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
Bison Heads and Spy Accusations - A Chat with Alexis Wilkins :: Ep 67 Try That in a Small Town Podcast
What happens when passion for country music collides with unwavering values? Alexis Wilkins, singer-songwriter and political commentator, takes us on her extraordinary journey from writing songs at age six to navigating the complex landscape of today's music industry.
Alexis shares the fascinating story of how reading a Smithsonian article about coal fires as a child sparked her songwriting career, recording her first song on an American Girl doll tape recorder. Her path took unexpected turns from England to Switzerland to Arkansas, eventually leading to Nashville where she discovered that staying true to her values would come at a professional cost.
"They want to turn on the radio and be able to listen to it with their kids in the car. They don't want to have to make a moral decision every time they go to pick a song," Alexis explains about country music fans, cutting to the heart of the disconnect between industry gatekeepers and audiences. She candidly discusses being asked to remove the American flag from her social media, receiving failing grades from politically-opposed professors, and finding her voice as an advocate for veterans and law enforcement.
The conversation takes fascinating detours through her collection of taxidermied animals (including a bison head and cowboys-dressed squirrels), her defense of Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town," and her relationship with FBI Director Cash amidst bizarre internet rumors. Throughout it all, Alexis demonstrates why authentic voices matter in country music and beyond.
Alexis announces her American Heroes Foundation and "Back the Badge" tour, showing how she's channeling her passion for music into tangible support for those who serve. Whether you're a country music fan, concerned about cultural divides, or simply appreciate stories of integrity against the odds, this episode delivers powerful insights about staying true to yourself when it matters most.
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It's pretty simple. They want to turn on the radio and be able to listen to it with their kids in the car. They don't want to have to make a moral decision every time they go to pick a song. They don't want to get yelled at by I don't know Maren Morris, like they don't want that level of thank you.
Speaker 2:That's a good one, one of our favorites.
Speaker 3:I figured that would be a welcome party there. She's a regular on here. She's a regular on here.
Speaker 1:Is there like a button. There's a money jar with that one.
Speaker 3:Can you still run for office if you're a spy?
Speaker 2:That's a great question. That's a great question. Take your time.
Speaker 3:Take your time on this. I just don't know if I kicked you out of the room. I got to check it out. There's some rules we have here.
Speaker 1:Someone had to take the air out of the balloon. This one gentleman was telling me about his experience. Coming home from Vietnam was already awful, you know his sister didn't pick him up from the base, you know. Nothing was really felt as it should be. And then, years down the line, he heard that one of the Clinton aides or I'm going to, you know, I forget who it was, I used to know exactly who it was, but it's been a minute One of the aides said on the news you know, we sent the smart guys to Washington and we sent the dumb guys to Vietnam. And the fact that that's a soundbite that these men and ultimately men and women have to go back and listen to is despicable.
Speaker 5:The Try that in a Small Town podcast begins now. All right, y'all, this is the Try that in a Small Town podcast.
Speaker 6:We're back begins now. Drive at the small town. All right, y'all. This is the Try that in a Small Town podcast. We're back Atrium Mobile Studios powered by eSpaces. Our new studio still looks really, really nice.
Speaker 2:Real nice, still got that new car smell.
Speaker 7:God it feels good, nothing's fallen. I hung it solidly.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah, you did good, excellent job.
Speaker 2:It is nice Nothing's fallen. I hung it solidly. Yeah, yeah, you did good, excellent job. It is nice, your lovely wife did great, yep.
Speaker 7:Getting everything hung. I know how to insert a Taga bolt. What's?
Speaker 2:that Uh-oh A Taga bolt Taga or.
Speaker 7:Toggle. No, I've always called them Taga bolts. You know, it's kind of like Real men of genius, real men of genius Interesting. Do any of you guys know what a hammer is? Oh man, come on, he's checking. Yes, I don't know about Tully. You have no idea. I am handy. Your tech knows what a hammer is.
Speaker 3:I am handy, really Pretty handy, really Pretty handy, really Surprisingly handy. Yeah, so I mean, I grew up in a house with my grandmother and my mom, my aunt. I had to be a little bit handy. Define handy Just fix things now and then Hang stuff, fix stuff, really Build stuff. Yeah, not bad. I mean, I'm not a professional handyman but I can fix some stuff, you can figure it out.
Speaker 7:Oh yeah, I actually enjoy it. It is, it's like therapy I do. Yeah, it really is yeah.
Speaker 6:I got a guy.
Speaker 7:Well, I got a guy now, but I mean, I'm not a professional fixer, I mean there's a lot of duct tape and crooked nails One of these days we're going to have you guys' guitar techs on and you guys have to step out of the room. It's coming.
Speaker 6:Believe me, we've heard what they say. It's coming.
Speaker 3:It's not pretty. Mine knows not to speak to me sometimes he won't have much to say.
Speaker 6:Don't speak directly to Tully.
Speaker 3:Just light my incense. Oh my God, don't you look at me in the eye? No, tyler, I love you, buddy, you're great.
Speaker 6:Hey, so tonight is going to be fun. Yes, we've got Alexis Wilkins. Yeah, she's a badass.
Speaker 3:International woman of mystery. Yeah, that's how you could describe her.
Speaker 6:She is a country music singer. She's also a political commentator actress yes, that I predict.
Speaker 7:I predict a political future.
Speaker 6:You know what I really do I actually think you're right somewhere down the line.
Speaker 7:Yep, she won't be looking for it, it's just gonna happen. It's gonna it's gonna come along and she won't have a choice. It's gonna happen she is yeah she's too smart, has too much class. She's just for for her to ignore that I agree it's going to happen.
Speaker 6:It's very impressive. Very intelligent, uh, very well spoken. A little too intelligent, yeah, for our I know it yeah we're
Speaker 7:betting a thousand on people smarter than us.
Speaker 2:Well, and and two. You know we, you know we're humble. We do pretend sometimes not to know so much to make our guests feel even more knowledgeable. Yeah, yeah, Because we're like that. Yeah, so that's part of it. That's key to any good host.
Speaker 3:Yes, making the guests feel superior.
Speaker 2:That's what I Googled how to be a good host Play dumb.
Speaker 6:I like it. It's going to be a great night. I think you guys are going to be. You're going to learn a lot right from Alexis. Let's do this before we go, though. You've got to do us. You've got to follow us on the socials. We're trying to build that X up. You've got to do us. Yeah, that's how you can do it. Go on X, follow us. I love that. I know. Leave a comment. Get on Insta. Get on what's the other one?
Speaker 5:The TikTok, the old talk, the talk, the talk.
Speaker 2:Is somebody buying TikTok? Yes, what's going on with that? I hadn't heard much lately. Okay.
Speaker 3:But MySpace.
Speaker 2:Follow us on MySpace. Yeah, not on MySpace, I think. Yeah, pretty good there.
Speaker 6:Follow us on all that Download the episode, leave us a comment on YouTube, do all that kind of stuff. And here's Alexis Wilkins. Please welcome, alexis Wilkins. We got you while you were in Nashville. What's the time? Like Nashville DC, like where are you most? How do you split it up?
Speaker 1:I'm still here a lot, you know. We kind of split it. You know I'm there when I can be, he's here when he can be. We kind of figure it out and try to do an even split. But it's a little nuts right now. So I figure it'll level off eventually.
Speaker 6:You know what I found out about you Googling, no, googling, no that you're a press secretary.
Speaker 1:What I didn't even know this is that a current thing when, when a when congressman imamane was first elected in office, I went into his press office and his office and just set up their comms department, got them going and then, ultimately, you know, I I sing country music, I tour, tour. I do political commentary, as you guys know, but I left that to the people who are experts at it.
Speaker 6:I just got them on a good path.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I set the press office up and they're awesome and sent them on their way in the right direction. You know, trust in the right people in the right places.
Speaker 6:Okay, so you mentioned country music. That's how we first knew of you and came to know you Talk a little bit about that, how long you've been doing it, the passion and how that's going right now.
Speaker 1:Yes, so I suppose the long story short is that I started writing first. I was six years old, six or seven, and I read an article in Smithsonian Magazine about the coal fires.
Speaker 6:Hold on. Six years old and you're reading Smithsonian. Wait a minute.
Speaker 3:Jim, my.
Speaker 1:Smithsonian. I know it's funny because, yeah, yeah it actually, my mom can actually attest to that. My mom is here today and she can attest that this actually happened. But I was reading Smithsonian and I came across an article about the coal fires in Pennsylvania and I wanted to do something about it, because it said somewhere in there that they had run out of money and they couldn't do anything to fix it. And so I said, well, that's unacceptable. Can we donate all of our money? My mom good lesson in capitalism was no, we.
Speaker 1:Can we donate all of our money? My mom, you know good lesson in capitalism was no, we can't donate all of our money, but love where your heart is, people do something they love and or are really good at, and they they raise money for things that that they believe in.
Speaker 1:And I said, great, I'm going to do that. And so I went on my American girl doll tape recorder and I wrote a little ditty that, weirdly enough, my parents are not musical had a verse and choruses and a bridge, and I recorded it, just vocals, on this tape recorder and I brought it to my parents who again are not musical, and they go okay, awesome, Great, this is awesome. What do we? This is awesome. What do we do with this? And my idea was I want to put it on, you know, this new thing called iTunes, and I want to raise money for the cause that I set out to raise money for hold on.
Speaker 6:This is while you're six years old that's what I'm feeling pretty bad right now not gonna lie, I was watching Scooby. I'm feeling pretty bad right now I'm an only child.
Speaker 1:I didn't do board super, super well, was really never bored and was encouraged not to be bored, hence reading a Smithsonian magazine, and so.
Speaker 3:Where do you find that? By the way, that magazine I don't.
Speaker 6:It was Museum.
Speaker 5:I think it was readily available.
Speaker 6:It was available readily available I read really young.
Speaker 3:I grew up in, you know I mean I.
Speaker 1:I can get more into this later, but I grew up in. I was born in the us, thank goodness, but I grew up in europe it was in england, switzerland for my parents work and then, uh, and then the rest was our, and then the rest was arkansas, you know, and so I kind of danced around a little bit. I had a lot of different perspectives and again didn didn't do board well, so you're up to Arkansas.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, yeah, so I started writing then and my parents didn't know you know exactly what to do with it. At that point you know this is a fun hobby that our daughter likes to do, and so we had a friend who was familiar with the studio in Nashville and he said oh, you know, let's go to Nashville, take her to Nashville. She likes this as a hobby and she can do this for for fun, and you. She doesn't have to do it full time.
Speaker 1:She's eight or nine at this point. Now, years, years pass and just let her, you know, bring it to fruition and raise the money she wanted to with it. If that's what she wanted to do and she'll get it out of her system, it'll be great and I loved it. And that was my first Nashville recording experience. I was nine and I fell in love with songwriting, fell in love with the town, fell in love with recording and, just honestly, what you could do with country music. For me that was it. You can go out. You're telling me that I can do something I love, I can raise money for something I believe in and ultimately do good, that I'm sold, I'm in it, and so from that point, it was very much for me about the writing.
Speaker 1:And things morph as you get older. You learn about causes that you care about and what you want to support, and so as I got older, that morphed into me writing for other artists, me writing a little bit in the pop and hip hop world, because I knew I was young, I didn't want to get. I was offered to, just basically, you know, here's your record. You should record it. You're 14, we'll put you on stage, you'll love it, but I wanted to, and y'all know how the entertainment industry can be. You know my parents have protected me, thank goodness, and I didn't want to be told who I was, so I was writing for other artists, eventually knowing of course, that I wanted to do country music, and circling back to that for myself, and in working in that space and raising money for veterans, organizations and things that I am very passionate about now, Did you sorry?
Speaker 2:did you really have a a florida cut, did they? I read that I thought, wow, god, I was watching a lot of videos. First it's all country america flags and everything, and it's says, uh, well, well known for you know, her role in modern family. And then also getting songs recorded by florida oh my god that is true I just I've been for 10 minutes so like, okay, I'm out of my depth here so funny.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is, that is, that is true. I had a flow right of cut when I was young enough to be on set for the music video and them go. Who brought their kid? So it was. It was pretty fun.
Speaker 6:You were in the video too. No, I just watched it, okay.
Speaker 5:I was like yeah, no that was not by by me, or or by my parents.
Speaker 7:Of course, I didn't know that's really I didn't either. No, how long ago was it. We wrote oh gosh you know I'm gonna be sitting here during the show. I'm gonna be looking for the work tape. I think I have it.
Speaker 6:I should when did you guys write together?
Speaker 1:no, it was, it was probably like no it was five At least. Oh my gosh, Really that's crazy yeah.
Speaker 7:Yeah, because you came to the house. That's when we lived in Brentwood in the seven acres. Yeah.
Speaker 2:No, that was a small house, huh.
Speaker 3:Just the seven acres, the writing house, y'all proceed.
Speaker 7:I'm going to look for this work tape.
Speaker 6:You can just join the conversation whenever you want. I'm going to really get her.
Speaker 2:So is the writing from acting, singing and everything. Is the writing. Is that your biggest love, because you do so many things, or is it just mixed in there with everything else?
Speaker 1:You know, it's where it started for me and it's where I originally found the voice to tell the stories that I grew up on in country music and contribute to that storytelling. So I definitely do. The writing is one of my favorite pieces. Of course, the, you know, performing aspect and getting to connect with people is great, but it definitely, for me, starts with the writing and then the rest of it, you know, the, the acting stuff and anything like that. I was in California briefly, um, because I say briefly? Because my grandparents were there and we wanted to spend some time with them, especially after, you know, coming back from Europe and being in Arkansas for a long time, we did a little pit stop in California, and I keep expressing heck pit stop.
Speaker 1:We were there a very short amount of time Notice the tell there but I went to a school with a lot of other actors, kids and people who were in the industry.
Speaker 1:Just because it was the private school that was close.
Speaker 1:It was truncated hours, so honestly, they understood me going back and forth and writing in Nashville and, you know, doing the things that I was doing, and so it was just kind of what other people were doing and you know you could go and audition for something because you're in California and for me it's like a public speaking exercise before you have access to those classes and ultimately college and what becomes life. You know you have to practice these things, but for me I just thought it was a great exercise in going to auditions being rejected like you are in the music industry anyway. All of these things kind of add up to how it feels when you're on stage. There was rock things. I did rock band stuff just to get on stage and get those reps and no more music and some of the things that are online that I've done all were strategically to contribute to getting to do what I ultimately love to do, which is sing country music and stand on stage and practice to hopefully be good at it.
Speaker 3:So you're very good at it oh yeah.
Speaker 2:What do?
Speaker 3:you think about the women in country music today and we've had this discussion.
Speaker 6:Yes, we have.
Speaker 3:Yeah it seems like it's all over the map. You know, women used to rule this market. They were great and there still are some that are great, but I want to get your perspective on that. What do you feel is a good spot? Do you feel like the women in this genre? Do you feel good about it? Do you feel like they were missing some stuff? What do you feel like the women in this, in this genre? Do you feel good about it? Do you feel like there were missing some stuff? What do you? What do you feel?
Speaker 1:ultimately, there's been a long period where and I it, you know ebbs and flows, but there was a long period, especially with writing, where I felt as though women were writing almost exclusively boy bashing songs at the same time that they were complaining about guys writing, you know, back of the truck and drinking songs, which I don't really complain about because that's some of my favorite music.
Speaker 1:Maybe that's just me, but I think it's fine. But as they were complaining about that, I found that women were writing boy bashing music and it's hard because the audience is still 50% men and women. You're still playing for everyone.
Speaker 7:Let's name some names. I don't have any fun until we start naming names. Who do you?
Speaker 1:hate, For me, it became such a frustrating thing in the writing process when I was in the room and I was young enough, where people were allowed to make assumptions about me, which they still do, which is fine depending on who you get in the room with.
Speaker 1:But now it's, you know, it's better, but you get in the room with people, and especially when I was really young and was bringing, you know, ideas to the table and melodies to the table and things that I was, you know, working in my time on and was excited to bring. You know, I remember this one, this one writer came in and he kind of like rubbed his eyes after a couple minutes and he was like, shoot, I came in here super hungover and had like some teeny bopper tracks ready to go for you, because I thought this was just going to be like a wham bam, like another any other 15 year old I was writing with, and you know I'm gonna actually, I'm gonna actually have to work today and, you know, write a real song with you. And I remember being 15 or 16 and looking at him who was it?
Speaker 1:you can tell we're not gonna go no, and it's funny because at the same, in the same breath that I'm complaining about it, I also there's a piece of me that understands where that's coming from, because so many of the women kind of getting back to the question is so many of the women at the time and even kind of carrying into now connect with audiences in a boy bashing, negative sense, and I just think that there's so much more to talk about. I happen to think men are awesome.
Speaker 1:And I think that leaning into politics a little bit. That's where it gets into a culture thing, because you have to have a little bit of the commentary that it's gone too far. The pendulum has swung too far into culture hating men. I think it's got to stop, and so my little soapbox about that.
Speaker 7:I saw a little clip you posted about that yeah what did it say? There was some it was no, you weren't. You just posted it, it wasn't you. But it was a guy that was asking two girls what's more? Dangerous yeah, being in a room with a mass murderer or being in a room with a straight white man.
Speaker 6:Oh geez.
Speaker 7:And both of them said ax murder all day.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 7:What.
Speaker 1:Yeah, these women around here are like choosing the bear in those scenarios and I don't really understand, and they don't like guns either.
Speaker 1:so they're really in a bad spot if that's their choice. But going back to women and country, I hasn't, it hasn't fully come around from that that energy and I felt it, you know, from when I was in that room at 16 to you know from them, assuming it was going to be just an easy loop, right to even you know now or a couple years ago, where people don't know me that well and they think that I'm just gonna want to write a really like estrogen heavy, you know boy hating or love song or whatever, and those are fine, but it's just not me like I like writing you can figure things.
Speaker 6:It's got a little bit more grit to it um we need to make a t-shirt estrogen heavy.
Speaker 2:Well, a lot a lot of the stuff that I was listening to and watching. You know, based on your materials, a lot of just pro-America flag country values, all that you know, and as I was watching it I was thinking there's just not a lot of artists, especially females or males really, that sing about that content. You know, it seemed like it would be right down the middle of what the country music fans want but getting it through.
Speaker 2:Nashville and out is a whole different story, absolutely so. Have you gotten flack from all of your? All she does is pro-American, pro-country, pro-people, pro-christian, all this stuff. Do you get flack from that?
Speaker 1:It's funny because within the industry, absolutely. But the arguments that people you know that are available to people to say about me I have music, I have a couple songs that are super America, but I have other music that's not so they kind of hit walls a little bit, like I see it happening. They want to say oh she's, you know too pro America, but all of my songs, like my whole discography, is not how to Love the United States 101. So it's interesting because through a little bit of strategy and just a little bit of hey, I see what the audience connects with. I see what they actually want to listen to and what I think they desire to hear on the radio. It's pretty simple they want to turn on the radio and be able to listen to it with their kids in the car. They don't want to have to make a moral decision every time they go to pick a song. They don't want to get yelled at by you know, insert name here, I don't know Maren Morris Like they don't want that level of thank you.
Speaker 2:I figured that would be a welcome party.
Speaker 6:She's a regular on here, she's a regular.
Speaker 1:She's a regular on here. There's a money jar with that one. I feel like um, but you know, of course you get the industry stuff and I've dealt with it for a long time, just because the the corner that I came from on all this was, hey, you need to take a, you know, you need to take the american flag out of your instagram bio or you need to stop publicly working with veterans, veterans organizations, and this was during, know, the 2016 election and kind of thereafter. It started then. So for me, there was never a.
Speaker 1:The choice was presented really early and it was never a choice for me, because you know, when you have an agency that they're making all their agents donate to Act Blue or they're doing these outlandish things, that you know if it was on either side, you'd go. That's wrong, except for the fact that it you know, of course, if you're, if you're left-leaning, that's okay, if you're pro-America or noticeably right-leaning, it's a problem. So for me, I just said early on well, this is who I am. And then I was going at that time, from 2016 to 2020, I was going to belmont university in business and political science and I had a professor who decided that, for whatever reason, even though I I love school and I have gotten a's my whole life.
Speaker 1:Uh, comparative politics. He gave me an f and alexis I know I know you have to put in effort. This is the first thing.
Speaker 1:When I called my mom and told her, I said don't you have to try to get an F, you have to not show up at all my attendance, especially for touring at the same time, was really good, and so that for me kind of launched off and having to go back and forth and run it up with meetings upon meetings to the president of the school, I realized that other kids, especially at that time in the state of the country, were going through the same thing and ultimately if they didn't have someone telling them, hey, it's okay if you have to push back on what feels like authority, you don't have to write papers you disagree with.
Speaker 6:So basically, I don't want to interrupt, but just to make sure I understand it this teacher or professor basically had different beliefs than what you did and uh decided I'm putting an f on this paper. Yes, around this, that's unbelievable.
Speaker 1:To me and the interesting thing is is I wasn't sitting in this class going. I'm going to be super vocal and make sure this guy knows exactly where I stand. You know, I wasn't even doing that stuff, I was just trying to get by. It was hard because you're going through it with your music. You're going through it with having to make choices. You know, y'all know better than anyone. There's a whole other side of the entertainment industry, even besides politics, especially for female artists, where you know if you choose not to compromise yourself, if you choose not to make decisions that you see other people making, if you choose to not wear less clothes when asked to, I'm trying to say this as properly as I can.
Speaker 1:You know, you, those are actual sacrifices that you feel in companies, with executives. You know it's, it's. It's a little bit different I'd say different now, but it's. It's less popular to be out and about about that now, but it is a thing, and it was a thing certainly for me that I wasn't going to bend the knee to any of that. So when you're going through all that at the same time, you kind of go all right, I have to make a choice here, because I'm clearly not going to be accepted if I don't do these things that I see other people doing. But you know, this is what I love to do and I won't be silenced about it either. So got this grade, knew that other people were probably going through the same thing, wanted to encourage people to be themselves, maintain their values, and ultimately that turned into political commentary, partnering with organizations that focus on educating the youth and speaking to youth and parents about how to move forward in this crazy environment.
Speaker 7:Nice I can see her running for office yeah.
Speaker 5:Somewhere down the road. Okay, so that's interesting.
Speaker 6:Would you ever consider getting into politics? She already is. Well, you are Too late.
Speaker 1:Kind of kind of, but you're a little displaced you are too late, kind of, kind of, but you're a little displaced. I think that I live in a you know. I know people like to say never, say never to these questions and leave it a little cheeky, but I, this is a tough industry, the political industry is a tough industry. I can't even imagine and I think that ultimately, looking at the ins and outs of it, I'm really happy to be on the commentary and educational side.
Speaker 1:I love the Constitution. I love teaching people about the Constitution. I love informing people about their God-given rights, because it's not taught in schools anymore the way that it should be.
Speaker 1:I know that. I learned that from my parents, my grandparents, my grandpa that I call Papa. He served in the Korean War. I didn't learn about the Korean War in school. What's wrong with that? And so I'm really happy being on this side of things, being a small leg of support to the political system or not system, but to that realm of things. Um, I'm happy in that spot and if that ever changes, you know, I I I feel like that's something I can assess as we go along okay can you still run for office if you're a spy?
Speaker 2:now, that's that's a great question. Is that that's a?
Speaker 3:that's a great question. I don't know if I take you out of the room. I got to check it out. There's rules we have here.
Speaker 1:Someone had to take the air out of the balloon, you know.
Speaker 3:You got to say. I read that and, ignoring you, it gave me a really good laugh, Because if you are a spy, you're a really good spy. You're like a super good spy. I should have taught classes, honestly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's funny and it's hard because it's in the thick of it now, as of us recording this, and I like levity on it because I think that's the only way to deal with things. So I think there's elements of it that I think are truly hilarious. There are elements of it that I think are you know, you read these things about yourself and you go. It almost honestly makes you more sad that they're using photos and of memories that made you happy. You know they're like they're like clipping photos.
Speaker 1:There's a clip of a photo Now I don't want to say this and everyone go, you know mean people go and hunt for it, but it's already up there. There's a photo of, you know, my, my grandpa, who I was just saying I call Papa, who is passed on now and they are going and hunting that photo down and putting it on the internet. And you know, desecrating what it means to me, uh or not means to me, but you know what it means in the public specter and trying to make a thing out of it and and chase these things down, trying to find my family. And, um, there's a photo of me and my dad on my first Halloween and they clip this and put it online and try to make it something horrible. And it's definitely a unique experience. There's not really a support group for this kind of thing, which is fine, but it's fascinating. But you're right. I mean, given the circumstances, I would have been doing a bang-up job if that was the truth.
Speaker 3:I was like Kurt, maybe she's a spy, because she's really good. It's just so funny. It was like 06.35.
Speaker 6:Scott Cardani Well and it's obviously, you know, we can maybe bring some levity to it, but it's awful, I'm sure, and just to have those accusations is unfathomable. 06.38 Sarah Kessler.
Speaker 1:Well, it's just, you know, you feel bad of the whole circumstance. I feel bad that it's something either they're dealing with serious stuff up there in dc and the fact that I have to go hey, this is also going on online. You know, I don't want to bring that to him either. Make it his deal. Of course he's like it's like it's. He's not bothered by it by you know, by me bringing it, but it's just. Yeah, it's been. It's been a very unique experience. Um, I always thought that the left would cancel me, but apparently I was too educational and brought too many people over to our side and it was the. It was the right, thinking they'd found something instead.
Speaker 6:So they're stupid people all over.
Speaker 7:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:They're all over the place.
Speaker 7:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They hand that stuff out for free.
Speaker 3:That's good, it's amazing. Yeah, I mean, never underestimate someone's ability to be truly stupid.
Speaker 1:It will blow your mind, I agree and it's always like the internet's made it. If you're looking for it, it's there, and then people go off and riff, and so you know.
Speaker 6:I guess just talking about that a little bit. I mean, you mentioned well, you didn't mention Cash by name, but you referred to Cash, and obviously we've been friends with Cash for a while and we've known you for a while now too. Were you prepared for the scrutiny or the eyeballs that were going to be on you since he became the FBI director?
Speaker 1:I mean, how much can you really like truly prepare for that?
Speaker 6:Yeah, you can't. Like you said, there's no support group.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you all know that I've been a public-facing person for a long time, been on the Internet, been posting conservative educational videos, internet been, you know, posting conservative educational videos, and you know you put yourself out there and you expect a certain level of interest pushback. Um, I always joke that all of this was not on my bingo card when we first started dating almost three years ago now, that wasn't really a hey, this is the life plan you don't.
Speaker 1:You don't really sign up for for the whole thing, but you do sign up for the long haul, whatever that means. And I like to, uh, yeah, I like. I like to say that, if you know, if his life goal was to sell ice cream, I would help him scoop it, like it doesn't matter to me what the dream was, but his, his thing is providing justice and transparency to America and keeping everyone safe, and so that's what I want for him too. And so you know, it's funny with the swearing in, with all the stuff that kind of came with it. The funniest part about that thing for me is two things. I was detained at the White House because I didn't have my badge. First of all, to try and get
Speaker 1:over to the EEOB. I had his phone so I couldn't call him. Badge, first of all, to try and get over to the EEOB. I had his phone so I couldn't call him. So there was that and my phone was dead also. And then there's the whole element of my phone was dead, so when we went up there, and did the swear in my phone was dead for the next hour and a half.
Speaker 1:I had no knowledge of where it was, if it was on the news, didn't even think about it, went and did it. We went to the you know after like a little food and Bev thing and then and then that was that and I finally charged my phone and that was that was I realized that it was in fact on things, so not really prepared, but but you do all you can to support the people you love in any arena, in any event, and that's Absolutely.
Speaker 6:That's what it's been.
Speaker 3:We tell everybody like you guys are so awesome, like so great, such great people like Cash comes hang out. You come hang out with us and it's you guys are the best. I tell everybody like you got Cash is like one of us I always bring. Where are the Kennedy files, though? I mean I get to tell him.
Speaker 2:I'm going to get you liquored up at a show backstage and you're going to steal those.
Speaker 3:I mean, I'm going to get you liquored up at a show backstage and you're going to steal those pictures man. And we're going to figure it out. But no, he's so great and me and Kurt joke a lot. Before he's at the FBI we would blow him up every day, We'd be texting about stuff and like I don't know if we should bug him today, I think he's kind of busy.
Speaker 1:Should we text him? Today you should always text him.
Speaker 3:No, it's great. You guys are both so great.
Speaker 6:Thank you, he was on the podcast last year and of course, we credit his appearance for him elevating his role now to the FBI.
Speaker 2:There's no telling where you're going after this, because you're already doing great.
Speaker 5:You're going one of two places. This podcast propels lives and careers there you go, it just does there you go.
Speaker 6:You're lucky you got in the queue. Yeah, there we go.
Speaker 2:I'm here you're the lucky one even though it does look like in our research that you have done bigger things than this. No, I mean what I saw, but it was on the computer and there's a lot of lighting.
Speaker 1:This is the pinnacle. I mean just really. The window dressings are next to it. This is awesome, You're handling it great.
Speaker 2:You don't seem nervous.
Speaker 7:Cash did say, though I mean he did say yeah, it's like one of the best ones he's ever been on. Yeah, he said that and he wasn't lying.
Speaker 1:No, it is funny because he, um, he loves like my stuff, like he loves country music anyway, but he loves my stuff like his favorite thing is when he gets to come to a show or get to something. Get to go to something, that's mine that he's not working at oh because he just gets to, he like audibly goes, I just get to have a good time like he's very excited.
Speaker 6:That's awesome.
Speaker 1:So anything that's with friends, people that are in this different space than he's used to existing in and again to emphasize friends, it makes him very happy.
Speaker 3:He's so great. I mean, we were in Vegas last year. Aldean was opening up his new bar. Yes, we were there. Yeah, and we see him backstage. He walks up and hands me my signed Tom Brady jersey.
Speaker 6:That was nice of him to do that for you.
Speaker 3:That he told me he'd get when he came to a show Cash where's my jersey? Anyway, kurt, no, it's like that's the kind of guy he is. Though, yeah, like he said, like a few months earlier he was like man, you want a Tom Brady jersey. I'm like, yeah, yeah, I do. And I think I'm like you know, whatever I might get it, I might not. There, it is in a bag.
Speaker 6:That's how he is, though. Yeah, kind of put it up there right up with Manning.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah, I would never put the Brady jersey next to the Manning jersey. It would have to. We've got to take the Manning jersey down. Yeah, you might do them on opposite sides actually Because Tully?
Speaker 2:says that Peyton Manning out of nowhere is overrated.
Speaker 3:There we go. Peyton Manning is overrated.
Speaker 6:It's a running thing, Alexis.
Speaker 2:Kirk Herbstreit said, he disagreed what?
Speaker 3:does Kirk know?
Speaker 2:That's what he does for a living we love you Kirk.
Speaker 1:I think he knows more than us. Wait, so You're a Patriots fan.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:Are you from Massachusetts?
Speaker 3:I am from the Vermont area so if you go, do you know where Burlington, vermont, would be? Probably not.
Speaker 1:No one does. I was born in Weymouth.
Speaker 3:Okay, so if you go across Lake. Champlain, you go into Plattsburgh, new York, which is the tip kind of the northern tip of New England, so it's kind of right on the edge of New England. So, northern tip of New England, it's kind of right on the edge of New England, you get all the Sox games and. Pats and Bruins. It's a running thing right now with the Brady man. No contest between Manning and Brady, though we know that.
Speaker 6:Of course Never has been.
Speaker 3:I'm just saying Manning, to be clear, isn't in the top 10. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 6:That sounds like a good one, top 10's good. Are you a Razorback? She agrees with me. I am a Razorback.
Speaker 7:She's a Razorback, I am a Razorback.
Speaker 1:Oh, you are a Razorback Big. Yeah, we're big.
Speaker 7:They got her when she went to Arkansas.
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Speaker 6:Join our Original Glory family and help ignite that Original Glory spirit. What years were you in Arkansas?
Speaker 1:Oh gosh, I was in Arkansas. We moved there. The funniest part about this whole thing and going back to the Internet stuff, if we can for a moment is that people's favorite diss right now is that it just doesn't make sense that she was in England and then she was in Switzerland and then she moved to Arkansas. They're just really offended by the fact that.
Speaker 3:I I will say that doesn't make a ton of sense.
Speaker 1:I know that is a culture.
Speaker 3:We were just in London. I got to tell you if I'm at London, I don't want to go to Hot Springs, arkansas.
Speaker 6:You don't Not really I love Europe. I don't know, I mean I like.
Speaker 5:London though.
Speaker 3:But, if I'm going from London and being dropped into.
Speaker 7:Little Rock we're not going to drink tea in London. Don't let Tilly Sott line you there.
Speaker 1:I liked.
Speaker 1:Arkansas, so much more it Arkansas so much like more. It's like my favorite place I lived. I still go back to Arkansas, see friends. We've kept doctors there. We've kept some of our best friends there. We go back. I'm going there, you know, soon. Like I, I love Arkansas. So the funniest part to me is, well, it might not make a lot of geographical sense. You know I was again born in Weymouth, moved to England when I was little, learned to speak there, had a British accent, moved to Switzerland really can you fire some of the?
Speaker 3:rest of the podcast.
Speaker 1:Oh man, that yeah, wow moved to Switzerland we never had a foreigner on here before hello no, if I do too many accents there, because I'd already. It's flimsy with the southern thing, because I have to flatten it out for news so that people can understand me and commentary, but it gets y'all it lilts, so I already have to flatten it out too many accents.
Speaker 3:I want to hear it. They're going to go. That plays into the spy thing with the british accent. Exactly, she's got way too many accents she's got, so I went to an international school in switzerland, um, because we're there for my dad's work.
Speaker 1:and then we moved to arkansas and that was that I was, you know it was and we moved back stateside and so I was in.
Speaker 6:Arkansas and I loved it. Where is Rogers Arkansas? I think we're playing there this week. Is that the Walmart home?
Speaker 1:Oh, cool yeah, the Amp.
Speaker 6:I don't know where that is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's, oh gosh. That's like 15 minutes from Fayetteville, from where I'm from.
Speaker 7:Oh it is. Has Cash ever been to an ACC football game?
Speaker 1:Has he ever been to one? I'm sure he has. I haven't gotten him to a raised-back game yet. I've gotten him to Fayetteville though. Yeah, he's gotten to come home and meet everybody, Okay.
Speaker 7:Tully's never been to an ACC football game, really. No, it's coming. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'll go. You had either. At first I think it was one of your posts and you're at a desk and you had something mounted above you and at first I thought you said bison, I said that's my bison. And then later another one looked like you were saying a spot, but it was a hog, right, but it was mounted. It's a mounted head. What's the story on that? Most girls that I know wouldn't have a mounted wild beast.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so the bison is actually a fun story because I love shooting. I'm a big 2A advocate, obviously, big shooting, fan shoot, skeet, whatever, but I don't kill big game. I just haven't. It's not a choice, I just have not done it. And so for me, you know, I wanted a bison hung in my house so bad, and this was a couple years ago now and I wanted, I wanted a bison and I knew that that was a design choice that I wanted to make, wanted to have a bison head. I thought they were so cool, I thought they were so cute.
Speaker 1:I was like I got him a bison but I didn't want to go on like a whole bison hunt and just do the whole ordeal. I I was trying to find one, and so my mom found this guy in chattanooga that had, you know, random taxidermy. We actually weren't, I don't think, going for a bison head, we were going for wait for it a squirrel dressed up as a cowboy yes we drove to chattanooga.
Speaker 3:I'm confused. That does sound amazing. Did you get that?
Speaker 1:I did acquire that. Yes, I got a chipmunk dressed up as a cowboy too.
Speaker 2:I'm from Chattanooga. You can find a lot of interesting things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they had raccoons dressed as cowboys in kayaks Like they had. It was really. It's an amazing place, like honestly it's great.
Speaker 1:And I just I was like at Disneyland, that was my Disneyland and I go. Man, if you ever get a bison in, you have to let me know. I've always wanted a bison. And he goes I have a couple in the shed. I was like show me your bison. So I walked there's a photo somewhere I will find it for y'all of me hoisting, walking, carrying my own bison, head back to the car, and mom and I set off with my bison.
Speaker 2:So you just went in the shed and just killed it right there.
Speaker 1:That'd be a lot cooler. But I just picked from a couple. I was like this one looks the happiest, so we're going to take him. That's amazing. And so I took my bison head home. And then the hog, actually I think, was from the same place, wasn't it? Yeah place, wasn't it?
Speaker 1:yeah, was from the same place because it was, I think, coming up on father's day and I thought it because we, like the razorbacks, my dad's a razorback fan too um you know, contrary to the internet, he's not 95 years old so I thought it would so I thought it would be hilarious if we got him a um a hog and hung it in our house what are bison heads going for these days? I? I cannot remember what I paid for it. No, I want to know what you paid for a mounted bison head.
Speaker 2:That cannot be cheap. She probably signed an autograph. It cannot be cheap.
Speaker 1:I did not. I paid full price. What's it like?
Speaker 5:Hmm.
Speaker 1:I think it's like yeah it's like $1,500, $1,600.
Speaker 7:That's actually not bad, that's pretty good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it wasn't that bad I was like. It was like $1,600 too.
Speaker 7:Hold on mounted and everything. Yeah, it would have been cheaper than the actual house. How much for a?
Speaker 3:full bison mounted.
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:I have to ask that restaurant in Fort Worth that has the bison butts on the wall. That's a good price.
Speaker 1:Our tech support, just um. I feel like this sweet man his name's Kelly. I feel like this sweet man cut me a little bit of a deal Cause I bought so many dog on chipmunks and squirrels that were dressed up as cowboys.
Speaker 3:So what? What are the chipmunks? What do they go for? Like $150, $200? Yeah, I think it was like $150, $200. That is below market value in my world for a stuffed squirrel. Well, you know what they use them for.
Speaker 7:They get those things. That's amazing. Let me see. Oh, yes, that's awesome, I'll send that so our listening audience can see. Yeah, little cameras in and you set them around your house Spies Little chipmunks.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, Spy chipmunks.
Speaker 7:Spies, buy little rodents and put cameras in them and put them around their house.
Speaker 1:I feel like the type of spy that I'm being accused of, though, does not use rodents, as they were.
Speaker 2:No, that's a different kind I'm talking about, derek. You'd be a lot more classy than that.
Speaker 1:I don't know that I would be. I picture you if you were a spy like a. This is gonna play so well. No, no, total like.
Speaker 3:I picture you like the James Bond movie type spy, like I don't want Cass to get mad at me, but like leather he's not gonna get mad at you for this sunglasses like some badass spy. Not like a, a scared spy, but like a like a yeah, a good spy.
Speaker 1:Thank you, yeah no he won't get mad at you. I'm not giving the sleeper cell impression. I'm giving the like and I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you.
Speaker 3:James Bond type movie stuff I will, I will take that Mission Impossible type stuff. You know what I mean. Those kinds of everywhere.
Speaker 2:So people talk about. You know there's a relationship and everything. There's a difference in everything. And I was just kind of curious, you know, like what is the height difference in you two? Is it a lot? Is it 18, 19 inches?
Speaker 1:I love that that's so funny. That's not. I love that that's so funny. That's not where I saw that going?
Speaker 6:Kayla's good at that.
Speaker 2:Anyway, I just didn't know. If you want to talk about that, there's a lot on that it's been weighing on his mind.
Speaker 3:Look, I get it. I'm very short, you know people think that I'm.
Speaker 1:Often I meet people and they go. I thought you'd be taller, which I say thank you.
Speaker 6:People say that to me a lot, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:All the time I'm five foot, like on my tallest like standing up straightest. Let's get back to us for a while, right, do you?
Speaker 6:No, the four of us, no the four of us, because before we knew Alexis, I did see you, gave a few interviews and they were asking you about Try that in a Small Town, what your thoughts were on the Jason Aldean song. You always had our back. This is I think, yeah, it was before we knew you, but you always had the back of the writers of that song and, of course, jason as well. Do you remember what your impression of the song was when you first heard it, and then the reaction to the reaction?
Speaker 1:I do.
Speaker 1:I remember hearing it and being grateful that people were starting to write the kind of music that I was writing and wanted to write, because I thought you know, okay, this means that I don't have to stay in a small corner and I can continue to write with the people that I'm writing with and I'm not going to get shunned, and I can to write with the people that I'm writing with and I'm not going to get shunned, and I can still write with people who are writing things that are on the radio and I'm not going to get chased out of town for it. This is exciting. This is promising for me, because I was going to do what I was doing anyway, but just the fact that it had a shot at being mainstream, acceptable was really cool. And I remember I think it was at the same time that I was working on stand, and I have a line in that, that is, you can nail anytime you like for the flag, but I'll, but I'll never do the same, um. And so it made me feel better that, okay, this is actually what people want to hear, and I'm not reading this wrong. And when I go out and sing for audiences and I get this impression, you know I'm it's, it's the right gut, and so that's how I felt.
Speaker 1:When I heard the song, when I saw the, the blowback on it, I was like you know people say like, oh, I was surprised. I was genuinely, really surprised, because I didn't think that the institution you know, I knew that it was bad, but I didn't think that the institutions were at a point where they were going to get mad for individually footage in a music video or picking out a certain value or a certain line, like I thought it would be more, I don't know why I was so surprised that the entities that were that I was dealing with were also doing this to you know more mainstream artists as well and I remember seeing the video get pulled from CMT and that was the most surprising thing to me because everyone seemed okay with the song yeah, yeah at the outset is what I thought and then out that at that point it felt like it flipped a little bit, and so I was.
Speaker 1:I was surprised, um, but it also made me feel like I had people on my team, even though I didn't know y'all yet so yeah, you always got our back.
Speaker 3:Thank you for that.
Speaker 7:We were actually elated when all the backlash started Because it was like, okay, people are fixing to stand up. And then CMT pulled it and then I was like this is awesome.
Speaker 2:That's when it took off. That's when it took off. When CMT pulled it, it was it's kind of a Bud Light moment.
Speaker 3:Well, you mentioned what you said 20 minutes ago. I think you said something about playing your shows and seeing what your fan base was, and what's crazy for us to still think about is our fan base loves Try that in a Small Town, but yet the people that are supposed to be in the industry here couldn't be more different.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:You know, seeing country music television pulls it.
Speaker 6:Right.
Speaker 3:Which is funny, just to say.
Speaker 6:I know.
Speaker 3:But it's funny to say, but then we go out and play it for, you know, 20,000 people.
Speaker 1:And they love it.
Speaker 3:And they love it. But, country music. Television pulls it, so it definitely was a weird time. I feel like it's.
Speaker 7:It was here in town, because the whole time I mean, even our publishers were like they were kind of keeping their distance.
Speaker 1:That's the thing that's bizarre to me when I look at the lay of the land, when you actually go out on the road and you know I'll sing my songs, I'll sing country back. I'll sing stand, I'll sing my stuff. That's like I said, not. You know, overtly patriotic and just good, old-fashioned country music I'll cover courtesy of the Red, white and Blue, and people could not possibly scream any louder. You know, when they hear that song start or when they hear country back, like, those are the songs that they come to my music accounts for. You know people, you know they hold up their Spotify or whatever and try to show you that they're on your pages and it's really, it's awesome, it's really heartwarming because they're showing up.
Speaker 1:But you know, even when you bring, I think what's weird to me about all of this stuff is you can bring business to people and they still look at you and go. I don't know if we want the business that you're bringing, which just doesn't make any sense to me, because you know's in the environment obviously is changing a little bit now, which I'm grateful for, but it's still. You know it's. You can be booking shows all year and you know turning a profit or at least breaking even or doing the things that you can do and and getting calls to where it's it's stressful to do yourself, with your, with your, you know, small team to book these shows and put them. And now we have a team, now it's great, but you know, you get them on the calendar you figured out yourself and you go.
Speaker 1:I could have an agent that could be doing this and would be happy that the schedule was full and that the raw you know it's it. Just it doesn't compute for me that these people are willing to say no to business that's walking in their door just because it's business that they don't I don't know, agree with. Like I think half these people secretly do agree with it. They just, you know, don't know if it's publicly acceptable yet. But I think we're turning the corner a little.
Speaker 3:That's what we always said you know our publishers, you know if they weren't, they didn't have any trouble taking the money so that's always been my main bitch about the whole thing. It's your right to disagree with it, but disagree with it publicly, then take the money profit from it. That's classic left.
Speaker 5:It is, it's classic left.
Speaker 2:With your team and you've got your songs, and with your team and you know and you've got your songs out, your videos and all the things. Have you or are you currently pursuing like major record label deals Because you're mentioning going in and meeting with people bringing them your business Are you still pursuing that or do you just want to continue doing things on your own? Where are you set with that?
Speaker 1:You know, it's interesting because, like I said, there's a bit of a temperature change and I think that you people are starting to see the way that America is reacting and ultimately be more open to it. You know, I've been pursuing this whole thing in my own ecosystem, realizing that I kind of had to go my own road. You know, as of 2016, 2018, 2020, of course, and kind of all the all the path that's led me here, that was a. You know, as of 2016, 2018, 2020, of course, and kind of all the all the path that's led me here, that was a. You know, okay, alexis, if you want to retain your morals, you're gonna. You're gonna kind of be on your own road, and if someone wants to reach back and help you, if someone wants to, you know, know that you stand for the right things and and get on your team. For that reason, awesome.
Speaker 1:But other than that, you're kind of going to be going this thing alone. But I think that the temperature has shifted in the last little bit and while this is a operating kind of machine that we've been doing a long time by ourselves, I would absolutely be open, you know, if someone wanted to collaborate now. Absolutely, I just wouldn't necessarily want to. Uh, you know, I wouldn't do it at the, at the compromising of my voice or what I do, especially if I'm getting to do and say and put out what I want now I think you got enough momentum going right now on your own.
Speaker 7:I would. How many shows I would keep doing it on your own? How many shows a year do you do?
Speaker 3:like how many shows like this year or last year like oh gosh, you're on the road. Like how many? I was wondering because you're you're always on your instagram and you're you're everywhere. So how do you like? How many like performances are you doing, you think?
Speaker 1:um, you know it's hard because last year was so much anthems for campaigning things or for just patriotic or political things in general, whether it's a fundraiser or a fundraiser for a campaign or whatever it might have been. So much of the road stuff was that in addition to shows that I was doing, and then, like I said, the temperature changed and then it was kind of looked at as a good thing that I was standing in my values and doing what I was doing. So then the schedule this year has gotten busier and it's hard to discern when we're on the road for an anthem or when we're on the road for a full show or opening for somebody.
Speaker 3:You're still on the road. The road's, the road, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:I mean, we're out most of the time. Whether it's for me to and now DC is more of a normal thing, but last year, meeting up with cash during the campaign, you know us making our schedule work this year has been, uh, an adventure, and that's it's always back and forth too, which is good, I mean, ultimately, and I'm I'm out of town a lot, so it makes a whole lot of sense.
Speaker 6:But you know, we're, we're on, we're out a lot, honestly, yeah right, you do a lot of, uh, or you did a lot of veterans hospitals. Um, and I know the military is something that's very uh close to your heart. Uh, your great-grandfather was in world war ii, is that right?
Speaker 1:yeah, your dad, the korean war, you mentioned that talk a little bit about that and your appreciation for the military and yes, so it started, um, like most things in my life, with learning about history, and my papa, my grandfather, who served in the Korean War alongside my parents, always made sure that I had a grasp of not only where I came from, which I'm Armenian, and so my family fled the Armenian genocide, so it was learning about the Ottoman Empire, governmental structures, different wars that were fought, really what we had to go through and not just we, but what people have to go through to get to the United States and to pursue this idea and this dream that is America. And so for me, I had a very strong grasp on what was important and what people were, what men and women were going overseas or even here domestically and sacrificing their time and blood and sweat and tears for, and so I had a really good idea of what that looked like early on. And then it became, you know, when I started looking more into the cause and understanding everything that surrounded it and doing my best to put myself in these incredible people's shoes and then writing with them, you know, doing the creative vets and worry around stuff. Where you go in, as you all probably know, you songwriters are paired with veterans. You get to write, memorialize their stories, and that's one of my favorite things, that that I get to do as a writer and really performer too, because getting to see them, see, see their story, there's nothing like it. And so it's just kind of been a path of understanding what they've gone through, paired with understanding the appreciation that they don't get sometimes because it's either linked to politics or it's linked to which it shouldn't be, or it's linked to time.
Speaker 1:I mean, I know that when I was going into hospitals regularly, especially pre-COVID, because there was a lot of different stuff after COVID that you couldn't go into hospitals and all that jazz. But when I would say, hey, why isn't anyone signed up for and I love the organization it's hard because people who you love them as people, you know that they're, they're lean, they lean a little left and they don't like you because of it and you feel it, and I don't think they think you feel it, but you feel it. So you don't get to go do things anymore, which sucks, but but I still work in VA. I'm happy, I love the VA in general, but you know I was going. Why aren't people signed up for the veterans hospital? Why isn't this chock full? You guys have this slot every Wednesday. Why aren't people all over this? And ultimately, god love them, it's because they wanted to go, do you know, women's and children's, or they wanted to do the ones that had photo ops attached to them and it just, you know, it wasn't glitzy, it wasn't glamorous to go into the Veterans Hospitals, and I'm not sure why, because that's the coolest place with the coolest stories and the coolest people, but it just wasn't what was being recognized for people to sign up.
Speaker 1:And so when I realized that there was a lack of appreciation, that I could see tangibly and not just me going to go sing music for them, but hearing their stories echoed back to me, writing with veterans who were telling me about coming home after Vietnam and the things that they heard after the fact. And this one gentleman was telling me about his experience coming home from Vietnam was already awful. His sister didn't pick him up from the base, nothing was really felt, as it should be. And then, years down the line, he heard that one of the Clinton aides or I forget who it was, I used to know exactly who it was, but it's been a minute One of the aides said on the news we sent the smart guys to Washington and we sent the dumb guys to Vietnam. And the fact that that's a soundbite that these men and ultimately, men and women, have to go back and listen to is, uh, is despicable to me. And that's the stuff that we're we're hopefully building a culture to war against.
Speaker 1:And then you know you, you do that research, you understand where that comes from. It, of course, bleeds into understanding law enforcement, the lack of appreciation there, and then going through 2020, seeing defund the police, all of you know all the crap that we've had to witness and understanding what our, what our brave men and women, both here at home and overseas, have gone through, is, uh, it's just been eye-opening and really gross to to see specifically my generation honestly, um, to not appreciate at all. You know they'll. They'll fight for the authority of a teacher to tell you that your kid should like change their gender, but they won't fight for the authority of someone who goes out in the streets every day, you know, not knowing what they're going to encounter and if they're going to come home to their family. So I just that work is is the most important work that that I'll get to do, and I'm actually. I opened a foundation called the american heroes foundation oh, that's great and I'm doing what I call the back the badge tour.
Speaker 1:Um, and it's a while. It is a cohesive tour. It's a cohesive tour in the sense that I'm turning every single city I go to, whether it's for a national anthem, a speaking engagement a any other reason. I have an appearance or an actual tour date and we're going to go visit police offices and sheriff offices and departments and tell them thank you for what you do, try to help them out with something. We're working on the supplies aspect because I want to be able to offer something and that's what we're doing.
Speaker 6:Good on you for doing that.
Speaker 7:That's awesome, wow, and you do it doing that, that's awesome, that's awesome, wow, and you do it with class.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 6:What else Anybody else got something? Or should we let Alexis live her life?
Speaker 2:I was just going to say you know, sometimes you can tell when people are doing exactly what they're meant to be doing and what they love to be doing just by their face. You know just, you have just a content, peaceful glow and it's, it's awesome. You know that you're very, very talented. You can do anything you want and you really have. You've done so many things, but still to be so giving like that is really cool. Thank you and, and so we really appreciate you, appreciate you coming by here for sure.
Speaker 2:You know, oh yeah, Even though you're definitely going to get something out of it, because this is a huge podcast, but it's crazy though she's been doing it since six years old, I know right, that's.
Speaker 7:I know that's so. It's kind of like you're calling, We've been saying we're going to get guests on here that are not smarter than us but we've failed again, failed miserably.
Speaker 1:Tonight we're over 56. I joke that, uh, and I feel like most people, my mom included, would agree with me that I'm you know, I.
Speaker 1:I joke that I'm old man like shaking my fist from my porch because I've been doing this so long, but even though it's just because I started really young and because my own generation, you know, they need some, they need some assistance. So when we we say like yeah, I've been doing this for a long time, people probably don't think six. But you know, that's why, that's why I'm an old man shaking my fist from my porch with these young kids.
Speaker 2:You've got some good DNA, you know, because?
Speaker 6:I always think there's, there's, there's a hard wiring to people you know, that's uh interesting hey, you're very well spoken man you can't even get better than that.
Speaker 7:That was excellent. It was how do we wrap it up. You know where to go when you want to get a song going hey, let's do it, let's do it.
Speaker 1:You know where to get at it we're very appreciative yeah, thank you very much, yeah, your time's valuable and, uh, we love you no, this was fun. I needed this this week.
Speaker 6:Thank y'all All right Alexis Wilkins, appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Yay, thank you. Y'all are awesome, thank you.
Speaker 6:That was impressive. Yeah, she's impressive, alexis.
Speaker 2:That was great oh my gosh Class. Really fun. I learned a lot and I'd I didn't know she's sharp.
Speaker 6:She's sharp and so intimidating.
Speaker 2:I know In a nice way though I mean, but yes, yes, Six years old talking about reading the what is it Smithsonian, I didn't even know there was a magazine how many syllables are in that.
Speaker 6:Smithsonian.
Speaker 7:I'm like I'm watching Hee Haw when I was six. I'm not reading the Smithsonian.
Speaker 6:I'm watching Hee Haw. How did you like Hee Haw, was it? No, hee Haw. Hee Haw was amazing. No, hee.
Speaker 5:Haw was it was for the music right?
Speaker 2:No, it wasn't, Mainly.
Speaker 7:I used to be at my grandparents' house and I'd be sitting on the carpet, the shag carpet. Oh, the I'm going to shag carpet, laying down on my belly with my hands under my chin, my cute little chin, like this, and I'm not watching, I mean the whole time. I'm like it's like my first love experience.
Speaker 5:Yeah, Love experience, miss Goodbody, you saw my, miss Goodbody.
Speaker 7:And it's like they didn't have a clue that. That's the only reason I watched Hee Haw.
Speaker 6:Oh, they had a clue.
Speaker 7:They didn't show it, they're just. You know they're back there smoking.
Speaker 6:Little Neil sure is into that. You know, little Neil yeah.
Speaker 7:And they think that I'm learning and cutting my teeth on country music with Hee Haw, and I'm not.
Speaker 2:Meanwhile, Neil's laying face down on the carpet. He seems to be levitating.
Speaker 7:Little Neil's levitating it's like I mean I watched. I watched he hauled for the, for the ladies from miss goodbody and the other ones, and I was like I was that's when I learned I wasn't gay, he hauled. Thank you, he hauled.
Speaker 6:Thank you, yes, yes, I think this new studio brings out, uh, a different side of us yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2:I feel very good here.
Speaker 7:Yeah, I do too the e-spaces, e-spaces.
Speaker 2:I love it one's a really cool building and it is kind of cool to get out, even though the studio where we were, which is neil's writing room and house, it was great, it's great, but it feels like we got a garage band then we got a first gig.
Speaker 7:We finally got a band.
Speaker 3:It is nice.
Speaker 2:There's coffee and espresso stuff.
Speaker 7:We think it's free. We're probably going to get a bill.
Speaker 2:I don't know, but I'm sure thankful for it.
Speaker 7:It's an awesome place. I love these spaces.
Speaker 2:Thanks Purtle. Yeah, seriously, john Purtle. Thank you, buddy.
Speaker 6:Thank you. Also, we got Patriot Mobile, another one of our sponsors. These guys are awesome. We were just talking about this and I've got this on my phone. I don't know this. First of all, go to patriot mobile, I think dakota small town. They'll give you a free month, so you need to check this out. Like I have at&t my phone, you can also get another carrier on your phone as well so att bad service, I just go over to t-mobile.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so no different number.
Speaker 6:You've got two lines it actually is a different number, but if I text you from that number it comes up as it comes up, the same.
Speaker 2:Oh cool, so in my contact from either way it comes up yeah and it's.
Speaker 6:I mean it's awesome. We're on the road a lot, we're in buildings that don't have service and then like, oh hey, I got it. So we encourage everybody to check that out as well.
Speaker 2:Original glory yeah they're kind of the og, no pun intended, they're the og and they get, they get. Uh, have y'all tried the beer Mosa that they've got?
Speaker 6:You've talked about that before, but I haven't. It's good.
Speaker 2:It's really good. I mean, they got all kinds of stuff, but anyway, that's the last thing I have, is it a morning drink.
Speaker 2:Well, I had it on the way here. I mean I think it's, but if you want to pigeonhole it, sure. But anyway that's great. And we got other stuff too. I will say I know we have another sponsor to talk about, but when you picked up the phone it reminded me. This is a. You know, you have all kinds of scams going on. This is a really clever scam. Somebody sent it to me, so somehow you have somebody that can call you and it will come from like, for example, tully's wife Alyssa would call you and you would see. It be her picture or her name, whatever you have, I've heard about this.
Speaker 2:That's her and the person on the other end will say that they've got her and if you don't send so much money or whatever, then you're going to Kidnap your wife.
Speaker 7:Yeah, the kidnap, it's like legit. And what?
Speaker 2:you think, and especially people are busy and you look and like if that's my wife it's like Rachel and I say, well damn, it's her phone. How does that guy have? You know what I mean. So anyway, that's a brand new one and they're getting a lot of people.
Speaker 4:It's a scary one because it's so clever, because that would freak people out, um.
Speaker 7:So anyway, I just want people to be aware of that, because that that that's one that could get a lot of a lot of people.
Speaker 3:I know, yeah, so watch out for that. Thank you, kelly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know, about that yeah a lot of twisted people out there, do we have?
Speaker 6:well, who else we need to talk about?
Speaker 2:uh, we've got the wellness, uh, wellness company, yeah, um which. That's great, neil, you want to talk about the wellness company. Yeah, which, that's great. Neil, you want to talk about the wellness company.
Speaker 7:I just got two new kits in the mail.
Speaker 6:You did Okay, we got to get the kits on the road man, you kidding me.
Speaker 7:Essentials you got to have them, Y'all should have a kit in every bunk on the bus the whole tour. Every bus should have kits Well you're right dude. I mean it's gonna save the show. I'm serious. I mean it's like when I got my kits in the mail I was like we're set lana. Yeah, we're set dude you're 100 right?
Speaker 6:I mean we'll be out there and if somebody does get sick you know they call the rock dog, that's what they say they bring somebody in to give you a steroid shot or whatever. I mean it's all right there, yeah it's in the pack. It's's in the kit Just have it there, yes. If I get a yeast infection.
Speaker 7:It's right there. I hope you don't get a yeast infection.
Speaker 6:Oh gosh, yeah, I mean, it's very difficult on a Sunday to get a gynecologist to come out on the road.
Speaker 7:If I decide to transition, I'm covered.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, I guess guys can get yeast infections too, covered yeah, well, I mean, I guess guys can get yeast infections too. It's just sorry you guys.
Speaker 2:I'm not really sure, but we can, yeah, we can edit that it's fun, but uh, but anyway our listeners love well, one of our listeners brought up a pretty good point because in one of earlier I'd I'd said that I kept one of my glove box, which I did, but somebody that said said, hey, doesn't it get hot? And like if your z-ack and stuff like that Is that bad for it? I don't know if it is or not, but it seemed like it was a pretty good point. I don't think I need the.
Speaker 7:Z-Pack in my glove box, room temp. Hey, can I ask a question?
Speaker 2:It's got to be room temp. Don't keep it in the car. Yeah, it Does anybody.
Speaker 6:Keep gloves in the glove box.
Speaker 7:I have them in my what do they call it? A glove box In the summer.
Speaker 2:Oh, like all year round.
Speaker 6:No, I'm just saying what do they call it? A glove box? Does anybody actually really keep their gloves there?
Speaker 7:I bet they used to. That's a fantastic question, by the way.
Speaker 2:I bet they used to which makes me think of a different thing, which is kind of the same. But what do you guys call like in in the bathroom when you flip on and you've got the, you know the this blower, fan, whatever do you call it, a blower or a fan, I say fan, fan, fan, I say blower. My dad always called it, said turn the blower on, son, really. And and remember it was like a year ago when I said I said something, I said yeah, I said I gotta, I gotta meet a guy over there. The blower's not working. He said what, what? What blower? So we know, in the bathroom you turn it on to the blower and he goes it's a fan, that's a vent fan.
Speaker 7:Anyway, I've always called it a blower even though it doesn't blow. Lana makes fun of me for calling um a water hose, a hose pipe. It's not. Why would?
Speaker 2:you, I've always called it a hose, it's not a pipe it's a pipe well, there's a pipe, but you're asking this is the definition it's the hose to it, so then it's a hose pipe. It's not a pipe. It has the hose to it, so then it's a hose, it's a hose pipe.
Speaker 7:It's not a pipe, though, and she makes fun of me. She's from California, I'm from Alabama. It's a hose pipe, A hose and a pipe are different things. You moved east. It's a hose pipe.
Speaker 2:But once you hook the hose up, doesn't it just become a hose then?
Speaker 7:But it's still a pipe. It's hollow tube, a hose, unbendable, otherwise it would just be a hard pipe. We need to let our listeners decide. I'm not even worried about that one what the definition of a pipe is does it have to be flexible or does it have to be hard?
Speaker 6:wow, you want that pipe hard? Go to onlyfanscom. Answer the question. Oh man, I love this new studio.
Speaker 2:You want that pipe hard?
Speaker 3:Go to OnlyFanscom and answer the question oh man I love this new studio. It is bringing out some stuff Right on gang. I feel like we're more ourselves here.
Speaker 2:We're not confined. All right, we better end it.
Speaker 6:We're out in the wild. This is great. Only Blowers no.
Speaker 7:OnlyBlowerscom.
Speaker 5:We should actually keep going.
Speaker 7:Our listeners are pulling off the road right now laughing Come on, you are fake dudes. Thank you.
Speaker 6:We've got to thank Alexis Wilkins for being a part of this.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 6:Hopefully she doesn't listen to this part of the conversation. She was awesome. Thank you to all the sponsors, of course. Go to YouTube, leave us us a comment, do all that kind of stuff download the episode.
Speaker 7:Download please please.
Speaker 6:We thank all of you. I got TK, I got K-Lo, I got the thrash we got fun dude.
Speaker 7:We got the dude come on.
Speaker 6:We appreciate you guys. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 5:This is a Try that in a Small Town podcast make sure to follow along, subscribe, share rate the show and check out our merch at trythatinasmalltowncom.