Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello Detroit Wheels.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hey, Doug god barn Oh Don.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
Hello Don Barnes. All right, we got Don Barnes on
the run.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
They got me running. No problem on podcast and radio, not.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
A problem at all.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Sing your songwriter guitar player from thirty eight Special and Don.
Let me just let me just thank you first off
for keeping this franchise in this unit going all of
these years. I know a lot of people, probably you know,
thought that after Donnie van Zant left, that you know.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It might not last at least this long.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
But you have kept this bad boy rolling down the
highway and touring and continuing to bring great Southern thirty
eight Special rock all over the country. And I just
want to thank you for that because I am a
huge fan. I've seen you many many times and uh
oh really great.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
So well, yeah, it's the it's the songs, Doug. It's
not me, it's the songs. I mean, we didn't realize
it would be such fabric to these people's lives. They
come out and we see this instant reactions. There they're
high five and they're singing along time. My sound man
he said something, I have to turn you up louder
because the crowd is singing louder than you are, and
(01:17):
so you know, you see tears in their eyes songs
that remind them, and man, it makes you, It makes
you want to play these songs with the same passion
and conviction as the first day you recorded it, because
it's coming, it's going over. So well, you know, people live,
they come out and relive their youth. I do too.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, well, we all do. There's no question about it.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
They're just something you know, and I don't know, maybe
it's a pun, but there is something special about thirty eight,
special in those songs, and you know, just the memories
that they bring. I guess one of the reasons is
they get pounded on the radio.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So, yeah, that's one thing. But you know, I tell
you it comes from true experiences. We learned a long
time ago to stop trying to contrive songs that that
didn't get that didn't have truth to them, you know,
so we all of those songs hold on loosely was
about a relationship that going south, and you know, I
didn't have any uh, you know, an idea what was happening.
(02:18):
You know, I mentioned to Jim Peterrick from the band Survivor,
who co wrote with he and Jess Carlisi, the original
guitar player. I said, what I had the notebooks there
with the lines and titles, and songwriters all have these
little tools, and I said, what is it about? People
can't seem to celebrate their differences or tolerate their difference,
so they try to change the other person. They want
(02:40):
to keep them under their thumb. And I said, what
do you think about this title hold on Loosely? And
he said, oh yeah, but don't let go. That's the
first thing out of his mouth. And that funny how
And we were just off of the races that those
two lines, those bookend couple of lines encapsulated the whole,
you know, relationship oriented song, you know, and out giving
me each other room to be themselves and just celebrate
(03:03):
that that relationship, you know. And anyway, so all those
songs came and caught up in you was we were
off the road after nine months and didn't have an
idea of a single note going on in an album
that was due six months from then. It's like these
guys that write books and was like first page. I
woke up this morning dot dot dot.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yes, anything right, right, Writing songs. Writing songs is like
a mystery to me.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I I you know, it is so amazing, but when
they come out there, it's like, uh, you know, a Picasso,
you know what I mean, it's beautiful work.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I was I was dating. I was dating this girl said,
you know, I can't seem to get any work done.
I'm just so caught up in you all the time.
Just like that rolled off my tongue. I thought, that's
a pretty good title of a song. So you're right.
Songwriting is a mystery, and it still is a mystery
to me. So you try to just create the truth.
Truth can't be denied. I've said before. You can write
(03:58):
about ooh baby, I miss you, I love you all
day long, but it's not if it's just made it up,
you know, But when it comes from real life experiences,
people connect to it. They feel like that guy's singing
just my feelings right there. That's just how I feel.
So you're making that connection. That's what art is. That's
what art's supposed to be, you know. Yep.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So you mentioned Jim Peterick and you kind of reached
out to him to co write some of the new songs.
On the brand new album Milestones, the first one that
you've put out in twenty years. And I think it's
great that you know, you're carving out a new direction
a little bit at least for thirty eight Special, you know,
making your own music so to speak.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Well, it's we've tried to modernize thirty eight Specials. We've
been around fifty years. So you know, some of these fans,
if you come out with something that sounds like nineteen
eighty six, well he might appease some of the early
fans and they think, but they shrugged their shoulders and say, well,
it's nothing new, it's the same thing they've always done before. Conversely,
you come out with something that's edgy and you took
(05:02):
some risks and you as an artist, you went outside
of yourself. Those same fans are going, huh, that's dirty
eight Special. So you have to kind of dismiss yourself
from opinions of people and just be the artists and
take some risks.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
You know, Yeah, the new stuff sounds fantastic.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
And what did Jim Peterrick think when you you know,
I would imagine you called him up and said, hey, Jim,
I'm thinking about writing some new songs. You want to
get back in with it. I mean, what was that like,
kind of like a reunion.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, it was kind of full circle. I told him.
Of course, he's been my friend all these years, over
forty years, and the chemistry is there. I've written with
all different artists through the years, I mean out in
the West Coast and just everywhere New York. But the
chemistry with myself and Jim Peterrie has always been one
of great times some laughs, have a couple of glasses
(05:53):
of wine, you go to dinner, you know, and it
should be fun like that. And so he's always wide
open for any good ideas. You know. I'll bring some
things that were like half finished, and you know, sometimes
it's a little you're a little unsure of an idea.
You just think you need one other person to validate it,
you know. And he's so excitable all the time. It's like, oh, yeah,
(06:15):
and we could do this, and we could do that, yeah,
you know, and so you're just off to the races
with that guy. Chemistry was always perfect there. So I
wanted to come full circle with him and put some good,
great songs together and you know, take some risks, get
outside of it. You know. So he's been been great.
But he wrote a book called Songwriting for Dummies. You know,
he's the guy he told me a long time ago said,
(06:40):
you got to hear that little radio in your head.
That's what songwriters. They need to hear it before they
put it to Yeah, and that's something I learned a
long time ago. And he wanted me to put a
little blurb in his book, Songwriting for Dummies, and I
quoted that. Right, you got to hear that little radio,
he said, right before you fall asleep. It can be anything.
You're just walking through your mind and you create in
(07:02):
your mind. So I told him, mustn't. Man, I've been
a good student of yours.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Miss you have, so tell me a little bit about
some of the people that you've got helping you out
on this record.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I saw just at a glance that Randy Bachman.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Was on there, the legendary Randy Bachman from Guess Who
and bto So who else is on it?
Speaker 1 (07:22):
And how did you guys all mesh together?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Well? Pat Monaghan from Train he had he and Joe
Bonamassa had done a version of hold On loosely just
for fun, and they released it to YouTube and he
got like a million hits and they captured some of
the intensity there and I've got it, taught wind of it.
And I was in the middle of these different phases
of recording basic tracks and everything, and I said, I'm
(07:46):
going to reach out to his manager see if he'd
like to sing a song on this new album we're
putting together for the fiftieth anniversary. And his manager came back, said,
he said he would absolutely love to do it. He's
been a lifelong fan, and so he came in and
just crushed it. You know, he just brought all that
soulful ad libs and everything, and said, I sent him
two songs. One was more mild, and he said, well,
(08:08):
that's okay. What else you got. I said, well, the
other one I have is kind of angular and rude,
and he said, oh, let's go with the rude one. Yeah,
it's called slightly controversial, and it is a pretty just
get machine gun guitars and the chorus and you know,
that kind of attitude in your face thing. But he
loved it and we had a great time, and I
told him it made a new friendship us. Said, you know,
(08:30):
between the two of us, we could probably scare up
a pretty good song. We want to do some writing
together and he said absolutely, so we're looking forward to that.
So another door opened for something like that. You know,
really well, Randy, Randy Bakman always been a fan. I
told him, you know, I found myself in Nashville one
day and the publisher said, Randy Bachman's in town. Would
you like to spend the day? Was absolutely so. It
(08:52):
was kind of reverse of Pat Monaghan. I was the
young guy, you know, I said. I went in there
and I told him, I said, we sat down and
wrote Long, Long Train. It's a bit of a social
commentary thing, and it's not something that we ever did before.
And we both knew you want to keep it kind
of vague, you know, because if you start ten pointing
things or naming names, you've got to protest song and
(09:14):
nobody wants that, you know. So you know, we just
wrote it about life as it is today and what
are we leaving the children, and just you know, just
civilization in general. But I told him this is funny,
I said, I said, you know, you're part of kind
of a pivotal moment in my life. I said, back
in the early seventies, I was landscaping. I was digging
(09:35):
palm tree holes in Florida, and you know, they get
five feet wide five foot deep. And I said, I
was down in this down in this hole, pushing the
idiot stick, you know. And I said. The radio was
playing in the truck and I heard the opening chords
of Taking Care of Business, bump bumping, dad da da.
And I told my I said to myself, that guy
(09:56):
is on the radio. There, he's on here. I can
play that right there. That guy's on the radio. If
if I if I can play that, then I could
be on the radio. I told him. I said, I
thought I got to literally get myself up out of
this hole and get to work. You know. He loved
that that story, and I said, you know, it's just
funny how life dishes it out. All these years later,
(10:19):
I'm sitting across from the same guy writing a song
with him, the guy from the palm tree hole.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yeah, there you go. What a memory, What a great
memory that is.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
I mean, you know, to come back full circle on
that as well. But yeah, so the songs do have
though that southern that you know, that southern rock sound
to it still a little bit right.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yeah, yeah, it has elements of all the other guitar
figures in the course of vocals and everything. But you know,
we tried to get outside of ourself. That's what artists
should do. Don't do the same thing, don't don't paint
the same picture, you know. So and speaking of artists,
you know a lot of artists just used big broad
strokes and it says everything. And some artists will take
two years to paint every leaf on the tree. So simplicity,
(11:06):
the beauty is in the simplicity of something. So we
we tried to just put diverse songs on there that
had different emotions, different to take it for a ride,
to take the listener for a ride. So we're real
proud of it. Got a lot of great songs that
are real diverse. If you didn't like that one, you'll
like the next one, all right, I love that worked
with us.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah, So how long did it take you to kick
this out? And you know where did your recorded? Did
you do it kind of modernized? You know where you're
using equipment here and they're there, or did you guys
come together in a studio?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Uh? We were. We do over one hundred cities a
year where every year it's locked Rown Agency William Morris Agents,
so we had to get off the road and go
into we had we have friends and Collective Soul. They
have a studio down in South Atlanta, and we went
in there. We would cut like three basic tracks and
then go jump out and do fifteen more cities, and
then come back and do three more basic tracks. So
(12:01):
it was really daunting a series of that sense, but
we knew we wanted to meet the moment because it
was the fiftieth anniversary. We had to have some good
new music. So, you know, we got all this track
together and then I had to do all the overdubs.
I flew to Chicago Jim Peterick's house, He's got a
studio in his house, and did all the vocals and
harmonies and guitar solos, and Jerry Riggs and the other
guitar player came with me. And you know, the wrong
(12:24):
place to be in January in Chicago, you know, yeah,
I'm off the cars. Yeah right, But it worked out
really well, and we took about eight phases of recordings,
so different way than we used to do it. Yeah, yeah,
a lot of phases to them. And Sonny got the
mixing and then mastering and then artwork and all that.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
I love the art work. By the way, where where
did that come from?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
That was a guy, Brian Porazak. He lives in la
and he was he does a lot of all different
kinds of movie art and everything. And I we had
a different concept. We were going to put it in
like an iron iron works factory, real kind of fire
and you know, melting. And he said no, he said,
(13:11):
we're gonna put it if it's called milestone, it's a
pinnacle every career. That cover. We're going to put you
on a mountaintop. It's the very height of your career
on So he sent me the file. I'd never seen
anything yet. As I'm opening the file, I'm thinking, oh,
please be good, Please be good. So I opened it
up like, oh my god. He did a great job,
(13:32):
you know. So yeah, so he put it. We were
out there on the mountaintop, big logo on top of
the mountain, you know, And I said that that really
encapsulates everything. But he put everything together. We had great photographer,
but you know, all the process of putting an album out,
you got a photo session, of video shoots and all
those things. So it just came out just a couple
of weeks ago, said we're happy, real excited about it,
(13:54):
finally getting seeing the light of day. Yeah, yeah, that.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Logo looks good and it does have a bit of
a modern feel to it for you guys too, So
that's great. Yep, looks good. So you talked about all
these cities that you're playing, and I see you do
have a date in the Metro area November the eighth,
out there at Soaring Eagle at the in Mount Pleasant.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
So, oh, it's always a great time. Thirty eight special.
We bring that party, We unfold that history, everybody who
gets to relive all their youths. We've got some new things,
new music from Milestone, got some extra special surprises. So
it's always a ride. We take them for we that's
our forte is live shows. We've been honing these live shows.
(14:41):
It's our big explosive opening and then keep climbing, you know.
So it's some one hundred and two minutes of everything
you want to hear through the history of the band.
And you know, you see the instant reactions of people.
They're high five and singing along and tears in their eyes.
Songs remind them of someone or something but you know,
it's a great experience to go and we feed off
(15:02):
of that too. And they also could see that we
still like each other all these years. That's pretty rare.
We were having a good time ourselves. It's a celebration
of that brotherhood and everything. You know.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
No, you definitely see it on stage and you feel
it with the music. And that was one of the
things I was seeing right from the beginning that you've
you've kept this train rolling all this time. Was it
hard for you to, you know, decide to have to
take over the vocals and you know, the leadership of
the band so to speak in that regard from the beginning,
because I know you've got it down now.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
But well, it was Donnie. Donnie van Zandt was the
one that suggested because we had done two albums that
had gone over the cliffs that were failures, and he
had sung everything and he's got more kind of earthy
bluesy voice that wasn't so accessible to radio, and he said,
why don't you try to sing a couple of them,
you know, were third album, you know, and it's I'll
(15:55):
give it a shot. You know. It turns out that
my voice was more accessible for radios, but it didn't
matter to him because we were a team and it
didn't matter who carried the ball as long as you won.
As a team, we weren't winning. So he's he's very
happy with it, very supportive, even to this day. I
just talked to him yesterday.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, that's us.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
He's doing fine, and he's and so of course sends
to everybody their best. He still owns a trademark with me.
He gets a licensing fee of our touring every year,
and he absolutely deserves all that we started it together.
And the thing with Donnie, he just about broke his
body for this band. He had hit replacements, at throat surgery,
all these kinds of things that physically happened to him.
(16:34):
But you know, he finally inner ear nerve damage. They
said to you, if you continue doing what you're doing,
you're going to be absolutely stone deaf, and so they
forty years. I told him, your brother Ronnie would have
been so proud of you. You made it forty years,
so you know, but he's doing great now.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
All right, Well, listen, we invite everybody to check out
the new music on the new album, Milestone's first new
album for thirty eight special in twenty years, and uh,
you'll see some of the new stuff November the eighth.
I would imagine out there at Soaring Eagle with you guys,
and I guess it was time, you know, really to
put out something new, especially when you're celebrating a milestone.
(17:12):
I don actually I am celebrated celebrating my fiftieth year
in radio right now too. I wish I could put
my own album out. I wish I could put an
album out.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Oh my god, congratulations, man, I know how fickle radio
business is. All these years. Man, you're a warrior. Fifty
years excellent.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
I think I've seen thirty eight Special at least fifty times.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So all right. But Doug, thanks for having having me on.
Appreciate it, and thank you for everybody making us a
part of their lives all these years. Come see us.
We'll have a large time together. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Doug, Thank you, Don Don Barron's thirty eight Special.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Thank you, bye, thank you, thank you Bye.
Hello Detroit Wheels.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hey, Doug god barn Oh Don.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
Hello Don Barnes. All right, we got Don Barnes on
the run.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
They got me running. No problem on podcast and radio, not.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
A problem at all.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Sing your songwriter guitar player from thirty eight Special and Don.
Let me just let me just thank you first off
for keeping this franchise in this unit going all of
these years. I know a lot of people, probably you know,
thought that after Donnie van Zant left, that you know.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
It might not last at least this long.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
But you have kept this bad boy rolling down the
highway and touring and continuing to bring great Southern thirty
eight Special rock all over the country. And I just
want to thank you for that because I am a
huge fan. I've seen you many many times and uh
oh really great.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
So well, yeah, it's the it's the songs, Doug. It's
not me, it's the songs. I mean, we didn't realize
it would be such fabric to these people's lives. They
come out and we see this instant reactions. There they're
high five and they're singing along time. My sound man
he said something, I have to turn you up louder
because the crowd is singing louder than you are, and
(01:17):
so you know, you see tears in their eyes songs
that remind them, and man, it makes you, It makes
you want to play these songs with the same passion
and conviction as the first day you recorded it, because
it's coming, it's going over. So well, you know, people live,
they come out and relive their youth. I do too.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Yeah, well, we all do. There's no question about it.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
They're just something you know, and I don't know, maybe
it's a pun, but there is something special about thirty eight,
special in those songs, and you know, just the memories
that they bring. I guess one of the reasons is
they get pounded on the radio.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
So, yeah, that's one thing. But you know, I tell
you it comes from true experiences. We learned a long
time ago to stop trying to contrive songs that that
didn't get that didn't have truth to them, you know,
so we all of those songs hold on loosely was
about a relationship that going south, and you know, I
didn't have any uh, you know, an idea what was happening.
(02:18):
You know, I mentioned to Jim Peterrick from the band Survivor,
who co wrote with he and Jess Carlisi, the original
guitar player. I said, what I had the notebooks there
with the lines and titles, and songwriters all have these
little tools, and I said, what is it about? People
can't seem to celebrate their differences or tolerate their difference,
so they try to change the other person. They want
(02:40):
to keep them under their thumb. And I said, what
do you think about this title hold on Loosely? And
he said, oh yeah, but don't let go. That's the
first thing out of his mouth. And that funny how
And we were just off of the races that those
two lines, those bookend couple of lines encapsulated the whole,
you know, relationship oriented song, you know, and out giving
me each other room to be themselves and just celebrate
(03:03):
that that relationship, you know. And anyway, so all those
songs came and caught up in you was we were
off the road after nine months and didn't have an
idea of a single note going on in an album
that was due six months from then. It's like these
guys that write books and was like first page. I
woke up this morning dot dot dot.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yes, anything right, right, Writing songs. Writing songs is like
a mystery to me.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
I I you know, it is so amazing, but when
they come out there, it's like, uh, you know, a Picasso,
you know what I mean, it's beautiful work.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I was I was dating. I was dating this girl said,
you know, I can't seem to get any work done.
I'm just so caught up in you all the time.
Just like that rolled off my tongue. I thought, that's
a pretty good title of a song. So you're right.
Songwriting is a mystery, and it still is a mystery
to me. So you try to just create the truth.
Truth can't be denied. I've said before. You can write
(03:58):
about ooh baby, I miss you, I love you all
day long, but it's not if it's just made it up,
you know, But when it comes from real life experiences,
people connect to it. They feel like that guy's singing
just my feelings right there. That's just how I feel.
So you're making that connection. That's what art is. That's
what art's supposed to be, you know. Yep.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
So you mentioned Jim Peterick and you kind of reached
out to him to co write some of the new songs.
On the brand new album Milestones, the first one that
you've put out in twenty years. And I think it's
great that you know, you're carving out a new direction
a little bit at least for thirty eight Special, you know,
making your own music so to speak.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Well, it's we've tried to modernize thirty eight Specials. We've
been around fifty years. So you know, some of these fans,
if you come out with something that sounds like nineteen
eighty six, well he might appease some of the early
fans and they think, but they shrugged their shoulders and say, well,
it's nothing new, it's the same thing they've always done before. Conversely,
you come out with something that's edgy and you took
(05:02):
some risks and you as an artist, you went outside
of yourself. Those same fans are going, huh, that's dirty
eight Special. So you have to kind of dismiss yourself
from opinions of people and just be the artists and
take some risks.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
You know, Yeah, the new stuff sounds fantastic.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
And what did Jim Peterrick think when you you know,
I would imagine you called him up and said, hey, Jim,
I'm thinking about writing some new songs. You want to
get back in with it. I mean, what was that like,
kind of like a reunion.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, it was kind of full circle. I told him.
Of course, he's been my friend all these years, over
forty years, and the chemistry is there. I've written with
all different artists through the years, I mean out in
the West Coast and just everywhere New York. But the
chemistry with myself and Jim Peterrie has always been one
of great times some laughs, have a couple of glasses
(05:53):
of wine, you go to dinner, you know, and it
should be fun like that. And so he's always wide
open for any good ideas. You know. I'll bring some
things that were like half finished, and you know, sometimes
it's a little you're a little unsure of an idea.
You just think you need one other person to validate it,
you know. And he's so excitable all the time. It's like, oh, yeah,
(06:15):
and we could do this, and we could do that, yeah,
you know, and so you're just off to the races
with that guy. Chemistry was always perfect there. So I
wanted to come full circle with him and put some good,
great songs together and you know, take some risks, get
outside of it. You know. So he's been been great.
But he wrote a book called Songwriting for Dummies. You know,
he's the guy he told me a long time ago said,
(06:40):
you got to hear that little radio in your head.
That's what songwriters. They need to hear it before they
put it to Yeah, and that's something I learned a
long time ago. And he wanted me to put a
little blurb in his book, Songwriting for Dummies, and I
quoted that. Right, you got to hear that little radio,
he said, right before you fall asleep. It can be anything.
You're just walking through your mind and you create in
(07:02):
your mind. So I told him, mustn't. Man, I've been
a good student of yours.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Miss you have, so tell me a little bit about
some of the people that you've got helping you out
on this record.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I saw just at a glance that Randy Bachman.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Was on there, the legendary Randy Bachman from Guess Who
and bto So who else is on it?
Speaker 1 (07:22):
And how did you guys all mesh together?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Well? Pat Monaghan from Train he had he and Joe
Bonamassa had done a version of hold On loosely just
for fun, and they released it to YouTube and he
got like a million hits and they captured some of
the intensity there and I've got it, taught wind of it.
And I was in the middle of these different phases
of recording basic tracks and everything, and I said, I'm
(07:46):
going to reach out to his manager see if he'd
like to sing a song on this new album we're
putting together for the fiftieth anniversary. And his manager came back, said,
he said he would absolutely love to do it. He's
been a lifelong fan, and so he came in and
just crushed it. You know, he just brought all that
soulful ad libs and everything, and said, I sent him
two songs. One was more mild, and he said, well,
(08:08):
that's okay. What else you got. I said, well, the
other one I have is kind of angular and rude,
and he said, oh, let's go with the rude one. Yeah,
it's called slightly controversial, and it is a pretty just
get machine gun guitars and the chorus and you know,
that kind of attitude in your face thing. But he
loved it and we had a great time, and I
told him it made a new friendship us. Said, you know,
(08:30):
between the two of us, we could probably scare up
a pretty good song. We want to do some writing
together and he said absolutely, so we're looking forward to that.
So another door opened for something like that. You know,
really well, Randy, Randy Bakman always been a fan. I
told him, you know, I found myself in Nashville one
day and the publisher said, Randy Bachman's in town. Would
you like to spend the day? Was absolutely so. It
(08:52):
was kind of reverse of Pat Monaghan. I was the
young guy, you know, I said. I went in there
and I told him, I said, we sat down and
wrote Long, Long Train. It's a bit of a social
commentary thing, and it's not something that we ever did before.
And we both knew you want to keep it kind
of vague, you know, because if you start ten pointing
things or naming names, you've got to protest song and
(09:14):
nobody wants that, you know. So you know, we just
wrote it about life as it is today and what
are we leaving the children, and just you know, just
civilization in general. But I told him this is funny,
I said, I said, you know, you're part of kind
of a pivotal moment in my life. I said, back
in the early seventies, I was landscaping. I was digging
(09:35):
palm tree holes in Florida, and you know, they get
five feet wide five foot deep. And I said, I
was down in this down in this hole, pushing the
idiot stick, you know. And I said. The radio was
playing in the truck and I heard the opening chords
of Taking Care of Business, bump bumping, dad da da.
And I told my I said to myself, that guy
(09:56):
is on the radio. There, he's on here. I can
play that right there. That guy's on the radio. If
if I if I can play that, then I could
be on the radio. I told him. I said, I
thought I got to literally get myself up out of
this hole and get to work. You know. He loved
that that story, and I said, you know, it's just
funny how life dishes it out. All these years later,
(10:19):
I'm sitting across from the same guy writing a song
with him, the guy from the palm tree hole.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yeah, there you go. What a memory, What a great
memory that is.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
I mean, you know, to come back full circle on
that as well. But yeah, so the songs do have
though that southern that you know, that southern rock sound
to it still a little bit right.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yeah, yeah, it has elements of all the other guitar
figures in the course of vocals and everything. But you know,
we tried to get outside of ourself. That's what artists
should do. Don't do the same thing, don't don't paint
the same picture, you know. So and speaking of artists,
you know a lot of artists just used big broad
strokes and it says everything. And some artists will take
two years to paint every leaf on the tree. So simplicity,
(11:06):
the beauty is in the simplicity of something. So we
we tried to just put diverse songs on there that
had different emotions, different to take it for a ride,
to take the listener for a ride. So we're real
proud of it. Got a lot of great songs that
are real diverse. If you didn't like that one, you'll
like the next one, all right, I love that worked
with us.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah, So how long did it take you to kick
this out? And you know where did your recorded? Did
you do it kind of modernized? You know where you're
using equipment here and they're there, or did you guys
come together in a studio?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Uh? We were. We do over one hundred cities a
year where every year it's locked Rown Agency William Morris Agents,
so we had to get off the road and go
into we had we have friends and Collective Soul. They
have a studio down in South Atlanta, and we went
in there. We would cut like three basic tracks and
then go jump out and do fifteen more cities, and
then come back and do three more basic tracks. So
(12:01):
it was really daunting a series of that sense, but
we knew we wanted to meet the moment because it
was the fiftieth anniversary. We had to have some good
new music. So, you know, we got all this track
together and then I had to do all the overdubs.
I flew to Chicago Jim Peterick's house, He's got a
studio in his house, and did all the vocals and
harmonies and guitar solos, and Jerry Riggs and the other
guitar player came with me. And you know, the wrong
(12:24):
place to be in January in Chicago, you know, yeah,
I'm off the cars. Yeah right, But it worked out
really well, and we took about eight phases of recordings,
so different way than we used to do it. Yeah, yeah,
a lot of phases to them. And Sonny got the
mixing and then mastering and then artwork and all that.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
I love the art work. By the way, where where
did that come from?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
That was a guy, Brian Porazak. He lives in la
and he was he does a lot of all different
kinds of movie art and everything. And I we had
a different concept. We were going to put it in
like an iron iron works factory, real kind of fire
and you know, melting. And he said no, he said,
(13:11):
we're gonna put it if it's called milestone, it's a
pinnacle every career. That cover. We're going to put you
on a mountaintop. It's the very height of your career
on So he sent me the file. I'd never seen
anything yet. As I'm opening the file, I'm thinking, oh,
please be good, Please be good. So I opened it
up like, oh my god. He did a great job,
(13:32):
you know. So yeah, so he put it. We were
out there on the mountaintop, big logo on top of
the mountain, you know, And I said that that really
encapsulates everything. But he put everything together. We had great photographer,
but you know, all the process of putting an album out,
you got a photo session, of video shoots and all
those things. So it just came out just a couple
of weeks ago, said we're happy, real excited about it,
(13:54):
finally getting seeing the light of day. Yeah, yeah, that.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
Logo looks good and it does have a bit of
a modern feel to it for you guys too, So
that's great. Yep, looks good. So you talked about all
these cities that you're playing, and I see you do
have a date in the Metro area November the eighth,
out there at Soaring Eagle at the in Mount Pleasant.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
So, oh, it's always a great time. Thirty eight special.
We bring that party, We unfold that history, everybody who
gets to relive all their youths. We've got some new things,
new music from Milestone, got some extra special surprises. So
it's always a ride. We take them for we that's
our forte is live shows. We've been honing these live shows.
(14:41):
It's our big explosive opening and then keep climbing, you know.
So it's some one hundred and two minutes of everything
you want to hear through the history of the band.
And you know, you see the instant reactions of people.
They're high five and singing along and tears in their eyes.
Songs remind them of someone or something but you know,
it's a great experience to go and we feed off
(15:02):
of that too. And they also could see that we
still like each other all these years. That's pretty rare.
We were having a good time ourselves. It's a celebration
of that brotherhood and everything. You know.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
No, you definitely see it on stage and you feel
it with the music. And that was one of the
things I was seeing right from the beginning that you've
you've kept this train rolling all this time. Was it
hard for you to, you know, decide to have to
take over the vocals and you know, the leadership of
the band so to speak in that regard from the beginning,
because I know you've got it down now.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
But well, it was Donnie. Donnie van Zandt was the
one that suggested because we had done two albums that
had gone over the cliffs that were failures, and he
had sung everything and he's got more kind of earthy
bluesy voice that wasn't so accessible to radio, and he said,
why don't you try to sing a couple of them,
you know, were third album, you know, and it's I'll
(15:55):
give it a shot. You know. It turns out that
my voice was more accessible for radios, but it didn't
matter to him because we were a team and it
didn't matter who carried the ball as long as you won.
As a team, we weren't winning. So he's he's very
happy with it, very supportive, even to this day. I
just talked to him yesterday.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, that's us.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
He's doing fine, and he's and so of course sends
to everybody their best. He still owns a trademark with me.
He gets a licensing fee of our touring every year,
and he absolutely deserves all that we started it together.
And the thing with Donnie, he just about broke his
body for this band. He had hit replacements, at throat surgery,
all these kinds of things that physically happened to him.
(16:34):
But you know, he finally inner ear nerve damage. They
said to you, if you continue doing what you're doing,
you're going to be absolutely stone deaf, and so they
forty years. I told him, your brother Ronnie would have
been so proud of you. You made it forty years,
so you know, but he's doing great now.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
All right, Well, listen, we invite everybody to check out
the new music on the new album, Milestone's first new
album for thirty eight special in twenty years, and uh,
you'll see some of the new stuff November the eighth.
I would imagine out there at Soaring Eagle with you guys,
and I guess it was time, you know, really to
put out something new, especially when you're celebrating a milestone.
(17:12):
I don actually I am celebrated celebrating my fiftieth year
in radio right now too. I wish I could put
my own album out. I wish I could put an
album out.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Oh my god, congratulations, man, I know how fickle radio
business is. All these years. Man, you're a warrior. Fifty
years excellent.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
I think I've seen thirty eight Special at least fifty times.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
So all right. But Doug, thanks for having having me on.
Appreciate it, and thank you for everybody making us a
part of their lives all these years. Come see us.
We'll have a large time together. Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Doug, Thank you, Don Don Barron's thirty eight Special.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Thank you, bye, thank you, thank you Bye.
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