December 2, 2019 • 53 mins
Bob grew up around music all his life, even as a child he would perform in talent shows. He was a natural.
During the eighties, he worked as a studio background singer and made the first call list. Which basically means, his voice is on the majority of records ever recorded during that time. If you listen to Motley Crew's Girls, Girls Girls, that's Bob. He sang with Sting, Barry Manilow, REO Speedwagon, Dolly Parton, and the list goes on and on, and on.
Bob was in many bands growing up and was ultimately signed by one of the biggest labels in the word, Jive Records. It was around that time he realized there was more to life than touring and being a star. He asked to be released from his record deal and went back to making the music he loved. Soon after, his song Butterfly Kisses became one of the most popular songs of the decade. He won a Grammy and multiple Dove awards. He was asked to perform on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Regis & Kathy Lee and the song stayed high in the charts for weeks and went on to sell over three million copies.
Bob's story wasn't all pie in the sky. In this episode, Bob shares a rare story about being rescued as a small child from an abusive home and adopted by a loving couple who raised him and encouraged his musical abilities. It's out of these types of tragedies, love arises and replaces hate and pain so that millions of people's lives could be touched and set on a better course.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the groove with Devin Pence and
Reggie ham.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
You have to take risks that will be
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And if you do not find a way,red moments are born, great
opportunity and that's what youhave here in the end.
(00:29):
That's all we really are.
I just stories.
Stories are what our lives aremade up of.
Stories, how we remember peopleand stories make us feel a
little less alone in the world.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Welcome to the group podcast.
This is Devin Pence
Speaker 1 (00:47):
and this is Reggie ham.
Here on the groove.
We know that every life has apurpose, but sometimes it takes
a while to figure out what itis.
And very often what it is isnothing like you planned it.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
So true, so true.
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Speaker 1 (01:53):
Do today is just a a labor of love for me.
This is going to be amazing.
This is going to be fun.
This has got, this isn't work atall.
This is one of my favoritepeople, one of my favorite
singers.
Uh, if you ever listen toChristian music and said, man,
why can't it be as good as likeregular music, secular music,
(02:13):
whatever.
You never said that about thisguy.
Okay.
This guy is as good as it's everbeen.
He's as good as it gets.
He's top of the food chain inevery, in every aspect, uh, of,
of music.
Bob Carlyle is with us today.
You've heard him, you've heardhim sing background on, on rock
records through the 80s,everything from Motley crew to
(02:36):
Barry Manilow.
I mean he's sung with everybody.
And then you've heard him as asolo artist.
You probably know him best.
His song butterfly kisses, thatwas a multi-week number one
smash hit in 1996 but Bob'scareer is storied and varied and
it is multi textural andmultilayered and you are in for
(02:58):
a treat.
That is so true man.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Um, I'm a huge fan as well.
And um, I know you guys, I the,I'll never forget the first time
and you know, we talk about thisthe first time I heard his voice
, um, you know, actually thetruth of the matter is the first
time I heard his voice, I had noidea it was his voice, you know,
right on Motley cruise over andso on.
But um, this is, this is goingto be a great episode and I'm
(03:22):
just going to just turn it overto you guys.
And just kinda, you know, chimein every now and then.
One thing that I thought was sofunny that I had to say before
we get into the show is you'reat guys, when we were recording
the show, I thought someone wasin the background.
Some guy was in the backgroundwhistling, calling, you know
people.
But turns out Bob has this biggiant light bird.
(03:45):
So when you hear somebodywhistling, it's not any of us,
it's Bob's bird and the thingsthat, that's hilarious, right?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
When you put Bob in the room, you just see how far
you can like just see how far,how long you can last.
Let's just, let's just get himcranked up and see how far he
bounces off the walls.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
All right, let's just, let's just get into it.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Today's guest is one of my favorite singers, one of
my favorite songwriters, one ofmy favorite artists, one of my
favorite people, Bob Carlyle.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
[inaudible] how are you baby
Speaker 5 (04:25):
man?
I'm excellent, Bob.
It's, uh, it's good to hear yourvoice.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
It's nice.
It's always nice to hear yourvoice, Reggie.
I'm glad you're busy and doingstuff.
And having fun.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
Well, I don't know if I'm doing all those things, but
I'm definitely busy.
So, and keep you from thinkingabout it.
That's it.
That's exactly right.
Oh man.
Uh, well listen, I'll just jumpright in.
I met you on a very interestingday in your life.
I remember somehow we got puttogether to write a song and I
(04:56):
don't even think you knew who Iwas coming out.
I didn't know.
You know, I was like, okay, wellI'm going to go, I somehow got a
session with Bob Carlisle.
I'm going to it.
I don't know how it's going togo, but I'm at least going to
meet the guy cause I was such afan and I get out there and you
had just lost your big, bigrecord contract and uh, you, you
said, Reggie, I just lost my bigrecord deal.
(05:18):
I'm gonna sign this littlerecord deal.
I'm going to go sell this thingon the weekends.
I'm going to have fun.
I'm going to be a soccer dad.
I'm not done.
I'm not doing this song anddance anymore.
I'm just, I'm just going to makethe record I want to make and,
and uh, you know, and it turnedout to be the biggest record of
your life.
And you, but you said that thething you said to me that made
(05:38):
me love you from the beginning.
He said, if you're here to makemoney, you're in the wrong
place, man.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Now you got to go to George King's house for that.
I, you know, Reggie, I don'tremember that.
Uh, I remember when I was atRick Delilah's, his house, he
said, I know a guy you got tomeet, you said Reggie,
Speaker 5 (05:55):
that must, that must have been, yeah, that been how
we got together.
Were you guys in Nashville atthe time?
Yeah, we were all in.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
Yeah.
Uh, yeah, I was, um, that, thatabout summed it up.
I was signed to a big label and,and they unceremoniously, uh,
let me go with no, no reasons.
No, not even any conversation.
It was unique.
And so I, uh, I signed with alittle label and, and sold a
bunch of records, so it workedout good.
(06:24):
But yeah, I've never been, I'vejust never had, I've never been
one with that.
I guess I just don't have theself loving kindness enough to
go and just create myself asempire around me.
I know that, that, uh, that hasa lot to do with what an artist
needs to be, is confident inhimself and selling themselves.
(06:46):
But I've never been one ofthose, I've never been one of
the little skinny pretty guyswho wants to get out there and
just make the world a Dorham.
I just w I just loved, I lovedmy family, man.
And I, and I, and I, of course,I love making music.
It's all I do.
But, but, um, I, it was, it wasamazing when I just started
singing stuff in kind of my ownrange and, and things of that,
(07:07):
about things that were importantto me is when is when it really
happened.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Well, man, that's, I think that attitude is, that's
one of the things I loved aboutyou.
I think that's what people willrespond to about you is it's,
it's, it's such a no BS.
No, no, no nonsense.
No, I'm not putting on any airs,man.
I'm just gonna like grab a sliceof pizza, do a shot of whiskey
and I'm getting ready to sing.
(07:31):
Sing your face.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Well it's always been, it's always been like that
for me because I've never, likeI said, I've never been a star
attraction in my mind.
I've always been at guys, when Iget out on the stage, the first
thing I feel like I have to dois disarm my audience, is to let
them know that we're all, we'reall just in a booth at Denny's
here guys.
(07:52):
And, and if I could do that,then I could do anything and
they don't care.
Cause I, I can, I screw up.
I can laugh at jokes and theyjust love it.
But when you get up from the getgo and try to convince people of
what an anomaly you are, itdoesn't, it doesn't work for me.
I've never been good at that.
(08:12):
I just, you know,
Speaker 5 (08:13):
yeah, there's a, there's a certain, uh, you have
to have a certain people who cankind of buy into their own myth.
I've always been fascinated withthe princes of the world, the
Elton John's or the, you know,where they, it's like they walk
out on stage and you're like, Ohthey,
Speaker 4 (08:28):
they actually believe that that's because they're told
there that a lot.
I can understand why the suiciderate is what it is in pop music
with artists.
You know, the Kurt Cobain's ofthe world, because man, when
you're, when you're on the topof the billboard charts, they're
licking your nostrils brother.
(08:49):
They, they, you were King yourGod, small G you can do
anything.
You, anything you want, anythingyou want to buy, anything you
want to do and, and they justlove you.
And you realize after a shortnumber of time that what goes up
comes down.
And eventually they're down thehall licking the nostrils of the
next flavor of the month.
(09:10):
And if you're not groundedsomehow, you know, I was in my
forties when all this happenedto me, but if you're not
grounded somewhere with a familyor relationships, it just, it
can screw your head up realbest, especially the interject
drugs and been in a real wildlifestyle that suddenly has to
end.
You don't like it.
(09:31):
And it, and it, these, these,it's, I could see why these kids
believe that they are what theysay they are.
But man, these are companiesabout making a dollar$2 for
every dollar put back in atleast.
And when you're not bringingthose dollars anymore, they,
they got one in, in the stable,you know, so,
Speaker 6 (09:52):
yeah, that's right.
Yeah.
And they don't even know what todo with you because the, I, I'm
not speaking from an artiststandpoint, but just from
artists I've worked with oncethey're done with you, because
once you've hit that level, notonly like you're, you've got all
the yes men around you, buteverybody knows you.
They know who your grandma is,they know what you can for
lunch.
(10:12):
So everybody you walked down thestreet or anywhere you go and
you're just kind of left withthese, this giant world of
everyone that knows every andeverything about you.
And a lot of times when a fanwalks up to you, they kind of
expect in a weird way like, wellI know everything about you.
Like do you not know anythingabout me?
And it's kind of like a reallyweird exchange.
(10:34):
But if we could read, just,let's go back a little bit and
let everybody know kind of whatpoint we're talking about and
what record we're talking aboutand what exactly blew up here.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
Yeah.
So when I met you, Bob, youknow, you were, you had just
come off your, your Sparrow Iguess records run and that was a
huge Christian music label.
Uh, but you were, you were aboutto make the butterfly kisses
record, which originally wascalled shades of grace.
I remember, you know, the whole,the whole making of it was there
for the most of the process.
(11:06):
And you had cut this little songthat you wrote for your daughter
called butterfly kisses andthat's
Speaker 4 (11:12):
it's sold.
It's got to if sold well inexcess of 2 million records now.
And it just, it was um, it was,God, you know, I didn't, I
needed to do with it.
He's somebody pulling thestrings up there, but I'm very
grateful, very, very grateful.
I think one of the happiest daysof my life, and this is going to
be contrary to any everythinganybody in the music business
(11:34):
believes, but it's just the wayI'm wired.
I went to the label that I wassigned to, which was a big, big,
big label and with Clive Calderand all that jive records in it,
and I just, I told them I wantout, I want out, I don't, I
don't want to make any morerecords.
And as just surprised him,everything was doing so well and
(11:54):
, and they, they did, they cutme loose and it was just the
happiest day of my life.
Isn't that strange?
Because everybody wants a recorddeal.
Everybody wants to tour,everybody wants to be popular.
I just wanted out and uh, it wasafter the record that you and I
made and, um, and I was neverhappier,
Speaker 5 (12:14):
man.
I just like to, I just like totake this opportunity, Bob, to
thank you for getting out afterthe[inaudible]
Speaker 4 (12:23):
classic.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
I just just made a record with a Reggie ham.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
I'm not going to tour it.
I don't care if you sell it.
It wasn't like that.
I love that record and I stilltoured that record with touring
it.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
I will tell you this.
So when you called me to, to, tohelp you make that record, uh, I
remember the conversation, I waslike, Bob, man, I'll only do
this if we do the record.
You actually should do that.
That we all we all want to hearyou do.
And man, I'm telling you,there's some moments on that
record.
I want to talk, I want to talkabout your process a little bit.
(13:01):
And I know the quote unquoteprocess is like real, like it's
a real like a, you know,pretentious word to use.
But uh, you, you there, there'sa, there's a cut on that record
that's it's a cover of AmyGrant's baby baby.
You, you told me from the day Imet you that you'd always wanted
to cover that song and do it ina kind of a soul kind of way.
(13:25):
And so we did it, and I don'tknow if you remember this, but I
remember it because my jaw wason the floor, but that, that
vocal track, that lead vocal isa, is a one take vocal.
It's the first
Speaker 4 (13:40):
I was ready.
I would want to do that solvefor a long time.
I was ready
Speaker 5 (13:45):
man.
I'm telling you, I, me and theengineer said in there, and I'm,
and I'm sitting there, you know,in the quote unquote producer
chair and you finish it and helooks at me.
I look at him and I'm like,dude, I don't know what to do
here.
I, there's nothing to produce.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Let me tell you something.
It ain't like that no more.
It's a struggle these days.
But yeah, that was, that wascool.
We were in Las Vegas where wewant me to cut the vocal.
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
You had this kind of process that I've really kind of
taken to heart and you saidsomething I'll never forget.
I know, I know you're probablynervous now because you think,
man, man, this kid listens toeverything I say, but you, we
were talking about like hittingthe high point of your day and
you know how you work in thestudio and how you kind of plan
for working live and all thisand, and you said, you know
what, I'll be at 100% for abouttwo and a half hours.
(14:35):
And he said, and you said, andthen you'll get Bob at 90% or
80% but I don't think that'swhat people want to buy on a
record.
And I was like, you know whatthat, that's right, man.
It's like you can beat your headagainst the wall with any
endeavor for 12 hours, 15 hours,and you get diminishing.
And it's like, man, while you'reat 100% do it at 100% and then
(14:56):
be done, you know, then thenkind of rest.
And I kind of watched you dothat.
And I was like, and man, that100% is gold, so what do we need
to mess with?
You know?
And I w is that, is that, so isthat something you developed
when you were, cause a lot ofpeople don't, may not know this,
but you were a, like aworld-class background singer
for all the big eightiesrecords.
Did you kind of learn that,doing, doing that?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Okay.
From that, I, I kind of had thatdiscipline, um, before, but
yeah, during the 80s I was afirst call, uh, vocal guy.
There were three guys, well,actually in LA, there were three
guys who were doing all thevocal sessions back in the day.
It was Tommy Funderburk RichardPage and Tom Kelly, Richard Page
was the singer of a band calledMister Mister at the time.
(15:41):
And that's, that band exploded.
So he took off on the road andthey needed a to pull another
singer.
And I've been working with boththe Tom Kelly and Tom
Thunderbird.
They pulled me in and for the80s I did, I sang on, eh, if you
look on the back of your recordsfrom the 80s, any record, I'm on
it.
It was, it was just everythingfrom Motley Crue to Barry
(16:04):
Manilow and everything inbetween.
It was so fun.
But, um, but yeah, there's areal discipline.
I had it anyway, but that reallydrilled it home, working with
those guys as far as knowingwhere your notes are, knowing
where your cutoffs are, whereare you, where are you, where do
you breathe, where do you, wheredoes your tea go?
And some things start to getsecond nature as far as those
(16:25):
kinds of things.
So the easy to double, easy toedit.
Ah, I dunno.
It's just, it's just a lifetimeof doing it, you know?
Speaker 5 (16:33):
Yeah.
It's, well, and you're the,like, you're the only voice on
girls, girls, girls in that,right?
Speaker 4 (16:39):
That's not true.
No, that's that.
My voice seems to be thepredominant one, but no, that's
me and Tommy Funderburk.
And so sadly, I forgotten theyoung lady's name that saying to
black girls, she's phenomenal.
(16:59):
And, and, and it was the threeof us actually in there doing
it.
Speaker 5 (17:02):
Okay.
Okay.
Speaker 6 (17:03):
But to me, I mean the, you know, the list, it
would take us an hour to list itoff seriously.
And I didn't know that till, youknow, years later until, um, reg
was telling me about it.
But I go down that list and onename in particular jumps out at
me.
Uh, Carmen,
Speaker 4 (17:21):
sorry.
Yeah,
Speaker 6 (17:23):
just, just above Sandy.
Patty.
It's baffling man.
Just it, just to know, like, youknow, when I first started
hearing you, cause you know, I,I picked you up like in the 80s.
I grew up in a church in church.
My dad was a pastor and I wasthe good Christian boy who
wasn't allowed to, you know,listen to rock and roll, but I
(17:44):
was still a musician and allthis kind of stuff.
And I'll never forget when theallies record came out, you
know, now we're going back, youknow, 1985 and man, it was just
the sound.
I mean, I think it's the samething Reggie was talking about,
you know, this, it's just like,it's just, it was so unique and,
(18:04):
Oh, I didn't even know.
I just found it and played itand it was like, it changed my
world.
Now.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
I really never went to the soaring top of the
Christian rock scene, which isfine with me.
But you know, like there wereother bands like Petra and white
cross something.
I dunno, but, but that was allkind of like Disney rock, you
know?
And I just, it didn't appeal tome musically.
It was just so formulaic and onthe one and just everything is
(18:35):
just so predictable and wedidn't want to do that.
So we all came from a real kindof a sleazy, oily RNB background
and we wanted to, we wanted toget some, uh, get some stank up
on this thing.
And, and uh, we did.
And the public we had, we hadone record that sold reasonably
well, but we never really soldenormous amounts of records.
(18:57):
We toured a lot.
That band was much, much morepopular in Europe than we ever
were here.
They went nuts for some of their, I think they, I think they
actually listened to the music.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
I'll tell you man, this, for the first time I came
out of my dorm, one of mycollege buddies was picking me
up.
We were going somewhere.
He had, he goes, dude, I wantyou to sit down and I want you
to say anything for threeminutes.
And he played me surrender andevery time you would go higher,
he goes, he's not done.
He's not done.
Hang on a second.
And by the, by the end of it, wewere just, my mouth is a Gabe
(19:32):
and I'm like, who is this?
And uh, he's like, this guy'sname is Bob Carlisle.
He sings with a screw calledallies.
And for the next year and a halfwe would have these, these
extensive, I mean extensive likepopping popcorn parties.
We would sit around and decide,okay, if you had Neil, Sean and
(19:54):
Jeff Porcaro, who's your leadsinger, and it would always be
Bob Carlisle would always win inthe, in the rock super group
lead singer.
Uh, and that leads me, thatleads me to ask you this.
This is like a urban myth ormaybe it's not.
I never asked you this.
I've known you for 20 plusyears.
Did you get the call to go singfor REO?
(20:15):
Speedwagon
Speaker 4 (20:16):
no, I didn't get the call to go sing with them.
I sang on the records I got, Igot, I knew him real well.
We had a lot of fun.
No, I sang on a couple of theirrecords, background vocals on it
.
I think pretty much every songand uh, and Kevin Cronin and all
those guys, they were, they werereally, really nice people.
But no, they didn't.
They didn't.
Three dog night did.
(20:39):
Wow.
That's a, that might be a badcause I said no, thank you.
I'm mowing my yard.
Do you think,
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Bob, do you think that some, I don't like to call
it Christian music, butfaith-based music, music that
we're where in the world wewere.
Do you think some of it got toohip for the audience?
I mean that, that sounds likewhat you were talking about with
allies.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
No, I don't think it ever got too hip for anybody.
I think it Christian music ingeneral from its very beginnings
and believe me, I was there.
That's how old I am.
But it um, it started off andalways been seen as a, as a, an
outreach and an in analternative.
(21:25):
So that's what's why, you know,when the police were huge on the
radio, everybody sounded likethe police with their little
tight snares in their littleTelecasters with delays.
And then we, we did that too.
Everybody did it, you know, butit was never like, there was
never a mandate from a recordcompany to go out there and say,
man, bring me something new.
(21:47):
Bring me something exciting.
We mean something that we canjust lay on everything now.
It's always been more of thesame and try as much as you can
to sound like secular radiowithout be, without stealing the
song kind of thing.
Now as obviously that's not ahard fast rule.
There've been many, many artistswho have done wonderful work in
Christian music, but by andlarge, that's how it's perceived
(22:09):
as an outreach and an a and a,uh, a second choice.
And so you don't get a lot ofcutting edge stuff from it, from
a subculture like that.
You just, it just doesn't breedit.
It doesn't, you know, you likewhen you're a kid man and your
first bands that all you wantedto do is play that riff one more
time.
Cause it can't believe how goodwe sound doing it.
(22:31):
Let's record it.
That doesn't really, it isn't aforte in that salamis, it wasn't
for me now, now I'm not knockingin a Christian.
Music has been so terribly goodto me.
And, and I, and I love it.
And I love the music.
And, and uh, being a Christian,I love the music, but, but no, I
(22:52):
don't think there's anything tooconfusing coming.
Of course.
And of course I, I don't listento Christian radio anymore, so I
couldn't tell you why I neverhave, but I couldn't tell you
what's on the radio right now.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
It's, uh, well, I, I will, I will tell you this, I
don't think you're, you're notreally getting into AR until you
got some controversy, you know,until, until somebody is like
talking about how much of anatrocity this is.
Uh, you know, that's not Bob.
Did you, did you ever deal withany of that?
(23:23):
Did you, did, you know, causeyou came up in the Jesus
movement, you, uh, and Iremember my, you're not the age
of my father.
You're kind of between my ageand my father's days, but I
remember my father havingsideburns, you know, and, and
playing, you know, and having adrummer in the band and all
this, and it was like kind of adeal.
Did you, did you ever deal withany of that?
You know, Hey, you're notbringing him in.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
Oh sure.
Back
Speaker 5 (23:46):
in the early days.
Yeah.
I remember bandsaw.
Someone 50 was a great band,went on later to be Andre crouch
has bad, great soul bands.
Kind of a silly name for such acrazy band, but Oh yeah.
They went in the originalCalvary chapel where it all
began.
They started playing red bonetunes with Christian lyrics.
Will you come in when the rollhall goes?
Chuck Smith came up andunplugged them.
(24:08):
Wow.
Yeah.
I've never been unplugged sincethat time, but, but sometimes
I'll get challenged by peoplewho really have been working on
their spiritual gifts or, andhoning them and practicing in
the mirror with the brush, withthe hairbrush.
Right.
And they like to come up to meand lay stuff on me.
(24:28):
Like you didn't use of scriptureor you didn't, you didn't.
And I, I tell them guys, I'm nota pastor.
I'm a singer and a songwriter.
I love the Lord, but I'm notgonna.
I don't feel comfortable with alot of that stuff.
I just up here to sing you songsabout my life and my
(24:50):
shortcomings in my and all thatstuff.
And you know, and, and take itas you will.
I'm sorry you're disappointedthat we didn't have the miracle
healing service.
But I don't do those.
I don't do them.
You know, and I always, when I'mplaying in a church, I'll always
tell the pastor, I said, ifyou'd like an altar call after
the concert, please come up anddo it.
Cause I don't, I, when thesepeople come forward to give
(25:14):
their lives to God, I don't wantthem to stare at me.
I'll be gum blown out of townthe next morning.
I want them to see somebody whowill be there the next day.
And I think it works well thatway.
And I've been criticized for notbeing this and that'd be in that
, but that's just life I've,I've learned now as I'm older
that just, just brush it off.
Well, let me, let's talk alittle bit about the beginning,
(25:34):
the big inning, little Bobby Cand the shiny shoes.
You, um, first two years of yourlife, man were, were Epic.
I mean, uh, not a lot of peopleknow.
Are you comfortable talking to
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Oh sure.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's fine.
Speaker 5 (25:48):
Yeah.
Cause I remember when, when, uh,Yolanda, now we're adopting and
you kind of pulled me aside andyou said, Reggie, you may not
know this.
And you told me the whole storyand you, you, you talked about
adoption and it was like, Idon't know, we were already
friends, but that, that kind ofsolidified the bond.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Well, I, I didn't tell the story much, uh, in the
past just because my folks werealive and I, and I didn't know
how it would make them feel.
And I love them.
They're my parents and I, Ididn't want to do anything that
would make them feeluncomfortable.
And so I never really addressedit, which is fine with me too.
But they're gone now.
I'm an orphan and they, uh, they, uh, I just been sharing it
(26:29):
from time to time.
I shared it with you at the timeI told you it was, nobody knew I
was adopted.
Uh, I was, um, toddler, slightlyyounger than a toddler and that
was, it's a very long story.
I won't go into it, but myparents knew these people and
they had left me abandoned in atrailer, uh, with a big old hand
(26:51):
prints on my backside and they'dbeen beaten on me and they, they
was, nobody would know where tobe fast.
So my dad came back, got a gun,got in and took me, brought me
home.
Wow.
That was the end.
I've been his ever since.
But man, that's just like oldschool stuff.
We had to sign the adoptionpapers and when I was still real
(27:14):
little, but I remember having todrive up with my folks up to, uh
, Solidad penitentiary to getthe signature of my birth
father.
He and, uh, I was, uh, I wasvery, I've always been a very,
very fortunate young man.
Adoption is something that all alot of people, you see them all
the time on talk shows andstuff, wanting to find their
(27:35):
birth parents a year, where's mymommy?
And that's cool if you want todo that to me, I didn't grow up
with secrets.
Nobody told me, you know, anydeviation for what was true,
you're adopted.
I can remember being five, sixyears old and everybody coming
in a room and, and I hadmemorized a phrase, a word
they'd given me and said, Bob,tell them what we got.
(27:57):
And I would say didn't know whatit meant, but I would say it
phonetically adoption papers.
Everybody would hug and cry.
And I hadn't, I went back to myroom, that was my job and I just
remembered.
But, but you know, it, I'venever had a desire.
My father had always, alwaystold me growing up, he said,
(28:19):
man, if you ever want to go meetthem, her, whoever, don't go on
your own, tell him I'll takeyou.
You know, that's kinda guy.
He was, he was, that's prettycool.
I always knew I was adopted.
It was just a part of my life.
And as long as I got older, Iunderstood more and more about
what adoption was.
And I had terrific parents.
I had, I just really didn't havea desire to, uh, to do a lot of
(28:42):
searching.
Speaker 5 (28:42):
Do you think being an only child being adopted, do you
think any of that, uh, steeredyou into the arts, you know,
into music?
Did you, I mean, was it, did itaffect it in any way?
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Did I got really good guitars because nobody had to
share?
I'll tell you a little story.
I was, I can remember even whenI was five, six years old, I
have faint moment memories of,of my sitting down at a piano
and, and I wasn't like otherkids.
They told me, he say, you didn'tjust get on it and try to bang
(29:16):
on it.
You know, you, you would selectnotes that would harmonize with
each other.
It was different.
And, and, uh, let me go back toa dental thing that I always
draw and that it was a scripturewhere it says raise a child up
in the way he should go.
And when he's older he won'tdepart from it.
Something like that.
And I, everybody always assumesthat's just beat the scriptures
(29:37):
into your kid so that when heeventually, obviously we'll blow
it, he'll come run it home and Idon't think that's what it
means.
I think what it means is freewhen it says raise a child up in
the way he should go, well howdo you know a way a child should
go you?
So you look at a child and youstart seeing things, you start
(29:59):
seeing gifts, you start seeingTennessee's trends.
And I was just real musical andmy dad, he was an old country
guitar player and he, I startedtaking guitar lessons when I was
seven years old and I was justpassionate about it and never
wanted to quit, always practiced.
It was nuts.
It just, I just took to it likeit was fresh water and I was
(30:19):
thirsty.
And so that had a lot to do withjust, just the attention that I
got music.
My dad would practice with me,he would help me.
It was a kind of a family thing.
But, uh, I just, I just lovedwhen other kids were out playing
football.
Man, I was in the band baby.
(30:40):
It was, it was great.
I remember the first time you,uh, performed live in front of
anybody.
Yeah.
Well first official time.
Yeah, I did elementary schooltalent shows and stuff, but I
mean first official time was atalent show and play keys, pizza
parlor.
And I'm in Anaheim, California.
(31:02):
Yeah.
I went in there with my littletiny study model Rickenbacker
and my suit and tie and mylittle buddy loves suit and I
got up there for the mic and Isang for sailor it.
I did the whole thing, man.
And I got second place lost togrow with.
(31:22):
I think she was faking it justlike American idol.
Right.
And she made, spends a balloonanimals or something.
I don't always, he did.
Everybody's got to have a biggerstory.
It's not another, yeah, it's notenough man.
Speaker 5 (31:39):
The guy with the uh, you know, with the Chinese
orphan story.
So, uh, I use whatever you gotfolks.
That's what I always say.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Yeah.
Well I just, you, you've, youand Yolanda, I think about you
from time to time.
Just just your day to day as, asI'm out in my day to day life.
I'll think of you guys sometimeand just wondering what's your
day to day life is.
And I know you've got it down toa science, but you are just to
be commended, my boy for justwhat, what you have, what you
(32:07):
have put your mind to in afamily setting and, and decided
to do it.
And it's just, it's justterrific.
But I know you guys have been B.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
Well I appreciate you saying that.
I will talk, we'll talk one day.
It's, it's, it's, you know what,it's, it's a, anything you're
doing for your kids is always alabor of love, I find.
You know, it's interesting we'retalking about adoption because I
can tell you, I both my kids areadopted.
I don't think I could love themany more or feel more connected
(32:41):
to them.
Or you know, my daughter'sAsian, nobody in my family's age
, but I don't even see that.
And I mean, you know, I just seeher and, and, and, and I see my
son and my son.
It's weird.
I don't know if this happened toUBA, but my son's starting to
kind of look like my wife and mein a weird sort of way.
Speaker 4 (32:57):
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
People used to say that about myfather and I all the time.
He looks just like you, Matt.
Man, Parenthood is not aboutdonating sperm man.
It's about, it's about gettingin and out and up and down
inside someone's life and lovingevery cell of them.
(33:20):
The change you become them.
I truly believe that.
Truly.
Speaker 5 (33:24):
Well that's, that's absolutely right.
And, and I love, I love what youjust said about the train up a
child thing.
I think that really is pertinentto what we're kind of talking
about on this show.
Because I really feel like, Imean this is, again, this is
going to sound like a Ridge isoff on his little rabbit trail,
but I really believe you andyou've been a big part of this
Bob.
I, I look at people, you know,we are in this business where
(33:47):
people have to achieve.
Like you can't, you can, you canwork at a tire store and you can
be a weak link and you can stillcollect a check.
You cannot do that in the artswhere you, where you have to
perform every night.
You gotta be, you know, you onlygot about five shows where you
can be the weak link and thenyou're gone.
You know?
So, so I see people like that.
(34:07):
I see people like UFC, these,these really high achievers,
these genius level talent.
And I think, man, everybody, Ibelieve everybody's got that
somewhere.
But they, if you haven't beenaffecting people around you in
your life, if you haven't beenflying in the groove, I mean for
lack of a better term, I thinkit's because maybe you had been
trying to force yourself intosomething that's not what you're
(34:30):
born to do.
I look at Bob, I see you on amicrophone and I go, that dude
was born to do that.
And it's, and it's, and it'sevident the fact that you're,
you know, you knew from a youngage and you're in, your parents
cultivated it.
I know some kids[inaudible]their family like makes them,
you know, you're okay, you needto go to karate because you need
to learn this discipline.
You need to get a baseball causeyou need to learn this when
(34:52):
maybe what they are is the kidwho needs to be staying in home
drawing.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
What's the difference?
It is the difference betweentelling a kid what they should
be and observing in them whatthey want to be.
That's, that's it right there.
That's the raising a child up inthe way he should go.
We'll study him.
Where's he going?
Speaker 5 (35:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:10):
And if you see a trait of a gift or an attribute,
nourish it.
You know, that's what thatscripture means, including all
things about God too.
But, but I think it means thatmore than more than just, you
know, he's going to blow it.
So Graham and full of scripturechew gum, run at home.
I don't think so.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
No, I I totally agree with that.
Um, that's, and that is, that'shaving respect for that, for
that kid as a person going, youknow what you're, you're made in
the image of God.
There's something special aboutyou and you're gonna if I look
at you and observe you and hangout with you long enough, I'm
going to figure out what thatis.
And it doesn't have to be what Iwant it to be.
Speaker 6 (35:51):
Well, I've often wondered that, that perspective
of what it would be like, whatsociety in general could it be
like if kids didn't have to gothrough the filters of their
parents, you know what I mean?
Do you know what I mean?
You don't have to give me aminute on that one.
(36:13):
Same can be said with the schoolsystem.
It's like, you know it conveyorbelt, run them all through, do
this[inaudible] go do that.
If you're not good atbasketball, you're kind of a
weirdo.
And I'm afraid that's kind ofwhat's happening
Speaker 4 (36:24):
now.
Yeah, you have an awful lot ofparents out there who are pretty
non non-involved in theirchildren's lives.
That's unfortunate because thekids are going to get there.
They're going to, they're goingto develop their personality
from their surroundings,whatever they are, you know, and
, and I that, that, that's scaryto me.
I, I'm, I'm, that makes me verysad.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
Let's go, let's go back for one second cause I
missed something.
And you said something early,early on about when you're, you
know, the butterfly kissesrecord, you know, blew up.
You weren't, you're in yourforties I think you said, right.
How do you think it would haveaffected you had that record
blown up when you were 25 or 30
Speaker 4 (37:04):
well, that's kinda was my point.
I don't know if my head wouldhave been screwed on quite as
securely as it was in myforties, although I was married
then too.
But, but, uh, I think I'd hadenough years of, um, of
understanding an unconditionalhome love relationship with my
own family that, that this kindof stuff, albeit exciting and,
and, uh, and fun and, andprofitable.
(37:27):
I mean, I, I don't have apassion for chasing money.
I like money.
It wants its skin and clean andput on my plate.
I like it just fine, but Idon't, but I don't have a
passion for going out and justtrying to make, turn a dollar
into two.
I just never had that passion.
My passion has always had beenabout the music.
(37:48):
And so, um, if, if you couldkeep your priorities straight as
hard though, music business ishard.
I don't think there's any, youtalk about any two walks of life
that would be different in thisworld.
I think any two musicians walksa license be crazy different
because there's so many anglesto it.
You know, and I, I've just beenvery[inaudible]
Speaker 5 (38:08):
very fortunate.
You, um, you called me fromEngland.
Um, did you meet the queen?
Does that happen?
Speaker 4 (38:15):
No, I did not, but I, I stayed at a hotel next to her
house.
Speaker 6 (38:21):
That's the same thing.
That's pretty much the samething.
Speaker 5 (38:24):
You were a, the thing I always loved about you about,
but I want to say this publicly.
We've got a forum, I've toldpeople, I've told friends
privately, but I'd love to you,you want, when I met you, you'd
lost your record deal.
You weren't sure what the futureheld, you know, and so you were
kind of at the bottom of, youknow, in a low point I would say
of your life.
And then, and then I watched youhit the pinnacle of your success
(38:46):
and you, I've, you know, we'veboth been around people who went
from rags to riches and theychanged.
You didn't change one bit.
You were you, well yeah, you hada nicer car, but I just always
admired that about you werestill the same dude and you
know, you still understood theabsurdity of it.
I think that's, that's what Ialways look for is if you can
(39:09):
still see the absurdity andwhat's happening to you, then,
uh, then you know we're going tobe friends.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
Well that's very nice for you to say that Reggie.
It's not a conscious effort onmy part to be the guy who's not
concerned with and all.
I really, maybe it is not aswell as Jackie about that.
She probably give you adifferent rendition cause she
sees me when nobody else does.
But I, yeah, it's just neverbeen the end all be all for me.
(39:36):
It, you know, I, I obviouslyneed to make a living and that
was a nice part of it that I wasable to do that.
And uh, but yeah, it's just,I've never been, I've never had
a big enough ego of, to alwaystoo afraid, too afraid to jump
out there and tell them this iswhat I am.
Look at me.
I'm riding it all the way to thetop.
I've never had that then.
(39:56):
So it's, I love, uh, audiences.
I'm not scared of them.
I love singing and talking topeople.
And Sam, I, this is what we havean awful lot of fun, but, but
it's, it's never been the endall be all for me.
I don't know.
Maybe it should have been, Idon't know.
Speaker 5 (40:11):
Let's, let's talk a little bit about what you're
doing now.
You have got a new record outcalled Bobby or is it, is it out
yet?
[inaudible]
Speaker 4 (40:22):
nah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We're still working on it, butit's going to get out this year
is a, is my band called littleBobby C and big motor.
Yeah.
I love it man.
Yeah, it's not a Christianrecord.
It's a soul record and it'sgood.
It's good.
We're, we haven't missed it yet,but we're getting close.
Got about, I've got about fivevocals now.
The vocals, the can, all thetracking's done and horns and is
(40:45):
recorded with absolute pureststuff is just guitar, bass,
drums, Hammond B three home Dsix Claven net, um, uh, stereo,
uh, the old deal roads, youknow, and uh, it's just a hoot
words.
It's funky.
(41:05):
Is
Speaker 5 (41:06):
it?
Is it, is it all original tunes?
Speaker 4 (41:08):
Yes.
Yeah, every, every one of them.
And so it's, it's, uh, we'rejust having a big time.
We're taking our time recordingit because I got to the place
where I had been out of themusic for so long, just being
dead and grandpa around here andI, and I, uh, I needed to do
something.
I just, I needed to, I needed topush those buttons again.
(41:29):
I need to feel that again.
So, but what I always had wanteddo is put a band together of my
old buddies from theneighborhood and do it.
I mean, these guys are good.
And, and um, I'm from Santa Ana,California.
I was born and raised here andit's just amazing that I'm back
here now.
Cause of my parents passed away.
(41:50):
Then we got there, their house.
And so we remodeled that houseand we moved into it and it's
lovely.
But
Speaker 5 (41:58):
so you're living in the house you were raised?
Speaker 4 (41:59):
No, I'm not.
Not the house I was raised in.
No, but, but it's, it's their,their home.
I, uh, I wrote a song called,there's a song on the record
called, um, long, long road.
And the course is like, there'sa long, long road to get back to
where I started and it's, Imissed the feeling and all the
record companies and all therehearsals and all the records
(42:20):
and all the TV and all the radioand all the trying to be
something.
I am, what I miss most aboutmusic was just playing with my
boys, playing with my guys backlike in the old days in Santa
Ana.
And I mean I need these guys.
I got some players out here thatjust will just tear you up.
And uh, we've been working onthis record actually, it's been
(42:42):
a year now cause we're justdoing it.
Everybody's real busy.
You know, some of the guys weretouring with other guy, other
artists and another who doingthis and that.
So we, we get together when wecan and work on it and it's
getting close to be done.
It's about a year now.
It's going into, so this is,this is the world's greatest
GarageBand, but yeah.
Yeah.
But it's his real goodGarageBand brother.
(43:04):
Oh, I wish I could play you someright now.
Speaker 5 (43:08):
That's all.
That was good too.
Well maybe, maybe when, uh, whenit's mixed in, in your, you're
ready to show it to the world.
Come back and let's play somecuts.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
Yeah.
I love that.
[inaudible] were really funrecord.
I, you'll, you'll, uh, you can'ta musician who knows what he's
talking about.
Can't listen to this recordwithout cracking up.
That's awesome.
That's awesome how foggy it is.
You gotta laugh because you justcan't believe what just whiz by
you.
Speaker 5 (43:37):
Uh, that can't wait for that.
If you're saying that
Speaker 4 (43:41):
it's awesome.
I'm having so much fun.
That's what it is for me thesedays.
Uh, have, uh, enjoying my life.
You know, I'm, I'm, I'm nottaking anything too awfully.
Seriously.
I'm retired pretty much, youknow, I'm doing a tour here.
Oh, in a couple of weeks.
Leaving on a short tour, but,but should be out probably by
the middle of the year, I think,you know, realistically, cause
(44:01):
we're all hitting it when wecan.
Are you guys gonna tour it atall?
Oh yeah.
No, we want to do a, you know,blues, jazz festivals, kind of a
kind of a tradition trucks kindof vibe as kind of that market
we're going for it there.
It's just, just a red, it soundslike we're, Bob's at right now
is where we're trying to get to,but we just can't get there.
(44:24):
It took me a long time.
I haven't felt, I haven't hadthis much fun with music since I
was 17.
This is, you know, there'ssomething, there's something
about the, the way that, I dunnoif maybe it's technology or the
fact that everything just spinsso fast on Facebook and Twitter
and, and the, the, the, it'salmost like the, the, the Gates
(44:47):
have come down and everybody's alittle bit more free to kind of
roam around the yard too.
I really do think, and justmusically speaking, there's just
a great tapestry of differentstyles out there right now.
I couldn't tell you what's onpop radio.
I couldn't just a bunch of popsand clicks, but, but uh, but
(45:09):
yeah, pops and clicks baby.
But I'll tell you this, there'sa lot of good music out there
and they're, they're touring anddoing it, you know, and they're
selling records.
You're probably not sellingbillions of billions, but that
doesn't matter to me.
It's a, is it an interesting Bobthat you, I find that when you
get back to that center ofhaving fun and that you feel
(45:32):
like that's kind of where you,when you got, when you made the
butterfly kisses record, youjust, man, you were to letting
it fly.
You're just like, ah, I want tosay it this and I want to say it
this way and I don't care.
There's not really anybodystanding over our shoulder to
tell us.
I was told that I could makethat record it, produce it
myself, and write it myself andwith whoever I want and, and, uh
, and it became your biggestrecord.
(45:53):
It did.
You know, and I enjoyed thatrecord, but not like I'm
enjoying this one.
This one's back to thebeginning.
So that, that, that means thismight do some things you, you
don't expect.
You might not.
I, the, the real point is Idon't care.
Yeah, that's it.
Uh, I hope, I hope people loveit.
I don't, I can't see how onearth they won't, but I don't
care.
I, I was very, very, veryfortunate to, to not have to be
(46:18):
daily grind and adult livingnow.
You know, so I have the time toreally just have fun with this.
If we've, we get it done, we'llget it done.
But it's a good record, man.
It's, it's, it's just killingme.
You think?
I mean, do you think fear, Imean, this is a leading question
cause I believe this, but all ofthe, all of my favorite stuff
happened once I stopped beingscared of whether or not
(46:42):
everybody was gonna care.
Yeah.
Do you think fear is kind of akiller when it comes to making
music?
Absolutely.
You know, it's, it says youknow, the world the way it is.
Well, if you want to do what youwant to do, you're not gonna
make any money.
You've got to do what everybodywants you to do, then you'll
make some money, but you'll beunhappy.
And it's just that constant tugof war, you know?
(47:04):
But fear, fear for an artist whoknows what he's doing to get out
and really say whatever it is,doesn't have to be political or
it D for godly, just anythingyou want to just get out.
And I've been in the Christianmusic for 35 years, but I'm
looking for the opportunity tosing about girls in cars.
(47:26):
Well it's come true and I'm justas new.
Speaker 6 (47:32):
Yeah.
Have you guys seen this?
I'm digressing a little bit,but, so my wife loves old
eighties movies and I don't likethem.
I hate them for a various, Idon't just, I don't know
everything about it, but that'strue man.
(47:56):
[inaudible] mama gone and theend, the montage is, are so
long, you know, with this funky,but one of her favorite movies
is this movie called Joe versusthe volcano.
It's got Tom Hanks in it.
It's old movie.
And she would always try to getme to sit down and watch it and
I just just never would.
(48:16):
And finally, you know, not toolong ago I actually had, you
know, sat down and like, okay,I'm going to watch this with
you.
And the whole movie is aboutwhat you guys were just talking
about, just living life in fearand the script, I don't know who
wrote the script, but it wasbrilliant, but it's basically
Tom Hanks works at this lubefactory and they make lube.
(48:36):
I mean that's just kind of thisgreasy, grimy, kind of
honorable, you know, he's in themarketing department and it's
just like, you know, badlighting and all this kind of
stuff.
But there was a line in therethat just flew out at me and it,
it talks, it relates to what youguys were talking about.
He's going in and he's quitting.
It's this big scene.
He's quitting his job and helooks at us boss and he's like,
(48:59):
I've been afraid to live mylife.
So I sold it to you for$300
Speaker 5 (49:06):
wow.
That's it.
Speaker 6 (49:07):
You know?
And that's, that's, that'sreally, it just like hit me
right across the face.
I'm like, man, I've just, howmuch of my life have I done
that, you know?
Speaker 5 (49:17):
Well, I'm, I tell you what Bob, um, that's, that's
absolute truth.
And that's, that's kind of whatwe're talking about.
That's, that's the whole kind ofpoint of this, of this podcast
is to help people basically findthe groove that they've been
looking for.
You're, you're that person who Ilook at it and go, that's,
(49:38):
that's the kind of talent thatyou, that's unstoppable.
I mean, I, I assumed, I watchedthese singing shows and I think,
and I often play this game in myhead where, okay, if I, I would
love to sit Bob down right thereon that stage and then let him
do his thing and then leteverybody sit down or always
(49:58):
wanted to take you to a karaokebar and just like pull
everybody's,
Speaker 6 (50:03):
we lived in Las Vegas for 10 years and my wife and I
went out with some friends tothis, what wound up being a
karaoke experience.
And I ate it.
Speaker 4 (50:15):
And they're all just, I'm just getting elbows in the
ribs.
Come on, Bob's gone.
You know, they got the song,come on, sing it, sing it.
Speaker 6 (50:24):
Yeah.
Shofar song.
Oh,
Speaker 4 (50:28):
you know, I'm in a pair of cargo shorts in a, in a
tee shirt, you know, going[inaudible], Hey puts it on his
real crappy, the Muzak versionof it.
And it started playing and Isang, it got done man.
I was finished up and everybodyloved it and I got second place
(50:48):
again, had to got up and stay myown sticking hit personally.
And you got second place in theLas Vegas talent show.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Awesome.
And there were probably peoplein the audience going, he
doesn't sound funny.
Speaker 4 (51:02):
Yeah, yeah.
I just don't do well at talentshows.
I can remember back when wewere, kids were little and we
were raising our family andeverything and money was tight.
Man.
We had a bill come due.
I don't know how to do it.
I just find some nightclubssomewhere who's having a singing
contest.
I'd go in and win a couple ofhundred bucks, come on and pay
(51:23):
the bills.
It's out there is fine it.
Oh my goodness.
That's the group.
That's the group.
Yeah.
You just, you absolutely justcoined our phrase.
It's out there.
Just find it.
Find it.
Yeah.
Well, my phrase, my girl, Iphrases, I don't want to find
(51:46):
it.
I spent long enough trying toget rid of it.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
Oh, Bobby Carlisle.
Man, this has been awesome.
I can't thank you enough forbeing with us today and I love
the fact that you're stillfollowing the voice and doing
the thing and Nope, it's no BSand it's never has never has
been with you.
I love that Bob, and so I can'twait to hear a little Bobby
seeing big motor and is a man.
(52:12):
Is there any place I can pointpeople to is you still got a
website up or you got to kind ofa Facebook page, take a look.
Yeah, we'll put it in the shownotes, but I want people to, if
people are hearing this who havenever heard your music or never
check you out, I definitely wantthem to so go check out Bob
Carlisle.
He's all over the internet.
(52:32):
I remember I used to be somebodyand I'll always have that.
All right, man.
Thanks for joining us today onthe groove.
Thanks Bob.
All right, Devin.
Thank you, Richie.
I love you guys, man.
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (52:46):
Be sure to head over to the groove, podcast.com to
learn more about Bob.
You'll also find the show notesfrom this episode and a link to
our Patrion page if you'd liketo help support the show.
We would also love to hear fromyou guys as well.
Let us know what you think aboutthe show and stay tuned for more
episodes of the group.
Speaker 2 (53:08):
You've been listening to the groove with Devin Pence
and Reggie ham.
You're listening to the groove with Devin Pence and
Reggie ham.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
You have to take risks that will be
disappointments from failuresand disasters as a result of
taking these risks.
This task was acquainted to you.
And if you do not find a way,red moments are born, great
opportunity and that's what youhave here in the end.
(00:29):
That's all we really are.
I just stories.
Stories are what our lives aremade up of.
Stories, how we remember peopleand stories make us feel a
little less alone in the world.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Welcome to the group podcast.
This is Devin Pence
Speaker 1 (00:47):
and this is Reggie ham.
Here on the groove.
We know that every life has apurpose, but sometimes it takes
a while to figure out what itis.
And very often what it is isnothing like you planned it.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
So true, so true.
Um, you can find and follow meon Instagram at Devin Pence on
my website.
Uh, Devin pence.com and on allsocial media at Devin pins.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
You can find me at Facebook, Reggie ham, one G two
M's.
I am there all the time.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I can attest he is there all hours.
Be sure to head over to thegroup, podcast.com for more info
about us and to check out theshow notes from this episode.
And you can do us a huge favorby subscribing and hitting that
five star rating wherever youlisten to your podcasts.
Also, if you'd like to helpsupport our podcast, it's
(01:40):
currently sponsor lists.
So, uh, join ourpatrionPage@patrion.com slash
the groove podcast.
You can check out our websitefor the links there in any level
.
Would be much appreciated.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Do today is just a a labor of love for me.
This is going to be amazing.
This is going to be fun.
This has got, this isn't work atall.
This is one of my favoritepeople, one of my favorite
singers.
Uh, if you ever listen toChristian music and said, man,
why can't it be as good as likeregular music, secular music,
(02:13):
whatever.
You never said that about thisguy.
Okay.
This guy is as good as it's everbeen.
He's as good as it gets.
He's top of the food chain inevery, in every aspect, uh, of,
of music.
Bob Carlyle is with us today.
You've heard him, you've heardhim sing background on, on rock
records through the 80s,everything from Motley crew to
(02:36):
Barry Manilow.
I mean he's sung with everybody.
And then you've heard him as asolo artist.
You probably know him best.
His song butterfly kisses, thatwas a multi-week number one
smash hit in 1996 but Bob'scareer is storied and varied and
it is multi textural andmultilayered and you are in for
(02:58):
a treat.
That is so true man.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Um, I'm a huge fan as well.
And um, I know you guys, I the,I'll never forget the first time
and you know, we talk about thisthe first time I heard his voice
, um, you know, actually thetruth of the matter is the first
time I heard his voice, I had noidea it was his voice, you know,
right on Motley cruise over andso on.
But um, this is, this is goingto be a great episode and I'm
(03:22):
just going to just turn it overto you guys.
And just kinda, you know, chimein every now and then.
One thing that I thought was sofunny that I had to say before
we get into the show is you'reat guys, when we were recording
the show, I thought someone wasin the background.
Some guy was in the backgroundwhistling, calling, you know
people.
But turns out Bob has this biggiant light bird.
(03:45):
So when you hear somebodywhistling, it's not any of us,
it's Bob's bird and the thingsthat, that's hilarious, right?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
When you put Bob in the room, you just see how far
you can like just see how far,how long you can last.
Let's just, let's just get himcranked up and see how far he
bounces off the walls.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
All right, let's just, let's just get into it.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Today's guest is one of my favorite singers, one of
my favorite songwriters, one ofmy favorite artists, one of my
favorite people, Bob Carlyle.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
[inaudible] how are you baby
Speaker 5 (04:25):
man?
I'm excellent, Bob.
It's, uh, it's good to hear yourvoice.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
It's nice.
It's always nice to hear yourvoice, Reggie.
I'm glad you're busy and doingstuff.
And having fun.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
Well, I don't know if I'm doing all those things, but
I'm definitely busy.
So, and keep you from thinkingabout it.
That's it.
That's exactly right.
Oh man.
Uh, well listen, I'll just jumpright in.
I met you on a very interestingday in your life.
I remember somehow we got puttogether to write a song and I
(04:56):
don't even think you knew who Iwas coming out.
I didn't know.
You know, I was like, okay, wellI'm going to go, I somehow got a
session with Bob Carlisle.
I'm going to it.
I don't know how it's going togo, but I'm at least going to
meet the guy cause I was such afan and I get out there and you
had just lost your big, bigrecord contract and uh, you, you
said, Reggie, I just lost my bigrecord deal.
(05:18):
I'm gonna sign this littlerecord deal.
I'm going to go sell this thingon the weekends.
I'm going to have fun.
I'm going to be a soccer dad.
I'm not done.
I'm not doing this song anddance anymore.
I'm just, I'm just going to makethe record I want to make and,
and uh, you know, and it turnedout to be the biggest record of
your life.
And you, but you said that thething you said to me that made
(05:38):
me love you from the beginning.
He said, if you're here to makemoney, you're in the wrong
place, man.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Now you got to go to George King's house for that.
I, you know, Reggie, I don'tremember that.
Uh, I remember when I was atRick Delilah's, his house, he
said, I know a guy you got tomeet, you said Reggie,
Speaker 5 (05:55):
that must, that must have been, yeah, that been how
we got together.
Were you guys in Nashville atthe time?
Yeah, we were all in.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
Yeah.
Uh, yeah, I was, um, that, thatabout summed it up.
I was signed to a big label and,and they unceremoniously, uh,
let me go with no, no reasons.
No, not even any conversation.
It was unique.
And so I, uh, I signed with alittle label and, and sold a
bunch of records, so it workedout good.
(06:24):
But yeah, I've never been, I'vejust never had, I've never been
one with that.
I guess I just don't have theself loving kindness enough to
go and just create myself asempire around me.
I know that, that, uh, that hasa lot to do with what an artist
needs to be, is confident inhimself and selling themselves.
(06:46):
But I've never been one ofthose, I've never been one of
the little skinny pretty guyswho wants to get out there and
just make the world a Dorham.
I just w I just loved, I lovedmy family, man.
And I, and I, and I, of course,I love making music.
It's all I do.
But, but, um, I, it was, it wasamazing when I just started
singing stuff in kind of my ownrange and, and things of that,
(07:07):
about things that were importantto me is when is when it really
happened.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Well, man, that's, I think that attitude is, that's
one of the things I loved aboutyou.
I think that's what people willrespond to about you is it's,
it's, it's such a no BS.
No, no, no nonsense.
No, I'm not putting on any airs,man.
I'm just gonna like grab a sliceof pizza, do a shot of whiskey
and I'm getting ready to sing.
(07:31):
Sing your face.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Well it's always been, it's always been like that
for me because I've never, likeI said, I've never been a star
attraction in my mind.
I've always been at guys, when Iget out on the stage, the first
thing I feel like I have to dois disarm my audience, is to let
them know that we're all, we'reall just in a booth at Denny's
here guys.
(07:52):
And, and if I could do that,then I could do anything and
they don't care.
Cause I, I can, I screw up.
I can laugh at jokes and theyjust love it.
But when you get up from the getgo and try to convince people of
what an anomaly you are, itdoesn't, it doesn't work for me.
I've never been good at that.
(08:12):
I just, you know,
Speaker 5 (08:13):
yeah, there's a, there's a certain, uh, you have
to have a certain people who cankind of buy into their own myth.
I've always been fascinated withthe princes of the world, the
Elton John's or the, you know,where they, it's like they walk
out on stage and you're like, Ohthey,
Speaker 4 (08:28):
they actually believe that that's because they're told
there that a lot.
I can understand why the suiciderate is what it is in pop music
with artists.
You know, the Kurt Cobain's ofthe world, because man, when
you're, when you're on the topof the billboard charts, they're
licking your nostrils brother.
(08:49):
They, they, you were King yourGod, small G you can do
anything.
You, anything you want, anythingyou want to buy, anything you
want to do and, and they justlove you.
And you realize after a shortnumber of time that what goes up
comes down.
And eventually they're down thehall licking the nostrils of the
next flavor of the month.
(09:10):
And if you're not groundedsomehow, you know, I was in my
forties when all this happenedto me, but if you're not
grounded somewhere with a familyor relationships, it just, it
can screw your head up realbest, especially the interject
drugs and been in a real wildlifestyle that suddenly has to
end.
You don't like it.
(09:31):
And it, and it, these, these,it's, I could see why these kids
believe that they are what theysay they are.
But man, these are companiesabout making a dollar$2 for
every dollar put back in atleast.
And when you're not bringingthose dollars anymore, they,
they got one in, in the stable,you know, so,
Speaker 6 (09:52):
yeah, that's right.
Yeah.
And they don't even know what todo with you because the, I, I'm
not speaking from an artiststandpoint, but just from
artists I've worked with oncethey're done with you, because
once you've hit that level, notonly like you're, you've got all
the yes men around you, buteverybody knows you.
They know who your grandma is,they know what you can for
lunch.
(10:12):
So everybody you walked down thestreet or anywhere you go and
you're just kind of left withthese, this giant world of
everyone that knows every andeverything about you.
And a lot of times when a fanwalks up to you, they kind of
expect in a weird way like, wellI know everything about you.
Like do you not know anythingabout me?
And it's kind of like a reallyweird exchange.
(10:34):
But if we could read, just,let's go back a little bit and
let everybody know kind of whatpoint we're talking about and
what record we're talking aboutand what exactly blew up here.
Speaker 5 (10:45):
Yeah.
So when I met you, Bob, youknow, you were, you had just
come off your, your Sparrow Iguess records run and that was a
huge Christian music label.
Uh, but you were, you were aboutto make the butterfly kisses
record, which originally wascalled shades of grace.
I remember, you know, the whole,the whole making of it was there
for the most of the process.
(11:06):
And you had cut this little songthat you wrote for your daughter
called butterfly kisses andthat's
Speaker 4 (11:12):
it's sold.
It's got to if sold well inexcess of 2 million records now.
And it just, it was um, it was,God, you know, I didn't, I
needed to do with it.
He's somebody pulling thestrings up there, but I'm very
grateful, very, very grateful.
I think one of the happiest daysof my life, and this is going to
be contrary to any everythinganybody in the music business
(11:34):
believes, but it's just the wayI'm wired.
I went to the label that I wassigned to, which was a big, big,
big label and with Clive Calderand all that jive records in it,
and I just, I told them I wantout, I want out, I don't, I
don't want to make any morerecords.
And as just surprised him,everything was doing so well and
(11:54):
, and they, they did, they cutme loose and it was just the
happiest day of my life.
Isn't that strange?
Because everybody wants a recorddeal.
Everybody wants to tour,everybody wants to be popular.
I just wanted out and uh, it wasafter the record that you and I
made and, um, and I was neverhappier,
Speaker 5 (12:14):
man.
I just like to, I just like totake this opportunity, Bob, to
thank you for getting out afterthe[inaudible]
Speaker 4 (12:23):
classic.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
I just just made a record with a Reggie ham.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
I'm not going to tour it.
I don't care if you sell it.
It wasn't like that.
I love that record and I stilltoured that record with touring
it.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
I will tell you this.
So when you called me to, to, tohelp you make that record, uh, I
remember the conversation, I waslike, Bob, man, I'll only do
this if we do the record.
You actually should do that.
That we all we all want to hearyou do.
And man, I'm telling you,there's some moments on that
record.
I want to talk, I want to talkabout your process a little bit.
(13:01):
And I know the quote unquoteprocess is like real, like it's
a real like a, you know,pretentious word to use.
But uh, you, you there, there'sa, there's a cut on that record
that's it's a cover of AmyGrant's baby baby.
You, you told me from the day Imet you that you'd always wanted
to cover that song and do it ina kind of a soul kind of way.
(13:25):
And so we did it, and I don'tknow if you remember this, but I
remember it because my jaw wason the floor, but that, that
vocal track, that lead vocal isa, is a one take vocal.
It's the first
Speaker 4 (13:40):
I was ready.
I would want to do that solvefor a long time.
I was ready
Speaker 5 (13:45):
man.
I'm telling you, I, me and theengineer said in there, and I'm,
and I'm sitting there, you know,in the quote unquote producer
chair and you finish it and helooks at me.
I look at him and I'm like,dude, I don't know what to do
here.
I, there's nothing to produce.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Let me tell you something.
It ain't like that no more.
It's a struggle these days.
But yeah, that was, that wascool.
We were in Las Vegas where wewant me to cut the vocal.
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
You had this kind of process that I've really kind of
taken to heart and you saidsomething I'll never forget.
I know, I know you're probablynervous now because you think,
man, man, this kid listens toeverything I say, but you, we
were talking about like hittingthe high point of your day and
you know how you work in thestudio and how you kind of plan
for working live and all thisand, and you said, you know
what, I'll be at 100% for abouttwo and a half hours.
(14:35):
And he said, and you said, andthen you'll get Bob at 90% or
80% but I don't think that'swhat people want to buy on a
record.
And I was like, you know whatthat, that's right, man.
It's like you can beat your headagainst the wall with any
endeavor for 12 hours, 15 hours,and you get diminishing.
And it's like, man, while you'reat 100% do it at 100% and then
(14:56):
be done, you know, then thenkind of rest.
And I kind of watched you dothat.
And I was like, and man, that100% is gold, so what do we need
to mess with?
You know?
And I w is that, is that, so isthat something you developed
when you were, cause a lot ofpeople don't, may not know this,
but you were a, like aworld-class background singer
for all the big eightiesrecords.
Did you kind of learn that,doing, doing that?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Okay.
From that, I, I kind of had thatdiscipline, um, before, but
yeah, during the 80s I was afirst call, uh, vocal guy.
There were three guys, well,actually in LA, there were three
guys who were doing all thevocal sessions back in the day.
It was Tommy Funderburk RichardPage and Tom Kelly, Richard Page
was the singer of a band calledMister Mister at the time.
(15:41):
And that's, that band exploded.
So he took off on the road andthey needed a to pull another
singer.
And I've been working with boththe Tom Kelly and Tom
Thunderbird.
They pulled me in and for the80s I did, I sang on, eh, if you
look on the back of your recordsfrom the 80s, any record, I'm on
it.
It was, it was just everythingfrom Motley Crue to Barry
(16:04):
Manilow and everything inbetween.
It was so fun.
But, um, but yeah, there's areal discipline.
I had it anyway, but that reallydrilled it home, working with
those guys as far as knowingwhere your notes are, knowing
where your cutoffs are, whereare you, where are you, where do
you breathe, where do you, wheredoes your tea go?
And some things start to getsecond nature as far as those
(16:25):
kinds of things.
So the easy to double, easy toedit.
Ah, I dunno.
It's just, it's just a lifetimeof doing it, you know?
Speaker 5 (16:33):
Yeah.
It's, well, and you're the,like, you're the only voice on
girls, girls, girls in that,right?
Speaker 4 (16:39):
That's not true.
No, that's that.
My voice seems to be thepredominant one, but no, that's
me and Tommy Funderburk.
And so sadly, I forgotten theyoung lady's name that saying to
black girls, she's phenomenal.
(16:59):
And, and, and it was the threeof us actually in there doing
it.
Speaker 5 (17:02):
Okay.
Okay.
Speaker 6 (17:03):
But to me, I mean the, you know, the list, it
would take us an hour to list itoff seriously.
And I didn't know that till, youknow, years later until, um, reg
was telling me about it.
But I go down that list and onename in particular jumps out at
me.
Uh, Carmen,
Speaker 4 (17:21):
sorry.
Yeah,
Speaker 6 (17:23):
just, just above Sandy.
Patty.
It's baffling man.
Just it, just to know, like, youknow, when I first started
hearing you, cause you know, I,I picked you up like in the 80s.
I grew up in a church in church.
My dad was a pastor and I wasthe good Christian boy who
wasn't allowed to, you know,listen to rock and roll, but I
(17:44):
was still a musician and allthis kind of stuff.
And I'll never forget when theallies record came out, you
know, now we're going back, youknow, 1985 and man, it was just
the sound.
I mean, I think it's the samething Reggie was talking about,
you know, this, it's just like,it's just, it was so unique and,
(18:04):
Oh, I didn't even know.
I just found it and played itand it was like, it changed my
world.
Now.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
I really never went to the soaring top of the
Christian rock scene, which isfine with me.
But you know, like there wereother bands like Petra and white
cross something.
I dunno, but, but that was allkind of like Disney rock, you
know?
And I just, it didn't appeal tome musically.
It was just so formulaic and onthe one and just everything is
(18:35):
just so predictable and wedidn't want to do that.
So we all came from a real kindof a sleazy, oily RNB background
and we wanted to, we wanted toget some, uh, get some stank up
on this thing.
And, and uh, we did.
And the public we had, we hadone record that sold reasonably
well, but we never really soldenormous amounts of records.
(18:57):
We toured a lot.
That band was much, much morepopular in Europe than we ever
were here.
They went nuts for some of their, I think they, I think they
actually listened to the music.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
I'll tell you man, this, for the first time I came
out of my dorm, one of mycollege buddies was picking me
up.
We were going somewhere.
He had, he goes, dude, I wantyou to sit down and I want you
to say anything for threeminutes.
And he played me surrender andevery time you would go higher,
he goes, he's not done.
He's not done.
Hang on a second.
And by the, by the end of it, wewere just, my mouth is a Gabe
(19:32):
and I'm like, who is this?
And uh, he's like, this guy'sname is Bob Carlisle.
He sings with a screw calledallies.
And for the next year and a halfwe would have these, these
extensive, I mean extensive likepopping popcorn parties.
We would sit around and decide,okay, if you had Neil, Sean and
(19:54):
Jeff Porcaro, who's your leadsinger, and it would always be
Bob Carlisle would always win inthe, in the rock super group
lead singer.
Uh, and that leads me, thatleads me to ask you this.
This is like a urban myth ormaybe it's not.
I never asked you this.
I've known you for 20 plusyears.
Did you get the call to go singfor REO?
(20:15):
Speedwagon
Speaker 4 (20:16):
no, I didn't get the call to go sing with them.
I sang on the records I got, Igot, I knew him real well.
We had a lot of fun.
No, I sang on a couple of theirrecords, background vocals on it
.
I think pretty much every songand uh, and Kevin Cronin and all
those guys, they were, they werereally, really nice people.
But no, they didn't.
They didn't.
Three dog night did.
(20:39):
Wow.
That's a, that might be a badcause I said no, thank you.
I'm mowing my yard.
Do you think,
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Bob, do you think that some, I don't like to call
it Christian music, butfaith-based music, music that
we're where in the world wewere.
Do you think some of it got toohip for the audience?
I mean that, that sounds likewhat you were talking about with
allies.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
No, I don't think it ever got too hip for anybody.
I think it Christian music ingeneral from its very beginnings
and believe me, I was there.
That's how old I am.
But it um, it started off andalways been seen as a, as a, an
outreach and an in analternative.
(21:25):
So that's what's why, you know,when the police were huge on the
radio, everybody sounded likethe police with their little
tight snares in their littleTelecasters with delays.
And then we, we did that too.
Everybody did it, you know, butit was never like, there was
never a mandate from a recordcompany to go out there and say,
man, bring me something new.
(21:47):
Bring me something exciting.
We mean something that we canjust lay on everything now.
It's always been more of thesame and try as much as you can
to sound like secular radiowithout be, without stealing the
song kind of thing.
Now as obviously that's not ahard fast rule.
There've been many, many artistswho have done wonderful work in
Christian music, but by andlarge, that's how it's perceived
(22:09):
as an outreach and an a and a,uh, a second choice.
And so you don't get a lot ofcutting edge stuff from it, from
a subculture like that.
You just, it just doesn't breedit.
It doesn't, you know, you likewhen you're a kid man and your
first bands that all you wantedto do is play that riff one more
time.
Cause it can't believe how goodwe sound doing it.
(22:31):
Let's record it.
That doesn't really, it isn't aforte in that salamis, it wasn't
for me now, now I'm not knockingin a Christian.
Music has been so terribly goodto me.
And, and I, and I love it.
And I love the music.
And, and uh, being a Christian,I love the music, but, but no, I
(22:52):
don't think there's anything tooconfusing coming.
Of course.
And of course I, I don't listento Christian radio anymore, so I
couldn't tell you why I neverhave, but I couldn't tell you
what's on the radio right now.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
It's, uh, well, I, I will, I will tell you this, I
don't think you're, you're notreally getting into AR until you
got some controversy, you know,until, until somebody is like
talking about how much of anatrocity this is.
Uh, you know, that's not Bob.
Did you, did you ever deal withany of that?
(23:23):
Did you, did, you know, causeyou came up in the Jesus
movement, you, uh, and Iremember my, you're not the age
of my father.
You're kind of between my ageand my father's days, but I
remember my father havingsideburns, you know, and, and
playing, you know, and having adrummer in the band and all
this, and it was like kind of adeal.
Did you, did you ever deal withany of that?
You know, Hey, you're notbringing him in.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
Oh sure.
Back
Speaker 5 (23:46):
in the early days.
Yeah.
I remember bandsaw.
Someone 50 was a great band,went on later to be Andre crouch
has bad, great soul bands.
Kind of a silly name for such acrazy band, but Oh yeah.
They went in the originalCalvary chapel where it all
began.
They started playing red bonetunes with Christian lyrics.
Will you come in when the rollhall goes?
Chuck Smith came up andunplugged them.
(24:08):
Wow.
Yeah.
I've never been unplugged sincethat time, but, but sometimes
I'll get challenged by peoplewho really have been working on
their spiritual gifts or, andhoning them and practicing in
the mirror with the brush, withthe hairbrush.
Right.
And they like to come up to meand lay stuff on me.
(24:28):
Like you didn't use of scriptureor you didn't, you didn't.
And I, I tell them guys, I'm nota pastor.
I'm a singer and a songwriter.
I love the Lord, but I'm notgonna.
I don't feel comfortable with alot of that stuff.
I just up here to sing you songsabout my life and my
(24:50):
shortcomings in my and all thatstuff.
And you know, and, and take itas you will.
I'm sorry you're disappointedthat we didn't have the miracle
healing service.
But I don't do those.
I don't do them.
You know, and I always, when I'mplaying in a church, I'll always
tell the pastor, I said, ifyou'd like an altar call after
the concert, please come up anddo it.
Cause I don't, I, when thesepeople come forward to give
(25:14):
their lives to God, I don't wantthem to stare at me.
I'll be gum blown out of townthe next morning.
I want them to see somebody whowill be there the next day.
And I think it works well thatway.
And I've been criticized for notbeing this and that'd be in that
, but that's just life I've,I've learned now as I'm older
that just, just brush it off.
Well, let me, let's talk alittle bit about the beginning,
(25:34):
the big inning, little Bobby Cand the shiny shoes.
You, um, first two years of yourlife, man were, were Epic.
I mean, uh, not a lot of peopleknow.
Are you comfortable talking to
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Oh sure.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's fine.
Speaker 5 (25:48):
Yeah.
Cause I remember when, when, uh,Yolanda, now we're adopting and
you kind of pulled me aside andyou said, Reggie, you may not
know this.
And you told me the whole storyand you, you, you talked about
adoption and it was like, Idon't know, we were already
friends, but that, that kind ofsolidified the bond.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Well, I, I didn't tell the story much, uh, in the
past just because my folks werealive and I, and I didn't know
how it would make them feel.
And I love them.
They're my parents and I, Ididn't want to do anything that
would make them feeluncomfortable.
And so I never really addressedit, which is fine with me too.
But they're gone now.
I'm an orphan and they, uh, they, uh, I just been sharing it
(26:29):
from time to time.
I shared it with you at the timeI told you it was, nobody knew I
was adopted.
Uh, I was, um, toddler, slightlyyounger than a toddler and that
was, it's a very long story.
I won't go into it, but myparents knew these people and
they had left me abandoned in atrailer, uh, with a big old hand
(26:51):
prints on my backside and they'dbeen beaten on me and they, they
was, nobody would know where tobe fast.
So my dad came back, got a gun,got in and took me, brought me
home.
Wow.
That was the end.
I've been his ever since.
But man, that's just like oldschool stuff.
We had to sign the adoptionpapers and when I was still real
(27:14):
little, but I remember having todrive up with my folks up to, uh
, Solidad penitentiary to getthe signature of my birth
father.
He and, uh, I was, uh, I wasvery, I've always been a very,
very fortunate young man.
Adoption is something that all alot of people, you see them all
the time on talk shows andstuff, wanting to find their
(27:35):
birth parents a year, where's mymommy?
And that's cool if you want todo that to me, I didn't grow up
with secrets.
Nobody told me, you know, anydeviation for what was true,
you're adopted.
I can remember being five, sixyears old and everybody coming
in a room and, and I hadmemorized a phrase, a word
they'd given me and said, Bob,tell them what we got.
(27:57):
And I would say didn't know whatit meant, but I would say it
phonetically adoption papers.
Everybody would hug and cry.
And I hadn't, I went back to myroom, that was my job and I just
remembered.
But, but you know, it, I'venever had a desire.
My father had always, alwaystold me growing up, he said,
(28:19):
man, if you ever want to go meetthem, her, whoever, don't go on
your own, tell him I'll takeyou.
You know, that's kinda guy.
He was, he was, that's prettycool.
I always knew I was adopted.
It was just a part of my life.
And as long as I got older, Iunderstood more and more about
what adoption was.
And I had terrific parents.
I had, I just really didn't havea desire to, uh, to do a lot of
(28:42):
searching.
Speaker 5 (28:42):
Do you think being an only child being adopted, do you
think any of that, uh, steeredyou into the arts, you know,
into music?
Did you, I mean, was it, did itaffect it in any way?
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Did I got really good guitars because nobody had to
share?
I'll tell you a little story.
I was, I can remember even whenI was five, six years old, I
have faint moment memories of,of my sitting down at a piano
and, and I wasn't like otherkids.
They told me, he say, you didn'tjust get on it and try to bang
(29:16):
on it.
You know, you, you would selectnotes that would harmonize with
each other.
It was different.
And, and, uh, let me go back toa dental thing that I always
draw and that it was a scripturewhere it says raise a child up
in the way he should go.
And when he's older he won'tdepart from it.
Something like that.
And I, everybody always assumesthat's just beat the scriptures
(29:37):
into your kid so that when heeventually, obviously we'll blow
it, he'll come run it home and Idon't think that's what it
means.
I think what it means is freewhen it says raise a child up in
the way he should go, well howdo you know a way a child should
go you?
So you look at a child and youstart seeing things, you start
(29:59):
seeing gifts, you start seeingTennessee's trends.
And I was just real musical andmy dad, he was an old country
guitar player and he, I startedtaking guitar lessons when I was
seven years old and I was justpassionate about it and never
wanted to quit, always practiced.
It was nuts.
It just, I just took to it likeit was fresh water and I was
(30:19):
thirsty.
And so that had a lot to do withjust, just the attention that I
got music.
My dad would practice with me,he would help me.
It was a kind of a family thing.
But, uh, I just, I just lovedwhen other kids were out playing
football.
Man, I was in the band baby.
(30:40):
It was, it was great.
I remember the first time you,uh, performed live in front of
anybody.
Yeah.
Well first official time.
Yeah, I did elementary schooltalent shows and stuff, but I
mean first official time was atalent show and play keys, pizza
parlor.
And I'm in Anaheim, California.
(31:02):
Yeah.
I went in there with my littletiny study model Rickenbacker
and my suit and tie and mylittle buddy loves suit and I
got up there for the mic and Isang for sailor it.
I did the whole thing, man.
And I got second place lost togrow with.
(31:22):
I think she was faking it justlike American idol.
Right.
And she made, spends a balloonanimals or something.
I don't always, he did.
Everybody's got to have a biggerstory.
It's not another, yeah, it's notenough man.
Speaker 5 (31:39):
The guy with the uh, you know, with the Chinese
orphan story.
So, uh, I use whatever you gotfolks.
That's what I always say.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
Yeah.
Well I just, you, you've, youand Yolanda, I think about you
from time to time.
Just just your day to day as, asI'm out in my day to day life.
I'll think of you guys sometimeand just wondering what's your
day to day life is.
And I know you've got it down toa science, but you are just to
be commended, my boy for justwhat, what you have, what you
(32:07):
have put your mind to in afamily setting and, and decided
to do it.
And it's just, it's justterrific.
But I know you guys have been B.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
Well I appreciate you saying that.
I will talk, we'll talk one day.
It's, it's, it's, you know what,it's, it's a, anything you're
doing for your kids is always alabor of love, I find.
You know, it's interesting we'retalking about adoption because I
can tell you, I both my kids areadopted.
I don't think I could love themany more or feel more connected
(32:41):
to them.
Or you know, my daughter'sAsian, nobody in my family's age
, but I don't even see that.
And I mean, you know, I just seeher and, and, and, and I see my
son and my son.
It's weird.
I don't know if this happened toUBA, but my son's starting to
kind of look like my wife and mein a weird sort of way.
Speaker 4 (32:57):
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
People used to say that about myfather and I all the time.
He looks just like you, Matt.
Man, Parenthood is not aboutdonating sperm man.
It's about, it's about gettingin and out and up and down
inside someone's life and lovingevery cell of them.
(33:20):
The change you become them.
I truly believe that.
Truly.
Speaker 5 (33:24):
Well that's, that's absolutely right.
And, and I love, I love what youjust said about the train up a
child thing.
I think that really is pertinentto what we're kind of talking
about on this show.
Because I really feel like, Imean this is, again, this is
going to sound like a Ridge isoff on his little rabbit trail,
but I really believe you andyou've been a big part of this
Bob.
I, I look at people, you know,we are in this business where
(33:47):
people have to achieve.
Like you can't, you can, you canwork at a tire store and you can
be a weak link and you can stillcollect a check.
You cannot do that in the artswhere you, where you have to
perform every night.
You gotta be, you know, you onlygot about five shows where you
can be the weak link and thenyou're gone.
You know?
So, so I see people like that.
(34:07):
I see people like UFC, these,these really high achievers,
these genius level talent.
And I think, man, everybody, Ibelieve everybody's got that
somewhere.
But they, if you haven't beenaffecting people around you in
your life, if you haven't beenflying in the groove, I mean for
lack of a better term, I thinkit's because maybe you had been
trying to force yourself intosomething that's not what you're
(34:30):
born to do.
I look at Bob, I see you on amicrophone and I go, that dude
was born to do that.
And it's, and it's, and it'sevident the fact that you're,
you know, you knew from a youngage and you're in, your parents
cultivated it.
I know some kids[inaudible]their family like makes them,
you know, you're okay, you needto go to karate because you need
to learn this discipline.
You need to get a baseball causeyou need to learn this when
(34:52):
maybe what they are is the kidwho needs to be staying in home
drawing.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
What's the difference?
It is the difference betweentelling a kid what they should
be and observing in them whatthey want to be.
That's, that's it right there.
That's the raising a child up inthe way he should go.
We'll study him.
Where's he going?
Speaker 5 (35:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (35:10):
And if you see a trait of a gift or an attribute,
nourish it.
You know, that's what thatscripture means, including all
things about God too.
But, but I think it means thatmore than more than just, you
know, he's going to blow it.
So Graham and full of scripturechew gum, run at home.
I don't think so.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
No, I I totally agree with that.
Um, that's, and that is, that'shaving respect for that, for
that kid as a person going, youknow what you're, you're made in
the image of God.
There's something special aboutyou and you're gonna if I look
at you and observe you and hangout with you long enough, I'm
going to figure out what thatis.
And it doesn't have to be what Iwant it to be.
Speaker 6 (35:51):
Well, I've often wondered that, that perspective
of what it would be like, whatsociety in general could it be
like if kids didn't have to gothrough the filters of their
parents, you know what I mean?
Do you know what I mean?
You don't have to give me aminute on that one.
(36:13):
Same can be said with the schoolsystem.
It's like, you know it conveyorbelt, run them all through, do
this[inaudible] go do that.
If you're not good atbasketball, you're kind of a
weirdo.
And I'm afraid that's kind ofwhat's happening
Speaker 4 (36:24):
now.
Yeah, you have an awful lot ofparents out there who are pretty
non non-involved in theirchildren's lives.
That's unfortunate because thekids are going to get there.
They're going to, they're goingto develop their personality
from their surroundings,whatever they are, you know, and
, and I that, that, that's scaryto me.
I, I'm, I'm, that makes me verysad.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
Let's go, let's go back for one second cause I
missed something.
And you said something early,early on about when you're, you
know, the butterfly kissesrecord, you know, blew up.
You weren't, you're in yourforties I think you said, right.
How do you think it would haveaffected you had that record
blown up when you were 25 or 30
Speaker 4 (37:04):
well, that's kinda was my point.
I don't know if my head wouldhave been screwed on quite as
securely as it was in myforties, although I was married
then too.
But, but, uh, I think I'd hadenough years of, um, of
understanding an unconditionalhome love relationship with my
own family that, that this kindof stuff, albeit exciting and,
and, uh, and fun and, andprofitable.
(37:27):
I mean, I, I don't have apassion for chasing money.
I like money.
It wants its skin and clean andput on my plate.
I like it just fine, but Idon't, but I don't have a
passion for going out and justtrying to make, turn a dollar
into two.
I just never had that passion.
My passion has always had beenabout the music.
(37:48):
And so, um, if, if you couldkeep your priorities straight as
hard though, music business ishard.
I don't think there's any, youtalk about any two walks of life
that would be different in thisworld.
I think any two musicians walksa license be crazy different
because there's so many anglesto it.
You know, and I, I've just beenvery[inaudible]
Speaker 5 (38:08):
very fortunate.
You, um, you called me fromEngland.
Um, did you meet the queen?
Does that happen?
Speaker 4 (38:15):
No, I did not, but I, I stayed at a hotel next to her
house.
Speaker 6 (38:21):
That's the same thing.
That's pretty much the samething.
Speaker 5 (38:24):
You were a, the thing I always loved about you about,
but I want to say this publicly.
We've got a forum, I've toldpeople, I've told friends
privately, but I'd love to you,you want, when I met you, you'd
lost your record deal.
You weren't sure what the futureheld, you know, and so you were
kind of at the bottom of, youknow, in a low point I would say
of your life.
And then, and then I watched youhit the pinnacle of your success
(38:46):
and you, I've, you know, we'veboth been around people who went
from rags to riches and theychanged.
You didn't change one bit.
You were you, well yeah, you hada nicer car, but I just always
admired that about you werestill the same dude and you
know, you still understood theabsurdity of it.
I think that's, that's what Ialways look for is if you can
(39:09):
still see the absurdity andwhat's happening to you, then,
uh, then you know we're going tobe friends.
Speaker 4 (39:14):
Well that's very nice for you to say that Reggie.
It's not a conscious effort onmy part to be the guy who's not
concerned with and all.
I really, maybe it is not aswell as Jackie about that.
She probably give you adifferent rendition cause she
sees me when nobody else does.
But I, yeah, it's just neverbeen the end all be all for me.
(39:36):
It, you know, I, I obviouslyneed to make a living and that
was a nice part of it that I wasable to do that.
And uh, but yeah, it's just,I've never been, I've never had
a big enough ego of, to alwaystoo afraid, too afraid to jump
out there and tell them this iswhat I am.
Look at me.
I'm riding it all the way to thetop.
I've never had that then.
(39:56):
So it's, I love, uh, audiences.
I'm not scared of them.
I love singing and talking topeople.
And Sam, I, this is what we havean awful lot of fun, but, but
it's, it's never been the endall be all for me.
I don't know.
Maybe it should have been, Idon't know.
Speaker 5 (40:11):
Let's, let's talk a little bit about what you're
doing now.
You have got a new record outcalled Bobby or is it, is it out
yet?
[inaudible]
Speaker 4 (40:22):
nah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We're still working on it, butit's going to get out this year
is a, is my band called littleBobby C and big motor.
Yeah.
I love it man.
Yeah, it's not a Christianrecord.
It's a soul record and it'sgood.
It's good.
We're, we haven't missed it yet,but we're getting close.
Got about, I've got about fivevocals now.
The vocals, the can, all thetracking's done and horns and is
(40:45):
recorded with absolute pureststuff is just guitar, bass,
drums, Hammond B three home Dsix Claven net, um, uh, stereo,
uh, the old deal roads, youknow, and uh, it's just a hoot
words.
It's funky.
(41:05):
Is
Speaker 5 (41:06):
it?
Is it, is it all original tunes?
Speaker 4 (41:08):
Yes.
Yeah, every, every one of them.
And so it's, it's, uh, we'rejust having a big time.
We're taking our time recordingit because I got to the place
where I had been out of themusic for so long, just being
dead and grandpa around here andI, and I, uh, I needed to do
something.
I just, I needed to, I needed topush those buttons again.
(41:29):
I need to feel that again.
So, but what I always had wanteddo is put a band together of my
old buddies from theneighborhood and do it.
I mean, these guys are good.
And, and um, I'm from Santa Ana,California.
I was born and raised here andit's just amazing that I'm back
here now.
Cause of my parents passed away.
(41:50):
Then we got there, their house.
And so we remodeled that houseand we moved into it and it's
lovely.
But
Speaker 5 (41:58):
so you're living in the house you were raised?
Speaker 4 (41:59):
No, I'm not.
Not the house I was raised in.
No, but, but it's, it's their,their home.
I, uh, I wrote a song called,there's a song on the record
called, um, long, long road.
And the course is like, there'sa long, long road to get back to
where I started and it's, Imissed the feeling and all the
record companies and all therehearsals and all the records
(42:20):
and all the TV and all the radioand all the trying to be
something.
I am, what I miss most aboutmusic was just playing with my
boys, playing with my guys backlike in the old days in Santa
Ana.
And I mean I need these guys.
I got some players out here thatjust will just tear you up.
And uh, we've been working onthis record actually, it's been
(42:42):
a year now cause we're justdoing it.
Everybody's real busy.
You know, some of the guys weretouring with other guy, other
artists and another who doingthis and that.
So we, we get together when wecan and work on it and it's
getting close to be done.
It's about a year now.
It's going into, so this is,this is the world's greatest
GarageBand, but yeah.
Yeah.
But it's his real goodGarageBand brother.
(43:04):
Oh, I wish I could play you someright now.
Speaker 5 (43:08):
That's all.
That was good too.
Well maybe, maybe when, uh, whenit's mixed in, in your, you're
ready to show it to the world.
Come back and let's play somecuts.
Speaker 4 (43:16):
Yeah.
I love that.
[inaudible] were really funrecord.
I, you'll, you'll, uh, you can'ta musician who knows what he's
talking about.
Can't listen to this recordwithout cracking up.
That's awesome.
That's awesome how foggy it is.
You gotta laugh because you justcan't believe what just whiz by
you.
Speaker 5 (43:37):
Uh, that can't wait for that.
If you're saying that
Speaker 4 (43:41):
it's awesome.
I'm having so much fun.
That's what it is for me thesedays.
Uh, have, uh, enjoying my life.
You know, I'm, I'm, I'm nottaking anything too awfully.
Seriously.
I'm retired pretty much, youknow, I'm doing a tour here.
Oh, in a couple of weeks.
Leaving on a short tour, but,but should be out probably by
the middle of the year, I think,you know, realistically, cause
(44:01):
we're all hitting it when wecan.
Are you guys gonna tour it atall?
Oh yeah.
No, we want to do a, you know,blues, jazz festivals, kind of a
kind of a tradition trucks kindof vibe as kind of that market
we're going for it there.
It's just, just a red, it soundslike we're, Bob's at right now
is where we're trying to get to,but we just can't get there.
(44:24):
It took me a long time.
I haven't felt, I haven't hadthis much fun with music since I
was 17.
This is, you know, there'ssomething, there's something
about the, the way that, I dunnoif maybe it's technology or the
fact that everything just spinsso fast on Facebook and Twitter
and, and the, the, the, it'salmost like the, the, the Gates
(44:47):
have come down and everybody's alittle bit more free to kind of
roam around the yard too.
I really do think, and justmusically speaking, there's just
a great tapestry of differentstyles out there right now.
I couldn't tell you what's onpop radio.
I couldn't just a bunch of popsand clicks, but, but uh, but
(45:09):
yeah, pops and clicks baby.
But I'll tell you this, there'sa lot of good music out there
and they're, they're touring anddoing it, you know, and they're
selling records.
You're probably not sellingbillions of billions, but that
doesn't matter to me.
It's a, is it an interesting Bobthat you, I find that when you
get back to that center ofhaving fun and that you feel
(45:32):
like that's kind of where you,when you got, when you made the
butterfly kisses record, youjust, man, you were to letting
it fly.
You're just like, ah, I want tosay it this and I want to say it
this way and I don't care.
There's not really anybodystanding over our shoulder to
tell us.
I was told that I could makethat record it, produce it
myself, and write it myself andwith whoever I want and, and, uh
, and it became your biggestrecord.
(45:53):
It did.
You know, and I enjoyed thatrecord, but not like I'm
enjoying this one.
This one's back to thebeginning.
So that, that, that means thismight do some things you, you
don't expect.
You might not.
I, the, the real point is Idon't care.
Yeah, that's it.
Uh, I hope, I hope people loveit.
I don't, I can't see how onearth they won't, but I don't
care.
I, I was very, very, veryfortunate to, to not have to be
(46:18):
daily grind and adult livingnow.
You know, so I have the time toreally just have fun with this.
If we've, we get it done, we'llget it done.
But it's a good record, man.
It's, it's, it's just killingme.
You think?
I mean, do you think fear, Imean, this is a leading question
cause I believe this, but all ofthe, all of my favorite stuff
happened once I stopped beingscared of whether or not
(46:42):
everybody was gonna care.
Yeah.
Do you think fear is kind of akiller when it comes to making
music?
Absolutely.
You know, it's, it says youknow, the world the way it is.
Well, if you want to do what youwant to do, you're not gonna
make any money.
You've got to do what everybodywants you to do, then you'll
make some money, but you'll beunhappy.
And it's just that constant tugof war, you know?
(47:04):
But fear, fear for an artist whoknows what he's doing to get out
and really say whatever it is,doesn't have to be political or
it D for godly, just anythingyou want to just get out.
And I've been in the Christianmusic for 35 years, but I'm
looking for the opportunity tosing about girls in cars.
(47:26):
Well it's come true and I'm justas new.
Speaker 6 (47:32):
Yeah.
Have you guys seen this?
I'm digressing a little bit,but, so my wife loves old
eighties movies and I don't likethem.
I hate them for a various, Idon't just, I don't know
everything about it, but that'strue man.
(47:56):
[inaudible] mama gone and theend, the montage is, are so
long, you know, with this funky,but one of her favorite movies
is this movie called Joe versusthe volcano.
It's got Tom Hanks in it.
It's old movie.
And she would always try to getme to sit down and watch it and
I just just never would.
(48:16):
And finally, you know, not toolong ago I actually had, you
know, sat down and like, okay,I'm going to watch this with
you.
And the whole movie is aboutwhat you guys were just talking
about, just living life in fearand the script, I don't know who
wrote the script, but it wasbrilliant, but it's basically
Tom Hanks works at this lubefactory and they make lube.
(48:36):
I mean that's just kind of thisgreasy, grimy, kind of
honorable, you know, he's in themarketing department and it's
just like, you know, badlighting and all this kind of
stuff.
But there was a line in therethat just flew out at me and it,
it talks, it relates to what youguys were talking about.
He's going in and he's quitting.
It's this big scene.
He's quitting his job and helooks at us boss and he's like,
(48:59):
I've been afraid to live mylife.
So I sold it to you for$300
Speaker 5 (49:06):
wow.
That's it.
Speaker 6 (49:07):
You know?
And that's, that's, that'sreally, it just like hit me
right across the face.
I'm like, man, I've just, howmuch of my life have I done
that, you know?
Speaker 5 (49:17):
Well, I'm, I tell you what Bob, um, that's, that's
absolute truth.
And that's, that's kind of whatwe're talking about.
That's, that's the whole kind ofpoint of this, of this podcast
is to help people basically findthe groove that they've been
looking for.
You're, you're that person who Ilook at it and go, that's,
(49:38):
that's the kind of talent thatyou, that's unstoppable.
I mean, I, I assumed, I watchedthese singing shows and I think,
and I often play this game in myhead where, okay, if I, I would
love to sit Bob down right thereon that stage and then let him
do his thing and then leteverybody sit down or always
(49:58):
wanted to take you to a karaokebar and just like pull
everybody's,
Speaker 6 (50:03):
we lived in Las Vegas for 10 years and my wife and I
went out with some friends tothis, what wound up being a
karaoke experience.
And I ate it.
Speaker 4 (50:15):
And they're all just, I'm just getting elbows in the
ribs.
Come on, Bob's gone.
You know, they got the song,come on, sing it, sing it.
Speaker 6 (50:24):
Yeah.
Shofar song.
Oh,
Speaker 4 (50:28):
you know, I'm in a pair of cargo shorts in a, in a
tee shirt, you know, going[inaudible], Hey puts it on his
real crappy, the Muzak versionof it.
And it started playing and Isang, it got done man.
I was finished up and everybodyloved it and I got second place
(50:48):
again, had to got up and stay myown sticking hit personally.
And you got second place in theLas Vegas talent show.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Awesome.
And there were probably peoplein the audience going, he
doesn't sound funny.
Speaker 4 (51:02):
Yeah, yeah.
I just don't do well at talentshows.
I can remember back when wewere, kids were little and we
were raising our family andeverything and money was tight.
Man.
We had a bill come due.
I don't know how to do it.
I just find some nightclubssomewhere who's having a singing
contest.
I'd go in and win a couple ofhundred bucks, come on and pay
(51:23):
the bills.
It's out there is fine it.
Oh my goodness.
That's the group.
That's the group.
Yeah.
You just, you absolutely justcoined our phrase.
It's out there.
Just find it.
Find it.
Yeah.
Well, my phrase, my girl, Iphrases, I don't want to find
(51:46):
it.
I spent long enough trying toget rid of it.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (51:50):
Oh, Bobby Carlisle.
Man, this has been awesome.
I can't thank you enough forbeing with us today and I love
the fact that you're stillfollowing the voice and doing
the thing and Nope, it's no BSand it's never has never has
been with you.
I love that Bob, and so I can'twait to hear a little Bobby
seeing big motor and is a man.
(52:12):
Is there any place I can pointpeople to is you still got a
website up or you got to kind ofa Facebook page, take a look.
Yeah, we'll put it in the shownotes, but I want people to, if
people are hearing this who havenever heard your music or never
check you out, I definitely wantthem to so go check out Bob
Carlisle.
He's all over the internet.
(52:32):
I remember I used to be somebodyand I'll always have that.
All right, man.
Thanks for joining us today onthe groove.
Thanks Bob.
All right, Devin.
Thank you, Richie.
I love you guys, man.
Thanks.
Speaker 3 (52:46):
Be sure to head over to the groove, podcast.com to
learn more about Bob.
You'll also find the show notesfrom this episode and a link to
our Patrion page if you'd liketo help support the show.
We would also love to hear fromyou guys as well.
Let us know what you think aboutthe show and stay tuned for more
episodes of the group.
Speaker 2 (53:08):
You've been listening to the groove with Devin Pence
and Reggie ham.
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