October 30, 2025 • 23 mins
Josie chats with John Berry about his upcoming appearance at the 11th Annual Josie Music Awards, Christmas tour, and upcoming album!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Mr brun Bray crist around the world on the World
Wide Web.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Ladies and Children period is.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
The other stations are two A.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Yeah, broadcasting live from the Josey Network Studios in downtown
my Dinah, Tennessee.
Speaker 5 (00:36):
It's that time a week again.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
It's time for the Josie.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Shoe bringing you the most exciting music, moves and guests
from around the world.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Right here on the Jersey Show.
Speaker 6 (00:55):
Please make walking beautiful.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
It's hamited, hell love me America's Riddy el Slid business.
Josie as said he knows with.
Speaker 7 (01:05):
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Josie Show. I
am so excited because our guest is actually going to
be a presenter this year at the eleventh Aniel Josie
Music Awards, which is just in a few days. We're
so excited John Varry. And of course I'm sure you
(01:28):
know John Varry is known for his Christmas tour, so
we're gonna talk a lot about the twenty ninth annual
Christmas Tour and also Nashvillian's just letting you know if
you all are gonna be in Nashville December twenty first,
he's going to be at the Hearkin Hall, so make
sure you go and get tickets for that December twenty
(01:49):
first wink wink, So make sure you go and check
that out. But we're gonna talk all about it. But
we're so so excited to have John Barry with us
at the JMAS. We're gonna talk about new music because
I heard he got an album coming out. So we
got a lot to talk about, so let's get straight
to it.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Please, Welcome to the Josie Show. My guest John Berry.
Speaker 6 (02:08):
Hello, Hey, how are you.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Oh, I'm doing great, Thank you so much for joining me.
Thank you, Oh, my pledgu or my pleasure. So we
have a lot to talk about. So first off, you
are going to be one of our presenters at the
eleventh Annuel Josie Music Awards. I'm so excited. We're looking
forward sure, yes, we are looking forward to that. You
(02:32):
had a wonderful concert last year for our JMA pre
party at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,
and everyone loved it. We just had to have you back.
Speaker 6 (02:42):
Well.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
I appreciate that very much.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yes, of course, of course. And I also want to
talk about something very exciting every single year, is, of course,
your twenty ninth annual Christmas with John Berry tour which
is coming up. It kicks off November twenty eighth in
sugar Hill, Georgia, and stops at the Harken Hall on
the summer twenty first in Madison, Tennessee. And of course
(03:05):
all those tour dads are available at your website, Johnburry
dot com. But I wanted to kind of rewind a
little bit. How did the annual Christmas Tour begin and
come to life?
Speaker 6 (03:13):
Well, my wife, Robin and I got married in the
summer of eighty eight.
Speaker 5 (03:17):
I've been married for thirty seven years.
Speaker 6 (03:19):
Wow, thirty seven years of marital bliss.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Yes, and.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
Our pastor and dear friend, Fred Rawell asked if we
would come and if I come in and do a
little Christmas program at the church. I was playing clubs
around around Athens, Georgia and the surrounding area, and so
me and Robin and her sister in law, Tracy was
a wonderful singer, and the church pianist, Betsy Williams, we
(03:48):
put together a little Christmas program for the church.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
And they loved it. Oh, they just loved it.
Speaker 6 (03:55):
So the next year we made a little bigger and
we added a couple of my band members, and uh.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
Then the next year that we added.
Speaker 6 (04:09):
Folks from the choir, and then the next year we
added a string section from the University of Georgia's symphony.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
It kept growing and growing.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
Yeah, and so I just developed over the years in
this wonderful little program at church. And then so that
was eight.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Ninety three.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
For five years we did that, and then in ninety
four or just before the show and the Christmas of
ninety three, Robin and I were I was in the
studio recording my debut album with Capitol or working on
it and finished out and we were working on something
(04:54):
there in studio, and my producer overheard me and Robin
talking about the songs we were going.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
To do with that year. He said, what Christmas show?
What are you talking about. We told him about this.
Speaker 6 (05:04):
Whole show we do at church, and he said, you know,
we want to go in and record a couple of things.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
Let's see what we got.
Speaker 6 (05:10):
Maybe we could do a Christmas album and I, yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Let's do that. So we looked at our calendars. The
only time we were so crazy busy mm hmm.
Speaker 6 (05:20):
The next time we had available, we had a block
of time that we were going to be in Nashville
long enough to do That was June of ninety four
during fanfare gotcha, So we scheduled it from June eighth
of ninety four and put it on the back burner
and didn't talk about it for a while. In the meantime,
(05:41):
I got really sick and I had to have brain
surgery on May tenth of ninety four, the same the
same day, Your Love Amazing Me was a number one record.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
Yeah, And then a week.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
Or two later, my producer Chuck Howard called Robin, but
he said, you know, in all the couple all about
John's surgery, we forgot all about this recording.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
And he said, I'll.
Speaker 6 (06:07):
Cancel it and get it off the books, and she
said no, She said John needs the distraction.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
So we went ahead and we went in and recorded Ocoma,
Manuel and Holy Night, and we just captured something really unexpected.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
It was real emotional.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
I don't know if you ever had a major surgery
like that, but it's very emotional. And we're in the
studio recording they were they were in they were recording
overdubs and they were doing Connie.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Ellislaw was playing violin. World class violinists and violin keeps
going out.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Of tune, and Chuck Castler said, Connie, what is up
with your instrument? She said, well, I'm sitting in here
listening to John sing this song and the tears of
falling off my cheek and falling off my violin making
to go out of tune. And we just came after
something you couldn't make up and people felt it. And
(07:05):
on the other end of the spectrum, how much fun
was Garth Brooks having the night they recorded the song
Friends and Low Places.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Yes, yes, you know, and we were just on the
other end of that emotional spectrum from that. Yes, you
hear things, you hear music like that, and you may
not necessarily know why it just grabs you, but there's
just something there you can't explain, something you can't make up.
And then we did the Christmas tour the next year,
(07:35):
started off with I think eight cities, and it's grown
every year and I think most we've ever done twenty six.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Wow, we average around eighteen to twenty.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
We're doing eighteen this year, so that's amazing. It's really
a staple. I mean, everybody really looks forward to the
tour at this point and I'm just so so excited
that that is. It's a twenty ninth annual, that's amazing.
So for the thirtieth annual there it needs to be
a big bang.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
Let's do it.
Speaker 6 (08:05):
Yeah, I'll tell you what I'm excited about that right.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Absolutely, absolutely an exciting announcement that you actually shared recently.
You're releasing a new album, John Berry Live from the
Country Music Cruise, set to release November seventh. Can you
tell us about that?
Speaker 6 (08:21):
Talking about fun, Yes, we had such a great We've
done the Country Music for Cruise a couple of times
and it is such a great trip. If anyone's ever
considered going, you're like, you know, kind of on the fence,
Get off the fence and come go with us.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
It is so much fun.
Speaker 6 (08:39):
And there's music in every corner of the ship all day.
I mean it's every from I mean there's stuff going
on in the mornings, during lunchtime and met.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Our album.
Speaker 6 (08:53):
We well, we play on the we play on the
ship deck one afternoon or maybe two afternoons, and it's
just so much fun. And then there's a there's this
great room came called the hard Rock maybe the whole
rong Camember. It doesn't matter, but it's just it's it's
a club of one of the ship clubs and they
set it all up for recording, and uh, and the
(09:16):
band sounded amazing. My guys did a great job, and
Robin singing, it.
Speaker 5 (09:21):
Was just a lot of fun.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Oh yeah, it's.
Speaker 6 (09:24):
Kind of like the Greatest Hits record with a couple
of extras in there. And uh, it's really really terrific.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Oh. Absolutely. And there's a couple of videos live from
the country music crews out now, some from your fan
favorites kiss Me in the Car and You and Only You,
but those on your YouTube channel, and it looked like
a lot of fun. People were slow dancing people. It
looked like such a special special time. I love that.
And did you ever imagine that many of these fan
(09:50):
favorites that are on on this live album would have
such a lasting power that still resonates to this day?
Speaker 6 (09:57):
Honestly? Well, I have to credit Chuck Hower with that
because he and he and my friend Hercue Williams would
find songs that they really felt fit me vocally and
and that just had something cool about him that was
just and and then Chuck Howard, the producer, produced him
in such a way that they just they hold up
(10:18):
recordings of the recordings of the arrangements are really good,
and and they they don't they don't, they don't have.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
An exploration date.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
M M, not at all. Are you finding at your
concerts that you're seeing also more of like a younger
generation maybe hopping on the bandwagon and enjoying these songs
as well?
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Yeah, we do. And it's funny, I I I.
Speaker 6 (10:42):
After we do Kissing in the Car, I said, you know,
I can spot all of you that were that were
kids during the mid nineties because we started playing Kissing
in the Car and all of a sudden, I see
this expression on your face that you're we're being drawn
back to the time when you're locked in your car
(11:03):
seat and your mom's out with you running errands and
she's rocking in the minivan to kiss.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
In the Car.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
It's so true. Oh yes, it brings you back, It
really does.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
I love.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
That's amazing. And you know, just generations after generations are
able to, you know, really enjoy your music. It will
never go out of style. Let's be honest, it really won't.
The writing was just phenomenal. But then also your vocals
are incredible, so it really, it really will never go
out of style and fans can pre save the album
right now, I've noticed, So I hope that, yes, So
(11:40):
I hope everyone does that. So yes. And I wanted
to ask you because we have a lot of independent
music artists as you know that are you know, part
of the Josie Music Awards, what advice would you give
to aspiring music artists coming up today that are really
trying to just make it in this in this business?
I know it's not an is he wanted to get
into for sure, No, it's not.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
And of course, you know, the Internet has really made
it up a lot more possibilities.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
I mean, you know, my my I got my.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
Son Sean, he's our second child, and uh, he and
his family live in East Texas, and he's got a
band called Joint Custody who electric guitarist based and drums,
all the guys singing together, they write together, and it's
it's got these great harmonies, three and four part harmonies, and.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
It's just awesome.
Speaker 6 (12:38):
And he's got friends that they go on the road
and open for that have blown up and they they
ain't ever.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
Been to Nashville.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Oh wow, too funny.
Speaker 5 (12:49):
And they ain't never gonna come.
Speaker 6 (12:52):
They're gonna stay out there and play the wet and
play South, play Texas and Oklahoma and Arizona and all that.
And one of the guys I met, one of the
guys that they opened for, and he was a young
fan of mine. Actually it was pretty cool. And he said,
you know, he said.
Speaker 5 (13:08):
I don't want to rule the world.
Speaker 6 (13:11):
I just want to get out there and make as
many fans as I can, make a great living while
I can, and and just get out there and make
the most of it as best I can. And then
without having to uproove my family and uproove my life.
He said, I love where I live.
Speaker 5 (13:29):
I don't. I don't want to live here. Leave here.
And and and.
Speaker 6 (13:35):
He and I were talking about and we discovered that
one of the things one of the greatest pieces of
advice is somebody could have given me, is planned.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
For it to be over.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Mm yeah, yeah.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
Because music careers, acting careers, most careers don't last forever.
There are some artists that they've had.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
The money and the team to keep a.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
Big will, turning well into many decades of their career.
Sure most of us don't have that. You don't that's expensive.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
So the best thing is to a piece of there's
one piece of ice I got many many years ago.
Wish i'd listened to him, a guy. He said, treat
every dollar you make like it's your last one with us.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
One day it will be oh yes, oh that's a
good one.
Speaker 6 (14:26):
And so if you can plan for your career to
come to a close and and and you put a
plan together that's in twenty years, or that's in fifteen years,
or if something tram happens and you're only only make
it for five or six years or whatever it is,
make the most of it, save the save those finances
and resources, be smart with it, and have your finger
(14:52):
on the pulse of every dollar that comes through your organization.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
One hundred one hundred percent, because you you do hear
some stories, you know, and and you know you definitely
need to be in charge of your own you know,
in charge of all of that for sure.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
And when you've got to, when you've got an account
just paying your bills for.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
You, yes, right exactly, But.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
Then you don't you don't know what I went on.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
I went on tour for a couple of years, and
we were so busy I didn't see a credit.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Card bill for two years.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
You're kidding me.
Speaker 6 (15:26):
I never saw him. They were just paid by the account.
And now I'm afraid to ever go look at that
paperwork if I ever find it. Absolutely, I can't imagine
the money we just threw away.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Right, I'm sure so many artists that were just so
busy at the time. I mean, you were doing you know,
press media, you were, you know, touring all over the
world and just doing so many different things that you know,
you you you know, you trust people you know with
this kind of stuff. But this, that's really great advice
for independent artists out there and artists who eventually will
(15:59):
get you know, may get signed. To definitely keep her
hands on it.
Speaker 6 (16:05):
Have somebody on your team, yes, who has nothing to
gain except your love.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Yes, I love that, well said, Well.
Speaker 6 (16:15):
Said, you know, it's my wife says something. Not going
to get a check up. It's just this particular doctor.
I said, I don't want to go to that doctor.
I want to go to somebody who has nothing distant
mm hmmm. I wanted to going to see a doctor
who's who just is going to give me the facts. Yes,
I don't. I don't want to go sell. I don't
(16:35):
want to go see somebody who could financially benefit from
it because there's a lot of money and being sick.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
I told her that, I told her that.
Speaker 6 (16:47):
She laughed, there.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Is that's a big corporation. Yes, oh for sure, for sure?
Speaker 7 (16:55):
Oh wow.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
Well you know what I love. I love how honest
that you are. And that's why I'm so glad that
you you are part of the Josie Music Awards. And
the reason also why I'm so glad that I got
this interview with you is because a lot of artists
coming up today could really learn something from the artists
who have been through it. And you have been through it.
You have done it all, and you've seen both sides
(17:17):
of the spectrum, really and I just love how honest
that you are. So I appreciate that. Thank you for
the advice.
Speaker 6 (17:25):
Well, sure, crazy honest words from John Berry.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Yes exactly. We need a whole segment, the Warners of
John Berry. We'll just have you on every week, for sure.
I love that so much. And you know, I have
a few fun questions for you before we go, if
you don't mind, sure, perfect, perfect, So, because you have
been on the road for many many years you have
seen it all or have you ever had, especially during
(17:53):
live performances, have you ever had any embarrassing on stage
moments or something that just think go as planned live
and in person.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
I can't really, I can't really think of anything.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
I think I've been very fortunate too.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
Yes, we never had any crazy preezole or anything like
that I can think of. So, oh it's good.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Oh that's good. I love that. And then you've been
able to, you know, perform all over the world. What's
been kind of a place that you recall that you
were just like, Wow, this audience is incredible, and you know,
from anywhere across the across the world, where was that
one place where you were like, wow, this they're really
taking to the music.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Unexpectedly. I play I played my.
Speaker 6 (18:46):
Very first what we call soft seat theater show, soft
seat hard ticket sure, because when I first got started,
you know, I was playing fairs and festivals, free stages,
and we just got paid to come play these festivals, affairs,
and we were doing a lot of stuff clubs, and
but I played the State Theater in Kalamba Zoo and
(19:10):
sat fourteen hundred people, and I was like, there ain't
no way, and uh, this will be an empty house.
And I said, my manager in I find how many
tickets we sold? My road manager Robin, and he went.
He came back out. I said, they sold twelve hundred
and fifty seats, fourteen hundred seat hall.
Speaker 5 (19:28):
I said, what do you talk about?
Speaker 6 (19:29):
There ain't no way, and so he was. So he
went back and checked and came back he said, twelve
hundred fifty seats and.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Sure enough they did.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
And after that we sold that room out almost every
every show. But the Kalama Zoo Market has always been
an amazing place.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
Man.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
Those people love music, yeah, and I just I never
expected that first. I don't know why, but they just
loved it. And country music is alive and well on
that re or West Michigan's pretty pretty incredible.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
Yeah, what a pleasant surprise. How cool is that?
Speaker 6 (20:06):
That's amazing.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
I love how you could still get those moments in
your career that surprise you. You're just like, wow, that
is Yeah. I didn't expect that, but hey, I'll take it.
I like it. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. And then the
last question that I have for you, is there a
fan moment that you could recall in your career that
really either touched you or was just a funny fan encounter.
(20:28):
What can you what can you recall?
Speaker 6 (20:31):
I was a fan fair I think nineteen.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Ninety six, gotcha, And this lady came up and she
was very quiet, and she's that I realized that she
was deaf.
Speaker 6 (20:53):
And she said she she said, I love listening to
your music by putting my hand on the speaker and
feeling wow, And she said, would you mind?
Speaker 5 (21:10):
Would you?
Speaker 6 (21:11):
She said, could I be so bold as to ask
you to let me place my hands on your throat
and would you sing a little piece of Old Holy
Night for me?
Speaker 4 (21:22):
The vibration like the amazing.
Speaker 6 (21:27):
And you know fanfare of those days is there's a
gazillion people.
Speaker 5 (21:30):
Around, it's roaring loud.
Speaker 6 (21:33):
Yeah, it's just crazy. And so I quietly we were
kind of facing each other, and she I said, please, yes,
do that. So she does, and I start singing Old
Holy Night and it starts getting quieter and quieter and
quieter in that room, and it was absolutely amazing. Wow,
it was unbelievable. It was unbelievable experience.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
That is an incredible experience. Chills, I'm telling you. Wow,
that's amazing, that's incredible. Wow. I'm telling you you've had
some incredible encounters, and you know, throughout the years, so
many fans love you. You will continue to constantly get
you know, even new fans with the new generation that
are finding your songs. And it's just a really cool,
(22:17):
really cool journey. And I'm just so excited that we
have you back for the Josie Music Awards as a
presenter and we are just big fans of yours ourselves.
So thank you so much for taking time to chat
with me.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
It's good to be with you. I look forward to
seeing you.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
See you very very soon, John Barrett One. This show
is brought to you by KDK Booking Agency and it's
located in Springfield, Missouri, and represents professional and talented singer
songwriters that perform for venues in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma,
and across the US. To contact KDK, you can find
(22:52):
their website at Kdkbookingagency dot com and twenty twenty one Productions.
CMA Member presents Mikayla Gunn, a voice that carries faith
with a country soul. Her music blends heartfelt Christian lyrics
with the roots of country sound, authentic, powerful and inspiring,
and with every song, Mikayla opens the doors wider, bringing hope, warship,
(23:17):
and inclusiveness to the deaf community through ASL Faith Country Connection.
Experience the music of Mikayla Gunn and Mikayla Gunn dot
com m I k A y l A g u
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Mr brun Bray crist around the world on the World
Wide Web.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Ladies and Children period is.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
The other stations are two A.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Yeah, broadcasting live from the Josey Network Studios in downtown
my Dinah, Tennessee.
Speaker 5 (00:36):
It's that time a week again.
Speaker 4 (00:38):
It's time for the Josie.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Shoe bringing you the most exciting music, moves and guests
from around the world.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Right here on the Jersey Show.
Speaker 6 (00:55):
Please make walking beautiful.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
It's hamited, hell love me America's Riddy el Slid business.
Josie as said he knows with.
Speaker 7 (01:05):
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Josie Show. I
am so excited because our guest is actually going to
be a presenter this year at the eleventh Aniel Josie
Music Awards, which is just in a few days. We're
so excited John Varry. And of course I'm sure you
(01:28):
know John Varry is known for his Christmas tour, so
we're gonna talk a lot about the twenty ninth annual
Christmas Tour and also Nashvillian's just letting you know if
you all are gonna be in Nashville December twenty first,
he's going to be at the Hearkin Hall, so make
sure you go and get tickets for that December twenty
(01:49):
first wink wink, So make sure you go and check
that out. But we're gonna talk all about it. But
we're so so excited to have John Barry with us
at the JMAS. We're gonna talk about new music because
I heard he got an album coming out. So we
got a lot to talk about, so let's get straight
to it.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Please, Welcome to the Josie Show. My guest John Berry.
Speaker 6 (02:08):
Hello, Hey, how are you.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Oh, I'm doing great, Thank you so much for joining me.
Thank you, Oh, my pledgu or my pleasure. So we
have a lot to talk about. So first off, you
are going to be one of our presenters at the
eleventh Annuel Josie Music Awards. I'm so excited. We're looking
forward sure, yes, we are looking forward to that. You
(02:32):
had a wonderful concert last year for our JMA pre
party at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum,
and everyone loved it. We just had to have you back.
Speaker 6 (02:42):
Well.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
I appreciate that very much.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yes, of course, of course. And I also want to
talk about something very exciting every single year, is, of course,
your twenty ninth annual Christmas with John Berry tour which
is coming up. It kicks off November twenty eighth in
sugar Hill, Georgia, and stops at the Harken Hall on
the summer twenty first in Madison, Tennessee. And of course
(03:05):
all those tour dads are available at your website, Johnburry
dot com. But I wanted to kind of rewind a
little bit. How did the annual Christmas Tour begin and
come to life?
Speaker 6 (03:13):
Well, my wife, Robin and I got married in the
summer of eighty eight.
Speaker 5 (03:17):
I've been married for thirty seven years.
Speaker 6 (03:19):
Wow, thirty seven years of marital bliss.
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Yes, and.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
Our pastor and dear friend, Fred Rawell asked if we
would come and if I come in and do a
little Christmas program at the church. I was playing clubs
around around Athens, Georgia and the surrounding area, and so
me and Robin and her sister in law, Tracy was
a wonderful singer, and the church pianist, Betsy Williams, we
(03:48):
put together a little Christmas program for the church.
Speaker 5 (03:52):
And they loved it. Oh, they just loved it.
Speaker 6 (03:55):
So the next year we made a little bigger and
we added a couple of my band members, and uh.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
Then the next year that we added.
Speaker 6 (04:09):
Folks from the choir, and then the next year we
added a string section from the University of Georgia's symphony.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
It kept growing and growing.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
Yeah, and so I just developed over the years in
this wonderful little program at church. And then so that
was eight.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
Ninety three.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
For five years we did that, and then in ninety
four or just before the show and the Christmas of
ninety three, Robin and I were I was in the
studio recording my debut album with Capitol or working on
it and finished out and we were working on something
(04:54):
there in studio, and my producer overheard me and Robin
talking about the songs we were going.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
To do with that year. He said, what Christmas show?
What are you talking about. We told him about this.
Speaker 6 (05:04):
Whole show we do at church, and he said, you know,
we want to go in and record a couple of things.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
Let's see what we got.
Speaker 6 (05:10):
Maybe we could do a Christmas album and I, yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Let's do that. So we looked at our calendars. The
only time we were so crazy busy mm hmm.
Speaker 6 (05:20):
The next time we had available, we had a block
of time that we were going to be in Nashville
long enough to do That was June of ninety four
during fanfare gotcha, So we scheduled it from June eighth
of ninety four and put it on the back burner
and didn't talk about it for a while. In the meantime,
(05:41):
I got really sick and I had to have brain
surgery on May tenth of ninety four, the same the
same day, Your Love Amazing Me was a number one record.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
Yeah, And then a week.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
Or two later, my producer Chuck Howard called Robin, but
he said, you know, in all the couple all about
John's surgery, we forgot all about this recording.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
And he said, I'll.
Speaker 6 (06:07):
Cancel it and get it off the books, and she
said no, She said John needs the distraction.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 6 (06:14):
So we went ahead and we went in and recorded Ocoma,
Manuel and Holy Night, and we just captured something really unexpected.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
It was real emotional.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
I don't know if you ever had a major surgery
like that, but it's very emotional. And we're in the
studio recording they were they were in they were recording
overdubs and they were doing Connie.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
Ellislaw was playing violin. World class violinists and violin keeps
going out.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
Of tune, and Chuck Castler said, Connie, what is up
with your instrument? She said, well, I'm sitting in here
listening to John sing this song and the tears of
falling off my cheek and falling off my violin making
to go out of tune. And we just came after
something you couldn't make up and people felt it. And
(07:05):
on the other end of the spectrum, how much fun
was Garth Brooks having the night they recorded the song
Friends and Low Places.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Yes, yes, you know, and we were just on the
other end of that emotional spectrum from that. Yes, you
hear things, you hear music like that, and you may
not necessarily know why it just grabs you, but there's
just something there you can't explain, something you can't make up.
And then we did the Christmas tour the next year,
(07:35):
started off with I think eight cities, and it's grown
every year and I think most we've ever done twenty six.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
Wow, we average around eighteen to twenty.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
We're doing eighteen this year, so that's amazing. It's really
a staple. I mean, everybody really looks forward to the
tour at this point and I'm just so so excited
that that is. It's a twenty ninth annual, that's amazing.
So for the thirtieth annual there it needs to be
a big bang.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
Let's do it.
Speaker 6 (08:05):
Yeah, I'll tell you what I'm excited about that right.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Absolutely, absolutely an exciting announcement that you actually shared recently.
You're releasing a new album, John Berry Live from the
Country Music Cruise, set to release November seventh. Can you
tell us about that?
Speaker 6 (08:21):
Talking about fun, Yes, we had such a great We've
done the Country Music for Cruise a couple of times
and it is such a great trip. If anyone's ever
considered going, you're like, you know, kind of on the fence,
Get off the fence and come go with us.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
It is so much fun.
Speaker 6 (08:39):
And there's music in every corner of the ship all day.
I mean it's every from I mean there's stuff going
on in the mornings, during lunchtime and met.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Our album.
Speaker 6 (08:53):
We well, we play on the we play on the
ship deck one afternoon or maybe two afternoons, and it's
just so much fun. And then there's a there's this
great room came called the hard Rock maybe the whole
rong Camember. It doesn't matter, but it's just it's it's
a club of one of the ship clubs and they
set it all up for recording, and uh, and the
(09:16):
band sounded amazing. My guys did a great job, and
Robin singing, it.
Speaker 5 (09:21):
Was just a lot of fun.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Oh yeah, it's.
Speaker 6 (09:24):
Kind of like the Greatest Hits record with a couple
of extras in there. And uh, it's really really terrific.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Oh. Absolutely. And there's a couple of videos live from
the country music crews out now, some from your fan
favorites kiss Me in the Car and You and Only You,
but those on your YouTube channel, and it looked like
a lot of fun. People were slow dancing people. It
looked like such a special special time. I love that.
And did you ever imagine that many of these fan
(09:50):
favorites that are on on this live album would have
such a lasting power that still resonates to this day?
Speaker 6 (09:57):
Honestly? Well, I have to credit Chuck Hower with that
because he and he and my friend Hercue Williams would
find songs that they really felt fit me vocally and
and that just had something cool about him that was
just and and then Chuck Howard, the producer, produced him
in such a way that they just they hold up
(10:18):
recordings of the recordings of the arrangements are really good,
and and they they don't they don't, they don't have.
Speaker 5 (10:26):
An exploration date.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
M M, not at all. Are you finding at your
concerts that you're seeing also more of like a younger
generation maybe hopping on the bandwagon and enjoying these songs
as well?
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Yeah, we do. And it's funny, I I I.
Speaker 6 (10:42):
After we do Kissing in the Car, I said, you know,
I can spot all of you that were that were
kids during the mid nineties because we started playing Kissing
in the Car and all of a sudden, I see
this expression on your face that you're we're being drawn
back to the time when you're locked in your car
(11:03):
seat and your mom's out with you running errands and
she's rocking in the minivan to kiss.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
In the Car.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
It's so true. Oh yes, it brings you back, It
really does.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
I love.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
That's amazing. And you know, just generations after generations are
able to, you know, really enjoy your music. It will
never go out of style. Let's be honest, it really won't.
The writing was just phenomenal. But then also your vocals
are incredible, so it really, it really will never go
out of style and fans can pre save the album
right now, I've noticed, So I hope that, yes, So
(11:40):
I hope everyone does that. So yes. And I wanted
to ask you because we have a lot of independent
music artists as you know that are you know, part
of the Josie Music Awards, what advice would you give
to aspiring music artists coming up today that are really
trying to just make it in this in this business?
I know it's not an is he wanted to get
into for sure, No, it's not.
Speaker 6 (12:03):
And of course, you know, the Internet has really made
it up a lot more possibilities.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
I mean, you know, my my I got my.
Speaker 6 (12:13):
Son Sean, he's our second child, and uh, he and
his family live in East Texas, and he's got a
band called Joint Custody who electric guitarist based and drums,
all the guys singing together, they write together, and it's
it's got these great harmonies, three and four part harmonies, and.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
It's just awesome.
Speaker 6 (12:38):
And he's got friends that they go on the road
and open for that have blown up and they they
ain't ever.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
Been to Nashville.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Oh wow, too funny.
Speaker 5 (12:49):
And they ain't never gonna come.
Speaker 6 (12:52):
They're gonna stay out there and play the wet and
play South, play Texas and Oklahoma and Arizona and all that.
And one of the guys I met, one of the
guys that they opened for, and he was a young
fan of mine. Actually it was pretty cool. And he said,
you know, he said.
Speaker 5 (13:08):
I don't want to rule the world.
Speaker 6 (13:11):
I just want to get out there and make as
many fans as I can, make a great living while
I can, and and just get out there and make
the most of it as best I can. And then
without having to uproove my family and uproove my life.
He said, I love where I live.
Speaker 5 (13:29):
I don't. I don't want to live here. Leave here.
And and and.
Speaker 6 (13:35):
He and I were talking about and we discovered that
one of the things one of the greatest pieces of
advice is somebody could have given me, is planned.
Speaker 5 (13:44):
For it to be over.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Mm yeah, yeah.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
Because music careers, acting careers, most careers don't last forever.
There are some artists that they've had.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
The money and the team to keep a.
Speaker 6 (14:00):
Big will, turning well into many decades of their career.
Sure most of us don't have that. You don't that's expensive.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
So the best thing is to a piece of there's
one piece of ice I got many many years ago.
Wish i'd listened to him, a guy. He said, treat
every dollar you make like it's your last one with us.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
One day it will be oh yes, oh that's a
good one.
Speaker 6 (14:26):
And so if you can plan for your career to
come to a close and and and you put a
plan together that's in twenty years, or that's in fifteen years,
or if something tram happens and you're only only make
it for five or six years or whatever it is,
make the most of it, save the save those finances
and resources, be smart with it, and have your finger
(14:52):
on the pulse of every dollar that comes through your organization.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
One hundred one hundred percent, because you you do hear
some stories, you know, and and you know you definitely
need to be in charge of your own you know,
in charge of all of that for sure.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
And when you've got to, when you've got an account
just paying your bills for.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
You, yes, right exactly, But.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
Then you don't you don't know what I went on.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
I went on tour for a couple of years, and
we were so busy I didn't see a credit.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
Card bill for two years.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
You're kidding me.
Speaker 6 (15:26):
I never saw him. They were just paid by the account.
And now I'm afraid to ever go look at that
paperwork if I ever find it. Absolutely, I can't imagine
the money we just threw away.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
Right, I'm sure so many artists that were just so
busy at the time. I mean, you were doing you know,
press media, you were, you know, touring all over the
world and just doing so many different things that you know,
you you you know, you trust people you know with
this kind of stuff. But this, that's really great advice
for independent artists out there and artists who eventually will
(15:59):
get you know, may get signed. To definitely keep her
hands on it.
Speaker 6 (16:05):
Have somebody on your team, yes, who has nothing to
gain except your love.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Yes, I love that, well said, Well.
Speaker 6 (16:15):
Said, you know, it's my wife says something. Not going
to get a check up. It's just this particular doctor.
I said, I don't want to go to that doctor.
I want to go to somebody who has nothing distant
mm hmmm. I wanted to going to see a doctor
who's who just is going to give me the facts. Yes,
I don't. I don't want to go sell. I don't
(16:35):
want to go see somebody who could financially benefit from
it because there's a lot of money and being sick.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
I told her that, I told her that.
Speaker 6 (16:47):
She laughed, there.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Is that's a big corporation. Yes, oh for sure, for sure?
Speaker 7 (16:55):
Oh wow.
Speaker 4 (16:56):
Well you know what I love. I love how honest
that you are. And that's why I'm so glad that
you you are part of the Josie Music Awards. And
the reason also why I'm so glad that I got
this interview with you is because a lot of artists
coming up today could really learn something from the artists
who have been through it. And you have been through it.
You have done it all, and you've seen both sides
(17:17):
of the spectrum, really and I just love how honest
that you are. So I appreciate that. Thank you for
the advice.
Speaker 6 (17:25):
Well, sure, crazy honest words from John Berry.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Yes exactly. We need a whole segment, the Warners of
John Berry. We'll just have you on every week, for sure.
I love that so much. And you know, I have
a few fun questions for you before we go, if
you don't mind, sure, perfect, perfect, So, because you have
been on the road for many many years you have
seen it all or have you ever had, especially during
(17:53):
live performances, have you ever had any embarrassing on stage
moments or something that just think go as planned live
and in person.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
I can't really, I can't really think of anything.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
I think I've been very fortunate too.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
Yes, we never had any crazy preezole or anything like
that I can think of. So, oh it's good.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Oh that's good. I love that. And then you've been
able to, you know, perform all over the world. What's
been kind of a place that you recall that you
were just like, Wow, this audience is incredible, and you know,
from anywhere across the across the world, where was that
one place where you were like, wow, this they're really
taking to the music.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
Unexpectedly. I play I played my.
Speaker 6 (18:46):
Very first what we call soft seat theater show, soft
seat hard ticket sure, because when I first got started,
you know, I was playing fairs and festivals, free stages,
and we just got paid to come play these festivals, affairs,
and we were doing a lot of stuff clubs, and
but I played the State Theater in Kalamba Zoo and
(19:10):
sat fourteen hundred people, and I was like, there ain't
no way, and uh, this will be an empty house.
And I said, my manager in I find how many
tickets we sold? My road manager Robin, and he went.
He came back out. I said, they sold twelve hundred
and fifty seats, fourteen hundred seat hall.
Speaker 5 (19:28):
I said, what do you talk about?
Speaker 6 (19:29):
There ain't no way, and so he was. So he
went back and checked and came back he said, twelve
hundred fifty seats and.
Speaker 5 (19:40):
Sure enough they did.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
And after that we sold that room out almost every
every show. But the Kalama Zoo Market has always been
an amazing place.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
Man.
Speaker 6 (19:49):
Those people love music, yeah, and I just I never
expected that first. I don't know why, but they just
loved it. And country music is alive and well on
that re or West Michigan's pretty pretty incredible.
Speaker 4 (20:03):
Yeah, what a pleasant surprise. How cool is that?
Speaker 6 (20:06):
That's amazing.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
I love how you could still get those moments in
your career that surprise you. You're just like, wow, that
is Yeah. I didn't expect that, but hey, I'll take it.
I like it. That's wonderful. That's wonderful. And then the
last question that I have for you, is there a
fan moment that you could recall in your career that
really either touched you or was just a funny fan encounter.
(20:28):
What can you what can you recall?
Speaker 6 (20:31):
I was a fan fair I think nineteen.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Ninety six, gotcha, And this lady came up and she
was very quiet, and she's that I realized that she
was deaf.
Speaker 6 (20:53):
And she said she she said, I love listening to
your music by putting my hand on the speaker and
feeling wow, And she said, would you mind?
Speaker 5 (21:10):
Would you?
Speaker 6 (21:11):
She said, could I be so bold as to ask
you to let me place my hands on your throat
and would you sing a little piece of Old Holy
Night for me?
Speaker 4 (21:22):
The vibration like the amazing.
Speaker 6 (21:27):
And you know fanfare of those days is there's a
gazillion people.
Speaker 5 (21:30):
Around, it's roaring loud.
Speaker 6 (21:33):
Yeah, it's just crazy. And so I quietly we were
kind of facing each other, and she I said, please, yes,
do that. So she does, and I start singing Old
Holy Night and it starts getting quieter and quieter and
quieter in that room, and it was absolutely amazing. Wow,
it was unbelievable. It was unbelievable experience.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
That is an incredible experience. Chills, I'm telling you. Wow,
that's amazing, that's incredible. Wow. I'm telling you you've had
some incredible encounters, and you know, throughout the years, so
many fans love you. You will continue to constantly get
you know, even new fans with the new generation that
are finding your songs. And it's just a really cool,
(22:17):
really cool journey. And I'm just so excited that we
have you back for the Josie Music Awards as a
presenter and we are just big fans of yours ourselves.
So thank you so much for taking time to chat
with me.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
It's good to be with you. I look forward to
seeing you.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
See you very very soon, John Barrett One. This show
is brought to you by KDK Booking Agency and it's
located in Springfield, Missouri, and represents professional and talented singer
songwriters that perform for venues in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma,
and across the US. To contact KDK, you can find
(22:52):
their website at Kdkbookingagency dot com and twenty twenty one Productions.
CMA Member presents Mikayla Gunn, a voice that carries faith
with a country soul. Her music blends heartfelt Christian lyrics
with the roots of country sound, authentic, powerful and inspiring,
and with every song, Mikayla opens the doors wider, bringing hope, warship,
(23:17):
and inclusiveness to the deaf community through ASL Faith Country Connection.
Experience the music of Mikayla Gunn and Mikayla Gunn dot
com m I k A y l A g u
n n dot com streaming now everywhere
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