July 24, 2025 • 41 mins
Welcome back to New Slang. On Episode 223, I'm joined by Texas singer-songwriter Randy Rogers. We recorded this episode a few weeks back out at Cook's Garage during this year's CottonFest. On this episode, we talk about the 20th anniversary of their breakout album Rollercoaster, working with the likes of Radney Foster & Sean McConnell, what makes him gravitate towards an outside song cut, the meteoric rise of Parker McCollum (an often collaborator), and what's around the corner release wise for Rogers.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Thomas Mooney (00:00):
Hey,
Unknown (00:11):
welcome back y'all. I am music journalist Thomas
Mooney, and this is new slang.
We're on to Episode 223where I am joined by Texas
singer songwriter Randy Rogers.
I sat down with Randy a fewweeks back during William Clark
Green's cotton fest. You know,obviously I have not released a
(00:31):
new episode in quite some time,but it just felt like the right
time to get back in the grooveof things. So these past few
weeks, I have gone out andrecorded quite a few episodes. I
did a few here in Lubbock duringWill's cotton fest with a few
other people who played. Andthen I went up to Okemo,
Oklahoma and recorded a bunch ofstuff up there during woody
(00:53):
fest. We did this during cottonfest here in Lubbock during the
the night that Randy headlined,and you know, when he was
playing, I was I was kind ofthinking about a few things, one
of which I feel like we kind oftake Randy for granted. You
know, he's been doing this forabout 25 years now, and
(01:15):
releasing just about as manyalbums, if you kind of combine
the the studio, the live and thecollaborative efforts over that
time. That's, you know,consistency, that's longevity,
it's growth, it's perspective.
And like I said during the show,you're just kind of doing that
whole, yeah, they just havenothing but hits thing, you
know, for 90 minutes straight,it is nothing but hits. And, you
(01:37):
know, Randy, he's not going tobe one of these guys who's like
gallivanting around on stage.
There's not a whole lot of youknow, story time with the with
the crowd, and he's not slingingbeer all around and all that
kind of stuff.
But I think his showmanship isis a lot more focused, and
there's this real subtleintensity about it all. And that
(02:00):
intensity is just like wherethere is no lag time between
songs. It is just, let's go onto the next one. So here's
another hit, and then fiveminutes later, here's another
hit. It's 90 minutes offastballs. Now, as you can tell,
this episode is right aroundthat 30 minute mark, and while
short, we do pack in a lot ofconversation. Here, we touch on
(02:23):
the 20th anniversary of rollercoaster, working with the likes
of Radney Foster and SeanMcConnell over the years, what
it is that makes him gravitatetowards certain songs that are
outside cuts, what is around thecorner release wise. And then we
touch on, uh, you know, this upand coming kid named Parker
McCollum, which, if you've beenpaying attention to the last few
(02:44):
releases from Randy, they are cowrites with Parker. That would
be break itself and Is thisthing working? Now, before we
get on to the episode, let'sjust go and state the obvious.
If you haven't subscribed to newsling just yet, go ahead and do
so while you're at it, go aheadand give us a follow over on all
the social media stuff that youcan it is new slang basically
(03:08):
everywhere, but those links willbe in the show notes as well
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notes. Again, that's oglonestar.com
(04:36):
All right, let's get on to theinterview. Here is the one, the
only Randy Rogers.
Randy Rogers (04:44):
Let's roll. Hey, it's Randy Rogers. I'm sitting
here Cook's garage, hanging outCook's garage. Cotton's my radio
voice. Do you ever think youwant to do radio with a voice?
No,
Unknown (04:59):
uh.
I wanted to start off bybringing up
20 years. Last year was the 20thanniversary of roller coaster,
which was, you know, such a bigrecord for y'all, but a big
record fora lot of like, the not just the
scene, but like, for people thatthey look at that record as like
a touchstone for where they werein life.
(05:23):
20 years is like for me, I feellike it snapped by. But also I
can feel that 20 years as theyrolled by.
For you, does it feel like kindof a blink and then we're
already 2025Yeah. I mean, I don't feel old
yet, right? So I feel like I'min the middle. It's really
interesting, right? That record,to me, it
(05:49):
does feel like yesterday, in asense, right? I would love
to say that I would go backthere, but I don't think I
would, because we were broke, wewere scared, we were young, and
so many uncertainties wereinvolved with making that
record, and soit was really nice to kind of
(06:11):
revisit that moment in time. AndI've had so many like you said,
so many young artists come up tome and say, Man, that record was
it, you know, like thatconvinced me I could do this.
And that makes me feel really,really good. Makes me feel like
I did something good.
Yeah, I think, like I wasthinking about when I was
(06:33):
driving up here, even justhalf an hour ago. It was like,
back then we listened to CDs.
And like it feels likewe didn't like you, didn't just
attach to the big hits oranything like that, or a single
release. It felt like if youliked that record, you liked the
whole thing, and you listenedthrough all the deep cuts on
(06:55):
that record.
I feel like one of my favoritethings about you as a songwriter
and as an artist is thatit's been so easy for a lot of
artists tojust feel maybe like every song
has to be a co write or a writefor themselves. I feel like a
big testament for you is thatyou've not been afraid to take
(07:18):
outside cuts or songs that meantsomething to you, that were
great songs, and didn't putnecessarily pride or ego over
the fact of making a cutting agood song. Yeah, right. I mean,
like, we would have to Googleit. But like, if you looked at
Willie Nelson's, you know,Greatest Hits, you know, a lot
of them he didn't write, youknow. And a lot of the artists
(07:40):
that you think or you know,known as songwriters, if you go
look at their catalog, evenStapleton. Stapleton is a good
example, right? Like, yeah,biggest song that changed his
entire life, Dean Dylan, youknow. So, yeah, you know. I
think as an artist, and anyyoung artist listening to this,
I think you have to put egoaside. You know, if a song
(08:00):
speaks to you and you feel likeyou can get after it, you know,
and make it your own. I thinkthat's really an important part
of being an artist, is beingable to understand that, you
know, kiss me in the dark waswritten by Rodney Foster and
George Ducas andRodney did I believe in his
whole heart. Wrote it for mebecause I needed a banger, you
(08:25):
know? And I made it a banger,right? Like, yeah. And so, so
much of the song is, is whodelivers it and who writes it
right? And this doesn't have tobe the same person all the time.
Yeah, I think, like, that's,you know, a lot of people right
now. I think it's kind of invogue to be like, Oh, George
(08:47):
Strait, he never wrote any ofhis songs, and I always go, but
like, he interpreted thesesongs, like he arranged these
songs, and he put a voice tothose characters. And the idea
that he didn't resonate withthose songs is, like,
preposterous, you know, like,that's why, like, 100% being
(09:08):
able to interpret a song is thatthat's it for you. Like, what is
it that grabs grabs yourattention when it's not
necessarily a, you know, evenwhen it's in CO Writing
Situations, that's not youridea. Yeah, I'm a melody guy.
So, like, an infectious melodyfor me is always what I
gravitate towards. So somethingyou can't get out of your head.
(09:31):
I don't feel like I am a BobDylan typewriter. I don't feel
like I am a poet. You know, Ilike a really catchy, melodic
hook, you know, that's, that'swhat always gets me.
I love those big choruses thateverybody can sing along to. And
(09:53):
also don't take myself veryseriously, right? So I'm not
gonna sit there and try to be,you know, Ralph Waldo Emerson or
something.
Saying, like,like, it's okay to just be
brokenhearted and and try towrite about it. I think the one
thing about, you know, tellingstories with songs is just being
real. And somebody else saying,Well, damn it, that's me. You
know, that's exactly what I justwent through. And I think that's
(10:16):
the best compliment I've evergotten. And when somebody says
that song is me,you know. Well, actually, no,
you're wrong, because it was me.
That was what I was, the shit Iwas putting myself through, you
know, right? So,you know, I think songwriting is
just so complex, and it's noteasy. And you know,
(10:38):
a good song, though, I thinkalways, you know, the cream
rises to the top. And so I justtry to, I always try to listen,
every time we go into the studioto make a record, I try to
listen to everything that Iwrote 10 years ago. I try to
listen to everything thatsomeone pitched me 10 years ago.
I try to listen to everythingthat people are pitching me now.
I mean, I give everything a goodlisten. Yeah. That's interesting
(11:00):
right there. Because I think,like, you know, the idea of,
you know, oh, I wrote 10 Songswhen it's time to go cut a
record. That's not necessarilyhow records are made, even
though, like, I think some,especially when you're up and
coming, you know, oh, I wrote 10Songs, let's go cut a record.
I like that way of thinkingright there, of, like, actually
(11:23):
kind of going back through thepile. It's fun, because I'll
have on my computer save, like,you know, record 2021, or 2018
or whatever, go back and listento everything I was listening to
then, and thinking, Damn, that'sgood, you know, yeah, yeah,
yeah. Those moments of the shit,man, when did I write this? And
the songs we passed on, yeah,like, drink a beer. Like I
(11:47):
passed on that song when we wereon major label. I argued with
the band I'm on a sit right hereon the edge of this beer.
Disappear, drink beer. I wantedto cut that song. Is that, like,
Stapleton wrote that, right?
Yeah, and it was, like a numberone for Luke, I think, but,
yeah, um,wow. I mean, I'm so glad I
(12:09):
didn't cut it, because he had anumber one on it, right, yeah,
but, or I wish I would have cutit, but I don't know if it would
have been a number one. But, youknow, you go back and those
songs you were pitched, it'slike, dang it, yeah, I've been
fortunate to interview some ofthese, like 90s guys like clay
Walker and Clint Black. And nowClint, like, wrote a hope, like,
almost all his stuff. But youknow, my favorite questions,
(12:33):
like, Well, what did you almostget? You know, it's like, clay,
I guess, like when we weretalking,
you know, he's kind of, well,you know, I was, I was kind of
down on the totem pole, like, ifI had to, like, wait for George
to say no and Jackson to say no,and it's pretty stacked back
then, yeah. But it's alwaysinteresting to see, like, hear
(12:55):
the stories of, what would youalmost get, you know, yeah, I
think there was a few others. Imean,
just through the years, lookingback, I mean, and that's another
thing too. It's like, who knowswhat's going to be a number one
song? Quite frankly, never hadone, so I have no clue, right?
So I have no clue, so I don'teven know what is and what's not
(13:17):
anymore. And I don't think Iknew back then either. But I
think that's part of life,right? It's like, to me, songs
are just snapshots or justpictures, you know. And I know
that's people say that all thetime, but it is really true.
It's just where you're at inyour life at that time, and then
magic really happens when it'sthe right artist at the right
time with the right song, youknow, like right Brandon Lambert
(13:41):
house that built me, you knowwhat? What's like a song for you
and your catalog that you knowyou cut it, and obviously, if
you cut it, you it resonatedwith you, but time gave you more
appreciation for that song orthat you saw it from in a
different light. Well, it'sinteresting, because, like, Mr.
(14:03):
Arms instead, just had thisrecent resurgence, and it was a
tick tock thing, yeah,and I've always loved that song,
but it wasn't our biggest song.
You know, kiss me in the darkwas our biggest song. And Mr.
Never even performed well atradio back in the day.
(14:24):
And so it's very interesting tome now that it's become and
evolved to our biggest song,and not even a re recording of
it, just the original RandyRogers band, eponymous record
that it was on. It's justinteresting that here I am, 46,
years old, and these 16 year oldkids are singing that to me,
(14:45):
right? I'm like, this isinteresting. Where did this come
from? How did this happen? Andso, and
that's another thing you youngartists out there that are
listening, it's like, you neverknow. It's like, this.
Song that you wrote yesterday,you know, and 20 years from now,
(15:06):
could be the jam, yeah, yeah,yeah. What I find most
interesting about that song ishow, like, it leaves, and then
you have that little pause, andthen it comes back and, like, I
thinkyou know that part of, like,
when it comes back with just thefiddle at the very, very end,
that outro part, it makes youfeel like that. It is that like
longing of like just lookingmore into the sunset, a little
(15:30):
bit longer, you know? And rightwhen you think the sun's about
to go down or something,whatever it is, you're, you're
still out there going like,well, it's, it's still here, you
know, yeah, that's great. Maybewe should make more songs like
that. Well, I think, you know,sometimes we get stuck, and I
say we like, I'm recordingstuff, but in that,
(15:50):
oh, it doesn't fit the thesingle, the two minute, 22nd
deal, yeah, it doesn't fit, youknow, it doesn't, uh, you know,
yeah, it's three verses or fourverses, versus, you know, just
two and a good chorus orwhatever. And, like, you know,
just, I think sometimes we weoverthink it in the I'm going
(16:11):
next week to Nashville, nextweek, the week after,
uh, back to Sean McConnell. SoSean McConnell and I've written
right songs that have beenstaples of our live show. And
I'm just so excited he's gotthis studio now that he works
out of and writes out of at his,you know, place. And I'm so
excited to go back and spendtime with him and and I've told
(16:33):
him too, like I said, we need tore, re, you know, go back and
rewrite and rewrite and rewriteand rewrite some of these, you
know, half songs and ideas thatwe had when we were like, 26 you
know, a long time ago. And maybenot 26 maybe 31 but, you know,
go back andlet's just dig up some old
vibes, you know, and see what'sthere. Yeah, that's, is that
(16:56):
how? Like, maybe not that, notthat songwriting gets old or
boring or stale or anything likethat. But you know, if you're
doing it for a long time, it canmaybe stagnate. In a sense, is
that, like, one of those ways tomake it where you know it's it's
new and fresh again. I wish Icould tell you I knew, you know.
(17:17):
I wish I could explain it. Idon't, and I'm not really 100%
sure that I know what I'm doing.
Every time I start writing asong, it's, it's so bizarre,
because there's no blue, youknow, blueprint, right? And
it's, it's just crazy. It'slike, sometimes they fall out of
(17:39):
the sky, and sometimes they takeyears. It's
It's crazy, and I wish there wasan easy way to explain it, but
there's not. Yeah.
Now, like, traditionally, like,I've been more of a journalist,
writer, journalist style, andsame thing every right
everything. Like, I have hadthat feeling too often where I
(18:01):
finished an article and beenlike shit, am I gonna be able to
do this again? You know, like,am I gonna be able to put those
words to describe somebody,especially when it's really
good? Yeah. And like, you kindof feel like
shit, okay? And, you know, Ithink, like, sometimes
songwriters, probably they haveto feel that same
(18:21):
little bit of anxiety attachedto it. Yeah, I've been lately,
I've been on this, like, reallyweird health journey, and, you
know, just trying to kind of getcleaned up and figuring things
out, and, you know, become agrown up and, you know,
a better person, you know, allthese kind of, like self help
things, right? But what's beenlacking is, like that
creativity. It's veryinteresting, right? So I'm like,
(18:43):
when's it gonna come? When's itgonna come? When's it gonna
come? And the thing about it is,and I know it is, that I have no
control over it, right? When ithappens, it will happen. And I
think for some writers, and Iwas just talking to a young
writer earlier today, and he waslike, nothing's coming. I'm
like, well, you're 20 years old,bro. Like,
(19:04):
not a lot has happened to youyet. So you gotta have, you
gotta live life in order towrite life. And so even right
now, and you know, I'm about togo to write, you know,
potentially for a new album, andI have no clue what I'm gonna
write about, you know, but I'vebeen living a heck of a lot of
life, and so I think that willeventually get painted into a
(19:27):
song, right? It has to. I'vebeen doing it for so long, it's
gonna come out. Yeah, I alwayskind of think
of like, or maybe subscribe tothe theory that, if you're a
creative person, all of it, evenif you're not sitting down for
you with a guitar and a pen andpencil and and writing down
(19:49):
stuff, the living part and thebeing aware of like the moments
that's, you know, that'sinvesting into that creative
process one way or another.
Other, yeah, my wife says I'm ahorrible listener. And it is
true, because, right? Becauseshe'll say something and I'll be
like, you didn't tell me that.
But, you know, I think a lot ofsongwriting is listening. It's
likea friend group, you know, you
(20:12):
got a buddy going throughsomething that's hard or
something that's great, youknow, and just listening to that
experience, right? And beingable to relive that with Melody,
with the story. Think that's Ithink it's what it's all about.
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episode.
Yeah, is it? Is it harder, likeas you've gotten, you know,
as a bigger artist, as an olderartist, where you're not
(21:20):
necessarily able to be that,like wallflower,
you know, and like, pick up onother people's stories in that,
like people watching kind ofway. Or is that kind of, you
know what I'm saying, you know,I think, like
bigger artists slash olderartists, I think it's a,
you know, a seasoned veteran, ifyou want to call it that, right?
(21:42):
I don't think it's harder topick up on that. I think it's
the it's harder to pick up onthe trends. Right? For me, when
I see somebody blow by mebecause of Tiktok success, I'm
like, Okay, wait a minute. Wasit the song, or was it the
Tiktok that got those people tobe the headliner? Like, yeah,
sometimes I think music getslost in translation because of
(22:04):
the way that we consume musicnow, and maybe that confuses me
sometimes, as a you know,older, bigger artist, right? I'm
like, What am I not doing, yeah,at this stage in my life, what
am I not picking up on here?
Like, what am I not graspingwith this new generation? Yeah,
(22:25):
I don't know. I mean, that's arabbit hole in itself, right
there. Going, sure is, yeah,okay. I think, like, the
funniest thing about socialmedia is, like,
you know, there's been a wholelot of like, turmoil, I guess,
over Twitter, right about Muskbuying it and going to x and,
like, there's all these littleTwitter offs kind of thing and,
(22:48):
and people were like, Well, I'mgonna go on to this instead,
because of Elon Musk andwhatnot. And
there is this real funnyhesitation for a lot of
journalists out there to go,Well, you know, I've cultivated
this following on here on thisplatform, and how do I move
these 10,000 people to anotherplatform? And then you kind of
(23:10):
think about it for a minute, andyou're like, it's all made up.
Anyways, sure. Like, like, whatare we doing? Like, what are we
thinking? Like, what? Why are weso worried about the the
numbers of analytics. Yeah, theanalytics of it all. Yeah, it's
interesting, because I'm tellingthese youngsters. Are three of
them that you're about tointerview, I think Ashton
nailer, Hank Weaver and CameronAlbright. I've been telling
(23:34):
them, you've got to stopcomparing yourself,
first of all, to each other,because you're all buddies, but
you got to stop looking at theother guys and girls that are
blowing past you with thesenumbers, whether it be following
numbers or their streamingnumbers, like
we live in a day and age whereit's so easy to see and visually
see the difference between who'sgot the most streams on Spotify
(23:57):
and Who doesn't right. You'vegot to stop, you know,
focusing on someone else'ssuccess, you know. And and Ty
was just on the bus with allthose young guys, you know. And
Todd's a young himself, right?
But Ty's having all thatsuccess. It's like, you can't,
you guys can't be looking ateach other like, competitively,
(24:17):
yeah, you gotta look at eachother, like we're in this, like
we are a part of the scene ofmusic from Texas, and we were
all very proud of our productand what we're doing. And every
night you go on that stage, yougot to put your best foot
forward and be excellent and begone. That's what I always told,
you know, all the youngerartists, be excellent, and then
get the heck out of there, youknow, and and quit looking at
(24:39):
man, I could easily say, well,Randy Rogers band didn't have
any number one hits, and Eliyoung band has had 10 or
whatever it is, right? I couldeasily say, Billy curry Tim was
in the same label as me, got allthese beautiful songs and had 10
number ones, whatever he has,right? But what good does that
do? I'm about to jump on stage.
(25:00):
Not in front of 6000 people, orwhatever it is like you got to
do your job. Your job is to getup on stage and sing like you
can't sit there and compare andcompare and compare. And I
think, unfortunately nowadays,social media and the way that
you can view streaming, and allthe ways it just puts everybody
at, like, some sort of odds witheach other. It's interesting.
(25:22):
Yeah, I think 100% on all that.
I think the the one thing that Ifor a comparison, as far as you
know, I don't know, whatever,eight years ago, 10 years ago,
here in Lubbock, when we had acouple of guys like Claude
Cordero and Randall King, andfew of these guys, all coming
out of blue light, who, at thetime, you know, no one really
(25:43):
knew there was, like thishealthy competitiveness of, Oh,
I know cletto is going to cometo songwriter night with a new
song. I need to get myself a newsong. I think, like that kind of
healthy competition is, isbreeds better songs. And that's
kind of the thing where, youknow, it's, if you're all
focused on all the numbers,you're putting the cart before
(26:06):
the horse, right? You're doingthe
I've seen so many, and I'm sureyou've seen a million more than
me, but the people worried moreabout their merch, you know,
then having the set list ofsongs to do Sure, all that kind
of stuff. One thing I want tosay about a set list is, like I
(26:27):
played so many covers in thebeginning. And I'm not saying
that you shouldn't play covers,but you young artists that are
listening to this really try tofocus on your own material. And
even it is, you know, a song youdidn't write, but make it your
own. And just like my live show,I really like deviated from
those cover songs at a prettyearly age, and try to solidify
(26:51):
the Randy Rogers band as like anoriginal artist. It's hard to do
when you have no you know, youdon't have four albums or
whatever, right? Right? Yeah.
You know, as quickly as you cangravitate to your own shit, I
think it's a better, yeah, Iremember, let's see probably
like 2005six going on Limewire and Oh,
Randy Rogers cover of, come pickme up. Hit me up. Yeah, I feel
(27:17):
like I found that song beforeanybody except Ryan, and, you
know, he wrote it. So, yeah, Iremember thinking, like, this is
the fucking best song ever, andplaying it live, and people just
losing it. And then I was like,Okay, it's not mine. Yeah, man,
I haven't met Ryan and told him.
I was like, Dude, I'm just like,every night playing here. So
(27:41):
that song, or the first time Iheard, I was just first time I
really heard, like, Ryan Adams.
I was like, geez, okay, thisguy just also, just how many
records he was putting out atthe time, like, I think, like,
you know, 506, he put out.
That's the year he put out threerecords. And it was just like,
(28:01):
yeah, man, this huge fan too.
It's likehe was brilliantly creative
quickly. And it was like, howwas he doing this? Yeah,
yeah, drugs, you know,you know, one of the things I
was going to mention earlierabout roller coaster is,
(28:22):
you know, you have Kent's. Theycall it the hill country on that
record. And so when I firstheard Charlie stout working on
the song West Texas, in my eye,like, that's the first thing I
thought of was like, oh, that'shis. They call it the hill
country. That's same thing that,you know, John Prine doing
paradise, or like Sturgill doingpan bowl, or, you know,
(28:45):
something about even like red, Iwas thinking about it earlier,
red doing like Culberson County,tapping into that
preservation of a of a place anda time
so integral when the first timeyou, you know, heard that song
and came across thatsummon up something that maybe
(29:09):
you hadn't thought about or evencould put into words, what was
that like? And knowing that itwas important for you to cut
that song? Well, I love Kent,and he would play that song
often at songwriter night. AndI didn't know it at the time,
but it was about to come true.
(29:31):
You know where we live,and New Braunfels and San Marcus
area and the Hill Country areanow it's just overrun with
people, right? And it was justlike a foreshadowing at the time
he wrote it about his experienceas a child.
And so I think that song is oneof those that's important to be
(29:55):
saying for a long time, becauseit does put you at the place of.
Of kind of The Land Before Time,right? It's
that song will be aroundforever. So to me, it was my job
tocut it, and we used to play it
when Kent was alive, and hewould get up and sing it with
me. And it was gave me so muchjoy. I have so many pictures of
(30:17):
us singing it together, andhopefully the next and we'll
William Clark, green, we're hereto this event. He gets up and
plays it with me and sings theverse and stuff with me. And,
you know, it's just the passingof time. I think that's what
songs are. And, you know, andthat, that one particularly, is
about our beautiful land that wehave here in Texas. And
(30:37):
unfortunately, it's all becomingconcrete, you know, yeah, very
rapidly, quickly,even more so now than when Kent
wrote that song.
So it's interesting, and I'vehad a lot of groups attach
themselves to that song. A lotof preservationist groups, a lot
of, you know, anti quarrygroups, yeah, a lot of pushback
(31:01):
groups. Attach themselves tothat song. And that's one of the
songs are way bigger than me.
It's way bigger than Kent. Youknow, it embodies maybe an
entire movement that can't bestopped. Yeah, I think, like,
whatit's, what's so interesting on,
the writing of that song, kindof thing is, like it being so
(31:23):
personal, but again, like, asyou say, so big, like, it's kind
of, I imagine, intimidatingputting, like a voice to that
entire kind of the preservationof a place. Yeah, it has to be
kind of intimidating the firsttime you, you know, start
writing a song like that. Yeah,I wish I could write 10 of
(31:46):
those. I'mgonna try in the next couple
weeks. Yeah, well, I was gonnasay you May, May.
Now you've mentioned, you know,you'll be writing with Sean here
pretty soon, but like, you'vereleased a couple of singles
just in recent couple months orso weeks.
(32:09):
Those were co writes with ParkerMcCollum, who just released new
record. Yeah, obviously Parkerjust blew up in a way that, I
think,in a way that, like, if you said
that you knew Parker McCollumwas going to be a big star.
Like, Congratulations, everyonedid, you know, like, you could
see the writing on the wall asfar as that guy being prolific
(32:30):
and going to do big things, aslong as he,
you know, kept on partner to Iwas with him the other day, and,
man, he's become a really greatguitar player, like little known
fact Parker's a better guitarplayer than me. It really pisses
me off. Whatis it? What is it like of
(32:54):
writing with a guy who you'veseen, you know, start now and
then, like, become a guy who's,you know, accomplished. Well, I
look at him like a littlebrother. You know, I was part of
his management team at thebeginning, and
proud of him, very proud of him,and now getting to write songs
(33:15):
with him. AndI've got a new I've got a song
on his new record. It's calledkilling me. I'm
just really proud of the waythat he stayed true to his
family, to his friends and tohimself.
Really hard to do when you haveall that noise in your head,
(33:38):
right? Yeah, and success. But heis really stuck, and this new
record is really down right tothe heart of himself. I mean, he
named it after himself.
Somakes me proud, you know, to be
associated with them and youknow, as what we were talking
about earlier in thecompetitiveness and the jealousy
(33:59):
kind of happens and comparingyourself to others, and, man, it
just, I'm just so happy for him,you know, that it feels like it
all relates back to these sameethos, these same touch points.
Butagain, I think it's important
that he, you know, he put thatChris Knight cover on, yeah,
yeah, on the record, because,like,
(34:24):
that tells me, one you know, asong like that's important to
him, an artist like ChrisKnight's important to him that
maybe you know, a lot of hiscrowd doesn't know, because they
weren't necessarily around whenChris Knight was cut that
record. Or, yeah, disco. Listento love and a 45 you know, yeah,
listen, that's all Chris man.
Chris night,like, his oil patch town, yeah,
(34:48):
like, so I grew up in Fort,Stockton, little, tiny town, and
that just felt like, oh, shit,man, you were in the you're
riding around with us, you know.
Like.
Of thing. Just in the back seat.
You captured that moment. I'mstill kind of scared of Chris
Knight, by the way. I think, Imean, that's you. I think you
(35:08):
kind of have to be right. HiChris, if you're listening, you
know, that's the same thing withthe three guys you were you're
talking to earlier. We'retalking yesterday about James
McMurtry, and I said, I mean,you, you kind of have to be a
little little scared. I mean,like he Choctaw bingo. Yeah,
anybody that wrote that I'mscared of, yeah.
(35:33):
I told Ray one time,man, if I ever had like a band,
I would like the band name wouldbe Bo dark fence posts,
but uh, so anyways, you put outthese two singles is, is that
part of like a new record rightnow coming up? Or you okay about
(35:53):
to drop an EP? We made it withJed Hughes. Jed Hughes is
fabulous artist, singersongwriter, guitar player,
mandolin player, just fabulousmusician. He's on the road with
Vince Gill right now. We talkedto him today. He was actually in
the studio with Vince, so wemade a EP with Jed, and we're
going to go back in the fallwith Jed make some more songs.
(36:15):
So really excited about that newcollaboration with him.
He's actually played guitar onthe record we made with Jay
Joyce, so like fuzzyand and maybe several other
albums we've made, but thisalways been a friend and
confidant, and I really believein Him. And it's, it's good,
it's, it's different. So I feellike the Randy Rogers band has
(36:41):
always been so safe, so I'm kindof feeling like it's time to get
a little bit wicked. Yeah,well, that's go look up on like,
all your liner notes. Jed Hughesname is going to be all over the
place on all these records thatyou love that you didn't
necessarily know he was on.
(37:02):
Yeah. So is that been kind ofone of those things, I guess,
like throughout your yourcatalog, you have worked with
different producers.
I jumped around producer toproduce, you know, and so on and
so forth. SoI think we learned a lot from
working with each individualand take took away different
things from each producer thatwe work with. I don't think it
(37:23):
was necessarily a bad thing forthe career.
We never, like, hit a zinger andhad a number one and had to stay
with the same producer. So Ithink it made the band better,
honestly.
Yeah, I think sometimes, like,obviously, you have a lot of
these relationships where youartist, producer, and they do 25
(37:46):
years worth of records. Andsometimes that can be a good
thing. Sometimes that can belike, Oh, we're just listening
to the same record over andover. Feels, though, like, I
know you said safe is what youfelt. But you know, I think like
that, it's kind of important toat least have another, a
different voice in the roomsometimes, just the Yeah, you
know, get what you're Yeah. Imean, I think I'm in a spot
(38:09):
where I could take a creativeturn, right?
I'm not afraid of that.
Like I liked sounding. I like tosound like some of those crazy,
wicked 70s, you know, DavidAllen co records, like,
psychedelic, weird, country, Idon't know. I mean, like, yeah,
does it really matter anymore? Idon't even think we're in a
(38:30):
genre anymore. I don't even knowwhat we're in. Like, music has
become, so, yeah, I mean, TrapBeat and rapping is now number
one country. Like, I don'treally know where we're at. So,
yeah, if I want to go make arecord that sounds like redneck
mother, then I should be allowedto, right? Yeah? Well, I mean, I
think genre, of course, was justmade by guys like me, hard years
(38:53):
ago, saying trying to describesomething right, like, what's
outlaw country? You know,what's, uh, yeah, everything
that you're right on, on thegenre, thing i I've kind of
always compared it to,especially now, is like a rope
that's being like frayed, andlike on one end, it's getting
like tighter in which, if it'son top of it, top 40 radio, it's
(39:15):
all becoming homogenized the onesound, but on the back end,
because Everyone can produce arecord at their house. We're
getting more specific sounds. Soif you want to do a record that
sounds like, you know, DavidAllen Cove, there's room for it
because, yeah, there's just roomfor it, yes. I mean, it's, I
think it'd be fun to experiment.
That's all I'm saying. Comingsoon, fun to experiment with
(39:38):
music, yeah, well,I think that's about, about it I
have on for right now. But,well, oh, actually, give me a
give me a date on that the EPwhen? Yeah, so I don't have
exact date, but maybe October,right? So, okay, I think Is this
thing working as the last.
(40:00):
Latest thing we put out, we justsit on the music video with
Parker. He was nice enough tocome up here in my music video.
So that's the new thing. Andthen we've got three or four
more in the can that will be outfrom this EP. And then we're
back in studio. Yeah. Well,sounds good. Well, we're looking
forward to the all these new cowrites with new old COVID rights
(40:22):
with Sean McConnell, yeah, andwhatever else you got going,
getting back to the pen andpaper sounds good. Well, we'll
see you down the road. Good tosee you, brother.
All right. That is it for thisepisode. Be sure to check out
our proud partners OG Lone Star.
Be on the lookout for the nextthing from Randy Rogers, which
(40:44):
should be coming in the fall. Besure to subscribe wherever you
listen to podcasts and yeah,we'll see you next week, same
place, same time you.
Hey,
Unknown (00:11):
welcome back y'all. I am music journalist Thomas
Mooney, and this is new slang.
We're on to Episode 223where I am joined by Texas
singer songwriter Randy Rogers.
I sat down with Randy a fewweeks back during William Clark
Green's cotton fest. You know,obviously I have not released a
(00:31):
new episode in quite some time,but it just felt like the right
time to get back in the grooveof things. So these past few
weeks, I have gone out andrecorded quite a few episodes. I
did a few here in Lubbock duringWill's cotton fest with a few
other people who played. Andthen I went up to Okemo,
Oklahoma and recorded a bunch ofstuff up there during woody
(00:53):
fest. We did this during cottonfest here in Lubbock during the
the night that Randy headlined,and you know, when he was
playing, I was I was kind ofthinking about a few things, one
of which I feel like we kind oftake Randy for granted. You
know, he's been doing this forabout 25 years now, and
(01:15):
releasing just about as manyalbums, if you kind of combine
the the studio, the live and thecollaborative efforts over that
time. That's, you know,consistency, that's longevity,
it's growth, it's perspective.
And like I said during the show,you're just kind of doing that
whole, yeah, they just havenothing but hits thing, you
know, for 90 minutes straight,it is nothing but hits. And, you
(01:37):
know, Randy, he's not going tobe one of these guys who's like
gallivanting around on stage.
There's not a whole lot of youknow, story time with the with
the crowd, and he's not slingingbeer all around and all that
kind of stuff.
But I think his showmanship isis a lot more focused, and
there's this real subtleintensity about it all. And that
(02:00):
intensity is just like wherethere is no lag time between
songs. It is just, let's go onto the next one. So here's
another hit, and then fiveminutes later, here's another
hit. It's 90 minutes offastballs. Now, as you can tell,
this episode is right aroundthat 30 minute mark, and while
short, we do pack in a lot ofconversation. Here, we touch on
(02:23):
the 20th anniversary of rollercoaster, working with the likes
of Radney Foster and SeanMcConnell over the years, what
it is that makes him gravitatetowards certain songs that are
outside cuts, what is around thecorner release wise. And then we
touch on, uh, you know, this upand coming kid named Parker
McCollum, which, if you've beenpaying attention to the last few
(02:44):
releases from Randy, they are cowrites with Parker. That would
be break itself and Is thisthing working? Now, before we
get on to the episode, let'sjust go and state the obvious.
If you haven't subscribed to newsling just yet, go ahead and do
so while you're at it, go aheadand give us a follow over on all
the social media stuff that youcan it is new slang basically
(03:08):
everywhere, but those links willbe in the show notes as well
out here. Style tells a story.
It's not just a t shirt. It's ananthem. It's a statement. That's
why new slang has proudlypartnered with OG Lone Star
Austin, born Texas bred andofficially licensed by Lone Star
beer. They're bringing back theclassics, those bold vintage T
(03:29):
shirts, that classic embossedsteel tavern sign, retro trucker
caps that your grandpa probablywore back in the day, and yes,
my absolute favorite, the satinjacket, which, yeah, I pre
ordered one of those the daythey announced them. Whether
you're walking into a place likethe blue light live here in
(03:52):
Lubbock, the continental clubover in Austin, or Cheatham
street warehouse down in SanMarcus, will stick out in the
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you're a wallflower like myself,a two stepper out on the dance
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home in the vintage inspiredgear by OG Lonestar. Visit og
(04:15):
lonestar.com give them a followwhile you're at it over on
Instagram at OG underscore loneunderscore star, to see exactly
what I'm talking about, thoselinks will also be in the show
notes. Again, that's oglonestar.com
(04:36):
All right, let's get on to theinterview. Here is the one, the
only Randy Rogers.
Randy Rogers (04:44):
Let's roll. Hey, it's Randy Rogers. I'm sitting
here Cook's garage, hanging outCook's garage. Cotton's my radio
voice. Do you ever think youwant to do radio with a voice?
No,
Unknown (04:59):
uh.
I wanted to start off bybringing up
20 years. Last year was the 20thanniversary of roller coaster,
which was, you know, such a bigrecord for y'all, but a big
record fora lot of like, the not just the
scene, but like, for people thatthey look at that record as like
a touchstone for where they werein life.
(05:23):
20 years is like for me, I feellike it snapped by. But also I
can feel that 20 years as theyrolled by.
For you, does it feel like kindof a blink and then we're
already 2025Yeah. I mean, I don't feel old
yet, right? So I feel like I'min the middle. It's really
interesting, right? That record,to me, it
(05:49):
does feel like yesterday, in asense, right? I would love
to say that I would go backthere, but I don't think I
would, because we were broke, wewere scared, we were young, and
so many uncertainties wereinvolved with making that
record, and soit was really nice to kind of
(06:11):
revisit that moment in time. AndI've had so many like you said,
so many young artists come up tome and say, Man, that record was
it, you know, like thatconvinced me I could do this.
And that makes me feel really,really good. Makes me feel like
I did something good.
Yeah, I think, like I wasthinking about when I was
(06:33):
driving up here, even justhalf an hour ago. It was like,
back then we listened to CDs.
And like it feels likewe didn't like you, didn't just
attach to the big hits oranything like that, or a single
release. It felt like if youliked that record, you liked the
whole thing, and you listenedthrough all the deep cuts on
(06:55):
that record.
I feel like one of my favoritethings about you as a songwriter
and as an artist is thatit's been so easy for a lot of
artists tojust feel maybe like every song
has to be a co write or a writefor themselves. I feel like a
big testament for you is thatyou've not been afraid to take
(07:18):
outside cuts or songs that meantsomething to you, that were
great songs, and didn't putnecessarily pride or ego over
the fact of making a cutting agood song. Yeah, right. I mean,
like, we would have to Googleit. But like, if you looked at
Willie Nelson's, you know,Greatest Hits, you know, a lot
of them he didn't write, youknow. And a lot of the artists
(07:40):
that you think or you know,known as songwriters, if you go
look at their catalog, evenStapleton. Stapleton is a good
example, right? Like, yeah,biggest song that changed his
entire life, Dean Dylan, youknow. So, yeah, you know. I
think as an artist, and anyyoung artist listening to this,
I think you have to put egoaside. You know, if a song
(08:00):
speaks to you and you feel likeyou can get after it, you know,
and make it your own. I thinkthat's really an important part
of being an artist, is beingable to understand that, you
know, kiss me in the dark waswritten by Rodney Foster and
George Ducas andRodney did I believe in his
whole heart. Wrote it for mebecause I needed a banger, you
(08:25):
know? And I made it a banger,right? Like, yeah. And so, so
much of the song is, is whodelivers it and who writes it
right? And this doesn't have tobe the same person all the time.
Yeah, I think, like, that's,you know, a lot of people right
now. I think it's kind of invogue to be like, Oh, George
(08:47):
Strait, he never wrote any ofhis songs, and I always go, but
like, he interpreted thesesongs, like he arranged these
songs, and he put a voice tothose characters. And the idea
that he didn't resonate withthose songs is, like,
preposterous, you know, like,that's why, like, 100% being
(09:08):
able to interpret a song is thatthat's it for you. Like, what is
it that grabs grabs yourattention when it's not
necessarily a, you know, evenwhen it's in CO Writing
Situations, that's not youridea. Yeah, I'm a melody guy.
So, like, an infectious melodyfor me is always what I
gravitate towards. So somethingyou can't get out of your head.
(09:31):
I don't feel like I am a BobDylan typewriter. I don't feel
like I am a poet. You know, Ilike a really catchy, melodic
hook, you know, that's, that'swhat always gets me.
I love those big choruses thateverybody can sing along to. And
(09:53):
also don't take myself veryseriously, right? So I'm not
gonna sit there and try to be,you know, Ralph Waldo Emerson or
something.
Saying, like,like, it's okay to just be
brokenhearted and and try towrite about it. I think the one
thing about, you know, tellingstories with songs is just being
real. And somebody else saying,Well, damn it, that's me. You
know, that's exactly what I justwent through. And I think that's
(10:16):
the best compliment I've evergotten. And when somebody says
that song is me,you know. Well, actually, no,
you're wrong, because it was me.
That was what I was, the shit Iwas putting myself through, you
know, right? So,you know, I think songwriting is
just so complex, and it's noteasy. And you know,
(10:38):
a good song, though, I thinkalways, you know, the cream
rises to the top. And so I justtry to, I always try to listen,
every time we go into the studioto make a record, I try to
listen to everything that Iwrote 10 years ago. I try to
listen to everything thatsomeone pitched me 10 years ago.
I try to listen to everythingthat people are pitching me now.
I mean, I give everything a goodlisten. Yeah. That's interesting
(11:00):
right there. Because I think,like, you know, the idea of,
you know, oh, I wrote 10 Songswhen it's time to go cut a
record. That's not necessarilyhow records are made, even
though, like, I think some,especially when you're up and
coming, you know, oh, I wrote 10Songs, let's go cut a record.
I like that way of thinkingright there, of, like, actually
(11:23):
kind of going back through thepile. It's fun, because I'll
have on my computer save, like,you know, record 2021, or 2018
or whatever, go back and listento everything I was listening to
then, and thinking, Damn, that'sgood, you know, yeah, yeah,
yeah. Those moments of the shit,man, when did I write this? And
the songs we passed on, yeah,like, drink a beer. Like I
(11:47):
passed on that song when we wereon major label. I argued with
the band I'm on a sit right hereon the edge of this beer.
Disappear, drink beer. I wantedto cut that song. Is that, like,
Stapleton wrote that, right?
Yeah, and it was, like a numberone for Luke, I think, but,
yeah, um,wow. I mean, I'm so glad I
(12:09):
didn't cut it, because he had anumber one on it, right, yeah,
but, or I wish I would have cutit, but I don't know if it would
have been a number one. But, youknow, you go back and those
songs you were pitched, it'slike, dang it, yeah, I've been
fortunate to interview some ofthese, like 90s guys like clay
Walker and Clint Black. And nowClint, like, wrote a hope, like,
almost all his stuff. But youknow, my favorite questions,
(12:33):
like, Well, what did you almostget? You know, it's like, clay,
I guess, like when we weretalking,
you know, he's kind of, well,you know, I was, I was kind of
down on the totem pole, like, ifI had to, like, wait for George
to say no and Jackson to say no,and it's pretty stacked back
then, yeah. But it's alwaysinteresting to see, like, hear
(12:55):
the stories of, what would youalmost get, you know, yeah, I
think there was a few others. Imean,
just through the years, lookingback, I mean, and that's another
thing too. It's like, who knowswhat's going to be a number one
song? Quite frankly, never hadone, so I have no clue, right?
So I have no clue, so I don'teven know what is and what's not
(13:17):
anymore. And I don't think Iknew back then either. But I
think that's part of life,right? It's like, to me, songs
are just snapshots or justpictures, you know. And I know
that's people say that all thetime, but it is really true.
It's just where you're at inyour life at that time, and then
magic really happens when it'sthe right artist at the right
time with the right song, youknow, like right Brandon Lambert
(13:41):
house that built me, you knowwhat? What's like a song for you
and your catalog that you knowyou cut it, and obviously, if
you cut it, you it resonatedwith you, but time gave you more
appreciation for that song orthat you saw it from in a
different light. Well, it'sinteresting, because, like, Mr.
(14:03):
Arms instead, just had thisrecent resurgence, and it was a
tick tock thing, yeah,and I've always loved that song,
but it wasn't our biggest song.
You know, kiss me in the darkwas our biggest song. And Mr.
Never even performed well atradio back in the day.
(14:24):
And so it's very interesting tome now that it's become and
evolved to our biggest song,and not even a re recording of
it, just the original RandyRogers band, eponymous record
that it was on. It's justinteresting that here I am, 46,
years old, and these 16 year oldkids are singing that to me,
(14:45):
right? I'm like, this isinteresting. Where did this come
from? How did this happen? Andso, and
that's another thing you youngartists out there that are
listening, it's like, you neverknow. It's like, this.
Song that you wrote yesterday,you know, and 20 years from now,
(15:06):
could be the jam, yeah, yeah,yeah. What I find most
interesting about that song ishow, like, it leaves, and then
you have that little pause, andthen it comes back and, like, I
thinkyou know that part of, like,
when it comes back with just thefiddle at the very, very end,
that outro part, it makes youfeel like that. It is that like
longing of like just lookingmore into the sunset, a little
(15:30):
bit longer, you know? And rightwhen you think the sun's about
to go down or something,whatever it is, you're, you're
still out there going like,well, it's, it's still here, you
know, yeah, that's great. Maybewe should make more songs like
that. Well, I think, you know,sometimes we get stuck, and I
say we like, I'm recordingstuff, but in that,
(15:50):
oh, it doesn't fit the thesingle, the two minute, 22nd
deal, yeah, it doesn't fit, youknow, it doesn't, uh, you know,
yeah, it's three verses or fourverses, versus, you know, just
two and a good chorus orwhatever. And, like, you know,
just, I think sometimes we weoverthink it in the I'm going
(16:11):
next week to Nashville, nextweek, the week after,
uh, back to Sean McConnell. SoSean McConnell and I've written
right songs that have beenstaples of our live show. And
I'm just so excited he's gotthis studio now that he works
out of and writes out of at his,you know, place. And I'm so
excited to go back and spendtime with him and and I've told
(16:33):
him too, like I said, we need tore, re, you know, go back and
rewrite and rewrite and rewriteand rewrite some of these, you
know, half songs and ideas thatwe had when we were like, 26 you
know, a long time ago. And maybenot 26 maybe 31 but, you know,
go back andlet's just dig up some old
vibes, you know, and see what'sthere. Yeah, that's, is that
(16:56):
how? Like, maybe not that, notthat songwriting gets old or
boring or stale or anything likethat. But you know, if you're
doing it for a long time, it canmaybe stagnate. In a sense, is
that, like, one of those ways tomake it where you know it's it's
new and fresh again. I wish Icould tell you I knew, you know.
(17:17):
I wish I could explain it. Idon't, and I'm not really 100%
sure that I know what I'm doing.
Every time I start writing asong, it's, it's so bizarre,
because there's no blue, youknow, blueprint, right? And
it's, it's just crazy. It'slike, sometimes they fall out of
(17:39):
the sky, and sometimes they takeyears. It's
It's crazy, and I wish there wasan easy way to explain it, but
there's not. Yeah.
Now, like, traditionally, like,I've been more of a journalist,
writer, journalist style, andsame thing every right
everything. Like, I have hadthat feeling too often where I
(18:01):
finished an article and beenlike shit, am I gonna be able to
do this again? You know, like,am I gonna be able to put those
words to describe somebody,especially when it's really
good? Yeah. And like, you kindof feel like
shit, okay? And, you know, Ithink, like, sometimes
songwriters, probably they haveto feel that same
(18:21):
little bit of anxiety attachedto it. Yeah, I've been lately,
I've been on this, like, reallyweird health journey, and, you
know, just trying to kind of getcleaned up and figuring things
out, and, you know, become agrown up and, you know,
a better person, you know, allthese kind of, like self help
things, right? But what's beenlacking is, like that
creativity. It's veryinteresting, right? So I'm like,
(18:43):
when's it gonna come? When's itgonna come? When's it gonna
come? And the thing about it is,and I know it is, that I have no
control over it, right? When ithappens, it will happen. And I
think for some writers, and Iwas just talking to a young
writer earlier today, and he waslike, nothing's coming. I'm
like, well, you're 20 years old,bro. Like,
(19:04):
not a lot has happened to youyet. So you gotta have, you
gotta live life in order towrite life. And so even right
now, and you know, I'm about togo to write, you know,
potentially for a new album, andI have no clue what I'm gonna
write about, you know, but I'vebeen living a heck of a lot of
life, and so I think that willeventually get painted into a
(19:27):
song, right? It has to. I'vebeen doing it for so long, it's
gonna come out. Yeah, I alwayskind of think
of like, or maybe subscribe tothe theory that, if you're a
creative person, all of it, evenif you're not sitting down for
you with a guitar and a pen andpencil and and writing down
(19:49):
stuff, the living part and thebeing aware of like the moments
that's, you know, that'sinvesting into that creative
process one way or another.
Other, yeah, my wife says I'm ahorrible listener. And it is
true, because, right? Becauseshe'll say something and I'll be
like, you didn't tell me that.
But, you know, I think a lot ofsongwriting is listening. It's
likea friend group, you know, you
(20:12):
got a buddy going throughsomething that's hard or
something that's great, youknow, and just listening to that
experience, right? And beingable to relive that with Melody,
with the story. Think that's Ithink it's what it's all about.
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Yeah, is it? Is it harder, likeas you've gotten, you know,
as a bigger artist, as an olderartist, where you're not
(21:20):
necessarily able to be that,like wallflower,
you know, and like, pick up onother people's stories in that,
like people watching kind ofway. Or is that kind of, you
know what I'm saying, you know,I think, like
bigger artists slash olderartists, I think it's a,
you know, a seasoned veteran, ifyou want to call it that, right?
(21:42):
I don't think it's harder topick up on that. I think it's
the it's harder to pick up onthe trends. Right? For me, when
I see somebody blow by mebecause of Tiktok success, I'm
like, Okay, wait a minute. Wasit the song, or was it the
Tiktok that got those people tobe the headliner? Like, yeah,
sometimes I think music getslost in translation because of
(22:04):
the way that we consume musicnow, and maybe that confuses me
sometimes, as a you know,older, bigger artist, right? I'm
like, What am I not doing, yeah,at this stage in my life, what
am I not picking up on here?
Like, what am I not graspingwith this new generation? Yeah,
(22:25):
I don't know. I mean, that's arabbit hole in itself, right
there. Going, sure is, yeah,okay. I think, like, the
funniest thing about socialmedia is, like,
you know, there's been a wholelot of like, turmoil, I guess,
over Twitter, right about Muskbuying it and going to x and,
like, there's all these littleTwitter offs kind of thing and,
(22:48):
and people were like, Well, I'mgonna go on to this instead,
because of Elon Musk andwhatnot. And
there is this real funnyhesitation for a lot of
journalists out there to go,Well, you know, I've cultivated
this following on here on thisplatform, and how do I move
these 10,000 people to anotherplatform? And then you kind of
(23:10):
think about it for a minute, andyou're like, it's all made up.
Anyways, sure. Like, like, whatare we doing? Like, what are we
thinking? Like, what? Why are weso worried about the the
numbers of analytics. Yeah, theanalytics of it all. Yeah, it's
interesting, because I'm tellingthese youngsters. Are three of
them that you're about tointerview, I think Ashton
nailer, Hank Weaver and CameronAlbright. I've been telling
(23:34):
them, you've got to stopcomparing yourself,
first of all, to each other,because you're all buddies, but
you got to stop looking at theother guys and girls that are
blowing past you with thesenumbers, whether it be following
numbers or their streamingnumbers, like
we live in a day and age whereit's so easy to see and visually
see the difference between who'sgot the most streams on Spotify
(23:57):
and Who doesn't right. You'vegot to stop, you know,
focusing on someone else'ssuccess, you know. And and Ty
was just on the bus with allthose young guys, you know. And
Todd's a young himself, right?
But Ty's having all thatsuccess. It's like, you can't,
you guys can't be looking ateach other like, competitively,
(24:17):
yeah, you gotta look at eachother, like we're in this, like
we are a part of the scene ofmusic from Texas, and we were
all very proud of our productand what we're doing. And every
night you go on that stage, yougot to put your best foot
forward and be excellent and begone. That's what I always told,
you know, all the youngerartists, be excellent, and then
get the heck out of there, youknow, and and quit looking at
(24:39):
man, I could easily say, well,Randy Rogers band didn't have
any number one hits, and Eliyoung band has had 10 or
whatever it is, right? I couldeasily say, Billy curry Tim was
in the same label as me, got allthese beautiful songs and had 10
number ones, whatever he has,right? But what good does that
do? I'm about to jump on stage.
(25:00):
Not in front of 6000 people, orwhatever it is like you got to
do your job. Your job is to getup on stage and sing like you
can't sit there and compare andcompare and compare. And I
think, unfortunately nowadays,social media and the way that
you can view streaming, and allthe ways it just puts everybody
at, like, some sort of odds witheach other. It's interesting.
(25:22):
Yeah, I think 100% on all that.
I think the the one thing that Ifor a comparison, as far as you
know, I don't know, whatever,eight years ago, 10 years ago,
here in Lubbock, when we had acouple of guys like Claude
Cordero and Randall King, andfew of these guys, all coming
out of blue light, who, at thetime, you know, no one really
(25:43):
knew there was, like thishealthy competitiveness of, Oh,
I know cletto is going to cometo songwriter night with a new
song. I need to get myself a newsong. I think, like that kind of
healthy competition is, isbreeds better songs. And that's
kind of the thing where, youknow, it's, if you're all
focused on all the numbers,you're putting the cart before
(26:06):
the horse, right? You're doingthe
I've seen so many, and I'm sureyou've seen a million more than
me, but the people worried moreabout their merch, you know,
then having the set list ofsongs to do Sure, all that kind
of stuff. One thing I want tosay about a set list is, like I
(26:27):
played so many covers in thebeginning. And I'm not saying
that you shouldn't play covers,but you young artists that are
listening to this really try tofocus on your own material. And
even it is, you know, a song youdidn't write, but make it your
own. And just like my live show,I really like deviated from
those cover songs at a prettyearly age, and try to solidify
(26:51):
the Randy Rogers band as like anoriginal artist. It's hard to do
when you have no you know, youdon't have four albums or
whatever, right? Right? Yeah.
You know, as quickly as you cangravitate to your own shit, I
think it's a better, yeah, Iremember, let's see probably
like 2005six going on Limewire and Oh,
Randy Rogers cover of, come pickme up. Hit me up. Yeah, I feel
(27:17):
like I found that song beforeanybody except Ryan, and, you
know, he wrote it. So, yeah, Iremember thinking, like, this is
the fucking best song ever, andplaying it live, and people just
losing it. And then I was like,Okay, it's not mine. Yeah, man,
I haven't met Ryan and told him.
I was like, Dude, I'm just like,every night playing here. So
(27:41):
that song, or the first time Iheard, I was just first time I
really heard, like, Ryan Adams.
I was like, geez, okay, thisguy just also, just how many
records he was putting out atthe time, like, I think, like,
you know, 506, he put out.
That's the year he put out threerecords. And it was just like,
(28:01):
yeah, man, this huge fan too.
It's likehe was brilliantly creative
quickly. And it was like, howwas he doing this? Yeah,
yeah, drugs, you know,you know, one of the things I
was going to mention earlierabout roller coaster is,
(28:22):
you know, you have Kent's. Theycall it the hill country on that
record. And so when I firstheard Charlie stout working on
the song West Texas, in my eye,like, that's the first thing I
thought of was like, oh, that'shis. They call it the hill
country. That's same thing that,you know, John Prine doing
paradise, or like Sturgill doingpan bowl, or, you know,
(28:45):
something about even like red, Iwas thinking about it earlier,
red doing like Culberson County,tapping into that
preservation of a of a place anda time
so integral when the first timeyou, you know, heard that song
and came across thatsummon up something that maybe
(29:09):
you hadn't thought about or evencould put into words, what was
that like? And knowing that itwas important for you to cut
that song? Well, I love Kent,and he would play that song
often at songwriter night. AndI didn't know it at the time,
but it was about to come true.
(29:31):
You know where we live,and New Braunfels and San Marcus
area and the Hill Country areanow it's just overrun with
people, right? And it was justlike a foreshadowing at the time
he wrote it about his experienceas a child.
And so I think that song is oneof those that's important to be
(29:55):
saying for a long time, becauseit does put you at the place of.
Of kind of The Land Before Time,right? It's
that song will be aroundforever. So to me, it was my job
tocut it, and we used to play it
when Kent was alive, and hewould get up and sing it with
me. And it was gave me so muchjoy. I have so many pictures of
(30:17):
us singing it together, andhopefully the next and we'll
William Clark, green, we're hereto this event. He gets up and
plays it with me and sings theverse and stuff with me. And,
you know, it's just the passingof time. I think that's what
songs are. And, you know, andthat, that one particularly, is
about our beautiful land that wehave here in Texas. And
(30:37):
unfortunately, it's all becomingconcrete, you know, yeah, very
rapidly, quickly,even more so now than when Kent
wrote that song.
So it's interesting, and I'vehad a lot of groups attach
themselves to that song. A lotof preservationist groups, a lot
of, you know, anti quarrygroups, yeah, a lot of pushback
(31:01):
groups. Attach themselves tothat song. And that's one of the
songs are way bigger than me.
It's way bigger than Kent. Youknow, it embodies maybe an
entire movement that can't bestopped. Yeah, I think, like,
whatit's, what's so interesting on,
the writing of that song, kindof thing is, like it being so
(31:23):
personal, but again, like, asyou say, so big, like, it's kind
of, I imagine, intimidatingputting, like a voice to that
entire kind of the preservationof a place. Yeah, it has to be
kind of intimidating the firsttime you, you know, start
writing a song like that. Yeah,I wish I could write 10 of
(31:46):
those. I'mgonna try in the next couple
weeks. Yeah, well, I was gonnasay you May, May.
Now you've mentioned, you know,you'll be writing with Sean here
pretty soon, but like, you'vereleased a couple of singles
just in recent couple months orso weeks.
(32:09):
Those were co writes with ParkerMcCollum, who just released new
record. Yeah, obviously Parkerjust blew up in a way that, I
think,in a way that, like, if you said
that you knew Parker McCollumwas going to be a big star.
Like, Congratulations, everyonedid, you know, like, you could
see the writing on the wall asfar as that guy being prolific
(32:30):
and going to do big things, aslong as he,
you know, kept on partner to Iwas with him the other day, and,
man, he's become a really greatguitar player, like little known
fact Parker's a better guitarplayer than me. It really pisses
me off. Whatis it? What is it like of
(32:54):
writing with a guy who you'veseen, you know, start now and
then, like, become a guy who's,you know, accomplished. Well, I
look at him like a littlebrother. You know, I was part of
his management team at thebeginning, and
proud of him, very proud of him,and now getting to write songs
(33:15):
with him. AndI've got a new I've got a song
on his new record. It's calledkilling me. I'm
just really proud of the waythat he stayed true to his
family, to his friends and tohimself.
Really hard to do when you haveall that noise in your head,
(33:38):
right? Yeah, and success. But heis really stuck, and this new
record is really down right tothe heart of himself. I mean, he
named it after himself.
Somakes me proud, you know, to be
associated with them and youknow, as what we were talking
about earlier in thecompetitiveness and the jealousy
(33:59):
kind of happens and comparingyourself to others, and, man, it
just, I'm just so happy for him,you know, that it feels like it
all relates back to these sameethos, these same touch points.
Butagain, I think it's important
that he, you know, he put thatChris Knight cover on, yeah,
yeah, on the record, because,like,
(34:24):
that tells me, one you know, asong like that's important to
him, an artist like ChrisKnight's important to him that
maybe you know, a lot of hiscrowd doesn't know, because they
weren't necessarily around whenChris Knight was cut that
record. Or, yeah, disco. Listento love and a 45 you know, yeah,
listen, that's all Chris man.
Chris night,like, his oil patch town, yeah,
(34:48):
like, so I grew up in Fort,Stockton, little, tiny town, and
that just felt like, oh, shit,man, you were in the you're
riding around with us, you know.
Like.
Of thing. Just in the back seat.
You captured that moment. I'mstill kind of scared of Chris
Knight, by the way. I think, Imean, that's you. I think you
(35:08):
kind of have to be right. HiChris, if you're listening, you
know, that's the same thing withthe three guys you were you're
talking to earlier. We'retalking yesterday about James
McMurtry, and I said, I mean,you, you kind of have to be a
little little scared. I mean,like he Choctaw bingo. Yeah,
anybody that wrote that I'mscared of, yeah.
(35:33):
I told Ray one time,man, if I ever had like a band,
I would like the band name wouldbe Bo dark fence posts,
but uh, so anyways, you put outthese two singles is, is that
part of like a new record rightnow coming up? Or you okay about
(35:53):
to drop an EP? We made it withJed Hughes. Jed Hughes is
fabulous artist, singersongwriter, guitar player,
mandolin player, just fabulousmusician. He's on the road with
Vince Gill right now. We talkedto him today. He was actually in
the studio with Vince, so wemade a EP with Jed, and we're
going to go back in the fallwith Jed make some more songs.
(36:15):
So really excited about that newcollaboration with him.
He's actually played guitar onthe record we made with Jay
Joyce, so like fuzzyand and maybe several other
albums we've made, but thisalways been a friend and
confidant, and I really believein Him. And it's, it's good,
it's, it's different. So I feellike the Randy Rogers band has
(36:41):
always been so safe, so I'm kindof feeling like it's time to get
a little bit wicked. Yeah,well, that's go look up on like,
all your liner notes. Jed Hughesname is going to be all over the
place on all these records thatyou love that you didn't
necessarily know he was on.
(37:02):
Yeah. So is that been kind ofone of those things, I guess,
like throughout your yourcatalog, you have worked with
different producers.
I jumped around producer toproduce, you know, and so on and
so forth. SoI think we learned a lot from
working with each individualand take took away different
things from each producer thatwe work with. I don't think it
(37:23):
was necessarily a bad thing forthe career.
We never, like, hit a zinger andhad a number one and had to stay
with the same producer. So Ithink it made the band better,
honestly.
Yeah, I think sometimes, like,obviously, you have a lot of
these relationships where youartist, producer, and they do 25
(37:46):
years worth of records. Andsometimes that can be a good
thing. Sometimes that can belike, Oh, we're just listening
to the same record over andover. Feels, though, like, I
know you said safe is what youfelt. But you know, I think like
that, it's kind of important toat least have another, a
different voice in the roomsometimes, just the Yeah, you
know, get what you're Yeah. Imean, I think I'm in a spot
(38:09):
where I could take a creativeturn, right?
I'm not afraid of that.
Like I liked sounding. I like tosound like some of those crazy,
wicked 70s, you know, DavidAllen co records, like,
psychedelic, weird, country, Idon't know. I mean, like, yeah,
does it really matter anymore? Idon't even think we're in a
(38:30):
genre anymore. I don't even knowwhat we're in. Like, music has
become, so, yeah, I mean, TrapBeat and rapping is now number
one country. Like, I don'treally know where we're at. So,
yeah, if I want to go make arecord that sounds like redneck
mother, then I should be allowedto, right? Yeah? Well, I mean, I
think genre, of course, was justmade by guys like me, hard years
(38:53):
ago, saying trying to describesomething right, like, what's
outlaw country? You know,what's, uh, yeah, everything
that you're right on, on thegenre, thing i I've kind of
always compared it to,especially now, is like a rope
that's being like frayed, andlike on one end, it's getting
like tighter in which, if it'son top of it, top 40 radio, it's
(39:15):
all becoming homogenized the onesound, but on the back end,
because Everyone can produce arecord at their house. We're
getting more specific sounds. Soif you want to do a record that
sounds like, you know, DavidAllen Cove, there's room for it
because, yeah, there's just roomfor it, yes. I mean, it's, I
think it'd be fun to experiment.
That's all I'm saying. Comingsoon, fun to experiment with
(39:38):
music, yeah, well,I think that's about, about it I
have on for right now. But,well, oh, actually, give me a
give me a date on that the EPwhen? Yeah, so I don't have
exact date, but maybe October,right? So, okay, I think Is this
thing working as the last.
(40:00):
Latest thing we put out, we justsit on the music video with
Parker. He was nice enough tocome up here in my music video.
So that's the new thing. Andthen we've got three or four
more in the can that will be outfrom this EP. And then we're
back in studio. Yeah. Well,sounds good. Well, we're looking
forward to the all these new cowrites with new old COVID rights
(40:22):
with Sean McConnell, yeah, andwhatever else you got going,
getting back to the pen andpaper sounds good. Well, we'll
see you down the road. Good tosee you, brother.
All right. That is it for thisepisode. Be sure to check out
our proud partners OG Lone Star.
Be on the lookout for the nextthing from Randy Rogers, which
(40:44):
should be coming in the fall. Besure to subscribe wherever you
listen to podcasts and yeah,we'll see you next week, same
place, same time you.
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