Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Jason Aldean

Episode Date: August 26, 2018

Jason Aldean isn’t just one of the biggest names in country, he’s one of the biggest names in all of music. His latest album “Rearview Town” debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, knocking Cardi B out of the top spot. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist met up with the country superstar on tour to talk about his long journey through Nashville, his unique sound, and how he’s coping after the Las Vegas shooting nearly a year ago. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What's going on, guys? It's Willie Geiss back with another edition of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Thank you so much for clicking. We've got a good one for you today. One of the biggest stars in all of music and not just country music. I'm talking about all of music. Jason Aldeen. He was here in New York City for a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. And we got together before the show. We sat in the arena. We went a little backstage with him. I think you're going to like our conversation. Man, his album, this new one, Rearview Town, new-ish, the last couple of months, when it hit number one on the overall chart, not the country chart, the overall chart, it was the fourth time in a row that he had done that.

So he has kind of transcended at this point, country music. He knocked Cardi B out of the top spot just to put it in some perspective. He's got 20 number one singles. He's done songs with Ludacris. He's done songs with Kelly Clarkson. And of course, he's done songs that are core to his country sound. He's from Macon, Georgia. You'll hear about his journey.

He was like so many of these men and women. in this business that I talk to, whether they're movie stars or musicians, they get this close to giving up on it, and then something intervenes, and the rest becomes history. He, of course, and we get into this a bunch, you'll hear in just a minute, was on stage last year in October in Las Vegas at the Outdoor Music Festival when a man began to rain shots down from a hotel room into a crowd, killing 58 people, wounding almost a thousand more, just country music fans, out to watch his show and Jason Aldine was the guy up on stage

when it started. You'll hear him talk about that day what it's been like to live with that after, how he pays tribute to the victims, how he visits them. He's going to be back in Las Vegas next month doing a show. He talks about what that will be like and he talks about having that as just part of his bio

how people will remember him. Nothing obviously he could have ever predicted and certainly never anything he would have asked for but he knows it's part of who he is now. A great conversation with, as I say, one of the biggest stars in all of music, Jason Aldine right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Thanks for doing this, man.

Yeah, no problem. We were talking a minute ago about driving down 7th Avenue, as I was a few minutes ago, looking up at the marquee for Madison Square Garden and seeing Jason Aldine sold out tonight. Yeah. What does that feel like to you? It's amazing.

I mean, you know, we were talking earlier, I think for the longest time, it was a little stigma in Nashville about playing in New York because there wasn't a country music radio station here. And I think, you know, it kind of had this thing where people were a little nervous to come here and play. And to be able to come here now and not only come here and play a show, but come here to Madison Square Garden, one of the most, you know, iconic buildings that we can play. And to sell it out.

I mean, that means a lot to me for sure. Yeah, you walk through the hallway down here and you see pictures of Elvis and Elton John and the Rolling Stones in the 1970s. It must be a crazy thing for a guy from making Georgia to learn how to play guitar in his dad's living room. Yeah, it is. I mean, you know, everything that sort of happened for me over the years has been, you know, beyond anything that I could have ever dreamed up.

You know, I mean, when this all started, I learned to play guitar and, you know, because I wanted to sing with my dad and my uncle. You know, they used to get in the living room and, you know, sing together, and I thought it was cool and wanted to sing with them. And that was kind of how it started, and it went from there to,

you know, just, you know, wanting to get on stage and, and then once I started playing music and realizing that I liked it and I enjoyed it, it was like, all right, well, man, this would be a cool hobby. And, you know, and then it was like, well, maybe I could make a living out of this, you know, and then for that to turn into what it has, it's just been, like, unbelievable. How do you account for country music blowing up to a point where you can sell this building out and Luke can come in and sell this building out and men and women from all over your genre can sell it out because it's happened relatively recently. I mean, I think it's fans.

I mean, that's what it boils down to is country music fans, in my opinion, are some of the most loyal, rabid fans there are. And I've always said, you know, when a country music fan, when they find an artist they like, you know, it's not like a lot of different genres where, you know, somebody will get hot for a minute and people love that artist and then they kind of move on to the next thing when it gets. It's hot. You know, country music fans, they find an artist they like. And, you know, they latch on and sort of hang on for the ride for that whole career

of that artist. And, you know, and I think that's the difference in country music to me. And, you know, we see it every night. I mean, I see people now, you know, at my shows that I saw back in 2005 when we were just getting started playing clubs, you know, and they've been coming every single year. And, you know, and I think that's a difference. You know, it's your album, your current album, Rivertown, which you're touring to support right now, went to number one not just on the country chart, but again for the fourth time,

number one overall on the Billboard chart. To see you up there with Cardi B and Drake and knocking them off from their number one albums, that's kind of also be a crazy thing, where you're not just the best in your genre in terms of sales, but in all of music. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I mean, I don't know how anybody else looks at this, but for me, I mean, if you're going to do something, I mean, I think you want to be the best you could possibly be at it. You know, that being said, I mean, when we record albums and put them out, you know, obviously I want them to do well.

And, you know, there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of other artists out there right now. A lot of competition out there as far as fighting for, you know, chart positions and all those kind of things. And so, you know, I think it's somewhat a little bit out of your control, you know, but I think I'm a firm believer. And if you go in and you put out a great album and great songs and all those kind of things, everything else kind of takes care of itself, you know, and, you know, and I would put country music up against anything, man. I mean, R&B, hip-hop, pop, whatever you want to put it up against. I mean, I think that, you know, we got just as much heat in country music as far as, you know,

selling records and things like that as anybody. So let's talk about the new album. Well, it's new-ish album. What did you want to do on Rearview? Because I read some interesting interviews where you said, you said, you. went back and looked at the last couple of albums, and they did well, and you liked them, but you felt like maybe you got kind of complacent

at certain points? Well, yeah, I mean, I think, you know, with Riverview Town, I mean, it was our eighth album. And so I went back and I looked at the two previous albums, and even though there was some things on there that I thought were really cool and some great songs, just the album as a whole, I felt like I sort of, I don't know, I just don't feel like,

I didn't feel like I had sort of pushed myself that hard, you know, where on the previous albums, we were, you know, really kind of trying new things and, I don't know, just kind of going down different avenues that hadn't really been gone down before, you know. We were sort of trailblazing for country music, you know, and I felt like on these last couple of albums, I don't know, I just felt like I kind of started to play it safe a little bit and really didn't pay attention to those things. And so with this album, you know, it was back to more focusing on that. and really, you know, paying attention to detail and recording great songs, number one.

And, you know, I think for me, a lot of times people are used to us coming out with these real up-tempo, you know, this hybrid of country and Southern rock and rock and roll. And so to go back and really drop some really old school traditional, you know, country songs on this record, to me was cool, you know, it's like this vintage sound that we've done a little bit in the past,

but not like this. And the lead single, you make it easy being, you know, having a little bit more of a blues vibe. Yeah. You know, so to me it was just paying more attention of those things and me not feeling like, man, this is a record, this sounds just like the last two records we made, you know, and, you know, and I think when you do that

and you pay attention, for me getting focused on that, you know, obviously when the album comes out, you can see that the reaction's different, you know, people are interested in it and it just gets a completely different reaction than an average. album that's just it's good but it's not game-changing you know and so and I think as an artist I mean every album you put out you want it to be a game-changer you know you want to feel like you're you're moving forward and trying new things and and sort of you know I don't know and I

just didn't feel like we had done that with these previous two albums up until this one we talked about the expansion of country music where you can sell out a place like this and other artists can and you get a lot of credit for that when you ask people doing collaborations with ludicrous or Kelly Clarkson or whatever it is. Is that something you think about strategically as an artist? How can I grow my audience by doing a song that people might not expect with ludicrous on a country song? Yeah, I mean, I think, you know,

I love working with other artists, always have. And, you know, but I also think that the song has to be right. You know, I think a lot of times you, you know, you hear these songs and you see these artists that are put together and you're just like, you know, just doesn't feel right to me, you know. And I think a lot of times, for me, it's listen to the song. I mean, when I had, don't you want to stay, we started talking about having a

female voice on it. And so, you know, I just kept listening and I'm like, who, what female would crush this, you know? And first, the first person I thought of was Kelly. And so I just, I love her voice. I thought she would just, you know, sound amazing on the song. The only thing I didn't know is how well our voices would blend. Right. You really don't know that until you get in studio. So, you know, but I thought that was great. And then, you know, Dirt Road was one of those things where we were throwing around ideas and ludicrous came, you know, came up and my first thing was, you know,

I don't know, you know, why don't we have him write a verse and see what happens, you know, just see, because I don't know. And so he took the song, went and wrote his verse and sent it back and I was like, this is awesome, you know. And so, you know, I think things like that, I mean, I think it has to happen sometimes naturally a little bit, you know, but. But I'm always looking at that.

I mean, always looking for artists to collaborate with. We have, you know, a collaboration with Miranda Lambert on this album. And Miranda and I had done something actually on my second album. And it was a song called Grown Woman. And I always thought our voices sounded really amazing together. Like, our voices blend really well. And so I'd been wanting to do something else with her. And so Drowns of Whiskey was one of those real traditional country songs.

And I know that's her thing. You know, she loves those kind of things. So I sent it to her and, you know, she got in the studio and it was like, you know, magic. So it's, you know, but I love doing those things and I'm always open to that for sure if it's the right thing. Her harmony on that chorus is just, it's perfect. It makes sense the second you hear it. I also heard during that video shoot you all were actually drinking whiskey because a lot of people don't realize sometimes it's apple juice, sometimes it's sweet tea. Yeah.

You went for the real thing. Yeah, we figured we were just sitting around, man, and video shoots are, you know, it's a long day. So you're sitting around and there's a little. a lot of just sitting around being bored. And so we were like, all right, we may have 10 minutes here where we get to shoot these scenes where we're drinking. Let's just go for it, you know. So we did.

It was fun. Makes the video shoot go quicker. It does, unless you have to do seven or eight takes and all of a sudden you've had a few drinks. Well, then you don't care how long it is. You don't care how long the day at that point. A lot of people, I think, don't realize about your trip through Nashville either that you got there when you were 21 years old.

And then it took you seven years from there to put out your first album. Yeah. What were those seven years like for you? Was it frustrating? Was it exciting? You know, it was a lot of different, you know, emotions and things for me at that time. I mean, I was 21. I moved to Nashville.

And I mean, literally two months later, I got offered my first record deal. And so the label that was going to sign me ended up closing down. And the guy that was there that wanted to sign me, he went to another, you know, ended up getting hired at another record company. And so like the following year, he still was interested in signed me there. I'll sign the Capitol Records for about a year and got dropped before I ever even cut one song for them. So I never even went in the studio. I was just signed to the label for a year.

And so that happened. And then once I got dropped from Capitol, you know, that was kind of where it got a little tough because it was like, you know, all of a sudden, you know, it became really hard for us to get any interest from any. And I don't know if it was because I had been dropped and people just didn't know, well, there must be a reason he got dropped. Like what, you know, like there was something bad, like attached to me or something, you know, I don't know. But it just, it was really hard. And so to the point of, I mean, we just couldn't get it, get anything happening. I was still playing shows and doing my thing. And, you know, a lot of the songs we were playing in our showcase were songs that ended up on my first album and became hits.

And we're playing them for these guys, you know, these record companies in town. and they're going, yeah, we just don't hear it. We don't hear any hits and we don't get it. And I think that was the thing. I don't think people really got me and what I was doing. I mean, because at the time there was nothing, you know, nothing else was out like me. Right.

You know, everything back then was, you know, everything was a little bit more on the pop side. And you're coming off of, you know, boy bands and in sync and all that. And so, you know, bands like Rascal Flats were, you know, everybody's wanting to sign a Rascal Flats because they were hitting, you know, they were exploding. you know, and there was nobody like me that was sort of this country rock and roll hybrid, whatever. And so, you know, it just took a while, man. And, you know, to the point of, you know,

I was getting frustrated, you know, really frustrated because I just felt like, you know, I had a really good vision of what, you know, what was going on and where I wanted to take it. And nobody else saw that except for me and my producer, Michael Knox, you know. And so it just took us a while. to what changed in there? What was the flip? Well, I mean, honestly, I mean, I was getting ready to to move back home to Georgia. I had called my cousin and, you know, who lived in our hometown and it was basically like, you know, I'm coming back, so I need a job. I need you to help me find a job. I was getting ready to move home. And I had a couple more shows that I had to do that I already had booked and just kind of had to wrap those up before I left. And one of them was a showcase.

And, you know, we had done showcases and labels just weren't showing up. I mean, they weren't interested. We had done what felt like about 50 showcases in Nashville. To the point of everybody was like, we've already seen this guy. We're not interested, you know. So it was that kind of thing. And so we had one more showcase at the Wild Horse in Nashville, and it was Broken Bow Records showed up.

They were the only label to come that night. It was their little independent label that didn't have a whole lot going on. They were starting to have a little bit of radio success with a couple of artists. but, you know, definitely weren't a big player in town by any means. And so I played the show, you know, and did my thing. And the owner of the label, Benny Brown, came back after the show. And just basically walked up to me and said, welcome Broken Bow Records. And, you know, we want to sign you.

And they wanted to get started. And I was sort of their first act, you know, they signed that was, you know, they were going to work from the ground up, like a new artist that they really wanted to get established. Everybody else they had over there were artists that had already had record deals and had lost them and then You know, it'd come over and I had had a record deal, but I'd never put a single out so nobody knew who I was right So I was kind of their first artist to go from the ground up and and they were ready to kind of jump on it and get started and so was I So once that happened we spent that happened in I think oh three and then we basically spent all of O four

You know cutting the album and going out and sort of promoting it and getting ready to You know let people know that this out album was coming out and then in April we launched the first single in 2005 April 2005 we launched Hicktown and that was that was it you know from then on it was I don't want to say smooth sailing but it was that we were off and off and running for sure as you know and a lot of people in Nashville can tell you a record deal is not a guarantee of any success for sure but you had it with Hicktown so what was it like to turn on the radio driving around Nashville and hear your song on the radio for the first time It's just, you know, for me it was just a, you know, a sense of accomplishment, you know.

It was just something that I'd been working towards and had a lot of, you know, a lot of disappointment, a lot of things that, you know, in the music business, it's always like, well, this could lead to that, you know. So, you know, we got this going on over here and maybe this is going to work out and then it doesn't. So it's just like, you know, it's just this roller coaster of just up, down and you get happy and then you get let down. And then it's just never ending. So for Hicktown, when it came out, you know, I heard it on the radio and it was like, finally, you know, and I don't even know if it's going to be a hit yet. It's just at least it's out there and at least it's going to get a, you know, people are going

to get a chance to hear me and, you know, whatever's going to happen is going to happen at this point. But at least, you know, we got the album, we got the single out. We got an album coming out and everything we've been working towards is happening now. And at least that was a sense of accomplishment for me. How often do you think about those days when you were fighting it in Nashville? When you come on a stage like this at Madison Square Garden sold out screaming crowd in New York City, thinking about the guy who was playing empty showcases in Nashville?

Well, you know, I mean, I think for me, you know, I've always sort of played my shows and things like that. Like, I probably had a little chip on my shoulder. I think that's probably never going to go away, but I think that's a good thing for me. It's something that still motivates me and drives me. and still makes me want to go out every night and prove people wrong. You know, all those people that came and didn't believe in me, didn't want to sign me to a deal. It's like, you know, this is my chance to go, you know,

bet you wish you would have now, you know. And I don't mean that in an arrogant way at all. It's just one of those things where, like, you know, these people that had a chance to sign me and didn't, and, you know, for us to go and have the success we've had somewhere else and, you know, get signed to a label that did believe in what we were doing, and to do the things we've done over the years. I mean, it's pretty cool.

And I go out every night with just, the chip's not as big as it used to be, but it's still there a little bit. You see any of those people around Nashville in the old days? Yeah, you know what? And honestly, you know, like the head of my old record company, Capital Records, you know, we actually had a talk one day

and, you know, and he and I agreed, you know. It's just like, man, things work out the way they're supposed to. And, you know, had I been, had I recorded an album with them, you know, this may not have happened. So, you know, I ended up where I was supposed to, you know, at Broken Bow Records was where I was supposed to be. And that was the way it was supposed to go down. And all the other things that happened before that prepared me for this. And, you know, and there's no hard feelings for me at all with that stuff. I mean, you know, it's hard to have hard feelings when things worked out.

way I did. You know, so, yeah. So, you know, so there's no hard feelings. I see those guys in town all the time and, you know, it's fun, man. They're doing their thing and I'm doing mine and everybody's successful, so it's all good. We're talking a minute ago about your restaurant, Jason Aldeen's kitchen, and I said we interviewed Blake Shelton up on the roof of his, and he had a real moment in our conversation because his story's not that different from yours. He was playing, he said, empty bars and, you know, opening for somebody else. And there was three people sitting there drinking a bud heavy tall boy i remember those days he he just said for me to sit here on lower broadway in my five-story mega bar

it's surreal and can it kind of couldn't wrap his head around it right is that a moment for you to stop and say these are the this is the very street where i played 20 years ago and look what i've got now well yeah i mean i moved to nashville november 1st of 1998 so we're coming up on the 20 year anniversary for me moving to Nashville. And, you know, and at the time, man, I mean, I didn't even have enough money to go down there and hang out at those bars, really. You know, I mean, I would go and play some of them. I played the Wild Horse and, you know, played a couple times at Tootsies.

And, you know, we would do all those things. But, you know, you'd go downtown in Nashville and it wasn't nice like it is now. It was just little dive bars. And, you know, Lower Broadway was old honky talks. And they weren't nice. I mean, they were just hole in the wall bars, which is, you know, that was at the time, that was Nashville. And, you know, and I used to go down there and kick around a little bit. But to drive down there now, you know, you get down lower Broadway and it's like, Tutsis, Jason L.D., it's like right across the street.

You know, it's crazy, man. I mean, just how far things have come, just, you know, not only in the 20 years since I moved to Nashville, but just in the last, you know, 13 years since, my first single came out and we really kind of hit the road. And, you know, I've been really, really blessed, really fortunate to have things go the way they have for me. And, you know, because that's not normal. I mean, it's not the norm for artists that moved to Nashville. They come in and, you know, everybody wants the, you know, this sort of golden egg, you know, that comes with having a record deal and hits and fame and fortune and all that kind of stuff.

And for the most part, man, there's a small percentage of artists that really get to sort of grab that egg, you know. And, you know, I've been fortunate to be one of those. And it's been it's been really cool. But I also realize how fortunate I've been and how it's not the normal. And so anything like that, man, to drive down there. I mean, I go down there and, you know, I want to go walk around in the bar and look at all the, like, memorabilia and stuff. Like, that's my stuff, but I still want to see it, you know, it's cool. But, you know, and then you go in, man, you see people in there having a good time and hanging out.

And, you know, every time I've been in there, it's been jam-packed. And that's what you want, man. And it's just, it's unbelievable to sort of come this far, you know, just in the 20 years that I've been in Nashville. And, you know, be a part of what's going on in Nashville right now, which is amazing. You should know that Blake's message to our viewers was, do not go to Al Dean's place. Don't go to Luke's place. Don't go to Dirk's place. Come to Blake's place.

Blake's place sucks, man. You can look at it. You can come to my place and get on the rooftop and you can see his. You can just look over there. You don't have to go in. It's fine. I think you said the same thing about yours,

so that's good. You know, it was interesting. I was reading an interview you did where you talked about the last five years of your life kind of being a roller coaster. What did you mean when you said that? You talked about professionally and personally. Yeah, I mean, I just think, you know, all in all, I mean, if you go back and sort of look at everything that's kind of happened for me over the last five years professionally and, you know, from a personal standpoint, you know, it's been it's been a little up and down, you know, at the end of the day, like, you know, to come out of that and, you know, kind of be where where I am now, you know, it feels good. I mean, it's, it's, you know, I'm not a guy that that likes a lot of,

turmoil, I mean, for the most part, I'm pretty private. You know, always kind of have been. And so whenever, you know, my business is sort of put out there or like, you know, I'm the, you know, national news, you know, I'm the face of national news. Like, that's a little weird for me even now. And so, you know, to kind of come out of all that and sort of everything kind of get back to to normal for me is, you know, it's a good place for me to be. So, you know, to kind of come through that, sort of steer the ship through all that and be where I'm at is it's kind of nice. Obviously, a big part of that is what happened in Las Vegas last October. You'll be back there next month doing a show.

What will it be like to be back on stage in Vegas? Well, you know, we just did the ACM awards earlier this year, so that was really my first chance to go back, you know, and perform and do those kind of things. But, you know, I think for me, you know, I love the city of Las Vegas. I always have. It's, you know, I've had some of the best memories of my career have come in Las Vegas at the ACM awards and things like that. So, you know, I've always had a love for that city. And obviously, you know, the one tragic night that I had there was something that, you know, I'll never forget, man. And obviously every time I land, you know, in Vegas or drive, you know, driving to Vegas or whatever, you know, that's going to be something I never forget.

And, but the one night, terrible night that we had there, you know, doesn't take away all the great memories that I've had there as well. So, you know, I look forward to going back. I look forward to playing that show this year. And, you know, just sort of, I mean, this is what I do, you know, I'm a musician. and you know, you can't predict those things that happen. I mean, you know, could happen to anybody. And, you know, Ariana Grande, I mean, she's had stuff happening in her shows and people like that. So, I mean, you know, it just, there's no rhyme or reason to why it was me or, you know, why it wasn't somebody else.

I mean, it could have happened to anybody. And, you know, for me, just being able to go back out there, play my show and sort of climb back on stage and do our thing. and show people that, you know, we're not scared to jump back on stage and do our thing. So I'm excited to go out there. And every time we've been to Vegas, you know, since that, we've had a chance to catch up with some survivors and people that were at the show, which is always great. And I'm sure we'll get a chance to do that this time around too.

So I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, you've done such a good job staying connected with people who survived that night. I was interested to hear you say you felt some measure of guilt about that night, which you shouldn't feel. but you do. You still feel that way? Well, I think it's inevitable. I mean, you know, you look out and, you know, you start realizing that all those people were there to see you. I mean, it was your show and those people are at your show. And obviously, I mean, when somebody buys a ticket to our show or comes, you know,

into an arena to watch you play, you know, I mean, we want them to come, have fun, get home safe, and come see us the next time we're in town, you know. I mean, the last thing we're thinking is they're going to show up and never leave. I mean, so. So, you know, I think in the weeks that followed that, you know, it was a lot of different emotions going on for me and, you know, guilt and anger and a lot of other things. So, you know, I know in my heart that it was, you know, that it's not my fault that that happened. But it still doesn't keep you from feeling a little guilty that, you know, that the people were there for you and things like that. So, but I mean, I think overall, you know, I've handled it pretty well and sort of the fact that, you know, my wife was there with me and my band and my crew and all of us were there together and went through that stuff together. It's like a lot of times I feel like when people go through, you know, tragedy like that, they don't really have anybody else to talk to that understands, you know, what they're going through.

And for us, we all kind of had each other to lean on and talk about it with. And, you know, we all kind of went through it together. So for me, that helped a ton to be able to have all these people to talk to and my wife, us being able to talk at home and knowing what the other one went through because we were both there together. So that, that for me, was a game changer. That's probably helpful by the same token. Your pregnant wife is there with you. That must have been absolutely terrifying. Yeah, I mean, it definitely was scary and, you know, but I think about, like, on one hand, I hate that she was there to have to experience it.

And on the other hand, it's like, I know if she was at home and saw it on the news, she would have freaked out and I don't know what would have been worse, you know. So at least she was there and, you know, we were able to sort of get her somewhere safe and, you know, and then now we got a healthy eight-month-old baby boy. So, you know, it's just, I don't know, I don't know why, you know, we made it out of there and, you know, some people didn't, but I'm very thankful for that. and, you know, also very heartbroken for the ones that didn't in their families, and it's something we think about all the time, you know. And I just, like I said, I just, it's something nobody should ever experience, period. I know you'd much rather just talk about music. For sure.

But have you come to terms with the fact that you'll be associated with that night one way or another? Yeah, I mean, and that's the thing. I mean, that's not a, you know, that's not something I want on my resume for the rest of my life. You know, for me, it's something that, you know, not the, not the, I don't want to forget, but it's just something that, you know, I choose to not relive over and over. So, you know, I know it's something that I'll be attached to from now on, and, you know, and that's, that is what it is, you know, so on a different level, I sort of, I think it's cool to have that connection with the people that were there, the survivors and the families, you know,

of victims or whatever, you know, we sort of have that connection with them from now on that I think is really cool, you know, so that's the, that's the, that's the, that's the, that's the, you know, good side of it. But, you know, it is what it is, man. And, you know, for me, I'm a musician. I play music for a living and I just, I want to go play my shows and do my thing like I always did. And, and, you know, I've played a million shows and had one that turned out like that, you know, so it's just, you know, like I said, for me, it's not something I'll ever forget. It's not something I choose to relive every day. But, but I know it's, it's going to always be something that I'm attached to and it is what it is.

So after we had that sit-down conversation, we popped up and Jason and I went around and walked down the floor, Madison Square Garden as his crew was setting up for the show that night. He talked about his backstage routine, what the drink of choice is, and why they don't use pyrotechnics anymore in his show, as they did in his last tour, burning it down. Here's more with Jason Aldine. What do you do before the show? Um, you know, typically before the show I go and I'll do like a VIP kind of acoustic show for for some of the fans and stuff like that. And, and then after that, we'll usually come and visit.

If there's some radio stations in town, we'll go and visit with the radio stations for a little bit, you know, a few minutes. And then we go to our meet and greet, however long that takes. And then I go in and just kind of hang out with my band, you know. I mean, the guys of my band are really good friends of mine, and most of them have been with me for almost 20 years now. So, you know, we just kind of go hang out, play some music, watch baseball games, whatever we're doing in our dressing room. Watch the braves. Yeah, watch the Braves. We've got a couple Red Sox fans in there, too, so we'll watch them.

What's the drink? What's the go-to drink? The drink before the show is it's Crown and either Crown and Sprite or Crown and soda. I like crowning water, but it's kind of varied over the years. It started out as crown and spray and now it's... But always crown. Yeah, crown and something, you know, or just straight crown, I don't know. But we do that.

Solo cup full of crown. Yeah, and then before the show we have a box that, like a road case that we go to, it kind of lets down into a little bar and we all kind of go, our drummer does the toast for the night. You know, we do a little shot and get ready to go on stage and they go. That's pretty much it. Do you still, after all these years, get the rush when you first walk out and you see the faces? Yeah, I mean, for me, the first 30 seconds of the show are my favorite, you know, and that's because, you know, I don't come out here and peek and look and see who's here and whatever.

I mean, just when I see them for the first time is when they see me, you know, and I love getting that initial reaction from the fans that sort of those screams and all that that just kind of blow your hair back a little bit, you know, when you hit the stage. To me, that's my favorite part of the night. Yeah, for sure. So what's special about your setup, different from other ones we might see? You know, I think for us every year, you know, all the lighting and production for a show, I mean, it's constantly changing.

I mean, it changes every few months. There's something new and cool that comes out. And, you know, we try to keep up with all that. We want to be sort of on the cutting edge of a lot of that stuff. So for this one, I mean, we have, you know, you have a bunch of different video walls that kind of do a lot of different stuff, but then they'll come together to make one video wall. We got, you know, different lights that'll kind of spin and give different, you know, looks for the show. All these trusses sort of move up and down, and there's one part of the show where it comes down and it looks like you're kind of in a nightclub, you know, it's like the high noon neon tour, which is like a bar. So, you know, we'll have a part where it comes down, lowers down, and it feels like you're.

in a nightclub again. And, you know, at the top of the show, we have a, we call a toaster, which is a little box that I kind of sit in and squat down in, and then that thing shoots me up like a rocket, so I come up out of the stage, and that's kind of our intro for the show. And so, unless it doesn't go well, unless it breaks, and then I just kind of come up like I'm on Star Trek, it's just like in an elevator. So when it goes right, it's cool. But you gave up on Pyro a few years ago.

you said. Yeah, so a few years ago we had the Burning It Down tour, which obviously with a with a tour name like that, you're going to have to have some fire. Yeah. So we had a lot of fire, a lot of flames during the show and there was even, you know, one part in the show where my microphone stand would burst into flames. And so it was cool. I just, I kept thinking, man, every show I'd be like, all right, we got through another one without me, you know, having third degree burns. Never caught you? No, it didn't. Good. But, you know, you play outside sometimes in the winds born in different directions and it's just, you know, enough to, like you get a shirt tail or something.

I'm just, something's going to happen and I'm going to go up in flames. And luckily it didn't happen and we got through with that tour. So we decided to give the pyro arrest for a little bit, but it's fun. It looks great. Yeah. You know. Don't push your luck though. You survive that one.

Just walk away. Right. Exactly. You got two daughters. You got a young son. You got another one on the way. Are they going to get into the family business? I don't know.

You know, Memphis is eight, or eight months. months old. So he... Hasn't talked to you about it. Yeah, we haven't talked about it too much. But, you know, he's going to be the one that really grows up around it, you know, kind of every day of his life. So it's, it's, you know, it's one of those things. We'll just kind of wait and see what happens, but it's, you know, I don't know if he's going to be around it so much that he's just going to be like, how I hate music, or if it's going to be like he's going to be, you know, all about it. I don't know. But my oldest daughter, who's 15,

and Keely, she, you know, she just recently started playing guitar and started wanting to learn how to play guitar. And I'm like, okay, well, cool. I wrote out some stuff and, you know, showed her some things. And I'm like, well, how do you want to play? Do you want to play acoustic like I play? Or she goes, no, I want to play like slash. I'm like, all right, well, I can't teach you how to play like slash, but here, go on YouTube and learning these scales. So I kind of, you know, kind of push her in the right direction as far as what to learn. And, you know, and now she sends me, like, or when she's at the house, she'll show me she's playing like Aerosmith, you know, and different stuff. So she's picking it up pretty quick.

You know, I don't know if she has any interest in being a singer yet, but or at all, but she's definitely picking up the guitar pretty quick. That's cool because that's what your dad did, right? He'd write it out for you and go to work. And that's the only way I knew how to teach her, you know, but she was like, no, I want to play like, I want to rip off some solos, like, slash, I'm like, well, I can't help you. There. So, and then, you know, my, my 10-year-old daughter, she's actually.

she's actually a pretty good little singer if she would sing. You catch her in the car sometimes, you're like, man, that's pretty good. And then when you want her to sing, she won't sing. So, you know, if she gets out of that stage, who knows, they may be like the new heart or something. You know what I mean, the sister band? So, yeah, we'll see. Let's push that idea. Yeah, I love it.

Thank you, man. Yeah, but thanks for. I appreciate all the time. My pleasure. My thanks again to Jason Aldeen for a great conversation. His latest album, Rearview Town, is out now. You can catch them on the high noon neon tour now through the end of September. And my thanks to all of you, as always, for clicking and tuning in to the Sunday Sit Down podcast every week.

Make sure to subscribe for more of the extended conversations with my guests every Sunday. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you next week and talk to you on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.