Luke Bryan's Road to Hits, Football Thrills, and Tour Stories :: Ep 22 Try That in a Small Town Podcast
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So me and Luke Bryan and Lee Miller recorded this song and it wasn't a great idea really because Luke was you know skinny and in shape and this is about an overweight guy. So Luke didn't record it but thankfully later in life John Michael Montgomery he gained enough weight and he recorded it. 2004 is when There Goes My Life was a hit and Blue Eyes and Bouncin' Curls was her.

That was Emma. And that's the one that just got married and left. That's how long ago that was. That's how fast it went. If you get a good toupee, it works. And you know what? You don't have a toupee. Your hair looks fantastic. Oh, yeah. I wouldn't put a hat on that. But you know what pisses me off the most is your stomachs are still flat. Well, see, that's the good thing about...

It wouldn't be that way if we weren't on tour and on television. I tell you that. Inside me is a huge fat man waiting to come out. The Try That in a Small Town podcast begins now. We are back. This is the Try That in a Small Town podcast. We've got the usual suspects, TKK, Loneal, and I'm Kurt.

And we have no idea what we're going to talk about, do we? No, we don't. We don't really. But you know what? I would like, you got a TK and a Kalo and a Neil. I mean, that's just, that's boring as hell. Well, whose name is more boring? Can you call me Thrash from now on? I can. TK, Kalo, and Thrash. And what do I get? What about T-Rash? I don't know.

T-Rash? Yeah. I like it. I don't know. No, I like thrash. And so it is. Okay. T-Rash. You guys do have a good nickname, so. What about K-A? I don't know. No, your voice, velvet, doesn't even need a nickname. It doesn't need it. Okay. They hear you come on and you don't even need a name.

I like that. It'd be like, Prince, I just need a symbol. Right? Okay. What do we got, guys? Who wants to start this off? Anybody got anything interesting for the next 45 minutes? What? I got some. This won't last for 45 minutes, but I would say that we're talking about, I'm thankful that football season is here.

It's a great distraction from all the craziness in the world. It's so much frigging fun. Oh, God. Amen. Amen. It's a very stressful time because we're starting the Aldine DraftKings extravaganza. I think DraftKings would sponsor us for our habit. If they're smart. What's about that? What do y'all have going on? What is that? We have a league, a 10-person league. Mm-hmm.

And it's about four games per weekend. You got the main slate game. You got a Sunday night game, Thursday night game, Monday night game. And it's $20 or so a game. Who all's in on that? I don't know.

The band. There's 10 of us. Yeah. So you put in 20. Each contest is worth 200. So you could wind up 800 up for the week, which would be nice. I mean, I've been signed with you guys for how long now? And I haven't heard. You went in? I haven't heard one word about this. Well, we didn't know if you were a pro football guy. Well, I love the Tennessee Titans, man. Hey, we'll gladly take your money. I just love football. I mean, I'm a Crimson Tider, but I love football. Okay. Yeah.

Well, I haven't heard one word about this. Well, Kurt is the commissioner, so you might or may not get an invite. If you give me a cool nickname, I might get you in. It is exciting, though. However, the Patriots will be lucky to win. I think five wins would be an extraordinary year. So by the time this episode airs, we'll be a couple weeks into the season, probably college and pro. Yeah, definitely going to be a win list by then.

two weeks or three weeks. You're a UT guy, right? Oh, he is. Tennessee. Tennessee ball. You feeling good? He's got Michigan colors on tonight. Very excited. Well, I just happen to be the color of this spot. Lamont, you big dummy. Lamont, you big dummy. Um...

But yeah, huge Tennessee fan, Coach Heupel. I love the coaching staff. I love a lot of the players. We've got a great quarterback, Nico. And we played UTC, which I'm from Chattanooga. And they've got some talented people on that team. But...

But, no, they do. What? Hey. This is my biggest. Hold on a second. Every college football team has a talented player or two on those teams. Wait a minute. They're drafted from everywhere. This is what I, one of my pet peeves about college football is the throwaway games. Yeah. There's too many cupcake games. It's ridiculous. It's good for that other program. Hey, it's good for them. They come in and they play for one or two million dollars and they go back home. It's a good scrimmage.

But the bigger team, it's good. No, it's good for college football. It's never good to get your ass whipped by 60 points. Well, they know it's going to happen before they get there, but they want to take the money and run. So that's what they do. I do. I'm a Bulldogs fan, Georgia guy, but I have no choice. But I do like those games as an outsider NFL guy, totally. But those games when it's like the team that has no chance, I like watching them take the field.

Because in those fleeting minutes. They believe. They're pumped up. They believe. They do. And I like, they're jumping around. They're high-fiving.

And then by the end of the first quarter, you know. Yeah. It's not good. Well, it's like the UT game against whoever they were up. Yeah, UTC. Yeah. I mean, they were up by 50 points at halftime. Did you feel sorry for Chattanooga? No. UTC? No, just because I know they're getting a million-ish, and it's in the same football season. So you're, I mean, same system. So you're feeding, you know, Tennessee college football program, which is very positive. Yeah.

And they get a lot of money for their athletics. What an interesting outlook. And it is a good warm-up game for the teams that are going to need it and have harder. It's true, though. We should ask our listeners if they are interested at all in us giving our weekly picks.

I am very interested in us giving our weekly picks. We are interested, but are they interested? This is turning into a sports deal. I love this. Please say yes because fewer things I love more than the NFL. I love the NFL. We should do picks.

100 bucks? Want to do 100 bucks a man? Yes. Are you in? No, hang on. You'll crush me in NFL, but we have to do college also because that gives me a chance. I don't watch as much NFL. That's fine. I'll do college. College football is so much better than NFL. It's not even funny. No, it's not.

Oh, so we have two against two here. So college football is king in our home, and it always will be. It has been my whole life, and it always will be. Yeah, I get how some people are. Take that, Tully. I'm a Georgia fan by default. What the hell does that mean? Well, my wife went there. Okay. Graduated. Her whole family did. Al Dean, you know, Georgia. So I pull for the Bulldogs, and I enjoy watching the Bulldogs. I'm...

I do like there's a new system in place for the playoffs this year, 12 teams. That's going to be fun because as an outsider, a fan of college football, it's hard to be interested in it unless you have an affiliation to that program. True. Yeah. So I think it's good for college football because now I want to watch it. I want to watch that 12 because a bunch of guys sitting around saying, well, I think they're number one. Yeah. That's insane. Yeah.

That is ridiculous. So this is going to be fun. This is going to be fun. This is going to be a good time to have Al Dean back on because he and I can go back and forth. The Georgia-Alabama thing. We can go back and forth. I think the sun's setting on the tide. What are you talking about? You know what I'm talking about. Had a good run. Are you kidding me? Did y'all not watch the game? They're the fastest I've ever seen them. Alabama is the fastest. Who do they play?

Western Kentucky. They were really fast. Whatever. Is that the... Are they the Hilltoppers? Is that right? You guys, that's what I'm getting... We're going to get so reamed for this. No, it's just... Those games are ridiculous. You got a bunch of kids out there getting killed, destroyed...

For some money. But they're testing themselves against some of the best athletes in the country. So it's... I think a lot of the players like it. It's good for the program that comes there. It's good for them. They make a lot of money. It's a good scrimmage. All right. I'd rather watch this. Everybody let us know if you want us to do picks. Yes, they do. They want us to do picks. That could be fun. So what's our...

100 bucks a week on the NFL sheets? Sure. If y'all let me in the club. If I get to come in the club. Wait a minute, this is a separate deal. I've been working my ass off for you guys for the last year and I want to be in the club. We will gladly take your money in the draft. 100 bucks a week? 100 bucks a man on the sheets. Like per week though? Yeah. Just the main slate. You're all ticks. You're dripping money. Hopefully my wife doesn't watch this. Okay, I'm in. That's going to be fun. That's going to be fun.

So that's the deal. Starting, well, do we start, we're going to be out of town, do we start this week? It doesn't matter if you're out of town, who cares? You know, we got to get the fans to demand it. If the fans demand it. They got to demand it. Of course they're going to demand it. They demand it. You know what, fall, it's fall and my blood is running and I'm so ready.

We've got football season. We've got hunting season. October 1, I will be in the woods. October 1, I'll be in Illinois. Okay. And what makes Illinois special?

for hunting for you? The deer are just... Is it the best place to go for you? Well, it depends on who you are. He probably knows somebody with a few thousand acres. I do. I know some people in Illinois and they have a lot of land and they let me come up. It's the land of the giants up there. Would you take Tully and I sometime? I need to get you guys into hunting. I love to hunt. I don't know if I have time.

A poem. But not since they moved away. There's nothing that's going to make you feel more like a man. But is it getting out in the woods and getting your hands bloodied? But is it cold out there? It doesn't matter. Can we do that thing in Red Dawn that they did? Like after we kill our first deer, we'll drink the deer blood? Yes. I thought you had to. I know. You don't have to drink it, but it'll be on your face. I want to do the Red Dawn thing. And I will do the honors. Okay. Yes. I'm in. I'm in.

Seriously? Would you go? Yeah. Are we doing bow and arrow or bow and arrow? I don't think we start there. I'm going to do bow and arrow. You guys stick to the long range rifle and we'll be good.

You can see me trying to pull that thing back. Now, that is a thing. I would like to see that. Crossbow Kurt. I do have a crossbow. Oh, is that my nickname? Maybe. Okay. It's in the running. Crossbow Kurt. I have a crossbow. Do you know that? I would trust them with a crossbow. I would. Because it's like shooting a gun. I prefer just to use a rifle if we can do that. I don't really want to pull back that bow. But here's to fall. All right. I love fall. And football. It is. And hunting season. I tell you this. It's my favorite time of year.

Hands down, not even close, the miserable heat of summer is passing. It's time for sweatshirts and jackets. And Kurt, I know you love this time of year. I do. I love summer. It can be as hot as you want it to be. Seriously? I do love the summer. Really? As a matter of fact, it's already too chilly out today for me. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah.

I thought today was pretty nice. Are you serious? Yes. Sunny and hot. How old are you? Too old. You're not old enough yet. My blood's starting to get thin. I need the warm water. It's cold all the time now, so it works out for him. Yeah. There's not a more beautiful place in the fall than Tennessee. I don't understand why people in Tennessee go on vacation in the fall because the sky is bluer. It's just crazy. Where I'm from, Adirondacks, if you go up,

September, October, the mountains literally are on fire. No, it's beautiful there. It works its way down. You will never see anything like it. But Tennessee, I do love the fall in Tennessee. It is really amazing. It's a good time. I agree. Well, that was great. Yeah. On our next segment. No. All right. That's interesting. I'm still recovering from Greensboro.

I finally came out and saw the show. It's about time, by the way. The Highway Desperation Tour. I mean, the Highway Desperado Tour. It was fantastic. You were there with an entourage. I did. I brought an entourage with me, and y'all greeted us with open arms, and it was fantastic. And getting to see the tour this year was incredible, as opposed to last year when we got to go to Tuscaloosa. Yeah.

This year, because the song had, Try That in a Small Town had kind of gained momentum, but now it's a thing and it was a movement. And now it's like when you see the crowd, when you guys play that song, the reaction is incredible. I wish y'all could have seen it because on stage you can't see it. And when Jason starts introducing the song...

There's a lot of phones up already videoing on the floor in front of the stage, but we were standing at the soundboard. When he started introducing that song, every single phone went, and I couldn't even see the stage anymore. Y'all can't see the lights because the screens are facing the people. It was just every phone on the floor went up.

Because they wanted to video try that in a small town when he sang it. And it was absolutely incredible. And y'all did the song. He did the introduction. Y'all did the song. And when the song was over, the USAs that the people, it was 15, 18,000 people or whatever, were just like, USA, USA. And it was getting louder and louder and louder. And I was a video in it. Maybe we can show a little bit of it. But it was incredible. And you guys were incredible. Well, I tell you what, it's...

We talked about this before, but so proud of it, of the song. But this year, I think you'd agree, Kurt, that I think last year when it hit and the video came out and the controversy, I think a lot of people came just to be part of that, a little bit of the controversy and to support it, but also it was something they felt they should do. There's a buzz around the song, let's go. This year, it feels even bigger because they're really...

I think they're really listening and believing in the song and what it's saying more so than just the controversy. That's a great way to put it. It's marinated a little bit. Yeah, it's like they really love it and they love... I think what we set out to do has become very clear to me that we accomplished that with unifying that message and if...

you know, I think they listened to what we're saying even more so than last year. I agree a hundred percent. And I think you said a great, and I'll reiterate, but yeah, it was exciting last year. It was part of a movement and people were just excited to hear it. Now the song has become a part of them. Like it's been a part of us and they just, they feel it that way and it means something to them. And I think that's, that's,

I kind of felt kind of selfish at the show because it felt like when y'all went into the song, it was like they were there for that song. I know they weren't, but it felt like it. Well, it's a lot of, no, I mean, it's a lot of it though. I think what we've seen this year, we've talked about it every night on this tour, how the crowd is anywhere from, I saw seven-year-olds coming

70-year-olds. I saw a woman in the front of the stage with a baby last weekend. Raise them up right. I do think that people have gravitated to it. And I think they were wrapped up in the controversy last year, but they're wrapped up in the song now. And they're wrapped up in the meaning of it and unifying with people.

with like-minded people in a positive way. And I think Jason, he's saying it really well this year. And I'm sure he said it the other night, like, you know, he doesn't care who you vote for.

But get out there and support. Vote for whoever, but be part of the system. Which I think is a great message. He's not there to tell you. No, he said, if you don't vote, he didn't care who you voted for, but if you don't vote, you don't have a right to bitch about it. Don't go on the line. That's right. Which is something that my grandfather used to tell me. That's right. When you get older. So I think there's only positivity in that message. I sent the video to Kalo, and...

When y'all got to the chorus of the song, you couldn't even hear y'all. You couldn't hear Jason. You couldn't hear the music. Everybody was waiting for the chorus to break out. That's so interesting. That whole place broke out into the chorus. That's all you could hear was the crowd singing the chorus of the song. Yeah, we can't hear that, obviously. We've got the in-ears and the monitors in, so you don't get much crowd noise. Sometimes they'll...

At the end of the song, they'll put the crowd mics on so we can hear the applause just to get that. But during the song, it's completely isolated to our music. So we don't hear any of that. And I know it's loud because when we do the first chorus with our in-ears in, and like Chris said, those are molded. You can't hear anything except the band.

When that first chorus comes and I can hear them, I know it's deafening. It is. It's got to be deafening if we're hearing it just through. I started videoing. I took my phone and I started going around. And everybody had their hands in the air and they were singing that chorus as loud as they possibly could. And at the end of it, when they all started chanting USA, they were like,

And then almost, I told y'all before, I was like, I almost went and knocked the sound guy over. But you said it was Rich that starts crazy. It was like, I wanted to hear USA just keep going and keep going. Well, you know what's funny? It's like, it's Rich does, so Rich's job up there, obviously an incredible, best drummer ever, but like, he's also in charge of the pace of the song.

And so he will start... It's always a little bit of a delicate thing because we're changing guitars and he's trying to figure out when everybody's ready and how long to let that go. And sometimes he lets it go longer, but sometimes Jason will look at him and say, go. It's that timing thing, right? Of like how long to let it go. I'm with you. I could just let it marinate for a while, but... Yeah, that's interesting you say that too because...

I don't really think about this night to night, of course, but when you're out, as we're playing the set list, I go, oh, Tattoo's on this town, Ne-Yo. Oh, then we do Fly Every State. Oh, Ne-Yo. Oh, Rearview Town. Ne-Yo. You know, I never really think about it. I mean, you've got a lot of songs in that set. Oh, yeah. But to you, right now, it's still Try That in a Small Town. That's the one you're waiting for. Oh, because I want to see the crowd reaction. Yeah. And it was amazing. Amazing.

It was absolutely amazing. It's kind of fun when we get a chance to go out and see a live show. And trying that in a small town is kind of a different beast. But I always like it, and I know you do. We kind of study as writers. We kind of walk around and we see, all right, which songs are they singing the chorus to? Which song are they singing the whole song? And why? Is it the melody? Is it the cadence? Is it the lyric? And so...

I find that interesting just as a writer. I'm telling you, the whole night of the show, they never stopped singing ever. Every song that came on, every song that you guys played, the set list, the flow of the show was perfect. If you haven't seen the Highway Desperado tour, you've got to go check it out. The flow is so good. You know what's funny about the set list this year is

Is that it fly. It is an hour, about an hour and 40 minutes, roughly. Does it go by fast? It flies by. And that's how, you know, every year when you put a set list together, it's pretty challenging actually, when you're, you know, 20 something years in to touring, it'll be, I think next year will be 20, 20 years since Hicktown record came out. So we're touring a couple of years before that. So what, 22 years or whatever. Um,

It's a lot easier now than it was back in the day. I mean, we tried to build, you know, in the old days, we were playing clubs. And I remember when Hicktown was number 40 on the charts or whatever. And you're like trying to figure out, okay, where do you put Hicktown? We did it like two or three times a night. Yeah. In the beginning. You know what amazes me most about 20 years gone by? What?

Your hair and Kurt's hair still looks the same. You guys. If you get a good toupee, it works. And you don't have a toupee. Your hair looks fantastic. Oh, yeah. I wouldn't put a hat on that. But you know what pisses me off the most is your stomachs are still flat. Well, see, that's the good thing about...

It wouldn't be that way if we were on tour and on television. I tell you that I'm inside me as a huge fat man waiting to come out. Do you, do you color your hair? Do I color my hair? Yeah. Let's let the, of course, of course I color my hair. Is it blonde and dark? At what point did you start? What year did you start coloring your hair?

Oh, geez. This is interesting. This is fantastic. I don't think anyone's going to care about this. No, they want to know. They want to know. I mean, I don't know when. It was a long time ago for me. Long time ago. I know it was after I moved to Nashville. It was probably 2001. Really?

Yeah. Maybe that's what I'm missing. Going on hairstyles, my son, his kids those days, and your son is actually naturally gifted this way, they want this curly broccoli hair, right? They want it. And the kids are getting perms. Oh, they do.

I've got pictures of me. People thought I had a perm, but that was actually my natural hair. And it looked fantastic. The whole thing. It didn't look great. But when we were in junior high, that was the thing. Everybody's getting their...

back of their hair and we had had mullets right and so you just get it permed just up the crown so it's real natural I've seen pictures of it so it seemed like I invented the mullet we got it long I swear to you I invented I swear to you I invented I had a beautiful mullet you're just no way in hell did you guys oh I invented no you did not did you guys have the rat tail

No, I didn't do the small truck S10 rat tail. I didn't do that. No, I didn't go there. But you cannot, you are not as old as I am. I'm older than you. No, you're not. Not even close. I'm older. Not even close. Are you sure? I invented the, no, my generation came out with it. How old are you? Oh, wow. We don't need to start going there, guys. I don't think we need to.

I think I'm older than you. I still look good for my age. I don't give a shit. Wikipedia will let us know. I can promise you you're not even close to him. I bet I'm 10 years older than you. I guarantee you're not. Stand by for a word for our sponsor. Hey, let's let our listeners guess how old we are. Okay. Y'all send it in how old you think we are.

I hate that guy. That could be hurt. What is he doing? No, that'd be fun. No, it's fantastic. We're holding it well. Holding the line. Your stomach's still flat. Your tattoos haven't faded. You look good. That's my trick. Yeah, your tattoos are the same shape. Tattoos and hair color. Yeah, they're the same shape as when you got them. At some point, they may not be. I'm just a Jets pizza away from falling off the wagon completely. Ha ha ha!

I do like Jets pizza. I'll tell you this. Neil, you want to hear something funny, though? Our next sponsor. After the tour, this is funny. It's like a vicious cycle. The last, I mean, after the last show, the first thing I do to get home, it's football and a giant Jets pizza. And who knows what else that day. That's a good day. And that's when the process starts of gaining 15 pounds. And then every...

February comes and we've got to lose it again. That's Kalo's song. Kalo wrote a song about it. He sure did. Luke Bryan cut it. Yeah. What is it? It was the first song I ever wrote with Luke Bryan. It was me and Lee Miller. And I had a...

what I thought was a really funny idea. And Lee and I had had a few hits at the time. It's the best song ever. And Luke, you know, he was just getting started and he had a record deal. But anyway, I just thought it was really funny. So we're really hard pushing this song on him. And it's, you know, it's about a married guy, you know, every two to four years, I gain and lose 20 to 40 pounds because I'm an American and that's what we do. And so...

I had this idea and we pushed it on him. I don't know why it's stupid financially. I want you to sing the first verse in the chorus. I want you to sing the first verse in the chorus. All right, we'll try it. Remember Key West, spring break. You may play it. We were 21. No, do it, start over. Remember Key West, spring break. We were 21, in perfect shape. And we stayed old up.

And half naked Yeah, that's not the right part Only long Yeah You play it Well, I mean You can do it again It's good I don't know We can cut it, it's not live You gotta do it Alright, so So, so, Caleb I want, I want you to sing I want you to sing the song That Luke cut Get in the mic Yeah So, uh, yeah So, so me and Luke Bryan And, uh, Lee Miller Uh

We were 21

in perfect shape and we stayed older and half naked all week long but that was ten years and twenty pounds ago girl you're still a ten but I'm somewhere below and so tonight can I make love with my shirt on laughing

I love that kind of stuff. Kayla, that's great, man. That's fantastic. So Luke didn't cut it or Luke did cut it? No, he didn't cut it. He wrote it with Luke. Again, just wasn't using my head. Why would you write that with him? Luke should have cut that. I don't know. What's the name of the song? With my shirt on.

And I can relate to that, by the way. That's what dimmers are for. That's why we spend so much on clothes. A lot of us look better in the clothes. But yeah, that was fun. All right. That was solid. Remember Key West?

It's so good. That's pretty good. I love it when you do that in writer's rounds. It's just the people absolutely fall out of their chairs when you get to that hook line. It's so good because it's so true. It's funny. The women laugh harder than the men. That hurts. That hurts, actually. That is a good writer's round. It hurts. You look fantastic. With my shirt on. Neil, speaking of things that are a little bit south, you were a little bit

little heavy-hearted than we came in you're talking a little bit about your daughter Emma moving do you want to share any of that my eyes are bloodshot I look high but I'm not and yeah I mean I'm I was a little down because my daughter left today she moved back not back she moved to Orlando because she we married her off she got married left she's living in Orlando Florida now and

I don't know. I'm just trying to process this new chapter in life. The first time she's been away? Not the first time she's been away, but she's married now, so... Yeah. She's somebody else's baby. She's somebody else's. Goes by fast, doesn't it? It does. It does. But I'm going to go see her soon and...

I don't know. So now me and Kurt can have her room. It's kind of a somber moment in our podcast. No, no, no. I mean, that's real life. That's a big deal. It is. It's coming from me and my sons. If I'm lucky, my son will be here until next year, maybe going sooner than that. So I don't know when that happens from babies to leaving and where that... I know for us personally, I know for me and Kurt, I can speak for us like...

Our life disappears in a time capsule on the road, you know, so it speeds things up. At least it feels like it does. It goes by fast anyway, but then, you know, back in the early days, we were gone 250 days a year or more. Yeah, when Keller was young, you were gone all of the time. It was a little bit easier with me and Levi because we weren't gone forever.

as much and it's still really hard trying to find the time but when keller was born we were gone yeah we were gone i think when he was born we were gone we were playing 210 shows yeah so we're gone you do the math on that and then when delaney was born we were we'd cut back to 130 you gotta look back to 94 no 2004 i'm sorry i'm going back too far 2004

is when there goes my life was a hit and blue eyes and bouncing curls was her that was Emma and that's the one that just got married and left that's how long ago that was that's how fast it went by geez it does it just goes they say I mean I remember people telling me when I had kids oh it goes by really fast and when you're in the middle of it and they're babies like Kayla you've got an eight month old or seven month old yeah and in the middle of it you're like you know it may not seem like it's going fast but then it

Next thing you know, they'll be 13 and then graduating high school. And it happens. It's happening to Kurt. Levi's going to be 12 in December. Yeah, I know. And it's weird. It's like, you know, we're not even playing that many shows, but it feels like a lot, you know, and you feel like you're missing things. We were talking about this. He had a baseball game tonight and I was lucky enough to catch it. But it's like, you know, you feel like you miss so many of these moments and

But you're trying to do your thing. You're trying to work. You're trying to provide. You're trying to set them up for life. And that's just kind of what it is. But it's...

It does go by quickly. It really does. You guys, all three of you guys are great dads and you're going to make great dads and your kids are going to grow up right and y'all are doing the right thing. Well, back out. You look at your kids. Take it from me. I mean, Allie can be kind of mean. Oh, sorry, Allie. I mean, I've got two daughters. I've got two daughters that are grown women now and that went by so quick and you tell people how fast it goes by, but

They don't really know until they live it. Well, I was going to say, being at the wedding, Lana obviously did an amazing job setting everything up, everything that goes into planning all that. Thanks, Kayla. Which is ridiculous. Thanks, bro. And I'm getting to you. Don't worry. Don't worry. No, but Neil got up and spoke, and it was absolutely perfect. I was really proud of my buddy. And the thought I had is I said, well, that's a man right there.

Everything you said was really, really perfect. And I had no idea what I was going to say because that's like one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I mean, the hardest thing I had to do before then was seeing There Goes My Life at their graduation. And this topped it, having to get up and speak when your daughter's getting married and fixing to leave. I had no idea. I didn't plan it. I had no idea what I was going to say.

But it just kind of came out, and I'm glad I didn't cuss. How did you get out of not playing There Goes My Life? Did nobody bring that up? Well, Emma wanted me to sing. Originally, she wanted me to sing Take Me There in the actual ceremony. And she actually said, I'm not going to make you do that.

You wouldn't have gotten through it. I don't think so. No. I wouldn't have gotten through it. You know, think about a quiet chapel and I'm getting up off the pew and I'm going up there and picking up my guitar and plugging in and the feedback starts. And then I got to sing and it's like, there's no way. I mean, I would have done it if she wanted me to. I would have done it. But she wanted me to sing Take Me There that Rascal Flatts cut. And at the last...

you know, a few weeks before the wedding, she says, I'm not going to make you do that. So I didn't. And I'm glad she didn't, but I spoke and I'm glad I got up and, you know, say a few things. No, that's awesome. It was a great thing. And here's to the next chapter. Hey, guys, we're in the middle of an awesome conversation. We're kind of jumping around, but I hope you're enjoying this, some real conversation. We're going to be right back.

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Oh, my God. All right. Hey, guys. Welcome back to Try That in a Small Town podcast. And we were talking a little bit before the break about the show that you guys... And where was that? You went and seen Al Dean. You saw these guys. Greensboro. Greensboro. And I was just kind of curious. Y'all been doing this a long time. Do you have... Like every show...

Are there people trying to get to you? You know, like girls possibly trying to get the bus, anything like that, you know? No. Just like pounding on the door. Well, luckily these days we have security. Okay. And fences. Guys, maybe? It's a weird question. I'm just curious. I mean, life on the road. I mean, here's what they do. And our fans, most fans, honestly,

They're great. They'll line up. If they can see through the back, they're lined up by the buses. They just want generally a picture or something signed. And they're really, I love our fans for that. They're really, I mean, you go back there, you'll see the same ones. A lot of them will travel for a whole weekend. If we're doing a run through the Carolinas, for example, if we go to Charlotte and Raleigh and another place, whatever, you'll see the same fans there lined up.

they'll travel hours in the car. So it's amazing. Yeah. And they're really respectful and you know, there's a distance that they can get, but we'll walk up to them and take pictures and it's, they're, they're amazing. And a lot of times the kids are out there and the other night it was great. Um, this might've been Greensboro, Neil, I don't know. There was a little boy there was Greensboro, a little boy in the front. He was no more than eight years old. And, and, uh,

I first saw him during Flower States. I walked to the front of that stage for the start of that song. I looked down and he's got a sign up that says, Tully can have a pick, you know, on his phone. It's written out. And so the whole show, he's just loving it. And then at the end of the night, I walked out and gave him like five picks. And it takes three minutes, but that kid, you know, had a great experience. So I think that's what's coolest about the fans like

Obviously, we can't do it every night, and not every venue is set up to allow that. But when it is, or you see a kid at a show in the front row, and sometimes at the end of the show in an arena, especially like Greensboro, you can walk off and turn the corner and just see him real quick. Pretty fun. You guys have a following. Jason's band...

And especially you two. Yeah. I mean, you have a following out there. It's a cool band. We've been there a long time. I know. We've been together a long... From the beginning. And then we've been in a lot of the videos together. And I think people have always...

you know, knowing that they show up and they see it, it's Jason Aldean, but it, it's like a, it's a band atmosphere and he likes that, you know? So it's a, that's why me and Kayla have you two on. I mean, it's like, you're helping the podcast a lot. We couldn't do it just for us. We were so glad that Kayla hired us. We were worried if we were going to get invited, but people know the original name was the Kayla show. Obviously.

Well, no, I think that was just one of the names. At one point, it was just Kalo. It wasn't even a show. It was just Kalo. Obviously, I was going to run it by you guys. It's like Eminem, just Kalo. No, but it is funny. For some reason this year, to go back to the tour, this might be my favorite one we've ever done.

And I don't know, and we've done a lot of huge tours. My kind of party was huge, huge tour. We toured on that record for three years, two and a half years. Great. And not saying that they all weren't amazing, but for some reason there's a great vibe in the band and Jason and our entire crew who works their ass off every night. It was the best I've seen. I've seen a lot of, I've seen you guys a lot.

But this year, it was tight. It had a buzz. It's the best one that I've seen. It's like you guys are getting better with age. You know what's funny, too? It was so much fun. But it was the first show. From the start of the show, we had all kinds of technical problems.

From the very start of the show, like before the, we're getting up there ready to play and Rich's ear pack didn't work. And so we're holding and we're holding and we're up there on stage. Usually we walk out and we play pretty, we were standing up there for like, felt like forever before we started playing. I had some issues with a couple of my guitars, you know, just little things didn't go right. But the show, like it, that is the fun of the live music.

Like we were a live band and it's, you know, if one of us has issues, you know, it's, we always get through it and it's really, really fun. It was awesome. Very awesome to have you and your crew out there too. Neil was fun. Oh, it was a blast. And next year I want to take this out on the tour. If Jason will allow it. I'll be allowed. We just need, I want to take, I want to take this podcast out on the road and get out there with the fans and talk to them, interact with them.

Yeah. It'd be great. It'd be awesome. Wouldn't it? All we need is a bus. And we've actually talked about even, even, even locally, uh, like the Nashville palace here and here in Nashville, possibly doing a remote there, which would be kind of cool. So there, you know, if you guys want to, to ride in, if you're close saying, Hey, yeah, that'd be cool to come to maybe play a few songs, whatever. So yeah, just getting out there and just meeting people. I'm all about playing for it'd be fun. And, um, yeah,

Yeah, and Neil, these guys have been on the road, and everybody's busy in their own way. But even today, you were in the studio because Neil is not just an artist and a writer. He's also a producer. So tell them a little bit about that. What does that mean? What do you do? I go and listen, and I demand, did somebody sing it right? No, I'm working with a new artist, Ben Gallagher.

And we're doing vocals on his new record right now. He's amazing. He hates me right now because I'm making him sing stuff he doesn't want to sing. He's going to have to live with it. And you guys, I mean, Curt and Tully know too. I mean, they're in the production seat too. Yeah, that's right. And they've done that. On my gravestone, it's going to say, life is too short to produce records. But it's so rewarding when you're done. I love...

I love the music and the creative side of it. The taxing part for me of production is after the music's done. Yeah, it doesn't end. It doesn't end. You're dealing with...

and artists and mixes and they want this in a mix and that in a mix and then it's, all that stuff is very draining, you know, and it's very rewarding when it works. When you've got a song and you produce at number one, man, it feels good. It feels really good. And the body of work that you created over the span of the two months, whatever you're working on. It's amazing how tiring it is. I had no idea how,

Because we've all been in the studio. We've recorded demos of songs that we've written, but it's not really producing. When you start producing somebody else's record, it is so tiring mentally. Because it's a lot of responsibility. It is, and it's like you don't realize it because you're in the middle of it, but when you get home, you're like...

You don't want to think about anything. You don't want to hear music. You don't want to hear a note. But yet you can't turn it off. You can't turn it off. And when you're playing, me and Kurt talked about this. When we were just playing on albums as session players, you play on the album, you're there for six hours, whatever you're there for, and you go home. You unplug your guitar, you put it down, you go home. But production, that's...

The tracking of it is the fun part. And then it all, it becomes very demanding and not in a good way, but not always. Cause it's a lot of, like I said, a lot of the outside stress of the political side of the business that people don't know about or see isn't easy to navigate. I mean, making everyone happy, you know, layers. You're not going to make everybody. No layers of label people. Then you've got an artist and yeah.

If you're lucky, artists might know what they want. Most of the time they don't, you know? And especially with new artists, because Jason's a little bit of exception to this, but a lot of times new artists, you know, you do a project and as the project goes along, they're figuring out what they are. And then they also have a lot of people telling them what they think they are or what they could be or should be or what they aren't. And so sometimes the artists themselves get confused

second guessing themselves and so it's you know it's hard it's hard to balance all that you know have you guys produced songs that you haven't been a writer on oh yeah okay so what's the difference like as a producer if it's your song but it doesn't

Is it easier just because you know the song a little bit better? Is there more pressure? Do you feel more pressure? Like if, if you're not a writer on it and you've got these three writers like, well, I want to cut this. Most of our success as producers came from songs we didn't write. Like, uh, kiss me or not by Thompson square. No, it's my David Lee Murphy song, Jim Collins song. Um,

I think there was, in those days, you can attest, the way we cut Thompson Square was really fun. It was just literally just live on the floor. And I think we accomplished that. But you just want it to be successful for the artist first and foremost. And obviously, like, Daley Murphy wrote that song and Jim Collins. And the song was great.

We just wanted to not mess that up, capture the magic of why people liked it and try not to water it down. Well, that's the sound of a good producer. You don't want to mess it up. And that's a good example of a project that was super fun to produce. Like I said, a lot of them, it's fun, but it's what happens after that can make it a little bit taxing.

Yeah, a lot taxing. Yeah, I mean, you mentioned the politics, and I don't think people understand that. And it can be a lot. And we're kind of used to working for ourselves in a lot of things we do. But when you produce, you are not working for yourself. And so there's some people to answer to, and then there's a lot of people to answer to and a lot of people to make happy about.

And that can be a little bit of a juggling act. It can get difficult. It can definitely... That's the one side of it that I love producing, but sometimes I'm happy when we're not. Because it's got to be... Now, producing an Aldine is...

is way different. That's, we don't produce Jason. We, we play on the album. So Michael Knox is, is longtime producer, but Michael, like to his credit knows what we do as a band. And at this point, Jason knows what we do. So Jason's Jason leans on us. Like we lean on him, like if it feels good, you know, and, and we've got this trust now after, you know, decades of work, you know, um, it's not always that way. It's like, you can, you can find yourself in a situation where you're,

totally overthinking things, you know, but it's like Kurt said, it's this hard, you've got label heads and A&R people. You have managers of the artists, you have the artists themselves, you have the co-writers of the artists that all have their opinions. And in this business, young artists especially can get very swayed by opinions so that they can bring those into the studio and kind of muddy up the vision of a producer, right?

And so it's always a delicate walk with that and how to get to the end result. And when it works, it's just amazing. It's an amazing feeling. And when it doesn't, it's all your fault. I know, it all goes back on you.

Yeah, and you guys, like with Aldine and with Michael Knox, I mean, you are pre-producing those tracks. Like you mentioned the track, get in there, the full band, do all the stuff, just because you know what Aldine's going to like. You know probably what Knox is going to like. So you're kind of feeding them a very good product already. Well, what we do, which is no different than what we've done forever, is we really just play like we play.

And that's always been the magic combination of this kind of rock band situation with Jason, you know, Georgia guy, killer singer, this melting, this influence. You know, we talk about it a lot. Like, you know, Kurt grew up a huge Eddie Van Halen fan. You know, I grew up listening to the police. Rich grew up listening to a wide variety of rock to jazz to everything. So,

When we got together, it was just weird melting pot of influences. And that the sound came out that really isn't country. It's not really hard rock. It's just our own brand of what we play as a band. And so that's what comes out in those tracks, really. It's just the way we play. And Michael's always been good about letting us be ourself. We all have our own styles and things.

Yeah, he wants you to do, Michael's really good at this. He wants you to do what you do best. And then he's got this really awesome innate ability to hear people

what is going to feel and sound good for the listener. So even though I might be onto something and be like, no, no, no, no, no, just simplify, just do this, do this. And you're like, at first I'm thinking, well, that doesn't seem right, but he's always right on that. He's got a really great ability of just like hearing something go, nah, it doesn't quite feel right to me. Simplify or do this. And so that's another one of his better qualities. Well, his magic weapon, his magic weapon, which I think is a huge thing. Um,

is that Michael's not a musician. Michael's a great song guy, but he doesn't play guitar, doesn't play anything. He's not a musician. So he can listen to things a different way. Like if it feels good, it is good. He's not looking for a technical thing out of Kurt saying, well, play it like that. He wants Kurt to play that Kurt. You know what I mean? Like he just wants it to feel good to his ear. Very much like a Rick Rubin would do. You know, like a Rick Rubin, you know,

I think people sometimes think, well, you can't be a producer if you don't play. I think it's the opposite. I think get people you trust, and then if it feels good, it is good. That's a huge weapon, I think, in Michael's arsenal, is that he really knows what feels good. And obviously, he's got a good track record. Well, when you look back at the way...

All you guys came together. Knox, you guys, Jason, and how that all came together. The timing of that was perfect. The music was perfect. The timing, everything about it was perfect at the time. And the world was ready for it. Yeah. And y'all didn't neuter down anything. It was freaking balls to the wall and off you went. Well, you can look at it now and say like,

Well, now everybody wants to be a rock band. We see the opening acts and they think they're a rock band. They want to be a rock band. When we did it, we didn't know what we were doing. Again, we just turned up the guitars, you know? And back then in 03 and 04- I've always said that. It wasn't- Turn the guitars up. Yeah, I know, right? That's just dirtier, louder guitars. But yeah, that was our brand-

And so it was way different then. You can listen to the original recording of Hicktown now or Amarillo Sky, and you can say, well, it's not hitting that hard. But it was in 03, in 04. Yep. You know what I mean? So that's what I like is just the evolution of the whole thing as well. But-

Well, before you even get to the producing part, like, and we have a question about this every now and then, it's like the process of writing, like, and we'll start with Neil, if you would, like, what's your process of writing when you write? Just your thoughts. Do you want an idea first? Do you want a melody first? No, I keep a list of ideas on my phone, and there's countless ideas.

lines and titles on my phone and I'm always paying attention every single day where no matter what I'm doing. So it's idea driven. Mostly. Yeah. I mean, I'll record riffs or whatever and I'll put them down. Of course I don't play as good as these guys, but I'm like, you know, I'll put whatever down and whatever idea I'll write it down. So I don't forget. Cause if you don't write it down, you're going to forget it. It's gone forever. Yeah.

And I go off of that. And then I just close my eyes. I mean, you've written with me. All you guys have written with me. I'm going to freaking be quiet. I'm not going to make a lot of noise when I write. I'm not going to sit there and pound on the guitar. I never do that until I hear something or whatever. I'm always trying to put the movie...

In my head, it's like when me and Michael Delaney wrote Fly Over States. It was, the movie was just going. And then you got to go. You know what I'm saying? And it doesn't come from me. It comes from up there. I'm an idiot when it comes right down to it. You know, I'm just. I wouldn't say that. But I just kind of let it flow and just play. Yeah.

And just, I don't know where it comes from. It just comes. It just happens. And you just try to put that story in your head and put it to music. And I can't explain it. I really can't. People have asked me a lot, how do you do that? And I go, I really don't know. I really don't know. That's my answer to that. That's good. Because I don't. I just look at it as a blessing and hope.

You just go with it. I like that. Kurt, what about you? Just do you have your idea first, melody first? Completely different. Do you care? I try to do what I can do best, and that might be helping come up with a feel or a groove or something like that. You try to use everybody's ability to the best of what they do. And like Neil said, he does definitely do that. And everyone at this table has...

a great talent and talents. And I just try to hone in on the one thing I feel like I could help add to the beginning of a conversation. It's inspiring. When these guys start playing and they start playing stuff, and even when we go in and we've written a song or whatever and we go in to do the demo on it,

You know, Curt and Tully will have me sing it different than what I originally heard, and it's better than what I originally heard. And it makes the song better, and it takes it to the next level, especially for Jason. Right. When Al Dean's listening for something, they'll have a phrasing that's better than what I had or what I had in my head at the time. Yeah. And it's better. And you especially, it's like I'm wearing the Tough Crowd shirt today.

Yeah, I like that shirt. That was your title. Try that in a small town was your idea. It's like when you bring ideas in like that, I'm like, I escape. I'm done. I'm like, I don't want to talk to anybody. That's a freaking great idea. Yeah.

I'm going to go, leave me alone. I want to go off and, you know what I'm saying? That's the way I do it. Well, sometimes you will. Sometimes you'll call, you're on your way to hunt or whatever, say, hey, I'm about to lose service, but I got a verse on this, write this down. You know how many verses? And you'll throw a couple lines out, which is really cool. You know how many verses and courses I've written in a tree stand when I'm deer hunting? I've written so many verses and courses in a deer stand, it's not even funny. Or when I'm driving down the Natchez Trace Parkway or something, going to Louisiana, I'm

Time alone is so good, and then I will text you guys what I've got, and then we're off. That's cool. Tell me, what about you? What's your process? I gather titles. I gather titles, and then it's funny. You got any? I do have a lot, actually. But it's funny. These days, writing so much would curve so many years. It's funny. I'll come in. I'll be like, man, I got this.

and I think it should be like this. And I'll go, oh, like that? And he'll have this incredible bones of this music piece pulled up. I'm like, that's what was in my head. So good. I remember we wrote If I Don't Love You. I remember very clearly, I remember looking at my tiles and said, If I Don't Love You. And Kurt pulled up this thing he had started, this track idea. And I was like, that's it.

But go back, whatever that was. I wanted to go to the next one. No, no, no, no, no. Go back. And that was the intro piece to If I Don't Love You. And so it's super, super rewarding. Like you guys know this when you, it's fun talking about the ideas and how you get them, you know. And at the end of the hit, you're like, wow, you know, how did it take us five hours to write that thing? But then it's like, yeah.

The process is, that is what I love. The whole process. It's so inspiring. And then when we write, and you know how it is right when you have something and then when he sings the demo, it's like, wow, this is, you know. But Kurt said it best. It's a good way to leave it and leave this episode. We all have our...

that we do really well and it works together. And that's what the music business is and so creative. Oh, yeah. There's no doubt. One of the most inspiring things, one of the most inspiring sights that I ever see is the back of Kurt's head. That sounds weird. Yeah, you may want to elaborate on that. No, because I know that Kurt, he's staring at a monitor and there's a lot of crap on the monitor that I don't get.

but I know it's going to be magic and it's so inspiring. Yeah. That's funny. Well, I guess for, uh, for me, uh, yeah, I forgot it was my turn. Um,

I like to tell a very idea-driven for me. And where that came from is when I was in Belmont a long time ago and Brad Paisley was there. And I've said before how we met there. We had very like personalities and got to be buddies and everything. I'd already...

I'd seen him and heard him play, so I knew he was a better singer than me. I knew he was a better guitar player than me, so he was better at melody. And the songs he was currently playing were better than all of mine. And so I had a writing appointment set up with him. And this is where, for me, I feel like God's telling you, hey, here's what you're good at. Here's your lane. Because I got real nervous before that appointment because I'm like, well, he can...

He can write a hit without me. What's, what's my, what's my purpose, you know, for this writing appointment? Am I just gleaning off his talent? You're right. And so, so I just, I thought about it for a good long while. And I thought, you know, the, the one thing he doesn't have is my ideas. He doesn't have those.

And so I just really focused on being an idea guy. And when you feed a talented person like anybody at this table, you feed them a hit idea, it's going to go well. And so you know what you're not good at, and I fully embrace what I'm not good at, and I get with it.

talented people to help me write a hit song. Here's to try that in a small town. Yeah. Hell of an idea. Hey, here's to your morning walk in tights. I wasn't in tights. We've come full circle. It's okay. Cheers. Cheers. I hope everybody enjoyed this episode. We kind of went all over the place, but, uh, I hope you know how much we appreciate all of you for listening and sticking with us. Uh,

For TK, Kalo, Thrash. Come on. And what'd you call me? Kurt. No, we had some kind of cool name. I'll think of it. We'll tag it. We'll get back to me. I'm Kurt. This is Try That in a Small Town. Thank you guys. See you next time. Make sure to follow along. Subscribe. Share. Rate the show. And check out our merch at trythatinasmalltown.com.