August 1, 2024 • 24 mins
Three time GRAMMY award-winning Nitty Gritty Dirt Band coming to Paramount Theatre on 8/11 in Denver, CO.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has seamlessly fused folk, rock, bluegrass, and country, ultimately propelling themselves across boundaries and exploring new sounds. With their career spanning almost 58 years, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is saying goodbye to traditional touring, embarking on the ALL THE GOOD TIMES: The Farewell Tour. Bob Carpenter talks about what we can expect, if this is it, song writing and memories over the years.
Plus an update on Pop Culture with Denise's Dirt.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has seamlessly fused folk, rock, bluegrass, and country, ultimately propelling themselves across boundaries and exploring new sounds. With their career spanning almost 58 years, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is saying goodbye to traditional touring, embarking on the ALL THE GOOD TIMES: The Farewell Tour. Bob Carpenter talks about what we can expect, if this is it, song writing and memories over the years.
Plus an update on Pop Culture with Denise's Dirt.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do Do Do Do Do.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hey, y'all, it's Denise's podcast, Happy Happy Thursday, first of August.
So I got a great interview Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Bob Carpenter. They're coming to the Paramount, which is a
legendary theater here in Denver, gorgeous, built in the nineteen thirties.
The architecture is amazing and it's an intimate theater. The
(00:24):
sound is incredible. You get a chance to see Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band up close and personal. And this isn't
like a goodbye tour. It's just they're not going to
tour as often. They'll still make music, but they might
not come to the Paramount again. So we'll get to
Bob's interview, who's a great guy, in just a moment,
But first let's get to Denise's dirt. I was shocked
(00:48):
Carrie Underwood wasn't even on the short list. I heard
Jelly Roll, I heard Miley Cyrus, Megan trainer. Carrie Underwood
has been tapped to be the new judge of American Idol,
replacing Katie Perry, and Carrie's going to join Luke Bryan,
Lionel Ritchie. They're coming back for season twenty three. But
don't think it's all going to be focused on country
(01:09):
because keep in mind, Carrie's recorded with artists like John Legend, Aerosmith, Ludacris,
Need to Breathe, CC Winings. She's also toured with Guns
N' Roses. The girl can rock it out and she
is going to be a perfect replacement. She was discovered
on American Idol. For goodness sakes, I remember her looking
up in the sky when Ryan Seacrest they were outside
(01:33):
and he goes, have you seen many stars while you're
here in La? And she was so innocent. I often
wondered was this set up or did she really? Was
she that naive at the time, coming from a small
town in Oklahoma, She said, well, gosh, you know, there's
so many lights out here. I can't really see the stars.
They're not that bright in the sky. He, of course
(01:55):
was referring to celebrities. Anyway, I think it's going to
be a killer season now. Rumors about a relationship with
Meghan Maroney and Morgan Wallen has been swirling since she
was a Georgia Boltdogs fan. She showed up on social
media wearing a University of Tennessee Jersey. Yep, she sidestepped
the question until recently. She was on a podcast, the
(02:17):
Caller Daddy Podcast hosted by Alex Cooper, who, by the way,
Oh my gosh, that podcast is really good. If you've
never listened to it, you have to. And allegedly she's
been offered like one hundred million dollars to host that
podcast on a different network. It's craziness to think about,
and I'm so jealous, but go, Girl'll go. And this
is why she's getting offered so much money, because she
(02:38):
got Megan Maroney to finally admit, yeah, there was something
more to it than just a friendship with Morgan Wallen.
So him and I met in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
So I was a senior in college Covid Hutt and
happenyet his Dangerous album wasn't even out yet.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
So we're friends for a long time.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
We're not just friends, and now we're friends.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Brad Paisley one of the nicest guys in country music
and a great ambassador of the grand old opry. He
invited post Malone to do something very special. It's on
his Instagram page.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Hey post Brad here. So what I'm about to ask
is going to mean a lot to you. I think
knowing you and knowing the respect that you have for
country music and this journey you're embarking on now as
a hillbilly singer, which is going to be massive and
remarkable and amazing for both country music and I think you.
Would you like to play the Opry? Come play it
with me in August. Total invite and it's going to
(03:30):
be the first of many appearances. I have a feeling
from you. Come experience what it's like to play the
show that started it all. You and I can jam
together and a lot of your friends will be there
and we're going to have a blast.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Oh I bet you. Blake Shelton shows up, Luke Combe
shows up, Morgan Wallen shows up. It's going to be
a huge event at the Grand Old Opry. Influencer of
the Ballerina Farm. Her name is Hannah Well. She doesn't
want to be called a trad wife, which stands for
a traditional wife. She is firing back at a profile
of her husband and family. It was on London Sunday Times.
(04:03):
They did a hit job on her. They portrayed her
as oppressed by her husband Daniel. It was sad. This
is what she had to say about it.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
A couple of weeks ago, we had a reporter come
into our home to learn more about our family and business.
We thought the interview went really well, very similar to
the dozens of interviews we had done in recent memory.
We were taken back, however, when we saw the printed
article which shocked us and shocked the world by being
an attack on our family and my marriage, portraying me
(04:32):
as oppressed, with my husband being the culprit. This couldn't
be further from the truth. Nothing we said in the
interview implied this conclusion, which leads me to believe the
angle taken was predetermined. For Daniel and I. Our priority
in life is God and family. Everything else comes second.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yes, Hannah is a New York drained ballerina and Daniel
is a son of the Jet Blue founder, and they
decided to get rid of the glamorous life and start
a ranch in Utah. They focus on God, they focus
on their children, their family, their home. They have over
seventeen million followers. They have eight children, and they want
(05:09):
to have more children. So this article titled Meet the
Queen of Tradwives and her eight Children. It's centered on
Hannah's role as a homemaker, but they totally misrepresented her.
And she said, we're co parents, were co CEOs, we're
co diaper changers, kitchen cleaners, and decision makers. I thought
it was horrible what they wrote about her. And if
(05:32):
she wants to be at home mom and she has
eight children, trust me, that's enough work by itself. She
doesn't have a nanny. They make everything by scratch. They're
both owners of the farm. And she enjoys her life.
So who is this journalist to write such a horrible
article about this woman who's very, very happy And yeah,
(05:54):
she's successful on her own with so many followers, she
could make plenty of money if she wants to, just
by her Instagram fame alone. So shame on you, the journalist.
All right, enough with that nonsense. Now let's get to
the interview. A fun interview from Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Bob Carpenter. Hot damn, Bob Carpenter from Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
(06:15):
How the heck are you?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Yahoo? I'm good?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Was that a nice welcoming or what? I'm excited to
talk to you?
Speaker 1 (06:23):
God, you're so excited. It's so great.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Well, you're coming to the Paramount August. Still love it.
It's like almost a homecoming because you have a relationship
here in Colorado that spans decades, many years.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Everybody in the band was in and out of there
and around the Denver area from seventy one until eighty
I would guess maybe even eighty two. I mean we're
all over the place. I had to host brings and
Aspen in Denver and bab blah blar. Our management was
in Denver for many, many many years in the Red Rocks,
(07:00):
Munch and played the Little Bear up in Evergreen, lived
in Evergreen. I mean we've we've been all over that place.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah. Chuck Morris, he managed you for a while.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Didn't he He did?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Great guy, Great guy. Now where are you living? Are
you in Nashville?
Speaker 1 (07:16):
No, I moved. I moved out of Colorado in the
late late late seventies, and I came down. I came
out here to the West coast and I've been here
full times since about nineteen eighty eighty one and something like.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
That beautiful weather. How is it right now?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So cal It's perfect about seventy eight degrees. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I lived there when I was younger, and then we
moved to lake have a zoo and that's not far
and you know that how hot it is there. It's
like one thirty in the shade loo.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Yeah, the water's nice and warm there.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
So let's talk about your music, because you know I
work country radio and nitty gritty dirt band. You originally
started off kind of like rock, and you have this
massive appeal. You can hit any genre of music.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
We pretty much stuck our toes in a lot of
different musical pots of water.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
And where do you feel most comfortable?
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Everywhere? Yeah, if we did it. I mean it's fifty
eight years now. I mean the band started out as
a jug band of all things, with a washtub bass
and kazoos and you know, wash washboards and stuff like that.
I mean, that didn't last very long, but that was
the original music. And you know we've been through. We've
been through. Our had some country hits and I guess
(08:32):
we're Mark Conna now, or we're roots music, or I
don't know what we are.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
You are nitty gritty dirt band. You don't have to
label yourself. Everybody knows nitty gritty dirt band.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
We're no good at that. We have the easy part.
We just played the music. We let everybody else decide
what we are.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Some of those hits Fishing in the Dark, Mister Bojangles,
American Dream, make a Little Magic. Do you have a
favorite song yourself that you love to perform?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, Stand a Little Rain. Love singing that song nice
and why, I don't know. It just feels good when
I sing it. The The other thing is too, is
that the songs that are most funderperform on stage are
the ones that people come to hear that they so
excited to hear. I mean, do we recorded God Blessed
the Broken Road on our acoustic album back in the
(09:18):
mid nineties, and when we've been doing it on stage
ever since with just Jeff and I him on acoustic guitar,
and then Rescal Flats had a huge hit with him
in two thousand and eight, and so you know, people
are familiar with that song. Not a lot of people
know that, you know, Jeff wrote it and we performed
that every night. People love to hear that song, you know,
it's a little bit of a sing along.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
And so anyway, there's a lot of stuff I love
to do on stage. I mean really love both Jaggles, love,
Fish in the darkness. People just light up when we
play that stuff, you know.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
And you're so good at storytelling with your music, those
songs you mentioned, especially God Bless the Broken Road. Oh,
how does it feel when you're on stage and the
crowd start singing the words back to you. That has
to just be the biggest compliment ever.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
No, it's great, it's great, and in the not too
near future it will really help us remember the words. Still,
we're really into that.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Ow, come on now, bomping.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Like I could ever forget this stuff? Right?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
You saying it so many times.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
You forget your kids' names, you can't forget the lyrics,
all right, So that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Are you still writing? Do you find yourself like inspired
and you have to sit down?
Speaker 1 (10:32):
See, yeah, we're all still writing, and we got our
little studios at home, and we still do all that stuff,
and that stuff will probably continue forever. What we're saying
goodbye to is the drudgery of dragging our butts around
on the road from February through November. You know, Oh,
your hotel room is not ready, the brust broke down,
blah blah blah. So I mean, we love it, but
(10:55):
there's a time when all that stuff just has to
come to an end.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, and just let everybody know this isn't the goodbye tour.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
It is in a way, and it isn't in a way.
This is like, if you want to come see the
Dirt Band live in your town, now's the time because
we're not going to go back to the same towns
again like we have in the past. So we're one
and done in these towns pretty much now. Whether or
not we go to Red Rocks for some special thing
(11:25):
somewhere down to it, I have no idea. Nobody, you know,
we're year to year guys. You know, when twenty twenty
came along, we thought we were done. Everybody thought they
were done, which makes this sort of like a little
deja vou because we thought that that was the end.
So now we're going to go out on our own
terms and we're going to go play these shows. We're
gonna go different areas of the country. We can't hit
(11:45):
them all in one year. So well, you know, we'll
plan and for as long as we can do this
in the near future, we will do it while we
can still sing and play up to our standards. But
let's face it, we're not gonna be Willie Nelson. There's
not a band full of guys who are ninety years
old that are going to go out and tour anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Right, Yeah, And this is our chance to see you
at the Paramount Theater August eleventh. Just a beautiful theater, gorgeous.
It's an intimate theater too, so you really get to
see this show up close and personal. You mentioned Red Rocks.
That's an iconic Amphitheater too that I guess every band
has to at least play once, don't you agree?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Every band wants to play it at least want you.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Not everybody's so lucky.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You know what's the best like Amphitheater that you I
don't know, it made a mark in your life that
you'll always remember. Maybe it's not the Amphitheater. Maybe it's
something that happened there.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Well. I remember Red Rocks a lot because before I
started playing with the Dirt Band in the you know,
in the middle seventies, I had a band up an
Aspenca called Starwood and we played Red Rocks opening for
the Dirt Band. I played there with the Dirt Band.
When the winds came in, the amps blew over. We
played there with Love It a few years ago. We've
been there a lot. We did a we did a
(13:05):
thing there after one of our one of our Circle
records with a whole bunch of different artists that was
really good. I mean, there's just so much that's gone
on there for us. H It's it's hard to single
out one particular thing.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
What people may not know about Red Rocks. Every artist
like backstage signs as you're going up the stairs, you
autograph the actual rock. And there's the Beatles, the Stones,
nitty Gritty Dirt band. Do you sign it every time
you perform or is it just once?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Uh, that's a really hard question because I don't remember.
There's only there's only two places that we signed concrete
or rock. Red Rocks is the one place. And then
we got behind the scoreboard at Wrigley Field in Chicago
and they have everybody back there on the concrete wall
that's never visited back there the ball Oh way.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I never knew that.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Is that like common knowledge and I just didn't know.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I don't think this common knowledge. No, we just happened
to be at the ballpark. I'm sorry, it's not it's
it's not Wrigley Field. I'm sorry, it's it's the Red
Sox ballpark.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Oh you're talking about Fenway.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Yeah, Oh okay, that's the ballpark. It's not it's not
really field. I'm sorry, I misspoke.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
It's really cool. I had no idea.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
We were there with the guy that we knew, and
he took us down on the field and we went
back there and so we got to sign the wall.
It's fun.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
I think I got a scoop.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Yeah, I don't. I don't think we. I don't think
we we signed the wall every time we were at
Red Rocks. No, yeah, and we think we've been there
like five or six times now. It's definitely an interesting place.
They got tunnels back there with lead you out to
the mixing board and when you're you know, when when
you're having dinner and stuff backstage in the dressing rooms.
It's all natural rock under there, and it's a really
(15:01):
amazing players.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
I know. I wish everybody could have the opportunity to
see it. I was blessed a couple of times to
introduce shows, so I had a chance to see it again.
You're at the Paramount Theater August eleventh. You can still
get tickets. I want to make sure everybody gets tickets
to go check you guys out. Let's talk about country
radio now, how you feel like the era of music?
(15:26):
How it is. Are there anybody that you admire now
in country music that inspires you?
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Well, it's always about the singing for me, you know,
Chris Stapleton, You know, I still listen to the guys
that I grew up together, like you know, Rodney Crown.
You know, as far as the new guys go, you know,
I'm pretty much all over the dial with this stuff.
And as far as songwriting and stuff goes a lot
(15:58):
of it sounds repetitionous to me. Sometimes.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
How do you write a song? Like there's so many
I know, that's like the craziest question to ask, but
it's not easy. Like people think, oh, I could write
a song. I can you know, match up lyrics? You can't, Like,
what's the magic of that?
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Let me ask you a question. When you meet somebody
for the first time at a party, how do you
start a conversation?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Hi, how are you? I'm Denise?
Speaker 1 (16:29):
And then what comes then? Well, then what comes next?
Because basically a song is a conversation between yourself and
the listener. So if you have a story to tell
them about your life, you tell them that. If you
have a question to asking me, to ask them that.
It's just a conversation put to music.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Wow, I've never had anyone explain it to me like that.
It makes sense. That's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Huh, Well, it just popped into my head. I don't
think I've ever said that before.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Really, I'm getting all kinds of scoops. I'm like your
lucky charm or something.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
I've had so much coffee, Denise.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Yeah, so Steve Martin, he's kind of close to the
band too, hasn't he played with you guys?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
He's open for us. Oh, we've played some festivals with
him with his banjo band, Steep Canyon Rangers, And yeah,
we know we uh we did some recording on King
Tutt down in the studio and Aspen when he was
recording that song, and you know it's a We used
to have the same manager. Oh oh. We bumped in
(17:31):
him on and off and he lived up and Askeden
for a long time, have you.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Ever thought about doing acting?
Speaker 1 (17:39):
No, not really. I think it's too hard. I think
you have to get up really really early in the
morning and it's a lot of waiting around, and you
have to get makeup and you have to do this,
and then you have to study your lines, and you
have to study your character and you have to remember
stuff and then you have to do it a million
times and it's too hard and I'd rather just try
(18:02):
to be myself. Yeah. Easy.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, do you have like family members that are also
blessed with this gift of music or are you unique
in your family?
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Oh? No, I grew up around a lot of music.
You know. My parents sang in church and they bought
me accordion when I was four years old. We had
a piano in our living room. I sang in the
choir in high school. And my wife has written a
couple of songs and she's stung. And my son played
drums for a while and blah blah blah. So it's all,
you know, it's all sort of ingrained in our family culture.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
And what's the next? I mean, do you have any
goals that you haven't accomplished yet with music? Like is
there someone that you really want to collab with or
something that you haven't been able to do and it's
just a dream.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Well, the funny thing is is That happens a lot
when we go out on the road because we play
a lot of shows a lot of different people, and
we're always collabing. You know, Jerry Douglas is going to
open Force a couple of shows here, he'll play playing
with the Sam Bush. We're constantly around other musicians during shows,
and we're constantly playing music together. You know, that happens
(19:17):
automatically and it's really fun and it's really great.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Are there any women that you admire in music right
now that you would like to actually record a song with?
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Well, you know, on the Dirt Does Dylan album, we
collaborated with Rock and Poe. They sang a song with
me on our last album that we did, Dirt Does Dylan.
And when we go out on the road, we have
a lot of ladies that open Force acoustic acts and
(19:46):
they come up and sing with us at the end
of the show. So it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
And gosh, you've been doing this for nearly six decades.
It's all good times. The farewell tour you're not gonna
say goodbye for but you're only going to visit these
cities or maybe these amphitheaters for the last time, So
this is the time to get your tickets right.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
The music's not going to go away. The touring schedule
every year for the last fifty eight years, that's winding down.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Yeah, yeah, that has to be hard, especially with a family.
Do you each have your own bus or do you
all stay together?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
No, we don't have our own bus. We our have
our little submarine. The thing is we basically the bus
is okay because all you really do is you sleep
on the bus in your bunk. When you get into
a city, you're into your hotel room and you stay
there until the bus leaves again the next early in
the morning. So it's really not that tough.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Well that's because you're nitty gritty dirt band, your bob garbiner.
I mean, come on, you could do that. Most artists
they have to like, get in a bus that they
have to sleep in, they have to live in, they
have to do everything in because they can't.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
We used to do that. We used to do that.
We used to share rooms, we used to sleep on
the bus, we used to drive, you know, so we've
done all that. We did that when we were younger,
and that's what made us old. So they were old.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Did you journal along the way, like did you go
You never did?
Speaker 1 (21:18):
No, But we have a good time sitting and arguing
about remembering things that nobody remembers the same time.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
I wish you would write a book. I really wish
you would.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Oh, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
That's hard, not anymore, not with AI.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Well that's true. But you know what, I've known people
that have tried to write books about various things, and
publishers don't want to publish books unless you got a
bunch of sex and drugs and all that kind of
stuff in there. You can't just tell a little story
because nobody really cares about that. I don't think. Let's
think about nine million books in the market about all
(21:54):
these bands, and everybody's writing their stories about this time
and their musical lives, so don't. I mean, my perspective
would have to be something all encompassing outside of just
the Dirt band. It would have to be sort of
like my journey in life through music and all that
other stuff that I've done. I used to build houses
and all this kind of stuff, and I'd have to
(22:16):
sort of work it into the framework of the band
and talk about it in terms of sports and stuff.
Because I'm a big sports guy. I'm a big team
sports guy, and you know, I've coached and stuff, so
it would have to be a different take, just besides
the music, because just traveling around playing music that's sort
of like one chapter.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
So what kind of sports are you into? Are we
talking baseball, football, hockey, basketball, baseball?
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Well? I like all the sports. I like the ones
that when you can sit and sort of try to
figure out what they're going to do next or what
the next pitch is going to be. I like to
get into the newshe of it. But I coached baseball
for about twelve years, I guess.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
And was it a little league or are we talking.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
It was everything from t ball through you know, everything
through three year olds through fifteen year olds.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
That's cool, that's cool. Yeah, my husband was able to
do that with our two boys, and you know, it
takes a lot of patience. There are some crazy coaches
out there when you're talking t ball and they're screaming
at the little kids.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
It's all about it's all about the parents. Really. The
coaches I didn't find were a problem. It was the
rabbid parents were. If there's gonna be a problem, that's
usually what it is. Kids are always great, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But outside of that, you know, little golf here and there.
We've played on the road for years and years and
years and years, took our clubs out. We'll play a
(23:37):
little bit. And when we're in the mountains up there
in Denver, there was a lot of skim going on.
We wanted to do a lot of skims.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
So you know, well, when you could come this October eleventh,
it's a perfect time to play golf. Let me know.
I'll hook you up with a couple of golf courses
that you need to try.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Actually, we're thinking about playing. We got a day off
in Grand Junction, but I don't know it's going to
be like one hundred and ten degrees, so who knows. Well,
we'll see what happens, all right, Well.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Let me know if you decide, if you do have
a day off in Denver, I can try and connect
you with some people. But it was such a pleasure
talking to you. I will hopefully be able to sneak
backstage when I see you at the Paramount.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Are you coming to the show, I'll be there. I
can guarantee I can get your backstage passes for you.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Ah, Bob, thank you so much. You are so down
to earth and so nice. I really appreciate you taking
time for me today and you take care.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
God bless bye bye God b
Do Do Do Do Do.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hey, y'all, it's Denise's podcast, Happy Happy Thursday, first of August.
So I got a great interview Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Bob Carpenter. They're coming to the Paramount, which is a
legendary theater here in Denver, gorgeous, built in the nineteen thirties.
The architecture is amazing and it's an intimate theater. The
(00:24):
sound is incredible. You get a chance to see Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band up close and personal. And this isn't
like a goodbye tour. It's just they're not going to
tour as often. They'll still make music, but they might
not come to the Paramount again. So we'll get to
Bob's interview, who's a great guy, in just a moment,
But first let's get to Denise's dirt. I was shocked
(00:48):
Carrie Underwood wasn't even on the short list. I heard
Jelly Roll, I heard Miley Cyrus, Megan trainer. Carrie Underwood
has been tapped to be the new judge of American Idol,
replacing Katie Perry, and Carrie's going to join Luke Bryan,
Lionel Ritchie. They're coming back for season twenty three. But
don't think it's all going to be focused on country
(01:09):
because keep in mind, Carrie's recorded with artists like John Legend, Aerosmith, Ludacris,
Need to Breathe, CC Winings. She's also toured with Guns
N' Roses. The girl can rock it out and she
is going to be a perfect replacement. She was discovered
on American Idol. For goodness sakes, I remember her looking
up in the sky when Ryan Seacrest they were outside
(01:33):
and he goes, have you seen many stars while you're
here in La? And she was so innocent. I often
wondered was this set up or did she really? Was
she that naive at the time, coming from a small
town in Oklahoma, She said, well, gosh, you know, there's
so many lights out here. I can't really see the stars.
They're not that bright in the sky. He, of course
(01:55):
was referring to celebrities. Anyway, I think it's going to
be a killer season now. Rumors about a relationship with
Meghan Maroney and Morgan Wallen has been swirling since she
was a Georgia Boltdogs fan. She showed up on social
media wearing a University of Tennessee Jersey. Yep, she sidestepped
the question until recently. She was on a podcast, the
(02:17):
Caller Daddy Podcast hosted by Alex Cooper, who, by the way,
Oh my gosh, that podcast is really good. If you've
never listened to it, you have to. And allegedly she's
been offered like one hundred million dollars to host that
podcast on a different network. It's craziness to think about,
and I'm so jealous, but go, Girl'll go. And this
is why she's getting offered so much money, because she
(02:38):
got Megan Maroney to finally admit, yeah, there was something
more to it than just a friendship with Morgan Wallen.
So him and I met in twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
So I was a senior in college Covid Hutt and
happenyet his Dangerous album wasn't even out yet.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
So we're friends for a long time.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
We're not just friends, and now we're friends.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Brad Paisley one of the nicest guys in country music
and a great ambassador of the grand old opry. He
invited post Malone to do something very special. It's on
his Instagram page.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Hey post Brad here. So what I'm about to ask
is going to mean a lot to you. I think
knowing you and knowing the respect that you have for
country music and this journey you're embarking on now as
a hillbilly singer, which is going to be massive and
remarkable and amazing for both country music and I think you.
Would you like to play the Opry? Come play it
with me in August. Total invite and it's going to
(03:30):
be the first of many appearances. I have a feeling
from you. Come experience what it's like to play the
show that started it all. You and I can jam
together and a lot of your friends will be there
and we're going to have a blast.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Oh I bet you. Blake Shelton shows up, Luke Combe
shows up, Morgan Wallen shows up. It's going to be
a huge event at the Grand Old Opry. Influencer of
the Ballerina Farm. Her name is Hannah Well. She doesn't
want to be called a trad wife, which stands for
a traditional wife. She is firing back at a profile
of her husband and family. It was on London Sunday Times.
(04:03):
They did a hit job on her. They portrayed her
as oppressed by her husband Daniel. It was sad. This
is what she had to say about it.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
A couple of weeks ago, we had a reporter come
into our home to learn more about our family and business.
We thought the interview went really well, very similar to
the dozens of interviews we had done in recent memory.
We were taken back, however, when we saw the printed
article which shocked us and shocked the world by being
an attack on our family and my marriage, portraying me
(04:32):
as oppressed, with my husband being the culprit. This couldn't
be further from the truth. Nothing we said in the
interview implied this conclusion, which leads me to believe the
angle taken was predetermined. For Daniel and I. Our priority
in life is God and family. Everything else comes second.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
Yes, Hannah is a New York drained ballerina and Daniel
is a son of the Jet Blue founder, and they
decided to get rid of the glamorous life and start
a ranch in Utah. They focus on God, they focus
on their children, their family, their home. They have over
seventeen million followers. They have eight children, and they want
(05:09):
to have more children. So this article titled Meet the
Queen of Tradwives and her eight Children. It's centered on
Hannah's role as a homemaker, but they totally misrepresented her.
And she said, we're co parents, were co CEOs, we're
co diaper changers, kitchen cleaners, and decision makers. I thought
it was horrible what they wrote about her. And if
(05:32):
she wants to be at home mom and she has
eight children, trust me, that's enough work by itself. She
doesn't have a nanny. They make everything by scratch. They're
both owners of the farm. And she enjoys her life.
So who is this journalist to write such a horrible
article about this woman who's very, very happy And yeah,
(05:54):
she's successful on her own with so many followers, she
could make plenty of money if she wants to, just
by her Instagram fame alone. So shame on you, the journalist.
All right, enough with that nonsense. Now let's get to
the interview. A fun interview from Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Bob Carpenter. Hot damn, Bob Carpenter from Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
(06:15):
How the heck are you?
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Yahoo? I'm good?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Was that a nice welcoming or what? I'm excited to
talk to you?
Speaker 1 (06:23):
God, you're so excited. It's so great.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Well, you're coming to the Paramount August. Still love it.
It's like almost a homecoming because you have a relationship
here in Colorado that spans decades, many years.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Everybody in the band was in and out of there
and around the Denver area from seventy one until eighty
I would guess maybe even eighty two. I mean we're
all over the place. I had to host brings and
Aspen in Denver and bab blah blar. Our management was
in Denver for many, many many years in the Red Rocks,
(07:00):
Munch and played the Little Bear up in Evergreen, lived
in Evergreen. I mean we've we've been all over that place.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah. Chuck Morris, he managed you for a while.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Didn't he He did?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Great guy, Great guy. Now where are you living? Are
you in Nashville?
Speaker 1 (07:16):
No, I moved. I moved out of Colorado in the
late late late seventies, and I came down. I came
out here to the West coast and I've been here
full times since about nineteen eighty eighty one and something like.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
That beautiful weather. How is it right now?
Speaker 1 (07:34):
So cal It's perfect about seventy eight degrees. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I lived there when I was younger, and then we
moved to lake have a zoo and that's not far
and you know that how hot it is there. It's
like one thirty in the shade loo.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Yeah, the water's nice and warm there.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
So let's talk about your music, because you know I
work country radio and nitty gritty dirt band. You originally
started off kind of like rock, and you have this
massive appeal. You can hit any genre of music.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
We pretty much stuck our toes in a lot of
different musical pots of water.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
And where do you feel most comfortable?
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Everywhere? Yeah, if we did it. I mean it's fifty
eight years now. I mean the band started out as
a jug band of all things, with a washtub bass
and kazoos and you know, wash washboards and stuff like that.
I mean, that didn't last very long, but that was
the original music. And you know we've been through. We've
been through. Our had some country hits and I guess
(08:32):
we're Mark Conna now, or we're roots music, or I
don't know what we are.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
You are nitty gritty dirt band. You don't have to
label yourself. Everybody knows nitty gritty dirt band.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
We're no good at that. We have the easy part.
We just played the music. We let everybody else decide
what we are.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Some of those hits Fishing in the Dark, Mister Bojangles,
American Dream, make a Little Magic. Do you have a
favorite song yourself that you love to perform?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, Stand a Little Rain. Love singing that song nice
and why, I don't know. It just feels good when
I sing it. The The other thing is too, is
that the songs that are most funderperform on stage are
the ones that people come to hear that they so
excited to hear. I mean, do we recorded God Blessed
the Broken Road on our acoustic album back in the
(09:18):
mid nineties, and when we've been doing it on stage
ever since with just Jeff and I him on acoustic guitar,
and then Rescal Flats had a huge hit with him
in two thousand and eight, and so you know, people
are familiar with that song. Not a lot of people
know that, you know, Jeff wrote it and we performed
that every night. People love to hear that song, you know,
it's a little bit of a sing along.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
And so anyway, there's a lot of stuff I love
to do on stage. I mean really love both Jaggles, love,
Fish in the darkness. People just light up when we
play that stuff, you know.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
And you're so good at storytelling with your music, those
songs you mentioned, especially God Bless the Broken Road. Oh,
how does it feel when you're on stage and the
crowd start singing the words back to you. That has
to just be the biggest compliment ever.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
No, it's great, it's great, and in the not too
near future it will really help us remember the words. Still,
we're really into that.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Ow, come on now, bomping.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Like I could ever forget this stuff? Right?
Speaker 2 (10:19):
You saying it so many times.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
You forget your kids' names, you can't forget the lyrics,
all right, So that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Are you still writing? Do you find yourself like inspired
and you have to sit down?
Speaker 1 (10:32):
See, yeah, we're all still writing, and we got our
little studios at home, and we still do all that stuff,
and that stuff will probably continue forever. What we're saying
goodbye to is the drudgery of dragging our butts around
on the road from February through November. You know, Oh,
your hotel room is not ready, the brust broke down,
blah blah blah. So I mean, we love it, but
(10:55):
there's a time when all that stuff just has to
come to an end.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, and just let everybody know this isn't the goodbye tour.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
It is in a way, and it isn't in a way.
This is like, if you want to come see the
Dirt Band live in your town, now's the time because
we're not going to go back to the same towns
again like we have in the past. So we're one
and done in these towns pretty much now. Whether or
not we go to Red Rocks for some special thing
(11:25):
somewhere down to it, I have no idea. Nobody, you know,
we're year to year guys. You know, when twenty twenty
came along, we thought we were done. Everybody thought they
were done, which makes this sort of like a little
deja vou because we thought that that was the end.
So now we're going to go out on our own
terms and we're going to go play these shows. We're
gonna go different areas of the country. We can't hit
(11:45):
them all in one year. So well, you know, we'll
plan and for as long as we can do this
in the near future, we will do it while we
can still sing and play up to our standards. But
let's face it, we're not gonna be Willie Nelson. There's
not a band full of guys who are ninety years
old that are going to go out and tour anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Right, Yeah, And this is our chance to see you
at the Paramount Theater August eleventh. Just a beautiful theater, gorgeous.
It's an intimate theater too, so you really get to
see this show up close and personal. You mentioned Red Rocks.
That's an iconic Amphitheater too that I guess every band
has to at least play once, don't you agree?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Every band wants to play it at least want you.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Not everybody's so lucky.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
You know what's the best like Amphitheater that you I
don't know, it made a mark in your life that
you'll always remember. Maybe it's not the Amphitheater. Maybe it's
something that happened there.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Well. I remember Red Rocks a lot because before I
started playing with the Dirt Band in the you know,
in the middle seventies, I had a band up an
Aspenca called Starwood and we played Red Rocks opening for
the Dirt Band. I played there with the Dirt Band.
When the winds came in, the amps blew over. We
played there with Love It a few years ago. We've
been there a lot. We did a we did a
(13:05):
thing there after one of our one of our Circle
records with a whole bunch of different artists that was
really good. I mean, there's just so much that's gone
on there for us. H It's it's hard to single
out one particular thing.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
What people may not know about Red Rocks. Every artist
like backstage signs as you're going up the stairs, you
autograph the actual rock. And there's the Beatles, the Stones,
nitty Gritty Dirt band. Do you sign it every time
you perform or is it just once?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Uh, that's a really hard question because I don't remember.
There's only there's only two places that we signed concrete
or rock. Red Rocks is the one place. And then
we got behind the scoreboard at Wrigley Field in Chicago
and they have everybody back there on the concrete wall
that's never visited back there the ball Oh way.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
I never knew that.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Is that like common knowledge and I just didn't know.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I don't think this common knowledge. No, we just happened
to be at the ballpark. I'm sorry, it's not it's
it's not Wrigley Field. I'm sorry, it's it's the Red
Sox ballpark.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Oh you're talking about Fenway.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Yeah, Oh okay, that's the ballpark. It's not it's not
really field. I'm sorry, I misspoke.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
It's really cool. I had no idea.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
We were there with the guy that we knew, and
he took us down on the field and we went
back there and so we got to sign the wall.
It's fun.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
I think I got a scoop.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Yeah, I don't. I don't think we. I don't think
we we signed the wall every time we were at
Red Rocks. No, yeah, and we think we've been there
like five or six times now. It's definitely an interesting place.
They got tunnels back there with lead you out to
the mixing board and when you're you know, when when
you're having dinner and stuff backstage in the dressing rooms.
It's all natural rock under there, and it's a really
(15:01):
amazing players.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
I know. I wish everybody could have the opportunity to
see it. I was blessed a couple of times to
introduce shows, so I had a chance to see it again.
You're at the Paramount Theater August eleventh. You can still
get tickets. I want to make sure everybody gets tickets
to go check you guys out. Let's talk about country
radio now, how you feel like the era of music?
(15:26):
How it is. Are there anybody that you admire now
in country music that inspires you?
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Well, it's always about the singing for me, you know,
Chris Stapleton, You know, I still listen to the guys
that I grew up together, like you know, Rodney Crown.
You know, as far as the new guys go, you know,
I'm pretty much all over the dial with this stuff.
And as far as songwriting and stuff goes a lot
(15:58):
of it sounds repetitionous to me. Sometimes.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
How do you write a song? Like there's so many
I know, that's like the craziest question to ask, but
it's not easy. Like people think, oh, I could write
a song. I can you know, match up lyrics? You can't, Like,
what's the magic of that?
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Let me ask you a question. When you meet somebody
for the first time at a party, how do you
start a conversation?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
Hi, how are you? I'm Denise?
Speaker 1 (16:29):
And then what comes then? Well, then what comes next?
Because basically a song is a conversation between yourself and
the listener. So if you have a story to tell
them about your life, you tell them that. If you
have a question to asking me, to ask them that.
It's just a conversation put to music.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Wow, I've never had anyone explain it to me like that.
It makes sense. That's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Huh, Well, it just popped into my head. I don't
think I've ever said that before.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Really, I'm getting all kinds of scoops. I'm like your
lucky charm or something.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
I've had so much coffee, Denise.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Yeah, so Steve Martin, he's kind of close to the
band too, hasn't he played with you guys?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
He's open for us. Oh, we've played some festivals with
him with his banjo band, Steep Canyon Rangers, And yeah,
we know we uh we did some recording on King
Tutt down in the studio and Aspen when he was
recording that song, and you know it's a We used
to have the same manager. Oh oh. We bumped in
(17:31):
him on and off and he lived up and Askeden
for a long time, have you.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Ever thought about doing acting?
Speaker 1 (17:39):
No, not really. I think it's too hard. I think
you have to get up really really early in the
morning and it's a lot of waiting around, and you
have to get makeup and you have to do this,
and then you have to study your lines, and you
have to study your character and you have to remember
stuff and then you have to do it a million
times and it's too hard and I'd rather just try
(18:02):
to be myself. Yeah. Easy.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, do you have like family members that are also
blessed with this gift of music or are you unique
in your family?
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Oh? No, I grew up around a lot of music.
You know. My parents sang in church and they bought
me accordion when I was four years old. We had
a piano in our living room. I sang in the
choir in high school. And my wife has written a
couple of songs and she's stung. And my son played
drums for a while and blah blah blah. So it's all,
you know, it's all sort of ingrained in our family culture.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
And what's the next? I mean, do you have any
goals that you haven't accomplished yet with music? Like is
there someone that you really want to collab with or
something that you haven't been able to do and it's
just a dream.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Well, the funny thing is is That happens a lot
when we go out on the road because we play
a lot of shows a lot of different people, and
we're always collabing. You know, Jerry Douglas is going to
open Force a couple of shows here, he'll play playing
with the Sam Bush. We're constantly around other musicians during shows,
and we're constantly playing music together. You know, that happens
(19:17):
automatically and it's really fun and it's really great.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Are there any women that you admire in music right
now that you would like to actually record a song with?
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Well, you know, on the Dirt Does Dylan album, we
collaborated with Rock and Poe. They sang a song with
me on our last album that we did, Dirt Does Dylan.
And when we go out on the road, we have
a lot of ladies that open Force acoustic acts and
(19:46):
they come up and sing with us at the end
of the show. So it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
And gosh, you've been doing this for nearly six decades.
It's all good times. The farewell tour you're not gonna
say goodbye for but you're only going to visit these
cities or maybe these amphitheaters for the last time, So
this is the time to get your tickets right.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
The music's not going to go away. The touring schedule
every year for the last fifty eight years, that's winding down.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Yeah, yeah, that has to be hard, especially with a family.
Do you each have your own bus or do you
all stay together?
Speaker 1 (20:29):
No, we don't have our own bus. We our have
our little submarine. The thing is we basically the bus
is okay because all you really do is you sleep
on the bus in your bunk. When you get into
a city, you're into your hotel room and you stay
there until the bus leaves again the next early in
the morning. So it's really not that tough.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Well that's because you're nitty gritty dirt band, your bob garbiner.
I mean, come on, you could do that. Most artists
they have to like, get in a bus that they
have to sleep in, they have to live in, they
have to do everything in because they can't.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
We used to do that. We used to do that.
We used to share rooms, we used to sleep on
the bus, we used to drive, you know, so we've
done all that. We did that when we were younger,
and that's what made us old. So they were old.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Did you journal along the way, like did you go
You never did?
Speaker 1 (21:18):
No, But we have a good time sitting and arguing
about remembering things that nobody remembers the same time.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
I wish you would write a book. I really wish
you would.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Oh, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
That's hard, not anymore, not with AI.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Well that's true. But you know what, I've known people
that have tried to write books about various things, and
publishers don't want to publish books unless you got a
bunch of sex and drugs and all that kind of
stuff in there. You can't just tell a little story
because nobody really cares about that. I don't think. Let's
think about nine million books in the market about all
(21:54):
these bands, and everybody's writing their stories about this time
and their musical lives, so don't. I mean, my perspective
would have to be something all encompassing outside of just
the Dirt band. It would have to be sort of
like my journey in life through music and all that
other stuff that I've done. I used to build houses
and all this kind of stuff, and I'd have to
(22:16):
sort of work it into the framework of the band
and talk about it in terms of sports and stuff.
Because I'm a big sports guy. I'm a big team
sports guy, and you know, I've coached and stuff, so
it would have to be a different take, just besides
the music, because just traveling around playing music that's sort
of like one chapter.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
So what kind of sports are you into? Are we
talking baseball, football, hockey, basketball, baseball?
Speaker 1 (22:40):
Well? I like all the sports. I like the ones
that when you can sit and sort of try to
figure out what they're going to do next or what
the next pitch is going to be. I like to
get into the newshe of it. But I coached baseball
for about twelve years, I guess.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
And was it a little league or are we talking.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
It was everything from t ball through you know, everything
through three year olds through fifteen year olds.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
That's cool, that's cool. Yeah, my husband was able to
do that with our two boys, and you know, it
takes a lot of patience. There are some crazy coaches
out there when you're talking t ball and they're screaming
at the little kids.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
It's all about it's all about the parents. Really. The
coaches I didn't find were a problem. It was the
rabbid parents were. If there's gonna be a problem, that's
usually what it is. Kids are always great, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But outside of that, you know, little golf here and there.
We've played on the road for years and years and
years and years, took our clubs out. We'll play a
(23:37):
little bit. And when we're in the mountains up there
in Denver, there was a lot of skim going on.
We wanted to do a lot of skims.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
So you know, well, when you could come this October eleventh,
it's a perfect time to play golf. Let me know.
I'll hook you up with a couple of golf courses
that you need to try.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Actually, we're thinking about playing. We got a day off
in Grand Junction, but I don't know it's going to
be like one hundred and ten degrees, so who knows. Well,
we'll see what happens, all right, Well.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Let me know if you decide, if you do have
a day off in Denver, I can try and connect
you with some people. But it was such a pleasure
talking to you. I will hopefully be able to sneak
backstage when I see you at the Paramount.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Are you coming to the show, I'll be there. I
can guarantee I can get your backstage passes for you.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Ah, Bob, thank you so much. You are so down
to earth and so nice. I really appreciate you taking
time for me today and you take care.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
God bless bye bye God b
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