Jerry Flowers has written No. 1 songs for Sam Hunt, Jason Aldean and Billy Currington. He also has a song on the radio right now that he wrote: “Chasing After You” by Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris. On top of that he is Keith Urban’s Bass Player and Musical Director. Jerry tells us about how he first met Keith and played in his first band “The Ranch” and what it was like touring back in the 90’s...plus ultimately what led to the band calling it quits. Jerry and Bobby talk about the other gigs he had playing with The Counting Crows and The Chicks which eventually lead him back to playing with Keith. He also shares how Sam Hunt is as a writer and the craziest concert he’s ever played.
Follow Jerry on Instagram @JerryFlowersMusic
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
What's having to friends? Jerry Flowers is coming in. You
gotta say, I really enjoyed this conversation. And this is
a complete Mike d booking because we were talking about Jerry.
What was it Ryan Herd or Ki Urban or both both? Yeah. Yeah,
When Ryan heard came in, I was like, that's interesting.
And I looked him up after that and I was like,
this guy has a lot to look into. Yeah, he's
(00:25):
written multiple number one songs. He was in the Ranch,
which was Keith Urban's original band. He was one of
the three people. He also is Keith Urban's musical leader,
like music director now just just wild. He's done so
many things. So I really enjoyed this conversation and I
think you guys well too. So hang out for that
Top five songs releases this week that I'm looking forward to.
(00:46):
At number five, Lady A has a new album out
and the album is called What a Song Can Do.
There is a song on it called Friends Don't Let Friends.
He's got Carly Pierce, Darius Rutger, and Thomas read on it,
and here's the clip saying along give them, man, you're
(01:08):
gonna make a bad decision. You shouldn't make it. On
your Friends Friends Tring Along. At number four, I'm a
big Taylor Acorn fan. She has a new song called
left You insteadt You Instead and all the tables It's hurt.
(01:28):
What if the end of the smell that you're the
one who would get hurt? But to take back what
you say, show me a much you learn? If I
could get in Yet I'm playing the same scene that
you did. What if he laves you in? At number three,
Cassie Ashton has a new song called Heavyweight and Lady
(01:55):
lay it on the lack her Heavenly Heavenly At number two,
Brett Eldridge has a new Christmas album out called Mr. Christmas.
Here is his version of It's the most wonderful time
of the year. It's the most wonderful time. I mean,
he's the guy for Christmas the country, right, Yeah, he's embraced.
(02:17):
If he works hard at it, it's his, he owns.
It was weird that Brett Young put out an album
the same day for Christmas songs. Yeah double Brett, like
you know, with a lot of Christmas this week. It is,
but the two breads at the same time is also
confusing and right now Eldridge is over a Young. So
if I were Brett Young, I went maybe a week
later or a week before, because I think he'll get
(02:39):
he'll get lost. I mean we didn't even mentioned in
the five. I guess I did now, But Brett Eldridge
is number two. And then Abby Anderson has a new song,
not the Abbey from our show, different Abby Anderson. This
is called Bad Posture. So those are my favorite releases
(03:12):
this week. Yeah, you mentioned there's a lot of Christmas songs.
I mean Paisley has a song with Rob Thomas, Tim
McGraw has one, Landy Wilson has one, Morgan Wade has one,
has two. So it's Christmas time and most of those songs,
they're classics that people are covering and it's free to
do so public domain. Yeah, because he needs just going
record him and you gotta pay anything for it. You know,
it's been out long enough. Garth Brooks has said two
(03:33):
intimate shows at the Rheman two hundred and fifty bucks
a seat. They're not going to fill the Rheman up though,
if you can afford that ticket, that'd be a really
cool ticket to have. I saw Garth play Vegas, just
him and a guitar. It was really awesome. I've still
never seen him. What do you mean, you've never seen
him in concert, big or little? Nope in studio as
(03:53):
he played while you've been in here. I don't think
he played when I was here. Really, Yeah, he's played
a couple of times, and I went to that show
that got out. Oh you went to the Big Garth
Brookshire was the first time we're gonna get to see him.
Chris Stapleton has rescheduled two Nashville shows for vocal Rest.
He's fighting learningitis, so please God, don't let us lose
Chris Stapleton. Ryan Herd has announced his tour day Pelago dates,
(04:18):
so if you want to see Ryan Hurd, he'll be,
you know, hopping all over the road. Luke Bryan's gonna
host the c m A Awards and he'll be doing
it by himself. He's hosted the A c m S
with the Dirks and Blake, but he's gonna do the
c m A S alone, which will be interesting to
see rooting for that. Kanye West has changed his name
to just Yea. It's not ye Yeah. It looks like
ye if you just see it, but you just have
to think of it as Kanye, So he's now Yea,
(04:41):
which isn't a dramatic change. People were already calling him that.
It's not like Puffy when he changed his name did
nobody was calling him Diddy before. He's just like using
his nickname now. All right, that's pretty much the news
and the songs. Let's get going here. I think you're
really gonna like this interview. Here you go all right
in studio now with Jerry fly hours, which I think
(05:02):
I'll start before we get into the ranch, before we
get into what you're doing now. And I guess I
was just talking about you with Ryan heard two days ago,
all right, Yeah, so like you're top of mind because
Ryan was talking about you. Um as far as chasing
after you you wrote that, right? How long did you
write the song for Ryan and seven years ago? Yeah,
(05:23):
that's what you said. And I guess it wasn't written
as a duet first, no, no, no, um Uh. I
wrote it with Brindley Addington. It was the very first
time I ever wrote with him, uh. And it was
just one of those super fast songs, like I wrote
that riff and the melody literally right when he was
walking to the door and he goes, oh, what's that
and then it was off. Man. We were finished in
(05:45):
probably an hour. When you say you wrote the riff
of the melody, which like the verse, yeah, yeah, and
then I wrote the chorus melody really fast, and then
we just wrote the lyrics. Was that common for you
to write them fast like that? I mean, I'm a
riff guy. That's what I do best, you know. And um,
that kind of thing is more my style to that
(06:07):
particular song because it's a little more on the R
and B side, which I grew up loving. So um,
and you also have had success like even like looking
at the Keith Sweat stuff. Oh no, that's different Jerry Flowers,
but I have I do come up. I was gonna
make a joke about that because when I looked you
up at first, I was like, that's not the same guy.
I know. It was like a pastor who's a black guy.
(06:27):
And I was like in Atlanta, Yeah, Like, I wanna
bring up this Jerry Flower and see if he if
people confusing, I'm hoping he's not getting some of my
royalties maybe, but or maybe I'm getting some of his.
Uh No, I've I've had adjacent rulo cut years ago. Right, Yeah,
that was like the first R and B thing I've had.
But yeah, I grew up loving Prince and Stevie Wonder
and people like that, and like, I grew up in
(06:49):
a really really country area, but I didn't listen to
country that much growing up because at that point in
the eighties, it wasn't that cool. You know, Hank Jr.
Was the only cool and so like West Virginia, Inch,
West Virginia, What what what's Pinch, West Virginia about? Uh,
it's just very, very tiny. It's maybe two thousand people. Um,
I mean it's a beautiful place. Uh, nice mountains and everything,
(07:12):
but not a big music biz there. I met from
Mountain Pine, Arkansas, seven dred people a similar but we
had our town. I don't know if you guys went
to town, but we went to town and town was
Hot Springs where they had fifteen thousand people, and that
that was the city to us. Yeah, we had Charleston,
which was that's the capital city. It's a hundred thousand people.
(07:33):
So how far was Charleston from Pinch Maybe thirty minutes.
So would you go to town? Was that a term
that was used? Sure? Yeah? And then you know, when
I was eighteen, I started playing there, you know, in clubs. Uh,
you know, I was on the road two weeks after
I graduated high school for about a year. Then I
came back and just started playing a bunch of clubs
and then um uh I met uh guy meat Loaf
(07:55):
was playing in town and his band happened to walk
into this bar that we were playing at and met
those guys, and then from there they kind of met
the meat Loaf guys. Yeah, I got even path Rawle
kind of took me in after he saw me playing
this club, and I became like a mentor to me,
and um, you know, really convinced me that I could
do this. How do you pick up an instrument in Pinch,
Virginia or West Virginia? Is there a family member that
(08:17):
was like, Yeah, my brother Randy, who's an amazing musician.
He's here also and he played with meat Loaf for
twelve years. He also played with Meatland. Yeah, but not
then he got the gig later on because of that,
because they saw us, you know that one time in
this little bar in West Virginia. Were you guys playing together? Yeah?
Did you guys ever think about pursuing you know, we'll
(08:39):
do you know, the Brothers Osborne type thing. We did
for a minute. Um, after you know, after the Ranch
broke up, and then I went to the Dixie Chicks.
After that we um, uh, you know, the Dixie Chicks
went to a bluegrass thing and which I don't play
upright bass, so I was like suddenly out of a gig.
So then we started doing our own band, but it
was more of a rock thing. So you grow up
(09:00):
in West Virginia, You're playing clubs in Charleston for the
most part, the meat Loaf Crew comes in. Is that
what got you out of that area though? And do
you think you would have stayed in the area? No? No,
I mean I always knew that I wanted to do something.
My brother and also and then our keyboard player John Derick,
who was with us then he actually ended up playing
(09:21):
with Alison Krauss here and and Mike McDonald and has
an amazing career. Um. But uh no, we always knew
were going to get out. Um, but I didn't think
it was gonna be Nashville. I thought it was gonna
be New York. And then uh, we ended up moving
here and I met Keith six months later. In nine
and started playing with him. So the ranch was a
(09:42):
trio and so it was you, Keith and Peter. Percussion
was Peter right, yeah? And so what was the genesis
of that three piece? Was it always? Hey, all three
of us we get together. Whether two of you guys
that kind of recruited a third they recruit they they
found me because they had moved here maybe six months
(10:03):
before that. And uh, I don't know what happened to
their bass player, but um they a guy that my
brother met at a jingle studio. UM met uh that
he just mentioned that his he's got this Australian friend
that needed a bass player. So we went to their house.
I went to his house and it was a rough place. Man.
(10:23):
It was a place where three Australian shouldn't have been
living at the time. You know, now it's a super
cool area, but then it was not. And uh we
went down to his basement. He had a little p
a and uh I played a couple of songs with him,
and then two weeks later I was in Australia for
six months. You were in Australia. Yeah, I mean, what
were you doing it? What was the idea of it?
In Australia. He just said, hey, do you have a
(10:45):
passport after like the second song, and I said nope.
So we went and got one and then we moved.
We went there for six months just to play, because
that's what they would do. They would have to go
back and make money there to playing clubs to come
back here and survive, you know, because they couldn't legally
make money here. They still happens. I mean, that's still
a thing now. Like I have friends that before they
(11:05):
could get like their their work visas. I guess we'll
call it. They really could come here and do nothing
except right I think um the drummer and the manager
with more lawns during the day, you know, to pay
for Keith to you know, have the ability to write songs.
What was it about Keith the mad to go okay,
there could be something here or was it just that
(11:26):
you were like, let's just try something with anybody talented
at all and just what hits. I mean, as soon
as I played with him, I knew, like you know,
he was the music was a little different than Um.
He was a lot more like Chicken picking old school
of country guitar playing. But uh, I just knew the
second I met him, because he just everything about him
(11:46):
was a superstar. You know how how wild were those times?
Meaning you know, I've talked to Keith both and Keith
and every buddies off the air a bit, and definitely
we do stuff on the air too, And you know
he's told me there are times months, months, full months
at a time, even maybe even years he didn't remember. Yeah,
He's like, I just I don't know. It was nuts. Yeah,
(12:06):
I mean in those days as you were starting and
having to hit the ground running, was it still nuts
in that way too? Um? Or did were you so
focused on making it? No? I mean I knew it
was gonna do well. Now, the Ranch we were so
different because we were a trio and at that time,
that time in Nashville, there weren't anybody that looked like him.
(12:26):
Uh and what do you look like him like? I
mean he had real long blonde Harry Hat ear rings,
he had all these chains, and what was Nashville saying
about him at the time. I mean, I think they
loved watching him play, but they didn't know what to
do with him, and so they stunned. The Ranch got
a deal with Warner Brothers. At first and uh, back
when I was still Warner Brothers, um and Uh, they
(12:49):
didn't know what to do with us. They would have
us go in and record all these different versions, different
producers coming in. And then finally Scott Hendrix was that
Capital at the time. He bought our contract from them,
and then it all kind of started from there. I mean,
it was it was a fun time for us, but
it was rough too because we were in a van
for five years just playing NonStop and kind of beating
(13:12):
our heads against the wall for a long time. You know,
did you guys feel like you were struggling to also
find an identity or did you know the identity and
people just were struggling. They were except what you felt
like they were struggling to understand it at that point,
you know, because we knew it was good. But then
after five years we said, down, it's like this is
not working. And so, uh, he did a solo thing
and then I went straight to the Dixie Chicks after that. So,
(13:34):
and I do want to come back to this, but
it's to me because I've seen you with Keith before.
Because you're working, I assume you're still like the musical director,
you know, with Keith as he plays playing bass and
musical director. Right. Yeah, you never know. Sometimes people come
in and like, well as of yesterday, Yeah, well yeah,
it's it's hard to say, but to go as you know,
(13:55):
one of the three in the ranch. And I mean,
was there appointment when you split up and he went
solo and then for you to go back and play
as part of his solo. No, really no, because we
had tried so hard and we knew it wasn't working,
and I was actually super excited to get a gig.
(14:16):
That was you know that actually had a tour bus
at this point, you know, because we're in a van
and roughing it man like, because it was just the
three of us and we had one guy and that
travel with us, and you know, we had our all
our gear in the back. We took out the back
seats of the van, and uh, it was rough going
for a while. Like you know, we would play for nobody,
(14:37):
you know, because they would the the label would send
out like the singles like a week ahead of tim
and to try to get somebody to show up, and
most of the time nobody would care. Nobody would show up.
When you're grinding in a van like that, and again
I emphasized band. Are you guys stopping down to stay
all three of you in a hotel room? Yeah? Or
do you ever just stopped down to go We're gonna
(14:57):
sleep in the van tonight? No? No, I mean we
we traveled most of the time. We would play and
then drop all night the next one. Would you switch
up who drove so other people could sleep? Yeah? Yeah,
we just rotated the three of us all the time,
always tired, always always drunk too. Like it was so
I mean, not the driver. But it was just like
(15:17):
a full on party all the time back then too.
But it didn't seem it didn't seem out of control.
It just seemed like we're just young dudes on the road.
That's what we're supposed to do, you know. But it
was it was fun. It was There were fun times
just living in a vegor and touring, because there's a
difference in country music touring and my friends who do
pop or rock touring, um, and you guys were basically
(15:39):
doing rock touring, meaning you don't come home all over
the place. Yeah, like crazy routing, just stuff that should
not have happened, you know, because the country tour will
go sometimes Thursday, Friday, Saturday, sometimes just Friday Saturday, you know,
and then you come back home and you live your
life and maybe right maybe your family. But if you're
(16:00):
like a rock group or you're a pop artist, it's Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
But imagine doing that in Avand No, it wasn't easy.
But I mean it sounds horrible now to me because
the way we traveled now. But uh then it didn't
seem that terrible because that's all we knew. You know,
after five years of it, it got a little I
(16:20):
got a little rough. Who had to pull the trigger
or pull the plug and go Keith did, Yeah, yeah.
I mean he's a brutally honest person in the absolute
best way. What's that conversation like to the guys. I
mean he just set us down. He said, he said, hey,
let's meet and we had some coffee and then he goes,
this is just not working anymore. I think I think
we need to to to make a change. And again
I was I was okay with it just because I was,
(16:43):
you know, ready for something new. And I think it
was hard on his drummer, Peter, because they've been together
along on time, so you know many years. Here is
walk in the Country from the Ranch down the Tree
was so good data. What do you think about when
(17:10):
you hear that song? I mean it steel feels good, yeah,
and it also feels like because Keith has so many
different versions of himself, it just almost depends and what
creative space he's in when he's doing a record. And
you know that's more than I do. But you know,
he may have you know, breath and hop on a record,
or then he may do you know, the Tennessee two Stay. Yeah,
(17:32):
he doesn't sit still right, but this sounds like it
could be on a current that record. Every song on
that album is great because he wrote all those with
this guy Vernon Rust and man, they just had some
special chemistry at that point. Here is just some love
food here the Grand Canyon, He's just some nichh just
(17:56):
some which have the Bigot was just seeing down Baby.
I feel like it's it was ahead of its time.
I could be hit right now exactly what I'm thinking
as it's playing like. I feel like that was just
a bit ahead of its time. It was his look,
(18:17):
the style of what you guys were doing. You were
maybe fifteen years too early. Maybe twelve and you've been
still early then, but then you owned it because you know,
then we it was not the norm. You know, everybody
was really rocking the cowboy hats and you know, the
flame shirts and everything, and we just didn't look like that.
(18:38):
Do you ever go and you know, as you tour
with Keith and people recognize you, does anyone know you
from the range? Yeah? We were in Vegas about two
weeks ago. We're doing a little residency there and uh,
I met up with um a guy named David Ryan
Harris after the show. He's a guitar player for John Mayer.
And he had a lady with him that we're for
(19:00):
Caesar's and she was saying, I don't know, you probably
would never remember this show, but I saw you guys
and as the ranch in uh uh it was it
was Arizona, I think. And she mentioned the name of
the club and I remembered it like immediately because Keith recently,
uh sent me a picture he found this. Uh he
(19:23):
found this calendar that because he took notes for everything,
he recorded everything, like tons and tons of video from
all those days. You know, I don't remember him doing that,
but he always had a camera because there's a lot
of video, but he found this. He found this one
year of us on tour and every single show was
written and he's got the little liner notes of what
the p A was like in each club. And then
(19:44):
I showed her that particular show, you know, and so
she said that she saw us he was a little
a teenager because her her dad was a radio guy.
And uh, she still remembers that seeing us in that moment,
Keith took those notes like that, Oh yeah, like it's funny,
I want to play and then I want to also
(20:04):
get to your songwriting in a second. But some days
you gotta dance from from the ranch. First chance in
the world. And then the Dixie Chicks. The Chicks they
piked number number seven with this song. This was some
(20:28):
somewhat of a hit for them, and I was playing
with them at this time. So you did this to
you did it in both that I did the fly
tour with them. Do you know how that song got
to them to recut? Yeah, I mean, so we were
in uh, California at the CRS West Seminar and are
(20:53):
Walk in the Country had just come out, and then
they were about to come out with their first single,
so we met them there and we went and saw
there like they did a little radio show in a
like in a restaurant, like a back back room at restaurant,
and just got up there with acoustic and play and
so we became friends with him, and that's why they
they ended up cutting that because they were huge fans
(21:13):
of the Ranch, and so when when we broke up,
it was just like an easy transition for me to
join that tour. The early days you'd mentioned that you'd
moved from the Ranch to playing with at the time
the Dixie Chakes. Was it before Natalie was singing and
they were playing real bluegrass and stuff. No, I joined, Uh,
we did. When I joined, they were doing the Tim
McGraw tour, the we did Liul Affair tour, and then
(21:36):
the fly Tour, which at that point they were so
you were there for the explosion. Yeah, And you know
you mentioned Keith where people didn't know what to do
with him because of it. But I wasn't in Nashville yet.
But from the stories that I hear from kind of
the older guard of label folks, they're not running it,
but at the time weren't they were. They were like
Natalie Mains was like a firecracker that people were like,
(21:59):
what's happening right now? Because she really wasn't what was
normal for country music. So that that show we're talking about,
we went and so you know, it was like it's
just a little little restaurant table and it was all
these p ds and they were just standing up there playing,
being awesome as they always are. And then Natalie made
some crazy joke that offended a lot of people. And
(22:22):
because we saw them the next day and she was
telling us that she had to personally call them all
and apologize for this joke. And I can't see that joke.
Were you were you with them whenever the stuff in
England happened though, because they were doing the bluegrass stuff
at that point, and so I was actually there at
the same time though with my brother. We were doing
a little tour with this singer named David Gates. Uh,
(22:43):
and you know, it was a scary time to be
in England because they were pretty angry at us for
invading Iraq, and so, uh, you know, I felt that
heat because a couple of times we were out on
the street and people heard our accent got pretty aggressive
with Yeah, even when I was like, I just play base.
I don't know, yeah exactly, but yeah, we were there
(23:05):
at the exact same time, though you play with the
County Crows a little bit. How long? I mean, I
didn't do that long. I was brought in to do
the oscars and then we started doing shows. We started
doing like corporate gigs and some club gigs they were doing,
which were amazing. But then right at that moment, I
kind of had the choice. I could go with them,
(23:27):
and then Keith called right then because I went through
a little rough patch of not being able to get
a gig after the Chicks gig ended. I couldn't get
a job with anybody. What do you mean you couldn't
get a job, but nobody would hire me. I just
could not get a gig. Was it because you were
with the Chick I wonder because at that point they
were the absolute biggest thing in the world. And I
(23:49):
wondered if it was a perception thing like I was
gonna ask for too much money or something over qualified,
So maybe hire somebody who's too good, I mean audition
for people didn't get it. You know. It was a
rough time, and so when the kind of Crows brought
me in um. It was around that time. It's probably
about I went about a year without getting a gig
(24:10):
and uh and so right when I was about to
make that decision, Keith called. The same week, I got
a call from Keith, Dwight, Yoakum, and Chris Cagel. They
all called me, and uh, you know, it was a
pretty easy decision. I never knew Chris here. He's pretty
tough to work with. Ye I never knew him. Right again,
(24:33):
fifty of my Nashville existence is hearing about the existence
before I was here. Um County Crows one of my
favorite bands of all time. However, I have a few
bones to pick with them. By the way, I just
saw them here and they actually sang the right melodies. Yeah,
and Adam sounded good. It looked Goody cut his hair,
(24:54):
cut his hair well for a while that he was
wearing this dumb wig. It was crazy. I say this
as love can't get enough. You know, every record, even
the Sucky ones. I'm a huge fan Sucky in terms
of like sales. And was that just a weird vibe?
Was Dave the man was Dave tough? Um he like Um, No,
(25:17):
it wasn't a weird job. It was actually a lot
of fun. I've never seen so Adam Durt's like when
he was on stage. Uh, he was a pure rock
star even at this point, you know, because it's been
a while since they had had big hits, but they
people still loved him so much. And I remember we
were playing this club in New York and the Olsen
twins were in the front row like looking at him
(25:39):
like he was this sex god the whole time, and
you know it was he just had something about him
still does you know, He's just got something special. So
they were super fun gigs, you know. But my friend
Jim Bojis, who's their drummer. He was in the Dixie
Chicks band when I was there too. He was with
Sheryl Crowe for years. So he's the one that called
me in, you know, to be a part of him.
(26:00):
Do you do you do you end up with the
relationship without him or is he kind of like the
David letterman ory. It's pretty distant and then come. I
mean I had some fun moments with him, like the
Oscar week. He he let me even though I was
still brand new, he let me do everything with him,
do all the gift rooms, and and he took us
to this the most insane Hollywood party I ever seen
(26:22):
in my life. It's just generally from people I know
that have worked with them closely. He's a peculiar guy.
I love that about him. As an artist, I would
I don't think to be his friend. But I love
Counting Crows so much that I've probably spent too much
time learning about the County guys. It's almost like the industry,
Like I love it so much. Once you get in it,
you go, you know, I kind of wish I didn't
know as about it because and then it becomes a
(26:44):
little gross too. Yeah. For a while, I mean he
was real kind to me. I found him to be
a really funny Guy's extremely smart. But he definitely, you know,
stand office yeah a little bit, you know. I mean
he he hooked up with and dated Jennifer Aniston and
Courtney Carry from Friends and Their Prime. Yeah. When I
was playing in the band, he was with Emmy Rossum.
(27:05):
Yeah yeah, crazy. Yeah, he has to have something about him.
I love him. So you go from Counting Crows and
Keith calls, and what does Keith say to you? Does
he wants you to just be part of the band
as he wants you to be like music director at
(27:25):
no No, Chris MQ was empty at the time. So
Chris had called me because he had talked to Keith
about it and said, like I didn't Keith was like,
I don't know if you'd want to come back or not.
And so when he asked me, I was like, of course,
you know, it didn't take me two seconds to to
answer that one. Did he not know? Because of the
(27:45):
past relationship with you, guys were pretty equal. Yeah, And
and even though we and even after those years, we
were always completely cool with each other. Like I have
more respect for him than probably anybody in this entire business.
You know, I still do. Um, But maybe that's what
he was, you know, he's he's a guy that when
he moves on, he usually moves on. He doesn't think that,
(28:08):
you know, somebody's gonna come back or that kind of thing.
So um. But yeah, like I didn't hesitate for a second.
How natural was the fit immediate? And it was incredible,
you know. And and there's been a lot of players
that that have come on Gonstince I've joined and for
some reason, I'm I'm still there. Man. How do you
elevate inside of the group. Is it just staying um, well,
(28:34):
like Chris McK left in and then um, he asked
me to to to jump up into that to that position.
So does that mean there's a lot more communication between
you and him directly whenever the show is not happening, like, hey,
what are we doing here? Are you are you telling it?
Are you going to him to say hey, I'd like
to do this? And he says, well maybe, I mean
is it more bringing into I brought in a couple
(28:57):
of guys in the band, um, Nathan Barlow and our
track operator Jeff Lindzenmeyer and then our drummer Seth h Raush.
I was the one that brought those guys to him. Um.
But he like the great thing about him is he
never he never stops wanting to be great. And so
(29:18):
the majority of what we do now is set list change,
you know, like he's always always working on the set list,
trying to get the timing perfect. We'll watch, you know,
we're on tour, We'll watch video of the night before
you know. We will go like we need to tape yeah,
and he'll say, like we need to start this song
two seconds earlier that kind of thing and he'll notice
(29:38):
a blue light when it should be read. And uh,
the guy just wants to be great. Do you ever
say kid stopped running into the middle of the crowd
like people love it. It only takes one stabber, though,
it takes one stabber that We did have one crazy,
crazy experience. Uh. We were playing a corporate gig for
(30:00):
the company Cisco. So the guy, the president of that
company was retiring, so he rented out forty stadium for
his retirement party. And which is what you'll probably do
to time comes. Uh, And so he had all eight
thousand of their employees there. So it was us and
Christina Aguilera was the other artists. But when we played
(30:24):
the you know, he had a lot of um engineers
that from India that were there, and there were a
lot of Indians in the audience. And I don't know
if they had never seen a concert like him, because
he's so great, he's so dynamic. I've made jokes like
we could play for you know, he played for a
till of the till of the hunt and he would
(30:45):
win him over, like he's the best at that. But
that crowd got so so wound up and so into it.
When he went down into the audience, because you know,
we had a little stage at the back, you know,
we're near the soundboard. He walked rut and when he
got up there, like his shirt was completely ripped off.
(31:05):
Our security guy Paxson said that they were people were
jumping on him and biting his shoulders and everything, and
they were just jazz man, send jazz to my life.
Let me think about the time that I've been jazzing.
Bit somebody, none none, but that's wild. Yeah. And when
he got up on stage, he was like, what the
hell just happened? And he was like, sure, it was
just hanging off and he was just like so into it. Man,
(31:28):
But when did you decide? Because obviously playing live music
is something you excel at and your passionate that, right,
So when did you go? And maybe it was, you know,
thirty years ago, but you go, I think this town
is ready for me to be a songwriter too. Um.
I mean it was interesting. I had always written songs,
but again I was more I loved I just sold
(31:50):
music so much. That was more my style sold in
rock music. Um. I didn't know a ton about the
history of country until I met Keith because that guy's
a jukebox. I don't know if you've ever talked to
me about it, but that guy knows every country song
ever written. So he really kind of schooled me on
so many of the greats and then you know, just
learned to love it. But I was still not really
(32:12):
writing that much country. And after I joined him, I
got a call from a lady named Leanne phalan Um
who she was working with Um I got named Chris
Oglesby at the time, and they were doing like a
writer management thing, uh, and she just asked me out
of the blues, she like, would you consider writing country?
I was like, yeah, sure, And then I mean I
(32:34):
I started it a bit, but I wasn't like full
on into it, and um, that's what started my whole career.
You know. I want to roll through some of your
number ones, but when you just looked at some of
the number one they all started, there's definitely as we
kind of and I think that's ryan A Marin song
is gonna be a number one too, just looking at
the factory of charts and I don't really control that.
(32:56):
But no, Keith cut that song first though, No, I
didn't know I cut it. Yeah, the weird thing to
someone who and was weird to me for a while
with Keith too, because he would keep it, have me
over his house and be like, you know, we're going
a little back and we going to his little studio
before anything else, and he played these songs and be like, yeah,
I have them, I'm gonna end up putting on the record,
(33:17):
and man, you cut so you cut so many like
Caney cuts them perfectly. Yeah, like he doesn't use him.
It's not like a work tape, like a really good
work tape. And then like he cuts them like it's
going to be on the record and they just go away.
And so he did that with this. He got it
and then decided it wasn't Yeah he like I seen
him the demo the day I did it because I
didn't think he would like it. I was just gonna
get his opinion because he's such a song guy. I
(33:38):
thought he could tell me, like who, I could pitch
it too, because I didn't really hear him liking it,
and he was like he just went crazy for it.
Then he started saying that he wanted to do a
duet with this song. He leanted to do it with
Pink Then, so Uh. Then he ended up writing his
bridge to it, recorded it. It was awesome, but he
just didn't quite get it to where he wanted it.
(33:59):
Uh So he when you say, to where he wanted
it because the conversations and I definitely want to get
to your songs, but the conversations at times I've had
with him are I love it, but it doesn't fit
the record in between any certain songs. How you're talking
about the set list, he was listening to songs in
that way too, going it just doesn't fit anywhere in
between two songs. That makes the set list kind of
(34:19):
a hole. Like he just he knows exactly what he wants.
You know, the guy just knows who he is. And
that's every songwriter in this town respects the fact that,
like most of the time you'll send songs to people,
you'll never get a response. It didn't matter who you
are in this town. If you send him a song,
he's gonna respond to you. And it's you know, and
(34:41):
he'll say he'll like he'll actually write two people and
say like what about the song? Like didn't work for
him as an artist? You know, he just knows who
he is. You know, how long ago was him cutting
that song. I mean he cut it right after we
wrote it seven years years ago, so it sits sits
and then Ryan cut it three or four years ago
(35:01):
and then did do We did a bridge with Mary
and she came to my house. We wrote a bridge, uh,
and she sang that and then you know the song
they didn't it didn't put on a record. So I thought, all,
Ryan Bridge Marrin, is that what you're saying about the
first version that Ryan? But yeah, yeah, yeah, So he
did the second verse like what she's she does now? Um,
(35:22):
and it just didn't go anywhere, and I was like,
I just thought it was the whole thing was dead. Yeah,
did you know that he was kind of keeping it Nope,
in the house. I didn't know anything about it until
it was like a week before it came out. My
old publisher at at um uh At Combustion called me
and told me, I had no clue. Do you think
that ediquettes a little weird? And I get it. I
(35:44):
understand that it is what happens, because again I'll talk
to other folks and they're like, hey, I never heard it.
I didn't even know I was on the record until
like the before the record came out or something of
that sort, like you've Marin came over to the house
and she you were in like the birth of that
song for him, and then nobody calls and goes, hey, man,
it's about to be it's about to be on No.
But I think a lot of that is probably like
(36:07):
they don't want to disappoint you if they do make
that decision at the last minute to take it off.
You know, I'd almost rather not know that it was
almost gonna be on there. When did you know it
was going to be a single? I mean when when
uh Falcon from Combustion called me and told me and
he said, hey, they recut it and it's going to
be the lead single for Ryan i Go album. Yeah, man,
(36:29):
seven years ago you wrote that song. I mean, the
journey rarely happens now that the journey that song took.
It was cut twice before, Yeah, by Keith and by Ryan.
And usually in this town, it's not that songs are
better and replace other songs because they're better. It's just
because they're newer and it people love shiny things. It's
like there's a new candy. Yeah. I mean, that doesn't
happen very often. At all anymore. But you look, there
(36:49):
are some like what hurts the most was seven years
old when that got cut? H God, bless the Broken Roads,
same things seven years old? Like how did these people
listen to those songs? Did not want to cut the
only Rascal Flats lists in the song seven years old?
That's what it is. That's their thing, that's their they
will It's like they like aged wine and they like
age songs. So for songwriters go back anything seven years old,
(37:12):
Well they're broken up. Now that's a whole different thing exactly. Um.
I wonder what the point I was gonna make about,
and we'll just roll through some of your Number one
is that they do have a bit of an R
and B field to them, especially the Sam song two
thousand fifteen, Sam Hunt House Party. That was this number
(37:38):
one for Sam. So that was my first number one
number one for you? Was this his first single? No?
Third single? What was his first one? Yeah? Because I
had a song called Raised on it Sam cut yeah
that he put out first. Yeah, and that was going
to be the first single, but they had put it
(38:01):
out on Uh, I can't remember what what what? How
they put it out? Maybe just did a video on YouTube, um,
and I guess it was out for so long they
decided to go with another song, so they put Leave
a Night on and then what was the second one was?
Then he talked in the second time yeah u um,
So how do you get in this Sam camp early
(38:22):
with this again unknown artist? Yeah, he didn't have a
deal with the time, so and why would you get
into the Sam camp? So I was writing at the
time for UM. I had like a three way deal.
I was with UM Ashley Gourley in his tape room
company and the Combustion and the Warren Chapel, and so
Ashley had signed Zach Kraw, who produces Sam Uh and
(38:45):
so they had just put us together because he thought,
you know, we would make He actually wanted us to
do a lot more R and B and pop stuff.
And then somehow they connected and then he brought me
into that. And what do you think of Sam when
you first meet him? I mean, he's awesome. I love
the dude. I really really love the guy. Man. He's
such a sweet person. But you know, as a songwriter,
(39:07):
he does something that I just had this conversation the
other day with with somebody. It's like he does something
that people don't do here. He edits and edits and
gonna say I don't want to say Sam, let's go,
let's move along. Yeah, because because Sam does, he takes
weeks sometimes. Well that one took I think how part
House Party took seven times together. That is wild. No
(39:27):
one does that. But that's why his lyrics, his songs
are so much better than most people, because he goes back.
I mean, listen to version I have, which you might
play this song of kin Folks. The week before it
came out. The version I had, the second verse was
completely different, and he right before it came out, he
stopped it, went back in, wrote a new second verse,
(39:48):
went in and recorded the day, I think the day
or two before it came out on Radio two thousand fifteen.
House Party, Let's jump up to here? I want to
friends to the road up Billy Currington sixteen, Do I
(40:11):
make you want to? You wanna against? There's still an
R and B field to this song, you know in
Billy's vibe is kind of country beach R and B. Yeah,
And so who'd you write this with? Zach Row, Ashley
Gurley and Matt Jenkins. And so when you write this,
(40:33):
was it a right for Billy was no, no, no, no. Uh.
It started out with me and Zach just getting together
and I had that riff and we made the track
and then which riff. There are a lot of rif
and and and and I did that and the other
main guitar riff after that. I mean, our demo sounds
pretty similar. And then I had the demo here here
you go, make you want to there it is stay
(40:55):
up to the sun. Maybe tell me that's true, to
make you angry? Yeah, go to Vegas hip as he's
gonna do, all right, I have faith in him. I
don't know. I don't know. I don't know if he's
(41:16):
gonna make it or have any money. I'll be honest
with you, he's gonna. Um, so you write this song,
how long until Billy picks it up? It took a while.
That was, I mean maybe a year or so. And
when um Stephanie right at Universal when she she she
took it. But she didn't take it for any artist.
She just heard the song, loved it so much, put
(41:36):
it on hold. Just in general, you can put a
generic hold on a song. Yeah, she did and never
heard of that. Yeah, And then it was a long
time after that, then we've finally heard that she had
pitched it to uh Billy and got him to do it.
Is that is that generic cold common? No, I've never
heard of that, not from me. And also I think
I'm gonna be disappointed if someone just win. I call tabs.
That's my song, but I don't know what to do
(41:58):
with it. Yeah, exactly, Well, they have a out of artists,
so uh, I mean she just was way into the song.
She just loved it. She just knew it was gonna
be for somebody, and I mean it was the perfect
guy to Billy crushed it. Jason Aldean a little more summertime. Yeah,
(42:24):
so you have a number one, you have two number
ones and twenty sixteen, you gotta be feeling pretty good
about your riding, Like when ends and it's like New
Year's Day, feeling pretty freaking good. Yeah, I was. This
is a crazy business, though, because it's all about like
what's happening next? You know, it's so funny in my mind,
(42:45):
I don't see myself as that, Like I just I
just I'm always logging it out and just trying. But
you know, I have to have my wife. She reminds
me a lot of times, like no, no, you're you're
doing all right? Man? Yeah, mine mine has to do
that to you. And she's like, why are you hating
your Yeah, that's what. Why do you think you're such
a loser and fry and like because no one likes
me anymore? And she when Mike. When Mike contact me
(43:09):
about this, I was like, I don't know why you
want to speak to me that you're like you mean
the Keith Sweat producer. I actually thought that literally when
I was driving over here, I was like, oh my god,
I hope he didn't. We got the wrong guy. You. Also,
if we go way back though, like two thousand nine
(43:32):
was boy Like Me? Was that your first success on
a chart writing song from Jessica Harp? Yes? And I
wrote that by myself too, which was funny. I had
moved out to l A because it was during that
time where I was just not getting anywhere with any gigs,
and so I decided to just get in my car.
(43:52):
I went to l A for a little bit. This guy,
Keith gaddis Um was out there that I knew from
years back, and he kind of introduced me to some people.
And but uh, when I came back I wrote that
when I was in the car on the drive home,
because I wrote that in the car, but you had
to be riding passenger. No, no, no, no, no, I
(44:12):
got that. I got the years next up. No, I
did ride in the car, but I was. I remember
now where I wrote that whole thing. I was at
the Percy Warner Park when you could still drive through it.
That's where I wrote that song, which you can't anymore.
You can only walk. Yeah, so you and here it is,
here's boy like you? Up until then? I know you
(44:38):
had an album cut for Lady A the year before
two thou eight. What was the first song writer like
taste you got? Was it the Lady A cut or
what it might have been? It might have been or
it might have been um uh, Carrie Underwood songs like
this Man two thousand eleven, unless she cut it and
(44:59):
held that. I don't Yeah, like my research, my man
years are terrible. Yeah, I don't know what happened when
two thousand eight is the first thing I could find
in your writing that it was that the Lady that
was Lady A perfect day. This is your life, let's
talk about it. I'm gonna teach you some things about you,
I'm not here, and so I got to I started
(45:21):
to produce some stuff. So I produced a couple of
songs with Jody Messina, and then the Jessica Harp thing happened.
I got to produce her whole record, which is a
great record. I mean it's not because I wrote some
songs on it, but like overall, it's a really good record.
She was she's really awesome. But Jody Massina was like
the first time I got to really produce someone, and
(45:42):
she's incredible. Man, Like, she played that. We actually talked
to her a few days ago. And because she lives
in Georgia, she doesn't live here anymore, but she played
my radio show in studio probably two years ago. And
you know, just honestly speaking, most artists that had their
success in the nineties, because they're older, their voice isn't
(46:04):
as good. Not with her. She came in and crushed us.
All we were just like, what is happening? Amazing? Still amazing.
My brother's playing guitar with her right now. Uh Man.
When she was in the studio, there was no need
for auto tune. A lot of people need that. She
did not. She was incredible. Every single take was incredible
(46:24):
and that was a lot of fun working with her.
She's the real Deal two thousand eight. Lady eight two
thousand nine is a Jessica Harps song. You have a
song Hit the Ground Running with Keith. Yes, here's a
cup of that, do you So that was funny. I
(46:51):
had a band that I was doing on the side
called Barefoot Johnny and we were, uh, you know, just
a pretty pretty rock and country kind of thing. And
so I had done that, Keith had seen me. We
had played a gig at exit In and Keith was there,
didn't speak to me about any of the songs or anything. Uh.
He later on said, hey, man, could you send me
(47:14):
that song? I want to I want to hear that
song again the demo of the song. So I sent
it to him. Never mentioned the word again. Literally, we
were about to walk on. We were at a stadium,
gig might have been opened up for Chesney or something,
and um, it was right before we walked out on
stage he goes, hey, I'm cutting Hit the Ground Running tomorrow.
What I didn't know it was on the whole like
(47:34):
he didn't mention it at all. And so he did
that and it was awesome. Man, Jason Derula falling you
know earlier. So where did this? How did this come about?
I was in l a uh at a rider trip
(47:57):
and I was writing with this guy, Evan Bogart, and
so like two other writers, UM and uh just started
playing that acoustic part right there and then we wrote
the song um. And it was a while while later,
but he um, those guys had given it to Jason
Ruler's producer, and so they used my that's actually my
(48:20):
acoustic right there. That used the demo and he just
rewrote a lot of the lyrics and the verses and
there it was. I've never met him, you know, and
everyone met him were his producer. But I got on
this got on the record. That was an exciting moment
for me. Oh yeah, because he's great man, Like his
album was really really good. When you moved here in
ninety three, what was the city like? I mean, for me,
(48:44):
it was a massive place coming from where I came from,
but it was nothing like what it is now, you know.
You know, I think I talked to a lot of
young young artists and musicians. I I kinda I'm enjoying
like a little mentor role and helping some different with
the shows and that kind of stuff. But like when
I talk about this town, to me, it's like it
(49:05):
seems overwhelming. But when you actually get into it and
really really started meeting people in this business, it's not
a big community. It's pretty small, you know, so you
just kind of know everybody, so it's completely attainable. But
moving here, though, it just it was pretty damn scary.
I can relate to that in that again, living in
Mountain Pine, Arkansas. When I thought about moving to Little Rock,
(49:29):
which is a third of the Nashville, I was like,
that's the big city, man, That's where the news happened,
and that's where the news came from. Like when watched
the news from an hour away and I was like,
that's where they shoot the news. Like it was always
a dream of mine to live in Little Rock. I mean,
obviously I've done that now, and you know, I've moved
around a bit until I got here. But did you
live anywhere before Nashville, So you went from your town
(49:53):
in West Virginia to hear I mean what I did
before that was, you know, like I said i'd move,
I'd went on the road. Two weeks after high school.
My brother and I and my our friend John Dedrick,
who we we all moved here together. We got this
gig playing for this Cuban pop singer that we played,
uh the like the just a bar in the hotel,
(50:13):
the Adams Mark Hotel chains. We'd go from city to
city to city, playing for three weeks, six nights a week,
four sets a night, playing with him for a year straight.
We never came home, you know. And so then I
came home for a little bit, played in in some clubs,
and then moved here. Are you so good at the base?
I don't know. I mean there's times like I didn't.
(50:35):
I don't play much when I'm off tour, so you know,
obviously during COVID we didn't play and I forgot, like
what what We We got a new drummer in the
band and we were rehearsing and it hit me and
I told my wife after the first rehearsal, it's like,
I'm actually pretty good at this, you know, Like I asked,
because Keith is so good that I don't think Keith's
(50:56):
gonna have a musical director that isn't someone that he
respect exactly music ship. Yeah, No, I mean I think so,
Like I'm not like a flashy bass player. I play
real simple parts. But my thing is that I had
a real clear vision from like fourteen on A knew
(51:16):
I knew what to do because I became obsessed at
that age with this guy named Darryl Jones who's now
the Rolling Stones bass player. But he was with Sting
and with Peter Gabriel. But he was a great player.
But he looked awesome on stage, Like the way he
moved his body. You don't see that with most bass players.
Most bass players are pretty static and they just kind
of stand there. But the way he moved I wanted
(51:39):
to emulate that because I kind of figured out at
the young age the people see music more than they
hear it, almost, you know, uh, Because you know, Keith
is a prime example. Like he's an incredible guitar player,
but you watch him and the way he holds his
guitar with such power, the way he moves it makes
(52:00):
him so much better than, you know, than what he
might want. He actually is pretty awesome. But uh, but
in the average you know, concert goer's mind, they see
him and they like, no one can compete with that.
You know, did you ever want to be the front man?
I mean you you obviously can sing a lot of
you do background vocals on you know, I did. I
did for a little bit, but then uh, it just wasn't.
(52:24):
It just wasn't for me. Man, Like I like this role.
Like I always say, I'm you know, people will make
some kind of comment about like my life being a
rock star, like I'm rock star adjacent. That's what I am.
Like I stand near one and that's cool with me.
I like that because you know, there's so much that
comes along with that lifestyle that's not my thing. You know,
(52:47):
Do you ever just go I wish that were me?
Like I wish that I've just gotten my one lucky
break where I was the guy like barefoot Billy. What
was it called Barefoot Johnny? The Barefoot Johnny ever get
a second look? Were the barefoot job was? Yeah, we did.
We had we had labels coming at us. Uh my
brother and I. We had a band called pinch Um
(53:08):
that we got pretty close to getting some break away.
One was lucky break because everybody that's made it's one
lucky break. Good for them. Yeah, and some of those
that happen is like they're just as good. They just
didn't catch some little side shot. We came close. You know,
we had a lot of labels looking at us, and um,
it just wasn't quite right. You know. I want to
(53:30):
ask about the brother dynamic. He's older, which makes sense
to me as I hear you talk about it, because
most older older brothers played the guitar, and so the
younger brothers alway start playing drums are bass. No, he
forced me to play like I didn't have a choice,
no matter, we still so, I wish we I don't
know where it is, but I think it's probably my
mom's house, but we have a cassette tape of the
very first song he taught me because he needed he
(53:53):
needed back, he needed a companiments, so he taught me
photographed from def Leppard. But I had an acoustic guitar
and he took, you know, at the top two strings
off and that's how so you played bass with the
four strings, so I guess the bottom yeah, I mean
like the B and the yeah yeah yeah, uh yeah.
He just had no choice and you're okay with that, yeah,
(54:14):
because he was your big brother and he was awesome.
Oh he was awesome already, like he became incredible, like
at a very young age. He's freakish talent. How did
both of you end up doing this at such a
high level? How like where genetically is it in the
family where you just understand music? I don't know. I
(54:35):
think my mom's mom, she died when she was really young.
She I know, she was really into music. But you
know our oldest brother, Scott play too. But um, I
don't know. It's just from a young age I was.
It was eleven or twelve for me, and then he
was probably maybe thirteen. Uh, we just knew. I mean,
(54:57):
there was no there was no like I remember when
you know what our mom might would say, like you
should have something to fall back on, and like that
was funny to us because it's like there was no
other path. We knew from a time. You know, when
I saw Van Halen when I was in sixth grade,
it was done like that's what I was gonna do
as a player. You're doing a live show with Keith.
(55:20):
Are you looking forward to your bass solo? Do you
get a bass solo? I do a singing solo everynight
you do? Yeah? Yeah? Which one? Uh? Well, it's different
every single tour. You know, I did eight No Sunshine
for a long time. Now you sang the whole Bill
Weather song. He's like, now, yeah, he does that with
every band member like for years, like he will each
guy has his own moment of the show. And so
(55:41):
that was always me, like, I just would would do
an old R and B song. Um, right now this
this past Vegas trip, I'm doing that. Um before you go.
You know that pop song, Um, Louis Louis Capaldi. Yes,
you sing Louis Capaldi. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I just do
it if you can sing. It's on my Instagram right
(56:04):
And then you're like, I don't know, it's a little bit.
And then I'm like, well, what do you do? Well,
I do Celen Deon, but harder than that's what Louis
cap I could sing. Uh, would you do all like
twenty six? I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know what you do all of it. But actually
those that that new song that Louis Capaldi and and
a version of the live version of the uh um
(56:25):
Bill Weathers song is on my Instagram that you know
of us in concert. But yeah, it's a great thing
for him to do because most people don't most singers
don't do that, you know, they want the band to
be in the back all dressed in black, and that
is not what we do. Like he wants everyone all
right there with him, and because you know, it makes
(56:45):
it easier on the singer too, is like not all
the pressures on them. So it's, uh, it's fun for
every musician that gets to be in this band. Do
you get a bass solo though? No? No, well, I
mean it depends sometimes like we'll stop and on groove
and then he'll come over and grow with me. But
I'm not really no, I'd much rather just sing the
solo song. When you guys are doing a the set,
(57:06):
is it pretty much down to the click? Or do
you ever have a time where you can you break
off and it's like, hey, why don't we just go
ahead and try this? Does he get on the mico over? Guys,
we're gonna try this. You know, even with the click,
he you just have to follow him. It's uh, that's
what we brought in this guy, Jeff Lindsenmire to do
our tracks because you know, he's on the side of
the stage for all these years and he he's like
(57:27):
Keith will just go off and go to a different direction.
And so normally we would have to if we had
any kind of backing tracks, keyboards or some drum machine stuff,
we just have to shut it off. But now, so
you would just shut it off. Yeah, if it's going,
you have to go along with it. So if you
don't want to go along with it, you just turn
it off. Yeah, you have to. But we're good enough.
It didn't matter. So when when this happens to us
(57:49):
when we play our shows, we're not good enough. So
we just go, oh god, oh god, oh god, what
do we do? So you kind of have done a
little bit of a lot of things the very high level.
So when people say when they describe you, like, hey,
this is Jerry he blank, what is it? Are you
(58:09):
the song songwriter with multi number one'es? Are you Keith Urbans?
That's the first thing that people say, uh, like, you
know when with the songwriting, like with someone like Sam.
The reason I don't really I was thinking about this
the other day. I don't get a one of those
guys that gets a ton of cuts. I'm more specific
to the whatever the artist is looking for. And I'm
(58:30):
usually the up tempo guy because that's just what I'm
good at. I've you know, we've just been doing that
for so long live and so I'm kind of brought
in for that kind of special thing, and I bring
up more of a vibe, you know, up tempo vibe.
But like now I'm I'm starting to get hired to
help people put their shows together. You know. I got
hired Jordan Davis. I did his last show, and then
(58:52):
Dustin Lynch brought me in to redo the set. What
does that mean to to put a show together? Like,
if they bring you in, I don't know your job consultant?
What are they call you when that happens. I guess
I was a consultant. Yeah. So my first one, Um,
I was with Matt Steal and so I just went in. Uh,
it was me and my friend Jeff Lynn's my art track.
(59:12):
He's just perfect that he he will go in and
take all their tracks and reado it in a way
where it's real, super simple for everybody to you know,
the drummer to use. Uh, and then I'll just go
in and redo their set list. I'll look at all
their songs and then I will come up with moments
uh in the show that they wouldn't normally think of.
Maybe because I've learned that over the years, Like, you know,
(59:35):
you just have to have these little moments to grab
people early on, especially if you're a new artist. And so,
you know, I'll do something where I'll think of a
different cover song and I'll put it in the middle
of someone's song, like after the second chorus, just to
grab people. Does that mean you'll have to find a
song in a certain key and then pursue a cover
that you've been played in that key. That's also gonna
(59:57):
be cool. So it's like the exact right puzzle piece. Yeah,
And I don't know why it comes to me so fast.
And so I did that with Matt Stell, I did
Chris Bandy and then Jordan Davis. They had me come
in and do his whole show and we put together
an amazing show. Uh. And he got to do that
particular show only for like three months before COVID shut down.
But man, what was happening, what I was seeing live
(01:00:20):
on Instagram was so exciting because all these little moments
that I helped think of. It was just connecting. You know,
I'm gonna ask you a weird question. It's gonna be
hard for you to answer it honestly, but are you
a musical genius. No, I'm not joking when I say that,
and see and hear and feel music in all these ways. Yeah,
well no, no, no, I wouldn't think. I've never thought
(01:00:41):
about that. No, I've just again, like I can't stress
this enough. Like with being alongside Keith Urban all these years,
you know, I'm with the best of the best. There's
still there's rarely a night that I'm on stage with
him and I don't go like damn like he brings it.
He always brings something special and because of all the
(01:01:05):
extreme detail he takes with the set list and now
I mean like we don't start the tour and do
you know work it out before the tour. He's doing
it throughout the entire tour. Like a week before the
tour ends, we'll have a different set list that we
did at the beginning because he's always tweaking. And so
I've just learned. I've just learned what works, you know,
with with audiences and what moves people. And so you know,
(01:01:29):
like like Dustin Lynch called me, that guy is awesome
on stage, Like he's opened up for us. So he's
done a whole tour with us, and uh, the guy
is a rock star. He's so good and when he
brought me in, he let me do the entire set list.
He didn't change one thing and we created these incredible
moments and it was really working man. So that that
means a lot to me for someone like him to
(01:01:51):
trust me, you know, with his show. Must be cool
to be a genius. No you're saying, but I'm hearing. Yes.
And by the way, you guys can follow Jerry at
Jerry Flowers Music. It's just interesting all that you've done,
how people would introduce you, because we will bring in
songwriters that have two and three number ones and in
(01:02:14):
town they're considered Wow's look at this guy's huge. You
got two or three number one. I mean you've got
four massive songs. Yeah, you're like, you know, people really
know me for being the band leader for Keith. Yeah,
I think so. Did you ever think, to Adam Dirt,
it's one more County Crows question, do you ever think, hey, dude,
sing the songs the right way because you don't have
any dank concerts ip A go to and he would
it would be like, you know, Mr Jones and me like, bro,
(01:02:39):
we just want to sing the song him and then
the black Crows were like that too, Both Crows, they
just kind of they just kind of make it up
as they go along. But you'd never play with them, though,
did you like Crows? That would have been that would
have been a good one. You would have constantly been
seeing those guys are trying to kill each other before
and after the ship. Now, we did have a big
night with them in a bar Sydney, Australia, went um,
(01:03:01):
who's we you and counting or chick with with Keith Band. Okay, yeah,
we had a big, big night back when I was
still drinking, and uh it was. It was a wild
one big night like good Night or Big Nights Throne No, no, no, no,
the best night. Like the brother wasn't there, Rich wasn't
there because I think, you know those are those two
don't like each other, but they do now they came
(01:03:22):
into my show together I did. Yeah, yeah, it was right.
That's what I felt too. They were like, hey, the
Black Crows are coming through. I'm a big Black Crows.
And so they were doing that tour where they were
performing that whole first record front to back, okay, right,
and so they were like, hey, they'll come in and
play whatever you want and I was like, well, it's great,
and they came in and you know, I didn't know that.
I knew their whole story. I knew how they had
(01:03:44):
been convinced to get back together, and they were pretty
professional about it. Well he was. Chris the singer hung
with us the entire night. I still remember this place.
It's called the ship in Uh and we just went
for But he was so much fun. Man, great stories too, well,
saying for you, man, this has been awesome for me.
Oh man, it's incredible for me. Like I mean, you've
(01:04:06):
done at all. And you know, I see out at times,
but usually if I ever see you and you're with
Keith and we're somewhere, you're you have the ears in
and I know what it's like people trying to talk
to you when you have ears, like what hold on?
What's that? Okay? It's some very unapproaching You are completely
and only partially because of the years. The respect number one.
I usually tell the crews like, avert your eyes, don't
(01:04:27):
don't look over here. Um, you guys follow Jerry at
Jerry Flowers Music. Um, I've really enjoyed this. I appreciate that.
I will say something about that if you don't mind.
Like I've I'm having so much fun having people reach
out to me on Instagram and like I'm I'm finding
something like real, real talent. I mean tomorrow, I'm I'm
writing with this girl named Katherine Roach from uh, Massachusetts,
(01:04:50):
same thing. She just reached out to me. Uh. And
you just never know because there's some crazy talent out there.
So anybody wants to to message me, you know, I'll
definitely I need a message him after this. Yeah, and
if you get something like, hey, man, are set together?
All right? You guys follow Jerry at Jerry Flowers Music
and listen, I'll just end saying this just that you know,
(01:05:12):
the Keith Sweat stuff of all my stuff, that's your favorite.
That's it. Yeah, It's so much better than everything else.
I mean, listen, I would kill to have a key
sweat cut from Jerry back from me, and like that
would be my dream that Jerry, have you seen you? Look?
You're the opposite. You're the opposite in every way. Here
you go. This is you. If someone just hears this
(01:05:33):
and decides they want to look for you, there you go. Yeah,
very clock to see where that would people get mixed up?
Except in every way other than every every possible way.
All right, Jerry, good to talk to you, man, Man,
I appreciate it.
What's having to friends? Jerry Flowers is coming in. You
gotta say, I really enjoyed this conversation. And this is
a complete Mike d booking because we were talking about Jerry.
What was it Ryan Herd or Ki Urban or both both? Yeah. Yeah,
When Ryan heard came in, I was like, that's interesting.
And I looked him up after that and I was like,
this guy has a lot to look into. Yeah, he's
(00:25):
written multiple number one songs. He was in the Ranch,
which was Keith Urban's original band. He was one of
the three people. He also is Keith Urban's musical leader,
like music director now just just wild. He's done so
many things. So I really enjoyed this conversation and I
think you guys well too. So hang out for that
Top five songs releases this week that I'm looking forward to.
(00:46):
At number five, Lady A has a new album out
and the album is called What a Song Can Do.
There is a song on it called Friends Don't Let Friends.
He's got Carly Pierce, Darius Rutger, and Thomas read on it,
and here's the clip saying along give them, man, you're
(01:08):
gonna make a bad decision. You shouldn't make it. On
your Friends Friends Tring Along. At number four, I'm a
big Taylor Acorn fan. She has a new song called
left You insteadt You Instead and all the tables It's hurt.
(01:28):
What if the end of the smell that you're the
one who would get hurt? But to take back what
you say, show me a much you learn? If I
could get in Yet I'm playing the same scene that
you did. What if he laves you in? At number three,
Cassie Ashton has a new song called Heavyweight and Lady
(01:55):
lay it on the lack her Heavenly Heavenly At number two,
Brett Eldridge has a new Christmas album out called Mr. Christmas.
Here is his version of It's the most wonderful time
of the year. It's the most wonderful time. I mean,
he's the guy for Christmas the country, right, Yeah, he's embraced.
(02:17):
If he works hard at it, it's his, he owns.
It was weird that Brett Young put out an album
the same day for Christmas songs. Yeah double Brett, like
you know, with a lot of Christmas this week. It is,
but the two breads at the same time is also
confusing and right now Eldridge is over a Young. So
if I were Brett Young, I went maybe a week
later or a week before, because I think he'll get
(02:39):
he'll get lost. I mean we didn't even mentioned in
the five. I guess I did now, But Brett Eldridge
is number two. And then Abby Anderson has a new song,
not the Abbey from our show, different Abby Anderson. This
is called Bad Posture. So those are my favorite releases
(03:12):
this week. Yeah, you mentioned there's a lot of Christmas songs.
I mean Paisley has a song with Rob Thomas, Tim
McGraw has one, Landy Wilson has one, Morgan Wade has one,
has two. So it's Christmas time and most of those songs,
they're classics that people are covering and it's free to
do so public domain. Yeah, because he needs just going
record him and you gotta pay anything for it. You know,
it's been out long enough. Garth Brooks has said two
(03:33):
intimate shows at the Rheman two hundred and fifty bucks
a seat. They're not going to fill the Rheman up though,
if you can afford that ticket, that'd be a really
cool ticket to have. I saw Garth play Vegas, just
him and a guitar. It was really awesome. I've still
never seen him. What do you mean, you've never seen
him in concert, big or little? Nope in studio as
(03:53):
he played while you've been in here. I don't think
he played when I was here. Really, Yeah, he's played
a couple of times, and I went to that show
that got out. Oh you went to the Big Garth
Brookshire was the first time we're gonna get to see him.
Chris Stapleton has rescheduled two Nashville shows for vocal Rest.
He's fighting learningitis, so please God, don't let us lose
Chris Stapleton. Ryan Herd has announced his tour day Pelago dates,
(04:18):
so if you want to see Ryan Hurd, he'll be,
you know, hopping all over the road. Luke Bryan's gonna
host the c m A Awards and he'll be doing
it by himself. He's hosted the A c m S
with the Dirks and Blake, but he's gonna do the
c m A S alone, which will be interesting to
see rooting for that. Kanye West has changed his name
to just Yea. It's not ye Yeah. It looks like
ye if you just see it, but you just have
to think of it as Kanye, So he's now Yea,
(04:41):
which isn't a dramatic change. People were already calling him that.
It's not like Puffy when he changed his name did
nobody was calling him Diddy before. He's just like using
his nickname now. All right, that's pretty much the news
and the songs. Let's get going here. I think you're
really gonna like this interview. Here you go all right
in studio now with Jerry fly hours, which I think
(05:02):
I'll start before we get into the ranch, before we
get into what you're doing now. And I guess I
was just talking about you with Ryan heard two days ago,
all right, Yeah, so like you're top of mind because
Ryan was talking about you. Um as far as chasing
after you you wrote that, right? How long did you
write the song for Ryan and seven years ago? Yeah,
(05:23):
that's what you said. And I guess it wasn't written
as a duet first, no, no, no, um Uh. I
wrote it with Brindley Addington. It was the very first
time I ever wrote with him, uh. And it was
just one of those super fast songs, like I wrote
that riff and the melody literally right when he was
walking to the door and he goes, oh, what's that
and then it was off. Man. We were finished in
(05:45):
probably an hour. When you say you wrote the riff
of the melody, which like the verse, yeah, yeah, and
then I wrote the chorus melody really fast, and then
we just wrote the lyrics. Was that common for you
to write them fast like that? I mean, I'm a
riff guy. That's what I do best, you know. And um,
that kind of thing is more my style to that
(06:07):
particular song because it's a little more on the R
and B side, which I grew up loving. So um,
and you also have had success like even like looking
at the Keith Sweat stuff. Oh no, that's different Jerry Flowers,
but I have I do come up. I was gonna
make a joke about that because when I looked you
up at first, I was like, that's not the same guy.
I know. It was like a pastor who's a black guy.
(06:27):
And I was like in Atlanta, Yeah, Like, I wanna
bring up this Jerry Flower and see if he if
people confusing, I'm hoping he's not getting some of my
royalties maybe, but or maybe I'm getting some of his.
Uh No, I've I've had adjacent rulo cut years ago. Right, Yeah,
that was like the first R and B thing I've had.
But yeah, I grew up loving Prince and Stevie Wonder
and people like that, and like, I grew up in
(06:49):
a really really country area, but I didn't listen to
country that much growing up because at that point in
the eighties, it wasn't that cool. You know, Hank Jr.
Was the only cool and so like West Virginia, Inch,
West Virginia, What what what's Pinch, West Virginia about? Uh,
it's just very, very tiny. It's maybe two thousand people. Um,
I mean it's a beautiful place. Uh, nice mountains and everything,
(07:12):
but not a big music biz there. I met from
Mountain Pine, Arkansas, seven dred people a similar but we
had our town. I don't know if you guys went
to town, but we went to town and town was
Hot Springs where they had fifteen thousand people, and that
that was the city to us. Yeah, we had Charleston,
which was that's the capital city. It's a hundred thousand people.
(07:33):
So how far was Charleston from Pinch Maybe thirty minutes.
So would you go to town? Was that a term
that was used? Sure? Yeah? And then you know, when
I was eighteen, I started playing there, you know, in clubs. Uh,
you know, I was on the road two weeks after
I graduated high school for about a year. Then I
came back and just started playing a bunch of clubs
and then um uh I met uh guy meat Loaf
(07:55):
was playing in town and his band happened to walk
into this bar that we were playing at and met
those guys, and then from there they kind of met
the meat Loaf guys. Yeah, I got even path Rawle
kind of took me in after he saw me playing
this club, and I became like a mentor to me,
and um, you know, really convinced me that I could
do this. How do you pick up an instrument in Pinch,
Virginia or West Virginia? Is there a family member that
(08:17):
was like, Yeah, my brother Randy, who's an amazing musician.
He's here also and he played with meat Loaf for
twelve years. He also played with Meatland. Yeah, but not
then he got the gig later on because of that,
because they saw us, you know that one time in
this little bar in West Virginia. Were you guys playing together? Yeah?
Did you guys ever think about pursuing you know, we'll
(08:39):
do you know, the Brothers Osborne type thing. We did
for a minute. Um, after you know, after the Ranch
broke up, and then I went to the Dixie Chicks.
After that we um, uh, you know, the Dixie Chicks
went to a bluegrass thing and which I don't play
upright bass, so I was like suddenly out of a gig.
So then we started doing our own band, but it
was more of a rock thing. So you grow up
(09:00):
in West Virginia, You're playing clubs in Charleston for the
most part, the meat Loaf Crew comes in. Is that
what got you out of that area though? And do
you think you would have stayed in the area? No? No,
I mean I always knew that I wanted to do something.
My brother and also and then our keyboard player John Derick,
who was with us then he actually ended up playing
(09:21):
with Alison Krauss here and and Mike McDonald and has
an amazing career. Um. But uh no, we always knew
were going to get out. Um, but I didn't think
it was gonna be Nashville. I thought it was gonna
be New York. And then uh, we ended up moving
here and I met Keith six months later. In nine
and started playing with him. So the ranch was a
(09:42):
trio and so it was you, Keith and Peter. Percussion
was Peter right, yeah? And so what was the genesis
of that three piece? Was it always? Hey, all three
of us we get together. Whether two of you guys
that kind of recruited a third they recruit they they
found me because they had moved here maybe six months
(10:03):
before that. And uh, I don't know what happened to
their bass player, but um they a guy that my
brother met at a jingle studio. UM met uh that
he just mentioned that his he's got this Australian friend
that needed a bass player. So we went to their house.
I went to his house and it was a rough place. Man.
(10:23):
It was a place where three Australian shouldn't have been
living at the time. You know, now it's a super
cool area, but then it was not. And uh we
went down to his basement. He had a little p
a and uh I played a couple of songs with him,
and then two weeks later I was in Australia for
six months. You were in Australia. Yeah, I mean, what
were you doing it? What was the idea of it?
In Australia. He just said, hey, do you have a
(10:45):
passport after like the second song, and I said nope.
So we went and got one and then we moved.
We went there for six months just to play, because
that's what they would do. They would have to go
back and make money there to playing clubs to come
back here and survive, you know, because they couldn't legally
make money here. They still happens. I mean, that's still
a thing now. Like I have friends that before they
(11:05):
could get like their their work visas. I guess we'll
call it. They really could come here and do nothing
except right I think um the drummer and the manager
with more lawns during the day, you know, to pay
for Keith to you know, have the ability to write songs.
What was it about Keith the mad to go okay,
there could be something here or was it just that
(11:26):
you were like, let's just try something with anybody talented
at all and just what hits. I mean, as soon
as I played with him, I knew, like you know,
he was the music was a little different than Um.
He was a lot more like Chicken picking old school
of country guitar playing. But uh, I just knew the
second I met him, because he just everything about him
(11:46):
was a superstar. You know how how wild were those times?
Meaning you know, I've talked to Keith both and Keith
and every buddies off the air a bit, and definitely
we do stuff on the air too, And you know
he's told me there are times months, months, full months
at a time, even maybe even years he didn't remember. Yeah,
He's like, I just I don't know. It was nuts. Yeah,
(12:06):
I mean in those days as you were starting and
having to hit the ground running, was it still nuts
in that way too? Um? Or did were you so
focused on making it? No? I mean I knew it
was gonna do well. Now, the Ranch we were so
different because we were a trio and at that time,
that time in Nashville, there weren't anybody that looked like him.
(12:26):
Uh and what do you look like him like? I
mean he had real long blonde Harry Hat ear rings,
he had all these chains, and what was Nashville saying
about him at the time. I mean, I think they
loved watching him play, but they didn't know what to
do with him, and so they stunned. The Ranch got
a deal with Warner Brothers. At first and uh, back
when I was still Warner Brothers, um and Uh, they
(12:49):
didn't know what to do with us. They would have
us go in and record all these different versions, different
producers coming in. And then finally Scott Hendrix was that
Capital at the time. He bought our contract from them,
and then it all kind of started from there. I mean,
it was it was a fun time for us, but
it was rough too because we were in a van
for five years just playing NonStop and kind of beating
(13:12):
our heads against the wall for a long time. You know,
did you guys feel like you were struggling to also
find an identity or did you know the identity and
people just were struggling. They were except what you felt
like they were struggling to understand it at that point,
you know, because we knew it was good. But then
after five years we said, down, it's like this is
not working. And so, uh, he did a solo thing
and then I went straight to the Dixie Chicks after that. So,
(13:34):
and I do want to come back to this, but
it's to me because I've seen you with Keith before.
Because you're working, I assume you're still like the musical director,
you know, with Keith as he plays playing bass and
musical director. Right. Yeah, you never know. Sometimes people come
in and like, well as of yesterday, Yeah, well yeah,
it's it's hard to say, but to go as you know,
(13:55):
one of the three in the ranch. And I mean,
was there appointment when you split up and he went
solo and then for you to go back and play
as part of his solo. No, really no, because we
had tried so hard and we knew it wasn't working,
and I was actually super excited to get a gig.
(14:16):
That was you know that actually had a tour bus
at this point, you know, because we're in a van
and roughing it man like, because it was just the
three of us and we had one guy and that
travel with us, and you know, we had our all
our gear in the back. We took out the back
seats of the van, and uh, it was rough going
for a while. Like you know, we would play for nobody,
(14:37):
you know, because they would the the label would send
out like the singles like a week ahead of tim
and to try to get somebody to show up, and
most of the time nobody would care. Nobody would show up.
When you're grinding in a van like that, and again
I emphasized band. Are you guys stopping down to stay
all three of you in a hotel room? Yeah? Or
do you ever just stopped down to go We're gonna
(14:57):
sleep in the van tonight? No? No, I mean we
we traveled most of the time. We would play and
then drop all night the next one. Would you switch
up who drove so other people could sleep? Yeah? Yeah,
we just rotated the three of us all the time,
always tired, always always drunk too. Like it was so
I mean, not the driver. But it was just like
(15:17):
a full on party all the time back then too.
But it didn't seem it didn't seem out of control.
It just seemed like we're just young dudes on the road.
That's what we're supposed to do, you know. But it
was it was fun. It was There were fun times
just living in a vegor and touring, because there's a
difference in country music touring and my friends who do
pop or rock touring, um, and you guys were basically
(15:39):
doing rock touring, meaning you don't come home all over
the place. Yeah, like crazy routing, just stuff that should
not have happened, you know, because the country tour will
go sometimes Thursday, Friday, Saturday, sometimes just Friday Saturday, you know,
and then you come back home and you live your
life and maybe right maybe your family. But if you're
(16:00):
like a rock group or you're a pop artist, it's Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
But imagine doing that in Avand No, it wasn't easy.
But I mean it sounds horrible now to me because
the way we traveled now. But uh then it didn't
seem that terrible because that's all we knew. You know,
after five years of it, it got a little I
(16:20):
got a little rough. Who had to pull the trigger
or pull the plug and go Keith did, Yeah, yeah.
I mean he's a brutally honest person in the absolute
best way. What's that conversation like to the guys. I
mean he just set us down. He said, he said, hey,
let's meet and we had some coffee and then he goes,
this is just not working anymore. I think I think
we need to to to make a change. And again
I was I was okay with it just because I was,
(16:43):
you know, ready for something new. And I think it
was hard on his drummer, Peter, because they've been together
along on time, so you know many years. Here is
walk in the Country from the Ranch down the Tree
was so good data. What do you think about when
(17:10):
you hear that song? I mean it steel feels good, yeah,
and it also feels like because Keith has so many
different versions of himself, it just almost depends and what
creative space he's in when he's doing a record. And
you know that's more than I do. But you know,
he may have you know, breath and hop on a record,
or then he may do you know, the Tennessee two Stay. Yeah,
(17:32):
he doesn't sit still right, but this sounds like it
could be on a current that record. Every song on
that album is great because he wrote all those with
this guy Vernon Rust and man, they just had some
special chemistry at that point. Here is just some love
food here the Grand Canyon, He's just some nichh just
(17:56):
some which have the Bigot was just seeing down Baby.
I feel like it's it was ahead of its time.
I could be hit right now exactly what I'm thinking
as it's playing like. I feel like that was just
a bit ahead of its time. It was his look,
(18:17):
the style of what you guys were doing. You were
maybe fifteen years too early. Maybe twelve and you've been
still early then, but then you owned it because you know,
then we it was not the norm. You know, everybody
was really rocking the cowboy hats and you know, the
flame shirts and everything, and we just didn't look like that.
(18:38):
Do you ever go and you know, as you tour
with Keith and people recognize you, does anyone know you
from the range? Yeah? We were in Vegas about two
weeks ago. We're doing a little residency there and uh,
I met up with um a guy named David Ryan
Harris after the show. He's a guitar player for John Mayer.
And he had a lady with him that we're for
(19:00):
Caesar's and she was saying, I don't know, you probably
would never remember this show, but I saw you guys
and as the ranch in uh uh it was it
was Arizona, I think. And she mentioned the name of
the club and I remembered it like immediately because Keith recently,
uh sent me a picture he found this. Uh he
(19:23):
found this calendar that because he took notes for everything,
he recorded everything, like tons and tons of video from
all those days. You know, I don't remember him doing that,
but he always had a camera because there's a lot
of video, but he found this. He found this one
year of us on tour and every single show was
written and he's got the little liner notes of what
the p A was like in each club. And then
(19:44):
I showed her that particular show, you know, and so
she said that she saw us he was a little
a teenager because her her dad was a radio guy.
And uh, she still remembers that seeing us in that moment,
Keith took those notes like that, Oh yeah, like it's funny,
I want to play and then I want to also
(20:04):
get to your songwriting in a second. But some days
you gotta dance from from the ranch. First chance in
the world. And then the Dixie Chicks. The Chicks they
piked number number seven with this song. This was some
(20:28):
somewhat of a hit for them, and I was playing
with them at this time. So you did this to
you did it in both that I did the fly
tour with them. Do you know how that song got
to them to recut? Yeah, I mean, so we were
in uh, California at the CRS West Seminar and are
(20:53):
Walk in the Country had just come out, and then
they were about to come out with their first single,
so we met them there and we went and saw
there like they did a little radio show in a
like in a restaurant, like a back back room at restaurant,
and just got up there with acoustic and play and
so we became friends with him, and that's why they
they ended up cutting that because they were huge fans
(21:13):
of the Ranch, and so when when we broke up,
it was just like an easy transition for me to
join that tour. The early days you'd mentioned that you'd
moved from the Ranch to playing with at the time
the Dixie Chakes. Was it before Natalie was singing and
they were playing real bluegrass and stuff. No, I joined, Uh,
we did. When I joined, they were doing the Tim
McGraw tour, the we did Liul Affair tour, and then
(21:36):
the fly Tour, which at that point they were so
you were there for the explosion. Yeah, And you know
you mentioned Keith where people didn't know what to do
with him because of it. But I wasn't in Nashville yet.
But from the stories that I hear from kind of
the older guard of label folks, they're not running it,
but at the time weren't they were. They were like
Natalie Mains was like a firecracker that people were like,
(21:59):
what's happening right now? Because she really wasn't what was
normal for country music. So that that show we're talking about,
we went and so you know, it was like it's
just a little little restaurant table and it was all
these p ds and they were just standing up there playing,
being awesome as they always are. And then Natalie made
some crazy joke that offended a lot of people. And
(22:22):
because we saw them the next day and she was
telling us that she had to personally call them all
and apologize for this joke. And I can't see that joke.
Were you were you with them whenever the stuff in
England happened though, because they were doing the bluegrass stuff
at that point, and so I was actually there at
the same time though with my brother. We were doing
a little tour with this singer named David Gates. Uh,
(22:43):
and you know, it was a scary time to be
in England because they were pretty angry at us for
invading Iraq, and so, uh, you know, I felt that
heat because a couple of times we were out on
the street and people heard our accent got pretty aggressive
with Yeah, even when I was like, I just play base.
I don't know, yeah exactly, but yeah, we were there
(23:05):
at the exact same time, though you play with the
County Crows a little bit. How long? I mean, I
didn't do that long. I was brought in to do
the oscars and then we started doing shows. We started
doing like corporate gigs and some club gigs they were doing,
which were amazing. But then right at that moment, I
kind of had the choice. I could go with them,
(23:27):
and then Keith called right then because I went through
a little rough patch of not being able to get
a gig after the Chicks gig ended. I couldn't get
a job with anybody. What do you mean you couldn't
get a job, but nobody would hire me. I just
could not get a gig. Was it because you were
with the Chick I wonder because at that point they
were the absolute biggest thing in the world. And I
(23:49):
wondered if it was a perception thing like I was
gonna ask for too much money or something over qualified,
So maybe hire somebody who's too good, I mean audition
for people didn't get it. You know. It was a
rough time, and so when the kind of Crows brought
me in um. It was around that time. It's probably
about I went about a year without getting a gig
(24:10):
and uh and so right when I was about to
make that decision, Keith called. The same week, I got
a call from Keith, Dwight, Yoakum, and Chris Cagel. They
all called me, and uh, you know, it was a
pretty easy decision. I never knew Chris here. He's pretty
tough to work with. Ye I never knew him. Right again,
(24:33):
fifty of my Nashville existence is hearing about the existence
before I was here. Um County Crows one of my
favorite bands of all time. However, I have a few
bones to pick with them. By the way, I just
saw them here and they actually sang the right melodies. Yeah,
and Adam sounded good. It looked Goody cut his hair,
(24:54):
cut his hair well for a while that he was
wearing this dumb wig. It was crazy. I say this
as love can't get enough. You know, every record, even
the Sucky ones. I'm a huge fan Sucky in terms
of like sales. And was that just a weird vibe?
Was Dave the man was Dave tough? Um he like Um, No,
(25:17):
it wasn't a weird job. It was actually a lot
of fun. I've never seen so Adam Durt's like when
he was on stage. Uh, he was a pure rock
star even at this point, you know, because it's been
a while since they had had big hits, but they
people still loved him so much. And I remember we
were playing this club in New York and the Olsen
twins were in the front row like looking at him
(25:39):
like he was this sex god the whole time, and
you know it was he just had something about him
still does you know, He's just got something special. So
they were super fun gigs, you know. But my friend
Jim Bojis, who's their drummer. He was in the Dixie
Chicks band when I was there too. He was with
Sheryl Crowe for years. So he's the one that called
me in, you know, to be a part of him.
(26:00):
Do you do you do you end up with the
relationship without him or is he kind of like the
David letterman ory. It's pretty distant and then come. I
mean I had some fun moments with him, like the
Oscar week. He he let me even though I was
still brand new, he let me do everything with him,
do all the gift rooms, and and he took us
to this the most insane Hollywood party I ever seen
(26:22):
in my life. It's just generally from people I know
that have worked with them closely. He's a peculiar guy.
I love that about him. As an artist, I would
I don't think to be his friend. But I love
Counting Crows so much that I've probably spent too much
time learning about the County guys. It's almost like the industry,
Like I love it so much. Once you get in it,
you go, you know, I kind of wish I didn't
know as about it because and then it becomes a
(26:44):
little gross too. Yeah. For a while, I mean he
was real kind to me. I found him to be
a really funny Guy's extremely smart. But he definitely, you know,
stand office yeah a little bit, you know. I mean
he he hooked up with and dated Jennifer Aniston and
Courtney Carry from Friends and Their Prime. Yeah. When I
was playing in the band, he was with Emmy Rossum.
(27:05):
Yeah yeah, crazy. Yeah, he has to have something about him.
I love him. So you go from Counting Crows and
Keith calls, and what does Keith say to you? Does
he wants you to just be part of the band
as he wants you to be like music director at
(27:25):
no No, Chris MQ was empty at the time. So
Chris had called me because he had talked to Keith
about it and said, like I didn't Keith was like,
I don't know if you'd want to come back or not.
And so when he asked me, I was like, of course,
you know, it didn't take me two seconds to to
answer that one. Did he not know? Because of the
(27:45):
past relationship with you, guys were pretty equal. Yeah, And
and even though we and even after those years, we
were always completely cool with each other. Like I have
more respect for him than probably anybody in this entire business.
You know, I still do. Um, But maybe that's what
he was, you know, he's he's a guy that when
he moves on, he usually moves on. He doesn't think that,
(28:08):
you know, somebody's gonna come back or that kind of thing.
So um. But yeah, like I didn't hesitate for a second.
How natural was the fit immediate? And it was incredible,
you know. And and there's been a lot of players
that that have come on Gonstince I've joined and for
some reason, I'm I'm still there. Man. How do you
elevate inside of the group. Is it just staying um, well,
(28:34):
like Chris McK left in and then um, he asked
me to to to jump up into that to that position.
So does that mean there's a lot more communication between
you and him directly whenever the show is not happening, like, hey,
what are we doing here? Are you are you telling it?
Are you going to him to say hey, I'd like
to do this? And he says, well maybe, I mean
is it more bringing into I brought in a couple
(28:57):
of guys in the band, um, Nathan Barlow and our
track operator Jeff Lindzenmeyer and then our drummer Seth h Raush.
I was the one that brought those guys to him. Um.
But he like the great thing about him is he
never he never stops wanting to be great. And so
(29:18):
the majority of what we do now is set list change,
you know, like he's always always working on the set list,
trying to get the timing perfect. We'll watch, you know,
we're on tour, We'll watch video of the night before
you know. We will go like we need to tape yeah,
and he'll say, like we need to start this song
two seconds earlier that kind of thing and he'll notice
(29:38):
a blue light when it should be read. And uh,
the guy just wants to be great. Do you ever
say kid stopped running into the middle of the crowd
like people love it. It only takes one stabber, though,
it takes one stabber that We did have one crazy,
crazy experience. Uh. We were playing a corporate gig for
(30:00):
the company Cisco. So the guy, the president of that
company was retiring, so he rented out forty stadium for
his retirement party. And which is what you'll probably do
to time comes. Uh, And so he had all eight
thousand of their employees there. So it was us and
Christina Aguilera was the other artists. But when we played
(30:24):
the you know, he had a lot of um engineers
that from India that were there, and there were a
lot of Indians in the audience. And I don't know
if they had never seen a concert like him, because
he's so great, he's so dynamic. I've made jokes like
we could play for you know, he played for a
till of the till of the hunt and he would
(30:45):
win him over, like he's the best at that. But
that crowd got so so wound up and so into it.
When he went down into the audience, because you know,
we had a little stage at the back, you know,
we're near the soundboard. He walked rut and when he
got up there, like his shirt was completely ripped off.
(31:05):
Our security guy Paxson said that they were people were
jumping on him and biting his shoulders and everything, and
they were just jazz man, send jazz to my life.
Let me think about the time that I've been jazzing.
Bit somebody, none none, but that's wild. Yeah. And when
he got up on stage, he was like, what the
hell just happened? And he was like, sure, it was
just hanging off and he was just like so into it. Man,
(31:28):
But when did you decide? Because obviously playing live music
is something you excel at and your passionate that, right,
So when did you go? And maybe it was, you know,
thirty years ago, but you go, I think this town
is ready for me to be a songwriter too. Um.
I mean it was interesting. I had always written songs,
but again I was more I loved I just sold
(31:50):
music so much. That was more my style sold in
rock music. Um. I didn't know a ton about the
history of country until I met Keith because that guy's
a jukebox. I don't know if you've ever talked to
me about it, but that guy knows every country song
ever written. So he really kind of schooled me on
so many of the greats and then you know, just
learned to love it. But I was still not really
(32:12):
writing that much country. And after I joined him, I
got a call from a lady named Leanne phalan Um
who she was working with Um I got named Chris
Oglesby at the time, and they were doing like a
writer management thing, uh, and she just asked me out
of the blues, she like, would you consider writing country?
I was like, yeah, sure, And then I mean I
(32:34):
I started it a bit, but I wasn't like full
on into it, and um, that's what started my whole career.
You know. I want to roll through some of your
number ones, but when you just looked at some of
the number one they all started, there's definitely as we
kind of and I think that's ryan A Marin song
is gonna be a number one too, just looking at
the factory of charts and I don't really control that.
(32:56):
But no, Keith cut that song first though, No, I
didn't know I cut it. Yeah, the weird thing to
someone who and was weird to me for a while
with Keith too, because he would keep it, have me
over his house and be like, you know, we're going
a little back and we going to his little studio
before anything else, and he played these songs and be like, yeah,
I have them, I'm gonna end up putting on the record,
(33:17):
and man, you cut so you cut so many like
Caney cuts them perfectly. Yeah, like he doesn't use him.
It's not like a work tape, like a really good
work tape. And then like he cuts them like it's
going to be on the record and they just go away.
And so he did that with this. He got it
and then decided it wasn't Yeah he like I seen
him the demo the day I did it because I
didn't think he would like it. I was just gonna
get his opinion because he's such a song guy. I
(33:38):
thought he could tell me, like who, I could pitch
it too, because I didn't really hear him liking it,
and he was like he just went crazy for it.
Then he started saying that he wanted to do a
duet with this song. He leanted to do it with
Pink Then, so Uh. Then he ended up writing his
bridge to it, recorded it. It was awesome, but he
just didn't quite get it to where he wanted it.
(33:59):
Uh So he when you say, to where he wanted
it because the conversations and I definitely want to get
to your songs, but the conversations at times I've had
with him are I love it, but it doesn't fit
the record in between any certain songs. How you're talking
about the set list, he was listening to songs in
that way too, going it just doesn't fit anywhere in
between two songs. That makes the set list kind of
(34:19):
a hole. Like he just he knows exactly what he wants.
You know, the guy just knows who he is. And
that's every songwriter in this town respects the fact that,
like most of the time you'll send songs to people,
you'll never get a response. It didn't matter who you
are in this town. If you send him a song,
he's gonna respond to you. And it's you know, and
(34:41):
he'll say he'll like he'll actually write two people and
say like what about the song? Like didn't work for
him as an artist? You know, he just knows who
he is. You know, how long ago was him cutting
that song. I mean he cut it right after we
wrote it seven years years ago, so it sits sits
and then Ryan cut it three or four years ago
(35:01):
and then did do We did a bridge with Mary
and she came to my house. We wrote a bridge, uh,
and she sang that and then you know the song
they didn't it didn't put on a record. So I thought, all,
Ryan Bridge Marrin, is that what you're saying about the
first version that Ryan? But yeah, yeah, yeah, So he
did the second verse like what she's she does now? Um,
(35:22):
and it just didn't go anywhere, and I was like,
I just thought it was the whole thing was dead. Yeah,
did you know that he was kind of keeping it Nope,
in the house. I didn't know anything about it until
it was like a week before it came out. My
old publisher at at um uh At Combustion called me
and told me, I had no clue. Do you think
that ediquettes a little weird? And I get it. I
(35:44):
understand that it is what happens, because again I'll talk
to other folks and they're like, hey, I never heard it.
I didn't even know I was on the record until
like the before the record came out or something of
that sort, like you've Marin came over to the house
and she you were in like the birth of that
song for him, and then nobody calls and goes, hey, man,
it's about to be it's about to be on No.
But I think a lot of that is probably like
(36:07):
they don't want to disappoint you if they do make
that decision at the last minute to take it off.
You know, I'd almost rather not know that it was
almost gonna be on there. When did you know it
was going to be a single? I mean when when
uh Falcon from Combustion called me and told me and
he said, hey, they recut it and it's going to
be the lead single for Ryan i Go album. Yeah, man,
(36:29):
seven years ago you wrote that song. I mean, the
journey rarely happens now that the journey that song took.
It was cut twice before, Yeah, by Keith and by Ryan.
And usually in this town, it's not that songs are
better and replace other songs because they're better. It's just
because they're newer and it people love shiny things. It's
like there's a new candy. Yeah. I mean, that doesn't
happen very often. At all anymore. But you look, there
(36:49):
are some like what hurts the most was seven years
old when that got cut? H God, bless the Broken Roads,
same things seven years old? Like how did these people
listen to those songs? Did not want to cut the
only Rascal Flats lists in the song seven years old?
That's what it is. That's their thing, that's their they
will It's like they like aged wine and they like
age songs. So for songwriters go back anything seven years old,
(37:12):
Well they're broken up. Now that's a whole different thing exactly. Um.
I wonder what the point I was gonna make about,
and we'll just roll through some of your Number one
is that they do have a bit of an R
and B field to them, especially the Sam song two
thousand fifteen, Sam Hunt House Party. That was this number
(37:38):
one for Sam. So that was my first number one
number one for you? Was this his first single? No?
Third single? What was his first one? Yeah? Because I
had a song called Raised on it Sam cut yeah
that he put out first. Yeah, and that was going
to be the first single, but they had put it
(38:01):
out on Uh, I can't remember what what what? How
they put it out? Maybe just did a video on YouTube, um,
and I guess it was out for so long they
decided to go with another song, so they put Leave
a Night on and then what was the second one was?
Then he talked in the second time yeah u um,
So how do you get in this Sam camp early
(38:22):
with this again unknown artist? Yeah, he didn't have a
deal with the time, so and why would you get
into the Sam camp? So I was writing at the
time for UM. I had like a three way deal.
I was with UM Ashley Gourley in his tape room
company and the Combustion and the Warren Chapel, and so
Ashley had signed Zach Kraw, who produces Sam Uh and
(38:45):
so they had just put us together because he thought,
you know, we would make He actually wanted us to
do a lot more R and B and pop stuff.
And then somehow they connected and then he brought me
into that. And what do you think of Sam when
you first meet him? I mean, he's awesome. I love
the dude. I really really love the guy. Man. He's
such a sweet person. But you know, as a songwriter,
(39:07):
he does something that I just had this conversation the
other day with with somebody. It's like he does something
that people don't do here. He edits and edits and
gonna say I don't want to say Sam, let's go,
let's move along. Yeah, because because Sam does, he takes
weeks sometimes. Well that one took I think how part
House Party took seven times together. That is wild. No
(39:27):
one does that. But that's why his lyrics, his songs
are so much better than most people, because he goes back.
I mean, listen to version I have, which you might
play this song of kin Folks. The week before it
came out. The version I had, the second verse was
completely different, and he right before it came out, he
stopped it, went back in, wrote a new second verse,
(39:48):
went in and recorded the day, I think the day
or two before it came out on Radio two thousand fifteen.
House Party, Let's jump up to here? I want to
friends to the road up Billy Currington sixteen, Do I
(40:11):
make you want to? You wanna against? There's still an
R and B field to this song, you know in
Billy's vibe is kind of country beach R and B. Yeah,
And so who'd you write this with? Zach Row, Ashley
Gurley and Matt Jenkins. And so when you write this,
(40:33):
was it a right for Billy was no, no, no, no. Uh.
It started out with me and Zach just getting together
and I had that riff and we made the track
and then which riff. There are a lot of rif
and and and and I did that and the other
main guitar riff after that. I mean, our demo sounds
pretty similar. And then I had the demo here here
you go, make you want to there it is stay
(40:55):
up to the sun. Maybe tell me that's true, to
make you angry? Yeah, go to Vegas hip as he's
gonna do, all right, I have faith in him. I
don't know. I don't know. I don't know if he's
(41:16):
gonna make it or have any money. I'll be honest
with you, he's gonna. Um, so you write this song,
how long until Billy picks it up? It took a while.
That was, I mean maybe a year or so. And
when um Stephanie right at Universal when she she she
took it. But she didn't take it for any artist.
She just heard the song, loved it so much, put
(41:36):
it on hold. Just in general, you can put a
generic hold on a song. Yeah, she did and never
heard of that. Yeah, And then it was a long
time after that, then we've finally heard that she had
pitched it to uh Billy and got him to do it.
Is that is that generic cold common? No, I've never
heard of that, not from me. And also I think
I'm gonna be disappointed if someone just win. I call tabs.
That's my song, but I don't know what to do
(41:58):
with it. Yeah, exactly, Well, they have a out of artists,
so uh, I mean she just was way into the song.
She just loved it. She just knew it was gonna
be for somebody, and I mean it was the perfect
guy to Billy crushed it. Jason Aldean a little more summertime. Yeah,
(42:24):
so you have a number one, you have two number
ones and twenty sixteen, you gotta be feeling pretty good
about your riding, Like when ends and it's like New
Year's Day, feeling pretty freaking good. Yeah, I was. This
is a crazy business, though, because it's all about like
what's happening next? You know, it's so funny in my mind,
(42:45):
I don't see myself as that, Like I just I
just I'm always logging it out and just trying. But
you know, I have to have my wife. She reminds
me a lot of times, like no, no, you're you're
doing all right? Man? Yeah, mine mine has to do
that to you. And she's like, why are you hating
your Yeah, that's what. Why do you think you're such
a loser and fry and like because no one likes
me anymore? And she when Mike. When Mike contact me
(43:09):
about this, I was like, I don't know why you
want to speak to me that you're like you mean
the Keith Sweat producer. I actually thought that literally when
I was driving over here, I was like, oh my god,
I hope he didn't. We got the wrong guy. You. Also,
if we go way back though, like two thousand nine
(43:32):
was boy Like Me? Was that your first success on
a chart writing song from Jessica Harp? Yes? And I
wrote that by myself too, which was funny. I had
moved out to l A because it was during that
time where I was just not getting anywhere with any gigs,
and so I decided to just get in my car.
(43:52):
I went to l A for a little bit. This guy,
Keith gaddis Um was out there that I knew from
years back, and he kind of introduced me to some people.
And but uh, when I came back I wrote that
when I was in the car on the drive home,
because I wrote that in the car, but you had
to be riding passenger. No, no, no, no, no, I
(44:12):
got that. I got the years next up. No, I
did ride in the car, but I was. I remember
now where I wrote that whole thing. I was at
the Percy Warner Park when you could still drive through it.
That's where I wrote that song, which you can't anymore.
You can only walk. Yeah, so you and here it is,
here's boy like you? Up until then? I know you
(44:38):
had an album cut for Lady A the year before
two thou eight. What was the first song writer like
taste you got? Was it the Lady A cut or
what it might have been? It might have been or
it might have been um uh, Carrie Underwood songs like
this Man two thousand eleven, unless she cut it and
(44:59):
held that. I don't Yeah, like my research, my man
years are terrible. Yeah, I don't know what happened when
two thousand eight is the first thing I could find
in your writing that it was that the Lady that
was Lady A perfect day. This is your life, let's
talk about it. I'm gonna teach you some things about you,
I'm not here, and so I got to I started
(45:21):
to produce some stuff. So I produced a couple of
songs with Jody Messina, and then the Jessica Harp thing happened.
I got to produce her whole record, which is a
great record. I mean it's not because I wrote some
songs on it, but like overall, it's a really good record.
She was she's really awesome. But Jody Massina was like
the first time I got to really produce someone, and
(45:42):
she's incredible. Man, Like, she played that. We actually talked
to her a few days ago. And because she lives
in Georgia, she doesn't live here anymore, but she played
my radio show in studio probably two years ago. And
you know, just honestly speaking, most artists that had their
success in the nineties, because they're older, their voice isn't
(46:04):
as good. Not with her. She came in and crushed us.
All we were just like, what is happening? Amazing? Still amazing.
My brother's playing guitar with her right now. Uh Man.
When she was in the studio, there was no need
for auto tune. A lot of people need that. She
did not. She was incredible. Every single take was incredible
(46:24):
and that was a lot of fun working with her.
She's the real Deal two thousand eight. Lady eight two
thousand nine is a Jessica Harps song. You have a
song Hit the Ground Running with Keith. Yes, here's a
cup of that, do you So that was funny. I
(46:51):
had a band that I was doing on the side
called Barefoot Johnny and we were, uh, you know, just
a pretty pretty rock and country kind of thing. And
so I had done that, Keith had seen me. We
had played a gig at exit In and Keith was there,
didn't speak to me about any of the songs or anything. Uh.
He later on said, hey, man, could you send me
(47:14):
that song? I want to I want to hear that
song again the demo of the song. So I sent
it to him. Never mentioned the word again. Literally, we
were about to walk on. We were at a stadium,
gig might have been opened up for Chesney or something,
and um, it was right before we walked out on
stage he goes, hey, I'm cutting Hit the Ground Running tomorrow.
What I didn't know it was on the whole like
(47:34):
he didn't mention it at all. And so he did
that and it was awesome. Man, Jason Derula falling you
know earlier. So where did this? How did this come about?
I was in l a uh at a rider trip
(47:57):
and I was writing with this guy, Evan Bogart, and
so like two other writers, UM and uh just started
playing that acoustic part right there and then we wrote
the song um. And it was a while while later,
but he um, those guys had given it to Jason
Ruler's producer, and so they used my that's actually my
(48:20):
acoustic right there. That used the demo and he just
rewrote a lot of the lyrics and the verses and
there it was. I've never met him, you know, and
everyone met him were his producer. But I got on
this got on the record. That was an exciting moment
for me. Oh yeah, because he's great man, Like his
album was really really good. When you moved here in
ninety three, what was the city like? I mean, for me,
(48:44):
it was a massive place coming from where I came from,
but it was nothing like what it is now, you know.
You know, I think I talked to a lot of
young young artists and musicians. I I kinda I'm enjoying
like a little mentor role and helping some different with
the shows and that kind of stuff. But like when
I talk about this town, to me, it's like it
(49:05):
seems overwhelming. But when you actually get into it and
really really started meeting people in this business, it's not
a big community. It's pretty small, you know, so you
just kind of know everybody, so it's completely attainable. But
moving here, though, it just it was pretty damn scary.
I can relate to that in that again, living in
Mountain Pine, Arkansas. When I thought about moving to Little Rock,
(49:29):
which is a third of the Nashville, I was like,
that's the big city, man, That's where the news happened,
and that's where the news came from. Like when watched
the news from an hour away and I was like,
that's where they shoot the news. Like it was always
a dream of mine to live in Little Rock. I mean,
obviously I've done that now, and you know, I've moved
around a bit until I got here. But did you
live anywhere before Nashville, So you went from your town
(49:53):
in West Virginia to hear I mean what I did
before that was, you know, like I said i'd move,
I'd went on the road. Two weeks after high school.
My brother and I and my our friend John Dedrick,
who we we all moved here together. We got this
gig playing for this Cuban pop singer that we played,
uh the like the just a bar in the hotel,
(50:13):
the Adams Mark Hotel chains. We'd go from city to
city to city, playing for three weeks, six nights a week,
four sets a night, playing with him for a year straight.
We never came home, you know. And so then I
came home for a little bit, played in in some clubs,
and then moved here. Are you so good at the base?
I don't know. I mean there's times like I didn't.
(50:35):
I don't play much when I'm off tour, so you know,
obviously during COVID we didn't play and I forgot, like
what what We We got a new drummer in the
band and we were rehearsing and it hit me and
I told my wife after the first rehearsal, it's like,
I'm actually pretty good at this, you know, Like I asked,
because Keith is so good that I don't think Keith's
(50:56):
gonna have a musical director that isn't someone that he
respect exactly music ship. Yeah, No, I mean I think so,
Like I'm not like a flashy bass player. I play
real simple parts. But my thing is that I had
a real clear vision from like fourteen on A knew
(51:16):
I knew what to do because I became obsessed at
that age with this guy named Darryl Jones who's now
the Rolling Stones bass player. But he was with Sting
and with Peter Gabriel. But he was a great player.
But he looked awesome on stage, Like the way he
moved his body. You don't see that with most bass players.
Most bass players are pretty static and they just kind
of stand there. But the way he moved I wanted
(51:39):
to emulate that because I kind of figured out at
the young age the people see music more than they
hear it, almost, you know, uh, Because you know, Keith
is a prime example. Like he's an incredible guitar player,
but you watch him and the way he holds his
guitar with such power, the way he moves it makes
(52:00):
him so much better than, you know, than what he
might want. He actually is pretty awesome. But uh, but
in the average you know, concert goer's mind, they see
him and they like, no one can compete with that.
You know, did you ever want to be the front man?
I mean you you obviously can sing a lot of
you do background vocals on you know, I did. I
did for a little bit, but then uh, it just wasn't.
(52:24):
It just wasn't for me. Man, Like I like this role.
Like I always say, I'm you know, people will make
some kind of comment about like my life being a
rock star, like I'm rock star adjacent. That's what I am.
Like I stand near one and that's cool with me.
I like that because you know, there's so much that
comes along with that lifestyle that's not my thing. You know,
(52:47):
Do you ever just go I wish that were me?
Like I wish that I've just gotten my one lucky
break where I was the guy like barefoot Billy. What
was it called Barefoot Johnny? The Barefoot Johnny ever get
a second look? Were the barefoot job was? Yeah, we did.
We had we had labels coming at us. Uh my
brother and I. We had a band called pinch Um
(53:08):
that we got pretty close to getting some break away.
One was lucky break because everybody that's made it's one
lucky break. Good for them. Yeah, and some of those
that happen is like they're just as good. They just
didn't catch some little side shot. We came close. You know,
we had a lot of labels looking at us, and um,
it just wasn't quite right. You know. I want to
(53:30):
ask about the brother dynamic. He's older, which makes sense
to me as I hear you talk about it, because
most older older brothers played the guitar, and so the
younger brothers alway start playing drums are bass. No, he
forced me to play like I didn't have a choice,
no matter, we still so, I wish we I don't
know where it is, but I think it's probably my
mom's house, but we have a cassette tape of the
very first song he taught me because he needed he
(53:53):
needed back, he needed a companiments, so he taught me
photographed from def Leppard. But I had an acoustic guitar
and he took, you know, at the top two strings
off and that's how so you played bass with the
four strings, so I guess the bottom yeah, I mean
like the B and the yeah yeah yeah, uh yeah.
He just had no choice and you're okay with that, yeah,
(54:14):
because he was your big brother and he was awesome.
Oh he was awesome already, like he became incredible, like
at a very young age. He's freakish talent. How did
both of you end up doing this at such a
high level? How like where genetically is it in the
family where you just understand music? I don't know. I
(54:35):
think my mom's mom, she died when she was really young.
She I know, she was really into music. But you
know our oldest brother, Scott play too. But um, I
don't know. It's just from a young age I was.
It was eleven or twelve for me, and then he
was probably maybe thirteen. Uh, we just knew. I mean,
(54:57):
there was no there was no like I remember when
you know what our mom might would say, like you
should have something to fall back on, and like that
was funny to us because it's like there was no
other path. We knew from a time. You know, when
I saw Van Halen when I was in sixth grade,
it was done like that's what I was gonna do
as a player. You're doing a live show with Keith.
(55:20):
Are you looking forward to your bass solo? Do you
get a bass solo? I do a singing solo everynight
you do? Yeah? Yeah? Which one? Uh? Well, it's different
every single tour. You know, I did eight No Sunshine
for a long time. Now you sang the whole Bill
Weather song. He's like, now, yeah, he does that with
every band member like for years, like he will each
guy has his own moment of the show. And so
(55:41):
that was always me, like, I just would would do
an old R and B song. Um, right now this
this past Vegas trip, I'm doing that. Um before you go.
You know that pop song, Um, Louis Louis Capaldi. Yes,
you sing Louis Capaldi. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I just do
it if you can sing. It's on my Instagram right
(56:04):
And then you're like, I don't know, it's a little bit.
And then I'm like, well, what do you do? Well,
I do Celen Deon, but harder than that's what Louis
cap I could sing. Uh, would you do all like
twenty six? I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know what you do all of it. But actually
those that that new song that Louis Capaldi and and
a version of the live version of the uh um
(56:25):
Bill Weathers song is on my Instagram that you know
of us in concert. But yeah, it's a great thing
for him to do because most people don't most singers
don't do that, you know, they want the band to
be in the back all dressed in black, and that
is not what we do. Like he wants everyone all
right there with him, and because you know, it makes
(56:45):
it easier on the singer too, is like not all
the pressures on them. So it's, uh, it's fun for
every musician that gets to be in this band. Do
you get a bass solo though? No? No, well, I
mean it depends sometimes like we'll stop and on groove
and then he'll come over and grow with me. But
I'm not really no, I'd much rather just sing the
solo song. When you guys are doing a the set,
(57:06):
is it pretty much down to the click? Or do
you ever have a time where you can you break
off and it's like, hey, why don't we just go
ahead and try this? Does he get on the mico over? Guys,
we're gonna try this. You know, even with the click,
he you just have to follow him. It's uh, that's
what we brought in this guy, Jeff Lindsenmire to do
our tracks because you know, he's on the side of
the stage for all these years and he he's like
(57:27):
Keith will just go off and go to a different direction.
And so normally we would have to if we had
any kind of backing tracks, keyboards or some drum machine stuff,
we just have to shut it off. But now, so
you would just shut it off. Yeah, if it's going,
you have to go along with it. So if you
don't want to go along with it, you just turn
it off. Yeah, you have to. But we're good enough.
It didn't matter. So when when this happens to us
(57:49):
when we play our shows, we're not good enough. So
we just go, oh god, oh god, oh god, what
do we do? So you kind of have done a
little bit of a lot of things the very high level.
So when people say when they describe you, like, hey,
this is Jerry he blank, what is it? Are you
(58:09):
the song songwriter with multi number one'es? Are you Keith Urbans?
That's the first thing that people say, uh, like, you
know when with the songwriting, like with someone like Sam.
The reason I don't really I was thinking about this
the other day. I don't get a one of those
guys that gets a ton of cuts. I'm more specific
to the whatever the artist is looking for. And I'm
(58:30):
usually the up tempo guy because that's just what I'm
good at. I've you know, we've just been doing that
for so long live and so I'm kind of brought
in for that kind of special thing, and I bring
up more of a vibe, you know, up tempo vibe.
But like now I'm I'm starting to get hired to
help people put their shows together. You know. I got
hired Jordan Davis. I did his last show, and then
(58:52):
Dustin Lynch brought me in to redo the set. What
does that mean to to put a show together? Like,
if they bring you in, I don't know your job consultant?
What are they call you when that happens. I guess
I was a consultant. Yeah. So my first one, Um,
I was with Matt Steal and so I just went in. Uh,
it was me and my friend Jeff Lynn's my art track.
(59:12):
He's just perfect that he he will go in and
take all their tracks and reado it in a way
where it's real, super simple for everybody to you know,
the drummer to use. Uh, and then I'll just go
in and redo their set list. I'll look at all
their songs and then I will come up with moments
uh in the show that they wouldn't normally think of.
Maybe because I've learned that over the years, Like, you know,
(59:35):
you just have to have these little moments to grab
people early on, especially if you're a new artist. And so,
you know, I'll do something where I'll think of a
different cover song and I'll put it in the middle
of someone's song, like after the second chorus, just to
grab people. Does that mean you'll have to find a
song in a certain key and then pursue a cover
that you've been played in that key. That's also gonna
(59:57):
be cool. So it's like the exact right puzzle piece. Yeah,
And I don't know why it comes to me so fast.
And so I did that with Matt Stell, I did
Chris Bandy and then Jordan Davis. They had me come
in and do his whole show and we put together
an amazing show. Uh. And he got to do that
particular show only for like three months before COVID shut down.
But man, what was happening, what I was seeing live
(01:00:20):
on Instagram was so exciting because all these little moments
that I helped think of. It was just connecting. You know,
I'm gonna ask you a weird question. It's gonna be
hard for you to answer it honestly, but are you
a musical genius. No, I'm not joking when I say that,
and see and hear and feel music in all these ways. Yeah,
well no, no, no, I wouldn't think. I've never thought
(01:00:41):
about that. No, I've just again, like I can't stress
this enough. Like with being alongside Keith Urban all these years,
you know, I'm with the best of the best. There's
still there's rarely a night that I'm on stage with
him and I don't go like damn like he brings it.
He always brings something special and because of all the
(01:01:05):
extreme detail he takes with the set list and now
I mean like we don't start the tour and do
you know work it out before the tour. He's doing
it throughout the entire tour. Like a week before the
tour ends, we'll have a different set list that we
did at the beginning because he's always tweaking. And so
I've just learned. I've just learned what works, you know,
with with audiences and what moves people. And so you know,
(01:01:29):
like like Dustin Lynch called me, that guy is awesome
on stage, Like he's opened up for us. So he's
done a whole tour with us, and uh, the guy
is a rock star. He's so good and when he
brought me in, he let me do the entire set list.
He didn't change one thing and we created these incredible
moments and it was really working man. So that that
means a lot to me for someone like him to
(01:01:51):
trust me, you know, with his show. Must be cool
to be a genius. No you're saying, but I'm hearing. Yes.
And by the way, you guys can follow Jerry at
Jerry Flowers Music. It's just interesting all that you've done,
how people would introduce you, because we will bring in
songwriters that have two and three number ones and in
(01:02:14):
town they're considered Wow's look at this guy's huge. You
got two or three number one. I mean you've got
four massive songs. Yeah, you're like, you know, people really
know me for being the band leader for Keith. Yeah,
I think so. Did you ever think, to Adam Dirt,
it's one more County Crows question, do you ever think, hey, dude,
sing the songs the right way because you don't have
any dank concerts ip A go to and he would
it would be like, you know, Mr Jones and me like, bro,
(01:02:39):
we just want to sing the song him and then
the black Crows were like that too, Both Crows, they
just kind of they just kind of make it up
as they go along. But you'd never play with them, though,
did you like Crows? That would have been that would
have been a good one. You would have constantly been
seeing those guys are trying to kill each other before
and after the ship. Now, we did have a big
night with them in a bar Sydney, Australia, went um,
(01:03:01):
who's we you and counting or chick with with Keith Band. Okay, yeah,
we had a big, big night back when I was
still drinking, and uh it was. It was a wild
one big night like good Night or Big Nights Throne No, no, no, no,
the best night. Like the brother wasn't there, Rich wasn't
there because I think, you know those are those two
don't like each other, but they do now they came
(01:03:22):
into my show together I did. Yeah, yeah, it was right.
That's what I felt too. They were like, hey, the
Black Crows are coming through. I'm a big Black Crows.
And so they were doing that tour where they were
performing that whole first record front to back, okay, right,
and so they were like, hey, they'll come in and
play whatever you want and I was like, well, it's great,
and they came in and you know, I didn't know that.
I knew their whole story. I knew how they had
(01:03:44):
been convinced to get back together, and they were pretty
professional about it. Well he was. Chris the singer hung
with us the entire night. I still remember this place.
It's called the ship in Uh and we just went
for But he was so much fun. Man, great stories too, well,
saying for you, man, this has been awesome for me.
Oh man, it's incredible for me. Like I mean, you've
(01:04:06):
done at all. And you know, I see out at times,
but usually if I ever see you and you're with
Keith and we're somewhere, you're you have the ears in
and I know what it's like people trying to talk
to you when you have ears, like what hold on?
What's that? Okay? It's some very unapproaching You are completely
and only partially because of the years. The respect number one.
I usually tell the crews like, avert your eyes, don't
(01:04:27):
don't look over here. Um, you guys follow Jerry at
Jerry Flowers Music. Um, I've really enjoyed this. I appreciate that.
I will say something about that if you don't mind.
Like I've I'm having so much fun having people reach
out to me on Instagram and like I'm I'm finding
something like real, real talent. I mean tomorrow, I'm I'm
writing with this girl named Katherine Roach from uh, Massachusetts,
(01:04:50):
same thing. She just reached out to me. Uh. And
you just never know because there's some crazy talent out there.
So anybody wants to to message me, you know, I'll
definitely I need a message him after this. Yeah, and
if you get something like, hey, man, are set together?
All right? You guys follow Jerry at Jerry Flowers Music
and listen, I'll just end saying this just that you know,
(01:05:12):
the Keith Sweat stuff of all my stuff, that's your favorite.
That's it. Yeah, It's so much better than everything else.
I mean, listen, I would kill to have a key
sweat cut from Jerry back from me, and like that
would be my dream that Jerry, have you seen you? Look?
You're the opposite. You're the opposite in every way. Here
you go. This is you. If someone just hears this
(01:05:33):
and decides they want to look for you, there you go. Yeah,
very clock to see where that would people get mixed up?
Except in every way other than every every possible way.
All right, Jerry, good to talk to you, man, Man,
I appreciate it.
Host
Bobby Bones
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.