Jonathan Firey and Hutch Deibler

Have you ever wondered what it's like to meet a legendary lyricist? Join us as we recount the unforgettable moment we met Bernie Taupin at a church event, where even amid the grandeur of his achievements, his humility shone brightly. Our good friend Jonathan Fiery is with us, along with our trusty producer Hutch, and together we bring you a blend of nostalgia, laughter, and amazing stories. From the playful chaos of technical difficulties and lighting setups to reminiscing about past travels and missed episodes, this episode is a joyful celebration of enduring friendships and shared memories.

We also indulge in some light-hearted debates and entertaining anecdotes, like the amusing saga of matching shoes and unexpected growth spurts between Hutch and Jonathan. We reflect on our long history together, weaving through the tapestry of our lives, from moments on tour to the everyday joys and challenges of family life. You'll hear about our admiration for notable figures like Chris Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, and Brian Regan, and the whimsical notion of having dinner with celebrities such as Robert Kennedy Jr. and Megyn Kelly. The charm of unexpected celebrity encounters in California and the allure of living on the Central Coast also feature prominently in our discussion.

In a heartfelt segment, we delve into the trials and triumphs of raising children with unique needs and the joy of seeing them thrive in creative pursuits like musical theater. We share the emotional and financial challenges of infertility and adoption, underscoring the resilience and support needed to navigate these paths. This episode is a blend of humor, wisdom, and heartfelt reflections, celebrating the beauty of family, the camaraderie forged on tour, and the ongoing journey of our musical and personal lives. Tune in for a warm, engaging, and thoroughly entertaining ride with friends old and new.

Transcript

Speaker 2 0:17

recording all right morning everybody, top of the morning to you.

Speaker 3 0:22

We are here, uh you're not going headphones the whole time, should I? No, I'm just kidding. You can put them on if you want.

Speaker 1 0:29

This is right in front of my face for that camera. No, Drew is taller than me.

Speaker 2 0:32

We'll put it down a little bit.

Speaker 3 0:34

Scooch it down, there you go.

Speaker 2 0:37

You've got to be able to talk into it.

Speaker 4 0:40

You're also not lit, you, you are kind of dark, he's lit though no, I'm not the lighting supervisor here.

Speaker 2 0:43

He's so dark. I mean, what if we did that?

Speaker 3 0:46

It's a dark time for Hutch.

Speaker 2 0:50

Yeah, oh wait.

Speaker 3 0:54

Is that better, hutch? Not really, no, but it's okay.

Speaker 1 0:56

No, you're definitely in the shot there, though I don't care if I'm in the shot.

Speaker 2 1:00

He'll no. No, the light is, it's okay. He'll make it smaller.

Speaker 3 1:03

Oh, the light's in the shot.

Speaker 2 1:04

Yeah, he'll crop it.

Speaker 3 1:05

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool All right here we go, ready, nice, nice, nice, nice, three, two, one. Everybody quiet through the intro. Okay, I'll try. I'll try.

Speaker 2 1:18

It never Welcome to the Gospel, according to Jeremy, episode 32, I think.

Speaker 3 1:25

I don't know, I'm not talking, see.

Speaker 2 1:27

You just talked, she can't help it.

Speaker 3 1:30

You asked a question.

Speaker 2 1:32

Glad to have you here. Sorry about missing last week, did we?

Speaker 3 1:37

miss again. Yeah, we missed. We're horrible.

Speaker 2 1:41

We're back and forth a little bit traveling. I'm Jeremy Dibler, as always, with my co-host, jennifer Dibler. Also, hutch is here in the producer spot and our friend Jonathan Fiery, all the way in from California. Drew's on vacation in Florida with his family and we found out John was going to be in town actually meeting with Hutch, which felt—.

Speaker 3 2:00

That's so weird.

Speaker 4 2:01

It felt a little weird. It's a little strange, it's very weird it felt a little weird. It's a little strange Because I was like it's very weird.

Speaker 3 2:06

But kind of awesome, very awesome, kind of awesome. But you remember when Hatch was little and you guys had matching shoes Because he idolized you.

Speaker 4 2:12

Yeah, two or three years old when we met.

Speaker 3 2:14

You had your little matching vans, we did.

Speaker 1 2:16

We could do that again.

Speaker 4 2:17

We should do that again.

Speaker 1 2:21

I know what we're doing today, that's right Shoe shopping Fur.

Speaker 3 2:24

What does he?

Speaker 4 2:24

say Fur, wait, I don't know, I don't know what to say. We might even be the same size by now.

Speaker 1 2:29

No, no, I think my shoe size is going down Is it really.

Speaker 4 2:33

You're shrinking already. Shrinking feet, yeah.

Speaker 2 2:36

Did you have a growth spurt later in life, or were you always really tall?

Speaker 4 2:40

I was always sort of tall. Okay, junior, senior year of high school, I grew like three or four inches, wow. So that's when it yeah, and now I'm shrinking a little bit.

Speaker 3 2:50

I mean that's about normal time to have that.

Speaker 4 2:53

Yeah, but to go from like 6'1 to 6'5.

Speaker 3 2:56

What are you now?

Speaker 4 2:57

6'5-ish.

Speaker 3 2:58

I thought you were 6'7.

Speaker 4 3:00

No, officially 6'6, but I've lost a little bit.

Speaker 3 3:03

I had back surgery, spinal. Oh, you had back surgery. I didn't know that. Gosh, we don't talk anymore.

Speaker 2 3:08

I know we should catch up. Well, pawpaw, he was a really big dude. My grandpa, I don't know if you ever got to meet him. Did you meet Pawpaw, I think so. I think he was like senior in high school and between like 18 and 20, he grew like five inches, so he was Big Amy.

Speaker 3 3:32

Well, he ended up. Yeah, he wasn't Little Amy anymore, and I did the same.

Speaker 2 3:36

I was pretty short in high school. Brian Smith and I were about the same size, and then around 19, I was just like huh, that didn't happen.

Speaker 3 3:44

Well, not yet.

Speaker 1 3:45

Give him time. Well, he's almost 21.

Speaker 2 3:46

I'm not betting on it.

Speaker 1 3:48

I don't know if you use microphones a lot, but you need to get close to that I can hear myself, are you?

Speaker 3 3:51

worried about it. Are you kidding?

Speaker 1 3:53

Okay, I can hear myself as much as I need to.

Speaker 3 3:55

You know what Dr Brooks told me when you were two? Which?

Speaker 2 4:01

5'10 and a 5-size shoe is the typical American Five A five, 5'10, or, sorry, 5'10. Shoe Size 10 shoe.

Speaker 3 4:10

Wow.

Speaker 2 4:10

My bad.

Speaker 3 4:12

Run that back Words, try again.

Speaker 2 4:14

So height 5'10, shoe size 10 is typical American.

Speaker 3 4:19

Yeah.

Speaker 2 4:20

Yeah, which is actually a lot taller than it used to be which. Why is that a?

Speaker 3 4:26

lot taller than it used to be, which why is?

Speaker 2 4:28

that.

Speaker 1 4:29

What are we doing Like around?

Speaker 2 4:30

the Revolutionary War. It was 5'7".

Speaker 3 4:33

That makes sense, george.

Speaker 2 4:33

Washington was probably 5'11". That's when it all changed the war.

Speaker 1 4:38

The war.

Speaker 2 4:38

The war.

Speaker 1 4:39

Made everyone taller.

Speaker 3 4:40

Little George, that's what did it.

Speaker 2 4:42

Yeah, so you and I met. You weren't married yet. You've probably known, you've known Hutch his whole life, Pretty much.

Speaker 3 4:49

We have known Hutch his whole life.

Speaker 4 4:51

I was around even before the inception. Conception of Sadie Claire. That's right.

Speaker 3 4:56

Well, right, but were you on the bus with us when I was pregnant with Hutch?

Speaker 4 5:00

Yeah, you had to have been. I think he was a baby when I started playing with you guys. Yeah, but what year did you get married? You had to ask that 2005.

Speaker 2 5:13

Yeah, okay, because you were dating Allie when we met, yeah, and so Mike Boggs, former guitar player of FFH. He and I were talking about either bringing a guitar tech with us, somebody to help, and he said you know, my friend John from Oklahoma is really good at guitar and he'd probably really love to be out here. And I said well, that sounds good. You know, it was between you and another guy. He knew another dude too, you and this guy named Keenan.

Speaker 2 5:37

I didn't know you had competition and I was like well, just you know, pick whichever one you'd want to be on the road with, he goes. Well, let's call John. And it took us about because John's really humble and you really are humble. It took us a couple of months to realize that our guitar tech was the best musician on the bus.

Speaker 2 5:59

Come on, and so you know, the irony of John's time with us on the road was that you know he could play anything that we could play, and play it so much better, and yet he was plugging in and unplugging.

Speaker 3 6:13

Yeah, that's ridiculous, isn't it? That's the headphone volume.

Speaker 1 6:16

You want to OK, if you want.

Speaker 2 6:17

You're screaming at me. If you do the gain up there, it's up there, I know.

Speaker 3 6:21

I think you're used to daddy screaming. There's nothing like without Drew.

Speaker 2 6:24

I'm worried about how this goes down. There's nothing like crunchy or anything.

Speaker 1 6:27

No, it's fine.

Speaker 2 6:28

And we are recording. You see it rolling. Is it counting down?

Speaker 1 6:30

Yeah.

Speaker 2 6:31

Okay.

Speaker 3 6:33

No pressure, Hutch. Well, this is the first non-Drew one we've done.

Speaker 2 6:39

No, really went bad.

Speaker 3 6:41

Did we scrap it?

Speaker 2 6:42

We didn't scrap it, but you were responsible for some of it remember it was that's never.

Speaker 3 6:46

never good yeah.

Speaker 2 6:48

So, anyways, great to have you.

Speaker 3 6:51

I should have worn my Fiery Music shirt. You still have that, heck? Yes, it's one of my favorite shirts I think I have it, brian Barefoot, wore it on your podcast.

Speaker 2 6:59

Yeah, what are you in town?

Speaker 4 7:00

for Work Music business work yeah. Yeah, a very quick trip, just a couple days. I go home tomorrow, okay.

Speaker 2 7:09

Are you?

Speaker 4 7:09

writing. Writing. Home is Southern California, santa Barbara area. Writing Doing a couple podcasts. I did one yesterday, oh you did yeah. Yeah, it was fun. Who did you do this lady? She reached out to me. She actually kind of does your type of work.

Speaker 3 7:28

Okay.

Speaker 4 7:29

Kind of soul care and therapy and her thing is called Happy Hour with Deb. And it's just like this, just sit around and visit and hang out and talk. So I did that. Did you like it? I?

Speaker 1 7:40

did like it. Did you like it more than this one?

Speaker 4 7:42

So far, so far, but we're barely into this. Well, this one isn't happy. Deb is so happy.

Speaker 1 7:48

This is depressing hour with Jeremy.

Speaker 3 7:49

This is just the hour.

Speaker 1 7:51

An hour with Jeremy. What did you say? It's an hour, an hour with Jeremy.

Speaker 3 7:56

Downer hour.

Speaker 2 7:57

John does a lot of instrumental music. He's great at it. He's the soundtrack to all of our Christmas mornings.

Speaker 3 8:04

Yes.

Speaker 2 8:05

Every year, and so he's got contracts with different companies.

Speaker 3 8:13

If you've ever heard music in Hobby Lobby, that's Jonathan Fiery. You hear some guitar, some sweet guitar Sweet guitar riffs.

Speaker 2 8:17

And if you've seen FFH play, you've seen and heard John and he's on our records and stuff. So one of my favorite people and it's so cool that we've been friends for so long, I know 20 years.

Speaker 3 8:32

That's crazy, yeah, that's crazy, yeah, well, yeah, because he's 21, so there you go.

Speaker 2 8:34

John is a fellow jeep aficionado um praise him, praise him, praise him it's amazing, isn't it? It's fun.

Speaker 4 8:41

You've both been in my Jeep.

Speaker 1 8:43

Yes, in the mountains in California Not me.

Speaker 3 8:47

Well come visit.

Speaker 4 8:48

Get on it.

Speaker 3 8:49

I want to come out there because I need to meet my hero, my other hero Monty Monty, yes. Before he kicks the bucket.

Speaker 4 8:57

Yes.

Speaker 3 8:58

He old.

Speaker 4 8:59

He's getting up there, but he's fit and healthy.

Speaker 3 9:02

Is he up there? But he's fit and healthy. Is he Good? You know him.

Speaker 4 9:06

I'm actually playing for them for a couple shows in the next couple weeks. They're having some art shows and things on the ranch.

Speaker 3 9:10

Is that the one he's doing? I'm so mad at you right now.

Speaker 1 9:12

That's a different thing we have to talk about, that we have to talk about that.

Speaker 4 9:16

I'm trying to poach your son to be my band.

Speaker 1 9:17

That's an off-podcast conversation.

Speaker 3 9:20

I, I want to be in the band. I don't play anything, come on, but I want to be in the band.

Speaker 4 9:23

Anytime, I'll gas the Jeep up.

Speaker 2 9:25

How do you think it feels for me?

Speaker 3 9:26

What.

Speaker 2 9:27

That he bypassed me.

Speaker 3 9:30

And went to him.

Speaker 2 9:31

And went to him to play keys.

Speaker 3 9:32

Sorry, babe, we're old.

Speaker 2 9:34

What the?

Speaker 4 9:34

heck is that I'm trying to stay young.

Speaker 2 9:38

He's trying to stay relevant. Well, call yeah. Cold as ice.

Speaker 4 9:44

She's in her 50s Pump the brakes bro.

Speaker 2 9:46

She's in her 50s. I know, are you 40? What are you? 42? 41. 41. Oh my gosh, I married an older woman.

Speaker 4 9:53

What's she? I can't really say, I'm not supposed to Okay, that's good.

Speaker 3 9:57

Really, she's older, older than me. You really can't say would she be upset?

Speaker 4 10:02

No, probably not 44. Allie's 44.

Speaker 3 10:05

You're in so much trouble right now.

Speaker 4 10:08

I know Allie.

Speaker 2 10:09

Love you babe.

Speaker 3 10:10

Sorry.

Speaker 2 10:10

Have you seen a friend, bernie lately?

Speaker 4 10:14

I'm going to see him tonight, you are not it's funny yeah, where In Hendersonville? So my friend Bernie's an artist. He's a songwriter and an artist and he's showcasing some of his art.

Speaker 2 10:29

He's going to be near me again, so John and I share a mutual friend, bernie, is near. I'm going to get my brain.

Speaker 3 10:34

Should I go put my firing shirt on? No, so.

Speaker 2 10:36

John.

Speaker 3 10:37

I'll wear it next one.

Meeting Bernie Taupin

Speaker 2 10:38

John knows. Put it in the show notes. John knows two equally talented songwriters and lyricists. He's going from me today and then Bernie Taupin tonight, but that was such a cool experience getting to see.

Speaker 4 10:54

That was fun. You introduced me to Bernie Watching you meet Bernie.

Speaker 3 10:57

You texted me. You're like I've never seen this side of Jeremy before I've never seen you geek out before.

Speaker 4 11:02

Yeah, but he's a sweet guy and I don't know why he acknowledges my existence, but he does and that's really cool. That's really cool.

Speaker 3 11:10

Surely everyone knows who he is right. Maybe you should.

Speaker 2 11:12

Well, I mean, if you ever listen to Elton John.

Speaker 3 11:16

You know who he is.

Speaker 2 11:17

Yeah, the story. And I guess people who don't they're not audiophiles may not know that Elton John did most of his big songs with a co-writer named Bernie Taupin. So Elton John would go in the studio with Bernie and Bernie would give Elton John a binder full of lyrics and Elton John would just pick through and he would write the song they were recording that day. And that's how. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Daniel and Rocket man and all of the biggest songs.

Speaker 3 11:50

I would love to go. What did? What were you talking about with Tiny Dancer? Or you know what I mean, like what the heck does that mean.

Speaker 2 11:56

But like Candle in the Wind, and some of these songs that will go down forever Like these, are forever songs. They are for, they for their classics forever and he walks into john's church and I was like, and john had told me that you know, hey, bernie goes here, he might be here. And I was like, wait, wait what he might actually come and you had to do one of your own that morning john had asked me to lead worship with him and then also play a couple of my songs.

Speaker 2 12:22

and uh, I was like, john, will you introduce me to him? I won't be weird, I think. Actually you said, yeah, I will, but don't be weird. Yeah, and you were weird, it's okay.

Speaker 4 12:34

Well, you were weird.

Speaker 2 12:35

Was he weird?

Speaker 1 12:35

I wasn't weird, he did his kneel down thing.

Speaker 4 12:39

No, yeah, you did the kneel down talk, but it was fine.

Speaker 2 12:41

Well, he was sitting down. It was fine he was sitting down and I didn't want to stand over him.

Speaker 1 12:46

The kneel down just means you're going to be in this for a long time.

Speaker 3 12:48

You're committing to this conversation. Yeah, get ready, bernie, I'm in for the long haul, whether the other person wants to or not you're in it this is it? Well, there were some things I wanted to say and you're gonna listen because I'm knelt.

Speaker 2 13:03

Now I'm knelt he was, so mom played piano and bernie uh, mom only had one or two like books, like fake books kind of, and she listened to a ton of his, their stuff, and so the first music I ever played was elton and bernie and I learned to play. I learned to play piano reading those books, and so I told him that and of course you know he's probably heard that a gazillion times.

Speaker 3 13:30

Probably like yes, so you know. I told him again Fabian off my shoe.

Speaker 2 13:32

His wife was sweet, you know. You could tell that Bernie didn't want to talk a lot, so his wife filled in for him. And then we're playing and music is starting. John's already on stage. John and Hutch are on stage and I'm like okay, bernie, I got to go.

Speaker 3 13:46

I got to get up from my kneeling position.

Speaker 2 13:49

And so I get up on stage and we played some worship music, and then it came time for me to play my songs, and it all of a sudden occurred to me that I'm playing my songs, like the songs that I wrote when I was like 22, 23 years old, with these trite christian lyrics like you are the light, you make it right out from the night, the dark and I'm like oh god.

Speaker 2 14:14

And out there's bernie just sitting with his arms crossed, like yeah, I mean, he's forgotten more music than I've ever played, and uh, he was kind. But but after that I asked John. I said do you think I can say he's my friend now, of course? So John texted him later that afternoon and he's like I think you could probably say he's your friend.

Speaker 3 14:36

What did you say to him?

Speaker 4 14:38

Did you apologize? I didn't apologize, I just said thanks for being kind to my friend.

Speaker 3 14:43

You've meant a lot to him and he'd be your friend.

Speaker 4 14:46

And the response was very kind. He's awesome, no worries, it's great. Yeah, it's all good and I get it. Man I've met. I've been fortunate to meet some of my heroes, who do you?

Speaker 2 14:55

have like that who's?

Speaker 4 14:56

your hero, you know, like Phil Keggy, though yeah, we're friends and we've made music together and played concerts and so that that was a big one for me, so I get what that feels like and I think it. I think it actually honors them to hear that from people. They hear it a lot, but especially bernie I know he's. He's very grateful and receives that stuff really well do.

Speaker 3 15:17

Most people know that who the heck he is no I mean, surely he can walk around, no one knows who he is?

Speaker 4 15:22

yeah, and I think he likes it that way. He's pretty laid back and pretty chill, so he prefers that, I think.

Speaker 2 15:28

After I left there I was trying to think do I Like he'd be on a very short list of people that I actually was like?

Speaker 4 15:34

yeah.

Speaker 2 15:34

I want to meet him.

Speaker 4 15:35

Yeah.

Speaker 2 15:35

I'm trying to think like I don't know. I was trying to think Seinfeld, you know if I was in a room with Seinfeld.

Speaker 3 15:42

I'd be like oh gosh, he would be such a jerk though.

Speaker 2 15:45

It would be great though.

Speaker 3 15:46

It would be great In the best way possible. Yeah, but he's such a jerk.

Speaker 2 15:49

David Sedaris, I would be the same Like, do you?

Speaker 3 15:52

have a oh gosh. Well, I love Megyn Kelly.

Speaker 4 15:57

I want to be best friends with her yeah.

Speaker 3 16:01

Megyn.

Speaker 4 16:02

Monty is my hero. We're going to make that happen.

Speaker 3 16:04

Should you?

Speaker 1 16:05

explain who that is.

Speaker 3 16:06

He's the horse whisperer. He is the original horse whisperer. He whispers to horses Hello horse, you are a horse Just like that. He's such a good boy.

Speaker 1 16:21

ASMR podcast, won't we all?

Speaker 2 16:23

have to go. Oh stop, hey, who would be yours and you'll go. Boy, it's an ASMR podcast, won't we all have to go. Oh stop, hey, who would be yours.

Speaker 3 16:29

Other than your dad.

Speaker 1 16:31

Yeah, every day.

Speaker 2 16:34

I wake up near my hero, chris Martin.

Speaker 1 16:37

Chris Martin's one of them.

Speaker 2 16:38

Yeah.

Speaker 1 16:41

I mean, yeah, I'd probably have to meet Seinfeld too. I don't know. Yeah, brian Regan for me. Yeah, I'd probably have to meet Seinfeld too. I don't know.

Speaker 2 16:46

Yeah, Brian Regan, for me too, I think he's great.

Speaker 3 16:49

Brian Regan is the best.

Speaker 2 16:51

Those are the people like if someone you know, when people always ask if you could have dinner with somebody oh, by the way, chris Martin, would be mine too.

Speaker 3 16:58

Yeah, that would be pretty great.

Speaker 2 16:59

Chris Martin.

Speaker 3 17:00

He's been to Franklin walking around before.

Speaker 2 17:02

Yeah.

Speaker 3 17:03

Wouldn't that have been weird, just to run into him? Hi, chris Martin.

Speaker 2 17:07

As a front man who has been in front of a band in charge of leading whatever a group of you know whether it be 100, or I mean what, 50,000, 60,000 people the way he does it, so he can make 100,000 people happy and keep them happy for two hours.

Speaker 4 17:27

It's unbelievable. Yeah, you just hold them right here. Yeah, it's amazing.

Speaker 2 17:31

I mean, it's like anointing. You know what I mean. It's amazing. I think Bono probably has that too, although I was never a huge U2 fan. But if you've read the book, man, it's great.

Speaker 4 17:47

Not to fluff your skirt, but you have the same thing in front of people.

Speaker 2 17:49

Well, maybe, maybe a diet version of it, though.

Speaker 3 17:51

Yeah, they're in that him and chris martin are in the same arena, but no, he's the same arena, same state you don't remember seeing him whenever he we do those big things.

Speaker 4 18:02

He's really good at it. Your dad was on point still are no, thank you, it's a thing thanks, he doesn't have to.

Speaker 3 18:07

He doesn't get it to do it anymore yeah, that runs out, doesn't it? There is a an age limit.

Speaker 2 18:13

Usually bono's still going, but there's an age limit and also an energy limit there is an energy. You know it's a lot of work, doesn't it there? Thankfully, youtube wasn't very popular back then, but there are some youtube clips of us which is terrible and I see me and I go. Man, I don't know if I could do that right now like the, the, the energy and the hype. You know what I mean. Like um, can you do the blonde?

Speaker 2 18:38

hair if I needed to, I think you should make that great again pretty gray right now.

Speaker 3 18:42

Make that great again make that great again. Pretty gray right now Make that great again. Make tips great again.

Speaker 2 18:46

Yeah, frosted tips. Well, I wish I wouldn't have done that.

Speaker 3 18:49

No, come on, it was perfect. I wish you wouldn't have done it either, because I had to do it for you. He'd be like babe, I need my touch up.

Speaker 2 18:57

Oh, wow, dang it.

Speaker 3 18:57

I don't want to do this yeah Wow. It was a pain. I had to pull your hair through that cap.

Speaker 2 19:03

It was so hard on you. It was so hard to be you back then.

Speaker 3 19:06

It was hard to be me. It was so much pressure. It was a lot of pressure you put in so much work in the studio it was tough for me.

Speaker 4 19:12

I remember some of those sessions. Where's Jayla? Oh, she'll be here later. She's shopping, she'll be here, About three Minutes before we push record, she'll be here, maybe, having never heard the song before. I think one of the first tasks I had when I started touring with you guys was go to the bus and get J-Lo's makeup. Oh, really Go get my makeup bag.

Speaker 2 19:35

All right, which is funny, because that would have been the tour manager's job and he put it down on you.

Speaker 4 19:40

Yeah, no kidding, I was low man there for a while.

Speaker 3 19:45

That's guitar tech and hey.

Speaker 4 19:46

I got free food and play guitar. I was. I was happy, it was fine.

Speaker 3 19:48

Wow.

Speaker 2 19:50

Well, I do remember we came back from Africa, I got sick, um, we took a while off. You guys opened the store, um, and then, when she and I were like, okay, I think maybe we can go do this again, you and Allie sat in our living room and said, hey, you know, we just want you, we got you If you want to do this. Well, so that was huge.

Speaker 3 20:10

You guys were a lifesaver because Allie kept the kids. I mean, it was huge. She booked everything.

Speaker 2 20:17

Kept the kids. Allie has got a. She's a high capacity person.

Speaker 3 20:21

She really is.

Speaker 2 20:25

She, she's a high-capacity person. She really is. She's a go-getter.

Speaker 4 20:27

What's it like being married to somebody like that? It's all of the things. Yeah, it's great, is it? She literally keeps everything, all the plates spinning, how I don't know, and she's still really good at it.

Speaker 2 20:40

Do you ever feel shame, though, that you can't do that?

Speaker 3 20:43

Maybe he can.

Speaker 4 20:44

No, I used to, I don't, I don't anymore. I think you know we've been married 18 years and we kind of found our groove and what I'm good at and what she's good at, and so it works. But yeah, early on I was like why can't I remember this? Or I had to write down the three things I would get at the grocery store and I would forget one, you know. But no, not anymore. It's we're, we're a machine. We work well together.

Speaker 3 21:07

Man, she's, but she is. She is a go-getter, she's amazing.

Speaker 2 21:11

Well, and I'm sure that she. You know, we all grow. But I remember when Allie was tour managing for us, if she were to forget something I mean it was one out of 10 things and I remember going look, it's okay it, because she would beat herself up. Yeah, like oh, she's the kind of tour manager that you could mention. You could just mention on the bus, like man, a piece of cheesecake would be good, and she'd hear it and there'd be a piece of cheesecake in the dressing room.

Speaker 3 21:36

Yeah, like she was tour manager slash nanny, which is crazy, yeah, crazy good those are some good days too, those those were some fun days.

Speaker 4 21:45

Everything was different. We had the season of all the big stuff and the hustle of it, and then we moved into the season where we were in the motorhome.

Speaker 3 21:57

Yeah.

Speaker 4 21:58

Those were fun days and these guys were growing up and we got to travel together and Fritzy.

Speaker 2 22:03

Yeah, little sniffle Fritz were growing up and we got to travel together and fritzy yeah, it was fun. Oh, jennifer, at one point, when we went back out on the road, this is after we have both of our kids and this is. I wrote a lot about this in my book because, uh, this was a a very disjointed time. So she wanted, jennifer, wanted for our family just to have our own private space. And so she's like you know what we need. And I was like, okay, here it comes. She's like we need our own motorhome. Except she didn't mean like motorhome, like we have sitting in the driveway, she meant bus.

Speaker 2 22:38

And so we buy this big haunted diesel pusher we actually took it to my mom's house one time and my stepdad came in and goes there's a house in that thing Diesel pusher. It was like we actually took it to my mom's house one time and my stepdad came in and goes there's a house in my driveway, and so we bought this huge bus and the four of us. It was so fun Went to and from the gigs, and then everybody else got to fly in and meet us there. And it was like can I fly in and meet us there?

Speaker 3 23:03

I'll drive the kids Because we were driving the big white turd the big white turd.

Speaker 2 23:07

I was driving the big white turd.

Speaker 3 23:09

Wasn't it called a dynasty I think it was the dynasty.

Speaker 4 23:11

I don't know, something like that. Yeah, but it was the big white turd.

Speaker 3 23:15

Yeah.

Speaker 4 23:16

And he pulled your Jeep behind it Pulled the Jeep Amazing.

Speaker 2 23:19

There's a. The turd had a turd.

Speaker 3 23:23

It was fun for me, not for you.

Speaker 2 23:26

Well no, because I get done with a gig and I'm used to just shutting it down. And now I'm behind the wheel just motorhoming it down the road and I didn't know what to do. I mean, one night the awning blew open and we just cut it off with an exacto knife.

Speaker 3 23:41

The kids were asleep.

Speaker 2 23:43

We got up on the room and just sliced it off. We cut it off with an X-Acto knife.

Speaker 3 23:44

The kids were asleep, we got up on the room and just sliced it off, cut it off.

Speaker 2 23:47

We left it in Iowa on the highway.

Dinner With Famous Celebrities

Speaker 3 23:50

Wasn't it right at that Tri-Cities area Something? Yeah, Sorry about that Tri-Cities Awning, it's probably still there Free awning, Free awning-ish kind of.

Speaker 2 23:58

You woke up one night and you came to the front. You and Sadie were sleeping in the back bedroom and you came up and you're like I'm kind of worried about something. And we're like what buddy Tell us? You said I'm worried that the bus is going to break in half and Sadie and me are going to be in the back half and you and mom are going to be in the front half.

Speaker 1 24:17

I remember that fear.

Speaker 2 24:18

Do you?

Speaker 3 24:19

really, I remember that fear. Yeah, fear, yeah, right now. That's so sad. Did you ever like slowly?

Speaker 1 24:35

drift apart sparks and you see them going. Oh, we know, we just keep going. We didn't know what happened. Bye, guys, listen to the music. It's like the beginning of cars.

Speaker 2 24:39

Really, what's funny is that we didn't try to explain to him that there's no way that could ever happen. We're just like, well, come sleep up here. Yeah, we just were like, were like, well, that's possible.

Speaker 3 24:46

That's great and it kind of was possible is kind of what happened.

Speaker 2 24:49

Well, it burnt down. It didn't cut in half, it started in the back though.

Speaker 1 24:52

How terrifying. But it didn't split in half.

Speaker 3 24:53

That's way different then it gets just going the back half burnt. That is way different, but still shut up.

Speaker 2 25:01

I mean you and I together when that awning blew open. What's funny is that neither you or me considered fixing it.

Speaker 4 25:08

We're like what are we going to do? Just cut it off.

Speaker 3 25:11

We don't know.

Speaker 4 25:14

Allie. What do we do?

Speaker 3 25:16

We half-assed it.

Speaker 4 25:16

I climbed the ladder up there.

Speaker 2 25:17

I was like oh, this looks like up here on the roof.

Speaker 3 25:20

Oh my gosh, what would my dad have done? You think? Never cut it off, no, he wouldn't have, he wouldn't have cut it off. No he would have fixed it on the spot he would have definitely kept the awning.

Speaker 1 25:29

Either way, you have room under the bus to hold stuff.

Speaker 4 25:32

It was full of clothes and makeup, though, shut up, there's no room for makeup bags.

Speaker 3 25:38

It was probably full of baby toys. At that point it was yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 25:42

Well, I remember thinking something doesn't sound right in this thing.

Speaker 4 25:45

How long?

Speaker 3 25:45

was it open. It must have been a sale for a long time. Can you imagine what that looked like?

Speaker 4 25:53

You're hovering on the interstate.

Speaker 3 25:54

Why is this thing pulling to the right?

Speaker 2 25:56

So back to that question, because this would be fun to get comments from If you could spend an evening with someone. It can't be Jesus, it can't be anybody from the Bible.

Speaker 3 26:05

Oh no, bible people, it can't be a president, it's got to be like.

Speaker 4 26:08

None of those people Like who would you have dinner with? No, robert Kennedy Jr.

Speaker 3 26:14

Oh dang.

Speaker 2 26:14

That's your guy.

Speaker 3 26:15

I would love to have dinner with him I wouldn't trust you having dinner with him.

Speaker 2 26:18

You shouldn't trust me having dinner with him.

Speaker 3 26:21

You told me it's okay, though, if we meet and you know things go well. Bye, peace out Waterspout.

Speaker 2 26:27

Okay, it's weird to talk about with Hutch here.

Speaker 1 26:30

Okay, she already told me about that.

Speaker 3 26:33

He knows he's been warned, I actually am aware he's been warned that I may not come home.

Speaker 2 26:38

I'm a part of this. I mean, I think I probably already said Seinfeld, but I love stand-up comics. I think it would be a fun. Why Seinfeld? Well, I've kind of always said that I think just being with him and just having a fun funny dinner.

Speaker 3 26:54

I just don't think he'd be fun though.

Speaker 2 26:55

Oh he might not be. I think he'd be fun, though. Oh he might not be. I think he's pretty mean. I mean also, I was just thinking about this you can't say you're dead dad.

Speaker 3 27:04

Oh, you know, if I could just have one more meal, so like just celebrity or like, like somebody cool so basically no political people, no bible people no, no family people, yeah, no dead family members wow, you're really narrow who can we do?

Speaker 2 27:19

anybody else in?

Speaker 3 27:20

the whole world.

Speaker 2 27:21

There's not that many Like if you say, I'm just saying, if I say my dead dad, then how do you not say well, my dead dad.

Speaker 3 27:27

Oh yeah, my dead dad.

Speaker 2 27:28

Well my alive dad.

Speaker 3 27:30

Definitely not. Oh, definitely not that.

Speaker 2 27:32

Well, that's like, okay, who's yours?

Speaker 3 27:36

I don't know, you just narrowed it way too much, I'm racking my brain, sorry, there's like a list of five people. I mean, I'd like, who would I like to have dinner with?

Speaker 2 27:44

Yeah, If you could pick like it doesn't have to be the one, it's just be like tonight, anybody will have dinner with you. You have a jet, you can fly.

Speaker 3 27:56

Well.

Speaker 4 27:56

I can that.

Speaker 3 27:57

I would love to talk to her.

Speaker 4 27:58

Why Megyn Kelly?

Speaker 3 27:59

I listen to her every day.

Speaker 4 28:00

Oh, so you're just a big, you're a super fan.

Speaker 3 28:02

I mean, I just think she's extremely smart and we have a lot in common. Okay, I get that, that she's so smart and we have that in common she's just like me.

Speaker 1 28:16

That's why Is this just one person?

Speaker 2 28:19

Yeah, you can say a couple, you can say a couple.

Speaker 1 28:21

One person tonight.

Speaker 2 28:22

Or say a couple, a couple people, who would you do?

Speaker 1 28:24

I'd get her Jack Conte of Pumple Moose and Patreon Okay.

Speaker 2 28:29

Oh Wait, is he? Yeah, yeah, is he the Scary Pockets guy?

Speaker 1 28:34

Yeah.

Speaker 2 28:35

Okay.

Speaker 1 28:35

He's great. Okay, that's the only one. Maybe John Bellion, okay, so music people.

Speaker 2 28:42

No actors, the producers.

Speaker 1 28:44

Yeah, producer, artists, artists yeah. It had to be an actor, yeah if it's got to be a celebrity, who would be Okay? Now we're narrowing it down even more.

Speaker 4 28:52

Yep See that's what.

Speaker 2 28:54

I was let's do famous person.

Speaker 1 28:55

These people are famous, the people are famous to a specific group, not really though. Wow.

Speaker 2 29:01

Who's going to know, jack Conte.

Speaker 1 29:03

I didn't even know that. I thought it was like a mafia boss Okay.

Speaker 3 29:08

Tony Supremes, all right, I want to meet with the five families.

Speaker 1 29:11

Any of my friends probably know him. Oh yeah, you have to come back to me. I don't know if I can think of a celebrity right off the bat Taylor Swift.

Speaker 2 29:19

I think would be fascinating. Are you a Swifty? It's not that I'm not a Swifty. I think she's great, I think she's like. I would be like yeah, let's have dinner, let's talk. See what's going on. Where would you go to dinner?

Speaker 4 29:36

She'd have to pick, she'd have to pick, she'd have to pick, probably.

Speaker 1 29:39

Chipotle. She's probably super picky too.

Speaker 2 29:39

I'd want it to be private, though I wouldn't want people to be coming up.

Speaker 1 29:42

Probably go Chipotle on Carruthers.

Speaker 3 29:45

No, probably like no Tzatziki's.

Speaker 2 29:49

Jessica Chastain.

Speaker 3 29:50

I'd go to dinner with her Well heck yeah, you'd go to dinner with her.

Speaker 4 29:53

Is that your crush? Yeah, that's his crush. Oh, that's right. Yeah, it is, is she?

Speaker 1 29:57

the redheaded lady.

Speaker 4 29:58

Yeah, my crush. Mm-hmm, I have to think about that.

Speaker 2 30:06

I mean, the person would have to be somewhat tall, probably. Who did I just tell?

Speaker 3 30:09

you my new oh, Ryan Gosling. But now I'm kind of mad. He got some face work done.

Speaker 4 30:14

Did he really yes, oh man Of Really yes man of all the people who doesn't need face work, he does have a little weird face for an actor, like he's not symmetrical.

Speaker 1 30:23

That's the point, that's his whole thing. I know that was so loud. Listen, he was. I'm sorry, I know You're fine, you're fine.

Speaker 3 30:30

I got in trouble for yelling at a restaurant yesterday. Did you really All right?

Speaker 4 30:40

We were playing uno and she just gets so into it like mimi, and we're putting him down and like going back and forth, and I hit her with like a I don't know draw four and she goes.

Speaker 1 30:46

I'm like geez shut up the draw four.

Speaker 4 30:49

Man, stop it. I hate those. I hate the draw four. My kids. They throw those things at me all the time. I think.

Speaker 2 30:55

Well, you know there's. I saw several things on Instagram, people questioning if you could throw a draw four on top of a draw four, and I think Uno responded and said you can't.

Speaker 1 31:07

Oh, that's a different game.

Speaker 4 31:08

I save all my draw fours for the end, when I need to like yeah, you're not allowed to do that, get in there.

Speaker 2 31:13

If you don't have a, if you don't have a color or a number, you have to play your draw for.

Speaker 3 31:18

How do we get on this? Let's go back to who you're happy to be with and who your crush is.

Speaker 4 31:24

I would say for me it's going to be like a musician. Okay, so probably James Taylor would be one.

Speaker 3 31:30

Oh, that's a good one.

Speaker 4 31:31

Vince Gill would be one.

Speaker 2 31:33

I'm surprised you don't know him. I could probably have. You could probably work with him. I'm surprised you don't know him Like. You could maybe do that today.

Speaker 4 31:39

Yeah, maybe I should text him. You should make some phone calls. Get right on that, yeah, or maybe the Eagles. Yeah, to sit down and have dinner with the Eagles would be pretty rad.

Speaker 3 31:49

That'd be pretty cool, that'd be cool. Crush. Think about it, name it present company excluded.

Speaker 2 32:03

I don't your celebrity crush. I don't really have a celebrity crush. Did you just eliminate yourself from this?

Speaker 3 32:06

yes, I was kidding, it was a joke.

Speaker 4 32:08

Nobody got it I mean I sort of admire actresses and like their work and what they do, but oh, please go ahead, I'm kind of weird like that. You know what about you outside of seinfeld?

Speaker 2 32:21

yeah, I mean john mayer would be fascinating oh, that would be interesting talk about. I mean he probably more than anybody else has written like the soundtrack of my adult life.

Speaker 1 32:31

Totally yeah, I mean he's he would be a good one. He's one of the records I don't actually think he would be.

Speaker 3 32:36

I don't think I'd like him. I don't think I like him either I wouldn't like him 20 years ago.

Speaker 4 32:39

I think now he's a little more mellow.

Speaker 3 32:41

I mean.

Celebrity Sightings in California

Speaker 4 32:42

I know people that work with him and he's mellowed out a lot. Monday night I went to see a friend of mine play in LA and they did three nights at the Crypto. I saw him on Monday night Great show, so fun. Monday night great show, so fun. We were in the studio together that day. The next night, John Mayer came out and played with him. Oh my gosh, I was like bro, you couldn't have given me a heads up.

Speaker 2 33:04

Man.

Speaker 4 33:05

Dude, I would have stayed around, you know, but I missed that one.

Speaker 3 33:08

That stinks, but you're like one degree away.

Speaker 4 33:12

I don't know, maybe.

Speaker 2 33:14

You're one degree away from a lot of musicians. You are. I'm only one call away.

Speaker 3 33:18

You're pretty much in the best spot in the world.

Speaker 4 33:22

Yeah, let's talk about that a little bit. Well see, that's great about Nashville and LA. You could literally run into these people. Where we live up around Santa Barbara, a lot of those people have vacation homes you live in the best spot. We see random. I mean I've seen Kanye West and I've seen Harrison Ford.

Speaker 3 33:38

You've seen Kanye in person.

Speaker 4 33:40

Yeah.

Speaker 3 33:41

Weird.

Speaker 4 33:43

At the post office in Sullivan Like sending a postcard or something stupid.

Speaker 3 33:47

So Yeezy, and he had his name on his license plate of his car like a dummy oh no.

Speaker 2 33:54

Yeezy does his own post office runs he did that day.

Speaker 4 33:58

Well, he was up there when he was with Kim. They were looking at Neverland Ranch, they were going to buy that, and then Justin Bieber was going to it. It went around. But yeah, we see people like that all the time. I was in a coffee shop a couple years ago and I called Allie on the phone and I said I'm sitting next to Glenn Close. She's like who I was like Glenn Close. He's like the Friends episode. I'm in a vestibule with Jill, yeah.

Speaker 3 34:25

And then I realized I remember that you remember that one.

Speaker 4 34:28

But then I realized it wasn't Glenn Close, it was Meryl Streep.

Speaker 3 34:32

Oh.

Speaker 1 34:32

And so I called her back.

Speaker 4 34:33

She's like no it's Meryl Streep, straight and she was like that's even cooler. No, she was just like having coffee with her friend, you know, and ally run. I mean, she freaked out.

Speaker 3 34:42

She freaked out a little bit did she come down there? No, I oh my gosh, I would have been like okay, I'll be there in five but see that could happen here. You know you could be at whole foods and run into I've run into nicole kidman or somebody you could run into, nicole kid. I mean it is very yeah, nicole kidman, you could see there's a, there's a list. Yeah, there's a list of people, but it's not like where you are, didn't?

Speaker 2 35:01

you slam the door on taylor swift's face.

Speaker 3 35:04

No faith hill. Oh, she had it coming. Sorry face. Sorry, yeah, it was an accident.

Speaker 2 35:11

Yeah, well you know this, the area that you live in, john the santa barbara, the san jane, I mean. Every time I'm there. The last time I was there, the day I landed, I texted like four or five people and I said we're starting a church in Santa Barbara.

Speaker 3 35:31

Yeah.

Speaker 2 35:32

It's the best. It's unbelievable.

Speaker 3 35:35

How long does it take you to get to LA?

Speaker 4 35:38

About an hour and a half-ish, depending on traffic, that is pretty far.

Speaker 2 35:41

You can fly right from Santa Barbara now and southwest yeah.

Speaker 3 35:44

Yeah.

Speaker 2 35:45

Which, by the way, you need to book your flight if you're going to see him.

Speaker 1 35:48

We're going to talk about that. Yeah, we're going to chat about that. We're going to have our people talk to him.

Speaker 3 35:53

Oh, shut up.

Speaker 2 36:01

Your people, meaning me. No, himself, we'll see, he's his own people. Figure out the teams for this.

Speaker 3 36:04

I am my own people, that's right, but um hutch dibler of hutch dibler, that's right artist and manager yeah um.

Speaker 4 36:11

You love california, though, right love, do you miss it?

Speaker 3 36:13

yeah, I miss it bad, but if I were gonna go back to california, I think I would go central coast yeah that's the best it's the best that guy that owns the coffee shop.

Speaker 2 36:23

He was out yesterday. I was talking to him because he's from pismo beach and gosh that that central coast area is just do you ever watch that show?

Speaker 3 36:32

ranch to table yeah that lady. You know those people.

Speaker 4 36:37

Well, she wrote me like a year ago about they do events at their ranch. Of course, and they might use me to play guitar, but my mom loves that lady and I know where her ranch is. So when my mom visited a while back, we drove by the front gate and she took a picture.

Speaker 3 36:54

I love that show.

Speaker 4 36:55

It's great. It really makes you want to live. She's at our farmer's market a lot in Solvang.

Speaker 3 36:59

It really makes you want to live there.

Speaker 4 37:00

Yeah.

Speaker 3 37:01

They have a ranch that connects to the beach pretty much, don't they?

Speaker 4 37:06

It's close. Yeah, but they have a ranch that overlooks the beach.

Speaker 3 37:09

How many acres? Are we talking with these people?

Speaker 4 37:11

Do you know A couple?

Speaker 2 37:12

thousand probably. Oh yeah, in Ojai. What's special about Ojai? That's like an artsy kind of Ojai?

Speaker 4 37:20

yeah, it's artsy, kind of frou-frou, it's pretty, it's kind of up in the mountains. Is it kind of Franklin-y?

Speaker 3 37:28

Do they have a little downtown? It's.

Speaker 4 37:29

Franklin-y, but it's more like mystical Eureka Springs voodoo, weird vibe oh, that makes sense to him.

Speaker 3 37:38

So there's a lady here, Patina Farm. She had a fancy farm in Ojai. Her husband is an architect in LA, but they moved here. Now they're in Leapers Fork. They bought a little farm in Leapers Fork. They left California I think they had a really bad fire in Ojai a couple years ago, yeah and they were like we in. Ohio, a couple years ago. Yeah, and they were like we can't do this again. They have so many animals that they had to try to get out of the way of the fire.

Speaker 2 38:03

John, you would be shocked at how much California influence is now in Franklin.

Speaker 4 38:08

Bro, I cannot tell you how many people I personally know that have left California to come here. It's crazy. I mean a dozen families.

Speaker 3 38:15

Why? Why are they coming here, do you know?

Speaker 4 38:19

I mean culture. It's expensive. I think people live in California for a number of years and then they just cash out and they can sell their house there and buy a farm here.

Speaker 3 38:31

But it's getting so expensive here it's getting to where that's not working.

Speaker 4 38:36

Yeah, I mean, california is still pretty expensive.

Speaker 3 38:38

It's horrible.

Speaker 4 38:38

Santa Barbara County especially, is brutal, yeah, but it's weird for us because we loved Nashville and never thought we would leave and never thought we would end up where we are now.

Speaker 3 38:51

Right.

Speaker 4 38:52

But we're really glad that we did and we love it.

Speaker 3 38:54

It's been a good spot for you. Do you think you'd ever leave? You probably don't want to talk about that I.

Family, Adoption, & Musical Theater Journeys

Speaker 4 39:03

Do you think you'd ever leave? You probably don't want to talk about that. I don't think so. I mean, I don't know how people retire where we are. I want to get my kids through high school and then they may scatter and go somewhere else, and then at that point, we might do something.

Speaker 3 39:12

How do kids that's the problem, kids graduate? How do they start out there?

Speaker 4 39:21

They have family that are wealthy and give them the down payment for their house or pass along it's.

Speaker 2 39:23

It's so hard to come to move there and start a life or raise a family, it's really hard well, and now, like in, it was similar with sadie claire too, because the three of us we were excited to get back to Franklin. I think Sadie was too, but Sadie was kind of from California.

Speaker 3 39:43

She was five when we moved, there wasn't she?

Speaker 2 39:45

How old were your girls, they were two and three.

Speaker 4 39:49

Oh yeah, that's their home. Oh goodness, yeah, so they don't even remember.

Speaker 2 39:51

Now, gracie is nine months older than Millie. Is that right Ten months? Ten months older than Millie? And how old was Millie when she got her diagnosis?

Speaker 4 40:02

She was around two. Okay, yeah, how's she doing? She's doing great Amazing, yeah. So my girls are 10 and 11 now. Gracie graduated elementary school yesterday. Okay, and everybody cried.

Speaker 3 40:13

Oh gosh, that is crazy.

Speaker 4 40:14

Yeah, it goes fast, but they're good. Millie's my little, our little musical theater performer.

Speaker 3 40:24

I saw her do her. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 4 40:26

All that choreography she made up on the spot. So she's doing this Bruno Mars song singing. Then she's flipping and like throwing her arms up.

Speaker 3 40:32

She's spinning around, it's so cute.

Speaker 4 40:35

Allie and I are going what is she doing? She just made it up and so she yeah, she's doing really great.

Speaker 3 40:40

And no fear of like I'm going to be embarrassed.

Speaker 4 40:44

No, that's the great part. She doesn't care.

Speaker 2 40:46

Do you think that's just like part of her personality or does it have to do with?

Speaker 4 40:50

Yeah, I mean her parents are both performing artists, right, and so that's part of it. Oh my gosh, I mean, she's a singer. She sings better than I do.

Speaker 3 41:00

Her pitch is better. She does have great pitch. I know this time that's crazy, did you?

Speaker 2 41:04

ever think it was going to be like this, like when you first found out. I don't know what is her diagnosis.

Speaker 4 41:12

So she is on the spectrum autism and she has another condition called apraxia of speech. I've autism and she has another condition called apraxia of speech.

Speaker 4 41:24

So it's basically, um, her brain is telling her mouth what to say, but it kind of gets clogged up okay, and so the connection there and so, yeah, I mean, I mean, you guys know, the first four years we were in california we did 40 hours a week for therapy, speech therapy, aba, all ofBA, all of that stuff. What's ABA? It's like behavioral therapy, and all the doctors and the people we saw said if she's going to have any shot at kind of a typical life, you have to do this now. And so we sort of thought we were moving to California to kind of just start over and focus on family. And that was true. But we realized later it was for our kids.

Speaker 3 42:02

It was for her.

Speaker 4 42:03

And there were great treatment options and therapy options and support and we found a great community and our church was amazing and I mean it kind of saved our lives really and both girls are doing really great. That's great.

Speaker 2 42:16

They're sassy but it's fun. So will she lose that diagnosis?

Speaker 4 42:22

it's possible um and most people, if you don't really know her, you can't really tell there's much going on I mean, she's a quirky, weird little kid and I love that about her and and, um, you know, I I don't worry that she won't just go on and live a typical life, go to college and do her thing. I'm confident that that will happen and at some point maybe she'll lose the official diagnosis, but who knows?

Speaker 3 42:48

Do you worry that she's going to go into musical theater? Dude that keeps me up at night. Seriously, yeah.

Speaker 4 42:56

And I can't tell her not to, because that's what I she's probably going to be great at it. Allie did it, she did New York Broadway, all that stuff, and I've made a living for 20 years playing guitar, yeah, so I can't tell her not to do it. So listen up, buddy, if you want to go into music. It's fun, but it's challenging.

Speaker 2 43:16

So we need to get sadie and ally together we really do yeah I've been thinking about that we're in musical theater world quite a bit right now dolly right now.

Speaker 4 43:24

That's so fun yeah and she goes to new york all the time too.

Speaker 3 43:27

Yeah, they go a lot that's well as much as we possibly can so millie is your own biological child, gracie adopted.

Speaker 2 43:35

Took you guys years, yeah, to get. I mean, how many years did you do the adoption process and fertility and all that?

Speaker 4 43:42

It was about an eight-year stretch and I mean, you guys walked through the dark parts of that with us.

Speaker 2 43:48

Yeah, and I know you guys talk about it. That's why I'm being open.

Speaker 4 43:51

Yeah no, I talked about it yesterday on another podcast. It was tough, man. I mean we're still repairing our lives from that season. But uh, it worked out. We tried for eight years, adopted grace. She was three months old. How much money did you have in that? I don't even I can't remember too much.

Speaker 2 44:12

Hey, yeah, I mean I remember it being like well, a lot of people don't know how expensive IVF and adoption and all that I mean. It's crazy.

Speaker 4 44:23

It's draining on all fronts. Yeah, financially, spiritually, marriage took a hit. Everything just got jarred. But if you asked me if I would do it again, in a heartbeat, heartbeat, I wouldn't change anything. Um, yeah, so grace was three months old and I I think we were touring and I flew home from a show one night and it's late. I hopped in the shower and ally comes running in the bathroom and she's shaking. I'm like, oh, somebody died or something happened. And she's like I'm pregnant. I'm like, no, you are not pregnant.

Speaker 4 44:58

And she's like yeah, I think I am, and so that was a huge. I mean, we have doctor's reports that basically said you have no eggs in your body. You will never, have children, but there must've been one floating around somewhere. The Jesus egg, the Jesus egg, and that was Millie. Yeah, and so.

Speaker 3 45:20

I remember when you told us we were in Michigan. Remember when we went on that trip and they lost.

Speaker 4 45:26

Was that the it was the fish juice luggage day, the fish juice.

Speaker 3 45:31

That was the trip.

Speaker 4 45:32

you told us, that's right, I think we flew to Chicago or something and our bags were soaked in fish juice.

Speaker 2 45:40

Southwest when they have luggage when they have room. They lease out their cargo bays and one of the fish things had busted open yeah.

Speaker 4 45:50

I remember that night your dad did the kneel down, move like he did with. Bernie to the people at the Southwest counter and we got new suitcases. We did. We got new suitcases.

Speaker 3 45:58

But remember, we drove that night. We had to drive to. Michigan that night with fish juice stuff and we stopped. Remember, we stopped at Steak and Shake. Yeah, oh my gosh.

Speaker 2 46:12

Do you remember laughing so hard? Well, that's because we went up. I mean, it's not even funny right now. No, we were so tired. But we went up to the counter and we all ordered large milkshakes and they came out as smalls.

Speaker 3 46:22

No, it was like so weird.

Speaker 2 46:23

Some were large, some weren't, and so we were like hey, is this a large? They're like yeah, well then, what's?

Speaker 3 46:36

this large, okay, but what? What are we not seeing here? Because they're different sizes?

Speaker 2 46:38

yeah, it's the stuff that's only funny at one in the morning.

Speaker 3 46:40

Yeah oh my gosh, I almost peed my pants.

Speaker 4 46:43

We laughed so hard that's the thing with you, right well, I have trouble with that. Sorry, that's okay didn't mean to bring that up.

Speaker 3 46:49

They both do, we both do. So, do you right? I'm just kidding.

Speaker 1 46:54

Try not to. Are you your prostate okay?

Speaker 4 46:59

As far as I know. Okay, it's still in there. Good, all right.

Speaker 2 47:01

That's good, anyway. So I mean, by that time were you kind of like okay, you know, let's. I mean because if you have miscarriages then you're always scared you're going to lose a baby and we assumed we would. You guys had lost a couple.

Speaker 4 47:17

We planned on losing Millie. We just thought it's just inevitable. And actually I drove by the doctor's office just right up the road here on the way to this, that we went for the first ultrasound and we had they had some you know assistant doing the thing and and she actually said, well, I don't see anything viable. And and so, you know, go do the thing that takes the baby out, let's schedule that.

Speaker 3 47:45

A DNC. Yeah, oh my gosh yeah.

Speaker 4 47:48

And something in my gut was like I don't know, I don't know, I don't think that's right. So we got a second opinion and the lady hooked it up and she goes no, here's a heartbeat, everything's fine, oh my gosh.

Speaker 3 48:01

Oh, I have chills. Look at that, oh my gosh.

Speaker 4 48:04

And it was like old equipment and something just didn't feel right. And I just told Allison, like before we do anything, let's get another.

Speaker 3 48:11

Yeah, feel right. And I just told Allison I'm like, before we do anything, let's get another.

Speaker 4 48:14

Yeah, thank God, yeah, but it all, it all worked out, you know.

Speaker 3 48:20

I remember you telling us we all fell out. We're like what yeah?

Speaker 4 48:22

You know, and I forget because I don't, I don't tell our story very often anymore, and yesterday I did another thing and recently I've had the opportunity to just sort of rehash that story and it really is super amazing and the Lord was really kind to us to do it the way he did and it was hard, I mean, it was brutal, and even going from here to California, everything was like really perfect.

Speaker 4 48:49

And it didn't mean it was easy, but it was really perfect, and now that I get to tell the story a little more, it's a good reminder, you know, yeah.

Speaker 2 48:58

The amazing thing about that phrase is the Lord was really kind to us.

Speaker 3 49:04

Yeah. Can you imagine at the time thinking that Sorry?

Speaker 2 49:06

Yeah, I mean, that only comes with some distance and time and sometimes geography, and you know some of my clients listen to this and they're going to be like there. You said that again Because I probably say this to people almost in every session. That time is your friend. You want so bad to react and make a judgment and you go well, it's never going to be this way. Or it's always going to be this way. And I just go well, hold, just hang on. We don't know. We don't know, let's, let's just keep it. You know, let's find a pacing to this. That's slow and nobody wants to hear that when they're in it, but it is the truth.

Speaker 2 49:48

Like you, you get, you know, 10 years away from chemo or Like you get 10 years away from chemo or 11 years away from infertility treatments and whatever, and you go.

Speaker 4 50:02

Oh, I could see God's kindness in that, and so I mean there were precise moments and scenarios and just running into the right person at the right time in the supermarket, where if you were five seconds earlier you would have missed it, and that can only be his kindness and his goodness. Looking at that going okay, I want to move all these pieces around. It's going to really suck in the meantime because it's hard for you, but let's put it all together and then, like you said, you look back and like, oh, wow, that was pretty great.

Speaker 2 50:36

Well, you and I talked about this a couple of months ago on the phone. You were kind of saying, you know, I'm just I get so frustrated because I feel like I'm on the edge of other people's success. You've played guitar, you've played the rhyme in the Grand Ole Opry, you've done all this stuff, but it's it's your own personal stuff hasn't taken off. And and you were kind of like, yeah, maybe not just for I said, well, no, maybe don't forget it, just it's just not yet. Just hold, you know what I mean. Just we, what we want is to go forget it. I'm just never. You know, I, I talk to single people like this, so I'm never going to get married. I'm like, well, we don't know.

Speaker 2 51:14

Yeah, you know it's, it's easier just to say I'm never going to do it than it is to go well, maybe we just wait you know just keep walking, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just you know, that's from yeah, okay, yeah, we know, you know what it's from with little kids, yeah, how many times has that played in your house?

Speaker 4 51:33

Too many. You know. You told us a long time ago and it's still a go-to for me you said you have to abandon the outcomes to God. So you do what you can, you do everything you can. So we did spend the money and the resources we did and hit a block.

Speaker 2 51:53

We literally couldn't do anything about it and we just had to let it go and abandon the rest of it and that's a good, good thing to remember yeah you're so wise no, thank you, that's not mine, but I thought it was yours he stole it, just claim it yeah, I've changed it, though've got to abandon the incomes.

Speaker 3 52:10

Oh boy, that's the truth and outcomes.

Speaker 2 52:13

Yeah, that's the late great Dallas Willard. That was one of his phrases was you do what you can do, but the outcome is not up to you. You just abandon the outcomes to God. And that's really hard, yeah, I mean, it's especially hard when you've got kids and they, they have dreams and you want to help them make those dreams come true. And, yeah, it's difficult.

Speaker 4 52:37

Yeah.

Speaker 2 52:38

Well, dude, I'm so glad you stopped by.

Speaker 4 52:40

Yeah, this is awesome, I mean, and this guy just talked the whole time.

Speaker 3 52:43

He never shuts up, he talks a lot.

Speaker 1 52:46

Well, this feels exactly like any old meeting on tour, though. I just listen when you guys talk Any old meeting on tour, though I just listen when you guys talk Big John Sit Any old meeting on tour, big John Sit.

Speaker 4 52:55

That's what you said to me the first time we met and I was like, okay, what are we going to do here? And I think you showed me your toys or something. Hey, sit down.

Speaker 3 53:04

He came in the bus and he's like Big John, Sit yeah, so you used to call him big don big don that's right, big don yep, oh gosh.

Speaker 2 53:12

I remember when you were single, we had this bit on the road where all of us were married except you, and so we would, we'd introduce, I'd introduce the band even though he's probably engaged he might have been, and uh, and so I would.

Speaker 2 53:25

I would get to john and I go, and you know leslie from tulsa, oklahoma, it's our guitar player, john fiery, you know him as Big John and he's single cute. And then I'd go and his number is 918. And then people would think that I was just going to stop and I'd go 260. And then 1443.

Speaker 4 53:45

I don't know his phone number, but I know yours, you do, and I never got one phone call. So are you serious that?

Speaker 3 53:53

should tell you something.

Speaker 4 53:55

Well, they either thought he was making, either thought you were making it up or I was not cute and you were nobody cared you were cute.

Speaker 2 54:04

I also had another bit with him, remember that with Michael too did I. Well, then he got married. Yeah, but I had another bit where I would introduce you and I would say you know, john, whatever, he can play anything with strings on it yes and at intermission. Somebody tested you on it.

Speaker 4 54:20

Oh, I remember that they brought up a coffee can with one string and he played it.

Speaker 3 54:24

Yeah, and John's like.

Speaker 2 54:28

And I was like see, I told you he could play it, that was fun. I remember that those were fun shows, man. Those ones where you'd show up in the middle of Arkansas and you didn't know what you were going to get. And these sweet people would just be like keep playing.

Speaker 4 54:42

I know I remember, yeah, it was a good season. We've played a thousand plus shows at least. Yeah, it's crazy Together A thousand shows Probably more you know, off and on 20 years.

Speaker 3 54:56

Weren't you also the state champion basketball player in Oklahoma.

Speaker 4 55:01

I was the leading scorer in the state of Oklahoma my senior year, but he played on a midget league. So, that's true. Yeah, we were. We were not good.

Speaker 2 55:12

No, you were the. Do you still hold the record?

Speaker 4 55:15

No, probably not, I don't know. Check it out. What else do, you do?

Speaker 3 55:20

Yeah, that's not really fair. You're a pastor.

Speaker 4 55:22

I'm Uber dad these days.

Speaker 2 55:24

Well, yeah.

Speaker 4 55:25

Still creating music. Releasing music. Made a record in an Airstream a few months ago.

Speaker 2 55:30

Oh, that's cool. What's your Instagram?

Speaker 4 55:31

handle At Jonathan Fiery. Jonathan Fiery yeah.

Speaker 2 55:36

Is it Jonathan John Athan?

Speaker 4 55:39

Yeah, j-o-n-a-t-h-a-n. Yeah, yeah, thanks for having me. This was fun.

Speaker 2 55:46

I don't understand. When you write John, you're supposed to put an H in it, but when you write Jonathan, you don't.

Speaker 3 55:51

Some people put an H in Jonathan right.

Speaker 4 55:53

Some do.

Speaker 3 55:54

Yeah, you're just not.

Speaker 4 55:55

I'm just J-O-N, if I shorten it.

Speaker 2 55:57

Okay.

Speaker 4 55:57

Yeah, you got meetings today. I do, and I'm going to go see we do, we're going to hang out a little bit and I've got some afternoon and then evening thing.

Speaker 3 56:07

With Bernie.

Speaker 2 56:08

Dang it.

Speaker 4 56:09

My neighbor.

Speaker 2 56:10

You flying private on the way home. You flying the jet.

Speaker 4 56:13

No, got to go commercial.

Speaker 2 56:14

Triple platinum. Such a schlep John has a jet of his own.

Speaker 4 56:17

It's called triple platinum.

Speaker 3 56:19

That's right.

Speaker 4 56:19

That's how many records I have to sell to get a jet.

Speaker 3 56:27

Well, even well, probably not these days, you know.

Speaker 4 56:30

That just reminded me of the time the row, I still have that bathrobe he comes out in the robe with it. Oh my gosh, only john can I tell a story real quick, yeah so when you stay at the ritz you they loan you these really nice robes yeah, and we were playing a conference there yeah, like a major league baseball player something fancy, you know and I go down to to the men's spa you know the hot tub and stuff and they give me this robe.

Speaker 4 56:54

So I walk up to the front desk and I say, hey, ma'am, I really like this robe, she goes. Well, that's great, sir, you can purchase those in our gift shop. I was like, okay, well, how much do these run? Well, they're about $250. I was like, oh man, I can't spend that on a robe. And I just look at her and I go well, it just feels really good on my body.

Speaker 2 57:18

I really like this robe and she goes.

Speaker 4 57:21

You know what, sir? You just keep that robe, you can have that, and she gave that to me.

Speaker 3 57:25

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 4 57:26

I still have it.

Speaker 3 57:28

Yeah, I wear it all the time. I think we have a picture. It's like tied down you're getting the chest open. Yeah, he's totally pg-13.

Speaker 2 57:34

I think those robes were meant to close a little higher than you had it.

Speaker 3 57:38

Yeah, he was, yeah, it was just one like he was one, just coverage where you got to give the people what they want.

Speaker 2 57:45

What's funny was my mom was on that trip she was out at the pool with us when you walked out and I was like, oh, there comes, john, and all the Major League Baseball players were like hooping and hollering at me and I was just yeah, that was fun.

Speaker 4 58:00

I do want to come back, though, because I want to get canceled. We're talking about conspiracy and politics. We didn't get to that. I've never been canceled.

Speaker 3 58:11

Oh that can happen. I can get you canceled. You two together, We'll get you canceled. You get canceled quick. So I mean, do you ever see?

Speaker 4 58:14

my stuff. I don't know that I'm in your feed I'll go like some of your things and get in your algorithm.

Speaker 3 58:19

Okay, okay, okay, yeah, Cool cool cool.

Speaker 2 58:22

We'll get you canceled. Cool, cool, cool, cool, nice, nice, nice been canceled because I'm too liberal.

Speaker 3 58:28

She's been canceled because she's too conservative it's great yeah, yeah, and we are oil and water everybody really aren't. That's the thing like are we oil and water at election time?

Speaker 2 58:38

we're oil and water oh I mean, yeah, that's not fair for me because, I don't want to be oil. I'm not voting for to be water.

Speaker 1 58:46

I mean, it doesn't matter which one she can be, which I know, but it makes people know how conservative she is.

Speaker 2 58:52

She's like a Shiite conservative and if you call me water then people think that I'm some.

Speaker 3 58:58

You're the one that just said you're too liberal. I did not say those words.

Speaker 1 59:01

I know You're an oil or water.

Speaker 2 59:03

I want to be Italian Mix them together.

Speaker 3 59:07

Oh okay, Eventually they separate, though he wants to make everybody happy.

Speaker 2 59:11

I'm ranch, I make everybody happy.

Speaker 4 59:13

Oh, that's good, that's a bumper sticker. Are you ranch or blue cheese with your?

Speaker 3 59:19

wings. I'm both, oh God, I like a both. Mix them up a little bit, see, this is why you can't no.

Speaker 4 59:27

You've got to pick a side.

Speaker 2 59:29

No, you don't Pick a lane All day. You pick a lane and you're gonna look. You're both, I'm both. What are you?

Speaker 3 59:37

What do you mean? I'm ranch.

Speaker 2 59:38

See, now we lost all our blue cheese listeners.

Speaker 1 59:42

And you're ranch. I know you're ranch. I actually don't use any of it.

Speaker 3 59:48

I just go wing.

Speaker 1 59:49

I don't think I like blue cheese.

Speaker 3 59:51

I hate blue cheese. I don't like ranch that much. I don't either.

Speaker 2 59:56

It's too gross. You know what's. A game changer in your life, by the way.

Speaker 3 1:00:00

Tahini. Do you use tahini, the seasoning?

Speaker 4 1:00:01

No, I don't. I see it everywhere you gotta get on that I have one.

Speaker 2 1:00:06

I carry with me a little tiny one, you do.

Speaker 4 1:00:13

Amanda bought you that.

Speaker 2 1:00:13

Yes, she did it's like uh, refills it spice and a salty it's kind of like an herb salty kind of spice, it's like it's got lime in it it's lime, it's, it's just the best flavor, okay I'm gonna name the spices.

Speaker 3 1:00:22

I know lime paprika what are you talking about? Is lime, a spice or a fruit?

Speaker 2 1:00:28

yeah, no, just, I'm just, you're just saying spices. In my mind, I was thinking, if someone said name a spice, I could name paprika.

Speaker 3 1:00:35

This is good content right here, should I just stop the recording now.

Speaker 2 1:00:38

Cumin, cumin, common, common.

Speaker 3 1:00:41

Cumin, cumin. This is dumb Like human Smoked paprika. I have to pee really bad.

Speaker 2 1:00:47

All right, everybody, thanks for tuning in. Drew will be back. Smoke Paprika, that's the name of our new band. Oh, yes, smoke.

Speaker 4 1:00:54

Paprika.

Speaker 2 1:00:58

Might hurt your lungs, though you got a new single coming out, right yeah.

Speaker 1 1:01:03

I think I haven't decided to release yet, probably the 21st.

Speaker 2 1:01:07

It's a really good one, and you've changed your name back to just Hutch Dibler right, it's Hutch Dibler. So you can find him on Hutch Dibler. Jennifer, is thisismyjenstagram Jenstagram, but don't go there your record just came out last month, is that right, john? It came out in March, march, okay, so how can people find you?

Speaker 4 1:01:23

Just Jonathan Fiery he is amazing, it is.

Speaker 2 1:01:29

If you like the just chill music to ride around with your top down, it is the soundtrack.

Speaker 3 1:01:35

He's unreal.

Speaker 2 1:01:36

He's really really good and available for gigs.

Speaker 3 1:01:39

Yes, he's amazing.

Speaker 2 1:01:40

So yeah, 918-260-1443. I'll put it in the show notes. All right, bye everybody, bye everybody, bye everybody, thank you.