On this episode of Unsigned & Independent, Kevin sits down with married duo The Dryes. Katelyn and Derek have been married for 11 years and began dating before deciding to become a duo and chase their dreams together. They talked about some of the challenges that being a married duo and traveling the country can bring, and how their friends were the ones who set them up 15 years ago. Plus, the couple talks about being the modern day Johnny and June, the big year they've had so far after playing at the CMA Fest and being on tour with Jo Dee Messina.
Socials:
- IG: TheDryes
- Twitter: TheDryesMusic
Follow: @KickOffKevin
Podcast Description:
Unsigned and Independent is a six episode season podcast hosted by Kevin O’Connell that features unsigned and independent artists and bands in Nashville. The purpose of this podcast is to highlight the journey and grind musicians go through trying to make it in the industry; the journey most fans don’t see leading up to national success. People move to music city from all over the country to chase something they have only dreamed of – making music and performing for a living. This podcast will dive into stories on the road, late nights and early mornings on the infamous Broadway, their background story, and if there is an ultimate goal for each artist or band. The artists featured on this podcast don’t have the backing of a label or sometimes even management, or a publishing team to handle their bookings, travel, etc.… But what they all have in common is a genuine passion for the love of music and performing. There is hidden talent spread throughout music city and the aim of this podcast is to give this hidden talent an opportunity to have a platform for an audience to hear their story, what the process is really like in the industry, and hopefully gain a new fan or two.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to Unsigned and Independent Season two, Episode eight. We're
here with kickoff Kevin and we're talking to a group
called the Dryes.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
How many in the group.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Two?
Speaker 4 (00:20):
They have a full band, but the duo married duo.
This is their name, the Dryes. It's Derek's last name, Derek,
and Caitlyn his last name is dry d r Ye.
So now they go buy the Dryes.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
She also a dry though, because she's now because yeah, married.
Were they singing before?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
They were married separately? So they've been married four, well,
eleven years. They've been together for about fifteen or so.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Were they musically similar before they got together and started
singing together.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
No, they talked about it a little bit. They were different,
and they came together and performed and realized, hey, we
kind of got something here. They were dating months before
they ever realized we should do this together.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
They were already dating before they sang together. Yeah, oh day.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So, and how does someone get in touch with you
if they want to be on Unsigned and Independent?
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Mostly it's dms And when they reach out, I'll give
them a pre interview questionnaire to find out more about
their story. Get into detail. The more interesting, the better
and if I like it, if I find it interesting
and I want to get them on, then I bring
him in.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
But what if the record level reaches out and they
want to be on Unsigned and Independent, then no, that's
right because they're signed exactly exactly the other trick question. Okay,
So the Dries on the Road with Jody Messina is
part of our heads Carolina toward the summer.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
You can get tickets at the Dries dot com.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
They just played at cmafes for the first time a
few weeks ago, and they like to think of themselves as.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Who modern day Johnny and Jude Bold, very Bold.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
They were on season twenty two with a Voice.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Here we go, it's the Dries with Kickoff Kevin, Unsigned
and Independent.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Okay, we got Derek and Caitlin the Drys. How we
doing today, guys.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Good to see you, brother, Good to see you.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Nice to meet you guys. And we've finally got to
sit down and do this. We've rescheduled, I don't know,
a few times, look Trapple schedules. Maybe yeah, it's all right. No,
we're all busy over here, which is a good thing.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
And you guys are very busy, it seems like we
were talking a little bit before this, and so right away,
want to get into it. You two are married, yep,
he so what and you're a duo, so married duo
country duo. And what came first for you guys, the
relationship or the career?
Speaker 6 (02:21):
Yeah, we actually started dating first. You had just finished
your first EP in Nashville.
Speaker 5 (02:26):
Yes, right, Yeah, my first EP I was nineteen. I
was like, I am.
Speaker 6 (02:29):
Both living in North Carolina where we're from, had never
moved away before coming to Nashville. I'm already jumping ahead.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
But yeah, I know, I'm like, that's actually a kind
of complicated question because, well, you heat, Derek probably has
his side and I have my side of how that went.
But so well, I'll say my friend who was dating
his friend at the time, put us together and had
told me about Derek for like three years and was
like I could see all doing music together, and honestly,
like I thought she was just crazy, but she I
(02:58):
was always the kind that was very like career driven
and like if I don't get married, that's cool, because
literally the career was like just always like my forefront thought.
And she would always be like, you need to meet
Derek and so she was like, you know, he's dating
someone right now. She's like, they aren't meant to be
and it's just a matter of time. And I would
be like I even met him and the girl at
(03:18):
a show. We read a mute math show and met
him and that girl there, and I just stood back.
I mean, he didn't know anything about me, but I
just thought it was like so weird. I was like this,
I've been told so much about this guy, like.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
I had no clue.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Crazy.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
So yeah, when they broke up like she said they would,
I mean, it's kind of crazy, it is. I mean,
this is the story. It is kind of it's kind
of we've told it so.
Speaker 6 (03:41):
With your close friends, you know, you kind of know.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 6 (03:44):
But yeah, once once we connected over the old face
Facebook now dating myself but.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Better than my Space.
Speaker 6 (03:55):
Facebook dms like no weather.
Speaker 5 (03:58):
Yep, I said, saw a video of me playing, and
he's like, you like guitar, Let's talk about that over dinner.
And he was like that's so cute. I actually thought
it was very cheesy, and I was like, I don't
know about this guy, like this is I don't know.
Speaker 6 (04:08):
It worked when you got the mutual friend that's the
thing with the dating apps.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I cannot.
Speaker 6 (04:12):
I mean, I've never done that because we've been together
for that long. But if I were to imagine myself
doing that, it's just like, what do you do without
some kind of mutual friend or something like that, accountability
or whatever. So that'd be my first Like I don't
know if you call it advice, but like that kept
us going amidst the cheese, is my point.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:30):
Yeah, we had friends who like had practiced about each other,
so we met for Mexican food. So I went in
to answer your question, long story short, I went in
knowing that he did music and I did music. We
both had done music since high school and like wanted
to do music for a living. And so I went
into meeting him at a Mexican restaurant kind of like
(04:50):
with that thought in my brain. But then when we
actually like started hanging out, we didn't talk about music
for like three months, and then one day he came
over and I was like, Hey, you should bring your guitar,
and we just like started singing together. And then like
so like for the first three months we were just
kind of like dating in like in the Lovey Dovey
(05:11):
phase of just like hanging out and he was playing
in a band at the time and I was doing
my Caitlyn Marks band thing back in the day. Then
finally we we actually got to sing at a service
for it was a funeral. It's so crazy. We talked
about this on the voice too, but yeah, it was.
It was a family member on his side and they're like, hey,
your girlfriend sings, like Derek, we want you to do
(05:32):
some of the music. Why don't you ask if Caitlin
wants to sing with you?
Speaker 6 (05:35):
And so I think that was probably the first time
at least publicly we sang together or whatever. Big cathedral hall,
beautiful spot, and you know that being the first time
made it an experience because you know, you have family there,
plus it's this beautiful spot, so that really sticks out
in my mind. It's like, wow, that's like there's something here.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
You know. Yeah, it was a moment where like we
both were like because we didn't really rehearse much for
that time, and when we sang together in the moment,
it's just like both of us knew where each other
was going and the song without really rehearsing, And I
was like, hey, we kind of have a thing, and
then we just continued it. And it's been fifteen years now.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
You said it was a year side of the family,
Derek yep Oka.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Sure.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
What was that moment like for you? Then? Individually for
her to get up there and sing with you, where
you kind of like, I mean, you don't have this.
You probably told her this before, but that had to
be something for you be like, wow, okay, yeah, this
girl is pretty awesome.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Yeah, it was great.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
I mean there's a sense of security there with someone
you know right off the bat, but then to share
that creatively right off the bat.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Was just another level.
Speaker 6 (06:34):
So I just knew we had, you know, there was
something there that we couldn't really tap on. You know,
I grew up on Pearl jam and Lannis Moore said,
and Tim McGraw and she she liked some screamo music
and some country music. So we had a lot to
talk about up to that point. But as far as
musically creating together, you know, it came out with the
(06:56):
twang for sure. Yeah, and we're just like, well, this
kind of makes sense, you know, why don't we just
buy a fifteen passenger van and tour the East coast. Essentially,
there's there's a couple of steps in between.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
You just jumped straight to it.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
You're like, you know what, Yeah, it wouldn't for fun,
It wasn't. I mean, we made goals together, like because
he was already doing music. I was already doing music,
so he kind of joined the band that I had started.
And then it was like it just we were like, why
are we not a duo? Like, you know, it kind
of evolved that way. But we would just make goals.
We'd be like, all right, let's play in our hometown
and just in the Triad area like Thursday, Friday, Saturdays,
(07:31):
and now let's branch out and do like festivals. So
we had this guy named Ricky who's still a good
friend who would help us as a booking agent back
in the day. Ricky, I know, he's the best. And
uh so we just built it and just kind of
went with it and made goals and then we were like,
then then we would reach those goals. And so that's
how we bought our van, was paying for our own
you know, getting paid for shows, which wasn't much back
(07:51):
in the time, you know, back in the day. But yeah,
it's been it's been a journey and just started playing
out and then made started opening up for some people
and our hometown, like we opened up for a little
big town way back in twenty eleven, and they they've
always been one of our favorite bands. And yeah, we
just kind of built a name for ourselves in our
hometown and then that kind of branched out to like
moving to Nashville.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Yeah, and the hometown was where you said, North Carolina,
Winston Salem, Winston Salem. Okay, did you guys have a
talk before because you were a couple before and then
you played together, So did you ever have that talk
where you're like, I don't know if I want to
do this because I don't want this to get in
the way of us.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (08:27):
It happened pretty quick because we both had bigger dreams
than where we were at physically, so we were going
to do it together no matter what.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
Like, I don't know. I mean, we've definitely had moments
in our journey together where we've sat down and had
moments to work through as a couple who you know,
is dating and living together and also like being married
and all that, and.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
Yeah, it's hard to consider all of that, you know,
I know what you're saying, because it's like, have you considered,
you know that you're dating someone that you're also going
to be essentially owning a business with making van payments,
and that's you know, you're not even married or a lot.
You haven't done this this, you haven't compromised on this level.
But I mean, we just felt it innately, and I'm
(09:11):
glad we did. You know, in hindsight, it was hard
as heck in some ways, but it still can be.
But I mean it's we know what compromises, and it's
it's made our marriage really strong. And like you know,
f I'm being real honest, we had a pretty bad
tip earlier today, but then we you know, we're talking
about what we're going to have for dinner, and.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
Yeah, that kind of thing. And well, when you when
you work together and you're married and you live and
learn and all the things together for fifteen years now
we've been married eleven, you just kind of get to
a point where when things happen, you're easy, You're able
to easily just like brush it off and just like
all right, like we don't stay we don't get like
mad or like stay mad on things for longer than
like a day and we just like talk about it.
(09:51):
We've learned to be very honest with each other and
just like throw it out there and be vulnerable and
like our thoughts and our feelings and then we just
move on.
Speaker 6 (09:57):
Yeah, it's it's hard to catch it every time, but
we try to stay ahead of a lot of things
and long story short, give each other you know, space
or whatever to just like, Okay, there's something you're having
a tiff inside, or you're having a you know whatever inside,
can you tell me about that or whatever, And it
ends up coming out a little earlier rather than you know,
resentment on the back end hopefully.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Yeah, is there one that's harder than the other as
far as music together or marriage or do they kind
of go hand in hand at this point because you've
been together for so long.
Speaker 6 (10:23):
Well, because I'm right, what used to be hard is
figuring out the fact that someone sees the world completely different, yes,
which is now at least an opportunity for a strength.
So it's like, you know, I'm not always right, I'm
at least needing to consider what she says and she
(10:43):
I mean, she's pretty on it with anything detail or
business oriented. So I mean we kind of have our roles.
During twenty twenty, some of those roles shifted as like
the industry shifted.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
We talk about that, but like at.
Speaker 6 (10:54):
The same time, it's like to switch roles in different
periods of our life is like, yeah, said than done.
But I'm just so glad that we can challenge each
other and kind of have fun doing it.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Yeah, totally. I mean, you really said everything I was
gonna say. But what I take you it's I mean,
it's just, you know, I think we both knew what
we wanted. We wanted to do music for a living.
We both did from the time we were old enough
to understand what that was, what that meant. So I
think when we met, we just knew it was a
good thing and we just kind of like went with it.
I don't know how it's kind of it's it's like
(11:28):
we don't know if we've been asked that in a
long time, actually, but we just kind of went with it.
And it's been a journey, and you know, we've learned
to like work with each other, and it has its
ups and downs. I think for me, like I have
a really hard time turning my brain off because I'm
so I have ideas for I'll wake up thinking about
things that we could be doing to further our career
and like just ideas on all the things. And so
(11:50):
when it comes to like the end of the day,
he's the kind of person where when work is done,
you know it's done. And for me, I'll be still
thinking about things. So he's like, well, let's just like
sit down and like watch a movie, and I'm like, well,
I can't because I've got all these list things on
my list that i haven't accomplished. And I think that's
personality wise too.
Speaker 6 (12:07):
I think it helps to get the sweet lady out
of the house sometimes.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Yes, take to a die bar and let a Friday
be a Friday.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Just have a little party and let loose sometimes is
good for me. Like that.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
All right, one more marriage question.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Yeah, what you got brother?
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Then we'll get it into your guys' music a little
bit more. And I'll ask you first, Caitlyn, do you
look at other couples you know, like the Ryan Hurds
and Marion Morris and then Caitlyn and Kam Brown, And
do you look at those couples and be like, that's
who I want to be or do you look up
to them? Like that or are you kind of just like,
we know what we're going to find our own way
and that's really cool what they're doing. Maybe we can
do that one day.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Yeah, I mean we definitely do. We actually did a
Maren and Ryan's song on the Voice, and I love
what they do individually, and then what they've done together
is amazing. And then I think, you know, actually the
song thing God by Caitlyn and kin we kind of
have like covered that just for fun in the kitchen
and like post it on TikTok. But I mean, I
love We're big people on celebrating what everybody does and
(13:03):
like their journey and what they do in their lane.
And I think what Derek and I have to offer
is different than what each of those couples that you
mentioned offer. We definitely look up to them and I'm
sure their journey is way more than we even know.
And I think they're just amazing couples, and you know,
I hope to just when I see couples like that,
I think, you know, what are ways that we can
(13:25):
like be a part of that too, you know, like
and so I love, actually love seeing Kaitlyn and Caitlyn
and Kaine's marriage online and I follow both of their
accounts and I think it's really awesome.
Speaker 6 (13:38):
Yeah, so same just real quick. Same with Thomas rhtt
and his wife, and obviously Tim and Faith. I feel
like there's some obvious autonomy like separateness from those people,
like they have separate careers as far as Ryan and
Marin and I really respect that as a couple too,
even though we are under you know, one name. I mean,
(13:58):
we have some Derek songs, have some Caitlin songs, We
have some songs that are duets, and I like not
just giving people something to argue about, but that is
kind of fun to just kind of not just have
one lane, you know. So it's been fun for us
to explore that, like our different personalities within it.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
You know, do you guys have a favorite do what
to cover? Not your own, but to cover whether it's
Tim and Faith or that's a hard all.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
We kind of lean into the real old stuff as
far as that goes, Like Conway and Loretta and or
Johnny and June. We love Jackson. We used to end
every single of one of our shows with a rowdy
version of Jackson.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
Really we still do it in all of our sets.
That song. I mean, we have done it. I want
to say for all of our shows we have, we.
Speaker 6 (14:42):
Still do it a lot. We double the tempo at
the end, just.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Like like Jackson by Johnny and June. That's definitely I'd
say that's probably our favorite song to cover. And then
of course like Loretta and Conway, their music is just great.
Like we love all the old honky tonk like country.
We did the country.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
We did play this out of fame or union.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
It's you're the reason our kids.
Speaker 6 (15:00):
You're the reason our kids are ugly. It didn't go
over well. I was like, we were like.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
We should do it. Everybody's gonna laugh, and I think
it's fun. And we did it and.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
Everybody was like my side of the family really got it.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
They laughed, Yeah, they're gonna cut up.
Speaker 5 (15:12):
It was like so hilarious. But yeah, I would say
Jackson by Johnny and June. We we you know, I
like to think and I like to like put it
out there that Derek and I are the modern Johnny
and June.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
You know, that's bold.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
It is bold. I hope we can live up to that,
you know. But yeah, Johnny and June, that's like one
of our favorite husband and wine.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
And now you mentioned the Voice a little bit. I
want to get into that. You were on season twenty two,
I believe, Team Blake. Yeah, and the last person I
had on this podcast actually last week Emily and she
was on Team Blake as well.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
That's right, Yeah, she was.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
On with me last week and I want to hear
I talked about with her about a little bit. So
what was your guys experience like with the Voice because
hers was very she was young, you know, she'd finished
and she was a finalist, and she thought her world
was going to change and then it's just, you know,
it's not that easy, she found out. So what was
your experience like going through that whole process.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
Well, we had talked about it quite a bit and
just decided together that we were going to do it
because we already had music out, We already had a
world to invite people into. And whether you do or not,
I feel like it's a great positive show. And they
really honor about any age that they have, like people
that were older than us and down to the thirteen
year olds, and that was yeah, really surprised me at
(16:24):
how open they were even with interviews and all that stuff.
So they just really honored us well, and I'm glad
we did it. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
I mean I think if you're an artist going into
something like that and you know who you are and
you already have music out, it's it can really like
it's honestly changed our life in a lot of ways
as far as like the fans, Like every show we've
done recently, it's like we have people coming up saying
they saw us on the show and they loved us,
and that always blows my mind. I'm like, that's crazy,
(16:52):
like you. I mean, it's like all over like and
you know, the just to see the numbers increase just
on like streams and also just like socials. But it
was an amazing experience. I mean from the moment we
went in, we both just like felt peace about it
and we were like, we're just going to be ourselves
and they'll it will go as far as we need
to go because we trust that the right plan will happen.
(17:13):
And it was an amazing journey. I mean there's definitely
parts where it's stressful because it's television in front of
millions of people. It was a really great experience for
us and I mean Derek, he actually for the first
time ever on the show. For the actually our Knockout
Round did a song without the guitar in his hands
for the first time, and that was like a big
step and we had never done it. And actually the bandleader,
(17:33):
Paul was like, well, he was like, no better time
to do it than in front of ten million people
or however many watched the show, And so that was
like a really big milestone for us. And I feel
like that that was something we hadn't done. And Blake
actually like gave him so many compliments on it, and
we even went out, I feel like on a good note.
So it was it was a great journey for us,
and it's just brought so many good things into our
(17:54):
life as far as shows, and we just signed a
booking and just a lot of good cool things.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
So do you feel like having each each other through
that process really helped instead of being like an individual
artist and going through I mean, you have the support
of the family, of course, but having each other had
to help a lot through that. Yeah, I mean that's
a little surreal, right, Yeah, I'm sure I want to
get on the stage. It might hit you, but I
don't even know if it still hits you. Till this point.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
Yeah, I mean we were also in a hotel room
for a number of months.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Oh yeah, so it was just.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Twenty twenty all over again.
Speaker 6 (18:24):
Yeah, I have to make light of that at all,
but it was we were it was so I was
such a privilege to do that with her.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
Yeah, I mean I think we were the one of
two duos on our season. Oh yeah, and so it is.
I mean, I think with what we do together, like
people always say, you know, like Derek, you could do
music by yourself, Caitlyn, you could do music by yourself.
So why do y'all choose each other? And I just
think there's plenty of amazing female artists, plenty of amazing
(18:52):
like male and I think what Derek and I have
is special, and I'm so thankful that we have each
other in crazy things like that, Like so many times
we look at each other just randomly and we'll be like,
our life is so crazy, Like we do the craziest things,
like many people like, our life is just crazy. You
never know what each month will bring it, but like
we always are so thankful that we can do it together.
(19:12):
And I'm like, thank God that I've got like your
brain as well, like, so it's not all on me,
you know, And so I have major likes to artists
who do everything themselves. I mean that it's a lot
of work, and so I'm thankful I have Derek and
that we did that together.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Like that, Where do you guys, are you playing anywhere
on National locally? Do you ever play on Broadway or
any riders around anything like that?
Speaker 6 (19:33):
We don't play Broadway much, but we we like visiting
Roberts for sure. Roberts that's our Friday night unless we
hop over, you know, to the East Side for Honky
Talk Tuesday.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Yeah, I mean, we've definitely done like writers' rounds. We
just did a big show in February at the Basement East,
like a big showcase, and so, you know, we we
did CMA Fest and we want to do shows, but
we try not to like oversaturate the area because we're
on tour right now and and lots of dates like
outside of Nashville, But we definitely I think we have
a show coming up in August at Kletus. It's our
(20:06):
friend's burger bar. And Paul McDonald is another artist and
he puts on these one big love festivals. So I
think that's August tenth, and that's gonna be a lot
of fun. But we do little, you know, events here
and there.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
And how was this first CMA Fest for you guys?
Speaker 5 (20:20):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (20:21):
It was a blast, correctly, yeah, amazing.
Speaker 6 (20:23):
It was on the hard rock stage, so I mean,
when you're looking at the hard rock you're obviously looking
out towards the river, but if you're on stage looking
towards Broadway, it's almost as if whenever they crank us up,
like all of Broadway kind of turns in, Like even
people across the street were like kind of all turning
their necks and it was it was a blast. So
(20:44):
we had this crowd in front of us, but they
were all kind of coming across during Cmafest, so we
just started playing out to the other side of the street.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
And it was really surprising.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
It was our first one, and honestly, we didn't know
if we'd even get in this year, and I think
it was the first time that CMA fester, first or
second year that they've taken over that stage, and so
we somehow got in on the lineup, and I was
just amazed that there was people there. And you know,
because every show you're like I hope people come see
us like they come. And so it was a fun
(21:14):
crowd and we just had a blast. We did a
thirty minute set and we just did all of our
songs that we're going to release this year and and so, yeah,
it was a lot of fun. Definitely feel honored.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
How big is that for you know, a duo like
you or any artist really, because for me living here,
I'm like, holy crap, that's a lot. It's just a
lot of people. And yeah there's a lot going on
you go downtown for a couple hours. But for you guys,
somebody that's not, you know, playing Nissan on the main
stage every night, how big is that for you guys?
To get those people from out of town just to
be walking by and just see you. So for you
(21:46):
to have that stage, is that something that you just
don't take for granted?
Speaker 5 (21:49):
Oh totally.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 6 (21:50):
I mean, whether we're opening for Jody like we have
been this year, and we have a merch line that
we didn't expect and we're just like, we're gonna eat
this up, not just because it's about us, but because
these fans are hungry to discover new artists, and that's
that's the big thing with fanfare at CMA Fest and
all that like it, it really is not about us
(22:11):
as it as is as it is about the fans
where they really do like want to.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
It's like all about that, Yeah they shelter, it's going
to be the new artist and people who maybe aren't
on the radio yet. And and I think for.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
Us, like it's that wouldn't you say?
Speaker 6 (22:27):
It's that same like sense of discovery totally as some
shows that are out there.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
I mean, well that's what I grew up going to
CMA Fest, and that's what I thought was so amazing,
was walking around and seeing people that like back then
now are huge. I mean, I'm you know, even other
shows like I just think about like what it takes
to get there, and CMA Fest is honestly like has
been on our bucket list of like when are we
going to get to play CMA Fest? Man, that'd be
(22:51):
a dream. And so the fact that it happened this
year was incredible. And then I think back on like
what CMA Fest is and all the past years of life.
You know, CMA was doing like recaps of different like
Porter and Dolly and Faith and Tim and it's just
like years of like country music legends. I mean, that's
everybody's a part of it, and for us to be
(23:13):
included in that definitely don't take it for granted. And
and we wanted to like give our best, and I
feel like we did and left a good impression. So
hopefully we'll be back next year.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
That's right, And hopefully if you're listening to this and
you haven't been, I highly recommend it. It's amazing something
you can't get anywhere else. Nashville is probably the only
place you can walk any corner just hear amazing music.
How did you end up getting that?
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Then?
Speaker 4 (23:33):
Are you with a management company? Is that what you said?
Speaker 5 (23:35):
Or yeah? So in March we actually signed with Wasserman Booking,
and so our booking agents got us on that, and
I think it was like the timing just worked out
and they said there was openings and so they pitched
us and then it and then we got chosen to
do it. So it's kind of a last minute thing,
but I think timing is everything, and it happened, so we're.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Excited to agree more.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
That's awesome. Another exciting thing and you talked about a
little bit was be on tour with Joe. You've seen
that right now, Yes, the Heads Carolina Tales California tour.
How did that come about and how has that been
so far?
Speaker 6 (24:06):
Honestly, Jody is quite the anomaly. Like she's on our
first show with her, she came out to introduce us.
She talked for like five minutes about us, and I
was She said she didn't know she was going to
do that show. She is very like not fly by
the sea of her pants, but has like really just
a big heart love.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
I thought she was coming out just to like watch
our set. Like I thought she was just like following
us out and I was like, oh, I guess she's
gonna watch. She just makes me nervous. And then she
like went on stage and I was like, what is happening?
And then so she like introduced us, but like it
came about we. So we a friend of ours, Angela,
sings background vocals for her. So I think Angela had
kind of like mentioned who we were Jody, maybe like
(24:45):
two years ago. But we did our show in February
at the Basement East and the very next morning, my
friend Angela texted me and said, Hey, do you have
a message from Jody, and I was like, Jody Messina.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
And she was like seven am.
Speaker 5 (24:59):
This is in the like because when neither of us slept,
we were so amped from our show. And I was like,
well I don't so I like nudge Derek because I
think he was still asleep. I was like, do you
have a message from Jody on your phone? And he's
like Jody was Seena. I'm like yeah, and he's like,
I actually do, and he was like she said to
call her about some tour dates and I was like.
Speaker 6 (25:15):
What, and so what's odd was And I don't know
if Jody, if you're listening, if you know this or not,
but she texted or emailed Wasserman about us coming out
on some dates, I believe while they were debriefing about.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
Because they had come to our show.
Speaker 6 (25:32):
It's kind of cool, we're seeing us really Yeah, So
the timing was nuts. You know, one of their artists
was asking us to come on tour as they were,
you know, debriefing about maybe working with us or something.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:41):
It was like, honestly, so weird. And I was like
wait because she's also with Wasserman and so I was like, well,
did that happen? Like what is happening, and so it
was just kind of like a weird timing thing on
everybody's like in But we called her around ten that morning,
the day after our big showcase that we did, and
she was like, I just would love for y'all to
like come out on the road with me and do
(26:02):
some shows. Like I never picked an opener before, and
I didn't know if that's to be something y'all be
interested in or you know, don't feel pressure, and we're like,
don't feel pressure, Like what do you mean, you're amazing.
We tried to like we literally tried to keep it
really cool and just be like very like you know, yeah,
like sure, but we were just like speaming. We were
like my parents were in town and they were sitting
in the other room, and I just was like couldn't
(26:24):
wait to like run in the room and be like
she just has us to go on door. So that
with that happened, and then Wasserman killed it and like
got us in the right kind of you know, in
line with all the details of it, and we started
our first show in Texas in April. So it was
just kind of like a it just all happened real fast,
and we just like went with it, and it's been
a journey, the ground running.
Speaker 6 (26:45):
They've been going in some dates in between, and it's
been such a blast.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
It's been a dream because every year, at the end
of every year, we write down goals for the next YEP,
and twenty twenty three, like actually twenty three is our
lucky number, which we knew going into the year. We're like,
that's going to be pretty like what's going to happen?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
And yeah, it comes up a lot, right, But we.
Speaker 5 (27:03):
Were like, let's like one of our biggest thing was
let's play more shows. However, we got to do that,
whether it's us booking up or we get signed, but
really wanted to get signed, and then that happened, and
it's just honestly been a dream come true because we've
been here for years and that's been our goal.
Speaker 4 (27:18):
So how long have you lived in Nashville then?
Speaker 5 (27:20):
Nine years?
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yeah, since twenty fourteen and you moved here together. Yep.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
We sure did packed it up in the jeep and
we didn't release music until twenty eighteen, but OK, yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
Wow, yeah, we packed everything in our little jeep. Cherokee
stayed with some friends they like opened their house because
they believed in us, and we didn't even know what
we were going to do. We didn't even have jobs
when we moved. We were like we just brought like
what we could in our little cherokey and our cat,
and we just like headed here. We were like all right,
like hope we get a job soon. And so I
started babysitting as soon as we moved here. I started
(27:50):
nanning for different families, and he worked at Apple. And
we had our jobs for like four or five years,
like random jobs, and just like dug our feet in
and I wrote songs and started to release some music
the first time in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
So was there some dark days in those four to
five years where you were saying, I don't know if
this was the right move or not?
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Totally? Yeah, how do I expound on that?
Speaker 5 (28:12):
Like, well, I remember driving here, Like when we were
actually driving here to like move here, I think I
cried the whole way because I was like I felt
in my spirit that it was the right thing, but
I also was like, what if we're making the biggest mistake.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
Sure, and you're probably grieving, you know.
Speaker 5 (28:27):
Yeah, like being around family and it's just like, you know,
a lot of what we do is a big sacrifice constantly,
Like we've missed weddings, We've missed like a lot of things.
And so I think moving here it was like we
knew what the cost was, but we were like ready
for whatever that was, and so we just came with
like open hands and have just it's been a journey.
But I mean there's been plenty of days where we've
(28:48):
felt like I always say, like thrown in the towel,
but we never would because it just I think it's
the days where you just feel like is what we're
doing enough? Which I think is the question a lot
of artists probably asked, like am I enough? Is my music?
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Enough?
Speaker 5 (29:01):
Is my brand enough? You know, whatever we're doing. But
we really believe in what we who we are and
what our story is, and you know, I think it's
more about people than it is about us. Like we
we truly do love people and want people. We've always
said like when people come to our shows and just
like even come to our house, we want people to
like leave a little lighter than when they can't got there.
(29:23):
And so we want people to like laugh, cry, party,
have fun at our shows or even if they're at
our house. Like and so it's about the fans and
about people, and so that's always been like our drive.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Well, let's wrap it up here and talk about some
new stuff in the works for you guys coming out
later this summer. You got a singing Yeah, yeah, possibly
anyp Jody Messina, So go ahead and talk about the
new single coming out.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
We're so excited.
Speaker 6 (29:47):
She could tell you more about the details, obviously, because
she's a detail queen. But we've proud to say we've
produced this at home and really have been testing a
lot of these songs out on the road, and we
really do that's kind of our litmus test to have
the audience, you know, react to what we're playing or
just ask, you know, when this song is going to
come out. And you know, a lot of artists and
(30:08):
we do this a little bit on social platforms and
stuff and test the market or whatever. But I'm I'm
just so thankful when we can do that in person.
So this is a collection of you know, songs that
we've really tested out on the road, and I'm pretty
proud of it.
Speaker 5 (30:22):
Yeah. The song's called Sawdust and it is about all
the honky tonks and diebars we've been to thus far,
and it's just a honky tonk like we both love
like traditional country, and so it has definitely big flares
of that, but it's like mixed with a little bit
of rock, which is really fun, and a lot of
our music has a lot of that element in it,
(30:42):
a lot of gritty yeah, community for sure.
Speaker 6 (30:45):
I love producers like Jay Joyce and Luke Dick, you know,
Branda Lambert, Eric Church, those type of gritty tape sounds,
and we love old country too, so to push the
production forward, we're just that's just what naturally comes out.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
And yeah, yeah will sound a lot like Texas, that's
for sure, with.
Speaker 6 (31:04):
Some deep bear tone guitars like rock and roll, you.
Speaker 5 (31:08):
Know, and a lot of it's just what we've been
writing the last couple, like last two or three years.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Did you write every song? Sorry to cut you off there,
did you write every song?
Speaker 5 (31:15):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (31:16):
Okay, yeah with.
Speaker 5 (31:17):
Co writers get together and with co writers. But yeah,
I feel like it's another chapter of our story that
maybe people haven't heard yet, which I'm really excited. Yeah,
there's it's just I think it has something for everything.
There's like some serious songs on there, and then there's
like just fun songs like Sawdust and then we have
a song called Bless Your Heart that's going to be
coming out in August as well, and it's was based
(31:40):
off comment that someone was being mean, but you know,
it's all good. But uh yeah, So I'm excited. Lots
of new music this year, lots of shows and we're
really excited for like what's to come for.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Us, maybe a Christmas tour, yeah, working on that.
Speaker 5 (31:55):
Yeah, oh yeah, Christmas. More Christmas music as well. So
we're really working on cranking some stuff out because last
year we couldn't with the voice, we had to wait
in a certain time. So this year we're like doing
as much as we can.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Might as well.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Yeah, go follow them social media. We're going to fund
you guys.
Speaker 5 (32:11):
The draws, it's just the draws on everything, so pretty
much g r.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Y e s also spelled like doctor.
Speaker 5 (32:18):
Yes, we always say that. I don't know why. We
think we're fun so weird.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
The way that help other it helps. Okay, go follow
them on Instagram, Twitter and social media, TikTok whatever you're
on stream their music. Supporting you guys. It was a
lot of fun. Thank you so much for coming in.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
Gotcha.
Speaker 5 (32:36):
This has been a Bobby cast production.
Welcome to Unsigned and Independent Season two, Episode eight. We're
here with kickoff Kevin and we're talking to a group
called the Dryes.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
How many in the group.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Two?
Speaker 4 (00:20):
They have a full band, but the duo married duo.
This is their name, the Dryes. It's Derek's last name, Derek,
and Caitlyn his last name is dry d r Ye.
So now they go buy the Dryes.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
She also a dry though, because she's now because yeah, married.
Were they singing before?
Speaker 1 (00:35):
They were married separately? So they've been married four, well,
eleven years. They've been together for about fifteen or so.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Were they musically similar before they got together and started
singing together.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
No, they talked about it a little bit. They were different,
and they came together and performed and realized, hey, we
kind of got something here. They were dating months before
they ever realized we should do this together.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
They were already dating before they sang together. Yeah, oh day.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
So, and how does someone get in touch with you
if they want to be on Unsigned and Independent?
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Mostly it's dms And when they reach out, I'll give
them a pre interview questionnaire to find out more about
their story. Get into detail. The more interesting, the better
and if I like it, if I find it interesting
and I want to get them on, then I bring
him in.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
But what if the record level reaches out and they
want to be on Unsigned and Independent, then no, that's
right because they're signed exactly exactly the other trick question. Okay,
So the Dries on the Road with Jody Messina is
part of our heads Carolina toward the summer.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
You can get tickets at the Dries dot com.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
They just played at cmafes for the first time a
few weeks ago, and they like to think of themselves as.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Who modern day Johnny and Jude Bold, very Bold.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
They were on season twenty two with a Voice.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Here we go, it's the Dries with Kickoff Kevin, Unsigned
and Independent.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
Okay, we got Derek and Caitlin the Drys. How we
doing today, guys.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Good to see you, brother, Good to see you.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
Nice to meet you guys. And we've finally got to
sit down and do this. We've rescheduled, I don't know,
a few times, look Trapple schedules. Maybe yeah, it's all right. No,
we're all busy over here, which is a good thing.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
And you guys are very busy, it seems like we
were talking a little bit before this, and so right away,
want to get into it. You two are married, yep,
he so what and you're a duo, so married duo
country duo. And what came first for you guys, the
relationship or the career?
Speaker 6 (02:21):
Yeah, we actually started dating first. You had just finished
your first EP in Nashville.
Speaker 5 (02:26):
Yes, right, Yeah, my first EP I was nineteen. I
was like, I am.
Speaker 6 (02:29):
Both living in North Carolina where we're from, had never
moved away before coming to Nashville. I'm already jumping ahead.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
But yeah, I know, I'm like, that's actually a kind
of complicated question because, well, you heat, Derek probably has
his side and I have my side of how that went.
But so well, I'll say my friend who was dating
his friend at the time, put us together and had
told me about Derek for like three years and was
like I could see all doing music together, and honestly,
like I thought she was just crazy, but she I
(02:58):
was always the kind that was very like career driven
and like if I don't get married, that's cool, because
literally the career was like just always like my forefront thought.
And she would always be like, you need to meet
Derek and so she was like, you know, he's dating
someone right now. She's like, they aren't meant to be
and it's just a matter of time. And I would
be like I even met him and the girl at
(03:18):
a show. We read a mute math show and met
him and that girl there, and I just stood back.
I mean, he didn't know anything about me, but I
just thought it was like so weird. I was like this,
I've been told so much about this guy, like.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
I had no clue.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Crazy.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
So yeah, when they broke up like she said they would,
I mean, it's kind of crazy, it is. I mean,
this is the story. It is kind of it's kind
of we've told it so.
Speaker 6 (03:41):
With your close friends, you know, you kind of know.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 6 (03:44):
But yeah, once once we connected over the old face
Facebook now dating myself but.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Better than my Space.
Speaker 6 (03:55):
Facebook dms like no weather.
Speaker 5 (03:58):
Yep, I said, saw a video of me playing, and
he's like, you like guitar, Let's talk about that over dinner.
And he was like that's so cute. I actually thought
it was very cheesy, and I was like, I don't
know about this guy, like this is I don't know.
Speaker 6 (04:08):
It worked when you got the mutual friend that's the
thing with the dating apps.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I cannot.
Speaker 6 (04:12):
I mean, I've never done that because we've been together
for that long. But if I were to imagine myself
doing that, it's just like, what do you do without
some kind of mutual friend or something like that, accountability
or whatever. So that'd be my first Like I don't
know if you call it advice, but like that kept
us going amidst the cheese, is my point.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:30):
Yeah, we had friends who like had practiced about each other,
so we met for Mexican food. So I went in
to answer your question, long story short, I went in
knowing that he did music and I did music. We
both had done music since high school and like wanted
to do music for a living. And so I went
into meeting him at a Mexican restaurant kind of like
(04:50):
with that thought in my brain. But then when we
actually like started hanging out, we didn't talk about music
for like three months, and then one day he came
over and I was like, Hey, you should bring your guitar,
and we just like started singing together. And then like
so like for the first three months we were just
kind of like dating in like in the Lovey Dovey
(05:11):
phase of just like hanging out and he was playing
in a band at the time and I was doing
my Caitlyn Marks band thing back in the day. Then
finally we we actually got to sing at a service
for it was a funeral. It's so crazy. We talked
about this on the voice too, but yeah, it was.
It was a family member on his side and they're like, hey,
your girlfriend sings, like Derek, we want you to do
(05:32):
some of the music. Why don't you ask if Caitlin
wants to sing with you?
Speaker 6 (05:35):
And so I think that was probably the first time
at least publicly we sang together or whatever. Big cathedral hall,
beautiful spot, and you know that being the first time
made it an experience because you know, you have family there,
plus it's this beautiful spot, so that really sticks out
in my mind. It's like, wow, that's like there's something here.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
You know. Yeah, it was a moment where like we
both were like because we didn't really rehearse much for
that time, and when we sang together in the moment,
it's just like both of us knew where each other
was going and the song without really rehearsing, And I
was like, hey, we kind of have a thing, and
then we just continued it. And it's been fifteen years now.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
You said it was a year side of the family,
Derek yep Oka.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Sure.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
What was that moment like for you? Then? Individually for
her to get up there and sing with you, where
you kind of like, I mean, you don't have this.
You probably told her this before, but that had to
be something for you be like, wow, okay, yeah, this
girl is pretty awesome.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Yeah, it was great.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
I mean there's a sense of security there with someone
you know right off the bat, but then to share
that creatively right off the bat.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Was just another level.
Speaker 6 (06:34):
So I just knew we had, you know, there was
something there that we couldn't really tap on. You know,
I grew up on Pearl jam and Lannis Moore said,
and Tim McGraw and she she liked some screamo music
and some country music. So we had a lot to
talk about up to that point. But as far as
musically creating together, you know, it came out with the
(06:56):
twang for sure. Yeah, and we're just like, well, this
kind of makes sense, you know, why don't we just
buy a fifteen passenger van and tour the East coast. Essentially,
there's there's a couple of steps in between.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
You just jumped straight to it.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
You're like, you know what, Yeah, it wouldn't for fun,
It wasn't. I mean, we made goals together, like because
he was already doing music. I was already doing music,
so he kind of joined the band that I had started.
And then it was like it just we were like, why
are we not a duo? Like, you know, it kind
of evolved that way. But we would just make goals.
We'd be like, all right, let's play in our hometown
and just in the Triad area like Thursday, Friday, Saturdays,
(07:31):
and now let's branch out and do like festivals. So
we had this guy named Ricky who's still a good
friend who would help us as a booking agent back
in the day. Ricky, I know, he's the best. And
uh so we just built it and just kind of
went with it and made goals and then we were like,
then then we would reach those goals. And so that's
how we bought our van, was paying for our own
you know, getting paid for shows, which wasn't much back
(07:51):
in the time, you know, back in the day. But yeah,
it's been it's been a journey and just started playing
out and then made started opening up for some people
and our hometown, like we opened up for a little
big town way back in twenty eleven, and they they've
always been one of our favorite bands. And yeah, we
just kind of built a name for ourselves in our
hometown and then that kind of branched out to like
moving to Nashville.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Yeah, and the hometown was where you said, North Carolina,
Winston Salem, Winston Salem. Okay, did you guys have a
talk before because you were a couple before and then
you played together, So did you ever have that talk
where you're like, I don't know if I want to
do this because I don't want this to get in
the way of us.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (08:27):
It happened pretty quick because we both had bigger dreams
than where we were at physically, so we were going
to do it together no matter what.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
Like, I don't know. I mean, we've definitely had moments
in our journey together where we've sat down and had
moments to work through as a couple who you know,
is dating and living together and also like being married
and all that, and.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
Yeah, it's hard to consider all of that, you know,
I know what you're saying, because it's like, have you considered,
you know that you're dating someone that you're also going
to be essentially owning a business with making van payments,
and that's you know, you're not even married or a lot.
You haven't done this this, you haven't compromised on this level.
But I mean, we just felt it innately, and I'm
(09:11):
glad we did. You know, in hindsight, it was hard
as heck in some ways, but it still can be.
But I mean it's we know what compromises, and it's
it's made our marriage really strong. And like you know,
f I'm being real honest, we had a pretty bad
tip earlier today, but then we you know, we're talking
about what we're going to have for dinner, and.
Speaker 5 (09:29):
Yeah, that kind of thing. And well, when you when
you work together and you're married and you live and
learn and all the things together for fifteen years now
we've been married eleven, you just kind of get to
a point where when things happen, you're easy, You're able
to easily just like brush it off and just like
all right, like we don't stay we don't get like
mad or like stay mad on things for longer than
like a day and we just like talk about it.
(09:51):
We've learned to be very honest with each other and
just like throw it out there and be vulnerable and
like our thoughts and our feelings and then we just
move on.
Speaker 6 (09:57):
Yeah, it's it's hard to catch it every time, but
we try to stay ahead of a lot of things
and long story short, give each other you know, space
or whatever to just like, Okay, there's something you're having
a tiff inside, or you're having a you know whatever inside,
can you tell me about that or whatever, And it
ends up coming out a little earlier rather than you know,
resentment on the back end hopefully.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Yeah, is there one that's harder than the other as
far as music together or marriage or do they kind
of go hand in hand at this point because you've
been together for so long.
Speaker 6 (10:23):
Well, because I'm right, what used to be hard is
figuring out the fact that someone sees the world completely different, yes,
which is now at least an opportunity for a strength.
So it's like, you know, I'm not always right, I'm
at least needing to consider what she says and she
(10:43):
I mean, she's pretty on it with anything detail or
business oriented. So I mean we kind of have our roles.
During twenty twenty, some of those roles shifted as like
the industry shifted.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
We talk about that, but like at.
Speaker 6 (10:54):
The same time, it's like to switch roles in different
periods of our life is like, yeah, said than done.
But I'm just so glad that we can challenge each
other and kind of have fun doing it.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
Yeah, totally. I mean, you really said everything I was
gonna say. But what I take you it's I mean,
it's just, you know, I think we both knew what
we wanted. We wanted to do music for a living.
We both did from the time we were old enough
to understand what that was, what that meant. So I
think when we met, we just knew it was a
good thing and we just kind of like went with it.
I don't know how it's kind of it's it's like
(11:28):
we don't know if we've been asked that in a
long time, actually, but we just kind of went with it.
And it's been a journey, and you know, we've learned
to like work with each other, and it has its
ups and downs. I think for me, like I have
a really hard time turning my brain off because I'm
so I have ideas for I'll wake up thinking about
things that we could be doing to further our career
and like just ideas on all the things. And so
(11:50):
when it comes to like the end of the day,
he's the kind of person where when work is done,
you know it's done. And for me, I'll be still
thinking about things. So he's like, well, let's just like
sit down and like watch a movie, and I'm like, well,
I can't because I've got all these list things on
my list that i haven't accomplished. And I think that's
personality wise too.
Speaker 6 (12:07):
I think it helps to get the sweet lady out
of the house sometimes.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Yes, take to a die bar and let a Friday
be a Friday.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Just have a little party and let loose sometimes is
good for me. Like that.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
All right, one more marriage question.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Yeah, what you got brother?
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Then we'll get it into your guys' music a little
bit more. And I'll ask you first, Caitlyn, do you
look at other couples you know, like the Ryan Hurds
and Marion Morris and then Caitlyn and Kam Brown, And
do you look at those couples and be like, that's
who I want to be or do you look up
to them? Like that or are you kind of just like,
we know what we're going to find our own way
and that's really cool what they're doing. Maybe we can
do that one day.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Yeah, I mean we definitely do. We actually did a
Maren and Ryan's song on the Voice, and I love
what they do individually, and then what they've done together
is amazing. And then I think, you know, actually the
song thing God by Caitlyn and kin we kind of
have like covered that just for fun in the kitchen
and like post it on TikTok. But I mean, I
love We're big people on celebrating what everybody does and
(13:03):
like their journey and what they do in their lane.
And I think what Derek and I have to offer
is different than what each of those couples that you
mentioned offer. We definitely look up to them and I'm
sure their journey is way more than we even know.
And I think they're just amazing couples, and you know,
I hope to just when I see couples like that,
I think, you know, what are ways that we can
(13:25):
like be a part of that too, you know, like
and so I love, actually love seeing Kaitlyn and Caitlyn
and Kaine's marriage online and I follow both of their
accounts and I think it's really awesome.
Speaker 6 (13:38):
Yeah, so same just real quick. Same with Thomas rhtt
and his wife, and obviously Tim and Faith. I feel
like there's some obvious autonomy like separateness from those people,
like they have separate careers as far as Ryan and
Marin and I really respect that as a couple too,
even though we are under you know, one name. I mean,
(13:58):
we have some Derek songs, have some Caitlin songs, We
have some songs that are duets, and I like not
just giving people something to argue about, but that is
kind of fun to just kind of not just have
one lane, you know. So it's been fun for us
to explore that, like our different personalities within it.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
You know, do you guys have a favorite do what
to cover? Not your own, but to cover whether it's
Tim and Faith or that's a hard all.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
We kind of lean into the real old stuff as
far as that goes, Like Conway and Loretta and or
Johnny and June. We love Jackson. We used to end
every single of one of our shows with a rowdy
version of Jackson.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
Really we still do it in all of our sets.
That song. I mean, we have done it. I want
to say for all of our shows we have, we.
Speaker 6 (14:42):
Still do it a lot. We double the tempo at
the end, just.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Like like Jackson by Johnny and June. That's definitely I'd
say that's probably our favorite song to cover. And then
of course like Loretta and Conway, their music is just great.
Like we love all the old honky tonk like country.
We did the country.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
We did play this out of fame or union.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
It's you're the reason our kids.
Speaker 6 (15:00):
You're the reason our kids are ugly. It didn't go
over well. I was like, we were like.
Speaker 5 (15:04):
We should do it. Everybody's gonna laugh, and I think
it's fun. And we did it and.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
Everybody was like my side of the family really got it.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
They laughed, Yeah, they're gonna cut up.
Speaker 5 (15:12):
It was like so hilarious. But yeah, I would say
Jackson by Johnny and June. We we you know, I
like to think and I like to like put it
out there that Derek and I are the modern Johnny
and June.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
You know, that's bold.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
It is bold. I hope we can live up to that,
you know. But yeah, Johnny and June, that's like one
of our favorite husband and wine.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
And now you mentioned the Voice a little bit. I
want to get into that. You were on season twenty two,
I believe, Team Blake. Yeah, and the last person I
had on this podcast actually last week Emily and she
was on Team Blake as well.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
That's right, Yeah, she was.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
On with me last week and I want to hear
I talked about with her about a little bit. So
what was your guys experience like with the Voice because
hers was very she was young, you know, she'd finished
and she was a finalist, and she thought her world
was going to change and then it's just, you know,
it's not that easy, she found out. So what was
your experience like going through that whole process.
Speaker 6 (16:04):
Well, we had talked about it quite a bit and
just decided together that we were going to do it
because we already had music out, We already had a
world to invite people into. And whether you do or not,
I feel like it's a great positive show. And they
really honor about any age that they have, like people
that were older than us and down to the thirteen
year olds, and that was yeah, really surprised me at
(16:24):
how open they were even with interviews and all that stuff.
So they just really honored us well, and I'm glad
we did it. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
I mean I think if you're an artist going into
something like that and you know who you are and
you already have music out, it's it can really like
it's honestly changed our life in a lot of ways
as far as like the fans, Like every show we've
done recently, it's like we have people coming up saying
they saw us on the show and they loved us,
and that always blows my mind. I'm like, that's crazy,
(16:52):
like you. I mean, it's like all over like and
you know, the just to see the numbers increase just
on like streams and also just like socials. But it
was an amazing experience. I mean from the moment we
went in, we both just like felt peace about it
and we were like, we're just going to be ourselves
and they'll it will go as far as we need
to go because we trust that the right plan will happen.
(17:13):
And it was an amazing journey. I mean there's definitely
parts where it's stressful because it's television in front of
millions of people. It was a really great experience for
us and I mean Derek, he actually for the first
time ever on the show. For the actually our Knockout
Round did a song without the guitar in his hands
for the first time, and that was like a big
step and we had never done it. And actually the bandleader,
(17:33):
Paul was like, well, he was like, no better time
to do it than in front of ten million people
or however many watched the show, And so that was
like a really big milestone for us. And I feel
like that that was something we hadn't done. And Blake
actually like gave him so many compliments on it, and
we even went out, I feel like on a good note.
So it was it was a great journey for us,
and it's just brought so many good things into our
(17:54):
life as far as shows, and we just signed a
booking and just a lot of good cool things.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
So do you feel like having each each other through
that process really helped instead of being like an individual
artist and going through I mean, you have the support
of the family, of course, but having each other had
to help a lot through that. Yeah, I mean that's
a little surreal, right, Yeah, I'm sure I want to
get on the stage. It might hit you, but I
don't even know if it still hits you. Till this point.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
Yeah, I mean we were also in a hotel room
for a number of months.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Oh yeah, so it was just.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Twenty twenty all over again.
Speaker 6 (18:24):
Yeah, I have to make light of that at all,
but it was we were it was so I was
such a privilege to do that with her.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
Yeah, I mean I think we were the one of
two duos on our season. Oh yeah, and so it is.
I mean, I think with what we do together, like
people always say, you know, like Derek, you could do
music by yourself, Caitlyn, you could do music by yourself.
So why do y'all choose each other? And I just
think there's plenty of amazing female artists, plenty of amazing
(18:52):
like male and I think what Derek and I have
is special, and I'm so thankful that we have each
other in crazy things like that, Like so many times
we look at each other just randomly and we'll be like,
our life is so crazy, Like we do the craziest things,
like many people like, our life is just crazy. You
never know what each month will bring it, but like
we always are so thankful that we can do it together.
(19:12):
And I'm like, thank God that I've got like your
brain as well, like, so it's not all on me,
you know, And so I have major likes to artists
who do everything themselves. I mean that it's a lot
of work, and so I'm thankful I have Derek and
that we did that together.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Like that, Where do you guys, are you playing anywhere
on National locally? Do you ever play on Broadway or
any riders around anything like that?
Speaker 6 (19:33):
We don't play Broadway much, but we we like visiting
Roberts for sure. Roberts that's our Friday night unless we
hop over, you know, to the East Side for Honky
Talk Tuesday.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Yeah, I mean, we've definitely done like writers' rounds. We
just did a big show in February at the Basement East,
like a big showcase, and so, you know, we we
did CMA Fest and we want to do shows, but
we try not to like oversaturate the area because we're
on tour right now and and lots of dates like
outside of Nashville, But we definitely I think we have
a show coming up in August at Kletus. It's our
(20:06):
friend's burger bar. And Paul McDonald is another artist and
he puts on these one big love festivals. So I
think that's August tenth, and that's gonna be a lot
of fun. But we do little, you know, events here
and there.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
And how was this first CMA Fest for you guys?
Speaker 5 (20:20):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (20:21):
It was a blast, correctly, yeah, amazing.
Speaker 6 (20:23):
It was on the hard rock stage, so I mean,
when you're looking at the hard rock you're obviously looking
out towards the river, but if you're on stage looking
towards Broadway, it's almost as if whenever they crank us up,
like all of Broadway kind of turns in, Like even
people across the street were like kind of all turning
their necks and it was it was a blast. So
(20:44):
we had this crowd in front of us, but they
were all kind of coming across during Cmafest, so we
just started playing out to the other side of the street.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
And it was really surprising.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
It was our first one, and honestly, we didn't know
if we'd even get in this year, and I think
it was the first time that CMA fester, first or
second year that they've taken over that stage, and so
we somehow got in on the lineup, and I was
just amazed that there was people there. And you know,
because every show you're like I hope people come see
us like they come. And so it was a fun
(21:14):
crowd and we just had a blast. We did a
thirty minute set and we just did all of our
songs that we're going to release this year and and so, yeah,
it was a lot of fun. Definitely feel honored.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
How big is that for you know, a duo like
you or any artist really, because for me living here,
I'm like, holy crap, that's a lot. It's just a
lot of people. And yeah there's a lot going on
you go downtown for a couple hours. But for you guys,
somebody that's not, you know, playing Nissan on the main
stage every night, how big is that for you guys?
To get those people from out of town just to
be walking by and just see you. So for you
(21:46):
to have that stage, is that something that you just
don't take for granted?
Speaker 5 (21:49):
Oh totally.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 6 (21:50):
I mean, whether we're opening for Jody like we have
been this year, and we have a merch line that
we didn't expect and we're just like, we're gonna eat
this up, not just because it's about us, but because
these fans are hungry to discover new artists, and that's
that's the big thing with fanfare at CMA Fest and
all that like it, it really is not about us
(22:11):
as it as is as it is about the fans
where they really do like want to.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
It's like all about that, Yeah they shelter, it's going
to be the new artist and people who maybe aren't
on the radio yet. And and I think for.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
Us, like it's that wouldn't you say?
Speaker 6 (22:27):
It's that same like sense of discovery totally as some
shows that are out there.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
I mean, well that's what I grew up going to
CMA Fest, and that's what I thought was so amazing,
was walking around and seeing people that like back then
now are huge. I mean, I'm you know, even other
shows like I just think about like what it takes
to get there, and CMA Fest is honestly like has
been on our bucket list of like when are we
going to get to play CMA Fest? Man, that'd be
(22:51):
a dream. And so the fact that it happened this
year was incredible. And then I think back on like
what CMA Fest is and all the past years of life.
You know, CMA was doing like recaps of different like
Porter and Dolly and Faith and Tim and it's just
like years of like country music legends. I mean, that's
everybody's a part of it, and for us to be
(23:13):
included in that definitely don't take it for granted. And
and we wanted to like give our best, and I
feel like we did and left a good impression. So
hopefully we'll be back next year.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
That's right, And hopefully if you're listening to this and
you haven't been, I highly recommend it. It's amazing something
you can't get anywhere else. Nashville is probably the only
place you can walk any corner just hear amazing music.
How did you end up getting that?
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Then?
Speaker 4 (23:33):
Are you with a management company? Is that what you said?
Speaker 5 (23:35):
Or yeah? So in March we actually signed with Wasserman Booking,
and so our booking agents got us on that, and
I think it was like the timing just worked out
and they said there was openings and so they pitched
us and then it and then we got chosen to
do it. So it's kind of a last minute thing,
but I think timing is everything, and it happened, so we're.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Excited to agree more.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
That's awesome. Another exciting thing and you talked about a
little bit was be on tour with Joe. You've seen
that right now, Yes, the Heads Carolina Tales California tour.
How did that come about and how has that been
so far?
Speaker 6 (24:06):
Honestly, Jody is quite the anomaly. Like she's on our
first show with her, she came out to introduce us.
She talked for like five minutes about us, and I
was She said she didn't know she was going to
do that show. She is very like not fly by
the sea of her pants, but has like really just
a big heart love.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
I thought she was coming out just to like watch
our set. Like I thought she was just like following
us out and I was like, oh, I guess she's
gonna watch. She just makes me nervous. And then she
like went on stage and I was like, what is happening?
And then so she like introduced us, but like it
came about we. So we a friend of ours, Angela,
sings background vocals for her. So I think Angela had
kind of like mentioned who we were Jody, maybe like
(24:45):
two years ago. But we did our show in February
at the Basement East and the very next morning, my
friend Angela texted me and said, Hey, do you have
a message from Jody, and I was like, Jody Messina.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
And she was like seven am.
Speaker 5 (24:59):
This is in the like because when neither of us slept,
we were so amped from our show. And I was like,
well I don't so I like nudge Derek because I
think he was still asleep. I was like, do you
have a message from Jody on your phone? And he's
like Jody was Seena. I'm like yeah, and he's like,
I actually do, and he was like she said to
call her about some tour dates and I was like.
Speaker 6 (25:15):
What, and so what's odd was And I don't know
if Jody, if you're listening, if you know this or not,
but she texted or emailed Wasserman about us coming out
on some dates, I believe while they were debriefing about.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
Because they had come to our show.
Speaker 6 (25:32):
It's kind of cool, we're seeing us really Yeah, So
the timing was nuts. You know, one of their artists
was asking us to come on tour as they were,
you know, debriefing about maybe working with us or something.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:41):
It was like, honestly, so weird. And I was like
wait because she's also with Wasserman and so I was like, well,
did that happen? Like what is happening, and so it
was just kind of like a weird timing thing on
everybody's like in But we called her around ten that morning,
the day after our big showcase that we did, and
she was like, I just would love for y'all to
like come out on the road with me and do
(26:02):
some shows. Like I never picked an opener before, and
I didn't know if that's to be something y'all be
interested in or you know, don't feel pressure, and we're like,
don't feel pressure, Like what do you mean, you're amazing.
We tried to like we literally tried to keep it
really cool and just be like very like you know, yeah,
like sure, but we were just like speaming. We were
like my parents were in town and they were sitting
in the other room, and I just was like couldn't
(26:24):
wait to like run in the room and be like
she just has us to go on door. So that
with that happened, and then Wasserman killed it and like
got us in the right kind of you know, in
line with all the details of it, and we started
our first show in Texas in April. So it was
just kind of like a it just all happened real fast,
and we just like went with it, and it's been
a journey, the ground running.
Speaker 6 (26:45):
They've been going in some dates in between, and it's
been such a blast.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
It's been a dream because every year, at the end
of every year, we write down goals for the next YEP,
and twenty twenty three, like actually twenty three is our
lucky number, which we knew going into the year. We're like,
that's going to be pretty like what's going to happen?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
And yeah, it comes up a lot, right, But we.
Speaker 5 (27:03):
Were like, let's like one of our biggest thing was
let's play more shows. However, we got to do that,
whether it's us booking up or we get signed, but
really wanted to get signed, and then that happened, and
it's just honestly been a dream come true because we've
been here for years and that's been our goal.
Speaker 4 (27:18):
So how long have you lived in Nashville then?
Speaker 5 (27:20):
Nine years?
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Yeah, since twenty fourteen and you moved here together. Yep.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
We sure did packed it up in the jeep and
we didn't release music until twenty eighteen, but OK, yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
Wow, yeah, we packed everything in our little jeep. Cherokee
stayed with some friends they like opened their house because
they believed in us, and we didn't even know what
we were going to do. We didn't even have jobs
when we moved. We were like we just brought like
what we could in our little cherokey and our cat,
and we just like headed here. We were like all right,
like hope we get a job soon. And so I
started babysitting as soon as we moved here. I started
(27:50):
nanning for different families, and he worked at Apple. And
we had our jobs for like four or five years,
like random jobs, and just like dug our feet in
and I wrote songs and started to release some music
the first time in twenty eighteen.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
So was there some dark days in those four to
five years where you were saying, I don't know if
this was the right move or not?
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Totally? Yeah, how do I expound on that?
Speaker 5 (28:12):
Like, well, I remember driving here, Like when we were
actually driving here to like move here, I think I
cried the whole way because I was like I felt
in my spirit that it was the right thing, but
I also was like, what if we're making the biggest mistake.
Speaker 6 (28:24):
Sure, and you're probably grieving, you know.
Speaker 5 (28:27):
Yeah, like being around family and it's just like, you know,
a lot of what we do is a big sacrifice constantly,
Like we've missed weddings, We've missed like a lot of things.
And so I think moving here it was like we
knew what the cost was, but we were like ready
for whatever that was, and so we just came with
like open hands and have just it's been a journey.
But I mean there's been plenty of days where we've
(28:48):
felt like I always say, like thrown in the towel,
but we never would because it just I think it's
the days where you just feel like is what we're
doing enough? Which I think is the question a lot
of artists probably asked, like am I enough? Is my music?
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Enough?
Speaker 5 (29:01):
Is my brand enough? You know, whatever we're doing. But
we really believe in what we who we are and
what our story is, and you know, I think it's
more about people than it is about us. Like we
we truly do love people and want people. We've always
said like when people come to our shows and just
like even come to our house, we want people to
like leave a little lighter than when they can't got there.
(29:23):
And so we want people to like laugh, cry, party,
have fun at our shows or even if they're at
our house. Like and so it's about the fans and
about people, and so that's always been like our drive.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Well, let's wrap it up here and talk about some
new stuff in the works for you guys coming out
later this summer. You got a singing Yeah, yeah, possibly
anyp Jody Messina, So go ahead and talk about the
new single coming out.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
We're so excited.
Speaker 6 (29:47):
She could tell you more about the details, obviously, because
she's a detail queen. But we've proud to say we've
produced this at home and really have been testing a
lot of these songs out on the road, and we
really do that's kind of our litmus test to have
the audience, you know, react to what we're playing or
just ask, you know, when this song is going to
come out. And you know, a lot of artists and
(30:08):
we do this a little bit on social platforms and
stuff and test the market or whatever. But I'm I'm
just so thankful when we can do that in person.
So this is a collection of you know, songs that
we've really tested out on the road, and I'm pretty
proud of it.
Speaker 5 (30:22):
Yeah. The song's called Sawdust and it is about all
the honky tonks and diebars we've been to thus far,
and it's just a honky tonk like we both love
like traditional country, and so it has definitely big flares
of that, but it's like mixed with a little bit
of rock, which is really fun, and a lot of
our music has a lot of that element in it,
(30:42):
a lot of gritty yeah, community for sure.
Speaker 6 (30:45):
I love producers like Jay Joyce and Luke Dick, you know,
Branda Lambert, Eric Church, those type of gritty tape sounds,
and we love old country too, so to push the
production forward, we're just that's just what naturally comes out.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
And yeah, yeah will sound a lot like Texas, that's
for sure, with.
Speaker 6 (31:04):
Some deep bear tone guitars like rock and roll, you.
Speaker 5 (31:08):
Know, and a lot of it's just what we've been
writing the last couple, like last two or three years.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
Did you write every song? Sorry to cut you off there,
did you write every song?
Speaker 5 (31:15):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (31:16):
Okay, yeah with.
Speaker 5 (31:17):
Co writers get together and with co writers. But yeah,
I feel like it's another chapter of our story that
maybe people haven't heard yet, which I'm really excited. Yeah,
there's it's just I think it has something for everything.
There's like some serious songs on there, and then there's
like just fun songs like Sawdust and then we have
a song called Bless Your Heart that's going to be
coming out in August as well, and it's was based
(31:40):
off comment that someone was being mean, but you know,
it's all good. But uh yeah, So I'm excited. Lots
of new music this year, lots of shows and we're
really excited for like what's to come for.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
Us, maybe a Christmas tour, yeah, working on that.
Speaker 5 (31:55):
Yeah, oh yeah, Christmas. More Christmas music as well. So
we're really working on cranking some stuff out because last
year we couldn't with the voice, we had to wait
in a certain time. So this year we're like doing
as much as we can.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Might as well.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Yeah, go follow them social media. We're going to fund
you guys.
Speaker 5 (32:11):
The draws, it's just the draws on everything, so pretty
much g r.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Y e s also spelled like doctor.
Speaker 5 (32:18):
Yes, we always say that. I don't know why. We
think we're fun so weird.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
The way that help other it helps. Okay, go follow
them on Instagram, Twitter and social media, TikTok whatever you're
on stream their music. Supporting you guys. It was a
lot of fun. Thank you so much for coming in.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
Gotcha.
Speaker 5 (32:36):
This has been a Bobby cast production.
Host
Bobby Bones
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