Mental Health, a Near Break Up and Now, NEW Music as we Catch Up With Dan + Shay

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Your favorite and just check your MIC'scheck one two. Hey, hey,

(00:03):
hey Shay check one two. Yeas, all right, let's rock. I
gotta tell you, it's been twodang long since these boys rolled through,
and right now we only know ofone song. But there is a lot
to talk about with Dan and Shay. What's up, boy? Come on,
what's happening? Man, good tosee it. Listen. First thing
I want to say is, Shay, I appreciate you being on time.

(00:23):
I'm kidding, he's actually working.I was wide open. I was like,
I'm not doing anything today. It'scrazy. Releasing music is hard.
There's a lot of stuff. It'slike, hey, we need this,
uh this photo for like this mediabased this like trade ad industry thing.
I'm like, all right, Igotta do it. I'm texting and driving
very dangerous, slowly slowly. Itwas very slowly. Yeah, all the

(00:43):
tourists down here on Broadway slamming onthe brakes. You guys, you guys
have this awesome way of releasing music. And we'll get to the song and
it's so much I want to catchup on. But you have this way
of releasing music, like it justfeels like an event, right, like
you. It's almost like you holdit for the right moment, the right
time, you space out your singles, and then all of a sudden,
it's like a new gift from Danand Shay. What like, do you

(01:04):
do this on purpose? Yeah?I feel like times have changed a little
bit. We like to be verydramatic about it, like this very strategic
timing. It's got to be postedat a certain time. And we're just
cooking up a little teaser to reveal, you know, some of the visuals
and the aesthetics for the first singleon the record. And I was like,
man, like, should we belike doing TikTok stuff or like,
you know what everybody does, LikeI'm surprising my dad in the car with

(01:26):
a demo for the first time,or like whatever the TikTok strategy is.
I feel like we totally missed outon that. Maybe we're too old,
but yeah, I don't know.We're just kind of do it in our
way and we like the dramatic,cinematic stuff, and we got some crazy
visuals coming for this one. We'reexcited to hear about that. And obviously
a song usually means an album iscoming. We'll get to that part in
the second Connor, calm down.I'm not going to corner and get dates

(01:49):
and help names or nothing. Ido want to bring up this documentary.
I mean, it's like a documentary. It feels that that hit everybody's inbox
and YouTube lately on the was itSunday night? Ye? Wow? First
of all, were there tears whenyou recorded this thing? Because it felt
like the emotions were like, we'rereally high. Emotions were high for sure.

(02:13):
Um, you know, Dan andI through this process over the last
you know year, There's just beena lot of of amazing things that have
happened to us personally in a wayof kind of just you know, figuring
out where we're going. You know, with our band, we got to
this place where we're just super youknow, burnout. I mean we talked
about it. You can watch thedrive and I don't want to cry here
this morning, but it was youknow, there was just a lot that

(02:35):
we had to kind of work through, and you know, being in a
duo is hard. You know,we always talk about this in a band,
in a trio, there's one tiebreaker. Duo is kind of the hardest
format because it's kind of fifty fifty. You know, and if you're not
really working on that communication, youknow, things can kind of fall to
the wayside. And we wanted tomake sure that, you know, moving
forward, that we were doing itin a healthy way. And you know,
in that video, we just wewanted to sit down and talk kind

(02:57):
of like we had been doing.I mean, Dan and I had wed
these conversations like an hour long,two hours sometimes on the phone, and
one time Dam was like, man, I wish that someone was recording all
of that because it was just itwas so authentic in the way that we
were just kind of working through stuffand kind of talking about the future,
and we were just so excited aboutyou know, new music and all this
stuff. And I had this idea, I was, I mean, let's
just go drive around, like let'sget let's get in a car, and

(03:20):
let's just do exactly what we're doingright now, and we can call it
the drive and you know, justright around and kind of talk things through.
And we wanted it to feel veryauthentic in the way that this whole
process has been. You know,we started you know, writing for you
know, this new project on acousticguitar and just really taking it back to
basic basics and you know, tellingstories and writing about where we are in
our lives right now, and wewanted to just kind of sit down and

(03:43):
to be able to just talk andnot have an agenda. Just let's talk
through the last year and over thelast ten years. Really. I mean
there's probably three hours of actual footagethat we just had. Kind of given
that to our team and you know, find find the best spots because we
just talked for ever, you know, and really talked a lot of things
out and had another long conversation andit was just it was very healing.
It was another kind of healing pointof just being able to talk things through.

(04:06):
And I think that that shows andthe authenticity because it was very authentic
and came from a very uh youknow, deep place from our hearts,
and that's what we want, youknow, from this project. In these
songs. We can feel our closenessyou know, in the music. I
think it translated, and uh,it's just a really exciting, you know
place to be, to truly feellike we are authentically ourselves and writing the

(04:30):
music that truly reflects who we areand it's just uh yeah, man,
we're super excited. Well and letme ask this because mental health is on
the forefront of things more than itever has been, and obviously this this
you hit on that a little biton the drive. You talk about your
your relationship at home and in reallife away from Dan and Shay. Why

(04:51):
was it important to do that outloud? Though? Why was it important?
I mean, you guys have anamazing connection with fans anyway, and
you can tell like every interaction youguys really ca about, whether it's you're
on stage or you're meeting a fanor you're sitting here doing an interview and
hanging out like you love every momentyou're in. But why was it important
to pull the curtain back on this? Man? Yeah, we felt like,

(05:11):
you know, it's a through linewhen you listen to the album,
When you listen to the album andall this new music, I feel like
you can feel that closeness in it. And we wanted to kind of explain
that to our fans. But youknow, we were going through this and
it's not unique to us, man. We've noticed it. When we posted
this video. The comments that wegot, we got so many more comments
than we've ever gotten on a post, and it was just it wasn't just
like come to Chicago or like loveyou guys sing tequilo, you know whatever.

(05:32):
It was just it was real,real stuff from real people saying like,
thank you so much for sharing this, thank you for being vulnerable.
I've gone through this situation. Itwas people type in six seven, eight
nine sentences, you know, likehow this video affected them. And I
feel like that really meant that itconnected in a big way, and I'm
glad we did. I'm glad weposted it and put ourselves out there because
we've never really put ourselves out therelike that. It's usually like when you're

(05:55):
doing this artist thing. You goout and you got your hair done and
you got the cool clothes that thestylist for you, and you know,
everything's picture perfect and shiny. ButI felt like a moment to be human
like that was important to kind ofset the tone for this music. And
the music is very human. Itfeels like us. It feels authentic and
genuine, and I think when peoplehear it, they'll connect those dots and
drive was kind of a perfect wayafter being quiet for a long time.

(06:15):
I think people were kind of wonderingwhere we were if we broke up or
what we're doing, and I feellike it kind of explained that kind of
absence from social media, and Ithink, you know, we all really
went through it during COVID. Thatwas a really tough time, and you
know, that was just kind ofa little story of what we went through
during that period and shortly after.You know, it's like just from the
outside, you never know what somebody'sgoing through. You know, we were

(06:36):
from the outside it was like thehighest high as we sold out a freaking
arena tour and we're winning awards andwhatnot, but you know, deep down,
we were struggling and battling with somestuff. And I feel like sharing
that with people lets them know thatthey're not alone. Is there Before I
ask this next question, is therea second part of the Drive? Or
is there more to the Drive we'regoing to see, because I don't want
to ask this next question if it'sgoing to be if there's more coming,

(06:58):
there's probably bloopers. We haven't likeI have it yet, but uh yeah,
there's there's definitely a lot of footage, so we'll probably post clips.
You know, you in the Drive, which if you haven't seen it yet,
go check it out. It's onYouTube. You guys got it on
Instagram. Um, you touch on. You didn't know if Dan and Shape
would exist after that break, right? Why was it important for you guys?
Because any group, any band,goes through it. We're like,

(07:23):
I'm gonna use in sync as anexample, not that either one of you
is justin timber Lake and the othersJC, but follow me, every group
has our band has a point wherelike, hey, I'm gonna try this
thing. Hey I'm gonna try thisthing. There's something very special about the
music you guys make, in therelationship you have. Why were you like,
we're not done yet. I mean, I think, for for one,

(07:45):
there was you know, magic inthe writer's room when we began.
There was something about our band thatmade it special. You know that was
greater. You know that the sumof the parts was greater than you know,
each individual alone. And I thinkyou know, both of us know
that, and I think that it'sreally important. I think, just speaking
for myself, I feel like,you know, one thing through this band,
like Dan made me a better singer, you know, I mean,

(08:07):
I went from good to great throughoutthis process, and I've gotten better over
the years because he's pushed me,and he's one of the most talented but
also hardest working people in the musicindustry. And I think that we recognize
what Dan and Shay is and Ithink that it's really easy when you're in
a band or in a duo especiallyto kind of be like, well,

(08:28):
I mean this is maybe I coulddo this kind of on my own,
or maybe I could do this,And I'm not saying that that can never
happen, but in our situation,I think that there is just there's power
in the two and I think thatwhen done right a duo especially, there's
something magical about that that we canbring to the table together that we can't,
you know, separately. I meanyou look, it's happened hundred times

(08:50):
over the years. I mean youlook at duos that we love in country
music and Brooks and Done for examples, like what they were doing together was
so special. And it's not thatRonnie Dunne was not an incredible artist on
his own, but there was somethingmagical when they came together, and we
felt that as a band, itwas like, man, I know that
it's what I ever want to godo a solo project now, Like from

(09:11):
one thing it's it's no fun todo that for me specifically, I don't
want to go out and have togo, you know, do these radio
shows at five in the morning andgo on radio tour without my best friend.
That would be no fun for me. And I just think that what
we've created with Dan and Jay andwhat our fans have, you know,
gotten from that, I think it'simportant that we continue to make music together
and in a healthy place, youknow, and I we just I think

(09:33):
one thing that really helps is likeseeing all the stories you know, through
this, even from artists and peoplein town, through posting the drive or
even over the years. You know, we've gotten so many stories how our
music has affected people, you know, in their lives, and it's just
amazing when that translates so hard youread those stories and you're like, you
know, my son, I mean, we have crazy stories of these amazing

(09:56):
things that people have gotten from ourmusic. And it's just when you read
that and then you meet those peoplein real life, you see what your
music has done and how it's touchedthem, and I think that it's just
what we've built together is worth continuingfor the rest of our lives. And
I just know in my heart thatyou know, doing something alone would never
you know, compare to the magicthat we found with Dan and Shay.

(10:16):
And that's just the reality. Andit's important that we do this for you
know, we have responsibility to ourfans and to people and to keep doing
this in a healthy way. Andit's the greatest thing that's you know,
besides my kids and my wife.I got to say that, you know,
it's the most it's the most importantand incredible thing that I've ever been
a part of. And I hopethat we can do this until we're one
hundred and thirty years old. It'sa blast. That's some good content right

(10:39):
there. Last thing about about theDrive I want to ask is was this
maybe a starting point or a resetpoint? And I want to seg that
into we've heard the single and howit sounds, was this almost like Dan
and Shay two point zero is whatwe're getting moving forward? Like like refreshed

(11:00):
because the song sounds like something we'venever heard from you guys before. Right,
So is the Drive kind of thekickoff to like not that you needed
a clean slate, but like,hey, we're we've erased the board and
we're starting over. Yeah, Ithink so, man. I mean ten
years, we went through a lot, you know, we tried a lot
of different things, a lot ofdifferent collaborations, different sounds, and I
feel like it is a good reset, fresh start to cut my hair.

(11:20):
We got our you know, it'sa different look, it's a you know,
it's a it's a fresh opportunity forus, and we're excited for that,
you know. And I feel likewith the Drive, it was us
just at our essence, you know, being human, who we are.
And I feel like that's what thismusic is too. It's we recorded all
live, organic instruments, you know, live band here on music row and
no frills to it. I feellike it's just country music that we wrote

(11:41):
on acoustic guitars here in Nashville withour buddies and took it back to basics.
And I feel like that's that wasreally important for us to do.
You know, after ten years,you get all these hits and successful songs,
you're like, where do we gofrom here? It's it's a lot
of pressure. I mean, Ican't even imagine the guys who have twenty
or thirty number ones. It's like, all right, we've said this We've
done this chord progression, We've donethis tempo. It is tough, and

(12:03):
I feel like we came to aplace where it's just like, let's be
ourselves, let's put ourselves out there. Let's make an album that we truly
love. You know, this firstsingle, I've never been more proud of
a song that in our career,like we feelish it. And it was
like my heart was racing. Iwas like, man, I was like
in my bathroom in front of themirror, playing air guitar. Imagine I'm
playing into the show and you know, we're not really on the road right
now. We're gearing up to dosome promo and release some music. We're

(12:26):
gonna be busy next year. Butit was like, dang, I wish
I was playing a show tonight,because you know, I'm excited. I'm
excited to play this new stuff live. When it comes to the writing and
recording, did you know that,because this probably wasn't the only song you
did right there was probably a handfulor maybe even the full album was ready
to go. Did you know thatthis was the first one? Like this
was almost like the re interduction,like, hey, here's some new stuff,

(12:48):
but this is this is At first, I think there was a yeah,
unanimous, especially with Dan, andI was like, this is the
one you know, how to findyour text me like the first I lost
my mind. I was dropping Iwas either picking up my little boy,
I think I was picking him upfrom school and I was in kind of

(13:09):
the pickup line at his school.And Dan had sent me the first,
like you know, the first mixof this song. And I mean,
I honestly this whole project, thisyou know, this album that we've been
working on as it's my favorite projectwe've ever done. It's very cohesive,
I mean because it came from aplace, a you know, very genuine

(13:30):
place. And I just remember though, hearing that first one and when you're
thinking about you have to think aboutthis stuff, what comes first, you
know, And I just remember hearingthat first mix and I literally I was
like screaming. I was like,oh my god, lost, I'm like
losing my mind. I'd send himlike thirty texts of like this is the
greatest thing I've ever heard, andit was just I felt like this song

(13:50):
is so unapologetic, and you know, we've put in so much work and
you know, I've been trying tokeep up with this guy, and I've
finally gotten, you know, mylife together in so many ways mental and
physically. And I think that itwas just like this moment of hearing that
song, it just finally clicked oflike, yeah, this is what I
want. This is the battering ramthat I want to bust down the door
with. And it just I've neverbeen more excited. I mean, it

(14:11):
literally gave me chills the first timeI heard it, and it was like,
We've been doing this for a longtime. We've heard a lot of
songs, We've written a lot ofsongs, and for whatever reason, this
one, like, I mean notthat we'd had a several of those moments
that kind of reinvigorated us and excitedus again for music over this process of
kind of getting back together and writingthese songs. But I this song in
particular was just very unapologetic. Itwas just like here it is, man,

(14:35):
I'm not you know, I'm notasking you if you like it.
I freaking love this song and ifyou don't love it, get out of
my way, dude. I don'tcare if you don't like this song.
I love this song and I'm soproud of this and I can I can
die on that hill, And Ithink that's important to feel that way with
your music of like, you knowwhat, somebody might hate it, but
I freaking love it. I loveit more than you hate it. And
I feel like that's gonna translate.And I don't think a lot of people

(14:56):
are gonna hate this song. Ithink that it is just is genuinely us
and it's so much fun. Ithas so much heart, and it pushes,
you know, the boundaries a littlebit. But I think that it's
just, you know, it's everythingthat we love about music and it's just
kind of wrapped up with a bowright there in this song. And it's
gonna be really exciting to play live. I feel like we always think about
that, and this was just thefirst one. It was a no brainer

(15:18):
for me. And I'll tell youit's I've been lucky enough to talk to
you guys a lot over the years, and there's something about this conversation about
this project, like I almost feellike I'm talking to two brand new artists
like you. It just feels likeyou're more You're you've always been into your
career and your music, but there'ssomething right now. Do you guys agree
with that, like definitely. Iwas texting with my buddy Andy Albert shout

(15:39):
out Andy. We moved to towntogether in twenty ten. We lived in
a very very bad house, noheat, no AC. That's the house
of Shay and I'm at But westill right with Andy, you know,
we uh, we've been at itfor a long time. You know,
a good buddy of ours. Andhe wrote a lot of songs on this
album. And he texted me afterwe posted the drive. He's like,

(16:00):
man, beautiful video, Like that'sthat's really brave you guys, super vulnerable,
whatever, just congratulating us on thatvideo. And I was like,
dude, thank He was like thefirst person that we wrote with, you
know. After we had that conversation, I was like, thank you for
being the first guy to take achance on us. Back in the room
and he was like, I rememberthat feeling when you guys walked in the
room. There was a different energythan there has been for like the last
seven eight years. And he saidthe boys are back, is what he

(16:22):
said. You know, Yeah,that's what he texted me. And I
was like, man, that's prettycool that he could feel that, you
know, just being in the roomwriting songs with us. It gives me
goose bumps. Man, So thisthis will play when the song's already out.
It's a Nihart Country World premiere.So I want to ask being able
to drive around Nashville the songs onthe Big ninety eight all day, to
know that you've gone from I hopesomebody listens to this song to taking over

(16:45):
a radio station. You guys havelistened to in town for years the entire
day. Is that like a fullcircle moment for you? Or like,
how do you how do you feelas you sit in the car, maybe
on your way to the studio,and you're like, dude, inscribable.
It's the first place we heard oursong on the radio. We had a
friend who was playing the song inthe morning show and she texted us and
she said, about to play nineteenyou in me and Shay and I ran

(17:07):
out. It's like six thirty sevenam or whatever, ran out and blew
the speakers out of his jeep.And I'll tell you what, hearing our
song on the radio to this daystill feels just as incredible as hearing it
that first time. When it comesto your relationship with your fans knowing that
this song will now be out there. The Drive doesn't didn't tease that that

(17:29):
something was necessarily coming, but it'slike, hey, Dan and Shay are
here, Like, get your playlistready, you might have to free some
spots up here. Um. Butwith that how it, fans reacted not
necessarily to the drive, but butthe buzz that something's coming. They know
that that's something's coming for sure.And I think there was a pre savee
link that that went out that alot of people had picked up on.

(17:51):
And I you know, we've kindof done this over the years. They
kind of our fans know us reallywell. They're like, all right,
the guys are getting going again.And I can feel just different energy and
the excitement. And I think that, you know, just as artists like
you just learn over the years totruly and there's I feel like country music
does it the best to truly appreciatetheir fans, and we've had that relationship
with them from day one, butI feel like it just feels different.

(18:15):
Obviously, you know, we've beenso busy over the last eight years,
and not that we didn't always tryto super serve our fans, but I
just think that with time and witha little bit of earned wisdom, that
you you truly get it where like, man, we genuinely wouldn't have a
career without people like you playing oursongs and getting it out to those people,
and without the people that have allof those stories that personally relate to

(18:37):
this music. You know, youhave to think about those people because you
don't have a career without those people. We can get in a room together
and have a therapy session all wewant and write about what we're going through,
but if there's no one there toreceive that, it is just that
as therapy session. And I feellike we kind of came into this being
like, if this needs to bejust kind of us talking through that's okay
too. But we know now overjust our experience of the years that when

(19:00):
you are able to be vulnerable andwrite music from that place, it just
is going to naturally translate to thefans in that kind of way where they
believe what you're saying because you believewhat you're saying. And I think that
our fans just kind of feel thaton this record, and just from the
little bit that we've been out andkind of talking to us and kind of
filling that new energy. Yet theyknow that you know something is coming,

(19:22):
And I think there's a new excitementof fresh excitement because we have, you
know that that energy. We're excitedas ever, you know, to do
this thing called life and get todo the greatest job in the world and
to be able to create music forthese people. And I just have a
new appreciation of what we get todo and for the people that we get
to do it with, you know. And four and yeah, I think
that there's they know something's coming forsure, do you? And this part

(19:47):
will get clipped because this song comesout Friday. Our album details. I
just don't want to air this andhave are we holding that's Wednesday? This
will air Friday and Saturday. Yeah, okay, there will be album details.
Oh yeah, okay Thursday late night. So Thursday late night. What's
the date do you have it?Are you going date? September to be
announced? Yeah? Are you sharingthe title? I don't know? Bigger

(20:11):
houses, Bigger Houses? Yeah,So knowing that we have the new album
coming, which by the way,I almost I was contemplating getting a janitorial
job at the label just so Icould like look through computers to find it
early. It's fine, it's fine, they're not hiring. I guess their
WiFi is difficult to access. Wecan't even access it. Is it exciting

(20:33):
to know that there's this full projectpeople are going to get more than just
this song. And then second halfof that is why why the title?
Yeah, And we're so fared upevery single song on this record. You
know. I know it's kind ofthe era of putting out a million songs
and that's totally cool, but Ifeel like for us, it was just
we wanted it to be concise.We wanted it to be enough songs so
our fans felt like they got somethingnew, something fresh. But I feel

(20:53):
like Dispatch, it's a twelve songalbum, really tells the story of where
we've been, where we are,and where we're going. And just so
proud of every single one of thesesongs. No stone left unturned on these
We wrote a ton of songs forthis record. We overcut, there were
a bunch that might come out atsome point, but this is just this
is what we wanted to say rightnow and felt like everything was cohesive,
kind of for the first time inour career. There's always been like you

(21:15):
know, even our successful albums,it's always like there's one or two songs
that like it kind of doesn't fit. And for us, it was like,
we want to make something that youcan listen to front to back and
it feels like it was recorded atthe same place, with the same musicians,
the same singers singing the songs.And it really is that this album
so special to us, you know, we we feel like there's a lot
of songs that could go on countryradio. We've ran around playing it for

(21:37):
folks and everybody's got a different favorite. But I think the unanimous decision save
me the trouble. First single isis Off to the Races. We're rocking
on that one, but yeah,Bigger Houses is it's the last track on
the album. It's super special.It's close to our hearts and I think
it's one of your favorites on therecords, one of my favorites on the
record man. And this, tome, I feel like it just made
sense to call the album Bigger Housesbecause with an album, especially one as

(21:59):
cohesive as this one, I feellike we wanted to have a title that
really encapsulated what this not only thisalbum is about, but where we're at
right now, and the song BiggerHouses is really about you know, we
talk about you can't find, youknow, happiness with a bigger house.
You don't find your joy and moneyand all these things and things that we've
learned the hard way. You know, you get caught up in this business

(22:21):
and you know, you start chasingafter things that you know that this next
high, you know, there's alwaysgoing to be a higher high. And
I feel like we got to thoseplaces where we were on a really big
high of like winning Grammys and sellingout arenas, and that was some of
our lowest times, which is kindof mind boggling to think about from the
outside of like, how are youguys going through a hard time? You

(22:42):
know, you guys are? Imean, if you were like you guys,
you got y'all have to worry aboutmoney, you have to worry about
this, like and I feel likeeverybody can relate to that because it doesn't
matter. There were times that wehad zero money, but we're happier than
we ever were, and I thinkthat just that wisdom comes with time and
we know now that you can onlyfind enjoy you know, and the people
around you, you know, andmaking sure that you put stock into things

(23:03):
that actually matter, and this songtalks about that. And from the very
first time that I heard this song, it was just like, this is
this says everything that this is exactlywhere we're at in our lives right now,
and it just really translated to meand being able to cut that one
and just means so much, andit exactly says, you know, exactly
what I want my life to beand kind of my mantra really and I

(23:26):
feel like it just fits so perfectlyas the title of the album. And
even though all the songs aren't aboutthat specifically, you can feel that,
you know, in the music.I just feel like that overall overarching theme
of just gratefulness and just appreciating whereyou're at in this moment. I think
it just kind of reaches over everysingle song. And even when the song

(23:47):
like Save Me the Trouble is notnecessarily a love song or about, you
know, appreciating life, I feellike you can feel it in the energy
of where we are, you know, because we're singing from place like we've
all been through these things, Andeven when the songs aren't specifically about that,
you just feel it. On thealbum and I think it comes through
you know, music is a magicalthing, and I can't explain all the

(24:07):
intricacies of how it touches someone's spirit, you know, and how people feel
that emotion. But over the entirealbum, I think it's cohesive because you
feel that overarching you know, gratitudefrom us and kind of the wisdom that
we've learned over the years and theselessons that we've learned, and I just
it is the perfect song to kindof encapsulate where we are in our lives

(24:30):
right now. God, that's well. I got goose bumps for you guys
right now. Man, it's abusy day for you. New album details,
new song. Thanks for carving outtime to hang with us. Boys,
dude, you're the best. Sogood to see you. Man.
Thanks for as having us and showinglove on these songs. Absolutely