266 Express
Welcome to the 266 Express, your official podcast of Sanger, TX.
In every episode, we paint a picture of life in this beautiful North Texas town.
You will gain insight into everything from our rich history, community events, and the rapid growth and development of Sanger. Welcome to the 266 Express.
266 Express
From Boredom to Brilliance: Jordan Shepherd on Music, Family, and Creative Inspiration
What inspires a young artist to transform boredom into brilliance? Join us as we chat with Jordan Shepherd, the talented winner of last year's Old Bolivar Station Songwriter Festival, as he prepares to headline the event this year. From the small towns of Northeast Louisiana to the grand stage, Jordan shares his heartfelt journey, painting vivid memories of his childhood along the Mississippi River, the idle moments that sparked his creativity, and the long drives through fields that birthed his soulful songs. Listen in as he reflects on his song "When I Go Back," capturing the evolving landscapes and people of his hometown, and the nostalgic beauty he now cherishes.
Ever wondered how a secret guitar session can lead to a flourishing music career? Jordan takes us back to his early days, practicing in secret on his great-grandma's old Harmony guitar, and the invaluable support he received from his family. From his first gigs at Bennigan's to the unexpected inspiration from a Clay Aiken Christmas special, Jordan recounts the pivotal moments that shaped his path. We also dive into his recording experience with Kent Wills, Dolly Parton's lead guitar player, detailing the highs and lows of the journey, including a major setback that turned into a profound learning experience.
How does one balance a blossoming music career with family life? Jordan opens up about the challenges of crafting authentic and uplifting songs, the transformative impact of social media on the music industry, and the dedication it takes to transition to a full-time musician. He offers valuable advice for aspiring artists on balancing practice with natural inspiration and shares heartwarming stories of homeschooling, family road trips, and outdoor adventures. Tune in for an inspiring and heartfelt conversation with Jordan Shepherd that promises to leave you uplifted and motivated.
You have been listening to The 266 Express, the official podcast of Sanger, TX. IF you have comments or suggestions, please send them to dgreen@sangertexas.org
you're listening to the 266 express, donna. Who do we have with us today?
Speaker 2:today we have jordan shepherd. He's the winner of last year's old baller station songwriter festival and he'll be headlining the event for this year.
Speaker 3:So welcome jordan welcome thank you all so much for having me. This is my first podcast. I'm really excited.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it seems like our first podcast every time, so it'll be perfect.
Speaker 3:I get the feeling I try to shoot a lot of YouTube videos and stuff like that and I go through the trouble of setting everything up and a lot of times I'll spend an hour getting everything just right, only to realize that it's not going to work and I have to unplug everything and just do it with my phone you know, it wastes so much time, but I'm still figuring it out technology's great it's my favorite, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:So, jordan, we don't always get a chance Number one. We're super excited to have you back. It was wonderful last year and we anticipate everything's going to be wonderful this year. The Old Bolivar Station Songwriter Festival was new for us, and Donna put in a lot of time and effort and the response in the community has been very good. And there's a lot of buzz going on, but we don't always get a chance to learn more about the artist, so tell us a little bit about you. We know you grew up in Louisiana. Tell us a little bit about growing up in Louisiana.
Speaker 3:All right. Well, first, thank you very much for your kind words and we're very excited to come back and Stanger has been historically been very good to me so far, you know, and so, and the guys too, we're all. We're all pumped to come back and any chance we get to, to get away from home a little bit and play for some new folks it's always a good time. But I grew up in Northeast Louisiana, kind of all over Northeast Louisiana really. We lived in Lake Providence and Oak Grove and Farmerville and Downsville, and Lake Providence is right on the Mississippi River.
Speaker 3:So growing up when I was like eight, we lived in a little trailer that was literally like our backyard was either a cornfield or a soybean field, depending on what year it was, and then if you'd walk out our front door to the left, immediately where our yard ended, was the Mississippi River levee. So we lived right on the river for a little while there and then we lived in Farmerville a little while there and then we lived in farmerville and um. I spent most of my my growing up over there in farmerville and um playing in those, you know, pine trees and muddy creeks and stuff like that and being really bored, and that was I really. Um, I have to give a lot of thanks to my, my childhood boredom, because when we would go places, you know it's just cornfields and grain elevators and that's not all that appealing to a young'un, you know. And Monroe was the biggest thing I'd ever seen. And Monroe's not really that. It's not a real big city.
Speaker 3:It's not a real big city so there was something I wanted and I didn't know how to get it, you know, and I found it in music. And now it's crazy, because I was so bored I'd have nothing to do. There was no Nintendo Switch or anything like that back then, you know. So we'd go on these long trips. So Monroe is an hour and a half just to go to a decent sized town and and it's just fields and fields, you know. And so I spent a lot of time staring out the window and thinking and contemplating and imagining, and then I spent a lot of my high school years doing that too, Instead of paying attention in school. School I would write songs during class and stuff like that and just daydream, and so I guess really I ought to. I'm not really a professional songwriter, I'm more of a professional daydreamer, you know at this point. But yeah, I was bored growing up in northeast Louisiana, but I was saying that to say this. Now I find so much beauty in what I thought was so boring as a kid and Miss Donna, I know, had mentioned before my song when I Go Back.
Speaker 3:I wrote that song between two cornfields on Highway 65 South, headed to St Joe, Louisiana, to go play a show out there. And that song came about because I knew Highway 65 North is how you get to Lake Providence and I knew I was about an hour away from there. Where I sat you know, it was just me in the truck, as it usually is and I remember thinking, man, this place looks just like home, it looks just like Lake Providence. And this is, you know, this is about the, about when I started really seeing that beauty. So before then it was hard to look back with, you know, with good thoughts and feelings about that place. I spent so much time wanting to get out of that dusty old place, you know, and. But I remember thinking, man, this place looks just just like Lake Providence and it's so beautiful, you know.
Speaker 3:And then that got me to thinking about how Lake Providence is not the same town that it was in 1995. You know, no, none of them are. And there's so much that's changed and a lot of good and a lot of bad, and but nothing stays the same. And, and that was the whole, the whole concept behind that song, you know, when I wishing I could go back to that time, whenever I go back to that place, you know, and and those people that aren't there anymore. You know that's. That's a big part of it. If that, I don't know if that's a good way to end it.
Speaker 1:No, that's great.
Speaker 2:So yeah, you were bored, but I get it.
Speaker 3:I grew up.
Speaker 2:I grew up, and I grew up like that too. I was really bored. Um. So how did you really? When did you realize that you could sing and write songs? And so when did? How did you really get started with the whole singing, songwriting piece?
Speaker 3:Well, I would sing in church and I could always kind of go along with everybody and I was. I was musically inclined before I started saying my grandparents were a bluegrass group and they, uh, let me turn my ringer off, there we go, okay, um, my grandparents were a bluegrass gospel group and they played with the Sullivan family and with Bill Monroe who literally invented bluegrass, you know, and that's a really cool legacy. But I'm sorry, what was that question? Again, I got thinking about my grandparents.
Speaker 2:What really led you to singing and songwriting, and oh yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:So I started playing the fiddle for my grandparents and, uh, I saw we would watch the grand ole opry and the fiddle player was always tearing it up. And my mom and papaw didn't have a fiddle player. And I thought, well, if I could learn how to play the fiddle because it can't be that hard it is then I could show out like those fiddle players, because they were showing out bud. And so it came from a place of me just wanting to be the star of the show, the center of attention, to be honest with you. And so my mom and dad convinced him to get me a fiddle. My dad was like, are you sure you don't want a guitar? And I said, no, I want a fiddle. So we went to a little pawn shop and he got it for me and they got me a few lessons and, uh, the teacher was like his name's Steve Cannon, and I owe so much to this man, I really, really appreciate him so much. But he told my mom after a month or so he was like George, I was going home and practicing for six hours, like every day, as soon as I'd get done with schoolwork. It was just the rest of the day until bedtime was me playing the fiddle every single day, and I would to the points where I would have nightmares that the house would be on fire and we would all get out and then my fiddle would still be in there and I would be like fighting my parents to get back into the house to get my fiddle, you know um.
Speaker 3:So eventually, um, I started writing songs, and this is like I was 10 or 11, you know, and um, there's this lady that went to our church. Her name is Amanda McDowell now, but at the time her name was Amanda Arrington and she was, like, she was one of the worship leaders at our church and I asked her. I said, hey, I'm writing a song and I need you to help me figure out what the chords are, because the fiddle is mostly single note, know lines and stuff like that. And so she sat down with me and she helped me figure it out. She said, look, you really need to consider either learning how to play the piano or the guitar. If you're going to be a songwriter, you're going to need something that you can really sit down and, um and put these songs to you know, together with. So I chose the guitar after my dad had told me just a few short years earlier you sure you don't want a guitar, cause we're not going to get you a fiddle and fiddle lessons and then swap to the guitar in a few years, whenever you start figuring out you want girls to take interest in you, you know, or whatever.
Speaker 3:So, um, dad had this little. It was a harmony that somebody had painted Epiphone on back in the sixties. When the Beatles hit, epiphone blew up. So it was an old harmony souvenir acoustic guitar and it actually belonged to my great grandma.
Speaker 3:Single wide trailer and mom and dad's room was at the very end. So I would tell them hey, I don't want to bother y'all while you're watching TV, can I just go in your room and shut the door and play my fiddle? And I'd go back there and I'd play fiddle for a minute and then I got to sit it down when I thought maybe they tuned out and I would pick up dad's guitar. You know, and my little brother had gotten a toy guitar that year for christmas I think this is like 99 or 2000 and um, it had a chord book with it that had just your most rudimentary chords. So I'd sneak in there and I'd uh just try to figure those chords out.
Speaker 3:And about three weeks later I walked into the living room and I was like dad, let me show you something. And I played this wrong. I'll admit that if there's for anybody watching that's, that's gonna realize that I'm doing this wrong. I know, um, but that's the point. This is how I did it back then. So I walked in the living room with dad's guitar and I was like, hey, let me show you something. And he didn't even turn the volume down on the tv, he just looked at me and he was like all right, you know, I went, uh, let me see and that's not.
Speaker 3:It's really, you know, but I played it partially wrong. But he just looked at me like side eye and he said get out of here.
Speaker 3:And then I was a little defeated and kind of went to turn, confused, you know, and he said that's your guitar now. And I was like all right, awesome, so that's cool. So and he's been my biggest supporter, that dude, like I remember him telling me when I was a kid, when I first started trying to write songs. He was like I'm going to be honest with you, you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning and winning the lottery on the same day as you do making it in the music business. I want you to know it is extremely hard. So. But he didn't tell me don't do it. He said, if you're going to do it, you're going to have to work harder than everybody else and you're going gonna have to really put your whole heart into it. You know which? And then he furthered that by. Whenever I was 16 and I got my first real steady gigs, I was playing every Tuesday night at this place called Bennigan's, uh, in West Monroe, and he would work all day and then he would take me to Bennigan's and I would play a four hour show. And at first it was for a gift card to Bennigan's. Like they would give me a $50 gift card which I would turn around and give to my mom and dad, you know, cause I couldn't do anything with that at 16. And eventually dad was like, hey, you should be making money, you know. And I was like I should be making money, let's go talk to that guy. He was like, no, you go talk to that guy. He was like, no, you go talk to that guy, you go get that money. And uh, so eventually I started getting paid to be there, you know. But I really I didn't even really put this together, because when I was 16 and we were doing this, I was so focused on the fact that I was getting to go play shows and, even if nobody was listening, I was getting to set my guitar up in the corner of a business and I was purposefully there to perform for four hours and that was. That was life-changing for me. But what I didn't realize at that time, my dad worked on a surveying crew and later on I worked on a surveying crew. So I know exactly what. What Um? That man would walk through the woods anywhere from like six to 10 miles a day through the piney hills of Northeast Louisiana swinging a machete, and then every Tuesday night he would still go sit through a four hour gig. You know the same four hour gig every week. So, um, that was uh that. So that was pretty awesome.
Speaker 3:But I kind of got sidetracked. I had sang in church a little bit, but I specifically remember the moment, I hadn't even really let it out yet, but I knew, I just knew that I could do it. And uh, we dad was in the living room and I'd been playing guitar for a little bit at that point and writing these songs and I was just kind of singing, but not really singing, you know. And um, it was close to Christmas time and Clay Aiken had won American Idol and they were I must've been like 14 at this point and they had a Christmas special. They got all of the American Idol people to come do these Christmas songs. And on the commercial, Clay Aiken was singing Noel.
Speaker 3:And there was this part and I'm not going to blow you guys out because I don't know how this mic would do if I really really project or whatever but he did this part. That was like no well, no well, no well, no. And uh, I walked by and, in this moment of self-confidence that I had never had before, I looked at my dad and I was like I could do that. And he was like that guy won american idol. What makes you think you could do that? And then I just did, and he was like that guy won American Idol. What makes you think you could do that? And then I just did it and he was like all right, you know.
Speaker 3:And then I started writing songs that made dad go like. I remember specifically, I wrote this song called Lady in the Mirror, when I was 15. And that was the moment that my dad was like you're going to do this, whether I want you to or not, so I'm going to stop pushing you about college and just don't smoke, don't do drugs, keep a you know focused attitude on what your goal is, and I think you could do this man so, and he's been my biggest supporter ever since. So, but yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:So you mentioned what most young men that I know, including myself, really strive to play a little music every once in a while was the girls. So somewhere along the way you met your beautiful wife Stacy. Tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 3:I met Stacey in a bar. No.
Speaker 3:I mean I kind of did, but really we met at the same place that we're going to be tonight for the Music Awards, which is kind of crazy to think about. I was at the Civic Center doing the Colgate Country Showdown back when they did that in the early 2000s and I was doing this song I wrote, called Dead End Road, that I never play anymore and I haven't played in probably 10 years and we were doing the rehearsals for it and I cracked and I was 15 or 16 at this point and I had never been on stage and cracked. You know, my voice really, really crack and uh, and it hurt my ego and my pride big time. And so I remember walking out and sitting on the front steps and this group of people walk by and they're like you did great and I was like I was so focused on my own, like mistake, that I was just like I cracked, I sounded terrible, I cracked, I was, I was. I didn't even acknowledge him, I was just looking down. That was my wife that said that to me. It was like you did great, you know, and she so she told me that story later on, but I remembered her brother was in the competition with me, cory, and cory and I were friends.
Speaker 3:Uh, we would do a lot of these singing, singing competitions together. So we wound up, he and uh link lincoln hall and, um, there's a couple other guys, we would all wind up at the same competitions and then we would all break into our own little group with a few guitars, just goofing off, you know. And it gets to the point to where it's like hey, it's your turn, you know. But we were, we'd have a great time. So I was already friends with her brother and he had introduced us. But she had a boyfriend and I had a girlfriend and I wasn't really, you know, all that that interested and she wasn't all that interested. And then, uh, we both wound up single right around the same time and Corey and I were competing against each other and I was about to move to Nashville and I had no business moving to Nashville. I didn't have my life together. I think I was 19. I was, I was definitely 19. Um, and it would have been a mistake I wouldn't be here right now. I would probably legitimately not be here right now if I had gone to Nashville when I wanted to.
Speaker 3:But she sent him a text message and she was like hey, introduce me to that guy while we were up on stage. And he said, no, he's moving to Nashville. And her mama joked around and she's like maybe you could convince him to stay, you know, and uh. So then he messaged her back and he was like jordan's got a show tonight after this and we'll go to that.
Speaker 3:And stacy came in and, um, I was hammered drunk and like pitiful, and I don't drink anymore For good. I'm not a good drunk and it took me a decade to realize that I am not as fun for everybody else as I was for myself, you know. So I was pretty pitiful. But she introduced herself and I'd never had a girl come at me like that, you know. And Corey told me he's like my sister's kind of into you and she's coming out to the show tonight. And I was like, well, here comes this other go Cause there's no way, you know. And then turns out she wasn't an other go at all, we. And then so we, he, he said we're going to go.
Speaker 3:We left that bar to go to another bar and she wound up singing in the back seat and I was like man, this girl has a beautiful voice. And then we went to the next bar and we danced a little, you know, and hung out, and then I just never left, like I was technically homeless at the time. I'd given up my apartment, I was staying with my parents for a couple of weeks. I had a ride to Nashville, I had a place to stay, everything, and I went back to her apartment. She was a very good girl. Okay, for a very long time she was a very good girl, my sweet, sweet wife, and I'm very. I'm proud of that now.
Speaker 3:But I tell you what it was. It was tough. It was tough man, because she'd be like you can sleep in the bed with me and I'd be like you know. I mean I don't want to get into it, but I was 19. She's good looking, dadgummit, and she's a good girl. So it was rough. But I wrote a bunch of sweet songs about her back in those days. I'll tell you what, but no, I just um, we clicked. Like the next day we went to garage sales together and and we've just been doing, we've been hanging out ever since. When we go travel, we go to zoos and we go to garage sales, and we've gone to garage sales in montana and you know, and in nashville, and just wherever we, wherever we wind up. So, um, yeah, that's, that's kind of our story, but and it's, it's still changing all the time, you know so you, you mentioned, you're going to if I got a little weird um, you mentioned you're going to an award show tonight, so what is that and what's it about?
Speaker 3:It's the Neela Music Awards and they started this back in 2016. And then COVID kind of messed everything up, you know, but there's a really strong group of folks that are behind it now that they've managed to get a lot of our local businesses to sponsor it. This is a legitimate award ceremony. Kix Brooks is one of the hosts and he's going to be performing as well. My band is going to be performingome song that's on the new record.
Speaker 3:Um, they, uh, we. I've been nominated for singer, songwriter of the year, male performer of the year and, uh, stacy has been nominated for female performer of the year. So we're, um, we're excited and hopeful and all that good stuff, but it's going to be a it's going to be a fun event. It's at the Monroe Civic Center, which I know this will come out after the award ceremony but it'll be at the Monroe Civic Center, which is cool because Elvis played there and I think Zeppelin even played there. We've had a lot of great, great, great, uh bands come through. I think they did the hayride at the jack howard theater a couple of times, when you know, um, or it might not have been the hayride I know the hayride's from shreveport. I don't know if it moved around they. It might have just been like you know how acts, when they come through and they'll play this place over here, the same three or four musicians will play over here. It might have been the same setup as that, but they've had historical bands play.
Speaker 1:You know, and I'm rambling no it sounds like a lot of things have happened between now and the last time we saw you at OBS Outside of the awards show. What are some of the things that have happened, career-wise, since we last saw you?
Speaker 3:Man, it's been, oh, it's been crazy. That was September that I came to Sanger for the first time. At the end of October I went back to Nashville to finally listen to the record. We cut this record with Kent Wills. Kent is Dolly Pardon's lead guitar player, music director, producer. Like he, he runs her whole band, but he's her lead guitar player and he's produced for for like the last 35 years or so, and we wound up getting introduced to him through two other people. Like it was.
Speaker 3:It was a strange series of events, and and the guy didn't even want to take my phone call, and I completely understand why. Uh, and then he was like, well, look, if you're willing to drive nine hours for a 30 minute meeting, then, um, then we'll, we'll make it happen. And then, an hour and a half into that meeting, then, um, then we'll, we'll make it happen. And then, an hour and a half into that meeting, which I thought was a 30 minute meeting, uh, I said, hey, am I overstaying my welcome? And he was like, no, if I wanted you gone, you'd be gone, you know. So then we decided he wanted to work together and we cut this record and it took uh, it only took five hours to actually record the eight songs that are on the record.
Speaker 3:We used the best session players in Nashville and it was amazing, like to be in the room with it. It was magical because I wrote these songs and they live in my head and I'd never heard them the way that I hear them in my head. So, to meet these musicians and shake their hands and literally 10 minutes after meeting them, we're reading the charts and listening to the song. One time just my rough, you know me and my acoustic. And then we walk into the room and these people, these magicians, they play my song perfectly the first time. So, uh, there were two songs that we had to cut more than once and both of those were my fault. Um, so, eight songs in five hours is ridiculous. But the the problem was in the middle of us cutting that record, dolly decided she wanted to cut a rock record and I don't know if y'all know this, but dolly, pardon, is slightly higher on the totem pole than I am, so she came first and uh so it took a little bit to get the record back.
Speaker 3:But right after I left, you guys, I got the call and they're like come listen to the record and there was a little bit of moving the date around and it was one of those things where I was so excited to go back and then it got pushed back a few days but it wound up working out to where I could go to one of my kids soccer games that I was going to miss and I was like that's cool, this is the reason, it's all in God's hands. And so I get up there and the and Kent was like man, I'm sorry, you know, cause we're friends at this point I don't want to paint him as being a jerk. He was. He was a professional that deals with the world's best and he didn't want to waste his time and I completely understand that, um, and I'm forever indebted to him for not only the work that he does but his kind words and encouragement and stuff like that. Like that dude, there are days where his, his text messages have kept me going and there's just such an awesome group of dudes up there.
Speaker 3:But when I did go to the meeting he said you know, it's crazy. I'm sorry we got pushed back a couple of days but because we did, there's this guy that's starting a new record label and he wants me to be on board and he's playing this landing right now and I think I can get you a meeting with him. So we actually met with the label. They've got a lot of big plans that I don't really want to talk about because I don't want it to fall through and me look dumb. But I've already had one real big heartbreak. I got asked to sing on Dolly's rock record, for it would. It would have been with her and John Fogerty and they cut 40 songs for the record and they only kept 30 of them and the song that I was going to sing on got dropped from the record. So that was. That was pretty. You know that hurt my feelings for a minute there because it went from.
Speaker 3:Like I called my mom and I was like crying like mama, it's uh, we're gonna make it happen, you know. And then, uh, and I and I was actually I went to Nashville for the session and, uh, I was like hey, stacey was like you need to text them, you need to let them know you're in town. And I was like no, I don't, I never do that. I just show up to the studio and they're ready to go and I'm ready to go. And she was like no, you need to text them, just in case, you know. And I text them. And they were like, actually, dolly had some free time today, so we're going to go ahead and track with her. When can? Just kind of got pushed back. And it got pushed back and then it got dropped off the record and then for a minute there I didn't even want to play my guitar anymore and I started realizing that would have been a really, really cool thing. Uh, it would have been a really cool part of my story, but that's not my story, you know, that's not what I'm I'm supposed to do. So, uh, but yeah, so that happened and that happened.
Speaker 3:And then we've gone and played a few road gigs since I came and played for you guys the first time, and then we were honored to come back and play the Freedom Fest and open for the Bellamy Brothers, and that was an incredible day from start to finish. Everybody in Sanger treated us very, very well and um and my guys very well, and we got to hang out like that was. It was a really unifying moment for our band because we all got to put our stuff down, take a minute to catch our breath after our set and then come out and watch a legendary band like the Bellamy Brothers, you know, and just be a group of friends instead of a group of working dudes, you know. And so we've had a whole lot of cool things happen this year and getting ready for what comes next.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. Well, good luck tonight, I'm sure you're going to be pleasantly surprised. I can't wait to hear about it when you come see us.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, thank you. I've never won an award yet, so as far as one of these shows goes, so maybe.
Speaker 1:We're pulling for it for sure. Thank you. You know you talk a lot about how you're still writing your story. We appreciate that you're a part of Sanger's story. You know what we have going here and what we're trying to build. We're so happy that you're a part of that as uh as, as we continue to grow and grow our, our festivals and and grow our community, it's nice to to know that there's chapters along the way where people have helped with us shaping that vision and providing just a different quality of life that some, some communities can.
Speaker 3:Well, I really appreciate that. Um, I, I, I, I know I keep saying I'm so thankful for y'all's support, but I really am. It's so few and far between Um and I spent at least 20 years just hoping that anybody would listen and maybe sing along. You know that would be a bananas thing to do so for a group, for y'all to be so supportive. It really touches my heart and I don't take that lightly, you know I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thank you. We're so glad to have you so I have to know. So when you I know you say you have a bunch of songs living up there- I just have different voices, but maybe it's the same thing. So do you. What's the writing process for you? Do you do the lyrics come to you first? The music Is it a combination? How?
Speaker 3:do you sometimes? Um, it depends on if I've got a guitar in my hands or not. A lot of times I will like. Recently I started writing something that was oh, that's a bit I'm, I'm learning. I'm still learning the guitar. I have been for 24 years. I ain't bad, but there are dudes out there that are like Jedis, that are true masters of their instrument. I want to get to that point. I've been learning all the chords on the different parts of the neck. This little exercise that I was doing I have to pull my video out now but that exercise, for example, led me to this little chord grouping that I would have never come up with before. And then I, just because I was playing it, I started like thinking of words that would go along with it.
Speaker 3:But a lot of times I'll get a line like I was talking about earlier with when I go back. I was driving and that's what happens a lot. I'll be driving. I usually don't listen to the radio or anything. I might listen to a podcast, but or if somebody's got a new record out that I really dig, but I spend hours and hours and hours driving by myself and a lot of times I'll just have road noise and I'll be thinking, you know, and when I wrote, when I go back, that line, it just kind of hit me out of nowhere. This place seems so familiar, only about an hour away from the first place. I remember it's where I got my name and then I had to stop my truck and write that line down because I knew I wouldn't be able to hold on to all four of those before they were gone. So yeah, sometimes it's the lyrics, Sometimes it's the music, Sometimes it's just like an overwhelming emotion, something that I can't explain or control. You know, it's just whatever I'm feeling at the time, you know.
Speaker 1:So as an up-and at the time, you know, so as an, as an up and coming artist, you know you spent a, you spent a lifetime working on your craft and still working every day. What are, what are some of the uh, the challenges, uh, and maybe some of the advice you would give other up and coming musicians and artists, the advice you would give other up and coming musicians and artists.
Speaker 3:The challenges for me, uh, I'm. It's really easy for me to write a sad song, and I heard a songwriter say one time nobody wants to stop having fun to write a song, you know. So that's why it's easy to write the sad ones. Nobody wants to stop when they're having a good time and pick their guitar up and write a song, you know. But it's a challenge for me to write songs. I don't want to be an artist that that bums you out from the start to finish their record. You know, I love artists like that. That's mostly what I listen to, artists like that that's mostly what I listen to. But I do want to write kind of fun, campy songs that you want to. You know, drink beer to and hang out at the lake or whatever. So the challenge for me is writing songs that aren't necessarily from the heart, that still have substance and can still, you know, people can relate to. And it's not just well, me and my buddies are on a tailgate drinking beer in cornfield. You know, the same thing that's been written with the same chord progression, that's been written a hundred times, you know, or more. Um, and my advice to new songwriters, or or old songwriters even know there's a lot of people out there that say you need to write every day and you need to do these exercises, and you and you know what that's a good way to write a bad song. And I do think that it's important for you to to be practicing your craft. It's a muscle, you, and if it means that you need to write something every day, um, just to to work that muscle, then by all means do it.
Speaker 3:But I think that a lot of songwriters put a lot of pressure on themselves to write it. They put so much pressure on themselves to write a good song that they they're building a roadblock. You know that pressure is is detrimental to their creative process and I think a lot of times it's better to put your instrument down and walk away and, even if it's for weeks or months, and just give yourself a moment to to just be and be conscious of what's going on around you, and not just what's being force-fed to you on social media. What's actually going on around you. Pay attention to what's going on in your life and how you're seeing people react, because those are the people in your stories, whether you know it or not. You're building your stories off of real interactions. So sometimes it's better just to wait for the song to come to you than it is for you to just try to beat this song out that doesn't want to be written. You know, um and that.
Speaker 3:So don't necessarily listen to the hit songwriters that say you need to follow this formula. You need to do. I've sent, like some of my people's, my I hate saying fans because it just feels so self-serving, but, um, I'm very fortunate to have a small fan base now and, um, some of their favorite songs I've sent in to, like the Nashville Songwriters Association. I'm a member and they're a great group of folks. But I've sent a few songs in that my people love, they're their favorites and only to be told like, well, this isn't really what I would do here.
Speaker 3:And maybe, if you want it to fit the country market, the radio market you know so a lot of that. That's another thing. If you're a songwriter that's wanting to sell top 40 country songs, then you need to go write top 40 country songs. But if you're a songwriter, that's, that's writing from the heart, just write your song. Don't go by the formula. Write the song the way it's supposed to be written and people will. They'll respond to it and if it doesn't wind up getting sold, write another one. You know and, uh, and, and try for that if you want. But if you've got a good song, that means something to you. Don't sell yourself short by following the you know, the status quo or whatever. Just write the song.
Speaker 2:That's good advice.
Speaker 3:I hope I'm not rambling too much. I know I get to talk, and then I'm just.
Speaker 2:I do have a question. So, ms Stacy, you said she has a beautiful voice. Will she be joining you on stage this time at all?
Speaker 3:She will, and she will tonight too. Stacy, actually, stacy has one of the most powerful voices I've ever heard and, and when we sing together, it's just there's something that happens. And we, we used to share a mic for a decade. I mean for a decade. We, uh we shared a mic because our little tiny PA system had two inputs, excuse me, two inputs on it, one for the guitar and one for the mic.
Speaker 3:You know so, um, it's so special whenever we get to do that, but for the last year or so, something's been going on with Stacy's and they don't know if she has muscle tension, dysphonia or spasmodic dysphonia. A famous case of muscle tension is Robert F Kennedy Jr. That's what's going on with his voice, you know. So Stacey's isn't to that level. She's been seeing a specialist for over a year now trying to figure that out. So she can still sing, and there's some days where she's in the living room and I can hear her singing through the walls and it's like that's her voice, you know. And then there are days where she can't. So, um, it's just kind of a a day-by-day thing with her, um, so she will definitely be harmonizing with me. I think she led on one song.
Speaker 3:Uh, the last time we were for the Freedom Festival when we went to Sanger.
Speaker 3:But I'm hoping, and she's hoping that she's. She's taking a lot of vitamins, she's doing a lot of exercises, she's pro, she's being proactive about trying to get her voice back, because she, she, she told me the other day she's like, she saw a video from a few years ago and she was like I don't even remember being able to sing like that, you know, and that just kind of broke my heart because she's, uh, she's so talented she's. She has literally brought me to tears before because, uh, just being in a car with her, in that small space, there's a there. I remember we've been married about five years and she was singing an Adele song and I don't remember what song it was. But, um, we were headed to Shreveport and I remember exactly where we were, on the interstate, because it was just so powerful and I don't think I'd ever experienced somebody that could just like grab your heart with their voice and take it places, and so, um, I'm hoping we can get this figured out pretty soon.
Speaker 1:She's incredible. So what do you have planned for the next few years? I mean?
Speaker 3:what are your next goals? Um, I'm. I really want to sign a publishing deal. I would like to be assigned songwriter. Um, I've got that. I have that opportunity. A couple different avenues to get there. The issue is I would probably have to work more and be gone more as a published songwriter or as assigned songwriter than I would assigned artist. So right now, the, the, the question is do we want to sign a record deal or do we want to sign a publishing deal? And um, those have not been formally offered to me. This is all just. You know us talking, but, um, I am hoping to. I want to cut another record, that's all. Honestly, that's my only goal. I don't care about.
Speaker 3:I love performing. There is nothing like like. Stage is home and there's nothing like it. It's the best feeling that you can get legally. I think you know and it is. It's like. It's like a high that you can't get anywhere else, and especially when you've got four or five other people up there that are the top players in their game and everybody's locked in. It's magic. And the studio is the same way to me Watching a song come together, live, not sitting there and doing the drums and then doing the bass and then watching a group of dudes go in and ladies too go in there and really just be amazing at what each one of them do and building something up. That's a spiritual feeling.
Speaker 3:So I'm more concerned about putting new music out and playing bigger places than I am. I want to play festivals and I want to go, even if it just means me taking a guitar and uh, and really having to fight and prove like I've got, I deserve a shot to be here. I, you know, um, I'm, I'm willing to do whatever I got to do. I just I want to play bigger festivals and and uh, not necessarily stop playing bars, but I want to. I want an opportunity to win over a real fan base, people that are there for the sole purpose of listening to music, and those are the people that are going to come by a shirt and a CD and shake your hand, and once you've shook somebody's hand and talked, you know about your music for a little bit and you've got a fan for life. That's the grassroots way is for real. I believe that's the way to do it, and I don't really spend a whole lot of time on social media. I've been doing it more and more lately because of the encouragement of some of the outside people.
Speaker 3:You know, um, that is one thing that's kind of frustrating. It doesn't matter what you do or who you are. Uh, if you don't have 150,000 followers on your tiktok or whatever you know a lot of these labels they're not going to look at you. You know you have to have a built-in audience before they'll even consider you. It doesn't.
Speaker 3:And then that's another frustrating thing is I've seen so many artists that have just blown up on Facebook or TikTok or whatever. They don't have the work ethic that they need to do this. They don't have the skills on their instrument, the longevity with their voice. It's hard to get up and sing for three hours, you know once, let alone three or four nights a week, um, so it's, you see, both sides where it's like well, this guy isn't getting any shot because he doesn't have enough of a following. And then this guy is not ready but he's being thrown onto a world stage because he had, he blew up overnight on TikTok. And that's not fair either to that guy because it's it's handicapped and it's. You know, it's a strange little balance, but that's the way the music business goes right.
Speaker 1:I think, I think this changed the landscape of a lot of businesses. You know, 20 years ago it was different. You know for everybody, definitely that exposure now through the social media, which Donna is perfect at, can't have her. But it's changed the dynamics of a lot of businesses. It's not the same way it used to be and the way things are perceived across the board. I can see your we, you know, we experienced that on all sides.
Speaker 2:You know when Jordan, you know we're going to get it on a recording here. So when you do get big and you're playing at AT&T stadium, john and I are expecting that when we go to the box office there'll be backstage passes and all the good stuff, yeah. Anytime you're playing in Texas, there should be just the tickets waiting on us, right?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, for sure, I hope you know, I hope you know that I had already planned on that.
Speaker 2:Oh, I know you have.
Speaker 3:If there's any chance of us ever playing big shows and you're nearby, you could just. You don't even have to. You just tell them Donna's here, Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:And just don't change your cell number, cause you know, then I can just yeah, he'll be so big.
Speaker 1:You're like Donna who she doesn't want to talk to your people.
Speaker 2:I don't want to talk to your people.
Speaker 3:I had to change it. I had to change it a few years ago. Look, I'm nobody now. So three, four years ago I was even more of a nobody then. But I, I got a um, a car dealership commercial and we actually did two or three for them. And, uh, and they were they, they were a big part of um. We wouldn't have been able to cut that record in nashville if it wasn't for them. So shout out to jim taylor auto group I really appreciate y'all.
Speaker 3:But um, they, uh, they used me on one of their or two, or actually I think, three, two or three of their commercials, and a guy that I went to high school with that I don't know, I didn't know. Then, uh, he reached out and he was like, hey, I saw, you got that commercial, I'm going to buy it and I need some money. And I was like, brother, I ain't got nothing, you know. And uh, and then a couple days later he sent me a message back and he was like, hey, I got it figured out, no worries. And he had like twelve thousand dollars it was six, two thousand dollar bands and a nine millimeter sitting in his lap. And then he just started sending me like pictures of. Look, I got a lot of guns, but dad gum, you know. So he started sending me uh like one was a picture of a baseball bat with a bunch of uh nails driven through it in every direction, you know, kind of like off of a walking dead or whatever.
Speaker 3:And I was like all right, I don't know this guy. He asked me for money I'm pretty sure that he was selling drugs to get that 12,000. I ain't held $12,000 in my hands. I don't think ever, and you know so I don't know how you go from being broke one day to having all that money a couple of days later. So I it got to where I had to. I had to change my phone number, so but I will not do that again because I avoid giving my phone number out like I'll do everything I can. I do every people ask me straight up for it and I'll be like you know why don't you just hit me up on call through messenger, hit me with one, with one of those. I got lucky, my mom's got it and that's. You know, that's about it so what jordan?
Speaker 2:what is it? What do you do when you're not playing music? I don't know. Do you do anything else?
Speaker 3:I feel like it's so much uh, I do spend a lot of time playing my guitar, but, uh, I love hanging out with my kiddos. We go fishing and we got a garden that we, we, well, we hadn't worked out in it. I've barely been going out there and watering because it's so hot. I know it's hot there too, yeah, um, but we, we got that louisiana heat and it's awful humid. You know so, but, um, honestly, this is this, this is a full-time job, and I've told a couple of my buddies that have asked me, like, how do you make the switch from being a part-time musician to a full-time musician? You have to work way more. You have to work more than 40 hours a week. You have to wake up answering emails and go to bed sending emails, you know, and um, so we homeschool our kids.
Speaker 3:We started doing that before covid, they've they've never went to to public schools and um, but we always did that because whenever they were real little, we were starting to, you know, stacy and I were starting to play a few better shows, and and I think the first time was like 2015, which our daughter wouldn't, our oldest wouldn't have been school age yet and one weekend we opened up for Whiskey Myers and Dwight Yoakam. And then the next night was three doors down. So we were like, okay, we need to at least start putting some thought into how we're going to raise our kids and what we're going going to do as far as school goes, because I don't want to be the parents that send them to school and then we get them for a little bit monday, tuesday and wednesday evening, but thursday evening daddy's gone, friday evening that he's gone, and saturday, you know. So, um, this way, we, we still get to.
Speaker 3:When I get off this interview, I'm going to go hang out with my kiddos, you know, and I'll be picking a guitar while I'm sitting in there. You know, that's that kind of drives them crazy sometimes. But no, we just we hang out and we, we when, when we're traveling, like I said earlier, we go to the zoo, um, whatever zoo we can find, we try to do that. We go to garage sales and we like local restaurants, you know, uh, and just kind of exploring stacy and I we're real big into hiking and camping and stuff like that. So as soon as it cools off a little bit, I'll be up in Arkansas disappearing a lot up there at Devil's Den and up in Jasper, just all over the Washtenaw National Forest. Yeah, I like being in the woods.
Speaker 1:We know you've got a big night coming up tonight. We're again pulling for you. We'll ask you one more question. This is one, this is kind of one for us. Can you share a fun fact about yourself that maybe people don't?
Speaker 3:know. So I got a whole bunch of crazy stories. I can share a bunch, but one of them was I was held by Bill Monroe himself when I was a baby and I think that that's pretty cool, and I've never really. I've told that story to friends and fellow musicians a couple of times, but it always just seems so braggadocious. I've never really told it publicly.
Speaker 3:But um, so the story is that my grandparents were open and they were the Ramsey family and they were the first band and then the second band was, uh, margie and Enoch Sullivan, and Margie and Enoch were the first lady and she was the first lady of Bluegrass Gospel according to Bill Monroe he's the one that named her that and then Enoch was the grandfather of Bluegrass Gospels, what everybody called him, and Bill was the grandfather of Bluegrass, you know. So my grandparents are on stage. My mom was backstage holding me and honestly, I'm sure when I say backstage, this is bluegrass in the in the late 80s. This, you know, is probably a church somewhere with just a little side shoot off or whatever. It definitely wasn't anything fancy. But um, she said that bill walked up to her and he said let me hold that baby. And uh, she said all right. And he up to her and he said let me hold that baby. And she said all right, and he picked me up and he said this is going to be my little bluegrass boy. And Enoch Sullivan walked up to him and said no, that's going to be my fiddle player. And so they kind of joke and argued back and forth, you know, excuse me.
Speaker 3:And then, um, so years later, when I did start playing the fiddle, I was playing one day and I walked into the living room or the kitchen and I said mama, let me show you something. And I started playing something and she just stopped. She was washing dishes and she just stopped and she said oh my God, ain't it cursed you? And I said what do you? This is a. You know, I've been playing for a minute now. And and uh, I had not heard this story. And she said ain't? Sullivan said that you were going to be his little fiddle player. And Bill said no, he's going to be my bluegrass boy, you know. So, um, so I guess both of them came true but, uh, so yeah, that's that's Not.
Speaker 3:a lot of folks know that. I guess they do now.
Speaker 2:I know you got a big event tonight, so we're not going to keep you much, much longer. And plus, not to mention, you might be going broke as you're sitting here, especially if someone's shopping.
Speaker 3:Look, I heard the truck. I heard my truck crank earlier, so about 10 minutes ago, so she's headed that way.
Speaker 2:It's over. It's over, yeah, but we're really pulling for you tonight. You know, take some pictures. You're welcome to send me some. Let me know how you did.
Speaker 3:I'm very excited, I will.
Speaker 2:Thank you, and we're definitely looking forward to having you here for OBS, and we're going to meet up with you the night before and I'll get to spend some time with Stacy, because we haven't had a chance to really do that, so I'm excited about that.
Speaker 1:Super excited Me too. Well, you've been listening to the 266 Express. I'm John Noblet, I'm Donna Green. Thank you so much for listening in to what's going on in our small little North Texas town.