The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler - 390: Sawyer Hill on Working in a Morgue & His Worst Gig Ever | The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler #390

Episode Date: June 15, 2026

SPONSORS Ridge -Upgrade your wallet today! Get up to 40% off @‌Ridge during their Father’s Day Sale when you go to https://www.Ridge.com/HONEYDEW #Ridgepod Mars Men -For a limited time, our listeners get 50% off FOR LIFE, Free Shipping, AND 3 Free Gifts at Mars Men at Mengotomars.com. My HoneyDew this week is musician Sawyer Hill! Sawyer joins me to Highlight the Lowlights of growing up in Arkansas, coming from a family full of Barry Manilow fans, and finding his way into music after working in a pathology lab and morgue. We talk about his grandfather being a Pentecostal preacher, the experience of processing his own grandfather’s amputated leg, and what life was like before his music career took off. Sawyer also shares how he got catfished into appearing on The HoneyDew and tells the story of the worst gig he’s ever played—a wake for someone he had never met. Check out Sawyer at a live show near you, and keep an eye out for his first debut album release! 🎟️See me live. All tickets at www.ryansickler.com/tour 🎤Check out my new standup special “Live & Alive” streaming on my YouTube now! http://youtu.be/PMGWVyM2NJo?si=SrhXjgzR1pe6CyYE 👉 Subscribe for more standup and new episodes of The HoneyDew, The Wayback, and more! http://youtube.com/@rsickler ✅ Subscribe to my Patreon “The HoneyDew with Y’all”! Get The HoneyDew audio and video a day early, ad-free, for just $5/month! Want more? Upgrade to the $8/month premium tier and get everything above plus The Wayback a day early, ad-free, censor-free, and exclusive bonus content you won’t find anywhere else! http://patreon.com/RyanSickler 📧What’s your story?? Submit at [e-mail] 👕Get Your Merch👕 http://www.bonfire.com/store/ryansickler/ 🎧 Listen to my Podcasts 🎧 The HoneyDew - http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-honeydew-with-ryan-sickler/id527446250 The Wayback - http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wayback-with-ryan-sickler/id1721601479 Patreon - http://www.patreon.com/ryansickler 📣 Follow Me📣 ▪ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ryansickler/ ▪ TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@ryan.sickler ▪ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RyanSicklerOfficial 🕸️ryansickler.com/ 🍈thehoneydewpodcast.com/ 🦀Subscribe to The CrabFeast Podcast🦀 http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-crabfeast-with-ryan-sickler-and-jay-larson/id1452403187 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome back to the honeydew, y'all. We're over here doing it in the Nightpans Studios. I'm Ryan Sickler. Ryan Sickler on all your social media, Ryan Sickler.com. Thank you guys for supporting this show. Thank you for supporting anything I do. And if you love this show, then you've got to have more. And you've got to have the Patreon.

It's the honeydew with y'all. It is this show with y'all. There's hundreds of it. we're over 300 episodes now on the Patreon. Okay, that's crazy. So for five bucks a month, one cup of coffee, you can get 300 episodes of this show with y'all. And I promise you, you won't hear anything like it on the internet. All right. So if you or someone you know has a story that has to be heard, submit it to Honeydew Podcast at gmail.com. That's the only place to send it. You send it anywhere else. We ain't getting it. All right? If you said it before,

send it again, bump it to the top. We would love to do your story. That's it. That's the biz. You guys know what we do here. We highlight the low lights. And I am very excited to have this guest with us here today. First time on the honeydew, ladies and gentlemen, Sawyer Hill. Welcome to the Honeydews, Sawyer Hill.

Thank you for having me. Thank you for being here, brother. Before we get into how all this came to be and your low lights, right there, plug and promote everything and anything you'd like. Okay. Everything I'm working on right now is a secret. I just finished debut album. That's cool, but I can't talk about it.

So I'd like to plug the upcoming draft. That's definitely going to happen. And world peace and podcasts. You talk about the draft, like a military draft, right? You think that's coming? It's possible. I don't know, bro. We'll see.

There's a polymarket bet going on. Is there? What's that on? For sure. Yeah, they bet on everything. What's the odds right now? I haven't checked, but I bet. In favor of a draft?

They might be leaning towards in favor, but you might want to get in while the getting's good. They don't want this old ass right here. I'm 53. I'm all beat up. They've already raised the age. They've already raised the age. They have to because nobody wants it. That's what I'm saying.

So they're letting weed smokers in. It's also not like Vietnam anymore. Now you can be hiding in a drone flies over and just lasers you and you're gone. Have you seen those videos? Yes. It's horrifying. That's what I'm saying. It's nothing like it used to be.

It's a nightmare. You used to be able to outrun some my own foot if you needed to, some jagged cuts and the junk. now a laser. It's crazy. World War I trenches. What's the age? What do they allow you to go? I think 30 to 40s.

Is that? I don't want, listen, I don't want a military full 40 year old. I'm good. I'm good, but just playing. I'm Billy really going to get mopped up if we got a military full 40 year old. 40 year old weed smoking. Authritic motherfuckers out there. Not good.

No, hell no. That's not good. It's not looking good. Social media. Where can they find you on social media? Everywhere. Only fan. No, I'm kidding.

I'm kidding. I'm Instagram, Sawyer Chill, Sawyer Hill, some version of my name. You know what I mean? You have a website. I do. Sawyerhill Music.com. Do you podcast? I don't.

You don't. I should. I am now. I'm curious. How many podcasts have you done? One. Whose was it? I think it was called Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll podcast.

That's right in lame, bro. Yeah, there's this guy. You'd probably know him. I forget his name. He didn't show up that. day. He wears a bandana. He does a whatever. He didn't even show up for me that day. So who cares? Hold up. He booked you and then he was a no show. Jay is his like it's his podcast. Jay O'Kerson or something. Oh, Big Jay O'Kerson. Cool guy. Great guy. Wish he was there.

But no, it's fine. I haven't seen him wear a bandana. I've just seen it with a bandana. I don't know. I was like, who you talk about? I'm not that tapped in. Big J. O'Cerson. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Funny guy. So before we get into it, this is one of those things. So there's a lot of, right now, I just want you all to know, if you're watching or whatever, we are not soliciting people through a fake email and asking to pay you. Or what I've heard is the new one that came our way was they'll tell you they're, they'll use my real agent's name, my real producer's names, my name.

And they'll tell you they want to do a pre-interview. And then they'll send you a link. And then when you log on to that link, they now somehow, boom, they got access to your computer and they're stealing your shit. All your dick picks. But yours, boom, comes in. And I'm like, you got catfished, but also like, hey, can we? And you were like, yeah, boom, there you are, brother. I appreciate you.

I'm honored. Thank you for having me. Let's get into it. Where are you from originally? From Arkansas. And I'm still from Arkansas. Okay. You still live in Arkansas?

I do. Yeah. Okay. Good for you. Good old place, northwest Arkansas. Not like the other not as good parts of Arkansas. Okay. You know, the best part, I would say.

And what your upbringing? Mom, dad, siblings, like? Mom, dad, three brothers, technically, but two brothers. I'm the youngest. Okay. So that was fun growing up with them, but yeah. Were your parents together growing up? My parents divorced when I was around 10, and then they got back together.

and then they divorced again. Okay, I was going to say that. Yeah. How long was round two? Longer than one? One year. One year. One year. That's what.

I think the first divorce they planted on, they told us on Halloween. The second one was like on Christmas or something like that. Just fucking up that whole fall and winter, bro. Man, what are they doing? How do we give this guy trust issues? Halloween and Christmas are great for kids. Yeah. Man.

All right. What are you going to do? And you're the youngest. So what's the age difference between your brothers? My middle brother is three years older than me. My oldest is five years older than me. And then my half brother's like 20 years older than me. Something crazy like that. Is this from dad or mom prior? Dad. My niece is like 18. I'm 26. So how did your parents meet? How'd your mom meet this guy? My mom worked at a pathology lab and met my dad's sister. And my dad is a truck driver. And so he was always driving around. I think they went on three days. knew each other for six weeks and got married right afterwards. So it was a quick move.

I don't know. They moved quick back then, I feel like. But yeah, that's how they met. And your mom worked at a pathology lab. Dad's doing trucking. Yep. And how are you guys doing in school and stuff? Are you solid?

Are you living with mom when they split? Are you going back and forth? Back and forth. Oh, you are. Co-parent. Good old back and forth. Most of the time with my mom. School was good.

I feel like I was like a smart kid, smart enough, who just like at a certain point in high school kind of stopped applying myself. But even then it was pretty decent. You know what I mean? Being able to pass everything. But one of those things I probably could have done better if I tried to be better. I hear you on if I try and I say the same thing too. But as a creative person myself, putting me in a room with no windows and saying do this shit for an hour is not the best way to get. the best out of me.

Big time. You know, I can still do, like, even when I had writing gigs, I'm in a little closet. I mean, I still do good, but I'm like, when I get up and go take a walk around the building, shit starts to flow and clear, you know. Your family musicians? No. No. So you're the first, really, to dive in like that?

Yeah, I would say. So my brother plays drums. He played drums for me for a long time. But nobody really in a family, like, was a big time. musician, I would say. My grandpa was like this like fire and brimstone Pentecostal preacher. So, you know, he would like, remember early memories, him stomping around with the hanky, you know, people doing cartwheels, speaking in tongues, all that sort of stuff. Yeah, tell me about that. Are you going to like an actual church or is it more like tent revival? No tent.

The tents were before my time. So that was what my grandpa did before, you know, everything settled down. He did. Okay. Was he like a trance? traveling preach at some point, and then he settles in Arkansas? Exactly, yeah. So my grandpa just felt that the urge or the Lord called him to go around, he put all his family in a car and was just like, we're going to go around preaching. Oh, he wasn't. Okay, he's gone.

That sort of deal. And that's mom with him? Mom, yep. Real nomadic sort of existence, you know what I mean? And there's all these tents. There's like old photos of him preaching in a garage with all these. Now that I think about it, kind of like a garage like Raqshu. You know, I was talking to...

It's interesting, isn't it? That's his audience. Exactly. You're trying to sing to him. I'm trying to make him laugh. He's trying to get him to believe the word. Exactly. But it's all about that same thing.

That connection. Exactly. My grandpa, he recently passed, but before he passed, he got dementia. And before he got dementia, I had my last lucid conversation with him. And, you know... That's what I want to ask. You were close to... enough with them you would talk and stuff yeah oh hell course you know we were super close we always lived

within like a two-minute walk from each other and so they were they were super present and around for the formative years and stuff but you're in the hospital he uh he had like a stroke or something like that but before he like fully went you know out of his mind i would say i was like you know paupo tell me about some of those times of you preaching you know he told me this story uh We were driving around Louisiana, and I was preaching at all these different parishes. And I went to this one, and I had the people fired up for the Lord. And it was great. And it was a moment.

It was all this stuff. And then at the end of the service, the sister comes to me, hands me five bucks. Are you kidding me? Five bucks. When it comes to what I wear, I don't think of myself as a fashion forward kind of guy. For me, it's all about finding pieces that are cool, comfortable, and able to be worn in a variety of different settings. Ever since finding Quince, I've been able to check all my boxes while looking sharper than ever. I find myself wasting less time trying to put an outfit together,

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You're feeling it. And then it's like, yeah, we spend all the money on advertising. Sorry, bro. You know? Yep. Here's five bucks, literally. It's kind of crazy, those parallels between, you know, the preacher performance and, you know, stand-up performance, music performance. My buddy is a salesman, and we talk about it all the time.

In all of these, you just mentioned, you got about 60 fucking seconds to let these people know, I know what the fuck I'm doing. You're in good hands. We're going to have a good time. This is going to work out well. I would imagine you're trying to preach to people the same, sing or play. I know damn well, I better hit them quick with jokes. Yeah. And a businessman going in and trying to sell you something, he's got a small window before you're like, get the fuck out of here.

Yep. Yeah. And there's a lot of parallels with intro, grabbing, hold them, and then keep them. That connection. And then entertain them, you know. Like you said, you know, and I feel like you get good at that from a thousand, times of like nothing. That's right. And you're just out there drowning. You know what I mean? But that's how you learn, you know, kind of learned to sit in it or ways to turn it around or,

you know, just get that connection early on or at any point. You know what I mean? So what's your early music influence then? If no one in the family's playing or anything, where are you finding it? Was it something in the church you'd hear music at least? And yeah. Definitely. Yeah. We had like a gospel choir. My mom would be on the tambo and all this. stuff and church was always music focused. We weren't allowed to listen to any rock music or anything like that. Who was, who was considered bad when you were growing up? I mean like, Ozzy and stuff, all the same shit. Yeah, I mean, that's like without question, you know, because it's satanic. It's the devil. I was earlier on, it was like gospel country music. That's

what you get. And then a little bit after that when I was like 10, my parents bought me a Beatles, like greatest hit CD. So that was. was allowed that was great i mean that was like my first like awakening of like whoa rock music music in general i would say excuse me but yeah that the music thing early on was super like everything else with media super sheltered or like restricted so when do you start realizing like i can fucking sing it's a great question i would always sing to like cds and stuff like that i'm an interruption people are going to help me i just want you to know go listen to sawyer's music you've got a really your voice again is so original thank you i love it dude it's nothing like i expected when i

first heard it and i was like damn and you're how 26 yeah i mean you're a baby dude so so i guess my question is two part when do you realize you can sing and then when do you realize you got that fucking thing and how am I going to do that. Yeah. I mean, the singing thing earlier on I would I would try to sing the songs and stuff and my brothers would be like, dude, that's horrible. Please stop doing that. And they would brutally roast me.

And I believe them. My dad used to come out like, you sound like a cat in heat. He'd say shit. I'm like, God damn. It's brutal. It's brutal. It's brutal. Totally brutal.

But my family would always sing Barry Manilow in the car, which is probably like Barry Manalo. The gayest thing about me, but I say that, but you look at me. It's like, whatever. Anyways, we'd sing Barry Manilow in the car, but I'd be sitting there in silence because I suck at singing everybody else is good. Whatever. And then, you know, I just like, I joined a band in high school as the rhythm guitarist.

And, you know, I started writing songs from my girlfriends at the time. And, you know, we would do these little hangout sessions at this one house. And I played them this song that I wrote. And everybody was like, dude, that's crazy. You know, everybody kind of had a reaction to it. So I slowly became the co-frontman or frontman for this band. And you talk about how that performing aspect of it came. It really just came from, you know, I talked to some people at shows or local shows and they'll be like, what are they up to?

And they'll be like, oh, well, they quit. They got this job. They did whatever. And, you know, some people do the music thing and then they just stop. they decide that it's not for them or they need to grow up or whatever it is that they decide they want to do with their life. But that thought really never occurred to me. You know what I mean? It was just doing the thing that I like to do without really thinking about like, oh, it's going to be this huge thing or I'm going to. I need to monetize it. Exactly. It was just something I did

and never questioned it. And if, you know, a drummer quit or a guitarist quit, it was always like, okay, well, we need to find another one because we have a show this Friday. And the years, it never occurred to me and then you spend 10 years doing something and you look back on it and it's like wow you sacrifice so much but really when you love doing something you're just doing it because you love to do it so with all of those experiences and all those years i would say i got better at the performing aspect of it you know and when did you finally get comfortable in your own skimmer like yeah fuck yeah i've got something here it's original it's different also you're you're playing guitar as well is that what what came first that i feel like i always kind of did what i wanted to do

musically and then everybody else kind of caught up to it and they're like this is cool and now that was great because it gave me an opportunity to quit my job at the fucking pathology lab morgue you know what i mean that was sick yes like you're working there yeah in high school or 20s or how old are you when you're working there i'm right after i graduated high school This is just a few years ago, honestly, for you. It's like seconds ago. Yeah. How did you get a job there?

Well, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. And my parents are always like, you got to get a college degree and you got to do this and you got to make money. And then I know I want to play with my band. So my mom says, well, you can do what I do. And it only will take two years. You go to the school, two years. But the only thing is it's four hours away and Little Rock, you know, four hours away from my band, my friends, everybody that I know and love. and you just do that for two years.

You live there for two years. And you know, you just go and live there. It's a school for this? Yeah. To learn how to embalm bodies, basically. Not embalming, but like, what are we doing with these dead bodies?

Basically, the process of pathology is you get your leg chopped off or you get your organs removed. Anything that comes off of you or out of you from a hospital comes to this lab, right? And this is anywhere. Sometimes the labs are within hospitals,

but other times it's just a lab. So then they take your leg and then they take a tiny piece of your bone, tiny piece of your artery, tiny piece of your skin, and then they cut that down to like the width of a cell ribbon of skin, put it on a glass slide, stain it with certain chemicals so that a doctor looks under a microscope and says, yep, cancer, right? They also do, you know, the dead bodies and like autopsies and stuff like that. So it's a mixture of over. Any of the organs you're getting good like stuff that's like, hey, this is something that can be used for someone?

Or is this just like, this is the final? and where we study and figure out what happened. It's in a big jug of formaldehyde, you know. And I mean, it's, it was like pretty crazy because, you know, you grow up with the internet. It's like your older brother shows you rotten.com. Right. Fair. Okay.

So that's what I'm saying. Talk to me about that. So you saw this shit before. I mean, yeah, like older brothers, like here's rotten. Yeah, yeah, of course. Here's, you know, a guy who got his head chopped off by a helicopter. This guy got his hand stuck in a meat grinder. You're like, wow, that's crazy.

But then you see it in person and you're like, wow, that's crazy. That's crazy. You'd be surprised about the things that human being can adapt to and desensitized to because you're around it all the time and you see your first chopped off leg. It's like, wow, that's crazy. But by your third or fourth, it's like, who cares? So, I mean, at the end of it, I'm getting like, you know, 10 sets of breast or just on my desk.

And I'm just like yada, yada, yada, chopped off dick, chopped off whatever, like anything you can imagine. And it's just like, wow. Corona bottle shoved up. Some guy's butt. Oh my God. And are you playing music during this time? Yes.

Yeah. Where, nighttime gigs out in that area? Yeah. Okay. Exactly. But. And do they know you're doing this? Do they come see you play and shit?

The people at the job. Yeah, your co-workers. Yeah. Every now and then. I mean, they all hate to me because, like, I'm always calling into work. And I have band practice. I have a show, whatever. But they like to show up to the shows and get drunk.

And everybody likes rock and roll. But when I'm there, they're like, oh, this goofball. I'm in my skinny jeans helping people dissect stuff. It's like what's going on? So we always ask people what some of their low lights are. One of yours you wrote were lots of drugs. So is that something in your like growing up in your family? You as well, like your circle.

What do you see in? Yeah, I mean, I would just say getting involved with like, you know, getting involved with these older people. I was always friends with people who were older than me. And I joined that band in high school as a freshman. They were all seniors. And so they had kind of already moved on to these things that they wanted to do. They're like ready to experiment with all these things that those kids do. But I'm like 14, 15.

And I'm just there along for the ride. So, you know, it starts out as, you know, weed. Then it goes to like, hey, what's, you know, so-and-so's mom got in the pill cabinet. And then there's no one else around to stop you. And you have these people that are older than you that are your role. models and everybody's down to clown. And then at a certain point, they got into meth. And that was when I was like, hold on, what's going on here? You know what I mean? And then people start coming around the house. I'm getting in fights with these guys like, hey, this is not good. It's not that

big of a deal, dude. We're just exploring. We're just, you know, psychonots trying to figure out what's going on in our brains. Something in my brain, I'm like, my soul, I'm like, this is the worst mistake of your life. Please don't. We got in fist fights about it. I mean, it was horrible. But yeah, I mean, it's just a lot of crazy stuff. I mean, you're like 15 years old doing some acid at some 40 year old guy's house that you've never met. It's like weird. You know what I mean? You're buying just the age ranges is wild. I was tripping acid for the first time ever. And this guy I've never met 40 year old guy. He's like, how you feeling? I'm like pretty weird. And he's like, yeah, you know it's pretty weird.

15-year-old, I've never met doing acid in my house. Yeah. And I was like, why am I here? But across Canada in a Volvo. Destination, Vancouver, turn left to leave. Travel west through. Approaching. Continue toward you've arrived.

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I mean, there's just some strange people out there. You get involved in some situations that you wouldn't think you would, you know what I mean? But I feel like I got a lot of that out of my system early on to where now as I'm an adult and I have a real, what is it, access to those things? I'm like, who cares? You know what I mean? I've done all that. I don't really. it's not something I need to get out of my system

and I was able to do it without severely fucking up my life I was gonna say it also doesn't still have a hold on you which is what happens to quite a bit of people exactly so when do you actually quit the lab and go it's music for me well technically I never quit the lab they fired me so yeah I mean that's how it goes I'm the type of guy where it's like I want to be

I want to be secure it was like my parents I kind of growing up through that Pentecostal vibe, it's always like safety, security, fear. You know what I mean? So you're taught to like stay in line and to do something crazy like, oh, I'm going to quit my job. Even when things were really moving on the internet, it was like, you need to have a good job, son. You know what I mean? So it's like, I probably wouldn't have quit unless they fired me. But I just got to a point where I'm taking off for all these shows.

I asked them like, hey, can I film this little video of me, you know, what it feels like going from playing a sold-out show to this, you know, stacking boxes in an hour. In reality, my job wasn't stacking boxes. It's taken chopped off legs to the leg freezer. The leg freezer, bro. They got their own freezer. I took my own grandpa's leg to the leg freezer, bro. What the fuck are you talking about?

He came in through there? His leg did, not him. Did you know that was coming? I mean, yeah. How? Because my mom's at the hospital down the street. But yeah, it was a trip. But I'm saying they said it's coming.

What? I used to bounce on that knee. He used to dress up as Santa Claus bouncing on that knee. And I'm like, now I'm taking it to the leg freezers. Ridiculous. Yeah. Hold on. I hear that you know it's coming.

But that day when you're at work, are you like it's today? Or are you getting something? You're like, holy fuck, this is my grandfather's leg. I mean, that's the thing. You get used to the chopped off legs. But when it's someone you know, it's like, wow, that's a different story. How's that hit you? Different.

Yeah. Definitely different. I'm like, hey, take care of this one. You know what I mean? Yeah. What are they going to do with it? That's what I'm saying. How do you really take care of it? It's like, dude, we're going to chop it up and do all this shit. So whatever. You know what I mean? Did anyone else or you included know anyone else that came through there? Dude, yes. And I'm like, I never signed a HIPAA contract and maybe they're definitely never going to hire me again. So who cares. But we're also having said the name of the place or where it is. So true. And we're not going to say anybody's name. But. Yeah, there's a lot of people. Like, I mean, ex-girlfriends, old drug dealers when you were 15. Oh, man. And you're seeing these people coming. You're like, I knew this, dude.

Well, there was one weed dealer that I had when I was a teenager who had a really giant leg. And everybody was like, what happened to your leg? Yada, yada, yada. Long story. He had a big leg. Just one leg was bigger than the other? Massively bigger. Like, it was really big.

Like tennis arm. Yes. And so we get a giant leg in one day and I'm like, why's it got to be the big one and not the normal side? Exactly. Well, hey, apparently his life got way better after that. Oh, is that right? Really turned around, like whole deal turned around.

So congrats. But yeah, we were in the lab. Like, everybody was like all huddled around the leg. Like, dang, this is the biggest leg we've ever seen. And it was a moment. Like the whole dissecting area got chalk full of fluid. like three inch puddle. It was wild, but anyways, that was a full circle moment.

That's crazy. I used to buy weed off this guy. Yeah, or I used to. And so he's still alive then. So that leg was taken because he had cancer or whatever and they were saving his life. Okay. Correct, yeah. No shit.

But yeah, it's how it goes. It's a strange situation. Do you still dream about that? Dude, well, you know, back to the drug thing, you know, one time I was like, I would take acid back in the days and it always made me really. nervous doing it around people. You know what I'm saying? Because I get real socially anxious when on that stuff around people. So I'm like, I know I'll do it by myself, you know? And so I took two tabs of acid by myself. Where are you when you're by yourself? In my room. Okay. In my dirty ass freaking

18 year old bedroom. And I start thinking about the lab and all this stuff. You think about one person in your life that has cancer. It's a total tragedy. And I've got like 15. A freezer. Yeah. A A whole freezer. Cancer legs. I've got a fetus freezer behind me. Oh my God. He's cabinet. It was,

dude. It's dark, but I guess they don't need a whole motherfucker. No. This really shouldn't be the whole podcast, but it is crazy. It's one of those things that's kind of traumatizing where you start talking about it.

You're like, you just keep talking about it. But what the fuck was I saying? Oh, yeah. So one day we get this leg. Okay, cool. We got a leg. Who cares?

The next day we get another leg from the same person. Oh, geez. It's tragic. The next day after that, we get the arm. The next day after that, we get the other arm. And I start, like, thinking about all these things while, and it was like my bed turned in a coffin. I start having a real freak out.

I don't know. So sometimes it bothers me, or I guess then it bothered me, but it's interesting. You know, it's how it goes. I still think about it every now and then. No way you're not going to ever not be able to think about that. What, all right, so let's switch gears to when you switch gears. you're like, no, I'm going to make music for the time. They fired me. Yes, that's right.

So I asked them, can I post this little video? And they were like, yeah, sure, go ahead. And then. Is it one of those videos? It's difficult going from this to this? I remember those. And I'm just stacking some cardboard boxes, no nothing, no fetuses, no whatever. So I'm stacking the boxes.

And then I got COVID and I had to take off for like a little week or so tour here and there. And I was already asking off a bunch. And then they were just like, yeah, you're fired. So I was like, okay. And then right after that, things were. really like popped off. So that was like real perfect moment. How?

What's the first thing that happened that we were like, okay, I think I'm going to do this? Well, that video of me stack and boxes got like 18 million views. Oh, okay. Which might be one of the reasons that they fired me. I'm going to say it might be 18 million. He was crazy. That's fucking crazy. I didn't deserve that play.

But, you know, it's fine. But yeah. And then just like videos regarding like my music themselves, you know, they got like 20 million views, something crazy like that. So the stream started growing great. I'm going to stop. He said, Chris, as an old man over here, older. Yeah, I forget. Your whole life has been with the internet. So you don't have to go to a gig and play, play, play, play. You can record shit in your bedroom if you wanted to. True. I did do the play, play, play, play. I know. But I'm saying you also record those and put those up right away. Yes. Well, yeah. Where back in the, in in 1995 or earlier, it was just like you had to fucking be there or a VHS you know exactly so you're in a world where

you were like I'm going to record some stuff and put it out there and see what happens and it started going well yep I decided that I didn't know what the hell I was doing with my life of like do I give a shit about the lab yet I didn't even want to go to college to do it so why am I here I have a talent I have something to say and I wanted to go scorched earth with it so I started doing that and taking it into my own hands you know just like getting any videographer I could in Fayetteville, Arkansas had to shoot with me. And that started paying off, you know what I mean? And like you said, back in the day, if you wanted to do something like that, you'd have to know a videographer who only lives in these cities. You have to pay him so much

money. Everything's done through the record labels. You can't market yourself. Everything's done through them. And then they own you. You know what I mean? So I think that's something great about social media, is you're able to take your future and your destiny as an artist into your own hands and say, And you don't even have to do a great video. Everybody's got an iPhone, everybody has a camera. So you can just the friction that it takes from you and your art and everyone else seeing it is just a matter of like trial and error, whether or not that art is like deemed valuable by a lot of people. You know what I mean? What's been your hardest time in music so far?

Hardest time in music. I mean, honestly, the hardest time was. you know, before grinding it out in the local scene because I was trying to impress people in my local scene and trying to impress, you know, trying to get more than 30 people to come out to the show. Well, if we just opened for this really cool college band, then maybe we'd have this and weren't we cool enough. And it turns into this like resentment, famine sort of mindset and it's never productive. But whenever I decided, forget about all that, I'm just going to focus on me. and I know there's people out there who want to hear what I have to say and who are here for this,

it just became so easy in my head of like, I know what's going to happen. It's only a matter of time. And that was so fueling, you know what I mean? And ever since then, I mean, things have been great. People have been so kind and so nice and so awesome. And it's just crazy to see what can happen when you start putting yourself out there. I will say, like, you know, there's a pressure that comes with, you know, once something works and you have that audience, then it's like, okay, well, how do I, you might start to think, well, how do I impress them? Oh, there's these people that are here. I don't want to let them down. And, you know, the thing that I've come to realize, you know, making this my first record is like,

I nobody is there in the first place for me trying to impress anyone. You know what I mean? People aren't there because of like me trying to be something to someone else. And I've really just tried to focus on making things that I want to hear, making things that I think is sick. When I wrote music as a kid, I always wanted to give myself the chills and, you know, I write lyrics that cut me in the gut and make things that sounded like I wanted to listen to. And so, you know, I've been taking this big old break from social media and it's all about just like, I'm going to avoid anyone else's voice or anyone else's like opinion.

And I'm going to make some art that I fully believe in and that I fully care about. That's for me and something I can stand behind for years. Good for you. Who were some of your musical influences and who's one that would surprise us? I mean, you got Barry Manolo. Barry Manilow is huge, bro. That's a great songwriter right there. You know he wrote commercial jingles too, right?

I was just back to say, you know he wrote the band-aid. Yes. He's beyond-sounded. Barry Manilow's the shit. Dude. Writes the songs to make the whole world sing, bro. He did not write that song. He didn't.

He did not. Breaking news to me right now. You kidding me, the guy that wrote all the shit we know didn't write the one where it says I write the... Exactly. Who wrote that one? Some other guy, but I don't know. I guess it doesn't care for that song, but it is a great song. Me, my mom, and my brothers went to Vegas to go see Barry Manilow, right?

How old are you? I mean, like, 25, 24. There's like a couple years ago. He's still doing it then. Oh, yeah. How's he sound? He sounds great. He's not like that Paul Anko one I see where he looks at a robot there.

Poor Paul. Like, what's going on with that? They shoved his ass out there. Like, why? I don't know. I don't even know. He owes someone money. He must.

Who's to say? Something's going on. That's old mafia shit, baby. Has to be. But Barry, we're like, we're in that audience. It's all, like, gray-haired people. The median age is, like, 60. And, like, me and my brothers are the youngest people there.

And he does these shows, like, twice a day, every day. Me and my brothers are like, Barry, Barry. Yeah, you go, Barry. You go, Barry, you get it. And he's, like, looking in the crowd, like, he's never heard anything like this. So like years, we were freaking out yada yada.

But it was legit. Yeah, it was so legit. Just a couple of bros. I mean, I don't know if you've heard me scream, but it's like I can scream pretty loud and it sounds pretty crazy. So he was hearing that times three in the audience. I was just in Connecticut. And while I was at the casino there performing, Rod Stewart was there. Love Rod Stewart.

Me too, bro. I wanted to be like, fuck this show. Let's all go see Rod Stewart. And what you just said, it was a line of my mom. Yeah. Just a bunch of 70, late 70 year old ladies. Yeah. In line, couldn't fucking wait.

A bunch of fucking, like, my mom's in, like, leather pants. They had no business wearing and shit. And we love that. And we need that. We need some more of that. And then Rod Stewart's kicking soccer balls out in the audience and shit. Like, then they're like, oh, he can still kick that soccer ball. Yeah.

Those ladies were loving it. Yeah. My dad used to always play Rod Stewart and be like, now Rod Stewart. that's the man he's the man okay Rod Stewart's the man he showed you the jet he tore up and all that shit no you never seen that famous jet

that Rod Stewart the faces tore oh I'll let me show you a picture after this please do yeah I totally forget what question you're asking but yeah I mean Rod Stewart's totally the man influences you got Barry Maniloh yeah Barry Manilow I mean I wouldn't consider him an influence but definitely one of the earliest things I listened to

gospel music in general is pretty great but Johnny Cash was probably the biggest one because it tread that line of like country music and gospel music things you're allowed to listen to. And then the Beatles. As far as influences though, because like none of those really make sense for my music that I make. And I find the influences thing kind of difficult to answer because there isn't like a few artists where it's like, let's sound like that. For me, it's always a process of write a song from the heart, write a song that feels real and feels true and something I want to say. And then when we say like, okay, well,

what's this guitar tone like for this specific song? Then it kind of runs the gamut of different influences and stuff like that. So it really just depends, honestly. I mean, we, I've referenced, you know, Metallica, you know, the strokes, all this different stuff, all the way to Johnny Cash and, you know, like Billy Idol. It's really, it really just depends. I love that you said Billy Idol. Billy Idol is also the man. I'm looking right here at you, Billy Idol. I've been saying it for a while now. I want Billy Idol on this podcast.

And I say that because if I'm older, so if you remember or if you've seen any footage, Billy Idol was hanging out with Sam Kinnison and all those guys at the comedy store back in the day. He was part of the comedy world. They did that wild thing video together. L.A. woman, he came back after his motorcycle accident. He was part of the comedy scene. So I feel like these podcasts are like right up his fucking lane. And I think he'd have be a, he's got to have crazy stories.

Dude. He'd be a great. Crazy stories. He'd be kidding me? He fucked everybody out here. Definitely. Everybody. Without a doubt.

Everybody. We got to know. Everybody. We got to know. He's fucked everybody. Billy Idol, no doubt. What about Buckley? Are you in a Jeff Buckley?

Are you a Jeff Buckley fan? No. I mean, recently more so. I mean, I haven't gone through that phase. You know what I mean? I feel like with certain artists, everybody's like, you got to, to listen to them. I'm waiting to go through my radio head phase still. You know what I mean?

But super talented guy. There are certain songs like Lover, you should come over where it's like huge song right now. His Halloween is crazy. Also crazy. I mean, great songwriter, really tragic story. But no, I haven't listened to a lot of Jeff Buckley. Anybody from your area, any other musicians pop out from where you're from? Yeah, just in general or any big popular names we know from your area of Arkansas. Johnny Cash is probably the biggest that's ever came from Arkansas. There's also this guy, Jesse Wells. If you know him, he's really popping on the gram and doing some great stuff. I mean, he's a great artist. And we've known each other for for years, honestly. I mean, we used to play these little shows in Fayetteville and stuff. So it's incredible

to see what he's doing. And we're all rooting for him and super proud of him. no one else that I can think of. I'm sorry other Arkansas musicians that I'm leaving out. Has your mom seen you perform live? Oh yeah, of course. How does she like that? She loves it. Yeah, she loves it.

Did your grandfather ever get to see you? Sadly don't. Yeah. I don't know if it would have been his thing. I mean, just with it being so loud and he was so old at the time, but could have been cool. Would have been really cool. Watching down from heaven or whatever. So, but no, they never did get to see me play.

I got to watch him preach. That was sick. I was going through some old VHS the other day watching him do that. I was like, wow, you really had the fire. He was good, huh? Oh, yeah, big time. It was nuts. What about any, what's the worst gig you've had?

Oh, dude, let me tell you. It's a crazy one. The worst gig I ever had. So there was this guy. Oh, Sean James. He's another great dude. Came from Arkansas. The worst good guy ever had was a wake or a funeral party for this one guy, right?

Oh, bro. But you're hired to play? Yeah. I mean, I hear you, but they hired you to do this. Correct. They sought you out for this thing. Technically not me. Me and my high school band.

Okay. And this guy, Sean James, right? And we didn't know this guy who died, but he's really into music. And so they're like, let's have it be a party sort of vibe. It wasn't really like a party. It was like a venue, family's dressed in black, watery-eyed, a few other people. And you're up as a band, you're up there playing. Correct.

To this audience. Yeah. Is it a viewing? Is the body in the room? The body's not in their room. All right. So this is just a celebration. Yes.

That would be way worse if the body was in the room. I don't know what it was. Thank God. You stand up there looking at it. Horrible. dark morbid but no so like i didn't know who this guy was and i'm just like a shitty 15 year old and you know we're ripping the bong over and over again before we go and you know my guitarist says hey they want us to put donovan's guitar up on stage with us while we play

and while this guy's grieving mother is walking past wiping tears out of her eyes ago who the Fuck is Donovan. Dude. Did she hear it? Yeah, I'm sure. Did she address it? No. She'd probably too sad.

And then after that we play and I'm like, oh, God. How long are you playing, bro? Like 40 minutes. Oh, God. It was horrible. I was going to say one or two songs. You're doing a whole set that is for who the fuck is not. It was a nightmare.

And all my songs were all like edgy. Who the fuck was, Donna? That's a great question. And rest in peace, you know what I mean? So that's a weird thing though. This is a band that these people don't know. No. And even if you have originals, they don't know them.

This is somehow going to bring peace to them. Nightmare. How much do you guys can pay for that? Like 15, 20 bucks. Like literally nothing. We probably did it for free, honestly. Oh, fuck, dude. We just want to play with Sean James.

Shout out Sean James. But, yeah, what a nightmare. And like all my songs are like, I'm an edgy 15-year-old. So they're all about like death and like morbid stuff. And I'm like mumbling the words on purpose. So they're not like clearly. Because I just don't want to bum them out. And I already did my.

They're already bummed out. They're already bummed out. Bummed is an understatement. But that's probably the worst gig I ever played. Is there any other worse gigs than that? Not that I can think of off the top of my head. That's pretty pretty terrible. What about relationships?

Are you married? I'm not married. No. No. Do you want kids? Do you want to be married? I would like to be married. I'd like to have kids.

I think that would be cool. I feel like everybody nowadays, it's like now's not a good time. I'll be like, you know, 35 year old dad at some point. So who's to say? I do want kids. I think that'd be great.

But I'm like a long-term guy. I feel like I'm, I've never been like a short-term date-around sort of person. I've always been like, date this person, and be with them for three to four years, and then something horrible happens, and we have to break up sort of deal. Are you close with your brothers?

I am. Do they come see you perform? Yeah, they do. Yeah, my brothers, Spencer and Stephen, my parents gave us all the same initials for whatever stupid fucking reason, but love those guys. Love them so much.

I don't really see my older brother, my oldest half brother too much, but definitely close with my brothers. What about your dad? Do you close with your dad? Big time. Big time close with my dad. My parents didn't understand me.

I feel like especially my dad because, excuse me, my dad's such a masculine guy and my brothers were all into football and all the sports and stuff like that. And you have me in the skinny jeans, straightening his hair, you know, getting arguments at Hot Topic type of stuff. And he just doesn't want me to be. be gay at the end of the day.

That's like his making. I bet. Put all the makeup you want to straighten your hair all you want but please don't like guys. Exactly. And that's pretty much it, but and then I start playing guitar. That is it though. That's the core of it.

And it's like just, oh my God. And now I play guitar and he's like super down for it. We have that understanding. But it was rough there for a little bit because we just didn't. Was he like up your ass about it? Like yelling at you about it? it or like i mean yeah you know what i mean if i ever see you in makeup what if you wanted to do the kiss type makeup that was not allowed either no so if you

definitely not to poison type makeup no oh definitely yeah that's his worst night i bet that is i mean now i feel like you get it you better not be brep michael's got exactly is that the worst thing that you're rickie rocket look at mom that is so ridiculous it is it No, he just doesn't want you to be gay. I mean, you know, that's how he was raised. It's like totally chill, I guess. I don't know. But, I mean, yeah, it was a real point of contention of just, like, not getting each other.

And I wasn't doing the things he wanted me to do. What's he want you to do? He wanted me to play football. And it was like, sports. Yeah, dude. And like, for like three years in my elementary school years, I played football, which was a total nightmare because, like, elementary school football is like, Some kid's stepdad is the coach and there's no oversight. And then you have my dad there where it's like, you know, I'm getting just chubby kid just getting creamed over and over again.

You got to dig deep, son. Dig deep. It's like, I can't. I start crying. You know what I mean? Yeah. There was one time where I'm playing football and this kid at practice keeps calling me fat and making fun of me. Were you a chubby kid?

I was. You were? I can't even see that on your. body frame. I appreciate that. I mean, you look like you got a swimmer's body. You're like you had no motherfucking fat. Thank you. Did you get tall or something? What happened? I got tall and I've also just had my brothers calling me fat my whole life. Okay. So this is not actually, you know what I mean? I could get there if I wanted to. Believe me. It's a lot of self-average going on. This is an unhealthy looking fit we got right here. It's a lot of self-patri. So you're saying if you want

to do on the road, you could be a plumber if you wanted to. Oh my God. You're going to be like, what's his name? Leslie West from Mount and then they'll in your old days just to yeah exactly super tight shirt yeah of course that's what you're supposed to do dude i could do that that would actually it's not a bad look you know what i mean so not for a rocker no shade no but yeah i was a chubby kid and i was playing football and some kids starts calling me fat and i go crying to some kid's stepdad the coach calling me fat he's like all right Here's what we're going to do. You and him are going to lay on your backs head to head.

And whoever gets up and tackles the other one fastest wins and the other one shuts up. It's like, dude, what am I going to do? I'm a little chubby kid. This kid's like super thin, super athletic. He just creams me over and over again. My dad's like, you got to dig deep, son. I'm just crying, you know. Anyways, I didn't like football.

Long story short, it wasn't my thing, you know. but here we are when do you become not a chubby kid when i was probably like 12 or 13 or something like that you got rid of the baby fat and stuff yeah that's how it goes you know and when do you start picking up a guitar and playing and stuff what age are you doing that i picked up a guitar when i was about 13 and i learned how to play smells like teen spirit and i was like sick this is working like i'm learning the thing and it actually sounds cool. And then at a certain point, it started sound like shit. And so I just gave up because I got frustrated with it. Come to know, the guitar was just out of tune. And I just didn't tune it. So everybody out there learning guitar,

tune your guitar because it'll make you think that you're bad at it when you're actually doing the right thing. So I gave up guitar. And then I had this like toy pink ukulele laying around. And one of my friends in school brought around a ukulele. And so he taught me out of to play ukulele and we just got on this crazy ukulele feedback loop of like we got deep in ukulele bro like learning like really technical classical ukulele pieces which is ridiculous you know i'm like but they exist they do huh they do on that little tiny trapboard shit there's this guy jake shumabookeru who's like the most goaded ukulele player of all time and we would just try to do what he did kind of deal and you know at a certain point we decided me and my and my and

my friend that we needed more strings so you can play more complicated stuff so I started playing guitar I met this guy in high school playing lunch a paloosa I thought the rock band was just so cool and I'd all I learned out I was like playing like fur release on guitar and I tried out to be their rhythm guitarist but I played I learned how to play stairway to heaven which is kind of classical and that got me in to the job but anyways that guy ended up you know sleeping with my girlfriend all these years later and years later yeah band broke up my best friend for so long you know what i mean but that's how it goes we were in a band you know best friend my girlfriend was our manager you know i know that girl covid happens you know and then everything just like falls apart

but it ended up being pretty good. That's the other thing. It's interesting. I enjoy stand-up comedy because it's a solo sport. We don't see each other unless we're at a festival or something like that. I told Kirsten, she used to travel with me. I just saw the Sclar brothers in the airport on this trip. I see more comedians in passing in the airports than I do at the clubs or anything like that.

And if you and I aren't on the same local show, I'm not seeing you until I see you. So also, I don't have to worry about this guy or this bassist or this drummer fucking up my career. Oh, big time. You know, and I think about that too. So how do you deal with shit like that? Because, you know, or like, let's take journeys going just fine. And Steve Perry is like, fucking out here. David Lee Raw.

I'm like, what are you going to fucking do? Yeah. I mean, that's just them leaving. You're talking about other drama. Like, this guy's fuck, you know. Yeah, big time drama. And then also with standups. The sound check, I'm very jealous of you for that because you just show up and it's like,

I'm assuming that's what it's up back there. Great. Good. You sure? Everybody? Yep. All right. Must be so nice.

That's it, bro. Must be so nice. How your monitors? They sound good up here, but can you hear me back there? As long as I don't get the fucking that reverb echo because that throws your timing off. When you hear it coming back, as long as it's clean going out and they say they can hear it back there. Yeah, it's a five-minute fucking thing. Easy, peasy.

I walk the stage, feel it a little bit. And then we're like, we're done, we're done. All right. Yeah. We're sitting there on the stage like snare. Every, yeah. In your ear, it's like, how long is your sound check to get all those instruments? I mean, like 30 minutes to an hour, if not sometimes longer, just depending on whatever craziness from the venue.

But yeah, I mean, the band drama is hard to navigate. Honestly, it's really difficult, especially like you have people's personalities, you know, my brother. was the drummer for the longest time. And he's my oldest brother. You know what I mean? So there's that budding of heads. Gallagher brothers and shit over here are going to fight each other.

Exactly. And, you know, everybody's got their own little ego and things they think are important. And then you bring the girls into it and it gets even way more complicated and all that stuff. And then really the hardest part for me recently

is just like, you know, it went very fast from a few dudes in a garage in Arkansas to like there's these offers coming in and we're going to play a, It's poor and we're playing for all these people and there's all these people who care and are paying attention. And I feel like for some like people who kind of grew up in that small town local band thing, that like one to 100 vibe can like break your brain. You know what I mean? So it's been tough, honestly.

And it's just like there is those people that you start out with and they're your best friend. And then all of a sudden, you know, other interests for them come in. and then they start doing some shady stuff. And it's like, everything's changed. You know what I mean? It's different now. So it's always a process. I feel like of finding those people that you can rely on and that you can trust.

And we're not going to take advantage of you. I mean, I'm getting diarrhea listening to it. Do you, does it give you pause as a businessman moving forward in your art that maybe I do want to do this solo and hire studio musicians or something and not have to worry about 10 years from now? this guy's been a creep on email. You know what I mean? Exactly.

Fucked your whole shit up. Like you actually have to think like that. Oh, for sure. So does that worry you? Like, let me ask it this way. How do you not let that interfere with just wanting to be creative and have fun and do the right thing when you know you have to worry about shit like that? Because it's not just you.

Yeah. I mean, on the real, that question like tore me up inside for years because I care about these guys and I want to be there for them and I don't want to leave. I don't want to get to the top of the mountain and leave them behind. But at a certain point, you have to look out for yourself and not get taken advantage of and do what's best for you at the end of the day. Because if you don't look out for you, no one else will. And people are going to roll you over from all sides of the industry, whether it's your band

or the music industry, whatever it is on the business side. So you have to take care of your own. And when it comes to my band, like really the only guy left in my band, that's like from the beginning is my basis. Everyone else, I'm... That's how many years now. I mean, I've been playing with him for maybe four years now. But in all the older ones, and that, it all kind of changes.

Everybody also has their own lives and things that they have to do. That's the other thing I was going to say, when we all started these podcasts, we were single dudes. Now everybody's got kids and shit. And then you got schedules to deal with and trying to get honest to God, dude, sitting down like this. This is the hardest part of podcast. He's getting two people to sit in a room at the same time for 60 fucking minutes. Schedule's tough. Scheduling's tough.

Totally. So, I mean, I feel like I would like to have that consistent band at a certain point. But, you know, I'm just finding those people that I really that I really fuck with and that I want around all the time. And then once you find them, like you said, well, can you make this day? This person lives in this country. Doesn't live in that country. And it becomes a whole deal. So I just want to have.

a circle and whether or not it's consistent or whatever I want to have a circle of people that I can call that I am going to look out for them and they're going to look out for me and the vibes are good and there's no weirdness you know what I mean so and that's a process on the manager's side that's a process on the producer's side of finding these people that it's like okay this is the one you know what I mean so you find them you know um give me the lowest point of your life so far you're only a young 26-year-old man. What's been the lowest part for you so far? Oh, geez.

How dark do you want to get? Dark as you're comfortable going? Yeah, that's a tough question. There was some times when I was a teenager where I felt really alone. I mean, I told you, finding understanding with my parents was tough. And, you know, there was just some things that went on that, that, no I tried to tell people about it and they ignored me and I felt so alone. I felt so ignored. I felt it was just a lot of pain. It was a lot of pain to go through and I have a hard time coming to grips

with those things. You know what I mean? I have a hard time reckoning with it or like resolving it in my brain and especially with it's like you know there's people that you love around and stuff and it's all about forgiveness in that way um and you might not get to hear the words that you want to hear from those people but it's about love and forgiveness and trusting them and people can change that's another thing that i've come to realize so agreed yeah there there was a real good bit there where i was you know, just really lost and I felt alone and I was just going through a lot and it was a tough time and it's hard to go into any more detail than that but I feel like I was able to have some good friends at the time and honestly like I feel like the music was such a huge part of

keeping me afloat because you know everyone around me didn't have my back you know what I mean and not having those people close to you around not having their not having them have your back it can be really tough but i mean it was really the art and the music that really kind of kept me going at that time so hard to say yeah what are the what other traumatic events have happened in my life that i could actually talk about in detail i don't know i don't know there's been there's been some horrible stuff but it's hard to say you know what i mean i got people looking out for me do you you put it into your music at all? I do. Yeah, I like to keep it on the vaguer side of things with the music, you know what I mean? Because I don't know. I feel like if people have it all completely spelled

out for you, it's less interesting. But yeah, I do put it into my music sometimes. I definitely put a lot of it into my that trauma specifically into my old band's music. Yeah. So you're born 2000 then huh i was born in 1999 okay so you'll be okay man you just crept in there 99 bro i appreciate saying that i feel like unc now you i mean you're late 1900s baby dude you crept in in the 19s you got there i did yeah yeah yeah and i had my older brothers so i feel like i got their older brother everything that came from like 1994 i also experienced as well well i said you you got a bit of a a Malcolm Young vibe to me, I think. I appreciate that.

And I was mentioning that not that I have a good side at all, but I put my worst one on camera on purpose because it's the honey doing low lights. I was talking about my gap. And I know it's getting wider these days because when I laugh, my lip will get fucking stuck in it. And I asked you if you're going to keep yours. And what was your answer? Of course, I would love to keep it.

And what did I say? You said you go, I'll make a million dollars and then I'll get rid of adventures. Yeah. Yeah. No, I'll get veneers that are. Way too big. With the gap.

Wait, has anybody done that yet? Surely, right? Has anybody done veneers and kept it? And if not, I'll go. Let's go look at Michael Strayhan and see if he went veneers but kept the gap. It's possible. David Letterman. Do you identify as it?

Like, is it a part of you now? Definitely. Do you emphasize it? Is it something you lean into? For sure, yeah. I mean, I was made fun of it and I had a girlfriend telling me like. Kids are going to be brutal, bro. When did it actually space?

I mean, as far as long as I can remember it was there to some degree. And then I remember being like a six-year-old and put in the keychain in it and it would be like, oh, it got stuck, you know, like freaking out. But I would just try to put shit in it. Let me ask you this. Who's the first girl that told you it was cute? And you were like, fuck yeah. Do you remember the first time a girl's like, I like it? I mean, they probably did.

And I probably just was like, I don't believe you. You know, some stuff like that. You better not be a dude telling you that shit. I promise. Oh, no. My dad, bro. That's so funny. I love it.

I love what old school dudes think is success is and what good and bad is. And like, I don't care what you do. You can do anything else out there. Drink and drive if you want to. Exactly. Don't be good. I'd have my girlfriends in high school, you know, and he'd be taking pictures of us like, wow. You know.

He was so proud of me. You know what I mean? He would say wow in front of him. Yeah, for sure. Taking pictures showing his friends at work, you know. That kind of sounds creepy. That sounds really creepy. I take that back.

That's hilarious. But, yeah, I don't know. Here's the other thing. I bet you he doesn't say that to your other brothers who are playing sports. And that can easily have been gay. So true. So true. Like to a masculine macho dude, they can't be gay.

They play football. What the fuck are you talking about? You're the one prance around with the guitar. and the long hair and shit, bro. That's what I'm worried about. That's what I'm saying. Meanwhile, those two could have been in... You're slapping butts all the time.

All the time. Wrestling and shit, I was an athlete. Not that there's a lot of gay... No, but it's gayer than playing a guitar and having long hair. One could argue. And I did it. I did it. It's definitely gayer.

You know? Dude, this was great, man. Thank you for coming and doing this with us. Thank you. Thank you for having me. It's an hour flew by already. That's crazy. I'm telling you.

Look at that clock. Wow. See, that's when you know a good conversation's happening. But before I let you out here, two things. I want to know advice you'd give to 16-year-old Sawyer, and then you can promote everything one more time, please. Yes. What do you tell on 16-year-old Sawyer Hill?

Thinking about what I would tell myself as a 16-year-old makes me think about, like, time travel paradoxes, and if I were to say something, would it affect the future? So in that world, I would say nothing, and I would let it be. But in the world without time travel paradoxes, I would say, like, yo, you're wasting so much of your fucking time. Like, forget about all the drugs. Forget about all the stupid shit. And just like, you have something to share with the world. And the more time you spend on that thing specifically, the better off you'll be.

Because when you're a kid, you're just like dicking around most of the time. And I never took these things seriously to the past few years. And the past few years have been great. So imagine if I was a 16 year old. But who knows the trouble I would have gotten up to had things been working at all when I was 16? So honestly, I would probably say nothing to my 16 year old self. And then you said plug something? I want you to promote anything you'd like albums, shows, websites, social, whatever.

Whatever we did at the top. What's your Instagram? Sawyer Chill. TikTok, something, Sawyer Hill. And you're off the road now, but you'll be headed back out at some point. I'll be back on the road. There's going to be a show. Your music's everywhere.

You get music, Spotify, all that stuff. Spotify. There's going to be more music. So listen to it. What's their most recent album, the current one you have now? Most recent album, Heartbreak Astoria. It's my first EP. Going to do the first album soon.

That's just done recorded. Okay. And then most recent song cover of Folsom Prison Blues. You did? Hung out with Johnny Cash's son. Super cool. Dude. Is that on Spotify or anywhere?

It is. Anywhere we can listen to? I'm definitely going to check that out. Please. Man, thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, Ryan. Continue success to you, brother. Appreciate you.

As always, Ryan Sickler, on all your social media, we'll talk to you all next week.