October 15, 2025 • 22 mins
Caroline Jones has her solo music career and is also the first and only female band member of the Zac Brown Band. She is a working wife and mom and the only musician in her family. She was classically trained at a young age, fell in love with country music in her late teens, and the rest is "herstory..."
.
Amber starts by fan-girling over Caroline, then gets into her music including her new single, 'All the Things' which is an anthem, ode, and tribute to her husband and all the moms out there trying to do "all the things."
.
Caroline talks about what has helped make her marriage work with such an unconventional job for both her and her sailor husband, swap embarrassing mom stories, and have some real talk when it comes to raising young kids.This is a fun one, especially for working moms who are grateful for their support system or may be wondering if they can still do what they want in life if they become a mom. (Spoiler alert, Amber and Caroline say YES you can)!
_______________________________________________________________________________
"All The Things" from Caroline Jones out now!
IG: Caroline Jones
https://carolinejones.com/
.
Amber starts by fan-girling over Caroline, then gets into her music including her new single, 'All the Things' which is an anthem, ode, and tribute to her husband and all the moms out there trying to do "all the things."
.
Caroline talks about what has helped make her marriage work with such an unconventional job for both her and her sailor husband, swap embarrassing mom stories, and have some real talk when it comes to raising young kids.This is a fun one, especially for working moms who are grateful for their support system or may be wondering if they can still do what they want in life if they become a mom. (Spoiler alert, Amber and Caroline say YES you can)!
_______________________________________________________________________________
"All The Things" from Caroline Jones out now!
IG: Caroline Jones
https://carolinejones.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh my gosh. Okay, so I have to admit, Caroline,
this is the maybe second interview that I've actually like
sought after. Usually, you know, they come to me, do
you want to interview this person? I'm like, hell yeah.
But then you know Eric has sent me the pr
I'm like, okay, let's take a look at this. You know, this,
this new song all the things I fell in love.
I reposted the Instagram videos. I'm getting ahead of myself.
(00:22):
All right, I'm fangirling right now. Please excuse me. So
I'm talking right now with Caroline Jones. She is the
female in the Zach Brown band. Not just that, you're
an amazingly talented musician, mom wife, and you're the only
musician in your family. Correct, Yeah, I am my mom.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
My family loves music. But nobody really ever played her song.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
That is great, So what did your parents do?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
We just had music around the house, you know. We
listened to a lot of classic R and B in
classic rock, a lot of the Davas and the nineties
of Mariah and Whitney and Celine Dion and Barber streisand
and then I was trained classically, so I started saying
lessons when I was nine, and I just happened to
train with this teacher who.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Just taught opera.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
That's what he taught, and so I was trained classically,
and so I really grew up listening to just such
a wide range of music. And I didn't even discover
country music till I was in my late teens, like seventeen.
I went to Nashville because I've been writing songs, and
then I just fell in love with country music. I
went to a show at the Bluebird Cafe and my
(01:29):
life was just changed from that, and I became a
student of country music and I just felt like that
was the missing piece of my artistry. But I have
so so much influence.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Oh, I love it, and I love the fact that
you didn't really I mean early, you know, late teens,
it's still pretty young to get into country music. I
didn't get into it, honestly until maybe about a few
years ago. I'm like, really into it. And you know,
I have to say that your music. I mean, right now,
we're playing eight No Talent on our station right ninety
six point three FeH country. But it's very rare for
me personally, for whatever that's worth for me to listen
(02:00):
to different songs from an artist that I'm not familiar
with and be like, Okay, that one's good, and maybe
skip over for you for yours everyone, I'm like, girl, girl,
I'm like, yeah, I'm very little. Yeah, yeah, oh, thank
you so much.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That means so much to me.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Of course, a lot of your music you're familiar with
the Gabby Barrett song. I hope yes, so the first
time you heard that line and then I hope he
cheats right, that feeling that you're like, oh my god,
Like I get that with all of your songs, Like
there's just that one line, you know, And so I
want to talk right now, specifically about all the things.
This is your newest single and basically dedicated to your husband, Nick,
(02:38):
who I found out is like he's a racing sailor
and son. How old is your son now?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
He's almost two? Oh my goodness, I know he's so cute.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
He really is. I love it and the song all
the things. Can you tell the listening audience who may
not be familiar with that song what is that song about?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
The song at a high level is about how whether
you're a toring rock star living mom like me, or
you're a stay at home mom, or you're a working mom.
We all do all things, and we all have so
much to balance and so much to juggle, and we're
all trying to, you know, be super woman, and so
(03:16):
it's a real balance. And the song really was inspired
by last year being on tour with Kenny Jasney and
Zach Brownband with pretty much a newborn, you know, in
the early months of his life, and the joys and
challenges and ups and downs of that, and just I
wanted to write a song that was an anthem for
women and for moms, because, like I said, we do
(03:37):
all the things, and we don't do it alone. You know,
we need a support system. And I'm really lucky to
have an amazing husband. And we had lots of conversations
before we decided to have kids about how we were
going to do it with this life, with these unconventional jobs.
You know, we both travel for our jobs, and we
both love our jobs deeply, and so you know, and
(04:00):
are you a mom?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
I am. I have a twenty year old and a
ten year old.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I have two daughters, so you understand. But like it,
becoming a parent just forces you to recalibrate and reassess
your whole life and priority list, you know, in the
best way, Like I actually think it becomes a superpower
because you're forced to really strip back all the things
that don't ultimately matter and say, why am I doing this?
Why am I doing this? How am I managing my time?
(04:26):
How do one want to look back on my life
and my short time with these little humans? And so
all the things speaks to all of those themes, you know,
but really it's a rally cry, like it's an anthem
for moms, and it's a love letter and a thank
you note to my husband, you know, for supporting me
and my dreams so that so that we can be
parents and I can be out there standing on stage
and hopefully inspiring other people.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
You know, you definitely are, And I don't think it's
that common for songs to actually include the partner being like,
thank you for being there with me while I'm doing
this with the kids. And definitely when I became a mom,
it's like I had a ton of but in the
best way, because you know, growing up, I didn't have
a lot of self confidence. I kind of let people
do things to me that I probably shouldn't have, especially
(05:07):
with partners, and I got to thinking. You know, the
minute I found out I was pregnant, I got out
of a very horrible relationship, and I was like, would
I want my daughter to be treated this way? Like
would I allow her? Would I want someone to treat
her that way? And so it really helped me to
love myself by having kids. And you know, and my
my husband, he is not the biological father of my
first one, but when he decided that, you know, we're
(05:29):
going to have another one, I was like, I couldn't
really argue. It wasn't really like, you know, I know
that there's women that have trepidation about, well, if I
have a kid, it's going to ruin my career. It's
gonna ruin, that's gonna earn this. I'm like, but I
can't really say that because of my first one. It
just made me better. It made me, you know, finish college,
it made me get a job, it made me do
all the things, and so you know that's again why
I just I love that song. I posted my video.
(05:50):
I did my own little version of my nine to
five and my twenty four seven. I know you liked it.
I was like, you know, and you have described before
your job is self not not necessarily in a bad way.
But I get this too. You know, being on air
on the radio, you are your own brand. We're always
you know, they're always saying you need to be an
influencer or whatever the case is. But you and I
(06:10):
both are blessed with the support of husbands. Is there
any what's like the hardest part I think about, you know,
being so out in the limelight and being married, Like,
what would you say for marriage?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Oh? Wow, that's a great question. Well, first of all,
thank you for sharing all that. That is so beautiful,
And I think more women need to hear that that
being a mother makes you better because I was scared,
you know, that I couldn't have a family and continue
my career and chase my dream. Like part of all
the things speaks to those fears too, So I think
(06:44):
it's good to hear women encouraging that it is possible.
It's not easy, but it's possible, and you do need
a support system around you. I think the hardest Honestly,
I don't think that the hardest parts of being married
are about being the like I think marriage is challenging
for everyone because it's it's like a constant mirror up
(07:08):
to you. It's it's constantly a humbling experience if you care,
if they care and deeply love the other person, about
humbling yourself, about knowing who you are and meeting the
other person knowing who they are. And it's it's constant work.
And I don't mean that in a way to like
scare people off or say that it's not worth it.
But anything in life that's that's meaningful, especially when it
(07:32):
comes to like lifting up and connecting and building a
life with another person is really intentional work. And like
you have to really be willing to look at yourself,
and you have to be willing to be super honest
and communicative all the time. And you know, it's like
my husband and I call our marriage a self cleaning oven,
Like we're constantly just like working through things, you know
(07:54):
what I'm saying, But you have to or else or
else things build up and you resent that person or
you don't feel confidective right person, and so like you
you really just want to constantly be yeah, looking at
yourself and talking about things. And and we don't learn
any of those skills in school, Like I really think
we should. We should be more equipped, like to learn
(08:14):
how to be a parent, learn how to have a
healthy relationship, like learn how to have difficult conversations, and like,
we go into life really not knowing any of this
stuff and have to kind of figure it out ourselves.
So I think it's good to talk about.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
It's a constant choice. It's a constant I choose to
love you. I may not like you right now, but
I will choose to love you every single day that happens. Well,
I don't know over there, girl, but over here in
the Latino household, the woman has a little bit more
like of a you're gonna do this, Yeah, you know
what I mean. And I love that you're using your
platform to send that message. And I think that's you know, well,
(08:47):
who am I? But I think that is part of
why you're so successful. It just I listened to an
interview that you did on another podcast. The girl's name
was Caroline. I don't remember her last name, but even
through that podcast, like you could just see how real
you are, how genuine you are. And so when you
speak these words to women, to women who are married,
who women who want to have married, women who are
like should I have a baby? Euh, Like, it just
(09:09):
comes across as very real, very not fake, very genuine,
And I want to thank you for that too, Like
you know, you're talking about women supporting women, and you
are definitely the epitome, especially with this song. And I
want to get into maybe a little bit of you know,
a little bit more of the timeline. So you got married, yeah,
you had a baby, You went on tour four months
(09:30):
after you had the baby. You know how like did
what year did you get married?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Twenty twenty Wait? End of twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
End of twenty twenty one, and then you had your baby.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
In end of twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Three okay, okay, and then you went on tour.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
When like early twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Yeah, yeah, he was right, So like four months a council.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
When we started the Kenny Hsney Stadium tour.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Oh my god. And when you had that discussion with
your husband like, hey, I'm going to go on tour
like four months postpart and what was that like?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Well, we knew that we were lucky to have that schedule,
and we kind of we tried as best we could
to like time our pregnancy and time so that we
would have a good maternity leave and take time off
and so we were able to do it. I mean, wow,
But that was a wild time because like having your
first child, and you know, your first postpartum, it's as
(10:19):
you know, like it is a wild, wild time and
so and there's a huge learning curve. And then at
the same time you're trying to do all the things
and be super mom and go back on tour and
prove you can do it and all these things. So
there's a little bit of burning the candle at both ends.
But it was a great adventure and I learned a lot.
And I'm so lucky that I have to support like
the Zach Brown band is so supportive of me, you know,
(10:42):
like when I was pregnant, when I had a baby,
like bringing him backstage, bringing him to different shows, like
all that stuff. You know what, It means a lot
because not everybody has that ability to bring their baby
places and that meant a lot to me.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Did they throw you a baby shower?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
No they didn't. I said, please don't throw me a
b I said to ever. I said to my sisters
and my friends. I was like, please don't me baby show.
I'm so tired because I was on tour at the
end of my friend, I don't want to see anyone.
I was like, I don't want to do anything.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
You're like, I don't want to do none of the things,
not right now, all the things any born, but right
like like none of the things I would you know,
when my second one was born, I did not want
anyone in my house, you know, cause it's very a
Hispanic tradition where the whole family comes and my husband's
very large. Right away, that's like the rudest thing you
could do if you're gonna come over, clean, cook, But
(11:34):
they're coming over for me to entertain them and talk
to them while they're holding my baby. I'm like, the
whole point is for me to spend time with my baby.
Well you do you do all the things right?
Speaker 2 (11:43):
And do they come over right away like in the
following days?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yes? But my I told my husband, look, I don't
care if it's my sweag, which is my mother in law,
his mom, my mom, whoever, if they come over unannounced,
I am not opening that door. And I'm telling you
like he was like, okay, I understand, like they can.
And then I was a big germa for so I'm like,
you know what if you do come, you better wash
your hands. Yeah, come, if you have the sniffles's.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Early months, I think that's valid. Like those early months
are really tender time for mama and baby and and
I think everybody needs to figure out what feels good
to them and then like just just set those precedents
with their family.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yes, definitely, so I know I have a few more
minutes with you. You're a very busy woman, but I
want to I'm dying to ask, and I have one
of my own. Do you have any embarrassing mom stories
from being on tour, maybe like some spit up on
your shirt when you were performing that you weren't aware about.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Well, I don't know if I can say this, but
I definitely like when my like those early months, like
my boobs would let down during the like if the
show was Yes, yes, I breastfed for a long time
and and like my luckily they were dark dresses, but
like I had a few shows where like it's soaked
through during the show and I was like, thank God
(12:53):
for my guitar covering this.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yes, well, you have your girls, so you know I
had my My oldest one is twenty I had when
I had her when I was twenty oh my god,
I'm just realizing that. Anyway, I had a job as
a lifeguard, and you know, we had to wear the
two piece, and I was breastfeeding as well, so I
had to put the pad. So when a leak, we
rarely had to jump in the water, but there was
one time I did. A kid was came down from
(13:15):
the slide, wasn't coming up fast enough, so I jumped this,
you know, I got him done. So this is I
jumped in as an a cup at the time, and
I came out as a double D. And I didn't
realize it. To all of my coworkers that were like,
what happened to you, I'm like, oh my god, that.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Gosh.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
And do you have any baby must haves or well
right now right he's like a toddler. Is there any
mustaves that you have as a mom must as?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I think you always need snacks. You just constant. You
can't let that blood sugar dip, you know, yeah, for
you or the baby both, right, you need you like
to avoid meltdowns. You need some snacks, must have you know.
Actually I was surprised how little you need. I think
that's what people need to know, is like you actually
(14:03):
don't need to buy all the gadgets and every toy
and every you know, you know, baby blanket and everything. Like,
they don't actually need a lot. We did this for
thousands of years with hardly anything, like they really just
need you. I will say a baby carrier for the
first year was the best because I love Pike. I
love to walk, I love to multitask, and just like
(14:25):
having him there next to me, like you know, in
my little marsupial pouch.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
That was the best.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I miss that, Like I wish if I could just
pop him in there to this day, I would, But
now he likes to run around.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Girl, I brought this out. This is my baby carrier.
It's all bored, but it's the three sixty. I wore
my little one on my back up until she was
about two years old. We went to Dallas, Cowboy games,
the airport, shopping. Yeah, it's all much better.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It honestly is the best. Yeah, so that would be
my main one. But yeah, people don't need a lot.
I think now in this day and age, like everyone's
always trying to sell you X, Y and Z for
your Like you don't need a ton, I think, you know, Yeah,
I would say that, but the baby Carey was a
big one.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Yeah, no, I agree. And you know, for the for
the last bit here I want I'm going to give
you some mom advice, some unsolicited mom advice. Pause. I
want to give you a chance to give advice to
women who are maybe maybe they are new moms or
maybe they're you know, in the same position of I
want to have a baby, but I don't know how
it's going to change. It's going to change your life, right,
but you know. So my one of the best pieces
(15:30):
of advice I got because I'm a helicopter mom, is
don't do for your kids what they can do for themselves.
And that really helped guide a lot of my decisions.
You know, let them they're gonna mess up, but let
them do like do it on their own.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
And yeah, I really, I really agree with that, and
I really try to model that.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah, and make sure you do stuff for yourself. That
is a big one. Moms. Take care of everyone but themselves.
Whatever makes you happy, I know, aside from music, because
music makes you happy, right, but you get it kind
of mixed in with your career. Like if you love to,
you love to, so make sure you do it. Take
care of yourself.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Oh that's great advice. That is hard to do. You know,
it's hard to do, especially when you're juggling a career
and motherhood. Because it is funny, like I always think
about that because when men come home from a full
day of work, they're like, I've been at work. When
I come home from a full day of work, there's
a part of me that feels like, oh, we well,
I was doing that for myself. Now I'm in mom mode,
it's like, no, I wasn't doing you know what I'm
saying that we all feel guilty like it's not enough.
(16:27):
So I think that's really good advice. I love especially
your first piece of advice because I think that there's
so much anxiety and fear now and like I really
want for my son to really trust himself, and that
means like that starts really young, you know, like even
when he started crawling, like we never we didn't put
(16:48):
and this is extreme. Obviously, people need to do what's
right for them and what's safe depending on where they
live and their house. Not stuff, but like we personally
didn't baby proof of our house, Like we didn't put
gates on the stairs. We didn't like as soon as
he would crawl towards the stairs, we would turn him around.
We taught him how to go down the stairs himself,
like we so from a young age. It wasn't like oh,
don't touch I dot it. It was like we taught
(17:09):
him what is fire? What is hot? What is you know?
And kids are so smart if you give them a chance,
and they're so and they are self preservational, like they
don't want to hurt themselves, they don't want to injure themselves.
Like I remember a lot of parents telling me, oh,
like toddlers, they just are always trying to kill themselves.
Like I think, if you know, but it's true.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Like if you if you teach them from young and
let them fall off a small stair, you know, let
them let them have these little experiences where they start
to understand cause and effect and consequence, then they'll actually.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Be more cautious and more you know, because they trust
their own body, like they understand. And so I think
that is maybe advice I would give is like try
to try to let them feel and let them learn
from a really young age when the steaks aren't that high,
you know, yeah, and really like check yourself and try
to be calm and trust yourself. Obviously, if there's a danger,
(18:07):
like you need to protect them. But I think nowadays
we're so anxious and it can actually be a detriment,
like you said.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Yeah, and I think you know. One thing you reminded
me of too while we're on the topic, is maybe
it's not as prevalent with little boys. But like with
little girls. I always sold you, your body is yours.
You know. In the Hispanic community, you hug all the deals,
you hug all the theists. I said, no, you don't
want to hug your grandpa, your grandma. You do not
have to. Yeah, you know, so that's another one too.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
But it's beautiful again, it's just like it's respect. It's
like from a young age, like respecting them how you
would want them to respect you, you know. And I
think when you meet them like as a human instead
of like a tiny baby, you treat them almost like
an adult from a young age if you can, and
like set like those loving boundaries. Accordingly, I just think
(18:52):
it it makes sense, right, I think it's how we
evolved more than yeah, like, yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
I love those cons And what advice would you have
for women that again, they're thinking of having a baby,
they have a baby, and they're trying to do all
the things and feel like they're failing. What advice would
you have for them?
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm in a
real position to get I never feel like qualified to
give advice because we're all just learning and trying. But
I think be similar along the lines that you said,
is like, really be intentional about who you are and
how you want to show up in the world, because
like whether you're mothering, whether you're working, it's really how
the energy that you're showing up with, Like life is
(19:32):
not a checklist. You know, your kid is going to
pick up on your happiness, your joy, your state of being,
like your energy, you know, more than anything else, more
than if you were like at this school play or
you made, you know, a three course dinner, or you
did this, like were you anxious the whole time?
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Were you like resentful of the good ones?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Yeah, And it's like it's like what is your what
are you always bringing to your life? And if you're
not being who you want to be, like shift your
life around as best you can, because obviously we all
have responsibilities so that you're being and feeling like the
person that you want them to see and like grow
up seeing. And it's easier said than done because we
(20:13):
all are just like, well, I gotta do this, I
gotta do this, I gotta I gotta do this, I.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Gotta do this, and then we look back like I
just see my mother in law, my mother, like they
always say, like enjoy it, like find a way to
enjoy your life, like you get them along and you
only get this phase once and so like I really
try to do that.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, I mean, if you think back to your own childhood,
you know, because people are like I got to buy
this for my kid to buy that, or they need this.
When I look back, I remember going shopping with my mom,
but I more so remember the time I spent with her,
the time that she apologized for certain things, the time
where we would go look at Christmas lights which costs nothing.
So it's really you know, think about what you remember
good from your childhood, and they just want that time
(20:54):
with you, that time off of your phone where you're
not doing things simultaneously, and all the choices that you
make are because you love them. You know. There was
when I was when I was a new mama, was
you know, the argument formula or breast milk, and all
all I saw was moms that love their kids, wanting
to do the best for their kids. That's it matters,
you know.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
And they want and they need to see you happy. Yes,
like if you if you want them to be happy,
you have to model it, Like how else are they
gonna learn? But it's hard for them to do.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Yeah, you know. And and as long as you you know,
you don't have to always be happy. But like you said,
as long as you know who you are, you're taking
care of yourself, you're pouring back into your cup.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
That's better way to say it, because yeah, we're not
always happy. But the point is they need to see
you living your life too, not just for everything else.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, yeah, well you're certainly living your life. Girl. I
love your music, all things. I love it. We're right now.
We're playing eight no Talent. If you have not heard
the enough songs from Caroline Jones, please go listen to
them again. One of the few that I'm not like
like okay, like this onbod I'll skip it. No, I'm
listening to all of them. You're all bangers, Carolina, anything
(22:00):
else that you would like to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Just stay tuned because we have a lot more music
coming and a tour coming very very soon, so stay tuned.
We've been having this project in the works for a
long time, and I just want to thank you Amber.
You are such an amazing inspiration like I no, really
truly it's this was such a beautiful conversation and your
listeners are just lucky to have you.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Oh my gosh, Caroline, thank you so much. I'm so
excited that we got to talk. I will let you
get to the rest of your day and your baby
and your husband and everything you do. You got to
do all the things. You're an amazing girl. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Thank you, Thanks Ambert. Good Baby.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I can chase the dream.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
I can plant to God and men and between, I
can me and myself.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I'm not way baby, will you, Baby will
Oh my gosh. Okay, so I have to admit, Caroline,
this is the maybe second interview that I've actually like
sought after. Usually, you know, they come to me, do
you want to interview this person? I'm like, hell yeah.
But then you know Eric has sent me the pr
I'm like, okay, let's take a look at this. You know, this,
this new song all the things I fell in love.
I reposted the Instagram videos. I'm getting ahead of myself.
(00:22):
All right, I'm fangirling right now. Please excuse me. So
I'm talking right now with Caroline Jones. She is the
female in the Zach Brown band. Not just that, you're
an amazingly talented musician, mom wife, and you're the only
musician in your family. Correct, Yeah, I am my mom.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
My family loves music. But nobody really ever played her song.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
That is great, So what did your parents do?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
We just had music around the house, you know. We
listened to a lot of classic R and B in
classic rock, a lot of the Davas and the nineties
of Mariah and Whitney and Celine Dion and Barber streisand
and then I was trained classically, so I started saying
lessons when I was nine, and I just happened to
train with this teacher who.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Just taught opera.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
That's what he taught, and so I was trained classically,
and so I really grew up listening to just such
a wide range of music. And I didn't even discover
country music till I was in my late teens, like seventeen.
I went to Nashville because I've been writing songs, and
then I just fell in love with country music. I
went to a show at the Bluebird Cafe and my
(01:29):
life was just changed from that, and I became a
student of country music and I just felt like that
was the missing piece of my artistry. But I have
so so much influence.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Oh, I love it, and I love the fact that
you didn't really I mean early, you know, late teens,
it's still pretty young to get into country music. I
didn't get into it, honestly until maybe about a few
years ago. I'm like, really into it. And you know,
I have to say that your music. I mean, right now,
we're playing eight No Talent on our station right ninety
six point three FeH country. But it's very rare for
me personally, for whatever that's worth for me to listen
(02:00):
to different songs from an artist that I'm not familiar
with and be like, Okay, that one's good, and maybe
skip over for you for yours everyone, I'm like, girl, girl,
I'm like, yeah, I'm very little. Yeah, yeah, oh, thank
you so much.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
That means so much to me.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Of course, a lot of your music you're familiar with
the Gabby Barrett song. I hope yes, so the first
time you heard that line and then I hope he
cheats right, that feeling that you're like, oh my god,
Like I get that with all of your songs, Like
there's just that one line, you know, And so I
want to talk right now, specifically about all the things.
This is your newest single and basically dedicated to your husband, Nick,
(02:38):
who I found out is like he's a racing sailor
and son. How old is your son now?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
He's almost two? Oh my goodness, I know he's so cute.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
He really is. I love it and the song all
the things. Can you tell the listening audience who may
not be familiar with that song what is that song about?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
The song at a high level is about how whether
you're a toring rock star living mom like me, or
you're a stay at home mom, or you're a working mom.
We all do all things, and we all have so
much to balance and so much to juggle, and we're
all trying to, you know, be super woman, and so
(03:16):
it's a real balance. And the song really was inspired
by last year being on tour with Kenny Jasney and
Zach Brownband with pretty much a newborn, you know, in
the early months of his life, and the joys and
challenges and ups and downs of that, and just I
wanted to write a song that was an anthem for
women and for moms, because, like I said, we do
(03:37):
all the things, and we don't do it alone. You know,
we need a support system. And I'm really lucky to
have an amazing husband. And we had lots of conversations
before we decided to have kids about how we were
going to do it with this life, with these unconventional jobs.
You know, we both travel for our jobs, and we
both love our jobs deeply, and so you know, and
(04:00):
are you a mom?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
I am. I have a twenty year old and a
ten year old.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I have two daughters, so you understand. But like it,
becoming a parent just forces you to recalibrate and reassess
your whole life and priority list, you know, in the
best way, Like I actually think it becomes a superpower
because you're forced to really strip back all the things
that don't ultimately matter and say, why am I doing this?
Why am I doing this? How am I managing my time?
(04:26):
How do one want to look back on my life
and my short time with these little humans? And so
all the things speaks to all of those themes, you know,
but really it's a rally cry, like it's an anthem
for moms, and it's a love letter and a thank
you note to my husband, you know, for supporting me
and my dreams so that so that we can be
parents and I can be out there standing on stage
and hopefully inspiring other people.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
You know, you definitely are, And I don't think it's
that common for songs to actually include the partner being like,
thank you for being there with me while I'm doing
this with the kids. And definitely when I became a mom,
it's like I had a ton of but in the
best way, because you know, growing up, I didn't have
a lot of self confidence. I kind of let people
do things to me that I probably shouldn't have, especially
(05:07):
with partners, and I got to thinking. You know, the
minute I found out I was pregnant, I got out
of a very horrible relationship, and I was like, would
I want my daughter to be treated this way? Like
would I allow her? Would I want someone to treat
her that way? And so it really helped me to
love myself by having kids. And you know, and my
my husband, he is not the biological father of my
first one, but when he decided that, you know, we're
(05:29):
going to have another one, I was like, I couldn't
really argue. It wasn't really like, you know, I know
that there's women that have trepidation about, well, if I
have a kid, it's going to ruin my career. It's
gonna ruin, that's gonna earn this. I'm like, but I
can't really say that because of my first one. It
just made me better. It made me, you know, finish college,
it made me get a job, it made me do
all the things, and so you know that's again why
I just I love that song. I posted my video.
(05:50):
I did my own little version of my nine to
five and my twenty four seven. I know you liked it.
I was like, you know, and you have described before
your job is self not not necessarily in a bad way.
But I get this too. You know, being on air
on the radio, you are your own brand. We're always
you know, they're always saying you need to be an
influencer or whatever the case is. But you and I
(06:10):
both are blessed with the support of husbands. Is there
any what's like the hardest part I think about, you know,
being so out in the limelight and being married, Like,
what would you say for marriage?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Oh? Wow, that's a great question. Well, first of all,
thank you for sharing all that. That is so beautiful,
And I think more women need to hear that that
being a mother makes you better because I was scared,
you know, that I couldn't have a family and continue
my career and chase my dream. Like part of all
the things speaks to those fears too, So I think
(06:44):
it's good to hear women encouraging that it is possible.
It's not easy, but it's possible, and you do need
a support system around you. I think the hardest Honestly,
I don't think that the hardest parts of being married
are about being the like I think marriage is challenging
for everyone because it's it's like a constant mirror up
(07:08):
to you. It's it's constantly a humbling experience if you care,
if they care and deeply love the other person, about
humbling yourself, about knowing who you are and meeting the
other person knowing who they are. And it's it's constant work.
And I don't mean that in a way to like
scare people off or say that it's not worth it.
But anything in life that's that's meaningful, especially when it
(07:32):
comes to like lifting up and connecting and building a
life with another person is really intentional work. And like
you have to really be willing to look at yourself,
and you have to be willing to be super honest
and communicative all the time. And you know, it's like
my husband and I call our marriage a self cleaning oven,
Like we're constantly just like working through things, you know
(07:54):
what I'm saying, But you have to or else or
else things build up and you resent that person or
you don't feel confidective right person, and so like you
you really just want to constantly be yeah, looking at
yourself and talking about things. And and we don't learn
any of those skills in school, Like I really think
we should. We should be more equipped, like to learn
(08:14):
how to be a parent, learn how to have a
healthy relationship, like learn how to have difficult conversations, and like,
we go into life really not knowing any of this
stuff and have to kind of figure it out ourselves.
So I think it's good to talk about.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
It's a constant choice. It's a constant I choose to
love you. I may not like you right now, but
I will choose to love you every single day that happens. Well,
I don't know over there, girl, but over here in
the Latino household, the woman has a little bit more
like of a you're gonna do this, Yeah, you know
what I mean. And I love that you're using your
platform to send that message. And I think that's you know, well,
(08:47):
who am I? But I think that is part of
why you're so successful. It just I listened to an
interview that you did on another podcast. The girl's name
was Caroline. I don't remember her last name, but even
through that podcast, like you could just see how real
you are, how genuine you are. And so when you
speak these words to women, to women who are married,
who women who want to have married, women who are
like should I have a baby? Euh, Like, it just
(09:09):
comes across as very real, very not fake, very genuine,
And I want to thank you for that too, Like
you know, you're talking about women supporting women, and you
are definitely the epitome, especially with this song. And I
want to get into maybe a little bit of you know,
a little bit more of the timeline. So you got married, yeah,
you had a baby, You went on tour four months
(09:30):
after you had the baby. You know how like did
what year did you get married?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Twenty twenty Wait? End of twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
End of twenty twenty one, and then you had your baby.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
In end of twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Three okay, okay, and then you went on tour.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
When like early twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Yeah, yeah, he was right, So like four months a council.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
When we started the Kenny Hsney Stadium tour.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Oh my god. And when you had that discussion with
your husband like, hey, I'm going to go on tour
like four months postpart and what was that like?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Well, we knew that we were lucky to have that schedule,
and we kind of we tried as best we could
to like time our pregnancy and time so that we
would have a good maternity leave and take time off
and so we were able to do it. I mean, wow,
But that was a wild time because like having your
first child, and you know, your first postpartum, it's as
(10:19):
you know, like it is a wild, wild time and
so and there's a huge learning curve. And then at
the same time you're trying to do all the things
and be super mom and go back on tour and
prove you can do it and all these things. So
there's a little bit of burning the candle at both ends.
But it was a great adventure and I learned a lot.
And I'm so lucky that I have to support like
the Zach Brown band is so supportive of me, you know,
(10:42):
like when I was pregnant, when I had a baby,
like bringing him backstage, bringing him to different shows, like
all that stuff. You know what, It means a lot
because not everybody has that ability to bring their baby
places and that meant a lot to me.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Did they throw you a baby shower?
Speaker 2 (10:58):
No they didn't. I said, please don't throw me a
b I said to ever. I said to my sisters
and my friends. I was like, please don't me baby show.
I'm so tired because I was on tour at the
end of my friend, I don't want to see anyone.
I was like, I don't want to do anything.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
You're like, I don't want to do none of the things,
not right now, all the things any born, but right
like like none of the things I would you know,
when my second one was born, I did not want
anyone in my house, you know, cause it's very a
Hispanic tradition where the whole family comes and my husband's
very large. Right away, that's like the rudest thing you
could do if you're gonna come over, clean, cook, But
(11:34):
they're coming over for me to entertain them and talk
to them while they're holding my baby. I'm like, the
whole point is for me to spend time with my baby.
Well you do you do all the things right?
Speaker 2 (11:43):
And do they come over right away like in the
following days?
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Yes? But my I told my husband, look, I don't
care if it's my sweag, which is my mother in law,
his mom, my mom, whoever, if they come over unannounced,
I am not opening that door. And I'm telling you
like he was like, okay, I understand, like they can.
And then I was a big germa for so I'm like,
you know what if you do come, you better wash
your hands. Yeah, come, if you have the sniffles's.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Early months, I think that's valid. Like those early months
are really tender time for mama and baby and and
I think everybody needs to figure out what feels good
to them and then like just just set those precedents
with their family.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yes, definitely, so I know I have a few more
minutes with you. You're a very busy woman, but I
want to I'm dying to ask, and I have one
of my own. Do you have any embarrassing mom stories
from being on tour, maybe like some spit up on
your shirt when you were performing that you weren't aware about.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Well, I don't know if I can say this, but
I definitely like when my like those early months, like
my boobs would let down during the like if the
show was Yes, yes, I breastfed for a long time
and and like my luckily they were dark dresses, but
like I had a few shows where like it's soaked
through during the show and I was like, thank God
(12:53):
for my guitar covering this.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Yes, well, you have your girls, so you know I
had my My oldest one is twenty I had when
I had her when I was twenty oh my god,
I'm just realizing that. Anyway, I had a job as
a lifeguard, and you know, we had to wear the
two piece, and I was breastfeeding as well, so I
had to put the pad. So when a leak, we
rarely had to jump in the water, but there was
one time I did. A kid was came down from
(13:15):
the slide, wasn't coming up fast enough, so I jumped this,
you know, I got him done. So this is I
jumped in as an a cup at the time, and
I came out as a double D. And I didn't
realize it. To all of my coworkers that were like,
what happened to you, I'm like, oh my god, that.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
Gosh.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
And do you have any baby must haves or well
right now right he's like a toddler. Is there any
mustaves that you have as a mom must as?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I think you always need snacks. You just constant. You
can't let that blood sugar dip, you know, yeah, for
you or the baby both, right, you need you like
to avoid meltdowns. You need some snacks, must have you know.
Actually I was surprised how little you need. I think
that's what people need to know, is like you actually
(14:03):
don't need to buy all the gadgets and every toy
and every you know, you know, baby blanket and everything. Like,
they don't actually need a lot. We did this for
thousands of years with hardly anything, like they really just
need you. I will say a baby carrier for the
first year was the best because I love Pike. I
love to walk, I love to multitask, and just like
(14:25):
having him there next to me, like you know, in
my little marsupial pouch.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
That was the best.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I miss that, Like I wish if I could just
pop him in there to this day, I would, But
now he likes to run around.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Girl, I brought this out. This is my baby carrier.
It's all bored, but it's the three sixty. I wore
my little one on my back up until she was
about two years old. We went to Dallas, Cowboy games,
the airport, shopping. Yeah, it's all much better.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It honestly is the best. Yeah, so that would be
my main one. But yeah, people don't need a lot.
I think now in this day and age, like everyone's
always trying to sell you X, Y and Z for
your Like you don't need a ton, I think, you know, Yeah,
I would say that, but the baby Carey was a
big one.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Yeah, no, I agree. And you know, for the for
the last bit here I want I'm going to give
you some mom advice, some unsolicited mom advice. Pause. I
want to give you a chance to give advice to
women who are maybe maybe they are new moms or
maybe they're you know, in the same position of I
want to have a baby, but I don't know how
it's going to change. It's going to change your life, right,
but you know. So my one of the best pieces
(15:30):
of advice I got because I'm a helicopter mom, is
don't do for your kids what they can do for themselves.
And that really helped guide a lot of my decisions.
You know, let them they're gonna mess up, but let
them do like do it on their own.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
And yeah, I really, I really agree with that, and
I really try to model that.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Yeah, and make sure you do stuff for yourself. That
is a big one. Moms. Take care of everyone but themselves.
Whatever makes you happy, I know, aside from music, because
music makes you happy, right, but you get it kind
of mixed in with your career. Like if you love to,
you love to, so make sure you do it. Take
care of yourself.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Oh that's great advice. That is hard to do. You know,
it's hard to do, especially when you're juggling a career
and motherhood. Because it is funny, like I always think
about that because when men come home from a full
day of work, they're like, I've been at work. When
I come home from a full day of work, there's
a part of me that feels like, oh, we well,
I was doing that for myself. Now I'm in mom mode,
it's like, no, I wasn't doing you know what I'm
saying that we all feel guilty like it's not enough.
(16:27):
So I think that's really good advice. I love especially
your first piece of advice because I think that there's
so much anxiety and fear now and like I really
want for my son to really trust himself, and that
means like that starts really young, you know, like even
when he started crawling, like we never we didn't put
(16:48):
and this is extreme. Obviously, people need to do what's
right for them and what's safe depending on where they
live and their house. Not stuff, but like we personally
didn't baby proof of our house, Like we didn't put
gates on the stairs. We didn't like as soon as
he would crawl towards the stairs, we would turn him around.
We taught him how to go down the stairs himself,
like we so from a young age. It wasn't like oh,
don't touch I dot it. It was like we taught
(17:09):
him what is fire? What is hot? What is you know?
And kids are so smart if you give them a chance,
and they're so and they are self preservational, like they
don't want to hurt themselves, they don't want to injure themselves.
Like I remember a lot of parents telling me, oh,
like toddlers, they just are always trying to kill themselves.
Like I think, if you know, but it's true.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Like if you if you teach them from young and
let them fall off a small stair, you know, let
them let them have these little experiences where they start
to understand cause and effect and consequence, then they'll actually.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Be more cautious and more you know, because they trust
their own body, like they understand. And so I think
that is maybe advice I would give is like try
to try to let them feel and let them learn
from a really young age when the steaks aren't that high,
you know, yeah, and really like check yourself and try
to be calm and trust yourself. Obviously, if there's a danger,
(18:07):
like you need to protect them. But I think nowadays
we're so anxious and it can actually be a detriment,
like you said.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Yeah, and I think you know. One thing you reminded
me of too while we're on the topic, is maybe
it's not as prevalent with little boys. But like with
little girls. I always sold you, your body is yours.
You know. In the Hispanic community, you hug all the deals,
you hug all the theists. I said, no, you don't
want to hug your grandpa, your grandma. You do not
have to. Yeah, you know, so that's another one too.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
But it's beautiful again, it's just like it's respect. It's
like from a young age, like respecting them how you
would want them to respect you, you know. And I
think when you meet them like as a human instead
of like a tiny baby, you treat them almost like
an adult from a young age if you can, and
like set like those loving boundaries. Accordingly, I just think
(18:52):
it it makes sense, right, I think it's how we
evolved more than yeah, like, yeah, so.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
I love those cons And what advice would you have
for women that again, they're thinking of having a baby,
they have a baby, and they're trying to do all
the things and feel like they're failing. What advice would
you have for them?
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm in a
real position to get I never feel like qualified to
give advice because we're all just learning and trying. But
I think be similar along the lines that you said,
is like, really be intentional about who you are and
how you want to show up in the world, because
like whether you're mothering, whether you're working, it's really how
the energy that you're showing up with, Like life is
(19:32):
not a checklist. You know, your kid is going to
pick up on your happiness, your joy, your state of being,
like your energy, you know, more than anything else, more
than if you were like at this school play or
you made, you know, a three course dinner, or you
did this, like were you anxious the whole time?
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Were you like resentful of the good ones?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (19:52):
Yeah, And it's like it's like what is your what
are you always bringing to your life? And if you're
not being who you want to be, like shift your
life around as best you can, because obviously we all
have responsibilities so that you're being and feeling like the
person that you want them to see and like grow
up seeing. And it's easier said than done because we
(20:13):
all are just like, well, I gotta do this, I
gotta do this, I gotta I gotta do this, I.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Gotta do this, and then we look back like I
just see my mother in law, my mother, like they
always say, like enjoy it, like find a way to
enjoy your life, like you get them along and you
only get this phase once and so like I really
try to do that.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, I mean, if you think back to your own childhood,
you know, because people are like I got to buy
this for my kid to buy that, or they need this.
When I look back, I remember going shopping with my mom,
but I more so remember the time I spent with her,
the time that she apologized for certain things, the time
where we would go look at Christmas lights which costs nothing.
So it's really you know, think about what you remember
good from your childhood, and they just want that time
(20:54):
with you, that time off of your phone where you're
not doing things simultaneously, and all the choices that you
make are because you love them. You know. There was
when I was when I was a new mama, was
you know, the argument formula or breast milk, and all
all I saw was moms that love their kids, wanting
to do the best for their kids. That's it matters,
you know.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
And they want and they need to see you happy. Yes,
like if you if you want them to be happy,
you have to model it, Like how else are they
gonna learn? But it's hard for them to do.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Yeah, you know. And and as long as you you know,
you don't have to always be happy. But like you said,
as long as you know who you are, you're taking
care of yourself, you're pouring back into your cup.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
That's better way to say it, because yeah, we're not
always happy. But the point is they need to see
you living your life too, not just for everything else.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, yeah, well you're certainly living your life. Girl. I
love your music, all things. I love it. We're right now.
We're playing eight no Talent. If you have not heard
the enough songs from Caroline Jones, please go listen to
them again. One of the few that I'm not like
like okay, like this onbod I'll skip it. No, I'm
listening to all of them. You're all bangers, Carolina, anything
(22:00):
else that you would like to tell the listening audience.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Just stay tuned because we have a lot more music
coming and a tour coming very very soon, so stay tuned.
We've been having this project in the works for a
long time, and I just want to thank you Amber.
You are such an amazing inspiration like I no, really
truly it's this was such a beautiful conversation and your
listeners are just lucky to have you.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Oh my gosh, Caroline, thank you so much. I'm so
excited that we got to talk. I will let you
get to the rest of your day and your baby
and your husband and everything you do. You got to
do all the things. You're an amazing girl. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Thank you, Thanks Ambert. Good Baby.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
I can chase the dream.
Speaker 4 (22:38):
I can plant to God and men and between, I
can me and myself.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I'm not way baby, will you, Baby will
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