July 25, 2025 • 27 mins
Bubba Startz kicks off the episode with Willie Thornton, diving into his backstory and career in the music industry. They explore the therapeutic qualities of music and Bubba's personal connection to the Scene Projects. Willie shares his vision for his podcast, discussing the art of songwriting and how music influences personal struggles and growth. The conversation highlights the importance of authenticity in both music and life. The episode wraps up with Willie promoting his podcast and social media, offering listeners a glimpse into his creative journey and ongoing projects.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Welcome into another exciting episode of thescene.
I am your host, Bubba Starts, and with me todayis host of the podcast soul impact, how music
saved us, my good buddy, Willie Thorne.
Welcome to the show, Willie.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Technically, I should say welcome back to theshow, but we lost an episode of yours a few
weeks back.
So
(00:23):
It's all good.
Things have
Especially in the podcasting world.
Well and I'm actually kinda glad it did happenbecause the last time we spoke, the podcast was
kinda just of an an idea.
And, since then, you've been able to kind of,pull yourself up and you got four episodes out
already, and and a lot happened in a shortamount of time.
(00:43):
So before we get into all the things thatyou're up to now, I know you had a very
exciting day today as well.
Why don't you give us a little bit of yourbackstory for our listeners, and we'll jump
into the current events?
A little bit of my backstory is I run backwardsproduction DJ karaoke business slash sound
company.
I gotta add that one now.
(01:04):
And over the last couple years, and I've reallygot to be a part of the music industry and
seeing young, young, and coming artists reallymake a name for their self.
And it kinda brought me back to my love ofmusic and how the therapeutic qualities of
music.
You know?
And that's what the whole podcast is about.
It's talking about that stuff that nobody wantsto talk about, that they idolize artists
(01:30):
nowadays that you know, people don't mean to,but they do.
Like, oh my goodness.
Look at this person.
He's never struggled a day in his life.
Well, the reality is just as we fake it till wemake it don't mean we hadn't had that struggle
with our mental health, going through divorceor whatever the situation is.
So my way, putting a story out there for peopleto relate to.
(01:55):
I love it.
I love it.
I loved being a guest on your show and gettingto share a little bit of my story and how music
quite literally has saved me, from starvation,from a lot of other things that could have
happened, and it saves me every day.
Right?
The scene projects in so many ways has becomethe, you know, my my connection to other
(02:22):
creators, my my outlet for my own personalfeelings.
Right?
So I was thrilled when you came to me with theidea of a show.
I was, thrilled to have a little hand in namingit and, helping you out with some other stuff
too.
I mean, really, Willie, you're you're one ofour first, you know, students of the Scene
(02:46):
Projects podcast school.
And much of our curriculum is, well, hit recordand see what happens.
And then we can kind of walk with you andbeside you.
I don't necessarily wanna, you know, show you,and for others as well that, you know, I I
don't want to just kinda show you the way thatI did it and say this is how it's done.
(03:08):
Right?
It's it's probably not how it's done, but I canshow you through my own experience how you may
be able to go about doing it.
And I think that's what's really cool about,you know, your podcast is not only how it
developed, but, I think you're gonna open a lotof people's eyes with your podcast as well that
(03:31):
you don't have to be, like, a radio vet and aand a pro at this podcasting thing to be
curious about people, to be curious about whatmotivates an artist, and then to share that
with the world.
I think it's beautiful what you're doing,brother.
No.
I appreciate it.
I mean, it it takes a love for it.
I mean, the love for music on both sides.
(03:53):
You know?
I I would love to be able to say I'm musicallytalented, and I can pick your instrument like
no other.
But in all reality, I can't.
That's why I'm a sound guy.
I can't play an instrument, so I'm I'm gonnahelp make the sound.
I'm gonna help put it out there for theaudience to enjoy.
Yeah.
And you're doing a great job of it.
(04:15):
We were, together at Vibe Fest out there atCaptain Jack's Campground, a recent guest on
the podcast as well.
And, we had a great time.
Right?
All all things aside, it was hot.
It was muggy.
You know, we faced some challenges out there.
And but a blessing in all of that wasdefinitely getting to meet you, continuing to,
(04:38):
you know, water this budding friendship thatthat we have going and to help you in in every
way to achieve the dreams that you have.
Right?
I I think just having a podcast was a bit of adream before we started talking.
And and now look at you.
You're you're already way ahead of the gamethan most people ever get that have the same
(05:00):
dream that you do.
Oh, for sure.
I mean and it's the values I'm trying toinstill on my daughter, you know, that it's
never too late to pursue what you want.
I'm 35 years old.
I mean, I'm not that old, but I'm not thatyoung either.
I mean so it's better late than never topursue.
(05:20):
I mean, I've always knew that I've been apeople person.
You know?
And this is just one of many ways that I canwhether it's interviewing you or putting you in
contact with someone else, like, you know,like, you know, just interacting with people.
Hey.
You really like this guy's music.
You should check him out.
(05:41):
Or, hey.
Hey.
You could relate to his story.
I mean and everybody has a story.
Every song, every lyric, there there's a reasonbehind them lyrics.
There's a lyric behind a reason behind therhythm of the song, the beat.
It ain't just that, you know, when them artistsputs their thoughts in the word, they just
(06:02):
gonna jot down the first song's words that cometo their head and, alright.
That's it, boys.
That's a wrap.
That's the song.
You mean, that ideal may stem from that initialsong, but they're gonna go from that initial
song, and they're gonna edit it.
They're gonna put some heart into it, andthey're gonna go as they're on their way.
And that song, whether it was a song through adivorce or through losing a childhood best
(06:27):
friend or whatever the situation is, that therawness in that is gonna be refined as they go
through their process.
And as a songwriter myself, I I think what isreally cool about, you know, the storytelling
aspect is that and I just had the conversationwith another friend who's just you know, I'm
(06:52):
tired of telling my story.
Right?
I'm telling I'm tired of telling the sad story.
Right?
And what songwriting has allowed us to do isto, you know, to put ourselves and our
experience in a story, but maybe we can changethe names.
Right?
And and in some way, we're revealing somethingabout ourselves, but we're able to put
(07:14):
something in between us and whatever thatfeeling was.
And I know that my songs personally havedefinitely been that.
It's a way for me to, in some ways, detach fromthe the intensity of it.
Right?
And to look at it from a little bit differentangle to examine that and then to share that
(07:37):
out into the world and to realize that you'renot alone.
I think that's the dream of the artist, andyou're giving now the opportunity for these
artists to tell the story behind the storiesthat you know.
The stories as a song that you know and youlove, now you get to go in a little bit deeper
and to, examine what it is maybe that affectedthat artist so much to write that song.
(08:04):
And something really cool and I know you wereon the radio just earlier today before we
talked, I got to listen to it.
And even something that your that the host ofthe show you were on today kind of alluded to
with his music, right, is that, you know, goingthrough a divorce or something, and he can
write about that, but he can change the namesand change the story enough that it it's not
(08:28):
autobiographical, but it it allowed you tokinda work through those things.
Talk about how, you know, you want your podcastto be this vessel for artists and songwriters
like me to do just what we're talking about?
My vision for this is pretty simple.
It's well, for right now, it's pretty simple.
(08:49):
My vision for this is I wanna I want to be ableto connect artists that are has used, you know,
songs to get them through stuff, whether it'swriting a song, hearing a song, or being part
of collaborating and writing a song, whateverthe situation is.
(09:11):
You know?
I believe that songs are and and I said this onthe radio this morning, and I'll say it again,
that there are songs that you need in yourpoints in your life that it's gonna affect you
differently when you're going through the firethan when you hear it for the first time.
And I said this this morning, and I'll stand bythis.
(09:32):
It's a Rascal Flatts song.
What hurts the most is, you know, I like thesong.
I always like the song.
But when I went through my divorce, that songalmost brought me healing, and I looked at it
different.
And that's part of this podcast is I wantpeople to relate not just to the music, but to
the artist.
(09:53):
You know?
Because so much of writing, like you said, isstorytelling.
It's putting yourself out there, thevulnerability.
Just as you write them songs about goingthrough divorce, losing a child, whatever being
in prison, whatever the situation is, thatthere's gonna be people that say, oh, man.
I really get the beat.
I really like the song.
(10:15):
But deep down, there's something to that song,whether it's a story inspired by a buddy or a
story you went through yourself.
So when someone like you, you know, me and youhave talked a whole bunch over the last month
and a half or however long it's been, that Idon't know every part of your story, but I know
(10:41):
enough of your story about, you know, how yougot your start, your journey you've had to come
through to this.
And that's basically what I want my podcast tobe about is the fact that just because you're
not an artist and you're dealing withdepression, anxiety, whatever the label society
(11:04):
has put on it, there there's hope for you.
You don't have to, oh, I'm going through adivorce.
I'm just gonna put my head be head between mylegs, and there's no more.
You know?
This is the end for me.
Because if if all reality, if I wouldn't havehad music through my divorce, like, I never
quit DJing while I was going through mydivorce.
(11:25):
I stuck with it.
Yes.
It was hard, and there were songs thattriggered something.
But through them times, with them songs wherethey triggered something, it also helped kill
me.
And I would not be where I am today through mydivorce without music and without hearing them
songs that I necessarily didn't wanna hear thatwere requested.
(11:47):
So, you know, music has a funny way of working.
It really does.
Because just when you think you're oversomething, you're gonna hear a song that says,
man, maybe I really haven't dealt with.
Maybe I need to deal with forgiving somebody orletting go of my past, getting freedom from my
(12:10):
addiction.
Whatever the situation is, music allows you tostart getting the freedom from whatever
struggle you're going.
Totally.
Totally.
And it hasn't even it hasn't even been a month.
(12:30):
Really?
That feels like a lifetime, buddy, and not in abad way.
No.
Not at all.
Not at all.
I I was just happy to glance at the calendarand be like, yeah.
It hasn't been that long at all, but we becamesuch fast friends and truly brothers.
I was smiling ear to ear, listening to yourradio interview.
(12:50):
Big shout out to you for the shout out.
Thank you for that.
I think it's great, and it's accelerated soquickly for you.
Do you feel like it's almost moving too fast?
Are you gonna be able to hang on and maintain?
Okay.
Listen.
There's a little worry there.
There it is.
Because I got a lot on my plate.
(13:14):
And right now, it's learning the balance.
You know?
Whether it's doing a podcast when my daughter'sin bed or down for a nap or no.
Yesterday, I did a podcast, and she woke upduring the afternoon, and she come out.
And she did really good staying out of thecamera, but Chad from the podcast I did
(13:37):
yesterday kept hearing her a little bit on thepodcast.
I mean, I want this not so much to beprofessional.
Yeah.
I wanna be professional, but I want therealization to be there that life happens.
You know, whether it's your daughter coming outin the middle of a show and you have to pause
it and saying, alright.
I need you to be quiet.
(13:58):
Daddy's doing something.
Or the frustration that comes in something, Iwant people to you know, them hard, gritty
conversations.
Like, for me, it was my abuse as a child.
Okay?
Music saved me.
I can't tell you how many times I've tried totake care of myself, if you know where I'm
(14:19):
going with that.
And music, time and time again, has been thatsaving grace.
Now when I'm at the end of my rope, it was atthe end of my rope when my dad died, even
though he was abusive and not in the picture,my biological father, to where music has
allowed me to give back.
(14:41):
You know?
We had an incident happened at Vibe Fest, butwe were able to play music to lift the spirits
back up.
That's the thing about music is you know?
And I can think of a couple songs just off thetop of my head just to keep it shuffle and cha
cha slide.
When people hear them songs, they're eitherdancing or they're smiling about the people
(15:04):
that dance.
So you don't realize it, but there's therapythere.
For one, it gets your body moving.
You're laughing, smiling.
You know?
That's part of healing.
So, you know, it just takes a small tidbit oflove because, you know, you can tell, like and
(15:25):
I said this when you come on my podcast, and Iwill stand by this.
The amount of heart you put into you, yourstuff, you can see Whether it's doing a cover
like you did the Jimmy Buffett cover out thereat.
Whether it's your own stuff you wrote, youcould see the heart you put in everything you
perform, everything you see, and it's not juststrolling through the motions.
(15:52):
You know?
You you and that's where people get the mostout of the artist.
It's like and I think that's the benefit ofwriting your own music because there are some
artists that don't, and I'm not knocking theirability to perform.
But you get them artists that But they're allinto it.
(16:18):
You can tell when someone an artist can relateto a situation versus just having the lyrics
there.
Well and I think that I think you're kindatouching on something that's pretty important
to me because I work with both things.
And I think you can kinda put musicians intotwo categories, really.
(16:38):
Like, you have performers, and then you haveAnd I and I think the big difference is is that
performers are going out to to merely performthe music that's in front of them.
Right?
Much in the an orchestra or something.
An artist, in the way that I, at least, I lookat it, right, because this is the way I look at
(16:59):
myself is that I'm trying to communicate afeeling.
I'm trying to build a community around myselfand in some ways trying to insulate myself from
the world, right, by building that communityaround me.
And that's why an artist, will will treat theircraft much differently than someone who is
merely, performing songs.
(17:21):
Right?
It's not to say that I don't go out and performsongs, but I I have to lead with my heart
because if I'm not, I don't think you're goingto believe the performance.
And that may be unique to myself.
I don't believe it to be, but but it might be.
Right?
I'm speaking from my own experience, but it isit's fundamental to the to the person that I am
(17:47):
and what I'm trying to do when I step on anystage that you know not just the songs that I'm
playing, but who I am as a person.
That you are leaving however long the show is,you are walking away going, I kinda know him.
And I kinda know where he's coming from.
And and I'm very good about sharing my storythrough the songs, but it's only in writing
(18:11):
songs that I'm truly able to do that.
Someone else's song can only take me so farinto expressing myself.
I have to have my own words and my own livedexperience expressed in that way.
And I think that's the major difference betweensomeone who is a can be an incredibly
phenomenal musician and a songwriter.
(18:32):
Right?
And and I think that for you, that you're muchmore interested in, you know I mean, obviously,
you'll talk to anyone whose music has affectedyou, but when it comes to the musicians that
you want to have on, that you're really youreally want these artists.
You wanna get these stories out and to buildthis reputation of being the place where
(18:53):
artists come to to kinda share those deeperstories.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's exactly what I want.
Not that I'm gonna shoo away anybody.
Like, I actually have been talking to, I can'tremember her name, excuse me, but Charlotte.
Isn't that her name?
Yep.
About being on the path test to tell about howshe's seen music impact the veterans.
(19:17):
So I'm not gonna turn anyone away per se, butmy main goal is the artist and the people in
the music industry, whereas there is producers,festivals coordinators.
You know?
That stuff take a lot of talent too and a lotof heart.
So it's the stuff that I want people to see,hey.
(19:40):
Just because I'm out here performing five daysa week or whatever, however often you're
performing, I'm a real guy too.
You know?
I'm a real person, and I deal with depression,anxiety, whatever your struggle is.
And I keep coming back to that, but, I mean,that's so important is, you know, kids
(20:06):
nowadays, you know, they idolize these artists.
And when when that artist fails, they're like,I can't believe he did that.
I'm done with that artist.
You know?
Reality is people make mistakes.
It's how you're gonna pick yourself up whetheryou test a lot about your integrity.
(20:28):
If you're gonna say, oh, I failed here.
I'm gonna stay down in the valley for a while.
Or whether you're coming out of the valley or,you know, it's how you define yourself.
And a lot about music is how these artists hasredefined themselves through their music.
You know?
And I and like I said, I was not knocking amusician.
(20:52):
I wish I'd have half the talent some of themhave.
Okay?
But with songwriting and the artist theartistry that comes within that, there's so
much more real realization to it because, youknow, we talked, and so I got to know you
outside of your music.
(21:12):
But you are dead right.
The way you performed your original songs, evenif we hadn't talked the night before, the day
before, I would have felt like I've known you.
And that you get that with every artist thatwrites their own stuff that you can say, I
relate to this.
(21:33):
Like, you know, for me, one of my fondestmemories is my oldest son, we were going up to
Booneville, Missouri.
They have a big casino up there that they bringartists to.
And, actually, Garth Brooks was there, and hewas at the gas station we have then they
(21:53):
stopped at.
And my my son at the time pointed it out andsaid, hey, Danny.
It's that one guy that sings that one song.
And he starts singing Friends in Low Places,and probably one of my favorite music moments
of all times is Garth Brooks actually sung acouple of the lines with him.
You know, I had videos over the time, but lifehappens and I've lost it.
(22:15):
But, you know, as far as music, that's what Iwant people to realize is that you as artists
are not so much different than the people thatare struggling.
Just because you don't shrug your struggle nowdoesn't mean you haven't struggled down the
road or prior down the road.
(22:35):
You know?
Or, you know and, you know, you put your heartinto it.
Like, I put my heart into my business.
You know?
There's two things I can bet my house threethings I can bet on my household.
I love my daughter.
There's nobody ever and I love my kids.
Nobody's ever gonna change that.
At the end of the day, nobody's gonna changethat.
(22:58):
Secondly, I believe in my business back withproduction wholeheartedly.
I know it's gonna succeed, and I bet my houseon that.
Third is this podcast.
Granted, I only have four episodes out, but Ibelieve wholeheartedly that this is a message
that people needed to hear because there's somuch people criticizing people in today's
(23:20):
society that suck it up and deal with it andsweep it under the rug.
Nobody needs to know about it.
And as a man, we are we are even worse thansociety because men don't cry.
You know?
You gotta bury that emotion because men don'tcry.
(23:40):
You know?
And so that garbage, and I'm gonna say it likeI think it is, that garbage, It's a part of
society that I want as my podcast to be able toscratch away.
You know what?
Forget that men don't cry.
Forget that men don't ask for help.
(24:01):
Forget all that.
It's time to relearn what the definition of aman is.
And not just a man, but people in general.
I say men because, you know, you can relate.
As a man, we get told to suck it up, deal withit a whole lot.
And that I'm sure you heard men didn't crygrowing up too.
(24:23):
I I heard it.
It was beating to me.
Okay?
I cried.
I got more.
You know?
But that's the stigma that I wanna break.
And that's where I see my podcast going is Iwant people to say, alright.
At the end of the day, I saw ten minutes ofreal time with Bubba, and I know, without a
(24:50):
doubt, Bubba is an outstanding guy and that hehas dealt with so many stupid situations in his
life that he's an amazing person for pullingthrough this.
And if he can pull through it, I can pull.
I think that's a great spot to cut it offtoday, Willie.
(25:11):
Obviously, we'll be talking a lot more.
But for everyone listening, can you go aheadand plug the YouTube page and where they can
find the podcast, and, I'll let you get out ofhere.
Alright.
Well, for right now, I'm on Spotify.
You can search Soul Impact.
Music saved us.
You can search that on Facebook.
(25:32):
We now have a Facebook page.
We're on YouTube.
And, actually, if you search it on Google,it'll pull up the Facebook page.
And if you scroll far enough down, it'll pullup the YouTube page.
So just you know?
And for those of you that on your community, ifyou're an artist and you're in the music
(25:53):
community and you want your voice heard, reachout to me.
You can actually look me up on Facebook too.
I don't care if you look my personal page up.
If you need your story told, reach out.
I mean, you can reach out to my business page,which is backwards production.
No matter.
(26:13):
I mean, if you're an artist and you feel thatyou have a story, which every artist does, I
would be happy to help you all put your storyout.
I love it, Willie.
And I wanna thank you so much for coming on myshow and for having me on yours.
I had a great time sharing a little bit more ofmy story and obviously recommend all of our
listeners go and check that episode outwherever you are listening to podcasts or
(26:39):
following along on YouTube.
Remember to like and follow us as well.
Make sure you're following Willie.
We love you guys.
You are the reason that we continue to do theseepisodes, to share these stories so that they
can change other people's lives.
And I'll speak for Willie here as well thatwe're not gonna stop doing what we're doing.
(27:03):
I I would bet my house on on our podcastsucceeding.
It's already been overwhelmingly successfulalready, and it continues to grow.
So, Willie, I I thank you for coming on theshow today, and thanks for being part of the
scene.
Not a problem, Bubba.
I appreciate you having me on here.
Welcome into another exciting episode of thescene.
I am your host, Bubba Starts, and with me todayis host of the podcast soul impact, how music
saved us, my good buddy, Willie Thorne.
Welcome to the show, Willie.
Thank you.
Thank you for having me.
Technically, I should say welcome back to theshow, but we lost an episode of yours a few
weeks back.
So
(00:23):
It's all good.
Things have
Especially in the podcasting world.
Well and I'm actually kinda glad it did happenbecause the last time we spoke, the podcast was
kinda just of an an idea.
And, since then, you've been able to kind of,pull yourself up and you got four episodes out
already, and and a lot happened in a shortamount of time.
(00:43):
So before we get into all the things thatyou're up to now, I know you had a very
exciting day today as well.
Why don't you give us a little bit of yourbackstory for our listeners, and we'll jump
into the current events?
A little bit of my backstory is I run backwardsproduction DJ karaoke business slash sound
company.
I gotta add that one now.
(01:04):
And over the last couple years, and I've reallygot to be a part of the music industry and
seeing young, young, and coming artists reallymake a name for their self.
And it kinda brought me back to my love ofmusic and how the therapeutic qualities of
music.
You know?
And that's what the whole podcast is about.
It's talking about that stuff that nobody wantsto talk about, that they idolize artists
(01:30):
nowadays that you know, people don't mean to,but they do.
Like, oh my goodness.
Look at this person.
He's never struggled a day in his life.
Well, the reality is just as we fake it till wemake it don't mean we hadn't had that struggle
with our mental health, going through divorceor whatever the situation is.
So my way, putting a story out there for peopleto relate to.
(01:55):
I love it.
I love it.
I loved being a guest on your show and gettingto share a little bit of my story and how music
quite literally has saved me, from starvation,from a lot of other things that could have
happened, and it saves me every day.
Right?
The scene projects in so many ways has becomethe, you know, my my connection to other
(02:22):
creators, my my outlet for my own personalfeelings.
Right?
So I was thrilled when you came to me with theidea of a show.
I was, thrilled to have a little hand in namingit and, helping you out with some other stuff
too.
I mean, really, Willie, you're you're one ofour first, you know, students of the Scene
(02:46):
Projects podcast school.
And much of our curriculum is, well, hit recordand see what happens.
And then we can kind of walk with you andbeside you.
I don't necessarily wanna, you know, show you,and for others as well that, you know, I I
don't want to just kinda show you the way thatI did it and say this is how it's done.
(03:08):
Right?
It's it's probably not how it's done, but I canshow you through my own experience how you may
be able to go about doing it.
And I think that's what's really cool about,you know, your podcast is not only how it
developed, but, I think you're gonna open a lotof people's eyes with your podcast as well that
(03:31):
you don't have to be, like, a radio vet and aand a pro at this podcasting thing to be
curious about people, to be curious about whatmotivates an artist, and then to share that
with the world.
I think it's beautiful what you're doing,brother.
No.
I appreciate it.
I mean, it it takes a love for it.
I mean, the love for music on both sides.
(03:53):
You know?
I I would love to be able to say I'm musicallytalented, and I can pick your instrument like
no other.
But in all reality, I can't.
That's why I'm a sound guy.
I can't play an instrument, so I'm I'm gonnahelp make the sound.
I'm gonna help put it out there for theaudience to enjoy.
Yeah.
And you're doing a great job of it.
(04:15):
We were, together at Vibe Fest out there atCaptain Jack's Campground, a recent guest on
the podcast as well.
And, we had a great time.
Right?
All all things aside, it was hot.
It was muggy.
You know, we faced some challenges out there.
And but a blessing in all of that wasdefinitely getting to meet you, continuing to,
(04:38):
you know, water this budding friendship thatthat we have going and to help you in in every
way to achieve the dreams that you have.
Right?
I I think just having a podcast was a bit of adream before we started talking.
And and now look at you.
You're you're already way ahead of the gamethan most people ever get that have the same
(05:00):
dream that you do.
Oh, for sure.
I mean and it's the values I'm trying toinstill on my daughter, you know, that it's
never too late to pursue what you want.
I'm 35 years old.
I mean, I'm not that old, but I'm not thatyoung either.
I mean so it's better late than never topursue.
(05:20):
I mean, I've always knew that I've been apeople person.
You know?
And this is just one of many ways that I canwhether it's interviewing you or putting you in
contact with someone else, like, you know,like, you know, just interacting with people.
Hey.
You really like this guy's music.
You should check him out.
(05:41):
Or, hey.
Hey.
You could relate to his story.
I mean and everybody has a story.
Every song, every lyric, there there's a reasonbehind them lyrics.
There's a lyric behind a reason behind therhythm of the song, the beat.
It ain't just that, you know, when them artistsputs their thoughts in the word, they just
(06:02):
gonna jot down the first song's words that cometo their head and, alright.
That's it, boys.
That's a wrap.
That's the song.
You mean, that ideal may stem from that initialsong, but they're gonna go from that initial
song, and they're gonna edit it.
They're gonna put some heart into it, andthey're gonna go as they're on their way.
And that song, whether it was a song through adivorce or through losing a childhood best
(06:27):
friend or whatever the situation is, that therawness in that is gonna be refined as they go
through their process.
And as a songwriter myself, I I think what isreally cool about, you know, the storytelling
aspect is that and I just had the conversationwith another friend who's just you know, I'm
(06:52):
tired of telling my story.
Right?
I'm telling I'm tired of telling the sad story.
Right?
And what songwriting has allowed us to do isto, you know, to put ourselves and our
experience in a story, but maybe we can changethe names.
Right?
And and in some way, we're revealing somethingabout ourselves, but we're able to put
(07:14):
something in between us and whatever thatfeeling was.
And I know that my songs personally havedefinitely been that.
It's a way for me to, in some ways, detach fromthe the intensity of it.
Right?
And to look at it from a little bit differentangle to examine that and then to share that
(07:37):
out into the world and to realize that you'renot alone.
I think that's the dream of the artist, andyou're giving now the opportunity for these
artists to tell the story behind the storiesthat you know.
The stories as a song that you know and youlove, now you get to go in a little bit deeper
and to, examine what it is maybe that affectedthat artist so much to write that song.
(08:04):
And something really cool and I know you wereon the radio just earlier today before we
talked, I got to listen to it.
And even something that your that the host ofthe show you were on today kind of alluded to
with his music, right, is that, you know, goingthrough a divorce or something, and he can
write about that, but he can change the namesand change the story enough that it it's not
(08:28):
autobiographical, but it it allowed you tokinda work through those things.
Talk about how, you know, you want your podcastto be this vessel for artists and songwriters
like me to do just what we're talking about?
My vision for this is pretty simple.
It's well, for right now, it's pretty simple.
(08:49):
My vision for this is I wanna I want to be ableto connect artists that are has used, you know,
songs to get them through stuff, whether it'swriting a song, hearing a song, or being part
of collaborating and writing a song, whateverthe situation is.
(09:11):
You know?
I believe that songs are and and I said this onthe radio this morning, and I'll say it again,
that there are songs that you need in yourpoints in your life that it's gonna affect you
differently when you're going through the firethan when you hear it for the first time.
And I said this this morning, and I'll stand bythis.
(09:32):
It's a Rascal Flatts song.
What hurts the most is, you know, I like thesong.
I always like the song.
But when I went through my divorce, that songalmost brought me healing, and I looked at it
different.
And that's part of this podcast is I wantpeople to relate not just to the music, but to
the artist.
(09:53):
You know?
Because so much of writing, like you said, isstorytelling.
It's putting yourself out there, thevulnerability.
Just as you write them songs about goingthrough divorce, losing a child, whatever being
in prison, whatever the situation is, thatthere's gonna be people that say, oh, man.
I really get the beat.
I really like the song.
(10:15):
But deep down, there's something to that song,whether it's a story inspired by a buddy or a
story you went through yourself.
So when someone like you, you know, me and youhave talked a whole bunch over the last month
and a half or however long it's been, that Idon't know every part of your story, but I know
(10:41):
enough of your story about, you know, how yougot your start, your journey you've had to come
through to this.
And that's basically what I want my podcast tobe about is the fact that just because you're
not an artist and you're dealing withdepression, anxiety, whatever the label society
(11:04):
has put on it, there there's hope for you.
You don't have to, oh, I'm going through adivorce.
I'm just gonna put my head be head between mylegs, and there's no more.
You know?
This is the end for me.
Because if if all reality, if I wouldn't havehad music through my divorce, like, I never
quit DJing while I was going through mydivorce.
(11:25):
I stuck with it.
Yes.
It was hard, and there were songs thattriggered something.
But through them times, with them songs wherethey triggered something, it also helped kill
me.
And I would not be where I am today through mydivorce without music and without hearing them
songs that I necessarily didn't wanna hear thatwere requested.
(11:47):
So, you know, music has a funny way of working.
It really does.
Because just when you think you're oversomething, you're gonna hear a song that says,
man, maybe I really haven't dealt with.
Maybe I need to deal with forgiving somebody orletting go of my past, getting freedom from my
(12:10):
addiction.
Whatever the situation is, music allows you tostart getting the freedom from whatever
struggle you're going.
Totally.
Totally.
And it hasn't even it hasn't even been a month.
(12:30):
Really?
That feels like a lifetime, buddy, and not in abad way.
No.
Not at all.
Not at all.
I I was just happy to glance at the calendarand be like, yeah.
It hasn't been that long at all, but we becamesuch fast friends and truly brothers.
I was smiling ear to ear, listening to yourradio interview.
(12:50):
Big shout out to you for the shout out.
Thank you for that.
I think it's great, and it's accelerated soquickly for you.
Do you feel like it's almost moving too fast?
Are you gonna be able to hang on and maintain?
Okay.
Listen.
There's a little worry there.
There it is.
Because I got a lot on my plate.
(13:14):
And right now, it's learning the balance.
You know?
Whether it's doing a podcast when my daughter'sin bed or down for a nap or no.
Yesterday, I did a podcast, and she woke upduring the afternoon, and she come out.
And she did really good staying out of thecamera, but Chad from the podcast I did
(13:37):
yesterday kept hearing her a little bit on thepodcast.
I mean, I want this not so much to beprofessional.
Yeah.
I wanna be professional, but I want therealization to be there that life happens.
You know, whether it's your daughter coming outin the middle of a show and you have to pause
it and saying, alright.
I need you to be quiet.
(13:58):
Daddy's doing something.
Or the frustration that comes in something, Iwant people to you know, them hard, gritty
conversations.
Like, for me, it was my abuse as a child.
Okay?
Music saved me.
I can't tell you how many times I've tried totake care of myself, if you know where I'm
(14:19):
going with that.
And music, time and time again, has been thatsaving grace.
Now when I'm at the end of my rope, it was atthe end of my rope when my dad died, even
though he was abusive and not in the picture,my biological father, to where music has
allowed me to give back.
(14:41):
You know?
We had an incident happened at Vibe Fest, butwe were able to play music to lift the spirits
back up.
That's the thing about music is you know?
And I can think of a couple songs just off thetop of my head just to keep it shuffle and cha
cha slide.
When people hear them songs, they're eitherdancing or they're smiling about the people
(15:04):
that dance.
So you don't realize it, but there's therapythere.
For one, it gets your body moving.
You're laughing, smiling.
You know?
That's part of healing.
So, you know, it just takes a small tidbit oflove because, you know, you can tell, like and
(15:25):
I said this when you come on my podcast, and Iwill stand by this.
The amount of heart you put into you, yourstuff, you can see Whether it's doing a cover
like you did the Jimmy Buffett cover out thereat.
Whether it's your own stuff you wrote, youcould see the heart you put in everything you
perform, everything you see, and it's not juststrolling through the motions.
(15:52):
You know?
You you and that's where people get the mostout of the artist.
It's like and I think that's the benefit ofwriting your own music because there are some
artists that don't, and I'm not knocking theirability to perform.
But you get them artists that But they're allinto it.
(16:18):
You can tell when someone an artist can relateto a situation versus just having the lyrics
there.
Well and I think that I think you're kindatouching on something that's pretty important
to me because I work with both things.
And I think you can kinda put musicians intotwo categories, really.
(16:38):
Like, you have performers, and then you haveAnd I and I think the big difference is is that
performers are going out to to merely performthe music that's in front of them.
Right?
Much in the an orchestra or something.
An artist, in the way that I, at least, I lookat it, right, because this is the way I look at
(16:59):
myself is that I'm trying to communicate afeeling.
I'm trying to build a community around myselfand in some ways trying to insulate myself from
the world, right, by building that communityaround me.
And that's why an artist, will will treat theircraft much differently than someone who is
merely, performing songs.
(17:21):
Right?
It's not to say that I don't go out and performsongs, but I I have to lead with my heart
because if I'm not, I don't think you're goingto believe the performance.
And that may be unique to myself.
I don't believe it to be, but but it might be.
Right?
I'm speaking from my own experience, but it isit's fundamental to the to the person that I am
(17:47):
and what I'm trying to do when I step on anystage that you know not just the songs that I'm
playing, but who I am as a person.
That you are leaving however long the show is,you are walking away going, I kinda know him.
And I kinda know where he's coming from.
And and I'm very good about sharing my storythrough the songs, but it's only in writing
(18:11):
songs that I'm truly able to do that.
Someone else's song can only take me so farinto expressing myself.
I have to have my own words and my own livedexperience expressed in that way.
And I think that's the major difference betweensomeone who is a can be an incredibly
phenomenal musician and a songwriter.
(18:32):
Right?
And and I think that for you, that you're muchmore interested in, you know I mean, obviously,
you'll talk to anyone whose music has affectedyou, but when it comes to the musicians that
you want to have on, that you're really youreally want these artists.
You wanna get these stories out and to buildthis reputation of being the place where
(18:53):
artists come to to kinda share those deeperstories.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's exactly what I want.
Not that I'm gonna shoo away anybody.
Like, I actually have been talking to, I can'tremember her name, excuse me, but Charlotte.
Isn't that her name?
Yep.
About being on the path test to tell about howshe's seen music impact the veterans.
(19:17):
So I'm not gonna turn anyone away per se, butmy main goal is the artist and the people in
the music industry, whereas there is producers,festivals coordinators.
You know?
That stuff take a lot of talent too and a lotof heart.
So it's the stuff that I want people to see,hey.
(19:40):
Just because I'm out here performing five daysa week or whatever, however often you're
performing, I'm a real guy too.
You know?
I'm a real person, and I deal with depression,anxiety, whatever your struggle is.
And I keep coming back to that, but, I mean,that's so important is, you know, kids
(20:06):
nowadays, you know, they idolize these artists.
And when when that artist fails, they're like,I can't believe he did that.
I'm done with that artist.
You know?
Reality is people make mistakes.
It's how you're gonna pick yourself up whetheryou test a lot about your integrity.
(20:28):
If you're gonna say, oh, I failed here.
I'm gonna stay down in the valley for a while.
Or whether you're coming out of the valley or,you know, it's how you define yourself.
And a lot about music is how these artists hasredefined themselves through their music.
You know?
And I and like I said, I was not knocking amusician.
(20:52):
I wish I'd have half the talent some of themhave.
Okay?
But with songwriting and the artist theartistry that comes within that, there's so
much more real realization to it because, youknow, we talked, and so I got to know you
outside of your music.
(21:12):
But you are dead right.
The way you performed your original songs, evenif we hadn't talked the night before, the day
before, I would have felt like I've known you.
And that you get that with every artist thatwrites their own stuff that you can say, I
relate to this.
(21:33):
Like, you know, for me, one of my fondestmemories is my oldest son, we were going up to
Booneville, Missouri.
They have a big casino up there that they bringartists to.
And, actually, Garth Brooks was there, and hewas at the gas station we have then they
(21:53):
stopped at.
And my my son at the time pointed it out andsaid, hey, Danny.
It's that one guy that sings that one song.
And he starts singing Friends in Low Places,and probably one of my favorite music moments
of all times is Garth Brooks actually sung acouple of the lines with him.
You know, I had videos over the time, but lifehappens and I've lost it.
(22:15):
But, you know, as far as music, that's what Iwant people to realize is that you as artists
are not so much different than the people thatare struggling.
Just because you don't shrug your struggle nowdoesn't mean you haven't struggled down the
road or prior down the road.
(22:35):
You know?
Or, you know and, you know, you put your heartinto it.
Like, I put my heart into my business.
You know?
There's two things I can bet my house threethings I can bet on my household.
I love my daughter.
There's nobody ever and I love my kids.
Nobody's ever gonna change that.
At the end of the day, nobody's gonna changethat.
(22:58):
Secondly, I believe in my business back withproduction wholeheartedly.
I know it's gonna succeed, and I bet my houseon that.
Third is this podcast.
Granted, I only have four episodes out, but Ibelieve wholeheartedly that this is a message
that people needed to hear because there's somuch people criticizing people in today's
(23:20):
society that suck it up and deal with it andsweep it under the rug.
Nobody needs to know about it.
And as a man, we are we are even worse thansociety because men don't cry.
You know?
You gotta bury that emotion because men don'tcry.
(23:40):
You know?
And so that garbage, and I'm gonna say it likeI think it is, that garbage, It's a part of
society that I want as my podcast to be able toscratch away.
You know what?
Forget that men don't cry.
Forget that men don't ask for help.
(24:01):
Forget all that.
It's time to relearn what the definition of aman is.
And not just a man, but people in general.
I say men because, you know, you can relate.
As a man, we get told to suck it up, deal withit a whole lot.
And that I'm sure you heard men didn't crygrowing up too.
(24:23):
I I heard it.
It was beating to me.
Okay?
I cried.
I got more.
You know?
But that's the stigma that I wanna break.
And that's where I see my podcast going is Iwant people to say, alright.
At the end of the day, I saw ten minutes ofreal time with Bubba, and I know, without a
(24:50):
doubt, Bubba is an outstanding guy and that hehas dealt with so many stupid situations in his
life that he's an amazing person for pullingthrough this.
And if he can pull through it, I can pull.
I think that's a great spot to cut it offtoday, Willie.
(25:11):
Obviously, we'll be talking a lot more.
But for everyone listening, can you go aheadand plug the YouTube page and where they can
find the podcast, and, I'll let you get out ofhere.
Alright.
Well, for right now, I'm on Spotify.
You can search Soul Impact.
Music saved us.
You can search that on Facebook.
(25:32):
We now have a Facebook page.
We're on YouTube.
And, actually, if you search it on Google,it'll pull up the Facebook page.
And if you scroll far enough down, it'll pullup the YouTube page.
So just you know?
And for those of you that on your community, ifyou're an artist and you're in the music
(25:53):
community and you want your voice heard, reachout to me.
You can actually look me up on Facebook too.
I don't care if you look my personal page up.
If you need your story told, reach out.
I mean, you can reach out to my business page,which is backwards production.
No matter.
(26:13):
I mean, if you're an artist and you feel thatyou have a story, which every artist does, I
would be happy to help you all put your storyout.
I love it, Willie.
And I wanna thank you so much for coming on myshow and for having me on yours.
I had a great time sharing a little bit more ofmy story and obviously recommend all of our
listeners go and check that episode outwherever you are listening to podcasts or
(26:39):
following along on YouTube.
Remember to like and follow us as well.
Make sure you're following Willie.
We love you guys.
You are the reason that we continue to do theseepisodes, to share these stories so that they
can change other people's lives.
And I'll speak for Willie here as well thatwe're not gonna stop doing what we're doing.
(27:03):
I I would bet my house on on our podcastsucceeding.
It's already been overwhelmingly successfulalready, and it continues to grow.
So, Willie, I I thank you for coming on theshow today, and thanks for being part of the
scene.
Not a problem, Bubba.
I appreciate you having me on here.
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