October 1, 2024 • 34 mins
Have you ever wondered how music and faith can transform a life bound by addiction?
On this inspiring episode of Almost Live Nashville, we sit down with Whey Jennings as he opens up about his harrowing battle with drug addiction and his remarkable journey to redemption.
Whey shares the pivotal moments that shaped his recovery, including the profound personal loss that spurred him to change and the unwavering support system that held him together.
His latest projects, the EP "If it Wasn't For the Sins" and the upcoming album "Sleeves," serve as a testament to his resilience and his desire to help others facing similar struggles.
Transitioning from personal battles to artistic evolution, Whey delves into the impact of his legendary grandfather, Waylon Jennings on his music and the challenges of maintaining artistic integrity in a commercial world.
We capture the essence of live performances where the energy of the crowd and the blend of nostalgic and contemporary sounds create unforgettable experiences.
Whey candidly discusses the complexity of the music industry, from navigating sponsorships to drawing inspiration without losing originality.
His stories offer a unique perspective on the delicate balance between staying true to one's roots and embracing modern influences.
Whey also reflects on the balance between his music career and family life, emphasizing the importance of leading by example.
He shares touching anecdotes about parenting, underscoring how his actions influence his children and vice versa.
His latest album, with standout tracks like "10 Day Run" and "Leaves," showcases his diverse themes and collaborative spirit.
Through heartfelt narratives and powerful messages, Whey Jennings inspires listeners to seek a better path, demonstrating that personal growth and redemption are possible, no matter how daunting the journey.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolvedinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
World of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Today we are joined by WadeJennings, who will recount his
courageous story of battlingdrug addiction and using his
musical gifts to help others.
We are proud to have him on ourshow and grateful for the
(01:19):
motivational message he shares.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Hey man, I'm glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Yeah, it's really good to have you here.
You and I met a few years agoat the National Palace during
the CMA Music Fest.
You were talking about thingsyou were doing to get yourself
back on the road again.
So what have you been doing fornew music and new projects, to
get yourself back out therepromoting what you're doing to
all your fans?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Man, I've just been working at it really hard man.
It took getting sober andgiving my life to God honestly
to start making an attractionhonestly.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
That's great.
That's really good to hear.
So what are the projects you'reworking on now and what path
are you taking to get yourlatest projects and your new
music out there so that yourfans can hear what you're doing?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I signed with Dirt Rock Empire.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Okay, there so that your fans can hear what you're
doing.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I signed with Dirt Rock Empire Okay, once I got out
of rehab, about four years ago,I put out a project called If
it Wasn't For the Sins.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
All right.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
And it did really well for the project it was.
It was really good If it Wasn'tFor the Sins is one of my high
stream songs.
When I first got out of rehabit was really I wanted to just
save the world.
You know what I mean.
I wanted to let everybody knowhow I felt and how I got to
feeling the way I felt, and Iwanted everybody to know God,
like I know God Turns outthrough the years.
You really have to meet peoplewhere they're at.
(02:32):
You know what I mean, Becausetoo much good news will turn
people's ears off.
So we put out another album,another EP, called Just Before
the Dawn.
It had a little more of adarker tint to it.
It was kind of the darker sideof the gospel, Kind of like this
is where I came from, this ishow I got here.
It ain't like I started hereand it's like everything's great
, Sure, but I kind of reallywanted to use my platform to
(02:56):
help people who have beensuffering from drug addiction,
alcoholism and stuff like that,you know.
And so I put out a song calledBefore the Dawn.
It was on a six song EP.
Which was a great one.
We did three videos for that,but just Before the Dawn did
better than any of them.
We put a strong message on theend of it about what hotlines
cost you need help, roomrecovery, and then, as we put
(03:16):
that out, it did really well.
It's still streaming reallywell.
But I realized that you can'tjust aim songs at people who are
suffering from drug addictions,because the first thing I
learned in rehab was first, yougot to give your life over to
God or a higher power.
Second, you got to have astrong support system.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
If you don't have a strong support system.
It's not impossible, but it'svery less likely to succeed if
you're doing it on your own withnobody showing you that they
care and that they really wantto be there for you.
And I mean, even if you're notlistening, they're still there.
You know what I mean?
Yes, yes.
I'm putting out a song on thisalbum.
This is a full-length album,it's not an EP.
(03:52):
It's called Sleeves and it'llbe coming out in August, right
before we drop the album.
All right, I'm aiming it moreas support systems to kind of
show people the life of a drugaddict and what we go through.
And you know that it's not alljust like this horror story.
It is a horror story, but thereis also these highlights in it
of happiness and love.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Sure, I think that's really good.
So are you trying to tell you astory of what you went through
and how you got there, so thatyou can get them listening to
help their lives?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I just want to help people so that you can get them
listening to help their lives.
I just want to help peopleBecause you got to realize I
spent 27 years addicted to drugsand didn't even realize there
was another path, you know whatI mean, yeah sure.
I was like this is life.
I thought the whole world wason drugs and it was just this
was the thing to do.
It was sex, drugs and rock androll.
Man, I had a bad moral compassback then and it wasn't
(04:47):
something that I seen cominghonestly.
It was like it started out thatthe drugs were fun and I was
hanging out with other peoplethat was doing them, and then
women became part of theequation and then you know, you
add all together and it justturns into a cycle of just
immoral lust and it turns intothis bad situation.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
So what got you to the point where you finally
realized that things just had tochange?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Well, I had a thing, man, that I just went through a
lot of relationships and I did alot of cheating and it never
really affected me.
This woman, pennsylvania, thatwas just different and I loved
her and I cheated on her andwhenever that happened I felt it
.
I didn't never feel it before,I felt it.
Then I felt like I had reallylost something.
Not to make any light of thewomen of my past, but you know,
(05:33):
we've all got that one.
That is just who we're destinedto be with.
She was my one.
I thought I lost her.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Was that the point where you had to change?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
My manager had been begging me to go to rehab for
years.
She had never given up on me,but she had begged me to go get
help.
She told me if you got cleanand you really honed your craft,
you would really blow up.
And I said, if I quit doingdrugs it's going to ruin my
career.
You know Sure, and I couldn'thave been further from the truth
.
I went to rehab.
I spent 28 days in rehab duringCOVID.
(06:06):
A lot of people say that COVIDwas a horrible thing and it is
killing a lot of people, but forme in my life, it gave me a
chance to fix me, to work on me.
It gave me a chance to see Godface to face and to see him work
in my life.
Oh, that's good, people say.
I hear people talking my wholelife about being reborn and I
always thought they were justlike crazy or something.
It's literally like beingreborn.
(06:27):
I feel like I'm a completelydifferent human being inside the
same body.
I mean, that's not even.
Don't even take that lightly,because it's true.
I don't eat the same things, Idon't drink the same things, I
don't watch the same movies,listen to the same music.
It's all different.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Yeah, you evolved.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, I guess so, but I feel like I'm on a path, and
I feel like I'm on a path that Ican help somebody.
I've got this platform.
It's not like this MorganWallenside's platform, but it's
a platform that people arelistening to me on.
Yeah, that's really good.
I really want to let peopleknow who I was, where I came
from and where I'm at today, andgive people a choice of how to
(07:06):
live their lives, because a lotof people are just living their
lives the way they've alwaysknown how to live them and don't
even realize there's anotherway.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
It doesn't matter what size platform you have.
It only matters that you have aplatform where you can
communicate with people andultimately help them With the
platform that you have.
If you can touch one personevery now and then, then that is
all worthwhile and that is atremendous success.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
It is.
It really is Kind of why I'vejoined with this Mobilize
Recovery.
It's like a Mobilize Recoverytour and I'm going to be going
to Las Vegas and Virginia.
We're going to be performingand speaking, telling about my
story and the path I took andmaybe touching a few lives in
process.
Recovery is not easy.
It's just not, but it'spossible.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Very possible, but it takes God, it takes a support
system and it takes willpower.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, and it takes people like yourself getting out
there, talking and ultimatelyexposing yourself to them.
People don't realize howdifficult it is to get up on a
platform like you're doing.
Talk about the things thatyou've been through, the
challenges you've had, andreally didn't appreciate some of
the things that you had, butyou found a way to change and
(08:13):
now you're showing them howyou've changed and that's
exposing yourself to anotherlevel.
I think that's just tremendousthing you're doing.
Now you add if you can reachjust a few people, it can make a
huge impact on their lifebecause they see that what
you've done, what you've gonethrough, and now they say you
know, if he did it, so can I?
(08:34):
That's a great thing.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
That's the goal, you know.
It's just.
People say it's brave, peoplesay it's this, that and the
other, but what it is, it'sneeded.
It's something you have to do.
You cannot hide your past.
You know what I mean, no matterhow hard you try.
They say everybody's gotskeletons in their closet.
My closet is swung wide openand I laid every one of the
skeletons out there.
It's like this is who I was andthis is who I am.
(08:58):
This is all there is to it.
You can't go back in your pastand change it.
You can damn sure change thepath you're on in the future
you're headed for.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Absolutely so.
What led to the song thatyou're releasing?
How did that all come about?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Well, me and a buddy of mine, wes Shipp, who's also
in recovery, were sitting andwriting songs.
We've written quite a few songstogether.
He'd come up to this riff.
He started it out.
He's like I think he said itwas pulling down his sleeves in
July and I was like that almostflows right.
I was like how about he'spulling down his sleeves in
mid-July?
(09:31):
Because it just flows better,you know?
And we sort of worked each lineout like that we both put in
100% of our feelings to create100% of our song.
And it's really a dark songthat I really hope people hate,
because it's a true story.
It's horrible.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Even though it's a little bit on the dark side,
does it still have a silverlining in it, so that people can
see that they need to change?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
It does.
At the very end there's a smallglimpse of positivity.
It's a story of somebody whowas really far gone on drugs and
just met this girl and hebrought her into a drug
addiction.
And they get really deep intothe drug addiction and then, uh,
it gets really ugly.
(10:14):
The very end there's a smallglimmer of hope.
I don't want to give too muchof it away sure, sure, I get it
it's really a shocker.
It's truth man.
You don't.
You're not going to have ahappy ending when it comes to
drug addiction.
You're going to have the bestoutcome you possibly can, but
not all of it's going to behappy.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
There's going to be loss, there's going to be hurt,
there's going to be pain,there's going to be lies,
there's going to be all theseugly things that hopefully
become acceptance, forgiveness,overcoming, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah, it's kind of like an alcoholic they can go
through the rehab and they canmake their lives better, but
they still have to fight thatdemon every single day because
they're still ultimately,unfortunately, an alcoholic.
So, even though this may be adark song, you're still giving
them a glimmer of hope, you'reshowing them that there's a
pathway to a better life andwhen someone truly believes
(11:09):
there is a better way, you'regiving them an opportunity and
it can happen they can.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
It's never too late, is the thing about it.
No matter how ugly it gets,even if the whole world melts
around you, if you're stillalive, you can make the decision
to change your life, and youcan.
You can really do goodafterwards.
I mean the things that I'vebeen able to accomplish in my
life after hitting rock bottomin a short period of time, and
all it took was becoming 100%independent from anything and I
(11:38):
quit smoking cigarettes, I quitsmoking weed, I quit drugs, I
quit alcohol, I quit gambling.
I even quit eating pork.
I started eating right andgoing to the gym and drinking
water.
I quit drinking pop.
I mean, it's just been thisongoing evolution of life and
just become this beautiful thing.
I've got all my kids home, I'vegot a beautiful wife, I live in
a pretty decent littleneighborhood.
(11:59):
I'm not like over here inBeverly Hills or nothing, but I
live in a decent neighborhoodand my kids I feel good about my
kids playing outside.
I mean, I've heard a lot ofpeople say they're just trying
to survive, and in a lot ofsense I used to say that too,
and the thing about it was all Iwas really trying to do was get
high.
Surviving is easy.
Surviving while you're gettinghigh, ain't that easy.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Absolutely Good points.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
It's really all in the personal decisions you make.
Anything is possible.
Happiness is definitelypossible.
You just got to quit feedingyour addiction and start feeding
your children.
That's it.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Yeah, that's great.
So now you're going on tour andI think you have some other
fairly well-known people goingright along with you.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Yeah, there's a lot of big names on it.
I don't have the list in frontof me.
I know Melissa Etheridge is onit, Danny Trejo and quite a few
others.
You'd be surprised.
The lives that addiction hasaffected, and that's what makes
this so important to me, is thatevery night I ask people do you
know anybody who is sufferingfrom drug addiction, or are you
suffering from drug addictionyourself?
(12:57):
By show of hands, and literallyevery hand in the room goes up.
That's a problem, man.
That's a huge problem, yeahyeah.
I mean, especially these days,drugs ain't fun, no more.
Back when drugs first hit thescene, they were like hey, yeah,
(13:23):
yeah, overdose.
Now you can die of a weedoverdose.
You can die of an overdose ofanything anymore.
It's all got fitting in it,right, right.
And it's scary.
Man, I got kids running aroundout here.
I don't want my kids gettingkilled because they want to go
to a party and do somethingstupid that I'm guilty of doing
myself at that age.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, learn from your mistakes.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Yeah, but it's scary man.
It's scary and I got six kids,so that's the statistics of that
.
It's a man.
It's scary.
I've got six kids, so thestatistics of that is a horrible
thing.
So I'm out here just beggingand pleading people to please
say no to these things, man.
It's just.
There's so many other thingsyou can do to feel good.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Like hell.
I jumped out of an airplane along ago.
I ain't never had a drug withme until I got.
That was crazy.
There's a lot of things you cando to fill the way that people
are trying to fill just bythrowing something in their body
.
You know what I mean.
Go out there and experiencelife.
Go out there and take your kidsto the skating rink.
Go out to the movies, go hiking, do all these things that life
(14:20):
has to offer, and lay the drugdown.
I'm telling you, these thingsmake you feel so much better
than the drugs ever will.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
I really got to get people to see this.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Absolutely.
That's a tremendous goal.
So you're using music to expandand tell your story.
How is this working for you,not only within your family, but
with the people that come outto see you at your live
performances?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Well, the thing about it is that here's what you got
to do.
You got to realize, like I saidearlier, too much good news
will shut people's ears off.
You got to meet people wherethey're at.
So I look at my show as like amath problem or a puzzle of some
sort.
People came to party first andforemost.
They've been working all week.
They want to come have a goodtime, have a few beers, hang out
(15:04):
with their friends and have agood time, and I'm going to give
them that and I'm going to makesure everybody's having a great
time.
And then I'm going to let themknow me a little bit.
I'm going to praise God fromthat stage.
I'm going to have every hand inthat place in the air, and then
I'm going to tell them about mydrug addiction and I'm going to
sing about my drug addictionand I'm going to party a little
bit more and then I'm going togo back and I'm going to thing
(15:26):
about my show.
My show is not solelyentertainment.
It is very entertaining andpeople love it.
Anybody who's ever been to oneof my shows has come to my merch
booth and thanked me becausethey needed that.
I don't know how to explain it.
It's very easily explained byanybody who's been to a show.
But to hear me explain it makesme sound like I'm fooling
myself.
I'm not.
(15:46):
When you come to my show,you're going to stand up, you're
going to sit down, you're goingto laugh, you're going to cry.
You're going to praise God.
You're going to love yourneighbor.
You're going to go home happy,wanting more.
That's the way my shows are.
It's not all just my music.
I do some of my.
Just depends on how I wasfeeling that night.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I do a whole bunch of me and a little bit of other
things I like.
Sure, it depends on what themood calls for.
I let the crowd be my set list.
I can usually feel what they'reneeding at that point in time.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah, absolutely.
So now you brought up yourgrandfather.
For people that don't know you,waylon Jennings is your
grandfather.
Yeah, so how has his musicimpacted what you do with some
of your shows?
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Well, his sound has always been my favorite sound
man, that whole rocking countrygroove with that, you know
driving bass line in it.
That's what I think of when Ithink of country music.
I'm not just saying thatbecause he's my grandfather, I'm
saying that because that's thesound.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Yeah, for sure.
And you're not the only onethat says that that's the sound.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
That's what people who love country music are
wanting to hear that sound, andI have tried to make that sound
my own.
I'm not saying I've just stolenthat sound, but I have evolved
that sound somewhat.
If you listen to 10 Day Runjust came out you can hear that
sound.
It's not that sound, but it'sdamn close to that sound and
(17:15):
it's like it's something that Ifeel like people need, because
back when they had that sound,they were able to blow off steam
in a way that wasn't violent,they were able to have a good
time and they were able to loveone another.
It just felt good.
That was life back then.
Nowadays it's hard to findsomething to make you feel good.
The only thing that I can seeout here I can see a lot that's
going to make you feel good, butI see a lot that's heading in
(17:37):
the wrong direction too.
But I'm not going to sayanything bad about anybody.
I think that everythingeverybody's doing is artistic
and it's great, but I believewe're in a time that people need
to start heading away fromdrugs, and by drugs I mean drugs
and alcohol, because alcohol isa bad drug.
Oh yeah, it is.
It's hard.
It's a hard puzzle to crack inthis world, because you got
(17:59):
music and then you got the musicbusiness.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
What is the music business?
What supports the musicbusiness?
Sponsorship music business?
What supports?
Speaker 1 (18:09):
the music business sponsorship.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
What kind of sponsorship?
Alcohol sponsorship, yeah, youknow I mean so.
It's really hard.
It's like it pays the bills,but it also creates a problem.
So how do you, how do younavigate through that?
It's a hard thing.
I love what I do for a livingand I love what is allowing me
to live this for a living, but Ireally need people to start
using wise judgment on a lot ofthings, because a good time is
great, yes, but it can turn badeasily.
(18:32):
People have got to reallyunderstand when it's turning bad
and you know, stop it.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Yeah, that is just so true.
Your grandfather had a soundthat was truly his own and gave
you a sound that you couldevolve into, and gave you a
sound that you could evolve into.
So did you take his sound andtry and use it as an influence
to create your own music, sothat you still have something
fresh and new, but with a littlenostalgia to it?
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Well, somewhat, but I don't just do that with his
music, I do.
That can be said about anymusician.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
You know what I mean.
They take their best influences, what has hit them the hardest,
and they cut it up into littlepieces and they place it
strategically throughout whatthey're creating and create
something completely new.
But that's just what it is.
When you're creating a song,you can take that song and find
little pieces of other songs init.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
A little bit of it is okay.
Too much and you stole it.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, that's for sure .
Yeah, every time I'm workingwith a new singer in production,
you have to get that fine lineof influence so that it doesn't
come off like you plagiarizedand copied their materials or
copied their licks in the song.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Exactly, exactly.
There's a difference betweenart and plagiarism.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yes, that is an absolute truth.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
So yeah, I mean, it's okay to be influenced by other
artists, right, it is not okayto steal from other artists.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I agree 100%.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
But we're in a time now that there's so much music
being put out Right that it'skind of hard for anybody to call
that music 100% their own.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Because there's only six strings on a guitar.
There's millions of songs outthere.
I mean, it's like how much ofit is really yours?
Yeah, true, all it is is little, little, tiny pieces of a bunch
of other artists' stuff.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
And another great thing is when you surround
yourself with musicians, theyhave their influences that has
led them to where they are.
Then they listen to your songand play it with what you've got
, with their influences.
Then the magic happens andyou've got something that's just
purely outstanding.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
That's the beauty of a band, man.
That's what I love about a band.
You put five people on a stagetogether to create five songs.
Versions of one sound right,and it turns into something
beautiful.
It's the mad, that's themagical part of it, man.
It's what makes me enjoy.
What I do is that seeing theoutcome of all the different
(21:01):
influences and all the differenthumans that are involved in
creating one song, you know yeah, the studio magic is just
outstanding.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
So how's the tour coming along and what are you
expecting from that?
Is it going the way that youhad hoped that it would?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Oh, it's going great, man.
I got all kinds of cool.
We've been adding more datesevery.
You know, every few weeks We'llget six, seven more dates added
to the tour schedule.
But I like making music and Ilike being on tour, but I also
like being at home with myfamily.
So what we do is we get a bunchof shows and we plant them all
around the country you know whatI mean here here, here, here,
here here and we either driveand do a few shows and go home,
(21:38):
or we fly around the car, do afew shows and go home.
But the thing about it is thatI'm going home because I have
all the way from athree-year-old daughter to a
20-year-old son and I want to bea present father and husband.
Being on tour on a tour bus isprobably going to be feasible
pretty soon whenever I can putmy family on that tour bus with
me.
But right now I got to comehome.
(21:58):
I do all I can when I can and Itry to put out all the content
I can, but I live for God,family, country, music in that
order.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Sure Nothing wrong with that at all.
So how does your family respondto the music you do?
I mean you've got a wide rangeof kids.
They all have their favorites.
They have different tastes ofmusic, I'm sure.
How does that work with the newmusic you're putting out to,
the music that your kids maylike and the artists that they
follow?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Well, let's see.
My oldest son loves my music,but he's a music lover.
You know he loves all kinds ofmusic.
You know he could tell youevery release I've ever put out.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Daughter.
She likes my music but she'smore into the pop country kind
of stuff, you know, and alldifferent kinds of things.
You know she's a teenage girlDoesn't really resonate well
with teenage girls.
My youngest daughter thinks I'mhung the moon, you know, and my
youngest son, he, thinks I hungthe moon, but he won't tell you
that.
They all got their differentopinions about it.
(23:00):
They all love their daddy, yeah, but you know they're all
different people so it's justhard to gauge really.
I believe they love my music,but I think they hear it so much
they get sick of it.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, I know the feeling.
I've certainly been there whenI was out touring and recording.
My kids heard it a lot, so Ithink they got sick of it as
well.
So I feel your pain.
Yeah, when you're doing analbum, they hear the rough draft
, they hear the album cut, theyhear the mastered version, then
they hear the video and they'rejust hearing these songs over
and over and over and over andover and over and over again,
before the public hears it evenonce.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Yeah, so it's got to be hard on them just as hard as
it is on me.
You know it gets to the pointwhere you get tired of hearing
your own voice.
Yeah, but not this album,though for me, nice, on this one
, I can still listen to thesesongs, and it's been six months.
We've been working on thisalbum and I feel very strongly
about this project.
I think there's so much goingon with it that it's hard for it
(24:01):
not to have something foreverybody.
We've got addiction, we've gotpatriotic songs, we've got love
songs, we've got funny songs,we've got trucking songs.
We've got all these songs onone album.
I really cannot wait for theworld to just see this whole
project.
Three songs so far, and they'veall been different, and it's
just going to keep gettingdifferent and different and
(24:23):
different.
I'm telling you it's reallysomething I'm very proud of.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So if you look back at all the projects you've
worked on and we as musiciansalways like to think that we're
evolving and getting better, sodo you think this project is
maybe the best you've done yet?
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Awesome?
Yeah, definitely.
There ain't no doubt about it.
I put out some pretty goodprojects in the past and I love
all the songs that I've beeninvolved with.
I felt strongly about all ofthem.
Being an artist, it's likelooking at your own listening to
your own music.
It's like walking up to apainting and it's being right
here.
You and listening to your ownmusic is like walking up to a
painting and it being right here.
You know you can't really seethe forest or the trees, so you
just try your best.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Absolutely so.
With this one being so special,did you take a different
approach when you startedworking on it and recording it?
Speaker 2 (25:06):
On this one I took a totally different approach.
Every other project I would putout, I was like these songs are
great, we're using them, putput out.
I was like these songs aregreat, we're using them, put
them out.
I took a consensus on everysong.
We chose every song.
We recorded every single.
We chose every video.
We recorded every step of theway.
I took consistency, because ittakes a village to raise a baby
and I believe it takes a villageto choose a song, because your
(25:29):
own opinion ain't worth nothing,honestly.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Yeah, that can be absolutely true.
Sometimes you get so close tothe project that you're not
really thinking objectively likeyou should towards some of the
songs, like one that you love.
You'll take it to somebody andthey'll go well, you know, I
kind of like it, but it's allright, you go, I love it, but
they don't, and then you have toretool.
So I 100% get that.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Yeah, I mean I feel like we've got some really
strong stuff on itself and thebest is yet to come.
In my opinion, 10 Day Run is arocking song.
I love it.
It really hits home for mebecause it's a trucking song and
I grew up on trucking songs.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Leaves.
I feel like it's going to beone of those that just shocks
everybody and hears it.
It's going to set them down andmake them think.
I don't want to talk too muchabout the songs coming out,
because you get to talking aboutthings too much, too far away
from them coming out.
People get the same idea later,maybe sooner or later, and then
they want to up you over it andI want this to be as pure as
(26:25):
possible.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
There's nothing better than putting four, five,
six players in a studio tellingthem what you want getting that
nice, clean, crisp sound.
There's just nothing betterwhen it's just that right, there
ain't nothing better.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
I'm telling you, when we got in that studio, I was
like wow, I mean I was sittingthere talking to my producer.
I was like how can anybody putout their best form of art if
studio time is charged by thehour?
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
I mean, you got to get in there and get it done
like that or you're going to becharged after Wazik.
But these guys, they went aboveand beyond for me, man.
I went in there, we used moretime than we should have, they
gave me more of their time thanthey should have and they didn't
.
I'm telling you they reallybelieved in this album.
I know it because they justreally went above and beyond for
(27:10):
me, that's just awesome.
It was an amazing situationfrom the beginning until now.
It just really has.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah, that's so good.
Tell me a little bit about yourfans.
You've got your grandfather'sfans that hopefully have
followed you.
You've got fans that havefollowed you because of what
you've done here in Nashville.
Do you have a wide demographicof fans?
Speaker 2 (27:31):
I really do.
It used to be pretty well.
You know males over 30.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
But nowadays, looking at my analytics and it's like
it's more of a half moon shapeGot some younger fans.
I've got a little bit more asthey get older and then I got a
little bit less as it gets olderthan that.
It's really been evolving in abeautiful way and I think it's
just really been reaching moreand more people, because the
thing about it is I'm anindependent artist.
If you look at it, all dayeverybody expects to hear Waylon
(28:00):
James' grandson.
The whole world's going to knowyou as Sam.
Yeah, sure, and that's just notthe case.
My grandfather was on RCARecords, one of the biggest
record labels in the wholecountry, and they promoted the
snot out of him.
He had a ton of money behindhim because he had this huge
conglomerate record label behindhim.
I don't you know what I mean.
I'm an independent artist.
In a sea of independent artists, I'm not just the easiest
(28:21):
person to find, but we've beenmaking a lot of noise and people
have been finding us slowly butsurely over the years.
I'm really pleased with whereI'm at in my career, considering
I haven't signed no deal withthe devil Right.
I own my own masters.
I've got plenty of good musicout there.
I'm able to support my familyand honestly, I don't want to be
this super famous guy who'snever gone.
I wouldn't mind going a littlebit further up the ladder, but
(28:45):
if I don't, I'm kind of happywith who I am.
Honestly.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Yeah, you have to find that comfort zone as an
artist.
You also have to find thatcomfort zone as a human being,
with your family.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
being an artist, Exactly it's like.
What are you willing to risk?
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Exactly and you have to know what you can do and what
you can't do and what thepossibilities are for the
outcome of that project.
I always look at the worst casescenario.
If I can be good with the worstcase scenario and something
better happens, then I'm happy.
But if I'm not good with theworst case scenario, then we
(29:22):
have to make a few changes sohopefully that doesn't happen
Exactly.
And it's tough as anindependent artist.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It's very tough.
It really is, but you try hardenough and you put your goals in
the right order.
You just have integrity andfaith in God and you do the
right thing.
You don't lie.
You know that's my whole dealis I don't lie and I don't like
people lying to me.
Integrity is a big deal.
If you have integrity, God'swith you and he will be there to
guide you along the way.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Absolutely.
It's kind of funny that you usethe word integrity, because a
long time ago when I first movedhere, I had a friend of mine
that worked at a publicationthat I really didn't want to
become one of those people thathad ads out.
To help her, I put an ad in.
I said production with honesty,quality and integrity.
And I had so many people callme because they just didn't know
what integrity was in the musicbusiness.
(30:08):
So you're right, Integrity andhonesty is one of the most
important factors that you canhave in this music business,
Because if you do something withquality, honesty and integrity,
you're going to get back whatyou put out there.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Exactly, that's the truth.
I mean, if your goal is fame,then you're probably not going
to get it.
If your goal is being able tosupport your family, if you have
a righteous goal, you'llachieve it.
But if you're in this for allthe wrong reasons, even if you
get it, you'll probably use itto kill yourself.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Honestly, yeah, you're right.
That's why we've had severalsingers that have climbed the
ladder really quick, but they'vealso fallen down that ladder
real quick.
They didn't know how to handleit, they hadn't thought it out,
they hadn't prepared.
You have to know what's goingto go into this and how it's
going to affect your life.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
There really is man.
A lot of it's smoke and mirrors, man.
People are like they want tobelieve that somebody is going
to just knock on their door,hand them a million dollars and
keys to a Maserati and say youhave made it.
And that's just not the case.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
You know how a millionaire stays a millionaire.
He doesn't spend money and hekeeps making it.
In order to do that, it takes alot of time, you got to realize
.
Do you want time with yourfamily?
Do you want time to smell theroses?
Do you want time to enjoy yourlife, or do you want a pile of
money?
I want enough money to supportmy family is what I want.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Yeah, and in the end, when you're gone, someone else
spends your money.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I think the key is, like we talked earlier, is
finding your comfort zone whereyou can be happy with what's
going on in your present worldand the potential that you might
have for the success.
There's always going to bepitfalls and bumps in the road.
If you're prepared and you'rehappy with what you're doing,
those bumps in the road can beaddressed and ultimately doesn't
(31:56):
put you in the ditch.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
That's true, I have realized.
As long as I've got goodintention and a good plan and a
good heart, things happen, youknow.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Yes, I agree.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
The devil's always going to come at you.
Closer you get to God, the morethe devil's going to come at
you, but the easier he is tospot.
You just really got to be goodand be honest and be humble.
You can't just get out thereand say I'm king of the world.
That ain't the way this works,man.
You are a human being amongst abunch of human beings.
Try to be a good one.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Absolutely Well.
This has been great.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to come on.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Oh man, it's been an amazing time.
I've loved it, thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Oh, absolutely, it's been great.
So let's say you're in front of5,000 to 10,000 to 15,000
people, you're putting on a show.
What would you like to havepeople remember you by that have
listened to your show and thispodcast.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
I'd like to be remembered as a guy who takes
his job seriously, takes hisfamily more seriously and takes
his time to touch people.
You know, that's just it.
I just want to be known as agood human.
That's really my only goal inlife, and I want my kids to
follow suit and also be goodhumans.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Yeah, that's a great statement.
I saw something here a littlewhile ago and I can't remember
exactly where I saw it.
It was a father telling his son, saying Son, you've got to be
good, watch your step.
It's a long journey.
And the son turned around,looked at him, said well, I'm
following your steps, so makesure they're good for me too.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
That's exactly right.
Yeah, we lead by example.
I mean, I was raised.
You don't do what I do as I say, not as I do, and that just
don't work.
They've taken every step you'retaking, so you be careful.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
What you do, you get right, you, yeah, and especially
in today's world, oh yeah, yeah.
That do as I say, not as I do,doesn't work anymore and I don't
know if it ever did really.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
They never did, honestly.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Yeah, that's for sure .
Yeah, this has been great.
I've really enjoyed this.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah, I did too, man.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
The pleasure's all mine.
Thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
(34:08):
For more information, contactmedia at platomusiccom.
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolvedinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
World of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Today we are joined by WadeJennings, who will recount his
courageous story of battlingdrug addiction and using his
musical gifts to help others.
We are proud to have him on ourshow and grateful for the
(01:19):
motivational message he shares.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Hey man, I'm glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Yeah, it's really good to have you here.
You and I met a few years agoat the National Palace during
the CMA Music Fest.
You were talking about thingsyou were doing to get yourself
back on the road again.
So what have you been doing fornew music and new projects, to
get yourself back out therepromoting what you're doing to
all your fans?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Man, I've just been working at it really hard man.
It took getting sober andgiving my life to God honestly
to start making an attractionhonestly.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
That's great.
That's really good to hear.
So what are the projects you'reworking on now and what path
are you taking to get yourlatest projects and your new
music out there so that yourfans can hear what you're doing?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
I signed with Dirt Rock Empire.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Okay, there so that your fans can hear what you're
doing.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I signed with Dirt Rock Empire Okay, once I got out
of rehab, about four years ago,I put out a project called If
it Wasn't For the Sins.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
All right.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
And it did really well for the project it was.
It was really good If it Wasn'tFor the Sins is one of my high
stream songs.
When I first got out of rehabit was really I wanted to just
save the world.
You know what I mean.
I wanted to let everybody knowhow I felt and how I got to
feeling the way I felt, and Iwanted everybody to know God,
like I know God Turns outthrough the years.
You really have to meet peoplewhere they're at.
(02:32):
You know what I mean, Becausetoo much good news will turn
people's ears off.
So we put out another album,another EP, called Just Before
the Dawn.
It had a little more of adarker tint to it.
It was kind of the darker sideof the gospel, Kind of like this
is where I came from, this ishow I got here.
It ain't like I started hereand it's like everything's great
, Sure, but I kind of reallywanted to use my platform to
(02:56):
help people who have beensuffering from drug addiction,
alcoholism and stuff like that,you know.
And so I put out a song calledBefore the Dawn.
It was on a six song EP.
Which was a great one.
We did three videos for that,but just Before the Dawn did
better than any of them.
We put a strong message on theend of it about what hotlines
cost you need help, roomrecovery, and then, as we put
(03:16):
that out, it did really well.
It's still streaming reallywell.
But I realized that you can'tjust aim songs at people who are
suffering from drug addictions,because the first thing I
learned in rehab was first, yougot to give your life over to
God or a higher power.
Second, you got to have astrong support system.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
If you don't have a strong support system.
It's not impossible, but it'svery less likely to succeed if
you're doing it on your own withnobody showing you that they
care and that they really wantto be there for you.
And I mean, even if you're notlistening, they're still there.
You know what I mean?
Yes, yes.
I'm putting out a song on thisalbum.
This is a full-length album,it's not an EP.
(03:52):
It's called Sleeves and it'llbe coming out in August, right
before we drop the album.
All right, I'm aiming it moreas support systems to kind of
show people the life of a drugaddict and what we go through.
And you know that it's not alljust like this horror story.
It is a horror story, but thereis also these highlights in it
of happiness and love.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Sure, I think that's really good.
So are you trying to tell you astory of what you went through
and how you got there, so thatyou can get them listening to
help their lives?
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I just want to help people so that you can get them
listening to help their lives.
I just want to help peopleBecause you got to realize I
spent 27 years addicted to drugsand didn't even realize there
was another path, you know whatI mean, yeah sure.
I was like this is life.
I thought the whole world wason drugs and it was just this
was the thing to do.
It was sex, drugs and rock androll.
Man, I had a bad moral compassback then and it wasn't
(04:47):
something that I seen cominghonestly.
It was like it started out thatthe drugs were fun and I was
hanging out with other peoplethat was doing them, and then
women became part of theequation and then you know, you
add all together and it justturns into a cycle of just
immoral lust and it turns intothis bad situation.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
So what got you to the point where you finally
realized that things just had tochange?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Well, I had a thing, man, that I just went through a
lot of relationships and I did alot of cheating and it never
really affected me.
This woman, pennsylvania, thatwas just different and I loved
her and I cheated on her andwhenever that happened I felt it
.
I didn't never feel it before,I felt it.
Then I felt like I had reallylost something.
Not to make any light of thewomen of my past, but you know,
(05:33):
we've all got that one.
That is just who we're destinedto be with.
She was my one.
I thought I lost her.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Was that the point where you had to change?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
My manager had been begging me to go to rehab for
years.
She had never given up on me,but she had begged me to go get
help.
She told me if you got cleanand you really honed your craft,
you would really blow up.
And I said, if I quit doingdrugs it's going to ruin my
career.
You know Sure, and I couldn'thave been further from the truth
.
I went to rehab.
I spent 28 days in rehab duringCOVID.
(06:06):
A lot of people say that COVIDwas a horrible thing and it is
killing a lot of people, but forme in my life, it gave me a
chance to fix me, to work on me.
It gave me a chance to see Godface to face and to see him work
in my life.
Oh, that's good, people say.
I hear people talking my wholelife about being reborn and I
always thought they were justlike crazy or something.
It's literally like beingreborn.
(06:27):
I feel like I'm a completelydifferent human being inside the
same body.
I mean, that's not even.
Don't even take that lightly,because it's true.
I don't eat the same things, Idon't drink the same things, I
don't watch the same movies,listen to the same music.
It's all different.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Yeah, you evolved.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, I guess so, but I feel like I'm on a path, and
I feel like I'm on a path that Ican help somebody.
I've got this platform.
It's not like this MorganWallenside's platform, but it's
a platform that people arelistening to me on.
Yeah, that's really good.
I really want to let peopleknow who I was, where I came
from and where I'm at today, andgive people a choice of how to
(07:06):
live their lives, because a lotof people are just living their
lives the way they've alwaysknown how to live them and don't
even realize there's anotherway.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
It doesn't matter what size platform you have.
It only matters that you have aplatform where you can
communicate with people andultimately help them With the
platform that you have.
If you can touch one personevery now and then, then that is
all worthwhile and that is atremendous success.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
It is.
It really is Kind of why I'vejoined with this Mobilize
Recovery.
It's like a Mobilize Recoverytour and I'm going to be going
to Las Vegas and Virginia.
We're going to be performingand speaking, telling about my
story and the path I took andmaybe touching a few lives in
process.
Recovery is not easy.
It's just not, but it'spossible.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Very possible, but it takes God, it takes a support
system and it takes willpower.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Yeah, and it takes people like yourself getting out
there, talking and ultimatelyexposing yourself to them.
People don't realize howdifficult it is to get up on a
platform like you're doing.
Talk about the things thatyou've been through, the
challenges you've had, andreally didn't appreciate some of
the things that you had, butyou found a way to change and
(08:13):
now you're showing them howyou've changed and that's
exposing yourself to anotherlevel.
I think that's just tremendousthing you're doing.
Now you add if you can reachjust a few people, it can make a
huge impact on their lifebecause they see that what
you've done, what you've gonethrough, and now they say you
know, if he did it, so can I?
(08:34):
That's a great thing.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
That's the goal, you know.
It's just.
People say it's brave, peoplesay it's this, that and the
other, but what it is, it'sneeded.
It's something you have to do.
You cannot hide your past.
You know what I mean, no matterhow hard you try.
They say everybody's gotskeletons in their closet.
My closet is swung wide openand I laid every one of the
skeletons out there.
It's like this is who I was andthis is who I am.
(08:58):
This is all there is to it.
You can't go back in your pastand change it.
You can damn sure change thepath you're on in the future
you're headed for.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Absolutely so.
What led to the song thatyou're releasing?
How did that all come about?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Well, me and a buddy of mine, wes Shipp, who's also
in recovery, were sitting andwriting songs.
We've written quite a few songstogether.
He'd come up to this riff.
He started it out.
He's like I think he said itwas pulling down his sleeves in
July and I was like that almostflows right.
I was like how about he'spulling down his sleeves in
mid-July?
(09:31):
Because it just flows better,you know?
And we sort of worked each lineout like that we both put in
100% of our feelings to create100% of our song.
And it's really a dark songthat I really hope people hate,
because it's a true story.
It's horrible.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Even though it's a little bit on the dark side,
does it still have a silverlining in it, so that people can
see that they need to change?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
It does.
At the very end there's a smallglimpse of positivity.
It's a story of somebody whowas really far gone on drugs and
just met this girl and hebrought her into a drug
addiction.
And they get really deep intothe drug addiction and then, uh,
it gets really ugly.
(10:14):
The very end there's a smallglimmer of hope.
I don't want to give too muchof it away sure, sure, I get it
it's really a shocker.
It's truth man.
You don't.
You're not going to have ahappy ending when it comes to
drug addiction.
You're going to have the bestoutcome you possibly can, but
not all of it's going to behappy.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
There's going to be loss, there's going to be hurt,
there's going to be pain,there's going to be lies,
there's going to be all theseugly things that hopefully
become acceptance, forgiveness,overcoming, you know.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Yeah, it's kind of like an alcoholic they can go
through the rehab and they canmake their lives better, but
they still have to fight thatdemon every single day because
they're still ultimately,unfortunately, an alcoholic.
So, even though this may be adark song, you're still giving
them a glimmer of hope, you'reshowing them that there's a
pathway to a better life andwhen someone truly believes
(11:09):
there is a better way, you'regiving them an opportunity and
it can happen they can.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
It's never too late, is the thing about it.
No matter how ugly it gets,even if the whole world melts
around you, if you're stillalive, you can make the decision
to change your life, and youcan.
You can really do goodafterwards.
I mean the things that I'vebeen able to accomplish in my
life after hitting rock bottomin a short period of time, and
all it took was becoming 100%independent from anything and I
(11:38):
quit smoking cigarettes, I quitsmoking weed, I quit drugs, I
quit alcohol, I quit gambling.
I even quit eating pork.
I started eating right andgoing to the gym and drinking
water.
I quit drinking pop.
I mean, it's just been thisongoing evolution of life and
just become this beautiful thing.
I've got all my kids home, I'vegot a beautiful wife, I live in
a pretty decent littleneighborhood.
(11:59):
I'm not like over here inBeverly Hills or nothing, but I
live in a decent neighborhoodand my kids I feel good about my
kids playing outside.
I mean, I've heard a lot ofpeople say they're just trying
to survive, and in a lot ofsense I used to say that too,
and the thing about it was all Iwas really trying to do was get
high.
Surviving is easy.
Surviving while you're gettinghigh, ain't that easy.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Absolutely Good points.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
It's really all in the personal decisions you make.
Anything is possible.
Happiness is definitelypossible.
You just got to quit feedingyour addiction and start feeding
your children.
That's it.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Yeah, that's great.
So now you're going on tour andI think you have some other
fairly well-known people goingright along with you.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Yeah, there's a lot of big names on it.
I don't have the list in frontof me.
I know Melissa Etheridge is onit, Danny Trejo and quite a few
others.
You'd be surprised.
The lives that addiction hasaffected, and that's what makes
this so important to me, is thatevery night I ask people do you
know anybody who is sufferingfrom drug addiction, or are you
suffering from drug addictionyourself?
(12:57):
By show of hands, and literallyevery hand in the room goes up.
That's a problem, man.
That's a huge problem, yeahyeah.
I mean, especially these days,drugs ain't fun, no more.
Back when drugs first hit thescene, they were like hey, yeah,
(13:23):
yeah, overdose.
Now you can die of a weedoverdose.
You can die of an overdose ofanything anymore.
It's all got fitting in it,right, right.
And it's scary.
Man, I got kids running aroundout here.
I don't want my kids gettingkilled because they want to go
to a party and do somethingstupid that I'm guilty of doing
myself at that age.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, learn from your mistakes.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Yeah, but it's scary man.
It's scary and I got six kids,so that's the statistics of that
.
It's a man.
It's scary.
I've got six kids, so thestatistics of that is a horrible
thing.
So I'm out here just beggingand pleading people to please
say no to these things, man.
It's just.
There's so many other thingsyou can do to feel good.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Like hell.
I jumped out of an airplane along ago.
I ain't never had a drug withme until I got.
That was crazy.
There's a lot of things you cando to fill the way that people
are trying to fill just bythrowing something in their body
.
You know what I mean.
Go out there and experiencelife.
Go out there and take your kidsto the skating rink.
Go out to the movies, go hiking, do all these things that life
(14:20):
has to offer, and lay the drugdown.
I'm telling you, these thingsmake you feel so much better
than the drugs ever will.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
I really got to get people to see this.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Absolutely.
That's a tremendous goal.
So you're using music to expandand tell your story.
How is this working for you,not only within your family, but
with the people that come outto see you at your live
performances?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Well, the thing about it is that here's what you got
to do.
You got to realize, like I saidearlier, too much good news
will shut people's ears off.
You got to meet people wherethey're at.
So I look at my show as like amath problem or a puzzle of some
sort.
People came to party first andforemost.
They've been working all week.
They want to come have a goodtime, have a few beers, hang out
(15:04):
with their friends and have agood time, and I'm going to give
them that and I'm going to makesure everybody's having a great
time.
And then I'm going to let themknow me a little bit.
I'm going to praise God fromthat stage.
I'm going to have every hand inthat place in the air, and then
I'm going to tell them about mydrug addiction and I'm going to
sing about my drug addictionand I'm going to party a little
bit more and then I'm going togo back and I'm going to thing
(15:26):
about my show.
My show is not solelyentertainment.
It is very entertaining andpeople love it.
Anybody who's ever been to oneof my shows has come to my merch
booth and thanked me becausethey needed that.
I don't know how to explain it.
It's very easily explained byanybody who's been to a show.
But to hear me explain it makesme sound like I'm fooling
myself.
I'm not.
(15:46):
When you come to my show,you're going to stand up, you're
going to sit down, you're goingto laugh, you're going to cry.
You're going to praise God.
You're going to love yourneighbor.
You're going to go home happy,wanting more.
That's the way my shows are.
It's not all just my music.
I do some of my.
Just depends on how I wasfeeling that night.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
I do a whole bunch of me and a little bit of other
things I like.
Sure, it depends on what themood calls for.
I let the crowd be my set list.
I can usually feel what they'reneeding at that point in time.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah, absolutely.
So now you brought up yourgrandfather.
For people that don't know you,waylon Jennings is your
grandfather.
Yeah, so how has his musicimpacted what you do with some
of your shows?
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Well, his sound has always been my favorite sound
man, that whole rocking countrygroove with that, you know
driving bass line in it.
That's what I think of when Ithink of country music.
I'm not just saying thatbecause he's my grandfather, I'm
saying that because that's thesound.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
Yeah, for sure.
And you're not the only onethat says that that's the sound.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
That's what people who love country music are
wanting to hear that sound, andI have tried to make that sound
my own.
I'm not saying I've just stolenthat sound, but I have evolved
that sound somewhat.
If you listen to 10 Day Runjust came out you can hear that
sound.
It's not that sound, but it'sdamn close to that sound and
(17:15):
it's like it's something that Ifeel like people need, because
back when they had that sound,they were able to blow off steam
in a way that wasn't violent,they were able to have a good
time and they were able to loveone another.
It just felt good.
That was life back then.
Nowadays it's hard to findsomething to make you feel good.
The only thing that I can seeout here I can see a lot that's
going to make you feel good, butI see a lot that's heading in
(17:37):
the wrong direction too.
But I'm not going to sayanything bad about anybody.
I think that everythingeverybody's doing is artistic
and it's great, but I believewe're in a time that people need
to start heading away fromdrugs, and by drugs I mean drugs
and alcohol, because alcohol isa bad drug.
Oh yeah, it is.
It's hard.
It's a hard puzzle to crack inthis world, because you got
(17:59):
music and then you got the musicbusiness.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
What is the music business?
What supports the musicbusiness?
Sponsorship music business?
What supports?
Speaker 1 (18:09):
the music business sponsorship.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
What kind of sponsorship?
Alcohol sponsorship, yeah, youknow I mean so.
It's really hard.
It's like it pays the bills,but it also creates a problem.
So how do you, how do younavigate through that?
It's a hard thing.
I love what I do for a livingand I love what is allowing me
to live this for a living, but Ireally need people to start
using wise judgment on a lot ofthings, because a good time is
great, yes, but it can turn badeasily.
(18:32):
People have got to reallyunderstand when it's turning bad
and you know, stop it.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Yeah, that is just so true.
Your grandfather had a soundthat was truly his own and gave
you a sound that you couldevolve into, and gave you a
sound that you could evolve into.
So did you take his sound andtry and use it as an influence
to create your own music, sothat you still have something
fresh and new, but with a littlenostalgia to it?
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Well, somewhat, but I don't just do that with his
music, I do.
That can be said about anymusician.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
You know what I mean.
They take their best influences, what has hit them the hardest,
and they cut it up into littlepieces and they place it
strategically throughout whatthey're creating and create
something completely new.
But that's just what it is.
When you're creating a song,you can take that song and find
little pieces of other songs init.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
A little bit of it is okay.
Too much and you stole it.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, that's for sure .
Yeah, every time I'm workingwith a new singer in production,
you have to get that fine lineof influence so that it doesn't
come off like you plagiarizedand copied their materials or
copied their licks in the song.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Exactly, exactly.
There's a difference betweenart and plagiarism.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yes, that is an absolute truth.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
So yeah, I mean, it's okay to be influenced by other
artists, right, it is not okayto steal from other artists.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I agree 100%.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
But we're in a time now that there's so much music
being put out Right that it'skind of hard for anybody to call
that music 100% their own.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Because there's only six strings on a guitar.
There's millions of songs outthere.
I mean, it's like how much ofit is really yours?
Yeah, true, all it is is little, little, tiny pieces of a bunch
of other artists' stuff.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
And another great thing is when you surround
yourself with musicians, theyhave their influences that has
led them to where they are.
Then they listen to your songand play it with what you've got
, with their influences.
Then the magic happens andyou've got something that's just
purely outstanding.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
That's the beauty of a band, man.
That's what I love about a band.
You put five people on a stagetogether to create five songs.
Versions of one sound right,and it turns into something
beautiful.
It's the mad, that's themagical part of it, man.
It's what makes me enjoy.
What I do is that seeing theoutcome of all the different
(21:01):
influences and all the differenthumans that are involved in
creating one song, you know yeah, the studio magic is just
outstanding.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
So how's the tour coming along and what are you
expecting from that?
Is it going the way that youhad hoped that it would?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Oh, it's going great, man.
I got all kinds of cool.
We've been adding more datesevery.
You know, every few weeks We'llget six, seven more dates added
to the tour schedule.
But I like making music and Ilike being on tour, but I also
like being at home with myfamily.
So what we do is we get a bunchof shows and we plant them all
around the country you know whatI mean here here, here, here,
here here and we either driveand do a few shows and go home,
(21:38):
or we fly around the car, do afew shows and go home.
But the thing about it is thatI'm going home because I have
all the way from athree-year-old daughter to a
20-year-old son and I want to bea present father and husband.
Being on tour on a tour bus isprobably going to be feasible
pretty soon whenever I can putmy family on that tour bus with
me.
But right now I got to comehome.
(21:58):
I do all I can when I can and Itry to put out all the content
I can, but I live for God,family, country, music in that
order.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Sure Nothing wrong with that at all.
So how does your family respondto the music you do?
I mean you've got a wide rangeof kids.
They all have their favorites.
They have different tastes ofmusic, I'm sure.
How does that work with the newmusic you're putting out to,
the music that your kids maylike and the artists that they
follow?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Well, let's see.
My oldest son loves my music,but he's a music lover.
You know he loves all kinds ofmusic.
You know he could tell youevery release I've ever put out.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Daughter.
She likes my music but she'smore into the pop country kind
of stuff, you know, and alldifferent kinds of things.
You know she's a teenage girlDoesn't really resonate well
with teenage girls.
My youngest daughter thinks I'mhung the moon, you know, and my
youngest son, he, thinks I hungthe moon, but he won't tell you
that.
They all got their differentopinions about it.
(23:00):
They all love their daddy, yeah, but you know they're all
different people so it's justhard to gauge really.
I believe they love my music,but I think they hear it so much
they get sick of it.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Yeah, I know the feeling.
I've certainly been there whenI was out touring and recording.
My kids heard it a lot, so Ithink they got sick of it as
well.
So I feel your pain.
Yeah, when you're doing analbum, they hear the rough draft
, they hear the album cut, theyhear the mastered version, then
they hear the video and they'rejust hearing these songs over
and over and over and over andover and over and over again,
before the public hears it evenonce.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Yeah, so it's got to be hard on them just as hard as
it is on me.
You know it gets to the pointwhere you get tired of hearing
your own voice.
Yeah, but not this album,though for me, nice, on this one
, I can still listen to thesesongs, and it's been six months.
We've been working on thisalbum and I feel very strongly
about this project.
I think there's so much goingon with it that it's hard for it
(24:01):
not to have something foreverybody.
We've got addiction, we've gotpatriotic songs, we've got love
songs, we've got funny songs,we've got trucking songs.
We've got all these songs onone album.
I really cannot wait for theworld to just see this whole
project.
Three songs so far, and they'veall been different, and it's
just going to keep gettingdifferent and different and
(24:23):
different.
I'm telling you it's reallysomething I'm very proud of.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So if you look back at all the projects you've
worked on and we as musiciansalways like to think that we're
evolving and getting better, sodo you think this project is
maybe the best you've done yet?
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Awesome?
Yeah, definitely.
There ain't no doubt about it.
I put out some pretty goodprojects in the past and I love
all the songs that I've beeninvolved with.
I felt strongly about all ofthem.
Being an artist, it's likelooking at your own listening to
your own music.
It's like walking up to apainting and it's being right
here.
You and listening to your ownmusic is like walking up to a
painting and it being right here.
You know you can't really seethe forest or the trees, so you
just try your best.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Absolutely so.
With this one being so special,did you take a different
approach when you startedworking on it and recording it?
Speaker 2 (25:06):
On this one I took a totally different approach.
Every other project I would putout, I was like these songs are
great, we're using them, putput out.
I was like these songs aregreat, we're using them, put
them out.
I took a consensus on everysong.
We chose every song.
We recorded every single.
We chose every video.
We recorded every step of theway.
I took consistency, because ittakes a village to raise a baby
and I believe it takes a villageto choose a song, because your
(25:29):
own opinion ain't worth nothing,honestly.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Yeah, that can be absolutely true.
Sometimes you get so close tothe project that you're not
really thinking objectively likeyou should towards some of the
songs, like one that you love.
You'll take it to somebody andthey'll go well, you know, I
kind of like it, but it's allright, you go, I love it, but
they don't, and then you have toretool.
So I 100% get that.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Yeah, I mean I feel like we've got some really
strong stuff on itself and thebest is yet to come.
In my opinion, 10 Day Run is arocking song.
I love it.
It really hits home for mebecause it's a trucking song and
I grew up on trucking songs.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Leaves.
I feel like it's going to beone of those that just shocks
everybody and hears it.
It's going to set them down andmake them think.
I don't want to talk too muchabout the songs coming out,
because you get to talking aboutthings too much, too far away
from them coming out.
People get the same idea later,maybe sooner or later, and then
they want to up you over it andI want this to be as pure as
(26:25):
possible.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
There's nothing better than putting four, five,
six players in a studio tellingthem what you want getting that
nice, clean, crisp sound.
There's just nothing betterwhen it's just that right, there
ain't nothing better.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
I'm telling you, when we got in that studio, I was
like wow, I mean I was sittingthere talking to my producer.
I was like how can anybody putout their best form of art if
studio time is charged by thehour?
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
I mean, you got to get in there and get it done
like that or you're going to becharged after Wazik.
But these guys, they went aboveand beyond for me, man.
I went in there, we used moretime than we should have, they
gave me more of their time thanthey should have and they didn't
.
I'm telling you they reallybelieved in this album.
I know it because they justreally went above and beyond for
(27:10):
me, that's just awesome.
It was an amazing situationfrom the beginning until now.
It just really has.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah, that's so good.
Tell me a little bit about yourfans.
You've got your grandfather'sfans that hopefully have
followed you.
You've got fans that havefollowed you because of what
you've done here in Nashville.
Do you have a wide demographicof fans?
Speaker 2 (27:31):
I really do.
It used to be pretty well.
You know males over 30.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
But nowadays, looking at my analytics and it's like
it's more of a half moon shapeGot some younger fans.
I've got a little bit more asthey get older and then I got a
little bit less as it gets olderthan that.
It's really been evolving in abeautiful way and I think it's
just really been reaching moreand more people, because the
thing about it is I'm anindependent artist.
If you look at it, all dayeverybody expects to hear Waylon
(28:00):
James' grandson.
The whole world's going to knowyou as Sam.
Yeah, sure, and that's just notthe case.
My grandfather was on RCARecords, one of the biggest
record labels in the wholecountry, and they promoted the
snot out of him.
He had a ton of money behindhim because he had this huge
conglomerate record label behindhim.
I don't you know what I mean.
I'm an independent artist.
In a sea of independent artists, I'm not just the easiest
(28:21):
person to find, but we've beenmaking a lot of noise and people
have been finding us slowly butsurely over the years.
I'm really pleased with whereI'm at in my career, considering
I haven't signed no deal withthe devil Right.
I own my own masters.
I've got plenty of good musicout there.
I'm able to support my familyand honestly, I don't want to be
this super famous guy who'snever gone.
I wouldn't mind going a littlebit further up the ladder, but
(28:45):
if I don't, I'm kind of happywith who I am.
Honestly.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Yeah, you have to find that comfort zone as an
artist.
You also have to find thatcomfort zone as a human being,
with your family.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
being an artist, Exactly it's like.
What are you willing to risk?
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Exactly and you have to know what you can do and what
you can't do and what thepossibilities are for the
outcome of that project.
I always look at the worst casescenario.
If I can be good with the worstcase scenario and something
better happens, then I'm happy.
But if I'm not good with theworst case scenario, then we
(29:22):
have to make a few changes sohopefully that doesn't happen
Exactly.
And it's tough as anindependent artist.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It's very tough.
It really is, but you try hardenough and you put your goals in
the right order.
You just have integrity andfaith in God and you do the
right thing.
You don't lie.
You know that's my whole dealis I don't lie and I don't like
people lying to me.
Integrity is a big deal.
If you have integrity, God'swith you and he will be there to
guide you along the way.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Absolutely.
It's kind of funny that you usethe word integrity, because a
long time ago when I first movedhere, I had a friend of mine
that worked at a publicationthat I really didn't want to
become one of those people thathad ads out.
To help her, I put an ad in.
I said production with honesty,quality and integrity.
And I had so many people callme because they just didn't know
what integrity was in the musicbusiness.
(30:08):
So you're right, Integrity andhonesty is one of the most
important factors that you canhave in this music business,
Because if you do something withquality, honesty and integrity,
you're going to get back whatyou put out there.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Exactly, that's the truth.
I mean, if your goal is fame,then you're probably not going
to get it.
If your goal is being able tosupport your family, if you have
a righteous goal, you'llachieve it.
But if you're in this for allthe wrong reasons, even if you
get it, you'll probably use itto kill yourself.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Honestly, yeah, you're right.
That's why we've had severalsingers that have climbed the
ladder really quick, but they'vealso fallen down that ladder
real quick.
They didn't know how to handleit, they hadn't thought it out,
they hadn't prepared.
You have to know what's goingto go into this and how it's
going to affect your life.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
There really is man.
A lot of it's smoke and mirrors, man.
People are like they want tobelieve that somebody is going
to just knock on their door,hand them a million dollars and
keys to a Maserati and say youhave made it.
And that's just not the case.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
You know how a millionaire stays a millionaire.
He doesn't spend money and hekeeps making it.
In order to do that, it takes alot of time, you got to realize
.
Do you want time with yourfamily?
Do you want time to smell theroses?
Do you want time to enjoy yourlife, or do you want a pile of
money?
I want enough money to supportmy family is what I want.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Yeah, and in the end, when you're gone, someone else
spends your money.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I think the key is, like we talked earlier, is
finding your comfort zone whereyou can be happy with what's
going on in your present worldand the potential that you might
have for the success.
There's always going to bepitfalls and bumps in the road.
If you're prepared and you'rehappy with what you're doing,
those bumps in the road can beaddressed and ultimately doesn't
(31:56):
put you in the ditch.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
That's true, I have realized.
As long as I've got goodintention and a good plan and a
good heart, things happen, youknow.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Yes, I agree.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
The devil's always going to come at you.
Closer you get to God, the morethe devil's going to come at
you, but the easier he is tospot.
You just really got to be goodand be honest and be humble.
You can't just get out thereand say I'm king of the world.
That ain't the way this works,man.
You are a human being amongst abunch of human beings.
Try to be a good one.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Absolutely Well.
This has been great.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to come on.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
Oh man, it's been an amazing time.
I've loved it, thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Oh, absolutely, it's been great.
So let's say you're in front of5,000 to 10,000 to 15,000
people, you're putting on a show.
What would you like to havepeople remember you by that have
listened to your show and thispodcast.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
I'd like to be remembered as a guy who takes
his job seriously, takes hisfamily more seriously and takes
his time to touch people.
You know, that's just it.
I just want to be known as agood human.
That's really my only goal inlife, and I want my kids to
follow suit and also be goodhumans.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Yeah, that's a great statement.
I saw something here a littlewhile ago and I can't remember
exactly where I saw it.
It was a father telling his son, saying Son, you've got to be
good, watch your step.
It's a long journey.
And the son turned around,looked at him, said well, I'm
following your steps, so makesure they're good for me too.
Speaker 2 (33:18):
That's exactly right.
Yeah, we lead by example.
I mean, I was raised.
You don't do what I do as I say, not as I do, and that just
don't work.
They've taken every step you'retaking, so you be careful.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
What you do, you get right, you, yeah, and especially
in today's world, oh yeah, yeah.
That do as I say, not as I do,doesn't work anymore and I don't
know if it ever did really.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
They never did, honestly.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Yeah, that's for sure .
Yeah, this has been great.
I've really enjoyed this.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Yeah, I did too, man.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
The pleasure's all mine.
Thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
(34:08):
For more information, contactmedia at platomusiccom.
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