Right About Now with Ryan Alford - Jaren Johnston - American Country Singer-Songwriter

Episode Date: February 8, 2022

Welcome to another episode of The Radcast! In this episode on The Radcast, host Ryan Alford talks with American Country Singer-Songwriter, Jaren Johnston..Jaren talks about the musical influences that led him to love country music, he shares his journey to being Cadillac Three’s frontman and how it has changed his life.Ryan and Jaren also discuss how Jaren felt the first time he heard their Cadillac Three song playing on the radio. The challenges of writing songs for popular artists like Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, etc… Jaren also shares the Cadillac Three song he feels relatable to and the song that he thinks pulls him back to his roots. Future plans for the band and more…Learn more about The Cadillac Three: https://www.thecadillacthree.com/. Follow their instagram: @thecadillac3 and Jaren Johnston: @thejaren. If you enjoyed this episode of The Radcast, let us know by visiting our website www.theradcast.com. Check out www.theradicalformula.com Like, Share and Subscribe on our YouTube account https://bit.ly/3iHGk44 or leave us a review on Apple Podcast. Be sure to keep up with all that’s radical from @ryanalford @radical_results @the.rad.cast If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, join Ryan’s newsletter https://ryanalford.com/newsletter/ to get Ferrari level advice daily for FREE.  Learn how to build a 7 figure business from your personal brand by signing up for a FREE introduction to personal branding https://ryanalford.com/personalbranding.  Learn more by visiting our website at www.ryanisright.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel  www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford. 

Holy shit, this guy's written like 12 songs that I sing in the shower that I didn't even know were his. Like, that's what artists are supposed to do. They're not supposed to sit around and wait for somebody to say whether or not something's a hit or not. And I said, I will do this as long as you just let me kind of do my thing. And I think this will be a good partnership. And that's when you see the benefit of country radio is when you've got one in their 30s or in their 20s. And you're like, oh, wow, these are different. These aren't the same flannel-wearing old people coming to the show look at that kid he's he's 15 cool you know yep most of these guys

are you drinking every night playing yeah i'm drinking now man i know i mean me too i just finished my beer but like you're listening to the radcast. If it's radical, we cover it. Here's your host, Ryan Alford. Hey guys, what's up? Welcome to the latest edition of the Radcast. Radically country today, folks. Radically southern, I need to say. My friend, Jared Johnston. What's up, brother? Hey, man. Thanks for having me on here, dude. Hey, man. My pleasure. I've been following from afar and DMing you going, damn, I got to get that guy on there. I've fallen in love with the music. And then I'm like, holy shit, this guy's written like 12 songs that I sing in the shower that I didn't even know were his original writings.

You're a badass, man. I love it. Well, I appreciate that, man. I'm sorry I missed the, my managers wouldn't get back to you. Dude, you've gotten so big. I mean, you know, it was like – Well, I think this time of year everybody shuts down. I think they just stop looking at emails all the way.

So I just started texting you. I know. I was like, let's get out of the way here. Let's just make this happen. You're down at the beach, beaching it. I'm having a beer on a on a wednesday before uh christmas so uh you know we'll just shoot we usually start around 10 30 a.m around here with mimosas and then um get a little nap when the kid naps and then you get up and then it's time to pop some chops there we go i like it

that's what we do we go down to folly Beach in Charleston, which is my favorite spot. It's a little old, a little grungy. I like it a little crunchy around the edges. Yeah. You know, my buddy Kip Moore, he's building a house there right now in Folly. Yep. That's cool. Look at you name dropping already.

Kip Moore. Yeah, watch out. It's about to get heavy on the toes. I know. Kip Moore. Yeah, watch out. It's about to get heavy on the toes. I know. Well, cool. Jaron, let's back up a little bit for everybody. I'm sure some of our audience has heard. I know they've heard your music, whether you've written it or played it with a member of the Cadillac 3, which we'll talk about.

But let's give everybody a little bit. I know we could talk for probably two hours about your story, but maybe give us a little bit of that background and your history and what makes you such a damn good country music writer. Man, I grew up in Nashville. I was born and raised, which is kind of not the normal situation. I think they kind of call us unicorns, the people that are actually born in Nashville rather than moving to Nashville.

And I came up, you know, went to school downtown at Heme Fog. My dad was always a drummer, Grand Ole Opry. He was a drummer for a bunch of older country artists in the 80s and early 90s and then he started pitching songs which means you know like finding songs from writers and taking them to john michael montgomery or whoever and trying to get them recorded and so i saw that at a very early age and remember seeing how excited dad would get when he got a whole quote unquote a hold which means the artist or the manager liked it for whoever and i was just like kind of mesmerized by that whole thing like the equation of sitting down writing a song by yourself or with friends and then two weeks later

it's you know a recording by garth brooks or whoever You know what I mean? I just always thought that was so cool. So I kind of started touring when I was 18, playing drums for a bunch of bands. And then I started writing songs, man, and got real serious about it about 2005. And got my first publishing deal. And from then on, it's just kind of been a crazy country Western ride. Exactly. first publishing deal and from then on it's just kind of been a crazy you know country western ride

exactly what do you how do you classify your writing style i mean what's your uh obviously country but like do you think you have a certain style yeah well mine's like you know i think the reason I've had the success that I've had, or at least part of it, part of the whole game is being in the right circles and being around the right people. I think I would classify my style as just left of centers, as far left as I can get without, you know, it just I like it still to be accessible because I grew up in a time where, you know, Garth Brooks was the biggest thing in the world and it's commercial music, but it was country, you know, Hank Williams, Jr. Stuff like that, that was like Hank's on the side of like left as hell, but man, when he wants to deliver a strike, he delivers a strike.

So I think that's the fun part about the way that I try to write. And like I said, it's also like who you surround yourself with, the people that you're writing with and the people that work your songs that are working for your publishers and stuff. But yeah, I just try to go into every room with something a little different and try to do things a way that aren't expected, you know? Yeah. I like that. and it's much the creative process i own an ad agency and it's kind of the same thing when we're developing ads it's like how far can i push it you don't want to alienate mainstream but if it's different it sells you know and it's kind of the same thing with music is uh so jaron i i'm gonna make a we going to start that name-dropping thing.

I think it's at nine number one hits that you've written. Am I shortchanging you, or is that right? No. I think that's about right. It's funny. Somebody asked me that the other day, and I said seven. And my wife popped her head, and she goes,'re you're you're not she's counting that's exciting yeah dude i mean a lot of people just go hang it up on one you know but nine even if

it's just i mean you know it's funny because you always think as a songwriter you're like you always think that even when you've had success you're like and that you feel bad like canceling a right because you're like oh damn that that could have been the one that was you know girl crush or you know uh sweet home alabama you know what i mean and you're like so that's how you kind of stay in it but um yeah man i've been real lucky and um so i mean i'm proud of the proud of those those hits too it's it's it's pretty fun to be driving down the road here in florida and hear beach in or here sunshine and whiskey you're like oh that's cool you know and nobody around me knows any of the any other cars that i'm the one that wrote yep frankie ballard sunshine whiskey that's a real

newer one right i might be Is that your newest one? No, that was a while back. I think my newest one was American Country Love Song, Jake Owen. There we go. Jake Owen. I like his stuff. Beach Inn was awesome. That's still my go-to.

I got my three country playlists. I got my old faves, my new faves, and my, you know, I need just some country music faves. Those are my three country playlists. Beechin's on there. There was at least, once I started going through all your songs, there was like five songs on here. Damn. And look. The ironic thing about Beechin was that the Beechin song bought this beach house. Thanks, Jake. Thanks, Jake. Hey, I like that. Since you went there, it's funny. We're a business and marketing podcast, but we've gotten to the point where I also just get to cherry pick the people that I

admire and see from afar and just want to learn more about uh the business of country music you know you've been in it for a while i mean oh five like you said maybe getting your feet really into it with the songwriting i mean you've seen a lot of change right can you talk about some of that what the biz like that That journey of the business side of it? I mean, it seems pretty cutthroat from the outside. It can be pretty brutal. Like an example, I started in 2005. That's when I got my first publishing deal, making $30,000 a year.

I had to turn in 10 songs a year, which is 10, a hundred percent songs. Meaning like if it's a two way counts as half of one, you know what I mean? Or three way, but so on and so forth. And that,

and it was a co-pub deal, which means I own half, they own half. So that's a pretty good deal coming into the game. And my publisher was a really nice guy. He helped me out. So it wasn't until 2010 late 2010 where i had my first number one that's five years you know like and there would be a couple

songs that got recorded in in between there but you're not really seeing money from that unless it's on the radio so um you're living off that publishing you know the 30 grand a year and you're trying to keep that deal every year too which is if you're not getting a bunch of stuff going on, it's tough. Now, I had the luck and the blessing of being also like what they call triple threat. So I was writing for other people. I had my own band with a record deal in Warner Brothers at the time called American Bang. And I also was producing a little bit of stuff. So there's many irons on the fire there as far as business speaking.

And I try to look at it still that way. I mean, there's a lot of busy cats in Nashville, but I would say right now, I mean, with the Cadillac 3, all the touring, the production work, I'm producing Kip Moore's new record. I just did Sam Williams' record and a bunch of stuff like that. And then also the writing every day. It's pretty crazy. But if one thing's not doing as well,

you got something to follow on the other side. When COVID hit, we couldn't tour. Yeah, when COVID hit, we couldn't tour. So I have songwriting and production work to back to fall back on um and so that's kind of a you know but yeah as far as Nashville and the business side of things it you know and I've seen it change like you were saying so drastically in the last five years where a lot of the songwriters are moving to town and they're primarily track guys which means means they, they, you know,

they run the tracks and they play a, they build a track and you top on it. Meaning they, they got this, Hey man, I got this groove. Boom, boom, chicka-doom, doom, doom, chicka-doom. And I'm like, cool. And I go, there's a truck and a dog and a something on a dog. And then, and then a song was born, but you got all these track guys where you're, you know, it's, it's, it's a little tougher to compete with because I run tracks and stuff too, but I also top line.

So you've just got more people in the game. So it's just like in this house market in Nashville. You know what I mean? It's just getting so packed with competition. It's gotten harder. It's a crazy game, man. Is it like this? there pressure can you get right i would think look nashville's so damn hot you know and country music's so hot like in you know

popularity and everything it just seems like you could get caught up in that rat race and i don't know get swallowed whole maybe trying to like you you know, do your own thing, be your own artist, but also having the realities of that. I don't know the business. And I don't it's not even just a competition. I would just think there's I don't know, there's got to be some backstabbing. I don't know. I don't I'm not trying to pull drama out of something that's not drama. But I just would think with all that's going on, it just would be cutthroat.

would think with all that's going on, it just would be cutthroat. Oh, man. Every time I turn the radio on, I hear something, whether it's a guitar lick or a lyric that's in one of my songs. It happens a lot. You'll hear something. I'm not going to do the names, but the other day I heard something, and it's one of the biggest songs. It's going to be one of the biggest songs on country radio this year,

probably. And it's a direct ripoff of the biggest songs on country radio this year, probably. And it's a direct rip off of an old Cadillac 3 song. Wow. Because a lot of these guys that are big now, when we started in 2011, they were going to whiskey jams in Nashville. They were going to writers rounds in Nashville. They were coming to Cadillac shows. They were doing it. So you're hearing a lot of that.

Nashville they were coming to Cadillac shows they were doing so you're hearing a lot of that and that's also a way to see like how you've affected or influenced a market or genre which is kind of fun but at the same time you're like okay all right okay a little two combs yeah I thought that's who you were talking about and then uh yeah oh yeah yeah it's There's a lot of that. It's probably that fine line of flattery and what's the word? Suing. Yes. Lawyering. There's a lot of those going on, man. There's three or four lawsuit kind of things going on over songs right now that some of my friends are dealing with.

And it's not fun, man, because once you go down that road, it's hard to come back friendship-wise. You know what I mean? And as big as Nashville is getting, it's still a very small town in that community. Yep, I bet. And the only people that tend to make money in those is the lawyers by the time it all

gets settled yeah then it's just everybody's mad at each other everybody's broke that's right that's right talk to me about uh i want to talk about cadillac three some uh and i know you had a progression with the bands but you know i'm going to be selfish because i like cadillac three and they're fucking mad ass that's you thanks man and no i mean i like i think i 3 and they're fucking badass. That's you. Thanks, man. I think I played, and I think I put it on the teaser on my story yesterday, long after the laugh call. It's on steady repeat seven times a day now in the car. I don't know what it is about that song. I don't know what the sound is, but that is just, it's got a vibe.

And I think Cadillac 3 is a vibe. Literally. Well, that's what's fun about Cadillac is, like, you can go do songs like that, you know, that are a little bit more. You know, I wrote that song in, like, 2014 by myself down the road in a little room, and it just kind of resurfaced where I'd always kind of liked it, and nobody recorded it. I pitched it to Dierks.

I pitched it to everybody. Kenny Chesney, Keith, and Jake at one point. And nobody ever bid on it. And I was just always like, man, I'm going to put this. I'm going to stick this on the Country Fuzz record, the last song, and just see if anybody reacts to it. My wife is actually the only one that doesn't really like that song. Really? Why would you like it there's something about the melody or the way i sing it

or something i don't know but she's you know she's the best judge of that stuff usually well i've played it for 10 people now that don't know cadillac three and every every one of them's playing it now so uh oh that's good no it's a jam in its own way it's mellow but it's not like put me to sleep mellow it's more like thoughtful and i don't know it's right i call it riding down the road music and uh i had it on at a party last night and it was well received so a very mellow party well it was just we turned it up loud though we were sitting on drinking wine we were drinking wine and watching black and white movies on silent and listening to Long After Last Call.

It's all how loud you turn it up. It is. No, but talk about Cadillac 3, you know, influences, like, you know, kind of the history of the band, and like, you know, I know you guys got a tour next year, maybe build into that. Yeah. Um, the, the Cadillac three started in 2011 after a terrible falling out with Warner

Brothers records and our last band, the American bang band. Um, and basically we got dropped from the label in 2010, like December and in January 2nd, we were in the studio with dave cobb doing the first cadillac record and just the three of us and um it was kind of a no rules thing because you know we've been pulled in so many directions by the anr staff at warner brothers and the president of the company and this band was going to be okay this is my way this is the only way we're doing this I'm writing the songs I want to write we wrote 11

songs in like two weeks and did the record like that's what artists are supposed to do they're not supposed to sit around and wait for somebody to say whether or not something's a hit or not you know and I think a lot of artists in town dirks dirks being one and eric church being one heard that record and saw they i'd known them for a while you know through songwriting community but um like they kind of respected how we bounced back and did something really cool on our own by ourselves and it was cool sign it was a different sound it was guitar drums and lap still and you know i didn't i hadn't heard of anybody else really doing that and um we started touring on our own man we got in a van

again no trailer all the gear in the back of the van and back and forth to texas chicago florida south carolina atlanta chattanooga memphis and did that for two and a half years and built up our own fan base the old school way and got it to a point to where it was big enough but we couldn't get any bigger unless we brought in the right partners and so that this I know this is a business podcast so it's like if you look at it like that that's when we started really looking at it you know those two years in after two years we were all on salary making 50 60 grand a year and because we weren't having to pay anybody you know what i mean and we were driving ourselves so i um we had a couple different interests in town warner brothers ironically

full circle and uh yeah then i get a call one day from Big Machine President Scott Brachetta. And he said, hey, what are you guys doing next weekend? I said, we're actually off. And he said, will you fly down? Can I fly you down to Cancun so you can meet the label, play for us, and tell us how you want to do this? I said, oh, that's a pretty cool way of courting an artist. So I said, sure.

So we go down there and met everybody. And they loved the music, loved, sure. So we go down there and met everybody and you know, they, they loved the music, loved the mindset. And you know, we stick out, I don't know if you're familiar with their roster, but we stick out like a sore thumb at the time it was, um, Rascal flats and Taylor Swift and you know, the band Perry, Thomas Rhett. And so we, I thought it was really cool because, you know, he, me and Scott shook hands and I said, I will do this.

As long as you just let me kind of do my thing. And I think this will be a good partnership. And so we signed a big machine, brought on a manager out of Texas for the time. And we, we got to work, man. And I said, he said, how do you want to do it? I said, well, I'm sick of driving myself. So we need a, um, either a sprinter van or something and a tour manager. And so he paid for that, bought us that and got us on the road in a way that was a little easier on us

because we could sleep in the back and stuff. And, um, next thing you know, man, we're, you know, putting songs on the radio and doing pretty good. And that's when you see the benefit of country radio is when you've got one in the 30s or in the 20s. And you're like, oh, wow, these are different. These aren't the same flannel-wearing old people coming to the show. There's some girls in the crowd. Look at that kid. He's 15.

Cool. Yep. The only way he was hearing you was on the radio. Yeah. So we started hearing that. And then that's also right about then we did like the Nashville show where we got on there with Connie Britton and all the, the,

uh, whatever it was called Nashville, but we were on there. And so at that point you get to where you're like, you're getting recognized at pilots and flying J's at four in the morning by truck drivers or, and so you get a little bit, get a little bit of that. And then from then on, man,

we got really lucky with the Florida Georgia line guys took us out for a year. Dierks took us out for a year. Eric took us out for a year. And then now it's gotten worldwide and we're, we're doing something really cool and we don't have a lot of radio help these days. So it's kind of like, it's, it's gotten worldwide man we're we're doing something really cool and we don't have a lot of radio help these days so it's kind of like it's it's still we're keeping that same mindset from the beginning we're doing it our way and building it and um it's it's it's a lot of fun because me and kelby and neil the other guys in the band we all grew up together in nashville and there's there's none of that in town you know there's none of that that most bands are either put together

or they meet each other in a songwriting room and decide to become a duo you know what i mean yep no man you guys did it the old school way you know growing the following organically and then it's exhausting the hard way you know didn't have uh all the shortcuts the but the uh talk about the uh how is it on the road i mean is it do you you have to love it and i don't know i wouldn't say hate it but it's is it a love-hate relationship well in 2014 it is different now that i have a kid i will say that neil's got a little baby girl too um but we love it because we've always done it and there's something about the three of us and when we leave the bus and hit the stage it's there's there's a fire that you don't really get in a lot of other things you do you know i could probably

uh relate it to like or compare it to like a football game or you know or like a yeah you're going on stay or like a wrestling match you know yeah coming to the ring yeah pretty pretty much and then you get you kind of get into that whole world and it's it's a lot of fun i think in 2014 when we got out of the um the vans and everything and pretty much decided we were going to be on a bus all the time that was a little easier on us so it it changed uh travel that's what makes that whole thing so hard a lot of times is the is if you're you know you're you're traveling hard like a lot of dates and you're having to do all the work you know you're not getting good night's sleep stuff like that so i mean it's like we don't go anywhere without the bus we have buses in

the uk europe and everything as well and And it's like, it made it. That's when we all kind of looked around each other and we were like, all right, we can do this. You know what I mean? So the road's a lot of fun. And we've got a studio on the back of our bus here in the States. And so I work a lot on the road, too. Because you get to the venue that morning, you travel overnight, and you have all day to do whatever. Usually find a mexican restaurant

usually uh write a song get a nap go for a run whatever you know what i mean so it's it's a lot of fun man that's cool the uh i guess once it's in your blood and i could you know certainly see i played sports i don't know that it was ever at the level that was you know coming out the thousands of fans screaming but it was high enough to get the the juices going to kind of see what that buzz was but i mean i gotta ask you this question i've always wanted this and i've had other artists on i've never asked what percent you can answer this for for yourself or for others like how many people are drinking the entire night they play? Like, are most of these guys, are you drinking every night playing? Like, are most artists?

Yeah, I'm drinking now, man. I know. I mean, me too. I just finished my beer. But, like, you know, like, is that – that's just part of it, right? I mean, like, it's just the lifestyle. I'll give you a night's rundown. All right.

It'll be – I want it. You know, we play Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and usually home 9 a.m. Sunday morning, right? Leave Wednesday night at midnight on the bus. And then I would say, you know, if we go on at 9, let's say 9.15. All right. At 8.15 on the dot, me, this is just my own thing. Your ritual.

Red Bull Tito's and Red Bull vodka, or Tito's and Red Bull. I have one of those, see how I'm feeling. Then I make a tall one for the stage. Nice choice. And we go on and you're fired up because Red Bull gives you wings. Yep. And the vodka makes you not talk or it makes you not overthink the lyrics.

So you don't forget that. So it's a nice combo. It's a good combo. And then, yeah. And then, uh, my tour manager makes me one halfway through the show and then we get done. We just sit around, drink beer and talk about what we did right or what we did wrong. And, but yeah, I would say, you know, there's people like, like, you know, Dierks will probably have like one beer if, if anything, when he goes on, he used to drink a little bit more, but like Eric's the whiskey guy, you know, Dierks will probably have like one beer if anything when he goes on.

He used to drink a little bit more, but like Eric's the whiskey guy. You know, Keith's sober, so Keith doesn't drink anything on there, and he puts on a hell of a show. So I think it's a little different for everybody. And obviously that whole situation changes the older you get, I would imagine. But yeah, man, it's, it's usually a pretty, pretty rowdy situation for the, the, the whole, you know, time you're out. Hey man, the Cadillac three, I mean the whole vibe, dude, you gotta, it's like, I'd almost been disappointed if you hadn't told me that, uh, I kind of assumed and the Red Bull thing, I can, I can relate to keep your energy up, but yet the vodka, you know, it was my drink of choice, you know, when I was single, you know.

Yeah. You were a little jacked up, but the alcohol kind of mellowed it out, so you had it all together, you know. Yeah, it's probably not the best thing for my parental unit, but it's, you know. It is what it is. What's the marketing for you guys? So, you know for you guys? You guys are doing it different.

You've cranked out, what, two albums here in the last year and a half or so? You guys are crushing albums out like anyone else that always is trying to ride one single into a five-song EP. You guys are putting out two albums and but not chasing the singles so i mean like what's the marketing kind of you know the the singles kind of carry everybody now right from marketing yeah and stuff but what's i mean you guys i guess just that organic following and you know living you know keeping your fans happy i mean what's your kind of approach on that on the marketing side and i know you a team that manages it, but I'm sure you all talk about it. Yeah, it's, I mean, it stays back to that whole,

it goes all the way back to the 2011 thing I was talking about where, you know, our approach was always going to be do it our way, word of mouth, hit the streets, you know, worldwide. Go to Europe and UK as many times as we can every year. The, you know, there's something to be said for a loyal, I mean, a lot of these guys and girls coming out now that, let's say they have a number one hit, can't sell 500 tickets in their hometown.

You know what I mean? And that's not doing anything for anybody. So I think that ours is more content, less directing one thing at one thing, like a single to radio, which, let's be honest, everything we kind of do is, you know, it's left, man. And we're doing it on purpose. you know, it's left, man. And it's, we're doing it on purpose. There's that mentality. I think that if we build it so big at one point, radio won't be able to not play it because it's, you know, the fans want it, the country fans want it. And even if it's like a rock thing, you know,

we've kind of leaned a little bit more rock some and this new record, we're about to start a new one next month've kind of leaned a little bit more rock some and this new record we're about to start a new one um next month and it's leaning a little bit more rock but it's like you know i'm not mad at a rock station in cincinnati playing it you know because it's all the same thing so i think our our idea for marketing is as many irons on the fire put out putting out more records and songs and videos and all that stuff and touring as much as you can. It's more irons on the fire. Every one of them is going to do something for you. So I believe in that one for our particular situation. You know, like for some of these kids out doing it now, that wouldn't work. You know what I mean? Because they don't sound any different from Thomas Rhett or whoever to make a dent without that radio single.

But, you know, that thing about 500 tickets in your hometown, if you can't do that, that's somebody in your team is doing it wrong. Like we just did two headlining sold out shows at the Ramen in Nashville. That's twenty five hundred tickets each night. And that's realistically 20 years of kicking ass and working for it. And 11 specifically with this band or 10 with this, with this band. So, you know, there's, there's, I don't think there's, there's maybe six or seven other country artists in town that could probably do two nights of the ramen and sell it out that are at our level.

You know what I mean? Right. I think there's something. We're doing something, right? I don't know. Clearly, but I think it starts with the music. I mean, that's the bottom line. I hope so because that's the easy part.

That's the fun part. Well, you're playing the game, right? You're getting content out there a lot. That's why you called my own social once I kind of heard you and and through the grapevine and all that it's funny i had coffee anderson i don't know if you've heard of him who's 100 independent out of texas he was on netflix and to this day doesn't have a record deal but i think makes more more money than a lot of uh the b-level you know national guys those texas dudes man they don't mess around with i think he's from texas yeah he is i think he spent some time in california but he's i think he's

originally texas yeah and he's there now he yeah i met him i was in the studio i was doing chris shifflett from the foo fighters we're making a record together and we walked out of the vocal room and coffee was standing there and you know he's a big guy dude six six something and i just hear like hey jaron uh kofi you know and he puts his hand i was like hey man you know i had no idea um and so we sat there and talked for a minute really super guy seems very smart um but yeah the the texas thing is so interesting because we did a lot of going back and forth to texas in the beginning trying to build something down there um and texas is texas if you're from texas you know then they'll they'll listen to it it could be even terrible music but they'll represent it because it's texas yeah um but i remember

talking to randy rogers one day on the road and he told me what he made in one year, just in Texas alone. And I said, dude, and he was, at the time he had a record deal in Nashville. He was going back and trying to do the radio thing. I was like, dude, what are you doing? I would not leave the house. If I made that much money in one year and once and didn't have to leave Tennessee, Holy shit, man man and he was just like oh man you know I was like well obviously you don't know what people are making in Nashville because

you're way ahead of the game bro yeah I think it's being spread thin with all the I don't know the sea there's a sea of sameness a little bit like you said going on that's the only negative I like that country's gotten more mainstream a little bit and all that but it's i don't know some of the stuff i'm i'm kind of having to look and remind myself who it sounds like the same thing i heard on the last one but you don't well that's why you have three playlists that's why you had the one yeah well hey the cool thing about the cool thing about the country john i've told somebody this on um else. It's neat because you've got room. You've got room for a guy like Eric Church, who's doing his own thing. Could be a little heavier, could be whatever.

Still country, you know, as it gets with that tenor voice, his delivery and the songwriting. And then you've got room for Sam Hunt, who's taking his approach, who's doing the more talky kind of thing but you know beachin was like that too it's like talking in the verses and all that stuff and then you have room you have room for us a band that's just completely off the map and but every now and then hits you with something that makes a little bit a little bit of sense to be in the genre um but it's interesting that's what i like about country music there's

just so much so much you know different that there's just different takes on it i guess you know like kip moore's bruce springsteen you know like that kind of lane it's it's neat everybody kind of has a lane it's pretty fun yeah and i know you mentioned it and you know you uh maybe you don't self-promote as much as I'd like for you to. But that Sam Williams album is pretty fire. Oh, thanks, man. Yeah, I really enjoyed that. Different.

He's great, man. He's a real talented guy. Yeah, man. He was real easy to work with, too. Glass Houses, something. Is that? Yeah, man. I've been digging that.

A lot of people don't know that he's Hank Williams Jr.'s youngest son. Yeah, man. I've been digging that. A lot of people don't know that he's Hank Williams Jr.'s youngest son. Yeah, man. And if you look at that guy, don't see Hank Sr. Oh, God. He looks just like him. Just like him. Yeah, he's a good dude. Yeah, man.

I've been enjoying that. I caught it on your feed. I don't know, a couple months ago, you posted that I guess you'd produced or whatever. I'm like, all right. And then I'm like, damn, he doesn't look like sam william he that's a he you can't you can't fight your own own he's got his own uh lane you know what i mean it didn't sound i mean there's a little tyler childers and they're just vocal similarities but he's kind of doing his own you know take on and it's and it's

really cool because it's super unexpected because, I mean, coming out, you remember when Shooter came out, Shooter Jennings? Yeah. You know, that first record, he sounded like Waylon. You know what I mean? So it's like, and now Shooter's got his own lane. It's really cool. There's a couple people doing some really cool stuff.

It's just a little harder. It takes a little longer to get there, I think. Yeah, and his is, I almost call it alternative country. I mean, like, you know, I almost call it alternative country. I mean like, you know, I don't know that that's the right bucket, but that's almost where I put him, you know, like. Yeah. I mean, and they should be, they should really do that. I mean, I know a lot of people point those people towards Americana.

Yeah. I think there should be an alternative country. I don't know, situation. I think there should be a Grammy for it. I think there should be a CMA for it. There should be an ACM for it. Canada does it. Canada has its own genre and it's alternative country and they give awards for it. I mean, I think if that happened, man, that would, and they had alternative country radio stations, as many as they had real old bud here being a bigger beach house. You never, never say never, uh, never say never is, um,

what's your, uh, favorite bar in Nashville? You never say never. Never say never. What's your favorite bar in Nashville? Oh, goodness. Well, I haven't been to one in two years, really, because it's terrifying down there. But I can tell you we used to really love the Red Door down there. But, you know, it's like a bar scene in Nashville is kind of tough because you can't once you get to be certain level like i call myself d plus famous yeah in nashville in nashville are you pretty

known yeah i would think yeah and so you can't go you can't really go do that like you used to um people just won't leave you alone yeah they won't leave you alone. Yeah, they won't leave you alone, and it's, you know, especially now that I'm back. I think I lost you. Oh, there we go. Okay, we're back. We're back. Yeah, you can pick it back up. It's a little different.

A little different. You would like to think, I don't know, that Nashville would be cool enough that people would like, but I guess there's just so many tourists or whatever. It's the tourists. Yeah. Yeah. And they don't see, you know, say me and Dierks or whoever,

Jake, go get a beer. Yeah. They don't see that every day. And so, you know, it's like, it's interesting. But I mean, Red Door was always great. That's a good bar. I used to really love Springwater and Gold Rush. It's not there anymore.

They torn down a lot of the old good ones that we used to go to. Yeah. What about, I know you brought up Luke. I was going to ask you, you know, your opinion on a couple of guys. Like, I'm not asking you to talk shit.'m just saying like no you're good like morgan morgan whale i mean these guys that are seemingly the hot the hot of the hot at least on the i don't know radio stations it seems like you know luke and morgan i mean morgan keep himself out of trouble he would no tell him where he can go yeah that's that's kind of just i've known him a long

time he's you know it is what it is it's that i have a feeling i hope he does well i hope the best for him and i hope he keeps his nose clean but you know you kind of just think it's only a matter of time but i mean um i know his team's watching it pretty good and he's trying so he's talented dude he's i think he's one of the better singers in town um and he's cutting great songs he's he's a good writer i've written a couple with him he's you know and you know it's it's that thing he got big so quick that i think that his 27 year old mind or whatever could not handle it and so so you can see when that happens, you know, Kings of Leon guys got big like that really quick.

Yeah. And we kind of saw that cause we were coming up the same time. I think, you know, I'm friends with all those, all those guys that most of them are really good. There's a couple, you know, that are drinking their own Kool-Aid a little, a little too much, but what are you going to do? You know, it's like you play the game with them and, oh, yeah, okay, cool, you know.

Whatever. I think the biggest country star coming for 2022 is going to be Hardy. Yeah. I think he's going to pass all of them. He's a badass. Yeah, he's great. I think he's probably one of the top Five talented

Talent wise songwriters in Nashville I love that album And I still like Just used to bringing his name up I've got like I got dirt in my boots That song Because that was different too Had almost like a rock riff to it

I can't sing, but you know. You know what I'm talking about. You'll hear a lot of those riffs. That thing I was talking about earlier, if you go back to listen to some old Cadillac riffs, you might hear something in some parties. Uh-oh. But he's awesome.

I talked to him this morning. So he's a great dude. That's cool. So, Jaron, as we wrap up a little bit here, man, I want to get you back to your lovely family. awesome i actually i talked to him this morning so he's he's great dude that's cool so uh jaron as we wrap up a little bit here man i don't want to keep you i want to get you back to your uh lovely family is uh i mean when it's all said and done like what tell me the the book cover for jaron like what's what do you want what do you want people to or maybe not the book cover the sentence the two sentences like what what kind of legacy are we trying to leave?

I mean, you know, it's tough to wrap that up with a bow on it because there's so much stuff that we've done and there's so much stuff that I still want to do. you like to think that it's kind of like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, you know, or something. Use them where Tom Petty, you know, did so much, like with the band, wrote great songs for other people, did crazy things like with Johnny Cash and toured Dylan's band and, you know, they had a beautiful family and all that stuff. Uh, I mean, I think that's the kind of thing. I think Dave Grohl has kind of also done something similar where it's kind of

like the life that people like me try to strive for, you know, on a family level and then on a professional career level, you know, those guys pretty much done everything you can do. And so that's kind of, you know, that's, that's, that probably, that'd probably be the little sentence. He did everything. He did everything he could do, you know, that kind of thing, you know? Yeah, man. Well, you're super talented and a super cool dude. And I couldn't be more thankful for you coming on the show, man. Thanks for having me, man.

It's been a blast. Yeah, man. Let's stay in touch. I'll, uh, I know we can't grab a beer cause you'll get Bob, but we'll,

uh, I guess Nashville. I'm going to text you and maybe we can at least, uh, you know, catch up or something. Let's do it, man.

I'll take you to dinner. I got you. All right, Jaron. All right. Hey guys, you know where to find us. We're at the radcast.com.

Search for Jaron, search for all things in this episode. We'll have all the where to find us. We're at theradcast.com. Search for Jaren. Search for all things from this episode. We'll have all the highlight clips and more. I'm Matt Ryan, offering on all platforms. See you next time on the Radcast.