Try That in a Small Town Podcast
In 2023, Jason Aldean's groundbreaking song and video "Try That In A Small Town" resonated with a resurgence of conservative values in America. The writers of the song, Kurt, Neil, Tully, and Kelley, took the opportunity to launch the Try That In A Small Town Podcast. This platform allows them to reveal the true inspiration behind the song and discuss the importance of common-sense values. With a lineup of influential guests, the hosts will entertain you with the stories behind their music, while also addressing challenging topics affecting our communities and country.
Try That in a Small Town Podcast
The Changing Face of Nashville's Music Row :: Ep 54 Try That in a Small Town
Remember when Nashville's Music Row was lined with old houses turned publishing companies and studios? When writers walked songs across the street to publishers and artists mingled at the 16th Avenue Café? Those days are fading into memory, replaced by high-rises and corporate offices that barely resemble the creative community that built country music.
In this nostalgic yet forward-looking conversation, the guys reflect on Music Row's transformation and what it means for the future of songwriting. Neil shares the surprising story of his spontaneous wedding at the Music Row Wedding Chapel ("We tracked five songs, did vocals and harmonies, and then decided to get married"), while the others reminisce about Nashville landmarks that have disappeared with time.
The discussion moves beyond physical changes to the deeper shifts in how music is created and consumed today. When streaming pays fractions of pennies split between multiple songwriters, creating "forever songs" becomes economically challenging. As Kurt explains, "It's hard for songwriters to get excited anymore. I don't get excited if I see somebody putting out a song on social media because you don't make any money." Despite touting millions of streams, many artists struggle to sell concert tickets, revealing the disconnect between digital numbers and real-world impact.
Yet through their frustrations, these veteran songwriters demonstrate why they've survived in the business: genuine passion for the craft. Even without financial incentive, the validation of sharing a great song idea with respected collaborators provides enough fuel to keep creating. They propose that giving songwriters a percentage of master recordings might help preserve the quality songwriting that built Nashville's reputation.
Whether you're a songwriter, music industry professional, or simply a country music fan, this episode offers valuable insights into the evolution of Music City. Subscribe now and join the conversation about preserving what matters in music while embracing inevitable change.
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You know, you walked around the building and everybody's like, hey, how's it going? You know, and you're turning in songs. You're going to the Dream Coffee. It's just different. The building's not even there. You've got these little high rises and stuff.
Speaker 2:Spontaneous Pretty much. That's amazing. How do we not know this After?
Speaker 3:a demo session. We tracked five songs. No kidding, I did vocals on five songs and harmonies and let's go get married so we did.
Speaker 1:I'm city, somebody fell off something terrible it was here and got hit. It was here, yeah, got hit by an oncoming when they were so drunk they just walked it off, you know. So really, I don't know, I don't know what something happened here.
Speaker 5:They fell backwards off the stool. No surprise that there's peddling on Broadway, hammered. Yeah, people don't listen the same anymore. A lot of it's because they don't have the physical album, cd, they're not looking at it, they don't own it. They own it but they don't. It's just different. The Try that in a Small Town podcast begins now.
Speaker 2:Try that in a Small Town podcast. Do not adjust your sets. We are still coming to you from the Patriot Mobile Studios. At this time it's powered by eSpaces. We're down here at the awesome eSpaces down on Music Row Power.
Speaker 3:Yeah, power. Where is it? 17 and Grand? That's where we're at.
Speaker 2:Are we supposed to disclose the address? We just did, I guess we just did.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, how are they going to see the office space unless they know where to go?
Speaker 1:We're on the ninth floor. Good call, yeah, good point.
Speaker 3:We'll be out of here on the wall in here, really. Yeah, is it naked? It's on. No, it's not, it's on the mural. I'm on the mirror. I made the mural out.
Speaker 1:Here I'm sitting really yeah it's amazing that one before yep I'm sitting on a bucket uh-huh, I've seen that.
Speaker 3:I don't know whether to feel I'm writing a song and beneath all the naked snake people in the roundabout who? Else is in the mural. I think Stapleton's in the mural George.
Speaker 2:Strait.
Speaker 3:Oh good company I think TG Shepard's in the mural.
Speaker 2:Who'd you say TG Perry? You know she just went to space apparently she really did.
Speaker 1:I thought, she was already there, but you think we set that up.
Speaker 3:You know it, tully's got new tattoos. I do, do you. How do you have any more room?
Speaker 1:I thought they looked a little slicker, you had a little Vaseline on there. Is that just in case somebody rubs past you in a fight?
Speaker 5:or something. It's new. Kalo Got to keep it moist.
Speaker 3:I mean you're out of room on the arms I am.
Speaker 5:It was actually a little birthday present I got for myself. Those are the best kind, by the way.
Speaker 3:How old, are you?
Speaker 5:Just turned 50. Whoa.
Speaker 2:It was a big one.
Speaker 5:It was a big one.
Speaker 3:It was a big one, I think he kept it under wraps, man, we didn't have a chance to party with him, too busy for birthdays.
Speaker 1:Well, we did text him.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but I didn't know it was 50. I didn't either. I did not know it was 50.
Speaker 1:I found out after the fact. 50 and still have hair like that? Dude celebrate. Thank you Kalo.
Speaker 5:Thank you, buddy, you bet no 50. I moved here when I was 21. This is crazy.
Speaker 2:How long?
Speaker 5:I was 21 when I moved here, oh my God, why did you say that? It was before the naked people on the roundabout in. Music.
Speaker 3:Row.
Speaker 5:No, I thought about that. Driving up here, I was like, well, I come to Music Row every day for work, but doing our podcast from here I'm like interesting, I just turned 50, doing this from the East Bay spot, which is great, driving up to Mumrin, and how how much has changed.
Speaker 8:oh, my gosh, I miss it.
Speaker 5:How it used to be. I harp on that every, every episode, I feel like, but I really do miss the way it felt before. The madness that is now music row, which which I don't even consider it music row.
Speaker 2:Well, tell people, because there's a lot of people that haven't been here. Kalo, you'd be the perfect person to tell everybody what Music Row used to be like on these couple streets here.
Speaker 1:Am I perfect because I'm oldest?
Speaker 2:No, you're not the oldest.
Speaker 7:You're just the most eloquent.
Speaker 4:I was taking the bullet, neil, I was taking the bullet.
Speaker 1:No, but you're right. Back in the day I wrote at EMI, which EMI was one of the biggest publishers in the world Now EMI they sold to Sony years ago. That whole building is gone and for a minute at all of our publisher companies, you were the writer. For a minute you were the person. You say the gap. There's so many hit songwriter girls here too. But you walked around the building and everybody's like hey, how's it going? You're turning in songs, you're going to drink coffee, just different. The building's not even there. You got these little high-rises and stuff. And then but I thought about an idea actually, um, because obviously we're veteran, you know seasoned songwriters, we'll say right, so and you said we're talking about like, hey, what are we going to talk about today? Like just like a couple hours before the show and and telly said, hey, let's talk about music, grow a little bit. And and then uh, and then it made me start thinking about because the way that it's changed. And I thought of a song idea. If you're a songwriter out there, don't listen.
Speaker 1:This part something like because it's all relative, like if you're a songwriter now, like this is what music grow looks like to you, right, but it looked different, different to us. So when it starts changing to the younger guys. So I was thinking about an idea, something like when music row don't look like music row, maybe it's time for you to go home. Let the other people take it. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Like it's kind of a kind of a thing you know like, and we, we miss it. But the people that are just moving here, they're like oh my god, this is freaking music.
Speaker 5:Row what's funny is you said that and I was pulling off the mumbler and used to be beautiful. You pull off the mumbler and the stop sign and there was deja vu. Yeah, strip club and all its glory right there.
Speaker 1:You remember the mark with the marquee would always say oh, yeah, yeah, wow like three ugly ones, three ugly girls and one pretty one lunch at noon hot dog buffet.
Speaker 5:Yeah, but I'm gross. Same thing happened.
Speaker 1:It really was.
Speaker 5:I pull up to the stop sign and I'm out, and every day, you know, we go to the office at BMG and I go the same way, but for some reason today felt different, I think. So I was driving in different time of day and I pulled up there. I'm like you know what? I had a son. I mean what it was, I know, you know. Well, hey you know that was the idea. It was like. You know, like I don't hate what it is, but I sure miss what it was. I know.
Speaker 5:Kind of thought and that I really do and I miss the excitement of, you know, just everybody running around with songs physical songs, cds or tapes and now people you know when they pitch a song to an artist now they text it or email it and I feel like it never really gets delivered.
Speaker 1:Well, there's an excuse for it to not be delivered. Yeah, we don't keep an actual pitch log. But, we don't want to tell you guys about the songs that people don't like. We just want to tell you about the things that, well, we'd kind of like to know. You're pitching some.
Speaker 2:But to expand on that, like all the business was done on these two streets, every house there's like houses, and every house was either a publishing company or a studio Lined with 16th Avenue and 17th Avenue. So, yeah, you just walked across the street or you just walked down the block and that's what you did. Like literally every house or building was either a publishing house or a studio. Now, what's the percentage of that? I don't know. I don't know. Like, most people moved off the row, yeah, and if it is, if one of the old houses still is there, yeah, it's.
Speaker 1:It's most likely not a publishing house yeah, it's a hair salon or a beard trimming place.
Speaker 5:Yeah, you're right.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Anyway nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 3:We've had a couple of guests on that were talking about the old Shawnee's Inn down on the road. Oh yeah, I used to eat there, and me and my wife Lana have a lot of memories from Shawnee's Inn, I bet you do Really, yes, because they have the hotel right behind it.
Speaker 1:You could, they did. You can take the story south. You could go. You could go eat, yeah, you could, you know, and you could take a break from all all this marital sex and then go to get, you know, the, the salad bar, all you can eat.
Speaker 2:This was before we were married and you remember there was like open like a huge open parking lot you could park. Oh yeah, that's where everybody parked everybody everybody met the bus there yeah, everybody you know that's where we did.
Speaker 3:We were doing radio tour. We we actually met the minivan there on it was like the george jones wax museum.
Speaker 5:Remember it was you know when you go to the end of it and like 16th avenue cafe was there, yeah, and it was a great music vibe, and you go to the end of it and like 16th Avenue Cafe was there, yeah, and it was a great music vibe, and that's what I miss about it. Now I don't get the feeling that we're heading to Music Row, driving to Music Row anymore, which it's. You know. Well, I'm old now.
Speaker 3:The young crowd that comes through and tours and gets on the tour buses and stuff and goes up and down. They'll never know what it was like. There wasn't one tall building except for, I mean, what's that building? That's kind of shaped like an octagonal building, what's it called the Fisile Building?
Speaker 8:The UA Tower. Oh the. Ua Tower.
Speaker 3:yeah, that was the only big tall building on Music Row.
Speaker 1:The rest of it was old houses they had one little uh, it was a.
Speaker 3:I don't get fried rice and stuff down there in the whole building all the way up the top we had a chance to buy some of those houses, like we could have bought them back in the day, like in the late 90s and early 2000s. Dude, dude, all those houses were up for sale and they were cheap. You wouldn't be here right now. If you did, you'd imagine if we'd have gone ahead and done it yeah.
Speaker 2:You'd be in the Caribbean Powered by thrash spaces. That's a good fact.
Speaker 1:And Neil, you met your wife Lana on Music Row. Y'all ate at Shoney's Music Row'all stayed at at the hotel.
Speaker 3:No never stayed at the hotel and you got married on music row.
Speaker 1:You didn't venture far from home well, you really.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, she would. She had a condo on 17th, 19th, 19th and grand is what it was. Yeah, on 19th and uh, we would be standing on her balcony looking down at the music row wedding that little white church-shaped house, oh my gosh, yes. And we'd make fun of people that got married. It's like, can you believe that? What losers? Well, it was so Elvis-y, Vegas-y kind of you know, and it was just so cheesy to us. We were looking down, going and then, lo and behold, after a demo session, we got married there.
Speaker 2:Ninety bucks and a drunk preacher Spontaneous, pretty much. That's amazing. How do we not know this?
Speaker 3:After a demo session. We tracked five songs. I did vocals on five songs and harmonies and let's go get married.
Speaker 2:So we did See that's a good wife, that's a get married. So we did See that's a good wife.
Speaker 3:That's a good wife, Yep. We called a few people to come down and witness and we got married at the Music Girl Wedding Chapel, Invited the engineer to go with you, yep. He was in the wedding picture.
Speaker 1:Actually, that's classic had to have a witness.
Speaker 5:You know, another thing you see coming in which can we all agree the most ridiculous thing the pedal tavern things.
Speaker 7:Dude, that's big business, the bachelorette part of it, the woo-woo girls and they're pedaling, drinking and pedaling this bucket of wood down.
Speaker 5:I mean somehow.
Speaker 1:It's kind of exciting though. Yeah, it turned into the bachelorette.
Speaker 5:How is that legal? I mean, people are falling off those things all the time.
Speaker 1:It's happening in almost every city now, Like everywhere you go you see those pedal taverns.
Speaker 5:I just want to tip them over. It's so annoying to me, it's the worst thing. They're having fun. If I saw my daughter on a pedal tavern, that'd be it.
Speaker 3:Hey, thank God for them. They're the ones buying the records.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and they're burning calories while they're drinking.
Speaker 3:They're buying the records. Well, they're downloading our songs.
Speaker 7:They're streaming the songs Good catch.
Speaker 3:They are fans of yours and mine and the stuff we've written. Pedal away girls.
Speaker 1:I will say for a minute, while I was waiting on it, pedal away.
Speaker 5:Hey, there's a t-shirt.
Speaker 1:Pedal away girls. Pedal Thrasher. I stayed at that right below that. You know the Rhythm, you know that little condo building there. So about five weeks I stayed there waiting on an apartment to get ready and I thought I was going to hate it, you know, because I lived out south.
Speaker 1:It seems awful. The idea of it sounded terrible, yeah, but I actually loved it for a limited amount of time. I'd go out there on the balcony and people were just laughing and they're drinking and having fun and you hear all the sounds of the city, which I'm not used to. I found it inspiring for a little bit. I thought this is really cool. People are crazy about Nashville, so I found it kind of inspiring for a minute. I'm glad that I don't live there all the time, but I thought it was really fun.
Speaker 2:Wow, I couldn't do it. I was right there by Tin Roof, right? Yeah, oh God, no way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's go right down there and get you out of the chance, didn't Chris Young used to live there? Yeah, I actually saw him there.
Speaker 5:At the Tin Roof.
Speaker 1:Well, probably there too, but yeah, I think he did, he either does or did, yeah, yeah. And I was using Chris Stefano's place for a little while and he asked me. He said hey, why don't you stay at my place for a little bit if you're in between? I said that would be great and I took him up on it and I said I won't be there long and he goes. That's fine, he goes. Hey, how much are you thinking in rent? And I said, oh, this is the money thing.
Speaker 1:I thought, Let me borrow it. I don't know, maybe $2,500.
Speaker 3:Sounds great. Maybe then tomorrow. Man, this year has flown by Dude. It doesn't seem like we've been doing this a year.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I don't know the exact date, but it's either right around now or very close. We've actually done this a year. You guys believe that? No?
Speaker 5:Well, that was our goal, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:To see if we could get through a year and not kill each other.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what they say is that my brother would say, hey, can you keep the band together? You know you got to keep the band together for a while. You showed him, didn't you? We did. But they had said, you know, in the podcast world said, hey, hey, you've got to get to a year before people think you're even serious, because a lot of people you know you drop out or people move or whatever you know, because it's not super lucrative.
Speaker 2:I don't know if people out there know that. Oh, I'm loaded from this thing.
Speaker 1:Are you kidding me? Yeah, did you not get your check? Are we getting checks, jim? Nope.
Speaker 5:No, it's for love of the game right now, love of the game.
Speaker 2:We've made a little bit of a surge. I think you guys remember a few months ago I was like I don't know. Guys, I think we're going in the tank.
Speaker 5:Well, Caleb said it, though. I think we definitely are getting better at it, but also we've had some great guests.
Speaker 3:Can you believe they agreed to come on? Who's your?
Speaker 5:favorite.
Speaker 2:Give me one. Oh boy, I know it's like who's your favorite kid? I can't. I mean, give me one. Give me one that maybe surprised you, one that surprised me Anybody.
Speaker 3:Golly Well, John Rich didn't surprise me I knew what he would? You know the knowledge that guy has about everything. He was so good, he was spot on. I mean, he's a pro.
Speaker 1:But surprised me.
Speaker 3:I don't know.
Speaker 1:On John Rich. I wasn't surprised that he was good. I was surprised because I hadn't been around him. You know, I knew how talented he was and stuff. But that dude has some wisdom and he is really good. He's really sharp, fast and intellectual and I was not not surprised, I was impressed I was impressed by that because there's a whole different side, that you don't spend a lot of time. You know, if he wouldn't have been on the podcast, I wouldn't have got that far, you know. Yeah, so I was.
Speaker 3:I was impressed by him and there's been a few where you like, you make, we make our notes the things we want to say or ask and everything, and I'm like when John was on. I just turned my phone over and just slid it across the table. I'm like I'm not going to need that, just go, I'll tell you.
Speaker 5:What I do really love about all the guests we've had is that it's like anything else, right, it's like when an artist is new or whatever. It's like the believers in the beginning will always mean a lot, Like all the guests that came on, you know Jason coming on Brittany, coming on Riley.
Speaker 2:Gaines, Riley Gaines, our third or fourth episode early, early in the game.
Speaker 5:Yeah, you know when it's, when they didn't. You know we didn't have a bunch to offer like as far as like being seen. So thank all the guests for that.
Speaker 3:When are we going to get Al Dean on again?
Speaker 2:I think very soon.
Speaker 5:Maybe before the new tour.
Speaker 3:I think very soon. It would be nice to get him on before the new tour.
Speaker 1:And it was cool that Jason Brittany called in.
Speaker 2:What was?
Speaker 1:the name of the app. Where do people find that? Because you've got a voicemail thing right, tell them about that. Yeah, good, plug there the app. And where people find that, because when you got a voicemail thing, right, tell them, tell them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, good plug. There it's on speak pipe and um, we'll pin it to the Instagram, cause even you mentioned that. I think it's a great idea. Uh, and we'll get to. Actually, we'll do that right after this. We'll get to a couple of questions, uh, but you know, go to speakpipecom, forward slash, try that podcast, and it's really cool. You just leave your message. You say who you are, where you're from, what your question is. We play it live to tape on the air here and we'll answer it. But it's a cool way to interact. So, again, we'll pin that to our Instagram and our X account so you guys can do that, by the way, jim, Tex, he said his his favorite was lavox, which was pretty awesome yeah, oh, yeah, that was great, that was good.
Speaker 3:He's hilarious. Yeah, oh he's.
Speaker 1:He's a rut when he gets rolling I didn't think he was a country boy until I first met him long, long time ago. I thought he was just from the pop world.
Speaker 2:Just the way he dressed and his no offense spiky hair, you know wow when he said no offense, I think he means offense, no, no, no, it's no offense.
Speaker 1:I wish it's my favorite saying you know how successful I could be if I had that hair I'm being unbelievable beautiful hair.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I love the way I'm growing it out in the sides all right, I'm gonna keep keeping it longer and longer so you can keep commenting on it you guys, let's, let's speak into the speak pipe, which is an awesome name speak pipe. Sounds awesome Speak pipe. Let's go to a question.
Speaker 3:You guys want to answer one Sure.
Speaker 2:All right, I don't know who it's from.
Speaker 8:Hi guys. It's Moxie from outside of Philly. I am wondering is there any other place you can think of that is similar to Nashville, that has that Nashville vibe where the artists are so kind and supportive of each other and it's a laid-back chill? Is there any other place you can think of that may be up and coming or that you visit and you get that whole vibe where there's a lot of country music? It's very supportive of country music but it's not liberal. I would be. I would love to know what, if that exists, and where it's at.
Speaker 2:Thank you nope, great question.
Speaker 3:First of all, awesome name, moxie great question too, but no, I want that name neil, you were shaking your head the entire question well, I think I got a tick crawling on my. It's a good question.
Speaker 2:Basically, to summarize, she was asking if there's any place like nashville sense of community, people that support each other. You guys know anything that could uh rival nashville.
Speaker 3:I can't, I'm sure. Oh, I know Sunset Strip back in the day probably was that way, but no yeah there's a lot of other music communities, but Nashville is unique to itself.
Speaker 1:You know, I mean there's obviously music all over Texas, memphis, I mean there's so many different places but where the artists where you can just go to, you know, I don't know, go to a steakhouse or whatever and say I think it's Alan Jackson right there, yeah, it's pretty unusual.
Speaker 8:It's unique.
Speaker 1:And people leave them alone generally and they're very respectful most of the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Very unique and I think some people and maybe 15 years ago, 20, maybe people would compare Austin to Nashville.
Speaker 1:You have the South by Southwest. We used to go there all the time.
Speaker 2:Right and there used to be a lot of similarities, but I don't see any similarities now. I really don't, and especially the way she ended. That was with the liberal question. Austin obviously lies.
Speaker 5:They're trying to make Nashville liberal. They're trying, you're right, they're going for it.
Speaker 2:Greater Nashville, yes, make nashville liberal.
Speaker 5:They're trying, you're right, they're going for it. Greater nashville yes, there's only a handful of us in there that really, just they're really. They would love to have this blue as can be yeah, it's not going to happen? That's not going to happen.
Speaker 3:The majority of broadway, the majority of fans and tourists that come here, are not liberal. They're just, they're not. And no, that's their bread and butter. That come here are not liberal. They're just not. No, that's their bread and butter. That's Nashville's bread and butter.
Speaker 1:Still the number one destination for bachelorette parties in the US right Pedal away girls.
Speaker 7:Pedal away girls.
Speaker 2:All right, let's do another one. Hi, this is Steven from San Antonio, texas. My question is do you prefer the whole writing process, the recording process, or actually just being out on the road and visiting with all the fans? That?
Speaker 3:love you.
Speaker 2:That would be geared toward you too, TK. You want to stab at that my favorite.
Speaker 5:I love the creative process. I love writing, love making the albums. We do them pretty quick so it's not like an extended process the way we've done it with jason and the way michael knox produces is, you know it's we move pretty fast. Um. For me it's always a sense of um excitement when the album's done and we're getting ready to tour on a new album. That's that. That's always fun, always love taking the songs to the stage. I love. I love going to rehearsals, the beginning of the tour, you know, taking a new tour out in the road, and you know that's where we're always. That's how it started was with the live show, you know. So it's, you know, always exciting to to do a new tour.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm with you, so that's your favorite.
Speaker 5:That's what you're Well, I don't know if it's my, I love Well, you haven't been. My favorite part of the process is probably creating the songs, like recording them and, like you know, creating that music together. It's stressful, yeah, but when it's right and it's done and you hear it, you're like I'm really proud of that. I'm really proud of whether we wrote it or we didn't or what you know, what we played on it, the part we created. I still love the creative part musically, of creating the baseline for me is always, still, will always be, one of my favorite things. When that's done is just that moment. You know what I added to the song, whatever song it was. You know that's probably my favorite moment musically, creatively. And then, but yes, of course, touring and playing the shows. You're up there, you know, with with your best friends, and you know it's, it's a made this album. Now we get to go play it, you know what's your favorite, kurt?
Speaker 2:um, thanks for asking, neil. You're welcome. Um, you know it's interesting. It's an interesting question and they are three very separate things. Um, but I I guess I'll probably have to agree with the uh, the touring part and the playing it on stage, simply for the fact of we're 25 years in the making. So sharing that moment with your brothers is really cool. Um, it's. I think also we could probably write or record for who knows how many more years to get out on stage and tour. There's probably a little bit more of a window involved.
Speaker 5:So just soaking all that in while it happens, I think that's why a moment like I'll just reference this like try that in a small town which is why we started the podcast based, obviously, around the song, that moment especially.
Speaker 5:You talk about a moment that you'll think about, from the inception of an idea to the demo, to sending the demo of the song to Jason, jason liking it, jason buying into it, that whole process. I remember everything about recording that song. I remember when it came out. I remember we had the whole video controversy. So that kind of thing is a really special, rare experience as creators, because me and Kurt were lucky enough to see it through all the way to that first time we played it on stage and then having you guys come out in Alabama and getting on stage with us in Tuscaloosa so those moments in the music business are non-existent really. When you have a song that started like that and became that big and we got to do it together and kind, kind of experienced that, so that that that was a special moment like where do you think?
Speaker 3:where do you think? Uh, al dean will put. Try that in a small town. That's a great question where do you think he'll put it this time? He's gotta close with it, right? I would save it for the encore I.
Speaker 2:you know what's funny or not funny, but interesting. We haven't done an encore in at least 10 years 10 years probably Really.
Speaker 3:Wow, I didn't even notice.
Speaker 2:So I remember we were having this conversation and talking about oh, what do we do for the encore? And I remember seeing Van halen as a kid and at one point one of their tours they were like listen, we're not going to do the bs, where we go off stage and everybody goes. Oh my god, are they going to come?
Speaker 3:out and they're going to come out and they clap for 10 minutes and it's like play your biggest song.
Speaker 5:It's his bs moment.
Speaker 2:It's like, dude, we're going to play all of our hits when we're done. We're done. And I remember, uh, toly and jason were like, let's do something like that, let's just do our hits, let's play our songs when we're done. We're not. We're not going to bsu and say can you please come back out and play two more songs?
Speaker 5:getting the cheap the cheap thrill of the, of the crowd clapping because we haven't played, you know, dirt road anthem or she's country. We're going to play these songs like, so he we just pack him in like I'll say that about our show, like you know, we're not. There's no talking, there's no, there's no crap going on. When you got to listen to an artist, people are there to hear the hits. One of my favorite things about seeing tom petty. I saw petty probably 10 times, from a kid till till the last tour before he passed. He went out there and just played the songs. He's not gonna talk and fill your head with a bunch of stuff that you don't want to hear. Just go out and play the hits. Now try that. In a small town was different. Jason would give that one introduction just because he he felt he needed to, especially you know this last couple years, the timing of it.
Speaker 5:We play like 27 songs. I mean, my favorite thing is when an artist goes oh yeah, we play two and a half hours. No, you don't, no, you don't you play 90 minutes of songs and then you talk.
Speaker 3:It's a long time you talk for an hour and you've had opening acts. That's a long time.
Speaker 2:to be honest, I'm not sure I would want to go see anybody for two and a half hours. No, really.
Speaker 1:At some point you got it yeah. You know, George. Straitgaard, whoever, after an hour and a half or so you're like, I get it. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2:I like it. Let's do a little pause for the cause. Let's get a word from, from our sponsors and thanks for sticking with us.
Speaker 9:We'll be right back. We'll try that in the Small Town Podcast. My name is Glenn Story. I'm the founder and CEO of Patriot Mobile, and then we have four principles First Amendment, second Amendment, right to Life, military and First Responders. If you have a place to go put your money, you always want to put it with somebody. That's like mine, of course. I think that's the beauty of Patriot Mobile we're a conservative alternative.
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Speaker 1:forward slash original brands.
Speaker 2:Join our original glory family and help ignite that original glory spirit. All right, and we're back. This is the Try that Small Town podcast. How does it feel? I was saying that I feel more professional and maybe it's because I'm a little more sober than usual.
Speaker 5:Well, usually I'm like a Celsius and a solid whiskey drink in, so the combination of the 10 cups of caffeine plus the whiskey.
Speaker 2:You drink the Celsius with the whiskey or separate.
Speaker 5:I drink the Celsius on the way down to the podcast. Yeah, always on an empty stomach, never. And then we get to the podcast and I have like four almonds or something, and then I'll have the whiskey Four almonds.
Speaker 7:What a party.
Speaker 3:You forgot the Zyrtec. Yeah, yeah, yeah, oh and the Zyrtec.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's Zyrtec. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I want the Zyrtec.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's Zyrtec. A little Bengay on my knee, yeah.
Speaker 5:But it provides me the spark I need. But today I'm I feel really good.
Speaker 2:I feel professional. I know it's earlier More responsible Professional's a great word, I think we've grown up.
Speaker 5:Yeah, but I'm the only one drinking, drinking.
Speaker 1:well, I got this little hard to seltzer stuff, it's all right, did you call it?
Speaker 2:I'm sipping celsius, did you say celsius? Well, that was what he usually drinks. Today I've never even heard of that.
Speaker 1:I mean it's in temperature, you know I won't touch it.
Speaker 3:It says the the pedal girls drink that stuff you're actually right?
Speaker 5:I don't think you're right not to go back to that, but how? What is the insurance policy?
Speaker 2:on that stuff. Oh, you probably just sign a waiver. That's that easy.
Speaker 5:Just sign a waiver yeah, I love that well, they made it easy.
Speaker 1:They made it easy I mean, in some cities somebody fell off something comparable it was here and got hit. It was here, yeah, got hit by, yeah, an oncoming, but they were so drunk they just walked it off, you know.
Speaker 5:So really, no, I don't know. I don't know what happened. Something happened here.
Speaker 3:They fell backwards off the stool no surprise because they're pedaling on broadway hammered yeah I want to know what our listeners who have been to nashville and been to broadway. I want to know what they think. Okay, that's a great question. I really do. I want to know what they think about all of the Pedal Taverns, all the noise, all the bands.
Speaker 2:I mean they must love it.
Speaker 3:I'll play it at one time You'd have to. I mean, I never thought that I would actually think something's magical sounding as a hundred bands playing different songs at the same time and you can hear it all. But is there something crazy, weird, magical about Broadway?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we don't enjoy it. But if you're from wherever, like Iowa, and you're, hey, let's go to Nashville, and that's an experience.
Speaker 1:Well, I tell you what I do, like if we're ever and you guys do it too if you play a corporate show at Country Music Hall of Fame or something like that, at the end of it it could be a Monday night, it doesn't even have to be Friday, but I'll drive all the way down to the river and I'll I'll come back up, all the windows open because I want to hear it and just watch how crazy people are about country music and it. It is inspiring to me because they're like you, continually be reminded like man. These people freaking love music. They love music more than I love music, which makes me want to create it.
Speaker 5:Yeah, if they only wanted to pay for it, we'd be in good shape.
Speaker 1:It's not their fault, sorry, it's not their fault.
Speaker 5:I sound really. See, I'm 50, so I feel like I'm allowed to be just a grumpy pain in the ass.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all of a sudden you're Clint Eastwood, and what was the movie?
Speaker 1:Well, it wasn't Grumpy Old Men.
Speaker 2:No, gran Torino, gran Torino, gran Torino, yeah, gran Torino.
Speaker 3:Which is a great movie I was going to say El Camino.
Speaker 1:I would say that because there's a lot of people, a lot of writers, people even on Music Row, that listen to this podcast. I would say you don't have the right to be grumpy while you still have top tens on the radio.
Speaker 3:I can be grumpy. Yes, you do. I think if you're grumpy, with a hit that's another thing, but it's not grumpy. Curt and Tully have whiskey drink climbing the charts top ten.
Speaker 1:He's over there complaining about being 50.
Speaker 3:I think you know how many writers that turn 50 wish they had a song on the charts.
Speaker 1:Wish they had a song cut period. The word is still two syllables, but it's not grumpy.
Speaker 3:It should be thankful it should be, thankful. Neil grumpy. It should be thankful. It should be thankful, neil, that really cut to the core. You should, it's supposed to. You're right, though you should be ashamed. Oh, we're complaining about it, you look so disappointed in a song on the charts here's my zero expenses oh see it's funny.
Speaker 1:What'd you say?
Speaker 5:hello, zero expenses, no worries, here's why here's why I'm grumpy he, he has no debt.
Speaker 1:I'm just trying to get him right. I do know that.
Speaker 3:I'm trying to get him right. Well, I like it. It's the best way. Here's why.
Speaker 5:I'm grumpy, it's because my son is going off to college and the college I won't name it right now, but it's really crushing us financially because he needs to go to this place. It's a great place for him. He needs to go to this place, it's a great place for him. So I'm in the middle of bickering well, my wife is with trying to get some help. Neil, neil, neil, that is very polite. Anyway, that's why I'm grumpy.
Speaker 3:Crushing him financially? What?
Speaker 5:It is crushing.
Speaker 3:I've done the math. See, let me be bitter, can I not be bitter? Okay, you turn 50. Get over it, tomorrow I'll let you be bitter today.
Speaker 1:Don't be bitter.
Speaker 3:But you guys are right.
Speaker 5:Be better, my God, here we go. Come on be happy, be thankful. You've got a top 10.
Speaker 1:The East Base Intervention You've got a top 10 pin screaming up the charts yes, it's the top five most played for a spin increase this week Is it. Yes See, I wouldn't even know that. And Aldean has two in the top five the one with John.
Speaker 3:Morgan. Yeah, john Morgan. We've got to have John Morgan on, we will Speaking of him. He wants to do it.
Speaker 5:He's a badass. You know, this is what good friends do. I'll tell you this that is a good slap in the head for you guys.
Speaker 3:It is. That's what we're here for, bob. It is Slaps in the head, you're welcome.
Speaker 5:That's what we're here for In a good way. You're right, I shouldn't be complaining. Got a new tattoo.
Speaker 3:You got $100,000 worth of tattoos on just your arms.
Speaker 1:So, I'm not buying any of your woes.
Speaker 5:You could sell that one arm. You could sell that one arm a day for a semester, for your kid.
Speaker 3:I feel like I got scolded the price of ink these days.
Speaker 5:I don't know what those cost. I got to tell you something this tattoo, the new one. For some reason I don't know if it was just a weird day man it got down on the elbow and it was like I was having to like, focus, focus.
Speaker 1:That's the weenus.
Speaker 3:That's the weenus, 50 weenus, right there on the weenus, 50 year old weenus, I've heard that's very painful.
Speaker 1:to get one on the weenus yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh my God, I've never Stay away from the weenus, sir oh my God, don't touch me there. Seriously, guys, don't touch me in my weenus, they'll be putting you under next time you get a tattoo?
Speaker 5:Oh hell no. No that won't be happening.
Speaker 2:All right, somebody pivot from weenus, kurt, what do you got?
Speaker 5:You can't pivot from weenus, I got nothing. Yeah, you can't pivot from weenus, I got nothing.
Speaker 7:Yeah, you can't pivot from Weenus that is good, though You're right.
Speaker 5:You guys are both right, Like just you're right.
Speaker 1:What am I complaining about? That's right, we're always worried about the next one. I get that. I get that, but congrats on this one, thank you.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much. It's good that the team is still representing. It's great.
Speaker 5:It's fantastic. You're right. You guys are absolutely right.
Speaker 1:Don't complain. I mean be like. Biden came out today with his first speech since the— he's gay Since the— no, no.
Speaker 2:Wouldn't that be amazing to come out at 80-something?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that'd be amazing, very niche, well, he'd say. You know, I had no idea I was. That's what he'd say, but he was informed by one of his aides.
Speaker 2:Oh, there's a joke in there somewhere. That wasn't on purpose, I did see him.
Speaker 1:Anyway. He was captivating today, just as captivating as he was during the—.
Speaker 2:Well, give us some highlights. What?
Speaker 1:During the highlights during the run. Uh well, he talked, you know I don't know what he said.
Speaker 8:Really, I was trying to figure it out, you know, but where was it?
Speaker 1:salad stuff. It was in chicago, I'm not sure what the event was, okay, um, but he was saying things and uh, he was against, uh, all the things trump was doing, and uh saying how he's tearing down social security and stuff, and which I hadn't heard anything about that until he came out and said that was happening.
Speaker 2:But have you guys heard of this thing that people the liberals are talking about now how they're blaming the election and how it went on the manoverse, you guys heard this term, the manoverse. You guys heard this, jim, or anybody? No, so it's basically blaming us male podcasters because it was such an influence actually on the election for young men, because people are listening to podcasts but they're complaining that it's all male voices. Interesting yeah so they're calling this the Manoverse. What a stupid word. That's my new favorite stupid word.
Speaker 5:Only a liberal will make that up a Manoverse. You're right. Make it sound like a negative thing. Yeah, we have to get Whitlock to talk about this.
Speaker 3:It all started at Augusta. It all started when they let two women into Augusta. You want to expand?
Speaker 2:No, I'm just saying.
Speaker 3:I love women, I love the female population, but why can't men have their own club if they want one? Why do they have to pressure their way in and elbow their way into a men's club just to go? Once they got in, they go oh, we're in, now what?
Speaker 2:Okay, I'll back you up. It's odd, I'll back you up.
Speaker 3:It's so odd they wear green. It's so stupid they have their clubs. Right yeah, we don't try to infiltrate their space, their e-space. Why can't men have their own clubs today? All right, I'm backing you up. It's a men's club.
Speaker 5:I like the men's club. I'm with you. What's wrong with that?
Speaker 3:That's like a I saw it coming when that all went down.
Speaker 7:When was that Years?
Speaker 3:ago. That was years ago, you know. Condoleezza Rice is in there and some other and I was like, oh God, if they let them in just because they're raising hell, we're screwed. Men's clubs are screwed, yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't know what we'll do as a society. I don't know. I mean, of all the things that's happening in the world, that keeps me up, the most is that.
Speaker 3:Well, I don't stay up over it, I'm just like why? Why do they feel the need to have to do that?
Speaker 1:To be equal Well, equal in value different in role.
Speaker 3:We're not equally endowed. We're different species. We're different sexes. We're different. Men want to have their own club.
Speaker 2:Let them have their own club.
Speaker 1:It's hard to argue, K-Lo, We'll be right back. No, it is Kurt. A word for our sponsor Look here.
Speaker 3:I could go on and on and on and give you my opinions about stuff like that.
Speaker 1:This is safe space. I'm telling you man it's just us.
Speaker 3:I could go on and on, and on.
Speaker 5:I didn't know that that had happened, to be honest with you. So for me, at its most basic form, we can have our own club. Yeah, I don't see the big deal.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we're not allowing any women to come this is a boys club right here.
Speaker 1:Well, hold on, hold on.
Speaker 3:Try that in a small town podcast.
Speaker 1:It's for men only, except for all the lovely guests that we've already had and we want to have later on.
Speaker 3:Well, they're temporary they can come in as guests.
Speaker 1:He knows not what he says, folks hey look.
Speaker 5:Tom Petty said it best Original glory. When Stevie Nicks asked Tom Petty, basically, you know, can I be in the Heartbreakers? Tom Petty said well, stevie, there's no girls in the Heartbreakers.
Speaker 3:He did say that huh oh yeah, wow, well, I mean that's their club. And then, what's wrong with that? Well, nothing. Nothing.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and the other part of that quote's great. And she goes well, tom, why not she goes? I'm in a rock band and Tom goes well, not really. She's talking about Fleetwood Mac, which I always loved. I mean, hey, I love Stevie Nicks. Stevie Nicks is great.
Speaker 2:I love Lindsey Buckingham. Yeah, there's no girls on the Heartbreakers. There's no girls on the Heartbreakers.
Speaker 1:There's no girls on the Heartbreakers.
Speaker 2:Somebody was saying before we were recording actually maybe it was Lana she was talking about we need to have all the wives on Talking about how it's a boys club. We could give the wives an episode. Well, hold on, that's a great point.
Speaker 3:We could, we could give the wives an episode, but you said no more. But they're not. They're not the stars this is our.
Speaker 2:They get one episode. Is this our augusta?
Speaker 3:or are we gonna? And people can take me the wrong way and the things that I say the wrong, but it's not.
Speaker 1:It's none of it's true whatever, I think they're taking you the way they took our song the wrong way.
Speaker 3:It wasn't true. They can take what I say and there's gonna be a lot of women that agree with me I like this. There's gonna be a lot of my wife would agree with you yeah, there's gonna be a lot of women that hate me and there's gonna be a lot of women that agree with everybody loves you.
Speaker 5:Everybody I've talked to loves you not everybody no, but you wouldn't want everybody.
Speaker 2:There's this one.
Speaker 1:There's this one guy no here's
Speaker 5:I've heard some. Sorry, kaylo, before I forget because I'm old now um, I've had, you know, some friends from home who are female friends from home. They go, they go, man. Neil. I don't want to like him, but I love him. You know why Well no, why. Here's why Because you're you're a great person, but you're really genuine, and there's nothing wrong with having an opinion on a thought, but it comes out very genuine. I think people's problem is when they don't know if someone's genuine Agree and you never come across that way. I equate.
Speaker 2:Neil to the old Simon Cowell. When American Idol first came out, people used to hate him. However, he was just telling you the truth.
Speaker 3:It was yes, that's exactly right.
Speaker 2:So, like you, can speak your truth, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 5:Sometimes people most people I think you all would agree have a hard time actually hearing the truth. I think people don't want to hear the truth about things. Neil has his truth, which is very genuine.
Speaker 3:It's not my truth.
Speaker 1:It is the truth, good correction it depends on the topic. Sometimes it's the truth, sometimes it's your truth, sometimes it's your truth.
Speaker 3:No, no, no. I would never say anything that wasn't true. That wasn't the truth, not my truth. I don't have my truth. That's totally, totally wrong to have my truth. That's not right, it's pretty much the truth there's another. T-shirt it's pretty much the truth. There's another t-shirt it's pretty much the truth.
Speaker 5:You can disagree with it, but you don't know the truth. But my point is you have things that you believe in very strongly and that's your truth.
Speaker 3:Yes, no, it's not my truth, it's the truth. Okay Well, everything I say is correct. Okay, well, hey. So, speaking of the truth, okay well, everything I say is correct. Okay, well, hey so speaking of the truth.
Speaker 1:So, speaking of the truth, this is a. It doesn't seem like a good segue, but you'll get it in a few minutes we'll see, because I actually got the word a little bit earlier today because the last few days you know if you're a college football fan, you know about tennessee and the qb leaving, you know and all that stuff you know. So he's gone. I think the coaching staff, they did the right thing.
Speaker 3:They did an excellent job.
Speaker 1:To preach on that, but as a fan and this happens in other areas and I had you know how you remember Bible verses wrong sometimes and you make it your own and you think and you'll say one thing, but you go back years later and it's like oh gosh, I interpreted that totally. That's not what it says. I've told a hundred people you know that will it's your truth.
Speaker 1:Well, anyway, exactly, yeah, that it had become my truth, but not the truth, right? So? So anyway, you know, when that happens, as a fan, I'm thinking, as a lot of people were, because you're in the, you're in the mad mode, right. You're thinking I hope he fails so epically. You're thinking all these bad things.
Speaker 3:That's our first instinct.
Speaker 1:Now you don't think anything terrible happens to him. You say I hope he learns his lesson, I hope he doesn't get close to what he already had at Tennessee. So you're going through that and I was kind of reminded of that verse that I thought said oh how we rejoice at the misfortune of others, right. And so I looked that up and I thought, because there's another two friendships I've had that have went awry, tell us about that. Now that's a different podcast, but we'll get into it. We'll get into it, we'll get into it.
Speaker 7:I already told that story, by the way.
Speaker 1:But then I thought, oh, that's just a human thing and that scripture's in there to make us feel good because, yeah, of course We've been wronged in some way, and so it's okay to wish poorly of the other person. But that's not what it says. It says do not wish poorly on your enemies, or God will lose his vengeance against that person. So he will be. Because you're mad and you wish bad things on him, god takes his anger away. So, nico, I'm so happy for you and I want to give all that. But anyway, I was reminded of that today. It's just kind of interesting. We're talking about truth and you kind of forget sometimes. And you, you read something a long time ago and you've you've kind of swapped it around to where it works better for you and it's easier, and then I thought, well, crap, now I can't be mad at Nico, so I'm not mad anymore. I'm looking forward to the next season?
Speaker 2:What if Nico transferred to Alabama?
Speaker 1:He can't because it's in the SEC and it's in spring, so you can't do that.
Speaker 3:We wouldn't take him anyway.
Speaker 1:Now, if he did? Obviously as a sports fan, it's just entertainment, right? Obviously you'd want them to dominate them, you know. But if it was Alabama, anyway, you'd still want to win. You'd want to get sacked more than normal.
Speaker 2:Where else would be? Since you can't go to SEC like Notre Dame, that would be awful.
Speaker 1:I don't know Miami, there's so much speculation. Now I heard UCLA.
Speaker 2:By the time this airs, I'm sure it'll have happened.
Speaker 1:Right, it would have happened by the time this airs, nothing may happen.
Speaker 3:I think it's all backfiring from what I've read.
Speaker 1:It's all it is what's all backfiring on?
Speaker 3:officially entered the portal today, yeah, but there's nobody gonna pay him what he wanted at tennessee and what did he want? He wanted like four million, four million, yeah, and he was making two, five at ut and now I've been reading that all these colleges, when he comes down to a million, will talk to him. It's like he's going to lose a million and a half if it doesn't work out for him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know what will end up happening. Who knows, somebody may pay him bank and everything, but the pressure now on that kid, because now the whole, I mean, let's say he does get a few million bucks. You talk about snap one, you talk about pressure on now.
Speaker 2:Now I have to be the most excellent QB in the country.
Speaker 3:What's he done to earn?
Speaker 5:four million, because I don't know a lot about this subject. Is that guaranteed money? Well, I don't know what the contract?
Speaker 2:says he has to fulfill his part of the obligation.
Speaker 5:Okay NFL, even though he didn't fulfill his part of the obligation Okay, I know like.
Speaker 2:NFL, even though he didn't fulfill a lot of his obligations last year, like he didn't show up for some of the signings, some of the stuff that he was sponsoring, but they kind of slid that under the rug because he was playing pretty good. Yeah, interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's crazy now that they can't show it, like whether an agent or a parent or whatever said hey, if you don't show up day four, spring game bet I can get you an extra million. Yeah. 18-year-old, 19, 20-year-old kid saying really yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he got some bad advice.
Speaker 1:Right, he got some bad advice and then the university says, because the team is, I mean, how are you going to win the team back like after that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, saban saw it coming.
Speaker 1:He did. That's why he got out. He got out at the exact right time you are right dude, how do?
Speaker 5:you coach it, you can't, you can't, you can't coach it, you can't.
Speaker 3:That's Some of these guys have coached in the NFL goes to the crapper and then you're not going to win a national championship If your locker room is separated like that, who's going? To block for that guy? Not many. Not Thrasher. Not me.
Speaker 7:I'm not blocking.
Speaker 3:I think we should have women in football now they had their league with the lingerie.
Speaker 5:What was that? When they wore the bathing suits?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't remember the name of the league, but that's volleyball. No, no, league with the lingerie, what was that? When they wore the bathing suits? I don't remember the name of the league. I think that's volleyball. No, no, they had a league where they had like Lingerie yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't remember what it was called. What married guys can be allowed to watch that?
Speaker 3:I've never even heard of that.
Speaker 5:It was a thing. It was a thing had a season, had a run.
Speaker 3:No kidding, huh, how to season.
Speaker 1:How to run. No kidding, yeah, huh, yeah. Who will fuck it?
Speaker 3:I don't know.
Speaker 5:That's their club. Do we have?
Speaker 3:any more questions from any of our listeners.
Speaker 2:We did, we had one more. What? Was that Jim? The. Lfl. Lingerie, lingerie.
Speaker 7:Football. League, the LFL.
Speaker 2:The Lingerie Football League.
Speaker 1:Poor advertising.
Speaker 3:The X League, the lingerie football league, poor advertising, yeah the.
Speaker 5:XFL. That's what I'm thinking of.
Speaker 1:I think I'm ready for an.
Speaker 7:LGBTQRS football league.
Speaker 3:Or the XXL FL, xxl FL, lgbtqfl. What would?
Speaker 2:that be like Plus I don't know. Let's get to a question.
Speaker 3:No, why do you want to, kurt? I think that's. I'll let you this is going fantastic Speak your truth.
Speaker 2:Last question, last question.
Speaker 7:Super fan Ed here.
Speaker 2:Super fan Ed Question for you guys on the latest single.
Speaker 7:Congrats on Whiskey Drink. I see it's in the top ten. I assume that's on radio.
Speaker 5:Top five.
Speaker 7:I listen to Sirius XM radio and Whiskey Drink was played for four months, from October through January, and then stopped and I don't hear it again. Can you guys provide some insight into how things work on Sirius XM and some of these other platforms versus the radio and where the influence is on why these songs get played earlier or later or not all at the same time? Just trying to understand how it works and once again, congrats on the success of Whiskey Drink. Thanks.
Speaker 5:Ed. And to Ed for a year Ed's been with us, ed's been right here and it sounds to me like that payola check bounced.
Speaker 2:Whoever that went to, you're actually not. I'm sure you're not far off, charlie. You said you might have a. Well, I think.
Speaker 5:Ed, what happens these days is between streaming and XM and I think sometimes the label will release songs earlier to stream or earlier to XM than regular radio to build up streams, to build a little attention to the song. I personally don't like it. I think I'm going to sound old again. But the days of being excited about when an artist releases a single it's kind of gone now, where it used to be that excitement, a ramp up to a single release.
Speaker 3:And you're talking about from the writer's perspective.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and even the artist too, because, for example, like you know, a song like Whiskey Drink, we all love that song, but you know, like you know, you release it ahead of time and it loses some of the punch of excitement. It happens to everybody these days, like any song you hear on the radio has already been out to XM and streaming a while before.
Speaker 1:You know, go ahead, I was just going to say but and you alluded to it, like I think it could be, because that came out prior to terrestrial radio. Yeah. Those listeners have heard it. You know so much that they're onto other things, right Well, and which it doesn't affect whether it's like it's a top five right now. It doesn't affect it going number one if it's not on XM right now. It doesn't affect it going number one if it's not on xm right now, because now you're after those reporters it's two different worlds
Speaker 1:so it doesn't affect it going number one or anything like that. And I think it's just a, because I always used to think like when you had a new artist he's like oh man crap, we're doing great in wichita and this market, this market, this market, they're in medium and heavy, it's light everywhere else. I'm saying we'll never go number one because you've eaten up areas that have went in heavy and they'll be tired of it and you'll need them all at the same time.
Speaker 5:You know what I mean I'll tell you this right now, sitting on music row right now, and labels can argue with me and I'll just call them out. That's how we're talking about it. No one still knows what a stream means. What a stream means if they tell you what it means, or tell you what it what, it can actually translate to the full of shit. The only thing in this genre that still matters when it comes to to to people listening is country radio still impacts. If you have a top 10 country radio, you can actually see that translate whether you're playing. You know you could have been playing 500 seat clubs and now you're playing a thousand. You can see it every. You know you get a top five. You can. You can see that translate to a hard ticket sale. You can have someone streaming 4 million a week as a young artist and they can't sell out 300 seats. So there's something in the streaming world that isn't connecting.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, like you said you manufactured numbers.
Speaker 5:Whatever you want to say. What is a stream? They don't know. Is someone actually listening to the song? Doesn't matter, because if it, if, if the stream mattered, if, like they think it does, then by their point, if you're streaming five million a week, like if neil thrasher puts out a song on his own next week, it's greatest song ever be the greatest vocal ever. Say he's streaming three million a week but he tried to sell out of a club in chicago. Might sell 100 tickets, might sell. Might sell 100 tickets, might sell 500 in another place. My point is Radio Ed is still. That's why everybody still loves it and cares about it. Labels will tell you oh, radio's going away. That's not the case. We've been hearing that for years.
Speaker 3:I know we have, we've been hearing it for years.
Speaker 5:If they didn't care about it then every artist would still want number one, and it's two totally different streams of income Ed.
Speaker 2:Yes, one of them is income and the other is not.
Speaker 3:Two completely different streams, the streaming world. Actually, we're living in poverty. If we didn't have the radio, the terrestrial radio, we would be living in poverty. It's what? 0.008 of a penny per stream. It goes out and is split three ways or four ways. It crushes my soul when you say that, yeah, it's amazing and that's why Elon Musk needs to buy Spotify and reconfigure everything it actually is one of the saddest things, though, which is why song quality will continue to dip.
Speaker 5:You know we're not going to have incredible songs because we can't make a living on streaming as songwriters the day of the standard is pretty much coming to an end.
Speaker 3:The day of the standard song, songs that are standards that live forever.
Speaker 5:That's a great point, it's a great point. It's a great point.
Speaker 3:They burn through them so fast. These songs come out so fast. Morgan Wallen puts out music so fast, one right after the other. They don't have time to become standards.
Speaker 5:Well, people also don't have the attention span. This is the problem. And you figure out how to release music nowadays. It's sad when you just put a record out 12 great songs or whatever. The minute you put the record out today, in one week people want new music. That's already old, that's already old. You know. People don't listen the same anymore. They don't a lot of it's because they don't have the physical album cd. They're not looking at it. They don't own a lot of it's because they don't have the physical album CD. They're not looking at it, they don't own it. They own it but they don't. It's just different, definitely more disposable, you know.
Speaker 1:I still think there'll be songs that it's all relative in where you grew up and where you were when you started loving Aldine or Morgan Wallen. I think when you look back and you get older, those people like Morgan hitting a lick now older those, those people like with morgan hitting a lick now, there's going to be songs that pop into their head out of the hundreds that he releases and they're going to be able to recall three or four of them that are the biggest songs ever to them. I still think to them those will be, those will be standards, you know that's an interesting point, though, neil.
Speaker 2:You got me thinking and I you know I hated to cut you off, but I almost agree with Neil. It's like there's.
Speaker 1:I agree with me.
Speaker 2:But listen there's. They don't get to live in recurrent land that much because he's got too much new music coming out, and I'm not saying Morgan necessarily specifically, but for maybe other artists. I mean Last Night's the one I can think of Morgan. It's massive, we'll live forever. But it's a great point. Because there's so much music, the recurrent ones don't get to live as much.
Speaker 3:I don't know. I think Morgan Wallen would be the only one that would come close to having maybe a standard here and there that will live forever. You know Not. There's no more. There's no more songs that will live on. I could name, I could give you a list and name songs and you'd go standard and most of them that I would name today you would be like, yeah, I know the song, but it's.
Speaker 1:Maybe, maybe I'm not saying disagree. The only thing I would have a different view on is the fact that when we're dead and gone and there's other people in the East basis studio here doing a podcast about their runs and their hits and stuff, that it'd be completely different, like I don't think that the standards that we like, when we say standards, we're still, we're still throwing in like really old names, right. I don't think people 20 years from now are going to be going back and say, man, willie Nelson, you know, I just don't think they're going to do that. I think their standards would come, you know, from this time, or 10 years back, or 15. I don't know if they'll go 50 years back.
Speaker 2:No, I agree with the timeline.
Speaker 5:Well, I don't know. And it's okay to disagree with Neil, don't be scared.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I'm on this side of the table.
Speaker 5:I'm going with Neil, no, but you know there's a resurgence in the young population today listening, that are discovering the old standards, the standards that were in the 90s.
Speaker 5:True and the ticket sales are going up, which is why you know you've got people which Alan Jackson had. Some of those for me, like those really incredible to me, like great country songs, you know, to me great country songs. And people are discovering the standard, the Brooks and Dunn standards. Those are there because they're good, great songs. There's a reason why they're rediscovering them because they are standards. So I'm a big Morgan Wallen fan. We all are, I think.
Speaker 5:Morgan is super talented and deserves all the success because he's a very talented guy. I'm with Kurt, it's almost too much. I was driving in and I heard like three Morgan Mullins songs. Yeah, I hope it's not too much and they're good they're killing it while they're doing it.
Speaker 5:You don't have time to really absorb it because you're not living with it, your tension, but that's today. In general, your tension is pulled in 10 different places. So that's why my daughter I mean she's on TikTok and she's listening to like old rock and roll that I loved.
Speaker 3:So is my daughter.
Speaker 5:You know, and it's interesting because those are standards. And she that I loved so is my daughter, you know, and it's interesting because those are standards and she's absorbing that. But it's like today's music, the artist it's so much. I don't know if you have time to know if they have a standard. You know, Morgan, like Whiskey Glasses to me is one people still love and Last Night was a huge song and I heard three songs I like but'm. But it's hard because you know any artist is is going to start sounding. The song starts sounding a light, because that's what. That's what happens.
Speaker 1:you know it's not well, if anybody morgan wallen, uh, camp or cruise listen out there, I want to be on the morgan wallen song that everybody just despises. I want to be on the least of the least just anything get me on one of those records I mean amen.
Speaker 3:It's hard for songwriters to get excited anymore. I don't get excited if I see somebody putting out a song on social media. They call it a single but it's not really a single because it's not to radio, but they call it a single and they put it out there and that new song coming out? I don't like it's like I can't get excited because you don't make any money.
Speaker 5:Well, here's what's going to happen you make nothing. I just had a conversation with a young manager that we know in town. He started a label, joy Adventure, I can't remember with who. Anyway, the new model is going to be this the songwriters are going to get a percentage of the masters.
Speaker 5:That's a good idea and that's the only way to keep them going. That's the only way to keep, because I was telling Kurt the other day like, like creatives, like us, there's nothing more dangerous as a creative than having your ambition in the wind taken out of your sails. When, when, when you're creative and everything, you feel it and it's you're going to write the great, you're going to write great songs. When you feel like it's you're moving forward and you're positive and it's like great. But when you feel like you don't have a reason for it, some of the most talented songwriters in town are going to stop creating it. And so, by giving the songwriters a little piece of the master, that adds a little bit of incentive and that's what you they're going to have to do it adds, and some artists already do that some some of them and then that may and I think that may be happening I'm just not writing with those particular artists but it needs to be.
Speaker 5:It needs to be more than a um, occasional happening.
Speaker 1:Yeah you know, because you're not, we're not going to have great songs we can't just burn a writer's idea like if that's's your only income. You can't drive to town, throw them your idea and they write something, and then they put out half the song on social media to get, you know, 100 more followers that night and all you're doing is buying Uber Eats and going backwards, you know. So what happens is you come to town and you don't throw your ideas anymore. Yeah and say what idea do you have?
Speaker 5:If I know you're going to put it out on social media, I'm not going to give them my idea. It's a really interesting problem and so the way to fix it is to involve the songwriters and send them to master, and that's how you're going to get great songwriters to write great songs again. Yeah. Otherwise we're I hate to say it we're going to be stuck with the crap that's out there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm going to go lay tile again.
Speaker 1:I'm going to hang on to the bitter end.
Speaker 3:We're going to keep writing Cause we love it. We still love it, what we love.
Speaker 1:And I know we talk about things, but but what? What? What I love is is if you come up with something, regardless of whether it makes money yet, because long before something makes money, you've got to excite the co-writers in the room or the artists in the room. And if I can do that and if they say, well, I love that, then my validation box has been checked, then I feel good for the day and so I feel like I've done something. I've made zero money, but I feel really good. And so if I can drive and if you write a decent song, you can drive home in a positive mode. That will help you create other things, because you're excited, because somebody validated what you do, which will make you think of better things other than you know. Being down in the dumps all the time and man, we're not doing this, man, that's not going to make me think of good ideas. You know what I mean. So for me, still, the excitement is coming up with something that could be something whether it is or not.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I think. I think the hope's always there, as long as labels continue. Some labels in town, though, don't want to take artists to radio. So if you're not going to take your artists to radio, then I'm not throwing a hook out there, not a chance. I'm not throwing a hook out there, not a chance. If you, if the hope is to only stream, then if you're not getting if you're not getting a percentage of the master, then they can, and that's what what happens.
Speaker 3:And or you can, or you can pay me like five or 10 grand and I'll come right with you.
Speaker 2:No, Okay, that's not a bad idea, there we go.
Speaker 3:If you think I'm a good writer, why not pay me up front?
Speaker 1:I still owe you a thousand.
Speaker 3:Because I'm not going to make that with streaming. If you have a big social media hit, I'm not going to make Jack squat. Go ahead and pay me up front and I'll write one with you If you get a piece of the master, though.
Speaker 5:There's incentive there to write a great song, but I get that too. There's incentive there to write a great song, but I get that too. I get that up front, and you give me a piece of the master and an appearance fee. I'm becoming a pop artist.
Speaker 3:I'm becoming a pop writer. I'm going to start dealing. I'm going to start playing hardball. With what little time I have left.
Speaker 1:Well, it's kind of a, you know, I've had to shift my paradigm a little bit.
Speaker 1:And what Tully was saying about, you know, owning a piece of the master that make, that makes sense, because we've said that for a few years, like, hey, you got to give us a reason to come in the room to drive downtown and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Um, kind of the negative, though, if you, if you just say, hey, I'm not going to do that, I'm not going to write with, with new artists, I'm not going to write, if you, if you don't have a deal, or if you're not going to radio, I'm not going to do it. Well, what happens is, out of the hundred or 200 that are trying to do it, one of them is going to pop, one or two or three here and there, right, and you've got to be lucky enough to be in that camp so you can pop with them, because you can't get on the train after it takes off, because then they don't need you. You know what I mean. So it's a tough road for a straight-up songwriter, because you can't just sit back and do nothing and expect it to be the same it. Because you can't just sit back and do nothing and expect it to be the same.
Speaker 3:It's not the same anymore. Well, if it doesn't change, if something doesn't give, soon there's going to be less and less people every year moving to Nashville to write songs for a living.
Speaker 1:Simply because they can't afford it. They can't afford it, you can't do it.
Speaker 3:You can't do it full time They'll have three jobs, while they're here, and then they'll wind up leaving and going back home.
Speaker 5:And then, worse than that, the great ones you know like aren't going to feel it, aren't going to want to write, yeah, and so that's the problem, like I said, with the creatives, like with myself. I know for a fact, like, if I'm feeling good and I'm feeling like in a good space, I feel very confident, very confident, and that's when you can really create your best stuff. That's just a natural thing for creatives, like like all of us neil I saw neil the other day and you mentioned this like it's hard to get excited to write sometimes, and that's a, it should be, because that's where we're at. We're not we're going to keep doing it and writing great songs, you know, but it is a. It is a frustrating thing when you're well, great hooks great hooks are.
Speaker 3:I get excited when you have great titles and great ideas and great hooks. You know, I got excited when K-Lo brought in Try that in a Small Ten. I'm like, oh my God, we have to write that. I really don't even care if it gets cut or not, we got to write it because it's such a great hook and great title. And it's like I wait on those things and I look for those things. Whenever I watch TV or watch movies, I'm always looking for now the great hook. So I don't feel like I'm wasting my time, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's still exciting, like the last trip I was on last week. I came up with some idea and I knew I was going to be on the road for a while and I knew that Neil and Lan were on the road for a while and I knew that neil and landon were on the road for a while and I I called him and I said, hey, you got this idea and I remember what it is. I'm not gonna say it now because all of you young guys are gonna steal it from me. But uh, they don't even know who we are. I'll sue, I'm just kidding. Um, but uh, but anyway, but you just, you just kind of said, hey, what do you think about that?
Speaker 1:And he goes, he goes, yeah, yeah, I like that. And then I felt good all the way home still didn't make any money, but a guy I respect, one of the best buddies, one of the best songwriters and singers in town, validated me. He said that's a great idea, kalo, I love that, we'll write that. And I went ha-ha, and then I just drive home happy. There you go. That's kind of all I needed for my little bucket, you know.
Speaker 2:I love it. Probably wrap it up here.
Speaker 3:Do you want to talk a little bit more about e-spaces, because this has been awesome. You can see, it inspired our conversation. My buddy, john purtle, who runs this joint, who has these e spaces going up. He's got one going in cool springs. We're down on music row right now and these awesome office spaces in this studio is rad.
Speaker 2:It's really good I know I feel very comfortable no, I know it, these chairs are amazing.
Speaker 3:These chairs are amazing.
Speaker 5:Well, it's fun to talk about business when we're down here in Music Row. That's cool, that's fun.
Speaker 3:I know it. I know it. I feel like we're telling on the people that are walking up and down the sidewalk outside. It's awesome.
Speaker 1:And, too, it's kind of full circle like we were talking about. The row is definitely different, music the row is definitely different. You know music row is different, but we've been blessed, you know, to be back on the row all these years later and we're on a podcast on music row on the ninth floor of a building which, you know, there's only two-story houses.
Speaker 1:you know when I moved here and it's really cool just to be talking about the blessings that we've had and the industry that we still love. Yes, we get frustrated, but we still love it. Oh, that's right, blessings that we've had and the industry that we still love. Yes, we get frustrated but we still love it and the competition and the creativity, everything and everything, and so it's still cool to be down on music row talking about songs.
Speaker 3:Love it how it's the same. It's really the same. It's the same black top out there.
Speaker 1:The buildings have gotten a little taller, but that's because business is good yeah pretty awesome music row will always be music row god bless the boys and made the noise on 16th avenue we built this city on rock and roll and pedal away girls leave us a comment.
Speaker 2:Watch on youtube, uh, review. Uh, one of my favorite things is to get up monday morning and you know ed's gonna leave those comments and I love how he gives the play by play. He's he's watching and he'll comment as he's watching, which is awesome.
Speaker 3:You know what ed's gonna have to come to town and sit sit in on a lot okay, that's a good idea.
Speaker 2:We'll get ed on here and uh, but we need to get ed drunk when he's here maybe he is drunk, maybe he is, I don't think he is.
Speaker 1:I don't think he is oh really yeah he's, he's straight life. He's not like us, but he likes us, okay well we appreciate it, uh, but do that.
Speaker 2:Follow ed's lead. Leave us a comment. Give us five stars, even if you don't like it. Come on, give a. Give a brother some love. Why don't you stop at five?
Speaker 3:stars. I don't know why can't it be six stars? Why do amps not go up to 11?
Speaker 5:like Spinal Tap. It's blowing my mind right now.
Speaker 3:I don't know Five stars.
Speaker 1:That's your truth. Yeah, that's it. It's an odd number I don't like it Tune in next week when we talk about going above 10.
Speaker 2:But follow us on all the socials. Help us out. Guys, migrate over to X. We're at Try that Podcast. We're on TikTok. We're crushing there, crushing the Instagram. Shout out to Allie who's working her butt off for us. It's awesome.
Speaker 1:Anything else, just thanks to all the incredible guests we've got.
Speaker 3:Thank you, guys, for and Al Dean for getting the guests that we've had.
Speaker 1:It's just been really, really fun.
Speaker 3:I can't wait to keep going.
Speaker 5:A year. It's hard to believe, I know.
Speaker 3:I know you look amazing.
Speaker 5:All you guys look amazing.
Speaker 2:Even in these office lights For the thrash. And your truth Kalo, what? Maybe that's your new nickname the Truth, the.
Speaker 7:Truth I like it.
Speaker 3:Even though I didn't write it. You didn't write it, but it still kind of fits, I know, but it's still a good nickname.
Speaker 2:We got TK. I'm Kurt. This is the Try that in a Small Town Podcast.
Speaker 6:Thanks guys, Make sure to follow along, subscribe, share, rate the show and check.