile away, I saw a grizzly And so.

I know you're going to say.

That I'm glass and and the the guide with me goes, we gotta go. I go, why, he goes, that's a grizzly. I go, like, like that spec like way down there. He goes, yeah, it's probably a mile away. We we gotta go. I go, he's like that spec but a mile away he goes, Yeah, he can make up that ground in no time.

Wow, which is I was stunned by. Yeah. But curveball question, would you rather be killed by a silverback gorilla or a grizzly bear? Whatever's quick as uh? I would think it. I don't know. Okay, another another curveball question. If a silverback gorilla and a grizzly fought, who would win? I would think a grizzly. I'm going grizzly to a lot of Yeah, A lot of guys say silver backs. I just feel like with the claws, it's just kind of instant and they're quick.

Man.

I just told you they can make up a mile and right, So if that had been a gorilla down there, you gotta be like, all right, I don't know, man, silver backs are me. I don't know how fast they

I hope we don't follow that far that they need to hire me. Uh but no, man, I I grew up I played baseball and basketball. Uh we didn't have football because our school was so small, our town was so small, we didn't have enough people.

And so uh but I love the game.

I love I love sports, and I think sports teach you a great lessons how to succeed, how to fail, had a lead, had to be lead.

Yeah, And so I'm.

Thrilled that my kids are have, you know, developed the same passion for it that I have, and they are okay with me. Coaching them. And so yeah, I've coached all my daughters in softball and basketball, and then now I coach my my son in baseball and football and h this year basketball.

That's all. It seems like one of those things that once you start coaching, your kids are gonna be like, well, you coached her, so you got to coach and then there's no way. Oh yeah.

So my youngest daughter, who's ten, she's like, Dad, you coached Ella, you coach Ken can come on and yeah, but.

Man, it's awesome. And the other thing for me is.

I love having the opportunity to, at least I think or I'm trying to be a positive adult role model impacts in our uh community for sure, you know.

And so do you live in the town you grew up here?

I do?

Really? Yeah, that's cool. Three people three hundred. Wow, that's also. Yeah, that's that's where I coach. That's sick. So have you had any like I remember I was in high school. I umpired some games and I had to throw dan through a deacon through a deacon our church out. It was like my best friend's dad, but he totally deserved it, totally.

I'm a bit of appeal if you will with with ump Okay, so.

Tell me you you gotta have you got to have a good parent story tucked in there over the past. Yeah, throw somebody under the bus here.

I don't know, ten years ago or something. I'm coaching my oldest daughter, who's now fifteen.

Set up the scenario so we can see who's whose side we're on this. If we're on the side of your side, Oh, we're on my side. Well, I'm on Justin's side. I haven't made up my mind. Well you couldn't record so because if you are, I still got a song as going to the radio.

I'm on just I'm coaching third base and our girl slides in. I don't remember if it was my daughter was yeah, but uh, she slides in.

She was safe.

They called her out. It was a female umpire and I go, you miss that one, you miss that one comment. And then she gets from a coach, so she says, I forget what she said.

I got back a little bit.

I said, look, I've forgotten more about this game than you'll ever learn.

Justin quick bringing the bringing the skipper. I was just gonna say, from a jad's standpoint, it seems a little quick, but.

It was it was pretty obvious call heat of the moment. Man, So I got, I go, you cost me a run. So we're still going cost me a run.

So she she's chill. And so.

The next play we're totally out, like I don't remember the play, but like we're we're definitely out, like I throw the first and obviously out. Yeah, and she called, uh, the girl say, and I go, thank you for the makeup call.

She goes, I don't do makeup calls.

I go, well, you may not do makeup calls, but every other umpire does, and thank you for the makeup call. She should have tossed me to be honest with you.

I wish he'd been like, I don't do makeup either. Meet me in the parking lot. He'll whip you out. Country singer, Like, do you have parents, like? Like, do they treat you like Justin Moore? The country singer? They treat you like Justin Moore? I grew up in the town. They treat me like anybody else. Yeah, no doubt, No doubt, dude. I we're from a small town too. It's it's not three hundred, but I used to be mad at it, like I used to like, I'm never moving back to

He's here and he said this about other songwriters, and I think the same thing about Casey, Like I know all the same words.

As Casey, Yeah, but I can't put them together. Like he's an artist for sure. I mean he's ridiculous. Yes, yeah, Next he says, such a good dude. We were we were literally had yesterday off and nanny was gone, so we just kept the kids. And well I was laying lounging in a pool and he drove up. We live. I lived for three minutes from him. Wait, wait, lounging in what pool? And look my little water slide? Yeah,

So for me personally, I moved to town when I was eighteen and I wanted to be George straight.

Right.

I wanted to be bigger than anybody, sell more tickets than anybody. Then I got married, had kids, and my priorities changed I supposed to, And so God is number one for me. Number two is my family. And it's more important to me to be a good parent and a good husband than it is to be George the George trade. And so I thought for me personally, that would happen back home.

You know.

I have a lot of great friends here in Nashville, and Nashville is really good to me, but it just wasn't home, you know, it just never felt like home. Yeah, and so you know, we moved back home and you.

Made that decision. When was that because I don't even know if a lot of people know that, Like what year was that? Yeah, yeah, ten, eleven, twelve, something like that. Did you know you always wanted to do that? I did. I never bought a house here. I couldn't make myself do.

It, and so we always rented. And we had my oldest daughter again, who's fifteen, and at the time she was I don't know, eight ten months old, and we moved back, so you can do the math. I don't know, fourteen thirteen, whatever it was. And it's been great for us, Like, for example, like my oldest daughter's second grade teacher was my second grade teacher. That's so cool, man, you know, And that's so good. That's just one example of many.

I live.

Again on on the property I grew up on. I can I can hit a pitching wedge to my parents house where I grew up over a pond. Nice you know, in a cow pasture, a pretty long pitching wedge yards.

Out there. If I blade it, you hit it grow, Yeah, it probably.

To be honest with you, guys, it's probably cost me some things.

I'm going to ask you that.

Yeah, it has, I mean awards and that kind of stuff. It's cost me awards.

Why would it cost you? And why would you no offense? But why would you care about awards?

I don't you don't obviously, I don't even go to awards shows anymore.

Not for you, man, you do get it. Well, you know, there's so the book and it's obvious. Oh yeah, you know, there's no dellusion that it's cost me things in my career. I was going to ask you that. So obviously the the pros for your family are nuts. But if we just take family completely out of it, what do you think career wise that it's actually cost you? Because you're still awards tickets? Probably probably tours. You think not living

Hey, hey, man, To be honest with you, don't turkey gobble that one. Here's the thing. I don't know if you can cuss on you can we put Turkey gobble over.

But I don't want to tell on that one because that was that's conviction, man, And I like to here.

Here's the thing I want kids twenty years from now to goo. Dad was here, he was here. Yeah, he made us the priority. So yeah, how much are you playing there? How many shows you play here?

We play about seventy five eighty Jesus you might still, I mean, that's that's going dude, But I remember playing to eighty, so eighty is yeah, like I'll take it.

Yeah, you know, yeah, So I mean that's I mean, that's well over every weekend. I mean you're how are you doing during the week stuff or everyone? No, No, it's usually weekend.

I mean like Friday Saturday or Thursday Friday Saturday. And we take a lot of time. We've been off a lot this year. For example, I don't know that we've played more than ten fifteen shows this year so far. But I mean we're about to get really busy in the summer.

Do you does your family ever get to travel? You take them on the road with you? My kids do.

My wife does not care anything about coming out unless it's like Chicago or Manhattan, or she's like, where are you going? Nah'mah Detroit, but the kids want to go.

Yeah. Did you ever see did you ever see it playing out like this? Like did you ever did you see it when you moved to town or before you moved to town, when like when you were when you made the decision, Hey, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go

You know, I don't know that I saw that happening as far as you know, the the amount of success we've had. But for some reason, man, like I'll always thought I would I would do it.

I don't know why. But it's crazy how many people answer with that, and they always say, I don't know why, And don't think I'm a bad person. That's not I think faith is what it is.

But if you if you told me, I would have twenty plus top ten records and we've been doing this for now going on two decades.

I don't know that I would have thought that. I mean, well, that's a critic career to be proud of. Man, you've you've you've been, you stood your ground, and you've if you've been who you are the entire time. And even not knowing you personally, I knew that, and I think your fans know that, and I think this town knows that. And Uh, props to you man for stand trut yourself.

Been a really cool experience for myself and my wife to be able to Uh, I guess spearhead.

That yeah, if you will.

For I think this our fifth year and we're at like five million, four million raised.

Something like that, and that's all.

I'm really proud to be a part of country music for a lot of different reasons, but uh, the fact that we do so much, which is a community for Saint Jude, to me, is is something I'm I'm very proud of.

Yeah, that's great, man, that's great. What's your You got a handicap? You like to play?

I do right now. I'm probably over twenty. The best I was was about ten, but that was that was a few kids ago.

You get to get a lot of four days when I got to play a lot more. But all right, we came up with a game and I'm really excited about it. It's called justin Moore just enough or just a less? Okay, So what you gotta do is say more enough or less. So let's just do what do you mean enough? Like it's enough? Okay? Is it more or less? Or more enough? Let's just do more or less? No, it's it's more just enough. It was it was just and more or justin less.

I'm gonna I'm.

Gonna throw a subject out. You said we need more of this, that's enough any justin more of this or justin justin Justin Moore of this? You say your own name a lot, there is just enough of this, or justin less of this. The last one doesn't really make sense. So here's my subjects. Recently I've seen I've seen a video of Ernest with his shirt off, and we love Ernest. He's been on the show, He's awesome. I've also seen he's a singer here.

Okay, I don't know if you meant like like the movie.

No, that's what I was. Sorry. By the way, if you Ernest states Christmas, go watch Ernest since Christmas? All right, So because that was huge when we were kids. Camp Yeah, turtle bites wo the not I remember. So shirts off in country music is the subject I've seen Ernest with his shirt off recently, which is you know, props too, I'm a bigger guy myself. You got Warren Ziders coming out all all the and slicked up hot boys Warren Zyders,

Uh?

Justin lest he gets it? Okay, so you got a game least? Okay? All right?

I saw uh so, Uh, Gavin and Warren we're both on my team on the softball game.

Celebrity. Yeah.

Here, Warren looks like he works out. Gavin looks like you don't like he drinks beer and so I told Connor Smith. I don't know if you guys haven't had him on it, but a great guy. I go, Man, Hardy is way faster than I thought he was. He goes, heart, he's not here. I go, that's Tody right there. He goes, No, that's Gavin.

I go, no kidding, alright, definitely live in Arkansas, bro, He goes, Dude, that might be the funniest thing I've ever had. That's amazing. That's good, that's amazing. Do they not look alike? Yeah? Yeah, I can see it. Goates and built here. Yeah yeah, I don't know. Sure sure, especially if he had glasses. I like you and more now even all right, second, these are yours you want to take over? Here, I've got the list. Let's just go down. Okay. Conspiracy theories justin Moore, Is there just

I cried during the same the one where the the kid went to college college.

I cried. And he's playing with the he's playing with yeah. Yeah, he gives his toys to cowboy and he grabs. Yeah, he's gonna take you. That's I got chilling with some arm on my tattooed arms right now. Really great riding. What about pineapple and pizza, No at all? Pineapple human there the same age? Uh, he know, he's way cooler than you are. Maybe Richard but college college football playoffs, we kind of got more of them. But do we need more than we already got? Like more teams more?

No?

I hit like crap?

So I get onto my girls for rolling their hands over ground and I square through it.

Yeah not palm up, palm down.

I always tell, and I did it every time I went over three.

Oh Jay Moore, come on, just dinkers. Yeah I didn't. I didn't strike party struck so Hardy Yeah Hardy was wasn't even there. Man, he was a speedster. I saw he wrote. I swear to God like I really go damn hearty's fast. Now, I will say this. Dan doesn't look like he's fast. He's got tiny legs, big torso. But guy's sneaky fast. I'm fast, sneaky fast. I'm slow. Really, people think I'm fast, your leadoff hitters knowing fast quick, Yeah like yeah, like that sideways. Give me a little quick, man,

Don't mean there's pain on the flattery yourself.

I'm bowling over you, Christy shoe.

It by same little ber cold. It only pains that you lost the whole. Yeah, and on me, I'm bold over you.

You heard I'm drinking more than that sh fabby on Actor. Someone told job sticking letter up. Why they making those stories of nine gold over you shoes? The vocal killer man you sing your oh thank you man? Were you were your was your granddad or your parents? Like, did y'all listen to classic country growing up?

Yeah?

And and my dad was a big time influence.

And as far as that goes, and back then, you know, you could call into a radio station and go, hey, can you play that new.

Clint Black song? And they would play it. Now you can't do that, but so.

Yeah, growing up, I mean, I don't know, there were four or five stations locally and and all, but maybe one of them was a country station, yeah, you know, and the other may be like a classic rock station or something.

Yeah. Uh So I've called one song, I've recalled and requested one song in my life as before. It was country Grammar by Nelly back in middle school, oh man, when I was in hot when we were in high school. How old are you? Thirty? Seven before when we were in high school. That was in middle school. Jam oh, no doubt all those Saint lunatics and I'm throwing down down baby. But the edited version Rainbow Street Cocoa pas nine, light it up and take above past it again something, No,

Not that bad?

Not the left one Yeah, dude, I can smell those ridonculous you you look ridiculous. You want to see that's gonna toe where my son dropped that gun on my toe? Oh dude, you're just a baby. Can tell you it's broke. That didn't look hurt. It broke. No, it's not that. They still smell good. Can not send can to go? Does not send you all some socks? Maybe they can't.

We're doing a lot of shows with Joe Nichols, who girl brother and Arkansas guy. Y'all should get him on here. I'd love to love He's a great guy. He cuts some my songs in this last record, man did he Yeah, look.

At you a little sneaky good writer over there. I got cuts too, I got hits. Oh really, yes, we're talking about really. He's the only one who brags. You know, I'm not. I'm secure in my manhood. Listen, I need every stream I can get. They're tearing us up out Hey, songwriters need them all, no for real. Thanks for coming on, Thank you all for tuning in and watching, watching this episode, listening to this episode. Justin Moore, everybody appreciate you. Thank you.