Latest / Inside Country with Wayne D / (FULL INTERVIEW) Hardy Shares Pre-Music Gigs, Morgan Wallen & Updates Us On Married Life

Transcript

(FULL INTERVIEW) Hardy Shares Pre-Music Gigs, Morgan Wallen & Updates Us On Married Life · Inside Country with Wayne D

0:00
Ladies and gentlemen hanging in studio with the guy who I would love to know
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what he was doing like ten years ago, because now he's like one of
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the biggest names in music in general. Hardy, what's up, my man,
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dude, what's up? What were you doing? Ten years I was
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about to say, um thirteen, I was getting ready to graduate college and
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I was cutting. I was working for a landscaping company here, cutting really
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fancy yards in Belle Mead and Green Hills. And I actually have a funny
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story about that. I kept my boss's number. His name is Clayton,
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and he's awesome. And I when I sign my poshing deal and kind of
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got on my feet a little bit. I quit, you know, but
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I was just a tied me over job and I and then when I quit,
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he was like, well, good luck, man, I'll be looking
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out for you. And I got to text him. I moved into back
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into town and I got to text him the other day. I hadn't talked
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to him in like ten years and say, hey, this is Michael Hardy.
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I used to work for you. You was wondering if you could come
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cut my grass. It was awesome, dude, And he didn't believe me.
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He thought it was one of his buddies and he was like, shut
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up, like you're drunk, and uh. But it was cool. So
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we've like rekindled and stuff. But that's what I was doing ten years ago.
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Dude. By the way, anytime someone refers to as Michael, which
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obviously doesn't happen a lot, I was hosting. Uh. I host the
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baseball games like I do the hockey games, sounds games. Yeah. Yeah,
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so, uh, you're at the time. Fiance was there and she
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comes from like, oh my god, how are you giving me a hug?
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And I was kind of like, like at first I didn't recognize the
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right way. I'm like, hey, good night, Yeah, what's going
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on. I'm like, you know, how like a pretty girl hugsy and
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you're looking like my wife? Yeah for sure. And she's like, oh
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yeah, Michael's wrapping up on to her. I'm like, Michael is Michael,
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Michael Michael. And then all of a sudden she had mentioned Morgan.
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I'm like, oh, okay, I'm sorry. I Like she must have
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looked at me like he doesn't understand. That's awesome, dude, hit me,
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how's married life? It's great? Man, it right. Like people
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are like, oh, it's he's gonna be so different. You're like,
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no, we we we lived together for three or four months before and um
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man, I she asked me the other day or a while back, she's
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like, a you feel any different. I was like, really, like
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I've but it's in a good way, Like I feel I felt like we've
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been married for so long, like all the loyalty and all that stuff.
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It's just it's just always been there, so not much different. But um,
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it's awesome, dude. And and like hanging out. You know,
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I worked during the day and and she does too, but it's just to
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come home and like eat and just hang out and just it's just it's the
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best. And we don't even have kids yet. So yeah, yeah,
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we just broke news here February. There's no surprise, there's no big announcements
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yet. Listen, take your time. There's plenty of time for that type
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of everybody says that. Man. The more I hear at first, I
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was like, dude, I'm ready, let's go now. But every body,
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every not one single person is like, just dude, it's awesome,
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Like every single person is like and having kids is amazing, but enjoy your
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your freedom as long as you can. So, uh, you are a
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guy who and not many people in country can say this stays busy in every
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aspect. Right. If you're not touring, you're recording. If you're not
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recording, you're writing and not only writing for yourself. But there's a lot
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of guys with plaques on the wall. Yeah because of you, right um
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And obviously they did their thing to make the song magic as well. Is
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there a song that you look at that you might be more proud of than
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any other that's not yours that like that I wrote but that I didn't you
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were you were a part of Yeah? Um um yeah. I mean I
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always say up Down because it was my first number one and it was Morgan's
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first number one and it really like jump started our careers. But uh,
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man, I gotta go like God's country is is, So if it's not
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up Down, it's God's country, just ay it it. That song change
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my career even as an artist. I didn't even know how big that would
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be for me as an artist because it just kind of helped boost my because
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there was a couple of years there where like I was still and I still
4:10
am, but like the new guys in the artist world. But I had
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that like he wrote God's Country thing and it really helped me out, like
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it really did. And plus it was like just Blake Shelton hit, which
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was super cool and it did really well for him, and that one did
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just as much for my career as as Updown did. For sure. Since
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You've been in so many rooms with so many names like Blake Shelton, right,
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is there ever a time you have to remind yourself like, yeah,
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I belong here like this. Of course I'm in the same room as artist,
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you know, a because I've worked to be here. That's a good
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question, man. I don't know, dude. I every single day of
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my life I have a little bit I don't even know if it's like imposter
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syndrome, but it's just like I'm like, what am I doing here?
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I still feel very like normal, which I am, but I don't know
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how to describe that. But no, dude, I'm I'm always I'm still
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just like looking around like what am I doing here? Dude? A lot
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of people are like that though. I Mean, that's one cool thing about
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Nashville is like ninety nine percent of the artist I feel like are they came
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from small towns, and they came from very very normal just life and lifestyles.
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And so I think a lot of artists in Nashville are all just pinching
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themselves no matter how big they get. It's like kind of the charm of
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Nashville a little bit. I think when it comes to writing, what,
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without giving away too much, what are projects that you're very passionate about right
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now? Would would you be more passionate about something you're doing for yourself or
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maybe an artist, a newer artist on the come up, or a project
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like a Blake. So since my record has come out, I kind of
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did this with a rock. I take like six to eight months and just
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shutting my artist brain as far as the songwriting off, and and like I
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set an intention to write for other people, you know, because that's like
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the I love to do that still, So, um, is that what
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fuels everything else for you? Like? How does that refill the tank?
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Like you get to you get to run the gas dry, doing everything else,
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but to refill the tank you go back to that. Yeah, And
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then occasionally, like you know, if I'm not writing with an artist and
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I'm just with songwriters, which is a lot of the time, like well
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kind of you know, accidentally write one for me if you will, and
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like then I hold on to it, and so it's still I still kind
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of get stuff along the way. But um man, that's a good question.
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I will say. I've been writing with this kid, Dylan Marlow,
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Who's he's so good he's gonna I'm telling you, he is of all the
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people in his class, which I would say is like I always look at
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it like the freshman class, you know what I mean, Like the people
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that are just kind of coming onto the scene, Like he's still getting duct
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taped to the locker in the shower. Yeah, y yeah. Kind but
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he is the best songwriter out there, and he's a great artist. But
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but I just mean from a songwriting perspective, I've been really had my eye
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on him, and I've been writing with him some and he writes a lot
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with one of my writers, Zach, and everything they turn in is awesome.
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So I'm really excited to continue to write with him and hopefully try to
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write his help him write his first big record, because he's a phenomenal songwriter.
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You're at a point in your career. Where you are, you are
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still working with fresh talent like a Dylan Marlowe, but you're probably also learning
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stuff from the Blake Sheltons of the industry. What does it mean for you
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that a guy like Dylan is looking at you the way that you look at
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a guy like maybe Blae's dude, It's the coolest thing in the world and
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just I's part of me like doesn't even know how to process it, but
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like just to know that you're like, because I like learned how to write
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songs by paying attention to the big right, Like when when I was coming
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up, it was like Casey Bethard and Rodney Clawson, Craig Wiseman, Hillary
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Lindsay, Like there were so many people that had a spare specific thing that
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I loved and I gravitated towards and I was like, I want to write
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songs like they do. And it's just cool to know that that there's some
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kids out there, guys and girls out there that are looking at me the
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same way. That's like the biggest honor ever. I mean, it really
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is, because it just if you can influence what would you call that,
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like a soon to be generation of writers and artists like with your music,
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that's like the highest honor in the world. And it's cool to be like
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the chair that we get to sit at in country radio. It's cool because
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at one point I got a phone call like, hey, we're coming to
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town. It's this hearty guy you know, we want you to meet whatever.
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And now you're to the point where you're selling out three nights in a
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row down the street from where we're sitting out, which, by the way,
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I said to Tiago, two nights is back to back shows. Three
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nights is a residency. So you have a Nashville residency. But like people,
9:01
people of all ages of singing your songs, like it's it's got to
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be a trippy feeling to know that even looking the crowd, I'm the most
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recent show, I was out of yours. There's kids singing a song which
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father and father and mother of the year right there. But like to know
9:18
that you have an impact and not many artists transcend ages. Even that's got
9:22
to be something special, but not intentional either, Right, you're just no,
9:24
I'm just no, I just I don't know how that happened, especially
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with the kids. But um, I've told my son not to use that
9:33
for it, but it's fun. My mom hates it, so she went
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and found because Big Loud didn't. I don't think that they had any clean
9:39
CDs printed, just like they keep a stack at the label for whatever people
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in this and that charity events. Yeah, all that signed or whatever.
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And my mom texted me the other day and she was like, thank God,
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and she sent me a picture and I guess there's a clean version of
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my of the Mock and Murden the Crow out there, and she got one
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and she was like, I can finally listen to this and not like crane
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e. I hear you cuss. But it's awesome. Man. I know
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that my music is super polarizing. But then at the same time, you're
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right, I look out and I see uh, like kids on shoulders and
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and people that are old rocker looking dudes out there getting down to the stuff.
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And then you're you know, my like main crowd is like younger,
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like college age or you know, twenties, thirties. Uh, you know,
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people singing and it's just early forties, early forties maybe UM to see
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it all. It's it's cool, man, It's just cool to to know
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that it's it is there's a spectrum of people out there that it's it caters
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to. It's awesome. I want to talk more on the album and the
10:39
current single, UM, but take me through Uh. One of my favorite
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songs on the radio newer right is UH is close to when Dell's track you
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were a part of Drink a Boy? Yeah, yeah, um knowing that
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song, like it's a song that connects right away. Some songs you've got
10:54
to listen to it two three times before it's like, oh yeah, I
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dig this from the first note. Man, you're you're in on that song?
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Is it tough too? And I know that you weren't the only one
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in on the right, but is it tough to be? Like? No,
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that's cool, you you take that one. I feel good about it.
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Like is it ever tough to give away a song and be like,
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damn, this is gonna be a good one? Not really, man,
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because I just I feel like, I truly feel like I have two jobs,
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you know what I mean? And and UM when I'm in town.
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Which that's a funny story because you know, John Party's a writer on that
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song, and we wrote that for for John Uh in a sense like we
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were he was in the room that day we were writing for John and he
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just ended up not cutting it, which is fine. That happens a lot,
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and um, it's just, uh, I don't know. I just
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feel like it's easier these days to give them away because when I when I
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when we get something in the by the end of the day, if it's
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something that I want, like especially if it's on the countryside of things,
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like if it's the rock thing, like obviously I'm gonna keep it for myself.
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But it's gotten easier just to be to tell the room that day like
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this is this is definitely for me, or either or the opposite, and
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be like pitch it. But it's havn't feeling like I have two jobs.
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It makes it cool to be able to give away songs that I know I
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probably wouldn't record a song that we were able to embrace on the Big ninety
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eight and with I Heeart country that you would put out was and it was
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such like a moment song. Some songs make you feel and some songs make
12:16
a statement. And there's something about waiting the truck that just connected. Last
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time we talked, didn't you say it was like supposed to be like some
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like just dudes got drunk and now you're gonna be the hell out of somebody.
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It really wasn't yeh, yeah, yeah, it really wasn't gonna be
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this this anthem that it turned out to. Yeah, it was like this
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tough guy like affliction kind of idea. It was like what we were going
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for initially was like a dude, you know, tough guy in the corner,
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saw a guy like get rough with a girl at a bar, and
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he's gonna go follow him and kick his ass. And when we just when
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we got in the room that day, we just sat down and said,
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man, what if we really took the time and like made it a little
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deeper, deeper and heavier than that. But I'm glad we did. It's
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been I'm telling you so good. And for the time that's already spent on
13:03
country radio, I feel like people are still like that is a song you
13:07
don't you don't turn away from, you don't skip, you don't change the
13:09
stations, and them like it just connects whether whether you have an experience you'll
13:13
tie to it or not. If this song can do what you're very familiar
13:18
with doing, and that's getting all the way up. Does it have an
13:22
extra meeting for you? Because this is probably mentally scanning your biggest songs.
13:28
This is probably the most emotionally tied song that you would be able to say
13:33
went that far. So does it anymore because of that? Yeah? Absolutely,
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man, Um, I think it's huge. It's a huge for me,
13:41
but just even just for country music as a whole. It's it's awesome
13:45
to know that a song about such a serious like subject can break through and
13:52
still be a hit. You know what I mean? And and um,
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you know I mean, we we kill a guy in the song. We
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literally blatantly say we murder a guy, but you know, for a specific
14:03
reason, and it has a very serious but specific message, and it's it.
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It'd be a huge win for me. It already is. It's a
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top five no matter what happens. It's a huge win for me and for
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Laney and all the writers. But for it to go the whole way would
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be a very monumental moment knowing that a song like that can still break through
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on the format. For sure, when it comes to performing a song like
14:26
that or give Heaven some hell your shows, are you get country? You
14:31
get your face melted off? But at the same time, a song like
14:37
that or wait in a Truck. Do you ever have to catch yourself on
14:41
stage because I've seen people get emotional like standing out watching a thing, especially
14:46
on a song like like those. Do you ever have to you know,
14:48
scan the crowd. You see somebody crowd and you're like, whoa, We'll
14:50
be on the other side of the stage here. I mean kinda yeah,
14:54
I mean I I especially especially give Heaven some hell waiting the truck. I've
15:01
seen a few, but um, every every show there's at least one person
15:05
out there that is truly like hurting, you know what I mean, And
15:11
um, but in the best way, Like it's it's amazing to see that
15:16
and know that those songs are helping people and getting them through what they're going
15:22
through. It's like, and it sounds kind of screwed up to say it,
15:26
but it is like the best feeling in the world, Um, just
15:30
to know that it's reaching those people and that that the message that we were
15:33
trying to convey that day is getting through to people. But yeah, I
15:35
mean, it's it's it's not awkward, but man, there are times where
15:39
somebody is just having an absolute not mental breakdown, but just a solid screaming,
15:46
crying, like sad thing. And it's just it's crazy to see that
15:48
impact people, especially live when it when it comes to making an impact and
15:54
telling a story, whether it's your story or it's it came together from a
15:58
Right, what does it mean for you to tell a story through a song?
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But now because of social media, people can tell their stories back to
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you. Right, what does it mean to tell a story? But then
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also it connected enough to where someone opens Instagram and shoots you a direct message
16:12
and kind of completes the whole thing everything truly, Um, I mean it
16:19
means everything. And you know, at the end of the day, that's
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that's why I do it. I think that's why most songwriters do it.
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Is is to hear those stories and have those moments and and um it just
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it means the world. It's it's it that stuff keeps me going more than
16:37
you know, playing big arenas and making money or whatever. It is that
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the fact that people you know can share their story and firsthand see how much
16:49
it's affected people in a positive way is like I could not I could not
16:55
have any success from here on out, and that would that would still make
16:57
my day every time. The remainder of this year, which is weird to
17:00
say it because we're in April already, it's like the third of the way
17:07
through the year. The rest of the year, you have obviously a massive
17:11
tour you're running around. Uh, what are some things you're looking forward to
17:15
as far as like you get to unplug this weekend, You're going to try
17:19
and take a trip here, you got this to look forward to, Like
17:22
on a personal level the rest of the year, I'm getting a bass boat
17:26
in June. Hell yeah, and I'm really excited about that. Uh.
17:29
I've got um let's see, my wife and I her grandparents have a house
17:37
in the Pacific Northwest that we're gonna go for a week. Um, I
17:41
have a really big county fair back in my hometown that I'm gonna go to.
17:45
H And the big one is I can completely unplug and relax when I
17:51
go back to my hometown and my our deer camp has like a lake on
17:56
it and it's super run down, old and awesome, and I and that's
18:02
like something I look forward to. And I have fortunately have like some time
18:06
off this year, and I'm gonna get to go home and fish and kind
18:08
of get ready for deer season and do a few other things and and uh
18:12
that's that, and just time with with Cali is something I'm very much looking
18:17
forward to in general. But but the new boat, the bass fishing is
18:19
gonna be awesome the summer because well so that's my favorite thing. Is you
18:25
had like a childlike smiled like getting the boat? I am, man,
18:30
I feel like a child. So let me ask you this. Does the
18:33
boat have a name yet? Uh? No not? What are we doing
18:37
really waiting the boat? If I keep gaining weight, it's gonna be w
18:45
e I g ht waiting the boat? Like you look fine? Knock it
18:48
off. I don't know, I you know, I like I really like
18:52
um. I look for arrowheads a lot around Nashville and like bodies of water
18:57
like on the banks that holds a lot of them. And I was about
19:00
my head hunter, which might be kind of cool. But I don't know.
19:03
But I definitely am gonna name it something. Waiting the boat. It's
19:07
not bad. I like it pretty good. Actually, Plus it's gonna help
19:10
pay for the boat, you know what I mean? It's true. So
19:12
speak speaking of that single, I got two more for you. One is
19:17
working closely with Laney, which is cool because you guys both are doing your
19:22
own thing. But when you came together, it's just like and you had
19:26
mentioned like a couple of other names, but like something about Laney, like
19:29
you stopped thinking after that, Um, you brought her onto this song.
19:33
Has there been any talk of her bringing you onto Yellowstone? No? But
19:37
that'd be awesome, dude. So this is me officially asking, as a
19:41
fan of yours and Yellowstone Landy Wilson, can you make the connection? Come
19:45
on, Laney, you got it? Text Kevin Costler, that would be
19:48
Yeah, her up already. Um, that would be incredibly cool, and
19:53
especially like I've done music videos, but like waiting the Truck was the first
19:57
time I felt like I was truly like acting, you know what I mean,
20:00
like really trying to dig into that. And it was so fun and
20:03
so awkward, dude, like to like just be really serious and then they're
20:08
like cut and you're just and then everybody's like good job. Now. I
20:11
don't know, there's something that's so uncomfortable about it because you have to be
20:15
so vulnerable. But it was so so fun and I would love, love,
20:19
love love to do that. That would be so sick last thing I'm
20:22
gonna ask you, and you might not even be able to share this far
20:25
ahead as we look towards the next song that you would give to country radio,
20:30
it's obviously going to be on the project that we're consuming. Now,
20:33
do you know which way you want to go? Or between one of the
20:37
two? And if there's an answer, we can hold this. I can
20:40
this between two technically, but is that all right? Yeah? I can
20:44
hold this? Is it okay? All right? It's we haven't made an
20:48
official decision, but it's between truck bed and red Oh okay, our country
20:52
sold out I can say as my next can I say that sold out to
20:56
my next rock single? We're actually gonna go back and do sold out now.
20:59
But um, but for country, it's either truck bed or red What
21:03
did you think? Did you think? No, A truck bed does it
21:06
for me too? I think that's that's that's leaning towards that one for sure.
21:11
But also you figure you're putting out red red Field summer. That single
21:15
was gonna take you probably over the fourth of July weekend. Dude. That's
21:19
all stuff there. It does so well, But man, dude, have
21:23
you seen truck bed live yet. Have you have you been because I haven't
21:27
seen you since you and did the Three Nights Here. Dude, it's the
21:30
biggest song on our set right now, the one bed. It's bigger than
21:33
Rednecker. It's bigger than White in the Truck. I mean it is like
21:37
it's bigger than sold Out, which I mean it's dude, it's so awesome
21:41
and that's a that's a good sign. But when you, dude, I'll
21:45
tell you. And I like it was a fanboy moment and I almost like
21:48
had to like text you and anybody else that would listen. When you started
21:52
with sold Out, it had been out for like a babe two three days,
21:56
and all of a sudden, the lights going down in you here party,
22:00
and I'm like, guys, nobody, nobody knows this yet. All
22:03
right, I know this. It's fun. Let's go so good. It's
22:06
so it's gonna be um. We've been opening with that song now for a
22:10
year, and we're gonna continue to do it, I think until the fall,
22:14
and then I think we're gonna switch it up and and uh put it
22:18
somewhere in the set. But man, it's been so fun to open.
22:21
It's so hype at the beginning of the show. Just so fun. The
22:23
fact that you left in the track the chanting. Yeah, at the same
22:26
time, our goal was to make everybody think that the rest of the crowd
22:30
was chanting, so everybody just started doing it. But yeah, we're gonna
22:34
keep it in there. It's that's part of the part of the gag.
22:37
Dude, Dude, I know how busy you are, so thank you for
22:40
taking the time to thank you. It's always a pleasure, man,