Heath Clark | New Album That Ain't My My Rodeo

Heath Clark is a rising independent country artist and songwriter whose music blends traditional country roots with rodeo culture and cowboy storytelling. Originally from Arizona and now connected to the Idaho and Nashville music scenes, Clark has built a reputation as a high-energy live performer, team roper, and authentic western entertainer. His music reflects his real-life experiences working ranches, competing in rodeos, and growing up in a deeply musical family. Clark comes from a multigenerational musical family with more than a century of musical heritage. Family members have performed with notable country entertainers, and Nashville connections.

🎵 In This Episode:
• Heath Clark interview
• Singer Songwriter
• Country Music Rising Star
•  Nashville Music Culture
• Country Music Podcast 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Take your hands off that woman. Don't you reach for your gun and keep moving slow, might live to see one more son. Tell those two men behind me that I'm faster than they just be more dying, it's not their fighting anyway. Is it only hatching this thing makes a concena on the border between Green and New Illumor? That's not what it feels like. It feels like a past life robbing you hero before, and there's no contradiction. Facts sound like fiction. Your love has always been mine. Bigger than Texas, hotter than Mexico, stronger than time. Your eyes glow like the fire, and the stars overhead, my shoulders, your pillow in red mace stone is our bed. Just the sound of the horses in the soft desert nine. One fire dying, one fire coming alive. Easy only stain acts a can stain on the border between the moon. That's not what it feels like. Where I've been your hero before, and there's no contradiction. Facts sound like fiction. Your love has always been mine. Bigger than Texas, hotter than Mexico, stronger than time. As I am falling, I hear myself calling your name. Twin doing the more It's not what feels like feels like a past life where I've been your hero before. Stronger than time.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Thank you. Heath Clark, ladies and gentlemen. How are we doing? Welcome back to the podcast, buddy. Thanks for having me. Again. Again.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Am I officially the first?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

You're not the first second.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

I'm not the first. I was the first first.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

You were the first, first, but you're not the first second. We we some we had to we had to redo just out of sheer screwed-up stuff. But um no, well, you're hard to get with because you now live in Nashville, Tennessee. That's right. So uh Heath was our very n first number one uh podcast interview when we started this deal because Heath's dad, grandpa, and uncle played at our wedding. That's right 44 years ago, be 44 in April. So coming up. Long time ago. Long time ago, long before you were even a twinkle in your daddy's eyes. I still got that picture. And and unfortunately, your dad just recently passed, and that's a tough deal, and we hate to hear that.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

It was a terrible Christmas. Yeah, yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Unfortunately, that that's what happens when those things happen at holidays. So uh our our you were been in our thoughts and prayers. So um, but uh you're back in Ottawa Falls. We are at the zone. We are um with uh Jen. I don't know what her married name is, but I knew her as Jennifer Hess. She manages this this bar in this location, and funny story the first time you ever played it, I was in having lunch that day that you had called her and talked to her on the phone. And she said, I booked a guy that knows you. And I'm like, Really? And she goes, Yeah, it's like what's his name? It's like two candy bars. Heath Clark, yeah, that's the guy. So anyway, but uh you've played here this is your third or fourth time. Third, third or fourth time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool. Um, but when you when you make it back out to Idaho, you always try and come by and uh we sent her a message ahead of time to see if she has an open date.

SPEAKER_02 5:52

And uh actually tonight was booked. Uh Jud was playing here, and uh and he was gracious enough to to move dates for me to let me in.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

So that's what she told me yesterday. Actually, I came in and had lunch yesterday, and uh uh this is always a great place to get a burger and and hang out and run into our friends. And and of course on Wednesday nights they've had live music here for years. That's wonderful. And uh um we're seeing more of that happen in southeast Idaho that's been a big thing in in Boise Valley, Treasure Valley, Southeast Idaho, not so much, but we're we're starting to see that. And I was just telling you, we are working actively pursuing a songwriter festival in s in Idaho Falls. Um a major with some Nashville songwriters to bring them out. Uh in fact, that song there was written by a big time songwriter. Big time. Uh Kent Blazey. Kent Blazey, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

If you've ever heard uh Ain't Going Down Until the Sun Comes Up or If Tomorrow Never Comes or The Black Dress Song.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

All those Garth Brooks Garth Brooks songs big hits. Plus, he wrote tons of hits for other owners. And and so we actually were in Nashville with Heath and April back in uh April of last year. We actually got to hang out with you and went to the Listening Room Cafe, which is a huge inspiration for me and why I want to see that happen here in Idaho. The Listening Room Cafe is a great venue. The Bluebird is an incredible venue that we've yet to experience because it's been closed every time I've been in Nashville. Right. And uh, but the red bird listening room in New Brunfalls, Texas, very cool deal. And the songwriter experience is way different than a bar setting. Yep. We're gonna you're playing here tonight, and you're gonna have some people that are gonna listen to your music, us included. There's gonna be a lot in here just to yaking and talking and not paying attention. So that's kind of how it goes. Which is, you know, I always go back to that story that Django Walker told me. He said, Jerry Jeff told him, he says, You better do this because you love it. Yep. Because some guy's gonna be out, you're gonna be playing a song that you wrote that you love, and some guy's gonna be jacking his jaw, and he's gonna be talking louder than you're playing, and you're gonna want to whip him.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

I'll tell you the that's almost one of the things that hasn't even really, you know, affected me the most. It's when I play the song that I absolutely love, or you know, that means the world to me, and when the song's over and you hit that last chord.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:18

And the room's more silent than when you started.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

Yeah. And you're just like, I don't know. People, people don't grasp the yeah, you know, we go to we go to events, whether it's somewhere we're eating dinner or whatever, and we may not even know the artist, but always acknowledge them at the end of the song. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Yep, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Whether whether you like the song or not, thank you for your effort.

SPEAKER_02 8:41

Sometimes that's your only pay. That's your only reward for sitting up there singing. True story.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Well, and you know about that. Let's talk a little bit about that because you've you've kind of uh busted your hump and and worked this music trail for lots of years. You lived here in in Twin Falls, Idaho. Right. Um, for how many years were you in Twin? Uh 18 years. Were you there that long? Oh my gosh. And and and of course, you grew up in the music deal. Um your dad, Dark Clark, um, actually uh was a singer-songwriter himself and a great guitar player, as was your grandpa. So you come by it pretty naturally, it's kind of bred in you.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

So that's how we knew life was music seven nights a week.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

But your dad actually played in Reba's band for a period of time after her uh her plane crashed and killed her whole band. So uh he he uh fortunately and unfortunately for those that lost their lives, but he got to step in and play with Reba for some for a time, and that's pretty cool. And so uh, but you've chased this dream and and and when we first interviewed you 19 months ago, you were married and since got divorced. Yep. So things have changed in your life.

SPEAKER_02 9:54

Oh, how the world has changed.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Changed a bunch. But you have a sweet gal in your life, so that's right.

SPEAKER_02 10:00

The best.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Yeah. Uh she's across the room, so we gotta say that. That's right. No, we don't have to say this.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

You know, she's she's busted her hump. You know, this isn't easy for her either. So you know, for for me to live across the country 2,200 miles away and keep this going and still love me, you know, that says a lot about somebody.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Yeah, yeah. I don't know what it says about you, but it says a lot about her. Listen, so uh uh we were out there in April and you were kind of doing a little reconnaissance to figure out where you were gonna go and you had some horses to move out there and find a place to live and and uh figure this game out. How's it been? How's Nashville been? Has it been what you thought? Uh no. Okay, no.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

It's uh and I'm I'm just gonna be flat honest here for all the listeners out there. Sure. Um you know, not knocking Nashville because it's an amazing place. The roots are amazing. What Nashville I'm gonna say was, um, is not what it is today. Um I mean it's it you know, I I spoke with my Uncle West, the drummer that you know played for my dad, and you know, he's kind of chased that dream too. And and uh you know it's just it's almost become the place where dreams have been more broken than made.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

I I I've asked a lot of artists this, those who live in Nashville, is Nashville the place where musical dreams go to die? And and for some people it truly is. But then again, in all fairness, to the town, to the city, it is a 10-year town. It's been known as a 10-year town for a long time. That's right. Um, and there are artists there that that Laney Wilson's a prime example. Laney Wilson put in her 10 years, hard time and lived in a camp trailer and just mucked it out.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

You know, it's a crazy thing. I just uh I did some rider rounds uh just right before I went to Arizona for Christmas and uh met a guy by the name of uh Tom Shepherd.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

And uh I know of Tom, I've been not met him, but I know he has a songwriter festival in Texas.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Yes, yeah, and uh he wrote uh private riding with Private Malone Malone, yes, David Ball and uh Redneck Dot Club, and you know, and to hear his story too, it's kind of the you know the same thing. It was it was eight to ten years, you know, for for that part of the songwriter. But you know, back to your question, Nashville is an amazing place. I absolutely love you know Tennessee, everything about it.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

Except the ice storms.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

Except for the ice storms that we just had. Yeah, that was pretty brutal. Um knock on wood. I I never lost power once, but everybody around me else did. But uh was tough.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

We were we were scheduled, you knew that, we were scheduled to come out to uh uh a fundraiser for uh um Project Canine Heroes. Uh Jason Johnson invited us out, and we were really looking forward to that because they had 22 artists played that night. And and believe it or not, we had a sponsorship at a table, and we were planning on having Heath come with us, and we didn't get to go because our flight got canceled, and uh, of course, we had interviews set up with lots of different artists, songwriters, uh Jenny Tolman. That was all on the schedule, and it it all ended up going waste. So we'll we'll get to do it when we come back out. But um uh we want to get out there when when the weather's good and it's pretty. Yep. You know, and it's nice. Kind of like when we went last April. Yeah, yeah, April it was beautiful when we were there last year. So but uh well you know I I I often wonder that. Now we we talked a little briefly. Kent Blazy, you you've got a and that's that song that you played is on your new album. It is, and that name of the album is That Ain't My Rodeo. That ain't my rodeo. I want to say that ain't my first rodeo, but that ain't my rodeo. And then um uh didn't you have another Blazy song on there?

SPEAKER_02 13:48

Four Camp Blazy songs on the album. Yeah, yeah, imagine that. I I grew up listening to those songs, you know, and as a as a child you never know who writers are, you just know the artists, you know. Right. And you fall in love with a song, especially being a rodeo guy. Um every time I pull out of the driveway with a load of horses on headed to a rodeo, the very first song we cranked it up to 11 every single time. Ain't going down to the sun comes up. That's the start of our road trip to every rodeo we ever hit. And I used to hit 50, 60 rodeos a year, yeah. And you know, so that song went all and then to come to find out he was the writer, then to come find out I have four Camp Blaise songs. How did that happen? How did you end up with four cuts from Camp Blaise? Uh Gary Tackett.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Oh, Gary Tackett, which my my producer. Yeah, and which we've had on the podcast as well. So a great guitar player who actually played for Merle Haggard. Yep, Billy Carrington, band leader for him as well.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

So you know, he just started shooting me songs, and uh, you know, the thousands of songs we were, you know, I'd listen to and kick and listen to and kick and listen to. I got the first one, you know, uh, which uh actually was stronger than time. I got it a few years ago when we first started this journey with Gary to record the album, and uh it kind of set on the back burner until I had the money. My my wonderful sponsor, uh Wickle Tire, which is in Burley, Idaho, yeah, um, Jesse Wickle. Um, by the way, if you guys need tires, that's the place to go. Yeah, that's the place to go. Just had to say hi, Jesse. Um yeah, throw those plugs in there. I got to, um, you know, because I lived that dream because of them. Sure. You know, and because of that, I have those four camp lazies. But uh my daughter, my oldest daughter Addison, actually came, she fell in love with Stronger than Time and she goes, Dad, I don't care what other song you put on the album. She says, You have to do you know, a 16-year-old daughter at that time, you know, like dad, that's that's my jam. You know, in this day and age, it was it was kind of a special thing, and and I just I absolutely love that song because you don't to me, you don't hear that kind of music on any radio anymore. Right. There's a few out there, yes, but you just don't get that Marty Robbins Spanish love song. It's just it's hard to find from what you're hearing today.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Yeah, you know that that song has a gives me a little bit of the vibe of the the uh now I'm gonna screw this up when I do this when I start to thinking about it. Um Tracy Bird, the song uh Tracy Bird cut that had that little Spanish feel to it. What was the title of that song? Not one of her favorites, but I really like it. Uh yeah, that's why she would know it. Ah. Anyway, um, but uh yeah, it's kind of got a little bit of that Spanish feel to it and and and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 16:31

So when we when we cut that song, we actually had to stop it about 30 seconds into the song because it started out more of a two-pina colada style, and my producer had to run through the door and flag everybody down to stop. He's like, no, this, you know, we're not going, you know, that style. He's like, let's make it a little bit more love ballad, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

And it's not it's not the 10 rounds of Jose Cuerra that that that Marla Cannon wrote. That's right. Marlon Cannon Goodman wrote. Um, but uh no, there's some great songs out there, and that's the thing that there's such a plethora of of and huge, massive catalogs for you to draw from as an artist. And it's interesting because we've had some conversations here lately. I I re-interviewed Bryce Long. There's a guy I've interviewed twice before I got to interview twice, you twice, but Bryce talked about um uh because someone had shared a story with me about uh uh an artist that or a songwriter that got a cut from um uh with George Strait that had been uh in in this guy's catalog for 30 years. Wow. And it was Bobby Braddock. Wow, okay. And uh and and uh Garth or not Garth, but uh yeah, um uh King George cut it. Wow. And and then and then Bryce shared a story about a song that he wrote, and I'm trying to remember who he wrote it with, but uh it had been uh they wrote it 19 years ago, and it just barely got cut. Well so those those deals happened.

SPEAKER_02 17:58

Well, and that's kind of what I was looking at when I wanted to do this album. I said, You find me as many songs off the shelf from as long ago as you possibly can. Right. So, and I want to say that song was written 8990.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Okay. Um and that makes more sense, it's kind of got a little more of that real, true country flair, spanning. Yeah, it I I could see that, and and of course those older songwriters, yeah, like Blazy and like Bobby Braddock and like some of those guys, and you know, even Bryce, you know, Bryce is very been in in Nashville 20 years, but but he's uh he's pretty cat, he's pretty country. Have you met Bryce? Have not. He's cowboy. Now this guy, this guy can rope. He's a he's uh I think he's a number five healer. So if you're looking for somebody to go rope with, there's the guy. I'll introduce you.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

Let's rope. I can head, but I'm more of a healer, but yeah, well, I'm I'm the same way.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

I probably always won more money heading than I ever did healing, but I love to heal. Right. So but uh yeah, no, he uh great guy, and and and he's the real deal. He's the cowboy, and he so he's worked, he's been working with Chansey Williams quite a bit. He started to do some producing and stuff. So how's that how how's the how's the opportunities? Are you finding opportunities for places to go play out there?

SPEAKER_02 19:13

No, no, no. Um I don't know what it is about the I mean there's there's a musician on on every crack of every sidewalk, sure, you know, or stack it up times ten, but um there's a lot of places to play. There's not a lot of um, you know, you can't put everybody in to those spots. You know, it it takes time to get in there. Um that's kind of why, you know, when I come out here and visit, I can, you know, fill out my week full of of music here and then shoot around to Arizona and play a few shows and shoot over to Texas, play a few shows, and trying to get some of Louisiana and then head back, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Well, and here's the deal, you know, it's it's it's interesting to me because it seems to me like there's probably more opportunities and more venues in Texas to play than there are in in Nashville.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

There are. And and per capita per musician.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Yeah, and well, and there's and there's a and there's a musician under every rock in Texas, may not be on every crack and every sidewalk. Right. But you know, if you if you roll down on Lower Broadway, like we have, and walk down Lower Broadway to every one of those clubs, there's a band, not an artist, but a band in every window on every floor, and there's typically two to three floors in every one of those places. And they're packed. They are packed. And and those guys, but it's interesting, and and it and it's not a hundred percent the case, but what I've learned is that a lot of those guys that are playing on Lower Broadway, they're there to make money. They're they're they're not worried about cutting an album, they're not worried about they're they're gonna play covers all day long, seven days a week, and they're gonna make way more money than most touring artists.

SPEAKER_02 20:53

Uh that that is the case. I uh I had actually had uh April with me, and we went and watched uh Exile and the Oak Ridge Boys um at the Pig Fest there in Hendersonville not too long ago. And uh we had a guy standing up in front of us, and I very politely walked up and asked him to move because we he was right in our view, and I said, Hey, we got a spot at our table, come sit down with us. Well, it turns out I kind of become friends with him, Jason Witt, and uh he was a keyboard player for Exile when he first moved to Nashville, and so he was there to watch him, and uh you just never know who you're gonna run into. But I was talking to him about you know, are you why aren't you touring anymore? Why aren't you playing, you know? He goes, Well, I can go down to Lower Broadway and I play a nine to noon show every morning, seven days a week. I make more money down Lower Broadway playing the that four hour show seven days a week tour than I will touring. He says it just doesn't pay.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

You know, we got to interview Craig Campbell and Craig um Craig was the piano the keyboard player for Luke Bryant. Yeah. And uh but he cut his teeth on Lower Broadway. That's where he met his wife and and They tell me she's extremely talented as well. But but he just said, you know, that a lot of guys start out there, but it took a year for him to put the contract together. He continued to play lower broad and and make a living. Yep. And then he went out on the road with Luke, but then he finally got, you know, he cut his first record. I don't remember what year it was, but you know, then his career started. But now he's back. He's he does no longer have a record deal. He's now an independent artist. Yep. And so, which I'm finding more and more of those. I mean, there are a ton of artists, but the music deal's tough, and and we're learning uh more and more every time we sit down with somebody.

SPEAKER_02 22:37

It's kind of when once you start getting into it, you start looking at it and you're like, some of the stories you hear, you're like, you you really did, or they really did, you know, do deal with the devil. I mean, some of the things that these people do just to be under a label is bizarre to me.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And there's there's there's a there's a dark side of Nashville and uh Music Row. Yep. You know, literally, that that song George sings about, the murder on music row. Well, he's talking about they murdered the music, right? But they but there was literally murders on music row with with with some uh music industry people. So it it's it's an interesting place, and it's it's it's really, really cool, but it's it's got its dark side, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

One of the other Kent Blazey songs that uh that we did was written Kent Blazey and Lane Turner, who plays bass for well, Chris Ledue and now Ned Ledou. Sure. Um, which I got to meet him and open up for him. First time we ever played uh the first release off the out the album uh Outside Looking In. Lane was there, so we got to play it for him. But you know, that song, it's kind of like, you know, it it for me it is. It's it's literally the outside looking in because I couldn't get into going down to play Broadway. I I go down there and it's cool to take people, and we go down there and sure, you know, show people and whatnot. But I, you know, you I can't get sucked into that. That's not me.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Well, no, because if you do, it's hard to get out of it. It is, and I think that's that's really the the you know, people go to Nashville for two one of two reasons. You either go to be a performer on Lower Broadway and make a living playing because you love the music and you don't care if you play covers. We interviewed one of I did in in Vegas at the NFR this year, a band out of Fort Worth, Texas called the Neon Profits. Got to be one of the best 90s cover bands I've ever heard. Their vocals are phenomenal, and they've been doing it for years, but they're now stepping out a little bit and trying to write some of their own music and do that. But but but they're great, but they were okay with being a cover band. Yeah. And and Heath Clark's not okay being a cover band. I'm not okay being a cover. You're you're a good cover. You I mean you can play some you can play the hell out of some of those covers, right? But but you're also very, very talented singer and a songwriter, and and uh, and I love to see you perform. Yep, and and anybody who's had that opportunity learns real fast that you are a good performer.

SPEAKER_02 25:04

I you know, and above all, I love to write good good songs because I'm a storyteller type of writer. I want my songs to make sense and I want them to hit you in the gut, you know, whether it make you happy or sad or cry or or mad or whatever they may do. But my passion is to perform. Yeah, if you can leave my show smiling, leave better than the way you came in, yeah, you know, because it was just you let all your worries go. Yeah, that's my job. Yeah, and that's what I you know intend to do at every show is oh, we'll talk to everybody, we'll I'll go sing to you, I'll jump on a table and and dance for you. Yeah, you know, anything.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

No, you're a performer, you you do, you do it, you do it well, and I know you love it. And and I know you you love the songwriting side of things too, and you learned to that love, I'm sure, from your dad and from your grandpa. So well, um so so what's the plan, Heath? I mean, have you have you got a have you got a uh a timeline and a backup plan, or are you just gonna muck it out?

SPEAKER_02 26:09

I'm uh I'm literally just I actually have uh a gentleman right now to Alexandria, Louisiana, trying to, we're working on a uh contract to to be a booking agent for me to where I can just get out and just start going. Um we got a lot of that contract that we're we're sifting through, what works for him, what works for me, what doesn't work for me, what doesn't work for him, sure. And try to come to an agreement, you know, which is uh an extremely hard thing to do uh these days where it's gotta fit me and my needs and it's gotta fit his needs too. Um but you know, those guarantees have to be there in order for stuff like that. But until then, I still gotta make money. I still know, and that's kind of what I'm coming through here, and I'll head down south, Arizona and whatnot, and I'll make a big shoot around and play as many shows as I can and book along the way, and sure, and then I'll rotate back around and I may wind up in Oklahoma playing the a weekend show and then you know make my way back out here to Idaho or head up to Montana or just kind of wherever I can go. Sure. I just I want to play, I can't sit too long. Yeah, um this is an art. Oh, absolutely. You sit too long, my fingers no longer, you know, are callused and my voice doesn't want to perform anymore. And yeah, and then I get to the point where it's like I don't really want to do it tonight. I just well it's hard.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

I mean you lose you lose your motivation, I'm sure. And and and I can only imagine, and we're no different. I mean, we you you you sit on that side of the table from me to tonight, and I think you're number, even though you were number one, I think you're now number 220, maybe something like that, that we've done in 19 months. Yeah, that's a lot of talking, right? That's a lot of talking and trying to remember all those names. That's why I forget. And the the song that I was trying to remember, uh, which is uh Did you you wiped it off? Yeah, you're supposed to save that for me. Let Let Me Be in Love, which I love that song, Tracy Bird. And I don't even know who wrote it, but uh, I think at one time I did look it up. Uh huh. She'll look it up for me. That's what we got the producer back here for. So but um no, I I I I think that that uh it's it's it's hard. I can only imagine it's hard to be in Nashville, although that's the place you need to be for several reasons. But it's gotta be hard to to to not look at that and go, okay, how long do I do this?

SPEAKER_02 28:29

It is because I you know, I don't know if it's a I don't know what it is, you know. I just I don't sit still well. Sure. You know, I gotta be doing something. Sure. Um, you know, and Tennessee isn't Tennessee isn't cowboy enough, you know, for me. I I you know I've I've had my horses and whatnot with me and uh have you found any place to rope? No, there's not one place. Not one place to rope.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

I need to introduce you to Bryce. Because Bryce, Bryce ropes. Bryce owns some good heel horses and he ropes at home when he's home.

SPEAKER_02 29:04

Well, and that's the thing, is they rope at home because there's nowhere to go. There's no jackpots, there's no, it's not like growing up in Arizona or out here in Twin Falls, Idaho, where you know, people rope two, three, four times a night.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

Right.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

But I you know, I got some exceptional uh two little stud colts coming on that I've actually started over there, and uh and then I've got my my mares and whatnot. But uh, you know, I got my sled that I can pull around, but you know, it's not the same. I can train, train, train, train, but sometimes I want to go rope.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

Oh yeah, no, there's no replacing. Listen, there's no replacing a live music experience, and there's no replacing live cattle. That's right. Good live cattle, good live cattle, and good live music. So, so they they kind of go hand in hand, they really do. Um, well, I I I was tickled to see that you were coming out, and uh, you know, when when you've released your singles, we try and push them out for you, and uh, we're fans. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

Well, we got, you know, this has kind of been something I wanted so bad to tell the world what was going on with dad last year. Sure. And uh dad made us all, you know, promise, you know, that we wouldn't tell anybody what was going on with him. You know, he didn't want the the sympathies or the pity, the pity party, or you know, he just wanted to be him. Yeah, and he wanted us kids to be around him in his last days, and that's what he got. And uh, you know, it it kind of it kind of stopped a lot of stuff for me, you know, in the music industry because I I didn't want to put more music out. I didn't want to do anything, I didn't want to, you know, do a whole lot. You know, I'm sitting there watching, you know, my dad die you know from cancer, and uh, you know, that that was a tough deal. So it's like sure I I really don't, you know, don't care at this point. And you know, now trying to pick it back up and getting ready. So I'm trying to decide whether to just start dropping a single every month or just drop the whole dadgum album and put it out there and you know and see what uh what it is.

SPEAKER_00 30:56

Um yeah, just let me be in love was written by Tony Martin, Mark Nestler, Nestor, and Tom Shapiro. Yeah, yeah, I love that song. Um, but well, you know, back to that, and we've talked to lots of artists about this, and a lot of the thing that keeps people, most people, from dropping an entire album is the money, right? Going in and recording a full album and then releasing the full album. Now, you got some guys, that's what they want to do, even though it's a three or four year process, they like that. Yeah, um, most people can't afford to do that. Yeah, your album's done. Yep, it is done. It's done, done, done. And so, but I will give you this, just take this for what it's worth, because I know that much about the music business, but I do know this. There's only so many hours in a day for me to listen to music, yeah. Okay, not only music, but other podcasts, and I try and kind of and then and then just just by being busy, right? Um but I would I struggle because we all compete for the same set of ears, right? And there's only so many hours in a day. So I can only listen to so many songs in a day, and my job's a little different than the average person because we have interviewed so many different artists. We've seen over 400 live acts in the last year, right? So to try and and listen to that, digest it, and remember it, and then remember the songwriters and the the songs and the titles and the artists who sang them, yeah. Um is a lot. Yeah. So what I'm telling you is that I think you're smart to dribble it out. It's the waterfall effect, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:37

You just slowly Well, you know, kind of like going back to that there's a musician on every crack of every road, um, all across the country. There's more artists out there today than there ever has been. Oh, yeah. And there's more, especially with the AI and the computer industry that you have now on a cell phone and the internet, the internet, and the the new ways that you can record by yourself in your own home. Yeah, and people are dropping these things, you know, daily.

SPEAKER_00 33:07

Oh, I'm trying to remember, it was it was three or four hundred thousand songs a day. New songs hit Spotify daily.

SPEAKER_02 33:15

And here I am trying to do something that's as professional as George Stray or Cody Johnson or any of those guys. Um, our album wasn't done, it was done in Sony Studio, Sony Tree in Nashville, yeah, with the same guys that recorded Brooks and Dunn's first album, Next Broken Heart. Oh, yeah. Neon Moon, all of those songs. Yeah. Same guys. No, no, you have Brent Mason there. Brent, I mean, it by the way, uh, when you get to hear Stronger Than Time, yeah, that's Brent Mason on the gutstring guitar doing all that Spanish style he he's a legend in Nashville.

SPEAKER_00 33:53

He is a legend. And you were very fortunate to have had those guys be able to play on. And and when we first did our first interview and you were telling me all that, it went over my head. But now I know you get it. Now I get it. And and I've had those conversations with those artists and and some of those session players who, you know, and even who did I talk to the other day? I was interviewing somebody, and they said, you know, I went in, it's so intimidating. She said it was a girl. And I went in and she said, I sat down and said, Okay, this is my song, and this, and they they look at it, she goes, they don't even listen to the whole song. They just go, Oh, yeah, we got it. And she said, and it comes out way better than I ever imagined.

SPEAKER_02 34:31

It does. And so I was sitting in the studio in my little glass box with my headphones on, almost forgetting to sing the song, because here I am starstruck. You know, I'm more starstruck to a studio musician than I am to somebody in Hollywood, but I'm sitting here like Brent Mason sitting right in front of me, and Mike Johnson on the steel guitar, and I got uh my buddy um Michael Spriggs next to me in the box over here, and Lonnie Wilson up there. I'm sitting here and I'm just like, I'm starstruck that all these guys that I've grown up watching and listening and listening to, I know every song that they've they've ever played on, and I'm just like, and then it's like, oh yeah, I gotta sing. Yeah. Because I'm like, oh.

SPEAKER_00 35:10

And most people have no idea. You know, they're all thinking that that that these artists are sitting in there recording and playing all those musical parts themselves. Yep. Listen, there's not very many guys like Prince, right, that could play every instrument and every part. Yep. And record it. Yeah. And release it.

SPEAKER_02 35:26

Well, we're we're talking like five minutes in the song, even with some overdose, might, maybe eight minutes. And the song is cut. Yeah. Then it then it's got to go to production, you know, to the engineer, and they've got to mix it and master it. Sure. But other than that, it's two, three, boom. And the song's done. Yeah. And you're just like, okay, now what do we do? What just happened?

SPEAKER_00 35:48

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, I think it's cool, and I'm glad you finally got it out, and you got some got some your your we hope you get some traction. We're we're doing everything we physically can to help you. And uh, you know, keep busting up and down the road.

SPEAKER_02 36:04

That's it. Turn down the highway. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:08

This episode is brought to you by Tin Hall, Western style with an edge, bold design, fearless attitude, and boots that make a statement. Discounts available when you click our sponsor link at musical miles podcast.com. Anything else you want to share with us before we get out of here?

SPEAKER_02 36:27

Uh whoever's still watching this video at this point, make sure you guys follow Musical Miles Podcast. You know what? Click the like, go to the YouTube.

SPEAKER_00 36:35

Yeah, yeah, go to YouTube, click the subscribe. That's the tricky part. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 36:45

Well, you it takes no time to hit the like subscribe button. As you sit there and you your phone's in your hand all day long, you click a thousand times texting somebody, you can hit subscribe and like. Yeah, share somebody's video.

SPEAKER_00 37:01

And and and not only that, make a comment. Make a comment. And that's I tell people look, don't be mean, but be honest with us. So anyway, we we appreciate you and we appreciate your hard work, and uh we look forward to things working out and getting better. You've you've you've gone over some gone through some tough times in the last couple years, but it can only go uphill from here or go go go flatten out anyway.

SPEAKER_02 37:26

Well, maybe I told my mom when when this whole deal with my dad happened, I was like, um, you know, it just feels like you know, once you hit rock bottom, I'm like, okay, hit rock bottom, I can push off and I can climb again. No, it just feels like I'm just a rock skipping on the bottom of the ocean. It's just like uh a little something, but you know, it it's it's only is what uh what we make of it.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

So well, you got the talent. I really believe that. So hey, before we get out of here, play me one more. What would you like? You tell me whatever you want to play us, and what do you think of that guitar?

SPEAKER_02 37:56

I love that guitar.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

That's pretty cool. That's close. You know what? These guys have been really cool with us. All they asked me to do is just this get it in the artist's hand, have him play it. You know, you notice the back of it. Yeah, that neck unbolts.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 38:11

You leave it strung, you leave it strong, and it goes into a little side sleeve and snaps onto a backpack and it goes in the overhead of the airplane.

SPEAKER_02 38:20

That makes it nice to carry.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

Yeah, yeah. Alright, what are you gonna play us?

SPEAKER_02 38:26

Well, uh, being team ropers, yeah, uh back in March, May, uh, a guy put out on a team roping page um, you know, about the healers, H-E-A-L-E-R-S, and uh, you know, how you better be anyhow. Doug Arneal, we had him actually come out from Texas and uh he got up on stage and for the first time ever we played Rope and Man. Yeah, he got up there with his with his little rope and did a little dancing for the crowd. Well, he's a brave man, he's a brave man, but you know he kind of put himself out there. He did, but you know, he doesn't back down from what he said, he believes what he said, and uh, you know, there's a lot of the pro guys that have had him on their podcast and and talking about it. The point that he was trying to make was correct, you know. It he's just a brave man for saying what he did because you or I probably wouldn't say it.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

But uh but you wrote a cool song about it, so here we go.

SPEAKER_02 39:22

This is called Roping Man.

SPEAKER_01 39:25

Well, I've a horse for before, got myself a horse wants a rope in. Learn a few tricks from number nine, got my number raised after my first time. I was born to be a roping man. And I was born to do the best I can. If you're looking for a partner to catch every time I'm the best number four, soon to be five. Come on, boys give em Dougie a try. Well it is in as easy as it looks if you rope long enough you're learning partners suck. No one's ever as good as me. I can catch all my steers perfectly. I was born to be a roping, man. And I was born to do the best I can. Every look for a partner to catch every time I'm the best number four. Soon to be five. Come on, boys, and give 'em lucky a try. If you look for a partner to catch him, time on best number four. Soon it'd be Bob. Come on, boys. Give 'em Dougie a try. Come on, boys. Give Byron a try.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

Hey, I'm hoping they lower my number to a three. Me and Dougie, maybe, maybe Dougie, we can rope. If I get if I get my three and you get your five, we'll roll. Hey, thanks, Heath, man. It's good to see you. It's good to catch up. It's good to catch up with you in April, and uh, and uh always fun to see you. And we'll get out to Nashville for too long. Yeah. I don't know when now. It's kind of our schedule is we're getting stacked. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 41:39

The weather's getting better, so they can go anytime.

SPEAKER_00 41:41

That'd be that'd be too nice to go when the weather's good. We woke up this morning to a couple inches of snow. Us too. We we decided that maybe it's time to go south. So we're gonna head to Arizona in the morning. Hey, Heath, thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right. Hey, for Musical Models Podcast, I'm your host, Byron Delphine here with Mr. Heath Clark. We'll see you somewhere down the road.