Latest / Happy Hour with Deb / Angie K’s Incredible Journey: From Being a Mechanic to Living Her Country Music Dream Ep138

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Angie K’s Incredible Journey: From Being a Mechanic to Living Her Country Music Dream Ep138 · Happy Hour with Deb

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: She puts her hands on my shoulder.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: I asked her for advice.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: She tells me we've talked for a while.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: She puts her hands on my shoulders and she says, My only advice for you is never care about the people in the suits more than you care about the people in the seats.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is that not the mic drop?
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Beautiful.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we're talking about independent.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, it's Deb.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's happy hour, Deb.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is day one, almost coming to a close of the CRS.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I have Angie Kay with me.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: How are you?
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Nice to meet you.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing so good.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's day one, so we're all fresh today.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's day one.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, we're working on it.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: We're you know?
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: God made beer for country music.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: How are you doing?
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm doing really good.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: How many interviews have you done today?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think this is just my fourth one.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: Taking it easy.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's fair.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's putting them out.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: I hate doing them all in one day, so I try to like space them out.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna be here all three days shooting.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's amazing.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's when you're media, you wait for this year.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I love this shoot.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love this week.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: I love, I mean, when you're a person that doesn't have talent and you see all the talent that's under one roof, it's like a very humbling experience.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this isn't amazing.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me about your music.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: When did you get started?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Take me back.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, it's kind of crazy.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's this is my fifth independent record I'm releasing this year.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I've been doing this now for 10 years, so blessed to say it.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: So blessed to say it.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's a 10-year town, so you made it.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I think I remember having this moment where me and my wife were going out to dinner and friends texting me, like, come out to this bar.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, we weren't gonna do it.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a Tuesday, and we go out to this bar and I look around the room and I'm like, I know like 80% of the people in this room.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Stop it.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we're all just hanging out.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: We ended up hanging out until like two in the morning, and I was like, it's wild to look back at the kid because now I know these, you know, you saw Carrie, just new kids coming to town.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think she's great.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: She's a great artist, she's a great person, she's gonna do big things.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: I agree, and it's really cool to see and remember what that was like to not know anybody and how many people went out of their way to help me out and give me a leg up and now yeah, now I'm putting out my fifth record, going on tour with Brooks and Dunn.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's wow.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's so cool.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's pretty insane.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: I love them.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: How was that?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's just, I mean, Kix is probably one of the most balanced, most wonderful people I've ever met.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, he really just wants people to succeed, and no one can earn a spot on that tour.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like I could I could work 20 more years in this town, have 20 million streams and not earn a spot on that tour.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Where are you from?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Where'd you come?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you coming from, Bridging?
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I was born in El Salvador and I moved to Georgia when I was about 11.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so I actually have a sold-out show coming up next month in El Salvador, which I'm excited about.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's so exciting! Congratulations.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I always say country music isn't for everyone, but we are everywhere.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it is.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's becoming more worldwide now.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like the movement, I don't think one, for women, there's a better time to be in country music than right now.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe the 90s, 90s.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the 90s, yeah.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I love the comeback of these women that are just power, strong house, and like Megan Moroni, LLAN.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: I love her.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: I know that shoes in Texas.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I can tell I'm from Texas, so it's a little like, you know, when I hear it, it's a little homesick to me because it is such an amazing.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So congratulations.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so happy for you.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Where are you playing now?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Are you touring this summer?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I'm always touring.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean independent musicians just play ping pong across the U.S.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: We got a great indie scene here in Nashville.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: You do.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: We totally do.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: And what's really cool is we don't complain about the same things that the the it's just different, it's different battles, but what's really nice is we never have to worry about if there's someone who proves a song.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or approves a number.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Or charge your own music.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's like once you figure out how to do it on your own, sure it's harder because there's more of a workload, but the freedom I wouldn't trade for the world.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this last record was the first time I got offers from a from a big label and from a couple of distribution companies for a lot of money.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: Would you take it or no?
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I decided against it because I looked at the numbers and at this point I know I know what the ebb and flow is.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: I know what spending on this would mean for this back.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I have a community of people that feel pretty solid.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like I know exactly who's gonna be consuming whatever.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just uh I spent about 20 grand of my own money on the record, and then I took out a massive loan.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: People do not realize the price it is to cut a record.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: To cut a record, yeah.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: It is so expensive.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I did it at Blackbird Studio, which is like a dream studio.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, shout out to them.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: Dream studio.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: And like, thanks to all the people that have supported me over the years and stream this music, we've created this beautiful thing where I don't have to chase 20 million views because I'm I just take care of my people.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want to be one of my people, I take care of you, you know.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's like that's beautiful.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's just really nice to and us as any musicians, I just have such a passion for people that are doing this that only so many people get to be on major labels.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's just how it works.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's exactly that's just how it works.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: If you listen to this, there is a way, and it and it is not nearly as hard as I thought it was.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: And when I started realizing that, my life changed for the best.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: I love that you said that because we started this show with people who have the courage to follow their dreams, right?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: With a guitar and a dream, they come to this amazing city, but there's so much talent, there's so much talent here.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And when we first started this show, we were interviewing the people who were chasing the dreams, you know.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: That and I'm like, dream big.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: If your dream isn't like scary, where it's like your friends are like, there's no way, you're not dreaming big enough.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that you stuck to being independent, yeah, because that's so interesting.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: I would have never done it 10 years ago, you know.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted I wanted a label deal so bad, but then the world is changing so much, and and being able, we're writing so many songs.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: I write hundreds of songs.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: If I in the middle of an album cycle want to put out a single that's not on the record, I can do it.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: And that as a creative person is worth everything.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's delicious to be able to have that freedom to just I made this song, I love it, I'm gonna throw it up, you know, I'll put it on on whatever.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: And the best part is I give every single writer and every single musician on my record gets 1% of the master.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's be congratulations.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because I owe it to you.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for doing that.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: No, but thank you for doing that.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: If you're only making 10% of the record, you just can't do that because if you just gave away all of your percentages.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And streaming doesn't bring in a lot of money.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: No, I mean, it can.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: You just can't split it up, you can't give 80% to the record company.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's just that that's where you fail.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: And my I mean, not fail if it really works, but even record companies you sign, one out of ten are gonna make back what they what they what their loan is that they're giving.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Essentially, record labels are just a loan and they really are bankers.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: At this point, all my friends are the heads of Apple and and Spotify and whatever, so it's like my problem isn't knowing these people, right?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: And like, so a label for me wouldn't necessarily be as beneficial.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's more like people want to take a chance on you, but you gotta have the numbers to want to make them want to take a chance.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's a gamble, you know, but how impressive.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: So, what kind of short in country music?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, I again I was born in El Salvador, you'd think would not not a big country prefer country music.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: But my mom was American, she's from New Mexico.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, and she loved like Kenny Rogers, he loved Dolly Parton, and I remember listening to the show.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: Still love Dolly Parton and Candy Rogers.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, if you don't, get out of here.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: You're not even listening to country music.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: You're not one of us.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: I love you can't be on this show with us.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: If anybody doesn't like Dolly, you say that in the state of Tennessee, take you out.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: I never say yes.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: I kind of feel like that, like she's legendary and she's kind and she's humble, and she's still rocking it at this age.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that is so inspirational.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Kindness I hear that the kindness is just over.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've never met her in person.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to meet her, but I I hear that she pours.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna manifest it.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is totally hopefully we'll be together.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: We'll go out for a drink.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'll go out for a drink, and then we'll hopefully we'll meet her.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: I know, that's so amazing.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: So you got with your parents grew up.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: You grew up listening to country music.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Who was your biggest inspiration?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think for me, what really made me start taking chances was uh Brandy Carlisle.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: Such a phenomenal songwriter.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I love Dolly, it was probably my first time.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Of course.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: But I love Brandy Carlisle.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: Melissa Athridge always loved her as well.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: I got to open for her at the Rhine.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Insane.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: That is like, holy smokes, you've made it.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: I say that and I still can't believe it.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: Right, that's a pinch me moment.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: But I'll tell you, she gave me the best advice in my whole career.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: I love telling the story.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, I've now opened for a lot of big artists.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, we got important delivery here.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: I know, I know.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: He's the best.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: They're not just the best.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Cheers to you too.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Congratulations on your success.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm super happy for you.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I'm I get this open, I get to open for Melissa Etheridge, and I'm really no one at this point.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm somebody, but I'm not anybody on the charts or anything.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: And um, she actually comes out to my sound check, which never happens.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: Most people that open for someone big, we never meet them.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like they're busy, you know.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I hear that often that they you could actually like open tours and still never actually meet the artist.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's just it's not anything bad.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Oh no, it's just that's it, right?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: But I am doing my sound check and Melissa like taps me on the shoulder, you just want to say thank you.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: I about fell off the rhyme and stage.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: I like step, I was like, oh my god, it's Mala.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: The rhyme is so so nostalgic, too.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like she says You're standing on stage with country music's finest people.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Insane.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um but she says, come to my dressing room after the show.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm like so excited.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: She finishes the show.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: I go to her dressing room, she puts her hands on my shoulder.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: I asked her for advice.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: She tells me we've been talking for a while, she puts your hands on my shoulders and she says, My only advice for you is never care about the people in the suits more than you care about the people in the seats.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is that not the beautiful?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, when you're talking about independent.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why you do it.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I think it's so funny.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the regular world is like they make a lot of money, they have tour buses, blah blah blah.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: They don't see the grind that that happens.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're all of the hardest working people in the world to to even get a little bit of recognition.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: You've put out a ton of money.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Your whole, you know, I mean, you're in it to win it.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's no plan B for people like you, and that's such an amazing.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't think people get to know.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: I hope with this show that people understand that there is an actual, like, the grind that you guys go through to get, and that's a what a great story.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but it's you know, I say this all the time, like$250, I'm running.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: It hard work is so mental.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's like it's like hard work isn't driving eight hours overnight, it's not it's not talking everybody out of the show, it's not being dead exhausted and you know, working your butt off.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's actually believing it's worth something.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's what the hard work is.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: And if you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: In the purpose of the whole thing, and believing that the music matters, that writing matters, that writing one more song, being a little bit better.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: If you believe in that, even in the hardest moments, you stay in the game.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: And it's probably the same with what you do, like it's like you tell stories, that's what we do.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: And some days are just tough to know that it's worth it.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: And you gotta find a way.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's the hard work.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you do what I do, and you get to meet people like you who have been doing this a long time, and even the younger ones, and I I get to be part of the dream.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: That that you know, it feels I'm from Philadelphia, you know that Nat can't be.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: You damn know that's a Philly net.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know it is.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: That sucker was probably on the plane with me.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not a lot of good things come out of there, but it's really like to hear your it's so it's very humbling to hear your stories and to know that what you've done was the choice that you were gonna make, and you have moved people out of spots that they were stuck in with your music.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's such a powerful concept because music moves us all, and nobody facilitates it better than country music artists, and to know that you have had the power to change people's lives must be something that you're is your wife in the industry or no?
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: No, she's a photographer, and um I actually met her, so I was a mechanic before I did music.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Which is probably the reason why I I love the independent game so much because I grew up around mentors, like you know, these older dudes that grew up with electricity that could build a rocket ship to the salt of the stuff.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: Those were my mentors, right?
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Those are my love that and I So you knew hard work long before you sang a note.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's not even hard work, it's the joy of the puzzle.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's the point.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: When you can love the puzzle.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that, the joy of the puzzle.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about the completion of the puzzle.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's about the joy of the puzzle.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: I almost love telling someone how I figured it out more than I love the fact that I figured it out.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's like, but did you see this connection?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but no, I I feel like uh I'm I went from cruise ships and I or I went from uh being a mechanic to trying to like how would I play music full time and not have to worry about paying all my bills, right?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because that was like how do I do both of those things?
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: I know adulting is so interesting.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well I got this idea, and again, I'm like critical thinking here, I'm in the mechanical.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: I got it.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: I like literally was biking to work one day, my car was broke down, started to rain, and I was like, I know I'm gonna get a job on cruise ships.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Because then I'm not paying for rent, I'll save up enough money, I'll work for my children.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I I'm telling you, I this idea hit me while I was on my bike, and I remember it was like it already happened.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: I was so confident this idea would work out.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I go home, I go on Google, I'd get a job on cruise ships.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: I submit a video to a random company, and two months later, honest to God, I get an email in my inbox saying, Can you be in Miami in a few weeks?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I absolutely can.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Tell my boss, I'm done with school.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: My parents were thrilled.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: How old were you in this event?
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: I I was 20, I was about to turn 21.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: I turned 21 on cruise ships.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: I got like$700 a week, which to me I was rocking.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: You were right, you were$1.50 beers at crew bar.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: My only job.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: They take care of that though.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: My only job was to play my favorite artist.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I love Zach Brown, Kenny Chesney, Jimmy Buffett, and I just had to play this for people on vacation.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: I was in heaven.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: I bet, I bet.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: It was so great, and then I just uh I was some I met my wife on like the second week on that cruise ship.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, I need it.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: We've been together now 10 years.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, congrats.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm just like, I really believe if I ever needed a sign that sometimes you just gotta follow what feels good.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: That was it.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: Because if I hadn't been on that ship and I hadn't met her, and she's like, half of my heart is that woman, you know?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like I tell people all the time, sometimes you really gotta trust your body, you gotta trust your gut.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: I tell people all the time, if your gut tells you no, it's a hard net.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: We're built with this cool mechanism that tells us ten things.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Right, why people don't listen to it?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: It blows my mind.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: What is wrong with you?
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Here's something crazier.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: The same guy that booked me on that ship, he had just joined Carnival Cruise Lines and he was like, Why are there no female soloists?
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Find me a female soloist, and that was it.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: He moves to Disney, and a few years later, I am still the voice of the fireworks show that plays every single night at Magic Kingdom.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: You're kidding.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's the biggest thing I'll ever get to do.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: That is and that's what I'm saying.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I sat there and I remember my whole body said, Absolutely, I'm doing this.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: And on paper, it made no sense.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: I had a full scholarship to Georgitech.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: I had a great job that I loved as a mechanic.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: Everything was going well for me.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: I had great friends.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: I was still playing on the weekends, and I saw this email, and I was like, I'm so excited about this.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: I physically can't say no.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's such an amazing, inspiring story.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Believe do what you love and believe in what you love and let the joy soak in.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And enjoy the ride.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I teach my patients, and I'm like, you know, facilitating the healing journey.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Stop calling it work.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: The beauty is in the journey when you can unravel and really find out and step into the life that was meant for you.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like I and I I'm so proud of that that I help facilitate people to get into a life that was meant for them.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it's such a beautiful, and I I I went back to school and and I had a really bad childhood and some bad experience, and I went in with this mission that if I can make one person not feel as small as I did, that I would change the world, right?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it was only one, and and consequently, in these years that they've stacked up, it's been more than one.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: And and we start this podcast with dreamers.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I want I don't I like obviously you want people like you, right?
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: That are well known in the industry.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, you I also want the people with the guitar and a dream.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like Carrie was probably the next big thing in country.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: I love Carrie, she's solid.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: But like that's what I'm saying.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like the people that were you when I came to town and wanted to talk to me, and then I'd see them every other CMA red carpet, and I'm like, you're always gonna want to go back to that person because they feel like, oh, you you almost want to celebrate with them, but like, thank you for betting on me.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now I'm nominated for an award this year.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I told you she was so excited.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: You almost want to make it for those people.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't even know.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think nobody, when you sit in this chair and you, you know, nobody ever comes on the show once, right?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: I say it's like the hotel camera.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and and most people come back as a co-host.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: And we revive because I you have so many experiences and stories to share to share with other people, but when I watch you guys win, I mean you're already, you've been doing this a long time, you're already successful, but like when I see Carrie win, it's amazing.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: And you know it, there's nothing like the first time, man.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: And every single one, you know, it's hysterical because my husband's like, they're all a little part of your family, and like they're all a little part of the story.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, she was just uh getting teared up about meeting uh Ashley McBride, and it's like I've known Ashley's Georgia girl, and I've like I've met her a few times, and it's like wild to me, but when she when I met her, she wasn't as big as she is now, right?
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really cool to see, and I'm like, who is that for me?
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I was saying, Oh, Blake Shelton.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like I got to meet Blake Shelton, and I remember it being like the biggest thing ever to get to meet him, and he was so nice to me.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think he's the nicest man on the face.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Tallest guy I've ever met, yeah.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's so great.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Is there anybody you have in man that you would love to meet?
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: Meeting.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Who would it be?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to collab with Melissa.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't met Brandy Carlisle.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, and I I man, I just love her music so much.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: She's someone that I feel like doesn't chase a hit.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it makes me really want to, you know, you're she's saying something because she wants to say it.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: And and I I love her music because of that.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I would love to meet Brandy Carr.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you write hundreds of songs.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Where's your inspirations come from?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: I have a titles list that I love it.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: See what's on there.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: I just actually, you know, Ava Sapelsa, she's a great songwriter.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: She wrote a I didn't know you had it wrong.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure what's going on.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's her playing in there right now.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: What are the chances?
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's I just heard it.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: We just we were just doing a song.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: I just put a title.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: So we just did a a little show together.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody in Nashville, the way it works for songwriters, if you want to do this full time, is you have a titles list on your phone that it looks insane.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know how most best friends are like, hey, if I die, burn my journal.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like for us, it's like, if I die, burn my titles list.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: Right, either burn your titles list or something.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: It is the most chaotic thing ever.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: And we were just, I just wrote something down.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't remember what it was.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it was catch me on a good day.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it's kind of gonna be like if you were fishing, like like sometimes it's not a good day to go fishing, like catch me on a good day.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, but you're at a bar and someone's hitting on you and be like, catch me on a good day.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Catch me on a good day.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so it's this really funny trade, and she has this uh Ava has a little bit of a you know Lacey K Booth.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: I do.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know how she has that like lower end, yeah.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like Lana Del Reyes.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Ava has that, and so we she like if I like come up with the idea and it's a little more on the Zach Brown side, and then she sings, and I'm like, oh, that's what we gotta do.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so we're gonna get together and finish that one.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm it that's how it happens.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like you sit there and you think who would be the right fit for the song?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I was like, I actually think the best third to write that with would be a guy named James Slater, who's written a lot of Kenny Chesney hits and is a fantastic piano player.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I like piano players because they tend to go in interesting chord progressions that are slightly different than the than the norm.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I think us three are gonna write that one too.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's how that's how songs are you playing.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: I play guitar.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: Just the guitar.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: I play piano as well, but not like James.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: James is like piano man.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, you leave that to the experts there because piano is such a you know, it's a language.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many layers to it.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean you can play it and then you such play it, yeah.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Right, yeah, amen, and to the people that can play it.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's so fascinating.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what do you give?
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: What's your advice to somebody who wants to do what you did?
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: They don't want to be a canic, they want to like, what's your advice to a 17-year-old that's like, I want to go to Nashville?
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think my advice is You know what I mean?
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: But then also you gotta go, you gotta never when you start for example, if you start by thinking, I wanna play, and then find a place to play, right?
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: So you start with a problem and you figure out solutions, and you start with that way.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: But I think where people go wrong is say, for example, I get my job on cruise ships, or you get your job on Broadway, and you're playing four or five nights a week.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: One day you wake up and you dread going.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Change.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think what most people do is they get in that place and they think, but how would I pay my bills if I stopped doing this?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the mindset though.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: It changes it from I want to do this to I have to do this.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I did that, I made that mistake, and I stayed in those things, but I had to let go of the cruise ship check and make less money and be in debt and be scared and play bars again, and then play venues, and then take a chance and take the last$600 I had to get on the voice.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like when it doesn't feel good, you have to believe there's a better way.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to let go of what's in your hand to find what's better for you.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I tell people, you know, as humans, we have the ability to pivot.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know that we can.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're concreted down.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: We have the God-given ability to pivot at any second, and that's with the beauty.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: And like, this is it.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is your ride.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, do what you gotta do.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: I have to tell you, you're a delight.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: Would you come back and do an hour?
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely would.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely would love it.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: You as long as you got this freedom brick, coming back.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: We will get you.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: You want to take some home?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: You can totally take some home with you if you want to.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: I love this interview so much.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: You are, you're an absolute delight to me.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: It is truly my honor to met you.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I can't wait to like brag about you.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you gotta come visit on the Bricks and Dunn tour, man.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: I would love it.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: They'll give you your art, the kind of like, all right, let's get some picks.