Melodies and Menus: Madeline Merlo and Andrew Hyatt talk Nashville eats and Canadian treats

On the latest episode of Melodies and Menus, co-hosts Dan Clapson and Madison Olds chat with Candian country music stars Madeline Merlo and Andrew Hyatt.

The CCMA Award-winning artists (separately) discuss everything from their lives in Nashville, how the American city's food scene has evolved, what Canadian treats they miss from back home and much more.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
I think now you got me nervous. Dan. This is Melodies and Menus,
a podcast mini series brought to youby Eat North that talks about all
things food and music with an arrayof interesting Canadians. Today's episode is brought

(00:21):
to you by Prairie seasonal farm freshrecipes celebrating the Canadian Prairies, written by
Twilight Campbell and Dan Clapson, foundin all Canadian bookstores. Now I'm one
half of your co host equation,Dan Clapson, joined as always by Madison
Olds. And Madison I must sayit sounds way less self involved to have
you read that partnership line than me. You know, it sounds like an

(00:45):
sc Johnson ad. Dan, Ifeel like I didn't do it. I
didn't do it justice for how amazingof a cookbook it really is. And
now back in our previous episodes wewere talking about it, and I'm looking
at this delicious cabbage the Prairie Hollanddays you talked about, and I'm a
sucker for cabbage, so me too. I feel like cabbage. It's a

(01:06):
bad rap for sure, and it'sand obviously it's an ingredient that is associated
with the Prairies and That is alsoone thing that we tried to focus on
in that cookbook is that you seethese ingredients the grocery store all the time,
things like beats and cabbage, andwe wanted to present them often in
perhaps more not modern, but likea contemporary way. So again, seeing

(01:26):
the ingredients that you see all thetime, but seeing them in a new
light. That was definitely one ofthe goals with Prairie I think also like
cabbage and beats specifically have such aUkrainian touched, Like growing up with my
family being Ukrainian, like, thatwas such something that my grandma would cook
in a you know, certain dishesthat we wouldn't want, but she did
come from Winnipeg, so it kindof makes sense that you know, there

(01:48):
would be so much Ukrainian love inthe Prairies. Oh absolutely, yeah,
it's it's that Central and Eastern Europeanfood culture that is typically strongly associated with
the Prairies. So obviously that thatis an aspect of it. I mean
we also touch on many other Wetouch on the diversity of the Prairies as
well, right, because there's somany different people here are doing so many
things, and my family personally hasmy dad's side has mate and a Kadian

(02:10):
roots in Prince Edward Island, andmy mum's side is German Scottish. So
I mean like I'm just kind ofa mix of everything, and I feel
like sometimes that's what the Prairies is, is like it's a mix of everything.
Yeah, that's why the food isso good. Yeah, I think
so I should I have to saythat, but no, but I do.
I do think that, and Istand by what I said. Actually,

(02:31):
I was posting on TikTok recently aboutan amazing burger spot in Winnipeg called
VJs and note of this is somethingthat made it into the book. But
I like it when I go toa city and they offer something that is
unique that you can't really find anywhereelse, and they have this amazing It's
it's a drive up or drive throughand you get this burger. It's the

(02:52):
Vj's Special, the Vj's Classic,and it has the regular fix scenes like
pickles, tomatoes, but it alsohas as a delicious kind of meat sauce
I guess on top of the burger. But it's that I don't know how
to properly explain this, but growingup in Saskatchewan. We go to a
lot of Greek family restaurants for dinner. And if you've been to a Greek

(03:14):
family restaurant, and that's the onesthat have you know, like the deep
dish pizza with lots of cheese andwhatnot. The meat sauce in their past
is there. It always has ablend of warming spices and it's really hard
to put your finger on what's inthere, but it's maybe like a mix
of cloves and cinnamon or even somemace. It's it's really hard to tell,
but it has a distinct taste.And anyway, that is the sauce

(03:35):
that goes onto the burger here,and this is known in Winnipeg as a
fat Boy. I mean, Idon't love the name of the burger.
That's that's just what the type ofburger is called there, or a Greek
style burger. But I've never reallyhad anything like it anywhere else in the
Prairies or beyond. So that's onething that I find interesting is exploring these
other major cities in the Prairie provincesand discovering something that's unique food wise.

(03:57):
So Cookbook two Prairie Square just tohave a delicious meat sauce burger in it.
I mean it's I mean, Ithink it should or is that sort
of should? Sometimes you got toleave stuff to the professionals, though,
you know, like do it likedo I want to be making a labor
intensive meat sauce that has a slowcook just to make a you know,
a burger I'm gonna eat in thirtyseconds? Or do I just want to
go to Winnipeg, go to VJs, eat the burger in fifteen seconds in

(04:19):
the parking lot, and then maybehave a second one. I feel like
that's I feel like that's the journeyfor me. Yeah, so okay,
so second cookbook. We'll leave theburger to VJSON. I think so.
I think so, I say,we like I'm involved, but maybe it
could be you should be. We'lltalk about that now that we're a couple
of weeks. We are a coupleof weeks into September. Now, what

(04:43):
do you have going on for theholiday season, because I know you've been
busy acting a bit in the summer. In yes, well in Hallmark movies.
I just watched myself for the firsttime on the Hallmark Channel. Really
cool experience. But I will forthe two days of filming I had.
I'm a little disappointed in the fifteenseconds I had on air or on screen,

(05:05):
But my whole family came. Weall sat down on the sofa,
we all watched, and anytime thecamera would pan to me, I'd be
like, oh, like so itwas really fun and talk about like nobody
well that's not true, but asfar as like entertainment, besides the food
industry, nobody loves food more thanthe film industry. Musicians don't appreciate it

(05:27):
as much as they should. Thefood on set is incredible. We actually
were super lucky because there's obviously likea really massive writer strike going on in
the United States are now so allof these foods Hamark doesn't really have writers,
does it. I mean, i'dbe surprised. The writing is really
bad, good, super predictable.But we actually had Riverdale's catering company amazing

(05:58):
movie, and the food was sogood. It was like a buffet that
you could eat like twenty four sevenpractically. And then obviously on top of
that, we have craft services soyou can get snacks and hop beverages.
But I feel like I really amjust in it for the food and the
paycheck because the ten seconds of screentime was worth the delicious fish and chips
I had on Victoria. I loveit. I'm curious. I was an

(06:21):
extra in an episode of Fargo inthe new season. It hasn't come out
yet. Yeah, so it comesout soon. I think that's great.
I think I'm in episode two orthree and I'm yeah, I mean,
and it was a full day shoot, and I'm curious to see what it's
chopped down to for sure, becauseit was really just one scene, maybe

(06:41):
two kind of scene spliced together thatwe've shot over and over and over and
over. And I got to bein a scene with John Hamm. It
was super cool, no way,Wow, he's an icon. Yeah.
Yeah, it's crazy to see howmuch they cut, Like last minute too.
My brother's done a few Hallmarks andmy mom got all these heat specific
We did a Christmas one with Trainand we all got matching Hallmark shirts and

(07:03):
we all got ready to watch itand all of the scenes were cut and
you just you you never know,I know, poor guy, but yeah,
just it happens. But I meanit's the same as like music World
or podcast World. In World,you never know what's going to get cut
and yeah. And in the editingroom, they're they're very good at it.
Yeah, speaking of editing, whatare you working on for the holiday

(07:24):
season. I don't want to talktoo much about holidays because it is not
that close, but I mean,we gotta This is our last little episode
of our mini seasonal Melodies of Menus, so I should probably we'd be remissed
to not shout out what you havecoming up. Well, I feel like
I've certainly gotten more into the Christmasmusic, so I'm hoping to put out
some more Christmas tunes. I'm actuallyworking on my own Christmas book with a

(07:46):
friend of mine. We wrote asong called Favorite Day, so we're going
to do a little children's book.Yeah, and we're hoping to have that
out by next year. Oh,it's not exciting. You know how books
go. Apparently it takes it verylong. It's giving me a PTSD or
I don't want to talk about it. Yeah, yeah, don't don't.
Don't set a hard date, medicine, disappoint yourself. Well, we'll see
it out in five years, I'msure. Yeah, don't tell me that.

(08:09):
The process takes a long time,probably a bit shorter for a children's
book, I would think, butmaybe not. I mean those books have
to be so succinct and so clearvisually that maybe that takes just as long,
you know. Yeah, Well,we're following the lyrics of the song
pretty closely, so it's like eighteenindividual pages and then like just different things
are repeated so kids can read italongside the song with their parents at night.

(08:30):
But it's all about Santa coming andshowing them the candy King Lane and
you know, so it's just it'sreally cheesy and cheeky and fun. I
can't wait to watch, yeah,or watch or hear or read whatever whatever
way I can absorb it perfect allright, on to our guests today,
we are going full long country becausethe Canadian Country Music Awards are taking place

(08:54):
in Hamilton this week. They're doingCountry Canadian Country Music Week from the fourteenth
sixteenth. I'm going to also bein town for the festivities. I am
super excited this year. I'm luckyenough to be a CECMA Award nominee for
the work I do with Blue JaySessions for a second year in a row.
It's it's an industry award, soit's when you see the list of
awards it's like the second last oneon the list. But you know what,
I'm gonna take it. I'm gonnatake the honor you should. And

(09:16):
I hope to see photos of youon the red carpet, and I have
to know, have you already plannedwhat you're wearing? Is it like?
Are you going full Justin Brittany,like Denim Denim on Denim on Denam.
I'm gonna oh, I mean,that would be a pretty epic. I've
yet to find a date. Ithink, not that I need a date.
I am happily partnered, but Imean a date for this particular gala.
So I'm not sure, but maybeI'll just, yeah, find a

(09:39):
him. You could wrangle somebody tobe or Justin timber Lake, I'm sure,
yeah, or unless you want tobe Justin that's totally fair. Have
a Britney on your arm. Eitherway, I think you'd be iconic.
D I don't think I'm going todrag. That would be too much work,
but I trust I've only done dragonce for Halloween and it was not
great, So I think that Ileave that to the fessionals. You know,

(10:00):
yeah, red Carpet's not the placeto try, but maybe I'll ask
could be my date. Prianka woulddo a fantastic denim on denim y.
Yes, I'm sure she has optionsalready, So okay, well, I'm
happy we had this chat. Butmoving swiftly along, our first guest is
the wildly talented Madeline Murlow, whois obviously a household name in Canadian country

(10:22):
music, but in addition to that, she is a top tier songwriter who
lives in Nashville, and she's writtenmany cuts for many other artists in addition
to releasing so many popular songs herself. I've listened to her music followed her
career for years now, and she'struly in inspiration and BC born just like
you born raised. Yeah, yeah, and I actually, I mean,
she's obviously been putting on music forsuch a long time, but I remember

(10:43):
when she first started to become likea household name and for musicians like myself,
like, she is so talented,And I remember hearing her music for
the first time on the radio andit obviously was like all over social media
and I was like, there's noway she's Canadian. She's so talented,
which is crazy to say that becauseso many talented musicians come out of Canada,
but she really just had that thatAmerican polished, like pop superstar sensation

(11:07):
quality. So I'm really excited totalk to her. She's she's very iconic.
We're gonna chat with her about herfood forward wedding that she had in
the summer. Yes, spring spring, right, let's spring sometime this year.
We're gonna chat with Madeline about herfood forward wedding she had in the
spring, which sounded very tasty.In addition to obviously releasing her song Same

(11:28):
Car this year, music videos,and so many other things. So looking
forward to that. So here's ourinterview. Awesome, Well, I am
so so excited to be talking toyou today. I don't know if you

(11:50):
can tell. We're keeping our coolas best as we can, but we're
very big fans and we wanted tostart up with saying congratulations on the new
Mary. That is so exciting.We've obviously all been like googling and augling,
you know, through social media.But I did read that you had
some delicious Nashville eats at your wedding. Is that too private? It was

(12:11):
all over and I was like droolingas I read it. I have to
know what was what was at thewedding. What was on the plate?
Yeah, so we we definitely withour wedding wanted my husband he's from Nashville,
so he's a Southern boy, andso we wanted to incorporate, you
know, some of his stuff andsome Canadian stuff. We had Molson Canadian
beer. Everybody loved and they werelike it's so good and we're like yeah,

(12:35):
which was super fun. But yeah, so we for the cuisine,
we wanted to definitely have some somesouthern foods. We had some pork chop,
we had mashed potatoes, we hadmac and cheese, we had corn
bread, we had the yummy southernstuff, bunch of sweet tea. You
know, yeah, sounds sounds amazing. I feel like Dan and I are

(12:58):
own almost salty that we didn't getto and have some delicious weddings southern food.
Yeah, I feel like that.Aspect of planning a wedding, though,
can be a lot of work,like the food and drink components specifically.
A lot of people don't think aboutthat, but it does. Again,
it seemed like you put a lotof time and thought into that.
So how important is it for youat your wedding that your guests walked away.
I've had a lot of shitty weddingfood. That's kind of what I'm

(13:20):
getting at. So how important wasit for you for your guests to walk
away feeling like they had a qualitymeal with a touch of a Canadian and
mixed in. Absolutely, I'm veryimportant. I think it was important as
well too, to like make sureeveryone felt included. My sister's like a
vegetarian and so we need those kindof options. Vegetarian and Southern food don't
really totally match up, so tomake sure you know, everybody was able

(13:43):
to eat and feel full and havea good time. So yeah, I'm
definitely very important. We had liketuna pops kind of like a sushish element
because I grew up in Vancouver soI love seafood, so that was one
of my choices for sure. Andyeah, just like making sure everybody had

(14:03):
a little bit of everything and stuffI'm trying to remember because the wedding is
such a blur. I'm like,I don't even know if I got to
even try those or like it wasgood, but it's just it's such a
blur. But the certainly the tastingof the food and the cake tasting was
a very fun part of wedding planning. We talked about this sometimes on the
podcast that when you think of theSouthern food or you think of Nashville,

(14:26):
you think fried chicken and barbecue.But I mean, I go to Nashville,
I've seen the food scene evolved somuch. So can you can you
speak to the vegetarians out there andencourage them to maybe explore the restaurant scene,
because I think there are some optionsin Nashville these days. Absolutely,
there's a ton. We've got afew new vegetarian restaurants. The cuisine and
Nashville is unbelievable. We have somereally great restaurants. We just have a

(14:48):
new one opened up. I thinkit's a Sean Brock restaurant, and he's
got like a few all of He'sgot like a fast food restaurant that he
opened up called Gosh, it's escapingme. But he's got like the Continental,
which is like a seven course meal, and then you've got kind of
like the cheaper option to do likea fast food. And there's a new

(15:09):
restaurant called Locusts that just opened upthat like won all these awards. So
there's some like actual fine dining optionsin Nashville, which is really great.
And then I think there's one calledlike Wild Cow that's ironically a vegetarian restaurant
or cafe, which is one ofmy friends and stuff. So there's a
little bit of stuff for everyone inNashville. Actually awesome. You've been in

(15:31):
Nashville for quite a while now,at least long enough to call it home.
What was that transition period, becauseobviously Vancouver's such a different cultural scene,
you know, from Nashville, soI imagine that was difficult to simulate
it was. It was. Iactually moved, so I grew up just
outside of Vancouver, and then Imoved to Toronto first, and that transition
was very big because I grew upin this small kind of town and Vancouver

(15:54):
is a very laid back kind ofplace as well too, just in like
the energy and stuff. And thenToronto was like everyone was honking at me.
Everybody was loud and harry, andso that was a hard thing to
assimilate to. And then moving toNashville was like So I just feel like
it was a lot of transition andchange in the years with each move.
But it's it's difficult at times beingnot in Canada and a wait for my

(16:18):
family and stuff. But I've beenhere almost six years now, so it
definitely feels like home. I onlyhave to use GPS sometimes, which is
pretty impressive effect. I feel likeit's always the mark where you feel like
you finally live somewhere. If youdon't use GPS as much as you used
to. Yeah, you know,like how to get there, how to
get around. So it's big changesand stuff. But I always knew that

(16:40):
I wanted to live here. OnceI kind of realize you could have a
job writing songs and there's this magicalland called Nashville, and that's where you
could go and do that for aliving, I was pretty set on moving
here. Well, that's one thingthat I really love about your career.
Obviously, you've had so much majorradio success, specifically in Canada, most
recently just Slides, so ratulations onthat very exciting and same car the recent

(17:03):
releases also of such an amazing songtoo. You have such a knack for
songwriting and obviously it's a large partof what you do, so can you
speak to the community of songwriters inNashville and what it's like to be a
part of that it's so amazing.I think I've literally called it Nashville University.
I think that back on the songsthat I wrote before I moved here,

(17:23):
and I'm like, oh my gosh, like you had no idea.
There is so much to learn andgrow and the community is so welcoming,
and even when you come into itand you don't really know what you're doing,
like everybody is so open hearted andwarm and willing to teach you,
and just it's something you just kindof got to dive into. And you're
writing five days a week, sometimessix days a week, and meeting people

(17:45):
and showing up at writers rounds andperforming and to be kind of a part
of that community makes you feel likeyou're really a part of something that's really
special that doesn't really exist everywhere.And places like LA and New York or
and then like they've got songwriters scenes, but Nashville was so small, so
it's like we're all right here,We're all on music row, this one

(18:07):
straight where everybody is. And soit's just a very magical thing to be
a part of. And I'm reallyreally grateful, And like I said,
I've just I can't even tell youhow much I've learned and not moving here
completely changed my skill level from like, oh I bet so much. So
that's my biggest piece of advice.If you want to write songs, go
to the place where if people arewriting songs. And one grey thing about

(18:30):
you is that I know Canadian artiststhat have taken your cuts, the songs
that you've written, and they putthem out to radio or streaming and found
a lot of success. Megan DawsonAlberta is one example. Obviously Haley Benedict
with Wanted You Too So and thatwas a top twenty radio hit. So
how does it feel to be onthat end of I mean on obviously Lady
eight Champagne Night. I mean,that's the obvious one. But I'm trying
to keep it tied to Canada here. But how does it feel when that

(18:53):
happens for you? When you seea younger, more emerging artist trying to
like make make it through the thecrazy world that is a music industry in
Canada and they're finding success with yoursong, that must feel really special.
It's unbelievable. I actually just metHaley for the first time, oh my
gosh, a month ago during sumsand she said like, thank you so
much for the song. I gotto hear myself on the radio. That

(19:17):
was such a gift, like youchanged my life, like thank you,
and I was like, I'm gonnacry on this bar. It was like
very very sweet and very cool andthat songs. I love that song and
that's what I really wrote from theheart. It was a real thing that
had happened to me, and likeall of those lyrics are very personal to
me, and it just kind ofwasn't right for the project that I had
going on and when she cut it, and it's so cool to feel like

(19:41):
something that is so personal to me, like it was personal to her too,
And that's the power of music andwriting songs as we all have our
stories within them. And and justto hear that, yeah, that that
moved a needle for her and didso well for her, I'm like,
that is so cool. I'm sohappy to be part of that. We
do love Haley here. She's She'sa lovely so yes, so talented,

(20:02):
she's incredible, So I'm one,one hundred percent reading for her all the
way. It's got to be crazytoo to see how much the music industry
has changed just over the years,that you know, you've been apart,
and it's changing so drastically in justa year, you know, six months
would have been you know some ofthose crazy challenges for you. Just in
the last two to three years,it really has changed so much. I

(20:22):
recently was listening to a podcast thatthe Jonas Brothers were on, and they
were talking about the media tour thatthey did for their album like four years
ago versus the album they're doing today, and how one of their media days
is going to like a tiktoker's housein the hills and spending four hours making
tiktoks and that's like marketing versus goingon these like late night shows or something,

(20:45):
and that it really has And that'sthe hard and crazy thing about music,
is it like it it's this floatingthing, this industry, and things
blow up or things people you know, connect with things that are unexpected sometimes
and there's no way to predict andthere's no way to figure it out,
and you know, get on thealgorithm and it's just just like big question

(21:06):
mark for everybody and stuff. Sothere's a lot of new challenges and I
think it's just about leaning into themand being like, Okay, this is
the new thing we're doing now,how can I use this to showcase my
music in a different way? Andyeah, I mean just in general,
it's a really tough business. Musichard. It's hard on the heart more
than anything. I mean, thepercentage of people that actually make real money

(21:29):
off of this business is very low. But that aside, it's just like
having it's your name, it's yourworth, it's your stories that don't do
well. When it doesn't do well, like, it's heartbreaking sometimes and it's
so fulfilling sometimes, so a rollercoaster. It's no joke, and like
you said, there's new challenges everyday. It feels like you gotta be
keeping up with everything and online,but don't be online too much. Don't

(21:53):
compare yourself, but watch what it'sjust like, it feels like it's a
big craze, confusing thing, butlike I said, it's also incredibly rewarding
at the same time. Yeah,I can imagine. I find that obviously.
TikTok is it's a platform that reallycan launch artists careers sometimes now.
But the interesting thing about this sometimesis that sometimes the artists that they're launching,

(22:15):
or that I wind up going viral, they have no live performance experience,
so a lot of them can't actuallyI'm generalizing, but cannot sometimes perform
in front of a crowd or maynot even have a draw of fifty people
in a room. So can youspeak to the importance of having built up
your career also on the live endof things and performing, because that's a
whole different beast and of itself aswell. Yeah, there's certainly a lot

(22:37):
of components going into it. Havinga great voice and having a great song
are obviously in the forefront, butthere's a lot of lessons so we learn
and experiences and even like contracts andstuff like I think young maybe this young
person on TikTok that's like has acontract with the record label in front of
them and they don't even know whatit says. They're like, there's a
lot of things to be weary ofand aware and learn. But I mean,

(23:02):
I think it's a live Performing liveis a really important thing to like
figure out what you're doing and feelingcomfortable on stage, getting your nerves in
check. You can sing in yourbedroom, but when there's a thousand people
in front of you, like yourmy voice is shakier and you're like trying
to get your footing so but experienceis always the best way to learn,
and hoping that the young people thatmaybe don't have as much have a good

(23:22):
team around them that can help nurturethat and show them the ropes and stuff
like that. But yeah, itcan be scary when people blow up really
quick and get thrown into these situationsare not familiar with. When you are
on stage, what is one Imean, first first time are on stage,
What's what's one easy takeaway tip forperforming? Because performing in front of
people is hard. It is reallyreally difficult even talking in front of people,

(23:45):
even talking right now for me,it's difficult pushing through. But but
what's one piece of advice you givesomeone that's like heading out to stage for
the first time, playing for youknow, one hundred and fifty people.
Yeah, practice for sure, Ithink the best. I mean, there's
a lot of things out of yourcontrol that could happen up there. But
when you show up and you're like, I'm all, I know that,

(24:07):
I know what I'm what I'm aboutto sing. I've learned all the words
and know the chords I'm playing.I know these songs front to back.
Because when you are in a nervoussituation, a lot of that info feels
like it flies out of your head. So I would definitely say be prepared,
show it prepared. I used towrite out, like what I was
going to kind of say between songs, because that's another thing you don't think
about, you like, show upto the show and then the song ends

(24:30):
and everyone's like staring at you anyways, like how do I And that comes
with go into concerts and watching likeTaylor Swift talk to her fans and the
things she says, like it's liketelling a story and getting people invested in
the next song you're about to playand stuff like that. So I used
to like write it out and trynot to memorize it like word for word,
but like talking points, it's likewhat I was going to now I

(24:53):
kind of like know the ropes orwhat the crowd kind of you know,
would resonate with or something, andfinding those little moments to pull them back
in and set less to make sureyou're gonna play two slow songs in a
row, you better have a fastone coming up next you're gonna go buy
beers, So all that kind oflearn along the way performing must be just

(25:17):
old hat. Now you must notget nervous anymore, you know, being
such a big sensation like you are. I still get nervous. I always
get nervous. I think that it'slike, obviously I care and that's why
maybe, but even like the doesn'treally matter what it is. I'm always
kind of swirling around in my headbeing like, okay, bless you know
my fingers and these words and likeallow them, like just always kind of

(25:40):
praying and getting my head in theright spot. And every show, no
matter how bad your small's important tome, and I want to blow people
away. I want people to leavebeing like, dang, you know she
can sing. I'm like I lovethat song, and so yeah, I
still really get nervous. Not asmuch anymore. Obviously, I feel pretty
well equipped going into it, butalways get those butterflies. Uh. The
Calgary semp wrapped up recently, andI find that interesting, like a built

(26:04):
in crowd versus a crowd where youhave a hard ticket draw. And I
saw l King perform and there wasa lot of younger people there that clearly
didn't nor music. But it wasso late at night. They're all,
you know, the half, theback half of the room is talking.
It's like, how do you I'msure that happens and ends of festivals and
whatnot. So how do you finda way to like grab everyone's attention because

(26:25):
it's not always easily done. Yeah, that's a great question. It's totally
They're vibing and stuff. I alwaysI mean, the main thing is is
going to any show. I tryto put on the best show I can
be, and like I said,captivate the audience. If you feel like
you're losing them and they're talking,play a cover, play play Goodbye Earl

(26:48):
in my said. Everybody knows thatsong, everyone's into it. Like,
have those songs that everybody knows thatyou're gonna pull them back in because it
happens regardless of the artist. Youknow, when people are drinking and they're
talking, they're having a good time. Play like a song you know everybody
knows and everyone wants to sing withyou, and that's a good way to
kind of pull them back in.But when I am playing a show,

(27:10):
sometimes you pull like corporate events wherethe audience isn't necessarily country fans even heard
of you, and they're not payingattention. I'm always searching for the one
person or the group of people thatare like vibing and I'm like, okay,
it's just then you know what Imean, And I'm like, you
just kind of scan the kind ofthese people are enjoying it. She looks
like she's really into it. Okay, I'm gonna just like focus my energy

(27:33):
on her, and because yeah,you look at the person like this and
it's gonna get in your head andtry to people. Yeah, there's got
to be lots of challenging parts ofyou know, about being an artist and
doing probably the shows that don't feellike they artistically align and probably lots of
elements are Are there certain ones thatyou like the least? Not really,

(27:55):
I mean, like corporate ones arehard sometimes, like I said, because
the audience isn't really yours and sothat can be kind of challenging at times.
But I don't know, I don'tknow if there's like one that I
don't necessarily like. Festivals are amazing. The energy is so great. Sometimes
it's like a hundred degrees though,and you're like sweating and you're like disgusting

(28:18):
and out of breath, and thenyou're in on the indoor and it's cool
in there, so you don't havethat. But then it's like the energy
of that Healthdoor festival is not there. So everything kind of has its like
pros and cons. Usually I'm justexcited to be there and it's like excited.
To be honest, it seems likeeverybody's excited to come see you also,
so it works out hopefully. Soin Nashville, there are tons of

(28:41):
Canadian singers that live there, obviously, singers and songwriters. Can you speak
a bit to the community that youfound there with with fellow artists, because
I mean there's people of all levels. They're trying trying to make it in
different aspects of the industry. Yeah. Absolutely, there's a ton of Canadians
down there. Actually sneaky when youmeet people and they're like, you're Canadian.
There's so many down here. You'relike and they're like, do you

(29:03):
know blah blah blah, And it'slike it's a whole country. So you
think, obviously I don't know everyone, but I'm kind of like, yeah,
I like, we know, it'sa small community. I think there's
just like we're all rooting for eachother and excited when somebody succeeds or you
know, get something happening because you'rein like this different zone and you guys
are all from the same place.And yeah, there's a camaraderie between artists

(29:26):
and stuff like that, at leastI think so. I'm sure there's some
competition between some people or whatever aswell, but yeah, I think it's
mainly camaraderie. And there's always likeCanadian country music events, you know,
and there was always like little eventsand fun things and stuff that we'll do
down here together. And in thesongwriting community as well too. There's some

(29:47):
really talented songwriters that have like alot of number one hits and like Derek
or Tan or Kelly Archer just howthey can make one hit. And so
anytime I get to write with her, I'm excited. We talk about like
visa problems and Canadian problems, andit's always good to connect with those people.
Is there one food that you missfrom Canada? I mean being in
Vancouver obviously sushi, Like you can'tbeat sushi in Vancouver, one of the
best cities in the world for that. So there is there something that you

(30:10):
just crave that you cannot find inNashville. Yeah, a time actually,
and seafoods One of them sushi.Like growing up, we had sushi so
much. It was like the goto food. Like if you want to
especially wanted something like cheap too,we were like, oh, let's go
get sushi. Now it's like theonly really good sushi here is flown in.
It's expensive and it's a kind ofa really expensive restaurant that you're so

(30:33):
really miss the seafood element. Livingin Toronto too, it's so multicultural that
there is incredible like rotea and Indianfood and stuff, and there's just it's
a little more far between in Nashville, unfortunately. It is interesting. I
think we take that for granted abit in Canada because even if you're in
a smaller city like even Saskatoon isquite diverse culturally, so and Nashville,

(30:55):
I do agree, it is definitelylacks them. Yeah, and I think
like there is it's a lot betterthan it used to be, and it's
going in that direction. But whenit comes to like food that is like
nourishing good for your body as well, that's hard sometimes. Like I feel
like in Vancouver there's a lot moreoptions for green things and more like health
conscious food, where in Nashville isa lot of like fast food, a

(31:15):
lot of fried food, a lotof barbecue and stuff, which is really
good, but sometimes I wish therewas more like healthy options as well.
The one thing that gets me aboutNashville late night food is is a place
called cook Out. Have you beenthere? Yes, most people are drunk
when they go there. It's ashocking place. I'm excited to hear what
you have to think about it.Well, the first time I went there,

(31:36):
I remember the side dishes you canget with your your main like burgers
whatever are often like also means youcan get like hot dogs with your cheeseburger.
Yes, no, I mean it'samazing, but it's terrible, you
know. It's one of those Yeah, you can literally get like the case
ada meal with the side and yourside bet casada and now you've got six

(31:57):
case and it's just it's crazy,and its milkshake flavors. It's still only
costs like three dollars, you know. Yeah, it's it's so alarmingly Yeah,
it is. It's actual food.Yeah. The CCMA Awards are coming
up. Are you going to bein Hamilton's to take part in the celebrations.

(32:20):
I think so, Yeah, Ithink I'll go I haven't gone the
last couple years, just been kindof busy down here, But I think
I might go this year though,just and see everybody say hello, which
would be awesome. M It's alwaysa fun time and I mean, obviously
you're you're part of Open Roads,so a lot of colleagues through that.
Yeah, I have nominations this yearas well. And can you just speak
a bit to the awards weekend andwhat it's like. Again, we talked

(32:42):
a bit about a camaraderie in Nashville, but what's it like when you get
all the people Because Canada's a bigcountry, right, so there's a lot
of talented people, but they allcome together for the CCMA Awards weekend.
So that's that's got to feel prettyspecial. Yeah, it's very special,
I think too, as like thefirst couple of years that I went as
a new artist. It's the bestplace to go and you meet everybody and
the most important networking weekend. Iwould say that you could possibly go to

(33:07):
a Canadian country artists. It's incredibleand great parties and great everyone's kind of
like excited and in a good spaceand relax and maybe they've had a couple
of drinks. It's the perfect timeto make friends and have those kind of
conversations and stuff, and then hearsome great music as well too. Yeah,
it's it's a great weekend. I'veI've always really enjoyed anytime that I've

(33:29):
been able to go. I reallyDan and I have talked about this a
few times. Obviously, we havea lot of artists come here who are
touring, and we love to seethe flip side of the coin of some
people who while they tour, theytake really good care of their bodies.
You know. Obviously you've mentioned findingsome good healthy options to you know,
nourish your body. We also havea lot of artists that really dive into

(33:51):
the greasy spoons and the most gluttonouspunishment that they can possibly find a tour.
So what is your go to whileon the road. Oh gosh,
my main thing is coffee. LikeI love coffee, and I'm a bit
of a coffee snob, Like Ican't have bad coffee. So me and
my tour manager were always like onthe hunt for like the little coffee shop

(34:12):
that like, We'll find it andmake sure that we hit those stops.
And I think I'm a bit ofboth, like, especially when you're like
I always start off really optimistic andyou're eating salads and the green juices,
and I think that stuff's really important. But by like day whatever, and
you're exhausted Steve, and you're sohungry because you've driven for whatever and it's
only a gas station, I thinkthings can go off the rails really quickly.

(34:37):
But try to keep it like youknow, we're we're. This is
fuel for a body, especially whenyou're on the road for a while.
But I would say, like wewe definitely hit a lot of coffe shops,
a lot of Starbucks as well too. If there's not the kind of
local stuff, gotta be hard.There's lots of good food across Canada.
Canada, there's always A and Wsomewhere, no matter. Yeah, it's

(34:59):
true. Always know you can't pickthat. You can't. It's terrible if
you are stuck in a gas stationthough, wood like, what do you
what are you grabbing? What's theoption? Uh, let's see it.
We literally just did this. Igot some like almonds, like almonds that
were salt and vinegar, salted,very delicious. I like Red Bull as

(35:22):
well too, which is terrible foryou don't have that, but that is
like my life. If I'm reallyif I have a red Bull in my
hand, people know she's on thestruggle bus. She did not sleep at
all last night. She'd pull inthe big guns for that. And then
yeah, like probably like a proteinbar or something like that. I try
not to eat too much of gas. I just have like I just get

(35:42):
stick. I think if I eatthe actual food, I don't know,
I'm scared of it. I think. I mean, that is very true.
I agree, especially when it's package. You're like, how long has
this been there? Like this?Yeah, like the sandwiches. I'm just
it's a lot. I thinks alittle. It's worrisome for sure. Yeah,
you recently dropped the music video forsame Car and a cover of a
Keith Urban song as well that isexclusively available on Amazon. What else can

(36:05):
we expect from you in the let'ssay the early fall, late fall.
Yeah, We've got some new musiccoming, which I'm really excited about.
I'm so proud of this rac andstuff that I've been writing. I feel
like it's a little bit of everythingtoo. We've got like a really great
love song, which is nice.So I just got married and we've also
got like a very personal, kindof like most vulnerable song I've ever put

(36:27):
up. We've got like a funone. So I feel like it's a
little bit of everything, and justexcited to drop them and get them out.
It's you know, you write themlike eight months ago and I'm like
sitting on them, like let's go, let's go, let's put them out.
So I'm excited to do that andthen hopefully play some more show starting
to really tour more in the US, which is new for me as well
too, hopefully some more of thoseand then obviously continue to travel in Canada

(36:52):
and play shows up there as well. That's great. And I gotta say
during the summer Motel Flamingo always alwayson my playlist. It's just a fun
one, you know, it reallydoes. Yeah, it's it's it's about
nothing, you know, sometimes youneed a song that's about nothing Like That's
why I like it because it's justimaginative and it's just it's goofy and it
is what it isn't I love thatcolorful? That whole like era was so

(37:13):
fun. I think I forget.I think I was on tour with Dean
Brody at the time, and wehad like blow up palm trees and flamingos,
like all the instruments, and wewould carry them around to each city
in my band and be like blowingup these the coconuts or whatever it was,
and everything was just like pink andyellow and green and yeah, because

(37:34):
it's so imaginative, it's so colorfuland stuff. So I love I love
that era the most awesome. Welove it too always, all right,
Madalyn, thank you so much.We appreciate your time. Oh my gosh,
absolutely, thank you guys so much. Appreciate it. If you haven't
streamed her latest single, Same Caryet, you have to it. She
just has such an interesting approach tosongwriting and I do find like you need

(37:57):
to you need to be in thatsweet spotting. Country is like where you
sound very commercial, but trying tostand out a bit can be really hard
to do without, you know,there's so many songs that can sound the
same. But I find Madeline justlike even with her I don't know,
it's like syncopation with the beat andstuff with the lyrics. It's just gets
me every time. In the SameCar is such a good example of that.
And like I mentioned, Botel Flamingowas still one of my favorite songs

(38:20):
to throwback, and I also likeI like when an artist admits to the
song is about nothing. It's justa fun song. It's like there's nothing
wrong with that, and people findjoy and songs like that too. Right,
Yeah, you almost like it morebecause it just came out of somewhere
that they obviously needed to say.I think country is really tough too,
because they see through like facades,and they see through putting on a performance.

(38:40):
So it's really hard to be ontop of the trends, to be
really talented, and then to alsolike come through authentically to your audience.
She does it so perfectly. Shechecks off all the boxes. I don't
know how she does it. Butwhatever is growing in that soil where she
grew up, I would like toeat some of it. I feel like
you're pretty close to that soil.Maybe just stop her for cam Loops or

(39:00):
something, just a quick little bikeridel Yeah, and wouldn't you know it.
Our next guest is also a recognizableCanadian country singer, Andrew Hyatt CCMA
Award winner. He's also up foran award again this year for Album of
Beer for his EP four good Years. It's very talented Ontario born and raised
boy living in Nashville. Now.I mean some many of them find the
way to Nashville, right, ButI think when you're in Nashville, the

(39:21):
Canadian contingent is still very strong,so I'm sure it feels like home.
Probably they must They must have likea Hoser's bar or something where they just
eat poutine and drink a bunch ofMolesons and it feels like they're just at
home. I don't think there ispoutine in Nashville, though maybe there is
now, But when I was there, I used to frequent Nashville before the
pandemic and there was never poutine.But I'm gonna look for it next time
I go. I feel like that'sa missed opportunity. With how many Canadians

(39:45):
there are, there really should belike a Canadian bar where people can go
and pretend like they're up north.I agree. We're gonna talk to Andrew
a bit about what he loves toeat and drink in Nashville, as well
as his approach to making music,kind of breaking the mold and staying true
to himself. All right, sofour good years has turned into one.
Great nomination for Andrew Hyatt first ofall, congratulations, Album of the Year

(40:07):
nominee for the Canadian Country Music Awards. That must feel pretty good. Yeah,
yeah, it's always nice to be, you know, recognized within the
community and kind of came as asurprise. So yeah, it's great.
Thank you. Yeah, it's superexciting. And I know you've been playing
music for a long time. Thefirst time I met you was at the
twenty nineteen CCMAs, the Blue JaySessions, and it's been really cool to

(40:29):
watch your career progress, you know, winning Top of the Country and then
of course last year winning the BreakthroughArtist Award at the ccma's. Were those
milestones always sort of goals for you? Are you just feeling lucky to hit
them along the way? I thinkmaybe at one point, you know that
kind of stuff not just sound likean asshole move the needle. But in
my brain now all I care aboutis making music that I like. At

(40:52):
one point, you know, ifI feel like it's a dangerous game if
you're creating music kind of with theseis like markers in mind and you're chasing
those, because it sets you upfor absolute disappointment, especially in an industry
that you know, there's so muchpolitics in so I don't know. I
think at some point a few yearsago, my brain just switched to I

(41:13):
just want to make music i'm proudof and I'll assign the value to it
and then if other people like itgreat, rather than creating music, handing
it off for somebody else to assignvalue to and then hoping that it's the
value that I want. I feellike I've maybe insulated myself a little bit
more from that mentality. But yeah, it's I mean, anytime that happens,
it's awesome, and it you know, it always is. I'm grateful

(41:34):
for it, but yeah, Itry not to put too much stock into
it. That's got to be hardtoo, because there's a lot of pressure
in the music industry to chase trends, and you know, when you have
a team and they're putting a lotof expectations, how do you how do
you deal with that? Like,how do you set that boundary? I
mean, I think the way thatI've kind of worked around it is I
was telling you guys moments ago,I do like a side and side B

(41:59):
record every time, So like Iwill write a bunch of songs and then
and then also take a bunch ofoutside pitches, which it allows my brain
to go, Okay, what arethe songs that I know, work for
the band, work for radio,work for you know, kind of consumption,
And then what are the songs thatkind of move the needle for me

(42:21):
and are tied like tightly to myheart. And then there's there's some crossover
on the records. But then there'salways a side B record. We call
it the like a side B recordbecause we do like a side A side
B vinyl once. We release bothof them every time, and it allows
me to kind of think about themin two separate like kind of split my
head in my heart a little bit, which is important to do. And

(42:42):
don't get me wrong, I lovecountry music. I love it. I
grew up on it. I loveyou know, everything from pop country to
like old school country. But thenI also love like the Americano world,
and I love the songwriter, andso I try and do whatever makes me
feel good in both of those areas. And then I'm lucky enough to have
a label that doesn't put pressure onme. They just let me, you

(43:02):
know, they give me a budgetevery year, and then they let me
make a record, and then theyhope that I'm going to make a record,
so it seems me working, soyou know it, that's great.
Yeah, that's posifull to hear.I was gonna say, it's you're interesting
because you're signed to six or fourrecords and you know a lot of country
artists that we chat with on thepodcast or I interviewed separately or either with

(43:22):
like MDM or their Open Road,and I feel like, or do you
feel like you have more artistic freedombecause of the record labor you're on,
because we know a lot of theartists that are part of that label,
and a lot of them are areare quite creative. I would say yeah.
I mean I can't speak to otherlabels. I can speak to,
you know, my past in termsof you know, I was in a

(43:45):
deal before six o four, andI'm super grateful for like, you know,
the money and time and relationships andthe investment that they put into me.
But I definitely didn't have the samelevel of creative freedom there was.
There was definitely a tighter leash whenit came to creative over site and what
songs we're going to go on therecord. There was there was definitely someone

(44:06):
driving the ship rather than me,which is I think part and parcels kind
of why I left that deal,because I just felt like, you know,
we hit the same passwork creatively,they were trying to take it somewhere
where I'd rather just work a dayjob than wake up every day embarrassed of
what I'm creating. Like that justdoesn't doesn't sit right for me. And

(44:29):
so yeah, I mean John atsix o four before I signed with them,
Jonathan Simpkin, him and I hada very honest chat and he just
said he's like, I believe inin artists. I believe in people creating
music, and I don't think thatthere should be a ton of oversight.
I mean, if we were tankingand we were, you know, never
recouping on records or not even comingon ideal, then I think he would

(44:50):
probably maybe step in and say,Okay, listen, we need to get
a couple of singles. But youknow, I'm self aware enough and aware
enough of the industry to go,Okay, you cannot just go and make
this eclectic record all the time,Like you have to create stuff that feels
good. And I just happen toalso love I love mainstream music as well,
so it's you know it, I'mnot this guy that only listen wants

(45:12):
to listen to like CBC. SoI love so many of my favorite you
know, Donovan Woods is one ofmy favorite songwriters of all time, and
like that kind of stuff. Youknow, Jason Isabel, the Cardinals,
like that kind of stuff. RyanAdam, it's caboo to like his music
now, but it's like I stilllove it. So it's like, you
know, but then again, youknow, I'll listen to a hardy record,

(45:36):
I'll listen to a Nickelback record.I'll listen to, you know,
an FGL record and all recognize thehooks in it, and I'll go,
Okay, that's really really smart,and people will chirp it with them.
They're filling stadiums. So yeah,you know, yeah, exactly. I
know we kind of chatted a littlebit before we started to record, and
obviously nobody ever gets to hear ourfavorite little tidbits. But you were talking

(45:59):
about prepping for is it a showthrough Zoom with your band? Yeah.
So I'm I'm living in well,I'm currently in America. I'm in Nashville,
and my guys are kind of allover. So we have kind of
we're kind of getting back into showmode like the top of the summer.

(46:21):
Just with my move and everything,that's been a little more chill. It's
been more songwriter vibes than and fullband stuff. And yeah, I just
realized this morning when I woke up, I was like, Oh, I
haven't said these guys a set listyet, and we haven't practiced or played
together. So I was like,oh, we need to. We got
a seventy five, we got aheadline coming up. Let's just have a
little pow wow before we you know, before we hit it and we go

(46:43):
from there. So so what wedid, Yeah, that's got to be
tough prepping for concerts through you knowzoom. Yeah, just talking through the
set, talking through like Okay,when do you need to switch guitars and
how much time do you need soI can make like a little note so
that I'm not like kicking off thesong immediately after they're senging. No one
has guitars in their hands, likeyou know, I've done that many times
to them, So just trying toget that stuff navigated. But they're also

(47:07):
pros, you know, those guys, they they will rehearse like once in
a season and then they just theydo their thing and they show up.
Yeah, it's nice. It's niceto be the weakest linked in the band
at all times. No, no, you're not. We're here to pump
tires exclusively. So living in Nashville, there's so many Canadian artists that live

(47:28):
there now, obviously it's a songwritingmecca. Why did you choose to move
there? Do you feel like itis the place that you can find the
most success? I think primarily tome, it's just about community. I
think more than anything, you know, since I've been down here, I

(47:49):
feel like I get way more donejust over you know, drinks than you
know, a five week or fourand a half week radio tour. We're
driving and flying across Canada to tryand see all these people. Yeah,
I just everybody, because everybody endsup in one place. You know.
CMA Fest was like a month.I have no concept of time right now,

(48:10):
and you know, in two days, like in a weekend, I
did more than I could do infive weeks trying to cross Canada. Just
with who you connect with and whoyou talk with. And then in the
writing community, you know you'll runinto people and you're just like, oh,
man, like I haven't seen youin a bit, Like, let's
write a song and then I'm stillwriting with you know, my usual suspects
over zoom, friends in la andsuch. And I still enjoy that,

(48:34):
you know, it's nice to notput pants on every once in a while
and just rip a song or two. But yeah, I don't know,
I just I feel like everybody's hereand there's it's maybe maybe I'm wrong on
this, but my experience so farhas been that it's a very supportive community.
There's not a lot of too goohere. Yeah, and if there
is ego, then I feel likeit's probably earned, you know what I

(48:59):
mean. Like if some has alittle bit of ego and they're in the
room and they're telling you how itis, it's because they have a bunch
of number ones and you should justshut your mouth and listen to them.
You know. It's like there's that, there's that aspect of it. So
yeah, I mean, I reallylike it here. I'm a little disappointed
to hear that you didn't move toNashville for the fried Chicken because that's like
my main reason for wanting to beYeah, I mean it's it's good,

(49:20):
but also you get really tired reallyfast. Now You're like, you go
to a restaurant, They're like,Okay, we've got the pulled pork whatever.
And then they're like, then wehave like the brisket whatever, and
then we have the fried chick.I'm like, can I just get a
salad please? I need a greenjuice. I'm here in defensive Nashville.
I feel like the foutine has actuallydiversified quite a bit, especially in the
past like five or six years.So where do you like to go?

(49:43):
Then that if somewhere that is notbarbecue heavy, not fried chicken, Like,
what's what's the mainstay for you?Man? I love like there's I
kind of live in like like theMexican a little like Little Mexico's kind of
where I feel like I live andI hit the food trucks all all the
time around here, Like there's justso many good taco spots. And then

(50:04):
like I love Mexican food to beginwith, so I'm living on that,
and then you know there's just somethere's great burger places I got, you
know, I'm and I love divebars, and obviously there's a lot of
dive bars Nashville. So probably myfavorite place right now is a place called
Rosie's Twin Kegs. It's like sevenminute walk from my house, maybe last
seven minutes stumble for sure, andfive minute. Yeah. They just they

(50:29):
just do everything, man Like theydo good burgers, good wings, and
like it kind of feels like home. I have a good dive bar back
in my hometown. So when Imoved here, I was like, oh,
man, I just want a placewhere when I walk in, they
know what I'm going to drink,and they know that I'm going to order
one of two things burger wings,and that those things are just consistently good.
So that's kind of what I'm lookingfor here. I feel like another

(50:49):
misconception with Nashville is the fact thateverything happens on Broadway, on that stretch
in downtown Core. But I mean, there's so much more to Nashville than
that. Would you say for firsttime visitors to Nashville that Broadway still is
a musk though? Yeah, Ithink it's funny because a lot of people
will, you know, friends willmessage me or like friends, friends,
family like connecting me be like hey, like we're going to Nashville. What

(51:12):
should we do, Like if it'syour first time, like I'm gonna give
you one restaurant recommendation and then likemaybe one like go to Urban Cowboy and
get a cocktail before dinner one night. That's like nice. But then yes,
go to Broadway because that's that's whyyou're coming here, right. You're
gonna do the strip, You're gonnado the bands, you're gonna do the
smell of vomit, and you're insell it so well can you tell?

(51:34):
I'm like, dear God, donot put me on Broadway. I've got
like once a month in me Max, And then I'm you know, you
want to pay you know, twelvefifty American for a for a beer.
It's like, but it is great. You know, there's tons of entertainment
down there, but it's it's alittle chaos, you know. I always
joke that I wish that there shouldbe a thing like in the middle of

(51:54):
the street, because you know,everyone's kind of on the side, but
then at night there's no cars inthe middle of street. I feel should
have this tournament where bachelorette parties theyactually have to battle gangs. They meet
up and then whoever comes out Championdrinks for free on Broadway all weekend.
I'm like, I would pay bigmoney to see that, because they look
like street gangs. They're all dressedin there like same outfits, and then

(52:15):
they like meet and as I'm alwayslike, a very West Side story.
Yeah exactly, exactly. Well maybeif Netflix is listening, that'll this will
be the new Too Hot to Handle. It'll be Battle of the bael yea,
yeah, exactly the reality. Oneserious beef that I do actually have
with Nashville is that I think thatthey are the origin place of pedal pubs,

(52:36):
and I hate pedal pubs. They'rethey're all over Calgary and they're so
annoying. And he means to tellme that you don't want to drink on
a hot day while exercising. Imean, I'm fine to jog to a
brewery and drink and then drag homeor something. But yeah, no,
I find that very unappealing. Ifind the rate to do it is inflated,
and it's I find nothing redeeming aboutpedal pubs and I blame Nashville for

(53:00):
them. Yeah, agree, Andthey have the craziest like also just the
like like the wagon rides and stufflike that have gotten so out of control.
Like the other day, I sawlike a like a military truck.
Basically they took the canvas off theback or whatever. The tarps is big
old diesel and it's just like liketrying to drive on the Broadway and these

(53:22):
people are in it and the truckis so loud and it just reeks like
fumes. I'm like, there's noway these people that are having a good
time. It's thirty seven degrees outside, They're baking in the seat, There's
like a DJ blaring music in theirface while they sucking diesel fumes. I'm
like, no, this is thiscan't be good. This is not what
Johnny Cash wanted for Nashville, youknow, no, no, exactly,

(53:43):
a shot of tequila with a chaserof diesel. That's yeah, that's the
dream, the Nashville dream, Yeahexactly. Okay, So if you're not
going to Broadway to catch some livemusic where it's sort of your your go
to to see some upcoming artists orpeople they you know, inspire you,
uh, like the Basement East,you know, probably I love stuff coming

(54:04):
through there, and obviously, youknow, like I'm happy to always not
so much up and coming, butI'm always happy to go to like the
rhymen and yeah bands that I love, like a lot of them have come
through, and I do go toBridgetone pretty often actually to try and check
out bands that come through. I'malways I'm always fascinated by live shows,
especially at like such a big scale, seeing you know, unpopular opinion.

(54:29):
But I went. I'm not abig I'm not a kid rock fan.
I truly am not, like like, you know, it has a special
place in my heart when I wasa child, but now it's like,
you know everything. I went tothe show because I was like, I'm
so curious what this show is.Yeah, and you know politics aside the
show itself, I was like,man, this is actually like a spectacle

(54:51):
and it makes it makes sense whyyou know, the arena is full,
but just that kind of thing seeingseeing what these artists are doing and how
they're presenting themselve elves, and Ijust find it fascinating. I think stadium
tours are like the ninth Wonder ofthe world. Yeah, they really really
are crazy. Do you ever seeyourself, you know, hoping to be

(55:12):
on a nice stadium stage like that. I mean, I'm getting older,
you know, I feel like Iwould love that, But to me,
my dream has always been you know, died playing an acoustic guitar and soft
seats like that's my just like breakinghearts that's my yea possible songs of all
time that connect people with stories.Yeah, that's my Give me, give

(55:32):
me two to five thousand person roomsfor the rest of my life, and
I'm I'm a happy man. Thedream. Yeah, what what level of
attendance do you feel like things changeand it becomes a bigger concert, Because
I mean, like you were theKingetti. If you have played the Kingetti's
one thing, it's like, Ithink two hundred. But I mean what
level does it feel like you haveto sort of up your game performance wise
and sound wise, like even technically, I definitely feel like anything over three

(56:00):
thousand people, Like that's when youreally start to feel like you can feel
the energy a bit more like itfeels grand. I know we've done you
know, we played a five orfifty five person show the top of this
year, and it was just likeit was a first one back for us,
and I was like, oh,yeah, we haven't done one of
these larger scale once in a whileYeah, Yeah, that's that's how it

(56:23):
feels. And when you when youkill it and that crowd reacts, you're
just like, oh, man,like what a what it's a hot hug.
Yeah, it's such a drug.It's such a high. And then
you spend the rest of the yeartrying to chase that high and nothing.
Really, that crash is tough.Yeah. Yeah, you come home and
you're like, oh, I gottarun my dog this morning and cook myself

(56:45):
breakfast. Boom exactly. The CCMAAwards are coming up in September September fourteenth,
sixteenth and Hamilton, Ontario. Ithink Hamilton's quite an underrated city.
You know, I work as afood writer. I travel across the country
and Hamilton's a great food scene.So why should people be excited to go
to Hamilton's for the awards weekend?Because I feel like there's obviously lots of

(57:06):
music going on, but there's somany things you can check out in addition
to that. Yeah, it's funny. That's my sentiment with Hamilton as well,
is that one of my best friendslives there, and I lived in
Stony Creek for a little bit.That was years and years ago, but
I feel like all of the reallytalented and not to say there's none left
in Toronto, because there are,but I feel like a lot of the
talented, like chefs and people thatwanted to do just unique things and give

(57:32):
unique experiences they could not. It'sreally expensive to do that in Toronto in
a cool neighborhood. But if youtake that to Hamilton, you know,
suddenly your money goes a lot further. Great environments like my favorite dive bars
and some of my favorite restaurants arein Hamilton. And I'm because one of

(57:52):
my best friends lives there. Igo pretty often and she'll take me to
just like crazy, her and herhusband will take me to crazy dive bars
in a crazy places is where I'mlike, this is exactly if I were
to open a die bar. Thisis what I want, you know what
I mean? I want this andI want this food and good food,
good alcohol, keeping it reasonably priced, and just creating an atmosphere that it's
kind of welcoming to all walks oflife. There's no I don't know what

(58:15):
the word is, but there's nolike errors of anything in that in those
places, So it's really nice.Have you had Granddad's donuts. I love
those donuts. I think they're thebest donuts in the country. I would
I would say, yeah, sothey actually lived like right right there,
there's already dangerous for me, andthey just they actually just did a renovation

(58:35):
there. And when I was inHamilton, what was I there not that
long ago, like sometime in May, and they had just completed the renovation
and the lineup was insane, likelike one o'clock while I was gonna line
up around a donut stores. Meanwhile, I'm saying that just because I'm angry
because I couldn't get him to getdonuts. Yeah. I always describe them

(58:57):
as they taste, like when TimHorton's didn't suck. Yeah, we're not
sponsored by Tim Morton's. Yeah,like when they made the donuts fresh and
they weren't frozen and then like hedid. Yeah. Yeah, I can
remember, like when a Boston creamtasted like a Boston totally not like plastic
and chemicals. Yeah, yeah,a wet napkin, Yeah, exactly exactly.

(59:22):
I feel so bad. I hopeyou weren't trying a gun for a
Tim Hortons sponsorship, Dan, becausewe'll never get it now, Okay,
Shoot, myself on the we aresponsored by a mediocre coffee. All right,
well, last thing before we letyou go. I know we're talking
before we went on air to record, but you are probably going to release

(59:43):
some new music before the CCMAs inSeptember. Yeah, So we have we
have six full band songs kind ofan EP that's it's close to ready to
go. Like, I have onesong left to sing and I moved so
much. Studio has not been setup again, which I've been dragging my
ass on that. So I needto get that set up and just cut

(01:00:06):
the last vocal and then I havekind of a an acoustic, stripped down
EP that I wrote and recorded.Actually, i'm finishing the last song.
I leave tomorrow to go. Sorry, tomorrow, I'm going to see the
Dixie Chicks in Kentucky and then andthen rub it in the Chicks as they're
called now. I got to driveup to Toronto and then spent four days

(01:00:29):
just kind of patching vocals and finishingthe last song. And that's that's a
bit more of a heartbreak record,which is always like for people that are
actually like have been longtime fans,those are the records that I feel like
they look forward to the most.So I'm excited to get that out because
it's it's definitely it's definitely one that'sclose to my chest, So looking forward
to that. That'll for sure beable before September, and then the other

(01:00:51):
record either right away after the CCMAsor just before. It'll just depend.
We've got a tour that we're goingto announce in probably just happened to CCMAs
as well, and going out withsome great dudes on that, so I'm
sure we're all going to be releasingmusic to try to support that. Yeah,
that's great, break exciting. Well, we are rooting for you.

(01:01:12):
At the CCMES. We did interviewTim Hicks and we said we were also
rooting for him, but we'll splitfifty fifty. You know what, It's
fine. I love Tim. He'sa good guy. He took me out
on the road and I was justa young pop so I appreciate a lot
and all those guys, everybody inthat category. Man, it's like everybody
in Record of the Year. OurAlbum of the Years is great, you
know. CCMAs is just a goodIt's like a big old family Reuni.

(01:01:35):
So win or lose, we drink, you know. We like it.
Yeah, exactly exactly, all right, thanks so much, and you guys
having me. I'll be have agreat day. When Andrew brought up practicing
with his band over Zoom, Ikind of I kind of felt like this
nostalgic feeling of Yeah, something Ithought I could forget but obviously is still

(01:02:00):
there. There's an underlying PTSD ofCOVID, so hopefully we can forget that.
But kudos to you, Andrew,because that seems really freaking difficult.
And as mentioned, you can catchAndrew High at live at the Blue Jay
Sessions on Wednesday night at the BlueGrotto, which is above Capri Restaurant in
Hamilton. It's a really cool spacethat I found that is actually it's meant

(01:02:21):
to look like a blue cave.What. Yeah, it's really funky,
so it's aesthetic like no other.We're super excited for Andrew to take part.
And then on September twenty second youcan catch him live at carp Fair
performing with the full band. Yeah, well, I think I might need
to drive out there. Dan andCeli's fantastic performance this and see this blue
cave sounds. As mentioned, Ido not have a date for the CCMA

(01:02:43):
gala, I look great and denimthere we go. Well, then it
shall be so, it shall beall right. Well that was a short
and sweet three episode mini season ofmelodies and menus, but trust that we'll
be back in the holiday season witha few more episodes chatting with musicians and
notable Canadians about all things holiday musicand holiday Yes Yes, which is really

(01:03:05):
when when I thrive as a whitegirl. I feel like it's it's my
time to shine as Christmas. Ijust cannot wait until it's socially acceptable to
put Baileys in my copy before noon. So I didn't know I was supposed
to stop. I mean, okay, And that's why I love you as
a co host. An you wantmore information about this podcast or guests today

(01:03:27):
Madeline Marlowe and Andrew Hyatt, myself, Dan Clapson, my co host Battison
Ols or my recently released took bookPrairie and Head to Eat North Thought hom
and we'll see it Christmas.