This Past Weekend - #672 - Trace Adkins

Starting point is 00:00:00 Today's guest is a country music legend. He's got six gold and platinum albums. He's a Louisiana boy. He's got so many hits. Every light in the house, you're going to miss this. That honkedown, but don't get. He's on a special 30th anniversary tour right now.

Starting point is 00:00:24 I've been a fan for a long time, man. I had a blast with the one and only, Mr. Trace Adkins. I was just looking at a... I was just... What was it? I was seeing a commercial that it was for... Was it Pogo stickers or something? See if you can find something.

Starting point is 00:00:54 It's like a Pogo... I didn't have a Pogo stick. Yeah, this is it. Extreme Pogo athletes. This was... What is it? Wow. That's insane.

Starting point is 00:01:10 That's Pogo stick. And did they have that? Y'all have Pogo sticks when you were a kid? toy you remember not like that that's crazy no i ours had like an old shock absorber spring on it i mean i didn't have one but i remember seeing them when i was a kid that's like supercharged oh yeah that's for somebody that's trying to probably make their own power at home or whatever you know you got your you got four kids out there in the yard just pogo sticking you know so you can

Starting point is 00:01:43 watch an episode of as the world turns yeah charging you're charging your batteries. Yeah, dude. So you can be sitting inside watching Unsolved Mysteries or something. That would have been something you maybe would have seen nowhere. Yeah, I'm trying to think of toys that have. Was there any toy you remember growing up, Trace? I'm just trying to think.

Starting point is 00:02:01 I remember when I got a gas-powered little car for Christmas one year. And it had a little gas-powered motor on it where you had to mix the gas and everything. It was like a tiny little motor on it. And it had a propeller on the back of it. where it would propel the car, you know. But, I mean, I guess my old man didn't know. You really needed to have, like, a lot of concrete to have this car. Because it wouldn't run in the yard.

Starting point is 00:02:29 You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And we had a gravel driveway, so it didn't work at all. But I thought, man, yeah, nowadays, I mean, that thing was dangerous. It had a propeller on the back of it, and there was no guard or anything. And it took real gasoline? Yeah. Well, you had to mix it up with something.

Starting point is 00:02:47 Yeah, you crank that sucker up, man, you know, it cut your finger off. It looked like it was like that. Just like that, man. That was the car. It was that green. I remember that. It says high performance prop driven racer. Yeah. Super action on free runs, roars around on tether. Not sure what that means. You had a string on it and you could just stand and it You'd just go in a circle. You'd stand still and they'd just go in a circle. Oh, hell, yeah. Damn, I can't believe you had to mix your own gas for that thing.

Starting point is 00:03:22 Yeah. Just the fact that they entrusted kids, there was definitely some things that they were too entrusting. There was one that had lawn darts, I remember. Oh, lawn darts, yeah. Them bidsches got recalled. Well, you don't want to give drunk rednecks long darts. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:03:40 I think what happened? Was there a long dart recall? Well, I think the general public probably just at some point went, we're not buying our kids that anymore. Yeah, we got one, yeah, you got a kid who's got. We got one kid left, and we've lost two from lawn dart mishapsed. Yeah, you got a daughter with two new dimples all of a sudden. Metal-tipped lawn darts were found to present an unreasonable risk of death or serious injury, and that's on perplexity right here.

Starting point is 00:04:16 About 6,100 people were sent to the emergency room in the 1980s. Wow, that was it, man. I remember also they had something. Was it called Tugger? This was an animal thing. This was, and you were just going down memory road here a little bit. It was Tugger. Can you look at it?

Starting point is 00:04:37 It was a dog. See if they have a... Oh, that's a dog there. Oh, I see. Look at this. I mean, that's... That's weird. It's a bit much, because...

Starting point is 00:04:55 I mean, it's kind of crazy, man. Look at this shit. I mean, dude, look. You'd see some real creepers grabbing them, I think. You'd see a guy walking four of them and you don't have any children or whatever. That's when it's a bit much. Yeah, tugger, that was it. No, I never saw that one.

Starting point is 00:05:15 Tug my sock. That was his motto or whatever. Yeah, play that. That's crazy. I remember one year the most ridiculous thing my mama did was bought us all three pair of boxing gloves. I had two younger brothers, and so one Christmas we all got a pair of boxing gloves, and that was bad. Yeah. That just, yeah, that didn't work out well.

Starting point is 00:05:36 What were your record? I was undefeated until my old man, yeah. I remember my old man came home from work one day, and I was on my knees, and I had one glove on. And then my younger, my baby brother, he was 10 years younger than me. And he had on his little gloves. And so I'd let him hit me a few times and I'd knock him down, you know. And then my old man was like, he came to walking down the hall. And he had my other brother's pair of boxing gloves on.

Starting point is 00:06:07 He said, get up, boy, and put that other glove on. You know, I was like, oh, yeah. And I was like 18 years old in good shape, you know. And I was like, I'm about to wear you out. and I just remember crawling down the hall to my bedroom. I couldn't stand up, you know. He knocked me out so good. He had that man's strength on him.

Starting point is 00:06:27 Oh, man. He just, yeah. Because I was going to hit him in the gut because I knew he'd be soft. And so I went under and he just hit me right between the eyes. And I remember my mama screaming, Erndole, you killed him, you killed him. Damn, hang on. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:06:46 I think that was it for the boxing glove. Yeah, I'm trying to think of a good toy. We had, oh, I remember we grew up by this guy. He was like an Elvis impersonator, but he didn't really want to be. But he had broke his hip, like in some type of deal. He'd broken his hip or his leg, and they'd set it in cement. You know, he'd had some locals set it. And so when they broke the cast off of them, they broke it with like a ball peen hammer or something.

Starting point is 00:07:13 They broke his leg in another place when they broke the shit off. So his leg was bad, man Elvis impersonator, but he didn't really want to be. Well, yeah, and this is what happened. Sorry, I think I started the story in the middle, but. So he ended up having that, like he had that. Oh, he was an Elvis impersonator after he broke. Yeah, because he ended up getting this at tip.

Starting point is 00:07:34 Because he had that, he had that, he had that, like, you know that thing? He didn't want to show Elvis how to dance, but he did. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I hadn't thought about it like that. But you ever know, yeah, you ever see that thing like on a, like a rich guy's desk that moves back and forth and keeps time or whatever? He had that just, he ended up getting that TikTok in him a little bit. And so he ended up, everywhere he'd go, people started calling him Elvis. And so he started impersonating him.

Starting point is 00:08:00 But I can't remember what that story was about. Yeah, what was it? Where were we? Oh. Christmas stuff. Yes. You want to talk about Christmas for some reason. Yeah, one night I went over to, I was walking by their house one night and he was making his son.

Starting point is 00:08:14 And he was trying to make his son like a shirt out of wood. And I remember thinking, they've really gone off, you know? Yeah. It was just like different times. People were always using wood for different stuff in our town. But anyway, yeah, sorry, I got a little bit lost there. But Trace Atkins, man, thanks for coming by, man. It was on my way.

Starting point is 00:08:38 I didn't have to go far out of the way. It's good to see you, man. I know we've been talking about it for a little while, man. Thank you very much. Dude, one thing that we talked about last time I saw you, I think it was two times ago, that your mom was a mayor, your mom was a mayor, we're both from Louisiana. And your mom's a mayor in Serepta?

Starting point is 00:08:55 Serepta, yeah. Serepta. She's still the mayor. How's she fairing as the mayor? Nobody else wants to do it. And nobody else, I mean, it's one of those little towns. Yeah. That, you know, it's just not a lot going on around there anymore.

Starting point is 00:09:10 Once the mill shut down and everything is. just not a lot happening. So the population decreases every year, you know. So she's trying to hold it together best she can, but nobody else wants the job. It's, you know, there's nothing, not that much to do. What kind of issues you feel like is she dealing with this? She even relate any of that to you? She just writes a lot of letters to people to clean their yards up, you know? That's what she does, I swear, man. She's always writing people letters. Your yard looks back. you need to clean you, you know. She wants everybody to clean their yards up.

Starting point is 00:09:49 I mean, hey, it starts with that kind of with making your bed or whatever. Dude, I got a freaking letter one day here from neighborhood watch or like, you haven't been doing your shift. I'm like, I didn't even, I didn't know we had a neighborhood watch, you know? And I'm like, I haven't been doing my shift. And my shift was from Saturdays from like one to four in the afternoon. I'm like, that's, you know, I'm usually trying to enjoy it. That's when I kind of will enjoy myself on the weekends. but I'm like, bitch, I don't even have, I didn't know we had a neighborhood watch.

Starting point is 00:10:17 And I don't think y'all want me out there because I forget what team, what side I'm on. You know, I start going near people's houses or whatever. I forget what team I'm on, brother. And that's a volunteer thing too, right? Yeah. Or they just volunteered you. I think that's just a way now. I mean, if I'm, I don't recall volunteering to take a shift.

Starting point is 00:10:41 Yeah. That's what I said. And I was like, well, I don't even know, you know, I don't even know. And I was like, I wrote back, do we have a uniform or anything? And they, and they wrote back, ha, ha, like in caps. I'm like, bitch, don't, you know, I don't know. It just kind of like, I think it was. You're asking a serious question.

Starting point is 00:10:57 Well, yeah, I don't want. Don't I get like an orange vest or something? Don't I get a damn merit badge on a hat or something? Because what I don't want to be is wandering around somebody's yard saying, I'm neighborhood watch. and they don't have any, you know what I'm saying? They've never heard about it.

Starting point is 00:11:13 Sure you are. Yeah. Yeah. And you get popped off. How's that, how's a Serepta change since you were there? Before you answer that, actually, what does Serepta mean?

Starting point is 00:11:26 Can you look that up for me? Or do you know? It was an old, it's a town in the, it's an old biblical, somewhere around Israel, way back in the day. But they named it after an old woman named Serepta Carter back in the late 1800s. Serepta, Louisiana, yes.

Starting point is 00:11:49 It's got a name for Serepta Carter, an early benefactor who donated a large Bible to the community's first church around 1868. That's all it took to get the town named after you? That was it. It was the Bible. I wonder what it would cost to get it renamed. I could see it being... Two Bibles, maybe. that reminds me one thing my mama did there was this girl got in trouble for something i can't

Starting point is 00:12:15 remember something to do with drugs or and so my mama was she gets to play judge every now and then over these little you know misdemeanor type things you know and she sentenced the girl to go to sunday school for six months and she my daughter called me and she was like dad you're not going to believe what mamma did i was like what she said she sentenced this girl to go to sunday school for six months and i called my mom and i was like you can't do that you know i'm pretty sure that's illegal you you can't make somebody go to church and she said well i did yeah that's jay okay oh my god that's her this my jurisdiction trace i can't believe you have a picture of my mom oh she's beautiful lady what's her first name

Starting point is 00:13:06 Peggy? Peggy? Edkins, is she go by? Peggy Adkins. Yeah, she's the mayor. Thank you for your service, Peggy over there. Keeping it together. Somebody's got to keep it together.

Starting point is 00:13:18 And that town's changed. You said a lot of had a mill. Did it have a mill when you growing up? Yeah, it had a mill about eight miles away. That's where everybody worked. Yeah. Oilfield's still doing pretty well around there, but that's the only game in town. But then, you know, the school was what really made that town special, I thought,

Starting point is 00:13:35 when I was growing up, it was K through 12 all on one campus. But then when they, you know, when they consolidated the schools, now all the kids have to go to another town. And they just made that, took that campus and just made it a middle school. Yeah. So it's not the same anymore. I think that happened to a lot of places over the time. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:13:57 You know, I think that was kind of a popular thing. All the people moved away and there just weren't enough kids to justify having a K through 12. there just weren't enough kids. Yeah, I think when you start to lose little things like that, it takes away something, you know? It takes away some tradition. It did. It had that little charm about it because all the kids in town went to that school.

Starting point is 00:14:20 Oh, yeah. You know, so it was just, so every, the whole community was always behind the school, supported the school at every ball game and all that, you know. But then that just went away and they're, you know, sad. Yeah, a lot of things started to kind of change. like that. I wonder, do you think that was like a financial choice that towns made? Or was it like, because you... Well, it's just weren't enough people, man. Once the meal shut down, people started leaving.

Starting point is 00:14:44 So, you know, it's, I mean, it's decreased. The population has decreased pretty much every year since that happened. Yeah. You know, decades ago, it's just... It's a lot of towns like that in this country. Yeah. When a lot of business went away, man, we, when we go out touring, I'm sure you've seen it over the years, you go by places, some places, it's, you know, they're trying to redo the down Like Amarillo, I was surprised at downtown. Like, you know, I'd always heard about it in country music. You know, and I went there and there's some things that are coming back in it, you know, and it's a night.

Starting point is 00:15:14 There's structure there, but it just doesn't have, you know, it's just missing like a, you can see like an energy that once was, you know, in a lot of places, you know. Shreport's the same way. Yeah. Yeah, sure. I mean, I've never spent a lot of time in Amarillo, but yeah. Shreveport, you know, the casino. have helped, you know, on the river. Bojure City has really prospered more than Shreveport has.

Starting point is 00:15:43 I think in the very beginning, I think Bojure Parish was a little more receptive to the casino stuff than Caddo Parish was. Yeah. Yeah, dude, I remember learning about the parishes growing up in Louisiana and how it was fun, man. Louisiana's still the only state in the country that's still under Napoleonic law. I mean, they practice Napoleonic law as much as they can. I wonder, what are some wild things that happened under Napoleonic laws? You see if you can bring that up. I don't know, yeah.

Starting point is 00:16:13 Because it used to be, I would hear a rumor like if you lost a thumb or something, during employment, that was 25 grand. There wasn't any lawsuits and there wasn't any, you know what I'm saying? Really? Yeah, like you had a justifiable rate. If you lost a whole leg now, we're talking 80 grand, you know? I always thought it was like. long-legged.

Starting point is 00:16:33 Per did, per joint. Like a whole finger was like maybe that. But then if just this, then it was not as much if you just cut it off here. Oh, I see. You know what I mean? It was per joint.

Starting point is 00:16:47 But then you'd have some drunk guy who was laid on his rent or something just chopping one off just to catch it, you know? Yeah, I could see that. But I guess that's fair. Louisiana's civil law system, the most notable and practical highlights, Louisiana's the only state that practices forced airship, a concept rooted in Napoleon that code. If a person dies with children age 23 or younger, a specific portion of the estate must legally go to them.

Starting point is 00:17:15 Oh, so you can't even write your kids out of the wheel in Louisiana, I guess. Dang. I moved for that. Yeah. What a, what was... No buyer beware. Oh, wow. What does that say?

Starting point is 00:17:29 No buyerware. And standard common law states, real estate sales operate under caveat mTOR, which means buyer beware. Because Louisiana follows European civil law, the burden is strictly on the seller to disclose known defects and potential issues prior to the sale. I like that. Yeah, that ain't bad. It should do that everywhere. Feels fair. What about if you lose a limb or something, if you get a rebate on it?

Starting point is 00:17:53 I don't know. Get into that. I got that, you know, but put it back on. Are you missing something? No, like, I cut my little finger off, but they put it back on and just fused all the joints together because it didn't work anymore. Can you straighten it or not? No, no, it's fused like that. Because he asked me how I wanted it.

Starting point is 00:18:16 And he said, you want me to put it straight? And I was like, no, man. I said, put it like in the suss position. Yeah. You know, and he's like, sus position. I said, yeah, playing guitar, because at least I can, if you put it straight, you might as well just cut it off. It's going to be useless, but put it like that, and I can still play a little guitar. I can't reach up the neck with it anymore.

Starting point is 00:18:38 But a B-sharp, it'll help, huh? I just, I can't reach with it, but, you know, and piano playing. I mean, it's really bad. Oh, yeah. I mean, maybe you could rattle off some Christmas carols with that bad deal. But is that true, though? You had it set up like that? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:18:53 He asked me how I wanted it before he fused the joints. you're like almost like a little bit of Pinocchio like a that's wild dude yeah i wonder what i would get my hand say if something if they had to have it i'd probably get these down and this one up to be honest with you you know what i'm saying just in case they ever come around asking me to do that neighborhood watch again but that's wild that's one of the wildest stories i think i've ever heard brother you thought about that in advance you said well look if i had plenty time to think about it because i cut it off i was working offshore so took them six hours to come get me

Starting point is 00:19:31 and fly me back to the beach to go to the hospital. That was before you were doing music? I was playing guitar, you know. That was the first thing I thought when I cut it. It was like, oh, man, I ain't gonna be a play guitar anymore. You were wrong. Well, I'm not very good, but at least I can still use it a little bit. So you worked on an oil rig?

Starting point is 00:19:53 Because that's kind of a Louisiana job. That's something I forget about, dude. When I got out of school, you'd hear like some guy, he was kind of lucky he got a job out on the rigs he was going to do two weeks on two weeks off yeah that's kind of my my first wife's uncle worked offshore he was a uh superintendent for texco and he uh got me a job working on drilling rig for global marine was that a pretty good gig like do you remember enjoying it when you went out there like what was that like i loved it Yeah, I've worked in oilfield for 10 years, six years I worked offshore on drilling rig.

Starting point is 00:20:33 And I enjoyed it. And when y'all hit oil, would people lose it and just be, like, beating their hat against their knee and stuff like that? Like you see them? Man, that never happened, you know. It wasn't like that anymore. Were y'all having a good time out there? Like, were you guys, would you play music at night for the gang? I'd go up to the wheelhouse and, you know, try to write.

Starting point is 00:20:54 and they would start coming up and wanting me to do haggard tunes or whatever, you know, Hank Jr., and stuff like that. But by the time I was working out there, you know, those wildcat and things that you see from the movies back in the day when they'd hit oil and it'd just blow out, you know. Wasn't like that anymore.

Starting point is 00:21:16 People catch it in their mouths and shit. They had it dialed in, you know, so very, very seldom did we take a kick. That sucks, man. It almost takes a fun out of it because some of the fun would be running under and letting that shit hit you. I remember I used to work on a...

Starting point is 00:21:30 I worked on a soybean farm up near, like, Faradie, Louisiana, up near, like, right across the river from Natchez. And sometimes as a fertilizer rig, I'd be sitting there filling up, like, one of those big balls that's on it with fertilizer. And I'd forget the fertilizer was going in there. And so I'd be sitting there just daydreaming or whatever, just kicking dirt or just, I don't know,

Starting point is 00:21:51 listening to country music. I used to just be top. 40 out there all the time and I'd listen to it and that spray rig would just start it would just right out the top just geysering out and it would be like bad chemicals, fertilizer and it was I mean just flying pretty high voltage

Starting point is 00:22:08 shit pouring all on you getting in you and it was hot sun so finally I'd get over there and turn it off I'd like oh damn because I was so absent-minded but then you're standing in the hot sun with this fertilizer on you man and that shit would just god I couldn't get body hair to grow on my neck or anywhere near some of my glands for probably 18 months, I would bet.

Starting point is 00:22:28 I thought I was, I thought I was going to turn into a damn turnip, you know? They're going to put me in a little chair or something, a little baby seat. I used to have dry spots on my hands from sometimes when we would complete a well, which was very seldom. Usually we'd just drill one and then move on to the next location, drill another one. But sometimes they'd want us to stay and complete it and test the well. And so when you completed one, you'd have to displace all the mud. put calcium chloride or zinc bromide or something like that.

Starting point is 00:22:58 And, man, I worked Derek, so it was my job to make sure all that stuff was mixed up right. And if you got it on you, it was just, it was nasty, man. And it'd eat you up. All your skin would peel off. Really? Damn. Summer adds up fast. A trip here, a dinner there, a couple concerts.

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Starting point is 00:25:42 months when you go to Quo.com slash Theo. That's QUO.com slash T-H-E-O. What's up, Gary? Oh, is that a little dog, huh? Yes, Victoria's dog That's a beautiful dog His name's Gary Busey His name's what? Gary Bucce Is it?

Starting point is 00:26:05 Yeah How'd y'all choose it? Because I was pulling afloat In a Christmas parade In our little town We live in And

Starting point is 00:26:16 It was for a pet shelter That Victoria Volunteers at And she came running up To my truck had this little bitty dog, and she held him up to the window. And at the time, he had, like, his baby teeth and his grown teeth at both, because he had, like, two full sets of teeth.

Starting point is 00:26:37 And she brought him up to the truck, and his teeth were sticking out, and he had that blonde thing sticking up on top of his head. I said, that dog looks like Gary Busey. And so we took him home that day, and that's his name. They do have similar kind of hair structure or whatever. Yeah, yeah. But he's lost all his teeth. now, so he doesn't look the same.

Starting point is 00:26:58 Oh, as you haven't seen Gary in a long time. If you put their picture side by side, it looks exactly like. They should put a dog collar on Gary Bucie, the man, just so people... A leash. Or, yeah, just to, you know what I'm saying? I think all of us at certain points in our lives should have a collar on with our mother's information on it. Oh, God, that's not a real picture of him, is it?

Starting point is 00:27:18 Is that Gary? Someone said he was delivering pizza somewhere. Oh, geez, dad. Is that real? Oh, my God. That could be him, or that could just be any guy from Maine. So I think that could go either way, man. That's unfortunate.

Starting point is 00:27:32 No, I think he looked pretty good. How old is Gary Busey, though? He's got to be late 70s, I'd say, probably. At least. 82. 82. Wow, okay. I got to go back and watch some of his work, man. He's a talent that I sometimes forget about.

Starting point is 00:27:51 A lot of people have. He's a talented guy. I know he was doing like a lot of TikTok. He was doing a lot of, like, Christmas cards for something, like audio verbal Christmas cards. He does those things. Yeah, I saw a couple of them.

Starting point is 00:28:05 They were pretty cool. I thought one of them was kind of wild, though. What was it? I think he'll do anything if you'll send him some money. He'll read anything for you. Yeah, oh, this might be it. Let's see it.

Starting point is 00:28:18 Let's see that. Is that a video that we can see? I'll do that, too. Here we go. People don't ever ask me to. Hey, it's Gary Busy. And I have got a great Christmas This is a present for you.

Starting point is 00:28:30 Listen to this. That's what a goose sounds like. Where they're flat, they let you know they're up there. You get a bunch of geese together. They're hawking in the air. Thanks, Gary. That's awesome, dude.

Starting point is 00:28:55 But I tell you this. He needs to be on National Geographic channel, you know, with that kind of insight to the wildlife. That shit we didn't know. That's more than I've learned. Thanks, Gary. That's more than I've learned in a while, I think, though. But at least he still has a great sense of humor, man.

Starting point is 00:29:16 I'll say that. I don't think he was trying to be funny. You don't think so? I don't know. I hope he was. Yeah. He might have been. I've been around Gary, a good bit.

Starting point is 00:29:27 Oh, you have? He's legit, crazy. Yeah. Oh, he is. I didn't even know that. Yeah. Yeah. I just see stuff

Starting point is 00:29:34 and you always think it's just him being him, you know? Oh, we had a traumatic brain injury. Yeah, he had a motorcycle wreck. Oh, I didn't know this, or I didn't remember it. He had a malignant tumor from a sinus cavity as well. It said in 97. In 88, he had a motorcycle crash. So there was kind of a before him and after him type of energy?

Starting point is 00:29:55 Oh, wow. He's always been a little crazy, though. Yeah. But then after the motorcycle wreck, he went full-blown. Oh, yeah, that'll bake it in. That'll bake, it is, it's in the ingredients then. I love him, no, he's funny. Yeah, entertaining guy.

Starting point is 00:30:13 Did you have any other jobs, man, for you really got kind of like, for you took on music full time? Well, when I moved here, I went out to DuPont and worked out there on O'Hickory Lake at that plan out there. I worked for B-E-N-K construction. I worked out there for a couple years before, a record deal. Yeah. And was that just like day to day?

Starting point is 00:30:37 Like what kind of stuff they have you doing? I'm a move. Pipe fitter's helper. Fitter's helper. Oh, you worked with pipe fitting? Were you in the union? No. Oh, dude.

Starting point is 00:30:46 My buddy, freaking Corey was in the freaking union, dude. Piper's union? Yeah, he said he was. He was always over there just drinking. He'd bring a big thermos of milk and drink it all the time on the sidelines of work. And then he gets sick if they were out in the sun and shit. He was a damn liability. but my brother ended up hiring him

Starting point is 00:31:03 because they were friends, but he's a gypsy. Some of those guys can do whatever. They'll spray your house and they'll spray your driveway and sell you to his asphalt. You know what I'm talking about? If somebody show up with a truck full of nothing

Starting point is 00:31:18 and be like, yeah, we got a truck full of it. And you don't even go look in the truck to see if anything's in it. Nothing's in it. It's just a spray rig with a little bit of paint and they'll paint it on there. But anyway, yeah. I'm trying to be...

Starting point is 00:31:30 we're talking about. Just jobs we had. Oh, dude, I'll tell you one. I remember I sold, they had door-to-door Italian going on in our area for a while. They had this guy, Donnie Ferrari or whatever, and he was selling door-to-door Italian food, and I got linked up with him somehow through my, some guy, my mom was kind of dating or whatever. Some guy she met at a damn, probably by a X-Rox machine or something, because it was in the 80s or whatever. And I ended up doing working for him for a while. And it was just door-to-door we would take Italian food and try to get people to buy it, dude. And that was probably- Well, they weren't even calling you to bring it.

Starting point is 00:32:01 You were trying, you were growing their house trying to sell them. Yeah. And I was apprentice assistant or whatever. Sorry, dude, but I'm not buying any food. You come up and knock on my door. You know, I'm going to look at you. I'm going to say, no, man, I ain't buying no food from you. Bro, when I show up my little ravioli dance, bro, it would be popping out there.

Starting point is 00:32:20 Come on, man. But I will tell you this, it did help me, because I was kind of an apprentice at first. And so it did help me, I think, get a little bit of that. I'm going to do something I don't want to do. You were an apprentice for what? Sell selling them? No, man. You don't, you, everybody that sells door to door is a fucking apprentice.

Starting point is 00:32:41 Yeah. There's no professional door to door selling food. Oh, this guy was good, brother. Donnie was pretty good. I mean, he was the best in our area. And, yeah, I worked at him for almost, probably almost 11 months, four months. probably about almost seven months. But yeah, I was out there, dude.

Starting point is 00:33:02 I think it did help me a little bit because we'd get a new, you know, the big thing that all the ladies wanted at the time was garlic bread. And it's still what they want. It's still what they want. But I remember that was kind of probably one of the wildest jobs that I had.

Starting point is 00:33:21 But when I first started listening to country music was when I was working on that farm and I would put on top 40, they'd have like Casey Kasem or something. at the time. But I think that was a little more like pop, but on one day they would do, I guess it was country top, I think it was

Starting point is 00:33:35 probably top 40, it might even be a day where they would do 100 songs or something, you know? And I'd cut the tractor off and I'd stand out there and just sing the songs that I loved, man. I remember every Sunday morning it was always as a countdown. That's what it was then.

Starting point is 00:33:51 But it wasn't Casey Kasem. Oh, my God. Who was it? You're right. I can't believe that I don't remember his name. I did a bunch of interviews with him. Now I can't think of his name. I'm getting to be that way, though, man, forgetting names and stuff. Yeah, mixing them up. I do it.

Starting point is 00:34:07 It's hard. I know, Leo, it's terrible. I can't remember. Well, dude, I can barely remember Donnie Ferrari who I freaking apprenticed with. No, why can you remember something, some insignificant Italian dude from back then? And you can't remember stuff from just a few days ago. I think it's just because you go through so many neighbors with the man. You're pulling the wagon.

Starting point is 00:34:30 He's pulling the wagon. You're pissed. He's pissed. Y'all are right there. But when you get to the door, you got to work together. So I think... But you know what I'm going to remember, though? Next time I'm trying to woo a lady, it's garlic bread.

Starting point is 00:34:42 Oh, yeah. I got to remember that. Oh, fucking, I'd warm piece up in the microwave and just freaking dabbing on the sides of my neck, brother. They know what's up. They know what's up. But that's when I fell in love of country music, man. That's when I felt, because I would just be out there all day. And I think that's what a lot of the radio stations would play.

Starting point is 00:35:00 I used to put a cassette in and record the top 40 countdown. That's the way we always got our tunes. Because, you know, back in the mid-80s, I was playing in a cover band. And, you know, you needed to know a certain number of songs from, you know, the current top 40. You know, it was a big deal. You needed to know a bunch of those songs because that's what everybody wanted to hear was what they were hearing on the radio. So we'd cover all those tunes. And that's how we learned them.

Starting point is 00:35:28 We'd just record them on a cassette off the countdown, and that's how we learned them. When did you put together, I mean, your first album, Dreaming Out Loud was your first album? How did it get to the place where you're, you know, you're working on an oil rig, you're playing some, and then you're playing covers, and then how do you get to that next step?

Starting point is 00:35:47 Is that of your own volition fully, or did somebody come along and kind of give you an inspiration or let you, like, take me through a little bit of that if you don't mind? God, it's just such a long story. I mean, I... Oh, is it? Yeah, I would... But it did start when I was working on drilling rig.

Starting point is 00:36:00 I'd take my guitar out there and I'd try to write. And then I met this guy out there that knew these other guys in a band in Lafayette, Louisiana. And he said, man, this time when we're off for two weeks, come down, I'll introduce you to these guys. So I went down there and, you know, sang with them a little bit. And then they wanted me to go to Dallas. They had already won a little bit. local competition in the Battle of the Country bands. And they wanted me to go to Dallas with them for the regionals.

Starting point is 00:36:32 And it was going to fall on a time when I was off for two weeks. So I went. And we won the thing in Dallas. And then we came here for the finals. And, you know, we lost here. But that was my first taste, you know. I came off a drilling rig. And then I'm on stage at, you know, T-PAC, you know, in front of all these industry

Starting point is 00:36:53 people. and it freaked us all out. You must have been nervous, huh? That's nerves. Oh, we choked. Yeah. So we didn't win. But anyway, that kind of gave me the, you know, the fever, you know.

Starting point is 00:37:07 So, and then a few years later, I moved up here, you know. And that's kind of how it started and met the right people and, you know, songwriters and some other music executives. And that's been it. That was it. Man, I saw you at the rhyme in a few weeks ago, dude. You have, and I hate to say this, but I just was reminded of so many songs. You know, you just kind of like, when you go watch, you just, it kind of takes you through little part to your life. You'll hear a song.

Starting point is 00:37:38 You're like, oh, I used to kind of, that song is almost becomes a champagne. And then bubbles of like memories during that time start to come up through it, you know. That was a lot of. first single, June 26, 96, 30 years ago. And you wrote it? I wrote it with Vip Viperman, Carl Viperman. Everybody calls him Vip. And was there any story behind some of that?

Starting point is 00:38:02 No, he was just, we were just sitting down getting to know each other because I'd never met Vip before. But, you know, a guy I was working with, producer at the time, just hooked us up and said, I think you all right with VIP. He's a good dude, you know. I think y'all get along. And we sat down together, and we were just kind of getting know each of. other. He was asking me questions and asked me where I'd come to Nashville from. I told him I'd

Starting point is 00:38:24 been living in Texas and playing honky tonks out there for a while. And he asked me and said, well, is there a girl in Texas? And I was like, yeah, a bunch of them. And he said, well, let's write that. I was like, what? That's how y'all do this. So that's what happened. And we just wrote it. One of my favorites is every light. the house man that song dude i freaking that was my first that was that was my first hit i mean girl in texas i think got to 17 or 18 or something like that on the charts but then every light in house is on got to number five wow man dude that song and then the next single went to number one and the next single went to number one i was like here we go that song because i was all broken-hearted because i'd

Starting point is 00:39:17 separated my girlfriend and I went separate ways because we were we were his boyfriend and girlfriend and then I was going to school in Arizona she was staying in Louisiana not to make your song about me but but that's what was going on and I think I think I think I ate a bunch of mushrooms or something I was and I was saying goodbye to her at this gas station and I didn't know these mushrooms were really going to start hitting and they had a lot of oil spots on the ground and just from course the gas station what's that it's gas station? It's a gas station. Yeah, so it's a gas. In Louisiana.

Starting point is 00:39:49 Yeah, yeah. So a lot of oil spots. But the mushrooms was kind of getting my brain and started massaging my brain a little bit and really touching my brain stem. And then I saw all those oil spots started moving. I thought there were roaches because Louisiana we also have a lot of roaches. And you'll see somebody, you know, that's how I just stamped the hell out of a damn oil spot. But yeah, I started freaking out. And she got kind of scared and it was like this weird, like, anyway.

Starting point is 00:40:16 Anyway, that relationship ended, but I remember just being heartbroken. I'd be out there in Arizona just listening to that song, dude, and it was just, anyway, I'm sure a lot of people. You want to see oil spots. Pull up in front of an old Riley's or an AutoZone. Oh, God. Oh, my God. It's like just all slicks out in front of old stores.

Starting point is 00:40:35 Pull up in front of my sister's house when she was married her ex-husband, too. Pull up in front of my house until I started making some money and got a car or got a truck that didn't just pour oil out of the bottom of it. I used to put as much oil in my trucks as I put gas in them. Well, yeah, you did. You did it with your first toy as a kid. No wonder, that shit made sense, bro. That was just a predecessor of what was going to go on.

Starting point is 00:41:02 Dude, you remind me I had this 86 Jimmy or something of this car, right? I think the call, it was a Chevrolet. It was 86, maybe Chevy, something like that. GMC, Jimmy? Yes, GMC Jimmy, man. I would always fuck up. I would tell people's a Chevy, and I'd get Chevy. parts for it and it wouldn't fit it or whatever.

Starting point is 00:41:18 But something was broken on it. And about every 80 miles I had to pull over and I headed out to Arizona driving out west from my first semester of college. Dude, I must have stopped. I can't even tell you. 90 times I had to stop. Let it cool down and then keep it cruising. It was kind of like that brown one.

Starting point is 00:41:37 No, it wasn't that nice. It was something different. Oh, it was a blazer. It was a Chevy Blazer. Yeah, not the GMC, Jimmy. No. And the seats were. were flammable.

Starting point is 00:41:48 But you could use Chevy parts on a GMC. That was it right there, dude. And you had to hold up. A chick magnet. Oh, dude. It was some chicks. And your girlfriend left you and you were driving that sweet ride? What's wrong with that bitch?

Starting point is 00:42:09 You're right, dude. You know what? She's probably with some low-rent dude now. man, driving around in a Corolla or something. Yeah. She could have had that. I know. Well, look, every now and then I'll send her a mother, her in an email and say she missed out.

Starting point is 00:42:27 Toyota ain't one of y'all sponsors, are they? No. That's good. No big company like that would sponsor us. But yeah, dude, that vehicle right there had to pull over. And, dude, the whole back of the vehicle, even for a while, was antifreeze. Because that's what I needed the whole time. So I couldn't even have guests come in the car because it was full.

Starting point is 00:42:45 I'd probably have, I'd be sitting there sometimes I'd have 20 bottles of antifreeze in there. And I'd have to use them all pull over and use antifreeze and water. But if you just use water, it would burn off too quick. But man, sometimes the car got so hot, I'd have to step away from it for a while. You know, and I'd go walk or go sit in the distance and write a poem or something. You're sitting in the distance. But that bitch was, that bitch was hot, dude.

Starting point is 00:43:06 I don't know if they allow cars to get that hot anymore, but, but yeah, dude, that was unrequited love, I found out it's called. Where'd you go to college? I went to University of Arizona at first. Oh, yeah. How'd you do that? I mean, why? I just want to do some.

Starting point is 00:43:20 Way off and out there in the desert. I want to do something different. Well, you want deserts different from Louisiana. Yeah, I just like, I'm going to do something different, but I came back after one semester I went to LSU. And then. I don't like a desert. Yeah?

Starting point is 00:43:34 Do you? I don't like a desert. You know what, there's a moment in the day I really like it, you know, right around that. You know what I like. Daylight. Yeah. Daylight, yeah, or even just right, dust. Dawn.

Starting point is 00:43:45 Yeah. I like that. There's something nice about it. There's something that, but there's something about it that it doesn't really have much of a memory, but it has like a wisdom or something. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:43:55 There's something about it that I think's pretty interesting. But I didn't like it then, man. That was a tough time, but, but it was a good time, man. But that was when, you know, love was just, your whole body was just damn, made out of damn hormones or whatever. And, you know, you'd tick, you know,

Starting point is 00:44:14 you'd touch a, you'd pet a dog, all going to give birth, you know. It was just like you were just that agile, just that viral or whatever. You know, you'd spit on a tree and it'd fucking grow fruit or whatever out of it. How many puppies you had? That's true. I don't know what I'm talking about. That's nasty, bro.

Starting point is 00:44:33 And Gary Bucce just left the room. I will say that. What about, is there a story behind that song? Is there a story behind that song? Which one? Every light in the house. Oh, dude. It's just when I heard it.

Starting point is 00:44:45 I was like, that sounds like a hit to me, you know. And Scott Hendricks, who was producing that first record. I mean, we just, there's some songs you hear, and you just go, that's a hit. Yeah. Just there's no doubt, you know, so that was one of those no doubters. Was there a song you wrote that you felt like had a story to it more like that, more like what? That's a great question, actually.

Starting point is 00:45:09 I don't know what the end of my question was. Oh, all of them have a story. Was there one? There was one, somebody said Arlington has a cinema. Well, yeah, of course, man. That was a very personal. I didn't write that, but it was just such a personal thing that I knew who wrote it and I knew the story behind it and I knew who it was written about.

Starting point is 00:45:35 And so before we released that song, I asked the family to come in, you know, and we played the song for them. And I said, look, this song's written about your son. We want your blessing before we put this out. Yeah, it was a very personal thing. Everybody listened to it and cried, and we got their blessing, and so that was cool. Wow.

Starting point is 00:45:58 And has that family come to some of your shows and stuff? I haven't seen the Nixon's in a while. Was it about their son? Yeah. Yeah, it was about Patrick Nixon. Lance Corporal, Patrick Nixon. He was a Marine. And his dad was a Marine and his grandfather was a Marine.

Starting point is 00:46:18 And so that's where that song came from. Amen. Yeah. But I've, you know, I've written some personal ones. They're all, they all come from that kind of place, you know. Yeah, I was just wondering, I just didn't know, because I think, you know, as a person who just like, you know, I've written a lot of, you know, love letters and all of that.

Starting point is 00:46:42 Really? Oh, yeah. Love letters. Apologies? Well, I can imagine that, but I don't know about the love poems. Yeah, I've written a lot of apologies, I think. More apologies than love letters, probably. Oh, yeah.

Starting point is 00:46:59 If you'd have written more love letters, you wouldn't have to write so many apologies. That's probably the truth, right? You're better at the other one. Yeah. I think there might be a song in that little idea right there. That's something coming here. I think probably one of the most personal, songs I ever wrote to me was a song called Welcome to Hell.

Starting point is 00:47:19 And I was really, really pissed off when I wrote that. You know, so, I mean, of course, I wrote it in 2001, you know, sometime after the World Trade Center thing after 9-11. No, it was personally. It was very personal to me, you know. Where did that angst come from? Was it just from that sort of thing, just from like America, like just the devastation? in our country and what it felt like it did to us?

Starting point is 00:47:46 Yeah, I wrote it because I thought, you know, these guys, they think that they're going to do this kind of stuff and then they're going to end up in heaven with 72 virgins and all this. And I said, how surprised are they going to be? You know, when they end up, you know, and the guy says, welcome to hell, you know. Oh, you thought you were going there? Well, no, dude.

Starting point is 00:48:10 You know, this is where you're going to be. And so that's how I wrote that. As your career is going on, has it been tougher to have inspiration for songs? Or do you feel like certain songs kind of check a certain box as an artist moves through time? And then that has kind of been filled? Man, I don't write as much anymore. But it's because I don't. That inspiration that you're talking about every now and then you'll hear something.

Starting point is 00:48:40 And, you know, I'll hear a phrase or just a line that somebody said. And then it rings the bell. And I'm like, oh, God, that's a song. I'm going to have to write that. Yeah. And it's almost like it's a gift that's just given to you. And you have to deal with it, you know. Like having some kind of disease or something.

Starting point is 00:49:02 You know, I'm going to deal with this now, you know. That's a good point, actually. Yeah, like having a disease. Because creativity is kind of a disease. Like if you want to tend to it. Yeah, you got to. You know, you have to deal with it. It comes knocking and you just got to deal with it, you know.

Starting point is 00:49:18 Dude, it's so funny. I forgot about that. I forgot that that's like how creativity happens a lot of times. It's like herpes. It just, you know. Yeah. I mean, you know. Yeah, neither one of us have it.

Starting point is 00:49:29 No. But I've heard that it's like, you know. It just comes. You got to deal with it. Yeah, yeah. I've heard it shows up like a damn. Cousins. Like, oh, it shows up like family.

Starting point is 00:49:40 It shows up like door-to-door Italian food. Yeah. That's how it shows up. I've got to deal with this guy now. Oh, Donna. Trying to sell me food that his grandma cooked, you know, in her roachy kitchen. Hey, I'll say this. I will say this.

Starting point is 00:49:55 I remember we had a Manicotti in May special, and that shit was popping, dude. What was it? Manicotti in May. Because a lot of women they get... It was in May. Well, they get so hot in the summer, they're like, I ain't cooking, you know. Well, you know what I'm saying? In our town, you know, you know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:50:10 You give you a damn kid a piece of ice or something, put a little sugar on the back of it. You know, give that to him or whatever. You know, we're just, sometimes a woman just spit cold water in your mouth or something, and that's, that kind of as a side item. But, yeah, it was just a different time. We had a beautiful manicotti. Bring manicotti up. Yeah, it was a different time.

Starting point is 00:50:35 Now, look at that, Tracy. You telling me, you telling me, you're telling me. You're telling me a man named Donnie Ferrari. With an 11 or 12-year-old kid, he doesn't know, shows up at your door trying to sell you that. You ain't going to get you a couple for your lady? I don't think so, man. Not today. Not today, man.

Starting point is 00:50:53 And not now. Not in this time. Maybe in that time, but not now. Yeah. You know, not now. That's some desperate shit. No, I'm not buying food from you, kid. Go away before I call social services to come get your ass.

Starting point is 00:51:09 We kept, some of them we kept in the warmer and some of you had to warm. yourself but uh that was a good job it was how i learned to just be a pro to go on ahead and approach people um what's the love life been like over the years trace you got some stories from it and i hate to lead you in like that but sometimes you know a creative person they feel love kind of deep i feel like you know if if your brain is kind of deep i feel like your heart can be kind of deep as well. I reckon I gave as good as I got. That's fair.

Starting point is 00:51:44 You know what I mean? Yeah. I love you as good as you love me, I guess. Yeah. It's got to be that kind of deal, though. I ain't going to just love you if I ain't getting any back. I'll quit. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:51:57 I'll quit loving you if you quit loving me. Hey, I don't do. That sounds like a deal. I mean, you know, but I'll love you as hard as you. want to love me, I'll get down, come on, I'll match you. Heartbeat for heartbeat. Yeah. Dude.

Starting point is 00:52:15 Whatever. I'm not joking, though. I swear to God, one of my past relationships, if we had just met one day in the kitchen and said, look, I'll quit loving you if you quit loving me. We would have both, and if we would have, because we both, that's what we both wanted to do. We just didn't do it, you know? Yeah. It's happened, of course.

Starting point is 00:52:33 I mean, I'm on my fourth marriage now. Are you really? Yeah, really. Dang. What did you learn about him? I think really because Blake married us, so we're not 100% sure if we're actually really married, but I think we are.

Starting point is 00:52:53 Who Shelton did? Wow. Dude, somebody said he has like a sandal collection. I heard a room he has like a male footwear collection or something. Sandals? Yeah, men sandals. Is that true? Have you heard anything like that?

Starting point is 00:53:04 I hope not. I'm going to stop being friends. with him if it's true. Because Blake's always said you can't trust the guy wearing flip-fops or sandals. Oh, maybe he's doing it on the side. Or, you know, I don't mean, I just mean maybe he, you know, maybe he keeps a pair under his bed. I don't have any idea.

Starting point is 00:53:23 That's just something that I heard. Bring that up. Wow. That's, uh... Bring that up. Bring a Blake Shelton's sandal rumor that we just started. Oh, my God. See, he's anti.

Starting point is 00:53:35 Oh, is he really? Yeah. Yeah, I was like, no, man. He said you can't ever trust the guy wearing flip-flops or sandals because if you get stuck, he ain't going to help push you out. It's true, right. He won't help push you out. He won't help do it.

Starting point is 00:53:49 A guy wearing sandals is not hardly going to help you do anything. You know what I'm saying? Because he's going to get his toes banged up. And so he's not going to help you do anything. You know, he's not even wearing shoes. So he can't help anybody. He's not going to run in a house and save children. when the house is on fire.

Starting point is 00:54:08 He ain't got on shoes on. Yeah. Well, there go. He's worthless. He's a worthless, he's a worthless male. You know, he ain't got no shoes on. It's absolutely worthless. There go half of the Sigma Tiles out there, then I think probably out those guys.

Starting point is 00:54:23 You have a shit. Oh, I don't care either. I don't give a shit. Yeah, if somebody has sandals on. I mean, it's like soccer, you know, come on. Stop with that crap. Well, if somebody has sandals on, it's just like, well, the worst. First is you will see someone, and I'll say this out loud right now, Trace, you'll see somebody with sandals on who have sunburn on their top of their feet.

Starting point is 00:54:45 They wear sandals a lot. Yeah. And they can't do nothing now, like my buddy, Bryce. Can't put shoes on because you got sunburn on your feet. Yeah, if you can't put shoes on and go to work. Because your feet are sunburned. Because your tops of your feet are sunburned, then you are not, then you definitely. You're not helping society at all.

Starting point is 00:55:05 Yeah. Yeah, then you're definitely, you should be selling damn door to door Italian. That's from Johnny Farago or whatever. What his name was. Donnie Ferrari. Donnie Ferrari. Okay. That's some made-up shit anyway.

Starting point is 00:55:21 His name wasn't really Ferrari. You know, I never saw any of his paperwork. I know he lived in city limits. Okay. Well, then he's legit. bro thank you so much for hanging out with me today man I know we've been trying to catch up for a while and I've been a fan for a long time

Starting point is 00:55:45 I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it I've got the explosive diarrhea you hear about that going around bring that up what are they doing it's some funny shit isn't it you ever had explosive diarrhea I have not I've had like semi-explosive or you know something that you know the DOT would pull you over if you didn't have the right tags on your truck. You know what I'm saying? If you didn't have the right placards showing.

Starting point is 00:56:07 Oh. I've had that. Cyclospora. Yeah, that's the new one, yeah. Oh, dang. Sprosive diarrhea. I've had it. Have you really?

Starting point is 00:56:17 Yeah. Have you had a colonoscopy? I haven't had one. I mean, I've felt around the outside. You're going to have explosive diarrhea when you get that. Really? Yeah. Oh.

Starting point is 00:56:27 It's fun. I don't want that. I shit my pants twice that day. Uh-uh. Same day? Same day. Oh. twice. And it wasn't like, you know, it was

Starting point is 00:56:37 totally involuntary. Of course it was involuntary. I just don't voluntarily shit myself. You know, very rarely do I do that? Oh, that's when the Italian comes. I probably have, but I can't remember last time. Oh, yeah. Oh, voluntarily shitting yourself. That's just a way to get out of a fight usually. Or church. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Even the Lord don't want to you around at that point. Offering plates coming.

Starting point is 00:57:07 I got to ship myself. So you got this disease that happened? Or what is this? Cyclosmore. No, I didn't have that. I just took all that stuff. The doctor gave me the day before I had a colonoscopy. And so you're saying you didn't have a choice if you wanted to go to the bathroom or not.

Starting point is 00:57:20 It just went for you? Well, it was kind of a weird thing. I thought I felt fine. I was taking all the stuff, drinking the stuff, taking the pills, the whole thing. And I was at the farm. And I was just like, well, I think I can go do some stuff. I don't feel bad, you know, at all. So I went and I had a little 10-foot John boat in the pond,

Starting point is 00:57:42 and I was going to pull it up on the bank. And I just reached down and grabbed away very much, you know, just a little old aluminum boat. I reached down there and grabbed it and pulled it and just, you know, it was like, I mean, really, in my boots bad. You know what I'm saying? To the top of your hat. And so, of course, I just went on in the pond.

Starting point is 00:58:06 Oh, you just got in the water? Cleaned that up. That's a way to do it. And I'll leave your clothes in there. And I thought, well, okay, that's not going to happen again, you know. So that's got to be a it, you know. What do you mean? You don't think of it?

Starting point is 00:58:18 I went and changed clothes, and then I went to try to do something else. Yeah. And I had a flat tire on one of my side by sides, and I had it on jack. And I was going to take the jack out from under it because I'd already changed the wheel. So got up in there, took the jack out, and then I was going to get up off the ground, and I grabbed the tailgate on that thing and pulled myself up.

Starting point is 00:58:39 And when I strained just that little bit, I call that explosive diarrhea. I mean, you get it. If you make the least little, you know, exertion, it just come, you know. Oh, yeah. That's explosive. Oh, I've had some shit where you try to blow your nose.

Starting point is 00:58:58 And my wife thought it was the fun. That woman laughed at me all day long. She's laughing right now because she loved it. She thought it was the funniest thing in life, man, seeing me soiled like that, you know. God. And just, you know. That bums me out. She professed a deeper love for me than ever before because I was, I guess I was at my most vulnerable.

Starting point is 00:59:25 Yeah. You know, that's what they say. She thought. They say a vulnerable man. tracks a woman. I was attractive that day. Super attractive, man. I was drawing them like flies and flies.

Starting point is 00:59:43 Dude, I remember... Green fly. I remember one time I was on something. I think I was on antibiotics, and I'd also been using a lot of Tabasca or Franks Red Hot. Had to clap. Oh, no, I don't know. No, no, nothing.

Starting point is 00:59:57 I was using it on food. And I took a, dude, I've tried to blow my nose, just blew my ass. I just shit my ass. I didn't even want to. I know. Well, of course you didn't. Well, maybe you did. I didn't.

Starting point is 01:00:14 I didn't want to either. Yeah. And then that was it. I didn't go back outside for the rest of the day. Yeah, you didn't go back outside. I didn't put clothes on again. Oh, that's when you're really bad off. My wife put like four towels down.

Starting point is 01:00:29 down on the couch and I just laid there for the rest of the day, naked. Oh, God, that's when the devil's got your ass. Yeah. God. So I'm sympathizing with the explosive diarrhea people that I've had the misfortune of being. Yes. I think it's the lettuce. And so last night my wife made me this big old salad and I was like, uh-huh.

Starting point is 01:00:52 I know what you're doing. She's trying to make some vulnerability. I know what, yep, and some more, she wants to love me hard again. So she wants me vulnerable, man. You know. God, I think we put women through so much pain. They just need to, sometimes they just have to poison us. That's what I think.

Starting point is 01:01:09 Well. But I don't know. I'm alone. Anyway. Is pornography causing a problem in your life? Do you find yourself watching porno for longer periods of time and having trouble stopping? Is porn affecting? your relationship or dating life? Well, you're certainly not alone. Watching pornography has become

Starting point is 01:01:35 so commonplace today and oftentimes men use porn to numb the pain of loneliness, boredom, anxiety, and depression. Shame and stigma prevent men from talking about these issues and getting help for them. I want to introduce you to my friend Steve. Steve is the founder of Valor Recovery, a program to help men overcome porn abuse and sexual compulsivity. Steve is a long-term sexual recovery member and has personally overcame the emotional and spiritual despair of abusing pornography and has dedicated his life to empowering men to do the same.

Starting point is 01:02:12 Steve is an amazing person and he is a close friend of mine. I mean that. Valor recovery helps men to develop the tools necessary to have a healthier sex life. their coaches are in long-term recovery and will be your partner, mentor, and spiritual guide to transcend these problematic behaviors. To learn more about valor recovery, please visit them at www.w.vallor recovery coaching.com or email them at admin at valer recoverycoaching.com. Thank you. Dude, I'll tell you this story.

Starting point is 01:02:54 So I got invited to a Randy Moss fishing tournament once. And it was up in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. And the night before they took you out, everybody went out. And I got, I was out, and this was when Yeagermeister was popping. Remember that? It was basically German motor oil or something that they'd fermented and they were selling here. Allegedly, that's what it was. It tastes like robot tusson.

Starting point is 01:03:17 Yeah. It tastes like robot tussing, too, dude. Tasted fucking horrible. tasted like you, you know, it just made you so angry at everything when you ate it. You just didn't even want to have it anymore. And some people would put it on their skirt steak.

Starting point is 01:03:30 They put it as a damn demiglaze. And that would blow my mind. But anyway, so I go out to this fishing tournament. I'd stay up all night, dude. I'd slept maybe 40 minutes, and I was like, I'm not missing this fishing tournament. Roy Jones Jr. was there. It was like, this is the first time

Starting point is 01:03:45 I've been around any celebrities in my life. So I got out there. By they invite you. I don't know. Were you a celebrity then? When was that? No, I don't remember one. It was a long time ago.

Starting point is 01:03:55 It was a long time ago. Oh, you probably went to their house selling that Ferrari stuff. Oh, yeah. You mean the Manicotti? Yeah. Yeah. Won them over with that and they invited you to the fishing tournament. Yeah, so they invited me.

Starting point is 01:04:10 And now, this is a true story now, Trace. And so I get over there. And, dude, I definitely had adult diarrhea, right? or young adult diarrhea is what I had. And so I get there, and we got to start catching fish. It's a fish in tournament. I've never been in a fish in tournament. I don't know what it was.

Starting point is 01:04:27 I thought you go around, you see the fish or whatever, and you go back, and you wrote down how many of you spotted or whatever. It was almost like a scavenger hunt. So anyway, the second I get a bite, man, the second I get a bite, I just, I get a tug on the front, brother. I got a tug on the back. And there it went. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 01:04:48 had, I don't care what I was getting on my line. I had a bunch in the live well, you feel me? And it was, yeah, they ended up having to just troll me hanging off the ladder on the back and with no shorts on and stuff just to wash my body. I just couldn't fish anymore with, like, you got to fish, man, and I didn't want to tell him, like, I'm, you know. So you didn't tell them? I didn't tell them.

Starting point is 01:05:08 You just bailed off into the water? Yeah, I said, I got to hang off the back for a little bit. I got to go to the toilet. Oh, you thought, yeah. But it was just. And I don't think young adult explosive. Diarrhea is as bad as old man, explosive. Oh.

Starting point is 01:05:21 That's worse, probably. Yeah. You know, just the fermentation. Oh, yeah. The recipe. Yeah. Oh, that recipe, yeah. Probably much worse.

Starting point is 01:05:32 Because, yeah, as an older. Young adults still kind of fresh. Yeah, shit still, yeah. You know, your guts aren't rotten yet. Yeah. But adult, you got that damn crock pot on you. Ooh, it's, yeah. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:05:44 Stuff is aged in there. Oh, yeah. That's a boule your base, baby. That's a French onion right there. I know I heard a story that I think, well, you told me this. I'm saying I heard a story, but you told me this. How did things fare like with some of your first marriages? How did things, like when you look back on your love life,

Starting point is 01:06:04 what do you think maybe could have been a little bit different? I know you said you, I know you said that you kind of gave more maybe than you got it felt like at times or like you got to have both people loving just as much to make it work. But do you have any thoughts on it looking back? on love because having four marriages, that's a lot of experience, you know? Well, just it, but it certainly doesn't make me very good at it. I've got a pretty bad track record. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:06:36 You know, so don't take any advice from me, man. I'm no authority on what makes everything great. But did you learn anything along the way, though? Like, really? Well, sure. I mean, you learn what not to do, you know. Yeah. Well, that didn't work. That was bad. Did you take any of it to heart you think?

Starting point is 01:06:56 Because, I mean, I, you know. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, a lot of the bad stuff that I used to do, I don't do anymore. Amen. Yeah, yeah. And I heard that one of your wives, I don't even know how to say this, shot that they shot you. Is that true? Yeah, that took it a little far, I thought.

Starting point is 01:07:17 That was uncalled for. That was totally uncalled for. Just leave. Yeah. That's a true story? Let's just call it quits. We don't have to go that far. Do you think she shot you with the intent to take?

Starting point is 01:07:33 I don't think so, man. I don't think she even had any idea of what that gun was going to do. I'd never seen her hold a gun. I never seen her shoot a gun. I knew she had one, but I'd never. never seen her use it. I mean, I've, I had a bunch of guns, still had a bunch of guns, and I shoot them here, you know, pretty, pretty often, but I'd never seen her do that. And I just, I don't think she knew what was about to happen when she pulled that trigger. She thought

Starting point is 01:08:05 it was a toy, you know. Was she saying anything as she was pulling it? Was she, was it like, was she pulling it like in a fit of anger, or was she just kind of? She was mad, yeah. Okay. Wanted me to leave, and I wasn't going to leave. so that's how it went down how did it hit you she put it under my left arm and the bullet came out under my right arm so it went straight through did you give your hands up or something like that i had this hand out like that reaching for i told her to give me the gun she just shot me but um what did it feel like a bee like a bee biting you man i think when one is that serious your body

Starting point is 01:08:47 protects you, you're just going to shock. You don't really feel anything. I just remember getting up off the floor and then taking a few steps and then going back down. And that's all I remember. You blacked out? Yeah. No way. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:09:03 I mean, yeah. So, yeah, I didn't really feel like it really hurt me, you know. And where did it go through your body? It went under this arm, came out of this arm. So it went straight through. went straight through my heart and both my lungs. N-uh. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:09:23 Oh, my God. And the only reason that I survived was because the doctor said, the only reason I survived was because the bullet went through at point-blank velocity, at muzzle velocity, so it didn't have time to mushroom. It was just, you know, muzzle velocity, so it just went straight through. Oh, I see.

Starting point is 01:09:42 So, and after that, it would have mushroom? Yes. Damn, bro. Thank God she shot you so close then. Yeah. In a way, I mean, that's crazy to say, sorry. God, I'm not, I have, I'm just not good at supporting people. Like verbally, you know?

Starting point is 01:10:00 No, I don't need any support anymore. It was a long time ago. Was the healing? What's that like when you get shot right through the heart? Oh, my God. Well, that was the hard part that hurt, you know. The healing up and stuff. I mean, because when I went to Vanderbilt, they life flighted me to Vanderbilt.

Starting point is 01:10:14 And so when they do the trauma surgery, they just cut you and just crack you open, you know. Could you feel any of it? No, of course not. I was out. But so the recovery from something like that, though, man, that hurts, you know, because they don't care. They just stretch everything and break stuff. They're just trying to get you open to get to your heart to save your life, you know. Oh, I see.

Starting point is 01:10:37 So, and thank God, you know. Damn. If hadn't been for that life flight in Vanderbilt Medical Center, I would. be here. But so it took a, took a long time to recover from that. And then six months later, I had to have another open heart surgery because they had to put a

Starting point is 01:10:53 dachron patch over that hole in my septum because it didn't heal up. Because when they went in in the beginning, they sealed the hole on this side of my heart and sealed the hole on the other side of my heart where the bullet went through, but they didn't seal the hole in my septum. Damn. So six months later, I had to go back.

Starting point is 01:11:14 And that one was a lot easier, though, because they took their time and very careful. Right. They're not, yeah, it's not, time isn't of the essence as much. Yeah, I actually walked out of the hospital the next day. Did you? That one. That one wasn't so bad. And did your, did she ever apologize to you?

Starting point is 01:11:32 Oh, yeah. Yeah. Did you forgive her, you think? I think so, you know, I've just always felt like, I don't think she meant to do it, man. Yeah. I don't think, I just don't think that she thought it was going to hurt me. She thought I was indestructible, you know? Yeah.

Starting point is 01:11:51 Dang. Yeah. That's wild, man. Anyway. Did anything like that ever happen again or not? No. No, I never got shot again. That's a blessing then.

Starting point is 01:12:05 You got to see the blessings. Yeah. Nobody shot at me in a while. That's good. yeah that's what I'm saying man that's the kind of yeah that's the kind of stuff we need man and you're I guess you can always say that how you doing well ain't nobody shot at me today that's good and your third wife's Canadian right fourth wife yeah Canadian and your fourth wife's Canadian yeah which is maybe you got her because so my first wife was from Louisiana my second

Starting point is 01:12:33 wife's from Arkansas my third wife's from Illinois my fourth wife's from Canada so I'm just like my fifth wife's going to be an Eskimo. Yeah. You know, I just keep working on up. You know, going to be a hot Eskimo chick. Yeah. You know.

Starting point is 01:12:50 Well, you're moving up to the, yeah, you're moving up to the Arctic, man. Well, I guess, and at least you've got a Canadian because they can't even own guns, you know, because they don't have any guns. That's probably a good. I didn't even think about that.

Starting point is 01:13:02 That's a plus. Yeah. Canadians are good, and they have great posture. Have you ever noticed that about Canadians? And most of them are pretty polite. Not so much with my life, but a lot of them are. Yeah, I've heard that all.

Starting point is 01:13:14 Very, very polite. And they always say, and I'm sorry. Yeah. Oh, I've had a Canadian come across the street. They didn't even do anything. They just said, hey, sorry. And then went back across the street. Came over just to apologize,

Starting point is 01:13:27 case they ever did anything, I guess. That's pretty cool of them. Which to apologize. I don't think they were coming over just when they looked at you and went, sorry. Yeah, that's probably right. You know, I think that's what you must have took that for maybe you had wronged them in some way.

Starting point is 01:13:45 I think they just felt sorry for you. They probably couldn't, man. And that's what I get for buying some of those sandals from the damn Blake Shelton's sandals collection. Yeah. That's what did me in. Yeah, were you wearing them at the time? Yes, I was.

Starting point is 01:13:58 That's why they came over. Oh, man. I knew you weren't ever going to get laid. Yeah. Oh, there's nothing sadder than some woman invites you over And it's got to be sad she opens it or doesn't see those sandals on Just, bam Yeah

Starting point is 01:14:17 Unless he's carrying the canoes from Ferrari And then she'll let him on in Yeah Now every now and then we did have a dessert A little canoly action Oh, that'll show up Dude, if the women weren't interested but they were semi-interested We'd leave half a canoli in a little box here on the welcome mat

Starting point is 01:14:34 you know a little 11 year old jigolo going around with a bunch of battalion food if they didn't have a pet because otherwise pets would get into them you'd see Gary Busey with his damn bust and damn

Starting point is 01:14:47 canoli all over his chin um country music uh it's it's big right now have you felt through your career that it's went through a lull that it's been like different

Starting point is 01:15:02 like how have you seen it kind of And I don't think there's ever been really a lull, you know. I mean, it started blowing up, you know, right before I got signed. I think it really started blowing up in the 90s and it's just continued to dominate as far as genres go, I think, ever since. And still going stronger than ever, you know. But, I mean, of course, you know, my career's stagnant. but the rest of it's doing great. You've had a great career.

Starting point is 01:15:36 I've had a great career. Don't get me wrong. I'm totally content. I mean, I'm very happy, and I'm, you know, I've had a great run. It was a great ride. Things pass you by, you know. People move on to different things, you know, and I'm cool with that. When you say that, like, do you mean, like, that, like, certain opportunities kind of come and go?

Starting point is 01:15:57 Because, like, yeah, what does that mean kind of a little bit? What? Like when you say that, like, you know, people come and they kind of go. Oh, yeah. Well, I'm not competing really competitively anymore in the game. You know what I'm saying? I'm not releasing singles to radio and trying to get them to play my stuff, you know, whatever, that game that we used to play.

Starting point is 01:16:19 I don't play that anymore. I'm, you know, I'm not playing it. I'm not playing the game competitively anymore. I'm just doing it for just the joy of doing it and because I still like to do it. Oh, yeah. But I'm not in there crossing swords with the young guys anymore. I don't need to do that. Let, you know.

Starting point is 01:16:37 Yeah, for sure. I mean, yeah, I don't think that you need to. Do you feel like, was there a part in your career where you felt like established enough? Because I think this is just interesting to talk about. It's like, you know, in my own career, even with comedy, it's like, you know, I've had some success. And it's been, like, for, for, like, the gods of this career have been good to me, right? They've been good to me. and I've been treated better really than I probably ever should have been maybe, you know.

Starting point is 01:17:04 And then I guess I wonder like, yeah, I guess it's like, I don't know, it's interesting because you can try to still be on the gas. You can look at like, well, where am I and what's going on? What do I need? Like, I guess are you happy with your career? Because you've had a great career. Very, yes. Like I said, man, super happy with it. I mean, I've been able to do what I wanted to do.

Starting point is 01:17:30 I recorded what I wanted to record, sang what I wanted to sing, said what I wanted to say. I've had an opportunity to do some acting stuff and had a lot of fun doing that. So, yeah, man, it's great. And to answer your question about when did I felt like I was established enough? I think about probably a year or so after Badonka Donk a don't came out, I realized I really probably don't have to put my saddle on another horse. You know, I can just ride that one on off into the sunset. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 01:18:06 I just kind of knew that that one was going to be around for a while. Did you know it from the beginning after you wrote it, or was it just people's reaction? I didn't write that, man. Okay, got it. But Jamie Johnson and Dallas Davidson and Randy Houser wrote that. And... Jamie Johnson's birthday's coming up. And Jamie was singing the Dillian.

Starting point is 01:18:26 demo. And when I heard it, I was in Scott Henry's office. I'll never forget. And he played that song for me. And as soon as I heard Jamie's old cornbread mouth at the beginning of that, Hustler shooting, I eat ball. I just started laughing, you know, and it got worse from there, you know, with him singing it. It was so funny, I about pissed myself and just to hear him do that, you know. and I just and I told Scott I said oh my God I got to cut that

Starting point is 01:18:58 I was like you know probably I don't care it won't have to ever get it probably won't ever get played on the radio but I'm gonna cut it because that's hilarious you know

Starting point is 01:19:07 and it's cleverly written it's funny as hell and so we cut it you know and didn't think any more about it that's crazy and it's crazy

Starting point is 01:19:14 how much that really that made it in like EDM places and everything that made it in like there was a lot like a lot of remixes

Starting point is 01:19:21 that I've heard over the years There's been a lot of stuff. I was at Jack Pine this summer camp. He played it last year. We were at this summer camp together. Jimmy John has his summer camp. We'd go up there, and he played that. And I had no idea that he had anything to do with writing that.

Starting point is 01:19:39 Oh, yeah, man. But it was awesome, dude. Yeah, that's funny. God, he's a great artist, man. He's fun to be around him and his wife. He's funny. He's a good dude. He is a good dude.

Starting point is 01:19:50 I lost a bet. Good old Marine. Bet to him on the Super Bowl, I think. or a UFC fight something. And we had to donate to a charity. I don't remember what his charity was or something. I think it was, might have been helping Blake Shelton

Starting point is 01:20:01 with that, recover from that sandal thing he went through. But that's rumors. I don't know about all that. Oh, Jamie Johnson and his wife, Brittany, run the Give It Away Foundation named after his hit George Strait's song. The Foundation supports veteran family and crisis charities

Starting point is 01:20:19 and funded by merch sales and a $1 donation from every concert ticket sold. Yeah, he just, did you play at Gary Seneas's fundraiser? No. I know he just had a fundraiser. Yeah, I wished I could have been there, but I was out. Me too.

Starting point is 01:20:37 I was on the road. I'd just gone through some plant medicine, and I couldn't make it of an air. Has there been a song that was Bedonka Donk probably the most, was that the biggest surprise for one that you cut and you were like, wow? Yeah. I mean, I was surprised that it succeeded the way that it did, you know. But then I was equally shocked whenever I thought, okay, if that one worked, then this one will work. And that's when I put out, that was the horrible brown chicken, brown cow incident.

Starting point is 01:21:12 Oh, yeah. When I put that out. And I thought it was going to blow up like what Donk Donk Donk did. And the radio was like, no, that's, you've got. on too far here. It just ended up like a porn meme, didn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Brown chicken, you know. Dude, I don't even know you started that. Well, I sang the song, you know, and then, you know, and so the radio people were like, no, he playing that shit, that's porn, you know, whatever. Yeah. And it was a nasty song, but I thought it was in the right spirit,

Starting point is 01:21:49 you know it was meant with love so i mean it was they were married these two people i was singing about they were married oh yeah you know doing it in the barn that's not like illegal or anything no i don't think it is good clean fun there i mean it's fine with me i don't know them you know but now we'll say this if i'm a neighborhood watch guy and i pull up and you're doing something yeah well that's why we need you to wear the best so we can see you coming i mean if you come up you ain't got on your official you know neighborhood watch uniform you know

Starting point is 01:22:25 you can't watch you can come walking up on me and Betty Lou in the barn doing our thing man I agree I'm just saying if I pull up in your yard and you were doing something that goes against our charter we're doing something that goes with brown chicken brown cow you know

Starting point is 01:22:41 then that's probably against your charter yeah yeah I mean it's just I don't know it's so hard to keep it can't be doing that out in the yard Well, it's so hard to keep a neighborhood safe. That's what I'm trying to say out loud. Was there a tour that you almost went on over the years and that you didn't? What is that like?

Starting point is 01:23:00 How is it over the years how you choose to tour and when not to tour? Because I'm at a point where it's like, you know, touring's great and stuff, but it takes up a lot of your time. And I feel like you'll get off of a tour and you realize, wow, you know, my life has been sort of just like little pictures, little moments here and there. And it hasn't been a real, like a streamlined thing. Did that happen to you at times and you had to kind of slow it down to make things happen in your life that you wanted outside of work? No, I mean, I've had to take some time off, you know, to maybe do a movie project or something like that. But as far as tours go, I never, I went on the tours that people wanted me to go on. And if somebody offered me a tour and I didn't like them, I didn't go, you know.

Starting point is 01:23:48 So, yeah, I did the tours I wanted to do. And was there any that I regretted? I probably should have done that Madonna tour when she asked way back when. Because she heard me do my go-to karaoke song is like a virgin, and she heard me do it once and wanted me to tour with her. Did she really? That's all a lie. I just made that.

Starting point is 01:24:10 Oh, damn. I will sing that song, though, at karaoke. I'll tell you a story. You don't expect to hear that coming from me when I just. get up and bust out like a virgin, it takes the audience. Touch for the very first time? Yeah. They like that.

Starting point is 01:24:25 I bet that's probably the best part of it. Well, I'll tell you this, man, I'll tell you this. So my grandparents would let us come up there. Sometimes I'm in the summer, but I was probably, after about five, they wouldn't let me come up there. But one time, I went across the street to the park. They live in a small town, probably maybe 800 people in this town. I went across the street. That a nice park there.

Starting point is 01:24:48 And I went across street and some girl was over there and she had a radio. She plugged it into the little outlet under the, they had a couple picnic tables under a little, like, just a steel shed kind of top. And she plugged in that radio and she played like a virgin and danced on this picnic table, some little kind of native looking girl. I'd never seen her before. And I didn't even know, I didn't say anything. Native to the town or native? I don't know. I don't know.

Starting point is 01:25:18 Native looking. What's that even mean? I don't know. I could draw a picture of her, but I don't know that much about her. But she plugged in the radio and she played Like a Virgin. Like a Virgin. And it was just bizarre.

Starting point is 01:25:31 I just remember being like, I don't know. I think it was the first time I felt anything towards a woman or whatever. I just didn't know what was going on, you know. Little cocktail way when he stood up on you? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, you five? You were five?

Starting point is 01:25:44 I mean, I had, you know. Wow. I can't remember that. I had that wiener in me. I can remember. You know? I was a lot older than five, though. I think I did.

Starting point is 01:25:54 I don't know. Some of that could be in my imagination, Trace. Yeah. But now I did plug it in and she sang that song. It was the first time I'd ever seen a woman kind of perform something like that, you know? And how many times? Now you pay for it. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:26:10 Now you pay to see it. That was the first freebie you got. Yeah, they were baiting. You got to put money in their drawers. That whole thing. That whole thing was a big bait and switch, man. That's what it was, man. You've gotten to play with a lot of legends over the years as a legend like yourself does, man.

Starting point is 01:26:34 And are there's some, did you ever get to, did you ever get to play with like or see Jerry Lee Lewis play? No. Before your time. Well. He still plays some. Does he still play when he passed away? He finally passed away. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:26:46 But, man, he lived. a lot longer and he lived longer than Keith Richards. Yeah. He kept on living, dude. Mm-hmm. Yeah, no, I didn't see him. I never got to see Johnny Cash. I did a show with Whalen and I actually got to sing with Haggard and Ronnie Millsap and Buck Owens and some of those guys that I just revered and, you know, just put on that pedestal, you know.

Starting point is 01:27:15 And I actually got to sing with them. And so, man, that was unbelievable. Just the surreal moments that I'll never forget performing with those guys. So, yeah, I've got to be a fan. And that's what I am. I've always been. I've been a country music fan. I still am.

Starting point is 01:27:38 You know, and those opportunities that came along were just priceless. Who's that photo right there? George Jones. Gosh, I love George. Yeah. Was he a pretty neat guy to be around? George was, George usually didn't have a whole lot to say, man. I'd go over to his house and watch TV, and we'd sit and watch TV.

Starting point is 01:28:00 Yeah. We weren't talking. No. We just watched TV. Yeah. George wanted to watch a ballgame or a movie or something. That's what we'd do. We didn't talk.

Starting point is 01:28:11 You remember doing some of those early ones? mornings like i remember i used to work as a tour manager for an artist for uh this guy josh kelly and his brother charles um is a musician as well charles kelly and i worked with josh for a while he would go play at all the radio stations in the morning to push his single so i was just working as just a tour support you know for him so it was just me and him traveling around the country he was pushing this single that he had that did well and uh and i just remember those mornings at those radio stations you'd be like we're bringing in lobster and they'd have like lobster like five 55 in the morning, dude, which is like not a good time to put lobster in your system.

Starting point is 01:28:47 And also, they'd have donuts. We got, it's like donuts and lobster on the waz or something that has like some crazy radio shit, you know, like, we're giving away a free bass boat or whatever, you know. And it's like, who can eat the most lobster, you know? Remember that kind of shit? Those morning shows. Oh, my God, when you're trying to, it always, it never ceased to amaze me. And I would bring it up every now and then, and they would just blow it off because

Starting point is 01:29:12 I'd be like, let me tell you y'all something, okay? Let me say this on behalf of everybody that sings. We can't do it well at 6 o'clock in the morning. It's just, it's an impossible thing to do. And you expect us to come in here and do it and be good, and it's not going to be good. I'm just telling you, it's not going to be good. And nobody's going to do it well at 6 o'clock in the morning.

Starting point is 01:29:39 I mean, you know, that's why we do shows. at 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock at night. That's, you know, you got to wake up. You know, have a few cups of coffee. Three seconds goes good with lobster. I never went and had lobster at a morning show. He must have been in Maine or somewhere. No, dude, this was some place where, like, we got 40,

Starting point is 01:30:03 it was like we got 40 pounds of lobster coming in. And they would have, like, car washes and lobster. But it was always some, you know what I'm saying? There was always some rigamarole. Like, we got hot air balloons and lots of. or whatever. And it would always be some kind of shit. And you're like, what in the fuck am I getting involved in? Like, because comedians, we had to go there too.

Starting point is 01:30:20 Like, so it would be crazy that I went on this tour with Josh. We probably went to 100 radio stations around the country. Like, it was a couple months of him going. He played this single. I'd bring in some coffee. We'd sit there, you know. And then we'd drive to the next place. And it was great, man.

Starting point is 01:30:35 I felt lucky to have the job. I was getting to travel around the country. But then 10 years later, I'd be there doing it with comedy, you know. Yeah, doing it as a comedian going. in to the radio says you'd have to go in early you know you'd have to be in there and like you know you have to be funny on the radio at you know at 640 a. I know. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:30:52 And you know it's like. And we'd see y'all in the lobby. I've always thought to like actors like big movie stars. You know, I always thought if I've, okay, I want to go in. I want to talk to these people and and, you know, tell them about my new project and and how good it is and what the inspiration was. and blah, blah, blah, and all that kind of stuff. But then just play the song.

Starting point is 01:31:17 Yeah. Play the song. Play the song on the radio, the way that I recorded it in the studio. That's what we want to hear. You don't want to hear me try to sing it at 6 o'clock in the morning. And it's like actors that go do talk shows promoting a new movie or something. You know, the guy sitting there interview them, you know, at some point he doesn't go, okay, well, how about doing a scene for us from the movie?

Starting point is 01:31:38 You know what I mean? Can you imagine that? Leo DiCaprio will be going, excuse me? They should have to. Do a scene from the movie. Then they should have to. No, show the clip. No, we want you to do a scene.

Starting point is 01:31:48 You do it here right now. Do it. And action. You know, and I mean, it's like, come on, man. But we have to go in at 6 o'clock in the morning and sing.

Starting point is 01:31:58 And we have to go in there and be funny. And tell jokes. Yeah. It is kind of unfair, isn't it? I think so. That's why they bring in the lobster. That's why they add in the bullshit every time.

Starting point is 01:32:07 It was always something. Every time, whatever, with comedians, I'd be up in there. Like, we're giving away a free Christmas treat. you know, 8.30, be, you know, be on the jingle dial or whatever,

Starting point is 01:32:16 and we'd be sitting in there, and there'd be somebody calling in, asking if it's a damn Douglas fir or whatever. It's like, bitch, I don't give a shit what it is. Like, I'm trying to get in here, you know, be funny if I can and help sell some tickets, you know, and get people to know I'm in town. But I just always remember those morning radios, man.

Starting point is 01:32:32 That stuff was a, that stuff was a haul. And it was also great. I did it a bunch of times. Same, man. Yeah. I did it so much. I did it so much. dude. But sometimes you did get to know a place a little bit better. Sometimes it would get me out of

Starting point is 01:32:46 bed in the morning. I think there was blessings to it. What do you, do you think you've achieved all your goals with the, with entertainment? Like, I mean, I did way more than I ever thought I would do, you know. I mean, this whole thing was like, I would never have allowed myself to dream that big, you know. I'm, I think I'm a, I'm a realist in that. that respect, I wouldn't have allowed myself to dream that I would have this kind of career and get to do this for as long as I've done it. No way. So everything's gravy now. Did that change any of your perspective about certain things that give you, like, just like kind of how you think about life or even how you like, how you, like, things you

Starting point is 01:33:32 talk with your kids about? Because that's pretty interesting to think that, shit, life gave me more even than my dreams, you know? Yeah. Or that God gave it, you know, what, you know, what, you know, I'm not sure what your beliefs are, but that's, you know, the entities of the universe gave me more than even my dream. That's pretty wild.

Starting point is 01:33:48 More than, you know, I think I took just a very little bit of talent and just went way farther than I should have, you know. So, I mean, Buck Owens told me one time I went to Buck's place and went to his radio station there in Bakersfield. and it was raining that day. And so Buck wasn't playing golf, and he was actually in the radio station.

Starting point is 01:34:17 So he wanted me to go in his office, so he and I went in his big office there, and he locked the door and wouldn't let nobody else come in. I was sitting there with guitar, and he'd tell me to sing this, sing that. And he said, sing that new single you got, and so I did it. And he was like, son, let me tell you something.

Starting point is 01:34:36 He said, that low note that you can sing. You need to do that on every song. because that's all you got going for you. That's what he told me. There's something. That's all you got going for you. That's what Bucking once said to you? Yeah.

Starting point is 01:34:51 And he was serious. Yeah. And I appreciated him for it. You know, it's like he was, you know, go with that, do that all the time. Do that. Because that's kind of the one thing you got that nobody else has. So do that.

Starting point is 01:35:05 You know, and... Was it good advice? I've done it in just about every song. Yeah. You know, hit that low note and rattled the subs and, you know, chicks kind of get a little wiggly. But don't get don't. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:35:20 Can't sit still. Yeah, look, I mean, you got a deep voice, you know. Look, I'm not even a woman, and it makes me, you know, want to at least make sure I have deodorant on. Chicks dig the bass singers, man. They do? Yeah. God, I should have done it.

Starting point is 01:35:37 Been a bass singer. Yeah, I couldn't have done it. I'd have to get more balls added in my bag, I think. I'd need six balls, I think, to hit the notes you hit, man. I'd need probably eight balls or something. Dude, you must have some, you can't even imagine hitting those, you must have some damn balls on you. It would take probably two hours to neuter you. You shave your balls or get somebody else to do it.

Starting point is 01:36:04 You don't know? Not sure. Oh, you're not sure. They just end up shaved you on how to hell it happened. I mean. Remember Nair? People would rub that stuff on there God.

Starting point is 01:36:16 Yeah, I freaking put it in my... That stuff was painful. Oh, that shit. Especially you put it all your... I remember doing my legs one year I was trying to get ready for Christmas or whatever and I was like, I thought I was good. Getting ready for Christmas?

Starting point is 01:36:28 You didn't want to have hair on your legs for Christmas? Well, I knew that I knew that I got in these cool Velcro pants. My grandfather had died. And sandals. Yeah. I want to get that hair off your feet before you. I got it. I got it.

Starting point is 01:36:40 You know, I mean, toenail fungus. is okay, but hair. We can't have that. No, dude, I remember what happened was. I got this pair velour, not Velcro pants. My grandfather had died in him, and I inherited them. And so I was so excited about it.

Starting point is 01:36:55 And I said, but the hair on my legs. He died in them? He died in them. He had Smoker's foot or whatever, and they cut both of his toes off, two of his ten toes. Smoker's foot is not a thing. Yes, it is. Smoker's foot?

Starting point is 01:37:08 No, it's not. Yes, it is, crazy. Smoker's foot. up smokers foot. Oh my God. That's just straight up diabetes, man. It ain't smoker's foot. Well, I know.

Starting point is 01:37:22 He got it from watching the, from smoking cigarettes and watching the damn St. Louis Cardinals play. Smoker's feet refers to various foot conditions. Oh, well. That's, I mean, look. That dude shouldn't wear sandals, that guy. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:37:40 Don't even come close to a pair of sandals. Yeah, I agree. But, yeah, Granddad lost those toes. And he was wearing a pair of velour pants. He wore a pair of velour pants when he passed, and so I got them. Classy. But my leg hair would gather in them, and it would come out the pants, kind of. You know when your leg hair will come out like you threw out.

Starting point is 01:38:00 No, I don't know how that is at all. It would shift through the fabric. It would kind of come out through the textile or the tapestry of it. No, no. I've had that happen, you know, putting on a pair of them tight. insulated underwear, but not just regular pants. Yeah. Well, I think at the time...

Starting point is 01:38:19 Oh, they were skin-tight pants? No, they were pretty... No, they were a little bit tight. At the time, I'll be honest with you, I think I was using steroids or something, so my hair was growing fast. So I had... My body was damn...

Starting point is 01:38:32 I mean, I'd give dang a little Gary Busey a run for his money over there. You know, I was full... I had a lot of hair. And that's a true story. And I... But anyway, I used narrow my legs. But also, Yeah, that shit was painful, though.

Starting point is 01:38:46 My legs got all kinds of, like, pimples and stuff on them, and just it was horrible for them. That stuff was toxic. So we got there talking about in there or something. That was toxic, man. What's one of the most humbling moments because, you know, in your career, or in your life kind of, has it been a moment that's kind of like, I guess we're more in your career. Like, what's been a part of your life or your career? I guess that's that you've kind of felt humbled by. Oh, wow.

Starting point is 01:39:12 Hmm. That's an interesting question. The first time I really remember being humbled was when I, my first year of college, when, you know, I'd had a good, dominant senior year playing football, and then I went to college, and I got out on the field with those guys. It was like, whoa, this is a different game right here, you know. Yeah. That step up in.

Starting point is 01:39:42 talent right there. That was humbling. And you've got to pretend that it's not, I guess, out there. You can't... Well, yeah, but I mean, you know, going from a year in high school when you kind of felt like the stud pretty much every Friday night, you know, and then didn't really run into anybody that I couldn't handle, you know, my senior year. And then the toughest guy, I always tell me, like that toughest guy that I faced across the line of scrimmage my entire senior year, you get to college and the whole field's full of those guys. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 01:40:17 Especially on there. You played at Louisiana Tech? Yeah. That's where Terry Bradshaw played, yeah? Yeah. And Antonio Brown's dad played there. Yeah. Well, and then you go into the field house at Louisiana Tech,

Starting point is 01:40:28 and it was just a big mural of Terry Bradshaw at the end of the building. Yeah. He's a god there, you know. So, yeah, that was really humbling. Did he ever come to one of your games? I don't remember him. coming. He should.

Starting point is 01:40:42 Y'all look alike a little. Huh. I can see that. And, of course, I've been humbled since. I mean, you know, you get into this business, you've got to eat a little humble pie every now and then, or you're not going to stick around. Yeah, I think it's the same probably in most things. I think it's like, I don't know.

Starting point is 01:41:04 I think in most parts of, like, entertainment, probably. Comedy, there's always, like, somebody's better or younger and different that comes along, know, and I think, yeah, just making sure I stay on the side of like, oh, I think that's cool or that's awesome, instead of getting on any begrudging side of it. Yeah, you get humbled. I mean, you know, I had my, you have to wake up and realize, you know, like I said earlier, you know, I had my turn, somebody else's turn, you know, and you just got to accept that. And it can be a little humbling, but just deal with it and move on.

Starting point is 01:41:41 You said that book, Owens probably gave you a decent piece of advice here. Was that probably the best advice you ever got, you think? Or what's a decent piece of advice that you've gotten in your life that's kind of stuck with you? Even if he didn't follow it at the time, in hindsight, you look back and be like, hmm. Yeah, my old man. Yeah. Keep your knife sharp and your guns loaded. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:42:05 Ain't the two things, two useless things in this world. A dull knife and empty gun. Yeah. My old man told me that. And he also said, this Christmas, I'm going to get you an anvil and a rubber hammer and see how long it takes you to tear it up. Because I tore up everything. Poor man had trucks, tractors. Did you do it for fun?

Starting point is 01:42:28 You did it on purpose? You think? No, I didn't do it on purpose. No. But I tore them all up. Yeah. Yeah, I'm trying to think if I tore a lot of shit up. My buddy, Jeffrey, he had some sort of issue, but he would.

Starting point is 01:42:42 and we survived the gas leak at his house also, but I've talked about that. He would get upset and beat all the drywall out of the wall in his room at his house, and for Christmas his parents would get the room redone every year and get a fresh dry wall in there. Probably if you're just sitting around smelling gas all the time.

Starting point is 01:43:02 I never thought about that. They thought he had a damn. It'll make you go crazy eventually. You just sit there and just keep smelling it and don't fix the leak. Yeah. They all survived the gas leak. Why, you just sit there in it and, you know, okay, well, you get a new merit patch on your neighborhood watch vest for surviving gas leak.

Starting point is 01:43:27 For reporting him. Doing an experiment to see how long a man could survive in a gas leak. You sat there. You and your buddy, what was his name? Jeffrey. Jeffrey. Guy's name, Jeffrey. Jeffrey sound just a little.

Starting point is 01:43:44 That's just, you know. He was doing some things. I apologize. All the cool Jeffries. No, there ain't no cool Jeffries out there. I mean, first of all.

Starting point is 01:43:53 Yeah, Jeffrey, I think Jeffrey, Jeffrey, your name is Jeffrey. You don't ever go by Jeffrey. You shouldn't. Yes.

Starting point is 01:43:59 No. I mean, once you get hair on your nuts, you go Jeff, right? Yeah, you go Jeff. I'd go Dr. Jay. I'd go Dr. Jay.

Starting point is 01:44:09 I wouldn't. Yeah, I'd go Dr. J, boy. I'd go big Jeff with them nuts That's what I'd call myself Yeah What else, Trace What's new in your world right now?

Starting point is 01:44:21 What's something that you're looking forward to? Oh, I'm going to do another record, another country record Because you're on your 30th, this is your 30th anniversary tour right now, right? I came and saw it, man, it was a great show, man Thanks. It was really great.

Starting point is 01:44:35 We sat there and I just didn't, you know, you just like, yeah, you just kind of lose track of all the songs that are attached to certain people, and then you lose track of ones that, just that you don't remember, you know, and it's nice to sit there, just go through the anthology, man.

Starting point is 01:44:50 It was awesome, dude. Well, thank you. So, yeah, I'm going to do another record. I didn't know if I was going to or not after I did that last one. We did that the way I want to go album and had 25 songs on it because we did that during COVID

Starting point is 01:45:07 when we didn't have anything else to do. So we just stayed in the studio all the time. you know, and ended up with 25 songs, and I thought, okay, that's it. You know, I don't have to do another record. And then when 30 years came along, and my voice is still the way it is, and I thought, you know, I guess I will do another record. And I've always been like that, you know, I'm going to let this determine how long I keep doing this, as long as I can still sing no.

Starting point is 01:45:41 songs in the same key that I recorded them in and I can still hit the licks and hit the notes and do all the things that I need to do. And I'm just, I guess I'll just keep doing it, you know, but it's kind of like it's just the old jock in me, I guess, you know. I had to walk away from football when I just couldn't do it anymore. I was too tore up and couldn't perform at the level that I was satisfied with. but as long as I'm satisfied with my performance and I think that I'm doing it okay

Starting point is 01:46:15 and you know then I guess I'll just keep doing it so I might as well make another record do you feel like a calling almost a responsibility to do that or is it just sort of a personal thing like hey if I can do this and I do love doing it I'm gonna keep at it that's kind of it you know just gonna keep I'm just gonna do it because I feel like I'm still I'm still good at this

Starting point is 01:46:37 Yeah. You know, I feel like I've gotten better at my craft. I think I'm better at it now than I ever have been. I don't know. My voice is still, you know, quit smoking and the range got better. The bottom's gotten better over the years. I mean, I can go deeper than I ever could, and that's just going to get better with age. Your voice just gets lower and lower.

Starting point is 01:47:02 But I haven't lost anything on the top either. I can still hit everything, you know, on the, top end that I always could so hell why not just keep doing it yeah shit was popping when we came man we didn't feel like you know sometimes you're there and you feel like the artist is kind of it's not like what you've heard you know I know we didn't feel I don't want to be one of those guys I've seen those guys I've been to those shows where they're still out doing it it's like dude just quit yeah and just please stop we don't want to remember you like this you know I

Starting point is 01:47:34 don't want anybody to say that about me ever you know What was one of the, has there been, what was like one of the toughest points in your career do you feel like? I mean, obviously got shot. Well, that wasn't, that was way before I got a record due on it, you know, toughest points of my career. I don't know, there was a period, you know, there after that sophomore album came out, you know, that sophomore jinx kind of thing. And it rared its ugly head and started biting me pretty hard. and things got, you know, they just slowed way down. And I thought, I mean, when I first came out, you know, the first album, you know, two number ones and platinum and, you know.

Starting point is 01:48:17 Yeah. This is going to be easy. You're the hot cake in town, yeah. Yeah, and then reality sets in. Dang. When you put that sophomore record out. But I wouldn't say that it was hard times, just, you know, disappointing. I just thought that graph was going to keep going that way, you know.

Starting point is 01:48:39 When you look back on that, do you think like it's like that you stuck to all your laurels, even though you were like a young artist at that time? Or do you feel like, because a lot of times with the artists, you get it, like, after that first album, sometimes they'll try to attach a lot of other producers and things like that can happen. And no blame or anything. I'm just thinking, like, what would you, would there be any suggestions you would offer from your experience to an artist that has had some early success as to what, like, you know if there's any like um thing you could share about that next experience that maybe

Starting point is 01:49:09 you'd do you know different i don't think you should ever try to change your game to fit into what's going on now you know yeah you just don't do that you know just be who you are and and dance with the one that brung you you you know keep doing that and you know it's been my experience anyway that those fans that you had that those people that became fans of your yours for what you did. If you keep doing that, they'll stay. You know, don't run them off. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:49:46 You have a farm. What you're growing over there? Weeds and trees. Weeds, uh? Weeds and trees. Oh, yeah, I said, huh? Yeah, not weed. Okay.

Starting point is 01:49:59 Just regular old weeds. I didn't know. I don't care if you smoke. You smoke pot or no? No, I haven't in a long time. it's making me kind of nervous turn me into a damn haunted made me so paranoid

Starting point is 01:50:08 the older I got the older I got the worst the paranoia was that came with it and it just finally got to a point where I can't do this anymore yeah that's how I am dude and I mean now that stuff they're growing now I mean

Starting point is 01:50:20 that's just like acid or something you know people having hallucinations that shit's like having a fucking gas leak in your head yeah man sitting in the gas leak all day long oh that new shit will just

Starting point is 01:50:32 turn me into a damn haunted house I'll be doing neighborhood watch inside of my own head, brother, it gets bad, you know? Yeah. Because she gets a little bit dark. No, I hadn't done it in a while. What's in the news? Anything we want to look at, fellas?

Starting point is 01:50:46 Semi-truck spills nearly 40,000 pounds of Frank's Red Hot. Boy, I'd pull my pickup truck there. Start loading that. Oh, God. I'd fill my pockets with that. Dude, I'd put up two handfuls in my little sister's mouth make her bring it home, dude. We would be storing that in our cheek.

Starting point is 01:51:05 like damn, just like damn recipe squirrels. Amid a brutal near nationwide heat wave, it seems strangely appropriate, the spill scene on an Ohio highway. Now, I will say this, they could use a little bit of seasoning and up there, has been labeled redhot. A semi-truck leaked a strange reddish liquid

Starting point is 01:51:25 on a highway near Columbus. Frank's Red Hot, near a 40,000 pound shipment. And what I'm looking at here, though, is Jeremy Roth, there, guy that wrote the story for CNN news source you know i mean what do you think jeremy's gig is there at the news station right it's like okay we got this shit spilled out here on the road we need somebody to go right about it jeremy you ain't doing nothing go right about this shit spilt that on the road out here yeah poor old jeremy jeremy jeremy is this far from getting fired you know what i mean

Starting point is 01:52:05 So we're going to find something for him to do until it comes into the month when we can get rid of him. Jeremy. So we're going to send Jeremy out there, and he's going to write a thousand words about this red shit spilled on the highway. He's probably drinking morning coffee out a damn baby bottle or something over there because he's been through some stuff. Maybe he has PSTD from like he got a computer with bad spell check on it or something in college and he never really processed it. But, dude, I can't even know. Not a bad Italian burrito from an 11-year-old. Hey, man.

Starting point is 01:52:41 We worked hard, okay? I'll say this. Some of those driveways were uphill, Trace. Okay. In Louisiana, they weren't that far uphill. Okay, you're right. Okay, that part I am. That part I'm slightly made up.

Starting point is 01:52:54 But there was some mild elevation in some of the sidewalks, and you know that. Okay. I know that you have a new single American made that I haven't gotten here yet. I'm going to check it out. Good. I appreciate you preparing for this interview. I know. You're unprofessional son, bitch.

Starting point is 01:53:10 Dude, please put that. You ain't worth the shit. You know, I've had better interviews on a small market radio station in the middle of Nebraska. Hey, we got some lobster coming in right after this, guys. You have shows coming up. Oh, a lot of these festivals, I love that, man. Do you like being at the festival? It seems like it's a good time

Starting point is 01:53:35 because you get to be around other artists. Yeah, every now and then, you know. And you've got a short Raleigh Green coming up. I know that's happening. Really? Yeah. Yeah, I heard he's doing pretty good. He's doing all right.

Starting point is 01:53:47 We just had him in here, man. It was fun chatting with him. This was actually really great, too, though, man. I had a nice time. Well, thanks. I did, too. Hey, look at that, huh? Dude, that's awesome, man.

Starting point is 01:54:00 That makes you feel good. me excited. This is what I look like. Hey, look, man. This is orgasmic face. Hey, look. You know. Now I know why some of them ladies said,

Starting point is 01:54:13 I can't. I ain't sticking around through any more of this. I'm obviously not doing me any good. Man. Hastings, New England, fond du lac, Wisconsin. Dude, I'm so excited to go up to Wisconsin. This, I'm going to go take a, we're going to rent some camper.

Starting point is 01:54:28 Cheese curds. Oh, God, yeah. I love cheese curds. Is there a part of the country that surprised you? There's a few for me that have surprised me over the years of just places I've gone like lacrosse, Wisconsin, O'Clair, Wisconsin. I want to go to Charlevoie, Michigan now, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Starting point is 01:54:48 I thought, just little places that I've gone to and have been like, oh, wow, this place is really unique and I never would have got to go. Is there a surprise or two? Clear Lake Iowa, that's another place. Why are you just coming up with these random places, man? And that's like, wow, I've been to all those places, by the way. Played all those festivals in Wisconsin. So cool.

Starting point is 01:55:08 In Michigan, yeah. I mean, they throw down in the summer because, you know, it only lasts for like a week. So they get it all in when they can, you know. Yeah, your husband's thawed out. You've got to get him out in the yard do shit. Yeah. So. Only thaw it out or whatever.

Starting point is 01:55:23 Yeah, I've done all those festivals up there. I think the craziest and most surprising place. I would have to say it's a place that I just played a couple of weeks ago, but it's like the third or fourth time I played there because I love to play there, because it's the most unique county fair in America, and that's the Neshoba County, Mississippi. Dang. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:55:52 Hardy talks about that. People talk about that place. Bring it up because they got the beautiful homes that are all painted up over there and people rent them out. Well, they're not homes. They're shacks. Yeah, they are? They're nice.

Starting point is 01:56:03 I mean, yeah, you know, but they're very small because they're built on these little lease pieces of land that basically were meant to be where you would set up your vending tent, you know, to sell stuff at the fair like they usually do. You rent this little place and you come there and you set up your tent and sell, you know, turquoise or, you know, funnel kegs or whatever the hell it is you're selling. Oh, yeah. But then these people started doing these long-term leases on these places and just keeping them in the family for years and years. And so they bought these narrow, built these narrow little houses that just go straight up for three stories. So it's supposed to be wide enough just to sell a funnel cake out of, but then they end up making it so stacking it up and making the lease. And they started doing that years ago, 100 years ago, you know. And so that's what they do.

Starting point is 01:56:55 And I mean, this picture right here just doesn't do it justice. I mean, because this fairground is, you. You know, hundreds of acres. And these things are all over the place, man. It's huge. I didn't know it. Well, this thing must be calling me because we were just talking about this last week, you know? With Hardy?

Starting point is 01:57:12 Yeah. He's from there. No, with Riley Green, we're just talking about it. Oh, yeah? Yeah, he was bringing it up. Really? I was just at that UFC event a few weeks ago. Did you watch any of that?

Starting point is 01:57:21 You watch any of that? Mm-hmm. UFC fighting? The one where Connor McGregor just whatever he did. I don't know what that was. I felt like he really did get hurt. Now, he was hurt before he got in the ring. Well, I don't know if he was or not.

Starting point is 01:57:38 Some things, his energy going to the ring did feel suspect. It felt different. And it made you be just because he's, he's been five years removed. Sometimes it's hard to, like, show up and fit into an older, to fit into a different you or you from a different time. I think he was hurt. You do? He might have been, dude.

Starting point is 01:57:56 But, God, it just would have been all the people in Ireland were fucking cheering for him. And you're like, God, but you have to show up in the ring because you have to get paid. But I don't know, man. I think he should have backed out. I think he was hurt. Damn. I wonder if they'll do a lie detector test on him. You think they will?

Starting point is 01:58:15 Yeah, I don't know. I just think that's funny. A lie detector test on Conradger and McGregor. That would be crazy, huh? Yeah. If they did it. Yeah. Because you can't press charge.

Starting point is 01:58:27 Like, I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I don't know. I've never known. I know, man. This is the thing everybody loves about you. You hardly ever know what the fuck you're talking about. It's charming. Thanks, man.

Starting point is 01:58:40 Thanks. All right, man. Well, I appreciate. I bye. I appreciate your time, man. I appreciate. Oh, Bob Kingsley. Is that him?

Starting point is 01:58:52 That's him. Bob Kingsley. Thanks for bringing that up. Oh, man. And I knew him good, too. Bob was a great guy, man. He did that American Country Countdown show for decades, man. And he was the one I'd listen to.

Starting point is 01:59:08 If you hurried out of church, if the preacher quit right before noon, you could get out there and hear the number one song, you know. I always tried to get to the truck before Bob, you know, got to number one. Can you play him? Just play his intro. I want to hear it for a minute. Just the beginning of his show. If you're on YouTube

Starting point is 01:59:28 Classic You know what I just bought? Jerry Clower's suit from when he performed Oh no way Just got it They knew I was a fan of his And so they said I love Jerry Clower

Starting point is 01:59:41 Did you? Oh my God man We had his albums And Justin Wilson You remember Justin Wilson? Yes dude I just got on to Justin Wilson Not even too long ago man

Starting point is 01:59:50 He was funny too He was like the Louisiana Jerry Clower He was Louisiana's Jerry Clower you know. Yeah, I got that red suit right there. Oh, wow. I can't even believe it, man. I love Jerry Clare, man.

Starting point is 02:00:03 I got it inside. Oh, dude, he was still one of the best storytellers ever, I believe. Oh, yeah. I don't think they make him like him anymore. He talks about playing college football. Oh, yeah, he does. Yazoo City, Mississippi. Marcel Ledbetter.

Starting point is 02:00:18 Oh, dude, I love it. I love listening to Jerry. And there's a lot of great artists like that. They kind of disappeared just because they didn't have much of... I wear my overalls the way Marcel wore his. Do you?

Starting point is 02:00:29 Yeah, with nothing under them. And the button's not done together. My wife gets a kick out of it. When I wear my overalls, no drawers and nothing under him. Well, look, I'm just glad you got a... I'm glad you got a wife that gets a kick out of you, man. You know?

Starting point is 02:00:45 Yeah, well. I'm glad you do. Yes, right here it says, yes, under Napoleonic law, you can be compensated if you lose a limb. However, there is no fixed price. Huh. Instead of a flat fee,

Starting point is 02:00:59 courts and insurance adjusters calculate damages using individualized categories known as heads of loss. I thought it was different. I thought a thumb was 14K. I thought each body part

Starting point is 02:01:13 had a little price tax to it. May have back in the day. Yeah. Things change, huh? You just got to roll with it. Yeah, buddy. That's the only thing you can do. Trace Hackens, man.

Starting point is 02:01:25 Thanks so much for your time, dude. Thanks for your music. It was nice to get to meet your daughters in the past year or two. I've gotten to see them at a couple of shows. Thanks for always let me feel welcome at your shows, man. And yeah, thanks for your music, dude. Your stuff got me through some tough times in my life, and it's just been a blessing of witness.

Starting point is 02:01:42 The new tour is great if you guys get to go see them. The 30th anniversary tour, go check it out, and I'll be back out at one. I'm a fan, man. Thanks, too. Thank you, brother. Okay. And your mom, too. What's up?

Starting point is 02:01:55 Peggy. Vote for Peggy. Nobody runs against her anymore. She's run unopposed, I think, in the last two or three elections. Now, I'm just floating on the breeze, and I feel I'm falling like these leaves. I must be cornerstone. I'll share this piece of mind I found I can feel it in my bone. My day kicks off with a refreshing Celsius energy drink.

Starting point is 02:02:37 Pre-Kay drop off. Then straight to the gin. Back home to meal prep before heading to the fire station for my shift. When the three alarm comes in, I'm ready. Celsius. Live, fit, go. Grab a cold, refreshing Celsius energy drink at your local retailer. Or locate now at celsius.ca. Enjoy Celsius responsibly.

Starting point is 02:02:57 Designed for occasional energy boost, not as part of your daily diet. Please adhere to recommended serving limits.

This Past Weekend - #672 - Trace Adkins

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