December 23, 2025 • 22 mins
Steven Rinella talks with Reid Isbell, Dan Isbell, and Clay Newcomb.
Topics discussed: Hosting MeatEater's God's Country podcast; Music Row and where music is made; yet another North vs. South thing; professional song-writing skills; a song about a mule; and more.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
We're on day two of our Eater Live Christmas Tour.
We're in Nashville. What does anybody think I'm gonna think
of Nashville? They think of music run, music Row. I'm
here with the host of God's Country podcast, Dan Reed
is belt his Hunt, and we're in a place where
you guys make music. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Literally, we've made music in this room.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
And we're on a street known for music making.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
I mean, arguably the most legendary music street in the country.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Music Row, music kind of in between them.
Speaker 5 (00:27):
Sixteenth and seventeenth is the legendary music row in Nashville,
and they just run parallel each other. One way this
way on sixteenth, one way that way on seventeenth.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
So fair to say, hundreds of the songs you know
have been.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Touched thousand, thousands, thousands have been touched on this street.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Absolutely, and not only that, Let's get down to brass tacks.
The building.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
It's a music building, indeed, a lot of history with it.
The room is a music room. I'm just trying to
establish our credentials legedly. This is a legit studio. I mean,
this was a vocal booth. If you if you were
to pull this down you'd see a big glass window
where artists converse with producers on what to play, what
they have canob jockeys, but jockey I wouldn't use that loosely.
(01:11):
Dolly Parton has been in this building, according to Tammy.
Whyett's been in this building. George Jones been this building
allegedly allegedly together maybe together many in this room.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
I'm not one to say so.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I'm just establishing our credentials that we're in a music room.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
I would visure to say, you're in the You're in
the heart of the country music creation.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Steve, this is this is why I've brought you here.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
No I brought you here.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
No I brought you here because.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
I mean, arguably we brought.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
This is I brought you.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
This is the American South, and this is where music
is made. Has a Steve has a beef with me
because one time I said music is important to people
in the South.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
That's all I say.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
It's not in the North.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Was the implication, right, He's like, well, you don't understand
music is very important to people in the South.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
It's kind of like fraud fish Wells is very important people.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
What I was trying to say is it's important to.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
People in the north, more important, frid fish more important.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
No chance question what's more important?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
And I just brought up I'm like, tell, go tell
the people in Motown about how special music is in
the South.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, I don't want I don't want to burn our
time up. These guys got a hard out. We have
a song to write.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
My kids Christmas play. That's the only reason. Otherwise I'd
stay all day.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Okay, that is important. I thought you had like big
time country music stuff to attend to Christmas.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
I wouldn't be wearing a college shirt if it wasn't
for my kids Christmas play.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Here's what I want to do.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I want to I want to give people a glimpse
but into what you do for a living and what
happens on this street. But can you guys touch on
your sort of your day job right like your your
career and what you do in music writing, what services
you provide and how that world works very quickly?
Speaker 5 (03:04):
Yeah, we're lunch pelt songwriters what we'd like to call them.
And we write three four days a week right here
on music Road. Sometimes we write in this room.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Now we write three or four days a week. There
was a time, we were writing five days a week,
sometimes doubles.
Speaker 5 (03:17):
Okay, yeah, but we've got we've got publishers or pluggers
that we write for or signed to. I'm signed to
fifty Egg, Dan signed to Sony, and they schedule out
our rights way in advance, and.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
So they schedule it.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
Yeah, we do too. We do a lot of that
too now, but most of the time they do. And
we'll look at on Sunday, you'll look at your calendar
for Monday and see that you're writing with X, this
X writer and this X writer at Sony at eleven
o'clock and you roll up at ten forty five, do
a little chat and say what's up? Catch up with everybody,
head into the room at eleven and do a chatting
(03:51):
for about thirty minutes again, and then you start scrolling
through ideas and seeing what artists. If you've got buddies
that's cutting a record, I.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Can't see his secret or we're friends with Luke Combs,
so a lot of times people will come in and
sit down with us and go, hey, man, when's Luke
cutting a bit? Oh man, he's two years out. What
is that's off the table?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Right?
Speaker 4 (04:09):
There's no sense in even trying.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So that'll how you move beyond that.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
So if you're six months out and you go, oh man,
he's looking for a song about hunting, then this guy
might go, it's crazy. I have this hook praying in
a deer stand or whatever it is.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And then we're praying in a deer stand. That's way
better than what I.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Got for you. Okay, we'll see wing right that.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
If you want to, that'd be praying in a mule saddle.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So why okay? What so I brought Clay down?
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, oh, you brought him.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
I brought Clay's debatable to workshop because I wanted to
see you guys and work so the best I could
come up with.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I'm not a songwriter, sure, I was gonna pitch you, guys.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I was gonna be the guy that comes in and
I'm gonna pitch you on an idea of a song
that you could develop about how mules are better than horses.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Okay, now, look, I'm gonta be honest. I don't know
a whole lot about mutles.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
That's what I hear.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
I can give you the bullet point, okay, And to
be honest, we don't know a lot about horses.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Either well, his lifetime.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
He needs a song to go with this because this
is his lifetime battle.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Anyways.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Okay, so you're the artists and we are the summer
I help, which is what we did.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
And I'm the producer.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Well I sure more like produced bag producer. You're the producer.
Speaker 6 (05:24):
So this is this is like really high stakes for me.
I need a song that carries now I want to
do that carries the data, the facts, but also the culture,
the attitude, the fire, and the bones of the overlooked people.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
You are at this.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Yeah, so you know about Columbia, Tennessee. Right, yeah, we
will selltown, yeah, race Brothers, the Muletown Coffee.
Speaker 7 (05:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's pretty slick. I haven't been probably
Grand Marshal at some day.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Dude, well, easy, we can put you in for that.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
I mean you can put your mules in. There's a
condition their guitars.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
That way, the lunch their lunch listen.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I think by dinner time.
Speaker 6 (06:10):
The song that the song needs some like real specific
data that a mule or horse person would be like dang,
he's right, but it also needs like some catchy hook
that ca Okay, So so here here's here's the scoop.
For every hundred horses, there's probably two mules in the country.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Starting line, Okay.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yeah, can I have that?
Speaker 1 (06:38):
You just could put that line in there.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Well, you know what I mean. Well, but it's gotta
it's gotta bring the horses.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
For every horse.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Okay, I'm saying there ain't a hundred horses. There ain't,
but two mules ain't. Well, now they're thinking we're dumb though.
Speaker 6 (07:04):
I mean, it's like it's like special, but a mule
is a four wheel drive horse, Like that's kind of
a thing. Mules are surefooted, like way more surefooted than
a horse. That DaMina than a horse. They live longer
than a horse. They have a longer working life.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
I think what I need from you that would make
for a great commercial country mule song. Maybe maybe this
is a story tune. So I'm sure's a specific meal.
I'm sure in your lifetime you've had or maybe even
a specific instance with a specific mule. Like you're on
a mountain and the cat jumps and swipes it, but
it doesn't kill it, and the horse falls off the
side of the mountain, but your mule stays and his
(07:45):
name is.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Is He's my good meal. Right now, that's what What
was the slow trap?
Speaker 4 (07:54):
I said, So, what we're gonna do now in lunch
best songwriting world, It's take the three options he just
gave us and decide on which one is the hook
your name. Now one of them may meant more to
you than.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
It doesn't matter. But is he Betty Bay? And Betty Bay?
Speaker 5 (08:09):
So there's even like a he said, Betty Bay and
that's a laser color. That's a little song, right, you
think too? Is like the baby Bay is also for sale?
The two bees?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
The this is craigslist.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Dude, geez, I'm thinking about somebody.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
That's what this is.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Really getting your paycheck? Don't worry about this. Just write
me a really about Betty Bay.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Okay, I like Betty Bay. What was the other one?
Speaker 7 (08:37):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Slow trap? Is he Betty Bay?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
And he said? May is her color? B a wat?
Speaker 6 (08:46):
Yeah, she's Bay colored. But I mean, like the biggest
thing that a mule would have would be as surefootedness
and safety and rough country. Like if you meet somebody
with the mule, you're like, this dude's going in some
rough country. This, this is a this is a gritty American.
But mules are stubborn they're harder to deal with than
(09:07):
a horse. They're harder to train than a horse, But
if you get one trained, it's better than a horse.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Payoffs man, Okay, so nothing, I love that for a chorus,
Like hold on, we don't even know what.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
No, I'm just working in my brain like this song
might be that.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
What do you want this song to sound like? Well,
I mean should it be up tempo?
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Should yeah?
Speaker 7 (09:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (09:28):
Like should it be like like like like like like
kind of kind of fun. We could start out with
a chorus, That's what I'm thinking. Like them might they
would you just say? They might be what? They might
be this? They might be that.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
Well they're they're they're surefooted, they're made for rough country.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
To raise up, but it's worth it in the end.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Yeah yeah, what are the what are the downfalls of them?
They might be well, they're they're harder to train.
Speaker 8 (10:00):
Might be.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
There, they're a bad mule is.
Speaker 6 (10:05):
Way worse than a bad horse. But a good mule,
okay here, let me it's better than a good horse.
We gotta save saying that outlaw. If you get an outlaw,
you're in trouble.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Nobody's listening to this. Should we should we save our
horse references like for because here's the thing, we could
ship on horses through this.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Entire song, right, no doubt. But I think the move.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
I think the move is to pick one poignant moment
to ship on a horse and then just keep it honoring.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
He's trying to go low and negative. Well you guys
are trying to go positive.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Well, positive makes money.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Yeah, we're trying.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Okay, could you could like.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
Start with like a trip to the mountains in rough
country now, I mean like a personal to come through
with have been carrying a bear hide?
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Love it? Give me two seconds? Betty by Betty of course,
finest mules, every fin god ever, Beny.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
He should we put a state in there? Sure?
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Yeah, yeah, in a minute, I've got one.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
What's the reference for the state?
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Well, just I don't know it.
Speaker 6 (11:36):
Just like Tennessee stud is really cool. I would love
an Arkansas reference.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
Okay, what's but Arkansas's Arkansas?
Speaker 3 (11:42):
What just just Arkansas? Arkansas?
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Ass yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:50):
Words, well, but but but it's not a donkey. Like
if somebody's trying to insult me, they'll go, hey, get
your donkey out of the trailer.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Spotting.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah, don't call my mule a donkey baby. Yeah yeah, so.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
Now you're the artist's over. This is where we text
our poster and be like, hey, senis a text that
we got studio time at two thirty.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Sorry, I gotta go home.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
I think we're just gonna have enough time.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Of course, Betty, Betty.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Got Betty, just write a different line of.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Clay.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
I mean we could do you want to be in
the song.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Arkansas Clay, Betty Babe, Betty babe.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
So I'm doing doing Arkansas Clay. I love that. And
then Betty for sale to the finest, finest God, this.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Got it.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
And you can do?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
And then a story, all right, which one goes first Clay?
Then got it?
Speaker 4 (13:10):
The many Babe, Betty babe, what's okay?
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Help us, help us, help us here?
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Something about that Arkansas Clay, like the something to the
mount only dedicated to you? What's another word for vehicle
blank to the mountains of Arkansas Clay.
Speaker 6 (13:30):
I call him like they're a ride a mountain Cadillac,
Cadillac for Arkansas.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Mountain, Cadillac for.
Speaker 7 (13:46):
Many.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
Betty, All right, there that's your course.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Over now.
Speaker 6 (13:57):
But the parts the course she's four verse, she's actually
fourteen three is what they call it.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
How old is she? She's seven going on eight.
Speaker 6 (14:07):
We're going on eight, going on on out here, going
on and.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
About it, you know, verse, how.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Do you she's going on eight at fourteen three?
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Are she going on fourteen three something? To something that that's.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Spanish To somebody who don't, Yeah, I like like.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Technical sounds, dukes. It makes it sound like you guys
know a lot about it.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
I think we're leaving that. I think it's got to
be clay cool. I don't think it's commercial cool. I
think we just got tochtake cool.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
He's going on a fourteenth three dude, look at that.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
And that would be a concern because you're just losing people.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Well you in a commercial sense.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
Who's gonna know what she's going on eight at fourteenth three?
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Nobody listeners that yours guys to Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
No, I got you, but like just a but a
commercial audience is too obscure or yeah you do.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
He's eight years old, stands fourteen three, So everybody that's
a little Claire, Yeah, that's a little bit.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I don't think we help out. I think we make
it cooler than Clay cool cool.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
Well she she she weighs a thousand pounds. She's she's, uh,
you know, just a ball of energy energy the first verse.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Yeah, only fourteen.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Three pounds, thousand pounds of energy. Yeah, yeah, I'm good
shivers like, okay, so we could do this in that
second stands of stands.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
You guys did bold versions.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
You left the stands off last time, but I think't
throw that in even going on.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
Eight stands fourteen three thousand pounds, thousand pounds of energy.
They call it horsepower fifteen g they you have her s.
They call it horsepower, but they should call it m power.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (16:17):
Maybe seven Yeah, horse powers got all the hype, but
mule power is really what we want. Yeah, you know
something like that energy, horsepower, horse powers for They say
horsepower makes horse powers Hollywood, mule powers powers for Ford.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Her horse powers for Hollywood, mules for the mountains, mules
for them for a lot for real life.
Speaker 8 (16:39):
Horsepower horsepower for Hollywood.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Doesn't really based.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Yeah, okay, she she's going on eight stands, fourteen three
thousand energy.
Speaker 8 (16:59):
We got it right, horse horse I got it still
trapped Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
That's you know, I mean, I'm little songwriter.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Horse powers for Grease monkeys, grease monkeys.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
We just gave you the national not the Nashville Know.
Is when somebody says the line that we don't like,
you just look back and start playing again start yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
But I liked it because I felt let down easy.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Yeah, that's that's what it's supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Like leaves this idea that you're still mulling it.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
And here's the thing, this is one of my favorite
quotes I've ever heard in Nashville about that about the
Nashville No. Guy said something one time and we kind
of Nashville noted. He prefaced it by saying, look, I
don't I don't know that this is the line, but
I don't know that this is the crop. But it
might be the fertilizer for it. So like smelling them
stepping in there, all.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Right, yeah I do. I do appreciate that. Then just
getting shut.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Down, yeah, instead of going that ship's terrible.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Yeah's are we trying to keep Are we trying to
keep keep it cool?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Man?
Speaker 7 (18:01):
No?
Speaker 3 (18:01):
No, I know, but the same like same cadence.
Speaker 5 (18:03):
Like or you do or you do like horse powers
from something a I'll take power every day.
Speaker 8 (18:09):
There's fourteen three thousand pounds energy, horse powers, Hollyoo something
there were Betty based real power, power, mule power.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
It feels a little weird to me, man. I think
we maybe hangt like punt meal power and just try
another direction.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
Yeah, she's just you know, going on eight stands fourteen,
three thousand pounds energy.
Speaker 6 (18:35):
Uh sure, Now she'll carry a hog, should carry carry
a hog?
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Or so?
Speaker 3 (18:46):
No, no, no, something time to clear.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
I think this is it. I think this is the
last line. Of course.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, absolutely, don't don't. That's another here's another trick. Don't bores.
Get to the course.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
All right, So we what we just did, what we're
doing right now is we're talking out of line.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
So like, yeah, you you want.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
Songs to be conversational, and so that's what a lot
of song right is, is we sit there and go she's.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
She'll carry white tail deep.
Speaker 7 (19:11):
Side.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I love that she's some times a year there you go,
she'll carry.
Speaker 6 (19:19):
We throw it to nature reference like when the leaves
turn orange and that time fall.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Well, gotta earn set up missing one line. We're missing
one line.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
She'll carry a hog or a deer, or you can
flip them.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
She'll carry a deer, hog something over along they step
over along or some ship.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
Well they do, but that's a little that's a little
anti comatic.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Sorry. I like she'll carry this information that I is great.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
It's a week.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
What about h uh?
Speaker 5 (19:56):
She'll carry a hog or sometime a year, so many times.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
A year, any day of the year, any day of
the year.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
That sounds cheap. That's ready to get an.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
I love it. She's she'll carry a home.
Speaker 8 (20:08):
What up?
Speaker 4 (20:09):
She's ready to go in.
Speaker 6 (20:11):
The daily.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Mountains ship forgotun Cadillac for Narkansas play.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
She's got it right.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
This guitar, we need to lay that once. You just
handle this and I'll handle this.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
This is how all these guys not.
Speaker 6 (20:31):
Put my fingerprint on the verse with my name, but
and Arkansas clay. Would it be like old Arkansas class.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
See now we're just tightening the strands of this, and you.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Pick up your guitar and do it. I mean, what
is it I should like to you get in there?
I mean it's about you.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
I don't even know how to do this.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Man, do what you don't do anything? She's doing it?
Oh okay, okay, okay, on to start with a course.
Ready to start with.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
Betty Babe, Mountain Cadillac Roll Arkansas Play.
Speaker 7 (21:07):
Betty Babe, Betty Babe, minest.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
Mew gods ever watch it.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
She's going on age dance fourteen three thousand pounds of energy.
Speaker 7 (21:22):
You'll carry a harmor a white tell de she's ready
to go. And Debby by Babe, Betty Babe, She's a
battle Cadillac Roll Arkansas Clay Betty Babe, Betty Babe, miestmue
(21:44):
gods ever, Babe, my minest mute God.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Never there you going, Ladies and gentlemen. That's how hits
are made. Coming to you live from Music Row and Nashville, Tennessee.
Stay tuned for that one on the FM dial. Boom, boom,
turn it off, Evil, That's it.
Everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
We're on day two of our Eater Live Christmas Tour.
We're in Nashville. What does anybody think I'm gonna think
of Nashville? They think of music run, music Row. I'm
here with the host of God's Country podcast, Dan Reed
is belt his Hunt, and we're in a place where
you guys make music. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Literally, we've made music in this room.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
And we're on a street known for music making.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
I mean, arguably the most legendary music street in the country.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Music Row, music kind of in between them.
Speaker 5 (00:27):
Sixteenth and seventeenth is the legendary music row in Nashville,
and they just run parallel each other. One way this
way on sixteenth, one way that way on seventeenth.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
So fair to say, hundreds of the songs you know
have been.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Touched thousand, thousands, thousands have been touched on this street.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Absolutely, and not only that, Let's get down to brass tacks.
The building.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
It's a music building, indeed, a lot of history with it.
The room is a music room. I'm just trying to
establish our credentials legedly. This is a legit studio. I mean,
this was a vocal booth. If you if you were
to pull this down you'd see a big glass window
where artists converse with producers on what to play, what
they have canob jockeys, but jockey I wouldn't use that loosely.
(01:11):
Dolly Parton has been in this building, according to Tammy.
Whyett's been in this building. George Jones been this building
allegedly allegedly together maybe together many in this room.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
I'm not one to say so.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I'm just establishing our credentials that we're in a music room.
Speaker 4 (01:26):
I would visure to say, you're in the You're in
the heart of the country music creation.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Steve, this is this is why I've brought you here.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
No I brought you here.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
No I brought you here because.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
I mean, arguably we brought.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
This is I brought you.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
This is the American South, and this is where music
is made. Has a Steve has a beef with me
because one time I said music is important to people
in the South.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
That's all I say.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
It's not in the North.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Was the implication, right, He's like, well, you don't understand
music is very important to people in the South.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
It's kind of like fraud fish Wells is very important people.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
What I was trying to say is it's important to.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
People in the north, more important, frid fish more important.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
No chance question what's more important?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
And I just brought up I'm like, tell, go tell
the people in Motown about how special music is in
the South.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Well, I don't want I don't want to burn our
time up. These guys got a hard out. We have
a song to write.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
My kids Christmas play. That's the only reason. Otherwise I'd
stay all day.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Okay, that is important. I thought you had like big
time country music stuff to attend to Christmas.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
I wouldn't be wearing a college shirt if it wasn't
for my kids Christmas play.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Here's what I want to do.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
I want to I want to give people a glimpse
but into what you do for a living and what
happens on this street. But can you guys touch on
your sort of your day job right like your your
career and what you do in music writing, what services
you provide and how that world works very quickly?
Speaker 5 (03:04):
Yeah, we're lunch pelt songwriters what we'd like to call them.
And we write three four days a week right here
on music Road. Sometimes we write in this room.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
Now we write three or four days a week. There
was a time, we were writing five days a week,
sometimes doubles.
Speaker 5 (03:17):
Okay, yeah, but we've got we've got publishers or pluggers
that we write for or signed to. I'm signed to
fifty Egg, Dan signed to Sony, and they schedule out
our rights way in advance, and.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
So they schedule it.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
Yeah, we do too. We do a lot of that
too now, but most of the time they do. And
we'll look at on Sunday, you'll look at your calendar
for Monday and see that you're writing with X, this
X writer and this X writer at Sony at eleven
o'clock and you roll up at ten forty five, do
a little chat and say what's up? Catch up with everybody,
head into the room at eleven and do a chatting
(03:51):
for about thirty minutes again, and then you start scrolling
through ideas and seeing what artists. If you've got buddies
that's cutting a record, I.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Can't see his secret or we're friends with Luke Combs,
so a lot of times people will come in and
sit down with us and go, hey, man, when's Luke
cutting a bit? Oh man, he's two years out. What
is that's off the table?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Right?
Speaker 4 (04:09):
There's no sense in even trying.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
So that'll how you move beyond that.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
So if you're six months out and you go, oh man,
he's looking for a song about hunting, then this guy
might go, it's crazy. I have this hook praying in
a deer stand or whatever it is.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And then we're praying in a deer stand. That's way
better than what I.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Got for you. Okay, we'll see wing right that.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
If you want to, that'd be praying in a mule saddle.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So why okay? What so I brought Clay down?
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, oh, you brought him.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
I brought Clay's debatable to workshop because I wanted to
see you guys and work so the best I could
come up with.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I'm not a songwriter, sure, I was gonna pitch you, guys.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I was gonna be the guy that comes in and
I'm gonna pitch you on an idea of a song
that you could develop about how mules are better than horses.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Okay, now, look, I'm gonta be honest. I don't know
a whole lot about mutles.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
That's what I hear.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
I can give you the bullet point, okay, And to
be honest, we don't know a lot about horses.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Either well, his lifetime.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
He needs a song to go with this because this
is his lifetime battle.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Anyways.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
Okay, so you're the artists and we are the summer
I help, which is what we did.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
And I'm the producer.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Well I sure more like produced bag producer. You're the producer.
Speaker 6 (05:24):
So this is this is like really high stakes for me.
I need a song that carries now I want to
do that carries the data, the facts, but also the culture,
the attitude, the fire, and the bones of the overlooked people.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
You are at this.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Yeah, so you know about Columbia, Tennessee. Right, yeah, we
will selltown, yeah, race Brothers, the Muletown Coffee.
Speaker 7 (05:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's pretty slick. I haven't been probably
Grand Marshal at some day.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Dude, well, easy, we can put you in for that.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
I mean you can put your mules in. There's a
condition their guitars.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
That way, the lunch their lunch listen.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I think by dinner time.
Speaker 6 (06:10):
The song that the song needs some like real specific
data that a mule or horse person would be like dang,
he's right, but it also needs like some catchy hook
that ca Okay, So so here here's here's the scoop.
For every hundred horses, there's probably two mules in the country.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Starting line, Okay.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Yeah, can I have that?
Speaker 1 (06:38):
You just could put that line in there.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Well, you know what I mean. Well, but it's gotta
it's gotta bring the horses.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
For every horse.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Okay, I'm saying there ain't a hundred horses. There ain't,
but two mules ain't. Well, now they're thinking we're dumb though.
Speaker 6 (07:04):
I mean, it's like it's like special, but a mule
is a four wheel drive horse, Like that's kind of
a thing. Mules are surefooted, like way more surefooted than
a horse. That DaMina than a horse. They live longer
than a horse. They have a longer working life.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
I think what I need from you that would make
for a great commercial country mule song. Maybe maybe this
is a story tune. So I'm sure's a specific meal.
I'm sure in your lifetime you've had or maybe even
a specific instance with a specific mule. Like you're on
a mountain and the cat jumps and swipes it, but
it doesn't kill it, and the horse falls off the
side of the mountain, but your mule stays and his
(07:45):
name is.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Is He's my good meal. Right now, that's what What
was the slow trap?
Speaker 4 (07:54):
I said, So, what we're gonna do now in lunch
best songwriting world, It's take the three options he just
gave us and decide on which one is the hook
your name. Now one of them may meant more to
you than.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
It doesn't matter. But is he Betty Bay? And Betty Bay?
Speaker 5 (08:09):
So there's even like a he said, Betty Bay and
that's a laser color. That's a little song, right, you
think too? Is like the baby Bay is also for sale?
The two bees?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
The this is craigslist.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Dude, geez, I'm thinking about somebody.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
That's what this is.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Really getting your paycheck? Don't worry about this. Just write
me a really about Betty Bay.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Okay, I like Betty Bay. What was the other one?
Speaker 7 (08:37):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Slow trap? Is he Betty Bay?
Speaker 3 (08:41):
And he said? May is her color? B a wat?
Speaker 6 (08:46):
Yeah, she's Bay colored. But I mean, like the biggest
thing that a mule would have would be as surefootedness
and safety and rough country. Like if you meet somebody
with the mule, you're like, this dude's going in some
rough country. This, this is a this is a gritty American.
But mules are stubborn they're harder to deal with than
(09:07):
a horse. They're harder to train than a horse, But
if you get one trained, it's better than a horse.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Payoffs man, Okay, so nothing, I love that for a chorus,
Like hold on, we don't even know what.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
No, I'm just working in my brain like this song
might be that.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
What do you want this song to sound like? Well,
I mean should it be up tempo?
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Should yeah?
Speaker 7 (09:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (09:28):
Like should it be like like like like like like
kind of kind of fun. We could start out with
a chorus, That's what I'm thinking. Like them might they
would you just say? They might be what? They might
be this? They might be that.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
Well they're they're they're surefooted, they're made for rough country.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
To raise up, but it's worth it in the end.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Yeah yeah, what are the what are the downfalls of them?
They might be well, they're they're harder to train.
Speaker 8 (10:00):
Might be.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
There, they're a bad mule is.
Speaker 6 (10:05):
Way worse than a bad horse. But a good mule,
okay here, let me it's better than a good horse.
We gotta save saying that outlaw. If you get an outlaw,
you're in trouble.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Nobody's listening to this. Should we should we save our
horse references like for because here's the thing, we could
ship on horses through this.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Entire song, right, no doubt. But I think the move.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
I think the move is to pick one poignant moment
to ship on a horse and then just keep it honoring.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
He's trying to go low and negative. Well you guys
are trying to go positive.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Well, positive makes money.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Yeah, we're trying.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Okay, could you could like.
Speaker 6 (10:52):
Start with like a trip to the mountains in rough
country now, I mean like a personal to come through
with have been carrying a bear hide?
Speaker 4 (11:02):
Love it? Give me two seconds? Betty by Betty of course,
finest mules, every fin god ever, Beny.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
He should we put a state in there? Sure?
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Yeah, yeah, in a minute, I've got one.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
What's the reference for the state?
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Well, just I don't know it.
Speaker 6 (11:36):
Just like Tennessee stud is really cool. I would love
an Arkansas reference.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
Okay, what's but Arkansas's Arkansas?
Speaker 3 (11:42):
What just just Arkansas? Arkansas?
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Ass yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:50):
Words, well, but but but it's not a donkey. Like
if somebody's trying to insult me, they'll go, hey, get
your donkey out of the trailer.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Spotting.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Yeah, don't call my mule a donkey baby. Yeah yeah, so.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
Now you're the artist's over. This is where we text
our poster and be like, hey, senis a text that
we got studio time at two thirty.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Sorry, I gotta go home.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
I think we're just gonna have enough time.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Of course, Betty, Betty.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Got Betty, just write a different line of.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Clay.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
I mean we could do you want to be in
the song.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Arkansas Clay, Betty Babe, Betty babe.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
So I'm doing doing Arkansas Clay. I love that. And
then Betty for sale to the finest, finest God, this.
Speaker 5 (13:03):
Got it.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
And you can do?
Speaker 3 (13:06):
And then a story, all right, which one goes first Clay?
Then got it?
Speaker 4 (13:10):
The many Babe, Betty babe, what's okay?
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Help us, help us, help us here?
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Something about that Arkansas Clay, like the something to the
mount only dedicated to you? What's another word for vehicle
blank to the mountains of Arkansas Clay.
Speaker 6 (13:30):
I call him like they're a ride a mountain Cadillac,
Cadillac for Arkansas.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Mountain, Cadillac for.
Speaker 7 (13:46):
Many.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
Betty, All right, there that's your course.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Over now.
Speaker 6 (13:57):
But the parts the course she's four verse, she's actually
fourteen three is what they call it.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
How old is she? She's seven going on eight.
Speaker 6 (14:07):
We're going on eight, going on on out here, going
on and.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
About it, you know, verse, how.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Do you she's going on eight at fourteen three?
Speaker 4 (14:28):
Are she going on fourteen three something? To something that that's.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Spanish To somebody who don't, Yeah, I like like.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Technical sounds, dukes. It makes it sound like you guys
know a lot about it.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
I think we're leaving that. I think it's got to
be clay cool. I don't think it's commercial cool. I
think we just got tochtake cool.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
He's going on a fourteenth three dude, look at that.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
And that would be a concern because you're just losing people.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Well you in a commercial sense.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
Who's gonna know what she's going on eight at fourteenth three?
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Nobody listeners that yours guys to Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
No, I got you, but like just a but a
commercial audience is too obscure or yeah you do.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
He's eight years old, stands fourteen three, So everybody that's
a little Claire, Yeah, that's a little bit.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I don't think we help out. I think we make
it cooler than Clay cool cool.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
Well she she she weighs a thousand pounds. She's she's, uh,
you know, just a ball of energy energy the first verse.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Yeah, only fourteen.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Three pounds, thousand pounds of energy. Yeah, yeah, I'm good
shivers like, okay, so we could do this in that
second stands of stands.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
You guys did bold versions.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
You left the stands off last time, but I think't
throw that in even going on.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
Eight stands fourteen three thousand pounds, thousand pounds of energy.
They call it horsepower fifteen g they you have her s.
They call it horsepower, but they should call it m power.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (16:17):
Maybe seven Yeah, horse powers got all the hype, but
mule power is really what we want. Yeah, you know
something like that energy, horsepower, horse powers for They say
horsepower makes horse powers Hollywood, mule powers powers for Ford.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Her horse powers for Hollywood, mules for the mountains, mules
for them for a lot for real life.
Speaker 8 (16:39):
Horsepower horsepower for Hollywood.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Doesn't really based.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Yeah, okay, she she's going on eight stands, fourteen three
thousand energy.
Speaker 8 (16:59):
We got it right, horse horse I got it still
trapped Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
That's you know, I mean, I'm little songwriter.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Horse powers for Grease monkeys, grease monkeys.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
We just gave you the national not the Nashville Know.
Is when somebody says the line that we don't like,
you just look back and start playing again start yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
But I liked it because I felt let down easy.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
Yeah, that's that's what it's supposed to do.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Like leaves this idea that you're still mulling it.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
And here's the thing, this is one of my favorite
quotes I've ever heard in Nashville about that about the
Nashville No. Guy said something one time and we kind
of Nashville noted. He prefaced it by saying, look, I
don't I don't know that this is the line, but
I don't know that this is the crop. But it
might be the fertilizer for it. So like smelling them
stepping in there, all.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Right, yeah I do. I do appreciate that. Then just
getting shut.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Down, yeah, instead of going that ship's terrible.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Yeah's are we trying to keep Are we trying to
keep keep it cool?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Man?
Speaker 7 (18:01):
No?
Speaker 3 (18:01):
No, I know, but the same like same cadence.
Speaker 5 (18:03):
Like or you do or you do like horse powers
from something a I'll take power every day.
Speaker 8 (18:09):
There's fourteen three thousand pounds energy, horse powers, Hollyoo something
there were Betty based real power, power, mule power.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
It feels a little weird to me, man. I think
we maybe hangt like punt meal power and just try
another direction.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
Yeah, she's just you know, going on eight stands fourteen,
three thousand pounds energy.
Speaker 6 (18:35):
Uh sure, Now she'll carry a hog, should carry carry
a hog?
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Or so?
Speaker 3 (18:46):
No, no, no, something time to clear.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
I think this is it. I think this is the
last line. Of course.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Yeah, absolutely, don't don't. That's another here's another trick. Don't bores.
Get to the course.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
All right, So we what we just did, what we're
doing right now is we're talking out of line.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
So like, yeah, you you want.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
Songs to be conversational, and so that's what a lot
of song right is, is we sit there and go she's.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
She'll carry white tail deep.
Speaker 7 (19:11):
Side.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
I love that she's some times a year there you go,
she'll carry.
Speaker 6 (19:19):
We throw it to nature reference like when the leaves
turn orange and that time fall.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
Well, gotta earn set up missing one line. We're missing
one line.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
She'll carry a hog or a deer, or you can
flip them.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
She'll carry a deer, hog something over along they step
over along or some ship.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
Well they do, but that's a little that's a little
anti comatic.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Sorry. I like she'll carry this information that I is great.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
It's a week.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
What about h uh?
Speaker 5 (19:56):
She'll carry a hog or sometime a year, so many times.
Speaker 3 (20:01):
A year, any day of the year, any day of
the year.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
That sounds cheap. That's ready to get an.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
I love it. She's she'll carry a home.
Speaker 8 (20:08):
What up?
Speaker 4 (20:09):
She's ready to go in.
Speaker 6 (20:11):
The daily.
Speaker 5 (20:19):
Mountains ship forgotun Cadillac for Narkansas play.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
She's got it right.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
This guitar, we need to lay that once. You just
handle this and I'll handle this.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
This is how all these guys not.
Speaker 6 (20:31):
Put my fingerprint on the verse with my name, but
and Arkansas clay. Would it be like old Arkansas class.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
See now we're just tightening the strands of this, and you.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Pick up your guitar and do it. I mean, what
is it I should like to you get in there?
I mean it's about you.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
I don't even know how to do this.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Man, do what you don't do anything? She's doing it?
Oh okay, okay, okay, on to start with a course.
Ready to start with.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
Betty Babe, Mountain Cadillac Roll Arkansas Play.
Speaker 7 (21:07):
Betty Babe, Betty Babe, minest.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
Mew gods ever watch it.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
She's going on age dance fourteen three thousand pounds of energy.
Speaker 7 (21:22):
You'll carry a harmor a white tell de she's ready
to go. And Debby by Babe, Betty Babe, She's a
battle Cadillac Roll Arkansas Clay Betty Babe, Betty Babe, miestmue
(21:44):
gods ever, Babe, my minest mute God.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Never there you going, Ladies and gentlemen. That's how hits
are made. Coming to you live from Music Row and Nashville, Tennessee.
Stay tuned for that one on the FM dial. Boom, boom,
turn it off, Evil, That's it.
Host
Steven Rinella
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