NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - The Drink with Kate Snow: Walker Hayes

Episode Date: September 23, 2022

Walker Hayes discusses how he and his daughter’s TikTok dance to “Fancy Like” on their porch went viral. He tells NBC News’ Kate Snow how he battled challenges in his life as he built his career.

Hi, everyone. This is Kate Snow. So happy to share a great conversation that I had with country music star Walker Hayes over a cup of coffee for my series, The Drink. It's always about how people got to the top. Walker tells me about how a TikTok dance he did with his daughter on their front porch one day went totally viral. And that was his big break. We talked about how he worked at Costco while he was building his career. Oh, and wait till you hear what he says out loud before every single show. You can hear a lot more stories of success from top artists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries. You can find them all at NBCNews.com slash The Drink. I'm 42 and I'm dancing on TikTok. So obviously at some point I stopped caring, you know, what people thought was cool we are sitting in Osteria del Bianco of course it's no Applebee's no it's fancier this is awesome you knew I was gonna make that joke I know it's though. It's a good joke. What's your drink? Black coffee?

Black coffee. Yeah, when I eat at tables with tablecloths, I do black coffee. Walker Hayes, thank you. Hey, thanks for having me. Can we toast our coffees? Yeah, cheers to that. Good morning. Good morning.

Good morning. You just came from the Today Show Plaza. Nuts. Where you performed for the first time. You're having a year. I am. There's this little song, Fancy Light, that people might have heard of. Yeah.

How did this happen? I don't know. It's been 18 years you've been trying, right? Yeah. Yeah. It's been a long, it's a long, you know, journey to hear, which is why, you know, on mornings like today, most of the time I spent on stage, I was really having a hard time to focus on lyrics and remember words because I'm just looking around at all these people. And they're singing along. And are you like pinching yourself?

Oh, yeah, yeah. Kind of like, what am I doing here? Totally. My family, you know, is against the wall. They're about to come up and dance. And we're all pinching ourself. I've got band members that I played restaurants with 12 years ago. Thousands of people watching. Yeah, it's it's just and you're touring. It's surreal. I'm 42 and I'm dancing on TikTok.

So obviously at some point I stopped caring, you know, what people thought was cool. But then ironically, that was cool. That became cool, yeah. Yeah, who would have thought? You know, I think my team, maybe they might have been like, I don't know, you know, but with COVID, we were at home, you know, and that's all. I didn't have any cool shows to post about.

I didn't have any cool clothes. I didn't have any award shows. So you're just dancing with your kids. I just was like, look, this is what I'm doing at the house. And that's all I didn't have any cool shows to post about. I didn't have any cool clothes. I didn't have any award shows. So you're just dancing with your kids. I just was like, look, this is what I'm doing at the house. And that's all real, right? Like people might think, oh, he probably did that just to make a hit. You can't make something go viral. When TikTok was brought to me, I was like, I just figured out Instagram.

How am I supposed to do a TikTok? You know, Lila and I just, the most fun we have is making them up and learning them together. And she teaches me and we laugh. When Fancy Light came out, that was just her on a Sunday saying, Dad, it needs a dance. On the porch, right? Yeah. We did two takes. Mom posted, we just posted one. Came back from a run and I was like, whoa, Lila. I was like, look, we got like 60,000 views. And she goes, nah, that's 600,000. And I was like, man, I didn't believe it. And then that

night it hit a million easy just, and it kept going. It has been the biggest blessing. I mean, my daughter and I will have that forever. You know, we'll, we'll, she and I will look back and be like, you remember that day we posted that video and then the whole world just started doing this dance? What a precious thing to share. I want to go back. I want to understand a little bit of the evolution. You're one of nine kids, is that right?

I'm one of nine kids, blended family. Alabama. Yeah, yeah. You go to college. The way I heard it is you pick up a guitar at some point, like in high school? Yeah, yeah, I picked up a guitar in high school. I didn't like really get good at it. I just picked it up because it was cool. So Lani and I met in 11th grade, and she was a senior, actually. So I caught her, I mean, right there. But she was headed off to college.

I followed her to Birmingham Southern College. Oh, I didn't know that. I started out as a biology major and switched to piano out of nowhere. What? I know, I know. Were your parents like, hmm? Totally, thought I was crazy. I was so, in the summer of my sophomore year in college, I took a piano lesson. I took an intro.

It was like an intro to piano for people who have messed around on the piano class. Graduated with a degree in music. No anticipation that I would do it for a job or anything. Went to sell real estate with my dad. And about my second month after having my license, he booked me a gig. And it changed my life. I mean, I was terrible. The gig was terrible.

I played one Friday night. I was frightened. I just fell in love. I just, it changed my life. I was going to say, what was it? Was there a moment? I have no idea. It wasn't the applause, but it just felt so good, you know. And I called Lainey on the way home and just said, hey, you know, I think, what do you think about moving to Nashville?

And she was gung-ho. Wait, you dropped that on your girl, your fiancee at that point? Yeah, that night. You're just like, what about Nashville? Totally. And you should have heard, I mean, I dropped it on her parents at dinner with them the next Wednesday. She said yes. But, you know, we were young.

Yeah. And dreams, you could just reach out and grab them. We got in a U-Haul and drove it from our honeymoon to Nashville. So have some coffee. So when you get there, you get to Nashville. Do you immediately start writing songs and working for people or does it is it a slog? Does it take like years? So I just went to open mic nights and I realized that, Oh, these people aren't singing covers. Cause I would show up at open mic nights and be like, Oh, I'm going to sing

drift away. And then I'd chicken out and leave because everybody's saying songs they wrote. So I showed up at the blue bird one night, I played some songs I'd written and the crowd laughed, you know, they were funny. and so the crowd laughed and I became obsessed with that I mean I'm pretty sure you could you Laney could attest to this I started writing songs when I left the Bluebird that first night and I haven't quit I've talked to a lot of people with the drink, and the common theme among all of you is somebody dumped you. Somebody said no.

Somebody said you're never going to make it. Did that all happen to you? I've heard it all. I mean, I've heard your voice is mediocre. Your songs are mediocre. Were there some years where things just were really hard? Yeah. You're working at Costco, right? Career-wise, the toughest season was probably I was working at Costco.

And again, every successful person has this story. They were so kind. They hired me really fast. I worked in the cooler stocking produce. So it's super cold. Worked a jacket every day. And I just stocked it from 4 to 11 every day. In the morning?

Yeah. I would stock the cooler from 4 to 11. Then I would go and write songs. And then we'd play shows. And you'd be drinking a lot. All day. Yeah, I was an alcoholic. I started drinking when I was 13.

So drinking was always there. I came home one Saturday from Costco, and I just thought if I drink another drink, it's over. I mean, that's the only way I know how to describe it. Your health, your marriage? Health, health. Yeah, I just felt I was so tired, and I truly just, it's almost like I detested it one day which is a huge

blessing because otherwise I wouldn't have quit and you were able to just I mean we had you know I had our moments yeah and support and and then after that I have a song called a yeah yeah yeah yeah I do go to AA, yep. Yeah, but I've had a lot of support, and it's just honestly by the grace of God. But that was two years prior to us. We lost a child. We lost our seventh child. I'm really sorry.

What we gained from that loss is priceless I mean it changed it changed our lives it changed my wife and I was perspective just the fragility of life the brevity of life how precious it is how precious our kids are that they're living that moment moment, that led me to Jesus. It's a big part of your story. Yeah. Now that's all, you know, that's really all I care to share. Is having your family around essential for you to keep rising? So the first two months of Fancy Light blowing up was really hard for me because I was so accustomed. You know, we just came out of COVID.

So I was spoiled. I was with my family all the time. I was a little bit homesick. Because you're out touring. Yeah, and I told my label, I told my publisher, I said, guys, you guys will probably get paid back. This is a big song. You know, you're going to have a good paycheck.

Everybody's going to be compensated for investing in me. I think this isn't what I want to do. You know, I don't want to do this forever. Wait, you said this is. Well, I wasn't going to like walk. I just was like you were a guy. It was kind of like a careful what you wish for. Oh, my goodness moment. And thank goodness they were able to help us get a bus, even if maybe it was a little early for that. But we got a bus. Are you about to open an Applebee's in Nashville? I don't know. I don't know.

I don't know if I can disclose the ultimate plans for that. Is that a possibility? Is it a possibility? It is a possibility. Yeah, it is a possibility. And I'm gung-ho for it. Honestly, it started out as an April Fool's joke. Somebody wrote an article.

Seriously? Yeah. Like a fake article? Yeah, somebody opened up an article that said that I was tearing down some record shop and putting up an Applebee's. So just to be clear, are you in conversations with Applebee's? Oh, yeah, we're trying. I mean, it would be awesome. Can I do some rapid fire questions?

Yeah. If you're not singing country, what do you sing? If I'm not singing, I'm a rapper at heart. Yeah. Best advice you ever got? My dad used to say people judge you by how you treat people who can't help you. Your best advice to a struggling songwriter? Your first hundred don't matter.

Songwriting is a muscle. It's just like working out. You have to do it daily. And, you know, eventually the great idea with your skill level will match up and you'll produce something very special. Is it true you say hey to get yourself going? Before my show, I go, hey, like real loud, because when you're singing, you want to sing and project. Like if you're someone told me this, they said said act like your kid is going out in the street and they shouldn't and you want them to hear you.

There you go. You did it right. Walker, thank you so much. This is so great. Really appreciate it.