Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Bob Pickett. We're talking with Tim Rushlall right now, if
you haven't heard, the front men are coming the Cedar
Park of the Hotspot.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Who are the front men? Richie McDonald formerly of Lone Star,
Larry Stewart of Restless Art and Tim Rushlow formerly of
Little Texas. Tim and I were just talking about this,
Tim and I, my gosh, what year was it that
Amy's Back in Austin and God Blessed Texas came out?
What album was that?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Big Times, Big Time?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Yeah, the big Time album had God Blessed Texas that
came out in ninety three.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Okay. Then Amy's Back, Amy's.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Back and Austin was on the Kick a little album
which came out in ninety late ninety four, ninety five.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay. So I remember being with you on a boat
Lake Lewis Phillip in Dallas August of nineteen ninety three,
and you were playing these songs for us and one
of them was, yeah, was God Blessed Texas? And I said, oh, yeah,
that's a hit, right, And then you guys said leaves
the next day and go down to play the George
Strait Music Festival down at the Alamodeme so wow.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I remember, well, gosh, what a good memory you have.
I remem was a fond memory I remember playing. You know,
it's a coveted opportunity when you get to sit with
radio socially and play some songs.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
You know, there's no pressure.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
We're just playing new songs on our album that we
were excited about, and I remember you were like, that's
a hit several of those. You were digging it, and
I remember that very well. Yeah, it's been it's sure
been a minute, but it's good to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I have never spent any more time in the lake
with you. So hey, we you know, if you're down here,
let's just go to lake tracks. Okay, I'm gonna ask
you about the group. Whose idea was it to get
the three of you guys together, because it's it's a
it's a supergroup.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
You know it is.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I think at first we were uneasy with that name,
but in reality, I really can't fight it.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You know, most people that come to see us play
kind of go.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Well, this is like the Eagles or you know, and
I always say no, no, no, no, no, no, no compares
us to that. But they're like, well, I mean, look,
you know you go Joe Watson, Glenn Frog and Don
Henley and separately they are together they're the Eagles, and
so I get the comparison. But you know, about twelve
years ago, Richie and Larry called me and said, hey,
(02:10):
we're thinking about just doing the thing on the side
of our bands, just like a side project and called
the frontmen and let's go have some fun and do
some you know, charity events and shows.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I'm just gonna have some fun with it. And I'm like, yeah,
this is fun.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
And then then we got a call from the Navy
Entertainment USO Department and we went overseas in January to
a tour for them, and then that turned into a
lot of stuff, and then all of a sudden, COVID hit.
And after COVID, Richie and we were like, hey, man,
do you think it would even care if we did this?
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And I said, we don't. Over try.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
So we went out doing shows, and man, people instantly realized, Okay,
these are voices that you know saying thirty million records
sold and thirty number one hits, and my god, they're
all on once at the same time, and they're in
a new band.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
This is awesome. So we are really having a great time.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I bet you are. And did you know that Richie
is also an autumn He worked on Clay Walker's bus
one time.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I do know that. Matter of fact, he works on
our bus. If something goes down is the man?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
He's great a matter of fact, I almost think he
gets excited when things go sideways because he gets to
do something.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
I mean really, he really does.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
He digs it and he's he's so good at it,
you know, And I just I just love being able
to have him to do this with. And you know what,
I'm a fan of Lone Star and I'm a fan
of Russell's heart. So for me to get to sit
there and sing harmony on a man, I'm already there
or Blue hiss Eize in Texas with with with you know,
with Larry Stewart, I mean, man, don't getting better than
(03:39):
that singing might have been? And God bless takes us
with me and so it makes for an incredible night
of music. And we've we keep getting told every night
after our shows people are like, my gosh, you're the
soundtrack of my life.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
And you know what we are, and I think we're
proud of that.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
And if you couple that with the fact that we
wrote a new album, we got a record, Duel g
our albums dropped. That's out there. People are starting to go, WHOA,
these guys aren't just doing their old hits. They have
new hits too.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
So it's the.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Show is of course, you know eighty five ninety percent
things we're known for, and then of course we sprinkle
in some new songs as well, and it's just a great,
great time.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
We're so excited to be coming it down.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Oh, we can't wait to have you back in Austin.
I'm going to ask you the story behind a couple
of the biggest hits that you guys have back when
you were a little Texas. Amy's back in Austin. Was
there really an Amy in Austin? And did she really
work at Lozona Rosa Cafe.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, it's a true story.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Steven Allen Davis, who just recently passed away, who was
a dear friend of mine, wrote that song and then
he took it to Brady and Brady kind of helped
fine tune it a little bit for Brady Seals who
was in Little Texas and helped helped find tenant and
make it more bandy and more us. Yeah, the motivation
for that song came from a girl name Amy that
was a waitress at the Lozona Rosa Cafe in Austin.
(04:56):
And you know, that song is so polarizing and fun
and it's such an egolesque type of harmony song. And
I got to tell you, I absolutely love singing that
song with the front men. It is just you know,
a lot of people, you know, you don't know this,
but lead singers don't always play well with others, and
(05:18):
a lot of lead singers are just the lead singer,
So singing harmony for them is sort of a like,
I don't that's very foreign. But for the three of us,
we sing harmony together like we're related. It is really uncanny.
So it makes for a very strong harmony night. So
you know, for me getting to sing, I'm already there
with Richie and you know, sing that rock won't roll
(05:38):
or you know, why is that to be wrong or
right or.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Any of those huge russell sag gets. It is just
a great, a great experience, man.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
And we kind of watch people every night connect the
dots with their eyeballs because when you say the front
in the town, you say the frontman, and people are like,
who's that you know?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
And I understand that we're we're building a new brand.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
But when you say the front men, you know, the
three former lead vocalists of these three bands of the nineties,
Instantly they're like, oh, dang, snap, I gotta go see that.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
But we watched them from the stage. We opened up
the show with a ten song.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Number one hit Medley Wow, and you just see people going,
oh boy, I didn't realize they were doing all these
songs that they did, and so it quickly becomes a
soundtrack of their lives and we just loved the stories.
People love it and we love it, and we're having
so much fun touring and making new music.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
It's absolutely a blast.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Why cannot wait to listen to the new music that
you guys are putting out a lot of people don't
know this, but let me tell you. Maybe I'm born
in Oklahoma, but you went to high school in Texas.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Oh yeah, I was raised in Texas. I was just
born in Oklahoma, Tinker Air Force Base. My dad was
in the Air Force, but I was raised in Texas.
I'm a Texas boy, and you know, Love was raised
in Arlington between Dallas and Fort Worth. But you know
in little Texas, I mean we scooted all over Texas
playing the clubs growing up. And ironically, I've got a
new song that I just finished that we're about to
(06:59):
go in and have some on with that's called it
All Started in.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
A Country Bar. I like the title, the whole premise
of it.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
There's several Texas honky tonks that are listed in that song.
And it's true, only in Texas can you go and
you know, still walk back in time and steal bootscoot
and dance across the dance floor and two shits with
the girl, and you can go to other states and
all those places that were trendy back of the nineties,
most of them aren't there to go to Texas. My gosh,
(07:28):
honkey tongs are alive and well. And so we're just
excited to come to town and being your market and
you know, get to bring all these hits that we're
known for. And the main thing is connecting the dots
and telling people to come on out because I tell you,
I know, our tickets are not real expensive and for
for the fact that you're going to get to hear
forty more hits from three singers that sang all those
hits on the radio. And you know, we had fifty
(07:51):
seven top ten hits total between the three of us.
So there is it is a night where you're going
to be going, dang, I didn't know all they sang
all these songs. I didn't they wrote all these you know,
And so it is a it's special. Every night is special.
And you know, I don't even mind saying this. There's
times we can't even concentrate on looking at people too
much because it's hooked up because people are crying.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Well, I guarantee you people will be singing along with you.
You know, they know the words already.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Absolutely. I mean, every night somebody wants to get married.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
When Richie sings Amazed and everybody's wiping a tear out
when he does, I'm already there. And of course when
when Larry goes into Blue as Eize in Texas, all
bits are off. I mean, yeah, it's like you know,
and I always love at the end of the night,
we'll do Amazed and then I'm like, hell, I don't
know how to follow that, and Richie just looks at
me and wings he goes, yeah you do, And then
and then we get West Texas. The people just it's pandemonium.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
You know. It's uh, minus the mullets. It still feels
like the nineties. So that's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Well, I guarantee you there will not be any line
dancing out there. People will be two stepping for you
guys right there. I can tell you that, you know, I'm.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Still down with it. Let's go hotspot come yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
And also, uh, are you going to sing It's Truck Month?
So are you going to sing the truck version that
was on TV for so long of God Blessed Texas
or the single version?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
You know what, I might I might have to throw
that in.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
There is the bestiness, you know, And that's been that's
been a blessing over the years to get to be
a spokesman for Ford and I still work with Ford
Motor Company and and love that relationship and it's it's
all good man, it's so much fun.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
I'm just excited to get to come back to Texas.
We always love them when we come there.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
And I guess I need to lose five pounds before
I come because I'm going to gain it on text
mex No.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Oh yeah, yeah, you're coming to the heart of text
text Matt, Hey, when when you when you run into
to Richie. I always heard, of course I grew up
in West Texas the lone Star hit Everything's Changed. I
always heard that was about Snyder Texas. Now I don't
know if that's true or not, but I thought it
was kind of cool.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
You know what.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
There's so many things, but I mean on Star a
little Texas, even Russell's Hart that that have things to
do with Texas.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You know, it's like it's just it's just home base,
you know.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
And I mean I think between the three of our bands,
we sold the most records in Texas by a long show.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Oh god, yeah. And I always love that I and
I still do.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
I mean we we of course we tour the country,
and we still we'll go overseas and play for the troops.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
Still and do all kinds of crazy stuff. But coming
to Texas is always a serious highlight.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
You know, we're going to keep you down here in Austin.
You know that, don't you. We don't want you to
go back to Nashville, so don't miss him.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Oh no, we'll just we'll have to slide over somewhere
and have us a lone Star Beer with the guy
that sang for Lone Star.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
The Frontman Again is gonna beat the Hotspot on April
the tenth. You better be there because it's gonna be
a great night of music.