Avery Soloaga: Where Military Service Meets Music Passion

We caught up with rising singer-songwriter Avery Soloaga at Jae’s Place in Twin Falls, Idaho, where the setting matched the authenticity of our conversation. Avery, who also serves in the Air National Guard, shared how balancing military service and a growing music career has shaped his perspective and fueled his songwriting. We dove into his early influences, the stories behind his music, and the discipline it takes to pursue both callings. With a grounded approach and a passion for storytelling, Avery opened up about the road ahead, making it clear he’s not only dedicated to serving his country, but also carving out a meaningful place in the country music scene.

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Musical Miles Podcast welcomes all interested in being a guest on our show. Artists, Songwriters, Festivals, Concerts, Venues, Fans - Contact us to request an interview to promote your Band, new single, album, song, historical or new venue or to share your story with us and our fans. We only conduct in person interviews, so check with us to see where we are headed to next.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

He's got a crooked small shady. He's got a heavy brown. He's good with the girls. But when he's at home in a place all along, he flirts with an idea. Everything seems clear. He has to see through. He doesn't understand the knee. He happily home to a place all along with a load gun. Go with your key on your gun. The grid of the metal shape by his teeth. The chamber flows. Send smoke out his nose and blows out his cheek. He stays on his feet. So called luck. But not his girl. And keeps in mind his earth. That would say.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Awesome, awesome. Hey, Avery Swag Solaga.

SPEAKER_03 3:41

Soloaga.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

There's a W there. Soloaga.

SPEAKER_03 3:44

There's a W there before the A essentially.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Solo waga. It's just missing in the spelling. Silent. Hey, thanks for joining us. We are in um uh at Jay's Place in Twin Falls, Idaho, uh, for this interview. And uh we're changing things up a little bit, music fans. Um we we had we had the Avery Place's song at the beginning, so to get your attention. What a beautiful song. Thank you. And that's an original.

SPEAKER_03 4:10

Yeah, and I actually wrote it um at a Jay retreat, it was a songwriter's retreat, and Jay's Place was hosting it, and I was out there and I wrote that song out there. So what ties together? Right, yeah, and yeah, mental health, so yeah, kind of come together.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Yeah, that is a beautiful song, and and uh that's a topic that doesn't get discussed a lot. No, not at all. And and believe it or not, in the music industry, it's a real issue. Yeah, um, I think a lot of songwriters that struggle uh with mental health.

SPEAKER_03 4:38

Well, alcohol, travel, and all that stuff doesn't mix very well.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Well, and we just I just released one uh from Sun Valley from the music uh from Valley Music Fest in Sun Valley, uh a young man by the name of Drew Andrew Jameson. Uh pretty powerful. I'll check it out. Sorry, I get choked up. Oh, that's okay.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

So veteran, also, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Yeah. What's that? Oh, he is a veteran, yes, he is. Uh and and and it's really kind of an issue in veterans, you know. Well, especially those who saw action, right?

SPEAKER_03 5:11

And Jay's place is actually huge because I uh I was struggling and I went, I reached out to the VA, and they were like, Yeah, we'll get we'll help you out, we'll get back to you in a week, and then didn't hear anything. Two weeks we'll get back to you. And I was like, I had called this the veteran hotline, and they were just like, Yeah, we'll get out to you. And then I came here and talked to Nan, and she helped me out like in incredible ways. And then I think a month later, after I had gone or after I'd called the VA, they're like, Oh, we got your appointment set up finally. I was like, I'm crazy.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Yeah, too little too late, and that's the sad thing, right?

SPEAKER_03 5:42

Yeah, and so J S Place has been like a special place in my heart, they've been incredible, they've helped me through a lot.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Share share that story with our our our listeners because I'm aware of it, but better from you.

SPEAKER_03 5:53

For J S Place?

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Yeah, you know about about Jay.

SPEAKER_03 5:56

Oh, yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Yeah, so share share kind of Jay's story a little bit about what they do here.

SPEAKER_03 6:01

Uh Jay Bing was um Jason's best friend growing up. He was adopted from Korea, I believe. Okay. Hoping I'm right on that. I've heard the story a few times, but I've never ran it. Um and he he seemed like everything was fine, he's a great guy, life of the party, um, married some of Jason's friends, and then I think he was mid-20s, uh, he actually ended up taking his own life. And um, Jason had gone up there to Wyoming to visit his grave and everything, and he was just saying, Man, I wish I would have known, I wish I would have seen something, a sign or anything. And Jay loved his cowboy boots, he was just a Korean cowboy is what they called him. And Jason said, if I could have just gotten a pair of cowboy boots, maybe he'd still be with us. So he attributed Jay's Place to him for that reason. And so now the basically the motto behind Jay's Place is if you can just have a pair of cowboy boots, you look down, you put your boots on one boot, one boot at a time, pick yourself up by your bootstraps, and you know, get done. But it's not about being tough and just like swallowing that, it's about being able to be strong enough to talk about it. Sure. That's what this place is about.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Sure. Well, and and so uh we'll we'll shoot some video um and so everybody's aware of it. But what a beautiful place is full of boots, western clothing, cowboy hats, um, and and when once again, and and actually uh Jay's dad, Bob being, I've known for years. I spent uh 13 years in the cowboy rope business. Yeah, and horses, and and I trained horses, and but I got to know Bob when I was in the rope business because I used to sell him ropes, and so I would go over to Pinedale and and uh see Bob.

SPEAKER_03 7:35

Yeah, and then Jay was probably right there too.

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Yeah, didn't didn't really recognize that at the time, but um so anyway, but uh cool place, and I know they've helped a lot of people.

SPEAKER_03 7:46

A lot of people, I think they've given, I mean they've given out, they don't sell these, like they give out like millions of dollars of boots every year. It's crazy. I was like, there's no way you guys can do that. The first time they gave me one, she's like, Don't look at the price tag, just get it. I was like, I'm not doing that. Yeah, so I got like a I don't know, 200 pair of boots, and I was like, Can I like do half? She's like, that's not how we do it, we just give them away. So they give out an incredible amount of boots.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Yeah, they they've been they've been an amazing support for mental health. So um, yeah, I I really appreciate the program. Um so uh but let's talk, we're here to talk about music in a happy note, right? Yes, yes. So tell me about Avery and your musical journey. You're you're from Twin Falls originally, yes. Born and raised here, left at 13. You told me you went to Alaska with your dad. He joined the military, did a little bit of time, spent a little bit of time in Texas, but then then Alaska, and then you joined the Navy yourself. Yeah, but your dad was in the army? Yeah. He's in the army, and then you joined the Navy and spent six years, four years active duty, two years. Six active duty. Oh, excuse me, six. Two at school. Okay, those six. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 8:52

So two in school, four more active on a ship, um, four more reserves here in Idaho. Okay. Up at the Boise Gowan Airfield. Okay. And then after those four, uh, someone reached out to me and said, hey, if you're staying in, um, we highly suggest the air Air Force Guard. It's the same thing, but there's more of a presence here because it's an airfield.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

Yeah, we don't have much Navy in the field.

SPEAKER_03 9:10

Not much water around here.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

So you know, there's still a Navy deployment in Idaho Falls at the INL. Yeah, I did know that there was very small, but at one time that was huge. Oh, good. That's where they developed the nuclear submarine for.

SPEAKER_03 9:22

We did that, so I was a part of a the nuclear sub um kind of world. Sure. I was a nuclear machinist mate, so I was very familiar with the nuclear reactors and all that. So I was on a carrier, we didn't do, I didn't go under city, like I couldn't do going underwater, but so what carrier were you on? I was on the CVN 74, so the John C. Stennis is what it was called. Okay. Named after some senator.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Okay, cool. And uh and but you were spent most of your your time uh deployment, you went around the world. Yes, literally.

SPEAKER_03 9:51

Literally, yeah, which is Washington State. We went around, traveled around in the Red Sea, kind of showed some power with China, went to Mediterranean, that was awesome. We got to stop in uh Marseille, France, and it was beautiful. Yeah. Stopped in Thailand, um, I mean, or Singapore, Dubai, everywhere. You've seen the world.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

Yeah, it was beautiful. Yeah, it's cool. Well, I have a brother-in-law who spent uh 34 years retired as a senior master chief. Yeah. So he he he he did well. So uh yeah, uh, but uh anyway, so were you were you when did you get bit by the music bug? Was this while you were before you joined the material military or it was while you were acting?

SPEAKER_03 10:34

No, my story's not like every I watched a few podcasts and it's not like everybody else where they're like, yeah, my dad was always singing and stuff like that. No, I started late. I was I think I was 2023. I've been at it for about five or six years. And I was at 23, uh, it was COVID, high to COVID. In the Navy, what we did was um we'd be one day on the ship and three days off so we could do so because there was a lot of people on that ship. So they had to do it.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Right, well no, no, it's a it's literally a city on the on the water.

SPEAKER_03 10:58

So we'd have to send, they'd send uh group home, and then they'd have two days where it was just the one group and then the other group, and it's called um uh three-day rotation. And so two days I was just sitting at home, so I'd play video games for a bit, and then I got tired and I went and bought a guitar. I remember the guy, uh, it was an epiphone, a little black like electric epiphone is like 40 bucks. Uh center. He brought it out in a mask, and I had to go out. I had to drive up, and I had to just grab it from him through the window and pull it in my window because it was high to COVID.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Oh my gosh. That's the dumbest time of the house. That's the dumbest time of all of our lives.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

I was I was two days off, one day on. I was playing guitar. I played for I don't even know, like five or six hours a day, learning and then self-taught. And then um once I got out, one I got pretty pretty drunk enough to get up the courage at the cove and got to up to an open mic and played, and she's like, We gotta have you back. I was like, I know like two songs, I'm not doing that. And then um Aaron Golet actually helped me out big time because I know Aaron. I've interviewed Aaron, yeah, he's all right. And I think I was bartending at Milner's and I was like, hey man, I'm trying to get in a music scene. Like, how do you do it? And he's like, you know what? Go to any all these places. He wrote them down for me and he's like, go to all these guys and tell them that I sent you and uh tell them to hook you up with some. So I started, probably did like 20 shows my first year and then 50, and now I'm up into the hundreds every year. Wow, about a hundred shows a year.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

That's impressive. Well, listen, dude, I started playing the guitar at 1415, but I also picked up a rope at the same time. So I decided I wanted to. I picked the rodeo over the guitar. I wish I had a and I and I had some success with the rope, and I and I was involved in that for the lion's share of my life, but I love the guitar. I play every day now. I played for two years I've been playing.

SPEAKER_03 12:37

So you're going back now, though.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

But oh yeah, I well, I knew at some point I was gonna retire, and that's you know, it I actually started playing the guitar before I ended up retiring. So I I found myself suddenly and unexpectedly retired, so that's that's why this podcast exists.

SPEAKER_05 12:51

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Um, but luckily it's been the music. We've loved music since day one. I mean, uh Ms. Shand and I um uh had a live band at our wedding. Actually, the very first guy, I I I don't know if you caught this, but the very first guy I interviewed on this podcast was uh uh Heath Clark.

SPEAKER_03 13:09

Yeah, I did see that. I scrolled back that I was looking at C and Holly.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

He's Heath's dad and grandpa played at our wedding in Cholo, Arizona 43 years ago. So Heath's extremely talented. In fact, we're headed to Nashville in a couple weeks, and we're gonna and he's out there now full time, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:24

So I didn't, yeah, I was wondering. I didn't see him around at a lot of positions.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

He just he moved out there last spring. We we actually were out there in April and spent some time with him uh in Nashville before he moved there full time, but anyway, um but but anyway, that being said, it takes a lot of dedication. Now I I compare, and this may seem weird to a lot of people, but where I've done both, I compare playing a guitar to roping a steer because there's a lot of things going on, right? Yeah, and and you know, to pick up a rope and swing it and have the timing and to be able to rope a steer either around the horns or by two feet, or rope a calf and step off and flank them in time. Yeah, and but there's a lot to that in the same, especially when you play with other people now. It's so hard playing with other people. I've never done that yet. I'm so bad at it, and so I'm still a little uh cagey about it, but it took me uh it took me a year probably before I could even play with the door open so she can hear me. Yeah, I'm it was I I mean I can stand and talk to 10,000 people. I can get emotional over little things. I can talk, I can talk to anybody, but to put that guitar in my hands and I just get stupid.

SPEAKER_03 14:36

I call it my pacifier because like I'll get up in front of people and I'll play it and I'll be fine, hundreds of people, whatever, but put me up there to speak or just like sing national anthem or something, I'm frozen. I get so nervous.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Well, I and I've interviewed some artists that that love to sit with it in their lap just because they're more comfortable. It's like a binky, it's like yeah. So well, so what what I mean I now so I know now the story behind your guitar playing and stuff, but what what who really inspired you? What did you listen to growing up? Were you a country guy or were you a rock?

SPEAKER_03 15:05

Were you I mean surprisingly, no? I like just rap? No, it was it was more so I used to listen to like electronic music. And really, and then I never really like I was like, I hate country. I like kind of grew up listening to uh George Strait and um a lot of Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, stuff like that, but I was like for some reason it just never stuck with me. And then uh listened to a lot of EDM throughout like my 16 to like 20. It's really good workout music.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

That's crazy to me the EDM deal. I can't because I just can't do it. But no, I'm an old man, I'm probably older than your dad. No, I know I have kids older than you, quite a bit older than you, but but it it's you know, and I like I'm very eclectic in my taste in music, right? I can listen to Metallica, and I can listen to Prince, and I can listen to Shanda loves disco. I hate it, but I say I hate it, but I can listen to it, I tolerate it, right? But I I really, really enjoy country, and we really like the Texas country.

SPEAKER_05 15:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

Red dirt, you know, Oklahoma Red Dirt, Texas Country. Um, uh, and uh but we've really found our niche is the songwriter thing. And and just those songwriter festivals are so cool. They are, and and and and if you've watched the podcast, you've seen the songwriters we've interviewed. We've we've interviewed some big hitters in the songwriters.

SPEAKER_03 16:20

But I went from I did go from that, and then once I started learning guitar, I was like, well, I can't play. You can't play EDM. I try I play some Vichy on my on my guitar when I play out, but um I picked it up and then I think Zach Bryan pretty much got me. I know a lot of people don't like Zach Bryan, they don't like Tyler Chiller stuff like that, but oh well.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

I'm okay with Zach, but I I hear a little of Zach in you just because that's what you were cutting your teeth on, right? You were less and he's a navy guy, and you know, so a little similar story. So I I I I get a little of that vibe from your stuff because I listened to everything you got on Spotify. Oh, good. So so I listened to those. Yeah, but still, I mean you'd be amazed artists I interview that don't have anything on Spotify.

SPEAKER_03 17:02

But I just started with him, and I think Evan Honer now is a really I love Evan Honer. Like his and his stuff, for some reason, it's not like he's not like you have to be big. Like Zach Bryan plays the songs and he's got a fiddle guitar player. Evan Honor's like just a chill-doo playing guitar that goes out and does stuff. That's what I would like to do.

SPEAKER_00 17:18

Well, uh even even uh Tyler Chillers is can sit on the stage and just play a song and sing. He what a what a and what a songwriter.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

Yeah, and both those guys too. And my thing is storytelling with music, which is hard for my music because I I write a lot of stuff that tells stories, and some of them are more intense, like Crooked Smile. It's like I just take an idea and then turn it into it, and some of it's personal experience, it's like it can be anywhere from 20% personal to 80% made up, but most of it is based off a real event, and then it's just songwriting, like telling a story is what I like to do, and that's hard to do.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

That that's essentially what you are as an artist, is a storyteller. Now, whether it's your story, now you know, if we if we go to the you know Luke Combs and and you know Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney, most of those guys, I mean they've they've absolutely they're they're artists and they've written some music, but they've most of their stuff are cuts from from legit songwriters, not I shouldn't say legit songwriters, but it's a different deal, right? Because to me, I love a songwriter's perspective because they lived it, right? Now we've we've seen the whole gauntlet on the songwriter. So if you you you did go to a retreat for Jay's place and songwriter retreat, so did you write that song with someone else?

SPEAKER_03 18:30

No, I read I think I've only written maybe two or three songs with my cousin, who's very talented. His name is uh Brody Peck, and he produces, plays the guitar, um, adds piano, he does everything. He he's produced um Rocky Mountain Rider. Did you listen to that? Yeah, he fully produced that. All him and his. And where'd you record that? In his garage.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

In his garage, okay.

SPEAKER_03 18:50

And he does all of it, he puts in like 20 layers, 30 layers, and he does everything. He's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Well, that's great. And and you know, you you're learning some different aspects of it. Part of the problem with a lot of artists is those early, early recordings that they do were in their bedroom or they're in their front room with a sock over the microphone, you know, and so you have some distortion, you have some, it's not real clean audio. We even have that same issue with the podcast, right? We've learned, we've learned, and that's been the hardest thing about doing this is that background noise. You know, what little bit's going on out here right now. If these mics pick any of that up, I'll clean it up easy. But when you're at the Valley Music Festival and you're in the VIP area in a tent and the and the stage is less than 40 yards away, we're getting a lot of that uh background noise, and it's hard to clean up, but it's real. Our podcast is real. Yeah, it's not overproduced, it's not we don't do a ton of editing, we just we we do the the bare minimum, right? But but it becomes real. You you've watched it, so you know, but but I think that back to the recording part of it and to the songwriting part of it. Um songwriting is very different for each person, right? So you want to write, you want to take a lived experience and turn it into a story, and you may have to add some filler, right, to make it make sense, yeah, make it rhyme, make it whatever, you know, how that goes. I know nothing about writing a song personally. I I know what I like to hear, right? But that being said, um uh someone that's interesting to me because you're you just you just cut a duet with uh young lady that yeah, she's so cool.

SPEAKER_03 20:31

She's so cool, yeah. Super nice. She also makes all my merch. Did she make this app?

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh, that's cool. Yeah, she's she's so I talked to her yesterday. I told her we were coming to do this. Nice. And she said, ask him about the duet. And I said, Oh, I will, because I I knew she had, I did she bring it up? She must have brought it up somewhere in one of her posts. Played a little clip.

SPEAKER_03 20:51

It was about two days ago I posted it to you. Oh, you did it. You did it. She reposted it. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Yeah. But and and you know, that's what I love too about this deal. As we all collaborate together and we work together, that's how people find out about us, right? Yeah. That's how that's and it's taken me quite a while to sit down with you to get here to work this out. But it's been working though. But but but the the that's the whole thing about this is that when we when we collaborate with each other and we we we help lift each other up.

SPEAKER_03 21:21

Yeah. And that's that's a really hard part for me as a musician, is like I don't talk about myself. I have a hard time doing it. And I also just want to like I want it to be strictly off talent, right? Like I want to be able to write good songs that people like and enjoy, but really it comes down to who you know. In the end, oh no, no, no, no, major way.

SPEAKER_00 21:38

Listen, let uh let me give you a little advice. And you you may you've learned it, but it's taken some time. Um, I've always taught my children from the time they were little, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Yeah, and and and trust me, I know a lot of people. Oh, awesome. And so so what what that adds up to is exposure.

SPEAKER_03 21:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

For it's been exposure for myself. It's been exposure for my businesses, for companies that I've ran, for other people in the industries I've worked in. You know, I I grew up in the potato industry, and that's where I retired from. But I literally don't I don't know everybody in the potato industry nationwide, but I'm one guy away from literally everybody. And and and this this music deal is rapidly happening. This whole thing for us has happened very organically and almost overnight, 18 months, to have done 216 interviews and to have interviewed some of the artists we've interviewed and the songwriters. When do you guys think about that? In a couple weeks. So then the we're there a full week. So we're going out for a fundraiser for um Project Canine Heroes, which are retired police and military dogs. Nice. This kid that went he's a kid to me, he's not a kid, he's a man, he's fifty years old, but he he served in in uh in uh the Middle East. He was a police officer, he uh trained dogs, uh bomb sniffing and and uh drug dogs, and he uh he actually once he retired from the military, he worked for Blackwater in the Middle East. So uh for private security, yeah. He's done a lot of things, he's very interesting. Pretty well. But he started this project with five hundred dollars out of his own pocket and has raised thirty million dollars.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Yeah, well, a guy like that's probably gonna get some stuff done if he puts his mind to it.

SPEAKER_00 23:43

He's really, really very well connected and and great, and he's helped us a ton too. So so we're gonna interview some artists out there and and and stuff. That'll be fun. But but um uh that's what this is all about, right? It's the networking and the talking, and it's the same. You know, I've I've listened to and and met with lots of artists in Nashville and in Texas and in wherever. And you know what they all say? If you're not willing to network, you're not gonna make it in this business.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

Yeah, it is tough, especially. I don't know, I I've got uh lots of friends around here that are playing music, and I know the ones that are got like Heath Heath Owens is doing really well because he's I'm so jealous of the way he networks because he'll do anything. He'll go up to someone and just say, like, hey, my name's Heath Owens, I like to play music, and then he just disappeared. Best friends with him. So that that's tough.

SPEAKER_00 24:28

No, very talented. Uh uh, him and Tennessee both are very personable guys. Yeah. Uh had him on. I interviewed him. I didn't like the audio, it was horrible.

SPEAKER_03 24:37

I saw I watched it.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Well, no, no, no, no. That one we so I redid this one. I don't think I posted the did I post the first one?

SPEAKER_03 24:44

So you did the Sun Valley Fest, you did the Valley Fest with them, but you I no no I did.

SPEAKER_00 24:48

I interviewed him in Bellevue, not in Bellevue, in Haley. In the theater. In the theater, at the band's um Battle of the Bands. Oh, yeah, we didn't know. And we we interviewed him in the back room. They did win it. And but it was terrible. It was terrible. I can't see that far.

SPEAKER_04 25:03

25,000 plus pairs of boots given.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

85,000 plus dollars in scholarship money to high school kids.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

This is Jay's foundation, she's talking about so 25,000 pairs of boots given away, plus, and 85,000 in scholarships.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

Yeah, they're pretty crazy. They're uh when it comes time to auction around here, it's crazy. Like we had the National Knights around here.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Now I knew about that. We were gonna try and come over for that, and we just had uh our problem is is this thing's blown up so fast. There's so many things that we go to. We're gonna try, we're trying to streamline it to one big event a month and then some smaller stuff. You got you got lucky. Unfortunately, my aunt passed away, so we're here in town for a funeral. So that's not lucky for each other. But but it I mean, she's a beautiful lady and 91 years old, and so um, but but sad deal, but we're gonna get to see some family. But we don't always get to come this way. And we have we have a list of artists in Boise that we need to get over to interview. Extremely talented. But once again, those are so as this deal grows, we actually got uh Heath. Uh he didn't he didn't get the job because of me, but he he'd be able to he kept coming back. But he'd come to Idaho Falls and play at um uh Heath.

SPEAKER_04 26:25

The zone.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

The zone. It's a sports bar over there. So if you're looking this summer, they every Wednesday night they have live music at the zone in Idaho Falls.

SPEAKER_03 26:33

I travel pretty much anywhere if it's worth my time.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

Idaho Falls, uh also Bone. So I'm gonna I want to try I have all these great ideas going around in my head, but trying to you know get them all put together is the tough part, right? Yeah, you know, we talked briefly about the you know 501c3. We we ended up giving that little boy, we did we end up buying him a guitar for Christmas. So um uh but uh we want to do a songwriter festival in Ottawa Falls. That'd be awesome, I'd go to it because it's it's the downtown area is very astute for that. I think it'd work well there. But here's the other thing. I've also wanted to do, have you been well, you did it here. Uh you have the Nashville Nights, they had songwriter rounds. Yeah, see, most people don't understand that concept.

SPEAKER_03 27:17

Yeah, and those are some of my favorites because I mean I I play covers and on majority covers, I have a hard time playing myself. I have a tough time promoting myself, but I play them sometimes, and I've actually had a couple people say they're like, Oh man, that was a great song. Who wrote that? I was like, Oh yeah, I did. But um, those where you get to sit down and actually like sing your songs that you're supposed to, right versus like everyone's at dinner or a bar waiting for I mean Sweet Caroline. It's a lot, a lot more intimate and I guess better when you can do that.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

Well, and and and there's there's really a place for all artists like that, right? There's there's definitely a place for cover artists. We interviewed a band in Las Vegas this year during the NFR called Neon Profits. Best 90s cover band I think I've ever heard. I mean, those guys are spot on, their vocals are great. But they're they've been doing this for 20 plus years. They're starting to put out some of their new their own original music, right? So um that's that's just the evolution of it, I think, for everybody. At some point they go, okay, I'm tired of playing uh, you know, George Strait covers. You know, I'm I'm tired of playing The Chair, which is one of the greatest songs ever written, in my opinion, by one of the greatest songwriters ever, Dean Dillon. But that being said, you know, if you want to hear covers, go to Lower Broadway in Nashville.

SPEAKER_03 28:29

Have you been to Nashville yet? No, but I've been told to go there. And that's the that's the truth. You walk down Nashville, I've heard, and it's just like every every story is just singing.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

But every building, every building has a band in the window on every floor. Yeah, so they'll have three bands playing in the same building on different floors, right? It's nuts. And and and uh and it's incredible, but but there are people who go to Nashville to play covers. That's and they're great artists, or they go in, they play, they're session players, they play in recording studios.

SPEAKER_03 29:03

Like hired hired.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

They're hired guns, right? They go in and they're that's what they do. Yeah, and and and most of those, most of those recording studios, when you go to a like a producer, uh Buddy Cannon, for example, uh he had uh uh he was gonna cut an uh a record with uh Sundance Head. Do you know who Sundance Head is? Okay, so we interviewed Sundance on the podcast. Sundance was gonna go to Nashville to cut a record and do a recording at Buddy Cannon's studio, and he says, Well, I want to bring my band, and he said, No. You don't need them. These guys are really what I and he goes, I really am gonna insist on bringing my band, and he says, Well, then I insist you don't come. Yeah. So it's just that simple. Now, now Buddy knows what he's doing because he cut 16 albums for Kenny Chesney and 20 for Willie.

SPEAKER_03 29:51

So Well, there was a there's a girl at National Knights, um, Ava, Ava Page, um, and she told us all about that. She was like, You get these guys that are in here, like you'll pick up a song, be like, hey, it's supposed to go like this, make the sounds like with your voice, and then they'll just do it in one go. Like he's like, Oh wait, I didn't like that that was off by like a sixteenth of a note. I'm gonna go back and hit it, right? And then we'll do it again, and then they leave. It's like those you don't need a band, you just go there and I'll try to get down there.

SPEAKER_00 30:14

The stories are unbelievable. I mean, we just we we we and and I I have I apologize because I end up doing that. I end up sharing stories on your podcast. This is about you.

SPEAKER_03 30:24

No, it's your it's not my name on the side.

SPEAKER_00 30:26

But but but it's it's it's so cool because I want to share those stories because you're not gonna hear them from anybody else unless you unless you sit down with Buddy Cannon in his office, unless you sit down with Sundance Head, you know, and and so you know, we're really, really fortunate to have been able to hear these incredible stories.

SPEAKER_03 30:46

I've experienced a lot, it's pretty awesome in a very short period of time.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

That's pretty cool. So, but uh so so who are you leaning? Is there anyone you're leaning towards now that you're as your as your taste in music has evolved, is there somebody new? See, we're always introduced. I'm hoping that people are gonna start listening to Avi, right? I hope so, yeah. I I I I'm hoping that Avery's gonna start listening to some of those guys you've listened to on my podcast and go, that that song was pretty good at the end. That's why we're gonna change this up. We're gonna play those songs in the beginning, right? And and that's the hook, right? Yeah, this is a music podcast. This isn't just a BS session. No, that makes sense. Make sure the music first is a good idea. But uh, yeah, so so has your as your taste has evolved?

SPEAKER_03 31:30

It has, uh, definitely has. I think probably the main guys now that I'm like, I wish I could be like sing like them is Shane Smith and the Saints, incredible. Um heard heard so many good things about him. I heard Shane Smith's an amazing guy and all that. Um, me and my wife met uh his song uh All I see Is You in Highway 30. So like he holds a special place for me, but just his sound and his voice is is unmatched. You can't say Shane Smith and the Saints and then come to the show. Oh, it's so unique. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:54

We we were I share a Shane Smith story with you. Uh we've seen Shane and the Saints probably at least a dozen times, maybe Monkey. So from Key West, Florida to Colorado to Highway 30 to I mean everywhere. Pendleton at the Jackalope Fest. I mean, we've seen him at at Saints Weekend in Yeah, we're probably gonna go to that, Stanley. So what a great, what a great deal. But uh, and then Valley Music Fest. But Shane, uh the very first time we saw him was in uh my uh was in uh Key West, Florida at Miles Zero Fest, and he sang Mountain Girl. Yeah, Idaho Falls. Well you got a line in there, yeah. Idaho Falls, and you're like, I'm we're sitting there talking, and I hear Idaho Falls, and I went, what the hell did he just say?

SPEAKER_03 32:39

He's from Texas, East Texas, right?

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Yeah, East Texas from the Piney Woods area. So so but um uh well they live in Austin now, but but uh nonetheless, it he really got my attention, but his voice is so good, its own, right? Yeah. I saw him at Red Rocks in Colorado. Probably the best place to see him. But uh I saw him there and two days later saw Turnpike. Nice so there as well. So um, but but uh we were in we were in uh what was the one Shan in uh Mac, Colorado, uh uh Country Jam. Country Jam. And he was on they they opened the first night. They didn't have him on the great big stage, they had him on a small stage, him and Tanner Esray, and and anyway, who is another super talented kid. But anyway, we listened to him and he goes, uh we told some this couple we were standing in line to get in, said, Oh, who are you excited to see? Well, we don't know, we don't know any of these. I said, Shane Smith and Saints, you're gonna love this guy. You're gonna love him. And the next day we saw him again. What'd you think? And she goes, We didn't like him. And I'm like, What? But his voice is so unique that if you don't really grasp yes, but it's so good.

SPEAKER_03 33:52

Oh, so it just does something to your brain, it just tickles it a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 33:55

Didn't like how he moved around.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Oh I think she wanted to just have an epileptic seizure, you know, because he really gets into it. He does dance, he does dances a lot.

SPEAKER_05 34:05

She did not like unlike that.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

Which which is which is he's an entertainer. He's just super, super great talent. He's and and we've met him, we were supposed to get to s uh interview him twice this past summer, and once it's uh Saints in the Satoths, and the other one was well, we were supposed to go from there over to Montana. We had a conflict on our schedule. Uh well, he was at at the old saloon.

SPEAKER_03 34:27

Oh, okay, because I say we that's where we went and saw him. We saw him up there in Montana. The headwater sky?

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Oh the big sky.

SPEAKER_03 34:36

So that one we went and saw him at, and then um on that note of singers at Red Clays as well. Red Clays are amazing, and they keep it, they they've got their like they have God songs, like religious songs that they're putting in there, and people love them.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

I saw it's I saw them at Red Rocks with with with uh who were they with? They were with Shane.

SPEAKER_05 34:58

Or Shane or Turnpike.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

No, no, who did I see first? Just saw Shane first, then Turnpike. So they were with Turnpike.

SPEAKER_04 35:05

And then I saw um uh Notice, I said he saw them.

SPEAKER_00 35:10

Yeah, I saw him. She didn't get to go with me. Well, it's not my fault. Her daughter was having a baby. Ah, priorities. Priorities. Yeah, so we waited on that. She stayed home, but um uh uh 45 Winchester opened for Shane as well as um uh I got a woman. Hayes Carl. Do you know that song? I don't, uh, that he wrote with Ray Wiley Hubbard. Do you know Ray Wiley? I do. I don't know. Drunken Poet's Dream. You don't know that one? Oh man, I can play that. But anyway, um uh we we just saw some great music in that just two days, you know, six six big time bands.

SPEAKER_03 35:51

We'll seeing Shane Smith and Red Clays in two times. This is what we did. We saw them the same night. They Shane Smith, I don't think they opened, but they were in there, and then Red Clays were at the end of the night, and just both of them, incredible. Like I was like, Oh, I think Shane Smith's the best, and I saw Red Clays, and I was like, oh, actually they might be the best I've ever seen.

SPEAKER_00 36:06

When I first saw the first time we saw Shane Smith, we saw him at at uh two o'clock in the afternoon at Miles Zero Fest. He was not a headliner.

SPEAKER_05 36:14

Well, no, they've been at it for a long time.

SPEAKER_00 36:17

Well, you know, we've talked about this on the podcast before, but you know what really set them off and Laney Wilson and a whole lot of other Texas red dirt bands was Yellowstone. Oh, the the TV show.

SPEAKER_03 36:30

Yeah, because they did. I know you go back and watch some of those, you're like, oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

Yeah, Shane Smith was on Yellowstone, so was Shane uh Laney. Yeah, Laney actually had an acting part, she had a character part. Um, but uh um and Ryan Bingham. I mean, Ryan has has toured, is played out for years, but he was never a a headliner, right?

SPEAKER_03 36:49

Yeah, I saw him on Yellowstone, I was like, wait, that's Ryan Bingham, that's the guy that sings these songs.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, not what you'd expect. I mean, it was just it was just interesting, but but anyway, um, well, so so those guys have really let me ask you this. I like to ask this question. Yeah, who what what song do you wish you had written? All I see is you. All I see is you.

SPEAKER_03 37:14

Just the bike one it builds so well, it's yeah, tells a good story. It's an incredible song. All I see is you, probably my all-time favorite song, I'd say I sing it, and it's one of one of mine, and I I sing it, but I sing it poorly.

SPEAKER_00 37:26

But um Diamonds and Gasoline.

SPEAKER_03 37:28

Oh, that uh that's not turnpike.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

That's a turnpike, yeah. And and and funny story. So I interviewed a kid named Owen McDonald at the Valley Music Fest issue.

SPEAKER_03 37:36

Did you see that one on your podcast? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:38

Did you see that one? Yeah. Did you did you notice I sang with him on that? I didn't know. I actually sang Diamonds and Gasoline.

SPEAKER_03 37:43

I was looking for, I was looking for some more local ones. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:47

Yeah. Cool kid. Uh he grew up in Alaska. He grew up in Alaska.

SPEAKER_03 37:52

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 37:52

Yeah, he lives in Minnesota now. Uh his name is Owen McDonald. Go watch that one. Yeah. But anyway, I asked him that. I said, What's your favorite? What song do you wish you had written? And he said, Diamonds and gasoline. I said, Oh. I don't know. So then he sang it, then he sang it, and I sang it with him. But chances are I wouldn't sing anything with you today. My voice is really ratty today.

SPEAKER_03 38:13

We could do all I see as you don't stuff.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

I can't sing that one. Um, but okay. So if you could work with any artist alive, who would it be?

SPEAKER_03 38:27

Any artist alive, huh?

SPEAKER_00 38:29

That you could spend an afternoon with and just Mumford and sons. Really? Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

I think 16 years old, I heard the cave in Mr. Stoddard's class in Alaska. And I was like, what is this? Me and my buddy. And then we immediately we were both like, we looked at each other and we're just in love with them. And he's gone and seen them probably 10-15 times. Really? And I just think that um I think it was Marcus Mumford. He just, I don't know, he seems like a really cool dude, and their songs are incredible. The way they write, I I'd be love to sit with him for an hour and talk to him.

SPEAKER_00 38:58

So now, how how far back into music have you gone? You said your music I it's bad, but I've uh but but how far back did you go? I'm talking who would you like to that you know of that's no longer living that you would love to have either seen or even had a chance to work with?

SPEAKER_03 39:16

I'm gonna probably just choose a bland answer. Probably just be Johnny Cash if I don't do that.

SPEAKER_00 39:20

Well, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 39:21

Okay, and you know, most everybody says Merle.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

A lot of people say Merle.

SPEAKER_03 39:25

Um my music knows though, like past. I I when I started picking up country, I only learned country four or five years ago. And then once I started playing, because I was playing all my stuff, I was like, I like Zach Ryan, I like Red Dirt, I like these things, and then I started playing in public, and people would come up and be like, Do you know any uh Johnny Cash? Do you know any George Strait? And I'm like, No, I don't. I've never listened to the case.

SPEAKER_00 39:45

And people, and you know what's funny is that because I'm I'm the same way. I'm like, you don't know any of that? I know because now I use um uh the app um guitar tab? Ultimate guitar tab? Ultimate guitar. Yeah, I do too. I use that, and so I'll I'll be I'll hear a song from from the past, you know, a blast from the past, and I'll go, I wonder if I can play that. So I'll pull it up. Now, most you'd be amazed at the thousands of tens of thousands of songs that have the same four chords. Or G D A.

SPEAKER_03 40:17

GDA is pretty common in those older countries.

SPEAKER_00 40:19

A minor, uh, you throw an E in there every once in a while, an E minor, um uh C G D A, A minor, uh Um I can, you know, I'm I probably I probably have 20 now that I can, you know, get a layer chords that I can play through. But it it's but it's just to me, you know, people say to me, uh, you know, I thought about playing the guitar. I said, what is there to think about? Pick one up and play it. This is app is so easy. So easy. I still have the original guitar that my mom bought me in 1975, but the I know now why I didn't keep playing, because I couldn't keep the damn thing in tune. I'm a little tone-deaf, so I really need a uh an app to tune or to be able to tune it.

SPEAKER_03 41:02

Um and then I've gotten better, but I'm not the greatest. And I'm getting better as well. That doesn't sound like that.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

Well, that's the cool thing about this guitar. We we really you know need to give a shout out to clothes because these guys are in Provo, Utah. Carbon fiber guitar that's designed to travel with. You can take the neck off of it. Yeah, but the cool thing about it is that okay, it nothing impacts, nothing affects this. It's carbon fiber. So guess what? It stays in tune almost perfectly. Almost. Almost. Now, it you know, it will every once in a while go, uh, some sound a little off, but you know, I bump a tuner, or I got a grandkid that likes to come in and twist knobs.

SPEAKER_03 41:44

Yeah, well, I mean, and also the net comes off and it stays in tune. That's pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_00 41:47

That's really crazy. Yeah. Now, once you put it together, they shipped me one in Vegas that I gave away. We did a uh a giveaway one night at the NFR, and uh it came and I put the neck on it, and I started to tune it, and then I realized I was late for an interview, so I I didn't get it tuned. And then when I did tune it, I had to tune it several times because those strings had been relaxed, they'd been hanging off. Yeah, they'd tighten up. So it took it took a it took them about a day for me to tune it back and forth and playing it. But they're the normal guitar.

SPEAKER_03 42:21

I mean, my guitar, if I tune new strings, I'm on it for probably a day or two, a couple times probably three hours set at least.

SPEAKER_00 42:26

Yeah, you you gotta you put new strings on it, it takes time. You know, you watch somebody uh up on stage, you know, they you know they'll they'll be up there adjustable. They're tuning constantly, and they'll tell you, you know, we tune because we care.

SPEAKER_03 42:38

Yeah, or because they they beat, I mean, Shane, he's always beaten that guitar.

SPEAKER_00 42:42

Oh, yeah, they'd beat that thing like a redheaded stepchild. Yeah. Well, so um, well, that's cool. Um, if uh um what's your what's your go-to venue? Where do you want to be able to go play? That you can say someday I played. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:01

Um, I don't know, the Boise anywhere like up in Boise and stuff, but they're I I think small because I'm on to the next. I'm not I'm not that far. I'm I'm sitting in bars and open venues. I love playing like uh around here I played Wilson's and Tap House, and I mean we've we filled that place and it was like the most fun I've ever had. Right. Um but up as far as venues go, I'm not that far.

SPEAKER_00 43:22

I'm a band, so well I know, but but you don't need a band to play some of these venues. I mean, they're which ones are you kind of talking about? Well, I'm talking the Ryman, I'm talking the Grand Old Opry to stand on that stage and stand in the circle. It makes me nervous already. Well, but I'm just telling you that's you gotta shoot for the stars, right? Yeah, one of the coolest venues that we've ever been to is um uh Green Hall in New Braunfalls, Texas. That's a legendary venue, it's 150 years old, it's the oldest honky tonk in Texas. That's pretty cool, and it is cool. I mean, it is just yeah, if the walls could talk, if the floors, the table. Have all had names carved into them with pocket knives, and they've they just in a sell-out crowd at Green Halls, 800 people.

SPEAKER_03 44:08

Oh, well, that'd be that'd be weird.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

It's a small, relatively small venue. Um the devil's backbone. We haven't seen a show there. Um, but I would if we've been there, it's very cool. Red Rock would be really cool. Oh, red rock.

SPEAKER_03 44:20

Red Rock would be so fun. If I had to choose one, I'd say now that you've sparked my interest on it, then yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 44:26

Well, you gotta have goals, buddy.

SPEAKER_03 44:27

Yeah. Right? I do have goals on full-time music right now. I'm I'm trying to live it pretty much.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

Are you are you are you doing it? Are you able to do it full-time and make a living?

SPEAKER_03 44:35

Yeah, so the the lady that reached out to you, Haley, she actually books, we we tag team it, but we book together, and I I get GI Bill from um going to school full-time as well. Oh, you are going to school full-time? And I flip houses. So my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 44:49

And you just got married.

SPEAKER_03 44:50

How long you been married? I've been married for almost a year. We're coming up about seven months, eight months. June 28th was our well, congratulations. It's been great. I mean, we've only been together for about two years. We were six months engaged, six months married, or sorry, six months together, six months engaged, and now we're about seven months married.

SPEAKER_00 45:10

About like us. Well, that's just something to shoot for 43 years. Nice. We yeah, we'll catch you. 43 years. Yeah, you're you're getting me. Yeah. Well, the only way you're ever gonna catch me is when I'm dead. Okay, I'm not wishing the bunny.

SPEAKER_03 45:22

We're going for 50-60. We'll hope you get up to 70, we'll have a good one.

SPEAKER_00 45:26

Well, we're we're there you go, we'll have a effective party.

SPEAKER_03 45:28

And she's she's awesome. I love my wife, and I love being married, so yeah, cool. It's been incredible.

SPEAKER_00 45:33

Cool. Well, you got it, you got a busy schedule ahead of us. Okay, now I'm gonna ask you to play me one more. Okay. What do you want to play me? You want to play me a cover or you want to play another original? I'll play an original. Uh, I don't know if I have a capo for this, would you want me to grab it real quick? I have a capo in that bag right there, Shanda. Be careful, don't tip that.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

You wrote a real fun one called The House of Sin, and it was I listened to that today. I was listening to a lot of like Johnny Cash and some of that older stuff, and that was actually one of my that's probably my third or fourth song that I wrote, and it's been one of the best, so I uh I I got a kick out of it because you talk about lived experiences.

SPEAKER_00 46:13

Okay, watch out, camera. Look at this. And I even cut. This is a good snack. Um yeah, and I'm listening to that going, oh, that line in there where you got a gun and shot him.

SPEAKER_03 46:24

Yeah, so that's uh what is that? Like I told you it's about 20%, 80% true sometimes. Yeah. That one's probably about 10% true. 90% made up.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

I don't have a liquor in my face. I can feel my face, I can't feel my skin. I feel the mid. I called her. Take my body everyone. Start it a belly, I dropped it away. Now it is out of it. Start it a belly, I drop it here in the way. Don't explain what I've done. I gotta find a place where the people won't take me. I let my anger get the best of me. I let that overfall her, let my anger up dead, babe. Now we're living in the output. Now we're both living in the house of sin.

SPEAKER_03 48:42

Little messed up everybody.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

That's okay. Yeah, that's okay. I put kind of put you on the spot there. But uh, yeah, it's a great song. I love that. Yeah, when I was listening to it on the way over here today, I'm like, that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 48:54

So my uh my cousin, he actually has been producing that one, and it's incredible. Like he he turned it into more of like a like a rock, like a I don't know, it really drives, and he's got these back guitars on it that are like a slide in and it like turns up and amps and amps. It's so pretty, and I love it, but we haven't gotten to put it out just because there's like two or three little things in there that he's he's very picky, he wants to be very good, and I respect it. I'm always like, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:19

No, that's that's uh well producing is a big thing, and and you know, if you do it right and you get that one, you're gonna then he's gonna have them lining up, going, Hey, can we can we come record with this?

SPEAKER_03 49:29

I wanted to record with him. Um uh I had twelve I have 20 some 25 songs that are just sitting right that I I play sometimes and they don't come out. Um, but I actually sat with him and I was like, let's do this, let's let's do it. And we sat down, recorded a bunch, got a board up, and then he's busy, man. He's got he's not a producer, he doesn't, I don't pay him anything. I try to, he doesn't let me. And he's like, I gotta he's works at like an HVAC company with his dad, and then he's got a kid, he's got another kid on the way, and then he just plays for fun. He loves music, he really is.

SPEAKER_00 49:58

And he's in Boise.

SPEAKER_03 49:59

He's here, or he's in drum. Oh, he's in Jerome. Yeah, okay. What's his name? He's Brody Peck. Brody Peck, okay. He's my cousin.

SPEAKER_00 50:06

Um, he's my and does he play out too? Is he is he a performer as well?

SPEAKER_03 50:10

So he's played at um Henpecht, is what his band was called, and they play like cover songs and stuff like that. They play their own songs. He's also got a guitar player or a piano slash bass. He plays everything. His name's Danny, and man, he's he's also probably top five musicians I know. Like, he'll pick up something. He played at one of our shows. Um, he's playing bass with one hand and piano in a different metronome on the other hand. Oh, you're and you just hit the bass note and then play piano, hit the bass note and play piano. That's crazy. Dude, how does your brain do that? And then whenever we were recording, um, I'd be like, Oh, I need a harmony for this, and he'll just go, it's like right here that he'd sing it, and then I had to match him, and then we do it together. Right.

SPEAKER_00 50:45

He's he's incredible. So well, it's it's it's so cool to work with other music musicians and musical people who can do that. And and I'm in awe of even in your guitar playing, you've been doing this about five years. I mean, I've been playing two years. I'm finally getting to where I can do some hammer ons and pull-offs and a few things that if you guys are able to come to Red Hawk tonight, I run a looping pedal. Oh, do you run a looping pedal? Yeah. Have you met Lane Bowen? Yeah, Lane's incredible. That Lane's incredible.

SPEAKER_03 51:16

That's that guy.

SPEAKER_00 51:17

And I have not interviewed him yet, but he's I know I need to. And he and I have had the conversation. We just once again it's like trying to sit down with you. I mean, it just took it takes some, it takes a little magic. When we go to when we go to to to Valley Music Fest, and there's we did 18 interviews because we're there and the artists are there. We go to Nashville, the artists are there, the songwriters are there. We go to a songwriter festival, there's 20 songwriters there. We're gonna get to interview five to eight of them or ten of them.

SPEAKER_03 51:44

Three hours and two hours and another.

SPEAKER_00 51:47

But I will not do one over the phone. Uh on Zoom. Yeah, not gonna do it. It's not personal. This this is this is what this podcast is about. The the human connection.

SPEAKER_03 51:58

Yeah, I would say Lane for sure. And yeah, I've I mean, his loops, he beatboxes on it, or he used to. I don't need to.

SPEAKER_00 52:03

Oh no, he's he's so talented. I we went and saw him. There's a little bar in Shelley called the Rockin' Russet, and he he's played there.

SPEAKER_03 52:10

He opened for Z Top recently. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 52:13

I knew he did. Um, and you know what's cool is that uh um do you know who Tim Montana is? That sounds familiar. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 52:21

Look him up. Okay, Tim Montana. That one's an easy one.

SPEAKER_00 52:24

He actually lives in Montana.

SPEAKER_03 52:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 52:26

He has business partners with Billy F. Gibbons, who they own the uh uh Wise River Club Wise River Club in Wise River, Montana. Okay, just south of Butte. But that guy, he's got he had a new album about a year ago. I I I have been trying to get an interview with him, but so talented. He's a rocker.

SPEAKER_03 52:46

Tim Montana.

SPEAKER_00 52:47

Tim Montana. Maybe I've never seen him. Way good, really, really impressive.

SPEAKER_03 52:53

Uh there's a couple guys here that I'd like to do.

SPEAKER_00 52:55

He spent a lot of time in Nashville as well, but then he he's got a family, young family, and he moved them back to one tenth.

SPEAKER_03 53:01

Not necessary, but I mean, I wouldn't go to Nashville. I think one, I think it's very oversaturated, which is totally fine. That's what you go. You go there to play music, but I think like for me, those Nashville guys came here, and I was like, wow, you guys are crazy good. And so to go there, you kind of get drowned out here.

SPEAKER_00 53:17

Well listen, you're if that's the goal, that's the place you gotta be. Yeah. I mean, that's I mean if if you're if you if you're gonna fish, you gotta go to the water, right? Yeah, but uh Nashville's a 10-year town, and they don't mess around. It's a 10-year town. Yeah, um, there there's there's just so many talented May Estes. I don't know if you know who May Estes is. Pay very close attention. You know who Ella Langley is. Yes. Ella's just blown up in the last 18 months, right? Crazy. May Estes is right behind her, dude. I'm telling you, she's gonna be somebody.

SPEAKER_03 53:55

Well, and there are some people that like um, I mean, my my goal, I I don't care to be famous. I like people listening to my songs. That feels feels good, and it'd be cool to have a couple 10,000 listeners, but um I know the people that you know they just get on TikTok and post their stuff, and I'm all about that. I mean, I'll I'll get on social media and post all the time.

SPEAKER_00 54:11

Well, Baker Blankenship became famous because of TikTok. I think Evan Honer took off.

SPEAKER_03 54:15

Evan Honer took off.

SPEAKER_00 54:17

Um uh there's there's uh there's another kid that I I was Oh uh Waylon Wyatt is another one.

SPEAKER_03 54:23

I know Wayland, I know of Wayland up on there.

SPEAKER_00 54:26

Uh there's there's several of them that that would be more my avenue.

SPEAKER_03 54:30

I got a wife now, and I I gotta go to school actually next month to Texas for two months. And where at uh Wichita Falls. So I'll be two hours north of Houston and two hours south of Oklahoma City, I think.

SPEAKER_00 54:44

Let's look because I'm gonna tell you some places you need to go while you're there because we did we did a well, we've been going to Texas for 40 years, but yeah, but we did uh some uh we did a trip down there just to do interviews. We actually interviewed three artists inside Green Hall that I told you about. Yeah. Um cool place, it's just the coolest place.

SPEAKER_03 55:04

I'll be down there. I got um, I just like I said, I got in the air guard, so I'm on my 12th year military, and I haven't done my schooling for them yet. So I gotta go down to Wichita Falls February 19th to April like 13th.

SPEAKER_00 55:17

So just coming up February, yeah, February 19th.

SPEAKER_03 55:19

I'll be gone. And you're giving it two months, two months, and I'll be going to school, but I mean I'll is your wife get to go with you or she's here, yeah. She gotta watch the farm.

SPEAKER_00 55:27

Oh house, the homestead. The homestead of the farm.

SPEAKER_03 55:30

Yeah, we just got seven acres.

SPEAKER_00 55:32

You got do you have uh animals?

SPEAKER_03 55:34

Not yet. We just bought the house September 16th and had a lot of work. It was unlivable, and then we fixed it up. I fix it up, and now we've been in it for about two months, three months, and then go get an animals soon, probably in springtime.

SPEAKER_05 55:48

Cool.

SPEAKER_03 55:49

Once I come back from school, and we can navigate. We have chickens. You have a chicken, 15 chickens, 15 chickens, two dogs.

SPEAKER_00 55:55

So she has horses, they're just you might you might you might as well have a herd of uh of cows if you got a dog because somebody's got to be there to take care of it.

SPEAKER_03 56:02

I know my and my dog's high maintenance, he's a little butthole. He's the most needy dog I've ever met in my life. I don't even need a kid, he's the worst.

SPEAKER_00 56:11

Well, we were loyal we were running a little bit behind today because we were we've been babysitting our grand dog for the last 10 days while our son's been in California with his girlfriend. And so she we and we she used to live with us full time, but anyway, she knew we were packing. She saw us packing up, yeah, and we couldn't get her, she didn't want to, and and they're coming to pick her up to take her back to Utah. So anyway, she was like, uh-uh-uh, you guys are gonna leave me alone. I can see it.

unknown 56:37

She pouts.

SPEAKER_03 56:37

Yeah, she pouts. Man, he'll do he won't him and then his brother, my wife's dog, they he'll just sit there and I'll listen to you. Come inside so I can lean, and I'll just no, because they know you're gonna leave them, you're gonna lock them in the house. Yeah, or get down, get out of here. He won't.

SPEAKER_00 56:50

And yet, and yet they would stay in the house all day without you even.

SPEAKER_03 56:53

And he'll just stare at you like you're the dumbest person he's ever seen in your life.

SPEAKER_00 56:56

You know, uh, it's fun.

SPEAKER_04 56:58

She sees a suitcase, she's down on the floor, and she's gonna be able to see the city.

SPEAKER_00 57:01

Well, she she came out and got in the truck. She goes, Have you seen the dog? And I'm like, No. So I went in, she'd she'd closed our bedroom door, and I went in, and I'm calling her, and she came out from under the bed. But she knew she doesn't go under there unless she knows we're leaving. So anyway. Well, listen, man, this has been fun. Yes, thank you. We we will try and make it over there tonight. We've got to go over to this viewing and you're here for important things in time. We're well, uh but but uh we only spend so much time. You're there from 5:30 to 8:30. 5:30, 8:30. And we're gonna have to eat. How's the food there? Good.

SPEAKER_03 57:36

It hooks great. Yeah, I eat there. I usually get the tortellini is pretty good. There's a salmon is pretty good, the burgers are good.

SPEAKER_00 57:42

Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_03 57:43

Those are my three main that I stick to.

SPEAKER_00 57:45

All right, all right. I'll see you guys there. Hey, this has been fun. Hey, for Musical Mouse Podcast, I'm your host, Byron Duffin, here with Avery Sloba Sologua. Gosh damn it, what is it?

SPEAKER_03 57:56

Toss that W in there and a nice job. Solo Waga. Solo Waga.

SPEAKER_00 57:59

Yeah, there you go. I've done it. I tossed it. You threw that W in there and I'm like, how does that work? Where does it happen? Anyway, my bad. Hey, we look forward if we don't see you somewhere soon, we'll see you somewhere in the road.