Bobby sits down with Brad Tursi of Old Dominion. Brad is the lead guitar player and songwriter for the band. He talks about how he got started playing guitar for a rock band and transitioned into songwriting. Together, they go through some of the No. 1 songs he’s written for other artists along with the Old Dominion hits. Brad shares what he thinks is the secret to both their commercial and critical acclaim which is rare. Bobby and Brad also talk about what aspects of their career they don’t enjoy doing.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
M hm, Hey, guys, we're gonna talk to Brad Tersey
of Old Dominion. And I feel like I know the
Old Dominion guys if I can know them, but it's
rare that I spend time individually with them. So it
was the first time I'd ever just hung out with Brad.
I got mad a little bit lead singer, and then Trevor. Hey,
(00:22):
Amy and Trevor went to Disney World together or something
like their families did not just them together, that'd be weird,
but like their families were all together. But it was
the first time that I had spent any time with
Brad and had a really good time. And you know,
the guy's got a lot happening right now, is and
you're here. He's got different songs with different artists all
over the chart, including Old Dominion. You know, even talked
(00:42):
about how he wasn't really a songwriter, was just a
guitar player and learned how to Oh this, howue, this
is how we can write songs. He puts it into
better words than I do, but I really enjoyed it.
And at one point I say, it's almost like the
lunchbox Morgan wall In situation where he's like get your
first number one relations I was like, yeah, you want
the CMA Trump Play Award. He's like not once twice
TWEA so really had a good time with this. And
(01:06):
if you don't mind when you listen to this, if
you go and give us all the stars and give
us a little review. I know that's annoying to do.
I never I never do it, um, but no I
have once because the person that was talking about it
moved me so much, was like basically begging. It was
might dy that I went and did it. It helps us,
So I'd appreciate it if you did that. And other
than that, I hope you enjoy this. Brad Tersey of
(01:27):
Old Dominion, he was a lead guitar player back in
the day of Army of Me. Moved to Nashville to
write songs and play guitar for other artists and you know,
to play guitar. We didn't talk about for Greg Bates
and for Brett Eldridge for a while and now is
crushing it with Old Dominions. So that's the deal. Enjoy
episode three forty six of the Body Cast alright with
(01:50):
Brad Tersey of Old Dominion and just pulled my microphone
away now talking into nothing. Because I did that. You
can pull it now. There you go, there, there you go.
How's it going good? We're all connected. I'm jealous of
your linen shirt? Is that lenin? I don't know what
it is. It's I just got it the other day. Actually,
it's like, I think it's cotton. Maybe it's a cotton
(02:12):
linen blend. You know, we're getting a little old if
we know things like that. I just can't keep a
linen shirt unwrinkled. I think that's the point. You gotta
just embrace it. It It looks like a great slightly wrinkled
linen shirt. Yeah I was. And I'll go over some
stuff here about your career, and that's what we're gonna do,
and not even just to talk about the things you've done,
but kind of your attitude towards things and how it's changed,
(02:35):
you know, because I feel like mine has changed significantly
in the past, even five or so years. As I've
had a bit of success, you guys have had massive success.
Um when you don't know if you saw when you
walked down, if there's a I don't know, eight thousand
little cards that I didn't see this I didn't take
a closer look, but I didn't. We were just talking
(02:56):
about it before you walked in. And I'm gonna lead
this into asking you this question, and the question is
going to be and this is an interview technique. I
have themna let you behind a curtain here. What I
will do is I will ask you the question that
I will relate a story to give you time to
think of a like a very the answer that you
want to give, not one. We're like, oh crap, I
gotta answer real quick. So and you can give a
couple songwriting tips and we'll call it even. So. One
(03:20):
of the things that I'm grateful that I get to do,
but I hate doing it, is I have to there's
eight thousand thanks for me to sign. That's what I
have to sign. And so I'm very grateful that people
bought my kids book that comes out in June. We've
the pre orders have been like thirteen or fourteen thousand.
It's for a children's book, quite significant where they're already
(03:43):
going here, we want to pitch three or four book
deal at you and say no right now. But I
hate signing those things. I love when they're signed. I
love people getting on being excited about it, but just
sitting down the tedious process of signing things over and
over again. I love I get to do it. Hey
to have to do it? What in your life? And
it doesn't have to be with old dominion. It can
(04:05):
be with anything you do in this songwriter world. What
is that for you? You're grateful you get to do it,
but man, it's tough when you have to do it. Well,
I'll just I'll do the exact you know, I'll talk
about exactly what you just said from one. Of course,
signing things is is not the most fun part of
the job, but I did um read an article years
ago about meditation, and a woman was saying that basically,
(04:28):
you can constantly be meditating whatever you're doing, whether it's
folding the clothes, washing the dishes, signing a bunch of posters.
Try to just be right there and sign the posters.
Maybe take extra time. What do you what do you
mean be right there? I mean like, don't be like
I just want to get posters. I'm like, I gotta
sign this. Yeah, I find myself I was getting like,
(04:50):
I'll get I'll be getting liker like just worked up
because I just want to be over. But I'm like,
you know it, it's a big deal. It's gonna be
ten minutes, fifteen minutes, half an hour, just just just
trying to relax and just enjoy the process. I know
that's see, it's condescending, but it is true. If you
can do you can do that. Yeah, that was what
I was gonna say. I like that you can do that.
I can't do it. I'm just saying it's it's I
do it sometimes, but it's something to think about. I
(05:12):
think we have our tactics. For me, it's I have
to because I do appreciate so much on the individual
level that I get to do it for every single
person that spent their fourteen bucks to preg to that book,
And I said, I will sign every preorder like I
appreciate that person, but I don't appreciate that I am doing.
(05:33):
I think that's only human. You know. Don't beat yourself up.
Everyone has that feeling. And I don't beat myself up
that much. I don't wonder you as a guy who's
just killing it right now, what is that for you?
If it's not signing give me one that you didn't
still see, I give you plenty of time to take
one that No, I know, I just had such a
meditating while I was asking that question. That's what it was. No,
you know, honestly, I mean, is it on the butt?
(05:56):
Riding on the bus, because we don't really write on
the road, honestly, we you riding r I d riding riding.
That is one of my least favorite things. I cannot
sleep on the bus. It's like by one of my downfalls.
I'm perpetually tired. Um. And I don't know, honestly, if
you have any advice, I don't know what to do.
I can't. I put earplugs in, I do this that,
(06:18):
and I just cannot. I feel like we're gonna crash
at any any moment, like the time, first couple of
nights on the butt, do you guys howny bus that
you guys have for the for the uh sent the
guy this is the band is we're all on one
bus and we have a tour manager. So there's six
of us on one still. Yeah, I mean, what is
what is happening right now? Well, because look, part of
(06:41):
the fun we have is we get to wake up,
we have coffee together, we have our we laugh. Yeah. Yeah,
band camps fun. I get it, but at this again,
you guys have had so much breaking sixt that by five.
So but honestly, no, honestly, it's been a conscious decision
for us because if we didn't ride the bus together,
(07:03):
I feel like we would never ever see each other, right,
you know what I mean, And we just gotta, you know,
you gotta keep that camaraderie. And uh, you know, I
don't like sleeping on the top bunk. That's the thing,
you know. Ten years ago we first got a bus,
everyone hopped in a bug, and now it's like I'm
stuck up on the top and I can't. No one
wants to switch with me, of course, you know what
I mean. So that's one thing I have to deal with,
(07:23):
this on the top bunk, which is which is terrible.
I liked it, listen, I do all kidding aside, I
do like that. You guys have been deliberate about making
sure you still have some sort of personal relationship. You know,
with our radio show. We have been together, some of
us for seventeen years, and when we were younger, it
(07:46):
was a lot easier for us to do everything together
because go on vacation. Sure, we're not married, nobody has kids.
You want to go have dinner twice a week. As
we've gotten older and things like life happen, we have
to be extremely deliberate about that too. So as I say,
come on, you guys are more famous than that. Um, Like,
(08:09):
I admire that because that's work, and and not work
in a bad way. That's work where you have to
actually invest time to make sure that what you're getting
from it. Um, you're getting what you want to get. Yeah,
And I think that, uh, you know, and some inherently
we must all enjoy it. We like hanging out together,
you know what I mean. So it's not a hard
decision to say. I mean, you know, I'd love to
have my big, king sized bed in the back of
(08:29):
the bus and stuff. But I also enjoy hanging out
with my friends and I play music with and that's
a big that's a big part of my happiness, you know,
and our happiness. So you're all in the bus together.
You you hate riding the bus, I do too, where
I the first couple of nights feel like the bus
is just going side to side and we're gonna wreck
it anytime, like I feel, especially if I don't know
(08:50):
the driver and sometimes do you have the same driver,
same ver he's great, but sometimes the driver it's not
the you know, the road or the road is just terrible. Sure,
and it's human for occasionally anybody to go over that thing,
you know, And then I'm like, oh my god, we're dying.
So the first couple of nights I struggle because I
feel like we're gonna wreck um. But here, I'm gonna
(09:11):
give you a tip and I'm gonna get one back
from you. Here's the tip to being tired and still
performing and creating at a high level. It is get
over it. Yeah, it's used to get used to it
and get over. There's no other choice. It sucks. I
wish there was a People say that all the time,
like how do you I'll just talk about even the
radio show, like how do I wake up but crack
(09:31):
every day and be like ready to go and try
funny and firing, and you just get better at doing it.
Tired totally, and I think I think you're for me.
It's like I'll be tired all day long, but once
you make it to the show, then you're you're not
tired on the stage, and then when you're done, there's
something about it where you could stay up till two
in the morning again if you wanted to. You kind
(09:52):
of have this like relaxed energy after you're done playing.
So it's just kind of during the day dealing with it.
You know, you know you can take your phone if
you go into a hotel. You may not know this,
you probably do. You're really one of the smartest guys around.
You can take your phone and let's say you there's
there's no plug in, or you forgot the square on
your charger and you just have the cable. You can
(10:12):
take that phone charger on the back of a TV.
There's off on a US port. I knew you would
know we get it because I also am very forgetful
and so disorganized. So I'm always like, Tommy, do you
have an extra chord I can get? Or Matt, do
you have a charger or even the blocks? And I'm like, thinking,
I forgot the block. But you can plug your iPhone
charger into the back of the TV. It's a little
(10:33):
hack you can so that you can plug your phone in.
Now that's the dumb thing that I know as a hack.
If if somebody kild Sam nineteen and I'm like Brad,
I don't I really want to get in a song
writing like we and you know I don't. I don't
really need the fundamentals, but like, what's a what's what's
an easy hack on how to write? Not a a
song with depth, a catchy fun song, like what's the
(10:56):
hack there? Well? I mean, first listen, you know, listen
to of the too famous great pop songs. I mean,
there's definitely things about them. You know, they have a
very repetitive, sort of simple way about them. Um, and
you know, just keep trying. Also, and I mean lately
for me, I've spent for as much co writing as
(11:18):
we all do in this town, I've spent more and
more time lately just writing by myself because a lot
of times your idea, you know, if if you're trying
to learn and trying to find your voice, sometimes you'll
start writing a song that you had an idea and
then with someone else and then it starts to get
water watered down. And sometimes it's okay to just do
it yourself and say exactly what you want to say,
(11:39):
and and a lot of times you'll get a better
song like that, you know, or or something. I mean,
sometimes you won't but it's important to be confident in
and being able to finish the song yourself and do
it yourself. I think I feel like you're holding back.
He doesn't mean know all the secrets songs, Like, there's
no secrets. I mean we've I've written, you know, three
bad songs this week. Sometimes you is right a bad one,
(12:01):
you know, claps snaps. Yeah, Like if if I were going,
I'm just gonna do something fun, don't give a crap
if anyone says it's a piece of garbage, but it's
just hookey clap snaps and whoas you know those two.
Don't overthink it those you know what I mean, Just
say what feels good and what you know. I think
we get caught up a lot in lyrics, especially in Nashville,
(12:22):
where you forget that when you were younger, you didn't
even know what the song was about. I still don't.
I have a melody. Guy, I can't sing any lyric
to any songs. Like, I don't know one word any
of you guys Songs'll be honest, not one single word.
And we're your favorite. I just know the melodies right
now here, and we're gonna go through some stuff. But
here's the current single from Old Dominion, No Hard Feelings.
(12:46):
Here you go keeps coming out and I still bathing,
and you're right, and I know you were making a
little joke, but it's not really a joke. You guys
are my favorite band, like when it comes. When it
comes to let me preface this too. When you're releasing
(13:07):
new music, I will listen to the whole album, and
I never have it. I have no interest in albums anymore.
I do if it's like a concept album from one
of my favorite artists, or it's an album from my
favorite artist that I know. If I just listen to,
I'm gonna find a lot of songs there. Um. But
but I don't have the patients. It's I've been trained
and not have the patients. Oh yeah, we all have
(13:27):
at this point. And you guys are so good at
writing songs that I have a belief that every song
on your record will probably be good. We really appreciate that.
I mean, we take prid in that. You know. That's
that's why we all moved here, and you know we
try to give the best effort we can on every song.
So when you guys have this song, for example, one
(13:49):
to three. It's the band and Shane. It looks like
that wrote this song. Did you all write in the studio?
Is that why it's all together? Yeah? This this record
in particular, everyone we went in with no songs. All
we had were titles, and we wrote every song in
Asheville downstairs in the studio and we went upstairs and
recorded it. So yeah, these were just all created in
(14:09):
that in that two or three week um spam we
were down there, and I think that was Matt's title,
No Hard Feelings. Um yeah, so you're you're listed as
different names and and you can tell me why. But
so you wrote one of the writers on Wild Hearts
that Keith Urban has right, Okay, so here's here's that
Wild Hearts. So right now as I'm talking to you,
(14:36):
it's number six. I think good. I was hoping you
were gonna tell me, yeah, it's number sick. But but
moving I knew, I knew it was somewhere good, moving
good and so but that is written by Brad Francis
Turcy as opposed to is that on purpose? When you
write with old domnuus we actually you know it's so funny.
Is it went back in a long time ago and
I had. I thought, for like three seconds, I was
(14:57):
gonna maybe do my own music. Um, I thought about
making my Francis is my middle name, and my dad's
middle name is Lucky, so I thought about calling myself
Francis Luck. But you're just as an artist then, But
I never did that, and I don't know why they
did that. I have no idea. I like that your
dad's middle name is Lucky, his real middle at least
(15:20):
that unless he's lying to me. I don't know. Are
you Are you Bradley? I know I'm just Brad. That's funny.
I'm Bobby. I'm not Robert. And I guess to old
people that's crazy because if you're like over sixty five
and I tell you that, they're like, oh, oh my god,
I'm believe it. I told my wife we were talking
and I said, we're talking about names, and you know,
we don't have any kids, but we're definitely starting to
(15:40):
talk about that and we're talking about, you know, possibly
what we can name a kid. And I was like,
why not just I mean, I'm all for Bobby Jr.
You know, I think that's easy, it's great. And she's like, well,
I don't want him to have to live in your
shadow anymore than they already will. And I said, we'll
think you for the compliment, and then secondly, pretty good job.
(16:02):
And so I was like, in my name's like young
and cool. It's not Bob, it's Bobby. And she was like,
my cousin's name is Bobby. She was like, young and cool.
It's like you're out of your mind. So what do
you mean? Because google the year that's most popular, and
I was like, I would ready to google it up,
probably like eighty three ninety six. The name really piqud.
I had no idea. That's maybe the seven Renaissance right now. Um,
(16:25):
so you wrote this one which was released last week
as a Darius Rutger song. This is same beer, different problem.
And I kind of list all those together for a reason,
because you know, the Old Dominion song that you guys
have as you're an artist in the group, Keith Urban song,
(16:46):
and a new song by Darius, And with all of
these you are writing with different folks and I is
there a struggle to maintain Brad Tersey the writer and
Brad from Old Dominion? I would say no, Um, you know,
it's it's easy for me to write with it's harder
for me to write an Old Dominion song whatever that is,
(17:07):
than to just write with other people. And uh, um,
you know, express myself that way because you know, Old
Dominion has a certain sound that is also um, you
know Matt's voice, and and he's a songwriter that that
as an artist, knows what he wants to say and
how he wants to sing. And my voice isn't necessarily
um like his, it's higher. I have some different inflections
(17:31):
and stuff. So for me to write a song by
myself and inherently, I think will be more difficult to
be an Old Dominion song than it could to be
you know, some another person song. Yeah, that's also interesting.
And how you have to write different for Old Dominion
because your voice, your literal voice, isn't the one thing
in the song. Right But I'm even even like even now,
(17:52):
I just came from writting uh right now with with
Mat and uh you know, if I there's certain things
that just sound good when I say them, But He'll
be like, I don't know if I can say that.
I'm like, okay, well, sometimes unless I really believe in
a line, you know, I'll I'll default to what is
naturally feels good for him because he's the one that
has to get up there and sing it and and
(18:12):
believe it while he's doing it. So, you know, that's
pretty cool how that translates to. Because you know, Mike
and I write a bunch of comedy, and we'll write
jokes for my stand up or music, and Michael have
a really funny idea for a joke and write the
joke and it's all there, everything's there, but it doesn't
sound exactly like I would say it, and so I
(18:35):
can't do that joke. So I'll just switch around a
few things, you know, do the words or sounds or
but again kind of the same creative process. Well, I
mean that that's the thing is like, especially as songwriters,
thinking you write a song like oh, this is perfect
for Dirk Spentley, but then like people will send us
us songs and we're like, is this what people think
(18:55):
that we sound like? You know, like it's so far
off from what we think you would want to do. So,
I mean, you got to think if you're Derek's same
thing you get just think I don't know, I don't
know about that one word or this the way he
saying that I mean it's so impossible. It's a miracle
if somebody likes your song. You guys cut outside songs. Uh,
(19:15):
we have never cut a song that at least one
of us was on a right a run. I thought
it's about to find out sand cause wasn't real. I
thought right now one day, And I think it's a
real testament that you're not opposed to it. Not because
you guys aren't great, but because you understand the magic
of songwriting. Oh yeah, because you are one yourself. Outside
of the songwriting you do for your artist career, you
(19:39):
probably hope wish no artists that are really good songwriters.
It will take your songs because something that you've written
has expressed what they were wanting to express more than
they have so far. Oh yeah, I mean even that
you know that the Keith Urban song is actually, Um,
how do I want to? I need to cough because
I have to press one of these You do you
can actually just cough? This is an all off in
(20:00):
the all the time podcast swear coughs do whatever I want? Um,
you know the Wild Hearts the Keith Urban song, Um,
we wrote it me. Uh, Jennifer Wayne and Eric Paslay
and my publisher, Roxy King, pitched it to Keith, and
Keith loved the course. When he called me and he said,
you know, Bret, I love this chorus. The verses are
(20:22):
not speaking to me. Really, do you mind if I
have a crack at rewriting the verses? So of course,
you know, sure, Um, so he rewrote the verses to
that song about his own life, and then he just
used our chorus. So when you say he rewrote, and
I know your answer is going to be but there
(20:42):
are some people I know that I'm gonna do finger
quotes rewrite songs so they can write on it. This
is This was not that case. He actually actually changed
every word in the verse, both verses, and he kept
our melody in the first verse, but then he kind
of went off on his own little way on the
second verse. So he on you know, was more than
(21:06):
an equal writer on the song for sure. And the
riding front. You have won the Triple Play award, which
is you've had three number one songs in a year.
That's the CMA Triple Play, Right, I did that twice actually,
not to brag, but yeah, yeah, definitely listen. I would
correct me too if I said so. When you have
won that award because I know all Dominions had multiple
number ones in a year. What were any of them
(21:27):
outside cuts that weren't Old Dominion. I believe some of
them were. I'd have to have to look at the trophies,
the engraving. Ye sure, have to go through your whole
trophy cave to get to them in the back. But
you know, definitely there was some. I mean the Old Dominion.
You know, being in the band has I think I've
only had let me see cox bar Um, Yeah, I
(21:49):
walks into yeah, yeah, look at that, Look at that? Yeah, man,
pro I didn't even push play. But when I sing
something close, it just plays. That's how our system is here.
I just do a melody and it popped out. Um.
But that one. Save it for a rainy day, Save
a day, that's a bag one. You're getting to play
(22:11):
this every night, every Saturday with Kenny. He comes out.
You do it together. You got we go with him.
Sometimes he'll sneak out. We plays little pop up shows
that wouldn't make sense if he came out with you.
Yeah it's his song, YEA got it his show? And
then do you know what else? You get lighted up?
Was Luke Brian's song that, uh, that is true, but
I know the answer and I just found it, like
(22:32):
I did a little google. Uh, well, you have for
your three number ones break up with him Old Dominion
than Kenny and Tyler Farr. So that was the one
triple play, so two of them more songs that weren't
Old Dominion. Yeah, I look at you, look at you.
You need to hey, look at you. You've also the
Wild Hearts. Um Walker Hayes, your girlfriend does from that project.
(22:55):
That's how like when I've I'm gonna say found because
Walker had a record a long time and go and
then had gone through some some crap and some struggles,
and um, I that project that your girlfriend dies. He
I found it somehow and just fell in love with this.
I took him out on the road with me. I
was just so in love with He's one of the
most goddamn just crazy. And I didn't know you wrote
(23:15):
that until I started to look at uh yeah, yeah,
your body of Worker. But that that would be forever ago, huh,
I mean it was. I've had to be four years
ago maybe, and that's I'm bad. I'm bad with this,
but it's only four years ago. I mean COVID. I
think COVID five years ago times probably I was thinking
like nine one. I don't know, No, it wasn't that
(23:35):
long ago. I mean it was I can't be more
than five years ago. I'm gonna go more than five. Yeah,
five years all right? So we both well, yeah, that
song he got, he was been out of shape because
like someone was like blowing up his comments, you know,
like getting getting mad about I don't know something. And
so that's where that idea came from. A quick mention
(24:01):
of army of me. Oh yeah, yeah, you're a band
before Old Dominion, which this is called going through Changes,
got three million streams that you guys as biggest hit
of two thousand seven. Here you gow who's singing man?
That's a Vince Sherman. So he did most of, not
(24:24):
all of the writing in this band. That was before
I was really even you know, realized like you could
purposely write a song. You know, was just a guitar player,
you know what I mean? When did you get good
at that though? Writing songs? Oh? I mean, I mean
I found my dad's guitar in the attic when I
was thirteen, was like this old dusty case opened it up,
(24:48):
was all like red velvet in there. It was a
Yamaha acoustic that I still have. And that was it.
I mean, I just never put down from that day.
Are you one of the kids who went into the
room and just like, you know, send a sam Gin
because I'm not leaving. I would be you know, I
didn't really take lessons, so I would I would figure out,
you know, on cassettes like I would. I would just
figure stuff out by myself on by here, you know, rewinding,
(25:11):
playing over and over and over and over and over again.
So was it a situation where you found music and
you fell in love with the idea and the sound
and sonically and you were just a whole new or
like many things that I started to try to get
good at, was it as for me? It was an
escape from things, is escape from being bullied or being
(25:32):
and I got good at things. I got listen, I'm
only funny because I had to be so I can
get the crap beat out of me. And so was
music to you while I discovered this and this is
my path because it feels so amazing, or was it
I'm gonna practice so I can get good at something
and show those guys or no, it's it was more
of the former. You know. I was never luckily. I
mean I actually was bullied and stuff um as a kid,
(25:56):
especially in middle school. Middle school kids are the worst.
Uh they still bully me if I'm being honest, I
mean even today. But I didn't use music as in
that wasn't my escape from it. I just liked the
sound of it in the field of it and uh,
you know, the life that looked like it could provide,
you know, that was kind of what got me into it.
(26:17):
The romantic version of what a rock star is. Was
that appealing to you? Oh yeah? I mean like my
you know, my first favorite band was Guns and Roses
and I used to watch that, you know, Paradise City
video and just be like, this looks like so much.
Did you want to be Slash or Axel. I wanted
to be Slash. I gotta let that was my first
electric guitar was less Paul because of Slash and even
(26:38):
then it was my first concert. The church youth group
took us to, uh, Guns and Roses. I think he
didn't realize what he got himself into there. The church
youth group took you guys to see guns and Rose.
That is an interesting yeah, religious filter trip. It was
interesting the remember the lights went out and uh Axel
just screamed into the mic. Can I can? Yeah, of
(27:00):
course he goes you know where you fucking are? He's
like c C is like, oh god wow. So with
the success of radio, with the success of streaming, there
is oftentimes some people get that and then some people
(27:23):
get the industry cred the the awards, and sometimes they're split, honestly,
um because people that have a lot of the like
for example, I think Kane Brown suffers from he is
so big and it's setting all these streaming records and
he's like top of the list, but they won't. He
(27:45):
doesn't get any industry award and and he's just an example.
And I could go both ways, but you guys have
somehow you got to both like what what do you
credit that too? Because again you've won the A C
M S, the c M A S, you've got the
big kids. What do you think And you know, you
can play humble and say I always got lucky, but
I mean, really, if you were evaluating it in a classroom,
(28:06):
and what do you think you guys did right that
allowed you to kind of walk on both sides of that. Well.
I mean, I think part of it is a great
management team, to be honest. I mean, you know there
they are management and the managers Jessee Alabama, and they
have great booking agents and great uh avenues into building
(28:28):
us as a touring band, you know, to get us
in front of people, um, on the right shows, on
the right stages. And then coupled with the fact that
our music, for whatever reason, uh, which is the one
thing you can't control, resonated with people. You know, I
think it it sounded maybe a little different than the
average country band country song. Um. And you know, the
(28:49):
university you know, aligned and decided that people were gonna
like us, you know, and those are the things I mean,
you know, I think that's why. And then you know,
for the we still don't know. Every time we're like,
are we gonna win again this year? I don't know.
You know, It's like I feel like there's also a
lot of new people always coming into these other categories
(29:11):
that there maybe isn't so many so much new blood
in our category. Oh, I think you're not giving yourself
enough credit. I understand that sentiment, but I don't think
that's why you guys win, because nobody else comes along,
I think, And good for you you did manage to
get back to the humble cards, so I do. I
I don't know. I mean, there's nothing you know wrong.
You came back to it. I like that, just like
a good song, you came back to it. Um, here's
(29:33):
my unsolicited opinion. I think it is a mixture of
a the reason that I love you guys. You just
write great songs. Like like you just write great songs.
And even if I didn't like you as people, I
would still like the music in the band because there
are artists, and I do have to separate art from
artists sometimes. I think we all do because there's a
lot of relationships, a lot of different people, a lot
(29:53):
of the personalities. Where there are artists that I just
as as a person, I have no interest in. Where
we don't get along, and that's okay, we'll never get along,
but I can love what they do as an artist. Um. Luckily,
I really like you guys, and I love your music.
So I think it starts with the song. You're all
songwriters first. This is my this is me just talking.
You're all songwriters first, which you're not. You just told
(30:16):
us you were playing guitar first, but in my heart,
you've only been. You came out of the like you
ripped out of your mom's vagina, and you were like,
I got this young, So yes, that's my that's the
And then I also think because you are songwriters, not
just for the band, but you've created in so many
places and you have so many relationships, positive ones where
(30:39):
you have not just been old dominion. I think the
fact that you guys all right for other folks, and
I think that helps too when it comes to going.
They deserve the cred to, not just the success with
radio and stream. I always wonder about like how I mean,
I think more and more of our fans knowing that
because we put that part in our know now a lot.
(31:01):
We have a little acoustic section where, you know, we
we'll play a little first chorus of all these songs
and kind of tell our story. And there's a lot
of people that always come up to us after and sach,
I can't believe I didn't know that about you guys,
And so I think, you know, we sometimes take for
granted that people would know that, but you know, even
the people industry that vote on these award shows or
the radio guys. I don't know if any of them.
(31:22):
I would think they do. I do, and I love
not to get radio guests credit, don't get me wrong,
but I would think that they do, because that's like
the you guys are like the super talented every man
if that makes it like that, and I get that,
(31:42):
and I'm not super talented, but I get Oh, you're
just a normal persons. Why people like you, you know
when when research comes back about me and I'm like,
I mean I'm not normal and bizarre neurotic, yes, but
you know, it's that's what's represented by you guys. And
I think you write great songs first and foremost, and
you do a lot of things with a lot of
(32:03):
different people behind the scenes, and you know, it's pretty
cool to see you guys do it both at the
same time and it's just a rare thing to watch,
like Combs does it and gets it. But then you
have people like Ashty McBride on the other side, who
doesn't win the awards that she should and gets a
lot of the industry credit, and you're like, when's this
gonna catch up? But she deserves some more awards she
started a little bit. Now she has in the last
(32:25):
like some of the big ones that she deserves she
has in the past year or so. But for a
long time she was the one where she would get
the awards. This is my point. She would get the awards,
but not that have the number ones and she just
had a number one Carlie Pierce. So anyway, my point
of all that is, you guys are awesome. Thanks man.
I'm just a big fan. So whenever an artist like
(32:46):
a Keith takes a song that you've written to say
I want to change, it is a hard to not
take that personally at first. Oh no, I mean the fact,
like I said, Keith Urban is one of one of
the most respected artists in the genre. For me, I
mean every time I hear a song of his, I've
wanted to have a song cut by him forever. You know,
he's just a great musician and you know he's going
(33:07):
to do your song well. You know, there's just no
way around it. Um So no, I mean I was
happy when he when he said that, you know, and
let's he put so many cool lines in it, and
that's ideal. I mean, it's so hard to to write
and form, you know, for someone else's heart what they
want to say, you know, So for him to uh
(33:29):
to say what he wanted to say and for and
to put that to what we said, I mean, it
was kind of the perfect, perfect opportunity being a great guitarist,
which you are and I am not. So it's like
we're speaking a different language communicating with when we talk
about guitars. I'm gonna try. I can play like I
don't know twelve chords, right, that's all I need to
do to play conficent. Heck, I could do in three
(33:51):
Like name that tune? I canna do it in three chord?
Would name that tun? Well, here's every song I know
three chords. But when you play or you write a solo,
to do you write? Can you write it thinking about
it and then play all that you've thought about? Or
is writing a guitar solo a little bit of playing
(34:13):
it and feeling it at the same time? Oh? Yeah,
For me, I'm not like the the musicians of the
highest caliber can That's what makes like a very high
quality musician is that they can play what's in their
mind immediately. For me, I know, like patterns and notes
that are going to work. Um So for the most
(34:34):
part on on the record, when I play a solo,
it happens every time. I'll just wing one down that
when I'm not even supposed to be playing it, and
that will be there, and then I'll go on trying
to chase a better one, and then they'll always every
one of the controls, like just keep the first one,
the first one where I don't even know what's happening.
I'm just kind of reacting and kind of just going
(34:56):
for it. Now, do you have to remember that solo
exactly or is it all just kind of like uh,
like the game of horse shoes as long as you're
kind of close. Well, I mean, you know, I can
take No one's gonna fire me if I take liberties,
you know in live and stuff. But or like snap back,
is that there's a big solo at the end of
that one. I actually did kind of compose that one
because I went for so long without playing anything good
(35:20):
improvising that I had to be like, Okay, I gotta
actually like think of what to play and then and
then learn it without a guitar on your hand. We'll
get little exercise here, and I beg that you humor me.
Could you do that solo with your mouth without playing it?
I mean, yeah, let's go. Come on, Brad, give me,
just give me the first narranny and ranny and right,
(35:45):
I mean I can't. I can't. That's not the right key.
I knew it would be hard for him, Mike, I
got him stumped the guitar. Yeah, you'd have to give
me like a starting note. Um, I was who tweets
from the account? Because you're all funny? So who tweets
from the account? Got me? I don't even have Twitter
on my phone or if I've never tweeted one thing,
I think it's Matt okay, makes sense. I do you
(36:06):
have the Instagram? Yes? Why one not the other? Um,
I don't know. I've I've kind of went forever, like
I'm kind of the cmud the social media curmudgeon, you know, like,
oh it's bad, I don't want to be on it.
But but I recently sort of just embraced Instagram and
I like, I got my little blue checkmark, and I'm like,
you know what, I'm just gonna like go for it.
And it's been fun. Is it still funny that? Or
(36:28):
is it funny? They're not funny than funny. They're not
funny depending on the season of life. When they can
future you guys for Brothers Osborne. It's just amazing to
me that it keeps happening. It's so funny. It's amazing,
Like you'll see a story and it's like that you
guys being called Brothers Osborne or them being called Old Dominion,
and it's just random that it's always you two. They're
(36:48):
only two people at least, like I would see if it. Yeah,
if it was like another bit like kind of like
three or Zack Brown Brown Band, it would be funny
if it was a little big talent, because yeah, they
have ladies. I don't know. It is weird how it's
always those two. You said you wrote today, Yeah, what
(37:10):
was that idea? I'm telling me the title, but what
was the general idea? Love loss? It was party life,
So I'll tell you the title. It's called lucky all
the time, like some guys can't catch a break. I
guess some guys get lucky all the time. It's come
about just how you're somehow just life is good. You know.
(37:31):
I feel like we should beat that title out in
the part of that because someone's gonna steal it and
that someone's me over now, you know. Mike and I
talked about how we need an app where I do,
especially because if I'm writing a song, and again, I
don't write real songs like you you are really good.
I am an amateur, but I write songs with punch
(37:52):
lines and I you know, we do songs for really
Our little music group just came from my comedy act
and then they were just like when you play fast
couples were like, oh crap. We had a higher a
band and so right funny songs. But I often wonder
if sometimes I'm writing a song with the melody of
something I've heard and don't realize that I've heard and
it's just been stored up there. So I need a
nap that I push and I go, because here's the
(38:15):
melody for a song that I have right now. No,
not Zama Zina d Indiana, damn dam but dude, if
they so that's just I don't know if it's the
same thing, and maybe like canny song, but I needed
to spit back at me if enough of that, if
I even play it or seeing it, if enough of
that would get me sued. I feel like you've got
(38:36):
to know in your heart. You're like, I can't do this,
like this is not good, you know what? But I
think that about the stuff that I isn't even legal.
I'm just like I write something like, oh, you shouldn't
do this, so you might not want to do it,
but you won't get sued, you know. So when you
and I've mentioned this before, I have insurance. And my
business manager was like, hey, like, I get it, but
(38:58):
I don't want to get sued. She's me, you know,
she said. And you're not a real musician, so you
might steal something and not know it. So we need
to get insurance. I'm not sure what it's called. So
I have it, and I just wonder what the amount
with with what you're putting out. How you don't even
rewrite your own songs. I do. First, there's certainly songs
(39:20):
of mine that I could sue myself for for sure.
I mean, just because you know, you only have so
many natural tendencies melodically, you know, and especially I feel
like versus melodies can sometimes get a little more repetitive
than than chorus melodies. Um, do you ever hear a
song in town and you're like, man, I think that's
(39:42):
awful what I've done, but it actually may not be.
I mean it really may not, because there only somebody
knows so many doesn't have more to be honest, Yeah,
I mean I guess if you, I guess if you
wrote better songs that happen a lot more. Huh. That's
that's what I think. If I could just write some
better ones that people would steal from me, I forget
what song was, like, Um, what's the same? It isn't
that the party? Don't you stay with me? Yeah? He
(40:03):
didn't even get suit Tom Petty, which I mean that
won't back down? That was a brutal one for me
the first time obviously did not. It's not thinking about
that song when he wrote that. Agree in the fact
that it's such a known song. Yeah, that's like they
for sure stole that song from Stairway to Heaven where
it's like it's such a known thing that no one
would purposefully do that. Well, you're talking about won't back down? Yes,
(40:25):
I mean that's such a known song that you'll be like,
did you think he really? Now? It does sound similar? Well,
the notes are, yes, the same. Won't you stay even
even how the words I know, I just I just couldn't.
I don't know for sure, but I feel like there's
no chance that any of them ever thought about that
song once. I absolutely agree. But sometimes even if it's accidental.
(40:51):
Bird Lines, on the other hand, Yeah, that one sound fun.
That one, you can definitely go. Okay, how many days
a week are you writing? Now? Around three? And are
you booked out for months? Yeah? And do you leave
those other days open in case something comes up for golf?
I leave the moving for golf. Are you How often
(41:13):
are you playing? Oh my god, I'm obsessed? So really,
where do you live close to me? I live in
East close enough. We played yesterday Jordan Davis, who's yeah, buddy,
I wrote with him yesterday. We played golf yesterday. In
the afternoon we played until three. Wait, what's today? Wednesday? Wednesday?
(41:36):
We played golf yesterday. I'm sorry I wrote him two
days ago. Yeah, I knew something was fishy about that.
So how good are you though? Because I mean I'm
I'm think I'm better than the average golfer and my
handicap as a A six and a half. Okay, yeah,
you're too good for us, probably like IO eight four.
That's good. That shot four is all time. But that's
what the guy says, who is way better. That's good man.
(41:57):
Literally my last scores. I mean I just shot seventy
seven yesterday. Yeah, that's a different level. But I don't
don't really do that. I'm usually low eighties. Eighties when
you try to play a couple of times a week.
Oh yeah, we play every day before the show wherever
we are, you get and then all you guys played golf.
He used to when we first started, but he doesn't
play anymore. It's just Trevor and I and I mean,
(42:18):
I have no kids or wife. So when I'm here,
I come go the driving range, I'm playing by myself.
I'm like, I'm gonna I'll hit you up next time
we go all the see like I see that, you know,
track me and you got or whatever over They're like,
I can't get I couldn't get that in my house
because I feel like I would break my elbow, like
I would never stop. I used to think that, Yeah, yeah,
it's like having a whole bunch of really awesome chocolate
(42:40):
cupcakes in the fridge, though at some point you're like
a lot of chalk cupcakes. Yeah, I never thought I
could matter. And also part of the fun of golf
is watching the ball flot through the year, you know,
not when you're eat hit into the screen, it's like,
you know, no, that's pretty awesome. What And as someone
(43:02):
who creates music and performs music, I would imagine, because
I live a life similarly, that it's hard to find
things at least a lot of things that inspire you musically,
Like you just hear it out of nowhere and you're like,
holy crap, like what is like the last And it's
a tough question. And I'll do my I'll do my
little trick here where I'm getting nervous. Yeah, And that's
(43:25):
what I'm gonna do this. I'm like an Alexa place
of music. That's what I do. I don't really think
about it my for me, Ben Rector has a new
album out and I love Ben and we're good. Buddiest
guy can golf to by the way, Holy crap. Actually
he was at a pebble beach when I believe he
is he is the joy of music. The last record
and on first listen it's a lot of piano and
(43:48):
some horns and not usually something I would be drawn
to immediately, but then after listening to him, my god, dang,
Like this is an artist who shows you not just
his life but also his transformation as a human. He's
getting old sharing that it's not just about partying his
new song. It's just something like that kind of it's
about life. And I think the life is in the
title of it, in my best life, Yeah, living my
(44:10):
best life. Yeah, great song. So what is it for you? Like,
what what's give me something that you've had in the
last few years where you kind of had to take
a go Wow, man, that's what. There's this guy I
think is Bahamas. Is that his name? That's the one guy. Um.
I can't remember the name of the song. We can
find it though. We have a whole internet over here.
(44:31):
I can look at if you if you like computer screen,
I can. I can find it all the time with
with words lost in the light. But he's the guy.
He did something and he's got a cool like a
little style. He's got some I think he's this one
guy produce it everything by himself. Um, and uh, And
it caught my ear, you know, I just have the
(44:51):
radio on and I'm the one who's like super digging
into everything. I just if something comes on when I'm
when I'm in the car or whatever. You know, I'll
be like, oh, what is that? You know? I will
not watch anything to do with comedy or jokes when
I'm writing comedy or jokes purposefully because I don't. I
don't want to go out that's really funny. I should
(45:13):
also do something like that, not even like subconsciously, I
just be like, oh, that's such a funny theme. I
should probably so I don't because I think it affects
me and I'm not strong enough to fight it. Um,
if you're is there anything any guard rails you put
up around yourself? Really? I mean, honestly, it's you know,
I think as long as you're you're conscious of not
(45:33):
totally ripping it off. You know, I think hearing a
groove or I even remember when I used to like
when I would learn a new guitar chord, it would
be like, oh, a song would come out of that,
just by learning a new voicing or something. So I
think listening to stuff and watching stuff is never off
limits for me, you know. I don't think again, I'm
not gonna hopefully won't go too far and ripping it off.
(45:55):
But you know, everyone steals from everyone, doesn't that somebody
said that it's hard, not like said it's vertin ly. Still,
it's not even stealing. It's just like a collection that
we all pull things from, and the collection is only
so big. Well, you guys are just you're killing it.
The new record here, it's it's all. It's thirteen songs,
(46:18):
thirteen fourteen songs, right, Oh yeah, I think so, it's
it's whatever the case is. I found eleven I loved.
I can tell you the two that I pulled off
my list, but that is very rare. That's my point though,
Like I can, I'll listen to every song on and
I would like to recommend to my folks listen to this.
And I know I'm not here. I'm not discovering new
(46:38):
land here, but uh like old dominions where it's at
even like there's some something to the B side anymore.
But even the album cuts, Like I think my favorite
songs from you guys aren't the ones that make the
radio because they weren't meant to make the radio. There
are songs that are meant to make the radio, meaning
you gotta be this long. Maybe we'll do an up tempo,
maybe we'll build a song that's super fun. Um, but
(47:00):
just a big fan of what you guys do creatively,
who you are as people. UM, A little intimidated to
play golf with you. If you're that good? How far
do you hit it? I mean I don't Yeah, no, no,
nobody hits it? Nobo do you play with it that far?
Final question, the most overrated artist in Nashville is Oh god,
I'm just kidding. It would be awesome if somebody's answer that.
(47:23):
I was like, well, I'm glad you said that. You
guys you can follow old Dominion music. Now you said
you have an Instagram? Are you can? I give that
out your personal one? Sure? I think it's his Brady.
I actually have a better time. Who's more fun to follow?
Brad Francis Percy, He's got his own He's he's really fun.
He's at Stephan French. He's like Bignet's and it's a
whole whole different person. He's a you know, a little fancier,
(47:46):
but I mean old Dominion songs on the top thirty.
You got the Keith Urban song at six as of
right now, could be up in the New Darius song.
So you're kind of everywhere are you tired right now?
I feel like I'm about a seven out of ten good,
which is basically a ten out of ten. I do
full interviews at eight and a half out of ten
(48:06):
sometimes and I tell Mike, hey, I'll send him a
voice mamma. And I was like, hey, man, about a
minute twelve to eighteen, I don't know what I was
talking about you, and he will go and he will
go back and go, okay, you're clear on that, or
he'll go, yeah, you made no sense. So I'm gonna
go and pull that. And so I thanks for coming over,
my pleasure, Thanks for having me. We've done almost an
(48:29):
hour here and I'm gonna go work out. What are
you gonna do the rest of the day. I think
I'm gonna do that too. Actually, well, my guy's out front.
You want to hear it. I don't know if I
can work out on the loaf First. All I hear
is an excuse. I actually we That's what's funny you
bring that up. It's the loafer workout. You have to
wear loafers while you work out, so you're fit right now? Yeah,
(48:49):
you're just here, Brad. Thanks for coming by, man, Just
a big fan. Keep it up. Just you're such a
good player and and love your songs obviously. And finally
I'm gonna ask, this is gonna be in question. You've
been writing these songs by yourself. Well you do a
terse record Francis Lucky. Maybe one day, you know. I
don't know if I'll ever like go for it and
try to, but I think i'd like to disrecord some stuff,
(49:11):
you know. Yeah, I don't even think you have to go.
I mean, there's not limited space anymore. I mean, Francis,
I would take that luck, the Francis Lucky album, Francis Luck,
and listen to it all right, Maybe I'll make you
a little compilation. You could tell me if the son
that's worth it or not. That's always weird. I had
had friend send me a song. It's like tell me
if I don't need to know if it's a radio song,
(49:31):
but is it a good song or not? And it's
just a no win for me. Well it's not. You can't.
I mean, look, you can like a song and I
cannot like it. No, but I will not reply back
I don't like it. You have to be diplomatic. Tell
me you don't like it. He's not that close of
a friend. I have friends that are I'm super close
(49:51):
with that I could be like for me a few Yeah,
who could you do that with? I mean out of
your band, out of your band, out of the band.
Understand what artists are you close enough with or even
a songwriter that has hits where you like? Don't not
that you have, but you could go and then I'll
give you one too. Where you go. I don't like.
I don't think it's like, get a song you've done better.
(50:12):
I mean I have to name the songwriter. You're saying
to do that with, Yes, but I'm not saying name
a song, whether it's ever happened. Who are you close
enough to? What artist or songwriter? I mean, I've written
a lot. I've done Jonathan Singleton for a long time.
And if you wrote a bad song, you could go
that ain't your best work. Yeah all right, um, okay,
(50:32):
I'm not gonna tell you what. So I tricked you.
All right, there we go. Brad Tursey of Old Dominion
and also of two Times see him a triple play fame.
Good to see a Brad And that's it, and you
guys go check out if he's Old Dominions down in town,
Go see him, and time tequila and therapy. It is
thirteen songs, eleven good ones. All right, we'll see you
(50:53):
next time. Everybody
M hm, Hey, guys, we're gonna talk to Brad Tersey
of Old Dominion. And I feel like I know the
Old Dominion guys if I can know them, but it's
rare that I spend time individually with them. So it
was the first time I'd ever just hung out with Brad.
I got mad a little bit lead singer, and then Trevor. Hey,
(00:22):
Amy and Trevor went to Disney World together or something
like their families did not just them together, that'd be weird,
but like their families were all together. But it was
the first time that I had spent any time with
Brad and had a really good time. And you know,
the guy's got a lot happening right now, is and
you're here. He's got different songs with different artists all
over the chart, including Old Dominion. You know, even talked
(00:42):
about how he wasn't really a songwriter, was just a
guitar player and learned how to Oh this, howue, this
is how we can write songs. He puts it into
better words than I do, but I really enjoyed it.
And at one point I say, it's almost like the
lunchbox Morgan wall In situation where he's like get your
first number one relations I was like, yeah, you want
the CMA Trump Play Award. He's like not once twice
TWEA so really had a good time with this. And
(01:06):
if you don't mind when you listen to this, if
you go and give us all the stars and give
us a little review. I know that's annoying to do.
I never I never do it, um, but no I
have once because the person that was talking about it
moved me so much, was like basically begging. It was
might dy that I went and did it. It helps us,
So I'd appreciate it if you did that. And other
than that, I hope you enjoy this. Brad Tersey of
(01:27):
Old Dominion, he was a lead guitar player back in
the day of Army of Me. Moved to Nashville to
write songs and play guitar for other artists and you know,
to play guitar. We didn't talk about for Greg Bates
and for Brett Eldridge for a while and now is
crushing it with Old Dominions. So that's the deal. Enjoy
episode three forty six of the Body Cast alright with
(01:50):
Brad Tersey of Old Dominion and just pulled my microphone
away now talking into nothing. Because I did that. You
can pull it now. There you go, there, there you go.
How's it going good? We're all connected. I'm jealous of
your linen shirt? Is that lenin? I don't know what
it is. It's I just got it the other day. Actually,
it's like, I think it's cotton. Maybe it's a cotton
(02:12):
linen blend. You know, we're getting a little old if
we know things like that. I just can't keep a
linen shirt unwrinkled. I think that's the point. You gotta
just embrace it. It It looks like a great slightly wrinkled
linen shirt. Yeah I was. And I'll go over some
stuff here about your career, and that's what we're gonna do,
and not even just to talk about the things you've done,
but kind of your attitude towards things and how it's changed,
(02:35):
you know, because I feel like mine has changed significantly
in the past, even five or so years. As I've
had a bit of success, you guys have had massive success.
Um when you don't know if you saw when you
walked down, if there's a I don't know, eight thousand
little cards that I didn't see this I didn't take
a closer look, but I didn't. We were just talking
(02:56):
about it before you walked in. And I'm gonna lead
this into asking you this question, and the question is
going to be and this is an interview technique. I
have themna let you behind a curtain here. What I
will do is I will ask you the question that
I will relate a story to give you time to
think of a like a very the answer that you
want to give, not one. We're like, oh crap, I
gotta answer real quick. So and you can give a
couple songwriting tips and we'll call it even. So. One
(03:20):
of the things that I'm grateful that I get to do,
but I hate doing it, is I have to there's
eight thousand thanks for me to sign. That's what I
have to sign. And so I'm very grateful that people
bought my kids book that comes out in June. We've
the pre orders have been like thirteen or fourteen thousand.
It's for a children's book, quite significant where they're already
(03:43):
going here, we want to pitch three or four book
deal at you and say no right now. But I
hate signing those things. I love when they're signed. I
love people getting on being excited about it, but just
sitting down the tedious process of signing things over and
over again. I love I get to do it. Hey
to have to do it? What in your life? And
it doesn't have to be with old dominion. It can
(04:05):
be with anything you do in this songwriter world. What
is that for you? You're grateful you get to do it,
but man, it's tough when you have to do it. Well,
I'll just I'll do the exact you know, I'll talk
about exactly what you just said from one. Of course,
signing things is is not the most fun part of
the job, but I did um read an article years
ago about meditation, and a woman was saying that basically,
(04:28):
you can constantly be meditating whatever you're doing, whether it's
folding the clothes, washing the dishes, signing a bunch of posters.
Try to just be right there and sign the posters.
Maybe take extra time. What do you what do you
mean be right there? I mean like, don't be like
I just want to get posters. I'm like, I gotta
sign this. Yeah, I find myself I was getting like,
(04:50):
I'll get I'll be getting liker like just worked up
because I just want to be over. But I'm like,
you know it, it's a big deal. It's gonna be
ten minutes, fifteen minutes, half an hour, just just just
trying to relax and just enjoy the process. I know
that's see, it's condescending, but it is true. If you
can do you can do that. Yeah, that was what
I was gonna say. I like that you can do that.
I can't do it. I'm just saying it's it's I
do it sometimes, but it's something to think about. I
(05:12):
think we have our tactics. For me, it's I have
to because I do appreciate so much on the individual
level that I get to do it for every single
person that spent their fourteen bucks to preg to that book,
And I said, I will sign every preorder like I
appreciate that person, but I don't appreciate that I am doing.
(05:33):
I think that's only human. You know. Don't beat yourself up.
Everyone has that feeling. And I don't beat myself up
that much. I don't wonder you as a guy who's
just killing it right now, what is that for you?
If it's not signing give me one that you didn't
still see, I give you plenty of time to take
one that No, I know, I just had such a
meditating while I was asking that question. That's what it was. No,
you know, honestly, I mean, is it on the butt?
(05:56):
Riding on the bus, because we don't really write on
the road, honestly, we you riding r I d riding riding.
That is one of my least favorite things. I cannot
sleep on the bus. It's like by one of my downfalls.
I'm perpetually tired. Um. And I don't know, honestly, if
you have any advice, I don't know what to do.
I can't. I put earplugs in, I do this that,
(06:18):
and I just cannot. I feel like we're gonna crash
at any any moment, like the time, first couple of
nights on the butt, do you guys howny bus that
you guys have for the for the uh sent the
guy this is the band is we're all on one
bus and we have a tour manager. So there's six
of us on one still. Yeah, I mean, what is
what is happening right now? Well, because look, part of
(06:41):
the fun we have is we get to wake up,
we have coffee together, we have our we laugh. Yeah. Yeah,
band camps fun. I get it, but at this again,
you guys have had so much breaking sixt that by five.
So but honestly, no, honestly, it's been a conscious decision
for us because if we didn't ride the bus together,
(07:03):
I feel like we would never ever see each other, right,
you know what I mean, And we just gotta, you know,
you gotta keep that camaraderie. And uh, you know, I
don't like sleeping on the top bunk. That's the thing,
you know. Ten years ago we first got a bus,
everyone hopped in a bug, and now it's like I'm
stuck up on the top and I can't. No one
wants to switch with me, of course, you know what
I mean. So that's one thing I have to deal with,
(07:23):
this on the top bunk, which is which is terrible.
I liked it, listen, I do all kidding aside, I
do like that. You guys have been deliberate about making
sure you still have some sort of personal relationship. You know,
with our radio show. We have been together, some of
us for seventeen years, and when we were younger, it
(07:46):
was a lot easier for us to do everything together
because go on vacation. Sure, we're not married, nobody has kids.
You want to go have dinner twice a week. As
we've gotten older and things like life happen, we have
to be extremely deliberate about that too. So as I say,
come on, you guys are more famous than that. Um, Like,
(08:09):
I admire that because that's work, and and not work
in a bad way. That's work where you have to
actually invest time to make sure that what you're getting
from it. Um, you're getting what you want to get. Yeah,
And I think that, uh, you know, and some inherently
we must all enjoy it. We like hanging out together,
you know what I mean. So it's not a hard
decision to say. I mean, you know, I'd love to
have my big, king sized bed in the back of
(08:29):
the bus and stuff. But I also enjoy hanging out
with my friends and I play music with and that's
a big that's a big part of my happiness, you know,
and our happiness. So you're all in the bus together.
You you hate riding the bus, I do too, where
I the first couple of nights feel like the bus
is just going side to side and we're gonna wreck
it anytime, like I feel, especially if I don't know
(08:50):
the driver and sometimes do you have the same driver,
same ver he's great, but sometimes the driver it's not
the you know, the road or the road is just terrible. Sure,
and it's human for occasionally anybody to go over that thing,
you know, And then I'm like, oh my god, we're dying.
So the first couple of nights I struggle because I
feel like we're gonna wreck um. But here, I'm gonna
(09:11):
give you a tip and I'm gonna get one back
from you. Here's the tip to being tired and still
performing and creating at a high level. It is get
over it. Yeah, it's used to get used to it
and get over. There's no other choice. It sucks. I
wish there was a People say that all the time,
like how do you I'll just talk about even the
radio show, like how do I wake up but crack
(09:31):
every day and be like ready to go and try
funny and firing, and you just get better at doing it.
Tired totally, and I think I think you're for me.
It's like I'll be tired all day long, but once
you make it to the show, then you're you're not
tired on the stage, and then when you're done, there's
something about it where you could stay up till two
in the morning again if you wanted to. You kind
(09:52):
of have this like relaxed energy after you're done playing.
So it's just kind of during the day dealing with it.
You know, you know you can take your phone if
you go into a hotel. You may not know this,
you probably do. You're really one of the smartest guys around.
You can take your phone and let's say you there's
there's no plug in, or you forgot the square on
your charger and you just have the cable. You can
(10:12):
take that phone charger on the back of a TV.
There's off on a US port. I knew you would
know we get it because I also am very forgetful
and so disorganized. So I'm always like, Tommy, do you
have an extra chord I can get? Or Matt, do
you have a charger or even the blocks? And I'm like, thinking,
I forgot the block. But you can plug your iPhone
charger into the back of the TV. It's a little
(10:33):
hack you can so that you can plug your phone in.
Now that's the dumb thing that I know as a hack.
If if somebody kild Sam nineteen and I'm like Brad,
I don't I really want to get in a song
writing like we and you know I don't. I don't
really need the fundamentals, but like, what's a what's what's
an easy hack on how to write? Not a a
song with depth, a catchy fun song, like what's the
(10:56):
hack there? Well? I mean, first listen, you know, listen
to of the too famous great pop songs. I mean,
there's definitely things about them. You know, they have a
very repetitive, sort of simple way about them. Um, and
you know, just keep trying. Also, and I mean lately
for me, I've spent for as much co writing as
(11:18):
we all do in this town, I've spent more and
more time lately just writing by myself because a lot
of times your idea, you know, if if you're trying
to learn and trying to find your voice, sometimes you'll
start writing a song that you had an idea and
then with someone else and then it starts to get
water watered down. And sometimes it's okay to just do
it yourself and say exactly what you want to say,
(11:39):
and and a lot of times you'll get a better
song like that, you know, or or something. I mean,
sometimes you won't but it's important to be confident in
and being able to finish the song yourself and do
it yourself. I think I feel like you're holding back.
He doesn't mean know all the secrets songs, Like, there's
no secrets. I mean we've I've written, you know, three
bad songs this week. Sometimes you is right a bad one,
(12:01):
you know, claps snaps. Yeah, Like if if I were going,
I'm just gonna do something fun, don't give a crap
if anyone says it's a piece of garbage, but it's
just hookey clap snaps and whoas you know those two.
Don't overthink it those you know what I mean, Just
say what feels good and what you know. I think
we get caught up a lot in lyrics, especially in Nashville,
(12:22):
where you forget that when you were younger, you didn't
even know what the song was about. I still don't.
I have a melody. Guy, I can't sing any lyric
to any songs. Like, I don't know one word any
of you guys Songs'll be honest, not one single word.
And we're your favorite. I just know the melodies right
now here, and we're gonna go through some stuff. But
here's the current single from Old Dominion, No Hard Feelings.
(12:46):
Here you go keeps coming out and I still bathing,
and you're right, and I know you were making a
little joke, but it's not really a joke. You guys
are my favorite band, like when it comes. When it
comes to let me preface this too. When you're releasing
(13:07):
new music, I will listen to the whole album, and
I never have it. I have no interest in albums anymore.
I do if it's like a concept album from one
of my favorite artists, or it's an album from my
favorite artist that I know. If I just listen to,
I'm gonna find a lot of songs there. Um. But
but I don't have the patients. It's I've been trained
and not have the patients. Oh yeah, we all have
(13:27):
at this point. And you guys are so good at
writing songs that I have a belief that every song
on your record will probably be good. We really appreciate that.
I mean, we take prid in that. You know. That's
that's why we all moved here, and you know we
try to give the best effort we can on every song.
So when you guys have this song, for example, one
(13:49):
to three. It's the band and Shane. It looks like
that wrote this song. Did you all write in the studio?
Is that why it's all together? Yeah? This this record
in particular, everyone we went in with no songs. All
we had were titles, and we wrote every song in
Asheville downstairs in the studio and we went upstairs and
recorded it. So yeah, these were just all created in
(14:09):
that in that two or three week um spam we
were down there, and I think that was Matt's title,
No Hard Feelings. Um yeah, so you're you're listed as
different names and and you can tell me why. But
so you wrote one of the writers on Wild Hearts
that Keith Urban has right, Okay, so here's here's that
Wild Hearts. So right now as I'm talking to you,
(14:36):
it's number six. I think good. I was hoping you
were gonna tell me, yeah, it's number sick. But but
moving I knew, I knew it was somewhere good, moving
good and so but that is written by Brad Francis
Turcy as opposed to is that on purpose? When you
write with old domnuus we actually you know it's so funny.
Is it went back in a long time ago and
I had. I thought, for like three seconds, I was
(14:57):
gonna maybe do my own music. Um, I thought about
making my Francis is my middle name, and my dad's
middle name is Lucky, so I thought about calling myself
Francis Luck. But you're just as an artist then, But
I never did that, and I don't know why they
did that. I have no idea. I like that your
dad's middle name is Lucky, his real middle at least
(15:20):
that unless he's lying to me. I don't know. Are
you Are you Bradley? I know I'm just Brad. That's funny.
I'm Bobby. I'm not Robert. And I guess to old
people that's crazy because if you're like over sixty five
and I tell you that, they're like, oh, oh my god,
I'm believe it. I told my wife we were talking
and I said, we're talking about names, and you know,
we don't have any kids, but we're definitely starting to
(15:40):
talk about that and we're talking about, you know, possibly
what we can name a kid. And I was like,
why not just I mean, I'm all for Bobby Jr.
You know, I think that's easy, it's great. And she's like, well,
I don't want him to have to live in your
shadow anymore than they already will. And I said, we'll
think you for the compliment, and then secondly, pretty good job.
(16:02):
And so I was like, in my name's like young
and cool. It's not Bob, it's Bobby. And she was like,
my cousin's name is Bobby. She was like, young and cool.
It's like you're out of your mind. So what do
you mean? Because google the year that's most popular, and
I was like, I would ready to google it up,
probably like eighty three ninety six. The name really piqud.
I had no idea. That's maybe the seven Renaissance right now. Um,
(16:25):
so you wrote this one which was released last week
as a Darius Rutger song. This is same beer, different problem.
And I kind of list all those together for a reason,
because you know, the Old Dominion song that you guys
have as you're an artist in the group, Keith Urban song,
(16:46):
and a new song by Darius, And with all of
these you are writing with different folks and I is
there a struggle to maintain Brad Tersey the writer and
Brad from Old Dominion? I would say no, Um, you know,
it's it's easy for me to write with it's harder
for me to write an Old Dominion song whatever that is,
(17:07):
than to just write with other people. And uh, um,
you know, express myself that way because you know, Old
Dominion has a certain sound that is also um, you
know Matt's voice, and and he's a songwriter that that
as an artist, knows what he wants to say and
how he wants to sing. And my voice isn't necessarily
um like his, it's higher. I have some different inflections
(17:31):
and stuff. So for me to write a song by
myself and inherently, I think will be more difficult to
be an Old Dominion song than it could to be
you know, some another person song. Yeah, that's also interesting.
And how you have to write different for Old Dominion
because your voice, your literal voice, isn't the one thing
in the song. Right But I'm even even like even now,
(17:52):
I just came from writting uh right now with with
Mat and uh you know, if I there's certain things
that just sound good when I say them, But He'll
be like, I don't know if I can say that.
I'm like, okay, well, sometimes unless I really believe in
a line, you know, I'll I'll default to what is
naturally feels good for him because he's the one that
has to get up there and sing it and and
(18:12):
believe it while he's doing it. So, you know, that's
pretty cool how that translates to. Because you know, Mike
and I write a bunch of comedy, and we'll write
jokes for my stand up or music, and Michael have
a really funny idea for a joke and write the
joke and it's all there, everything's there, but it doesn't
sound exactly like I would say it, and so I
(18:35):
can't do that joke. So I'll just switch around a
few things, you know, do the words or sounds or
but again kind of the same creative process. Well, I
mean that that's the thing is like, especially as songwriters,
thinking you write a song like oh, this is perfect
for Dirk Spentley, but then like people will send us
us songs and we're like, is this what people think
(18:55):
that we sound like? You know, like it's so far
off from what we think you would want to do. So,
I mean, you got to think if you're Derek's same
thing you get just think I don't know, I don't
know about that one word or this the way he
saying that I mean it's so impossible. It's a miracle
if somebody likes your song. You guys cut outside songs. Uh,
(19:15):
we have never cut a song that at least one
of us was on a right a run. I thought
it's about to find out sand cause wasn't real. I
thought right now one day, And I think it's a
real testament that you're not opposed to it. Not because
you guys aren't great, but because you understand the magic
of songwriting. Oh yeah, because you are one yourself. Outside
of the songwriting you do for your artist career, you
(19:39):
probably hope wish no artists that are really good songwriters.
It will take your songs because something that you've written
has expressed what they were wanting to express more than
they have so far. Oh yeah, I mean even that
you know that the Keith Urban song is actually, Um,
how do I want to? I need to cough because
I have to press one of these You do you
can actually just cough? This is an all off in
(20:00):
the all the time podcast swear coughs do whatever I want? Um,
you know the Wild Hearts the Keith Urban song, Um,
we wrote it me. Uh, Jennifer Wayne and Eric Paslay
and my publisher, Roxy King, pitched it to Keith, and
Keith loved the course. When he called me and he said,
you know, Bret, I love this chorus. The verses are
(20:22):
not speaking to me. Really, do you mind if I
have a crack at rewriting the verses? So of course,
you know, sure, Um, so he rewrote the verses to
that song about his own life, and then he just
used our chorus. So when you say he rewrote, and
I know your answer is going to be but there
(20:42):
are some people I know that I'm gonna do finger
quotes rewrite songs so they can write on it. This
is This was not that case. He actually actually changed
every word in the verse, both verses, and he kept
our melody in the first verse, but then he kind
of went off on his own little way on the
second verse. So he on you know, was more than
(21:06):
an equal writer on the song for sure. And the
riding front. You have won the Triple Play award, which
is you've had three number one songs in a year.
That's the CMA Triple Play, Right, I did that twice actually,
not to brag, but yeah, yeah, definitely listen. I would
correct me too if I said so. When you have
won that award because I know all Dominions had multiple
number ones in a year. What were any of them
(21:27):
outside cuts that weren't Old Dominion. I believe some of
them were. I'd have to have to look at the trophies,
the engraving. Ye sure, have to go through your whole
trophy cave to get to them in the back. But
you know, definitely there was some. I mean the Old Dominion.
You know, being in the band has I think I've
only had let me see cox bar Um, Yeah, I
(21:49):
walks into yeah, yeah, look at that, Look at that? Yeah, man,
pro I didn't even push play. But when I sing
something close, it just plays. That's how our system is here.
I just do a melody and it popped out. Um.
But that one. Save it for a rainy day, Save
a day, that's a bag one. You're getting to play
(22:11):
this every night, every Saturday with Kenny. He comes out.
You do it together. You got we go with him.
Sometimes he'll sneak out. We plays little pop up shows
that wouldn't make sense if he came out with you.
Yeah it's his song, YEA got it his show? And
then do you know what else? You get lighted up?
Was Luke Brian's song that, uh, that is true, but
I know the answer and I just found it, like
(22:32):
I did a little google. Uh, well, you have for
your three number ones break up with him Old Dominion
than Kenny and Tyler Farr. So that was the one
triple play, so two of them more songs that weren't
Old Dominion. Yeah, I look at you, look at you.
You need to hey, look at you. You've also the
Wild Hearts. Um Walker Hayes, your girlfriend does from that project.
(22:55):
That's how like when I've I'm gonna say found because
Walker had a record a long time and go and
then had gone through some some crap and some struggles,
and um, I that project that your girlfriend dies. He
I found it somehow and just fell in love with this.
I took him out on the road with me. I
was just so in love with He's one of the
most goddamn just crazy. And I didn't know you wrote
(23:15):
that until I started to look at uh yeah, yeah,
your body of Worker. But that that would be forever ago, huh,
I mean it was. I've had to be four years
ago maybe, and that's I'm bad. I'm bad with this,
but it's only four years ago. I mean COVID. I
think COVID five years ago times probably I was thinking
like nine one. I don't know, No, it wasn't that
(23:35):
long ago. I mean it was I can't be more
than five years ago. I'm gonna go more than five. Yeah,
five years all right? So we both well, yeah, that
song he got, he was been out of shape because
like someone was like blowing up his comments, you know,
like getting getting mad about I don't know something. And
so that's where that idea came from. A quick mention
(24:01):
of army of me. Oh yeah, yeah, you're a band
before Old Dominion, which this is called going through Changes,
got three million streams that you guys as biggest hit
of two thousand seven. Here you gow who's singing man?
That's a Vince Sherman. So he did most of, not
(24:24):
all of the writing in this band. That was before
I was really even you know, realized like you could
purposely write a song. You know, was just a guitar player,
you know what I mean? When did you get good
at that though? Writing songs? Oh? I mean, I mean
I found my dad's guitar in the attic when I
was thirteen, was like this old dusty case opened it up,
(24:48):
was all like red velvet in there. It was a
Yamaha acoustic that I still have. And that was it.
I mean, I just never put down from that day.
Are you one of the kids who went into the
room and just like, you know, send a sam Gin
because I'm not leaving. I would be you know, I
didn't really take lessons, so I would I would figure out,
you know, on cassettes like I would. I would just
figure stuff out by myself on by here, you know, rewinding,
(25:11):
playing over and over and over and over and over again.
So was it a situation where you found music and
you fell in love with the idea and the sound
and sonically and you were just a whole new or
like many things that I started to try to get
good at, was it as for me? It was an
escape from things, is escape from being bullied or being
(25:32):
and I got good at things. I got listen, I'm
only funny because I had to be so I can
get the crap beat out of me. And so was
music to you while I discovered this and this is
my path because it feels so amazing, or was it
I'm gonna practice so I can get good at something
and show those guys or no, it's it was more
of the former. You know. I was never luckily. I
mean I actually was bullied and stuff um as a kid,
(25:56):
especially in middle school. Middle school kids are the worst.
Uh they still bully me if I'm being honest, I
mean even today. But I didn't use music as in
that wasn't my escape from it. I just liked the
sound of it in the field of it and uh,
you know, the life that looked like it could provide,
you know, that was kind of what got me into it.
(26:17):
The romantic version of what a rock star is. Was
that appealing to you? Oh yeah? I mean like my
you know, my first favorite band was Guns and Roses
and I used to watch that, you know, Paradise City
video and just be like, this looks like so much.
Did you want to be Slash or Axel. I wanted
to be Slash. I gotta let that was my first
electric guitar was less Paul because of Slash and even
(26:38):
then it was my first concert. The church youth group
took us to, uh, Guns and Roses. I think he
didn't realize what he got himself into there. The church
youth group took you guys to see guns and Rose.
That is an interesting yeah, religious filter trip. It was
interesting the remember the lights went out and uh Axel
just screamed into the mic. Can I can? Yeah, of
(27:00):
course he goes you know where you fucking are? He's
like c C is like, oh god wow. So with
the success of radio, with the success of streaming, there
is oftentimes some people get that and then some people
(27:23):
get the industry cred the the awards, and sometimes they're split, honestly,
um because people that have a lot of the like
for example, I think Kane Brown suffers from he is
so big and it's setting all these streaming records and
he's like top of the list, but they won't. He
(27:45):
doesn't get any industry award and and he's just an example.
And I could go both ways, but you guys have
somehow you got to both like what what do you
credit that too? Because again you've won the A C
M S, the c M A S, you've got the
big kids. What do you think And you know, you
can play humble and say I always got lucky, but
I mean, really, if you were evaluating it in a classroom,
(28:06):
and what do you think you guys did right that
allowed you to kind of walk on both sides of that. Well.
I mean, I think part of it is a great
management team, to be honest. I mean, you know there
they are management and the managers Jessee Alabama, and they
have great booking agents and great uh avenues into building
(28:28):
us as a touring band, you know, to get us
in front of people, um, on the right shows, on
the right stages. And then coupled with the fact that
our music, for whatever reason, uh, which is the one
thing you can't control, resonated with people. You know, I
think it it sounded maybe a little different than the
average country band country song. Um. And you know, the
(28:49):
university you know, aligned and decided that people were gonna
like us, you know, and those are the things I mean,
you know, I think that's why. And then you know,
for the we still don't know. Every time we're like,
are we gonna win again this year? I don't know.
You know, It's like I feel like there's also a
lot of new people always coming into these other categories
(29:11):
that there maybe isn't so many so much new blood
in our category. Oh, I think you're not giving yourself
enough credit. I understand that sentiment, but I don't think
that's why you guys win, because nobody else comes along,
I think, And good for you you did manage to
get back to the humble cards, so I do. I
I don't know. I mean, there's nothing you know wrong.
You came back to it. I like that, just like
a good song, you came back to it. Um, here's
(29:33):
my unsolicited opinion. I think it is a mixture of
a the reason that I love you guys. You just
write great songs. Like like you just write great songs.
And even if I didn't like you as people, I
would still like the music in the band because there
are artists, and I do have to separate art from
artists sometimes. I think we all do because there's a
lot of relationships, a lot of different people, a lot
(29:53):
of the personalities. Where there are artists that I just
as as a person, I have no interest in. Where
we don't get along, and that's okay, we'll never get along,
but I can love what they do as an artist. Um. Luckily,
I really like you guys, and I love your music.
So I think it starts with the song. You're all
songwriters first. This is my this is me just talking.
You're all songwriters first, which you're not. You just told
(30:16):
us you were playing guitar first, but in my heart,
you've only been. You came out of the like you
ripped out of your mom's vagina, and you were like,
I got this young, So yes, that's my that's the
And then I also think because you are songwriters, not
just for the band, but you've created in so many
places and you have so many relationships, positive ones where
(30:39):
you have not just been old dominion. I think the
fact that you guys all right for other folks, and
I think that helps too when it comes to going.
They deserve the cred to, not just the success with
radio and stream. I always wonder about like how I mean,
I think more and more of our fans knowing that
because we put that part in our know now a lot.
(31:01):
We have a little acoustic section where, you know, we
we'll play a little first chorus of all these songs
and kind of tell our story. And there's a lot
of people that always come up to us after and sach,
I can't believe I didn't know that about you guys,
And so I think, you know, we sometimes take for
granted that people would know that, but you know, even
the people industry that vote on these award shows or
the radio guys. I don't know if any of them.
(31:22):
I would think they do. I do, and I love
not to get radio guests credit, don't get me wrong,
but I would think that they do, because that's like
the you guys are like the super talented every man
if that makes it like that, and I get that,
(31:42):
and I'm not super talented, but I get Oh, you're
just a normal persons. Why people like you, you know
when when research comes back about me and I'm like,
I mean I'm not normal and bizarre neurotic, yes, but
you know, it's that's what's represented by you guys. And
I think you write great songs first and foremost, and
you do a lot of things with a lot of
(32:03):
different people behind the scenes, and you know, it's pretty
cool to see you guys do it both at the
same time and it's just a rare thing to watch,
like Combs does it and gets it. But then you
have people like Ashty McBride on the other side, who
doesn't win the awards that she should and gets a
lot of the industry credit, and you're like, when's this
gonna catch up? But she deserves some more awards she
started a little bit. Now she has in the last
(32:25):
like some of the big ones that she deserves she
has in the past year or so. But for a
long time she was the one where she would get
the awards. This is my point. She would get the awards,
but not that have the number ones and she just
had a number one Carlie Pierce. So anyway, my point
of all that is, you guys are awesome. Thanks man.
I'm just a big fan. So whenever an artist like
(32:46):
a Keith takes a song that you've written to say
I want to change, it is a hard to not
take that personally at first. Oh no, I mean the fact,
like I said, Keith Urban is one of one of
the most respected artists in the genre. For me, I
mean every time I hear a song of his, I've
wanted to have a song cut by him forever. You know,
he's just a great musician and you know he's going
(33:07):
to do your song well. You know, there's just no
way around it. Um So no, I mean I was
happy when he when he said that, you know, and
let's he put so many cool lines in it, and
that's ideal. I mean, it's so hard to to write
and form, you know, for someone else's heart what they
want to say, you know, So for him to uh
(33:29):
to say what he wanted to say and for and
to put that to what we said, I mean, it
was kind of the perfect, perfect opportunity being a great guitarist,
which you are and I am not. So it's like
we're speaking a different language communicating with when we talk
about guitars. I'm gonna try. I can play like I
don't know twelve chords, right, that's all I need to
do to play conficent. Heck, I could do in three
(33:51):
Like name that tune? I canna do it in three chord?
Would name that tun? Well, here's every song I know
three chords. But when you play or you write a solo,
to do you write? Can you write it thinking about
it and then play all that you've thought about? Or
is writing a guitar solo a little bit of playing
(34:13):
it and feeling it at the same time? Oh? Yeah,
For me, I'm not like the the musicians of the
highest caliber can That's what makes like a very high
quality musician is that they can play what's in their
mind immediately. For me, I know, like patterns and notes
that are going to work. Um So for the most
(34:34):
part on on the record, when I play a solo,
it happens every time. I'll just wing one down that
when I'm not even supposed to be playing it, and
that will be there, and then I'll go on trying
to chase a better one, and then they'll always every
one of the controls, like just keep the first one,
the first one where I don't even know what's happening.
I'm just kind of reacting and kind of just going
(34:56):
for it. Now, do you have to remember that solo
exactly or is it all just kind of like uh,
like the game of horse shoes as long as you're
kind of close. Well, I mean, you know, I can
take No one's gonna fire me if I take liberties,
you know in live and stuff. But or like snap back,
is that there's a big solo at the end of
that one. I actually did kind of compose that one
because I went for so long without playing anything good
(35:20):
improvising that I had to be like, Okay, I gotta
actually like think of what to play and then and
then learn it without a guitar on your hand. We'll
get little exercise here, and I beg that you humor me.
Could you do that solo with your mouth without playing it?
I mean, yeah, let's go. Come on, Brad, give me,
just give me the first narranny and ranny and right,
(35:45):
I mean I can't. I can't. That's not the right key.
I knew it would be hard for him, Mike, I
got him stumped the guitar. Yeah, you'd have to give
me like a starting note. Um, I was who tweets
from the account? Because you're all funny? So who tweets
from the account? Got me? I don't even have Twitter
on my phone or if I've never tweeted one thing,
I think it's Matt okay, makes sense. I do you
(36:06):
have the Instagram? Yes? Why one not the other? Um,
I don't know. I've I've kind of went forever, like
I'm kind of the cmud the social media curmudgeon, you know, like,
oh it's bad, I don't want to be on it.
But but I recently sort of just embraced Instagram and
I like, I got my little blue checkmark, and I'm like,
you know what, I'm just gonna like go for it.
And it's been fun. Is it still funny that? Or
(36:28):
is it funny? They're not funny than funny. They're not
funny depending on the season of life. When they can
future you guys for Brothers Osborne. It's just amazing to
me that it keeps happening. It's so funny. It's amazing,
Like you'll see a story and it's like that you
guys being called Brothers Osborne or them being called Old Dominion,
and it's just random that it's always you two. They're
(36:48):
only two people at least, like I would see if it. Yeah,
if it was like another bit like kind of like
three or Zack Brown Brown Band, it would be funny
if it was a little big talent, because yeah, they
have ladies. I don't know. It is weird how it's
always those two. You said you wrote today, Yeah, what
(37:10):
was that idea? I'm telling me the title, but what
was the general idea? Love loss? It was party life,
So I'll tell you the title. It's called lucky all
the time, like some guys can't catch a break. I
guess some guys get lucky all the time. It's come
about just how you're somehow just life is good. You know.
(37:31):
I feel like we should beat that title out in
the part of that because someone's gonna steal it and
that someone's me over now, you know. Mike and I
talked about how we need an app where I do,
especially because if I'm writing a song, and again, I
don't write real songs like you you are really good.
I am an amateur, but I write songs with punch
(37:52):
lines and I you know, we do songs for really
Our little music group just came from my comedy act
and then they were just like when you play fast
couples were like, oh crap. We had a higher a
band and so right funny songs. But I often wonder
if sometimes I'm writing a song with the melody of
something I've heard and don't realize that I've heard and
it's just been stored up there. So I need a
nap that I push and I go, because here's the
(38:15):
melody for a song that I have right now. No,
not Zama Zina d Indiana, damn dam but dude, if
they so that's just I don't know if it's the
same thing, and maybe like canny song, but I needed
to spit back at me if enough of that, if
I even play it or seeing it, if enough of
that would get me sued. I feel like you've got
(38:36):
to know in your heart. You're like, I can't do this,
like this is not good, you know what? But I
think that about the stuff that I isn't even legal.
I'm just like I write something like, oh, you shouldn't
do this, so you might not want to do it,
but you won't get sued, you know. So when you
and I've mentioned this before, I have insurance. And my
business manager was like, hey, like, I get it, but
(38:58):
I don't want to get sued. She's me, you know,
she said. And you're not a real musician, so you
might steal something and not know it. So we need
to get insurance. I'm not sure what it's called. So
I have it, and I just wonder what the amount
with with what you're putting out. How you don't even
rewrite your own songs. I do. First, there's certainly songs
(39:20):
of mine that I could sue myself for for sure.
I mean, just because you know, you only have so
many natural tendencies melodically, you know, and especially I feel
like versus melodies can sometimes get a little more repetitive
than than chorus melodies. Um, do you ever hear a
song in town and you're like, man, I think that's
(39:42):
awful what I've done, but it actually may not be.
I mean it really may not, because there only somebody
knows so many doesn't have more to be honest, Yeah,
I mean I guess if you, I guess if you
wrote better songs that happen a lot more. Huh. That's
that's what I think. If I could just write some
better ones that people would steal from me, I forget
what song was, like, Um, what's the same? It isn't
that the party? Don't you stay with me? Yeah? He
(40:03):
didn't even get suit Tom Petty, which I mean that
won't back down? That was a brutal one for me
the first time obviously did not. It's not thinking about
that song when he wrote that. Agree in the fact
that it's such a known song. Yeah, that's like they
for sure stole that song from Stairway to Heaven where
it's like it's such a known thing that no one
would purposefully do that. Well, you're talking about won't back down? Yes,
(40:25):
I mean that's such a known song that you'll be like,
did you think he really? Now? It does sound similar? Well,
the notes are, yes, the same. Won't you stay even
even how the words I know, I just I just couldn't.
I don't know for sure, but I feel like there's
no chance that any of them ever thought about that
song once. I absolutely agree. But sometimes even if it's accidental.
(40:51):
Bird Lines, on the other hand, Yeah, that one sound fun.
That one, you can definitely go. Okay, how many days
a week are you writing? Now? Around three? And are
you booked out for months? Yeah? And do you leave
those other days open in case something comes up for golf?
I leave the moving for golf. Are you How often
(41:13):
are you playing? Oh my god, I'm obsessed? So really,
where do you live close to me? I live in
East close enough. We played yesterday Jordan Davis, who's yeah, buddy,
I wrote with him yesterday. We played golf yesterday. In
the afternoon we played until three. Wait, what's today? Wednesday? Wednesday?
(41:36):
We played golf yesterday. I'm sorry I wrote him two
days ago. Yeah, I knew something was fishy about that.
So how good are you though? Because I mean I'm
I'm think I'm better than the average golfer and my
handicap as a A six and a half. Okay, yeah,
you're too good for us, probably like IO eight four.
That's good. That shot four is all time. But that's
what the guy says, who is way better. That's good man.
(41:57):
Literally my last scores. I mean I just shot seventy
seven yesterday. Yeah, that's a different level. But I don't
don't really do that. I'm usually low eighties. Eighties when
you try to play a couple of times a week.
Oh yeah, we play every day before the show wherever
we are, you get and then all you guys played golf.
He used to when we first started, but he doesn't
play anymore. It's just Trevor and I and I mean,
(42:18):
I have no kids or wife. So when I'm here,
I come go the driving range, I'm playing by myself.
I'm like, I'm gonna I'll hit you up next time
we go all the see like I see that, you know,
track me and you got or whatever over They're like,
I can't get I couldn't get that in my house
because I feel like I would break my elbow, like
I would never stop. I used to think that, Yeah, yeah,
it's like having a whole bunch of really awesome chocolate
(42:40):
cupcakes in the fridge, though at some point you're like
a lot of chalk cupcakes. Yeah, I never thought I
could matter. And also part of the fun of golf
is watching the ball flot through the year, you know,
not when you're eat hit into the screen, it's like,
you know, no, that's pretty awesome. What And as someone
(43:02):
who creates music and performs music, I would imagine, because
I live a life similarly, that it's hard to find
things at least a lot of things that inspire you musically,
Like you just hear it out of nowhere and you're like,
holy crap, like what is like the last And it's
a tough question. And I'll do my I'll do my
little trick here where I'm getting nervous. Yeah, And that's
(43:25):
what I'm gonna do this. I'm like an Alexa place
of music. That's what I do. I don't really think
about it my for me, Ben Rector has a new
album out and I love Ben and we're good. Buddiest
guy can golf to by the way, Holy crap. Actually
he was at a pebble beach when I believe he
is he is the joy of music. The last record
and on first listen it's a lot of piano and
(43:48):
some horns and not usually something I would be drawn
to immediately, but then after listening to him, my god, dang,
Like this is an artist who shows you not just
his life but also his transformation as a human. He's
getting old sharing that it's not just about partying his
new song. It's just something like that kind of it's
about life. And I think the life is in the
title of it, in my best life, Yeah, living my
(44:10):
best life. Yeah, great song. So what is it for you? Like,
what what's give me something that you've had in the
last few years where you kind of had to take
a go Wow, man, that's what. There's this guy I
think is Bahamas. Is that his name? That's the one guy. Um.
I can't remember the name of the song. We can
find it though. We have a whole internet over here.
(44:31):
I can look at if you if you like computer screen,
I can. I can find it all the time with
with words lost in the light. But he's the guy.
He did something and he's got a cool like a
little style. He's got some I think he's this one
guy produce it everything by himself. Um, and uh, And
it caught my ear, you know, I just have the
(44:51):
radio on and I'm the one who's like super digging
into everything. I just if something comes on when I'm
when I'm in the car or whatever. You know, I'll
be like, oh, what is that? You know? I will
not watch anything to do with comedy or jokes when
I'm writing comedy or jokes purposefully because I don't. I
don't want to go out that's really funny. I should
(45:13):
also do something like that, not even like subconsciously, I
just be like, oh, that's such a funny theme. I
should probably so I don't because I think it affects
me and I'm not strong enough to fight it. Um,
if you're is there anything any guard rails you put
up around yourself? Really? I mean, honestly, it's you know,
I think as long as you're you're conscious of not
(45:33):
totally ripping it off. You know, I think hearing a
groove or I even remember when I used to like
when I would learn a new guitar chord, it would
be like, oh, a song would come out of that,
just by learning a new voicing or something. So I
think listening to stuff and watching stuff is never off
limits for me, you know. I don't think again, I'm
not gonna hopefully won't go too far and ripping it off.
(45:55):
But you know, everyone steals from everyone, doesn't that somebody
said that it's hard, not like said it's vertin ly. Still,
it's not even stealing. It's just like a collection that
we all pull things from, and the collection is only
so big. Well, you guys are just you're killing it.
The new record here, it's it's all. It's thirteen songs,
(46:18):
thirteen fourteen songs, right, Oh yeah, I think so, it's
it's whatever the case is. I found eleven I loved.
I can tell you the two that I pulled off
my list, but that is very rare. That's my point though,
Like I can, I'll listen to every song on and
I would like to recommend to my folks listen to this.
And I know I'm not here. I'm not discovering new
(46:38):
land here, but uh like old dominions where it's at
even like there's some something to the B side anymore.
But even the album cuts, Like I think my favorite
songs from you guys aren't the ones that make the
radio because they weren't meant to make the radio. There
are songs that are meant to make the radio, meaning
you gotta be this long. Maybe we'll do an up tempo,
maybe we'll build a song that's super fun. Um, but
(47:00):
just a big fan of what you guys do creatively,
who you are as people. UM, A little intimidated to
play golf with you. If you're that good? How far
do you hit it? I mean I don't Yeah, no, no,
nobody hits it? Nobo do you play with it that far?
Final question, the most overrated artist in Nashville is Oh god,
I'm just kidding. It would be awesome if somebody's answer that.
(47:23):
I was like, well, I'm glad you said that. You
guys you can follow old Dominion music. Now you said
you have an Instagram? Are you can? I give that
out your personal one? Sure? I think it's his Brady.
I actually have a better time. Who's more fun to follow?
Brad Francis Percy, He's got his own He's he's really fun.
He's at Stephan French. He's like Bignet's and it's a
whole whole different person. He's a you know, a little fancier,
(47:46):
but I mean old Dominion songs on the top thirty.
You got the Keith Urban song at six as of
right now, could be up in the New Darius song.
So you're kind of everywhere are you tired right now?
I feel like I'm about a seven out of ten good,
which is basically a ten out of ten. I do
full interviews at eight and a half out of ten
(48:06):
sometimes and I tell Mike, hey, I'll send him a
voice mamma. And I was like, hey, man, about a
minute twelve to eighteen, I don't know what I was
talking about you, and he will go and he will
go back and go, okay, you're clear on that, or
he'll go, yeah, you made no sense. So I'm gonna
go and pull that. And so I thanks for coming over,
my pleasure, Thanks for having me. We've done almost an
(48:29):
hour here and I'm gonna go work out. What are
you gonna do the rest of the day. I think
I'm gonna do that too. Actually, well, my guy's out front.
You want to hear it. I don't know if I
can work out on the loaf First. All I hear
is an excuse. I actually we That's what's funny you
bring that up. It's the loafer workout. You have to
wear loafers while you work out, so you're fit right now? Yeah,
(48:49):
you're just here, Brad. Thanks for coming by, man, Just
a big fan. Keep it up. Just you're such a
good player and and love your songs obviously. And finally
I'm gonna ask, this is gonna be in question. You've
been writing these songs by yourself. Well you do a
terse record Francis Lucky. Maybe one day, you know. I
don't know if I'll ever like go for it and
try to, but I think i'd like to disrecord some stuff,
(49:11):
you know. Yeah, I don't even think you have to go.
I mean, there's not limited space anymore. I mean, Francis,
I would take that luck, the Francis Lucky album, Francis Luck,
and listen to it all right, Maybe I'll make you
a little compilation. You could tell me if the son
that's worth it or not. That's always weird. I had
had friend send me a song. It's like tell me
if I don't need to know if it's a radio song,
(49:31):
but is it a good song or not? And it's
just a no win for me. Well it's not. You can't.
I mean, look, you can like a song and I
cannot like it. No, but I will not reply back
I don't like it. You have to be diplomatic. Tell
me you don't like it. He's not that close of
a friend. I have friends that are I'm super close
(49:51):
with that I could be like for me a few Yeah,
who could you do that with? I mean out of
your band, out of your band, out of the band.
Understand what artists are you close enough with or even
a songwriter that has hits where you like? Don't not
that you have, but you could go and then I'll
give you one too. Where you go. I don't like.
I don't think it's like, get a song you've done better.
(50:12):
I mean I have to name the songwriter. You're saying
to do that with, Yes, but I'm not saying name
a song, whether it's ever happened. Who are you close
enough to? What artist or songwriter? I mean, I've written
a lot. I've done Jonathan Singleton for a long time.
And if you wrote a bad song, you could go
that ain't your best work. Yeah all right, um, okay,
(50:32):
I'm not gonna tell you what. So I tricked you.
All right, there we go. Brad Tursey of Old Dominion
and also of two Times see him a triple play fame.
Good to see a Brad And that's it, and you
guys go check out if he's Old Dominions down in town,
Go see him, and time tequila and therapy. It is
thirteen songs, eleven good ones. All right, we'll see you
(50:53):
next time. Everybody
Host
Bobby Bones
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