Chris Lane stops by the house. Bobby and Chris bond about having two dogs and being able to do work with animals. Chris talks about his journey as an artist from going to playing shows in his hometown in North Carolina to making the move to Nashville after signing a record deal. He also opens up about his relationship to Lauren and gives the story about how they met years before they started dating. He also talks about how he is about to have a baby at any minute and never thought that’d be a part of his life.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to episode three hundred. Who knew this was a
milestone episode? We made it, Dan, Chris Lane is coming up.
A good long interview with Chris. Huh yeah, an hour
a good one. Yeah. Chris Lane on never thinking he'd
get married to have kids and now he's both. Yeah.
Also he talks about Garth brookshaw m card trick and
going from playing baseball at a high level to landing
(00:24):
a record deal which you never thought he was going
to actually get or even try to get. Pretty crazy
story I learned some about about Chris. So that's coming
up in a little bit. But as always, let's check
out the top five songs that I'm like, Hey, that's
really cool. Number five, Brett Young has a new album.
It's called Weekends Look a Little Different these Days. Here
is a new song called not Yet Good. At number four,
(00:56):
I really like this. This is the Lantis Moore set.
She released a cover of on the Road Again with
Willie Nelson On the Road Here look a the chipsues
we Go. I really feel on that one. That's a
good one. Good Yeah. At number three, Tyler Farr has
a new song. It is called cover Girl Hate Cool,
(01:19):
Shouldn't have to Cool? Make up path, don't heal it?
So damn tired of see lee. Number two is Ashley Cook.
She has a new song called under Yell. That song
good up the fives tole me there underneath it She's
(01:43):
someone to swell under the run everything under this song,
so I don't understand anywhack. It's a good one from
Ashley Cook. Check her out. And number one my favorite artist,
John Mayer has a new song called Last Train Home
(02:03):
Before we play it here. He announced on Tuesday we
were releasing his eight studio album titled Sawbrock on July,
and marks his first studio album since Search for Everything.
But here is a clip of Last Train Home. You
gotta wrong if you want to use you gotta very
(02:35):
eighties sound? Yeah? Do you like that sound? I mean
it takes me back to like his second record Well
Inside one Um. Yeah, yeah, I don't. I don't know.
I don't know. Overall, are you feeling his new sounds?
Is a big fan? I don't know, And you spend
more time with I don't know. I don't want to
say yes because I don't want to say Here's why,
(02:56):
because I don't want to say yes just because it's
John Mayer. But I don't want to say no because
I haven't exist John Mayer. I didn't. I just need
to invest a little more. It's like when Ben Folds
put something out and it's a little quirky. I'm like,
I don't know, do I love it or do I
hate it? I really need to spend time with it.
Do you feel it's still in the same vein of
his last album though? No, no, no, he's He always
puts a little little dinkerdlinks and changing it up a
(03:17):
little bit. I mean even from Paradise Valley too. I
mean he did basically a country record at one point,
nobody called it country because this is years ago. But
so we'll see. So he's still not an automatic No
matter what he puts out, you're gonna automatically love for you.
If there's anyone, it's him. But I don't want to
say yes because I don't want to be that guy.
But yes, yes, but I don't want to be that guy.
(03:38):
So but yes, I will well, but I'm sure um
albums out today. Walker Hayes has country stuff, let's see,
Billy Gibbons has hardware, Liz Fair has sober ish, Rise
Against has nowhere generation. I think that's it. B J
Thomas died at seventy eight years old. He is most
known for rain drops keep Falling on My Head Monday
(04:02):
and just like guys up to speaking of Ben Faldsman
folded a great cover of this song. Bj BJ Thomas
passed away. Dylan Scott's Nobody hits number one, so congratulations.
Loves a good song. Keith Urban has announced some new
(04:23):
Vegas dates. He will pick up as Las Vegas Residents
Colosseum Las Vegas Residency at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace
in September. They're all September twenty five. Tickets on sale
June seventh, So today the fourth son Fit's Monday. Monday? Okay,
Monday the seventh. You may be listening this on Monday.
(04:44):
I don't know. Uh. And finally, a Florida concert promoter
is using tickets to encourage COVID nineteen vaccinations. A concert
promoter in Tampa is offering a massive discount to vaccinated people.
You got ticket to see Teenage Bottle Rocket for eight
Team bucks if you're vaccinated, if you're not ars, so
there you go. Keith been hitting me up about my
(05:04):
TV show. Really what you're saving up today? He's like, hey,
I watched both episodes are great, and then he hits
me up like eight hours later, how many does you shoot? Like?
He's genuinely interested. It's a good guy. He We're very
sporadic in our friendship, meaning we'll talk a lot for
a week and then we won't hear from each other
for three months. But most I think he just travels
(05:24):
the world and goes and has cooler friends. I think
I'm just like, um, But there you go. I think
you're gonna like this Chris Lane interview. I liked doing it.
That's usually a good sign of if it's good or not.
I hope you do it. Please rate the show high.
Give it five stars, five stars. Please, hey listen. If
you want good luck today, go over and give it
five stars and write a nice comment. If you want
bad luck today, don't. But if you're want good luck today,
(05:46):
that's what you can do. All right, Thank you guys, seriously.
Here is the rest of the podcast here with Chris Lane.
It's been a while since I guess we've when's the
last time we did anything together? Was it my old condo? Yeah,
like in downtown yeah, I remember that day. That's a
long time ago. What was it like a bathroom something,
(06:07):
who knows what was happening. Then it was when I've
grown up. I've matured so much since that. I was
I was watching either your Instagram or um Lauren's Instagram.
And we have two dogs and are right now like
we have roofers that are working on in the house
and so they're boom boom boom, and the dogs are
freaking out all the time. So we have Stanley, who's
(06:28):
the bulldog. He is like a dog day camp. He
stays there in the daytime when something's happening. Ella she's
in heat right now, which we couldn't get her fixed
in time. So we're back. We're kind of back, but
we're having to move dogs back and forth. And I
was watching your Instagram. There's some place that drives up
to your house and they just like open up the
back door and your dog is right down there. So
(06:51):
Lauren and I used to live at twelve twelve there
in the gulch and uh there was a guy who
would come I think the company is called pet House,
and they would come pick up all the dogs in
the building. And we learned about this when we moved
in and he would pick him up, take him down
to Franklin where his businesses, put him in the spinsteon
(07:14):
air outside and you can watch them play together all
day long. Like they love it so much. So when
we moved to the house that we're in now, we thought, man,
we still need to find a way, even if we
have to drive him over to twelve twelve to get
picked up. He said, Noll, drove to your house and
pick him up. I got other doors in the area.
So he drives over to the house to pick them up.
We usually do it once or twice a week, but
(07:36):
most most of the time on Fridays, and uh, they
know it well. They go running out to that car,
they jump in it. He takes him down there, he
brings them back. At the end of the day, they're exhausted,
which makes our lives easier at night when they just
want to lay in their beds. It was like he
almost honked the horn or did something and they were like,
(07:59):
and you in the door and right into the back
of that van. Yeah, yeah, I watched that three times.
I know. We we we always say leading into the
next day, we're always like, who's ready to go to
pen pass and they get so excited and uh yeah
one of the things that we look forward to as
as their parents, and uh something that they really look
forward to as well. Speaking of dogs, you walked in.
(08:21):
I mean we literally turned the mics on roum when
you walked in. So we haven't had a lot of
time to catch up, but I was like, damn, look
at you looking good, like all dressed up. You were
doing some sort of flee and take some sort of
dog thing. Yeah. Yeah, So a company called Ceresto. I'm
just doing um something with them for National Best Friend
Day that's uh coming up in just a few days.
We work with Perina a lot. Okay, yeah, I do
service dogs. I work with them and the Service Dogs
(08:43):
Slute campaign they do, and then Caitlin does different things
with Perena and Ella and um it's been pretty rewarding
because you know, we're also able to help them. You know,
one get dogs adopted and service dogs, but those dogs
have become a massive part of our life. Oh my god,
dollars are the best. When we got ours, actually did
(09:03):
not want a dog because I mean, as you know,
you're gone all the time. It's hard like for me
the same thing like going out on the road. Uh,
Lauren was there or else she would come out on
the road with me as well. And uh, it's not
necessarily the easiest fit in the world, but these two
have been and and we've made it work. And it's
been the best decision ever. Even when I thought, I said, man,
(09:23):
we don't have the room for it. They've made both
of our lives so much better. I'm gonna get to
the dog graduation to the kid later, but I was,
you know, I watched. I watched, and it seems like
and you gotta tell me the thought process behind this.
When you're putting out any song now, single or not,
it always feels like a single. Yeah, And that's a compliment, right,
(09:44):
And I take that as a compliment. It always feels
like a single regardless of what it is. There's a
whole you're like dressed up like your dad's business law
in business back in the day, you and dust and
you know, so like when you're in your little creative
me things because we don't have them for different reasons,
I have mine to ensure is that kind of the
game plan, Like every song release, you want to actually
(10:07):
be like an event, Yeah, for sure. Um. You know,
I've had two records up to this point, and it's
been three years since my second record. I've only had
out to UM. But this time around, like we've tried
certain things. I've I've learned what works from me and
what doesn't necessarily work for me. And I think every
(10:27):
artist goes through this they figured out along the way. Um,
I'm gonna work towards a record at some point on
this but uh, I've taken a different approach this time around,
and and really releasing singles. I think in the world
that we live in now with Instagram, uh, you know,
everybody's used to just swiping up and onto the next thing,
(10:50):
new thing, whatever it is, You've got to kind of
stay top of mind. Uh. So I'm gonna take that
approach when releasing music now and kind of work towards
a record. But when I a song that I really
like a lot, or or get a song that I
really like a lot, it allows me to get into
the studio, recorded in that moment and kind of put
it out whenever I want, opposed to being tied to, uh,
(11:12):
you know, a record or singles off a record. Because
you know, I had two singles off my last record,
and that took two to three years, uh to kind
of go through a single cycle. And that's just kind
of the life of a young artist on the radio.
But um, yeah, a different approach this time. Try to
get songs to react like singles and and figure out
(11:34):
ways to uh hopefully make them do that. As a consumer,
that's what I like. Yeah, same here. I I'm literally
just doing what I like, uh, you know, just being
new all the time, just dropping a new song whenever
you want. Um. And I still like albums to a degree, right,
I like albums from my favorite artists. Yeah there there yeah, yeah,
(11:56):
I will say this. There's there's Uh. I feel like
albums have worked for uh, certain artists in this genre.
I can only speak up because I don't know about
other genres, but I mean you you think about people
like uh, you know Morgan's for an example, one of
my label mates. I mean he really sed a double
(12:17):
album and obviously worked on a massive scale. Luke Calm,
same thing. I mean, you know, Luke, Bryan, al Dean,
all those guys can do that. But for me, I've
learned what just to release a new song all the
time might help my career grow faster. Yeah, I like
and and here's what it. Here's what's hard for me
is that there's somebody that kind of like and they
(12:38):
put out an album. Half the track is gonna be
lost on me. I'm not even gonna agree. I'll may
go click. I don't give it a fair shake if
they're not my absolute favorite artist. And for an artists
like yourself, who you're still a new artist. It's not
like you have ten million people sitting there waiting for
a record. Yeah, but I just my My whole point
(12:59):
with that is, I like, I agree with the methodology
of it. Yeah, I like. I also like I can
do a concept album too. Let's say if it's a
Newish artist, but I and I know it's a concept album.
I'm like, okay, let me see what I'm getting here.
Like like concept albums. And I like my few favorite
arts like a Casey or a John Mayor know about it.
And then I like Old Dominion with all their songs.
(13:20):
Yeah they're great, are good, but other than that, and like,
give me three or four songs at a time, or
give me once. I get I get that, Yeah, I
get that. Um yeah, So taking that approach, this time around,
I don't play a little bit of a fill them boots.
It's still the single right now, right you're still newly
working on brand new looking, brand new shoulder break, take
(13:43):
a holiday solo drink or two anyway him and I'm away. Yeah,
I can feeling boots. I can feel them boots if
you want to pick. I'm looking at some of the
credits on this because some big songwriter guy and I
(14:06):
see you, Josh Miller, Mark Trussell. Ernest Keith Smith is
that Ernest? Ernest Keith Smith is Ernest? Yeah, that's his name.
No idea that it was Ernest Keith. When I first
met him, it was Snow. Then it was Ernest Keith Smith,
and it was Keith Smith. Um. Now it's arn slash
(14:26):
Ernest Um. He's got a million different names. Yeah, I
love him. Ernest Keith Smith. Three names, two in the
in his extremely professional environment. Ernest Keith Smith. You guys
going to I'm always curious about when you go into
a room, because you know, if you get a good
idea you kind of jotted down on your phone, maybe
you've got a couple of lines, maybe you just got
a concept, and so you know, you walk into the
(14:48):
room and who's who kind of comes up with the well,
what about filled them boots? But it's a different because
obviously it's different than what you think of when you
see the title of the song. Sure, how did that
come about? Yeah? So, Um, I've only had writer's out
on the road with me for two weekends in my
entire career. Um, because I had just moved to a
second bus and I was out on my headlining tour.
(15:11):
The first weekend. Um, it was a guy named Will Bundy,
who I like writing with here in town is great
uh at making songs sound like they're already fully produced
when you get the demo back. Um. And we wrote
a song called That's what Mamas Are For that are
released on Mother's Day. But uh, the second weekend I
went out, I took Josh Miller. He's one of my
favorite writers in town, Mark Trussell, same thing. Uh. He
(15:34):
literally makes it sound like a record when you get
a demo back. Um. And then earned was out on
tour with me, and uh what I did was I
told him he could ride my bus instead of getting
in a van and doing that whole thing. Ride my bus,
uh every weekend and we'll write when we can, and
that was just a kind of a little agreement that
(15:56):
we had come up with. And this weekend I brought
out Josh and Mark okay, and uh we wrote four
songs throughout the whole weekend, and Filled the Boots was
one of them. I feel like I got three other
good ones from the weekend as well. But we started
this song late night one night after a show in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. Uh didn't finish it. Josh Miller actually
(16:18):
had the title, um, and he's super great about coming
in with the concept. Uh sometimes half written in a way. Yeah,
we just had this title. We didn't really have any
other idea around it, but uh, we just kind of
started freestyle and late night one night, came up with
the idea of the concept that we wanted to throw
around it, and then finished it the next day in Detroit.
(16:40):
And I didn't think much about it at the time. Um,
we got the demo back from Mark. Actually earned sing
on the demo. Uh, just there the day of when
we got the demo back. Then I went over to
Mark's house because always like hearing myself on a song
that helps me decide whether I want to record it
or not, and his demo for this song was really
(17:01):
really good. It was It's a lot different than the
same guitar part, but the rest of the track is
a lot different than what we hear now that my
producer Joey came up with. UM but a song that
I've listened to over the over the quarantine. Um, it
never got old to me, and and I kept asking,
like my team, I want to record the song. I
(17:23):
feel it's never gotten old to me. It feels really good. Um,
it doesn't necessarily dive deep, you know what I mean.
It's not a not a newly written concept you're gonna
blow people's minds. But it just felt great to me,
and uh, everybody agreed. Everybody, everybody I played this song
for really liked it a lot. Um I got in
(17:43):
and I recorded it, and uh yeah, ended up being
my next single. And I'm super proud of its super
excited to kind of have an up tempo track because
my last you know, three or four singles have kind
of been in that mid uh mid state that kind
of felt like they had a little bit energy. Um,
but I would consider the song a tempo for me.
(18:04):
I've hit a couple more of these years Tequila on
a boat with Dustin Lynch late ain't fake a girl
with my eyes on her? So is this a youth
song or a Dustin song? It's actually a Dustin song, okay,
(18:27):
because I saw it post on both the counts. Yeah,
So he called me on this song. Um, I think
he's had it for a couple of years. To be
quite honest with you, I think it was a song
that Justin Eboch, Hillary lindsay somebody else. I'm sorry, I'm
forgetting their name. Um, we're riders on and uh, I
know he recorded it a while ago and then I
(18:47):
got the call on it about a month and a
half ago, something like that. What do they say to you?
They just said, hey, we have this song that we
want to put out in the middle of May, and
we would love for you to throw your vocal on it.
And I listened to it and after sometimes it takes
me ten listens to like love a song, but this
(19:08):
is one of those songs that I heard for the
first time and loved everything about it. Um, Dustin I
had been on tour together. He actually took me out
on his first ever headlining tour, on the Hell of
a Night tour, and that was back when I had
just put out Fixed and was just getting my start
here in Nashville. Um, and we've kept in touch. We
(19:28):
we became great friends just through that tour, kept in
touch all these years. And UH very excited that he
asked me to be a part of this song. I
love everything about it. Um. We've had many a days
out on his boat out on either Old Hickory or
Percy Priest. I can't always get the two confused. UM,
So it just felt like it made perfect sense. Um.
(19:51):
I love summertime country music. That's what I want my
brand to be. I'm a huge Kenny Chesney fan. A
lot of people know that, but U I love that
summertime country music style. And I've really tried to make
an effort to uh to jump into that. Does he
call you himself or does yeah he does. He's like,
hey man, because that's always a weird ask whenever you
(20:15):
unless it's already been agreed upon prior to sure, like hey, yeah,
we're gonna do the song. Yeah. If I could hit
you about this, you're gonna do it. Yeah. And if
it's like, oh man, I gotta call it, I'm gonna
it's always frustrated. And I'm sure you've had the same situation.
Does he call and go, hey man, you can say no. Yeah,
that's always's usually how it's always lived. Like if you
hate it, you don't have to know pressure. Yeah, it
(20:36):
literally is that. It's like, hey man, no worries if
you don't love the song, but I would love for
you to be a part of this and you'll be
singing that second verse if you choose to to jump
on it. And I listened to it and felt like
it was a song that I would fit well on.
And Uh again, I mean super excited that I got
to be a part of that. I mean I'm still
in the early parts of my career and I think
(20:58):
you you want to find different ways to grow and
and I'm thankful that he allowed me to jump. I
consider him uh to be an incredible artist and one
that I've looked up to, and UH just pumped to
be a part of the song. Do you ever say no?
Do you ever get one and go yeah? I've actually
said no to a couple if it didn't feel like
it made the most sense. I've I've said no for sure,
(21:21):
summer job, money, can I play? I'm not gonna ask you,
who don't worry, wouldn't I wouldn't put you in that spot.
There was a summer job money from crew this This
(21:46):
was the one where I saw the picture and you
were like in your dad's lawn care, like sort of
a spoof on that, right or was it really his
his business? Yeah? Yeah, so I'll say this. Yeah. So
my my dad still runs the business us there in Kurnersville,
North Carolina, small business, UH called Lane and Son's Landscaping.
And when I graduated college, UM, I assumed that I
(22:08):
was going to move on and play professionally. My twin
brother got drafted by the Reds decided not to play.
I did not get drafted. UM. I had had several
a c O reconstructions that kind of hurt my chances
at that I was still hopeful, UM, but it didn't happen.
So we both moved back to Kernersville, had no clue
(22:28):
what we were going to do. And UM, I had
thought about training training to become a firefighter at the time,
and some of my friends had jumped into that. But
my dad had this business that my brother and I
jumped into, and uh, we were both really good at
the landscaping side of things, and I did that for
(22:48):
a while. He paid us like eleven bucks an hour.
I remember stressing out because because I thought to myself, um,
you know, at some point I want to be able
to to settle down with somebody, started family, all that
kind of stuff. And I know he was doing the
best that he I mean, that was more than he
could should have been able to offer us because it
(23:09):
wasn't like he was making a ton of money. Um.
So we just jumped into that working. And then at
the same time I had started learning how to play
the guitar and figuring out how to play and sing
at the same time. And then fast forward, to make
a long story short, fast forward all these years later,
I'm in shocked that all of this has happened for me. Um.
(23:29):
I feel like I worked really hard at it, but
it was not something that I thought of in the beginning,
because you know, when you're from a small town, you
don't think or at least I never thought of, oh,
one day, I want to have a record deal and
and a song on the radio is not I didn't
even think of that because I didn't think that was possible.
I wouldn't even know who to go to or I'd
really never been to Nashville. Uh, none of that stuff.
(23:51):
So when I recorded this song, uh the summer job
I had, I wanted to pay tribute to um, which
was landscaping for my dad's business. So I kind of
brought that back with the whole uh summer job money.
And I think it's a real feeling something that you
know when you have a girlfriend in high school or
when you're seventeen or whatever it may be. UM, A
(24:14):
lot of those lines in the song, like you spend
all your money on gas for the tank and and
beer for a high school party or or at the
concession stand, which was the line that kind of stood
out to me that I loved the most. UM. So yeah,
I kind of brought it back with the landscaping. You
talk about learning how to play guitar. It was after
college that you picked up a guitar. So why would
why would you, like, like, what what would inspire you
(24:36):
to grab a guitar you've never played to start at
years old? That's a great question. Um, I actually started.
So I finished college in four and a half years.
I had to go back for a half semester um
after uh, after baseball just because of your hours in
in the amount of time that you can you know,
(24:57):
you're always gone when it comes to traveling for base
and stuff like that. So I just needed the extra
semester to graduate. So during all my downtime, I had
asked my parents, uh the prior Christmas before for a guitar,
and they bought me this nine and one dollar Fender guitar.
And leading up to that, I would just any extra
time I had, I would sit there on the edge
(25:17):
edge of my bed in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I
went to school at UM, and I was learning how
to play. And then that last semester I started getting
a lot better and learning some of my favorite songs.
I mean, I was inspired. I've been to a lot
of Keither in concerts, Kenny Chesney. Um did it come
to you easy? Though? Because it didn't know? Okay? When
(25:38):
I because around, I mean that was probably twenty one,
and I was like, I gotta learn guitar, like to
do comedy shows. Hey Canny it was. I bought a
quart you to Walmart. It was horrible, So I was,
I mean, I it's hard, but you have such hand
eye coordination as you were so close to being a
professional athlete. I wonder was it easier for you because
you do control your body a little better. Honestly, I
don't know what it's like for other people, but I
(26:00):
don't think so. I mean, the excuse I found myself
making a lot was my hands are too small. I
can't but they won't been the right way to to
do these cores. And now that I really know how
to play, like, how could I not do this before?
But it really is just muscle memory. For anybody out
there wanting to learn how to play the guitar like
you can, you just have to actually sit down and
practice it. I mean, as you know. I mean could
(26:21):
you sing though, because all this you're doing a lot
of this at one time? Yeah? So I always loved
singing along to my favorite songs. But did I think
to myself, I can sing no? Um? But uh, when
we would go on trips or baseball and we'd be
on the bus and stuff like that. Uh. I remember
(26:44):
in college when we'd be on trips, uh singing to
a few different songs like acapella. My brother and I
would do this on the bus, and all the guys
always asked us to do this, so I thought to myself,
I mean, maybe I'm better than I think that I am. Um. So, yeah,
year years into playing the guitar, I would I figured
out how to play and sing at the same time.
(27:05):
I mean I would play every Eric Church song, Al Deane,
Luke Bryan, I mean Chesney Keith urban song that I loved.
And I know I drove my roommates crazy in college
because I was always playing the guitar and always singing.
But I eventually got to where I'd go out into
the garage and uh, I would practice all day long
when I'd get out of class, like it was just
something I became very passionate about. And then they had
(27:28):
this open mic night at this place called Boardwalk Billy's,
which I have no clue that still there in Charlotte
where I went to school. Um, and they did open
mic night. Did you take him on with you? You go?
It would beat me just on my acoustic. I knew
how to play a handful of any friends, I'm saying,
did you have any friends in the crowd to kind
of hype Yeah? So, uh so I was. I was.
(27:50):
I will say this. I think her name is Megan.
Uh she was in a sorority and she loved country
music and she had a great voice as well. Um,
and they would give me about a handful of songs.
So I would play three, whether it be an Eric
Church song or Aldean or Luke Bryant, whatever it may be, UM,
songs that I knew the crowd would sing along to.
(28:11):
I'd get her up there to sing a couple of
songs as well. And by doing that, all of her
sorority sisters would come out to this bar and hang out.
And uh, it was always packed every Wednesday night. And Uh,
I would get up there and do my thing, and
when I would finish, people would always be like, oh, dude,
you're great. I was the only guy up there who
would ever play country music. And I think people really
(28:33):
loved that a lot. Um, and I kind of got
lucky in that sense. But what was the first time
you did that? Though? Because we jumped a little bit here,
I'll make sure like you're playing in the garage, practicing
on the bed, But what what was the first time
We're like, man, I gotta go do this in front
of somebody. I don't know what clicked, but there was
a guy on my baseball team, Um, I had heard
the guy say, oh, he went up there and played,
(28:55):
uh this open mic night. And I thought to myself, well,
if he can do it, I can do it. And
I was nervous as all get out, but I actually
went up there one night and and uh and did
it and loved. I think I started to crave that
affirmation that I was getting from people that always be
(29:18):
like when I finished, they'd always be like, man, you're
so good, Like I love I love what you do,
Like I'm so glad you played country music because nobody
up here does. Um. And I love that attention that
it gave me early on, and it caused me to
go back every Wednesday night, just just in that last semester.
So we're talking September, October, November, and I graduated in December.
(29:42):
And uh, when I moved back to Kernelsville, we didn't
have anything like that. There was no open mic nights anywhere,
you know, small town. UM. So my brother twin brother
a lot of people don't know, but I have a
identify up to him, was like, as oh, man, you
got amy. Everybody does that. Uh yes. So he when
(30:07):
we moved back home after college, we were living there
at my parents house and uh, upstairs, we went and
bought this drum kid because he was like, oh, I
learned how to play the drums and I'll play with
you while you play guitar. And what age was this
for him? I mean, what are you twenty one or
twenty two and you graduate something something somewhere in that
drums at twenty two as well? Yeah, yeah, not long
(30:27):
after I started the guitar and we would just sit
upstairs at my parents house and uh play all the
songs that we loved, and he would figure it out,
just like I was kind of figuring that out along
the way. And for whatever reason, I said, you know what,
I want to start a cover band. We'll play all
of our favorite songs. Um, but you can play drums.
(30:50):
I'll find a guitar player somewhere. UM. Never happened for
a while, so it would just be me and him.
But the first show that I ever had at this
place called J. J. He Looney's in high Point, North Carolina,
I went to book my own show. I just wanted
to get a show playing in front of people for
an hour, you know what I mean? I knew ten
songs maybe and I go in I asked the guy, Uh, hey,
(31:18):
I want to play a show in here. I feel
like I can pack this place out. I was saying
whatever I felt like I needed to say, um, and
he said, yeah, all right, I'll give you an opportunity.
I've seen some of my friends play in this place.
And he just said, the only thing is like, you
have to play a four hour set and you have
to have a full band. We don't do acoustic shows.
(31:39):
And yeah, yeah, I lied and said, yeah, yeah, no problem.
So what I did leading into that night, it was
I hired two buddies, two friends of mine that did
not know how to play an instrument, to come on
stage and act like they were playing for the show
because I didn't want it to get canceled. Uh. Long
story short, Uh, it was really bad. Was terrible. My
(32:01):
brother was terrible. Uh. We played the same ten songs
like three or four times over. Um. But because so
many people showed up, I kept getting opportunity after opportunity
to step in and play shows. And just like anything,
the more you do something, the better get at it.
And um yeah. That ultimately gave me a start, and
then years in I started trying to write my own
(32:22):
music for the first time, because I realized, Hey, if
I ever wanted to do anything with this, that's what
I need to do. Um, the songs weren't great, and
somehow people showed up to the shows and they would
sing it. And then a lot of the bigger clubs
that all the national acts from Nashville drive down and play.
I could sell out on my own. So I built
(32:43):
up this following there in the southeast of you know, Florida, Georgia,
and in North Carolina. And fast forward years later, that's
what ended up getting me a record deal here in Nashville.
When did you decide, all right, I'm gonna not now
to go try Nashville where the giants are. I mean,
I never thought that. I just I thought in the
moment when people would fly out and watch me play.
(33:04):
I remember I would go home after the shows and
talk to my parents about it because I would be like,
this is the craziest thing I've ever seen. I've never
even thought about getting a record deal or any of
that stuff. And now people are really starting to fly
out to watch me play all these shows. And I
think what happened was, uh, a lot of the booking
agents were talking in town saying like, who is this
guy in North Carolina who's selling out all these shows
(33:26):
on his own and booking them on his own and
he's not signed to a record label. Um, And I
think that's what ultimately got me a record do. And
your brother was like, if you go, I want to go. Yeah. Yeah.
So my brother had a child at the time, he
just had a child, Um, callaway and I was moving
to Nashville, and he's like, well, I started this thing
(33:46):
with you, like I wanna keep playing drums for you.
And I think we thought, like a lot of artists think,
like if you're not in town, um, you don't really
know what to expect. I thought to myself, I mean,
I'm about to move to Nashville. I could potentially have
a record deal, Like you're instantly famous, you're instantly rich,
(34:10):
like all this kind of stuff, and uh, for for
family's sake, for his sake, you know, I think he
wanted to be along for the ride of that. And
we learned the hard way that it takes a lot
of time, a lot of time out on the road
playing nobody, exhaustion, traveling through the night every night, driving
yourself around, um everywhere. But it makes it all worth
(34:33):
it in the end, uh, you know, when you get
to this point, and hopefully I continue to grow from here.
But I was giving opportunities to go out on tour
with uh Florida Georgia Line and and Rascal Flats and
all these people that I grew up going to their
concerts brat Paisley UM. And it was honestly an unbelievable
experience and one that I'm still kind of, you know,
(34:55):
getting used to now roll through a few number ones
here here is fixed from the first number one, right yeah,
(35:16):
and so that hits in now it was until he
had another number one, which is I don't know about you,
right one. If my chronological order is wrong, stop me,
but I think I think I have it here. So
in between eighteen though, like you have a hit? Are
you just banging your head against the wall, like I got,
what's what? What's been three years? Yeah? Yeah? So so
(35:39):
basically what happened was this, Um, A lot of people
don't even I haven't really said this a whole lot,
but uh, when I first moved to town, UM, I
started working with Joey Moy, who is an incredible producer.
You know, he produces Morgan Wallen j Cowen Uh did
all the old nickelback stuff as well. UM. I got
(36:00):
into the studio with him early on. And and because
I had never been in the studio before, especially with
the producer like that, UM, I didn't really know what
to expect, and I don't I was not prepared for that. UM.
So I had a lot of learning that I had
to do. I had to start taking vocal lesson. I
never had a vocal lesson in my entire life. I
started taking vocal lessons UM. And my sound was much
(36:23):
different when I first moved to town than Fix and
for Her, which from my first two singles. UM. But
what happened was I was going down a different trail
like music that I really loved a lot um that
had more rocking guitar, all that kind of stuff, and
I felt like that was my bread and butter. But UH,
when I got Fixed came along Uh. This was a
(36:46):
song that I was friends with Jesse Fraser Sarah Buxton
who was signed a Big Loud at the time as well. UM.
They had this song that they pitched me, which was
Fixed at the time, and it was so different than
anything that I had ever done. I thought to myself,
I'm a young artist. I'm not gonna it's hard to
stand out when you first get here because there's so
(37:07):
many incredibly talented artists. Um, maybe this song will help
me stand out in a different way because it had
the whole falset. It's not the first time anybody's done
that in country music. But at the end of the day,
it had it all over it, you know what I mean. Um,
And it was the first song in the studio that
my producer had ever turned around and said, what was that? Like?
(37:32):
Why don't you do that every time you get into
the vocal booth. For whatever reason, I took really well
to that song and sang it well, and I think
I caught him off guard. So I finished recording that song,
we put it out. They decide in the moment um
that they wanted to start a record label, which is
now Big Loud. You know it's me Morgan Wallin, Hardy J. Cowen, Um,
(37:57):
And I was gonna be the first artist on the
record label. And they asked me, they said, hey, do
you want to go sign to a major record label
or do you want to be the first artist on
our record label? And I thought about this. I'm like,
there's ten artists on these major record labels. Uh, maybe
this gets me a lot of attention and focus right
out of the gate, which ended up being that way. Um,
(38:19):
I record the song, we decided to put it out
as a single. I go on a twenty one week
radio tour. I found out the hard way from singing
fixing for her and a lot of these songs early
in the morning was really hard for me to do. Yeah. Yeah,
it's just super high and uh I got on radio
tour and had to wake up at three am just
(38:41):
to start warming my vocal up uh every day, which
was a really I mean, that was one of the
toughest times in my life. Um it's rewarding now, but
at the same time, it's really hard. But uh yeah,
right out the gate, Uh, brand new record label, first
artist on the record label, I get my first number one.
We all kind of know how that goes and how
it works. Um. Second single, which a lot of artists
(39:05):
during this time frame I feel like fell into was
you have that first number one, Um, you you can
go out and do all these radio shows, all that
kind of stuff, which really helps a lot. Um the
second a lot of people fell into this that second single. Um,
it's a little bit harder to work, you know what
I mean. You're kind of earning the trust of everybody.
(39:28):
You can come with hits all that kind of stuff. Uh.
I think it makes it to number six, number five
something along those lines, which was for her, but still
that same style with the falsetta when so for her
comes out top ten, Yeah, it's a it's a grind.
(39:51):
We get it there, we get a top ten song
out of it. Um, you still play that live? Yeah? Yeah.
After for her was Broken Windshield View. No. Broken Windshield
View was the first song that I ever recorded here
in Nashville. When I first got it was that every single.
It was never a single, but because I was out
on tour Florida Georgia line at the time and Nelly
(40:14):
on their like Ballpark tour. Um, I needed a song
other than my back in the day, I called myself
Chris Lane band, and all I could play were those
songs or songs that I had written here in Nashville
but never recorded. So yeah, Broken windsheld View was that
first song that I put out just to have a
(40:34):
song for people to to go home and hopefully download
and remember me by since I was being given that
amazing opportunity being on tour with uh Florida Georgia line.
But there, oh we got it all. Don't worry, there
we go everything. That's a throwback, right there? Do you
have for her? They hit top ten and the song
you did with Tory Kelly was also a top ten song,
(40:56):
right yeah? So that was my third single, UM, takee
back Home Girl. Uh, I'm surprised that did. Honestly, I
thought that was a really good song that didn't get
as high as I felt it should happen. Yeah, thank you.
Why do you think it didn't? Um? Well, from what
we were being told at the time, if I'm allowed
to say this, UM, I think because Tory Kelly was
(41:18):
considered a pop artist at the time. UM, I think
a lot of people weren't necessarily down to play it.
UM So I think there were I think there were,
you know, ten to fifteen stations that weren't necessarily about it,
and that made it tough to get it to number one.
We still got a top ten out of it. I
think it was number five or something around that. Um.
(41:41):
But it has been one of I mean, it's double
platinum song. One of my biggest songs in my career
and song it's one of those that don't hit number one,
But that doesn't hit number one, but people still know
they screaming at the shows at the end of the day.
That's that's uh truly what matters the most to me.
Um And And it helped me take that next little
stepping stone in my stepping stone into my career. Well,
(42:03):
here we go, another number one eighteen I Don't Know
About You? What's your name sound? And you followed it
up with another one, big big plans, two in a row.
Thank you. So you have to feel now like, okay,
I'm not one number one and just a struggle like
you got like you got your feet planned it now right?
You have to feel that way, Yeah, I mean a
(42:23):
little bit. Um I feel that way. I think I
Don't Know About You was such a big song for
my career and the biggest song uh so far from
my career that it really helped me take that next
step in a way that I noticed at the shows
I was. I went from selling X amount of tickets
(42:45):
to now selling out every room that I play in.
Um And, I'm super thankful for that song because I
actually almost didn't even record it, um, and that would
have been a huge thing and missed for me. But yeah,
it helped me take that next big step in my career.
And then Big Big Plans, which was a follow up,
was a grind but it took a while, but uh,
(43:07):
it eventually got there and and has been an incredible
song for my career as well. That's the last time
I saw you. Another thing about it was you and
Lauren came in the studio. Yeah, it sure was. Basically
wasn't that pretty close to when I put that song out?
I think it was because I remember, I think it
was right when you put it out. Yeah, and it
happened in the most organic, never even tried to make
(43:28):
it happen kind of way, which I think is the best. Um.
I truly only had that song for her for that moment.
I put like a little video to it, um, and
I was hoping that people would would like it, But
I didn't think in a sense of here's my next
single to country radio kind of thought. You know, it
(43:48):
was just a just a good moment for us and
and now seeing people take it and use it for
their own little moment or for me, the best part about.
It was watching guys come on to age and propose,
propose every single night. Uh was a highlight of my
tour and highlight of my night every single night because
as you, what was your proposal like in the sense
(44:11):
of were you incredibly nervous when you went to do it?
Like like I was, I blacked out. I don't even
remember what I said. I didn't. I wasn't nervous when
I did. I was nervous that I couldn't pull it
off because I had really been working. We have a
barn we had you did it were away shooting my
TV show and we had to move people in before
we landed, and then after we landed, I had to
(44:33):
keep her busy as a whole of the crew moved
into So for me, it was I put in all
this work and I wanted to surprise her. So I
was nervous that I wasn't going to pull it off.
But once she got down and she was shocked, I
was like, oh, this is money. How would your meet?
Her friend does pr for ABC, And so it was
oddly an organic way in a really inorganic time. You know,
I dated people I met on apps or whatever, but
(44:55):
her her friend that does PRC DPR for me at
Dancing with the Stars and an American idol, and so
she was like, hey, I'm gonna be down because I
went to when Lauren Elena was on Dancing with the Stars.
I was going to go support Lawrence. I was in
town and she was like, Hey, I'm gonna be there
so i'll see you. Come say hi. So I just
one said hi, and Caitlyn was with her and she
was like, oh, this is my friend Caitlin. We didn't
we said hello. That was it. We didn't talk for
(45:16):
like four months after that. Oh my gosh. Yeah, so
it was not It wasn't We didn't even go were
you but in that time frame, were you thinking about
her all the time where you're like, man, I really
want to I was just like yes, but we didn't talk.
We said hello quickly, but did you exchange numbers? Now?
But honest to god, this is the truth, and I've
never said this the truth. I thought she was way
too hot for me and I didn't want to get rejected,
(45:38):
and so I didn't pursue it at all because I
was like, you know what, she's she lives in laws,
but a little I know she's from Oklahoma and just
moved to l A to go to grad school. Like
she wasn't an l A girl. But I'm like, all right,
it's an l A girl super hot, you know what.
I don't. I don't feel like being rejected. So I
just didn't do. I just didn't. But you're Bobby Bones.
(45:58):
Nobody cares, you know, no one cares. And so I
finally got the nerve up to uh message her. I
was like, because I was going back into town a
few months later. I was going to be a guest
on some game show called to Tell the Truth, to
Tell the Truth, and I was like, hey, I'm gonna
be in town. Hey, no big deal if you can't.
It's like when you asked someone to do a song,
You're like, hey, I know this may be terrible. You
(46:18):
say no if you want. And I was like, I'm
gonna be in town for one night to do this show.
Do you want to uh have a dinner? And she
was like yeah, sure. And then I was so late
getting out of the recording. I was like two hours late,
and I just knew, Oh my gosh, I know, and
I was like, I'm so sorry. She I guess okay,
I'm over to friend's house anyway, if it doesn't work, whatever,
We're all good. And so we met and then we
(46:40):
had went to like some chain salad restaurant and I
was like, oh, this is different. You just I didn't
know I was gonna get married immediately, But I was
like same. I was like, oh this this clicks completely
different than anything else I've ever had. Was that like
you and Lauren? Yeah, same, same exact thing. I mean,
I don't know how you were before, but I had
the months that I wasn't getting married. Um, I didn't.
(47:03):
I think I thought my whole life and and there's
a lot of reasons to this, but I didn't necessarily
want kids and not like that whole thing. Um, I think,
Uh yeah, it was way different. Like obviously when we
first met, it was at an I Heart Radio thing
in Austin, Texas, like a festival. Yeah yeah, And Lauren
(47:24):
was just coming off the show The Bachelor, and she
was kind of whatever you want to call engaged to.
Uh did she win? She yeah, she won the show. Um,
you can tell how much I have no idea. Yeah,
I'm like, what she the Bachelor? I'm sure, I'm I
guarantee I probably watched that season. I don't remember because
it's been so long ago, but um, yeah, I think
her and her uh the guy she was engaged to
(47:46):
at the time. We're presenting at this festival. So I
played earlier during the day on the festival stage, and uh,
I was with Tom Pullman at night and we walked
over and said hello. Uh, there's a photo from that
night as well, where I'm standing beside Lauren and uh.
I think Tom's in the middle and then Ben's on
(48:06):
the outside, and it was kind of a foreshadowing photo.
None of us obviously knew in that moment, but it
truly looks like Lauren together in Minnesota. Um. But yeah,
four years go by, four years, four years go by,
it was that long. Yes, it was that long. Um.
And she became single and you guys like, how did
(48:27):
you get back in touch with her? I was in
l A one night, Um, I think recording my second record,
and I had a few days off. I just played
a show out towards out towards that way, and we
had a few days. We were standing over at Sportsman's
Lodge where they allow busses to park there in in
l A. And uh, she swears to this day that
(48:48):
she has no idea that I was even in town.
I think she's lying, but she swears that she had
no idea I was there. But she faced timmey out
of nowhere. I hadn't talked to her in a long time,
and uh, she was like, what are you doing. I
was like, I'm in l A. She was like, no,
you're not. I was like yeah, She's like, you want
to meet up? I'm telling you the fast version of
(49:09):
the story. And Uh, at the time, I thought to myself,
I mean, yeah, I do, but where are you at?
And she was all the way out Marina del Rey,
long ways away. I didn't want to get a uber
out there. She ended up coming up towards me. We
kind of met in the middle. Uh, hung out for
a long time that night, had a great time, and uh.
(49:30):
Months and months later, I was going on a trip
to the Bahamas with a few buddies of mine at
this place that we love going to, and I randomly
decided to ask her if she wanted to go. She
said she'd go if she could bring a friend. We
really hit it off on that trip. Continuously called her
when I got home, and then I feel like it
wasn't that long. Long afterwards, we're hanging out a lot
(49:52):
more and you were here though still Yeah, yeah, lying
back and forth, you flying back and forth. Yeah. So
because I was always out on the road, she tried
would hear a little bit more than I went to
l a um. Yeah, And then I said, you know what,
maybe I should settle down with her. I love her
a lot, We have so much fun together. And it
was just like you said, way different than anything else
(50:13):
I had ever experienced. And when it happened, it happened
incredibly fast. I mean I feel like a year later
we were dagon engaged and now we're about to have
a baby. It's it's nuts and all the things that
I said that I never wanted, like I can't wait
for now. And I think it does take that that
special someone, if you will, to to kind of change
(50:37):
your thoughts and and and what you truly want I
do to lie to me. It wasn't that I never
wanted it. I just I, honest to God, didn't not
believe it was real. I thought everybody. I thought people
would were just settling and they would have to make
up a story to say, oh I just felt it
or movies and books, and I was I got to
the point where I was, you know, thirty seven years old,
(50:58):
and I was like, I've not felt anything like this
same and so I really and I said it to
her and I proposed. I was like, I never believe
that love was real, Like I just didn't. I thought
it was something that people just made up to give there.
But then for the first time, I was like, bru oh,
that's it. Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's weird how
that happens like that. I mean, I'd watch my twin
(51:19):
brother go through a tough relationship and I thought to myself,
good lord, I don't want anything like that. Um, but yeah,
this is this is it was just way different. I mean,
like you said, And now she's about to have a baby.
I heard her pictures on Instagram, like somehow she's able
to And I don't know about I've never I don't
have a kid yet, right, we probably have a kid
in the next year and a half, two years or something,
(51:40):
I don't know. But she has maintained physically the normal. Lord.
Then her stomach is like seven ft long. It's awesome,
but it's crazy. It's why because I've never seen a
neck and pregnant lady. Right. So the only thing I
ever see are when people are like, look at my belly,
and so I'll see Lauren do that and I'm like, wow,
she looks great. She looks the same with a yes.
(52:04):
I don't know what the right thing is to say,
but it's Laura Lauren lawn, big belly, Laura Lauren Lauren.
I've said that. It doesn't even make sense to me. Um,
but yeah, she's she's carried on. How I mean, we're
we're it could happen any minute. Oh, she's it's it's
a go time. Yeah, I think her her dude date
is is literally right now. So we're we're approaching either
(52:27):
gonna have him on the day or maybe a little
bit late. And I know she is ready for him
to come out. Now. Are you getting uncomfortable for more
nervous or excited? I think I'm more excited for sure. Um,
I was super super nervous in the beginning. And I'll
(52:48):
say this. One of the main I feel embarrassed even
say this, but one of the main reasons that I
never wanted to have kids is because I'm a germophobe
and I feel like every body that I know that
has kids as parents, they're always sick because their kids
always sick. And I'm like, definitely afraid of being sick.
(53:08):
It's just one of those things that I hate more
than anything. Um So I built it up in my
mind all these years, like I don't think I can
have kids because they're always sick and I don't want to,
you know, take on that. And I hear like, once
you have them, all that kind of stuff, you don't
even think about it. You just, you know, kind of
like with dogs, like whatever they go through, you you
(53:31):
help them out, you know what I mean. You don't
even think. You just jump in there and do it.
It's weird. I wonder if, and you're way closer to
this than I have, because you could have a baby
tomorrow tonight. But I wonder if because people tell me
the same thing. Man, once you have a kid, it's
all different, everything is different. But I used to hear
that about love too, and I didn't believe it until
it happened. And so I can't personally feel yet how
(53:52):
it's going to be to have a kid, and you
really can't either. But for the first time, I do
believe they're probably right. Yeah, They're right the right and
with uh. I've been trying this whole time. Um, I
mean kind of on purpose, but not kind of. Not
on purpose. I just wanted to be a nice little
(54:13):
letter to him when he can understand music. But I
wrote him this song recently that I'm thinking about recording
UH call. It ain't even met you yet, and it's
about the real feelings that as a father I was
going through, uh in the moment, and it truly is
the most exciting, uh time in my life. And I
know I'm about to come into from what all my
(54:33):
buddies tell me the most exhausting time of my life.
But uh, I've never been more ready for anything in
my entire life. You guys are really funny on Instagram?
Did she ever was this you? Guys? Did you ever
have a dream about you and then you're in trouble
when you wake up? Does that ever happen with you, guys?
Because that happens with Caitlin all the time. She's not
a bad dream. And I'll hear something in the dream
(54:54):
and then she'll wake up and I have to like
get back to even and I didn't do anything wrong.
That's hilarious. It's like her when she's pregnant, does she
have any of that, like crazy dreams or anything like
that happening? Yeah, I mean no, but she along the way,
like just throughout our relationship, I feel like she's definitely
had those dreams where she's like, I'm sad and I'm like,
what's wrong. She's like, I had a dream last night
(55:15):
that you cheated on me, and I'm like, well, I
would never do anything like that. Let me play a
couple of things here from two thousand twelve. Here is
All I Ever Needed from Chris Lane Man, oh my words.
From two thousand twelve, Here is Let's ride. Here we go. Well,
(55:37):
you're sad. What do you feel when you hear those bag?
I mean, honestly so nostalgic, but I'm like halfway embarrassed
at the same because it was the first songs that
I ever sat down to write. No one ever told
me how to write a song, uh with All I
Ever needed? It was one of those things that Uh.
(56:00):
I was such a big Keith Urban fan at the time.
I thought to myself, Okay, that was the first song
I ever wrote in my entire life. I sat down
with my acoustic, just start playing these chords and and
I thought to myself, what would Keith Urban do or
what would he say? And and I didn't get it right,
not not even close. But that was my take on
it at the time. And then, uh, the Less Ride
(56:24):
was like one of those songs that, uh, I don't
I just my whole life, I've loved that, uh Al
Deane style, the Eric Church style, like the rocking guitars
kind of thing, um. And that was my take on that.
I just sat down and I would play on my
electric guitar in my room there and I just started
writing that song. And and again, none of these songs
(56:45):
are are amazing or great, but at the end of
the day, the mind blowing part to me is that
I sat down and wrote those, had a buddy record them.
They sound terrible, all that kind of stuff, um, but
people would show up to the shows and sing them
in and it ultimately got me to where I'm at now.
So I am, while I am mildly embarrassed embarrassed of
(57:06):
those uh, I'm also thankful for him because they got
me at this point. I have a bunch of questions
that I always make a list of questions before someone
comes in, because if the interviews are really not going well,
I'm just like, let me just go to the questions.
I haven't asked a single one of these, which is
a good sign honestly. Um, So we'll do quick answers
here because, um, well just because let's see here, what
was a better day in your life? Your wedding or
(57:29):
winning a championship with recupables? Dang, just just just for
my wife's sating my wedding day. Are you still can
you still play? I mean you still play ball? Like?
Are you? Are you a lead out there? Uh? Out there? Yeah?
I mean I mean I can still You know, I
played centerfield in college. Um, I can still track the
ball down pretty good. Um. And I'm not hitting with
(57:52):
an incredible amount of power because I'm a small guy,
but um but yeah, I can still hit hit it
pretty decent. You you taken a couple, so you're like, hey,
do you want to fill in? And I know in
l A, weren't you. I would if we're out shooting
a show. But I was thinking to myself, because I'll
commit no matter what, I'll compete. I don't care what
it is saying. If it's tiddley winks or softball, but
I haven't. I haven't played ball in in two or
(58:13):
three years at all. And I was like, you know what.
I would have said yes, but I would have come
back hurt and embarrassed. But dang it, I was gonna
say yet. I pulled my hamstring numerous amounts of time
out there just from I'm like, good lord, I'm getting
old out here, but I remember from Uh, it's spent
years and years and years ago, but uh, we played
in a in a celebrity softball tournament together, and I
(58:34):
remember you being awesome. No, awesome, it's not the word
like barely holding on to any sort of good. I
used to be. No, no, no, I used to be.
I'm like, you know what, I'm kind of like Toby Keith.
I'm not as good as I once was, but one time,
if you get me out there, I could be as
good as I used to be. Yeah, Um, you're all
d a c L injury, so'll give you trouble one
of rains. Um, not necessarily, No, it's just I mean,
(58:57):
I haven't experienced a whole lot of pain with that good. Yeah.
Like I broke I broke a pinky. It still hurts.
If it gets cloudy, I'm like, oh my god, I'm dying. Yeah. Now,
I will say this, like from running around out there
on the field and stuff like that, I do get
incredibly sore for like four or five days afterwards. Um,
but I think this age. I saw you on Instagram
A posted a screenshot between you and your wife about
(59:20):
a clogged toilet, and I think you had her name as.
I think her name is Lolo who I don't know.
I started calling her that when we first started hanging out,
and that's what I saved dr my phone as and
I never changed it. Uh. Throughout all this time, you
get engaged and Lauren has a ton of social media
(59:41):
following because of The Bachelor, Do you get a lot
of social media following like residual from her? You know what?
I don't know the actual answer to that, but I
do think it helped. I mean, the Bachelor Nation is
a real, real thing. Um. And even though it's spend
all the years ago since Lauren was on the show, um,
(01:00:05):
she's still been able to Uh. Uh. I don't want
to say stay in the public eye, but in a way,
I don't know what else to call it other than
that and and um, I think they've invested in her
life and and because uh we're married now, um, I
think that maybe makes them invest a little bit into
my life as well, just just from her. So yeah,
(01:00:26):
I think I definitely got a little bit of us
When we first started dating. I noticed that my uh
followers grew really quickly, um, compared to what they were,
So yeah, I'm sure I did get some spill over
from that. Any of those bachelor h people where they
ever mean to you know, I've never had anybody be uh.
I mean that there's people who are who are rude
(01:00:47):
and say weird things all the time, but um, I'm
usually great about ignoring that it doesn't bother me and
not that kind of stuff. But no one was ever rude,
And I think the main reason is that they could
see that it was real, that we had fun together,
that it wasn't fake, none of that kind of stuff.
And I think at the end of the day, people
do love um real up they want to see people happy.
(01:01:10):
But um, yeah, I think from that end of things,
it was it was real from the beginning, and hopefully
people saw that. Or I'm an end with this because
I know you opened for Garth that he asked you
to go out and you did a show before him,
so I get it's kind of a two part or
one before you play. Does he do you say Heidi
Garth before the show at all? Does he come by
and say what's up? Yes? And I think, you know,
(01:01:32):
everybody has great stories of Garth Brooks um And and
now I know on a personal level why because he
didn't have to he went out of his way. Uh.
I think I'm allowed to say this, but uh, I
get into my dress room earlier that day and there
is a whole table full of merch signed by him.
(01:01:55):
And I mean, as a huge fan, that is, you know,
obviously incredible. I'm super excited, super pumped. Did not think
that he would stop buy and say hello, but him
and Tricia both stopped by to say hello, stuck around
for a while. We just sat there and chatted and uh,
it was one of the coolest moments in my career.
(01:02:15):
And I'll say this he uh he said, I heard
you're a card guy, give me your best trick, and
and I thought to myself, well, I don't know who
you heard that from, but I'm not a car guy.
I don't know how to do anything. He was like, well,
good because I am. And he put out a decade
cards and did this uh and did this card trick
(01:02:37):
that I feel like I had seen people do before,
but he was really good at it. He totally like
jip me. He got me and uh when he left
the room, I was just, you know, smiling ear to ear,
thinking this was the coolest thing that's ever happened to me.
Sorry about that, and uh uh one of my guitar
players that played on the show with me, he was like,
(01:02:58):
I know that trick, let me show you how to
do it, and something that I was so mind blown
over once I learned. Once I uh figured out how
he did it, cracked me up that he pulled that
off and actually got me on it. That's funny that
Garth Brook comes into the room accused you of being
a card guy, only because he knows you're not. He goes, well,
I am, and then does a card trick and it
(01:03:18):
walks out. It was awesome. He's the best, though, also
are both the best. I also saw one of my
other favorite artists, Keith Urban and and maybe he had
heard me talk about him uh in interviews before, but
I made eye contact right when I first got I
just I think I just put out fixed uh. But
I made eye contact with him at you know how
(01:03:40):
artists go and do all the radio rounds, all that
kind of stuff, um for an award show. And he's
across the room and make eye contact. And he walked
out of his way to walk over there and say
hello to me. And I was incredibly nervous. Um. I
remember telling him the story about out uh me going
(01:04:01):
to his concert and I was in this in the
row at the time. He would he would do this
gag where he would play you look good at my shirt,
and he would always make himself or make his way
into the crowd. And he walked upon an owl and
I just so happened to be. This is before I
started playing music. I just so happened to be in
the road that he came to. And he gave the guitar,
(01:04:22):
his guitar away to one of the girls in my
row a few seats down for man. I'm telling him
the story. I'm like, man, you're my hero, Like, uh,
you know, you're my biggest inspiration, all this kind of stuff.
And he gave me a hug and he was like, buddy,
patting me on the back. He's like, buddy, you need
to get out more. I listen, We've done an hour.
(01:04:44):
It's been a great hour. Followed Chris. I am Chris Lane.
Um hecking far along. Follow Lauren to at Lauren Lane.
But this is not about her, however. Tell Arsta Hello,
it's funny you guys. You guys are hilarious. We gotta
hang out, man, all that hanging you got about a year,
that's that. That's but tell her hello, congratulations. It's great
(01:05:07):
to see you again. I know I just haven't seen
a whole lot of folks recently. But I'm glad to
have you over and good to catch you up with
good luck. Thank you man, I appreciate that. And you
look good for your dog commercial. Look like fancy. No
one ever gets dressed out for this. All right, you
guys go check out philled them boots. Follow Chris on
Instagram and I will see soon.
Welcome to episode three hundred. Who knew this was a
milestone episode? We made it, Dan, Chris Lane is coming up.
A good long interview with Chris. Huh yeah, an hour
a good one. Yeah. Chris Lane on never thinking he'd
get married to have kids and now he's both. Yeah.
Also he talks about Garth brookshaw m card trick and
going from playing baseball at a high level to landing
(00:24):
a record deal which you never thought he was going
to actually get or even try to get. Pretty crazy
story I learned some about about Chris. So that's coming
up in a little bit. But as always, let's check
out the top five songs that I'm like, Hey, that's
really cool. Number five, Brett Young has a new album.
It's called Weekends Look a Little Different these Days. Here
is a new song called not Yet Good. At number four,
(00:56):
I really like this. This is the Lantis Moore set.
She released a cover of on the Road Again with
Willie Nelson On the Road Here look a the chipsues
we Go. I really feel on that one. That's a
good one. Good Yeah. At number three, Tyler Farr has
a new song. It is called cover Girl Hate Cool,
(01:19):
Shouldn't have to Cool? Make up path, don't heal it?
So damn tired of see lee. Number two is Ashley Cook.
She has a new song called under Yell. That song
good up the fives tole me there underneath it She's
(01:43):
someone to swell under the run everything under this song,
so I don't understand anywhack. It's a good one from
Ashley Cook. Check her out. And number one my favorite artist,
John Mayer has a new song called Last Train Home
(02:03):
Before we play it here. He announced on Tuesday we
were releasing his eight studio album titled Sawbrock on July,
and marks his first studio album since Search for Everything.
But here is a clip of Last Train Home. You
gotta wrong if you want to use you gotta very
(02:35):
eighties sound? Yeah? Do you like that sound? I mean
it takes me back to like his second record Well
Inside one Um. Yeah, yeah, I don't. I don't know.
I don't know. Overall, are you feeling his new sounds?
Is a big fan? I don't know, And you spend
more time with I don't know. I don't want to
say yes because I don't want to say Here's why,
(02:56):
because I don't want to say yes just because it's
John Mayer. But I don't want to say no because
I haven't exist John Mayer. I didn't. I just need
to invest a little more. It's like when Ben Folds
put something out and it's a little quirky. I'm like,
I don't know, do I love it or do I
hate it? I really need to spend time with it.
Do you feel it's still in the same vein of
his last album though? No, no, no, he's He always
puts a little little dinkerdlinks and changing it up a
(03:17):
little bit. I mean even from Paradise Valley too. I
mean he did basically a country record at one point,
nobody called it country because this is years ago. But
so we'll see. So he's still not an automatic No
matter what he puts out, you're gonna automatically love for you.
If there's anyone, it's him. But I don't want to
say yes because I don't want to be that guy.
But yes, yes, but I don't want to be that guy.
(03:38):
So but yes, I will well, but I'm sure um
albums out today. Walker Hayes has country stuff, let's see,
Billy Gibbons has hardware, Liz Fair has sober ish, Rise
Against has nowhere generation. I think that's it. B J
Thomas died at seventy eight years old. He is most
known for rain drops keep Falling on My Head Monday
(04:02):
and just like guys up to speaking of Ben Faldsman
folded a great cover of this song. Bj BJ Thomas
passed away. Dylan Scott's Nobody hits number one, so congratulations.
Loves a good song. Keith Urban has announced some new
(04:23):
Vegas dates. He will pick up as Las Vegas Residents
Colosseum Las Vegas Residency at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace
in September. They're all September twenty five. Tickets on sale
June seventh, So today the fourth son Fit's Monday. Monday? Okay,
Monday the seventh. You may be listening this on Monday.
(04:44):
I don't know. Uh. And finally, a Florida concert promoter
is using tickets to encourage COVID nineteen vaccinations. A concert
promoter in Tampa is offering a massive discount to vaccinated people.
You got ticket to see Teenage Bottle Rocket for eight
Team bucks if you're vaccinated, if you're not ars, so
there you go. Keith been hitting me up about my
(05:04):
TV show. Really what you're saving up today? He's like, hey,
I watched both episodes are great, and then he hits
me up like eight hours later, how many does you shoot? Like?
He's genuinely interested. It's a good guy. He We're very
sporadic in our friendship, meaning we'll talk a lot for
a week and then we won't hear from each other
for three months. But most I think he just travels
(05:24):
the world and goes and has cooler friends. I think
I'm just like, um, But there you go. I think
you're gonna like this Chris Lane interview. I liked doing it.
That's usually a good sign of if it's good or not.
I hope you do it. Please rate the show high.
Give it five stars, five stars. Please, hey listen. If
you want good luck today, go over and give it
five stars and write a nice comment. If you want
bad luck today, don't. But if you're want good luck today,
(05:46):
that's what you can do. All right, Thank you guys, seriously.
Here is the rest of the podcast here with Chris Lane.
It's been a while since I guess we've when's the
last time we did anything together? Was it my old condo? Yeah,
like in downtown yeah, I remember that day. That's a
long time ago. What was it like a bathroom something,
(06:07):
who knows what was happening. Then it was when I've
grown up. I've matured so much since that. I was
I was watching either your Instagram or um Lauren's Instagram.
And we have two dogs and are right now like
we have roofers that are working on in the house
and so they're boom boom boom, and the dogs are
freaking out all the time. So we have Stanley, who's
(06:28):
the bulldog. He is like a dog day camp. He
stays there in the daytime when something's happening. Ella she's
in heat right now, which we couldn't get her fixed
in time. So we're back. We're kind of back, but
we're having to move dogs back and forth. And I
was watching your Instagram. There's some place that drives up
to your house and they just like open up the
back door and your dog is right down there. So
(06:51):
Lauren and I used to live at twelve twelve there
in the gulch and uh there was a guy who
would come I think the company is called pet House,
and they would come pick up all the dogs in
the building. And we learned about this when we moved
in and he would pick him up, take him down
to Franklin where his businesses, put him in the spinsteon
(07:14):
air outside and you can watch them play together all
day long. Like they love it so much. So when
we moved to the house that we're in now, we thought, man,
we still need to find a way, even if we
have to drive him over to twelve twelve to get
picked up. He said, Noll, drove to your house and
pick him up. I got other doors in the area.
So he drives over to the house to pick them up.
We usually do it once or twice a week, but
(07:36):
most most of the time on Fridays, and uh, they
know it well. They go running out to that car,
they jump in it. He takes him down there, he
brings them back. At the end of the day, they're exhausted,
which makes our lives easier at night when they just
want to lay in their beds. It was like he
almost honked the horn or did something and they were like,
(07:59):
and you in the door and right into the back
of that van. Yeah, yeah, I watched that three times.
I know. We we we always say leading into the
next day, we're always like, who's ready to go to
pen pass and they get so excited and uh yeah
one of the things that we look forward to as
as their parents, and uh something that they really look
forward to as well. Speaking of dogs, you walked in.
(08:21):
I mean we literally turned the mics on roum when
you walked in. So we haven't had a lot of
time to catch up, but I was like, damn, look
at you looking good, like all dressed up. You were
doing some sort of flee and take some sort of
dog thing. Yeah. Yeah, So a company called Ceresto. I'm
just doing um something with them for National Best Friend
Day that's uh coming up in just a few days.
We work with Perina a lot. Okay, yeah, I do
service dogs. I work with them and the Service Dogs
(08:43):
Slute campaign they do, and then Caitlin does different things
with Perena and Ella and um it's been pretty rewarding
because you know, we're also able to help them. You know,
one get dogs adopted and service dogs, but those dogs
have become a massive part of our life. Oh my god,
dollars are the best. When we got ours, actually did
(09:03):
not want a dog because I mean, as you know,
you're gone all the time. It's hard like for me
the same thing like going out on the road. Uh,
Lauren was there or else she would come out on
the road with me as well. And uh, it's not
necessarily the easiest fit in the world, but these two
have been and and we've made it work. And it's
been the best decision ever. Even when I thought, I said, man,
(09:23):
we don't have the room for it. They've made both
of our lives so much better. I'm gonna get to
the dog graduation to the kid later, but I was,
you know, I watched. I watched, and it seems like
and you gotta tell me the thought process behind this.
When you're putting out any song now, single or not,
it always feels like a single. Yeah, And that's a compliment, right,
(09:44):
And I take that as a compliment. It always feels
like a single regardless of what it is. There's a
whole you're like dressed up like your dad's business law
in business back in the day, you and dust and
you know, so like when you're in your little creative
me things because we don't have them for different reasons,
I have mine to ensure is that kind of the
game plan, Like every song release, you want to actually
(10:07):
be like an event, Yeah, for sure. Um. You know,
I've had two records up to this point, and it's
been three years since my second record. I've only had
out to UM. But this time around, like we've tried
certain things. I've I've learned what works from me and
what doesn't necessarily work for me. And I think every
(10:27):
artist goes through this they figured out along the way. Um,
I'm gonna work towards a record at some point on
this but uh, I've taken a different approach this time around,
and and really releasing singles. I think in the world
that we live in now with Instagram, uh, you know,
everybody's used to just swiping up and onto the next thing,
(10:50):
new thing, whatever it is, You've got to kind of
stay top of mind. Uh. So I'm gonna take that
approach when releasing music now and kind of work towards
a record. But when I a song that I really
like a lot, or or get a song that I
really like a lot, it allows me to get into
the studio, recorded in that moment and kind of put
it out whenever I want, opposed to being tied to, uh,
(11:12):
you know, a record or singles off a record. Because
you know, I had two singles off my last record,
and that took two to three years, uh to kind
of go through a single cycle. And that's just kind
of the life of a young artist on the radio.
But um, yeah, a different approach this time. Try to
get songs to react like singles and and figure out
(11:34):
ways to uh hopefully make them do that. As a consumer,
that's what I like. Yeah, same here. I I'm literally
just doing what I like, uh, you know, just being
new all the time, just dropping a new song whenever
you want. Um. And I still like albums to a degree, right,
I like albums from my favorite artists. Yeah there there yeah, yeah,
(11:56):
I will say this. There's there's Uh. I feel like
albums have worked for uh, certain artists in this genre.
I can only speak up because I don't know about
other genres, but I mean you you think about people
like uh, you know Morgan's for an example, one of
my label mates. I mean he really sed a double
(12:17):
album and obviously worked on a massive scale. Luke Calm,
same thing. I mean, you know, Luke, Bryan, al Dean,
all those guys can do that. But for me, I've
learned what just to release a new song all the
time might help my career grow faster. Yeah, I like
and and here's what it. Here's what's hard for me
is that there's somebody that kind of like and they
(12:38):
put out an album. Half the track is gonna be
lost on me. I'm not even gonna agree. I'll may
go click. I don't give it a fair shake if
they're not my absolute favorite artist. And for an artists
like yourself, who you're still a new artist. It's not
like you have ten million people sitting there waiting for
a record. Yeah, but I just my My whole point
(12:59):
with that is, I like, I agree with the methodology
of it. Yeah, I like. I also like I can
do a concept album too. Let's say if it's a
Newish artist, but I and I know it's a concept album.
I'm like, okay, let me see what I'm getting here.
Like like concept albums. And I like my few favorite
arts like a Casey or a John Mayor know about it.
And then I like Old Dominion with all their songs.
(13:20):
Yeah they're great, are good, but other than that, and like,
give me three or four songs at a time, or
give me once. I get I get that, Yeah, I
get that. Um yeah, So taking that approach, this time around,
I don't play a little bit of a fill them boots.
It's still the single right now, right you're still newly
working on brand new looking, brand new shoulder break, take
(13:43):
a holiday solo drink or two anyway him and I'm away. Yeah,
I can feeling boots. I can feel them boots if
you want to pick. I'm looking at some of the
credits on this because some big songwriter guy and I
(14:06):
see you, Josh Miller, Mark Trussell. Ernest Keith Smith is
that Ernest? Ernest Keith Smith is Ernest? Yeah, that's his name.
No idea that it was Ernest Keith. When I first
met him, it was Snow. Then it was Ernest Keith Smith,
and it was Keith Smith. Um. Now it's arn slash
(14:26):
Ernest Um. He's got a million different names. Yeah, I
love him. Ernest Keith Smith. Three names, two in the
in his extremely professional environment. Ernest Keith Smith. You guys
going to I'm always curious about when you go into
a room, because you know, if you get a good
idea you kind of jotted down on your phone, maybe
you've got a couple of lines, maybe you just got
a concept, and so you know, you walk into the
(14:48):
room and who's who kind of comes up with the well,
what about filled them boots? But it's a different because
obviously it's different than what you think of when you
see the title of the song. Sure, how did that
come about? Yeah? So, Um, I've only had writer's out
on the road with me for two weekends in my
entire career. Um, because I had just moved to a
second bus and I was out on my headlining tour.
(15:11):
The first weekend. Um, it was a guy named Will Bundy,
who I like writing with here in town is great
uh at making songs sound like they're already fully produced
when you get the demo back. Um. And we wrote
a song called That's what Mamas Are For that are
released on Mother's Day. But uh, the second weekend I
went out, I took Josh Miller. He's one of my
favorite writers in town, Mark Trussell, same thing. Uh. He
(15:34):
literally makes it sound like a record when you get
a demo back. Um. And then earned was out on
tour with me, and uh what I did was I
told him he could ride my bus instead of getting
in a van and doing that whole thing. Ride my bus,
uh every weekend and we'll write when we can, and
that was just a kind of a little agreement that
(15:56):
we had come up with. And this weekend I brought
out Josh and Mark okay, and uh we wrote four
songs throughout the whole weekend, and Filled the Boots was
one of them. I feel like I got three other
good ones from the weekend as well. But we started
this song late night one night after a show in
Grand Rapids, Michigan. Uh didn't finish it. Josh Miller actually
(16:18):
had the title, um, and he's super great about coming
in with the concept. Uh sometimes half written in a way. Yeah,
we just had this title. We didn't really have any
other idea around it, but uh, we just kind of
started freestyle and late night one night, came up with
the idea of the concept that we wanted to throw
around it, and then finished it the next day in Detroit.
(16:40):
And I didn't think much about it at the time. Um,
we got the demo back from Mark. Actually earned sing
on the demo. Uh, just there the day of when
we got the demo back. Then I went over to
Mark's house because always like hearing myself on a song
that helps me decide whether I want to record it
or not, and his demo for this song was really
(17:01):
really good. It was It's a lot different than the
same guitar part, but the rest of the track is
a lot different than what we hear now that my
producer Joey came up with. UM but a song that
I've listened to over the over the quarantine. Um, it
never got old to me, and and I kept asking,
like my team, I want to record the song. I
(17:23):
feel it's never gotten old to me. It feels really good. Um,
it doesn't necessarily dive deep, you know what I mean.
It's not a not a newly written concept you're gonna
blow people's minds. But it just felt great to me,
and uh, everybody agreed. Everybody, everybody I played this song
for really liked it a lot. Um I got in
(17:43):
and I recorded it, and uh yeah, ended up being
my next single. And I'm super proud of its super
excited to kind of have an up tempo track because
my last you know, three or four singles have kind
of been in that mid uh mid state that kind
of felt like they had a little bit energy. Um,
but I would consider the song a tempo for me.
(18:04):
I've hit a couple more of these years Tequila on
a boat with Dustin Lynch late ain't fake a girl
with my eyes on her? So is this a youth
song or a Dustin song? It's actually a Dustin song, okay,
(18:27):
because I saw it post on both the counts. Yeah,
So he called me on this song. Um, I think
he's had it for a couple of years. To be
quite honest with you, I think it was a song
that Justin Eboch, Hillary lindsay somebody else. I'm sorry, I'm
forgetting their name. Um, we're riders on and uh, I
know he recorded it a while ago and then I
(18:47):
got the call on it about a month and a
half ago, something like that. What do they say to you?
They just said, hey, we have this song that we
want to put out in the middle of May, and
we would love for you to throw your vocal on it.
And I listened to it and after sometimes it takes
me ten listens to like love a song, but this
(19:08):
is one of those songs that I heard for the
first time and loved everything about it. Um, Dustin I
had been on tour together. He actually took me out
on his first ever headlining tour, on the Hell of
a Night tour, and that was back when I had
just put out Fixed and was just getting my start
here in Nashville. Um, and we've kept in touch. We
(19:28):
we became great friends just through that tour, kept in
touch all these years. And UH very excited that he
asked me to be a part of this song. I
love everything about it. Um. We've had many a days
out on his boat out on either Old Hickory or
Percy Priest. I can't always get the two confused. UM,
So it just felt like it made perfect sense. Um.
(19:51):
I love summertime country music. That's what I want my
brand to be. I'm a huge Kenny Chesney fan. A
lot of people know that, but U I love that
summertime country music style. And I've really tried to make
an effort to uh to jump into that. Does he
call you himself or does yeah he does. He's like,
hey man, because that's always a weird ask whenever you
(20:15):
unless it's already been agreed upon prior to sure, like hey, yeah,
we're gonna do the song. Yeah. If I could hit
you about this, you're gonna do it. Yeah. And if
it's like, oh man, I gotta call it, I'm gonna
it's always frustrated. And I'm sure you've had the same situation.
Does he call and go, hey man, you can say no. Yeah,
that's always's usually how it's always lived. Like if you
hate it, you don't have to know pressure. Yeah, it
(20:36):
literally is that. It's like, hey man, no worries if
you don't love the song, but I would love for
you to be a part of this and you'll be
singing that second verse if you choose to to jump
on it. And I listened to it and felt like
it was a song that I would fit well on.
And Uh again, I mean super excited that I got
to be a part of that. I mean I'm still
in the early parts of my career and I think
(20:58):
you you want to find different ways to grow and
and I'm thankful that he allowed me to jump. I
consider him uh to be an incredible artist and one
that I've looked up to, and UH just pumped to
be a part of the song. Do you ever say no?
Do you ever get one and go yeah? I've actually
said no to a couple if it didn't feel like
it made the most sense. I've I've said no for sure,
(21:21):
summer job, money, can I play? I'm not gonna ask you,
who don't worry, wouldn't I wouldn't put you in that spot.
There was a summer job money from crew this This
(21:46):
was the one where I saw the picture and you
were like in your dad's lawn care, like sort of
a spoof on that, right or was it really his
his business? Yeah? Yeah, so I'll say this. Yeah. So
my my dad still runs the business us there in Kurnersville,
North Carolina, small business, UH called Lane and Son's Landscaping.
And when I graduated college, UM, I assumed that I
(22:08):
was going to move on and play professionally. My twin
brother got drafted by the Reds decided not to play.
I did not get drafted. UM. I had had several
a c O reconstructions that kind of hurt my chances
at that I was still hopeful, UM, but it didn't happen.
So we both moved back to Kernersville, had no clue
(22:28):
what we were going to do. And UM, I had
thought about training training to become a firefighter at the time,
and some of my friends had jumped into that. But
my dad had this business that my brother and I
jumped into, and uh, we were both really good at
the landscaping side of things, and I did that for
(22:48):
a while. He paid us like eleven bucks an hour.
I remember stressing out because because I thought to myself, um,
you know, at some point I want to be able
to to settle down with somebody, started family, all that
kind of stuff. And I know he was doing the
best that he I mean, that was more than he
could should have been able to offer us because it
(23:09):
wasn't like he was making a ton of money. Um.
So we just jumped into that working. And then at
the same time I had started learning how to play
the guitar and figuring out how to play and sing
at the same time. And then fast forward, to make
a long story short, fast forward all these years later,
I'm in shocked that all of this has happened for me. Um.
(23:29):
I feel like I worked really hard at it, but
it was not something that I thought of in the beginning,
because you know, when you're from a small town, you
don't think or at least I never thought of, oh,
one day, I want to have a record deal and
and a song on the radio is not I didn't
even think of that because I didn't think that was possible.
I wouldn't even know who to go to or I'd
really never been to Nashville. Uh, none of that stuff.
(23:51):
So when I recorded this song, uh the summer job
I had, I wanted to pay tribute to um, which
was landscaping for my dad's business. So I kind of
brought that back with the whole uh summer job money.
And I think it's a real feeling something that you
know when you have a girlfriend in high school or
when you're seventeen or whatever it may be. UM, A
(24:14):
lot of those lines in the song, like you spend
all your money on gas for the tank and and
beer for a high school party or or at the
concession stand, which was the line that kind of stood
out to me that I loved the most. UM. So yeah,
I kind of brought it back with the landscaping. You
talk about learning how to play guitar. It was after
college that you picked up a guitar. So why would
why would you, like, like, what what would inspire you
(24:36):
to grab a guitar you've never played to start at
years old? That's a great question. Um, I actually started.
So I finished college in four and a half years.
I had to go back for a half semester um
after uh, after baseball just because of your hours in
in the amount of time that you can you know,
(24:57):
you're always gone when it comes to traveling for base
and stuff like that. So I just needed the extra
semester to graduate. So during all my downtime, I had
asked my parents, uh the prior Christmas before for a guitar,
and they bought me this nine and one dollar Fender guitar.
And leading up to that, I would just any extra
time I had, I would sit there on the edge
(25:17):
edge of my bed in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I
went to school at UM, and I was learning how
to play. And then that last semester I started getting
a lot better and learning some of my favorite songs.
I mean, I was inspired. I've been to a lot
of Keither in concerts, Kenny Chesney. Um did it come
to you easy? Though? Because it didn't know? Okay? When
(25:38):
I because around, I mean that was probably twenty one,
and I was like, I gotta learn guitar, like to
do comedy shows. Hey Canny it was. I bought a
quart you to Walmart. It was horrible, So I was,
I mean, I it's hard, but you have such hand
eye coordination as you were so close to being a
professional athlete. I wonder was it easier for you because
you do control your body a little better. Honestly, I
don't know what it's like for other people, but I
(26:00):
don't think so. I mean, the excuse I found myself
making a lot was my hands are too small. I
can't but they won't been the right way to to
do these cores. And now that I really know how
to play, like, how could I not do this before?
But it really is just muscle memory. For anybody out
there wanting to learn how to play the guitar like
you can, you just have to actually sit down and
practice it. I mean, as you know. I mean could
(26:21):
you sing though, because all this you're doing a lot
of this at one time? Yeah? So I always loved
singing along to my favorite songs. But did I think
to myself, I can sing no? Um? But uh, when
we would go on trips or baseball and we'd be
on the bus and stuff like that. Uh. I remember
(26:44):
in college when we'd be on trips, uh singing to
a few different songs like acapella. My brother and I
would do this on the bus, and all the guys
always asked us to do this, so I thought to myself,
I mean, maybe I'm better than I think that I am. Um. So, yeah,
year years into playing the guitar, I would I figured
out how to play and sing at the same time.
(27:05):
I mean I would play every Eric Church song, Al Deane,
Luke Bryan, I mean Chesney Keith urban song that I loved.
And I know I drove my roommates crazy in college
because I was always playing the guitar and always singing.
But I eventually got to where I'd go out into
the garage and uh, I would practice all day long
when I'd get out of class, like it was just
something I became very passionate about. And then they had
(27:28):
this open mic night at this place called Boardwalk Billy's,
which I have no clue that still there in Charlotte
where I went to school. Um, and they did open
mic night. Did you take him on with you? You go?
It would beat me just on my acoustic. I knew
how to play a handful of any friends, I'm saying,
did you have any friends in the crowd to kind
of hype Yeah? So, uh so I was. I was.
(27:50):
I will say this. I think her name is Megan.
Uh she was in a sorority and she loved country
music and she had a great voice as well. Um,
and they would give me about a handful of songs.
So I would play three, whether it be an Eric
Church song or Aldean or Luke Bryant, whatever it may be, UM,
songs that I knew the crowd would sing along to.
(28:11):
I'd get her up there to sing a couple of
songs as well. And by doing that, all of her
sorority sisters would come out to this bar and hang out.
And uh, it was always packed every Wednesday night. And Uh,
I would get up there and do my thing, and
when I would finish, people would always be like, oh, dude,
you're great. I was the only guy up there who
would ever play country music. And I think people really
(28:33):
loved that a lot. Um, and I kind of got
lucky in that sense. But what was the first time
you did that? Though? Because we jumped a little bit here,
I'll make sure like you're playing in the garage, practicing
on the bed, But what what was the first time
We're like, man, I gotta go do this in front
of somebody. I don't know what clicked, but there was
a guy on my baseball team, Um, I had heard
the guy say, oh, he went up there and played,
(28:55):
uh this open mic night. And I thought to myself, well,
if he can do it, I can do it. And
I was nervous as all get out, but I actually
went up there one night and and uh and did
it and loved. I think I started to crave that
affirmation that I was getting from people that always be
(29:18):
like when I finished, they'd always be like, man, you're
so good, Like I love I love what you do,
Like I'm so glad you played country music because nobody
up here does. Um. And I love that attention that
it gave me early on, and it caused me to
go back every Wednesday night, just just in that last semester.
So we're talking September, October, November, and I graduated in December.
(29:42):
And uh, when I moved back to Kernelsville, we didn't
have anything like that. There was no open mic nights anywhere,
you know, small town. UM. So my brother twin brother
a lot of people don't know, but I have a
identify up to him, was like, as oh, man, you
got amy. Everybody does that. Uh yes. So he when
(30:07):
we moved back home after college, we were living there
at my parents house and uh, upstairs, we went and
bought this drum kid because he was like, oh, I
learned how to play the drums and I'll play with
you while you play guitar. And what age was this
for him? I mean, what are you twenty one or
twenty two and you graduate something something somewhere in that
drums at twenty two as well? Yeah, yeah, not long
(30:27):
after I started the guitar and we would just sit
upstairs at my parents house and uh play all the
songs that we loved, and he would figure it out,
just like I was kind of figuring that out along
the way. And for whatever reason, I said, you know what,
I want to start a cover band. We'll play all
of our favorite songs. Um, but you can play drums.
(30:50):
I'll find a guitar player somewhere. UM. Never happened for
a while, so it would just be me and him.
But the first show that I ever had at this
place called J. J. He Looney's in high Point, North Carolina,
I went to book my own show. I just wanted
to get a show playing in front of people for
an hour, you know what I mean? I knew ten
songs maybe and I go in I asked the guy, Uh, hey,
(31:18):
I want to play a show in here. I feel
like I can pack this place out. I was saying
whatever I felt like I needed to say, um, and
he said, yeah, all right, I'll give you an opportunity.
I've seen some of my friends play in this place.
And he just said, the only thing is like, you
have to play a four hour set and you have
to have a full band. We don't do acoustic shows.
(31:39):
And yeah, yeah, I lied and said, yeah, yeah, no problem.
So what I did leading into that night, it was
I hired two buddies, two friends of mine that did
not know how to play an instrument, to come on
stage and act like they were playing for the show
because I didn't want it to get canceled. Uh. Long
story short, Uh, it was really bad. Was terrible. My
(32:01):
brother was terrible. Uh. We played the same ten songs
like three or four times over. Um. But because so
many people showed up, I kept getting opportunity after opportunity
to step in and play shows. And just like anything,
the more you do something, the better get at it.
And um yeah. That ultimately gave me a start, and
then years in I started trying to write my own
(32:22):
music for the first time, because I realized, Hey, if
I ever wanted to do anything with this, that's what
I need to do. Um, the songs weren't great, and
somehow people showed up to the shows and they would
sing it. And then a lot of the bigger clubs
that all the national acts from Nashville drive down and play.
I could sell out on my own. So I built
(32:43):
up this following there in the southeast of you know, Florida, Georgia,
and in North Carolina. And fast forward years later, that's
what ended up getting me a record deal here in Nashville.
When did you decide, all right, I'm gonna not now
to go try Nashville where the giants are. I mean,
I never thought that. I just I thought in the
moment when people would fly out and watch me play.
(33:04):
I remember I would go home after the shows and
talk to my parents about it because I would be like,
this is the craziest thing I've ever seen. I've never
even thought about getting a record deal or any of
that stuff. And now people are really starting to fly
out to watch me play all these shows. And I
think what happened was, uh, a lot of the booking
agents were talking in town saying like, who is this
guy in North Carolina who's selling out all these shows
(33:26):
on his own and booking them on his own and
he's not signed to a record label. Um, And I
think that's what ultimately got me a record do. And
your brother was like, if you go, I want to go. Yeah. Yeah.
So my brother had a child at the time, he
just had a child, Um, callaway and I was moving
to Nashville, and he's like, well, I started this thing
(33:46):
with you, like I wanna keep playing drums for you.
And I think we thought, like a lot of artists think,
like if you're not in town, um, you don't really
know what to expect. I thought to myself, I mean,
I'm about to move to Nashville. I could potentially have
a record deal, Like you're instantly famous, you're instantly rich,
(34:10):
like all this kind of stuff, and uh, for for
family's sake, for his sake, you know, I think he
wanted to be along for the ride of that. And
we learned the hard way that it takes a lot
of time, a lot of time out on the road
playing nobody, exhaustion, traveling through the night every night, driving
yourself around, um everywhere. But it makes it all worth
(34:33):
it in the end, uh, you know, when you get
to this point, and hopefully I continue to grow from here.
But I was giving opportunities to go out on tour
with uh Florida Georgia Line and and Rascal Flats and
all these people that I grew up going to their
concerts brat Paisley UM. And it was honestly an unbelievable
experience and one that I'm still kind of, you know,
(34:55):
getting used to now roll through a few number ones
here here is fixed from the first number one, right yeah,
(35:16):
and so that hits in now it was until he
had another number one, which is I don't know about you,
right one. If my chronological order is wrong, stop me,
but I think I think I have it here. So
in between eighteen though, like you have a hit? Are
you just banging your head against the wall, like I got,
what's what? What's been three years? Yeah? Yeah? So so
(35:39):
basically what happened was this, Um, A lot of people
don't even I haven't really said this a whole lot,
but uh, when I first moved to town, UM, I
started working with Joey Moy, who is an incredible producer.
You know, he produces Morgan Wallen j Cowen Uh did
all the old nickelback stuff as well. UM. I got
(36:00):
into the studio with him early on. And and because
I had never been in the studio before, especially with
the producer like that, UM, I didn't really know what
to expect, and I don't I was not prepared for that. UM.
So I had a lot of learning that I had
to do. I had to start taking vocal lesson. I
never had a vocal lesson in my entire life. I
started taking vocal lessons UM. And my sound was much
(36:23):
different when I first moved to town than Fix and
for Her, which from my first two singles. UM. But
what happened was I was going down a different trail
like music that I really loved a lot um that
had more rocking guitar, all that kind of stuff, and
I felt like that was my bread and butter. But UH,
when I got Fixed came along Uh. This was a
(36:46):
song that I was friends with Jesse Fraser Sarah Buxton
who was signed a Big Loud at the time as well. UM.
They had this song that they pitched me, which was
Fixed at the time, and it was so different than
anything that I had ever done. I thought to myself,
I'm a young artist. I'm not gonna it's hard to
stand out when you first get here because there's so
(37:07):
many incredibly talented artists. Um, maybe this song will help
me stand out in a different way because it had
the whole falset. It's not the first time anybody's done
that in country music. But at the end of the day,
it had it all over it, you know what I mean. Um,
And it was the first song in the studio that
my producer had ever turned around and said, what was that? Like?
(37:32):
Why don't you do that every time you get into
the vocal booth. For whatever reason, I took really well
to that song and sang it well, and I think
I caught him off guard. So I finished recording that song,
we put it out. They decide in the moment um
that they wanted to start a record label, which is
now Big Loud. You know it's me Morgan Wallin, Hardy J. Cowen, Um,
(37:57):
And I was gonna be the first artist on the
record label. And they asked me, they said, hey, do
you want to go sign to a major record label
or do you want to be the first artist on
our record label? And I thought about this. I'm like,
there's ten artists on these major record labels. Uh, maybe
this gets me a lot of attention and focus right
out of the gate, which ended up being that way. Um,
(38:19):
I record the song, we decided to put it out
as a single. I go on a twenty one week
radio tour. I found out the hard way from singing
fixing for her and a lot of these songs early
in the morning was really hard for me to do. Yeah. Yeah,
it's just super high and uh I got on radio
tour and had to wake up at three am just
(38:41):
to start warming my vocal up uh every day, which
was a really I mean, that was one of the
toughest times in my life. Um it's rewarding now, but
at the same time, it's really hard. But uh yeah,
right out the gate, Uh, brand new record label, first
artist on the record label, I get my first number one.
We all kind of know how that goes and how
it works. Um. Second single, which a lot of artists
(39:05):
during this time frame I feel like fell into was
you have that first number one, Um, you you can
go out and do all these radio shows, all that
kind of stuff, which really helps a lot. Um the
second a lot of people fell into this that second single. Um,
it's a little bit harder to work, you know what
I mean. You're kind of earning the trust of everybody.
(39:28):
You can come with hits all that kind of stuff. Uh.
I think it makes it to number six, number five
something along those lines, which was for her, but still
that same style with the falsetta when so for her
comes out top ten, Yeah, it's a it's a grind.
(39:51):
We get it there, we get a top ten song
out of it. Um, you still play that live? Yeah? Yeah.
After for her was Broken Windshield View. No. Broken Windshield
View was the first song that I ever recorded here
in Nashville. When I first got it was that every single.
It was never a single, but because I was out
on tour Florida Georgia line at the time and Nelly
(40:14):
on their like Ballpark tour. Um, I needed a song
other than my back in the day, I called myself
Chris Lane band, and all I could play were those
songs or songs that I had written here in Nashville
but never recorded. So yeah, Broken windsheld View was that
first song that I put out just to have a
(40:34):
song for people to to go home and hopefully download
and remember me by since I was being given that
amazing opportunity being on tour with uh Florida Georgia line.
But there, oh we got it all. Don't worry, there
we go everything. That's a throwback, right there? Do you
have for her? They hit top ten and the song
you did with Tory Kelly was also a top ten song,
(40:56):
right yeah? So that was my third single, UM, takee
back Home Girl. Uh, I'm surprised that did. Honestly, I
thought that was a really good song that didn't get
as high as I felt it should happen. Yeah, thank you.
Why do you think it didn't? Um? Well, from what
we were being told at the time, if I'm allowed
to say this, UM, I think because Tory Kelly was
(41:18):
considered a pop artist at the time. UM, I think
a lot of people weren't necessarily down to play it.
UM So I think there were I think there were,
you know, ten to fifteen stations that weren't necessarily about it,
and that made it tough to get it to number one.
We still got a top ten out of it. I
think it was number five or something around that. Um.
(41:41):
But it has been one of I mean, it's double
platinum song. One of my biggest songs in my career
and song it's one of those that don't hit number one,
But that doesn't hit number one, but people still know
they screaming at the shows at the end of the day.
That's that's uh truly what matters the most to me.
Um And And it helped me take that next little
stepping stone in my stepping stone into my career. Well,
(42:03):
here we go, another number one eighteen I Don't Know
About You? What's your name sound? And you followed it
up with another one, big big plans, two in a row.
Thank you. So you have to feel now like, okay,
I'm not one number one and just a struggle like
you got like you got your feet planned it now right?
You have to feel that way, Yeah, I mean a
(42:23):
little bit. Um I feel that way. I think I
Don't Know About You was such a big song for
my career and the biggest song uh so far from
my career that it really helped me take that next
step in a way that I noticed at the shows
I was. I went from selling X amount of tickets
(42:45):
to now selling out every room that I play in.
Um And, I'm super thankful for that song because I
actually almost didn't even record it, um, and that would
have been a huge thing and missed for me. But yeah,
it helped me take that next big step in my career.
And then Big Big Plans, which was a follow up,
was a grind but it took a while, but uh,
(43:07):
it eventually got there and and has been an incredible
song for my career as well. That's the last time
I saw you. Another thing about it was you and
Lauren came in the studio. Yeah, it sure was. Basically
wasn't that pretty close to when I put that song out?
I think it was because I remember, I think it
was right when you put it out. Yeah, and it
happened in the most organic, never even tried to make
(43:28):
it happen kind of way, which I think is the best. Um.
I truly only had that song for her for that moment.
I put like a little video to it, um, and
I was hoping that people would would like it, But
I didn't think in a sense of here's my next
single to country radio kind of thought. You know, it
(43:48):
was just a just a good moment for us and
and now seeing people take it and use it for
their own little moment or for me, the best part about.
It was watching guys come on to age and propose,
propose every single night. Uh was a highlight of my
tour and highlight of my night every single night because
as you, what was your proposal like in the sense
(44:11):
of were you incredibly nervous when you went to do it?
Like like I was, I blacked out. I don't even
remember what I said. I didn't. I wasn't nervous when
I did. I was nervous that I couldn't pull it
off because I had really been working. We have a
barn we had you did it were away shooting my
TV show and we had to move people in before
we landed, and then after we landed, I had to
(44:33):
keep her busy as a whole of the crew moved
into So for me, it was I put in all
this work and I wanted to surprise her. So I
was nervous that I wasn't going to pull it off.
But once she got down and she was shocked, I
was like, oh, this is money. How would your meet?
Her friend does pr for ABC, And so it was
oddly an organic way in a really inorganic time. You know,
I dated people I met on apps or whatever, but
(44:55):
her her friend that does PRC DPR for me at
Dancing with the Stars and an American idol, and so
she was like, hey, I'm gonna be down because I
went to when Lauren Elena was on Dancing with the Stars.
I was going to go support Lawrence. I was in
town and she was like, Hey, I'm gonna be there
so i'll see you. Come say hi. So I just
one said hi, and Caitlyn was with her and she
was like, oh, this is my friend Caitlin. We didn't
we said hello. That was it. We didn't talk for
(45:16):
like four months after that. Oh my gosh. Yeah, so
it was not It wasn't We didn't even go were
you but in that time frame, were you thinking about
her all the time where you're like, man, I really
want to I was just like yes, but we didn't talk.
We said hello quickly, but did you exchange numbers? Now?
But honest to god, this is the truth, and I've
never said this the truth. I thought she was way
too hot for me and I didn't want to get rejected,
(45:38):
and so I didn't pursue it at all because I
was like, you know what, she's she lives in laws,
but a little I know she's from Oklahoma and just
moved to l A to go to grad school. Like
she wasn't an l A girl. But I'm like, all right,
it's an l A girl super hot, you know what.
I don't. I don't feel like being rejected. So I
just didn't do. I just didn't. But you're Bobby Bones.
(45:58):
Nobody cares, you know, no one cares. And so I
finally got the nerve up to uh message her. I
was like, because I was going back into town a
few months later. I was going to be a guest
on some game show called to Tell the Truth, to
Tell the Truth, and I was like, hey, I'm gonna
be in town. Hey, no big deal if you can't.
It's like when you asked someone to do a song,
You're like, hey, I know this may be terrible. You
(46:18):
say no if you want. And I was like, I'm
gonna be in town for one night to do this show.
Do you want to uh have a dinner? And she
was like yeah, sure. And then I was so late
getting out of the recording. I was like two hours late,
and I just knew, Oh my gosh, I know, and
I was like, I'm so sorry. She I guess okay,
I'm over to friend's house anyway, if it doesn't work, whatever,
We're all good. And so we met and then we
(46:40):
had went to like some chain salad restaurant and I
was like, oh, this is different. You just I didn't
know I was gonna get married immediately, But I was
like same. I was like, oh this this clicks completely
different than anything else I've ever had. Was that like
you and Lauren? Yeah, same, same exact thing. I mean,
I don't know how you were before, but I had
the months that I wasn't getting married. Um, I didn't.
(47:03):
I think I thought my whole life and and there's
a lot of reasons to this, but I didn't necessarily
want kids and not like that whole thing. Um, I think,
Uh yeah, it was way different. Like obviously when we
first met, it was at an I Heart Radio thing
in Austin, Texas, like a festival. Yeah yeah, And Lauren
(47:24):
was just coming off the show The Bachelor, and she
was kind of whatever you want to call engaged to.
Uh did she win? She yeah, she won the show. Um,
you can tell how much I have no idea. Yeah,
I'm like, what she the Bachelor? I'm sure, I'm I
guarantee I probably watched that season. I don't remember because
it's been so long ago, but um, yeah, I think
her and her uh the guy she was engaged to
(47:46):
at the time. We're presenting at this festival. So I
played earlier during the day on the festival stage, and uh,
I was with Tom Pullman at night and we walked
over and said hello. Uh, there's a photo from that
night as well, where I'm standing beside Lauren and uh.
I think Tom's in the middle and then Ben's on
(48:06):
the outside, and it was kind of a foreshadowing photo.
None of us obviously knew in that moment, but it
truly looks like Lauren together in Minnesota. Um. But yeah,
four years go by, four years, four years go by,
it was that long. Yes, it was that long. Um.
And she became single and you guys like, how did
(48:27):
you get back in touch with her? I was in
l A one night, Um, I think recording my second record,
and I had a few days off. I just played
a show out towards out towards that way, and we
had a few days. We were standing over at Sportsman's
Lodge where they allow busses to park there in in
l A. And uh, she swears to this day that
(48:48):
she has no idea that I was even in town.
I think she's lying, but she swears that she had
no idea I was there. But she faced timmey out
of nowhere. I hadn't talked to her in a long time,
and uh, she was like, what are you doing. I
was like, I'm in l A. She was like, no,
you're not. I was like yeah, She's like, you want
to meet up? I'm telling you the fast version of
(49:09):
the story. And Uh, at the time, I thought to myself,
I mean, yeah, I do, but where are you at?
And she was all the way out Marina del Rey,
long ways away. I didn't want to get a uber
out there. She ended up coming up towards me. We
kind of met in the middle. Uh, hung out for
a long time that night, had a great time, and uh.
(49:30):
Months and months later, I was going on a trip
to the Bahamas with a few buddies of mine at
this place that we love going to, and I randomly
decided to ask her if she wanted to go. She
said she'd go if she could bring a friend. We
really hit it off on that trip. Continuously called her
when I got home, and then I feel like it
wasn't that long. Long afterwards, we're hanging out a lot
(49:52):
more and you were here though still Yeah, yeah, lying
back and forth, you flying back and forth. Yeah. So
because I was always out on the road, she tried
would hear a little bit more than I went to
l a um. Yeah, And then I said, you know what,
maybe I should settle down with her. I love her
a lot, We have so much fun together. And it
was just like you said, way different than anything else
(50:13):
I had ever experienced. And when it happened, it happened
incredibly fast. I mean I feel like a year later
we were dagon engaged and now we're about to have
a baby. It's it's nuts and all the things that
I said that I never wanted, like I can't wait
for now. And I think it does take that that
special someone, if you will, to to kind of change
(50:37):
your thoughts and and and what you truly want I
do to lie to me. It wasn't that I never
wanted it. I just I, honest to God, didn't not
believe it was real. I thought everybody. I thought people
would were just settling and they would have to make
up a story to say, oh I just felt it
or movies and books, and I was I got to
the point where I was, you know, thirty seven years old,
(50:58):
and I was like, I've not felt anything like this
same and so I really and I said it to
her and I proposed. I was like, I never believe
that love was real, Like I just didn't. I thought
it was something that people just made up to give there.
But then for the first time, I was like, bru oh,
that's it. Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's weird how
that happens like that. I mean, I'd watch my twin
(51:19):
brother go through a tough relationship and I thought to myself,
good lord, I don't want anything like that. Um, but yeah,
this is this is it was just way different. I mean,
like you said, And now she's about to have a baby.
I heard her pictures on Instagram, like somehow she's able
to And I don't know about I've never I don't
have a kid yet, right, we probably have a kid
in the next year and a half, two years or something,
(51:40):
I don't know. But she has maintained physically the normal. Lord.
Then her stomach is like seven ft long. It's awesome,
but it's crazy. It's why because I've never seen a
neck and pregnant lady. Right. So the only thing I
ever see are when people are like, look at my belly,
and so I'll see Lauren do that and I'm like, wow,
she looks great. She looks the same with a yes.
(52:04):
I don't know what the right thing is to say,
but it's Laura Lauren lawn, big belly, Laura Lauren Lauren.
I've said that. It doesn't even make sense to me. Um,
but yeah, she's she's carried on. How I mean, we're
we're it could happen any minute. Oh, she's it's it's
a go time. Yeah, I think her her dude date
is is literally right now. So we're we're approaching either
(52:27):
gonna have him on the day or maybe a little
bit late. And I know she is ready for him
to come out. Now. Are you getting uncomfortable for more
nervous or excited? I think I'm more excited for sure. Um,
I was super super nervous in the beginning. And I'll
(52:48):
say this. One of the main I feel embarrassed even
say this, but one of the main reasons that I
never wanted to have kids is because I'm a germophobe
and I feel like every body that I know that
has kids as parents, they're always sick because their kids
always sick. And I'm like, definitely afraid of being sick.
(53:08):
It's just one of those things that I hate more
than anything. Um So I built it up in my
mind all these years, like I don't think I can
have kids because they're always sick and I don't want to,
you know, take on that. And I hear like, once
you have them, all that kind of stuff, you don't
even think about it. You just, you know, kind of
like with dogs, like whatever they go through, you you
(53:31):
help them out, you know what I mean. You don't
even think. You just jump in there and do it.
It's weird. I wonder if, and you're way closer to
this than I have, because you could have a baby
tomorrow tonight. But I wonder if because people tell me
the same thing. Man, once you have a kid, it's
all different, everything is different. But I used to hear
that about love too, and I didn't believe it until
it happened. And so I can't personally feel yet how
(53:52):
it's going to be to have a kid, and you
really can't either. But for the first time, I do
believe they're probably right. Yeah, They're right the right and
with uh. I've been trying this whole time. Um, I
mean kind of on purpose, but not kind of. Not
on purpose. I just wanted to be a nice little
(54:13):
letter to him when he can understand music. But I
wrote him this song recently that I'm thinking about recording
UH call. It ain't even met you yet, and it's
about the real feelings that as a father I was
going through, uh in the moment, and it truly is
the most exciting, uh time in my life. And I
know I'm about to come into from what all my
(54:33):
buddies tell me the most exhausting time of my life.
But uh, I've never been more ready for anything in
my entire life. You guys are really funny on Instagram?
Did she ever was this you? Guys? Did you ever
have a dream about you and then you're in trouble
when you wake up? Does that ever happen with you, guys?
Because that happens with Caitlin all the time. She's not
a bad dream. And I'll hear something in the dream
(54:54):
and then she'll wake up and I have to like
get back to even and I didn't do anything wrong.
That's hilarious. It's like her when she's pregnant, does she
have any of that, like crazy dreams or anything like
that happening? Yeah, I mean no, but she along the way,
like just throughout our relationship, I feel like she's definitely
had those dreams where she's like, I'm sad and I'm like,
what's wrong. She's like, I had a dream last night
(55:15):
that you cheated on me, and I'm like, well, I
would never do anything like that. Let me play a
couple of things here from two thousand twelve. Here is
All I Ever Needed from Chris Lane Man, oh my words.
From two thousand twelve, Here is Let's ride. Here we go. Well,
(55:37):
you're sad. What do you feel when you hear those bag?
I mean, honestly so nostalgic, but I'm like halfway embarrassed
at the same because it was the first songs that
I ever sat down to write. No one ever told
me how to write a song, uh with All I
Ever needed? It was one of those things that Uh.
(56:00):
I was such a big Keith Urban fan at the time.
I thought to myself, Okay, that was the first song
I ever wrote in my entire life. I sat down
with my acoustic, just start playing these chords and and
I thought to myself, what would Keith Urban do or
what would he say? And and I didn't get it right,
not not even close. But that was my take on
it at the time. And then, uh, the Less Ride
(56:24):
was like one of those songs that, uh, I don't
I just my whole life, I've loved that, uh Al
Deane style, the Eric Church style, like the rocking guitars
kind of thing, um. And that was my take on that.
I just sat down and I would play on my
electric guitar in my room there and I just started
writing that song. And and again, none of these songs
(56:45):
are are amazing or great, but at the end of
the day, the mind blowing part to me is that
I sat down and wrote those, had a buddy record them.
They sound terrible, all that kind of stuff, um, but
people would show up to the shows and sing them
in and it ultimately got me to where I'm at now.
So I am, while I am mildly embarrassed embarrassed of
(57:06):
those uh, I'm also thankful for him because they got
me at this point. I have a bunch of questions
that I always make a list of questions before someone
comes in, because if the interviews are really not going well,
I'm just like, let me just go to the questions.
I haven't asked a single one of these, which is
a good sign honestly. Um, So we'll do quick answers
here because, um, well just because let's see here, what
was a better day in your life? Your wedding or
(57:29):
winning a championship with recupables? Dang, just just just for
my wife's sating my wedding day. Are you still can
you still play? I mean you still play ball? Like?
Are you? Are you a lead out there? Uh? Out there? Yeah?
I mean I mean I can still You know, I
played centerfield in college. Um, I can still track the
ball down pretty good. Um. And I'm not hitting with
(57:52):
an incredible amount of power because I'm a small guy,
but um but yeah, I can still hit hit it
pretty decent. You you taken a couple, so you're like, hey,
do you want to fill in? And I know in
l A, weren't you. I would if we're out shooting
a show. But I was thinking to myself, because I'll
commit no matter what, I'll compete. I don't care what
it is saying. If it's tiddley winks or softball, but
I haven't. I haven't played ball in in two or
(58:13):
three years at all. And I was like, you know what.
I would have said yes, but I would have come
back hurt and embarrassed. But dang it, I was gonna
say yet. I pulled my hamstring numerous amounts of time
out there just from I'm like, good lord, I'm getting
old out here, but I remember from Uh, it's spent
years and years and years ago, but uh, we played
in a in a celebrity softball tournament together, and I
(58:34):
remember you being awesome. No, awesome, it's not the word
like barely holding on to any sort of good. I
used to be. No, no, no, I used to be.
I'm like, you know what, I'm kind of like Toby Keith.
I'm not as good as I once was, but one time,
if you get me out there, I could be as
good as I used to be. Yeah, Um, you're all
d a c L injury, so'll give you trouble one
of rains. Um, not necessarily, No, it's just I mean,
(58:57):
I haven't experienced a whole lot of pain with that good. Yeah.
Like I broke I broke a pinky. It still hurts.
If it gets cloudy, I'm like, oh my god, I'm dying. Yeah. Now,
I will say this, like from running around out there
on the field and stuff like that, I do get
incredibly sore for like four or five days afterwards. Um,
but I think this age. I saw you on Instagram
A posted a screenshot between you and your wife about
(59:20):
a clogged toilet, and I think you had her name as.
I think her name is Lolo who I don't know.
I started calling her that when we first started hanging out,
and that's what I saved dr my phone as and
I never changed it. Uh. Throughout all this time, you
get engaged and Lauren has a ton of social media
(59:41):
following because of The Bachelor, Do you get a lot
of social media following like residual from her? You know what?
I don't know the actual answer to that, but I
do think it helped. I mean, the Bachelor Nation is
a real, real thing. Um. And even though it's spend
all the years ago since Lauren was on the show, um,
(01:00:05):
she's still been able to Uh. Uh. I don't want
to say stay in the public eye, but in a way,
I don't know what else to call it other than
that and and um, I think they've invested in her
life and and because uh we're married now, um, I
think that maybe makes them invest a little bit into
my life as well, just just from her. So yeah,
(01:00:26):
I think I definitely got a little bit of us
When we first started dating. I noticed that my uh
followers grew really quickly, um, compared to what they were,
So yeah, I'm sure I did get some spill over
from that. Any of those bachelor h people where they
ever mean to you know, I've never had anybody be uh.
I mean that there's people who are who are rude
(01:00:47):
and say weird things all the time, but um, I'm
usually great about ignoring that it doesn't bother me and
not that kind of stuff. But no one was ever rude,
And I think the main reason is that they could
see that it was real, that we had fun together,
that it wasn't fake, none of that kind of stuff.
And I think at the end of the day, people
do love um real up they want to see people happy.
(01:01:10):
But um, yeah, I think from that end of things,
it was it was real from the beginning, and hopefully
people saw that. Or I'm an end with this because
I know you opened for Garth that he asked you
to go out and you did a show before him,
so I get it's kind of a two part or
one before you play. Does he do you say Heidi
Garth before the show at all? Does he come by
and say what's up? Yes? And I think, you know,
(01:01:32):
everybody has great stories of Garth Brooks um And and
now I know on a personal level why because he
didn't have to he went out of his way. Uh.
I think I'm allowed to say this, but uh, I
get into my dress room earlier that day and there
is a whole table full of merch signed by him.
(01:01:55):
And I mean, as a huge fan, that is, you know,
obviously incredible. I'm super excited, super pumped. Did not think
that he would stop buy and say hello, but him
and Tricia both stopped by to say hello, stuck around
for a while. We just sat there and chatted and uh,
it was one of the coolest moments in my career.
(01:02:15):
And I'll say this he uh he said, I heard
you're a card guy, give me your best trick, and
and I thought to myself, well, I don't know who
you heard that from, but I'm not a car guy.
I don't know how to do anything. He was like, well,
good because I am. And he put out a decade
cards and did this uh and did this card trick
(01:02:37):
that I feel like I had seen people do before,
but he was really good at it. He totally like
jip me. He got me and uh when he left
the room, I was just, you know, smiling ear to ear,
thinking this was the coolest thing that's ever happened to me.
Sorry about that, and uh uh one of my guitar
players that played on the show with me, he was like,
(01:02:58):
I know that trick, let me show you how to
do it, and something that I was so mind blown
over once I learned. Once I uh figured out how
he did it, cracked me up that he pulled that
off and actually got me on it. That's funny that
Garth Brook comes into the room accused you of being
a card guy, only because he knows you're not. He goes, well,
I am, and then does a card trick and it
(01:03:18):
walks out. It was awesome. He's the best, though, also
are both the best. I also saw one of my
other favorite artists, Keith Urban and and maybe he had
heard me talk about him uh in interviews before, but
I made eye contact right when I first got I
just I think I just put out fixed uh. But
I made eye contact with him at you know how
(01:03:40):
artists go and do all the radio rounds, all that
kind of stuff, um for an award show. And he's
across the room and make eye contact. And he walked
out of his way to walk over there and say
hello to me. And I was incredibly nervous. Um. I
remember telling him the story about out uh me going
(01:04:01):
to his concert and I was in this in the
row at the time. He would he would do this
gag where he would play you look good at my shirt,
and he would always make himself or make his way
into the crowd. And he walked upon an owl and
I just so happened to be. This is before I
started playing music. I just so happened to be in
the road that he came to. And he gave the guitar,
(01:04:22):
his guitar away to one of the girls in my
row a few seats down for man. I'm telling him
the story. I'm like, man, you're my hero, Like, uh,
you know, you're my biggest inspiration, all this kind of stuff.
And he gave me a hug and he was like, buddy,
patting me on the back. He's like, buddy, you need
to get out more. I listen, We've done an hour.
(01:04:44):
It's been a great hour. Followed Chris. I am Chris Lane.
Um hecking far along. Follow Lauren to at Lauren Lane.
But this is not about her, however. Tell Arsta Hello,
it's funny you guys. You guys are hilarious. We gotta
hang out, man, all that hanging you got about a year,
that's that. That's but tell her hello, congratulations. It's great
(01:05:07):
to see you again. I know I just haven't seen
a whole lot of folks recently. But I'm glad to
have you over and good to catch you up with
good luck. Thank you man, I appreciate that. And you
look good for your dog commercial. Look like fancy. No
one ever gets dressed out for this. All right, you
guys go check out philled them boots. Follow Chris on
Instagram and I will see soon.
Host
Bobby Bones
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