Here we go. It's another episode of thinking out loud, and you're gonna want to be hanging out for this. Country music singer jelly Roll stop by in the midst of his sold out back road Baptism tour. He wanted to talk about changing your life around and the crazy things that people throw at him on stage. He's just the best guy ever, and you're gonna fall in love with jelly Roll right now.
Let's listen in. I have woke up before noon three times this year and you were too open. No, you're the solution. Baby. Good morning America.
Okay, that's worth it, jelly Roll, Welcome to the show.
Baby, good mounting.
It's just when Jelly Roll walks into the road, you just feel good.
Thank you. It's normally because I bring an odor of legal ass pot with me. Smells good.
We're the same to me that while driving up and down the streets of New York, every single block has a marijuana a store.
Oh dude, it's crazy, and I'm just assuming because it's New York. Maybe judgmental, but I'm assuming all of them are an undercover operation for something crazy like I don't know. I just like to romanticize my New York is like an old school gangster thing, you know, like they're stealing TVs or knocking off trucks too.
You know, I got bad news. They seem legit when I go wow out on the back road baptism tour. How many how many stops do you have on this tour?
Dude? Last night was night nine or forty four? Yes, sir, there was a Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Last night, just nine in. Are you okay?
Just oh dude, I listen. I got my first real I tied one on last night. Full disclosure. I had to get an ivy on the way here. But good, but I feel great. No, it's been incredible, man. It's I was explaining to somebody that, like, I couldn't have even dreamed of this. I couldn't have even dreamed that seven thousand people would buy a ticket to see me in Bridgeport, Connecticut on a Wednesday, you know what I mean. So it's like, I don't know, this is all surreal
to me. Well, at least she didn't strap one on last night. Yeah, right, exactly, or have one strapped on me.
You could be a confusing morning. So we had someone to leave us a talkback on our iHeartRadio app So I literally just heard you guys talking about an interview with Jelly Rolls. And as I'm heading out ninety.
Five dors in Delaware, I passed two tour buses and then one huge pink.
One with Bunny Ears and XO.
Apparently Jelly Roles White hats her own tour bus.
Yes, that was pretty cool to see. Explain this to me. First of all, especially sounds I hurt to her. Buses more fun than yours.
Way more fun than my tour bus. It's way more fast. And first of all, this lady is awesome, thank you. Yeah, Bunny brought her own bus man, She's got her own crew. It's a big old pink bus. I was dead set against it, and then she took it to TikTok and the people voted yep. But she's riding around in a big pink spaceship with Bunny years haul over it. That says Bunny x.
Though it sounds like and I'm making an assumptions here, you guys are having a lot of fun, even though you're only nine in you're having fun on this too.
Well. You got to remember, I'm kind of Van Wilder of the music business. Anyways, you know, I kind of got here a little later than everybody else and partied on the way. So we're just kind of I feel like it's a mobile frat party for us. None of us went to college, so we're just imagining what college years, what it been like. And it's a ball dude. It's we're having fun on and off the stage. Maybe maybe this is college. It's a different type of university.
Let's talk about. Let's go back, let's go back. Where are you from? Tell everyone in your words, like you tell everyone your story and what motivated you, in your opinion, to get you where you are today.
I would say that I'm from Antiox, Tennessee. My mam and gave me the nickname Jelly Row when I was a kid. My name is Jason D. Ford. I was born in Antioch, which is a little town right outside of Nashville, you know, twenty thirty minutes on house kirts town. And I grew up just in a house at music and all I want to do is make music. And see, I never had another thing I wanted to do but music, you know, and this this has been my whole life.
I understood purpose of music when I was young You and I spoke about it before, briefly, but like music resonated in my household different. I watched people deal with drug addictions by listening to music. I watch people get sober listening to music. I watched people relapse listen to music. I had all these I watched people deal with mental health and trauma and tragedy through music. It was like we had a house that we didn't talk a lot, but we throw on records, you know what I mean.
So it's funny. I ended up being a big talker, you know. But that's what got me into music, and that's been my purpose from day one. Was I call it therapeutic music. It's real music for real people with real problems.
So you say to the other role that you always wanted to be in music? Does does that mean as a kid you were fintasizing a beat about becoming a successful millionaire doing music or just playing honky tonks anywhere USA? What what did that mean to you then?
Being in music? Yeah, the early dream was just hockey talks, right, because I didn't see I didn't know. You know, they they say you believe what you're exposed to, and I'd never seen success. Right. So it was like I seen dudes play the local bar and I was like, Yo, if I can go play some local bars, I could make some money and not have to commit uh nefarious
criminal activities, you know what I'm saying. I was like, so I just wanted to And then I started seeing scale and then that's when you start going, oh man, I'm dreaming too small. This is like this thing could be a thing thing, you know what I mean. But initially the plan was just to you know, I guess I never even associated money with it, you know what I mean. I just associated like these dudes were doing
what they loved for a living. They were touching people and they wasn't selling drugs, and that's what inspired me, you know.
So coming up, did you did you play all roadhouses? Did you? Did you ever play a show where you see the movies where they put chicken wire up in front?
I played one of those.
Tell where I was going with because some people mayn't understand what chicken wire and in front of the stage is.
This is a real thing. They put up chicken wire and I and I asked them the first time I got to play one, I said, why don't y'all put Why chicken wire, they said, because when people were throwing the beer bottles and they were hitting like regular fencing, it would still crack and go through. They were like, the chicken wire just kills everything. So these guys, I mean, because these bars were literally rowdy enough that you got
behind the chicken wire because they start throwing stuff. I've been I've had the most fascinating time Elvis watching all these artists get stuff thrown at them on TikTok, and I'm just tickled because I'm like, oh, these people never played a bar. Like if you're like, you don't know, I don't know what it's like not to have stuff thrown at me. You know what I'm saying. I've only played to this day people throw brawls or pots. I
get lots of pot. I mean, like Cypress Hill amounts of pot thrown on the stage of It's like, I've been getting stuff thrown at me my whole I played the Gathering of the Juggalos. Somebody shot a bottle rocket at me once at live bottle rocket. Yes they can, that can get through chicken wire, Prue, I could get through chicken wire. But yeah, we played. I played a spot in Louisbourg, Tennessee that had chicken wire at it.
I'll never forget. I played a lot of places that had big fences or just big you know, it's man them ald just scary bars, dude.
But yeah, I would think that if you're playing a roadhouse and they're throwing long Star beer bottles at you, you are getting hit with the liquid of the beer the backwash. That could be like success, they love me. They're all getting messed up out there, they're loving the show.
Oh yeah. It was like the first time I played the Gathering, they shot me with fago and I didn't understand it. That was how they endeared you, Like if they sprayed fago at you, if they if they sprayed pea at you, they didn't like you, Okay. It was that dramatic of a difference. Faygo thumbs up, pissed thumbs down. How do they throw pea? Oh dude, they put a pee in a bottle and throw it. Yes, and then just yeah, it's crazy. I seen a girl get hit with a bottle of pea at the Gathering one time.
Her name was u Tia Tila Tila Tequila. It was Tila tequila.
We heard of her.
Absolutely, yeah. I was there when that happened, the famous gathering incident. It was crazy, dude.
So if you get a hit with a liquid, it takes a second to realize, well, either it's beer or.
Pe and you got to either smell it or liquor. Right, It's the only way to find out, Elvis.
There's no time to send it to the last sit.
There and go or go oh god, music so glamorous, this glamorous career you've chosen.
Well, and then you wake up one day and you're on Good Morning America on ABC. You know what I'm saying.
Well before that, though, I was with you on the Only Intrepid. That was still the coolest day we've had.
On That was a cool thing.
You know.
General said he's only been up and at him before noon but three times, three times this year, and I was because two of those because of me.
I'm so sorry. I'll wake up for you any day, Papa. Let's talk about country music. You know, country music.
When I was growing up in Texas, it was about pickup trucks and dogs. And you know, someone's in prison and a mom involved. Right now, look at the music you're putting out. It's, as you say, therapeutic, it's it's truly meaningful. I mean, it's it resonates in a way that country music really never used to resonate about it, right, And of course this is from your personal experience in life,
I guess. I mean, are you seeing other country artists really truly moving towards this more honest approach to their music making?
Yeah? Yeah, I think we're going back to that era a little bit right now. I think guys like Sturgel or Tyler Childers, Colter wall Zach Bryant, these guys that are just the singer songwriter thing is back happening in Nashville, and it's incredible to watch. It's not to say every other era of country music wasn't cool, but that seventies
era was special. When Willie was writing all these songs with Wayland and all these cool collaborations were happening, and there was a lot of myth building happening to the outlaw movement. And I think guys like myself, Hardy Morgan Wallen following that group of guys that are kind of also like the other side of what Tyler Childers and them do with that singer songwriter mentality and sharing a different story.
You know, So the good old opry has made a turn.
Oh yes, babe, then the grand old opry is like accepted us with wide arms open as well. So it's been even cooler to see like the only critics we get are like, you know, like the purest you know what I mean, and they're gonna always. But I think that what's happening for country music right now. It's never been a cooler time to be a part of country music than right now.
Looking at your single Need of Favor, which is still massive. What's in the middle of its massive phase? Your number two number one consecutive hit, is that right?
Yes?
Yeah, listen to these lyrics. I mean, we're gonna play it in a minute. You listen to these lyrics, and this is this is coming from a place a lot of artists country and our country are not feeling vulnerable and and brave enough to show right. But you it sounds like you would rather do a song like that than a song about moms in prison and dogs and trucks.
Yeah, So why is it.
So important to you to get that off your chest and out of your heart?
Vulnerability? I think also like I grew up at Myron guys like James Taylor, right, Jim Crochey. These were my heroes, right, and these dudes that just bared their soul on these records. You know, I just Bob Seger guys that we were listening to against the Wind at four o'clock this morning, drinking down the highway, and it just it's like the
first time you ever hear it. Every time you hear it, And I just wanted to write songs for those, And I want to write songs like those, And I wanted to write songs for people that don't have songs wrote about them, right, Like it is important as a songwriter and as a commentator to sometimes talk about the things that are people are, you know, Like I mean, we talk about everything from drug addiction to you know, I mean, we get you, sir, you've heard the music, you need
a favorites of a great example. I mean, we get really raw with relationships and how we deal with things. It's like I felt like when I was coming up, nobody representing my culture and music, and I was like, if I ever get a chance, you know what I mean, Like, if God ever gives me that megaphone. I'm a scream in it, you know what I mean. And I'm just trying to represent those without representation.
So nine shows into this forty four stop.
Nine sellouts in a row.
Let me tell you, h nine sellouts.
Maybe it's a big deal for the big.
Gap sellouts of forty four. The fans are getting to you. They're talking to you like, what are you hearing? Are you hearing anything that you expected to hear? Are you hearing anything that you did not expect to hear? From how they are responding to what you're giving them.
The music wise, it's crazy. It's I don't know what I expected, but the outpouring of love every night. I mean, dude. I know artists always say this, but I mean dude, We're laughing, dancing, and crying in that ninety minute set every night, Me and fifteen thousand people every single night. You know. It's It's It's church, It really is. I didn't understand it, but my friends who aren't from the South that are like, I don't know what a Sunday service looks like, but I would assume this is it.
And that hit me. It hit me, especially last night because all my new York City friends came to Bridgeport and they were like, is this what church is like down South? And to myself, I thought, kind of, this is kind of what church is like. Yeah, it was like in this really weird way. And maybe that's where I draw a lot of that inspiration from. It's my early roots, you know.
Yeah, go into a great church service. It's supposed to wear you out, oh for sure, but being able to laugh. See, I went to Southern Baptist, right, we went to church. Not a lot of laughing in a Southern Baptist.
For a lot of hell fire and brimstone, a lot give you a little bit of hope at the very end. Exactly at the very end, they'd hit one major chord on the oregan and be like, but there's hope.
And then and they keep going on and on, and you know, there's a there's a pot roast burning back at the house because your Sunday, your Sunday roast is burning. But a good service is what you're giving your fans, you know. I mean, but let's go back to laughter.
As a Southern Baptist. You know what they say, Southern Baptists are famous for two things. What's that eating and arguing. That's that's what they're the best at. Dude. I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, which the Chapel the Church I named after my album after as a little Southern Baptist church on a back road, one hundred person church. My daddy used to say, you know what the difference between a Baptist and a Methodist is? I said what
he said. At least a Methodist will say hello at the liquor store.
Right. Look, I let's talk about the laughter you guys. I'm going to make an assumption, just the few times we've been with you, I assume that you guys do a lot of laughing.
Oh it hurts the tummy. We're all a bunch of stoners that think we're comedians. So's the worst crock pot ever.
During during all the traveling and all the all the time on stage and laughing with your friends, getting a little messed up here and there, do you ever have moments where you just need to go off to your to the side and go, okay, I need some jelly roll time? And or do you always be Are you always the gregarious ue we have to be around people?
No? No, I love it. I'm it's it's a mixed Normally, I just love being around people, though I just kind of want to go. Dude, I'll sit in the back room sometime. I'm a sleeper. That's what I really am. I realized earlier in my career. You can't be fat, dehydrated, and sleepy. So I have chose to sleep as much as possible to know what I'm saying to at least have one of those three things. Check.
Look at this forty four sold out nights. But then you look at like a Taylor Swift whatever, how many shows is she doing. She's like like eight hundred thousand shows in one year.
She's been to break every record on Earth. It's been the funnest thing to watch and what she's doing, you know, but you're providing the same thing.
Taylor Swift is doing these shows that are just like visually stunning. Every move she makes on stage is an Instagram moment. Everything she says is just perfectly placed. Your show makes you feel the same, but it seems like it's the opposite. I'm sure there's a lot of planning going into shows. You have a set list, but it looks like you guys are just up there, like, just do what do you want to do next?
All right, let's do that song. It's pretty close, man, We're just damning, dude, we're doing I left a lot of room in my set open for that, like for the feeling of the room, you know what I mean, because I feel like music is supposed to meet people where the room is, and we're also like, I don't know why I've always been this way, but I feel like it sounds a little better when it's a little sloppy.
It's normal, it's organic.
Yeah, it's like there's this like supernatural thing, which I love what Taylor does too. I am a swiftie for the record. Now you go on the record. First time I've ever talked about this publicly. Somebody clip it and send it to Taylor. I love her. She's from Hendersonville, Tennessee, and we never met, but we're like neighbors. But uh, our stuff's just like a little more sloppy in general, and that's just, you know, I don't know. Bob Singer is another Bob Segert quote. He had two of my
favorite quotes of music. He said that one just search for songs you can sing with conviction. That's quote is on my studio wall.
Now, songs you can sing with conviction?
Yep? Just that easy, Like what the most easy way to think of it, like just search for songs that you can sing with conviction. And he said, man, it was something different about this silver Bullet Band because they played just a little sloppier. He was like, it's just something that made it feel more, you know, like he's when he talked about what he thought his best records were, it was like, anytime I did something with a silver bullet band, it was just a little more grid, a
little more slop to it. You know.
Is that just a known thing on the stage with your band or do you ever have to stop it down and go, hey, can you slop this up?
No? No, no, I have to unslop them. Yeah, I have to catch them backstage before the show, like somebody had the tequila for another hour, you know, saying because these guys will go.
Gosh, you guys seem like you run it high and hard. I mean, after forty four sold out shows, are you gonna be ready for the rehabit facility?
For sure? The ones we got to check in the class action lawsuit, I get from making people drink every night on stage. Uh no, dude, we'll do good. We'll sleep, I get some rest. But I also, man, I'm telling you, dude, I drank probably two nights this whole to another band, those degenerates, they're horrible. It's almost a prerequisite. We got one sober guy in the band, and I like him, you know.
Don't let him know you feel so. Look, you've been doing music a while now, now that you've been out of the road, what do you what have you learned about anything, the fans, the music, the traveling whatever. That is kind of a surprise to you, maybe a tough question to answer without thinking about it for a minute, Like what, like there's gotta be a learning journey going on for you.
Well, I'm surprised still at how many people know me outside of the show. Like this whole thing to me, Elvis is still I don't understand it yet. Like we still pulled up to Like I left my show the other day to go to like a marijuana store in Maine, and on the way back, I had a moment where I was like, man, is traffic always is bad here on a Tuesday? And it was my concert. Traffic and we were waiting on the police escort to come get us. You were the problem was the problem? I was like,
this isn't like I still don't get that. That's what's surprising me the most is I have a concert thirty minutes away from this marijuana store, and I took fifty pictures at this marijuana store. You know what I mean. It's like, it's just crazy. This is all awesome, but just I didn't expect it. I don't know what I thought. Even when you look at the ticket sale numbers, you're like, man, this is a lot of humans. This is a lot
of souls and stories coming into the show tonight. But until you see them, and when you see them in the arena, it's one thing. But when you see them in the parking lot, tailgate and party in or you know what I mean, Like you see the city's hotel selling out, You're like, I couldn't imagine what Taylor Swift feels like. Dude, I mean you talk about her, Dude, she shakes the entire city's economy.
They show up on the Richter scale. They literally did one night.
God I pray for that. You would have shaked the earth and you gotta think my fan base physically, her fan base is twice the size of ten times the size of mine with people, but my fan base physically is twice the size of her fan base. So could you imagine to wait, yeah, right, you know what I mean, like a lot more adults. You know what I'm saying?
I gotcha.
Could you imagine the damage we would cause the met Life Stadium if we ever got there?
You know what we talked about you doing your shows. One day, you're gonna be taking a break. You're gonna go see a show. You're gonna I know you're gonna be like, do I want to go see a show? But I'm gonna assuming the kind of show you want to go see. Jelly Roll is what you're doing, right, You're you're doing the kind of show you would love to see?
Oh yeah, for right or wrong? I went to go see Garth Brooks in Vegas the first night of his Garth Brooks plus one residency opening night, right special man, and uh we try to go see uh Tyler Chillers last Sunday, but I just couldn't couldn't figure out the travel because I had a day off. But he was like two hours away. Wow, we still go to shows all the time. I'm gonna look at there. One happened here tonight somewhere we're off. I think you are the show, not the show.
Let's go wherever you go tonight, that would be the show.
It's gonna take over a bar like it's a honkey do.
I think I've told you this before, I tell you again before for you you run out the door. I just want to say thank you. And look, all the years I've been interviewing people, I still and I'll say it until the end of my career.
You are one of the most genuinely.
Great guys to interview because you're just real and I know exactly whatever you're serving up is what we need to be eating.
And I appreciate it so much. Thank you for your support, man, I want to say I want to give your flowers and in person too, on and off air. Man, you you stepped up for me early and continue to do so bro even today, just taking the time to do this with me and letting me come in a little later than you're used to.
I could be sleeping right now.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I felt bad. I was like, what he don't know is This is like six am for me, and what I don't know is it's like nine pm for him.
Yeah, we don't know what time. You're the best, jelly Roll. Thanks for coming in today and I was sure the man brother.
Love you man.
I've been doing this for so many years and when you see and meet someone like Jelly Roll with all that star power and it's all generated from that huge heart loving I'm sure you just heard that in that interview with him. We love you jelly Roll. I love how he's blending the lines between his art and real life and he created relatable lyrics that all of his fans across the world connect with true legacy. He's leaving. Can't wait to see what's next for jelly Roll. All right,
we have got a lot of guests coming up. I can't wait for you to hear what we have coming up next. If you like Thinking out Loud, make sure you like, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you next time. Thinking out Loud is hosted by me Elvis Duran. The podcast is produced and edited by Mike Coscarelli. Executive producers are Andrew Glisi and Katrina Norvel. Special thanks to David Katz, Michael Kindheart, and Caitlin Madore.
Thinking Out Loud is part of the Elvis Duran podcast network on iHeartRadio. For more, rate, review and subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode, tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Elvis Duran