Keagan Park | The Next Generation of Country Music

Keagan Park is an emerging country artist and songwriter from Ririe, ID where he is making waves with his heartfelt storytelling, modern country sound, and undeniable stage presence. Blending traditional country influences with a fresh contemporary edge, Keagan has been building a loyal following through energetic live performances, authentic songwriting, and a strong connection with fans. Whether performing acoustic songwriter rounds or full-band shows, his music reflects real-life experiences, small-town roots, and the passion of a young artist determined to carve out his own place in country music. As a rising voice in the independent country scene, Keagan Park continues gaining momentum as both a performer and songwriter to watch.

🎵 In This Episode:
• Keagan Park interview
• Singer Songwriter
• Idaho Artist Rising Star
• Country music career insights
• Peak Creative | Matt Mylroi

MORE ABOUT KEAGAN PARK:
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Keagan-Park-Music/61577180904500/#
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Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/keagan-park/1752593224
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6PYYyjVyk3f3oZEQTfGfxc


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Keagan Park interview, country music podcast, ranch raised singer, country music artist, Raising Start, Musical Miles Podcast.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Tire marks in the driver from the north south stone. Old times like this, the road is my only home. In the sea, right beside me, six dreams open God will find me. I need something on my rest of me to broad me. Oh that's all I need. Take me where you walk. And what's the roll? That's all that means.

SPEAKER_03 2:49

Hey, thank you. Hey, welcome to Musical Miles Podcast. I'm your host, Byron Dufflin. I'm here with Mr. Keegan Park and Mr. Matt Milroy. I was right the first time. Second guess. Never doubt yourself. Never doubt yourself. Hey, we're here at uh P Creative recording studio in Matt's uh studio. Uh what a cool deal. And we're back uh for the second round with Mr. Keegan Park. Keegan, uh Keegan and I got to sit down at the South Fork Music Festival, which was such a fun event. And that's the first time we got to hear you play there, perform. What a beautiful song. Tell us what's the name of that song?

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Steel String Stitches. It was just released like two weeks ago, three weeks ago, something like that. What a beautiful song. Thank you. Yeah, I feel like I don't know, I've been able to heal a lot through music, so I wanted to write something that could do that for somebody else. Yeah. So that's kind of my goal.

SPEAKER_03 3:39

Well, I don't know if I shared this with you, and my listeners probably get sick of me repeating it, but I I'm gonna tell it again because uh one of the first interviews I did uh probably uh it's probably in the first 20 or 30 that I did. I got to interview uh a songwriter by the name of I'm gonna screw this up now. I I uh he is from Leapers Fork, Tennessee, and he has seven number ones. And he uh his name is I could see his face, so I'm gonna have to edit this, which sucks. I'll think of it in a minute. But he told me, he said, music is the salve that heals all. And I love that saying. You know, it just it's just a it's a it's a great saying, and I cannot believe I cannot call his name. But that's what happens when you get to be an old man. And when you when you've met as many people as I have and interviewed as many artists and songwriters as I have, just in the last 19 months. So we started this 19 months ago, and um uh we we have covered a lot of countries.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

And there's probably a lot of these songwriters that feel pretty similar, too. So I'm sure some of them have very different experiences, but I gotta believe that uh it's hard to keep them all straight because probably a lot of them do find some some sort of healing in music.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Oh well, they all do. Uh honestly, yeah, I think I think you know that's that's what we do this for, right? It's for the music, for the love of music. We we fell in love with music many, many years ago. In fact, are you gonna are you gonna swing by uh tomorrow night at the uh zone?

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Maybe, maybe I will.

SPEAKER_03 5:13

You know who's playing tomorrow night? Who's there? Heath Clark. Do you know who Heath Clark is? Heath Clark grew up in Solo, Arizona, which is where my wife is from. Okay, his mom and my wife went to high school together, and his dad and grandpa played at our wedding 44 years ago. It'll be 44 years in April, and Heath was my very first interview on the podcast. So we're gonna re-interview Heath. So we're starting to re-interview artists, but we still have tons of artists that we haven't got to yet. Uh, in fact, we just interviewed Aaron Ballman Friday night, which we've been trying to do that for well over a year, so which was fun. Um, but anyway, we're back with Keegan. So let's let's kind of share your story. Uh well, first of all, the reason we're back is because Matt had a contest. Tell us about the contest that Pete created that you put together.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

Yeah, so you know, I I'm always thinking about, you know, how can I kind of repay the debt that I owe to music, right? And and so, you know, that's the the the real sincere, passionate side is how can I help some other people? And then, you know, as a as a business owner, really the practical side is I don't want to waste my money on Facebook ads, right? If I'm gonna spend my time and money on something, I let's just pour it right into doing what I want to do, which is you know, meeting people that music locally, you know, in our area, in our region. So, yeah, so we we did a contest. Uh, really, it was looking for uh original artists only, wasn't interested in cover bands. Okay, and you know, we we were uh I brought in an independent uh producer, great musician I work with, brought in someone from Teton Guitars, brought in a couple of other people, so it wouldn't be just me picking who I wanted to give a prize to. But we gave away uh 18 hours of studio time, just a photo video package. Wow. Keegan's starting to cash the checks on that, he won that. Uh and then uh we had a second place person that also is getting 18 hours of time in the studio doesn't get the photo video package.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

But they do get to be on the podcast because I agree. Yeah, yeah. We we kind of jumped on board when we saw what you were doing. We liked what you did and said, look, we'll we'll throw in an interview on the podcast. Little did I know it was gonna be Keegan Park who I've already interviewed. You've already interviewed that doesn't matter because honestly, you know, in 30 minutes I can't get everything out of Keegan that that he's that he's done. He's a young guy, he's he's uh but what a talent.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Yeah, so and and honestly, we I was just blown away. You know, we didn't have a uh a huge volume of submissions, but you know, the number of people that did come in was good, and the the level of talent in this area, local musicians, is it's really it's really good. You know, we're we're very we're very blessed, and uh everybody that entered honestly was good. And you know, Keegan, what pulled it out for Keegan uh is not only is he like a great musician, a great songwriter, he's uh he's very authentic. I I love working with Keegan. He's a very authentic person, this is real, yeah. Uh you know, he has strong feelings that coincide with mine about the power of music. Um, but also he just had an incredible social media following. Yeah, I mean I couldn't keep up with all the likes and comments on on the posts for him, and so that's really what propelled him forward was uh you know getting out there and networking with others.

SPEAKER_03 8:30

Well, honestly, that's what it's about. It's about the networking side of things, and that's why we connected. Yeah, that's why I that's why I do the South Fork, that's why I do all these music festivals and and songwriter festivals. And it's funny because I told you I was on the phone with Carrie uh Klepper from Whitefish uh Songwriter Festival in Whitefish, Montana, and I told her I was coming to do this interview with someone who won a songwriter festival or a performance, but it had to be original music, and she goes, I'm putting a songwriter festival or a contest together for to coincide with song with Whitefish, and I want to know how they did it. I want to know so I'm gonna connect you with Carrie and you guys can have a conversation. But that being said, you know, we talk about the songwriter deal. I I'm very passionate about songwriters. I I have all these ideas in my head. I'm I play but not very good, and I and I and I and I'm not a poet, and I but I have all these ideas for songs and song titles and and and I want to do a theme song for the podcast and have yet to do that. Just kind of been covered up. But I I I I love the the whole songwriter concept, and I love songwriter rounds, and I love listening rooms. And I don't know if you've ever experienced a listening room. Have you really experienced a songwriter round? I have. Have you sat on a stage with two other songwriters and took a minute to tell the story behind the song and then play and sing your song? And then the next and then it goes to the next artist. So those are so cool. You've experienced that, Matt. Yeah, I have. So um uh we've been to um the listening room cafe in Nashville, we've been to uh the Red Bird in New Bromfels, Texas, which is and when you walk into a listening room, they they tell you, look, here's the list. You want to sign up. If you've been here before, you get one song. If you've been if you drove more than uh uh a hundred miles, you get two songs. If you've never been here, you get two songs, and sign up and we go in the order, it's on the sign-up sheet. And if you want to, people in the audience, if you want to talk to the person next to you, go outside. If you want to talk on your cell phone, go outside. We're here to listen to the music. I love the songwriter and the listening room setups. Um, and so I want to do that in Otto Falls. And I I think I found us a spot. Yeah. Well, the the deal I went to the other night was um with Aaron Ball Band was the band. Also, um the Yard Owls? Do you know those guys? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, the guy that runs the piano uh gallery.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Owl Shack or is that?

SPEAKER_03 11:06

Shack Owls. Shack Owls. Shack Owls. But cool guys, but anyway, we've got a good group of people that we know, but there's a lot of talent in this area, and it's not getting showcased, and we have nowhere to do it. But Persnickety Marketing, which is downtown in Otto Falls, right on uh right across from the Celt, and it's right down from the Samoa. But it's it's a cool little and it's old brick walls, and it's just cool, and the sound actually in there is good. And I've I know the owner, I didn't realize she owned it, but uh she's more than willing to have a setup. So before before April's over, I think we want to do one and we want to get some artists committed to come, and then and then we're working on putting together a full-blown songwriter festival for downtown Idle Falls sometime in the next year. And and I and I have now the connections with the songwriters from Nashville, some pretty big names that we talked about earlier, um, that are are chomping at the bit to come to Idle Falls. So that's awesome. Lots of cool stuff, but you'll definitely be on the on the deal.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Heck yeah, so thank you.

SPEAKER_03 12:16

So, and we I mean, you know Ellie May from uh over in western Idaho. Uh oh, yes, yeah. What a talented young lady. Um, there's some real talent in Idaho. Uh I I just interviewed another young man, Avery Sol Solowaga. Do you know Avery? I don't. Cool kid, great, writes some original stuff. There's a lot of talent in Idaho, and we need to showcase it.

SPEAKER_05 12:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:39

So, anyway, well, let's talk a little bit more about you. So, since we talked in A in August, August, right? Uh, you got married.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

I did, I got married.

SPEAKER_03 12:48

It actually happened. She didn't leave you at the altar.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

I know. That's good. That's good. So tell us a little bit about that. It was awesome. I mean, it was I I feel like people say a lot of things about weddings and whatever, but I was just so happy, and and honestly, it's just because of her. She's just amazing, and I love her so much. I actually sung her song that I wrote for her at our reception. So that's cool. It was it was a ton of fun, and I'm just happy as a clan, luckiest guy in the world.

SPEAKER_03 13:13

So yeah. Well, next to Matt and I, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:17

How long have you been married, Matt?

SPEAKER_02 13:19

Uh, a long time. Uh 32 years.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

Okay. 44 for me in April. So, um uh, of 44 years of wedded bliss. So Miss Shanda is what I call her, and she's the producer, but she's not behind the camera this afternoon because she had another engagement. So I'm running solo today. So if anything screws up on this deal. Blame it on her. Well, I'm I can't blame the audio on her because you're recording the audio. So only the video, and so as long as our cameras don't batteries don't die, we're good. So um, but uh well that's cool. That's cool. So you ended up, you've been living in Driggs. Are you still in Driggs?

SPEAKER_01 13:58

No, so we actually me and my wife moved back out to Ryrie, so that's where I grew up, and it's kind of fun to be back home.

SPEAKER_03 14:03

How'd you get to town? The road was closed this morning.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

From Ryrie?

SPEAKER_03 14:07

Well, from Ryrie the other way, I'm sure. Uh yeah, the storm. Yeah, they closed the roads, yeah. Yeah, yeah, and the road up to from from uh Driggs, the road back into Driggs up from Rexburg way. Yeah. Anyway, yeah, we had a little snow here. Second snore storm snowstorm of the year.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Yeah, February.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

It's more like ice than snow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

Yeah. So um uh you're back in Ryrie and working full-time and gigging part-time, or are you just doing music full-time?

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Full-time music. It's been official since I think December. End of November, December is kind of when I made the decision. And this year has just been that's all I've been pushing for. Awesome.

SPEAKER_03 14:48

That's great. That's great. Well, I love to hear that uh uh an artist from Southeast Idaho can make a living full-time gigging and performing, and that that really tickles me. So, and we want to help your career as much as we can. So there's a need for songwriter rounds and festivals in Southeast Idaho if we can get the community to support it. Yeah, for sure. So but uh South the the South Fork uh deal was one of the coolest that we've been to. Um I have a real dilemma this next this year, this summer, because over the top of it is the Wheatstock Festival in Helix, Oregon, and they've invited us to come for years, and I've never made it yet. And I got the call yesterday from one of the guys that's in charge out there who was on the board, and they got Wyatt Flores to come, and so I think I'm gonna have to go to the one you have to go to.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

I like him a lot.

SPEAKER_03 15:45

Yeah, he's really super talented. Yeah, so probably really close to about your age, too.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

We'll edit that out.

SPEAKER_03 15:51

Yeah, well, that's that's the that's the one thing that I've learned with audio and video is that this is easy to edit, right? Go edit the Valley Music Fest with I'm in the in the VIP tent behind the stage. Noise everywhere. It is just what a wreck. That was uh that was hard. In fact, I had one episode or one one interview that I'm gonna have to redo. Luckily he's an Idaho guy, so we'll go over to Boise and do that. We're gonna we're going to the um uh what do they call it? The big deal in Boise. Um, the Tree Fork music festival coming up at the end of March. So we got we got a busy schedule. We're headed Arizona day after tomorrow for 10 days, and then we'll get back, and then we go to Logan, Utah to the uh Cowboy Poetry Rendezvous. Yeah, yeah, and Skip Ewing. You know Skip Ewing? Uh Nashville Songwriter is gonna be there. That's familiar. And so we're gonna get to interview Skip. We're looking forward to that. Wow. And um we just we just keep stacking them up and and eventually one of them will go viral, we hope. We hope this is the one that we're gonna do. Hopefully, this is the one. Yeah, so so full time. So where are you gigging at?

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Oh, all over the place. I was actually just talking to Matt today. Booking is a whole nother talent that I'm trying to develop now. But Idaho Falls has a plethora of places to play. Like it's we are really blessed with people who are wanting to hear live music. That's good.

SPEAKER_03 17:18

So that's good to know. So, where are you playing in Idaho Falls? Let's talk about some of those.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Big one is the Celt. I go to the Celt a lot. The 18 is another big one. Right. Um, I know another place. I haven't gotten in there yet, so maybe this will be a good way to call them out. I have to send him a few emails is the Roadhouse Saloon. The Roadhouse.

SPEAKER_03 17:34

I actually I actually know uh the lady that owns it. Chris Krista? Is that her name? Christine. Chris Christine. Christine. I've sent her a few emails. So she's I she they like a full band there. Are you you are you trying to book a full band?

SPEAKER_01 17:47

I've got a full band now. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

So well, yeah, she she's she's due for some new talent in there. Nothing against the talent she's had in there, but now have you played at the zone?

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Uh I'm going to. I well, I guess I did. Do you know who Judd Erickson is? Oh, yeah, I know Judd. So I went and sat in with him and his band and they invited me back. I'm going back.

SPEAKER_03 18:06

Uh remember. Well, Jen, who who's the manager there, I've known her her whole life. So I tell everybody, I've told my kids this their whole lives. Does not matter what you know, it's who you know. So uh if Byron's good for anything, it's that I know somebody that knows somebody that killed somebody. So that's good. So so I don't know everything. There's a song in that one. There is a song in there. See, I need to get with my songwriting buddy here, and we need to sit down and just hammer out some of those ideas I have in my head.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_03 18:37

I was interviewing a kid, and I've shared this on here before, but I was interviewing a kid, Mars Daniels from eastern Montana. And I said, Mars, where do you live? And he said, I live 18 miles from North Dakota and 18 miles from the Canadian border. I said, Sounds to me like you live 18 miles from nowhere. And he said, There's a song title right there, and I said, and I'm and I'm taking credit for it. And he goes, You got it. So whenever I message him, I go, How's our song coming? I'm working on it. So 18 miles from nowhere. So anyway, but uh so there's plenty of places in Idle Falls. What about uh you going down to to Pocatello and Lava, and what are some of the venues down there?

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Yeah, there's Eruption Brewery down in Lava. There's the the rooftop bar, is what it's called. It's like part hotel, part bar. Um a few different places over there. There's also, yeah, in Pocatello, there's a lot of really awesome places too. I've been going down to Utah, in Jackson. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:31

Okay. So are you playing in Jackson?

SPEAKER_01 19:34

Uh a lot of the stuff in Jackson is weddings. So my my goal this year, this year slash next year, is to play the million dollar cowboy bar. That's my goal. So that's one of the goals I have. But cool.

SPEAKER_03 19:45

Well, that's a good goal to have. That's a great venue. Um, there's so many cool historical venues here. What about the one in Ryrie?

SPEAKER_01 19:52

Oh, the Ryrie Bar?

SPEAKER_03 19:54

No, not just the Ryrie Bar, but excuse me, not Ryrie. Well, Ryrie Bar's one, but there's another one in um just outside of Driggs. Um Victor. Not Victor, the other way.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Oh, Titonia?

SPEAKER_03 20:07

Tetonia.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

The Tetonia, the little bar in Tetonia's.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Uh Dave's pub, I think it's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 20:11

No, there's another one. That's really yeah, it's it's really cool. It's kind of an old historical building. Yeah, don't have to. I I I I've got to be more prepared when I I mean that's just the way my mind works. Kind of all over the place. Yeah, it's alright. So we know that your music didn't really come from family, right? Or it did.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

It did. Well, portions of it, I guess. So my dad played music, and all growing up, I'd follow him around just a little kid, you know, and following his dad setting up guitars or whatever. Um, but when I was 11, he passed away. Right, I remember that. And I hadn't really picked up a guitar or anything um until a few years after he passed away. I actually went up to the same ranch that's like a little family ranch that he played a lot at, and I just started picking on the guitar, and the guy who was playing up there was kind enough to let me get on stage. He's been playing guitar for like three weeks, and I sung some songs. Oh, really? Yeah, what a brave guy. That's great. He's a lot braver than I am. Yeah. Rulong Gardner's his name. He's a good dude, he's from St. Anthony, so he's awesome. Okay. He's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

Well, great. Well, so um uh so I remember you telling me that about your dad that your dad played, but but you you lost that influence when you were pretty young. So who really has influenced your music since then?

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Oh man. I have been, I mean, as of I it goes in ways. I'm all over the board as far as music goes, because I believe if it's good music, it's good music, right? I don't I don't discriminate as well as as far as what it is. Um but I'm a huge Cody Johnson fan.

SPEAKER_04 21:37

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Love Cody Johnson, I'm a huge Myrtle Haggard fan. I love that kind of stuff. That more outlaw-y, rodeo-y, uh cowboy music, you know. I just I really like that. Gar Brooks is another huge influence. Story straight, those common ones, but I just I love that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_03 21:52

Sure. Oh, cool. Well, so let me ask you this. If and I think I asked you this in the last interview, I like to ask this question, but Um, what's a song that you wish you had read?

SPEAKER_01 22:04

I'm trying to think of it.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

Oh yeah, and you and you do very good. You're a good songwriter, so thank you.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

Um man, this is a tough one. There's a song, uh I don't know, I don't remember what I said last time, but there's a song that I came across by Cody Johnson. It's like one of his first albums, and it's called The Grandpa Song. Okay. And it basically is him being like, Man, if only I could like write my grandpa in on the next presidential ballot, and he's like, basically, all the world world's problems would be solved if his grandpa should come back and be here, and just how cool of a guy he was. And I definitely feel that same way about both my grandpas, especially because losing my dad, they were huge father influences on me.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

Well, who uh I I guess is uh question I I I like to ask because it's it's important to me as I listen to new music and hear new songs. Is it important to you to know who wrote those songs? So do you go check that out? Yeah, and that's you really try and find out who wrote those songs.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

That's something I've lately been getting into, especially as I've gone full time and I'm doing more like songwriting. I look for people who I want to emulate and or things that I really like about, oh, this guy who writes really good songs, like what's his process? Search them up on YouTube, read about them, or whatever, right? Um just trying to figure out how the pros do it, right?

SPEAKER_03 23:21

You need to get hooked up with some of those events, you need to go to Whitefish, Livingston, Red Lodge, some of those songwriter festivals because you really get that to understand the perspective of the songwriter more so. Um we've been really, really fortunate to have met some incredible. In fact, right after I interviewed you, I got to interview Dean Dillon. You know who Dean Dillon is? I don't know if I do. Dean Dillon had 87 cuts with George Straight.

SPEAKER_01 23:46

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_03 23:49

Eleven number one.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

Did you tell me that in that interview? I feel like you maybe said something.

SPEAKER_03 23:52

I might have mentioned that we were we were hoping to get to interview, but it happened. And we did get to interview him and Paul Overstreet and some great songwriters in Vegas. They had 50 songwriters with 300 number one hits. Oh my goodness. So there's some incredible songwriters. Me to load your wife up and take her to the BMI in Key West in April. Uh that is a massive songwriter event. And it's gone on for 30 years, and all the big time songwriters show up out there, and you get to hear all those cool stories. That's what I love. That's what I love. And when I asked you about your new song, what's the title of that new song? Steel string stitches. Um and kind of a little bit of the backstory behind that song was that you wanted to write something that helped because music has helped you heal. James Dean Hicks is that songwriter's name. There you go. Took me a while. I actually remembered it a while back, but it wasn't appropriate to throw his name in there yet. Uh James Dean Hicks is the one who said uh uh that uh music is the salve that heals all. And and you know, Jelly Roll made another cool commentary when we were at Usayim in uh Colorado, and he said uh music meets us where we are. So and and and I think that's a very uh interesting way to put it because you and I might be in a different place emotionally, mentally, spiritually, all three of us, and a and a song may impact us all differently. May impact you emotionally, may impact you spiritually, may impact me, I don't know. You know, I I mean that it's just that's a cool thing about music.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

Yeah, that's so true. So that is so true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:31

Is your wife musical?

SPEAKER_01 25:32

She does not admit to being musical, but she does like to sing in the shower. Ratting her out on that one.

SPEAKER_03 25:40

Yeah, there you go. There you go. Well, that's cool. Um so anyone else in the family musical? Siblings?

SPEAKER_01 25:48

Um, some of my siblings did play, um, never very seriously, though. I know like one of my great-grandpas played the harmonica. That's pretty much all I got as far as that goes. On my stepdad's side, his his dad, so my my grandpa, I just call him my grandpa.

SPEAKER_04 26:05

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

He's um just an he's got his master's degree in music. He plays pianos, amazing piano player. He went and he was um the conductor conductor, is that what you call it? Yeah, he went up to Alaska in Anchorage and conducted the Messiah. It's like a really handles Messiah. Yeah, exactly. So he does super, super musical, but as far as like my blood side, not as much.

SPEAKER_03 26:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:29

Well, that's cool. Well, you mentioned grandpa playing the harmonica. My grandpa could play the harmonica, and that is the only music in my family at all on my side. And my wife's side's a different story. Her mother was a songwriter and very, very talented piano player, and her sister can play, but my wife didn't get any of those genes.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

So my grandpa actually was probably the one that introduced me to music. Really? Speaking of grandpa, so he played the recorder, you know, the every the thing that everybody had to do in fourth grade. Yes, yes. So he he bought me one of those when I was like six, and that was like my musical journey, I guess. A lot of grandpa stories there.

SPEAKER_03 27:04

Well, I I love that because you know, our grandparents had huge impact on us in lots and lots of different ways. But funny enough, my dad had more impact on me musically. My dad had a pretty extensive record collection, um, but he only played it like on Sunday afternoons, you know. We'd come home after church and he'd throw on Eddie Arnold or you know, or or you know uh Sonny James. I mean, a lot of those old country music stuff. And of course, then I started to build my own record collections and and uh and he took me to some shows uh at a pretty young age. Uh in in actually flew me to Las Vegas and I got to go see uh Eddie Arnold and I got to go see um Bobby Finton and uh and uh a couple other guys that pretty cool experience. Anyway, but uh so um you're just gonna hang out in Ryrie for the time being.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

No big plans to go to Nashville or to Texas or I mean for a while there I was thinking um Texas or or not necessarily Nashville, but definitely I was thinking Texas. Um I'm a very firm believer in just kind of growing where you're at. Sure. I've had a few friends who I've talked and close people that I've talked with, and um one of them's my one of them's my barber. But he was like, he was basically like, you know what, just if you're gonna do it, like there's nothing wrong with not only growing where you're at, but influencing where you're at. And trying to I don't know if that makes sense, trying to bring everybody else up with you. And I feel like our area here is a hidden gem when it comes to music. I think you're 100% right. And I don't want to leave that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

And and with you know, with podcasts and everything else now, you're like, you don't like you can be visible, right? No matter where you are, you can be visible.

SPEAKER_03 28:55

Well, there's lots and lots of talented artists that have gained their fame and notoriety on the internet. Now, you know, and that's obviously what we're all attempting to do in some regards, whether it's a podcast or or a musician. And so by me sharing your story, I'm hoping that we strike a nerve with someone. And and the same for me, for the podcast, right? Because we qualify each other. We we all want to do that. But I think you're right. I think Southeast Idaho, and I'm a firm believer in that. I think our downtown area, and uh, you know, 18. Have you the Soil Dove? Uh are they playing anything at the Soil Dove? Anybody playing there?

SPEAKER_01 29:28

I I know 18's playing.

SPEAKER_03 29:30

Soil Dove is another little hidden gem. Downtown, it's uh it's a speakeasy kind of like 18. It's kind of yeah, it's kind of hidden. Um, but uh I really think that that that building that uh Persnickety Marketing's in is a cool place, and I think it's gonna be a cool place for us to get set up. There's actually an old church in Shelley that uh is is where they do the food bank, and they don't use the the chapel part of it, and so my thoughts were the acoustics gotta be phenomenal. And so we may still try and research that a little bit, but uh, whenever I go there on they're only open on Tuesdays, and when I go there, there's a huge line, and I feel bad because those people are there filling their grocery bags and they need it, and I'm just there trying to figure out how to use that chapel, right? And and so kind of selfish on my part.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Music feeds people too.

SPEAKER_03 30:20

But but my thoughts were my thoughts were if we did get it set up there that that you'd have people bring donations for the oh, that'd be a for the food.

SPEAKER_02 30:27

Great community way to get the community involved and supporting it, yeah. Yeah, that's a great idea.

SPEAKER_03 30:31

So so I've got no, it's still going.

SPEAKER_02 30:34

I looked over there and went, something's I I keep looking all the time. I'm always nervous about this.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

Audio audio is always the big challenge, right? Um, well, Matt, tell us a little bit more about your business. What do you got going on? And and and you're doing this full time as well.

SPEAKER_02 30:49

Yeah, so I do I do some business consulting on the side as well to pay the bills, but you know, the creative focus is my main focus. So I do uh music production, uh video and photo, and more and more I'm trying to build all that around music where you know I can do a wedding or an event or something like that, and and I can do family portraits and things like that, and I like working with businesses, but really, like I'm a musician, you know, I'm a songwriter, I'm a producer. I've I've played on or engineered you know hundreds of records over the years, either as a songwriter, a producer, uh an engineer.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

See, you're one of the very well-kept secrets here in South Most. I'm a little rusty right now. Yeah, but but it's but you're there and you have the experience, and that's cool, cool knowledge to share. In fact, there's about 20 guitars in here. Is there an acoustic that you can pick up? I want you two to play me a song together. Can you do that?

SPEAKER_01 31:42

No, we've never played together. Have you never played together? We haven't. Do you want to take this one? I'll grab mine.

SPEAKER_03 31:47

Sure. Okay, we'll try this thing out. What do you what do you think? Uh I don't know. Something that you guys could uh you gotta know a Merle song, right?

SPEAKER_02 31:55

Oh, well, Keegan knows this I'm nursing an injury. Uh oh. So I I have not played much in the last six months. Really? But uh he can play, don't let him fool you. I've got the brace off my wrist today, and we'll see if we can do something. Okay, well, this will be fun. What are you thinking? What do you what do you let's just see if we're in tune together? Pretty darn close. Good enough for the podcast. There you go. All right, what do you need to be feeling? I don't know. Matt's a better player than me. Yeah, I wouldn't plan on being put on the spot. Well, I love to do that. I love to put people on the spot, and I and I love to hear something that uh so the question is if we play something, are we gonna get like a strike against us for copyright on YouTube? Um that isn't it.

SPEAKER_03 32:49

Well, it depends on the song. So uh it's funny enough. So recently, I it'll it tags us copyright, but then it'll usually say, but this will not affect your video. So uh if it does, I guess we'll edit it out, unfortunately. But um uh don't play any Eagle songs.

SPEAKER_02 33:09

I know that Yeah, the Eagles are not very generous. Led Zeppelin's not very generous.

SPEAKER_03 33:13

We can't do any of that. I'm sure that there's enough No Guns N' Roses either, they're pretty tough for Ray. Uh um, you know, there's I think I could probably play some cash, um, play some, you know any Rodney Crowell, you know any Radney Foster, you know any So the funny thing about me, so backstory on me.

SPEAKER_02 33:33

So grew up as a guitarist, studied music in college, got into the music production early and all that. I played almost no cover songs my entire life because I was a musician. And you're a songwriter. And I was a creator and I was a songwriter, and so I was helping so I I did join a few bands where I had to learn a few covers, but the knack number of covers I actually know, like I haven't played a cover in a long time. I'm actually we're doing a cover right now, but uh that's right. Yeah, together I actually ruped Keegan into a project, but I just got my licensing clearance on that. Oh, okay. I'm working on mixing it right now, but it's a cover of Brad Paisley's what 2009 hit Then.

SPEAKER_03 34:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Who wrote it? Uh Brad is one of the writers. There's two other writers and I'm blank in their names at the moment. But yeah, good good song. But I actually recorded the guitar parts on that five years ago, so I don't remember them. Oh wow. How about how about uh Mr. Bo Jangles? You guys know the Jared Jeff? Gosh. I had to learn that in college, like when I was 18. So I'm almost as old as you now.

SPEAKER_03 34:42

I played it this morning. Um it is C C A minor uh A minor F.

SPEAKER_02 34:53

Everybody knows knocking on Heaven's door, right? Oh, there you go.

SPEAKER_03 34:57

You're not allowed to play that in a music store though, right? Is that the one? No, stairway to heaven. Just D. D.

unknown 35:09

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:11

Alternate the A and the A and the T. You know the words for this one?

SPEAKER_03 35:18

Okay. We're all the bomb take this bad job for me, right?

SPEAKER_02 36:31

That was fun, though. That was cool. It's one of those things that, like, you know, we probably should learn a couple songs if you didn't.

SPEAKER_03 36:39

Yeah, well, we're gonna we're gonna be we're gonna be working together, boys, so I'm here to tell you we're gonna be doing some songwriter stuff, and I'm gonna uh I I need to I need to get better at my guitar playing, and I need to work on some of those songs bouncing around in my head. Yeah, but yeah. Anyway, I need to get to where I can play a song from front to back. I can play them because most of them are four chords, the whole progressions over and over and over again.

SPEAKER_02 37:04

My problem is uh I'm not I'm not a good singer. I mean, Keegan is I'm telling you, I work with Keegan in the studio, he sounds every bit as good right there as he does in the studio, right? There's nothing fake there. Yeah. Me, on the other hand, it takes a lot of work to make me sound good.

SPEAKER_03 37:20

Well, you you you reworked those uh vocals that we just did on that just in case. Uh uh re-recording it. We've been over done it. Yeah, yeah, dub Byron out completely. Uh so well, cool. Well, this has been fun, guys. Uh I I uh not a lot has happened since we last talked, but uh uh it's always fun to kind of reconnect and and bring somebody new into the into the fold and hear your side of the story and why you did this. Now there was also another winner, and her name is uh Claire Dye. Okay, and Claire's amazing vocalist.

SPEAKER_02 37:54

She's in in Pocatello, amazing vocalist.

SPEAKER_03 37:57

Yeah, we've got to get together with Claire soon.

SPEAKER_02 37:59

She's uh she's actually writing something just to work on in the studio with me. Oh fun.

SPEAKER_03 38:04

Well, kind of let me know when that time frame happens that we might be able to. I'll keep you close.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

I'll probably channel it.

SPEAKER_03 38:13

You know, let's try and carve out a little bit of time for me to come and sit down with her and you again and and do this again. But uh I'm telling you guys, we gotta work on this songwriter deal.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

Yeah, I do I agree. And I got a question for can I can I give him a question? Absolutely. Where do you start? Lyrics or music? Or both?

SPEAKER_01 38:31

Honestly, it depends on the song, at least for me. Um I just had a song that I wrote the other night. I was sitting there just playing my guitar, and I go, Oh, that kind of I don't know, it just like is like a like a spark, you know, when you're doing like flip and steel or whatever, right? Sparks. So I was playing something, and all of a sudden I just thought of this this this line, right? And it it was it'd take a fool to forget the way you look tonight. And I was playing, and I was like, oh, I kind of like that. I was like, maybe I should keep going with that. So that time it was lyrics, right? Or I mean that time it was the guitar.

SPEAKER_03 39:01

Well it was a combo, really, technically, because you're you're you're picking and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

Exactly. And then and then other times I'll a lot of the times when I drive, um, this maybe isn't the safest thing, but I've got one of those dad phone holders, and I'll just have my notes open, and because I do a lot of driving for music, I'll go down to Utah or I'll go wherever, right? Go to Mackey, and um I'll just let my thoughts run. And for some reason, song ideas pop in, and I go, alright, I like that. What are some ideas about that? Like, you know, I don't know, leaking about the desert or whatever, and I look around me and I think about it, or thinking about my family, or right, and so I can just record those thoughts and then I go sit down later and try to make a song out of it.

SPEAKER_03 39:42

So well, it's interesting because I I asked that question similar to that. You know, what is the what is your thought process or your process in the songwriting? Because everybody handles it differently. Have you co-written much?

SPEAKER_01 39:52

I have a little uh not as much as I've written by myself, but I have co-written. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 39:56

Yourself? Yeah, yeah. See, I have now there are there are artists out there that absolutely will not co-write.

SPEAKER_02 40:02

It's I mean, you you have a passion for music and you're kind of getting it. I mean, you probably agree. Sometimes it's so personal, right? Other times it's like, you know, like if if I start with just a cool groove and I'm having fun with it, it's it's fun to invite people in and see where it goes.

SPEAKER_04 40:18

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 40:19

But sometimes it's so personal, it's like, oh, I want to, I wanna protect this. And I know that that sometimes right will hold us back.

SPEAKER_03 40:25

There's there's a uh guy by the name of uh Dave Stamey. You know who Dave Stamy is? Oh yeah. Dave Stamy says his third grade report card said does not play well with us. And he said, I do not that is a very personal thing. I do Ellie Mae Millencamp does not write with anyone else. She's it's very personal for her. Um I've I've interviewed some artists that are in songwriting groups. Have you heard much about those? Yeah, I used to go to one when I was in Florida. Well, but these guys are in a club, they're they're really a group, and they every week they have to turn in a new song. Yeah, that was a weekly intense than what we were doing. Weekly, and they had to um uh so they they give them a uh a word or a or a theme to work with, right? So this this week is oranges, whatever. Oh my gosh. And and then they they now it doesn't always have to be on that, but it they give them something to start with and then they put it together. And and and in some of those, um, if you didn't turn it in, they kick you out of the group.

SPEAKER_05 41:25

Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 41:26

Because they've always got somebody wanting in, and they're small, they're six to eight, ten, ten songwriters in a group, but but it keeps them going, right? And and and that's you know, Jade Marie Pottek, who's a very talented young lady from New Brownfills, Texas, she said, look, that's what that's what kept her going at times, knowing that okay, I gotta turn something in this.

SPEAKER_02 41:46

Yeah, no, and it's good, like you polish off the rough edges when you allow other people, like I've like I told you how I feel about cover songs, but then you know, 10, 12 years ago, I actually started recording a few cover songs. I'm like, you know, I I there's so much to learn from these songs.

SPEAKER_04 42:00

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 42:01

So as a producer, as a writer, and you know, like what I've done with these though is I've made this rule of like I just did this with Keegan. I'm doing this song, it's in this key, but you sing it how you want to sing it, and let's let it evolve actually. And and so that's kind of a safe space because it's someone else's song, but it's so helpful to actually be in a band playing covers and learn the give and take because then when you you know you got that foundation, you then you get to the real personal stuff where like this song means a lot to me. It's about my mom or my dad, or well, who it's easier to let people in if you've already kind of practiced it a little bit, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 42:34

So, what artists really inspired you?

SPEAKER_02 42:36

You know, as a guitar player and somebody that that my son's name is Clapton.

SPEAKER_03 42:42

You know, I I'm I met your son Clapton.

SPEAKER_02 42:45

I've got all over the place. So I grew up, you know, listening to Outlaw Country and Neil Diamond type stuff all over the place in that you know genre. Um I remember Michael Martin Murphy. I remember hearing Wildfire on the radio every day when I was a kid, and I got to meet Michael Martin Murphy.

SPEAKER_03 43:01

I was just gonna say, have you met Martin?

SPEAKER_02 43:02

I came and actually did a songwriting clinic when I was in the guitar program at Utah State. But yeah, so my my interest, you know, I like, I mean, I can go from Aerosmith and ACDC to Allison Krause to Cody Johnson. I'm I'm in I'm all over. I like old stuff, I like new stuff, but blues, I would say roots, roots music. I love Irish music, I love country music folk. I grew up going around to like these mountain man rendezvous and stuff, and that's where I learned a I learned the F chord sitting in a circle with like 20 people, and I was a new guitar player, and the guy next to me goes, This next one has an F in it. Do you know how to do that? And I go, No, I don't. I I th I think I heard that one hurts. And he's like, just watch me. And you know, I so I I was playing So you play the Cheater? I was yeah, I played the Cheater the first time, but you know, so you know, these were amazing musicians that were just having fun. They were, you know, and we had every instrument you could think of there, lots of guitars. And I grew up in that environment. Learning like eagle songs, but also learning like these old bluegrass tunes, blues tunes, folk tunes. Right. So I I'm really eclectic. I have I like a little of everything. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:11

I I I I'm with you. I love everything from Prince to Andre Bocelli. I I haven't attempted any Andre Bocelli on the guitar, but but but I but I'm I'm I love old school stuff. I love uh Guy Clark. Oh yeah Lyle Love It. Um I've known Lyle for the time I've known Lyle for 25 years. Um Guy Clark is one of my favorites. Um Towns Van Zant, you know, all Jerry Jeff Walker.

SPEAKER_02 44:40

Yeah, I think you know, there's so much town out there. Like Keegan said this right at the start, like to narrow your focus to one genre, like, oh, I'm a country person. Like, you know, you you need to have an identity to sell yourself. But if you allow your inspiration to be that narrow, sure just think of all the good stuff, and what what a great compliment it is sometimes to have someone say, you know, you sound a little bit like yeah, and you're like, wow, that's cool. And then you're like, I probably need to try harder not to sound like them.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

But true, yeah, you need to sound like yourself. But that being said, I I find myself learning songs on the guitar that like Christopherson, Sunday Morning Coming Down, and John Pride songs, because I can sing as bad as those guys did, yeah, right? So that's my inspiration is that I don't have to sound great to sing Sunday morning coming down.

SPEAKER_02 45:28

Honestly, let's face it, like Bob Dylan's a great songwriter.

SPEAKER_03 45:31

Oh, he's a horrible, horrible vocalist, horrible.

SPEAKER_02 45:34

You know, of him and Tom Petty and all these other people that have very average voices at best. So yeah, you you kind of learn what you can do. But I will say this, I outside of in college where I had to learn things no for no, I have never I have like resisted. I've always resisted learning something the way it was recorded, and I've always tried to put my own spin on it, whether it's changing the arrangement or a different picking pattern, yeah, uh improvising a little. And I've I'm always I'm so conscious of that. If if anyone that listens to this podcast is a studio rat, they'll know like the SM57 is the mic that records like every guitar amp on the planet. I refuse to own an SM57 in the studio because I want sound different. I want to sound different, and I want the people that work with me to find their sound, not just like someone else. So I've spent a lot of time actually trying not to sound too much like my influences. And you know, I had someone online and I posted something they said, like, wow, wow, that sounds like Martin Offler, and I'm like, oh wow, that I'm nowhere near that, but like, dang, I gotta try harder not to do that. Not to sound like that, right?

SPEAKER_03 46:39

All right, so well, yeah, yeah, and I and I think that's cool because I love to hear like like uh um oh, what is Buddy's last name? Buddy uh on the faded cowboys, buddy.

SPEAKER_02 46:53

Also I can think of his buddy guy because I have his autographed vinyl right there.

SPEAKER_03 46:57

What is his last name? I screw this up more often, I can only remember half people's names. Anyway, he's a he's uh he's a he's a honky tongue guitar player and singer, but they do a cover of Purple Rain that'll knock you side.

SPEAKER_02 47:10

Oh yeah, and I think it's so cool. And I like to be respectful to originals, yeah. Um, but I I definitely want to put my own stamp on them. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:18

And that's it's human.

SPEAKER_02 47:20

That's one way as a songwriter, too. Like I challenge myself, you know, to like take someone else's song and make it yours is almost as much of a challenge as birthing something from within. It's so true.

SPEAKER_03 47:30

True, true, true, true. Yeah. Guys, this has been a lot of fun. Yeah, this is cool. We I don't want to I don't want to take up too much of your time, and I hope the cameras are still running. Uh, because I don't I can't tell from this side, but um this has been great, and I promise you we're gonna do it again. Okay, and and we're gonna do uh we just need to do more of this. We need to we need to bust this music scene in Southeast Idaho wide open because because you know Boise has a lot more of a music scene than we do here, yeah. And we need to we need to open it up over here because I think the talent's here.

SPEAKER_01 48:03

Oh, yeah, yeah, it is, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_03 48:05

Anyway, well, hey, anything else you want to share with us before we get out of here? What do you think of this close guitar?

SPEAKER_02 48:11

Yeah, thanks for bringing this. I'm gonna noodle on this for a minute after the podcast is over.

SPEAKER_03 48:15

You're welcome to, but this is different, very, very different. It's interesting, it's it's got a great sound. And that was the whole point. They wanted me to get it in the hands of the artist. So very unique in a really good way. It's got a good tone to it, I think. True. Yeah, that's cool. Anything else you want to share?

SPEAKER_01 48:33

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_03 48:34

All right. Hey guys, thank you again. All right, all right, Matt. Thanks for inviting us, Keegan. Hey, thank you so much. Thanks for agreeing to sit down with us. Hey, for Musical Miles Podcast, I'm your host, Byron. We'll see you somewhere down the road, adios, for now. This episode is sponsored by Close. With over ten years of experience crafting hand-built composite instruments, Close provides the widest selection of premium carbon fiber instruments in the world. From acoustics to ukulele's, electrics and basses, even mandolins. When picking an instrument, Close doesn't want you to have to make a choice between performance and portability. These instruments stay in tune and intact, whether you're hopping venues or cresting mountains. Every close instrument is plaque, which means you'll get low action and buttery smooth playability each time you pick up your instrument. Check out close to find instruments will not only play with you, and you can do it.