June 30, 2025 • 23 mins
In this episode, Wayne D sits down with country music star Riley Green for a candid conversation that covers it all—from the wild ride of his 2025 Damn Country Music Tour to the unexpected magic behind his hit collaborations with Ella Langley. Riley opens up about how their viral duet “You Look Like You Love Me” almost didn’t happen, and why their voices—and roots—blend so naturally.Plus, Wayne gets the scoop on the internet-breaking moment when Riley shaved off his signature mustache. Was it a style choice, a statement, or just a surprise? Riley shares the story behind the shave that had fans divided and social media buzzing.Whether you're a longtime fan or just tuning in, this episode is packed with laughs, behind-the-scenes stories, and a whole lot of country charm.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Usually we get to catch up with an artist on
their way to a big old number one.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It already happened. So I don't even know why you're here,
but I'm kidding Ley with Water, dude, get out of here.
I guess it's twelve, twelve forty.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
How awesome is it to be sitting here celebrating a
number one song?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Man?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
It was great, man.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
I mean, and I've had a couple over the years,
but this one was quick.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
It was a big song.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Man.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
It's it's always awesome when you see something that fans
kind of run to like this one. And I think
this song went platinum and then sent at the radio
and it's you know, it's giant song. It's become one
of the biggest moments in my live show. So it's
a really cool thing.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Well, and let me ask too, because we were lucky
enough to meet you. Tay and I were both working
for one of the iHeart radio stations in Las Vegas.
And your career started, and it's like a like a
regular career. It took time. You had to hit the
road a lot. You never gave up no matter how
hard it got. And now you've hit this point where,
(00:58):
like I mean, I don't want to use superstar such
a weird word, because like, yeah, you're still a human
at the end of the day, but like do you
feel more of like a star in the format or
like like your place is more cemented now than it
ever has been.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Well, I mean, we'll we won three ACM Awards. It's
the last award show.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
I mean that kind of stuff is not necessarily something
that I've had is a goal, but it's definitely a
validating thing. You know, it means a lot when you're
getting that kind of recognition, especially from your peers, and
this industry is whole. I mean, as long as people
are coming to my shows and and singing my songs
back to me, I'm okay if I don't win a
lot of awards, but it doesn't mean it doesn't mean something,
and it's a it's a cool thing, and it's a
(01:35):
really it's a great time to be on a road
tour and have a couple of big songs to play.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I think I think that woman pointed it said, do
you want him to be your new dad?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
The little girl Sugarhead?
Speaker 1 (01:45):
No, she said no, So I don't is that normal
women with children in Colorado maybe.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
I don't know, there's a there's a man with a
child too.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
But listen, equal opportunity as long as they bought.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
It, Like, yeah, what's what's the fan support been like?
It feels like that that side of your career has
taken off the same as the music has.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
It's been a lot like this, people with their kids
showing up and just giving support.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
You know, the shows are great.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
All of the damn country music shows are selling out
on this tour. Have an ail out on the road
while we've got two really big songs together. It is
a really cool thing.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It's hard. You can't script that any better, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
And you know, the people are a lot of people
found me kind of through like their buddy, you know,
years and years ago when I was just starting out
tour and it was really grassroots how people were finding
on music. So I think they're probably the biggest fans
I have because they're so proud.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I feel like they had a big hand in it.
Whish they did.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Isn't it funny how fans and we've seen this with
a lot of artists and countries country more than any
other format. I feel is somebody who was a fan
of you when you couldn't sell out Marathon. What's for
anybody listen is what like I mean you getting there,
like like when you wouldn't be able to sell at
(02:57):
a venue like that and they were supporting you. Now
you know you're knocking on the door of selling out
an arena like Bridstone. They're like, yeah, but he's he's
my artists. But isn't it funny? Like how defensive they
can get, like you're almost family.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
I always say that, like this is the era of
everybody wants to know about the guy nobody knows about.
They want to be wanting to tell you about this person,
you know. And it's because of all the different avenues
for music, and there's so many new artists coming out,
but they're those diehard fans that have been there from
the beginning. I mean, there's a lot of truth to it,
because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for people
showing up with these little Mexican restaurants and stuff. I
(03:30):
was playing back in Alabama years ago.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
At the Mexican restaurant. What you ordered though.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
They had a thing called the Local Mexican. It was
just chicken and cheese and rice and steak.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I'm very I'm like a kid.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
I like cheese and sauce, basically a date night with
Ryler Green chick tenders in a steak.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
It was great, no size, nothing.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
As you continue to move forward career wise, you talked
about the awards and the number one songs. People singing
back your songs is top for you, right?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Outside of that, what are the things that have kept
you going even when it was early in your career
and it was tough to get a number one and
it was tough to get a song on the radio.
You know, things a little more fluid for you now.
But what are things that you appreciate more now?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Maybe more than that.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
It always helped me a bunch that I had a
real job in my up framed house is my whole life.
So anytime I got tired of writing country songs, so
I'd get up on a roof and work in a
one hundred degree heat, and I'd want to go.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Back and write more songs.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
But it helped me a lot that I didn't really
have a lot of big dreams or aspirations, and country
music I enjoyed playing, so I didn't feel like I
was working towards this goal.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I just got to go play songs that made up
every week.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And writing has always been something that I enjoyed. So
on those years when I probably should have got a
little burned out with it, I was still so glad
to be able to go do it that it didn't
really ever feel like work for me.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
As a guy who enjoys the creation process. And we
anytime we've talked, you've brought up.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Like you loved it.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Write you loved it, Write you loved it? Write? Do
you enjoy that more than the performance?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Asked?
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Because there's some guys and girls that are like performing
number one, everything else is fine.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Well, I'll put it like this, there's times when I
don't want to get on stage and saying, you know,
whether you're feeling bad or you're worn out you had
ten shows in a row, or your travel or whatever.
But there's never a.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Time when I don't want to pick up and write
a song, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
So I just feel like that's something that just has
always been a I would do regardless, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Are you super protective of that?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Like? Is it easy to When I say collaborate, I
don't mean like on a song, like recording a song together?
Are you protective of song ideas? Are you like easily
open to collaborate in like.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
A room full of people?
Speaker 3 (05:33):
I never have been, but uh.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
That sounds about right.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So they're building a bar downstairs. Yeah, now so, and
so either they'll test it or listen. If this may
be your last interview, I got to.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Tell you this.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I've bought a house, uh the other day, a newer house,
and so I'm just kind of moving into it. And
I got home the other day worn out, been on.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
The road all weekend.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Every alarm in the house is going on, every smoke alarm,
same time, and the house wasn't on fire, so something
was going on. They're all wired together, and so I
gave it about ten minutes and then I took every
one of them down. And there's one in every crevice
of every room. So it took me forty five minutes.
I got a pile of them that tall, took the
batteries out of them.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
There's a fire marshals somewhere just going.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Uh about the writing, Yeah, I've.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Never been like stingy about song ideas.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
I've always thought, especially now that I've gotten to know
a lot of other songwriters, I know what they're good
at or what I think they bring to the table,
and so I kind of might have an idea and
I think, oh, it'd be good to say to write
with this person. But at the same time, a lot
of songs, I mean, I wrote completely by myself for
the first ten years of my career. I've never co written,
and still some of my biggest songs are solo rights.
(06:54):
I mean, Worst Way is a solo right, Grandpa's Grandpa's
never died, Jesus saved, don't mind if I do. And
these songs are really doing well. So there's something too.
I think, maybe how simply I say stuff. You know,
sometimes you get with songwriters and they try to make things,
you know, a little too poetic, and you know, a
lot of I always like songs that are really straight
at it.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
You know, when it comes to that, are you knowing
that you've done a lot of it yourself, so like
you're comfortable in that lane?
Speaker 2 (07:21):
What if somebody brings you an idea?
Speaker 4 (07:24):
To be honest, that's probably the biggest asset to me
is in co writing, is you don't come up with
a great idea every day. I can tell you this
and a lot of songwriters would agree with this. Probably
I've written a lot of the best version of mediocre ideas.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
That's what happens.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
You get in the room, and you know, you when
you're taking somebody else's time, especially a great songwriter they
write with the artists, you feel like, well, we got
to come up with something, and you just don't have
it every day, you know. So you go and you
kind of settle on an idea and you write a
great version of it maybe and it's it's okay. But
when you come up with an idea that's great, especially
something that I'm like passionate about.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
It's an easy song to write.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Is there a song you've put out that you're like,
that's this is good, but then it took off, You're like, oh,
maybe it's better than I thought it was.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
Yeah, I mean I felt that way about worst way.
I didn't know it was a really, really big song.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I wrote it. I thought, man, I need to write
more love songs.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
I don't write that kind of stuff, and a little
more of a you know, Eric Church Rickenball type vibe,
and it just blew up. I had no idea and
I've never really lived in that space.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Very much. You know the like You Loved Me with Ella.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
I thought the chorus was catchy, but I thought talking
versus was probably a little too traditional.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So this shows I have no clue.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Uh No, I don't want to start country music beef.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Okay, but did you see Dylan Marlowe attempt to help
her out?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Help ll out?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Yeah? I saw what did I see?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
I saw some It was it was a riverfront Heay
and I were hosting the Riverfront stage and so we
introw Ella and all of a sudden, your part comes
and she's like, oh.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Here's Dylan marlow comes running out and he got like.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Three lines in and he he's like, they'll stay.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah. I saw a video because somebody sent to me.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
It said Riley Walgreens on there and I just because
I know Dylan is why that's funny to me. But
because I did a song with Dylan on his last record,
stick to My Guns.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
But really really good.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Dude, And uh, you got to give a hats off
to him for trying it. I mean, like, I don't
know that I'd go on stage and sing somebody else's song.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
That's tough.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Well, and I want to ask you.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Got to think people were really even if they know
I'm not there when I play you.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Like You Love Me, people are still looking for Ella
to walk out.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
So people are probably doing that with me, you know,
So I wouldn't want to be the guy that's not
me to walk out during that song.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
That's pretty tough.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Well, and that's that's the next thing I was going
to ask you as And that song wildly successful, I'd imagine,
even more than you guys would have expected. Is it
tough to because you want to bring it live? Because
now it's a part of your story, right, regardless of
her song, part of your story and maybe why it's
somebody bought a ticket. Is it awkward to do that
song knowing that half the time people are going to
be looking over your shoulder?
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Well, you know, very fortunately, which just doesn't happen very often.
With the time of Ella's on tour with me. Yeah,
so the damn country music tour. She's at every show,
so we get to do it together and don't mind
if I do. Is this giant song as well? So
we got two very different songs. That being said, I
have played it without her several times, and I'm sure
she's done the same thing sometimes I get people out
of the crowd, and you never know what you're gonna
(10:20):
get with that, you know, Sometimes it's really great. Sometimes
they freeze up. But you know, it's a good problem
to have such a big song. And like I said,
it's a really fun song. It's a good break in
my set two to go and throw it back to
that one.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
When it comes to the tour, you're seeing radio success
more than you ever have, which obviously helps sell tickets. Yeah,
is this tour seeing more success than you expected it too?
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Are you getting more from this tour than you expected to?
Speaker 4 (10:50):
I've been surprised in a good way for the last
five years touring. Well, what you see when you have
radio success and even award show success and television opportunities
as you see it grow quicker and bigger, and that's
you know, like you Love Me was my first like
TikTok success. I guess you would say, you know, I've
(11:12):
never had a song that really blew up on the internet,
you know, and it's it's all been real gradual, and
that one like the next day you couldn't open your
phone without seeing it.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
It was everywhere.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
So it's been a really big tour for that reason.
It's we're kind of winning in a lot of different
areas that I've never really been in.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Is it tough to be comfortable there knowing that, like,
those are all things you didn't expect, right, you were
just a guy that wanted to do country music.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
It's for me, it's just makes me want to go
write more songs, play more shows. It's you know, I mean,
it's always kind of validating when you get some kind
of recognition from your peers. And like I said, it's
just when things are going well, it's easy to get
out of bed.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
And want to go right, want to go play.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
It's easy to sit here and talk about the best stuff.
So I'm gonna ask a two part question that's going
to start with the worst. Yeah, what is the worst
song you've ever written? That it's out there, You're not
proud of it, it might not make the live show anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
And you're like, yeah, let's pretend that one don't exist.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Well, I'm pretty picky about what I cut them. I
don't put a ton of stuff out that I don't like.
I don't know that I've got a ton of songs
that I just hate. There's a lot of stuff that
the quality production quality is rough. Like so when I
cut all of the first handful of songs I recorded,
I did them in like Bob's garage, and I don't
like hearing my voice anyway.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
There's a lot of people that are like that. They
don't like to hear theirselfs sing. And those are just
like nails on Chalkbard for me to hear. And there's
pretty much everything I put out, you know, And there's
still some songs people like. I'll be down at the
beach or something pulled up at an island and there'll
be people on a boat listening to like north On
twenty one of these songs, and I'm.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Just crawl underneath the boat. But it's a you know,
it's something about it. People like these songs are still around.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
As you continue to write and continue to record. What
is the song opposite that? That's a song that's going
to be hard to beat? Like what is your what's
your top that? You're like, how do I get better
than that? How do I do better than that?
Speaker 4 (13:08):
Well, I mean with success, you know, I wish Grandpa's
Never Died is one that's always going to be hard
to beat. But I really love the song Jesus Saves
it was on my last album. As far as the
story song, it's the best song I've ever written, you know,
to tell a story, and I think the message is
great and.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
I don't look at it like how can I beat it?
Speaker 4 (13:31):
But I do try to use those songs to get
myself in the headspace I was in, because when you're
in that spot and it's.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Just flowed and creatively, you feel like you write.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
Ten songs that day, that's that's when it's kind of magic,
and you don't it doesn't happen often. You can schedule
a ride every day for six months and it never happened,
and one day you're sitting there and eating pasta on
the couch and you think of something. So for me,
it's just hammered them out, writing as many songs as
I can, and always looking for titles.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
What usually comes first the write or are the name?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
It's the music or the the name.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Yeah, it's I think it's different every time, but for me,
the idea like sometimes it's not very sessed out.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I don't really know what it is. It's just a thought.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
But a lot of times that's the first thing you know,
I saw a guy on the side of the road
the signs that Jesus saved. I thought, man, you know,
everybody always so quick to think about their own drugs
or this and that whatever, and thought, but man, like,
what kind of stuff could he have gone through in
his laugh that got him there? That if it had
happened to me, I'd be doing the same thing. And
I just thought about that for probably three months, and
then one day it all came together, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
And so it's it's usually an idea. I've got to
be pretty passionate about that's.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
I love the story of a song, and I and
I Tay and I have talked about like podcast ideas
and all that, because there's so many the songs are fantastic,
but sometimes this story behind the song is even better
than the song could ever be. Oh yeah, and it's
and it's and it's even like asking we caught up
with Kenny Chesney and asked about a song that he
passed on. He passed on check Yes or No, Right,
(15:03):
Jake was it Jake O? And passed on Big Green Tractor.
And so so there's all these stories on these songs
that are just wild. Who was it Blake Shelton had
recorded Toby Keith's Which song was it?
Speaker 3 (15:18):
I felt? I remember hearing this the other day. I
can't remember what song it.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Was it was.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
I mean, it's one of Toby's biggest hits. It's like
it's like, uh so you heard.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Him singing and then didn't want to do it again?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yeah, And he was like, well cool, I guess I
forget it.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
But when it comes to that type of stuff, have
you do you have a story like that.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
I don't have any, like I didn't cut something, you know,
or whatever.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
But there's several songs that got interesting stories behind him,
especially when I was early in songwriting, because I didn't
put any thought into big success. It was just like
I'd play a show and I think, man, this kind
of line goes overwhel or this does or whatever. And
I had a song I wrote that really kind of
helped start my career, is called Barryman Dixie, and I
wrote that about I was it was just like where
I grew up. But I was thinking about the movie
(16:01):
Weekend at Bernie's. I was like, if I was to
die at a young age, I wish my buddies would
just put sunglasses on me. And take me to the floor,
Obama and an Auburn football game and Tuscaloosa and Talladega Racetrack.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
So it was a funny idea and they played that
song at funerals all over the place in Alabama. Now,
so it went completely the other direction.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Another aspect of the like story part of songwriting is
sometimes a great idea and you just mentioned you sat
on the one song for three months or whatever. Sometimes
the idea hits you and it might take a year
to write this song. So what is what's the And
you don't have to give details because I know how
it is with songwriting, But what's the best idea in
(16:41):
your phone right now? You've held on to the longest, uh, Like,
do you get past a few months or you like,
I'll get back so.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Well I wrote yesterday, I sit down and there's always
the last five or six that or things I'm really
fired up about. And then roll up and scroll up
and sometimes if you're not find anything, we've all thrown
some titles out, you know whatever. But I had a
song that I'm finishing now as I wrote it by myself.
It's called My Way, and it's it's a weird problem
(17:14):
never had with a song before. But I like the
verses so much that I don't want to write a chorus.
And I'm almost like trying to figure out how I
can just write like four verses and just because it's
and there are songs like that, you know, like stylistically,
people do all kind of different stuff, but it's one
that I've had finished, so to speak, if I just
write a chorus for six months, but I'm like, I
like it so much, I want to do it right.
(17:34):
And that was something I never did when I first
started writing, because I didn't put that much thought into it.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
But now I'm like, hold on, this might be actually good,
so let me try to do it right.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Well, I'll tell you what, pull it out.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Let's work on it right now. We can stop this,
wouldn't that be hilarious?
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Dokie.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I'm sure you've heard a million radio guys. I got
a song idea, Riley. Let me tell you when it
comes to the rest of.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
The year, what are some things you're looking forward to?
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Because with the success of this ella, the success of
the recent single, you're burning at both ends right now, right,
So what are some things you're looking forward to, like
stepping away musically from.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Uh well, I mean, obviously we're right in the middle
of the tour. That'll go till you know, around November,
and then I'll get to go hunting.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
A little bit.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
I'll get to get in the woods, get back home
and visit the family. I'm going to plan on going
somewhere warm, you know, around the fourth.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I took that week off, so it'll be nice to
visit with everybody, and.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Everything's going great. The tough thing about when it's going
like this is you are busy, you know. So we're
trying to make hay while the sun shining, and I
enjoyed my time off more now than ever with how.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Busy you are because of that success.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Right now, is it tough to to get in the
rights and figure out the next album and the next
singles and like your next cycle.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
As they would say, It's not tough to get motivated
for it, it's just tough to find the time for it.
I mean, that's the crazy thing about how things are
going now, is like I need Worst Ways number one
right now, and I need two more.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
I need the next album full of hits, and it's
you know again, I think you can write thirty songs
to write one decent song, and looking at it like that,
you just got to keep grinding.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I do want to ask about the success of your spot,
Doug Blind. Yeah, Doug Blind literally on the other side
of town here, yeah, which is cool, Like it's a
cool concept. You did it. Old Dominion is not on
Broadway either, so it's cool to see artists like invest
in Nashville.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
But like where the vocals hang.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Well yeah, Old Dominion from the right next door to us.
And for me, I never hung out down here, you know, broadly.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
I just I was always in midtown.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Winners is the building where my bar is now is
connected to Losers, and that was where Whiskey Jam was
and everybody played there, you know, And every relationship I've
got in town with songwriters and other artists has all
been in that building.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
So it's cool now to have my name on.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Something and have young up and coming artists coming there
and you know, get up to a song and maybe
they get a start.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Over there too.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
But it's a really full circle moment for me. And
also it's one bar in Nashville. I can't get thrown
out of your name's down there, Yes, can't everybody else out?
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I'm done and it never closes for you, depending on
the kind of night you're having.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
It should I need to put a I got a key,
which is crazy, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
I've got a key to a.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Bar that's wild and very unsafe.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Yeah, I go. You should come up with any breakfast
with me.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Sometimes I have breakfast there when listen, I'm a breakfast
What nothing having breakfast with Briley Green can tell me
when the Nashville bar scene has changed a ton because
it was like, you know, the names like Tutsis and
all that, and then it became artists who have you know,
they've sold out in all these awards, and now you
(20:43):
have artists who are still brand new, like Landy Wilson
is down the street, Jelly Rollers down the street literally
right underneath us. They just announced it's gonna be post
malonees bro So is that like, what is that for
you to see? As somebody who grew up wanting to
do country music, You've spent a ton of time in Nashville,
your name is on a bar as well. What is
it like to see that culture change from like these
(21:07):
these massive names to like people massive names that made
an impact.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Yea, the massive names that are making it.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
So I think it's a cool thing, man, Like you know,
how I did it was a little unorthodox. There's probably
people that could look at my career and go, well,
he didn't come in Nashville and play Broadway for five
years to you know, hopefully impress a record label and whatever.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
And I didn't do that.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
I didn't play in offices and try to get a
record deal. I toured around the Southeast and kind of
built a little following.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
And a little bit of the time.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
And you know, I did that for about ten years,
and then labels started to come down to my shows.
So in a way that was different, you know. And
these artists now like it can happen quick, you know.
And for me, it's like the more success this town
has and these bars in town have and these other
artists have, I just love that it's making a swing
towards traditional country music and that sounds coming back, and
(21:57):
that means I've got a chance as long as that's
going on.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
The Last thing I want to ask because it's so
and I'll tell you, I don't ask stupid questions.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Like this, stupid yes, like this.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
No. Uh, one of the most recent things you've gotten
attention for is shaving your facial hair. Now, let me
tell you, as a guy who's like I just want
to make music, you probably.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Like, what the hell?
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, but that means you're a big deal dude if
they're talking about your shaved your mustache.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
So people are upset about it.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
So I knew that I had a mustache, you know,
I've seen it, and I knew, and I knew that
people had like done some videos like their husbands are
shaving mustaches. You know, I thought I saw that. I
didn't know that I had to have a mustache. I
know that I was a mustache guy.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
That's your streaming numbers tank.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
The next day, people were trying to get rid of
their tickets.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Dude.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
The good newserser came back like four days later, so they.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Were getting rid of tickets at half the price. Raud them.
By the way, they were taking a lot.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
So I won't make that mistake again, I guess.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
But is that, like, how do you react?
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Ridiculous is what it is?
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Right?
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (22:58):
But I then again, a lot of the stuff I
read about myself is pretty ridiculous. Lightly so uh if
that's the worst headline this week.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
There's a lot of people asking for any headline right now,
so the fact that they're just happening.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
Man, I get online every day and figure out who
I'm dating. You know, the internet will tell me.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Listen. I won't tell you today, but congrats on Land
and Dolly. Nice Riley.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
I know you're a busy guy, so carving out time
was not easy. Thanks for coming to hand, man, I
appreciate y'all.
Usually we get to catch up with an artist on
their way to a big old number one.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It already happened. So I don't even know why you're here,
but I'm kidding Ley with Water, dude, get out of here.
I guess it's twelve, twelve forty.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
How awesome is it to be sitting here celebrating a
number one song?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Man?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
It was great, man.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
I mean, and I've had a couple over the years,
but this one was quick.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
It was a big song.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Man.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
It's it's always awesome when you see something that fans
kind of run to like this one. And I think
this song went platinum and then sent at the radio
and it's you know, it's giant song. It's become one
of the biggest moments in my live show. So it's
a really cool thing.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Well, and let me ask too, because we were lucky
enough to meet you. Tay and I were both working
for one of the iHeart radio stations in Las Vegas.
And your career started, and it's like a like a
regular career. It took time. You had to hit the
road a lot. You never gave up no matter how
hard it got. And now you've hit this point where,
(00:58):
like I mean, I don't want to use superstar such
a weird word, because like, yeah, you're still a human
at the end of the day, but like do you
feel more of like a star in the format or
like like your place is more cemented now than it
ever has been.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Well, I mean, we'll we won three ACM Awards. It's
the last award show.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
I mean that kind of stuff is not necessarily something
that I've had is a goal, but it's definitely a
validating thing. You know, it means a lot when you're
getting that kind of recognition, especially from your peers, and
this industry is whole. I mean, as long as people
are coming to my shows and and singing my songs
back to me, I'm okay if I don't win a
lot of awards, but it doesn't mean it doesn't mean something,
and it's a it's a cool thing, and it's a
(01:35):
really it's a great time to be on a road
tour and have a couple of big songs to play.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I think I think that woman pointed it said, do
you want him to be your new dad?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
The little girl Sugarhead?
Speaker 1 (01:45):
No, she said no, So I don't is that normal
women with children in Colorado maybe.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
I don't know, there's a there's a man with a
child too.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
But listen, equal opportunity as long as they bought.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
It, Like, yeah, what's what's the fan support been like?
It feels like that that side of your career has
taken off the same as the music has.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
It's been a lot like this, people with their kids
showing up and just giving support.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
You know, the shows are great.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
All of the damn country music shows are selling out
on this tour. Have an ail out on the road
while we've got two really big songs together. It is
a really cool thing.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
It's hard. You can't script that any better, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
And you know, the people are a lot of people
found me kind of through like their buddy, you know,
years and years ago when I was just starting out
tour and it was really grassroots how people were finding
on music. So I think they're probably the biggest fans
I have because they're so proud.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I feel like they had a big hand in it.
Whish they did.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Isn't it funny how fans and we've seen this with
a lot of artists and countries country more than any
other format. I feel is somebody who was a fan
of you when you couldn't sell out Marathon. What's for
anybody listen is what like I mean you getting there,
like like when you wouldn't be able to sell at
(02:57):
a venue like that and they were supporting you. Now
you know you're knocking on the door of selling out
an arena like Bridstone. They're like, yeah, but he's he's
my artists. But isn't it funny? Like how defensive they
can get, like you're almost family.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
I always say that, like this is the era of
everybody wants to know about the guy nobody knows about.
They want to be wanting to tell you about this person,
you know. And it's because of all the different avenues
for music, and there's so many new artists coming out,
but they're those diehard fans that have been there from
the beginning. I mean, there's a lot of truth to it,
because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for people
showing up with these little Mexican restaurants and stuff. I
(03:30):
was playing back in Alabama years ago.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
At the Mexican restaurant. What you ordered though.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
They had a thing called the Local Mexican. It was
just chicken and cheese and rice and steak.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I'm very I'm like a kid.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
I like cheese and sauce, basically a date night with
Ryler Green chick tenders in a steak.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
It was great, no size, nothing.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
As you continue to move forward career wise, you talked
about the awards and the number one songs. People singing
back your songs is top for you, right?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Outside of that, what are the things that have kept
you going even when it was early in your career
and it was tough to get a number one and
it was tough to get a song on the radio.
You know, things a little more fluid for you now.
But what are things that you appreciate more now?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Maybe more than that.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
It always helped me a bunch that I had a
real job in my up framed house is my whole life.
So anytime I got tired of writing country songs, so
I'd get up on a roof and work in a
one hundred degree heat, and I'd want to go.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Back and write more songs.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
But it helped me a lot that I didn't really
have a lot of big dreams or aspirations, and country
music I enjoyed playing, so I didn't feel like I
was working towards this goal.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I just got to go play songs that made up
every week.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And writing has always been something that I enjoyed. So
on those years when I probably should have got a
little burned out with it, I was still so glad
to be able to go do it that it didn't
really ever feel like work for me.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
As a guy who enjoys the creation process. And we
anytime we've talked, you've brought up.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Like you loved it.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Write you loved it, Write you loved it? Write? Do
you enjoy that more than the performance?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Asked?
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Because there's some guys and girls that are like performing
number one, everything else is fine.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Well, I'll put it like this, there's times when I
don't want to get on stage and saying, you know,
whether you're feeling bad or you're worn out you had
ten shows in a row, or your travel or whatever.
But there's never a.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Time when I don't want to pick up and write
a song, you know.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
So I just feel like that's something that just has
always been a I would do regardless, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Are you super protective of that?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Like? Is it easy to When I say collaborate, I
don't mean like on a song, like recording a song together?
Are you protective of song ideas? Are you like easily
open to collaborate in like.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
A room full of people?
Speaker 3 (05:33):
I never have been, but uh.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
That sounds about right.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So they're building a bar downstairs. Yeah, now so, and
so either they'll test it or listen. If this may
be your last interview, I got to.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Tell you this.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
I've bought a house, uh the other day, a newer house,
and so I'm just kind of moving into it. And
I got home the other day worn out, been on.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
The road all weekend.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Every alarm in the house is going on, every smoke alarm,
same time, and the house wasn't on fire, so something
was going on. They're all wired together, and so I
gave it about ten minutes and then I took every
one of them down. And there's one in every crevice
of every room. So it took me forty five minutes.
I got a pile of them that tall, took the
batteries out of them.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
There's a fire marshals somewhere just going.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Uh about the writing, Yeah, I've.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Never been like stingy about song ideas.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
I've always thought, especially now that I've gotten to know
a lot of other songwriters, I know what they're good
at or what I think they bring to the table,
and so I kind of might have an idea and
I think, oh, it'd be good to say to write
with this person. But at the same time, a lot
of songs, I mean, I wrote completely by myself for
the first ten years of my career. I've never co written,
and still some of my biggest songs are solo rights.
(06:54):
I mean, Worst Way is a solo right, Grandpa's Grandpa's
never died, Jesus saved, don't mind if I do. And
these songs are really doing well. So there's something too.
I think, maybe how simply I say stuff. You know,
sometimes you get with songwriters and they try to make things,
you know, a little too poetic, and you know, a
lot of I always like songs that are really straight
at it.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
You know, when it comes to that, are you knowing
that you've done a lot of it yourself, so like
you're comfortable in that lane?
Speaker 2 (07:21):
What if somebody brings you an idea?
Speaker 4 (07:24):
To be honest, that's probably the biggest asset to me
is in co writing, is you don't come up with
a great idea every day. I can tell you this
and a lot of songwriters would agree with this. Probably
I've written a lot of the best version of mediocre ideas.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
That's what happens.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
You get in the room, and you know, you when
you're taking somebody else's time, especially a great songwriter they
write with the artists, you feel like, well, we got
to come up with something, and you just don't have
it every day, you know. So you go and you
kind of settle on an idea and you write a
great version of it maybe and it's it's okay. But
when you come up with an idea that's great, especially
something that I'm like passionate about.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
It's an easy song to write.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Is there a song you've put out that you're like,
that's this is good, but then it took off, You're like, oh,
maybe it's better than I thought it was.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
Yeah, I mean I felt that way about worst way.
I didn't know it was a really, really big song.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I wrote it. I thought, man, I need to write
more love songs.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
I don't write that kind of stuff, and a little
more of a you know, Eric Church Rickenball type vibe,
and it just blew up. I had no idea and
I've never really lived in that space.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Very much. You know the like You Loved Me with Ella.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
I thought the chorus was catchy, but I thought talking
versus was probably a little too traditional.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So this shows I have no clue.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Uh No, I don't want to start country music beef.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Okay, but did you see Dylan Marlowe attempt to help
her out?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Help ll out?
Speaker 3 (08:44):
Yeah? I saw what did I see?
Speaker 1 (08:47):
I saw some It was it was a riverfront Heay
and I were hosting the Riverfront stage and so we
introw Ella and all of a sudden, your part comes
and she's like, oh.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Here's Dylan marlow comes running out and he got like.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Three lines in and he he's like, they'll stay.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Yeah. I saw a video because somebody sent to me.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
It said Riley Walgreens on there and I just because
I know Dylan is why that's funny to me. But
because I did a song with Dylan on his last record,
stick to My Guns.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
But really really good.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Dude, And uh, you got to give a hats off
to him for trying it. I mean, like, I don't
know that I'd go on stage and sing somebody else's song.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
That's tough.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Well, and I want to ask you.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Got to think people were really even if they know
I'm not there when I play you.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Like You Love Me, people are still looking for Ella
to walk out.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
So people are probably doing that with me, you know,
So I wouldn't want to be the guy that's not
me to walk out during that song.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
That's pretty tough.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Well, and that's that's the next thing I was going
to ask you as And that song wildly successful, I'd imagine,
even more than you guys would have expected. Is it
tough to because you want to bring it live? Because
now it's a part of your story, right, regardless of
her song, part of your story and maybe why it's
somebody bought a ticket. Is it awkward to do that
song knowing that half the time people are going to
be looking over your shoulder?
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Well, you know, very fortunately, which just doesn't happen very often.
With the time of Ella's on tour with me. Yeah,
so the damn country music tour. She's at every show,
so we get to do it together and don't mind
if I do. Is this giant song as well? So
we got two very different songs. That being said, I
have played it without her several times, and I'm sure
she's done the same thing sometimes I get people out
of the crowd, and you never know what you're gonna
(10:20):
get with that, you know, Sometimes it's really great. Sometimes
they freeze up. But you know, it's a good problem
to have such a big song. And like I said,
it's a really fun song. It's a good break in
my set two to go and throw it back to
that one.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
When it comes to the tour, you're seeing radio success
more than you ever have, which obviously helps sell tickets. Yeah,
is this tour seeing more success than you expected it too?
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Are you getting more from this tour than you expected to?
Speaker 4 (10:50):
I've been surprised in a good way for the last
five years touring. Well, what you see when you have
radio success and even award show success and television opportunities
as you see it grow quicker and bigger, and that's
you know, like you Love Me was my first like
TikTok success. I guess you would say, you know, I've
(11:12):
never had a song that really blew up on the internet,
you know, and it's it's all been real gradual, and
that one like the next day you couldn't open your
phone without seeing it.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
It was everywhere.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
So it's been a really big tour for that reason.
It's we're kind of winning in a lot of different
areas that I've never really been in.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Is it tough to be comfortable there knowing that, like,
those are all things you didn't expect, right, you were
just a guy that wanted to do country music.
Speaker 4 (11:37):
It's for me, it's just makes me want to go
write more songs, play more shows. It's you know, I mean,
it's always kind of validating when you get some kind
of recognition from your peers. And like I said, it's
just when things are going well, it's easy to get
out of bed.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
And want to go right, want to go play.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
It's easy to sit here and talk about the best stuff.
So I'm gonna ask a two part question that's going
to start with the worst. Yeah, what is the worst
song you've ever written? That it's out there, You're not
proud of it, it might not make the live show anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
And you're like, yeah, let's pretend that one don't exist.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Well, I'm pretty picky about what I cut them. I
don't put a ton of stuff out that I don't like.
I don't know that I've got a ton of songs
that I just hate. There's a lot of stuff that
the quality production quality is rough. Like so when I
cut all of the first handful of songs I recorded,
I did them in like Bob's garage, and I don't
like hearing my voice anyway.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
There's a lot of people that are like that. They
don't like to hear theirselfs sing. And those are just
like nails on Chalkbard for me to hear. And there's
pretty much everything I put out, you know, And there's
still some songs people like. I'll be down at the
beach or something pulled up at an island and there'll
be people on a boat listening to like north On
twenty one of these songs, and I'm.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Just crawl underneath the boat. But it's a you know,
it's something about it. People like these songs are still around.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
As you continue to write and continue to record. What
is the song opposite that? That's a song that's going
to be hard to beat? Like what is your what's
your top that? You're like, how do I get better
than that? How do I do better than that?
Speaker 4 (13:08):
Well, I mean with success, you know, I wish Grandpa's
Never Died is one that's always going to be hard
to beat. But I really love the song Jesus Saves
it was on my last album. As far as the
story song, it's the best song I've ever written, you know,
to tell a story, and I think the message is
great and.
Speaker 3 (13:28):
I don't look at it like how can I beat it?
Speaker 4 (13:31):
But I do try to use those songs to get
myself in the headspace I was in, because when you're
in that spot and it's.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
Just flowed and creatively, you feel like you write.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
Ten songs that day, that's that's when it's kind of magic,
and you don't it doesn't happen often. You can schedule
a ride every day for six months and it never happened,
and one day you're sitting there and eating pasta on
the couch and you think of something. So for me,
it's just hammered them out, writing as many songs as
I can, and always looking for titles.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
What usually comes first the write or are the name?
Speaker 3 (14:02):
It's the music or the the name.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Yeah, it's I think it's different every time, but for me,
the idea like sometimes it's not very sessed out.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
I don't really know what it is. It's just a thought.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
But a lot of times that's the first thing you know,
I saw a guy on the side of the road
the signs that Jesus saved. I thought, man, you know,
everybody always so quick to think about their own drugs
or this and that whatever, and thought, but man, like,
what kind of stuff could he have gone through in
his laugh that got him there? That if it had
happened to me, I'd be doing the same thing. And
I just thought about that for probably three months, and
then one day it all came together, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
And so it's it's usually an idea. I've got to
be pretty passionate about that's.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
I love the story of a song, and I and
I Tay and I have talked about like podcast ideas
and all that, because there's so many the songs are fantastic,
but sometimes this story behind the song is even better
than the song could ever be. Oh yeah, and it's
and it's and it's even like asking we caught up
with Kenny Chesney and asked about a song that he
passed on. He passed on check Yes or No, Right,
(15:03):
Jake was it Jake O? And passed on Big Green Tractor.
And so so there's all these stories on these songs
that are just wild. Who was it Blake Shelton had
recorded Toby Keith's Which song was it?
Speaker 3 (15:18):
I felt? I remember hearing this the other day. I
can't remember what song it.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Was it was.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
I mean, it's one of Toby's biggest hits. It's like
it's like, uh so you heard.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Him singing and then didn't want to do it again?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Yeah, And he was like, well cool, I guess I
forget it.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
But when it comes to that type of stuff, have
you do you have a story like that.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
I don't have any, like I didn't cut something, you know,
or whatever.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
But there's several songs that got interesting stories behind him,
especially when I was early in songwriting, because I didn't
put any thought into big success. It was just like
I'd play a show and I think, man, this kind
of line goes overwhel or this does or whatever. And
I had a song I wrote that really kind of
helped start my career, is called Barryman Dixie, and I
wrote that about I was it was just like where
I grew up. But I was thinking about the movie
(16:01):
Weekend at Bernie's. I was like, if I was to
die at a young age, I wish my buddies would
just put sunglasses on me. And take me to the floor,
Obama and an Auburn football game and Tuscaloosa and Talladega Racetrack.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
You know.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
So it was a funny idea and they played that
song at funerals all over the place in Alabama. Now,
so it went completely the other direction.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Another aspect of the like story part of songwriting is
sometimes a great idea and you just mentioned you sat
on the one song for three months or whatever. Sometimes
the idea hits you and it might take a year
to write this song. So what is what's the And
you don't have to give details because I know how
it is with songwriting, But what's the best idea in
(16:41):
your phone right now? You've held on to the longest, uh, Like,
do you get past a few months or you like,
I'll get back so.
Speaker 4 (16:52):
Well I wrote yesterday, I sit down and there's always
the last five or six that or things I'm really
fired up about. And then roll up and scroll up
and sometimes if you're not find anything, we've all thrown
some titles out, you know whatever. But I had a
song that I'm finishing now as I wrote it by myself.
It's called My Way, and it's it's a weird problem
(17:14):
never had with a song before. But I like the
verses so much that I don't want to write a chorus.
And I'm almost like trying to figure out how I
can just write like four verses and just because it's
and there are songs like that, you know, like stylistically,
people do all kind of different stuff, but it's one
that I've had finished, so to speak, if I just
write a chorus for six months, but I'm like, I
like it so much, I want to do it right.
(17:34):
And that was something I never did when I first
started writing, because I didn't put that much thought into it.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
But now I'm like, hold on, this might be actually good,
so let me try to do it right.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Well, I'll tell you what, pull it out.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
Let's work on it right now. We can stop this,
wouldn't that be hilarious?
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Dokie.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
I'm sure you've heard a million radio guys. I got
a song idea, Riley. Let me tell you when it
comes to the rest of.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
The year, what are some things you're looking forward to?
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Because with the success of this ella, the success of
the recent single, you're burning at both ends right now, right,
So what are some things you're looking forward to, like
stepping away musically from.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Uh well, I mean, obviously we're right in the middle
of the tour. That'll go till you know, around November,
and then I'll get to go hunting.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
A little bit.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
I'll get to get in the woods, get back home
and visit the family. I'm going to plan on going
somewhere warm, you know, around the fourth.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I took that week off, so it'll be nice to
visit with everybody, and.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Everything's going great. The tough thing about when it's going
like this is you are busy, you know. So we're
trying to make hay while the sun shining, and I
enjoyed my time off more now than ever with how.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Busy you are because of that success.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Right now, is it tough to to get in the
rights and figure out the next album and the next
singles and like your next cycle.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
As they would say, It's not tough to get motivated
for it, it's just tough to find the time for it.
I mean, that's the crazy thing about how things are
going now, is like I need Worst Ways number one
right now, and I need two more.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
I need the next album full of hits, and it's
you know again, I think you can write thirty songs
to write one decent song, and looking at it like that,
you just got to keep grinding.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I do want to ask about the success of your spot,
Doug Blind. Yeah, Doug Blind literally on the other side
of town here, yeah, which is cool, Like it's a
cool concept. You did it. Old Dominion is not on
Broadway either, so it's cool to see artists like invest
in Nashville.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
But like where the vocals hang.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
Well yeah, Old Dominion from the right next door to us.
And for me, I never hung out down here, you know, broadly.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
I just I was always in midtown.
Speaker 4 (19:39):
Winners is the building where my bar is now is
connected to Losers, and that was where Whiskey Jam was
and everybody played there, you know, And every relationship I've
got in town with songwriters and other artists has all
been in that building.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
So it's cool now to have my name on.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
Something and have young up and coming artists coming there
and you know, get up to a song and maybe
they get a start.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Over there too.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
But it's a really full circle moment for me. And
also it's one bar in Nashville. I can't get thrown
out of your name's down there, Yes, can't everybody else out?
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I'm done and it never closes for you, depending on
the kind of night you're having.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
It should I need to put a I got a key,
which is crazy, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
I've got a key to a.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Bar that's wild and very unsafe.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
Yeah, I go. You should come up with any breakfast
with me.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
Sometimes I have breakfast there when listen, I'm a breakfast
What nothing having breakfast with Briley Green can tell me
when the Nashville bar scene has changed a ton because
it was like, you know, the names like Tutsis and
all that, and then it became artists who have you know,
they've sold out in all these awards, and now you
(20:43):
have artists who are still brand new, like Landy Wilson
is down the street, Jelly Rollers down the street literally
right underneath us. They just announced it's gonna be post
malonees bro So is that like, what is that for
you to see? As somebody who grew up wanting to
do country music, You've spent a ton of time in Nashville,
your name is on a bar as well. What is
it like to see that culture change from like these
(21:07):
these massive names to like people massive names that made
an impact.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Yea, the massive names that are making it.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
So I think it's a cool thing, man, Like you know,
how I did it was a little unorthodox. There's probably
people that could look at my career and go, well,
he didn't come in Nashville and play Broadway for five
years to you know, hopefully impress a record label and whatever.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
And I didn't do that.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
I didn't play in offices and try to get a
record deal. I toured around the Southeast and kind of
built a little following.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
And a little bit of the time.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
And you know, I did that for about ten years,
and then labels started to come down to my shows.
So in a way that was different, you know. And
these artists now like it can happen quick, you know.
And for me, it's like the more success this town
has and these bars in town have and these other
artists have, I just love that it's making a swing
towards traditional country music and that sounds coming back, and
(21:57):
that means I've got a chance as long as that's
going on.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
The Last thing I want to ask because it's so
and I'll tell you, I don't ask stupid questions.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Like this, stupid yes, like this.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
No. Uh, one of the most recent things you've gotten
attention for is shaving your facial hair. Now, let me
tell you, as a guy who's like I just want
to make music, you probably.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Like, what the hell?
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, but that means you're a big deal dude if
they're talking about your shaved your mustache.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
So people are upset about it.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
So I knew that I had a mustache, you know,
I've seen it, and I knew, and I knew that
people had like done some videos like their husbands are
shaving mustaches. You know, I thought I saw that. I
didn't know that I had to have a mustache. I
know that I was a mustache guy.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
That's your streaming numbers tank.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
The next day, people were trying to get rid of
their tickets.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Dude.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
The good newserser came back like four days later, so they.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Were getting rid of tickets at half the price. Raud them.
By the way, they were taking a lot.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
So I won't make that mistake again, I guess.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
But is that, like, how do you react?
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Ridiculous is what it is?
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Right?
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (22:58):
But I then again, a lot of the stuff I
read about myself is pretty ridiculous. Lightly so uh if
that's the worst headline this week.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
There's a lot of people asking for any headline right now,
so the fact that they're just happening.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
Man, I get online every day and figure out who
I'm dating. You know, the internet will tell me.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Listen. I won't tell you today, but congrats on Land
and Dolly. Nice Riley.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
I know you're a busy guy, so carving out time
was not easy. Thanks for coming to hand, man, I
appreciate y'all.
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