Jimi Westbrook is one fourth of Little Big Town. Bobby sits down with Jimi to share his side of the origin story of the group. He tells the full story on why they decided to leave their first label after just a few months. Jimi talks about how he started singing in church as a kid but what led to him quitting music before deciding to move to Nashville. Jimi opens up and shares how his son is getting older now and starting to have to deal with seeing criticism online of his father and the group. Jimi also reveals the only thing he requires while on tour and why it’s a known requirement at all times.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, welcome Jimmy Westbrook, one of the guys in a
little big town. He actually quit doing music for a
long time and then got a call was like, hey,
you want to join this group or you wanna talk
about a group? So he talks about that here. It's
a pretty cool story. He's also the final puzzle piece
in this because over the last five or six years,
one by one, we have gathered the little big town
tokens and now we have them all, so it's pretty cool.
(00:25):
He's also got one non negotiable while on tour, He's like,
I'm not a diva, but this is the one thing
I gotta have. And I felt that although I am
a diva, So I felt that they got a new
song out. I won't say the title of it here
or ever, and I talked about that. So what do
you learn from this? Uh? Whenever he talked about quitting music.
The thing that his girlfriend at the time didn't know
(00:46):
about him was insane. Yeah, yeah, I was like, how
did she not like? Yeah, it's interesting. And then the
fact that we had never sat with him one. I've
never sat with him one on one ever in my
whole life. I've been with them a lot or two
of them or three of them, but never just Jimmy
and I. And he's like tatted up, cool dude. When
he's by himself, he kind of gets lost in the shuffle.
(01:07):
It's like the good looking guy because him, I felip
both good looking. But Phil's get the long here. He's
like the rebel. Yeah you know, he's like the the
bad boys. Can you get along here? I don't even
if it's a bad boy, but Jimmy's like all tatted
up and I don't know. This is a little gritty.
You're in person, which is pretty cool. So you didn't
think so? No? I got that too. Yeah, UM, enjoyed it.
I hope you check it out. Him and Karen the
(01:30):
we'll called the lead, the lead, we'll called the lead vocalist. Um,
they've been married for twelve years. They got a sound.
Who's twelve now. And I hope you enjoyed this because
I did, he says. Jimmy from a little big town
here you go. I was just talking with that Jaren
from cat like three, and I asked him. I said, hey, man, uh,
I saw a picture with you and you have you
didn't have a short on You may not have had
(01:51):
a shirt on. I think I did have, and I
think trying not to do that too often. Yeah, I
think all you guys are in a pool. And he's said, uh,
he said, it was like nine in the morning or something.
You guys were in a pool, have Margarita's Is that
story accurate? It is accurate. Well, I didn't get up
that early, so I wasn't there at nine, but that
(02:12):
venue which we played a bunch and this time when
we showed up, Yeah, they put a pool in, which
I think is genius in the venue. And yeah, at
the back of the venue, right outside of catering they
I don't know what it used to be there, but yeah,
they put in a nice pool. So about eleven twelve o'clock,
most everybody on the tour was out there, and oh
(02:34):
my god, by the time the show rolled around. That's
what I asked him, That's what I said. I said,
if you're it was a ship show, but if you're
starting that early, like, how do you take four hours
to just kind of recuperate? And he was like, no, no,
we kind of rolled right into the show, he said,
And maybe it's let it be, do you guys do
let it be? As an onboard He said what he
(02:55):
remembers about let It Be was because you know, they
play and then he to come you guys to come
back at the end, and he's like sometimes Mom, He's like,
you know what, the melody was there, but the words
weren't there. It happens, man. We had such a That
was a great day though. That was a lot of fun.
We we all got to hang out and we've been
(03:18):
having a blast on the tour anyway, but that was
a little extra that day. Do you guys find now
that you're you're touring and you're not twenty two that
you can I don't know what, do you feel like
you can relax a little more because you have success
or like can you do things because also if you're
twenty two, maybe you're doing that being reckless, but now
(03:40):
you're doing that because you kind of understand where you
I don't. Is there a difference now as a little
big town is as when you guys were twenty thirty
years old when you tol Yeah, I mean I think naturally, Um, yeah,
I think we are. I don't really get nervous or
any of that before a show anymore. Just our regular
(04:01):
live shows we're really comfortable. We've been doing it for
a day long time now, and um, it's it's definitely changed.
You know when um, when you're younger, you feel like
you're really just fighting all the time, like just to
um be somebody yea be uh you know, and especially
(04:21):
like some of the slots you play when you're younger,
it's a lot earlier you're getting out there and it's
literally like you're fighting for their attention. So it's you know,
it's a little more focused, but I mean that's never curbed.
Are enjoyment of uh, you know, hanging out and having
a good time. That's that's all aside from having a
(04:44):
good time. But let's say somebody one of you four
is not feeling good. It's not because of that, just
just a general because this is what happened on our show.
We have a similar dynamic where there's you know, four
or five of us and we can pretty easily cover
without anyone knowing that person needs covered. Four is that situational?
Can all four of you guys be covered? Four if
(05:06):
you show up and able to do a little can
you guys cover without anyone really noticing? Yeah, I mean
I will say that that feels like, um, an advantage
of having more people. Um, you know, we've had some
really we have only played a couple of shows without
one of us, you mean, just not there at all. Yeah. Um.
(05:28):
One we dropped Kimberly off on the side of the
road to have a baby in Phoenix and continued on
to our next stop. And then there have been a
couple of times when Karen had a migraine that we
had to go and play without her, which if you
think about that, it was a little different back then.
We didn't have as many hits, so nobody really jared
(05:52):
either way. Um, but um, it is we can spread
it around. It's a um especially if we uh you know,
I know a little bit in advance. We can get
together and move parts around. You know, we've we've gone
and like okay, I'm covering Karen's parts on this and
uh so yeah, yeah, it's it's an advantage, especially in
(06:15):
those moments when you can't help that as much. Especially
as we were touring. There was, um, the year that
Boondocks came out, we we played two and fifty shows
that year. That's just shows. That's not travel days, that's
not TV, that's not so, um, you get ragged out.
You know, your vocals, we sing a lot if Karen's
(06:37):
down as and I'm just gonna call her and I'm
not sure what the roles are, but I feel like
she sings. And the more of the songs that we
hear on the radio. I don't know if you guys
have a term, Jeff, it's so it's a very equal group,
which is odd for me to say lead vocalists, but
for the sake of this, I'm going to call her
that because absolutely, if she goes down, can kimberly sing
if she ready to sing all those parts? And do
(06:59):
you have to change keys of anything? We haven't had
to go that far. Um uh. The one the couple
of instances were Karen. Like I said, that was early on.
We didn't have the big hits that Karen has, you know,
carried um, so we had she could, she absolutely could. Um.
(07:19):
Their range is a lot different, so it would be different.
I might have to end up covering some of Karen's
but yeah, yeah, you know, you do what you got to.
But yeah, she could totally do that. So and I
want to get just some of your life stuff in
a minute. But I was just looking at the new
single which you're you're the you're the guy, you're the
(07:41):
main the lead vocalist Philip on hell Yeah, Okay, I
knew it was a dude and I don't. And Phillip's
got the big, husky, thick sounds like he smoked a
pack of cigarettes voice. I'm a little more in Karen's
mid range. I kind of bridge the gap between the
bottom part and Karen's middle. You're talking too smart from
(08:04):
yeah you're inside baseball? Well, I mean I can act
like I know about that, but I don't. Let's play, Mike,
we play a little bit of the new song here, Yeah,
go into yeah you moved on? Yeah? Well, a conscious
(08:28):
decision to put Philip as the lead on that song
and then make it a single or does it does
it think? Does the whole package come together? And then
you decide the song came together? First it was, um,
we always try to approach the songs, um, who it
fits best, who who tells the story the best? So
(08:49):
that's that's kind of how that came about him singing it. Uh,
And then later on it became the single choice whenever
you write that because you're at that with Tyler Hubbard
from f g L and Corey Crawter. Okay, so you
write the song, are you writing it as a little
big town song? And then two is he is Philip
singing this song on like the demo? Or was it?
(09:13):
Later Philip be like, what's that? So actually we when
we wrote that song that day, I think actually Corey
sang the demo for it. Um, that's just kind of
the way it went down when we were hanging out
writing it. UM. Yeah, and it was. Yeah. I think
anytime you get in the room with people that are
writing with you, most of the time it's you're trying
(09:35):
to aim for something for yourself. UM. And I do
feel like that was the intention that day, UM, to
write a song for us. UM. We had also at
one point talked about, um, maybe one of them jumping
in on it. But that kind of the time we
wrote that song actually probably almost three years ago. Now,
(09:56):
UM was that pre pandemic or in pandemic pandemic And
I guess you had to sit on a lot of it
it was probably a strategy you had to decide do
we just hold on stuff that we're really passionate about
because we don't know what's going on? Or do we
put stuff out that's really good because maybe it'll cut
through and nothing. I mean that's a kind of a
decision everybody creative had to make. Yeah. Um. Actually though,
(10:18):
how that kind of worked out is that we cut
so many songs for that last record. We actually cut
this song for that record, and UM didn't really feel
like it fit. UM. So that's the kind of thing
that when we came back around for this record and
we were starting to try to find the sequencing and
(10:41):
and which songs we're going to actually make the record,
that one kind of pop back up because we always
loved it and thought it sounded like a hit in
that hook. I just Corey that was Corey's hook idea,
and I just thought it was brilliant UM twist on it.
So we always loved it and then it just kind
of came back around again. One of the things for
me that I prioritized, and at times I get judged
(11:05):
for it, is that if it's a Saturday and I'm
shooting a TV show. We shot my whole net GGO
show on Saturday's and I always almost Beyonce like had
to watch the Razorback Games and it was and there
were a couple of times they couldn't make it happen
because we're shooting in this one specific location at a time,
(11:25):
we can only get this person. But I still had
it up like it just was a non negotiable for me,
And there are only a couple of non negotiables in
my life period, and it's if there's a game, the
Razor By Game, one football game on Saturday, I have
to watch it. And so from what I hear is
that you're also not an Arkansas fan, but a big
Alabama fan. Same way with you. I'm not a diva
(11:48):
about anything really, except on Saturdays. If I wake up
in my bus doesn't have WiFi or a signal to
the satellite, I'm like, I'm are, you're gonna have to
move the bus and it's non negotiable. And I'm like,
and and it's known about you beforehand. Yeah, it's that's
always what I end up saying. I was like, we
(12:10):
kind of know this. I try to not be too much,
but yeah, I definitely And you'll look back up when
we're sound check if a game is on my I
pad is right there. I mean, I love it. I've
done shows before, like a comedy show, and then I'm on,
but the game is going later than I will send
(12:30):
out the tour manager on to the opener who's playing
and go, hey, uh, can you play incause because not
only that, he'll pay you double and I'll make sure
they know that I haven't pulled that one in there.
But you have three other people. But there have been
times more more and we had a like a mean
(12:52):
great last year the festival I put on in Austin,
and they understood. I was getting tweets from people going,
hend no, you're not coming out of the me and
greet for not les, not the twenty minutes because the
game is still on. So when that when that happened,
and it's not me being a douche for no reason.
Everyone just note right, It's understood, So it doesn't much. Yeah,
just giving football games? What was that like for you
(13:13):
as a kid. I assumed that that was somehow instilled
into you that the Alabama football was a big part
of your life. And I'll say, we have Arkansas fans
in our family that are just the same as you.
They love Arkansas. I love Arkansas too, unless they're playing us.
But um yeah, yeah, my in my house, I have
so many memories of watching games with my dad and
(13:36):
my brother who's quite a bit older than I am. Um,
But it was a big deal in our house and
we watched games and it's loud, and there's emotional hugs
and jumping up and running around the house and did
you fawn? Though? Man, it's such a it comes from
such a good place. I wonder you talk about it
was such a family thing, do you think? And and
(13:57):
I can give you my story too, But why is
it so partan? Is it because that that was such
a bonding thing between you and your dad, like and
maybe that is still there for you because mine is.
I didn't have a family for a lot of my life.
But the one consistent thing that was there for me
(14:18):
always on a Saturday on a Tuesday or the basketball
team that they that was always there. That was something
I could attach myself to have a bit of an identity,
and it was always there and I could understand it
being how I felt, or I could also understand if
someone's dad loved it so much that that even if
it's if you don't think it and like, I just
(14:42):
love it because my dad. Maybe that's the reason you
felt it early and you held onto it. Yeah, I
think definitely all of that. Um, it felt like tradition
in a way. I'm a super sentimental guy attached to
things like that in that way. Um, So I'm sure
that plays a big part of it. Um. And then
just my love for college football, which is changing in
(15:04):
some ways a little bit. I understand it and I'm
for it. But the heart of college football, um what
I feel like the kids are playing for that pride
that you can only get kind of in that arena
of college football. Um, I love. It's a it just
(15:25):
feels a little deeper, you know. But I love all sports,
all professional all of it, like sports in general. Your dad,
your brother, you mentioned that trying your brother older younger,
was the older younger? He's older. Yeah, he's quite He's
twenty five years older than now why he's a lot.
I don't know if that's the exact number, but yes, right, yeah, yeah,
were you the last kid. I'm the baby of six
(15:46):
and the closest sibling to me was ten years. I
only lived with one of my siblings, so you know
them as obviously brothers and sisters, but not like a
traditional We lived down the hall, all brother and sister well,
we exactly and not in that way, but we're all
super close. My Um. You know, we grew up in
(16:07):
a little town, a couple of thousand people there. Um,
they were all there except for my brother, who was
in Arkansas until he was in his thirties and then
moved out Alabama. UM. So yeah, I didn't have that
kind of relationship with him, but I was also I
grew up with their kids, so there was kind of
almost parental to like, especially my oldest older sister, Sandy.
(16:31):
I stayed with her a lot. I am an uncle
to someone seven months younger than I am. She lives
in Arkansas and Cabin. I mean that sounds like the Arkansas.
The name of your town that you grew up in
was what Summitton? S U M I t o n
What what's Summitton known for? Uh? It was a coal
(16:52):
mining town back in the day. Um. A lot of
my family from my dad's side of the family were
cold miners. Had some tragedies in our family because of
the coal mines. Um. So it was a coal mining
community of course that kind of died off. Um. It's
just a little wide spot in the road between Birmingham
(17:15):
on your way to Memphis, you know. Similar. I'm from
a town called Mountain Pine, Arkansas, where we were a
sawmill town, and the whole town was built on the sawmill.
And everywhere you went, you know, there are people And
this isn't funny or sad, but it was just there
were just people with missing arms and hands and fingers
and from the sawmill. Yes, And I just remember it
(17:36):
not being sad, but I'd be like, oh, Jimmy doesn't
have a left arm because he would work at the
mill for all of his life. But when that mill
went away in a town that was already impoverished, it's
really rough in my hometown now because there's just that
you don't go there now for any reason. There When
the mill was there, people would move there to work
at the mill. But there's no reason to move Mountain
(17:57):
Pine anymore. And so when you've had this economic hub
for so long and then you don't, that can really
cripple a town with the mind the coal mine being gone.
Is that sort of what happened to your town? Or
they find a nun you know it. When I was
growing up, of course, it wasn't a thing. I mean,
there was still a couple of coal mines and and
(18:20):
that we're functioning at that time, but it had kind
of gotten away from around being centered around that. Uh.
I remember, I remember I felt like it was thriving
when I was a kid. It has changed a lot now. Um,
I think a lot of people have moved towards Birmingham
a little more and um, but there they've really, um
(18:43):
seen kind of a resurgence here in the past year
or two where I feel like it's coming back around
closer to what it used to be when when I
was there. But it has changed a lot. And my
family has been there a long time. Yeah, yeah, I
mean I live on Westbrookster. That's funny that my family
always lived there, you know, that's they were all there.
(19:11):
Do you feel like you juggle or have to balance
the life of we'll call it rock star life and
dad live. Can you can that be the same? Or
is that you kind of have to check into a
character at some point of of one of the How
how do you do that? Um? It is a balance
(19:34):
and I think, um, as my son gets a little older,
m M, it's a little a little different, But I mean,
you know, I'm I'm pretty I'm pretty much the same
guy on and off. I'm still goofy dad. That's you know,
is that what he would say about you? Your good
(19:55):
your goofy dad. You're living goofy oh yeah yeah yeah,
like silly. I'm just silly kid with your job, which
is abnormal, as both of ours are in our own
individual ways. Um, in a couple of ways. One, you
are very front facing, you are in the you're in
the public eye. You are receiving praise, You're receiving criticism
(20:19):
from people you don't do. Not know what are those
conversations like with a kid because she's not getting older
and it's crazy to watch him grow, I know, and
he is becoming more aware of things like that. Um,
you know he We're just not a big deal. So
he does it's not I mean, I know he he
(20:40):
I will say this like in the past few couple
of years, I think he's um become a lot more
aware of I don't want to say that competition, but
kind of you know. Like the funny things I think
about is like he a couple of years ago, was
watching an award show and we lost and he was
(21:01):
so mad old dominion. He was so I got home
and he was like I hate those guys. I was like, buddy,
it's it's not a big deal. We're okay, we've won
the awards were good when you were his age, talk
about you and what and again, how how old is
(21:22):
he now? He's twelve? Holy crap, he's getting it's crazy
and he looks like he's older than that. So so
you're twelve, Where are you at twelve? What do you
want to be? What's what's happening with the family, like,
what's going on? The complete difference between his twelve year
old in mind is just it blows my mind and
it's a little bit of I'm trying to wrap my
(21:43):
head around it because it is so different. But um,
I was not nearly as smart as he is or
aware of the world. Um, everything that goes on. I
was a very sheltered Um you know, I lived. I
lived in my little town and it's a very conservative community.
(22:03):
That is really my whole existence growing up revolved around
my church. Um there's two thousand people in my town
and a thousand of them went to the church I
went to. So you're kind of in this little fish bowl.
Um my, Uh, my family was very conservative, so it
(22:25):
was Um, I had a way different life. And like
I said, I kind of when I think back to
myself at that age, I was not nearly aware of
of life in general as as my kid is. What
about dream wise? Like, what do you what you're twelve?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I wrote my first song when I was twelve, and
(22:46):
I sang my first solo when I was twelve. That
was that began my love affair with music. Where did
you find that you could do music? Was it in church?
It was in church, yeah, definitely. So it was a
lot of hymns. Was that did you have a because
I went to a Southern Baptist church, but we still
had incorporated some Newish school stuff. It wasn't all old
(23:06):
school hymns like yeah, no, we the amazing thing. And
I think the reason I love music so much because, um,
my church had a youth choir of about two kids
and we would take summer trips travel go and sing
all over the country. Um and uh so, I you know,
(23:28):
that's that's really where I cut my teeth and fell
in love with music. But they my church had full
horn section, um, multiple guitars, draw it was it was
a big production. The music part of it. We had
really super talented people at our church, uh, instrumentally, vocally, everything.
(23:49):
It was a big yeah, oh yeah. It absolutely set
me on the path of I remember sitting with my
choir director and just dreaming about being on stage and singing.
I knew that's what I wanted to do from the
first time a singer. So your parents at all musical,
Your dad musical, brother, my my mom uh sings. Her
(24:11):
whole family is super musical. We would go to two
um family reunions and they would break out the amps
and the keyboards and my my uncle Jim was fantastic
piano player. Um my dad could sing. He didn't he
wasn't really that his side of the family wasn't really
(24:33):
big into music, not as much as my mom's side.
But everyone around me saying my sisters singing, yeah, sure, everybody.
I mean, there's you get to see with your own eyes. Example,
to people playing instruments and and the church that we
go down two down here they are they're really really good.
It's unbelievable to me. They're like as good as the
people that come in the studio. And so I would
(24:55):
imagine being a kid and seeing this it It allows
you to know that that can be attained. Just that
even to see that is would be great for a
small town kid. I just assume and feel like we
grew up in a similar place and there's not a
lot of well a lot that you're exposed to being
in a small town. So to be musical and see
(25:17):
that around you, I think would be just so fantastic.
But you go and you talk to your your choir
director and you say, hey, I want to do music.
How long until you actually get to do something in
the church where people see you as you like solo
or play or something. It was, Yeah, I think it
was in those early um instances of me stepping out
(25:37):
for the first time with the choir taking solos. You know,
we had big musical productions that we did for Christmas,
and I would have featured parts that I felt like
I was being seen for the first time in a
way you know where you advanced as a kid, or
you have an advanced singer, and that you kind of
had control of it before a lot of other kids did. Yeah,
(25:57):
I did. I've it felt very natural to me, and um,
I felt like I could connect with people when I
sang that was what really attracted What do you mean
by that you can connect with people, you're connect Well,
I just I know, I think I know, and this
is all, of course hindsight, but I think back and
I think that, Um, I saw when I sang people
(26:23):
were moved by it. Um, you know whatever I felt
like that was. I was like, oh, I think this matters,
you know, And I think that's what attracted me to it,
just seeing how people connected with me when I was
doing something like that. So you sing at church, But
(26:45):
when did you go, this is what I want to
do for my payment rent in the food. That's because
it's a different commitment. Yeah, And you know I didn't.
I feel like most of the time, it was all
always just showing up at anything that I could do,
like whether it was singing at a wedding or a
(27:06):
funeral or wherever. That's really probably the first money I
made singing was singing at weddings and um. But you know,
I never really did anything that made any kind of
money at that time. My I knew that I wanted
to to be in music in some way, I had
(27:27):
no idea what that was gonna look like. I think
probably at first I figured it would be in the
church realm Um, I sang in gospel groups. It's at
some at some points, did you listen to second of
music at all when you were UM? I did, but
I'm a lot later on some of the classic music
that I love now. I was a lot later coming
(27:47):
into those kinds of things. So you were really and
I didn't really get into UM. You know, I listened
to there. My main exposure to different kinds of music
was UM. Because of my siblings and my mom and dad.
They had There was this box of records in and
one of our closets that had Stevie Wonder, It had
(28:11):
Elton John, UM, it had um uh, Dallas Davidson, Christian music,
there was Alabama Records. There was this eclectic box of
music that I would put on the forty fives or
whatever and listen to. UM. That really kind of exposed
(28:33):
me to other things. But a lot of times it
was Christian music or country music, UM, you know whatever
eight tracks my parents were listening to. UM. Don Williams
is a is a big memory for me of country
music at that time. UM. But I did sing and
listen to a lot of gospel music, and I listened
(28:54):
to country music, but there was a period of time
kind of in my late teens that I didn't. So
there's like a span of country that I really didn't.
I kind of lost out on it, but just because
I kind of found other stuff, you know, I was
really into rock stuff. You know. It's funny you mentioned
(29:14):
like the gap because I was raised hardcore on country
music and and even some of the gospel stuff because
my grandmother raised me right and so she had a
lot of pride of people from Arkansas. So it was
obviously Johnny Cash, you know a lot, and then the
gospel stuff, uh Andy Griffith, which is odd because I
knew him as a singer before I knew him as
Andy gif Show. Yeah. Um, but there was a time
(29:36):
because growing up for me in the nineties when Naster
came out and digital music was allowed, and I missed
on like that late I guess people were like two
thousand one to like two thousand eight. That's an empty
period for me to like know. I know it now
because one, I know a lot of people that made
(29:57):
music then and I just kind of re check in.
But there's a big gap for me there. I remember
once I was watching I wonder what show it was,
and you guys were on doing maybe Tornado it was
when I come back to it, but you guys were on,
and I was like, I'll look at these four four
fine looking folks here, like they seemed nice because Tornado
(30:20):
was one of the early ones that was um. Maybe, yes,
we we had two hits. There's some big gaps in
our We had Boondocks was two thousand five, bringing on
Home two thousand six, and then we didn't have another
(30:41):
radio hit until two thousand ten, which was a Little
White Church, and then the Tornado record was after that,
So that was Pontoon was on that record, and of
course that was the biggest and maybe it was that,
maybe it was the record, but it was my first
exposure to you get yeah, and that was we probably
gained the biggest audience that we had ever had at
(31:02):
that point with that, It's Crook and Chase. It was
the Crooking Chase TV Show. Now that I remember, it
was the Yes, I saw you guys on the Crook
and Chase TV Show. And because I always loved Crooking Chase,
I listened on the radio as a kid and I
would just check back in occasionally and I saw you guys,
and I thought, well, I'll get the off. They're all
four good looking. What kind of group is this? Where's
the ugly one? I remember taking like, there's gotta be
(31:23):
at least one ugly when they hide somewhere, and that
wasn't the case. And then then is about when I
re checked back in just a couple of years before
I came to Nashville, I was kind of dial back in.
But it's funny, I've never thought about the gap before,
and to you said that mine was in the nineties
when it was the biggest heyday of country music. I mean,
you know, I knew of those artists at that time
(31:44):
surface level, but I wasn't really listening to it a lot.
Then it was more rock and yeah, when he was
an alternative, Yeah like that Joe Nichols, this era the
beginning of that. I don't know what I know all
those songs now, but I don't you know, Broken Heartsville
didn't know when I was lying. Listen to it now.
(32:07):
When did you move to Nashville? What age I moved
in ninety nine when we started we you mean, uh
did I say, well? Because I moved with a buddy,
I didn't even know I said that. But yes, I
moved in uh nine. So we had been I was
(32:29):
working in Birmingham doing I was making copies. I was
a copy guy. Um. I had actually started on the
night shift. I worked the third shift night shift at
this little company in downtown Birmingham and then kind of
worked my way up to sales rep where I had
actual lawyer clients and that I serviced for their legal
(32:54):
documents and such. Um. But I had done that for
a couple of years and I was so I was like,
I've got to get back to music. Which it sounds
like you were in your twenty early twenties and so,
and you would pursued a profession even though it wasn't
there for a film it wise you had pursued a
professional job. Yeah, I was paying off bills from prior
(33:16):
musical failures. Were you still put it all on credit cards?
So I had to pay it off? Are you still
singing a little here and there? But not a lot?
In fact, the girl I was dating at the time
and had been dating for a long time, I had
no idea I could sing, and that's all I've done
prior to that time in my life. But there was
(33:36):
a couple of years where I was paying off credit
card bills and working. Didn't really know what I was
gonna do and work my way up in this job,
and I decided internally, I didn't even really tell anybody
that I was like, I've got to I've got to
get back in music. Um. I knew a guy that
had just moved to Nashville who was cousins with Chuck Cannon.
(33:59):
I don't know if you know Chuck Kennon. He's a
incredible songwriter, had some really huge hits back in the day.
I Love the Way You Loved Me he wrote loved Um.
He heard one of my Christian songs that I had
written and wanted to talk to me, and that kind
of I was like, oh wow. And I went and
(34:21):
I went to his house and he had just one
song of the year. I mean, I couldn't believe that
he had taken an interest in something that I had written.
We had a conversation. It was it was terrible. I
had no idea what I was doing, but he was
very kind and but that kind of sparked something into
me that I was like, I've got to get back
to singing again. So I decided, and probably two weeks
(34:45):
after that that I had mentally thought, Okay, I'm done.
I've got to figure out a way to move on.
Karen called me and said, hey, what are you doing?
And I was like, well, I'm working in Birmingham, but
I just started doing some demos and I wanna I
want to move to Nashville. Why would you call you?
How does she know you? She we knew each other, um,
(35:07):
from when she was in her the Christian group she
was in. I knew of her in that. UM I
filled in. This is crazy. I filled in a few
weeks UM in this Christian group. UM. One of their
members quit and I filled in for maybe a couple
(35:29):
of months. And Karen was on that tour opening up
with the duet that she was in in Christian music.
So I met her then and then So this was
years after that. Did you guys ever have conversations though
about doing something a collective or getting to Nashville even
individually or No, we didn't really know each other that well.
(35:51):
I mean we would chit chat, you know, hey, passing
each other, but I didn't really know each other that well. So, UM,
there was a college group that I had sang in.
One of the guys that was in that was in
Nashville and was friends with Karen, and she was talking
about doing this group with Kimberly and that they felt
(36:11):
like they wanted to have some male voices, and Neil is,
that's our friend, actually said Hey, why don't you see
what Jimmy's doing. He's he's a really good singer and
you should check out and see what he's doing. So
he kind of prompted her to call me. And so
when she called, that's when I was like, wow, actually
(36:33):
kind of I want to go to Nashville. She's like, well,
come up and hang out with me and Kimberly and
meet her and see what you think about this. And
that's kind of how that all started. And and the weird,
the crazy weird thing is like still told nobody at
my work that I had that conversation or anything, And
about three or four weeks later, they offered me a
(36:56):
transfer to Nashville to open up a new brand. Did
you do so you can so me? And that's what
me and my buddy that worked at that place at
the time moved here and opened up this copy place.
But you still working, which is really cool. Yeah, you're
still there every day Monday there. So what struck me
(37:17):
when you were talking is that you obviously love music,
you love this thing. You spent a lot of time
doing it, but there for a while you just quit.
Was what was the moment where you went, all right,
either this isn't gonna work out, or I can't do
it anymore because it sounds because that is big to go,
I just gotta stop for a minute. Yeah, I don't
think it was that. It wasn't that conscious. I wasn't
(37:40):
that conscious of that move that I was. I wasn't
saying you're never even saying for your girlfriend, so you
can you know. It was a slow move, but that's drastic,
it is. But it was just, you know, it's a
matter of doing what you gotta do. And I was
so under student loans and all these credit card bills
(38:03):
that I'd piled up in a in a band in college. Um,
I was going under financially. I had no no way
to pay that, and so it was I just had
to get a real job. So maybe it was less
of you being like, screw it, I'm getting out of here,
going to a real job, and more of I'm gonna
after the practical and pay off these bills and eventually
I can get back to it. Yes, got it? Yes, Okay,
(38:24):
that makes the heart feel better about He didn't up
and be like, no, I'm getting music, No, no, no, no.
It was that was a period in my life where
I just had to figure out how to pay my bills,
which you know that happened again many times after that.
But UM, just trying to figure it out and survive.
You come up, you hang out with Kimberly and Karen. Uh.
There is no Philip yet, he hasn't even born yet.
(38:46):
And so what what's the vision because obviously they have
some sort of vision for the group or the two
of them with guy voices when you get up here,
what's the vision as described to you? And was it
appealing to you? At first? It was? It was it
was all harmony based. UM. At that time, we weren't
(39:07):
sure that there was gonna be a fourth we UM.
The three of us sang together. UM. I remember many
nights sitting in Kimberly's living room and working up songs
and and UM. But it wasn't long after I came
into the whole process that it was. It was a
(39:28):
discussion that we were having, like Dewey, add one more
voice for versatility, And actually there was a producer in
town that was showing interest in what the three of
us were talking about doing UM, and he kind of
solidified that, Hey, maybe you should think about one more voice.
(39:49):
That gives you the possibility of one person singing and
then you have a triad behind them. UM gives you
a lot of versatility. And that was about the time
that we were Okay, yeah, I think that's the right
way to go. And there was a friend of Karen's
that introduced us, introduced us to Philip at that time.
I mean, for me, if I'm going through this and
(40:10):
we're like, okay, we have three, we're gonna add another.
But that's another We weren't even thinking about money, man,
we didn't know that could even happen. But it's like eventually,
because again I didn't make money for fifteen years, so
I know what it's like to struggle. But in my mind,
I'm like, eventually, I'm gonna make money. Like we're gonna
hang in there. I'm gonna get better at it before
people splitting it. That is, it's it's a bigger deal.
(40:33):
That's a bigger deal. Did you guys audition people? Did
you have people seeing and not like an informal audition?
Is that was that kind of the plan Earlier the
three of us sang with jod On. That's the only
person I sang with in the auditioning process. I think
Kimberly and Karen actually did sing with Gary at one point. Um,
(40:54):
but he didn't have the chops and I figured love
Ox didn't have the chops. Yeah. Um, But you know,
it wasn't long. It wasn't Probably a couple of months later,
I met Philip. I came up, drove up and met
him at a restaurant and hung out. Um, and we
(41:15):
figured out that that felt like the right blend. When
we all sang together, it felt right, And from that
point on it was it was going to go that way.
When did you not a year but from that point
where you meet Philip, when did you have to create
the LLC or that Now it's an entity, like we
aren't just friends that are singing making forty bucks and
(41:35):
four of us to split. We're now going to pursue this.
And if we're going to pursue it, it's got to exist.
So when did that happen? It was right right around
that same time. I mean it all happened, like from
the time that I said I was going to do
this to the time we um That was maybe at
the end of ninety eight when we were having these conversations.
(41:59):
I moved in February of ninety nine. We were a
four person group, all the four existing members, and just
a few months later had a record deal. So that
was all super fast. I moved here in February and
we started. I remember I just opened up that branch
(42:21):
of that company, and I was already going, hey, I'm
not going to be able to come, We're gonna go
sing for some labels and that kind of thing. They
were super I was really up front about all that.
When I moved. I'm like, I have this intention, so
you're probably gonna run into this issue with me. And
so when it happened, they were intention to watch the game,
(42:41):
You're gonna run into this issue the buses at park
where I can get signal, thinking ahead, yes, that's pretty
quick to get a record deal. Yeah, I mean we
sang for six labels. We took a one guitar. I
didn't even really play guitar at that time. UM took
it in and saying live in front of all the
record exects, and we got about five offers out of
(43:04):
the six cheese. So if i'm you, I'm going well
or one step away from Fay, it's on. Yeah, when
did you realize that that's not quite how it works? Well?
We um, We got our record deal. We in fact
the signed the night we signed with Mercury Records, which
lasted about four months maybe. UM. We got a spot
(43:28):
at the Opery to play. We only knew three songs,
we played all of them. Um, and then they immediately
whisked whisked us away in a limo to the airport
to go sing at the De la Hoya fight for
the national anthem. And when we were getting picked up
in limos at the airport in Vegas, I was like, oh,
(43:51):
this is on and then we lost our well we didn't.
We walked away from that. It was a handshake walk away.
Not many months after that, so it was quickly like, oh,
this this is not going how I thought it was
gonna go. Well, I'm gonna ask you and I have
you expand on both of these. But the harshest reality
(44:13):
once you get a deal and then but then actually
kind of the greatest fairy tale that because you've been
able to experience both, I'll say that you guys are
in my mind if I'm just speaking of my thoughts
and feelings here, which is often what I do. Like, Um,
you guys have really worked. Everybody works hard. You guys
have worked hard, and you've had a boom, big song.
(44:36):
I like what you guys do, though you try to
push in different directions and at all times it's not
always People aren' always receptive of new things, and I
always admired that you guys continued to try that regardless.
And so you say there's a gap, But in my mind,
I'm like, yeah, probably gap because people don't understand what
you guys are trying in the time, right, Like, that's
how I interpret You're not saying it. That's how I'm
(44:57):
interpreting because I've been able to experience a lot of it,
not beside you, but running in a parallel path. So
when I say harshest reality, biggest fairy tale, you've got
to have them both. Let's start with the harshest reality
of what it is that you do and and what
you've had to experience. Well, I mean I think I
immediately go to to the time when I was just
(45:20):
telling you that, Um, the Mercury deal started going awry. Um,
how do you know what's going awry? Did you feel it?
It was made very we were made aware that it was.
We without going into too much of the backside of
of all that, we we basically signed at Mercury, cut
(45:44):
a few sides, and when the powers that be at
that time at Mercury heard the sides that we did,
we cut about four songs. UM. They basically said, Hey,
if if any of this is who you are, we're
not interested. They were just were not interested, And so
(46:05):
the harshest reality was UM. I think in that moment
I remember them saying all of that UM, and basically
felt like we had an ultimatum like our So I
I just remember going to the parking lot after that
conversation and all of the four of us sitting in
(46:27):
a car shell shocked. I mean, we just signed our deal.
We had did you know the day Lahoya fight this
is and then all of a sudden, now that's about
to be yanked out from unders. We're about to lose
our record deal. But I'll tell you this in that moment,
and I think that was a pivotal moment for the
(46:48):
band as far as what you're talking about of pushing
and following our gut and our heart and where we
musically want to go. We had that decision to make
that day, and it was the hardest decision probably well
(47:08):
I know at that time that we've made. It was
incredibly difficult because we were we were sitting there having
to ask ourselves, is any part of what we just
presented them us? And it was, you know, some of
the production might not have been quite the right direction,
but we're still experimenting, trying to figure out who we are.
But the harmony, structures and all of that of what
(47:31):
we presented was us. So we made the decision ourselves
that we were going to walk away from it because
if they're telling us that they don't want any of that,
then we can't stay here. That's that's not going to
be true to ourselves and and but it also set
the ground work for who we became as a band
(47:56):
as far as living and dying by our own decisi Jews. Now,
when I mentioned on the other side of that, like
the grid, like it's so great. It's weird, like they're
they're You're like, Wow, this is going so wonderfully that
it feels like it's the dream because I'm lucky enough
(48:18):
to get those moments too. I mean where you're just like,
I can't believe it's happening. I feel like I have
so many of those moments. But um, it's always to
me the unexpected, unbelievable moments, like collaborations that you do
with people, or the being asked to be an Opery member.
(48:40):
It's the things that you didn't even take the time
to dream up because you're like, oh, I didn't know
that was possible. Um, it's kind of all of those
moments of um, you know, singing on John Mellencamp record
like we we ended up doing non songs on one
of his records, is the vocals for his thing. It's
(49:02):
it's those kinds of moments that you get to share
the stage with people that you're just like, I don't
how I'm from Somerton, How did I? How did I?
How am I standing up here on this stage with
this person? And those are the moments that I'm so
grateful for and that you can't plan. Um that they
just kind of worked themselves out and happened, and it's
(49:24):
you just walk away going, man, what a what an
incredible blessing this has all been. We had a guy
called our show probably a month or so agost. Name
is Gary from Wisconsin, and Gary said that he had
been to over seventy five little big town shows. Gary. Yeah,
I saw a picture that Gary had posted because he
(49:45):
tagged because we were talking with him about it, and
he said he'll drive five hours. His first show was
in Las Vegas. I I asked you this in a loving,
extremely respectful way, why would someone come to sevent show?
Our fans are incredible. It's the country music fan, man.
(50:08):
They they buy in and and I think it's more
than just the music. They buy into who you are
and or at least you know who they feel like
you are. You know, the your story, um, and I
think that's that's been the big thing of that. But yeah, man,
(50:28):
I think about that too. I'm like, man, I have
to sometimes I don't want to get up here either
just to do it, you know, you get tired or whatever.
But man, what that's that's our fans there, incredible. You
guys have very very passionate it's it's incredible. The Bandwagon
Tour Miranda A Little Big Town with special guests of
(50:49):
Catalact three. A Little Big Town dot com if you
want to get tickets. Are you still enjoying playing shows?
I mean, is it still there? Is it still there?
Is having a blast? I love it and I love
all of it still, And I think that's something that, UM,
I kind of look at all the time, like when
(51:09):
we're in the studio, like, man, I still love this
as much. I'm still as passionate about all the different
parts of this UM business that we're in that I
just I just love it. I just being out with Miranda.
There's nothing better than this tour right now. UM, I
(51:32):
think for all of us just showing up in the
the friendship and you know, it's like we're talking about
hanging out at the pool at noon. A lot of
tours you go on done it's not like that, UM,
But we have some really great friends and this has
been a blast, and I absolutely can't wait to get
(51:54):
up there and play the and we'll wrap with this
but the end, I still think A Little White Church
holds up with any song ever I played all the
time on him like a dance party, and uh, it
just feels good. It's a beat. It's the end of that,
which is probably my favorite thing that you guys do
when you're all it almost feels a bit uh Doobie
Brother's dish, I think exactly. I'm not confused, confused. I
(52:18):
played a little white church this morning. Yeah, the vocal realm,
Yeah yeah, I like that a lot. What is just
your part by itself in the round with nobody else who? Uh?
Because Philip starts off the round and he goes, you
get okay, I'll do that. Okay, you get a line,
I get a pole. We're gonna go fishing in the
(52:39):
cravat five got bogger a Saturday night church on Sunday morning.
You get fishing. I come in on that. You get
a lot? Yeah, you got to be a little more dynamically,
And I'll be honest with you. One part is never dynamic.
(52:59):
Well let's and it's I thought about that. What if
I just showed up sometimes some somebody asked me to sing,
and I stepped up and I only sang the background
vocals hilarious and please record it because that's the content.
They're like, Hey, once you play one of your songs
that you and I only sing. Yeah, they're like, hey,
jimmen do a girl crush and You're like, I'll lay
off the entire verse and then um taste lips tastes
(53:26):
like you. Wouldn't that be great? That would be TikTok
viral versure Uh follow Jimmy at Jimmy Westbrook on Instagram.
J I M I and at a Little Big Town
and the new single. I don't say the name of
the new single because I don't curse. So I will say,
here's the song about a little big town, but I
will never say the name of it. So there you
have it. Wow, I'm impressed you don't cuss. I haven't
(53:49):
for six years. Well, I didn't do it because I'm
a good person. I did it because writing, if I'm
writing stand up, I don't curse. I'm a stand up
writing kids books, writing, I don't. I won't allow myself
to curse there. So I just said I don't need
to use it all the time because I'll crutch it.
I think that's fantastic. I hear so much music right
now that I'm like, there are a lot more words
(54:12):
to choose, and I know we have some words in ours.
But yeah, it's a crutch for some. I like it.
I like to hear it. I just a lot. I
don't like to hear it because it pops up on
my kids playlist and I'm like, bro, he can't be
listening to that. Well, Jimmy, it's been a pleasure. Thank
you very much, ma'am. And bye. We just did basically
(54:33):
an hour here and you and I have just not
been able to tell you're the way. It's the last
piece over the past five years individually. You were the
last part to talk to you like this. I appreciate it.
So all right, we're talking to you man. I got
a bath running. We'll hop over just alright, Jimmy Westbrook,
all right, by everybody.
Hey, welcome Jimmy Westbrook, one of the guys in a
little big town. He actually quit doing music for a
long time and then got a call was like, hey,
you want to join this group or you wanna talk
about a group? So he talks about that here. It's
a pretty cool story. He's also the final puzzle piece
in this because over the last five or six years,
one by one, we have gathered the little big town
tokens and now we have them all, so it's pretty cool.
(00:25):
He's also got one non negotiable while on tour, He's like,
I'm not a diva, but this is the one thing
I gotta have. And I felt that although I am
a diva, So I felt that they got a new
song out. I won't say the title of it here
or ever, and I talked about that. So what do
you learn from this? Uh? Whenever he talked about quitting music.
The thing that his girlfriend at the time didn't know
(00:46):
about him was insane. Yeah, yeah, I was like, how
did she not like? Yeah, it's interesting. And then the
fact that we had never sat with him one. I've
never sat with him one on one ever in my
whole life. I've been with them a lot or two
of them or three of them, but never just Jimmy
and I. And he's like tatted up, cool dude. When
he's by himself, he kind of gets lost in the shuffle.
(01:07):
It's like the good looking guy because him, I felip
both good looking. But Phil's get the long here. He's
like the rebel. Yeah you know, he's like the the
bad boys. Can you get along here? I don't even
if it's a bad boy, but Jimmy's like all tatted
up and I don't know. This is a little gritty.
You're in person, which is pretty cool. So you didn't
think so? No? I got that too. Yeah, UM, enjoyed it.
I hope you check it out. Him and Karen the
(01:30):
we'll called the lead, the lead, we'll called the lead vocalist. Um,
they've been married for twelve years. They got a sound.
Who's twelve now. And I hope you enjoyed this because
I did, he says. Jimmy from a little big town
here you go. I was just talking with that Jaren
from cat like three, and I asked him. I said, hey, man, uh,
I saw a picture with you and you have you
didn't have a short on You may not have had
(01:51):
a shirt on. I think I did have, and I
think trying not to do that too often. Yeah, I
think all you guys are in a pool. And he's said, uh,
he said, it was like nine in the morning or something.
You guys were in a pool, have Margarita's Is that
story accurate? It is accurate. Well, I didn't get up
that early, so I wasn't there at nine, but that
(02:12):
venue which we played a bunch and this time when
we showed up, Yeah, they put a pool in, which
I think is genius in the venue. And yeah, at
the back of the venue, right outside of catering they
I don't know what it used to be there, but yeah,
they put in a nice pool. So about eleven twelve o'clock,
most everybody on the tour was out there, and oh
(02:34):
my god, by the time the show rolled around. That's
what I asked him, That's what I said. I said,
if you're it was a ship show, but if you're
starting that early, like, how do you take four hours
to just kind of recuperate? And he was like, no, no,
we kind of rolled right into the show, he said,
And maybe it's let it be, do you guys do
let it be? As an onboard He said what he
(02:55):
remembers about let It Be was because you know, they
play and then he to come you guys to come
back at the end, and he's like sometimes Mom, He's like,
you know what, the melody was there, but the words
weren't there. It happens, man. We had such a That
was a great day though. That was a lot of fun.
We we all got to hang out and we've been
(03:18):
having a blast on the tour anyway, but that was
a little extra that day. Do you guys find now
that you're you're touring and you're not twenty two that
you can I don't know what, do you feel like
you can relax a little more because you have success
or like can you do things because also if you're
twenty two, maybe you're doing that being reckless, but now
(03:40):
you're doing that because you kind of understand where you
I don't. Is there a difference now as a little
big town is as when you guys were twenty thirty
years old when you tol Yeah, I mean I think naturally, Um, yeah,
I think we are. I don't really get nervous or
any of that before a show anymore. Just our regular
(04:01):
live shows we're really comfortable. We've been doing it for
a day long time now, and um, it's it's definitely changed.
You know when um, when you're younger, you feel like
you're really just fighting all the time, like just to
um be somebody yea be uh you know, and especially
(04:21):
like some of the slots you play when you're younger,
it's a lot earlier you're getting out there and it's
literally like you're fighting for their attention. So it's you know,
it's a little more focused, but I mean that's never curbed.
Are enjoyment of uh, you know, hanging out and having
a good time. That's that's all aside from having a
(04:44):
good time. But let's say somebody one of you four
is not feeling good. It's not because of that, just
just a general because this is what happened on our show.
We have a similar dynamic where there's you know, four
or five of us and we can pretty easily cover
without anyone knowing that person needs covered. Four is that situational?
Can all four of you guys be covered? Four if
(05:06):
you show up and able to do a little can
you guys cover without anyone really noticing? Yeah, I mean
I will say that that feels like, um, an advantage
of having more people. Um, you know, we've had some
really we have only played a couple of shows without
one of us, you mean, just not there at all. Yeah. Um.
(05:28):
One we dropped Kimberly off on the side of the
road to have a baby in Phoenix and continued on
to our next stop. And then there have been a
couple of times when Karen had a migraine that we
had to go and play without her, which if you
think about that, it was a little different back then.
We didn't have as many hits, so nobody really jared
(05:52):
either way. Um, but um, it is we can spread
it around. It's a um especially if we uh you know,
I know a little bit in advance. We can get
together and move parts around. You know, we've we've gone
and like okay, I'm covering Karen's parts on this and
uh so yeah, yeah, it's it's an advantage, especially in
(06:15):
those moments when you can't help that as much. Especially
as we were touring. There was, um, the year that
Boondocks came out, we we played two and fifty shows
that year. That's just shows. That's not travel days, that's
not TV, that's not so, um, you get ragged out.
You know, your vocals, we sing a lot if Karen's
(06:37):
down as and I'm just gonna call her and I'm
not sure what the roles are, but I feel like
she sings. And the more of the songs that we
hear on the radio. I don't know if you guys
have a term, Jeff, it's so it's a very equal group,
which is odd for me to say lead vocalists, but
for the sake of this, I'm going to call her
that because absolutely, if she goes down, can kimberly sing
if she ready to sing all those parts? And do
(06:59):
you have to change keys of anything? We haven't had
to go that far. Um uh. The one the couple
of instances were Karen. Like I said, that was early on.
We didn't have the big hits that Karen has, you know,
carried um, so we had she could, she absolutely could. Um.
(07:19):
Their range is a lot different, so it would be different.
I might have to end up covering some of Karen's
but yeah, yeah, you know, you do what you got to.
But yeah, she could totally do that. So and I
want to get just some of your life stuff in
a minute. But I was just looking at the new
single which you're you're the you're the guy, you're the
(07:41):
main the lead vocalist Philip on hell Yeah, Okay, I
knew it was a dude and I don't. And Phillip's
got the big, husky, thick sounds like he smoked a
pack of cigarettes voice. I'm a little more in Karen's
mid range. I kind of bridge the gap between the
bottom part and Karen's middle. You're talking too smart from
(08:04):
yeah you're inside baseball? Well, I mean I can act
like I know about that, but I don't. Let's play, Mike,
we play a little bit of the new song here, Yeah,
go into yeah you moved on? Yeah? Well, a conscious
(08:28):
decision to put Philip as the lead on that song
and then make it a single or does it does
it think? Does the whole package come together? And then
you decide the song came together? First it was, um,
we always try to approach the songs, um, who it
fits best, who who tells the story the best? So
(08:49):
that's that's kind of how that came about him singing it. Uh,
And then later on it became the single choice whenever
you write that because you're at that with Tyler Hubbard
from f g L and Corey Crawter. Okay, so you
write the song, are you writing it as a little
big town song? And then two is he is Philip
singing this song on like the demo? Or was it?
(09:13):
Later Philip be like, what's that? So actually we when
we wrote that song that day, I think actually Corey
sang the demo for it. Um, that's just kind of
the way it went down when we were hanging out
writing it. UM. Yeah, and it was. Yeah. I think
anytime you get in the room with people that are
writing with you, most of the time it's you're trying
(09:35):
to aim for something for yourself. UM. And I do
feel like that was the intention that day, UM, to
write a song for us. UM. We had also at
one point talked about, um, maybe one of them jumping
in on it. But that kind of the time we
wrote that song actually probably almost three years ago. Now,
(09:56):
UM was that pre pandemic or in pandemic pandemic And
I guess you had to sit on a lot of it
it was probably a strategy you had to decide do
we just hold on stuff that we're really passionate about
because we don't know what's going on? Or do we
put stuff out that's really good because maybe it'll cut
through and nothing. I mean that's a kind of a
decision everybody creative had to make. Yeah. Um. Actually though,
(10:18):
how that kind of worked out is that we cut
so many songs for that last record. We actually cut
this song for that record, and UM didn't really feel
like it fit. UM. So that's the kind of thing
that when we came back around for this record and
we were starting to try to find the sequencing and
(10:41):
and which songs we're going to actually make the record,
that one kind of pop back up because we always
loved it and thought it sounded like a hit in
that hook. I just Corey that was Corey's hook idea,
and I just thought it was brilliant UM twist on it.
So we always loved it and then it just kind
of came back around again. One of the things for
me that I prioritized, and at times I get judged
(11:05):
for it, is that if it's a Saturday and I'm
shooting a TV show. We shot my whole net GGO
show on Saturday's and I always almost Beyonce like had
to watch the Razorback Games and it was and there
were a couple of times they couldn't make it happen
because we're shooting in this one specific location at a time,
(11:25):
we can only get this person. But I still had
it up like it just was a non negotiable for me,
And there are only a couple of non negotiables in
my life period, and it's if there's a game, the
Razor By Game, one football game on Saturday, I have
to watch it. And so from what I hear is
that you're also not an Arkansas fan, but a big
Alabama fan. Same way with you. I'm not a diva
(11:48):
about anything really, except on Saturdays. If I wake up
in my bus doesn't have WiFi or a signal to
the satellite, I'm like, I'm are, you're gonna have to
move the bus and it's non negotiable. And I'm like,
and and it's known about you beforehand. Yeah, it's that's
always what I end up saying. I was like, we
(12:10):
kind of know this. I try to not be too much,
but yeah, I definitely And you'll look back up when
we're sound check if a game is on my I
pad is right there. I mean, I love it. I've
done shows before, like a comedy show, and then I'm on,
but the game is going later than I will send
(12:30):
out the tour manager on to the opener who's playing
and go, hey, uh, can you play incause because not
only that, he'll pay you double and I'll make sure
they know that I haven't pulled that one in there.
But you have three other people. But there have been
times more more and we had a like a mean
(12:52):
great last year the festival I put on in Austin,
and they understood. I was getting tweets from people going,
hend no, you're not coming out of the me and
greet for not les, not the twenty minutes because the
game is still on. So when that when that happened,
and it's not me being a douche for no reason.
Everyone just note right, It's understood, So it doesn't much. Yeah,
just giving football games? What was that like for you
(13:13):
as a kid. I assumed that that was somehow instilled
into you that the Alabama football was a big part
of your life. And I'll say, we have Arkansas fans
in our family that are just the same as you.
They love Arkansas. I love Arkansas too, unless they're playing us.
But um yeah, yeah, my in my house, I have
so many memories of watching games with my dad and
(13:36):
my brother who's quite a bit older than I am. Um,
But it was a big deal in our house and
we watched games and it's loud, and there's emotional hugs
and jumping up and running around the house and did
you fawn? Though? Man, it's such a it comes from
such a good place. I wonder you talk about it
was such a family thing, do you think? And and
(13:57):
I can give you my story too, But why is
it so partan? Is it because that that was such
a bonding thing between you and your dad, like and
maybe that is still there for you because mine is.
I didn't have a family for a lot of my life.
But the one consistent thing that was there for me
(14:18):
always on a Saturday on a Tuesday or the basketball
team that they that was always there. That was something
I could attach myself to have a bit of an identity,
and it was always there and I could understand it
being how I felt, or I could also understand if
someone's dad loved it so much that that even if
it's if you don't think it and like, I just
(14:42):
love it because my dad. Maybe that's the reason you
felt it early and you held onto it. Yeah, I
think definitely all of that. Um, it felt like tradition
in a way. I'm a super sentimental guy attached to
things like that in that way. Um, So I'm sure
that plays a big part of it. Um. And then
just my love for college football, which is changing in
(15:04):
some ways a little bit. I understand it and I'm
for it. But the heart of college football, um what
I feel like the kids are playing for that pride
that you can only get kind of in that arena
of college football. Um, I love. It's a it just
(15:25):
feels a little deeper, you know. But I love all sports,
all professional all of it, like sports in general. Your dad,
your brother, you mentioned that trying your brother older younger,
was the older younger? He's older. Yeah, he's quite He's
twenty five years older than now why he's a lot.
I don't know if that's the exact number, but yes, right, yeah, yeah,
were you the last kid. I'm the baby of six
(15:46):
and the closest sibling to me was ten years. I
only lived with one of my siblings, so you know
them as obviously brothers and sisters, but not like a
traditional We lived down the hall, all brother and sister well,
we exactly and not in that way, but we're all
super close. My Um. You know, we grew up in
(16:07):
a little town, a couple of thousand people there. Um,
they were all there except for my brother, who was
in Arkansas until he was in his thirties and then
moved out Alabama. UM. So yeah, I didn't have that
kind of relationship with him, but I was also I
grew up with their kids, so there was kind of
almost parental to like, especially my oldest older sister, Sandy.
(16:31):
I stayed with her a lot. I am an uncle
to someone seven months younger than I am. She lives
in Arkansas and Cabin. I mean that sounds like the Arkansas.
The name of your town that you grew up in
was what Summitton? S U M I t o n
What what's Summitton known for? Uh? It was a coal
(16:52):
mining town back in the day. Um. A lot of
my family from my dad's side of the family were
cold miners. Had some tragedies in our family because of
the coal mines. Um. So it was a coal mining
community of course that kind of died off. Um. It's
just a little wide spot in the road between Birmingham
(17:15):
on your way to Memphis, you know. Similar. I'm from
a town called Mountain Pine, Arkansas, where we were a
sawmill town, and the whole town was built on the sawmill.
And everywhere you went, you know, there are people And
this isn't funny or sad, but it was just there
were just people with missing arms and hands and fingers
and from the sawmill. Yes, And I just remember it
(17:36):
not being sad, but I'd be like, oh, Jimmy doesn't
have a left arm because he would work at the
mill for all of his life. But when that mill
went away in a town that was already impoverished, it's
really rough in my hometown now because there's just that
you don't go there now for any reason. There When
the mill was there, people would move there to work
at the mill. But there's no reason to move Mountain
(17:57):
Pine anymore. And so when you've had this economic hub
for so long and then you don't, that can really
cripple a town with the mind the coal mine being gone.
Is that sort of what happened to your town? Or
they find a nun you know it. When I was
growing up, of course, it wasn't a thing. I mean,
there was still a couple of coal mines and and
(18:20):
that we're functioning at that time, but it had kind
of gotten away from around being centered around that. Uh.
I remember, I remember I felt like it was thriving
when I was a kid. It has changed a lot now. Um,
I think a lot of people have moved towards Birmingham
a little more and um, but there they've really, um
(18:43):
seen kind of a resurgence here in the past year
or two where I feel like it's coming back around
closer to what it used to be when when I
was there. But it has changed a lot. And my
family has been there a long time. Yeah, yeah, I
mean I live on Westbrookster. That's funny that my family
always lived there, you know, that's they were all there.
(19:11):
Do you feel like you juggle or have to balance
the life of we'll call it rock star life and
dad live. Can you can that be the same? Or
is that you kind of have to check into a
character at some point of of one of the How
how do you do that? Um? It is a balance
(19:34):
and I think, um, as my son gets a little older,
m M, it's a little a little different, But I mean,
you know, I'm I'm pretty I'm pretty much the same
guy on and off. I'm still goofy dad. That's you know,
is that what he would say about you? Your good
(19:55):
your goofy dad. You're living goofy oh yeah yeah yeah,
like silly. I'm just silly kid with your job, which
is abnormal, as both of ours are in our own
individual ways. Um, in a couple of ways. One, you
are very front facing, you are in the you're in
the public eye. You are receiving praise, You're receiving criticism
(20:19):
from people you don't do. Not know what are those
conversations like with a kid because she's not getting older
and it's crazy to watch him grow, I know, and
he is becoming more aware of things like that. Um,
you know he We're just not a big deal. So
he does it's not I mean, I know he he
(20:40):
I will say this like in the past few couple
of years, I think he's um become a lot more
aware of I don't want to say that competition, but
kind of you know. Like the funny things I think
about is like he a couple of years ago, was
watching an award show and we lost and he was
(21:01):
so mad old dominion. He was so I got home
and he was like I hate those guys. I was like, buddy,
it's it's not a big deal. We're okay, we've won
the awards were good when you were his age, talk
about you and what and again, how how old is
(21:22):
he now? He's twelve? Holy crap, he's getting it's crazy
and he looks like he's older than that. So so
you're twelve, Where are you at twelve? What do you
want to be? What's what's happening with the family, like,
what's going on? The complete difference between his twelve year
old in mind is just it blows my mind and
it's a little bit of I'm trying to wrap my
(21:43):
head around it because it is so different. But um,
I was not nearly as smart as he is or
aware of the world. Um, everything that goes on. I
was a very sheltered Um you know, I lived. I
lived in my little town and it's a very conservative community.
(22:03):
That is really my whole existence growing up revolved around
my church. Um there's two thousand people in my town
and a thousand of them went to the church I
went to. So you're kind of in this little fish bowl.
Um my, Uh, my family was very conservative, so it
(22:25):
was Um, I had a way different life. And like
I said, I kind of when I think back to
myself at that age, I was not nearly aware of
of life in general as as my kid is. What
about dream wise? Like, what do you what you're twelve?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I wrote my first song when I was twelve, and
(22:46):
I sang my first solo when I was twelve. That
was that began my love affair with music. Where did
you find that you could do music? Was it in church?
It was in church, yeah, definitely. So it was a
lot of hymns. Was that did you have a because
I went to a Southern Baptist church, but we still
had incorporated some Newish school stuff. It wasn't all old
(23:06):
school hymns like yeah, no, we the amazing thing. And
I think the reason I love music so much because, um,
my church had a youth choir of about two kids
and we would take summer trips travel go and sing
all over the country. Um and uh so, I you know,
(23:28):
that's that's really where I cut my teeth and fell
in love with music. But they my church had full
horn section, um, multiple guitars, draw it was it was
a big production. The music part of it. We had
really super talented people at our church, uh, instrumentally, vocally, everything.
(23:49):
It was a big yeah, oh yeah. It absolutely set
me on the path of I remember sitting with my
choir director and just dreaming about being on stage and singing.
I knew that's what I wanted to do from the
first time a singer. So your parents at all musical,
Your dad musical, brother, my my mom uh sings. Her
(24:11):
whole family is super musical. We would go to two
um family reunions and they would break out the amps
and the keyboards and my my uncle Jim was fantastic
piano player. Um my dad could sing. He didn't he
wasn't really that his side of the family wasn't really
(24:33):
big into music, not as much as my mom's side.
But everyone around me saying my sisters singing, yeah, sure, everybody.
I mean, there's you get to see with your own eyes. Example,
to people playing instruments and and the church that we
go down two down here they are they're really really good.
It's unbelievable to me. They're like as good as the
people that come in the studio. And so I would
(24:55):
imagine being a kid and seeing this it It allows
you to know that that can be attained. Just that
even to see that is would be great for a
small town kid. I just assume and feel like we
grew up in a similar place and there's not a
lot of well a lot that you're exposed to being
in a small town. So to be musical and see
(25:17):
that around you, I think would be just so fantastic.
But you go and you talk to your your choir
director and you say, hey, I want to do music.
How long until you actually get to do something in
the church where people see you as you like solo
or play or something. It was, Yeah, I think it
was in those early um instances of me stepping out
(25:37):
for the first time with the choir taking solos. You know,
we had big musical productions that we did for Christmas,
and I would have featured parts that I felt like
I was being seen for the first time in a
way you know where you advanced as a kid, or
you have an advanced singer, and that you kind of
had control of it before a lot of other kids did. Yeah,
(25:57):
I did. I've it felt very natural to me, and um,
I felt like I could connect with people when I
sang that was what really attracted What do you mean
by that you can connect with people, you're connect Well,
I just I know, I think I know, and this
is all, of course hindsight, but I think back and
I think that, Um, I saw when I sang people
(26:23):
were moved by it. Um, you know whatever I felt
like that was. I was like, oh, I think this matters,
you know, And I think that's what attracted me to it,
just seeing how people connected with me when I was
doing something like that. So you sing at church, But
(26:45):
when did you go, this is what I want to
do for my payment rent in the food. That's because
it's a different commitment. Yeah, And you know I didn't.
I feel like most of the time, it was all
always just showing up at anything that I could do,
like whether it was singing at a wedding or a
(27:06):
funeral or wherever. That's really probably the first money I
made singing was singing at weddings and um. But you know,
I never really did anything that made any kind of
money at that time. My I knew that I wanted
to to be in music in some way, I had
(27:27):
no idea what that was gonna look like. I think
probably at first I figured it would be in the
church realm Um, I sang in gospel groups. It's at
some at some points, did you listen to second of
music at all when you were UM? I did, but
I'm a lot later on some of the classic music
that I love now. I was a lot later coming
(27:47):
into those kinds of things. So you were really and
I didn't really get into UM. You know, I listened
to there. My main exposure to different kinds of music
was UM. Because of my siblings and my mom and dad.
They had There was this box of records in and
one of our closets that had Stevie Wonder, It had
(28:11):
Elton John, UM, it had um uh, Dallas Davidson, Christian music,
there was Alabama Records. There was this eclectic box of
music that I would put on the forty fives or
whatever and listen to. UM. That really kind of exposed
(28:33):
me to other things. But a lot of times it
was Christian music or country music, UM, you know whatever
eight tracks my parents were listening to. UM. Don Williams
is a is a big memory for me of country
music at that time. UM. But I did sing and
listen to a lot of gospel music, and I listened
(28:54):
to country music, but there was a period of time
kind of in my late teens that I didn't. So
there's like a span of country that I really didn't.
I kind of lost out on it, but just because
I kind of found other stuff, you know, I was
really into rock stuff. You know. It's funny you mentioned
(29:14):
like the gap because I was raised hardcore on country
music and and even some of the gospel stuff because
my grandmother raised me right and so she had a
lot of pride of people from Arkansas. So it was
obviously Johnny Cash, you know a lot, and then the
gospel stuff, uh Andy Griffith, which is odd because I
knew him as a singer before I knew him as
Andy gif Show. Yeah. Um, but there was a time
(29:36):
because growing up for me in the nineties when Naster
came out and digital music was allowed, and I missed
on like that late I guess people were like two
thousand one to like two thousand eight. That's an empty
period for me to like know. I know it now
because one, I know a lot of people that made
(29:57):
music then and I just kind of re check in.
But there's a big gap for me there. I remember
once I was watching I wonder what show it was,
and you guys were on doing maybe Tornado it was
when I come back to it, but you guys were on,
and I was like, I'll look at these four four
fine looking folks here, like they seemed nice because Tornado
(30:20):
was one of the early ones that was um. Maybe, yes,
we we had two hits. There's some big gaps in
our We had Boondocks was two thousand five, bringing on
Home two thousand six, and then we didn't have another
(30:41):
radio hit until two thousand ten, which was a Little
White Church, and then the Tornado record was after that,
So that was Pontoon was on that record, and of
course that was the biggest and maybe it was that,
maybe it was the record, but it was my first
exposure to you get yeah, and that was we probably
gained the biggest audience that we had ever had at
(31:02):
that point with that, It's Crook and Chase. It was
the Crooking Chase TV Show. Now that I remember, it
was the Yes, I saw you guys on the Crook
and Chase TV Show. And because I always loved Crooking Chase,
I listened on the radio as a kid and I
would just check back in occasionally and I saw you guys,
and I thought, well, I'll get the off. They're all
four good looking. What kind of group is this? Where's
the ugly one? I remember taking like, there's gotta be
(31:23):
at least one ugly when they hide somewhere, and that
wasn't the case. And then then is about when I
re checked back in just a couple of years before
I came to Nashville, I was kind of dial back in.
But it's funny, I've never thought about the gap before,
and to you said that mine was in the nineties
when it was the biggest heyday of country music. I mean,
you know, I knew of those artists at that time
(31:44):
surface level, but I wasn't really listening to it a lot.
Then it was more rock and yeah, when he was
an alternative, Yeah like that Joe Nichols, this era the
beginning of that. I don't know what I know all
those songs now, but I don't you know, Broken Heartsville
didn't know when I was lying. Listen to it now.
(32:07):
When did you move to Nashville? What age I moved
in ninety nine when we started we you mean, uh
did I say, well? Because I moved with a buddy,
I didn't even know I said that. But yes, I
moved in uh nine. So we had been I was
(32:29):
working in Birmingham doing I was making copies. I was
a copy guy. Um. I had actually started on the
night shift. I worked the third shift night shift at
this little company in downtown Birmingham and then kind of
worked my way up to sales rep where I had
actual lawyer clients and that I serviced for their legal
(32:54):
documents and such. Um. But I had done that for
a couple of years and I was so I was like,
I've got to get back to music. Which it sounds
like you were in your twenty early twenties and so,
and you would pursued a profession even though it wasn't
there for a film it wise you had pursued a
professional job. Yeah, I was paying off bills from prior
(33:16):
musical failures. Were you still put it all on credit cards?
So I had to pay it off? Are you still
singing a little here and there? But not a lot?
In fact, the girl I was dating at the time
and had been dating for a long time, I had
no idea I could sing, and that's all I've done
prior to that time in my life. But there was
(33:36):
a couple of years where I was paying off credit
card bills and working. Didn't really know what I was
gonna do and work my way up in this job,
and I decided internally, I didn't even really tell anybody
that I was like, I've got to I've got to
get back in music. Um. I knew a guy that
had just moved to Nashville who was cousins with Chuck Cannon.
(33:59):
I don't know if you know Chuck Kennon. He's a
incredible songwriter, had some really huge hits back in the day.
I Love the Way You Loved Me he wrote loved Um.
He heard one of my Christian songs that I had
written and wanted to talk to me, and that kind
of I was like, oh wow. And I went and
(34:21):
I went to his house and he had just one
song of the year. I mean, I couldn't believe that
he had taken an interest in something that I had written.
We had a conversation. It was it was terrible. I
had no idea what I was doing, but he was
very kind and but that kind of sparked something into
me that I was like, I've got to get back
to singing again. So I decided, and probably two weeks
(34:45):
after that that I had mentally thought, Okay, I'm done.
I've got to figure out a way to move on.
Karen called me and said, hey, what are you doing?
And I was like, well, I'm working in Birmingham, but
I just started doing some demos and I wanna I
want to move to Nashville. Why would you call you?
How does she know you? She we knew each other, um,
(35:07):
from when she was in her the Christian group she
was in. I knew of her in that. UM I
filled in. This is crazy. I filled in a few
weeks UM in this Christian group. UM. One of their
members quit and I filled in for maybe a couple
(35:29):
of months. And Karen was on that tour opening up
with the duet that she was in in Christian music.
So I met her then and then So this was
years after that. Did you guys ever have conversations though
about doing something a collective or getting to Nashville even
individually or No, we didn't really know each other that well.
(35:51):
I mean we would chit chat, you know, hey, passing
each other, but I didn't really know each other that well. So, UM,
there was a college group that I had sang in.
One of the guys that was in that was in
Nashville and was friends with Karen, and she was talking
about doing this group with Kimberly and that they felt
(36:11):
like they wanted to have some male voices, and Neil is,
that's our friend, actually said Hey, why don't you see
what Jimmy's doing. He's he's a really good singer and
you should check out and see what he's doing. So
he kind of prompted her to call me. And so
when she called, that's when I was like, wow, actually
(36:33):
kind of I want to go to Nashville. She's like, well,
come up and hang out with me and Kimberly and
meet her and see what you think about this. And
that's kind of how that all started. And and the weird,
the crazy weird thing is like still told nobody at
my work that I had that conversation or anything, And
about three or four weeks later, they offered me a
(36:56):
transfer to Nashville to open up a new brand. Did
you do so you can so me? And that's what
me and my buddy that worked at that place at
the time moved here and opened up this copy place.
But you still working, which is really cool. Yeah, you're
still there every day Monday there. So what struck me
(37:17):
when you were talking is that you obviously love music,
you love this thing. You spent a lot of time
doing it, but there for a while you just quit.
Was what was the moment where you went, all right,
either this isn't gonna work out, or I can't do
it anymore because it sounds because that is big to go,
I just gotta stop for a minute. Yeah, I don't
think it was that. It wasn't that conscious. I wasn't
(37:40):
that conscious of that move that I was. I wasn't
saying you're never even saying for your girlfriend, so you
can you know. It was a slow move, but that's drastic,
it is. But it was just, you know, it's a
matter of doing what you gotta do. And I was
so under student loans and all these credit card bills
(38:03):
that I'd piled up in a in a band in college. Um,
I was going under financially. I had no no way
to pay that, and so it was I just had
to get a real job. So maybe it was less
of you being like, screw it, I'm getting out of here,
going to a real job, and more of I'm gonna
after the practical and pay off these bills and eventually
I can get back to it. Yes, got it? Yes, Okay,
(38:24):
that makes the heart feel better about He didn't up
and be like, no, I'm getting music, No, no, no, no.
It was that was a period in my life where
I just had to figure out how to pay my bills,
which you know that happened again many times after that.
But UM, just trying to figure it out and survive.
You come up, you hang out with Kimberly and Karen. Uh.
There is no Philip yet, he hasn't even born yet.
(38:46):
And so what what's the vision because obviously they have
some sort of vision for the group or the two
of them with guy voices when you get up here,
what's the vision as described to you? And was it
appealing to you? At first? It was? It was it
was all harmony based. UM. At that time, we weren't
(39:07):
sure that there was gonna be a fourth we UM.
The three of us sang together. UM. I remember many
nights sitting in Kimberly's living room and working up songs
and and UM. But it wasn't long after I came
into the whole process that it was. It was a
(39:28):
discussion that we were having, like Dewey, add one more
voice for versatility, And actually there was a producer in
town that was showing interest in what the three of
us were talking about doing UM, and he kind of
solidified that, Hey, maybe you should think about one more voice.
(39:49):
That gives you the possibility of one person singing and
then you have a triad behind them. UM gives you
a lot of versatility. And that was about the time
that we were Okay, yeah, I think that's the right
way to go. And there was a friend of Karen's
that introduced us, introduced us to Philip at that time.
I mean, for me, if I'm going through this and
(40:10):
we're like, okay, we have three, we're gonna add another.
But that's another We weren't even thinking about money, man,
we didn't know that could even happen. But it's like eventually,
because again I didn't make money for fifteen years, so
I know what it's like to struggle. But in my mind,
I'm like, eventually, I'm gonna make money. Like we're gonna
hang in there. I'm gonna get better at it before
people splitting it. That is, it's it's a bigger deal.
(40:33):
That's a bigger deal. Did you guys audition people? Did
you have people seeing and not like an informal audition?
Is that was that kind of the plan Earlier the
three of us sang with jod On. That's the only
person I sang with in the auditioning process. I think
Kimberly and Karen actually did sing with Gary at one point. Um,
(40:54):
but he didn't have the chops and I figured love
Ox didn't have the chops. Yeah. Um, But you know,
it wasn't long. It wasn't Probably a couple of months later,
I met Philip. I came up, drove up and met
him at a restaurant and hung out. Um, and we
(41:15):
figured out that that felt like the right blend. When
we all sang together, it felt right, And from that
point on it was it was going to go that way.
When did you not a year but from that point
where you meet Philip, when did you have to create
the LLC or that Now it's an entity, like we
aren't just friends that are singing making forty bucks and
(41:35):
four of us to split. We're now going to pursue this.
And if we're going to pursue it, it's got to exist.
So when did that happen? It was right right around
that same time. I mean it all happened, like from
the time that I said I was going to do
this to the time we um That was maybe at
the end of ninety eight when we were having these conversations.
(41:59):
I moved in February of ninety nine. We were a
four person group, all the four existing members, and just
a few months later had a record deal. So that
was all super fast. I moved here in February and
we started. I remember I just opened up that branch
(42:21):
of that company, and I was already going, hey, I'm
not going to be able to come, We're gonna go
sing for some labels and that kind of thing. They
were super I was really up front about all that.
When I moved. I'm like, I have this intention, so
you're probably gonna run into this issue with me. And
so when it happened, they were intention to watch the game,
(42:41):
You're gonna run into this issue the buses at park
where I can get signal, thinking ahead, yes, that's pretty
quick to get a record deal. Yeah, I mean we
sang for six labels. We took a one guitar. I
didn't even really play guitar at that time. UM took
it in and saying live in front of all the
record exects, and we got about five offers out of
(43:04):
the six cheese. So if i'm you, I'm going well
or one step away from Fay, it's on. Yeah, when
did you realize that that's not quite how it works? Well?
We um, We got our record deal. We in fact
the signed the night we signed with Mercury Records, which
lasted about four months maybe. UM. We got a spot
(43:28):
at the Opery to play. We only knew three songs,
we played all of them. Um, and then they immediately
whisked whisked us away in a limo to the airport
to go sing at the De la Hoya fight for
the national anthem. And when we were getting picked up
in limos at the airport in Vegas, I was like, oh,
(43:51):
this is on and then we lost our well we didn't.
We walked away from that. It was a handshake walk away.
Not many months after that, so it was quickly like, oh,
this this is not going how I thought it was
gonna go. Well, I'm gonna ask you and I have
you expand on both of these. But the harshest reality
(44:13):
once you get a deal and then but then actually
kind of the greatest fairy tale that because you've been
able to experience both, I'll say that you guys are
in my mind if I'm just speaking of my thoughts
and feelings here, which is often what I do. Like, Um,
you guys have really worked. Everybody works hard. You guys
have worked hard, and you've had a boom, big song.
(44:36):
I like what you guys do, though you try to
push in different directions and at all times it's not
always People aren' always receptive of new things, and I
always admired that you guys continued to try that regardless.
And so you say there's a gap, But in my mind,
I'm like, yeah, probably gap because people don't understand what
you guys are trying in the time, right, Like, that's
how I interpret You're not saying it. That's how I'm
(44:57):
interpreting because I've been able to experience a lot of it,
not beside you, but running in a parallel path. So
when I say harshest reality, biggest fairy tale, you've got
to have them both. Let's start with the harshest reality
of what it is that you do and and what
you've had to experience. Well, I mean I think I
immediately go to to the time when I was just
(45:20):
telling you that, Um, the Mercury deal started going awry. Um,
how do you know what's going awry? Did you feel it?
It was made very we were made aware that it was.
We without going into too much of the backside of
of all that, we we basically signed at Mercury, cut
(45:44):
a few sides, and when the powers that be at
that time at Mercury heard the sides that we did,
we cut about four songs. UM. They basically said, Hey,
if if any of this is who you are, we're
not interested. They were just were not interested, And so
(46:05):
the harshest reality was UM. I think in that moment
I remember them saying all of that UM, and basically
felt like we had an ultimatum like our So I
I just remember going to the parking lot after that
conversation and all of the four of us sitting in
(46:27):
a car shell shocked. I mean, we just signed our deal.
We had did you know the day Lahoya fight this
is and then all of a sudden, now that's about
to be yanked out from unders. We're about to lose
our record deal. But I'll tell you this in that moment,
and I think that was a pivotal moment for the
(46:48):
band as far as what you're talking about of pushing
and following our gut and our heart and where we
musically want to go. We had that decision to make
that day, and it was the hardest decision probably well
(47:08):
I know at that time that we've made. It was
incredibly difficult because we were we were sitting there having
to ask ourselves, is any part of what we just
presented them us? And it was, you know, some of
the production might not have been quite the right direction,
but we're still experimenting, trying to figure out who we are.
But the harmony, structures and all of that of what
(47:31):
we presented was us. So we made the decision ourselves
that we were going to walk away from it because
if they're telling us that they don't want any of that,
then we can't stay here. That's that's not going to
be true to ourselves and and but it also set
the ground work for who we became as a band
(47:56):
as far as living and dying by our own decisi Jews. Now,
when I mentioned on the other side of that, like
the grid, like it's so great. It's weird, like they're
they're You're like, Wow, this is going so wonderfully that
it feels like it's the dream because I'm lucky enough
(48:18):
to get those moments too. I mean where you're just like,
I can't believe it's happening. I feel like I have
so many of those moments. But um, it's always to
me the unexpected, unbelievable moments, like collaborations that you do
with people, or the being asked to be an Opery member.
(48:40):
It's the things that you didn't even take the time
to dream up because you're like, oh, I didn't know
that was possible. Um, it's kind of all of those
moments of um, you know, singing on John Mellencamp record
like we we ended up doing non songs on one
of his records, is the vocals for his thing. It's
(49:02):
it's those kinds of moments that you get to share
the stage with people that you're just like, I don't
how I'm from Somerton, How did I? How did I?
How am I standing up here on this stage with
this person? And those are the moments that I'm so
grateful for and that you can't plan. Um that they
just kind of worked themselves out and happened, and it's
(49:24):
you just walk away going, man, what a what an
incredible blessing this has all been. We had a guy
called our show probably a month or so agost. Name
is Gary from Wisconsin, and Gary said that he had
been to over seventy five little big town shows. Gary. Yeah,
I saw a picture that Gary had posted because he
(49:45):
tagged because we were talking with him about it, and
he said he'll drive five hours. His first show was
in Las Vegas. I I asked you this in a loving,
extremely respectful way, why would someone come to sevent show?
Our fans are incredible. It's the country music fan, man.
(50:08):
They they buy in and and I think it's more
than just the music. They buy into who you are
and or at least you know who they feel like
you are. You know, the your story, um, and I
think that's that's been the big thing of that. But yeah, man,
(50:28):
I think about that too. I'm like, man, I have
to sometimes I don't want to get up here either
just to do it, you know, you get tired or whatever.
But man, what that's that's our fans there, incredible. You
guys have very very passionate it's it's incredible. The Bandwagon
Tour Miranda A Little Big Town with special guests of
(50:49):
Catalact three. A Little Big Town dot com if you
want to get tickets. Are you still enjoying playing shows?
I mean, is it still there? Is it still there?
Is having a blast? I love it and I love
all of it still, And I think that's something that, UM,
I kind of look at all the time, like when
(51:09):
we're in the studio, like, man, I still love this
as much. I'm still as passionate about all the different
parts of this UM business that we're in that I
just I just love it. I just being out with Miranda.
There's nothing better than this tour right now. UM, I
(51:32):
think for all of us just showing up in the
the friendship and you know, it's like we're talking about
hanging out at the pool at noon. A lot of
tours you go on done it's not like that, UM,
But we have some really great friends and this has
been a blast, and I absolutely can't wait to get
(51:54):
up there and play the and we'll wrap with this
but the end, I still think A Little White Church
holds up with any song ever I played all the
time on him like a dance party, and uh, it
just feels good. It's a beat. It's the end of that,
which is probably my favorite thing that you guys do
when you're all it almost feels a bit uh Doobie
Brother's dish, I think exactly. I'm not confused, confused. I
(52:18):
played a little white church this morning. Yeah, the vocal realm,
Yeah yeah, I like that a lot. What is just
your part by itself in the round with nobody else who? Uh?
Because Philip starts off the round and he goes, you
get okay, I'll do that. Okay, you get a line,
I get a pole. We're gonna go fishing in the
(52:39):
cravat five got bogger a Saturday night church on Sunday morning.
You get fishing. I come in on that. You get
a lot? Yeah, you got to be a little more dynamically,
And I'll be honest with you. One part is never dynamic.
(52:59):
Well let's and it's I thought about that. What if
I just showed up sometimes some somebody asked me to sing,
and I stepped up and I only sang the background
vocals hilarious and please record it because that's the content.
They're like, Hey, once you play one of your songs
that you and I only sing. Yeah, they're like, hey,
jimmen do a girl crush and You're like, I'll lay
off the entire verse and then um taste lips tastes
(53:26):
like you. Wouldn't that be great? That would be TikTok
viral versure Uh follow Jimmy at Jimmy Westbrook on Instagram.
J I M I and at a Little Big Town
and the new single. I don't say the name of
the new single because I don't curse. So I will say,
here's the song about a little big town, but I
will never say the name of it. So there you
have it. Wow, I'm impressed you don't cuss. I haven't
(53:49):
for six years. Well, I didn't do it because I'm
a good person. I did it because writing, if I'm
writing stand up, I don't curse. I'm a stand up
writing kids books, writing, I don't. I won't allow myself
to curse there. So I just said I don't need
to use it all the time because I'll crutch it.
I think that's fantastic. I hear so much music right
now that I'm like, there are a lot more words
(54:12):
to choose, and I know we have some words in ours.
But yeah, it's a crutch for some. I like it.
I like to hear it. I just a lot. I
don't like to hear it because it pops up on
my kids playlist and I'm like, bro, he can't be
listening to that. Well, Jimmy, it's been a pleasure. Thank
you very much, ma'am. And bye. We just did basically
(54:33):
an hour here and you and I have just not
been able to tell you're the way. It's the last
piece over the past five years individually. You were the
last part to talk to you like this. I appreciate it.
So all right, we're talking to you man. I got
a bath running. We'll hop over just alright, Jimmy Westbrook,
all right, by everybody.
Host
Bobby Bones
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