Gundog Nation
A show to bring together gundog enthusiasts, trainers, and handlers with discussion focused on all breeds and styles of gundogs.
Gundog Nation
Tanner Horton - The Creekers: From Creek to Country Stardom
From creek beds to the country music spotlight, Tanner Horton shares the remarkable rise of The Creekers in this intimate conversation about authentic music, rural roots, and overnight viral success.
The gravel in Tanner Horton's voice matches the authenticity of his story—a tale of musical passion born in the hollers of Eastern Kentucky, nurtured through family traditions, and suddenly thrust into the spotlight through a viral TikTok video. As lead guitarist and vocalist for The Creekers, Tanner offers listeners a rare glimpse into the band's organic formation around 2020, when they played their first gig at a small Tennessee bar for just $150.
What makes this episode particularly special is hearing the backstory of songs like "Hidin' Kentucky" and "River Rat" directly from their creator, including the poignant moment when Tanner performs an acoustic version of "River Rat" exclusively for the podcast. His musical journey winds through formative years at the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music, where legends like Bobby Osborne helped shape his distinctive sound—a sound that caught fire when The Creekers' "Tennessee Song" exploded across social media platforms.
Beyond music, Tanner reveals the balancing act of maintaining his horseshoeing work while fielding calls from major record labels and booking increasingly prestigious venues. His aspirations remain refreshingly grounded: a piece of land for hunting and raising cattle, and a good saddle mule—dreams that reflect the authentic rural values permeating The Creekers' sound. As the band prepares to record their next album in Nashville, this conversation captures a pivotal moment in their ascent, documenting how genuine storytelling and musical craftsmanship can still cut through the noise in today's digital landscape.
Ready to discover your next favorite band before they become household names? Listen now and be among the first to experience The Creekers' authentic country sound that's rapidly winning hearts across America.
Gundog Nation is Proudly Sponsored by Waterstone Labradors.
Gundog Nation is Proudly Sponsored by:
I'm Kenneth Witt and welcome to Gun Dog Nation. Gun Dog Nation is much more than a podcast. It's a movement to build a community of people around the world that like to watch a well-trained dog do what it's bred to do. Also, we want to get our youth involved into the sport of gundogs, whether it be hunting, sport or competition. We want to build a community of people united to preserve our gundog heritage and be better gundog owners. Tune in into each weekly episode and learn about training, dog health, wellness and nutrition. We will also offer tips for hunting with dogs and for competition, hunt tests, field trials and other dog sports that involve gun dogs. Please go to our website gundognationcom and subscribe to our email list. We will keep you up form weekly with podcasts that are coming out. We also will be providing newsletters with training tips and health tips for your dog. You can also go to Patreoncom forward, slash GunDogNation and become a member. There's different levels of membership on there. Just go check that out.
Speaker 1:Also, we'd like to thank Sean Brock for providing the music for this show. The introduction and the outro is Sean Brock. He played everything on there except the banjo by Scott Vestal and the dobro by Jerry Douglas. Sean is a neighbor of mine from over in Harlan, kentucky. I'm just crossing the mountain in Hyden Kentucky and he's a super talented guy. But most of all, I want you guys to check out the Creakers. They are also from Hyden Kentucky and this is an up-and-coming bluegrass and country band and these guys are hot. They're all over TikTok and YouTube. You will hear these guys because in a year or so they will be on the radio. They are very talented. Their videos are going viral on the net. These boys are family. Two of the lead singers one grew up with my daughters and the other one is my cousin's son, so he's family. But check them out. Check out the Creakers Also. Last but not least, if you want to buy a hat, koozie t-shirt or even gundog supplies, go to shop gundognationcom and you can purchase any of those items. Thank you so much for listening. It's a privilege to have people that want to put up with me talking about dogs all the time. I actually enjoy what I do and I'm so glad to have this opportunity and thank you. Hello, this is kenneth whitt with gundog nation. Uh, welcome back.
Speaker 1:I'm coming to you today from the ranch in fort mccavitt, texas, and man, this is kind of neat. I've never got to have anybody that's my family on my podcast yet that's actually a bad deal. We've been doing this 11 months. So this young man, his dad and I grew up together. We're really close when we were young and, of course, I've been in Texas 13 years. I don't get to see her like I used to, but hopefully soon I'll be back home and living closer to my family, my kids and all that. But I also tell you a lot about this young man. He's a lot of things. He's actually double related to my daughters. His mother and their mother are cousins, and me and his dad's cousins, and anyway, it's neat. It's going to be exciting to have a family member. I'm going to let him introduce himself, but I've got to brag on this young man he's.
Speaker 1:When he was little, his dad it was on Thanksgiving. I'd come in from work. I was working at Pennsylvania for Shell and his dad wanted me to watch him play guitar, just kind of see what I thought. He just started picking it up and so I went up to their house and watched him. I don't know how old you were, tanner, you little fella, but uh, he was little.
Speaker 1:This had been probably around 2011. Yeah, 2011, early 12, but it was sometime in there. And, uh, I told todd, I said man, I said he's got a rhythm hand aside. I said his timing's amazing, he's got a rhythm hand a side. I said his timing's amazing, he's just started playing. And he was just playing in time. And it's so hard to do, especially a young player. Keeping time is tough. But I told him, I said man, if he likes it, like that.
Speaker 1:And Todd didn't know, no one knew what he'd turn out to be, but he loved it. And I said he loves it that much, knew what he'd turn out to be, but he, just he loved it. And I said he loves it that much. He's got that much enthusiasm. I said he's going to be, he'll be something else. And, buddy, I was right and I get to brag about that all the time, but all right, it's time. I want to introduce the lead guitar player, one of the lead singers for a group that you all going to to hear All over the radio. In a year from now, these guys will be famous. They're already famous. I shouldn't even say will be, because that's an understatement. They're an internet sensation, tiktok sensation. But I'm going to introduce this young man. I'm going to let him tell you what he does, but here he is the singer for the Creakers, the guitar picker, mr Tanner Horton. How you doing, tanner.
Speaker 2:How you doing.
Speaker 1:Hey, all right man, you guys are lighting up the Internet man Like I've never seen in my life and I'm so happy If y'all know you're getting ready to do a record deal that might be confidential, and if you can't talk about stuff like that, I respect that.
Speaker 2:I know it's business right. If you can't talk about stuff like that, I respect that no-transcript. Just about too Too fast. I ain't had much time, well, tanner.
Speaker 1:Take me back when you first the first time you ever played with a band On stage, with people. Who'd you play with and where was that?
Speaker 2:Oh lord Hiding auction house. Who'd you play with and where was that? Oh Lord Hiding auction house on every Thursday night for about five years, circa 2013, 2012, 2013,. From then to about right before I got out of high school. Now, I'd been going to the Bluegrass College down here for a while by the time I was in high school. But shoot, lord, that feels like it ain't really been that long ago, but it feels like it's been a lifetime ago.
Speaker 1:That's right. It hasn't been that long ago, it's been over ten years Now. The college you're talking about Tell everybody about the college, where that's at and what the name of it is.
Speaker 2:The college.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:It's a part of the community college In the next town over here in Hazard, but they focus mainly on just bluegrass and traditional music and Bobby Osborne was one of the teachers there until he died. They had Curtis Birch was a teacher there. If you don't know who Curtis Birch is, he done a lot of the soundtrack work for Old Brother Warthow.
Speaker 1:Fine dobro player Whitney Tanner, One of the best.
Speaker 2:One of the best guitar pickers too, let's see. And then Bobby's Bobby's son, boz, worked there some God. There's been a Scott Napier who played with Larry Sparks for 10 years, which he played with you all some right before that actually.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was my first bluegrass band was me and Scott Napier, Kevin Ambergi and Kelly Caldwell.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then Virgil Bowen, who also played with Larry Sparks, but around the same time as Scott did. He's still there. Some JP Mathis. He come from down east Tennessee State University. He's big. He had a show on Netflix a while back, but he was a teacher there for a long time.
Speaker 1:So you had a lot of good mentors down there.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I was around a bunch of good ones.
Speaker 1:Tanner, you may not know this, but your uncle, your dad's brother, is what inspired me when I was a young man. I want, I want to play a banjo like Robbie Horton. And uh, man, you know, he was just phenomenal guitar player, banjo player. He is a phenomenal picker. But uh, I went to buy a banjo and seen how much he cost and I was like, oh, maybe I have to find something else to do. And I didn't end up starting playing till I was in law school. Actually, yeah, but your Uncle Robbie can skin it too.
Speaker 1:He's just humble and don't get out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he'd burn one down, but you'd never know it if you didn't know him. Yeah, yeah, and that's with anything. Guitar mandolin dobro banjo. He'd play fiddle too, doughbro banjo.
Speaker 1:He can play fiddle too. So, tanner, you know what got you inspired to play, what made you go get a guitar when you was a young boy, when other kids was out doing you know whatever playing video games. Why the guitar? Why music?
Speaker 2:Buddy, I can't tell you really, I don't know. I've been drawn to them my whole life and they got me a banjo for Christmas one year I don't know, seven or eight and that evening, you know, we went up to Granny's for Christmas dinner and Robbie was up there and he tuned it up for me and taught me how to play Cripple Creek on it and that drove it up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and.
Speaker 2:I beat and bangle creek on it and that drove it up. And yeah I, I beat and banged around on it for just a short while and I picked the guitar up and I ain't played banjo much since I got two, really good ones I can't play neither one of them does your dad still have that sigma or not?
Speaker 2:well, I don't know, it was a martin shenandoah, just shit. No, it's a sigma. I've got it out there in the out there where all my other stuff is. Uh, I had a pickup put in a while back.
Speaker 1:It's my backup to my backup guitar I remember when your dad got robbie got that for him for christmas yeah, it's a good, it's still a, it's still a head burner.
Speaker 2:Uh, it's my backup to my backup, which my main guitar. I play an HD-28. And if it goes down, I've got a Cotton C-28, which is a local builder here in East Kentucky, gary Cotton. And if that one goes down I've got Dad's old Sigma. I had a pickup put in a while back.
Speaker 1:Man needs backups, don't he Mm-hmm? I had a pickup put in a while back. Man needs backups, don't he Mm-hmm. So you all had a band at the college right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they did. They split you off and you know, depending on how many students there was, they split you off in three or four different bands, you know, and that kind of taught you how to be in one a little bit. You'd go around and play local shows and stuff for college and stuff like that, and I'd done that for a while. I was mainly just going over there just to do that.
Speaker 1:And then Tanner, I guess at some time after that you formed a band with another cousin of mine and yours, with Doug Napier and some of them guys. It was called Hillbilly Jed, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, doug, doug, I run into him somewhere. I might have went up Short Creek up there, you know what I'm talking about and one night he pretty much begged me to join and I did, and we done that for a while.
Speaker 1:How long did you all play together?
Speaker 2:About two years, and then me and Allen, and Allen was actually in the same band too. That's in me and we split off and started doing a little duo type thing after a couple years of that, and we done that for about another two years.
Speaker 1:Was that just you and Allen? Yeah, yep. We done that for about another two years. Was that just you and Allen? Yeah, yep, for a couple years. And then when did you all?
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, go ahead, tanner, no you're good, me and Allen done that duo thing for a couple years and then we're just shy of two years probably it's more like a year and a half maybe. And then he moved to Tennesseeennessee down in tassville. Tennessee got a job down there and you know hell I I hadn't talked to him in a while at that point and I was doing I was down to a solo gig. Then I ain't quit playing music eight years since I got out of high school Nice.
Speaker 1:I've been a, so when did you all decide to form a band? Well, that you have now.
Speaker 2:When did?
Speaker 1:the Creakers form.
Speaker 2:In that six or so months that I didn't talk to Allen just because you know he was intensely working. You know it ain't like we had any bad blood or nothing. He just got busy working and I was doing my thing, I was shooing horses and still playing music and I was playing a little solo gig down at a bar down there and he showed up him and Shane and everybody and they brought a pretty good little crowd with them and Alan got up there with me and we'd done a few and a couple days ago he texted me him in and we done a few, and a couple days ago he texted me. He said, man, we ought to start this back. I miss it.
Speaker 2:I said well, I said I ain't quit, come right on. I said I got, I've already got gigs lined up, I can just join me. He said well, he said I got. He said you know jagger and ashton. I said well, I said no, jagger, uh, which is her bass player? Uh, they are alan's wife's, uh, cousins, and he'd been picking around with them just sitting around the campfire hanging out playing like that. We practiced one time that year at the house and played a little bitty bar in Cumberland Gap, tennessee, for $150. A four-hour gig for $150, four of us Dodging fights all night trying to not get our guitars busted. Man, that's where it was born, right there we didn't have a name when was that that was in 2021, maybe Okay, so we're 2020.
Speaker 2:Something like that. It was like the winter of 2020, I think. Maybe or 2021. I can't remember exactly.
Speaker 1:Now, how'd y'all come up with the name?
Speaker 2:Buddy, we was sitting around.
Speaker 2:Well, we played that one show and we started getting a few more around and we didn't really know what to everybody was asking what we called ourselves, and we couldn't come up with nothing. And I said, well, hell, we're all from a creek somewhere. You know I live. You know I'm from Munchies Creek. I live on Bull Creek, alan's from Munchies Creek, jagger and Aston's from a place called Jack's Creek, which, if you don't know where Jack's Creek at, you go to the end of the world and turn left. I said, and Tyler Childers had a song out called Creaker, you know, just by an old boy from up the head of a holler somewhere, and I said, well, that'd be a pretty good name, the Creakers. And that's just where that started from.
Speaker 1:Hello, this is Kenneth Witt with gundog nation. Many people quickly become frustrated and confused when training a retriever. Cornerstone gundog academy's online courses eliminate all the guesswork by giving you a proven training system that will help you train a dog that anyone will be proud to have in their blind. Learn where to start, what to do and what to do when problems rise. Visit cornerstonegundogacademycom to learn how you can train your retriever.
Speaker 1:I have used this method myself. I have been through it a couple times with different dogs. I refer back to it lots of times when I'm trying to get dogs freshened back up for hunt test season. I highly recommend them. I have actually been a subscribed member of Cornerstone Gun Dog Academy since 2016, and I would suggest anyone use it. I highly recommend it. They have an app that you can get to on your phone. You can do it from your phone, your laptop. You can't get any more convenient than that. I've used it. It's proven and tried and I know literally hundreds of people that have done the same thing that I've talked to. Visitstone gundog academycom and learn how to train your own retriever.
Speaker 1:I like it. I figured that was kind of what it was, but I didn't know the real, the whole story. Um, tanner, what I want we're gonna talk about a lot of stuff, because you and I have got so much to cover and we don't get to talk much. But you boys, what I like about you is you're authentic. You don't sound like nobody else. You've never tried to sound like anybody. Tanner, I begged Todd, for years to get you to dinner with my brothers in Nashville and let Broadway hear somebody real country, because I don't know if they know what that sounds like. And so you guys write your own material, right, is that right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we write 99% of it.
Speaker 1:Okay, and I can tell when I listen and I mean this as a compliment when I listen to y'all's recordings on Spotify there are no studio musicians. It's you all right? Yeah, there's nothing.
Speaker 2:It's kind of funny. We hired a fiddle player to play on our first album and she's been with us ever since we hired her. We didn't think it would go anywhere. She just come in to play on our first album on Portman Creek and she's been with us ever since. We was in the studio and Tim, our manager, texted me and said hey, y'all want to show opening up for Rhonda Vincent at Renfro Valley. This was in February. When he texted me, the Rhonda Vincent thing at Renfro was in March and I said sure. And I asked the field player. I said do you want to play a gig with us in a month? She said sure. And I asked the field player. I said you want to play a gig with us in a month? She said sure, and that was our very first show as a six-piece band was at Renfro Valley playing opening up for Rhonda Vincent, which is the queen of bluegrass Boy, what you all didn't start out.
Speaker 1:I mean you might have had one or two gigs, but you all pretty much hit the ground. I mean you might have had one or two gigs, but you all pretty much hit the ground running doing stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as a six-piece we did Now the four-piece. We beat and banged around for about a year. I guess you know maybe two years. Oh, yeah, about two years. We beat and banged around as a four-piece and then, when the six-piece our very first show as a six-piece was at Renfro Valley and that was crazy Our banjo picker had a heart attack on stage that night and he didn't quit.
Speaker 1:Jeez, I've known Scott for 25. I've known Scott for 30-some years probably.
Speaker 2:He's younger than me, though we tried to kill him from the get-go. Yeah, probably he's younger than me, though he said we tried to kill him from the get-go. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I've ever had a. Scott ain't that old, he ain't old enough to have a heart attack and he made it through the show with a heart attack.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he never let up. He didn't even realize it was a heart attack. He thought he was just feeling bad man he never let up he never, never, showed a sign.
Speaker 2:he, just when we got done, he put his badge on the case, walked to the car and uh, ron davinci got us back up on stage with us with him that night and we done some songs and uh, he was out there in the car laying down the back seat, felt like you know, said he felt pretty bad, but he he didn't, you know whatever. You know, you know it was kind of cool out and he thought he was just getting sick and he went home, laid around for a couple days and they finally made him go to the doctor and that doctor said yeah, bub, you had a heart attack a couple days ago or a few days ago or whatever it was man.
Speaker 1:That's a well Tanner, so far. You all I mean y'all do big shows. What's the biggest as far as you? What's the best place you've ever played? Best crowd you've ever played for? What's your favorite?
Speaker 2:Best crowd we've ever played to Was probably this past Saturday in Lexington, kentucky. You know we've had some really good ones, but now this past one, last Saturday in Lexington, kentucky, you know we've had some really good ones, but now this past one last Saturday in Lexington was killer Manchester Music Hall. We opened for Sunday Best, which is, if you don't know who they are. They reigned this place around here in eastern Kentucky from you know, in the mid-2000s they were big, yes, and they quit for a while and then came back, which we've known them for years. Man Allen both has known Nick, the guy that does most singing. We've known him for years and you know he treats us good. He gives us a lot of opportunities to play with him and open up for him. We've took him up on every one of them. Just about we opened up for him this past Saturday and that place went crazy.
Speaker 1:I heard about it. I'm still hearing about it. I heard about the show in London. Yeah, that was crazy.
Speaker 2:We packed that farmer's market out. I'd never seen it that full of people. First time I ever played that, I was in middle school with an old boy from North Carolina playing the banjo. It was just me and him about 12 years ago and we played for $50 and a sack of roasting years and about five people. And there was probably five or 600 maybe, and I might be undershooting it a little bit there last Friday.
Speaker 1:Last Friday it was crazy the pictures I saw. It looked like they was standing room only.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:What's y'all's next big show? What's the biggest show y'all got coming up this year?
Speaker 2:So far. We're playing the Bourbon Jam Music Festival this Saturday day after tomorrow, August 23rd, in Richmond, Kentucky. We're playing in Manchester, Kentucky, at the Manchester Music Fest, which will be August 29th, and then August 30th we're going to Pacton, Ohio, to play a sound jam and the guy that runs that festival, Sammy Carr he's actually the guy. If it wasn't for him initially, I don't think we would have that Tennessee song would have blew up like it did, because that video that blew up on TikTok. He asked us to go up there and do that radio show for him and just talk his festivals up, because he does one in Lexington, the Spirit and the Bluegrass, which used to be called the Festival of the Bluegrass, which is the oldest bluegrass festival in the state. It's been going on for 50-some years and the original family that done it had to quit and Sammy took it over and he had to rename it Spirit of the Bluegrass, but he still considers it the same festival.
Speaker 2:Yes, but we went up to Paxton Ohio, Not Paxton Zaney Ohio, Paxton Ohio, Not Paxton Zini, Ohio. You've done that radio show for him at Daniel Mullins' Real Roots Radio, which, if you don't know who Daniel Mullins is, you'll know. He's Joe Mullins' son. Yeah, One of the best banjo players.
Speaker 1:Boy Joe Mullins is a banjo-playing machine.
Speaker 2:Oh, he's crazy. He's one of the all-time greats, in my opinion. He's been president of the IBMA and all that stuff. But anyway, we went up and played that and then a couple weeks later that video went viral. I mean, it blew up overnight and that's what set the cannon off right there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, hey, I tell you you, don't get on TikTok without hearing y'all's music in somebody's background or lip-singing to it. How's that feel? I mean, how's it feel to see all these thousands of people singing y'all's songs on TikTok?
Speaker 2:Oh, it's crazy. Like I said, it's happened so fast. It's just been a blur since we went up there to Xenia and done that radio show but, like I said, about two weeks after that, it's been a blur ever since because everything's happened so fast. I mean we had Booking Agency getting up with us within I might be undershooting it, but within a week of that going viral, it wasn't long after that we had record labels, I mean, coming out of the woodwork and you know normally that don't happen. You know you, usually you might have one or two you know say hey, you know, yeah, you know we might like to talk to you. No, we had several coming out of the woodwork saying what can we do to get you all?
Speaker 1:and I I know a little of the background of that. It ain't no tiny record labels. These are major record labels. It's pretty impressive, tanner. Yeah, it's great, tanner, you know, I know music's your life. Who is your hero? Who's your guitar hero?
Speaker 2:Oh Lord, my guitar hero. Yeah, I don't know. It's a toss-up between Larry Sparks and Tony Rice.
Speaker 1:See, I think that's a good combination, because Larry Sparks had a rhythm hand too.
Speaker 2:Oh well, yeah that.
Speaker 1:And he's really underrated as a lead picker. Yeah, and I agree Exactly. You know, go ahead, tanner. I remember, and I agree he's a. You know, go ahead, tanner. I remember when I'd go watch him he used to play with these real heavy gauge strings. They're about like a daggone piano strings. He still does. He still does. But you're right, he is underrated as a musician. He's got a voice like an angel, but man he's tough.
Speaker 2:Robbie always Robbie Horton told me. He said that thing's got to be like fretting a barbed wire fence.
Speaker 1:You can imagine. I don't know how he does it. You know it would kill your fingers. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:And you know I got a buddy that I played with years ago. We had a little bluegrass band called the Hiding Colonels and it was me and a banjo picker and a boy from up in indiana played the bass. He was going to the bluegrass school there and hiding and he actually wound up playing bass for larry for a couple years. He drove. He drove a bus for him after that for a while. But uh, yeah, he would. Uh, larry would have him change strings on that guitar and he said that thing is like fretting a bar bar fence. He's on how he does it.
Speaker 2:He's had that thing built up and beefed up, so much to you know, to keep them strange from collapsing it, because it's about a 52 model.
Speaker 1:You wonder what keeps it pulling the saddle right out of the soundboard. You know.
Speaker 2:I reckon he's had to have it worked on a whole lot to keep it from doing that.
Speaker 1:I figured that because that's a lot of pressure on that. So now, what model? What year is your HD28 that you got on stage?
Speaker 2:It's about a 2000 model there, about it's. It's in that 98 to 2002, you know era or whatever you call it, series.
Speaker 1:Tanner, did you ever have a chance to play Johnny Brown and Martin?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I played a bunch. That's pretty good, ain't it?
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:It's about like fretting a ball bar fence too. He likes that action pretty high.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he does. Well, he's a Larry Sparks fan like you big time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he can hit them. Sparks, licks. I can't hardly do all of them, but he can hit every one of them.
Speaker 1:Hello, this is Kenneth Witt with Gun Dog Nation, and I've got to tell you guys about something that I've gotten hooked on lately. It's Fauxlicious. These are gourmet instant faux and ramen bowls that actually taste like the real deal. When I'm out in the field all day and the last thing I want is to settle for bland camp food, Folicious is what I go to. It's authentic. The flavor, it's real ingredients. It's ready in just minutes. It's perfect for hunters, fishermen or anyone on the go, and you can get them over at 1900 Walmarts nationwide, your local HEB here in Texas, or you can just go online at Foliciouscom. Trust me, once you try it, you'll keep a few stocked in in your bag, in your backpack or for your next adventure.
Speaker 1:I just want to say this I want to add this to this commercial because I know the owners of this company. They've hunted on my ranch. Joseph, he and I actually met in Colorado on a hunting trip. That was a real adventure. They are true hunters. They've hunted at the ranch, you know, and I've hunted with them. And Anna, she is just amazing. She is the one that came up with this idea. They were both on Shark Tank. They are amazing people, so I love seeing people like this have a business, and I just had to say that, in addition to the commercial, because I really believe in the product and I believe in the people that made the product. Be sure and go to Foliciouscom or go to Walmart or HEB and try their product. I promise you you will like it. Yeah, you know, Tanner, that's before your time, before you was born, but you know, Johnny traveled, him and his brother, His brother's a heck of a banjo player too big, really good, and they traveled with Ralph Stanley for a long time.
Speaker 2:That's how he got his name, johnny Brown in the cornbread.
Speaker 1:Yep, that's who named him that. Uh, so I remember watching Johnny. I was gonna say when he's little, but he still ain't much bigger than that. No, he's still little. He never did grow up. Yeah, he never did grow. I don't think he's grown until he's in eighth grade. But you know, he played the band with me I guess seven years, eight years, and man, he's tough, I'm sure a fan. But yeah, I had the band I had. I was the weakest link and they carried me. But Brad and Donnie Stevens, you know they're fine.
Speaker 2:Oh, ours be good too. I ain't seen them boys in a long time. Donnie's a good one.
Speaker 1:Brad's a good one. Donnie played more than me a couple times years ago. Yeah, yeah, he told me. He mentioned that to me. I still talk to him pretty regular. We're all still friends, you know. You know how his life we all worked, moved and and just quit playing, uh. But we've always gotten along and us traveling that many years together, but it's it's like a family, ain't it, tanner? When you got a band and you're traveling together and you do, you go through a lot together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, if you ain't, if you ain't like a family, you won't have a lot of trouble yes, you will.
Speaker 1:It's either. It's like being married, ain ain't it. You might squabble every now and then, but you got to kill some makeup. Oh yeah, dan, let's talk about some other stuff On this show. I talk about hunting, dogs and hunting, and I know you hunt a lot. Do you ever get to hunt with dogs any?
Speaker 2:No, not as much as I would like to. I'm getting ready to start, though. Them two old boys me and you was talking about the other day. They got on two bears today running them and they never could get one to tree, but they chased. They got on two different chases today. I'm going with them on it, so educate me here, tanner.
Speaker 1:Are you allowed because I you know it's changed since I moved, moved to Texas but are you allowed to run dogs in Kentucky off season? How's that work well?
Speaker 2:they'll start a chase. They'll start a chase only season about, let's see, sometime in August. They started about the first of August or something like that. Um, they started about the 1st of August or something like that. They start a chase-only season and you can only just, you know, trim and go on until another. Maybe, let's see, it's what August 22nd, right now or 21st, yep, you can start shooting them out in about October, sometime in early October.
Speaker 1:Okay, Boy, that one you showed me that you cleaned was a big outfit.
Speaker 2:That was a monster, that was a big bear that weighed 397-pound, field dressed and I figured you know they probably took about I don't know 60, 75-pound guts in him. You know that was probably really close to a 500-pound bear and that's a big bear for this country. Yeah, it looked it, that's a really big bear in this country.
Speaker 1:Now them are, those guys running plot hounds, yeah, pure plot hounds. Are they crosses?
Speaker 2:I'm not sure, but I know that ronnie's my neighbor that I'm gonna be going with, with she's full plot, I reckon.
Speaker 1:Is it Brandle?
Speaker 2:color yeah, she's like a dark. She's kind of more blackish, but she's got some Brandle in her, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, those dogs got a lot of grit, don't they? They're like a catahoula curd. They're gamey.
Speaker 2:They don't back off of nothing. I don't reckon yeah.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I believe they do. You might know this more than I do. I'm pretty sure they're one of the oldest dog breeds in the country, ain't they?
Speaker 1:They are, and I think I may be wrong about this. It was named after a fellow named Plott, but I think that they might have been a pure American bred dog. Somebody just told me some history on that, tanner. I usually know that kind of stuff because I'm kind of a dog nerd.
Speaker 2:Well, from what I understand, they come from Germany originally. The original version of it. Okay you're right, Of course they've adapted since then, but the original version of them, I think, come from Germany. I do know that Davy Crockett ran a pack of plot hounds. That makes sense, yep. And I do know that Davy Crockett ran a pack of plot hounds. That makes sense, yep. Davy Crockett was a. He always kept a pack of plot hounds. From what I've read and understood, you know.
Speaker 1:And what's the funny is Well, for years you know you couldn't run, you couldn't bear hunt Kentucky, you couldn't bear hunt most states. The only states you could really run dogs on bears was in North Carolina. So plot hounds wasn't that they wasn't a big deal. Some people coon hunting with them, but they're a little bit gritty, you know, to coon it with because they, some of them don't work too well with other dogs. They're pretty dominant, you know, yeah.
Speaker 2:I've got a. I got a buddy over in Harlan County that he's coon hunting with plot hound for years and I think that's the only dog he runs, just him and that one plot hound. I reckon he's a tree and outfit too.
Speaker 1:They're a real good dog, you know. They use them out here out west for mountain lion stuff. They use plots, they'll use walkers and they'll cross. It's interesting, I had a mountain lion guy on here that runs hounds in New Mexico and the whole podcast. Somehow the computer lost it and I want to do another one with somebody. I may have to get Ronnie in them on, shouldn't I? Yeah, about running them plots on them bears.
Speaker 2:Hey, you can even start talking about dogs or standard bred horses.
Speaker 1:He can talk for three days. I don't even know why. I didn't think of hollering at him, but I will.
Speaker 2:I've known him a lot. Well, he's my brother's age. Yeah, well, he called me. Uh, I had a vet come today and uh done some teeth work on some horses for me and and he was supposed to go up and uh give rabies shots to ronnie's uh dogs and he hadn't got back to bear hunting yet. He uh they had a pretty long day today. I reckon he called me about about an hour ago and uh said he just and he hadn't got back from bear hunting yet. They had a pretty long day today. I reckon he called me about an hour ago and said he didn't get home until about 2 o'clock today.
Speaker 1:Now we know music's your full-time job, but you also have another side gig, don't you? You're a farrier.
Speaker 2:Well, I wouldn't call myself a farrier, but I shoe horses a farrier. I always said a farrier is somebody that went to school for it.
Speaker 1:That's right, son. All I know about that. I used to have horses and that's a bad job I knew better than to try to shoo a horse. I'd cripple it.
Speaker 2:But that's hard work, buddy, yeah buddy, I'd be hard-pressed to find something harder to do. I hard pressed to find something harder to do. I mean, it's as far as you know, as far as doing the actual shoeing is not that bad. It's just staying bent over all day is the rough part, yeah, and if you got one, that's lay on you.
Speaker 2:You know I got one out here in the barn right now. I've had him for 10 years and that son of a gun likes to sit right down on top of me when I pick his back foot up. He weighs about 1,100 pounds on a good day. Yeah, is that?
Speaker 1:your mule.
Speaker 2:Is that the mule you got? Oh, no, lord, no, I wish I had a mule that weighed that much. That's my big quarter horse. Okay, cowpony, retired. Cowpony, Do you get to ride much? I ain't been on well, I rode that that. I bought a mule the other day, uh, which she's been coon hunted off of a lot back in her younger days. But I bought her the other day just for my nephew to ride pretty much and she was really cheap but she's got some age on her but I rode her her the other day. That's the first one I've been on in months. I'm usually under them too much to feel like getting on one when I come home.
Speaker 1:Tanner, I'm going to be nosy buddy. What's the first thing you're going to buy when you get all this music money? Because you're going to make some money, there's no doubt about it. Well, what's on your wish list?
Speaker 2:Farm big enough I can hunt on and a good one. Good saddle mule, Smart man. I want me about a 16-hand black, white and old saddle mule, Just like I had when I was in high school Best animal on 4A. Well, the 90s.
Speaker 1:Well, I had horses in the 90s and a rack mule or a rod mule was outrageous. Are they still high?
Speaker 2:Oh Lord, I don't even want to talk about it. That's why it's on my wish list. I can't afford a good one right now. I mean, I've got good mules, but none of them are big enough. They get around 15, 16 hands. They go up by the thousands more than what I've got would Okay, because that's what everybody wants. And I had a really good one back when I was in high school. But my horses and mules they were almost worthless at the time around 2016. The bottom just dropped out of it and I bought him for $700, and if I had him right now, I could probably sell him for $25,000, $30,000 all day long.
Speaker 2:I told somebody yesterday I said I'd give $700,000 for him and if he was still alive I wouldn't take $70,000 for him. But I could have sold him for $25,000, $30,000 all day long if he was still here and be chunk change.
Speaker 1:You can always tell an economy's bad. Horse prices go rock bottom. That's the first thing people start thinning out. You can buy horse trailers and horses.
Speaker 2:You could buy three horses and a horse trader for what one good horse costs right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a. If you decide to get to running dogs, what are you going to get?
Speaker 2:Well, I've been warned about the bear hunting. Ronnie told me he said you go with us one time. He said I expect you and Gus to have a pack of plot hounds tied up in the backyard before it's over with. He said you'll love it.
Speaker 1:And those are big dogs. That's a big feed bill.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean might as well. I told John that I might as well. I said we're already feeding seven head four horses, or three horses and four mules, and a bunch of goats and chickens. I said what's two or three dogs going to do?
Speaker 1:That's about right. Yeah, you got a high feed bill now.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, I had a high vet bill. This morning too, that vet showed up. I don't even want to talk about it. I spent more money today than I make in a week chewing horses. I'll just put it that way.
Speaker 1:Now, how old is your little boy now?
Speaker 2:he's three. He just turned three, june 29th is he?
Speaker 1:is he taking a liking to music yet?
Speaker 2:just just recently. But now he's had that tennessee song. He's heard it so much lately that he has started walking around singing it, or singing something like it, I guess. But uh, yeah, he, uh, he never cared. All he cares about is a tractor or a big semi truck, that's all he cares about that sounds like somebody else I knew back a while, a long time I was same way yeah, he uh which he likes fooling with his old.
Speaker 2:You know it's a livestock and he's goats and chicken and stuff, but he's he's don't much care about it as much as he does these tractors and stuff if I get, if I go outside and start the tractor, he'll beat the door down. If I don't take him with me, you gotta be on it with me.
Speaker 1:You know, like I said, I know you fellas are getting ready to have a lot of changes in your life. Where would you like to see yourself in five years?
Speaker 2:I really just been able to do this enough to live comfortable and not have to worry about nothing, which you know I don't have to worry about a whole lot right now. Just you know which I'm'm a I work behind the end off of what we play music, shooting horses or you know bush hogging or what. But you know I don't have to worry a lot. But I just like to get rid of the worry, you know. Yeah, I mean I don't, I don't look to be, you know, know, george Strait, or nothing, but as long as I can make a living doing it, I'll be happy. Maybe enough to buy me a big enough farm to put a food plot in the back and run a few head cattle on.
Speaker 1:Quit buying all that feed Mm-hmm, have some grass, yeah. Buying all that feed Mm-hmm, have some grass, yeah, tanner, let's get into your music a little bit more. How often do you? I know you're a busy man and stuff, but do you all ride as a group? Do you ride individually or do you have a pattern? Purina Pro Plan. Here at Gun Dog Nation, we use Purina ProPlan for our dogs. We actually use the Sport Performance Edition, which is 30% protein and 20% fat, the beef and bison. It contains glucosamine, omega-3s for their joints. It also contains amino acids for muscles and antioxidants. It also has probiotics. It's guaranteed to have live probiotics in each serving. There's no artificial colors or flavors. We see the difference in our dogs. We see the difference in their coat, their performance, their endurance and also in recovery. Be sure to use Purina ProPlan dog food. The reputation speaks for itself. There's a reason that Purina has been around for such a long time. We suggest that you use it and we are so proud to be sponsored by Purina dog food.
Speaker 2:Well, buddy, me and Allen were just talking about this last night. You know me and Allen bounce a lot of ideas off each other but for the most part we do a lot of our own writing, right by ourselves. You know. He'll, you know like well, you know Tennessee, that song has went so crazy here lately. He had it pretty much wrote and I said I think it needs a third verse. He said, well, write it. I said okay, and I sat down about an hour later had to pull it out of me kicking and screaming, but I got kind of a third verse and I sent it back to him and he smoothed it out some, you know, and changed the wording a little bit, which I won't blame him. You know I had a hard time getting the third verse that song wrote. But you know I wrote about half of that third verse. You know, after it was all said and done. But you know we do a lot of our own writing Every once in a while if we're having a good practice, which we ain't had a practice in a month, probably just because we ain't had time, you know, the only time we've played when we've been on stage, but um, if we're all sitting around and you know, we, you know, drank a few wobble pops.
Speaker 2:We might, we might get wild hair and try to write one or try to work on one that we've. You know, me or alan has already started, and that's. We got a couple songs On the first album. That was done that way. Me and Alan wrote Most of those Solely right by ourself, except for a couple, and but, buddy, I got a confession to make.
Speaker 1:Todd sent me, your dad, sent me Hide in Kentucky when it got on my the song that you wrote, and I was driving in road I'd actually come back towards the ranch from San Angelo and uh, I'd went town and uh, you sung that line about, about your grandpa, bill Horton, which you know. I spent most of my life over there. Man, I got teared up, tanner, I'd turn it off. I told Todd I can't listen to it. Man, I do now, but the first time I heard it, man, I was bawling. I won't lie, because you know, hell, I grew up sitting in that store every day.
Speaker 2:I lived over behind it. You know I actually started that song because the city went wet and I started with that verse you know about, you know, the new liquor store and it turned. It evolved from that. The first verse I wrote was the liquor store and then it, and I just wrote the rest of it around it later I like it later on for about a month or two before I ever went back to it and finished it. But then I did in the very last verse about Louisville and Lexington. I didn't write that until three days before we went to the studio with it.
Speaker 2:Oh man, I felt like it needed one more verse, and I just come up with that right off the top of my head.
Speaker 1:And about three days later we went in the studio and recorded it. Well, I sure like it.
Speaker 2:You know, I don't know what people outside of Hyde but anybody that lives in Hyde that has to hit home pretty hard. You know Well our banjo picker Scott. His wife Deb got a message from her first cousin and her first cousin lives up in Ohio and that's where her mother is. You know Deb's aunt and she's got Alzheimer's really, really, really bad and don't know anybody. And her cousin Tracy went in and played that song for her in the nursing home and she says Hayden, she said that's where my husband lived and she hadn't mentioned her husband in years because she couldn't remember him.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow. That shows, it triggers. You know, songs trigger emotions. That's what it's for, that's what it's about. But that's a dandy. And then you never did go with us because she was younger. We was all a little rowdy back in the day, but you know me and Todd and Doug and I took river trips, you know, once a year. I remember them.
Speaker 2:I remember dropping y'all off and picking you up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was real little and you know we'd go in sober and come out not. Yeah, you know, yeah, and yeah, yeah. So I heard that River Rat song that you wrote about Tickle Me Death. I thought, well, that's yeah, we've been there, done that.
Speaker 2:Well, you know that hit me literally as I was floating down the river and that old John, you know the old John Bone talking about it, it was Bill Horton, I guess.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I was, we was going, we was coming, we was coming, matter of fact, I, we had just passed Bill Turner's and, uh, unless you're from Hyden, you won't know where this is. But I, we had just passed Bill Turner's and was and was coming around the bend towards Dad's and that verse hit me and I just, you know, my phone was in a dry box, whatever, and which I did take that picture, the album cover picture was took that same very day I, I took that. And then we had our girl that does a lot of her graphic stuff. She, you know, she doctored it up and made it kind of, you know, like it was drew or painted or whatever, but I took that picture. But anyways, I wrote that first verse at the house and I didn't really want to try to type it on my phone and, you know, may as well maybe dropping my phone in the river. So I just kept humming it and humming it and humming it until I got home because I knew I'd forget it if I didn't.
Speaker 1:Hey, I just had an idea. Tanner, I've never done this on here because the only person I've had on here is music. I had Mo Pitney on here once.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to ask you a favor how close is that guitar to you right now?
Speaker 2:I don't even know where it's at. To be honest with you, I've got one sitting out there.
Speaker 1:Why don't you play us one? I've never done this on this podcast. Let's do that. If you don't, you play us one. I've never had. I've never done this On this podcast.
Speaker 2:Let's do that. If you don't mind. Anything you want, let me go get a guitar. Alright, let's see I'm gonna try to here. Y'all can look at my deer While I'm gone.
Speaker 1:I like it. Yeah, it's a good view. It's in Franklin County, deer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there, yeah. Well, actually that one out there is the only Franklin County deer on the wall.
Speaker 1:What's that? Where's that one from?
Speaker 2:That one was killed at William Hoy Roberts' place at the lake down at Russell County on Lake Cumberland. Yeah, yeah, I went down there that morning and by that evening I had him hanging up in the barn. I knew he was, which I had him patterned pretty good. And that one was killed on Camp Creek, Big double-throw patch.
Speaker 2:I shot that. I killed that above the big house on Wendover, on that little bit of public there. I was in there after a lot bigger deer and I sat there all day and I sat in that and walked out and I said good enough.
Speaker 1:There's some big deer in there. I remember Rick Dixon had a blue heeler that would bring deer sheds on his porch, yeah, you know, and they'd shed them and I've seen some monster sheds come out of there off that dog.
Speaker 2:Oh, I see I'll just do River Rat, I guess, while I'm thinking about it.
Speaker 1:There you go.
Speaker 2:It's summer here and hiding in this heat? Sure ain't no joke. I'm floating down the river in a dirty old John Boat, big red worms and a rooster tail in a zip code 33. It sure ain't no rich man's phone, but it suits me to a T. There ain't many places like this anymore. White-tailed deer and big groundhogs are grazing on the shore. Can't you hear that old coonhound barking in the trees? I can't speak for you, my friend, but it sounds like home to me.
Speaker 2:Floating down a metal fork in the heat of July. You hand me a cold beer. Beer. My mouth is getting dry. That old summer sun is beating down on my old straw hat. Can't dream up a better life for an old river. I got a stringer full of red eyes and a big blue gill or two. That big old sun is going down. But, buddy, we ain't through. Just as soon as I get to service I'll give these boys a ring. Well, scotty, grab your banjo. It's time we can sing. Floating down the Meadow For fork in the heat of July. You hand me a cold beer. My mouth is getting dry. That old summer sun is beating down on my old straw hat. Can't dream up a better life for an old river rat. No, I can't dream up a better life for an old riverhead.
Speaker 1:All right, brother, excellent, I love it. Man. I tell you, tanner, y'all, it's going to be amazing. I'm so excited to see what all is going to be happening with y'all in the next year or two. But it's deserved, well-deserved. You boys are talented, You're original, unique. No one else sounds like you. No one else can. Well that's You're going to be.
Speaker 2:That's the truth.
Speaker 1:Yeah, as far as a unique and that's. That's what makes it, and you know, what Makes you all so good too, tanner Is you got two Polar opposite singers, and, and, and, then you all Harmonize so good together. So you at singers and, and, and, then y'all harmonize so good together so you can do one style and alan can do another, and it's it's. You never get tired of listening, you know it's uh, and then when y'all harmonize, man, it's tight, it's something I I'm a huge fan, uh, but you know, I was sitting there watching you play right then. And we've had a few famous people come out of Leslie County. We've had Tim Couch, for the sports fans is probably the most famous, and then the Osmond Brothers, for traditional music, is the other ones. But I'm going to tell you, I'm going to make a prediction right here August 21st 2025, you boys will put Hyden, kentucky, on the map. It'll be a household name, and the Creekers will be a household name. It's just a household name, and the creakers will be a household name. It's just a matter of time, and I'm so happy for you guys.
Speaker 1:Hello, this is Kenneth Witt, and Gun Dog Nation is proud to have one of their sponsors as Retriever Training Supply. Based in Alabama, retriever Training Supply offers fast shipping on quality gear. Your dog will love it. Visit RetrieverTrainingSupplycom to purchase gear to help you train your retriever. Listen, they have some of the best leashes I've ever found. It's stuff's made in America. Their leashes are, and they source them locally. They have anything you want. Fast, friendly service, fast shipping, just good people. Retriever Training Supply.
Speaker 2:Well, I appreciate it. That sure will be cool. You cut out there a little bit. Did you mention John Anderson being from?
Speaker 1:No, sorry, but my internet, I hope it ain't getting weak on me. Tanner, I was saying the only people famous from hiding is the Osmond Brothers. For Bluegrass fans and for sports fans, tim Couch, number one draft pick. But you guys are going to put Hyde and Kentucky on the map. That's my prediction. It'll be a household name, and so will the Creekers. But yeah, john Anderson. So you and I know that story because your family, your great-grandpa's sister, was John Anderson's mother. No, grandmother, grandmother sister was John Anderson's mother, mm-hmm. No, grandmother, grandmother, grandmother, that's right. And which was, you know, my ex's in-laws too there.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah, which he's not totally from Leicester County, but you know, that's where all his family's from, yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know, when I was in high school actually buddy me and your dad was in a vehicle accident. That was my fault when we were in high school and we were coming back from a John Anderson concert and headed up Kutch in to drop some friends off.
Speaker 1:I don't believe he's ever told that one. We kept that secret because I was afraid Janice would kill me and I don't know if I hope we might have to edit this out. I don't know if Janice knows it. He didn't get hurt but I totaled a truck, a 1970 Chevy Stepside buddy.
Speaker 2:Oh whoa, and it was a nice pickup. Glad it wasn't that free.
Speaker 1:You know, this is Panel wagon.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, that panel wagon. Me and him used to ride that to Shamrock. We worked for a coal company one summer when he was in college and we rode a panel wagon to work. We rode together and drove up Greasy every day in that panel wagon. Listen to Mule, skinner Blues, tony Rice. But yeah, we had a. I shouldn't have told them. But yeah, I had a 1970 this is 1986. And I had a step-side truck and we left John Anderson concert at the Nixon Center there and took two friends home. We had to get right home. My truck was left up there.
Speaker 2:I heard that I'd say the statute of limitations on Janice Horton has probably run out on that.
Speaker 1:I hope so. You know what it was. I was a junior and todd was a freshman. No, but uh and uh, yeah, oh lord, I I haven't talked about. I don't even told my own, told my own kids that story but yeah, it wasn't fun, it wasn't a good sign. It was. My truck was destroyed but we hit a cliff, solid rock, we come around a curve You'll have to ask him about it. It was pretty scary. We'd never been in an accident or nothing like that. It was pretty scary. But yeah, me and him have a lot of history that we probably haven't talked about much. We had a good time. You know me and your dad On the Saturdays a lot there we wash cars. We either wash them in front of my aunt's house over in high or go in front of the hardware store on Saturday after closed. Yeah, and we'd make a killing on Saturdays.
Speaker 1:Oh, I don't doubt it, yeah, but no, uh. Well, hey, so do y'all have? I know there's a lot of legal stuff and all this going on, but do y'all have, uh, do you have anything that's going to be released or that that's probably going to depend on a lot of stuff? Right, like any new material that's going to be released?
Speaker 2:um, yeah, it'll probably be early part of next year. We're uh, we're gonna try to get in the studio this either late winter, early fall, is you know, as quick as we can. Anyway, that's kind of what we're shooting for. Um, good, we're trying to. I can't wait. We've got almost enough for an album, I think I've. I started one last night, and so did Atlin, so I think between those two we might have enough for an album now.
Speaker 1:Okay, boy, I tell you, being a bluegrass guy myself, man, I sure appreciate Jagger's harmony. Oh he's great, he's great, he's good man. I mean, I'm a real fan and I didn't realize that I went and watched you all on Lexington. He's good man. I mean, I'm a real fan and I didn't realize that I went and watched y'all On Lexington. When was it Last month? Man, he's, he's solid.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and you know he never was a bass player much, you know he, you know, like the rest of us, you know Thumped around on one, you know, just here and there. But Cause we started out, allen was the bass player and I can say this because I've told it to him to his face he's a terrible bass player. He does really good until he starts having to sing and it's like he can't pat his head and chew bubble gum at the same time.
Speaker 1:Yeah and bass is difficult to sing and play. It ain't like a guitar yeah, Especially if you get a little fancy on it, you know it's yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and finally we was I can't remember where we was and Jagger said damn it, allen, give me that bass. And they switched. And it's been that way ever since. I said Jagger, you're now the bass player. I said I'm going to make, I didn't know that You're the bass player from now on.
Speaker 1:But now I remember seeing y'all playing and Alan playing bass. I just don't know how many they swapped. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, they swapped Lord. It's been a long. Alan wasn't a bass player for very long, very long yeah.
Speaker 1:But now didn't Allen play with you at the bluegrass school?
Speaker 2:No, no, he never did go down there. They tried to get him to but he's playing football and just didn't have which he didn't like bluegrass much, until he started running with me. And you know, me and him really didn't start running around with each other until right out of high school, okay, and then I turned him on to it it and he loves it now, you know, but he didn't much care for it in high school. You know he liked country music but he just didn't much care for bluegrass. But see, you know, yes, and you know I get, you know I get it kind of. You know, probably all he'd ever heard was old Ralph and Lester and Earl, which is some of my favorites, but I didn't listen to it my whole life. Once he got a taste of Lone River Band and stuff like that, he found Fort Quick.
Speaker 1:You know what's funny? Like you just said, when I was playing bluegrass real heavy, my daughter McKenna was little and by the timegan was born I wasn't playing bluegrass uh, hardly at all. And morgan can't stand bluegrass and mckenna she still likes it, you know, but she grew up with it, yeah uh. So you've got. You're gonna go to the studio, probably late fall.
Speaker 2:Yeah, hopefully next year y'all probably, which we'll probably be in it all winter, you know, trying to get it, I mean which? There's one thing about it you know our first album and our EP, I mean we literally have about $1,600 in both of them combined in about four days. Where'd y'all do that at? The first album was done in the Red River Gorge at a place down in Slade, a place called the Fat Cave. It's a little record shop and he's got a studio in the back room and we done that, the full album there Pour Me In the Creek, and we done that on a $1,600 budget and we done it in two days. And the River Rat EP, we done that in Piedmont, south Carolina, at Bonfire Studios, which is owned by Pine Castle Records.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Sammy Carr that does the Spirit in the Bluegrass at Sam Jam I was talking about earlier. He does a thing for these up-and-coming bands every year where you win some kind of competition and you win a free five-song EP at Pine Castle Records. And the first time we ever showed up and played with him or played a show for him, he said yeah. He said I'm canceling the competition this year. He said you all want it. He said I ain't going to try to do nothing. He said you all got it. He said I'm just going to give it to y'all.
Speaker 1:I didn't know that that's something else, so you got a free one. Yep, the only money we spent on that whole trip was the house we stayed in for three days.
Speaker 2:Do you know where y'all record the next one at? Not right off It'll more than likely be in Nashville. Not right off, it'll more than likely be in Nashville. We don't know who's producing it yet, but we've got a pretty good idea of who we want to go with. Yeah, I mean, we've had a lot of those come out of the woodworks too, you know, wanting to figure something for us. We've got a pretty good idea who we want to go with there, but we don't know where we're going to be recording it at.
Speaker 1:But but there's so many good places to record there, it's sad.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I would like to do it in a you know, you know cool old studio somewhere you know that might be, you know one of them, ones that all the greats or you know some of the greats have been in.
Speaker 1:just to say we've done it. You know, more or less, when you're getting ready to go on your next hunting trip, make sure you pack the most efficient and reliable ammunition on the market. Migra ammunition brings you the most diverse loads on the market. Migra's patented stacked load technology is the epitome of efficiency Two shot sizes stacked together to create the most diverse and efficient line of shot shells in the industry. It doesn't matter what flyway, what state or what the weather. The standard remains the same At Migra reliable loads that perform in any condition every single time. We're proud to have Migra Ammunition as a sponsor for Gun Dog Nation. You know we got to go to one of the famous studios there one day. We knew somebody, that knew somebody kind of thing. We go in there and my brother, brandon, was with me and my kids and Ronnie Millsap's baby grand piano was in there and Brandon got cut loose on that man. I got chill bumps. You know there's something to be said about going to one of those historic places and recording. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:I always wanted to see the studio that Waylon had the FBI bust in. Oh yeah, I'm a big Waylon guy. Not a lot of people you know. I mean which, if you know me, you know that but I'm a big Waylon guy.
Speaker 1:Oh, me too, I've got it. I mean, I'm the same way, Tanner. I absolutely love everything he's ever done. You know, I've actually been up there through Littlefield, Texas. You know where he's from. It's just north of Midland, probably an hour and a half or something, you know. But it's yeah, I'm a big fan. But it's yeah, I'm a big fan. You know, Just right down from there and just west of Midland, Odessa Is a little town called Wink and Roy Orbison's from there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've heard that, which ain't really that far from Everybody Hollywood's from Lubbock.
Speaker 1:It's from Lubbock. Yeah, man, I went to his museum up there.
Speaker 2:You know there's a lot of it's kind of like right here in east kentucky. You know, there's been a lot of greats come out of east kentucky. There's been a whole lot of greats come out of west texas there have right in that panhandle up there, it's and it's.
Speaker 1:You know, it ain't nothing there. It's flat desert and cotton fields and stuff.
Speaker 2:You know that place was a flat where he grew up said your, your dog could run off. You'd watch him run for three days.
Speaker 1:When I first moved out here. It's hard for me to get used to.
Speaker 2:Well, I guarantee it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like you'll see a mountain and you'll think you can drive over in about five, ten minutes. Forty-five minutes later, you still ain't there.
Speaker 2:Well, I guarantee it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's like when you go towards Pecos. You can see Fort Davis Mountains in the southwest of you and you know they're aired before you get to them. It looks like they're right there, but hey, I have to tell you a story. So you know, johnny, you know my brothers lived down there, right on Old Hickory Lake in Nashville, and this is back. I think it was in 05 or 06. You know, johnny Cash had passed away and his house was literally right across the lake and around from them.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like their house is out there by the lake and you go around that bend and Johnny Cash's house is right there and we'd always drive by it, you know, just because it's Johnny Cash's house. Anyway, when he passed away, the Bee Gees bought that house, mm-hmm, and that acreage there, and they bought it to record in. And one day, you know, I owned a house down there too and I had kind of moved down there and was staying. Anyway, walk outside and I saw smoke like crazy. I mean it looked like a city was on fire and we finally was trying to see where it was coming from.
Speaker 1:But it was Johnny Cash's house burned to the ground and it was the Bee Gees bought it. It was recorded and you know we kind of joked around and said that you know, johnny Cash has come back from his ghost, has come back and burned that place down to keep that disco music being recorded in there. But that's what I believe that you know. But anyway, yeah, you know they was recording that Bee Gees music in there. So it burned to the ground.
Speaker 2:You know, oh yeah, there's nothing.
Speaker 1:I drove by there. Yeah, they're just now building back on the foundation. I was actually there. Well, let's see, I was there Sunday and I drove over, just curious, you know, because Marty Stewart's house was right beside of it and Marty Stewart's house used to be Roy Orbison's house, but it was right beside of Johnny Cash.
Speaker 2:Anyway, make a little music. What was it? Johnny Cash? His mom and daddy's house was right there across the road too, somewhere.
Speaker 1:I think they had. You know, my brothers can tell you a lot more about it. Man, I've got to eat up with something. His son, you know, still got something around there. I don't know what he kept, but he only had one son, john Carter Cash, and I think he kind of inherited a lot of that about everything. I don't know that's lot of that about everything I don't know. That's kind of what I was told. I don't know if that's right or not, but you know my brother's friend, eric, that's always running around, he's friends with John Carter. So my brother's, you know, they've been around there some and stuff, but he still owns something over there, but I think most of it is gone.
Speaker 2:I think he still owns the farm down there where they deer hunt at, I guess.
Speaker 1:Well, so the farm and we got to go. Your four lives me and Brandon and Eric went down there and stayed. We got to stay in the cabin. It's a tiny cabin so they own, don't quote me. It's like 300 to 500 acres and it's about two hours from Hendersonville, so towards Memphis. Can't thank the county, but we went there and John Carter let us. He wasn't there, we didn't get to see him, but we got to go there and spend the night and it was neat. And I think Mo Pitney just recorded he recorded that Bluegrass album in there the Pitney Myers in that house Is that what you were talking about, where you deer hunt? Yeah, I guess so in that house.
Speaker 2:Is that what you're talking about? Were they deer hunting? Were you deer hunting? Yeah, I guess. So yeah, bon Aqua or whatever it's a place called Bon Aqua, bon Aqua, tennessee, or whatever it's called.
Speaker 1:I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that John Carter has honey and stuff. He has bee houses all over the place and sells honey and stuff from there, but it's a pretty place. But yeah, I got to spend a night in there. That's pretty nice. Yeah, it'd be cool. Well, hey, let's see how long we've been talking. I knew we'd talk a while, probably a little over an hour.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been. It's 7.58 here. Yeah, it's been right at about an hour I guess.
Speaker 1:So when are you taking off for this show?
Speaker 2:The bourbon.
Speaker 1:One this weekend, the bourbon jam.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's in Richmond on Saturday. I'll leave out here about 4 o'clock, I guess.
Speaker 1:Who all's playing that Buddy that show.
Speaker 2:They some pretty good bands. I can't name none off the top of my head. I'm one of them. I'm one of them. Guys, you tell me where to go and I'm going to show up. I don't know nothing else. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that way you don't have to worry about nothing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't, I try to. I try to stay, stay in my lane, but yeah, I'll, I'll fiddle fart around here. I try to stay in my lane, but yeah, I'll fiddle fart around here, around the house, all day Saturday and then about 4, 4.30, maybe 5 o'clock we'll hit the road and go to Richmond play a show, come back home.
Speaker 1:Not bad. Does your wife always go with you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, when she can. It just depends on. You know can watch gus and stuff like that. But she's been saying here lately she can't wait to, she can't wait for me to hit the road, maybe she can keep the house clean. She said between me and gus we're pretty rough on it I'd say that's about right.
Speaker 1:Uh well, hey, tanner buddy, thank you for taking time to be on here, and I'm honored because I think I'm your first podcast. Yep, you are, so I'm going to remember that.
Speaker 2:I got a few coming up, but you're my first one.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm proud you, let me be your first one. I'm honored. Well, hey, I'll be promoting y'all. I've got a new commercial for my podcast. You probably haven't heard it yet, but when you turn it on you know I'm just announcing what the podcast is about. But in the commercial I tell everybody to listen to the Creakers and follow them on all the music channels and I'll keep that on there. But, yeah, I sure appreciate that I'll be promoting you as much as I can, not that I need to Hell. You guys promote me more than I can promote you. But and I appreciate that matter of fact, that commercial you made for me is really doing well and I appreciate you doing that for me yeah, I was.
Speaker 2:Uh, I told you I was gonna do that and I got sidetracked, forgot, and I was heading out to go trim some horses for a lady and uh, and I stopped, or I actually stopped in some road work and I was about I said, oh crap, I needed to do that thing for kenneth and uh, about the time I pulled my phone out, the light turned green so I took back off and pulled over in the next white spot and done it right quick well, it said it was great.
Speaker 1:You couldn't, you couldn't, I couldn't have told you any better what to say.
Speaker 2:I liked it so mouth of dry here, right there on the bridge.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, that's where all my daddy's mother's, that's where my grandmother's family's all the Keens are off and down there in the woods, no man. I appreciate that it's getting a lot of action.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm glad to hear that.
Speaker 1:No, no, you helped me. A sight man. You boys, I'll do everything I can. What little bit I can't help much, but what little bit I can do to promote you, I'll be doing it no, I appreciate it well, tanner buddy, I'm gonna let you get off here. I know you're busy and you've probably got things to tend to sound like you got a bunch of animals feed too. So, uh, I guess it's dark there, isn't it?
Speaker 2:uh, it's just about I got my feeding done right before I came inside and jumped on this podcast. Uh, jolly and jolly and gus is outside. I'm sure gus is out there chasing the chickens around the yard well you tell him I said hello, I sure will hello.
Speaker 1:this is kenneth whit with gundog nation and like to encourage all you listeners and viewers on our YouTube channel to check out patreoncom forward slash gundognation. For $10 a month you can become a member of our community and we'll have access to lots of stuff. Mainly, we'll do a monthly forum, an open forum, where you can ask me anything gundog related and we'll learn from each other in the community. Should be a lot of fun each month will do that, so check it out. Patreoncom forward slash gundog nation.