Try That in a Small Town Podcast

100 EPISODES IN: Looking Back on the Wins and Messes :: Ep 100 Try That In a Small Town Podcast

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Only a small slice of podcasts ever makes it to 100 episodes, so we wanted this one to feel like a real toast, not a victory lap. We talk honestly about how Try That in a Small Town started, why it mattered to us, and what it still means when the world tries to turn a simple message into something else. The heart of it is still the same: look out for your neighbor, stand up for people who can’t defend themselves, and don’t forget where you came from.

We also rewind through the messy behind-the-scenes stuff that comes with building a weekly show while living in the music business, from our early “phone on the table” pilot to the deals that almost happened and the grind that never really turns off. If you’ve ever felt like your job follows you home, you’ll understand this conversation about sacrifice, pressure, and why a great song can still light you back up.

Then we have some fun with a question that instantly exposes every country fan’s bias: the Mount Rushmore of male country singers. Dwight Yoakam, George Strait, Randy Travis, Waylon, Hank Jr., Garth, Morgan Wallen and more get name-checked, argued over, and defended like it’s a barroom court case. We wrap by sharing what we’ve learned about each other over 100 episodes, shouting out a listener story of the week, and thanking the people who’ve kept the lights on, including Patriot Mobile, eSpaces, Peacemaker Coffee, and Original Glory. If you enjoy this kind of country music podcast and small town values talk, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review.

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SPEAKER_04

Who is y'all's Mount Rushmore of male country singers? Male has to specifically be male. Yes, on this one. We'll do women too. I want a Mount Rush. I want your Mount Rushmore and you gotta make your selections very like definitive.

SPEAKER_02

For anyone who's ever having trying to have a conversation with me, I'm probably not mentally taking part in it. I agree with that.

SPEAKER_07

I'm serious.

Cold Open: Country Singer Rushmore

SPEAKER_06

You know why? Well, since it's the hundredth episode, I was just I had a couple, but I'll I'll take it down to one and due to time constraints. Um so what's something about your boys around the table that that you learned that you didn't know? Like about each other.

SPEAKER_01

Jeez. The try that in a small town podcast begins now.

100th Episode Welcome And Thanks

SPEAKER_03

Welcome to the 100th episode of the try that in the same amount of money that we made. Yeah, still making the same money. Yeah, uh Richard. 100. Huh? Hold on, let's get our Wade's got it all. Wade's got the money. Wade has the money. Hold on, before we start talking, we gotta get the housekeeping out. We've got beat Patriot Mobile Studios here. I'm gonna forget it. From I mean, the reason we have a hundred episodes is Patriot Mobile, is eSpaces. Wow. Yeah, is Peacemaker Coffee and the OG original glory beer. We are thankful to every single one of those.

SPEAKER_02

You'll like Merv Griffin.

SPEAKER_03

Wow, Merv Griffin. They don't know who Merv Griffin was. No, probably not, but I'll take it as a compliment.

SPEAKER_04

It is big time. You're you're a pro. You're a true pro.

SPEAKER_02

You're a pro. That was amazing. That just blew me away. Wow. Wow.

SPEAKER_04

That's all I got.

SPEAKER_06

You did great.

SPEAKER_04

That's all you need. I can't believe it's a hundred. Dude. I can't even believe it. I feel like we just got started.

SPEAKER_06

I don't know. It feels or it feels like 175. I think that's what it feels like.

SPEAKER_02

Doesn't it feel like a hundred?

SPEAKER_06

Didn't. It didn't feel like a hundred to me.

SPEAKER_02

Feels like um very proud of the hundred number.

SPEAKER_03

And we hadn't missed. It's not easy. It's not easy to we still like each like each other. We have not missed a Monday as much as there's been some close calls.

SPEAKER_06

We're close, but there's been a couple of zooms that do to couple of missed buttons. But out of I think it's only been two out of a hundred episodes.

SPEAKER_02

You came dangerously close to starting like a zoom like two weeks in a row. Contagion. Yeah. It was like you zoomed, and then next week Neil zoomed.

SPEAKER_06

I'm like, oh, Neil did Neil did first because I'm not sure. I know. Trust me, if I would have come, that would have been it would be really bad.

SPEAKER_03

So I hope people are cool with this because it's a it's a pretty huge marker. And we've had a lot of people tell us, you know, if you want to grow the thing and if you want to be successful at it, you've got to you've got to bank the episodes, you've got to be in it, you've got to get X amount of episodes, and one of the markers is a hundred. I I'm gonna be honest, guys. I I didn't know if we'd get there. And I think just for the listeners and the people that are watching, we'll probably go back over and kind of have a review or a recap or just looking back kind of episodes. How do we do how do we do that?

SPEAKER_05

Corners of my mind.

SPEAKER_04

What did you do? I'm just thinking back to my, you know, where we first started, the first studio.

SPEAKER_03

Oh let's start there. That's great. No, but that's great. It was just I remember I remember the first one. Tell people how it started and and where and why we used your studio before.

The Pilot And Early Studio Days

SPEAKER_02

Before he says that, though, it actually started at the little office. Yes. We did a practice. Oh, yeah. We did a pilot episode. We sat around the writing office with BMG. We need that footage. And we have it. And we didn't have it on my computer. I just saw it. You should we should post that, have uh James, our producer.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, that's a great idea. Maybe I'll send it to you and you can put a little couple minutes in there. Or m or not. What do you mean? We did a mock run.

SPEAKER_02

We sat around the studio and did it. And yeah, that feels like 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_03

It was with no microphones, no microphones, four cameras. It was a MacBook. Or no, it might have been my phone. Could have been. I think. Oh, it was a phone. Yeah. So we recorded it. Yeah. Gorilla style.

SPEAKER_02

Boots on the ground.

SPEAKER_03

Is this a good idea? Is this a good idea? And I think did we end up sending that to somebody that we were kind of in talks with or never heard from them again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06

No, they kind of take that as a side. We kind of worked at the time. That's all we had.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. It was basically a remake of what we did that day. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it's kind of like our pilot episode, our gorilla. Yeah. Jim's got it. Jim's got anyway. But that's looking back on that feels like a long time ago to me.

SPEAKER_06

Well, and ironically, I guess it was today. For us, today's the 5th of March. And we can't announce anything, but we did we are going to be we did sign with a media company. Um so it's not delivering.

SPEAKER_02

No. There's a lot of media companies.

SPEAKER_06

Kurt, please.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Kurt, you say it. Go ahead and tell them what we can't tell them. No, no, no. That's good. That's good. We'd like to say, yeah, we haven't, it's not official yet.

Media Deals That Fell Through

SPEAKER_03

We're gonna put we're it isn't because we're gonna partner up the other side of this, and maybe we can let people in on this. We've actually already signed an agreement six months ago. Yeah. Yeah. That fell through. And I maybe for some of our more uh hypersensitive listeners like Ed, uh, you know, we were talking about big things to come and we got a big news to share. It's my fault. It's something I said. I'm sorry. No, but we did have a deal with the media company that we were all looking forward to, and it went in the toilet.

SPEAKER_02

I would like to hear the episode we did after we got that news. Because I wonder if we're like, so your day.

SPEAKER_03

I don't know if we ever got news. We just knew from them. We got news. Well, no, there was news because said media company uh maybe I'm missing. Yeah, maybe we won't go to specifics, but yeah, it didn't ever happen.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I guess we didn't see Wade for weeks. That was a bad sign.

SPEAKER_06

They just kind of ghosted us.

SPEAKER_03

It was just all of a sudden we had no audience. But there was a reason they ghosted us.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Which it was something I said.

SPEAKER_03

No. Actually, typically what you say does good for our podcast.

SPEAKER_04

Sometimes I've been red flagged.

SPEAKER_03

You can be viral. You're viral, all right. What do you think our most viral moment was? Actually, I think I know what it was. The most viral moment. Yeah, I think our most viral clip, I'm not positive about this, but I think it's when Al Dean was talking about how he wouldn't let Biden use flyover states. Right. I bet that's right. And that clip on YouTube is pretty big. Yeah. I think it's one of our biggest clips.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, Biden.

Most Viral Clip And Politics

SPEAKER_02

I kind of does anyone else miss those highlights of Biden. It's it's sometimes I sometimes I miss watching him, you know, in the when they would show him walking up the steps of the plane, you know. And I'd be like, is he gonna make it all the way to the steps? And then, oh, he slips. And then it was pretty entertaining. Then he's like walking, he never turns the right way, he walks, and there's one of Obama like pulling his arm.

SPEAKER_03

It was very entertaining except for the fact that he was the president.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, that wasn't great.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_04

I wish the best for him, though. I really do. Hey, see still here's how I look at it. In the this this chapter of his life, I wish the best for that.

SPEAKER_02

There's one thing I have to say that we missed last episode, and I have to say it in this episode. Okay. Going back. I have to go back. USA hockey team. Yeah. Fantastic. USA hockey team. Congratulations. It reminded me of that because a lot of people gave the hockey team a bunch of crap for talking to Trump after the win. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06

And the only reason we missed that, and I want you to continue on, is the fact that these boys were in Australia for like three weeks. So we did miss some of the things that we're talking about.

USA Hockey And White House Respect

SPEAKER_02

We watched the game down there. We watched it live. It was on like 3-4 in the morning. But anyway, they they took a bunch of flack for talking to the president, which is insane. Because, in my opinion, no matter who's president, like it's the president. Like that's an honor. That's right. And and go you go to Biden. Did I love Biden as a president? No, but if I got a chance to meet him, I'd go to the White House. He called and congratulated us.

SPEAKER_04

Don't don't get me going on Clowns.

SPEAKER_02

We're kind of we're going backwards over the Trump. I could spend a lot of time on that.

SPEAKER_04

You like her? Isn't she fantastic?

SPEAKER_06

Well, and actually it was too. It was uh uh it was the fact that Cash Patel was in the locker room. They hated that.

SPEAKER_02

They did, they hated Cash. All that kind of stuff is is so so dark. And uh that's I can't even entertain what she said because that to me is I'm not gonna she's not worth our podcast time. Ooh, that's right. You daggum right in the show. She's not Dino. No one cares. By the way, no one cares about you, and she missed a huge kick one time in a big game. So I won't talk about that. That's not what our boys did. Our boys won an OT, Megan. It was awesome, though. The game was awesome. It was uh That picture of Jack Hughes with his teeth knocked out, bleeding, with a flag draped over him. Oh yeah that is the that is an iconic picture. Not since 80 in Lake Placid, my hometown did we win the gold in hockey. And so what a great moment. Congratulations to our hockey team. I'm sorry to go backwards, but I did.

SPEAKER_06

That's all right. No, no, that's worth it.

SPEAKER_02

Uh that's worth it. That's worth it. Um I would do our own episode on that if we could, but we won't.

SPEAKER_06

But maybe we'll do it on the anniversary, maybe.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Anyway. But yeah, the president. Like you go about Biden, like even if the president isn't your your pick, to me, it's like that's why I always hate it when people don't go to the White House for something or after they win a championship. It's like this is the president. Like, you don't have to agree with it, but it's still the office. It's it's it's awesome. Was Joe Biden really uh president? He was a president, bro. Elected president. On paper? On paper. Doesn't matter. He's still a president. I'd still like shake his hand and say Mr. President.

SPEAKER_04

I wish him the best. I really do. I wish him the best. Yeah, I mean I really do. People don't believe that, but I really do.

SPEAKER_02

No, of course. I mean I know you do because you're a good American. I mean, you've I it's like you respect our democracy and respect the look, you get a chance to vote. It's the office. It's it's that's what it is. Like not everybody's gonna their guy's not always gonna win.

SPEAKER_03

So this is kind of what the podcast is about. You know, it all started with a song. Yeah, and that's important. Yeah, it really did, Neil. And that's important that it all started with the song, and we we don't want people to lose sight of that.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

It started with Kalo's walk in tights.

SPEAKER_04

It wasn't tights. His his prayer walk of telling me.

SPEAKER_06

Women's women's tights. No, it was a cute little tank top. His wife top. Stop kidding. Yeah, no, just regular shorts and a shirt. I don't know. What you know anyway.

The Song’s Origin And Meaning

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, but it doesn't matter what you have. You know, like we said, that this podcast started with that song, and we tried to carry that badge as part of the podcast. Yeah. Um sometimes we hit that mark, sometimes we swerve around it, or sometimes we're talking about other things, but reiterate to people what you think that song means and why it's important. This podcast is important because of it.

SPEAKER_06

Okay. Um so yes, uh, not in tight, but in the mornings I would go out and I just love the vision. Prayer walk, you know. And um, so I was doing that, and sometimes uh, you know, it's a couple minute prayer, sometimes 15, depends on what you got to pray about. But anyway, it was a beautiful day, and I just got you know, through saying Jesus' name, amen. Felt really good. And then I started flashing back to what I just saw on the news before I'd walked out there, and it was just a they'd done this montage, you know, of of violence on city streets. Not even sure what city sidewalk it was, but they had you had a lady wearing her mask and she's just walking down the sidewalk, and somebody comes up, just walking past her, hits her square in the face, knocks her out. They go to the next frame, and it's a a guy walking down another sidewalk, and and a guy comes up behind him, full-on hip turn, aluminum baseball bat in the back of the head, knocks him out. I don't know if he would have survived that. Then they go to the next frame, and it's a 70-year-old man laying on the ground, and you have six or seven kids, you know, kicking him, you know, and everything. And so, and nobody's helping anybody. They're just kind of filming it. But the thing that is, but nobody was hungry, like like nobody's saying, Oh, I've got to get this money so I can feed my family. They're just they're just hurting people, you know, for no reason. And so, so I just I just hated that. I hate watching that. So I I started walking faster and faster and got madder and madder, and I just said, try that in a small town. And I said some explicits after that. And I said, Oh Lord, sorry, I just said in Jesus' name, amen. Here I am saying this. But uh, I just got really mad about it, uh, and just because you know, just whether you're in a small town or not, it's just we need to look out for each other, and that's the that's the genesis of the whole thing, is that it really came from a place of love, and some people turned it into something else that it wasn't, but it came from a place of love and looking out for your neighbor.

SPEAKER_03

So it was the genus of the s genesis of the song, but also of the podcast.

SPEAKER_06

Right.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. No, go ahead. No, no, I was just gonna say, I think that's what we are trying to set out to accomplish. Uh not that every episode has to be that exactly. Hey, what are we doing for our neighbor? But that is kind of the how it started. Um how do you think we've uh succeeded at that? I think we can do what some episodes that you think that fell into that.

SPEAKER_02

Well, we just had that really great one um um about the the couple that you knew or know um with the bike biking accident.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Oh right. Oh yeah. Yeah, you know.

Guests Who Helped Their Neighbors

SPEAKER_03

Um, so that was I thought that that was uh exactly and for the update on that, they do have uh he has that whole case, and just to kind of help reiterate what Tully was saying, uh Haley Kilman was on and her longtime boyfriend partner got in a hit and run and he was killed. Um Blaze, right? What's that? Blaze is his name. And they've been on the lookout for this guy. It has been that case has now been elevated uh partly because of the attention that we brought to that, which I think is awesome.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Um so that there are things like that where we're man, it's just it's basic stuff, it seems like, but just trying to help out your neighbor.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, and the and the John Rich um episode, and I've been watching him do some stuff. He's he's really taking things to a different level and helping out people. I think it's in Cheatham County, but there's TVA. T the TVA and um and really going to bat. And I think Trump actually offered him a position of which he turned down because he wanted to be more of a people's advocate. Um, but he's working hard. Uh you know, he's been blessed, and he is 100% giving back and and helping people in in small towns, you know, uh getting their land back via auction or whatever. I'm not sure how that works, but he is proactively one of those people that we want on this podcast because he is he is helping he's helping his neighbor in a big time way.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, he is uh uh exhibit A. Yeah. As far as like people that we love to have on. And obviously, the the musical connection. I thought that was great about the John Rich episode. How long did we spend in the front of the episode just talking about the old days? Yeah, yeah. Start with Lone Star and that whole thing, and then thrinter's alley and and then of course his stance on all that. I man, that was one of my favorites. We gotta get him back on. Yeah, we gotta get John back on.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I think we've done pretty well. I mean bouncing the uh you know other other interests as well. We've had a plant interest.

SPEAKER_06

For sure. Well even uh, you know, Hulk Hogan, which you know you guys are were friends with him, and he's a huge Al Dean fan, and they were buddies, and he came on and and he was talking about and I think Neil asked him, or he said it to Neil about that like he found Christ, like not too, you know, not too long ago. And then it wasn't but a few months after that he recorded our our show that he he passed away, you know, and um but that was somebody like that, a a mammoth of a figure of a man talking about finding Jesus and stuff right there, and we're all kind of you know, it's like wow, I can't believe he's cheering this with us. And then yeah, no, go ahead. No, that's it, really. And then and when he passes, that's that's the first thing I thought about. I didn't think about oh, I'm glad we got him on our podcast. You know, it was it was like I said, man, he talked about finding Jesus, you know, just a little bit ago, which I thought was thought was great. Yeah, that was a big loss.

SPEAKER_02

That was a that was that was he was great. He was a great guy, and you know, great to have great to come on. He didn't have to come on, you know, came on earlier. Yeah, that's that's a lot of too like a lot of these guests that came on the podcast when they didn't certainly didn't have to. Yeah, you know, we were just getting started.

SPEAKER_03

Do you remember Riley Gaines was our first, very first guest, and I think it was like episode number three. Wow. How did we convince Riley to come on?

SPEAKER_06

I think Wade, uh Wade Perry, you know, our business manager, um, I guess what we call him not what not sure what he's he's in there somewhere, but he doesn't he does the important things, you know. Yeah, but uh but yeah, yeah, I think he had he had had a relationship with her or a friendship or something, and he got her on there.

SPEAKER_03

But think about well, I mean, for her to do that for I know I mean obviously she's a fan of Jason and that that helped. Yeah. But that was she stepped out to do that. And uh we've since. Um and she's already said she's excited to come back on.

SPEAKER_06

So that's yeah, and she's amazing. Uh Tommy Lauren. Yeah. Aaron is and uh and then Kirk Herb Street, that's one of the that stands out. You know, because he talked about his small town stuff and he talked about travel ball and just stuff that would apply to families um and kids and everything. And uh that was I I was I kind of fanned out a little bit over Herb Street just like Herb Street? Yeah, it's a great one, huh? Yeah, really good.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it was great. It's just a it's just a it's it's really cool that the song you know spoke to that many people. Heck yeah, I'll come on there. Heck yeah, I'd love to talk about that. I'd love to talk about anything y'all want to talk about. They would say that. I'm like, really? Well, really, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06

Um yeah, based out a lot. I mean, uh Justin Nunley, you had Chad Prather, had uh we've had actors Alexander Ludwig came on, you know, Sabre Hagen came on early.

SPEAKER_02

He was on early. We've got great, great.

SPEAKER_04

It's it's Brett Favre. We got to a hundred.

SPEAKER_03

You know, Favre started his own podcast now. Did you did we inspire him? I think we did. You think you'll have a zone? We're changing lives. Try that in a Favre town.

SPEAKER_04

You think you'll have a song? Yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03

I know, right? He might just do sports stuff, actually. But we're sportsmen. We know sports. We do. I think we do pretty well. I hope people enjoy that because, especially during college football, of course, and uh and obviously yeah, obviously we centered around music and songwriting.

SPEAKER_02

Jeffrey Steele was a great episode, and Gary the Vox was one of my favorite episodes. That was a good one, you know.

SPEAKER_06

David Lee Murphy, Ben Gallagher, Mary Cutter, yeah. You know, just a lot of different type of people. Um, you know, we can't we're not gonna list off every one, just can't think of them all, but um it's been a blessing, and we always try to, like Kurt does such a great job of introing the podcasts and and everything else.

SPEAKER_04

And did you practice before we started this whole thing? Did you ever did you like when you were at home? I have to know because no, as soon as you got in front of the mic, I mean it was like automatic. And I'm like, this guy rehearsed before we started. Yeah, you did. You had to have. No. That would be very weird. It just comes out natural like that. That would be very weird.

SPEAKER_06

One of the main reasons is I think that it happened is that it was the first ad we were all reading, and uh and we're all trying to read it, and the only one who could make it through a sentence is Kirk. So he became our man read. No, but uh but no, just do do great at at because our our goal is. Even with guests, yes, we you want to get somebody that um you know that people have heard of for sure, but hopefully they have some sort of small town connection from where they grew up, however they got in their business, and we always try to make that that small town connection, you know, even if they're from big city, you know, be a suburb or where I think that's important, and like I said, sometimes we don't highlight that enough, but that is what we try to make the Yeah, and just the values, not exactly where they are, you know, just the just the small town values. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03

Hey, let's do this real quick. Let's go uh pay the bills a little bit. Let's get a little uh for the sponsors. We'll be right back. This is the hundredth episode, the 100th episode of the try the small town podcast. You know what goes great with small town stories? Original Glory, America's beer right here.

SPEAKER_04

You know, I've been drinking this every songwriting session today.

SPEAKER_06

Man, that clean, crisp taste reminds me of summer nights on the back porch after a fresh motel.

Sponsor Break And Supporters

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SPEAKER_00

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 first responders. If you have a place to go put your money, you always want to put it with somebody that's like my course. I think that's the that's the beat of Patriot Mobile. We're the conservative alternative.

SPEAKER_01

Don't get fooled by other providers pretending to share your values or have the same coverage. Go to Patriotmobile.com forward slash small town to get a free month of service when you use the offer covered Small Town or call 972 Patriot.

SPEAKER_03

Welcome back to the 100th episode 200. Triple digits. We did at the 100th episode of the Try That in a Small Town Podcast. Coming to you from the Patriot Mobile Studios, powered by powered by eSpaces. Powered by eSpaces. Like little anchorman reference. Power.

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Power.

Only 5% Reach 100 Episodes

SPEAKER_03

I'm powered by PC. Just coordinates to Murphy. That's what keeps me. So Jim, our producer, let us know during the break. Only five, one, two, three, four, five percent of all podcasts make it to one hundred episodes. So we're in some uh we're in some good company, I think.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, another stat too just popped up.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, what is it?

SPEAKER_02

Only five percent of podcasts that make it to 100 episodes. Keep the producer for the next hundred episodes. Oh, Jimmy has killed Donald. Better have a backup plan. I'm just kidding, Jim. You're the best, buddy. But now Jimmy, Jim, Jim doesn't get enough credit. Oh Jim spins all this stuff around, like all of our clips and all the editing and that we have to do to get the episodes out. Thank you, Jim. You're the front lines, buddy.

SPEAKER_03

It only took us 100 episodes to thank you.

SPEAKER_06

And for telling us for telling us to say something nice about you. That's a hundred episodes. We'll never forget this day.

SPEAKER_02

Love you, Jim.

SPEAKER_04

Jim, Jim, put a tip jar.

SPEAKER_02

We can put a tip jar on your desk right there, dude. Seriously, we get so wrapped up in the episodes and and you just spit them out really quick. We'll do an episode and two days later, the there it is. Like magic.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, we we should make him work harder though. I agree. Well, we'll talk about that. With lighting and stuff, you know.

SPEAKER_02

Harder for less money, that's what I say. Anyway, love you, Jim. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

Uh what do you oh we were talking we were talking and doing a break?

SPEAKER_04

Neil said he had something he wanted to lead with. No, I wanted to I wanted to ask I want to ask y'all just kind of you know uh kind of y'all don't know this is coming, but it's like who is y'all's Mount Rushmore? Oh boy. Oh my gosh. Who is y'all's Mount Rushmore of male country singers?

SPEAKER_03

Male has to specifically be male.

Mount Rushmore Debate Goes Deep

SPEAKER_04

Yes, on this one. We'll do women too. I want to Mount Rush, I want your Mount Rushmore, and you gotta make your selections very like definitive. Uh you can't flip-flop.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, well I won't do your flip-flopping right now. I am, because I'll tell you this. Here's my flip-flopping. Oh no. I didn't know of country music before I moved here. No idea of it. Probably hadn't heard any songs. Right. So if you're going back what some people would say old school, old, old country, I have no idea of it. I really don't. I'm not a historian that way. Use them now. Use them since you've you know Okay. Grown to love modern generation.

SPEAKER_06

Well, I thought that's what we were talking about was just modern. So you're talking about No, I'm talking about of all time.

SPEAKER_02

Oh wow of all time. Like, well that that I'm not talking about. That's a loaded question, because there's a for example, like the whole reason I got into the No you and you're not hang on a second.

SPEAKER_04

Let me let me finish this. You're no, you're that's okay. You're not allowed to use Al Dean. Right, yeah. None of us are allowed to use Al Deen. We already know he's there. He's so he's there. We just need three more. We're not we're not allowed to use him.

SPEAKER_03

Okay. And is it as an artist or singer?

SPEAKER_04

Singer. Country music singer, male. But my point is he's saying vocalist or artist. It doesn't matter. It doesn't have to be an awesome singer, just an artist. An artist.

SPEAKER_02

Gosh.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I got these guys on freaking. I got yellow right on the edge. I mean, I'm assuming you have to put Garth in there. No, never. Not ever. Well, I did.

SPEAKER_06

He was huge. I mean I don't care how many George Straight.

SPEAKER_04

I don't give I don't give a shit how big he was. I think you said my Mount Rushmore.

SPEAKER_06

He was huge for country music, though.

SPEAKER_04

But I don't care what he did for the I'm talking about my Mount Rushmore of just true artist. I don't, he's not even in my uh one or one or I I what he did for country music, yeah, great. But I'm just like the Chris Games thing, he fell off the cliff. Well you but you asked Kurt.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I did. Go ahead. I'm just apparently it's not working. It's not gonna be a good one. So Garth, so you're just Dwight Yoko. You're just Garth Yoko. Dwight's fantastic. Garth, you put Garth and Dwight. Yeah. And who else?

SPEAKER_03

Two others. Let me see. Can't use Al Dean. What about What about Love? I don't know. What about Love? Somebody help me.

SPEAKER_04

No. And I know our listeners, man, they're all they're all putting their lists together. Our listeners are putting their list together.

SPEAKER_06

You gotta have you got straight in there, right? Yeah. Yeah, right. You gotta have straight in there. Everybody's got straight. Randy Travis. You know?

SPEAKER_03

Randy Travis.

SPEAKER_06

I put him in there.

SPEAKER_04

Yep.

SPEAKER_06

You know?

SPEAKER_04

It's pretty good. But wait, you're going to earn.

SPEAKER_06

He said he needed to hacked. He said he wanted to phone a friend.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Kallo. Who would be my man? I think George straight's on all of ours, for sure. Straight's on all of ours.

SPEAKER_02

I think it depends. I think it depends what the question is.

SPEAKER_04

It was very specific, Tully.

SPEAKER_02

Well, to to you. Yeah. It was very specific. Yeah, and if you answer wrong, he'll tell you. So he's not going to be on yours. No, because I look at let Kurt finish. He's not going to be able to do it. No, I did. I'm done. Are you done? Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, he he he he wound up. It's good. Good list.

SPEAKER_02

I like I I I think of it like this. I've got my three, I think, of the reasons why I started to really love country music.

SPEAKER_04

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

I love this. It's fantastic. I was back in the you know mid eighties. I fell in love with Steve Roll. Steve Roll to me, like those records, you know, the guitar town record. Very great. Copperhead wrote. I love Steve Roll. I love it. I love Dwight Yoakum. Dwight Yockham was a huge reason. Um and then Whalen. The stuff Whelan Jennings cut is to me, like that, that was that was the the kind of outlaw stuff that I really started. Coming from more of a as a rock fan, more of a not, you know, I didn't grow up. And my grandmother listened to a lot of George Jones, you know. For me, it was always like rock, you know, the police and U2 and those kind of bands. So hearing Steve Earl though and Dwight really and then and then and then a lot of Willon Jennings. So those those are my at least the reason why I started to love country music. But I appreciate so many artists, yeah, obviously. Yeah. But yeah, but I don't but I love many of so many of those songs from those three guys. Yeah. You know. It's a great list. Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06

I mean I mean to me. Who's your fourth?

SPEAKER_02

I didn't really pick a fourth. We only had said three, did we?

SPEAKER_04

Throw Willie in there. Mount Rochemore has four figures.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I thought you were saying Al Dean was one of them.

SPEAKER_04

No, no, he's not allowed to use him. So we need to need a fourth. He's a given. So it's it's not he's not allowed to be a need a fourth.

SPEAKER_02

I see what you're saying. Um we could put Al Dean up there and add three.

SPEAKER_04

We can do that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's there's Yeah, the fourth. I mean, again, it's it's kind of sometimes it's I love your list.

SPEAKER_04

Some people got introduced to country music later than others.

SPEAKER_03

And that was part of my Garth thing, is that it was I hadn't heard of country music before at Garth and Dwight Yochum, actually. So those were the two that were like, oh well, what's going on over here?

SPEAKER_02

And as much as I love Dwight, it was I loved like Pete Anderson with him and Dwight. I like the band. I like the band actually. It was a total vibe, you know. Um and the same thing with the Steve Rowe, like Tony Brown did those records, produced those records. Um, and the Wales stuff, like I said, was just that's that was pretty outlaw, tough, cool music.

SPEAKER_04

That's right. You know.

SPEAKER_02

Um But I like a lot of like I like a lot of off the wall stuff. The Desert Rose Band for me was I love Chris Hill and I was a huge fan. Yeah, so stuff like that.

SPEAKER_06

Sweethearts of the Rodeo.

SPEAKER_02

Kayla, what you got, bud?

SPEAKER_06

There's just a it it's it's a lot. I know you said Mount Rushmore, but there's I mean I've been such a such a country music fan specifically.

SPEAKER_02

You gotta pick you gotta pick four.

SPEAKER_06

But it's really hard. I would I've definitely put Hank Jr. up there because I was introduced to Hank Sr. And I loved I loved Hank Sr. and that, but I loved all I mean, I I loved Loretta. We'll get to the wheel later. I mean, I loved all songs and I loved so many. I bet I put Hank Jr. up there if you're gonna put you know that many.

SPEAKER_04

Um put three up there. How Dean's already up there, shining.

SPEAKER_06

Is he in is he in the middle or on the end? Where's the tie herndon? He's on the right. He's on the right.

SPEAKER_02

I know it's coming.

SPEAKER_06

Uh so you heard what I said? So dude Mallard.

SPEAKER_04

Sorry to say that.

SPEAKER_06

Um I didn't say that. That was so uh to definitely hang junior. Um and I'd probably put so if you're starting, I'd put on one end on the other end, like current, I'd probably I'd go Morgan Wall, and I have a huge respect for his writing. So like I I listened to a song, I mean, probably once a week of a song of his that I hadn't heard, and I'll just listen to the whole thing or watch the video, just really I mean, it's really respect. He's he's got some really good songs, really good and stuff that that I haven't heard that hadn't come out on the radio. I'm like, God his album cuts are uh really good. But um, you know, and then we've already mentioned some in uh I mean Randy Travis is huge. I'd do that just because yeah, and um I would put him up there because I've I've yeah had his hats and merch and went to his shows in Calhoun, Georgia. Huge fan. I'd put out Alabama, uh the band. Uh I'd have to go there. I know you know. I hadn't been to the band yet. Well, I know, but we only have one podcast. You know. Um so I would do that. Um That's good. You filled you filled the spot.

SPEAKER_03

You got 17 spots up there.

SPEAKER_06

I would add 20 to the people I like just as well.

SPEAKER_04

It's a toughie though, when you when you when you when you grew up around it and you grew up listening to all of it, it's really, really tough for as long as I've listened to country music.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

That's like a really toughie, because I heard somebody ask the question, that's why I I asked y'all. And that made me go, God dog, man. I can't, you don't want to eliminate this guy, you want to, you know, your Mount Rushmore of country. Well, for me, my guys for yours guys.

SPEAKER_06

Like two, and before you go there, I will say I know you said you wouldn't put Garth up there. I my Mount Rushmore would just be a lot wider, is all, because I'd include a lot of people. But for me, I'd have to put Garth because I I remember where I was. I was going to MTSU for a minute, and I was driving down the road, and I heard two of a kind come on, and I listened to that and I thought, who is singing that? I love that. Never seen him, didn't know what his name was. Well, that was I love the song, I love the voice and everything. So so for me, I wouldn't.

SPEAKER_04

Well, that was that was that was the original Garth. Original Garth was really, really good. His songs were really good. If it weren't for Garth, I wouldn't have met my wife, number one.

SPEAKER_02

But you can't argue you can argue can argue with the first couple records and then like the first record and the No Fences album. Oh, No Fences.

SPEAKER_04

Those those songs were so good. I got to sing on the No Fences record. That was like my introdu my introduction to my wife because of the No Fences record. Yeah. And but anyway, later Garth doesn't go on my Mount Rushmore halfback. I put him in the background. Early Garth, yes.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, but once he's chiseled and stone up there, Vern God Vern Gosden.

SPEAKER_05

Well, you just stole one of mine. Vern Gosden. I didn't steal it. Oh god. When you say chiseled and stone, that's what you think.

SPEAKER_04

I'm talking about country singers. So I'm talking about I'm talking about because I I I went back and forth because Vern Gosden was like one of my all-time favorite country singers of all time, ever. Haggard's number one by far. And then Gosden and Keith Whitley. Ronnie Mill Ronnie Milsap was like I grew up on that guy listening to his stuff. So I had a ton of them. They were in a pile. Yeah. That I had to like, you know, shuffle around and go, who's gonna go up? And it may change week to week.

SPEAKER_02

You can look at the guys too that were so great when they came out. I was a huge Joe Diffie fan. Huge when he first came out. Absolutely. You know? Huge. I mean, just incredible. Like the same thing for Clint Black's first couple albums. Like it's so many great people. I I was looking at it as more like what turned me to wanting to come here. You know what I mean? And and it was like Dwight and Steve and those guys. You're like, what made me say, oh, that's I'm gonna listen to that. I was a huge Steve Ward fan. I loved him. Great writing.

SPEAKER_04

When I heard a Copperhead Road, man, I was like, that's what I want to do.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's it's so good. Yeah, so fun conversation though. I mean and I remember actually we used to cut records back at the old in the old back room at Soundstage Studios where Steve cut guitar town. And we used to cut a lot before they redid the the studio Soundstage Studios as it is now. But just I I I you know love the history behind that. And and how can you beat Keith Whitley? I mean what a shit.

SPEAKER_04

It's kind of not fair when you ask that question to somebody, who's your Mount Rushmore with country music singers? You need to have like I agree. You gotta have well you well, it's it's it's only fair nowadays to so much time has passed by, it's like have different eras. Who's your favorite, who's your Mount Rushmore of this era? Who's your Mount Rushmore of this era?

SPEAKER_02

The one thing I can say is probably the first thing I can say about Dwight, and I started liking Dwight from the very beginning, like Guitarist Cadillacs, that album. So good. The one cool thing, when he was with when Pete Anderson was producing those albums, man, Dwight, if you look at that body of work, it it was consistent to itself. Where if you look at like um like I was a huge chestnut fan and of first called albums and Clinton Black first couple of albums, the music definitely changed as things changed. Man, Dwight wrote that his what he does, every album is consistent to what he does, which made me a fan of his for a long time. Like you you buy a Dwight Dwight Yockham album and it w it it was gonna feel like Dwight, you know? I felt like when things really popped in the 90s, like Garth Garth's first three albums are completely different than what happened the latter. Which I guess is people can say that for us too with with Jason, but Yeah, but it it it didn't. That was quite a drastic turn.

SPEAKER_04

I can't compare the two, sorry.

SPEAKER_02

But anyway, it is fun like wailing, like all of a sudden it is a fun you start thinking about what would what would have Keith Whitley done had he not died at twenty-nine?

SPEAKER_04

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

Twenty-nine years old he died.

SPEAKER_04

So I used to r I used to run the grooves off those records, man. I would just nonstop. Learn listening and learning. That's all I did.

SPEAKER_02

I learned I learned a lot of uh about how to play country bait, at least in my opinion, was from listening to some of those white records. Um just about how to approach things and it was it wasn't like the standard stuff, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04

But you know you start think it's a fun conversation because you start thinking about all the albums you listen to and you know that you loved, you know, that maybe you know you don't listen to as much anymore, but man, they were huge like hey hey you don't have to do a Mount Rushmore of rock singers, but who's like your favorite rock singer? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02

Man, I'm gonna go with some of my favorite, you know, uh Love Sting, Brian Adams, Bob Seger. It's such a tough one. It's such a tough one. But those guys, it's i it's tough because you had different types. I mean, we're we were listening to Steve Perry the other night sing with Journey. It's like as far as singers go, I wasn't the biggest Journey fan of the songs. I I loved a lot of the songs, but I always loved Steve Perry, even when he did his solo career. Yeah. You know, that record was awesome, awesome by the way. So you listen to singers. I mean, God, I know.

SPEAKER_04

I got to talk to Larry London, the guy who he played drums on that record. You remember Larry London?

SPEAKER_07

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, he played drums on Steve Perry's solo record.

SPEAKER_02

And his favorite rock singer is such a vibe, too. Like, like, who would yours be? Oh.

SPEAKER_03

It's it's like our this will be a four-hour long podcast if we start going in.

SPEAKER_04

But it's so good, man.

SPEAKER_03

It's just so interesting.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_04

Paul Rogers is my favorite rock singer of all of all time.

SPEAKER_02

So I I I I tend to look at it as like a lot of singers I love, but what what what the music they were singing to? Like that I like the songs as much as the voice. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like, and that for me, that's what it always was like was the whole thing. Like, always been a song guy, like the songs. You know, like I love the police, I love Brian Adams and Seeger and Against the Against the Wind album. Hold on so many memories of the windows. There's such a long list of great singers and rock, man. It's not even funny. But anyway, that that is Pandora's box. It is good job, Neil. We had a spin of off.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. I love it. I love it. It makes our listeners think too.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_06

I like it.

SPEAKER_03

What do you got, Kaylee? You said you had a couple things.

SPEAKER_06

Well, since it's uh the hundredth episode, I was just I had a couple, but I'll I'll take it down to one and due to time constraints. Um So what's something about your boys around the table that that you learned that you didn't know like about each other?

SPEAKER_02

Whoa.

SPEAKER_03

Jeez. Why don't you start?

SPEAKER_06

Because you Oh, I don't have an no, I can't you can't I can't start asking.

What We Learned About Each Other

SPEAKER_03

I can't because you're just popping this on us. You obviously have something in mind. While you're saying yours, we'll go into deeper about us. See, that's why he's the leader. See what he did? He deflected. That's a deflection. Unless Neil's usually good on the spot, maybe he could go.

SPEAKER_04

What I learned about you guys?

SPEAKER_06

Yeah. Just as yeah, we'll start here and go this way.

SPEAKER_04

I already know you too well. I mean, yeah. You've kind of learned something.

SPEAKER_03

That's true. That's a learning point.

SPEAKER_04

I learned that I still know you like I've always known you.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

Thank you for that.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you for that touching tribute. Yeah. You will not be speaking of my eulogy.

SPEAKER_04

I haven't learned anything new about speaking of my eulogy. Well, here lies Kalo. There he is. A little bit older all. What do you I mean, I don't know what I've learned about you like it's new.

SPEAKER_06

Well, go to Tully then.

SPEAKER_04

Because I've known you so long. And I mean. Okay. What have I learned about Kalo?

SPEAKER_05

I mean, you're you're good behind the mic. Well, you don't have to make things up. This is fine. Let's just go on to Tully.

SPEAKER_06

Let's go. This segment is Let's go to let's go to Tully. What have I learned about what have I learned about Tully? Yeah, that you didn't that you didn't know because you kind of knew him a little, but not as much, probably.

SPEAKER_03

Um Tully's This is like homework. We should have taken a look at the case.

SPEAKER_04

No, it's it's good. It's good to be like get sprung with a question like that where you don't have time to do homework and you don't have time to think about it. Polish and Tully Tully is Tully's Tully You see, folks, yeah. I've learned no I'm I don't want to. Okay, so we'll be this next new Hammond Haas in my life. Okay. It's no it's all good. Okay. Okay, what about it's all good. What about Kurt? No, when you ask somebody that question, you have you have gotten to know somebody better. You know, over it's it's it's like there well there's there's a lot. Um Tully is a he's a uh he's very detail oriented when it comes to work. I've noticed that very much uh that's very true. He's very detail oriented. Um that'd be good about resume.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. It would. I'm a headstone. It would. It would. It was detail oriented.

SPEAKER_04

I love how no, you're very opinionated. I didn't know that about you early on when we first started this. You know, we started working together in music. Music's the music thing was a given. Yeah. I wasn't surprised about your work ethic when it came to writing or recording. I wasn't surprised a bit, so I didn't really learn anything new there. I wasn't surprised by it.

SPEAKER_03

I don't think I I'll let you off the hook. Well, because I was just thinking, I'm looking around the room, kind of like w you with Kalo. I mean how much I've learned with Tully. Yeah. Uh although I have learned, I mean, we do have some of these conversations like on the bus, like that we'll have here. Uh Tully is very opinionated, but he's also very thoughtful in how he thinks about those things. It might sound I was getting there, Kurt. Well, no, I mean it might sound aggressive, but there's actually thought and care behind what he's saying. Yeah. I can definitely come across as aggressive.

SPEAKER_02

That is no secret.

SPEAKER_03

But there's purpose to it. Uh with Kalo I've learned you are a people pleaser. That's right. And I mean that in a good way. Uh you care. And a good tipper. You're a very good tipper. No, and it's not just that you care about what people think, so you want to appease that or make it easy. You genuinely want people to be happy around you. I like that about you.

SPEAKER_06

Nice, thank you. That's very nice.

SPEAKER_02

I learned something about Neil. What did you learn? That I think was the case about songwriting. Um and I didn't know this, but I always am very impressed how you will sit and grind and grind and grind. Because someone after your amount of success you've had, a lot of guys like won't put the time in. But Neil will sit there and we'll grind, you'll grind all day. Neil is a grinder. Yeah, I love that. I didn't I didn't realize that. I just figured when we first started working together a lot, I figured like you'd had so much success that you you know, a lot of guys don't grind, they'll come in for a couple hours.

SPEAKER_03

Neil takes Neil's passionate about pretty much everything that he does. So that was an amazing whether that's writing, whether it's golf, whether it's talking about something he believes in, you're getting all of it. You're getting all of them. I knew I knew It's only because I'm slow. No. That is not it. Trying to help you all out. You no, you have a deep passion for anything that you do, you are going in 100%.

SPEAKER_02

I love that. Yeah. So that was a nice and everything else that pretty much knew. Yeah. You uh you've learned many things. Oh. We may need to spill this into another podcast. No, it's great. All great stuff. All great stuff. I mean, I didn't realize your uh I learned about your intense passion for um UT football. Didn't realize it was that.

SPEAKER_04

And hand sanitizer.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I knew that. I knew that kind of, but as we kept going with the podcast, the the knowledge of college football is very impressive.

SPEAKER_03

Thank you. And that carries, you you're you UT basketball or baseball. Yeah, you're an baseball starter. Yep.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. Added baseball. It's great. Fun stuff.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. It's good stuff. I've learned not to ask Kurt to play guitar.

SPEAKER_02

That just kind of waved bye bye. That's mine.

SPEAKER_06

It's only what he does. That's mine. The one thing I learned that's I'll never forget it is is Kurt says that that playing the guitar is not his passion. Not true. It isn't my passion. I don't believe it either. I believe it is just it's not it's not what I expect.

SPEAKER_02

I would tell you hearing. I know I know I know why you said that though. It's because we're saturated. I get it. I told you the same thing when it first this first came up. It's because it's it's hard for him to be passionate about it when he never gets away from it.

SPEAKER_04

I know. I get and I get that. I understand that.

SPEAKER_02

It's all just it's all just cyclical. It's all right.

SPEAKER_04

When you're asked to sing it everything, every family get together and they want to. I'm like, I I don't want to. I just came up with a session. I've been singing all day. I don't want to sing.

SPEAKER_02

Sometimes what we do, we all I think we can all agree what we do for a living is a a tremendous blessing. Huge. We are so so blessed and lucky and all the things. We I don't like using lucky because we we work too hard to be lucky. So I don't like the lucky. Me and Kayla wrote that.

SPEAKER_04

We wrote that song, Luck Don't Live Around Here. We wrote that song. Lucky isn't a word I like to use. No, we don't use it.

SPEAKER_02

But people don't realize when you're s when you're in it 24-7 it's not that you lose passion for it, it's just that it you can't you you never hear music the same again. Everything you hear is uh dissected and it's constant w music is work, but work is music.

When Music Stops Being A Hobby

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I tell people that you you get into music because you loved music growing up. You have a passion and a joy for music, but I don't have a passion and a joy for music anymore, and it's not because I have disdain for it, it's just that it your job requires you to go about it a different way. And we play or do something with music all day, every day.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So I don't ever turn on the radio for joy. I get that, and I don't either. I never set up the body.

SPEAKER_02

So I don't play the guitar for joy or for anything other than work. Sometimes when music is your it wears a different mask when music it's also your vehicle for your livelihood. So music is is uh beautiful, but it's shrouded in a in a mask of stress as well, and and uh the pressure to constantly uh achieve and to be keep having success because it's the way you provide. So it's not like you're uh you have this job and then you play music for fun. It's like music is the reason that you you're able to have a living and provide for your family. So it's the love of it is also disguised in this, you know, mist of stress.

SPEAKER_04

It always stays new for me, especially when you write a good song. When you just came off of a good song from a writing session, it changes my whole team about music because I can listen, I can listen to the work tape or the demo all the way home on a good song. It fires.

SPEAKER_06

I'll circle the neighborhood.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it keeps me going. For sure. It keeps me going.

SPEAKER_02

Well, for your for your it's like for me, it's probably like hitting that random, very random, decent golf shot, you know, that I get within striking distance on a par three. I'm like, ooh, I'm gonna come back and play again. But it's uh yeah, I I I I will say it's not his passion for it, because I because the only reason I'm saying that and and uh disagreeing with him is because I'm with him every day and working and like the passion for it to be right is if you saw it in there when we're doing something, it's it's incredible. So I know what he's saying though, where it's like it's it's it's it is every minute of every day. You know what I mean? That is music that you loved growing up, and the reason I got into it is now every day. And we're and it's not like we're not blessed and thrilled about it, but it's it's it's a different kind of thing when you're in it every day. People have a hard time understanding that. Like, what are you complaining about? You do the best. I'd love to do what you do.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I'm I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that don't take the they don't take their work home with them. Yeah, you know, there's a lot of people that can totally relate to what you're saying.

SPEAKER_02

But this this job, this business is not for everybody. Like it's it's a rejection-based business, and and you need to perform at the highest level at every whatever you're doing in music, or you won't make it. So that's that's why a lot of people don't make it.

SPEAKER_06

Well, there's not a there's not a lot of like true off time, like even even when you're off if you're watching TV or you're driving or whatever, you're always thinking. You can't help your mind from thinking about ideas or in any any conversation. Somebody says something, you're like, is that is that an idea? And you've already missed the next thing they've said, you know, and uh so it's so yeah. I mean you are kind of you're kind of working all the time, you know, and that's like to Neil's point, that's the fun part, is the is the and for you guys too, the generating and creating something new. That's what's exciting.

SPEAKER_02

I'll say this with with uh pretty much certainty for anyone who's ever having trying to have a conversation with me, I'm probably not mentally taking part in it. I agree with that. I'm serious. You know why? Because I'm thinking about work. When when you're introducing yourself to me, not getting your name. Because that's how I when I lay when I lay down at night to sleep, I'm thinking about work. That that's my Achilles heel. That's my that's my where I go wrong. Because that's I don't I never heal Kurt would tell you that. I'll I'll never I never stop thinking about it, which is tough to have a have a functioning social life.

SPEAKER_06

Well, but it is working. That's just that's your wiring. Yeah, that's my wiring.

SPEAKER_02

And it's and it and super annoying to all my friends, but you know. And my family. But that's why you're that's also why you're successful at what you do. Yeah. There's a wake of there's a wake of uh shrapnel in my success though. I think Kurt can tell you. Like it's to get to get successful is like there are so many things that I've let you kind of have to sometimes. It's just like not everything can I don't give everything the right amount of attention it it should get, you know. So I will say though, it takes and I think Kurt agrees, we've had this conversation, it takes a lot of sacrifice to you guys know to have a certain amount of success. Like things things you you have to work hard. I just gotta take it too far, probably.

SPEAKER_04

But anyway.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I mean, here we are with our Kate Leo. Here we are.

SPEAKER_04

100th episode.

SPEAKER_02

Well, that's a good point because of all the stuff we do, we we we put this on top of it.

SPEAKER_03

We're still showing up. And we're passionate about this.

SPEAKER_04

We still have to do the uh the golf match.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So we've teased people with the golf match. I know it's coming. I'm not looking forward to it. We can go ahead and we're coming into spring. It's coming.

SPEAKER_04

So we gotta do it, right? Now's a good time to catch me. I'm not putting good.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, right. Yeah, we need to do it pretty soon because we gotta get to line that up because we gotta get I'll get it fixed.

SPEAKER_04

People out there it'll be fixed next week. I'm good though.

Sacrifice, Success, And The Golf Match

SPEAKER_03

Um my god, this is a good reflective. Anything else that we should touch on on our hundredth before we wrap this up?

SPEAKER_02

Fingal listeners.

SPEAKER_06

Well, I gotta say my things, right?

SPEAKER_02

Well you have more things?

SPEAKER_06

Well, I didn't say anything about you guys. Oh, what you learned. It depends, are they good or bad? But it'll be but it'll be right, it'll be short. Okay. No, and I'll say just as a as a as a blanket, you know, um, and this would include uh Jim as well, uh, thankful for all the time we've had together as far as so as far as men and buddies and husbands, fathers, all that, you guys are incredible and incredibly solid, and and I love every one of you. Yeah, so so that's you quitting? That's all my thing. Sounds like a retired. But but you know what? It's uh just isn't working for me. No, but but as far as the just just the things that you learn, like I said, that with with Kurt, that was just something that was a eye-opening that that you learned about that, um, about the passion thing, and I'm glad we talked about that. It's really it's really fun. But um, but anyway, Kurt, just an amaz amazing man, buddy, uh, just everything that I talked about, an incredible player, writer, producer, uh, everything. I mean, I hadn't been out on the road with you guys and everything, but I'm if if I were to go out on the road, I'd want to be out on the road with you, you know. And so that was and even Tully, you know. Now is that a apply to me as well? I say I say, well, I was on Kurt's turn. So took all my things up. And so the same, you know, the same. The same for Tul Tully as far as I don't want to repeat, but uh Tully learned a lot of Todd for you. You and I have a lot in common, you know, like it, and I was kind of uh at ease by that, you know, because we do freak out about a lot of things where you're in constant worry, not supposed to be, but I'm in constant worry all the time. And uh being a constant worry. And uh and and then you can you know be uh you know critical on some things and people might think or they hear a piece of something and they might think think, well man, that guy's hardcore about that. But underneath, folks, underneath that black leather jacket beats a heart of a true gentleman. You know, no, no, I'll say he has a great heart, and he he loves people. Um and some of the love all people. Not all people, but he's very honest about that. But anyway, no, he's got a got a great heart and uh and and crazy talent and everything. And I'm I'm super fortunate to um to be in the same room with you and call you guys my friends. Killer, you're very sweet. You kind of kind of like Jim and why I'm I'm looking at looking at Jim.

SPEAKER_05

So I don't know if Jim has well.

SPEAKER_06

But Jim and I talk. I said, So Jim, you know, you know I love you know I love you, and you did. You gave Jim some some love. That was from all of us. Okay. Yeah, that's like the gift we all put in on, you know. Hey, sign this card.

SPEAKER_02

It's like we all put in.

SPEAKER_06

But uh, but yeah, no, Jim, you're you're amazing. You do turn things around incredibly quickly and everything, and and you're always here, and we wouldn't be able to put this thing out uh without you and appreciate all your advice and wisdom and work and everything. It's been amazing, been really fun.

SPEAKER_01

There we go.

SPEAKER_06

I guess I guess Wade had to be present. And then uh and then with Neil, and then with Neil, like I said, I've known Neil for so long.

SPEAKER_03

I have you know uh Vision Fives, by the way, and you're getting to Dorothy and the scarecrow.

SPEAKER_06

So I do I do know uh everything about about Neil, it's one of my best friends uh forever. And uh, but I have learned on this podcast that you hate more things than I thought you did.

SPEAKER_04

Really?

SPEAKER_06

That's what I what I learned. You hate a lot of things. I don't know about hate, dislike strongly.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Uh that's the I'm opposed to a lot of things.

SPEAKER_06

Opposed to a lot of things, but as far as everything else, like it's talking about I love you, you're an incredible human being, you know, dad, husband, all that stuff, you know. What?

SPEAKER_03

Sounds like you guys need to do the 101st episode. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06

You learned that I hate a lot of things. No, just a lot of things. Like with there's a lot of things that we have opinions on, and you dislike a lot of things. I mean, we don't have time to go into each one, but if if two listeners want to listen to all the episodes, things go back Neil Hates in a you know.

SPEAKER_05

I mean, that's why they call it Thrash Talk, you know? So I'm just opposed to a lot of things. I know dislike.

SPEAKER_03

And I think it's mine you're passionate about everything.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And with that, gives you some disdain for others. Ooh, good word. Yeah. Disdain.

SPEAKER_04

True. Disdain. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good quality, believe me. Strongly opposed to that.

SPEAKER_03

You do not uh You don't mince your feelings or words with anything. That's an enviable trait.

SPEAKER_06

We do that in editing.

SPEAKER_03

You know what I mean? Yeah. I mean, it's just I don't know. That's amazing. You know how many people go, well, I don't know. You know, it's really and they get political sometimes. Well, they play it safe. Well, a lot of people play it safe.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I'm like, I'm like, it is what it is.

SPEAKER_04

I mean, yeah, it's an enviable thing. A lot of things like really we it's another episode. You're right. Yeah, I would worry less if I were more like that.

SPEAKER_03

This was a good hundredth, I thought. A lot of heart in this one.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

A lot of heart. Uh was that it? You think we got everything?

SPEAKER_04

Oh gosh, I don't think we got it. Yeah, we definitely got to thank the listeners for us. And and and hopefully the the uh the the viewership will grow, the listenership will grow. Thanks for a little fed with our new uh venture, hopefully. Yeah. I agree.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, Bertie Jane.

SPEAKER_03

And um oh yeah, Bertie Jane, too. She's been great. Uh let's build it. Oh, can we give it a word? Quick shout-out.

Listener Story Of The Week

SPEAKER_06

Just a shout-out, but it it's too, it's too long to to read. But Rick Birch, one of the the listeners, has a daughter, Ariana. And so they were one of the ones that listened to the said, hey, we want the small town stories and all that stuff, you know. So it's very long and everything, but but she's done amazing after moving from a big city to a smaller town. She found her voice and got into all these uh all these things and helping people and everything. And it's uh but anyway, so just want to give them a shout out. And so so for this week, they are the winner of the story of the week. Uh but we need more of those because we don't want it to be our stories that you're Googling, like, hey, what's an inspirational story? We want it to come from the listeners that somebody, you know, would did a good deed.

SPEAKER_04

Um and nobody wants to hear about your broken elevator or Tully's pod.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, I didn't want to hear about it.

SPEAKER_04

That's a good point.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, spoiled children we sound like spoiled the rotten. My pod was warm. Yeah. There we go. That's what I'm talking about. But anyway.

SPEAKER_04

We all love each other. I love you guys. Oh my god, we wouldn't do this if we didn't love each other. 100.

SPEAKER_06

Oh, for sure. Yeah, we wouldn't make it. Here's to a hundred. Here's to a hundred.

SPEAKER_04

Here's to a hundred.

SPEAKER_03

A hundred more. We did it.

SPEAKER_06

Ding.

Final Thanks And How To Support

SPEAKER_03

Ding. Chink. Um, yes, we uh want to make sure we're thanking the people that have supported us. Obviously, the viewers fall into that. And again, Patriot Mobile. Go to patriotmobile.com, put in the code SmallTown. I think you'll get a free month. And like we've said before, I don't think that you'll just quit it a month. It's great service. It's great people. The mission is incredible, the company is incredible, the service is incredible. Uh eSpaces, man, what they've done for us has been thanks for the roof. Yeah. Thanks for the roof. And it's just a great place. What a great idea. We see people in here all the time doing their gig, doing their job. It's an awesome place to be. We're honored to be a part of it. Uh, Peacemaker Coffee, we got some fun stuff coming with them. This is really good coffee. Love it. Oh, it's it's fantastic coffee. The mission is incredible. We've got some really cool stuff coming with that. Original Glory took a chance on us when nobody else was. So still hanging out drinking one when I get home. Come on. Uh Jim, we love you. That's about as much love as you're ever gonna get. Wade! Yep, Wade, you should have been here. You missed out on the love. Yeah. We'll make up for it at some point. Drash, love you. Kaleb, love you. Love you, boys. GK, love you lots. Love you. I'm Kurt. Uh, thanks for being a part of this journey. It's just the beginning. It's our 100th episode, but we got plenty more to come. Uh again, we thank each and every one of you. This has been the Try That in a Small Town Podcast.

SPEAKER_01

Make sure to follow along, subscribe, share, rate the show, and check out our merch at try thatinasmalltown.com.