December 3, 2025 • 33 mins
A left-handed guitar from a beloved grandpa. A band with grit and groove. A songwriter who lets chords decide the weather of a verse. That’s the heart of our conversation with Corey Hooker, where Americana isn’t a label so much as a living room: folk honesty, rock momentum, and stories that start one way and end somewhere braver.
We trace Corey’s path from Ohio stages to a decisive leap toward Colorado, a move designed to meet strangers and grow beyond a friends-and-family ceiling. He opens up about the craft behind his catalog—why a melody often leads the way, how a single “keyword” unlocks a chorus, and what happens when an angry draft flips into a sad truth, like in Perfect Family. We also get practical: Taylor versus Martin for stage and studio, the heirloom Austin that breaks writer’s block, and how live shows sharpen arrangements faster than any DAW. If you care about songwriting, there’s gold here: tight feedback loops with trusted critics, resisting the trap of perfectionism, and using crowd engagement to turn covers into gateways for original songs.
The chemistry with the Cadillac Preachers powers much of this trajectory. Their partnership adds rock muscle to Corey’s folk roots, landing in a space fans have called fugitive folk rock. That dynamic opened doors at Laurie’s Roadhouse—first through a contest win, then with higher-profile slots—and now a direct support date for Mark Chesnutt. It’s a blueprint for independent artists: build community, test songs in the wild, and record when the performance lives in muscle memory. Through it all, Corey’s gratitude rings clear for the people who keep him grounded: a wife with blunt, loving notes, a mom who never misses a chance to show up, and bandmates who share the load.
Hit play for an honest, energetic look at modern Americana, from writing rooms to big stages and the mountain roads in between. If you enjoyed the conversation, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—what song moment stayed with you the most?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jay Franze (00:57):
And we are coming at you live.
I am JayFranzi, and this isGeorge Storce for the latest
news, reviews, and interviews.
So if you would like to joinin, comment, or fire off any
questions, please head over toJFranzy.com.
Alright, folks, tonight we havea very special guest with us.
I said it once, I will say itagain.
We have a very special guest.
We have an actual recordingartist hailing from the great
(01:20):
state of Ohio.
We have Mr.
Corey Hooker.
Corey, sir, thank you forjoining us.
Thank you for having me.
It is our pleasure.
We cannot wait to get into thistonight.
I know we have a lot of thingsto go over, so I'm pretty
excited.
But I want to just jump rightin with this description of your
band.
The alternative rock.
I I love it.
(01:42):
Can you take a second to justgo ahead and describe the actual
genre of your music?
Yeah, that is uh I don't knowhow much time we have, but that
that's a really good idea.
Seven hours, don't worry aboutit.
Yeah, I just had thisconversation with a friend
today.
It's like music's almost becomeso genreless lately that uh
(02:02):
it's hard to put a uh a fingeron it, but I think the best way
to describe it would be likeAmericana, Americana rock,
Americana folk.
I think Americana really is theroot of it.
It's a lot ofsinger-songwriter, heartfelt
lyrics, sometimes funny,sometimes sad, and also just a
rock and dan coming at you.
There is a band.
(02:22):
Corey Hooker and the CadillacPreachers.
Let's start with you first.
How did you decide you wantedto get into this?
What was the background behindthat?
Corey Hooker (02:33):
Yeah, so my papa Jerry, he always loved bluegrass
playing guitar.
He wasn't the best, but heloved doing it, loved playing.
And when he passed away, he wasleft-handed, I'm left-handed.
He always wanted me to playguitar.
I was too involved with sportswhen I was younger.
And when I was 19, he passedaway, and I received his guitar.
(02:53):
Just found a new love for it.
You know, sports were kind offading out of my life.
You know, I was going tocollege, I was playing guitar,
meeting new people, and I justfell in love with songwriting.
I I had a few poems that I hadwritten before, never thought
anything of.
Put some chords to it, and itkind of had it's really taken
off from there.
It took about five or six yearsto really even think about
(03:14):
doing anything with it, but it'sbeen about a 10-year grind now.
Jay Franze (03:18):
Alright.
Couple things you mentioned inthere.
First was being left-handed.
The reason I I bring that up isI'm also left-handed when it
comes to playing guitar.
Oh, really?
I'm left-handed with writingand I'm left-handed with playing
guitar.
Everything else isright-handed.
Really?
Did you have any of that or wasit left-handed only for you?
Well, in like sixth grade inelementary school, I was in this
(03:40):
guitar class, you could callit, and we had to play like
these three songs.
It was like part of the class.
And all they had wasright-handed guitars.
So that was my first taste ofguitar when I was younger.
I think that might have whatturned me off for a minute.
Was I was like, Well, I thinkI'm left-handed.
They're like, Well, this is allwe have.
So I wasn't very good.
So I got scared of it.
But every time I went to mypapa's house, he'd pull the
(04:01):
guitar out, he'd beg me to play.
I'd play G C D for him.
We'd sing a kid rock song, andthat was about it.
Right.
Well, it's funny.
I played bass guitar, and thefirst bass I got was
right-handed.
Just didn't work for me as muchas I wanted it to, it didn't.
So over here to my right is aleft-handed bass guitar right
now, and there's a left-handedacoustic in the other room.
(04:23):
And I can't really play eitherone of them, so it really
doesn't matter.
However, if I were to play theleft-handed, the other thing you
mentioned was yourgrandfather's guitar.
What kind of guitar was it?
The brand is an Austin.
I'm pretty sure it's a uh likea replica of um a Martin D18 or
something like that.
(04:44):
I can't remember.
It's got the same body shapeand everything and headstock,
but it's nothing special.
It's special to me, but uh itdoesn't get much stage time.
It definitely needs some love.
It's got some screws in it, butI think that might be another
story for later.
It's funny.
I mean, you say it's nothingspecial, like it is special, you
know.
It's definitely special.
Oh, yeah, sentimental, veryyeah, and it's the foundation
(05:06):
too.
I'm sure when you pick that up,there's something different
about playing that guitar thanthere is any other guitar.
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah, that's where I I'vewrote most of my songs on that
guitar.
That was my next question.
So do you write with thatguitar?
Yeah, every time I get thechance, I was without it for a
little bit, and my wife actuallybought me this Taylor guitar.
She spent some good money on itbecause she loves me, but I
(05:28):
love this guitar, but when I dofeel like I've got some writer's
block, can't really figure outwhat's going on, I go grab my
Bables guitar and sit down andget to work.
Usually something comes out.
I mean, I can understand thatcompletely.
To me, Taylor is the guitar ofall guitars.
That's my favorite.
And Martin is up there as well.
(05:48):
But the reason I like Taylorbetter is because being a
recording engineer and being inthe studio, I feel like the
Taylor cuts through, cutsthrough all the other
instruments and has this kind ofshimmery sound that kind of
just dances on top of the music.
Where Martin, if you're a soloartist and you're outperforming,
I think that has more body, soit fills up more.
(06:09):
Yeah.
I like them for the differentpurposes.
So if yours is similar to aMartin, I can only imagine that
would work well for you being asinger-songwriter.
Oh, yeah, that might be it too.
I might, I might like the sounda little better when I'm
playing alone.
With the old uh with the Martinlookalike, he'll call it.
And also your your wife, talkabout a present.
(06:29):
For your wife to give you aguitar like that's awesome.
Do you know what model it is?
Uh, I don't off the top of myhead.
Backstory, everyone thinks thatbecause I play and sing that
I'm like this big guitar guy.
You know, it's like a everyonethinks a mechanic would be a car
guy, but I'm not big um on thebrands and the names, and
sometimes I even have to Googlewhat a part is on my guitar just
(06:51):
to get it replaced, so I don'tsound dumb at the music store.
But um all I know is it wasbought with love and it sounds
great, and she believes in me.
And if I broke it today, she'dprobably buy me another one
tomorrow just to make sure I getthrough.
Oh wow.
No, that's awesome.
Congratulations, great wife.
That's a great present.
She's the best.
(07:11):
Yep.
So you find yourself playingthat Taylor when you're playing
live?
Mm-hmm.
That would make sense then.
So you're playing that and it'swith the band.
Yeah.
When I first started playingwith the preachers, I was
actually playing a tele fulltime, and I I don't know, I just
there was something going onwith the band where I was just
(07:32):
like, there's something missing.
Like, there's something missingto this, and it it really was
just that acoustic sound.
That's I'm an acoustic guy, youknow.
Everything I've done, I'vewrote acoustic.
I've started off acoustic, andI just feel more natural on
stage with the acoustic in myhand.
So that was the missing piece.
I put the telly downtemporarily.
95% of the show, I'm I'mrocking the tailor.
(07:53):
All right.
Well, let's take it a stepfurther.
Let's go back to the initialcomment of you wrote poems, and
that kind of led into takingthose poems into songs.
So can you tell us a little bitabout your writing process?
Um, it's different.
It's always different, uh, butI would say for the most part,
(08:14):
it either one starts out with alick, I'll I'll hear a song, or
I'll I'll just be sitting aroundnoodling with the guitar and
I'll find a certain lick or amelody, and um I kind of hum a
melody out of that, and thenonce I find that keyword, that's
really where the song takesoff.
But you do have times, youknow, like perfect family and I
(08:36):
know you better and a cry everyday.
A few of my other songs, thosewere ones that were like, man, I
got this song in my heart, or Ihave something that's weighing
on me, and I I need to get itout of me, and I don't have a
therapist.
So it this was a great that wasa great way to do it.
But most of the time, yeah, I'mI'm playing guitar, I'm
picking, and I'm just I'm justsinging the words that come to
me and trying to make the mostsense of it that I can.
(08:58):
That's awesome.
I'm a songwriter as well, but Itend to work on lyrics.
So I'm a lyric first person.
I was even telling the wifejust the other day, I can't just
write anything anytime.
It has to be inspired bysomething.
To me, those tend to be the thebest songs that I produce.
Something that has happened tome personally and and uh I feel
(09:19):
like I need to get out of mysystem.
It you know, it is funnybecause I am a lyrics guy first.
I I pride myself in being a agood songwriter and um writing
good, deep, passionate lyrics,but uh it usually does start
with the music.
I feel like I I don't even knowhow I feel until I pick up the
guitar and you know maybe Istrum an A minor first and now
(09:39):
I'm you know I'm on the I foundthis like sad melody in my head
or remind me of a sad time, oryou know, I play an E major and
I'm ready to boot Scootin'Boogie, fall to the floor.
Right.
So you mentioned that you feellike the best songs are songs
that are just in you and have tocome out.
Can you give us an example ofone of those songs?
(10:02):
Uh yeah.
I have this song, it's calledPerfect Family.
You may have heard it.
It was like the first acousticsong we did of the night there
at Laurie's.
And you know, I was having adisagreement with this person
that the song was about.
I was just angry with themabout how they handled this
situation they're in.
And you know, I was like, I'mgonna sit down, I'm gonna write
a song, and it's gonna be a m-it's gonna be an angry song
(10:23):
because I'm angry.
And as I write the song and I'mI'm reading back on the lyrics
after I, in 15 minutes, 20minutes, just scribble all these
words out to this little lickthat I had.
And by the time I go back andreread it and sing it again, I'm
like, oh, this isn't an angrysong at all.
It's a sad song.
You know, as angry as I am forwhat's going on, I act I really
feel sad and hurt by thesituation.
(10:44):
And the song really putsyourself in uh the shoes of the
third character in the story.
I guess you could say a mom anda a father and a daughter, and
puts you in the shoes of thedaughter of what what they're
seeing happen and fall apart infront of them.
So sorry, I'm trying to do thisthe best I can without saying
names and didn't realize howhard that was.
That's fine.
(11:05):
You you mentioned somethingthere that is hard for me.
You mentioned it's turns out tobe in the eyes of the daughter.
So most songs that I write arefrom my point of view.
You know, if I'm writing a songabout my wife, it's from my
point of view about the wife orthe struggles we're going
through, or if I write somethingabout the family or anything
(11:26):
like that, it's something frommy point of view.
But just recently, my daughterwas in the hospital, and she's
out of the hospital now, thankGod.
But she was in the hospitallast week, and I wrote a song
from her point of view.
Right on.
So when it was done andproduced, it was produced with a
female vocal instead of a malevocal.
So that was different from forme.
(11:47):
Do you find it harder to dosongs like that?
Yes.
I've I've had a few femalefriends who are also in the
music business be like, weshould write together.
I'd love to write with you.
And I'm like, heck yeah, that'dbe that'd be fun.
Let's, you know, I want to gettogether and I want to write.
And I've tried to sit down andwrite songs from a woman's point
of view.
And the only person I've beenable to do that is I've been
(12:09):
able to write from my mom'spoint of view or you know, from
my sister's point of view.
And and uh it's hard.
It's uh a lot of my songs endup being not about me, but other
people, but it you you wouldthink that I'm singing the song
about my life.
Like I always have to tellpeople to shows, hey, I hope you
guys like the music.
Just so you know, my wife's nota piece of crap.
These songs are not about her.
(12:29):
These are songs about otherpeople's lives and things I've
seen, or maybe even just mybiggest fear.
But yeah, directly writingabout someone else's personal
view, that's hard.
I think that that's challengingbecause I don't want to mess up
maybe what they actually think.
Yeah.
I mean, I've written a song formy daughter in the past, but it
was how I see my daughter.
This was how she sees herself,and that made it a lot harder
(12:51):
for me to write that song.
Oh, yeah.
But I think it turned out good.
I was happy with it.
It was a good experiment forme.
I look at them all as anexperiment.
Experiment indeed, yeah.
So now you sit down, you writethese songs, whether it, you
know, whatever the process be,whether it be lyrics first or or
music first.
What's the next step for you?
(13:12):
I actually call three or fourdifferent people immediately and
I I make them listen to it, andI I tell them, you know, give
me your opinion, not as myfriend, but as a as a uh critic,
and then I hang up on themimmediately and call the next
person.
And I do that with about threeor four people until I'm I'm
like, okay, yeah, I think thissong is might be as good as I
(13:33):
think it is.
So it's usually um just some uhI guess uh feedback.
Some feedback, yeah.
It's it's trying to getfeedback from the people I I
write with or write for or writeabout and people you respect.
Yeah, people I respect,especially my dad.
My dad's my biggest hater.
I always say it.
Yeah, my wife is mine.
Yeah, yeah, mine's second, she'sin second place.
(13:53):
But my dad is my biggest hater,but I say that with love.
My dad was a musician too,frontman bands, he was my
drummer.
So I I you know, as much as Ihate hearing his opinion on my
stuff, I I do respect it and I Itake it.
You value it.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
No, my wife is the same way.
No matter what I play for orshow her or anything, there's
(14:15):
always the critique first.
Right.
But nine out of ten times she'sright.
So I can't I can't knock it toomuch.
She's a creative personherself, so I take her opinion
when it comes to creativethings, you know, to heart.
But hearing her tear it downfirst is always rough.
It's funny because my wife and Iare the same way.
(14:36):
I'm very organized andstructured when it comes to when
it comes to art and music,that's how I am.
When it comes to art and music,she's very free and you know,
well, whatever.
And but when it comes to reallife, we're the total opposite.
We we switch, switch, she's theorganized one, and yeah.
So uh, and it's funny too, yousaid how your wife is your
biggest critic too.
I've only been married to mywife a year this past September,
(14:58):
and when we first got together,it was I love that song.
I love that song, that's great.
And then it started turninginto, well, what's that even
about?
Well, what if you took thislyric out?
That's cheesy, and I'm like,Wow, but you do love me.
That's funny you mentioned that.
I just finished uh an albumthat I did as an experiment, and
that's where a lot of thesesongs from my family came in
(15:21):
because it's sad.
I wrote a song for my daughter,just the one I told you about.
I wrote a song for her, and mywife was like, Well, what are
your other daughters gonnathink?
So I was like, Oh, so now Igotta go back and write songs
for everybody.
So I went through and I wrotesongs, it ended up being like a
family project.
So I just took different thingsI wanted to experiment with,
(15:41):
and I wrote a song for thisperson.
Then I went and wrote a songfor this person.
So I ended up writing thesesongs for the family, and then
she critiqued everything.
It's like, well, is that reallythe feel you want for that
song?
Or that daughter's differentthan the other daughters.
Why why should her song soundsimilar?
Yeah, you know, it's like, oh,you're killing me.
(16:03):
How about because we're afamily and it's supposed to all
be on the same project?
How about that?
Right, right, yeah.
So no, it's gotta sounddifferent.
Each kid is different.
Again, having somebody likethat in your life that pushes
you to see past what's right infront of you is a good thing.
Oh, yeah.
I'm definitely I'm definitelyblessed in that.
Uh my wife is well, she's she'sPolish, so she's got this like
(16:26):
European blunt thing about herwhere it's she's like, I'm going
to be honest, and you might notlike it, but I just know it's
out of love.
And I'm like, Great, hit mewith it.
My wife is southern, and I getthe same thing.
So I don't know if it reallymatters where you're from.
I think it's just I think you'reright.
I think that's just a sign of agood woman.
Yeah, it's just the title ofwife.
Yeah.
I think that's what it is.
As soon as she got the title ofwife, things things changed.
(16:50):
Yes.
All right.
So you write it, take a poem orwhatever you had originally.
You write the song, whether itbe music or lyrics first,
whichever the inspirationstrikes, you go in there, you
play it for other people, andthen your wife critiques it.
What's next?
Unfortunately, it it's a lot ofsitting and singing.
(17:10):
The mistake I've made is Ishould be recording stuff
faster.
I should be getting stuff out,I should be getting demos of
things.
I'll write a song, I'll put itin my notes, I'll write the next
song, write the next song.
You'll hear all these songs atmy shows, but you can't find
them anywhere, and I've lackedin that department.
I always say I'm aperfectionist who's not perfect.
It's a never-ending cyclebecause I want my songs to be
(17:31):
perfect and I want them to soundexactly the way I hear them in
my head, but I know at the sametime maybe I can't do that, and
it uh it always ends up with meclosing the laptop and not
finishing it.
So that I can promise will endthis went this this year.
Well, let me take that a stepfurther.
So when I write songs, I'm a astudio person.
(17:51):
I spent my entire careerworking in the studio.
So to me, a finished product iswhen it's recorded.
But I could see as a performerthat it might have a benefit to
playing it live for a longperiod of time until you tweak
every little thing until youmaster it so you're as
comfortable as can be with itbefore taking it into the
(18:12):
studio.
So do you find like having thatopportunity to fine-tune and
practice the song might have abenefit to it?
Yeah, I guess I never reallythought of it that way, but now
that I think about it, you know,if if me and the preachers were
to go into the studio and do,you know, even five of the ten
to fifteen songs that we dotogether original, I solely
(18:34):
believe that in in two to threetakes, maybe even one on most of
them, we would have it down andthat would be it.
And that's kind of my goal.
I love a live album.
I love uh like the JamieJohnson album where it it
nonstop, the whole album nevercut.
You hear him talking in thebackground, the band cuts in,
he's telling stories.
That's my kind of album.
(18:55):
So yeah, I think that actuallyis a positive for me when I do
find that studio time, it's uhget in and get to work and
everything goes as smooth as Icould picture it to be.
Yeah, I think it would donothing but benefit you and
having that opportunity to toplay those songs over and over
again, night after night, youwhether you feel it or not,
you're fine-tuning them andyou're becoming comfortable with
(19:18):
them, and it's becoming musclememory.
Yeah.
When you go in the studio, it'sjust gonna be muscle memory
when you spit it out again.
Yeah, and that could have beenmy problem early on now that I
think about it too, is I wouldwrite a song so fast, like I'm
known to finish a song in 20, 30minutes.
Once I catch that groove, it'sit's on.
And when I finish a song, I'mready to turn the laptop on and
cut a demo or get the the finalversion of it.
(19:41):
And I'm also known to be alittle impatient.
So I, you know, I just want Ijust want my stuff to be the way
I hear it in my head, and Idon't know how that can ever
make that truly 100% possible,but that's the goal.
I want it to be perfect.
I want the people to hear itthe way I want to hear it.
Yeah.
I think that's the benefit ofbeing in the studio.
But if you go in the studiofirst and you're not sure the
(20:03):
way you want it to sound, you'regonna spend a lot of time and
therefore waste a lot of money.
Oh, yeah.
So I think if you're playinglive and you have the
opportunity to, especially ifyou're gonna use the band you
play with to go into the studio,you want that that band to be
as rehearsed as possible aswell.
So I do I do believe that thatthere is a benefit to that.
So we've mentioned the bandseveral times now, so let's talk
(20:27):
about the band.
Was the band a band before theygot with you?
Yes, and they still are, theystill gig all around.
We're actually both with thesame agency, Crave Agency.
We signed with them as a band,and then you know, they started
working with another artist thatthey had there as a backing
band recording stuff.
So um our managers justdecided, like, hey, you guys are
(20:49):
gonna be two different acts,even though you still play
together.
You know, the the preachers areI encourage anybody to go out
and see the Catholic Preachersplay live, they're quite the
show.
Keep it open since the this isthe open mic.
The first open mic I went to inCincinnati when I got back from
Colorado, and my drummer Dylan,he's the drummer for the
Catholic Preachers, he runs theopen mic, and they were arms
(21:10):
wide open when I got there.
The Catholic preachers were thefirst people I met when I got
there and heard them play.
And I was like, I rememberlooking at my cousin one day,
and I'm like, man, I I gottahave these guys as my band.
Like, how sick is Cory Hookerand the Cadillac Preachers
sound?
And uh it took about a year, ayear and a half, actually, of
just becoming friends andjamming with those guys.
And although we don't reallyhave the same avenue as far as
(21:33):
genre, I love what comes outwhen we get together.
I think that's where thealternative really hits harder.
Some people even have called itfugitive folk rock.
Yeah, which is that's awesome.
Yeah, you guys definitely havenames down for sure.
Yeah, Cory Hooker and theCatalytic Preachers just sounds
awesome.
Yeah, it rolls off the tongue.
The alternative rock isawesome.
Yeah, fugitive rock is awesome.
(21:55):
But a couple things youmentioned there.
It's funny, every time you saysomething, I'm like, oh wow,
that's kind of cool.
So you mentioned the band beinga band on their own, and then
they also back other artists.
So that sounds like somethingthat used to happen in Memphis
years ago.
So is that the type of stuffthey're doing now?
(22:16):
Um, it's kind of like uh afloodgate opened when I when
they started jamming with me.
I think it was something wherethey were like, hey, we're a
rocking band, we know a bunch ofrock and singer songwriters.
Let's learn their stuff.
And if they need us, we'rethere.
These guys are rock androllers, they have their own
original music, and it's likethis funk, rock, psychedelic
(22:36):
rock.
I mean, they're a killer.
And even though when I watchedthem play before, it was like
it's not that I want to be apart of the preachers, but I had
this vision of what wouldhappen when we came together and
combined our sounds.
Yeah, those guys were.
I can't say enough about them.
They've hooked me up with somany gigs and connected with me
with so many people, and youknow, even when I decided to go
back to Colorado and do thissolo tour, they were so
(22:59):
supportive.
It was friend first, bandmatesecond, and I love those guys.
That's cool.
I saw you performing atLaurie's Roadhouse, and anybody
who listens to the show knowsthat I really enjoy going to
Laurie's Roadhouse and seeingthe acts that go through there.
And Laurie's Roadhouse to mereminds me of Billy Bob's out in
Texas.
It's a just a larger venue thanmost venues.
(23:22):
Has multiple stages and it'sgot major acts that come through
and play there.
So how did it feel the firsttime that you played on that
stage?
Man, uh the first time I playedon that stage, uh it was it was
a little nerve-wracking,actually, because as you know,
there's the seats all the way inthe back, and then there's the
(23:44):
dance floor in the front.
And the first time I got onthat stage, I was acoustic.
I didn't even have a band withme.
And you were on the big stageduring that time?
Yeah, I was on the big stage.
I think the venue thought I hada band.
There was a mix-up, and so theythey put me on the big stage.
I did a solo act.
Although I was nervous, Iwasn't so much nervous about
playing, I was more nervousabout being able to get people
(24:04):
to come up and dance.
But I love Laurie's.
I love I love playing there.
Great staff, they're alwaysgreat to us.
Yeah, it's an amazing place, andI've taken my daughters a
couple times now.
I've taken my older daughter,she's 15.
I say older, the oldest of mydaughters.
I took her to see you thatnight.
So, how did you get hooked upwith Laurie's in the first
(24:27):
place?
My gosh, I tried to get in thereforever.
Have you ever heard of the bandThe Filthy Heathens?
Yes.
Cody, the guitar player, heactually lives right across the
street from me at here inCamden.
And uh, we went to the samehigh school and we've known each
other for a while, and he wasin with the Lori's gang.
He had a band called Four Low.
He played with a couple otherpeople as a guitar player, and I
(24:48):
was like, Cody, you gotta getme in Lori's.
Like, whatever you gotta do,get me in Lori's.
But it ended up being anacoustic competition that I
joined.
I ended up winning that and gotthe opportunity to open up for
Sawyer Brown band.
Once I did that, it was kind oflike, hey, you're it you're
part of the Lori's family.
You're you're gonna play here.
We got you in rotation, and uhwe'll we'll keep you on the
(25:09):
call.
That's awesome.
So with that mentioned, we'vewe kind of danced around it a
little bit.
You're gonna be moving hereshortly.
So tell us first of all, whyand where, and then what you're
what you hope to accomplish bydoing it.
Yeah, uh, that's a question alot of people are asking me is
(25:29):
why.
A lot of my support is fromfamily and friends, which is
great, but I'm not sure that'llever get me to the next level.
I think I need to go out andplay in front of strangers, and
I just feel the farther I can goout and get my name and face
out there and meet new people,then um then I can really get
this thing rolling a lot quickerand start gaining new fans.
(25:51):
I think that's really what it'sall about is having people who
want to listen to your music,and aside from myself.
Well, okay, so again, a fewthings there, but let's talk
about the move first.
What made you choose thatlocation?
My wife and I met in Colorado.
She's from Colorado, like theDenver area.
We actually met in Telluride,Colorado, but uh it's a ski
(26:13):
resort town, and uh we bothworked for the resort, and that
is my second home.
I love Telluride, Colorado.
I love Colorado in general.
I love being in the mountains.
I feel like I wasn't on myphone as much when I was out
there.
Uh, I didn't doom scroll asmuch.
It just felt like home.
It felt good, felt good to bethere.
And um, you know, we came backto get married and save some
(26:35):
money up and try to do the theadulting, and we realized
quickly that we we want totravel and we want to spread our
art with people, and I thinkthat's uh a good place to be for
now, you know.
And it's a temper it might be atemporary move, it might be a
forever move, but for now we'rejust kind of chasing, chasing
where the shows are, chasingwhere the people are and where
we feel we'll fit best.
(26:56):
Absolutely beautiful place.
Funny story about Telly Red,Colorado.
Dirks Bentley lives around thatarea.
I had no idea he lived nextdoor.
And long story short, his dogjumps over the fence and bites
me in my back.
And I go up to his door, I'mfreaking out.
I'm like, hey, come outside,mother effort.
Your dog bit me.
(27:17):
And out comes Dirks.
Out comes Dirks, and I'm like,holy crap! I'm like, now I'm
feeling bad.
I'm like, sorry about this.
And and so I was juststarstruck.
I couldn't believe it.
That's like you know, that'slike my childhood country there.
After that happened, I rememberthe police were like, Do you
want to sue?
I was at the hospital andgetting my tetanus shot, and
they're like, I'm like, I don'tthink so.
(27:39):
Like, you know, he's prettylocal.
He's he's chilling here, andthey're like, Are you sure?
And I'm like, Yeah, I'm prettysure I don't want to be that guy
in town.
I don't want to be the guy thatsues the big country artist.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Although it'd be big payday.
Yeah, could have been, yeah.
I don't know.
He paid my medical bills.
I guess that's all I can askfor.
(27:59):
There you go.
That's not bad.
Did he offer to do it?
He did.
Uh when he sent me down to themedical center, he was like, go
down there.
He's like, Yeah, I'll I'll payfor it all.
Come back here when you'redone.
I came back, we sat and talkedfor you know maybe 20 minutes or
so on his porch, and he gave mehis phone number on a little
piece of paper with his name.
(28:19):
And I was like, Wow, I waslike, I'm gonna tell my kids
about this one day.
And he's like, Oh, you havekids?
And I'm like, Well, no, but oneday when I do, you know,
they'll know about you.
So that's awesome.
Yep, it was cool.
If nothing else, it's a story,right?
Yeah, yeah, a good one indeedwith a scar.
So right, there you go.
I mean, that is really a coolthing.
(28:39):
I bust on him a lot, but it'scool to know that he's a cool
guy.
Yeah, oh my gosh, yeah.
He's he's a boys' guy, youknow.
He's so he plays in thesoftball leagues out there, the
local hockey league out theretoo.
He probably has another archrival in Telly Ride, I'm sure.
It's fun.
I I I've worked with a lot ofpeople in Nashville, but I never
had the opportunity to workwith him, but I did have the
(29:02):
opportunity to play hockey withhim, which I think that's cool.
To me, it was more fun.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So that's cool.
All right.
So now that you're heading toColorado, you talk about getting
to play in front of morepeople.
Every time you have theopportunity to play in front of
new people, I'm always curioushow you plan on taking that new
(29:26):
audience and converting theminto listeners or followers or
whatever you want to call them.
How do you plan on capturingthose people?
I think there's a few differentsteps I take.
You know, crowd engagement isone thing I love doing.
You know, I'm I'm a prettygoofy cut-up guy, and anytime I
can grab their attention justfor a second and have them
(29:48):
laughing and talking and belike, what is this lunatic
talking about?
And then play a song they mightlike, or something that I'll do
is, you know, I'll play a uhI'll play Mary Jane's Last
Dance, and then right after thatI'll play a song that I wrote
called Indiana Beauty Queen.
They kind of they kind of havethe same vibe as far as the
story.
I'm like, hey, if you like thatsong, you might like this song.
(30:09):
And you know, just stayingengaged with the crowd, trying
to play my best stuff, but alsonot trying to drown everyone out
with music that they've neverheard.
All right.
So what do you hoping happen inthe future?
You got any big plans comingup?
Uh I do um I have a uh prettyfun show coming up at Laurie's.
(30:30):
I think it's safe to say I'm meand the Cadillac Preachers will
be direct support for MarkChestnut at Lori's Roadhouse
February 6th.
All right.
So you mentioned Mark Chestnut.
So how do you feel about thatopportunity in general?
I'm very excited.
Just put it on the best show Ican possibly put on.
Trying to make people smile,trying to give people a reason
(30:52):
to remember me.
Maybe I'll, you know, rip myshirt off and show my hairy
chest or something.
That way, if the music wasn'tany good, they'll remember that.
Right.
Yeah, yeah.
So um, you know, any anypublicity is good publicity.
That's what they say, you know.
All right, so well, we do thisthing here we call unsung heroes
where we take a moment to shinethe light on somebody who may
(31:14):
have supported you or helped youalong the way.
Is there anybody that you wouldlike to shine a little light
on?
Yeah, definitely.
Um, I mean, aside from theobvious obvious one, which is my
wife, my mom.
My mom makes it to every singleshow that she can make it to.
You know, she's drove an hourand 20 minutes to watch me play
for 30 minutes.
(31:34):
You know, the drive there andback was three times as long as
the show, and she's alwayssharing my stuff, and uh, she's
always supported me, whether itwas I you know, I thought I was
gonna be an MLB pitcher one day,and she wanted that for me.
And then when I picked up theguitar and said I was gonna do
this, she wanted that for me,and that's never changed.
She's my number one supporter,and hopefully one day it pays
(31:56):
off for the both of us.
That's awesome.
All right, folks.
Well, we have done it.
We have reached the top of thehour, which does mean we have
reached the end of the show.
If you've enjoyed this show,please tell a friend.
And if you have not, well, telltwo.
You can reach out to the two ofus over at jfranzy.com.
We will be happy to keep thisconversation going.
We will be happy to keep anyconversation going.
Corey, sir, I cannot thank youenough for being here tonight.
(32:20):
I would like to leave the finalwords to you.
Thanks for having me.
You can find me at Corey HookerMusic on Facebook, on
Instagram.
If you want to check out ourfirst single, it's called Losin'
by Corey Hooker and theCadillac Preachers.
Thanks for having me, Jay.
It's been a pleasure.
It's been an absolute pleasurehaving you, sir.
On that note, folks, have agood night.
(32:42):
Thanks for listening to the JayFranzi Show.
Make sure you visit us atJFranzi.com.
Follow, connect, and say hello.
And we are coming at you live.
I am JayFranzi, and this isGeorge Storce for the latest
news, reviews, and interviews.
So if you would like to joinin, comment, or fire off any
questions, please head over toJFranzy.com.
Alright, folks, tonight we havea very special guest with us.
I said it once, I will say itagain.
We have a very special guest.
We have an actual recordingartist hailing from the great
(01:20):
state of Ohio.
We have Mr.
Corey Hooker.
Corey, sir, thank you forjoining us.
Thank you for having me.
It is our pleasure.
We cannot wait to get into thistonight.
I know we have a lot of thingsto go over, so I'm pretty
excited.
But I want to just jump rightin with this description of your
band.
The alternative rock.
I I love it.
(01:42):
Can you take a second to justgo ahead and describe the actual
genre of your music?
Yeah, that is uh I don't knowhow much time we have, but that
that's a really good idea.
Seven hours, don't worry aboutit.
Yeah, I just had thisconversation with a friend
today.
It's like music's almost becomeso genreless lately that uh
(02:02):
it's hard to put a uh a fingeron it, but I think the best way
to describe it would be likeAmericana, Americana rock,
Americana folk.
I think Americana really is theroot of it.
It's a lot ofsinger-songwriter, heartfelt
lyrics, sometimes funny,sometimes sad, and also just a
rock and dan coming at you.
There is a band.
(02:22):
Corey Hooker and the CadillacPreachers.
Let's start with you first.
How did you decide you wantedto get into this?
What was the background behindthat?
Corey Hooker (02:33):
Yeah, so my papa Jerry, he always loved bluegrass
playing guitar.
He wasn't the best, but heloved doing it, loved playing.
And when he passed away, he wasleft-handed, I'm left-handed.
He always wanted me to playguitar.
I was too involved with sportswhen I was younger.
And when I was 19, he passedaway, and I received his guitar.
(02:53):
Just found a new love for it.
You know, sports were kind offading out of my life.
You know, I was going tocollege, I was playing guitar,
meeting new people, and I justfell in love with songwriting.
I I had a few poems that I hadwritten before, never thought
anything of.
Put some chords to it, and itkind of had it's really taken
off from there.
It took about five or six yearsto really even think about
(03:14):
doing anything with it, but it'sbeen about a 10-year grind now.
Jay Franze (03:18):
Alright.
Couple things you mentioned inthere.
First was being left-handed.
The reason I I bring that up isI'm also left-handed when it
comes to playing guitar.
Oh, really?
I'm left-handed with writingand I'm left-handed with playing
guitar.
Everything else isright-handed.
Really?
Did you have any of that or wasit left-handed only for you?
Well, in like sixth grade inelementary school, I was in this
(03:40):
guitar class, you could callit, and we had to play like
these three songs.
It was like part of the class.
And all they had wasright-handed guitars.
So that was my first taste ofguitar when I was younger.
I think that might have whatturned me off for a minute.
Was I was like, Well, I thinkI'm left-handed.
They're like, Well, this is allwe have.
So I wasn't very good.
So I got scared of it.
But every time I went to mypapa's house, he'd pull the
(04:01):
guitar out, he'd beg me to play.
I'd play G C D for him.
We'd sing a kid rock song, andthat was about it.
Right.
Well, it's funny.
I played bass guitar, and thefirst bass I got was
right-handed.
Just didn't work for me as muchas I wanted it to, it didn't.
So over here to my right is aleft-handed bass guitar right
now, and there's a left-handedacoustic in the other room.
(04:23):
And I can't really play eitherone of them, so it really
doesn't matter.
However, if I were to play theleft-handed, the other thing you
mentioned was yourgrandfather's guitar.
What kind of guitar was it?
The brand is an Austin.
I'm pretty sure it's a uh likea replica of um a Martin D18 or
something like that.
(04:44):
I can't remember.
It's got the same body shapeand everything and headstock,
but it's nothing special.
It's special to me, but uh itdoesn't get much stage time.
It definitely needs some love.
It's got some screws in it, butI think that might be another
story for later.
It's funny.
I mean, you say it's nothingspecial, like it is special, you
know.
It's definitely special.
Oh, yeah, sentimental, veryyeah, and it's the foundation
(05:06):
too.
I'm sure when you pick that up,there's something different
about playing that guitar thanthere is any other guitar.
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah, that's where I I'vewrote most of my songs on that
guitar.
That was my next question.
So do you write with thatguitar?
Yeah, every time I get thechance, I was without it for a
little bit, and my wife actuallybought me this Taylor guitar.
She spent some good money on itbecause she loves me, but I
(05:28):
love this guitar, but when I dofeel like I've got some writer's
block, can't really figure outwhat's going on, I go grab my
Bables guitar and sit down andget to work.
Usually something comes out.
I mean, I can understand thatcompletely.
To me, Taylor is the guitar ofall guitars.
That's my favorite.
And Martin is up there as well.
(05:48):
But the reason I like Taylorbetter is because being a
recording engineer and being inthe studio, I feel like the
Taylor cuts through, cutsthrough all the other
instruments and has this kind ofshimmery sound that kind of
just dances on top of the music.
Where Martin, if you're a soloartist and you're outperforming,
I think that has more body, soit fills up more.
(06:09):
Yeah.
I like them for the differentpurposes.
So if yours is similar to aMartin, I can only imagine that
would work well for you being asinger-songwriter.
Oh, yeah, that might be it too.
I might, I might like the sounda little better when I'm
playing alone.
With the old uh with the Martinlookalike, he'll call it.
And also your your wife, talkabout a present.
(06:29):
For your wife to give you aguitar like that's awesome.
Do you know what model it is?
Uh, I don't off the top of myhead.
Backstory, everyone thinks thatbecause I play and sing that
I'm like this big guitar guy.
You know, it's like a everyonethinks a mechanic would be a car
guy, but I'm not big um on thebrands and the names, and
sometimes I even have to Googlewhat a part is on my guitar just
(06:51):
to get it replaced, so I don'tsound dumb at the music store.
But um all I know is it wasbought with love and it sounds
great, and she believes in me.
And if I broke it today, she'dprobably buy me another one
tomorrow just to make sure I getthrough.
Oh wow.
No, that's awesome.
Congratulations, great wife.
That's a great present.
She's the best.
(07:11):
Yep.
So you find yourself playingthat Taylor when you're playing
live?
Mm-hmm.
That would make sense then.
So you're playing that and it'swith the band.
Yeah.
When I first started playingwith the preachers, I was
actually playing a tele fulltime, and I I don't know, I just
there was something going onwith the band where I was just
(07:32):
like, there's something missing.
Like, there's something missingto this, and it it really was
just that acoustic sound.
That's I'm an acoustic guy, youknow.
Everything I've done, I'vewrote acoustic.
I've started off acoustic, andI just feel more natural on
stage with the acoustic in myhand.
So that was the missing piece.
I put the telly downtemporarily.
95% of the show, I'm I'mrocking the tailor.
(07:53):
All right.
Well, let's take it a stepfurther.
Let's go back to the initialcomment of you wrote poems, and
that kind of led into takingthose poems into songs.
So can you tell us a little bitabout your writing process?
Um, it's different.
It's always different, uh, butI would say for the most part,
(08:14):
it either one starts out with alick, I'll I'll hear a song, or
I'll I'll just be sitting aroundnoodling with the guitar and
I'll find a certain lick or amelody, and um I kind of hum a
melody out of that, and thenonce I find that keyword, that's
really where the song takesoff.
But you do have times, youknow, like perfect family and I
(08:36):
know you better and a cry everyday.
A few of my other songs, thosewere ones that were like, man, I
got this song in my heart, or Ihave something that's weighing
on me, and I I need to get itout of me, and I don't have a
therapist.
So it this was a great that wasa great way to do it.
But most of the time, yeah, I'mI'm playing guitar, I'm
picking, and I'm just I'm justsinging the words that come to
me and trying to make the mostsense of it that I can.
(08:58):
That's awesome.
I'm a songwriter as well, but Itend to work on lyrics.
So I'm a lyric first person.
I was even telling the wifejust the other day, I can't just
write anything anytime.
It has to be inspired bysomething.
To me, those tend to be the thebest songs that I produce.
Something that has happened tome personally and and uh I feel
(09:19):
like I need to get out of mysystem.
It you know, it is funnybecause I am a lyrics guy first.
I I pride myself in being a agood songwriter and um writing
good, deep, passionate lyrics,but uh it usually does start
with the music.
I feel like I I don't even knowhow I feel until I pick up the
guitar and you know maybe Istrum an A minor first and now
(09:39):
I'm you know I'm on the I foundthis like sad melody in my head
or remind me of a sad time, oryou know, I play an E major and
I'm ready to boot Scootin'Boogie, fall to the floor.
Right.
So you mentioned that you feellike the best songs are songs
that are just in you and have tocome out.
Can you give us an example ofone of those songs?
(10:02):
Uh yeah.
I have this song, it's calledPerfect Family.
You may have heard it.
It was like the first acousticsong we did of the night there
at Laurie's.
And you know, I was having adisagreement with this person
that the song was about.
I was just angry with themabout how they handled this
situation they're in.
And you know, I was like, I'mgonna sit down, I'm gonna write
a song, and it's gonna be a m-it's gonna be an angry song
(10:23):
because I'm angry.
And as I write the song and I'mI'm reading back on the lyrics
after I, in 15 minutes, 20minutes, just scribble all these
words out to this little lickthat I had.
And by the time I go back andreread it and sing it again, I'm
like, oh, this isn't an angrysong at all.
It's a sad song.
You know, as angry as I am forwhat's going on, I act I really
feel sad and hurt by thesituation.
(10:44):
And the song really putsyourself in uh the shoes of the
third character in the story.
I guess you could say a mom anda a father and a daughter, and
puts you in the shoes of thedaughter of what what they're
seeing happen and fall apart infront of them.
So sorry, I'm trying to do thisthe best I can without saying
names and didn't realize howhard that was.
That's fine.
(11:05):
You you mentioned somethingthere that is hard for me.
You mentioned it's turns out tobe in the eyes of the daughter.
So most songs that I write arefrom my point of view.
You know, if I'm writing a songabout my wife, it's from my
point of view about the wife orthe struggles we're going
through, or if I write somethingabout the family or anything
(11:26):
like that, it's something frommy point of view.
But just recently, my daughterwas in the hospital, and she's
out of the hospital now, thankGod.
But she was in the hospitallast week, and I wrote a song
from her point of view.
Right on.
So when it was done andproduced, it was produced with a
female vocal instead of a malevocal.
So that was different from forme.
(11:47):
Do you find it harder to dosongs like that?
Yes.
I've I've had a few femalefriends who are also in the
music business be like, weshould write together.
I'd love to write with you.
And I'm like, heck yeah, that'dbe that'd be fun.
Let's, you know, I want to gettogether and I want to write.
And I've tried to sit down andwrite songs from a woman's point
of view.
And the only person I've beenable to do that is I've been
(12:09):
able to write from my mom'spoint of view or you know, from
my sister's point of view.
And and uh it's hard.
It's uh a lot of my songs endup being not about me, but other
people, but it you you wouldthink that I'm singing the song
about my life.
Like I always have to tellpeople to shows, hey, I hope you
guys like the music.
Just so you know, my wife's nota piece of crap.
These songs are not about her.
(12:29):
These are songs about otherpeople's lives and things I've
seen, or maybe even just mybiggest fear.
But yeah, directly writingabout someone else's personal
view, that's hard.
I think that that's challengingbecause I don't want to mess up
maybe what they actually think.
Yeah.
I mean, I've written a song formy daughter in the past, but it
was how I see my daughter.
This was how she sees herself,and that made it a lot harder
(12:51):
for me to write that song.
Oh, yeah.
But I think it turned out good.
I was happy with it.
It was a good experiment forme.
I look at them all as anexperiment.
Experiment indeed, yeah.
So now you sit down, you writethese songs, whether it, you
know, whatever the process be,whether it be lyrics first or or
music first.
What's the next step for you?
(13:12):
I actually call three or fourdifferent people immediately and
I I make them listen to it, andI I tell them, you know, give
me your opinion, not as myfriend, but as a as a uh critic,
and then I hang up on themimmediately and call the next
person.
And I do that with about threeor four people until I'm I'm
like, okay, yeah, I think thissong is might be as good as I
(13:33):
think it is.
So it's usually um just some uhI guess uh feedback.
Some feedback, yeah.
It's it's trying to getfeedback from the people I I
write with or write for or writeabout and people you respect.
Yeah, people I respect,especially my dad.
My dad's my biggest hater.
I always say it.
Yeah, my wife is mine.
Yeah, yeah, mine's second, she'sin second place.
(13:53):
But my dad is my biggest hater,but I say that with love.
My dad was a musician too,frontman bands, he was my
drummer.
So I I you know, as much as Ihate hearing his opinion on my
stuff, I I do respect it and I Itake it.
You value it.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
No, my wife is the same way.
No matter what I play for orshow her or anything, there's
(14:15):
always the critique first.
Right.
But nine out of ten times she'sright.
So I can't I can't knock it toomuch.
She's a creative personherself, so I take her opinion
when it comes to creativethings, you know, to heart.
But hearing her tear it downfirst is always rough.
It's funny because my wife and Iare the same way.
(14:36):
I'm very organized andstructured when it comes to when
it comes to art and music,that's how I am.
When it comes to art and music,she's very free and you know,
well, whatever.
And but when it comes to reallife, we're the total opposite.
We we switch, switch, she's theorganized one, and yeah.
So uh, and it's funny too, yousaid how your wife is your
biggest critic too.
I've only been married to mywife a year this past September,
(14:58):
and when we first got together,it was I love that song.
I love that song, that's great.
And then it started turninginto, well, what's that even
about?
Well, what if you took thislyric out?
That's cheesy, and I'm like,Wow, but you do love me.
That's funny you mentioned that.
I just finished uh an albumthat I did as an experiment, and
that's where a lot of thesesongs from my family came in
(15:21):
because it's sad.
I wrote a song for my daughter,just the one I told you about.
I wrote a song for her, and mywife was like, Well, what are
your other daughters gonnathink?
So I was like, Oh, so now Igotta go back and write songs
for everybody.
So I went through and I wrotesongs, it ended up being like a
family project.
So I just took different thingsI wanted to experiment with,
(15:41):
and I wrote a song for thisperson.
Then I went and wrote a songfor this person.
So I ended up writing thesesongs for the family, and then
she critiqued everything.
It's like, well, is that reallythe feel you want for that
song?
Or that daughter's differentthan the other daughters.
Why why should her song soundsimilar?
Yeah, you know, it's like, oh,you're killing me.
(16:03):
How about because we're afamily and it's supposed to all
be on the same project?
How about that?
Right, right, yeah.
So no, it's gotta sounddifferent.
Each kid is different.
Again, having somebody likethat in your life that pushes
you to see past what's right infront of you is a good thing.
Oh, yeah.
I'm definitely I'm definitelyblessed in that.
Uh my wife is well, she's she'sPolish, so she's got this like
(16:26):
European blunt thing about herwhere it's she's like, I'm going
to be honest, and you might notlike it, but I just know it's
out of love.
And I'm like, Great, hit mewith it.
My wife is southern, and I getthe same thing.
So I don't know if it reallymatters where you're from.
I think it's just I think you'reright.
I think that's just a sign of agood woman.
Yeah, it's just the title ofwife.
Yeah.
I think that's what it is.
As soon as she got the title ofwife, things things changed.
(16:50):
Yes.
All right.
So you write it, take a poem orwhatever you had originally.
You write the song, whether itbe music or lyrics first,
whichever the inspirationstrikes, you go in there, you
play it for other people, andthen your wife critiques it.
What's next?
Unfortunately, it it's a lot ofsitting and singing.
(17:10):
The mistake I've made is Ishould be recording stuff
faster.
I should be getting stuff out,I should be getting demos of
things.
I'll write a song, I'll put itin my notes, I'll write the next
song, write the next song.
You'll hear all these songs atmy shows, but you can't find
them anywhere, and I've lackedin that department.
I always say I'm aperfectionist who's not perfect.
It's a never-ending cyclebecause I want my songs to be
(17:31):
perfect and I want them to soundexactly the way I hear them in
my head, but I know at the sametime maybe I can't do that, and
it uh it always ends up with meclosing the laptop and not
finishing it.
So that I can promise will endthis went this this year.
Well, let me take that a stepfurther.
So when I write songs, I'm a astudio person.
(17:51):
I spent my entire careerworking in the studio.
So to me, a finished product iswhen it's recorded.
But I could see as a performerthat it might have a benefit to
playing it live for a longperiod of time until you tweak
every little thing until youmaster it so you're as
comfortable as can be with itbefore taking it into the
(18:12):
studio.
So do you find like having thatopportunity to fine-tune and
practice the song might have abenefit to it?
Yeah, I guess I never reallythought of it that way, but now
that I think about it, you know,if if me and the preachers were
to go into the studio and do,you know, even five of the ten
to fifteen songs that we dotogether original, I solely
(18:34):
believe that in in two to threetakes, maybe even one on most of
them, we would have it down andthat would be it.
And that's kind of my goal.
I love a live album.
I love uh like the JamieJohnson album where it it
nonstop, the whole album nevercut.
You hear him talking in thebackground, the band cuts in,
he's telling stories.
That's my kind of album.
(18:55):
So yeah, I think that actuallyis a positive for me when I do
find that studio time, it's uhget in and get to work and
everything goes as smooth as Icould picture it to be.
Yeah, I think it would donothing but benefit you and
having that opportunity to toplay those songs over and over
again, night after night, youwhether you feel it or not,
you're fine-tuning them andyou're becoming comfortable with
(19:18):
them, and it's becoming musclememory.
Yeah.
When you go in the studio, it'sjust gonna be muscle memory
when you spit it out again.
Yeah, and that could have beenmy problem early on now that I
think about it too, is I wouldwrite a song so fast, like I'm
known to finish a song in 20, 30minutes.
Once I catch that groove, it'sit's on.
And when I finish a song, I'mready to turn the laptop on and
cut a demo or get the the finalversion of it.
(19:41):
And I'm also known to be alittle impatient.
So I, you know, I just want Ijust want my stuff to be the way
I hear it in my head, and Idon't know how that can ever
make that truly 100% possible,but that's the goal.
I want it to be perfect.
I want the people to hear itthe way I want to hear it.
Yeah.
I think that's the benefit ofbeing in the studio.
But if you go in the studiofirst and you're not sure the
(20:03):
way you want it to sound, you'regonna spend a lot of time and
therefore waste a lot of money.
Oh, yeah.
So I think if you're playinglive and you have the
opportunity to, especially ifyou're gonna use the band you
play with to go into the studio,you want that that band to be
as rehearsed as possible aswell.
So I do I do believe that thatthere is a benefit to that.
So we've mentioned the bandseveral times now, so let's talk
(20:27):
about the band.
Was the band a band before theygot with you?
Yes, and they still are, theystill gig all around.
We're actually both with thesame agency, Crave Agency.
We signed with them as a band,and then you know, they started
working with another artist thatthey had there as a backing
band recording stuff.
So um our managers justdecided, like, hey, you guys are
(20:49):
gonna be two different acts,even though you still play
together.
You know, the the preachers areI encourage anybody to go out
and see the Catholic Preachersplay live, they're quite the
show.
Keep it open since the this isthe open mic.
The first open mic I went to inCincinnati when I got back from
Colorado, and my drummer Dylan,he's the drummer for the
Catholic Preachers, he runs theopen mic, and they were arms
(21:10):
wide open when I got there.
The Catholic preachers were thefirst people I met when I got
there and heard them play.
And I was like, I rememberlooking at my cousin one day,
and I'm like, man, I I gottahave these guys as my band.
Like, how sick is Cory Hookerand the Cadillac Preachers
sound?
And uh it took about a year, ayear and a half, actually, of
just becoming friends andjamming with those guys.
And although we don't reallyhave the same avenue as far as
(21:33):
genre, I love what comes outwhen we get together.
I think that's where thealternative really hits harder.
Some people even have called itfugitive folk rock.
Yeah, which is that's awesome.
Yeah, you guys definitely havenames down for sure.
Yeah, Cory Hooker and theCatalytic Preachers just sounds
awesome.
Yeah, it rolls off the tongue.
The alternative rock isawesome.
Yeah, fugitive rock is awesome.
(21:55):
But a couple things youmentioned there.
It's funny, every time you saysomething, I'm like, oh wow,
that's kind of cool.
So you mentioned the band beinga band on their own, and then
they also back other artists.
So that sounds like somethingthat used to happen in Memphis
years ago.
So is that the type of stuffthey're doing now?
(22:16):
Um, it's kind of like uh afloodgate opened when I when
they started jamming with me.
I think it was something wherethey were like, hey, we're a
rocking band, we know a bunch ofrock and singer songwriters.
Let's learn their stuff.
And if they need us, we'rethere.
These guys are rock androllers, they have their own
original music, and it's likethis funk, rock, psychedelic
(22:36):
rock.
I mean, they're a killer.
And even though when I watchedthem play before, it was like
it's not that I want to be apart of the preachers, but I had
this vision of what wouldhappen when we came together and
combined our sounds.
Yeah, those guys were.
I can't say enough about them.
They've hooked me up with somany gigs and connected with me
with so many people, and youknow, even when I decided to go
back to Colorado and do thissolo tour, they were so
(22:59):
supportive.
It was friend first, bandmatesecond, and I love those guys.
That's cool.
I saw you performing atLaurie's Roadhouse, and anybody
who listens to the show knowsthat I really enjoy going to
Laurie's Roadhouse and seeingthe acts that go through there.
And Laurie's Roadhouse to mereminds me of Billy Bob's out in
Texas.
It's a just a larger venue thanmost venues.
(23:22):
Has multiple stages and it'sgot major acts that come through
and play there.
So how did it feel the firsttime that you played on that
stage?
Man, uh the first time I playedon that stage, uh it was it was
a little nerve-wracking,actually, because as you know,
there's the seats all the way inthe back, and then there's the
(23:44):
dance floor in the front.
And the first time I got onthat stage, I was acoustic.
I didn't even have a band withme.
And you were on the big stageduring that time?
Yeah, I was on the big stage.
I think the venue thought I hada band.
There was a mix-up, and so theythey put me on the big stage.
I did a solo act.
Although I was nervous, Iwasn't so much nervous about
playing, I was more nervousabout being able to get people
(24:04):
to come up and dance.
But I love Laurie's.
I love I love playing there.
Great staff, they're alwaysgreat to us.
Yeah, it's an amazing place, andI've taken my daughters a
couple times now.
I've taken my older daughter,she's 15.
I say older, the oldest of mydaughters.
I took her to see you thatnight.
So, how did you get hooked upwith Laurie's in the first
(24:27):
place?
My gosh, I tried to get in thereforever.
Have you ever heard of the bandThe Filthy Heathens?
Yes.
Cody, the guitar player, heactually lives right across the
street from me at here inCamden.
And uh, we went to the samehigh school and we've known each
other for a while, and he wasin with the Lori's gang.
He had a band called Four Low.
He played with a couple otherpeople as a guitar player, and I
(24:48):
was like, Cody, you gotta getme in Lori's.
Like, whatever you gotta do,get me in Lori's.
But it ended up being anacoustic competition that I
joined.
I ended up winning that and gotthe opportunity to open up for
Sawyer Brown band.
Once I did that, it was kind oflike, hey, you're it you're
part of the Lori's family.
You're you're gonna play here.
We got you in rotation, and uhwe'll we'll keep you on the
(25:09):
call.
That's awesome.
So with that mentioned, we'vewe kind of danced around it a
little bit.
You're gonna be moving hereshortly.
So tell us first of all, whyand where, and then what you're
what you hope to accomplish bydoing it.
Yeah, uh, that's a question alot of people are asking me is
(25:29):
why.
A lot of my support is fromfamily and friends, which is
great, but I'm not sure that'llever get me to the next level.
I think I need to go out andplay in front of strangers, and
I just feel the farther I can goout and get my name and face
out there and meet new people,then um then I can really get
this thing rolling a lot quickerand start gaining new fans.
(25:51):
I think that's really what it'sall about is having people who
want to listen to your music,and aside from myself.
Well, okay, so again, a fewthings there, but let's talk
about the move first.
What made you choose thatlocation?
My wife and I met in Colorado.
She's from Colorado, like theDenver area.
We actually met in Telluride,Colorado, but uh it's a ski
(26:13):
resort town, and uh we bothworked for the resort, and that
is my second home.
I love Telluride, Colorado.
I love Colorado in general.
I love being in the mountains.
I feel like I wasn't on myphone as much when I was out
there.
Uh, I didn't doom scroll asmuch.
It just felt like home.
It felt good, felt good to bethere.
And um, you know, we came backto get married and save some
(26:35):
money up and try to do the theadulting, and we realized
quickly that we we want totravel and we want to spread our
art with people, and I thinkthat's uh a good place to be for
now, you know.
And it's a temper it might be atemporary move, it might be a
forever move, but for now we'rejust kind of chasing, chasing
where the shows are, chasingwhere the people are and where
we feel we'll fit best.
(26:56):
Absolutely beautiful place.
Funny story about Telly Red,Colorado.
Dirks Bentley lives around thatarea.
I had no idea he lived nextdoor.
And long story short, his dogjumps over the fence and bites
me in my back.
And I go up to his door, I'mfreaking out.
I'm like, hey, come outside,mother effort.
Your dog bit me.
(27:17):
And out comes Dirks.
Out comes Dirks, and I'm like,holy crap! I'm like, now I'm
feeling bad.
I'm like, sorry about this.
And and so I was juststarstruck.
I couldn't believe it.
That's like you know, that'slike my childhood country there.
After that happened, I rememberthe police were like, Do you
want to sue?
I was at the hospital andgetting my tetanus shot, and
they're like, I'm like, I don'tthink so.
(27:39):
Like, you know, he's prettylocal.
He's he's chilling here, andthey're like, Are you sure?
And I'm like, Yeah, I'm prettysure I don't want to be that guy
in town.
I don't want to be the guy thatsues the big country artist.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Although it'd be big payday.
Yeah, could have been, yeah.
I don't know.
He paid my medical bills.
I guess that's all I can askfor.
(27:59):
There you go.
That's not bad.
Did he offer to do it?
He did.
Uh when he sent me down to themedical center, he was like, go
down there.
He's like, Yeah, I'll I'll payfor it all.
Come back here when you'redone.
I came back, we sat and talkedfor you know maybe 20 minutes or
so on his porch, and he gave mehis phone number on a little
piece of paper with his name.
(28:19):
And I was like, Wow, I waslike, I'm gonna tell my kids
about this one day.
And he's like, Oh, you havekids?
And I'm like, Well, no, but oneday when I do, you know,
they'll know about you.
So that's awesome.
Yep, it was cool.
If nothing else, it's a story,right?
Yeah, yeah, a good one indeedwith a scar.
So right, there you go.
I mean, that is really a coolthing.
(28:39):
I bust on him a lot, but it'scool to know that he's a cool
guy.
Yeah, oh my gosh, yeah.
He's he's a boys' guy, youknow.
He's so he plays in thesoftball leagues out there, the
local hockey league out theretoo.
He probably has another archrival in Telly Ride, I'm sure.
It's fun.
I I I've worked with a lot ofpeople in Nashville, but I never
had the opportunity to workwith him, but I did have the
(29:02):
opportunity to play hockey withhim, which I think that's cool.
To me, it was more fun.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So that's cool.
All right.
So now that you're heading toColorado, you talk about getting
to play in front of morepeople.
Every time you have theopportunity to play in front of
new people, I'm always curioushow you plan on taking that new
(29:26):
audience and converting theminto listeners or followers or
whatever you want to call them.
How do you plan on capturingthose people?
I think there's a few differentsteps I take.
You know, crowd engagement isone thing I love doing.
You know, I'm I'm a prettygoofy cut-up guy, and anytime I
can grab their attention justfor a second and have them
(29:48):
laughing and talking and belike, what is this lunatic
talking about?
And then play a song they mightlike, or something that I'll do
is, you know, I'll play a uhI'll play Mary Jane's Last
Dance, and then right after thatI'll play a song that I wrote
called Indiana Beauty Queen.
They kind of they kind of havethe same vibe as far as the
story.
I'm like, hey, if you like thatsong, you might like this song.
(30:09):
And you know, just stayingengaged with the crowd, trying
to play my best stuff, but alsonot trying to drown everyone out
with music that they've neverheard.
All right.
So what do you hoping happen inthe future?
You got any big plans comingup?
Uh I do um I have a uh prettyfun show coming up at Laurie's.
(30:30):
I think it's safe to say I'm meand the Cadillac Preachers will
be direct support for MarkChestnut at Lori's Roadhouse
February 6th.
All right.
So you mentioned Mark Chestnut.
So how do you feel about thatopportunity in general?
I'm very excited.
Just put it on the best show Ican possibly put on.
Trying to make people smile,trying to give people a reason
(30:52):
to remember me.
Maybe I'll, you know, rip myshirt off and show my hairy
chest or something.
That way, if the music wasn'tany good, they'll remember that.
Right.
Yeah, yeah.
So um, you know, any anypublicity is good publicity.
That's what they say, you know.
All right, so well, we do thisthing here we call unsung heroes
where we take a moment to shinethe light on somebody who may
(31:14):
have supported you or helped youalong the way.
Is there anybody that you wouldlike to shine a little light
on?
Yeah, definitely.
Um, I mean, aside from theobvious obvious one, which is my
wife, my mom.
My mom makes it to every singleshow that she can make it to.
You know, she's drove an hourand 20 minutes to watch me play
for 30 minutes.
(31:34):
You know, the drive there andback was three times as long as
the show, and she's alwayssharing my stuff, and uh, she's
always supported me, whether itwas I you know, I thought I was
gonna be an MLB pitcher one day,and she wanted that for me.
And then when I picked up theguitar and said I was gonna do
this, she wanted that for me,and that's never changed.
She's my number one supporter,and hopefully one day it pays
(31:56):
off for the both of us.
That's awesome.
All right, folks.
Well, we have done it.
We have reached the top of thehour, which does mean we have
reached the end of the show.
If you've enjoyed this show,please tell a friend.
And if you have not, well, telltwo.
You can reach out to the two ofus over at jfranzy.com.
We will be happy to keep thisconversation going.
We will be happy to keep anyconversation going.
Corey, sir, I cannot thank youenough for being here tonight.
(32:20):
I would like to leave the finalwords to you.
Thanks for having me.
You can find me at Corey HookerMusic on Facebook, on
Instagram.
If you want to check out ourfirst single, it's called Losin'
by Corey Hooker and theCadillac Preachers.
Thanks for having me, Jay.
It's been a pleasure.
It's been an absolute pleasurehaving you, sir.
On that note, folks, have agood night.
(32:42):
Thanks for listening to the JayFranzi Show.
Make sure you visit us atJFranzi.com.
Follow, connect, and say hello.
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