Pynk Beard | AGT Changed his Life.. But they had no idea what just showed up!!! | #158

This week,

We sit down with one of the most exciting and unconventional rising stars in country music… Pynk Beard. Known for his bold image, powerful voice, and refusal to fit into any box, Pynk Beard is quickly becoming a name that’s impossible to ignore. He’s not just another country artist trying to make it. He’s doing something entirely different, and the industry is starting to take notice.

And his journey has already taken him to one of the biggest stages in entertainment. Pynk Beard took his talents to America’s Got Talent, stepping into the spotlight in front of millions and proving that his unique sound, fearless personality, and undeniable presence belong on a major stage. His time on the show gave audiences a chance to see the artist behind the iconic look and experience firsthand what makes Pynk Beard so different.

We dive into his journey from the beginning, exploring how his unique style was born, what inspires his sound, his experience on America’s Got Talent, and why he’s never been afraid to stand out. Pynk Beard brings a fresh energy to country music that blends authenticity with edge, and passion with pure originality. While most artists try to follow the rules, he’s rewriting them entirely.

Whether you’re a fan of country music or just love hearing the story of someone who refuses to blend in, this episode is one you won’t want to miss. Get ready to discover the artist who’s redefining what it means to be a country star in today’s world.



Pynk Beard’s Links:

https://www.instagram.com/pynkbeard?igsh=MWZ1djdyMnV0OWFiMQ==

https://youtu.be/NaTKClRVwBo?si=EKZcqjhepxFGgJyU

Pynk Beard https://g.co/kgs/Zvjaq71




Thank you for watching! Please like, subscribe, and share!


My New Book! Money Management Rules for Beginners!

https://www.amazon.com/Money-Management-Rules-Beginners-Easiest/dp/B0F1HQ7Z65



📲 Follow WamBam on Social Media!

🤳 Tiktok: / https://www.tiktok.com/@wambamspodcast?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

📸 Instagram: / https://www.instagram.com/wambamspodcast/

👤 Facebook: / https://www.facebook.com/people/Wam-Bams-Podcast/100093606306095/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

🌐 Website: https://wambampodcast.com

🎩 Shop all my merch: https://wambampodcast.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Yo, you know, it's your boy, Phil Wham Bam Benamino. It's another Wambam Wednesday, baby. You know the show about ordinary people have done extraordinary things. And today, as always, we're gonna ask you first subscribe, baby. Click the subscribe button. Go down there, hit all the alerts. Get all the alerts. Let us know what you like, what you don't like. We want to continue to bring great things to the show because today I got a special treat. Oh, I'm so excited about today. I can't even tell you how excited I am. You, if you don't know who this guy is, you're gonna know him, and you better remember him because this guy's a special guy today. We got a singing artist, recording artist. He's he's a Grammy Award winning as well, something like that. I don't know. They call him Pink Beard, but his real name's Sebastian Cole in the house. What's up, Sebastian? Nice to meet you, man. Nice to be here. Thank you, man. I love the fact that you're here. You got the pink beard brewing, man. How hard is it to make that thing pink every day?

SPEAKER_00 1:05

You know what's crazy, man? You bleach it once a month, and this is just a shampoo, so it's easy. Yeah, yeah. It don't come out? Nah, no, no. You put a little uh toner in it, slap it on, dry it out.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Why pink beard? And pink just for the viewers, it's P Y N K beard. Yep. Follow him, look him up on that. But why pink, not purple, man?

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Man, I went with pink just because literally I had a I was hosting a birthday party at my house, and the girl I was hosting it for has these twin brother pastors. Okay. They moved from New York to LA. They like pastor a congregation, but they also they do fashion design and they had this color in their hair. And I was like, man, if I still had hair, I'd do my hair that color. And they and one of the guys said, Well, you do still have hair, and I was like, Hey, there you go. That's how it was launched. Yep, that was it. I was like, Okay, I've dyed my beard pink, and they thought I was playing. I was like, No, I'm serious. Yeah, came back pink.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Well, I'll tell you what, it definitely markets you for sure. Thank you because you are the only country artist. Country, that's right. I said it, country artist, pink beard in the house. And you know what? Listen, I went to your show the other night, and I just gotta say that I got to tell the viewers, what a phenomenal performance you put on, man. And you know, not only is the music great, and and you got an awesome voice, but but the way you perform, it's it's special, man. It's special. And and I and I'm just I want you to know I've had a lot of artists on the show. I've I've met with a lot of artists, a lot, you know, a lot of great people, and then and they do great things, but you do something different. Your line, I don't know if it's country, you do a little country, you do some funk in there, you got a little jazz, you got some gospel, you got some soul. Like you just roll it all together. We gotta we gotta have a other a whole nother name for your for your music.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

You know what's crazy? I I've always said that most music, music is like a a species. We think of genres kind of like we think of species, but they all come from that same, like gospel, what we call gospel music and soul music and jazz music and country music and blues music pretty much comes from about 200 miles of space. Right? Those are those are just people working in the between the south and the southeast, you know, um sharing ideas, bringing influences, and you know, telling the story the way they saw it. And then like country is very, very broad because there's like Texas country, and then there's Alabama country, and it has a lot of similarities, right? But then there are subtle differences, you know. Um Georgia country is very similar to Alabama country, right? Right. But there are some subtle differences, just you know, based on what you got access to. And so that's what I try to bring together in my show.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Well, it's so it's so much different because you go to Nashville today and you think of country, Nashville, everybody's you know, there, but you're in Alabama and you're doing this and you're rocking it out, and um, you know, your your the genre is a little bit different because you do have you do a little rapping sometimes, you know what I'm saying? You you slow it down, you you you you put some funk into it, a little jive, you get people dancing and moving. You know, it's it's it's a show. Like it's not just a song, it's not just a performance, which is great, but it's actually you you put on a phenomenal show, man. I just want you to know that.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Thank you, man. I like the the stage is the opportunity because when you hear something on a record, it's like, oh, do I like the song? Right? Like, or do I like the record? Right. But I don't think you ever know a song until you see it live. Because songs start as a feeling, like it there's all, you know, it starts as an emotion, it starts as a story, and it it feels way different when you see the person who told you that story, live that back out, you know, go through it again and feel it the way they felt it. Because I can't record it like that all the time. It may not make for a great record, but the emotion that I had when I wrote it is what I'm trying to give you at the show. And I want to invite people into that feeling. Yeah, yeah. Well, you definitely did that, man, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

And I'll tell you what, it it's the first show I can honestly say. I was I was a roller coaster of emotions, man. I mean, I I I was sad, like I seen you cry, like you were crying on stage. You made me laugh. Oh my god, I laughed so hard. I wanted to dance, I was shaking and driving. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, it was it was a it was a bubble full of emotions, man. And it was, you know, at the end of the day, you look at it and you're like, wow, what a what a great time that was. And you know, really, really appreciate that. You need to give that to the world. Like I'm sitting there and I know we were at Eddie's attic and it was a nice, quaint little space and everything like that, but I could just see you in Arena, man. I could just see you selling out the arena and being a big thing, dude. I just I just I vision that like I I picture that. And when you talk about the lyrics and how they mean something, I'm not gonna lie, man, for the last two nights I haven't been able to sleep. I've been singing your songs over and over in my head. Wow. So I know they resonate, you know, type type of thing. So uh kudos to you, man. I just want you to know that. Um, you know, and the reason why I say that because you had moments in your show where you took time and you explained to the to the audience some of the some of your songs and some of the things that were going on. Uh, one of the things that stuck out in my mind was a song it was talked about, you might be ugly. Now, wait a second. Hey, tell the viewers what this was all about.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

You know what I'm saying? The song is called Gotta Be Rich. And uh Gotta Be Rich. Gotta be rich. And the and the the thing of it is, it's actually a story about this girl that I met when I was in LA. Um, I was just starting to make some money, and you know, she was very attracted to me, and you know, blah, blah, blah. That was probably one of the most expensive relationships I've ever had ever. Um, and so, you know, it just kind of led me to tell this story about um, you know, how do you deal, you know, if you're not, if you're not the LA, you know, classically attractive guy, how do you deal with that? And that's where that story came from.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Wow. Well, you know what? It was funny as hell. I'm not gonna lie, because you know, you brought it out though. You told people, you know, if you're ugly, man, mama, mama, you gotta blame yellow mama about that one. Yeah, but you know, you can't control that stuff, but but you control not being broke, you know, being broke.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

You can get out there and get something, that's for sure. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

But you know what's funny because there's a lot of guys that when you said that, I literally had that conversation with a friend of mine uh earlier that day. He was talking about how this girl that we was dating, you know, she wants you know him to make more money. She wants to have, you know, and he's trying, like he's trying. Of course. But he's like, man, man, she just, you know, always at me, always at me. And then I hear that song, I'm like, yeah, you better go get some.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

You're not that handsome, you better be rich.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Yeah, yeah, fair enough. Yeah. So listen, let's talk about the music, man. Where did the music come from in your in your life?

SPEAKER_00 7:14

When did you start it? Man, I'm I grew up in a church. My mom and dad again were both pastors. I I grew up um uh in a Pentecostal church in Alabama, and my godmother happened to be the organ player, and she was just the sweetest lady, and I I just always was drawn to it. Um, I started out writing poetry, but I wrote my first song that like someone sung for like the kids' choir when I was five. Really? So I've been writing songs at least since I was five years old. Wow. Um, just because uh at the first church I went to, we weren't allowed to listen to songs like from the radio. Um I won't get into that, but yeah. Um so everybody in my church wrote songs because we wanted to sing new songs, so we just wrote them. So as a kid, I wanted to participate, so I started writing songs, um, and then it just kind of went through that, went uh fell in love with music um because it allowed me to express things uh that I probably couldn't say out loud at home or whatever. And so it was kind of a little escapism, probably. Right. And then, you know, people thought I was decent at it, so I started like uh arranging stuff for my school band and you know just getting more into the music college, start playing in the band at like 14 and just yeah, it's been a part of my life, my whole life. Yeah, obviously you enjoy it. Do you play instruments too or not? Yeah, yeah. I play piano, play a little, play a little drum. I can get around on the guitar a little bit, but I'm a pianist first, though.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

Gotcha, gotcha. Well, they say that's the that's the instrument you want to learn if you're gonna be a singer and a front man. You need to learn that.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Piano is helpful, man.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

So talk about the songwriting because I know you did a lot of songwriting, but you actually got some Grammy awards for songwriting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I won a couple Grammys. That was about that, man.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Um I won for best. I like how you just gotta throw it off. Yeah, yeah, I got a couple Grammys. You know, I I tell people all the time, man, I I do not do this for trophies, I do it for impact. You know, and that's what's most important. But I I won for Best R B album with John Legend on Bigger Love. I won this year for uh Best Musical Theater Soundtrack with uh Alicia Keys for Hill's Kitchen, and then I won uh for Best Soundtrack uh two years ago um for United States versus Billy Holiday. Nice. Congratulations on all that.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

And you know, you should be proud of that. I am, I am, I am. But you know, tell tell people because there's a lot of young artists out there, a lot of people that you know actually can write. Maybe they can't sing, but they're right. How do you get in front of an Alicia Keys? How do you get in front of a John Lake? How do you get your music to them to try to get them to put it out there?

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Uh the uh this is gonna sound like the like industry answer, but the answer, and I mean this from like a different perspective, you don't. What you want to do is I have this little saying this is a star will only shine as bright as its sky will allow. Right? And the brightest star in your world is the one that's in your sky. In other words, trying to go find Alicia and throw her a song, you'd you're throwing pennies on an ocean. But if you can write for the person beside you that can sing and you know help them get where they're going, then eventually somebody goes, Hey, who wrote that song? And that's how people go. They'll call you. You know, you don't really, I mean, you can send it through ARs and go, but it man, that AR gets 50,000 of those a day. Right. So the best way to you know show the value is just, hey, I can get this person to sing it. And people go, oh man, I really like that song. Can you come write me one? That's how I got here.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, that's good. That's a big that's a big deal. Now, when was it when you first performed? Like, I know you had an album prior to you. Took a lot of time off. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Uh I took like what happened? Well, you weren't pink beard back then. No, I wasn't pink beard. And and I had gotten to a point where I just felt like I don't know. Like, I mean, you I just it just got so redundant and it got kind of boring being a songwriter, and I I kind of lost my love for like doing it. And and I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. But I was kind of stuck doing it because it was like, uh, I'm this is how I make my money. It's a job. Yeah. At the time, that was a job. Yeah, and then I got I got an opportunity to like um I was initially this project came because I was writing some stuff that I was gonna send to Shabuzi. And um, but every time I send it to somebody, they go, Who's that singing? I go, Oh, that's me. And they say, Oh, you should do this yourself. And I'm like, okay. And then I played it for a good friend of mine who ended up producing a lot of stuff named Oak Felder, great producer, by the way. And he was like, No, you really should do this for yourself. And I was like, Okay, right. And um, that happened right around the time that I met the pastors with the pink, and I was like, All right, I'm going with that. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Yeah. Well, that's that's good. You know, um, you think about kind of the full circle of things and where you are today, because you had mentioned that even on stage, you were like, hey, you know, I'm gonna do this one more time. This is my my last round, my go at it. But you know, sometimes that's what it takes, right? It takes the resilience, it takes that that attitude to say, hey, this is what I love. Yeah, and honestly, you're really good at it. You know, you're you're a performer. You know, there's a lot of there's a lot, a lot of recording artists, and they may sound really good on the on the track, right? Yeah, but like you said, when you see them live or you hear them live, they don't sound the same. It's completely different, it's a completely different skill set. A whole different skill set.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Like being a recording artist is a that's a skill set. That really is a skill set to being able to manipulate the microphone and in this booth, you know, being able to deliver a really good recording and you know in a studio, but that's a completely different thing than you know, walking out in front of people. It's more crowd work, it's more personable than just in the booth. And um, you know, a lot of a lot of uh um artists that are coming out now, shout out to them. But they start they start their career in their bedrooms, and the first time they see someone in front of them is their first show. Like that's like their first show is their first show. They didn't come up in karaoke bars or singing at churches, high school, you know, talent shows. So their first show is their first show, and and then they're having to kind of equip themselves to be you know in front of people like that. So I I've been fortunate to like you know grow up performing a lot and and um specifically in gospel churches because you could be expressive, right? You could be emotional, you know, and that that wasn't like looked down upon. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

You ever feel like you know, you may offend other people or certain people with somebody's music at times? Yeah. Does that ever affect you at all? Or no.

SPEAKER_00 13:12

I I mean, I I do think that I may say because I was offended, man.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

I know I'm ugly. I know you were staring at me when you were talking about that. Made me feel bad. But got on myself conscious, man.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Man, that's always about me being again. Um but but no, I you know, at this point, you can't be everybody's friend. You know, I don't want to be everybody's friend. Because if you're everybody's friend, you're nobody's friend. I just want to find people I can be friends to, you know, and be friends with. Um and sometimes that offends people. But I don't do it to offend anybody. I'm just, you know, I don't say anything to hurt anybody. I'm just, you know, I'm trying to build somebody up. And sometimes in my building you up, that person gets offended because I built you up. Right. But it was never to offend that person. Sure. You know, that was just me saying something good about you. Right. That's that's how I look at it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Um, you know, as far as music goes, there are so much out there. Um, do you really are you writing all your own music? You're doing your own stuff now, or do you actually lean on some other writers to help you out at times?

SPEAKER_00 14:07

On this project is just me and one other guy. Um, I I wrote most of this stuff just kind of riding around in my car, but I did get uh some help from a good friend of mine in Nashville named Eric Pasley. He helped me write um a song called Oh, One Slow Dance Left. Um Slow Dance Left and a song called Two Lost Hearts. Um you know, and I was really happy to have him uh to work with, but most of this stuff was just me kind of walking around the house just humming and you know trying to paint a picture for people. Gotcha. Well, I was gonna ask you, you know, where do you get your inspirations and stuff? Where you know this particular project is like a story of a of a breakup and a like try again at love. And I just each each song is like a God, there's always somebody that breaks our heart. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

There's always somebody. The whole world can relate to that.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Heart break is profitable. If done well. Yeah, if you do it right, yeah, yeah. So I just wanted to just kind of a bunch of little snapshots of just where I was in that process and um what I learned, and you know, right.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Did uh did your ex-girlfriend ever call you up and be like, I know the song's about me. I want to, I want to, I want, I want a few dollars, you know. Help me out over here. This is if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have uh made this big hit.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

She did comment, she didn't, she did, you know, you know. What she said was pink, that's an interesting choice for you. I I didn't even know you saw it, you know. Um but nah, nah, it's all good. Um, but yeah, this this this is uh one big story of like you know, trying, failing, giving up, trying one more time. And that's true about music, it's true about relationships, it's true about just life in general. That's why I call it sugar and salt. The whole project is called sugar and salt.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Um, just the sweetness, sour, just you know, getting back up, trying it again.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

I like it. Yeah, I like it. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, and and everybody does that every day. Yeah, you know, type of thing. You know, being that you know, you you're a little bit more seasoned than a lot of people. So do you find that sometimes it's it's a hindrance, or is it is it a good thing or a bad thing? And the reason why I say that is times have changed so much with technology and everything. These kids with their phones and everything else, you gotta have, they want to know how many followers you got. They want to know who's who's watching you, you know, and you gotta put your shit out there. You know, is the pressure on that?

SPEAKER_00 16:17

You know what's crazy is is I feel like this this is giving me the opportunity to like speak to a forgotten group of people, um, like and and sing to people who people kind of stop making music for. Right? Because most of the stuff that you hear in the mainstream is very much geared to people much younger than me. Right? But it's not like I turn my ears off when I hit 30. Right. Right. I still want to dance, I still want to sing, you know. And so I I've been finding that, you know, uh like there was a guy at the show Saturday that was 23. And then there was another guy at the show Saturday, I mean Sunday that was 83. Right. Right? I did notice that, yeah. Which was incredible to me. Awesome. Right. Like I like I I can speak to a 23. And they were both dancing. And they were both dancing, right? Saturday, the day before, I had a two-year-old and an 82-year-old. And they were all dancing, right? And so it it this has been almost a lack of pressure because it's like I'm just talking to the people who get it. Right. I'm not having to go and find people and convince them. There are lots of people out there who just want to have a good time and smile and dance and sing, and this music is for them. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Yeah, yeah. Amen to that. You know, it's great to hear you two talk about how it's not about the money with you, it's it's about it's about the project. I want to make some money. Let me to the camera. I would like to make some money. Yeah, and I believe you're going to make a lot of money. Like I really do. Seriously, man, your your your charisma and and what you stand for really does show on stage. And and I'm telling you, it's special because you know, I've gone to a lot of shows and a lot of like a lot of concerts, and like I said, there's some great artists and great singers, and they put on some great shows, and then there's other ones that not so good. Yeah, you know what I mean. You're kind of like, eh, I thought I was expecting more. Yeah, yeah. You kind of changed all that now because I had no answer, I had no idea. Come on, black guy, pink beard, gonna sing some country. All right, let's go check this out. See what it is, yeah. You know, see what this is all about. And then just to be honest with you, every single lyric that came out of your mouth, I felt. You know what I'm saying? I mean, I felt I was getting chill bumps, you know. I was getting like I was I was there. I love it. You know what I'm saying? It's like I want to get on stage, grab the microphone. I love the Rudy show for sure, man.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

You know, that but like the I think the as much into the algorithm as we get, and as much into like the data and analysis that we get, as of now, there are still some human things that we just can't quantify. Right. And I mean, we're getting good at it, don't get me twisted. You know, follow the numbers, you know, make your decisions based on numbers. I get it. Right. But the human experience is like different. And that's more than I want to put on a performance or a show, blah, blah, blah. I want to give people a human experience. Like, that's the that's the whole point. Just come hang out with me and feel humanity again. Like, just feel what it means to be human. Another reason that I call this thing sugar and salt, it's kind of a long story, but I'll tell it really fast. No, take your time. I every year, me and my manager, my manager has a uh a house in Bali. And every year he throws this big writer's camp. So he's like 10 writers, 10 producers, 10 artists. We all go to Bali for about 10 days and we swap up rooms right with each other. Anyway, I'll skip this thing. But just know that I when I was down there one time, I got into like a spat with a young lady that she had hurt my feelings so bad. And I said something mean to her. And so I I I go upstairs and I say to me, Hey, can you go to the bathroom? And I go in there and and I kept asking myself, I kept asking myself, like, why did you do that? Like, why'd you why'd you snap her? And I was like, Oh, because uh she made me mad, right? And I was and then and I said to me, Well, do you feel better now? And I'm like, nah, nah. And and I realized that a a lot of my reactions to things um weren't based out of how I really felt, more or less, because I was trying to protect how I really felt. Right? Just a right. All right, that's part one of this episode. Part two is I'm in San Diego one night and um I'm working with another good friend of mine, and it's like one in the morning, and I happen to be on shrooms. Don't tell my mom I said that, but I was. And so the room's spinning, and I get a phone call from a really good friend of mine that's on the East Coast. It's like one in the morning at the West Coast, so it's like four in the East Coast. And she says, Bash, what do you think happens when you die? And I go, Oh my god, this is not the right time. I mean, you know, you know, but this just ain't the right time. You're part of that. Yeah, like all right, I'm out. And she said, she said, I said, Well, I don't know, baby. I just assume you go back to wherever you were before you started. And she said, Well, okay. And I said, You sure you're okay? I'm fine. 30 minutes later, she texts me and she says, Thank you for telling me that. I was always scared to die. Um, but you know, that really helped me. Um, I don't think I want to be here anymore. I love you, I'll see you next lifetime. I dropped my daughter from my mom's house. What? So now I'm trying to find her, right? I'm just trying to try to cough it. I can't get nothing. My high brain says, Hey, there's this little song you sing when you're scared, and you don't know the words, you can't write it down. But if if you sing it right now, I bet they'll sing it with you. Shut up, high brain. I'm trying to do something, right? Hey, there's this little song you sing when you're scared. Anyway, I end up crying myself asleep. Oh, wake up the next morning. She's texting me that she had taken some medicine that messed up with her mind. She got sick, they pumped her stomach, she's good, she's alive right now. But I go back and I look at the, you know, listening back to because I recorded myself saying it. Okay. There's this little song you sing when you're scared. If you don't know the words, you can't write it down. But if I sing it for you right now, you'll probably sing along. And I was like, what was I talking about? And it hit me that that song is just called crying. It's just this little song that we sing when we get scared. I do not know the words, I cannot write it down. But if I sing it for you right now, it would be you would be hard pressed not to sing back. We have another song we sing when we're happy. Don't know the words. It's called laughing. Right? If I sing it for you right now, you'll probably want to sing with me. And and and that's the experience that I'm like that feeling. These are the songs you already know. Right. Right. I'm just trying to sing it with me. Sure. Right? The laughing cry, the sugar salt, right? Sing that with me. And that's what that.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Experience with well, you know what? It's funny because you do that at your show because all your songs, there's a part of your song that the crowd is bringing bringing to like, hey, you you're gonna be part of my my music, yeah. You know, we're doing this together, you know, we're all on this show together, yeah. And I think that's what was a great experience because of it, you know. Um, and then you pulled it off because not and everybody can pull that off. You know what I mean? It's not like a dueling piano type of thing. I mean, you're you're you're you're the real deal, you know what I'm saying? Type of thing. So um, but you know what? The funny thing about it is eventually you might get some annoying people out there, right? Because they they they're singing too much or they're trying to they're trying to take over your show, you know. You how are you gonna handle that when people start jumping on stage on you and everything else? Because you know it's bound to happen, Pink. I mean, I I seen it like it was it was kind of growing, growing, growing. And that was a small, like I can see it, I can see it, I can vision it.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

I mean, you know, I'm a big, I'm a big fella, you know. That's why. But uh, but I also have security. Yeah. Um, but now you just the excitement I think is so beautiful. Um, and you you want to cultivate it and you know keep people safe, that's for sure. Uh, but you never I don't want to quellch people's excitement. I'm I'm glad to see that wide demographic of people coming in and enjoying themselves. And um, so I really been feeling really safe. But you're right, you have you have to be wise about something like that.

SPEAKER_01 23:18

But you know, you did something that no other artist has ever done at any show before, and that was you came out before the show even started. And I and it was funny because I was sitting there, I actually was at the bar, I was getting a drink, that's right, I was getting my crown and coconut. Um, but the reality was um I heard people go, That's is that Pink Beard? And I look over and I say, I'm like, Yeah, he's got a pink beard. That's him. That's that's that's him. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, that's out there. It's like, what is he doing? Is he is he looking for nah? He's just greeting everybody. He's just you're just out there saying hey to everybody and thank you for coming before the show even started. Like that's unheard of.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

And I always want to, I try my best to do that at every show because you could have spent that money anywhere, you could have spent that time anywhere. Um, and I feel like if you come out to see me, you should see me. Yeah, right. You could have heard me sing the song in the car. You know, you could have just played the song again.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

Right. I want you to see me, get to know me. Why aren't more artists like that?

SPEAKER_01 24:10

You know, realistically. Do you get too famous? Do you feel I mean, I mean, what's gonna happen to you? You know, when you're selling an arena, you're gonna change? I don't know if I can see all of them at an arena. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 24:20

But I hope never to change.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

But will you put yourself out there for 30 minutes and try to do it? Absolutely. You know what I'm saying? See the ones that are.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

It's impossible. I want to do that. Yeah, that's important. Yeah, because that that there are people out there who really they have a lot riding on you, right?

SPEAKER_01 24:32

Like they dude, I can't even tell you just the amount of excitement when they saw you, like, that's him. Yeah, that's him. Yeah, yeah. You think I could go get a picture? Get my get my camera, you know what I'm saying? You know, and you were just hanging out, just like you didn't push anybody away. And unfortunately, I've seen some people that have, you know, no, no, stay away. You know, they they get their attitude on, and you're right. If it weren't for those people that are paying to see you, they wouldn't have a job.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

I don't have a job, and that's why I like to come out and chat with a man. Let's drink, let's have a drink together, chat about you know what's going on, and as much as I can. Um, and I hope to do that as long as I can.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

Hi, I'm Phil Benamino, CEO and founder of Cost Plus Processing, the company that provides financial services to your business. We provide things such as POS systems, ATM machines, and check services. One of the biggest things that we strive ourselves here at Cost Plus Processing is our customer service. We are an A plus rated with the BBB with customer service, and we're proud to say we're here in the United States with all of our customer service agents. Our objection is to actually teach you and educate you about the costs that you're currently paying and show you ways where you can eliminate those costs that you no longer have to pay. One of the biggest programs that are out there today is our dual pricing program, where you actually can offer your customers now a choice of how they want to pay. Do they want to pay with cash or do they want to pay with card? And if they pay with card, it actually helps you to absorb the card fees so you no longer have to pay the fees like you've done for many, many years. Cost plus processing aligns ourselves with some of the top POS companies out there in the industry today. For example, we have perfected the car dealership industry, and our dedicated team are equipped to manage a variety of online payment forms and financing options that merchants require in this advanced ecosystem of payments. If you have a restaurant, we are proud to be able to manage the ongoing difficulties that arise from this fast-paced industry, and you're looking for pay at the table where customers can easily swipe their cards, tap their cards, and make their payments with tip and also have a choice of how they want to pay. We have the solutions for you here at CostPlus. We want to help other small business owners make their dreams come true for providing the best financial support. From barbershops to liquor stores. Having the ability to take payments scheduled online and make calculating tip sharing an easy task only helps business owners put more attention and money into what really matters the most. Also, cost plus processing is on the front end of AI. We can also provide you kiosk for your business so customers can walk over to the kiosk and order anything that they want. Likewise, if you're having a problem getting employees in the kitchen to work, we can also provide you robots that will actually deliver your food straight to the customer. I want to thank you for the time that you took to learn a little bit about cost plus processing. And most importantly, why we are the future of virtual processing.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

Yeah. Right. Not just like, oh, I heard him sing that song that I know. Right? But you know, who is he as a person? Why why is it that I should support him or you know, listen to him versus anybody else? Right. Right? Well, I know that guy. He's a nice guy. You know what I'm saying? He he he took pictures with my kids, you know. He he he came and he was genuine.

SPEAKER_01 27:46

So being real. Being a real thing, real. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's that's that's the important part is being who you say you're gonna be. Facts, mom. And not forgetting where you come from, type type of thing. Because I see so many people do, you know, they let the money get a hold of them. But you know what? There are some legal stuff that you got to deal with as well. Let's talk about that for a second. Like, obviously, you got management. You got you, I don't know if you're signed, you got your own label, or if you got your own public, you're your own doing it in personal private.

SPEAKER_00 28:10

Um, but I I actually I'm I'm this is probably gonna be the first place I made this announcement.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

All right, let's go. Right here on Wham Bam's podcast. You're gonna hear it first.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

Let's go. I'm a part of Red Bull Records now. All right. Shout out to the Red Bull family. Nice. Um, and yeah, so there's lots of lots of legal things that you have to deal with. Um you know, you want to make sure that your business is done correctly. You know, you want to build it the right way so that you don't sell your soul. Or and I say that euphemistically, but you don't want to, you know, give away everything. You want to do good, fair business, you know. And and Red Bull was definitely keen to that. And I appreciate him for that.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

That's great. That's awesome. Um, but you know, if they told you, hey, you know what, we don't want you out front, we don't want you visiting the people before the show. We need you in the back. You know, you you guess I'm saying that?

SPEAKER_00 28:56

Yeah, I guess I'm saying that. Um and again, like most of the time, record labels don't do what most people think they do. But for the most part, man, record labels are just trying to make sure that their money's safe. Um and you know, especially in this situation, it's like, well, they trust my instinct. Like whatever whatever I did to get their attention, they think I'm doing something right. And so they've been really supportive of just, hey man, you know, we're here to support what you what you do. And I appreciate them for that. Some record labels you hear all kinds of horror stories. Oh, yeah. Um, and I've been in some situations like that, but this ain't that. So I'm I'm really glad to be a part of a family that's that you know trusts my instinct and just does their best to amplify what what's natural. Right. Yeah. That's good.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

That's good. So you working on any new projects, new songs? Oh, yeah. What do you got going? What do you got going? Come on, give us a little snap. All right, give us something, give us something.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

All right, my Lord willing, which is like the the kind of rockabilly, you know, 12 bar blues that everybody's been dancing to on the web. Um, it's coming in June. Ums. Give me a couple bars. Come on, man. Well, she smoked at California. That ass from Alabama, and she wanna go shopping and get crab legs in Atlanta and her body say Miami. But I say that don't matter. Because she dressed like a city girl and cooked it like my grandma. She ain't from Tennessee, but she a ten in my eyes, and she my Lord, well, and then the river don't run. Yeah, like it, like, yeah, yeah. Alabama. So listen, is that a road tie, road tie for you or what? I mean, I will say road tie if you're from Alabama, but I'm really an Auburn fan. You're an Auburn fan.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

Uh-oh. All right, all right. So who's your favorite running back at Auburn? Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson. Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

I mean, it's been some great running backs at Auburn players.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

Bo Jackson is definitely my favorite. Yeah, who would be your second one? Carnell Williams. I'm asking for a friend. Carnell Williams. Now you know who Carnell Williams played with, who was third string but turned out to be a better NFL football player. No, no.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

No, Carnell played with uh Let me give you a hint. New York. New York. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, no, no, no. Oh my god, wait a minute. Cadillac was with Ronnie Brown. He was there too. He was the number two when he went to Miami.

SPEAKER_01 31:04

And this guy was number three.

SPEAKER_00 31:05

But had a better career than both of them. Well, what was the boy's name? It was a uh I see his face. It was a three hit him once. Wait, wait, wait. Cadillac, Ronnie, and it wasn't Trey. His name wasn't Trey. What was his name? He's gonna tell me I'm gonna be like I know that. Brandon. Brandon Jacobs, baby. Brandon Jacobs, man. Come on! Come on, K. You are so right. Brandon Brandon right now. Shout out to Brendan Jacobs. That's my bad, bro. I definitely did know that. Yep. Brandon Jacob. Brandon is one of the best that came out of there. Yes, he did. You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

He was on the pod too. Shout out to Brendan Jacobs. His boy's playing over in Clemson right now. Oh wow. Yeah, yeah. He's big, big stud over there, man. Yeah, he got he got big. 6'9, 6'10, 330, 358. Playing tackle. Tackle, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

6'9, 6'10, 300 pounds. That's what she that's where he should be. He's getting it. Yeah, that's where they need to put him.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

So Auburn, huh? Auburn was where it's at. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 32:03

My dad's from Opa Lika was literally a stone's throat from Auburn. Yeah. So I grew up down that way, you know, being down there for church and stuff, visiting my grandma down there. And it just my dad went to Auburn, so it's kind of right. Yeah. That's where it goes.

SPEAKER_01 32:17

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got those rivalries. You gotta have a pick a side. Everybody's gotta pick a side. It is what it is.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Type of thing. But but a lot of my friends, you know, shout out to the Crimson Tide. Just win every game, but when you play Auburn. That's when you play Auburn. Lose that one. Drop that one.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

One of your funny.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

I love it. Yeah, you if you if you had a game, would you ever do your beard, you know, in Auburn colors? Maybe a little orange and blue.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

I can't believe bluebeard. It's kind of a thing now. You gotta just go with the pink, man.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Gotta go with the pink. Gotta go to the pink. It is very remarkable. It definitely stands out. Because you don't see too many. You definitely don't see any black people walking around with a pink beard. I'm just dumb. You really don't like bear. If they do now, maybe maybe now you might start seeing a lot more of that.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

I actually saw a guy on American Auto a couple weeks ago. His beard was pink. Oh, yeah. I see you there, buddy. And that was a guy who came to my show who died his beard pink. It was two guys that died. That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 33:11

I'm thinking you're gonna see more of that. You know what? You need to sell pink beard at your stuff, at your shows. Yeah, your merch. I'm telling this to your people so you can make some more money. Okay. Okay. We'll give you some marketing ideas. There you go. Need that. There you go. You gotta do that. Some pink beards for them. Kids and everything else. Everybody be taking them. Yeah, I love it. I love that. That's a good idea. Get that out there. Yes, sir. So uh you know, obviously you got your new album coming out. You've got to do a lot of traveling back and forth. Talk to us about like where the record, because I know you do a lot of work in LA. You know, there's a lot of you know, there's a good good producer, a lot of stuff work in New York. I mean, there's a lot of places like what is that like when you're traveling? Because it's gonna be expensive too. And if you're not making all that kind of money right away, you know, you gotta start somewhere. Yeah, and and being an artist is is a very, very big grind. Yes, you know what I'm saying? There's a very small percent that are at the top, and I do believe you are gonna get there. But the the reality is you gotta make a lot of sacrifices. Talk a little bit about some of that.

SPEAKER_00 34:08

Um you're right, it's a lot of sacrifices, and uh, and a lot of that sacrifice is just in time, and then you know, realizing there's some things that money can't fix. Right. And there's some things that you you wish that someone would just do for you. Uh but most of the stuff money can't fix it, right? Like you can't buy your way into people loving you. You just have to get up a little earlier, stay up a little later. Um I I've basically been on this side of the country for this first half of the year because most of my shows are down here. Uh I've been doing right. I'm in Atlanta this week, I'm Brighton this week. Uh came down here to work with me, and I've been doing a lot of work in Nashville because those are drivable areas. I don't have to fly as much. Sure. Um, but yeah, it's a lot of late nights, a lot of early mornings, um, a lot of like back-to-back shows this this coming June. I think I got like 12 shows next month. Um It's good though, man.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

It's good that you're out there playing out there.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

But you gotta take care of yourself, you gotta make sure you get your rest and drinking water. You know what I'm saying? It's it's a lot to that you that in your regular everyday life, you don't really have to think of it. It's oh I'll eat when I eat, or I'll go to sleep when I, you know. But now it's like, okay, no, you need to go to bed. You need to wake up at this time, you need to go jog at least half a mile, a mile. You you you gotta yes, you gotta keep yourself moving because it's a lot of energy on that stage, and nobody wants to pay their money to hear you say why you can't do it. You know, so yeah, those kinds of things.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

But see, you got the mindset, and that's the that's the most important part of it all, is you gotta understand and and and and make the sacrifices for that. I actually teetered around the music. My daughter was a recording artist for a real long time, but you know, she she was uh she was 15 at the time, did American Idol thing, you know, was the the dad dad, you know, she did the golden ticket and came out and you know she didn't get it at 15. And I was you know, I thought she got it, and you know, when she came out, I was like, no, they said, you know, I need to be a little bit stronger, a little bit wiser. But it was it was a show, it was a production, you know, and and that's part of the the thing when it comes to TV, they didn't really understand. Yeah, you know, but again, it's a show, it's production. What you're doing is you're not just selling music, you're also again, it's a production, it's a show. You have to also sell yourself, and you gotta get yourself out there in order for that to do that.

SPEAKER_00 36:18

Yeah, trying to become a part of the culture, you know, like or trying to be culturally relevant, right? Like the because that's really what that's that's really what I'm selling is culture. Right? I'm I'm I'm inviting people to come participate with the I call myself your country cousin, come hang out with your country cousin, man. Just you know, and see what that feels like.

SPEAKER_01 36:35

But but you're be but you're being serious, sincere about that. Like come hang out with me. Like, because you're doing it, you're hanging out with me. I mean that.

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Like, come hang out with me, man, come have a drink with me, you know, feel feel at home. And that's that's a that's different than just hey, come sing a song, you know. Um, so that's that's what I really been on, is just trying to, you know, create that that sense of community. And um people that that that was at that show that flew down from Buffalo, uh New Orleans. You know, every time I do a show, there's someone there that's like from oh right, and that that says to me that um, you know, uh they feel safe to come travel across the country to see some man with a pink beard. That's crazy, you know what I'm saying? But I want to make sure they stay feeling safe and you know, feel included in you know in a family environment.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

Of course. Yeah. Well, the the one thing is they got their money's worth. Yeah, so you're giving everybody their money as well, which is great. Oh, the only thing I didn't like, I would have liked an encore. I would have liked another song. Oh man. We were all complaining, but I think the place shut down. They think you had to cut it off at a certain time, yeah. You know, but I think everybody wanted more, you know, which is which is a good thing. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they were a little disappointed. They were still waiting when the lights came on. I was like, no, no, he's gonna come back out. He's gonna come back out.

SPEAKER_00 37:47

They're like, no, come to my shirts, come buy some shirts. Yeah, man. I mean, I the the crowd in Atlanta, I didn't even get a chance to say that. Shout out to the city of Atlanta. The this crowd was so energetic and electric and and into it, and you know, it was just moving, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:03

But the people around like everybody got along. It was like we were all family, yes, and that's what was cool about it. Like, I mean, we're all strangers, you know, the majority of us are strangers there, but we all felt the same, you know, about it. So kudos to you because you provided that for us.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 38:20

And that's why I said, man, that's why I see bigger things ahead of you, man. I think you got something really, really great. You got a good soul and it comes across. Thank you. And uh, you know, the the music, eh? No, I'm joking with you. But it's the way you present it, man. It's awesome. Thank you, man. You know, you did say a couple things. I do got a couple of quick questions. One of the things I wrote down. You made a comment. You said good men don't exist. Good men don't exist. What do you mean by that?

SPEAKER_00 38:43

Explain that. Why do you mean good? I'm a good man, man. I'm not saying you don't want to do good things. As a matter of fact, I say men are good, we do good things. Right? Because a part of my manhood, a part of being a man, my first job that I ever had in my life was to protect my little sister. Right. Because my first job ever was five when she was born. My first job. I didn't have to be good, I had to be willing to protect. Right? That means there's some stuff I was gonna do that wasn't so nice. I say some things that's not so nice, I don't know, but I never was judged on my being good. I I men are judged on if they get it done or if they don't get it done. And there's there are good ways to get it done, right? There are some not so good ways of getting it done, but the man who got it done, however he got it done, he's the man. That's all that matters. That's all that matters, right? And so the men are we don't really judge by goodness, we're we're judged by accomplishments. We tend to judge our women by goodness. You know, like I won't even go through, but does she look good? Can she cook good? You know, the goodness. Um and so right to our bellies. Right to our belly, right, right, right, right, right. Like so is she good? But men, we never, there's no such thing as a good man. It's just a living man and a dead man, an accomplished man or an unaccomplished man. Um, and to a certain degree, I'm trying to learn how to be good. And to a certain degree, I want to share with my sisters the ability to just get it done. Right? Like somewhere in between that I think is like a more human experience. Right? I I need it's good for me to learn empathy. Right? I can't just always be a cutthroat and I'm you know, you know, and I and um so I'm learning that, you know, and I'm learning how to share how to uh how to share that with people. And you know, sometimes I say good girls don't make history, they really don't. Like there's no good women in history books, you know, they're just the wife of someone else, right? But the the bad girls they make history, they stand out and you know their name because they broke some rule, right? Um we break the rules all the time. That's you know what I'm saying, but they broke some rule and that's why you know them. And I'm so I'm not saying be evil. Is that why some of the girls like bad boys and boys like bad girls? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That person that breaks that one rule that like, oh man, I'm so glad you broke that rule. You know what I'm saying? So I'm not saying be evil. I'm just saying, you know, don't be afraid to kick against the grain, right? Because, you know, that's how we make change in the world, that's how we progress, that's how we make the world better. Somebody has to break one of the rules. Yeah. True. I like it. So what's pink beard do for fun, man? Man, I had um lately I just been doing shows and traveling. But but normally what I do for fun, I'm I'm really big on like um, I love the golf. Golf? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not good at it, but I love it. Right? I just, you know, I at least you're honest.

SPEAKER_01 41:22

Hey, I'm not good at it.

SPEAKER_00 41:23

I'm not good at it. But I I I I think the thing I love so much about it is every swing, you get to like, what did I do right? What did I do wrong? Like you can almost obsess about like finding your own balance. Uh-huh. And I love it about golf, man. I go out there, like, if I if I can't, like, I got a few friends that take me out like on a course, but if I can't go to a course and I got like an hour or two, I'm going to top golf, and I'm just gonna sit there, me, just me in a bay, and I'm just gonna swing until I can't no more. Yeah. Because I just I love the idea of like, you know, just wear my hips, you know, pay attention to myself, you know, be in tune with yourself. Kind of like yoga, right? Being in tune with y'all, yeah. Yeah, it's like yoga with some pain. You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

High contact yoga. Yeah. Now, are you using the pink balls?

SPEAKER_00 42:08

No, I didn't ball pink ball, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

But uh not that you mentioned it. You you know, you might have to brand that. You know what I mean? I like that. It's kind of like a calloway, you know, the little thing with the calloway ball, but the beard, yeah. And you know what? That's the one thing that was missing on your shirt. I was gonna tell you that too. Uh your face is so likable. Oh, thank you. You know what I'm saying? Like it's marketable. You should be on there with the shirt.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

There is a version online that does have a beard on it, but I had to get these done like in a rush because I got you.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

But thank you so much for putting it.

SPEAKER_00 42:41

There are something like that.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

So who do you uh, you know, who inspires you? Like, you know, where do you go for your your help? Everybody looks up to somebody, everybody goes somewhere. Yeah, because if you don't surround yourself with success, then it's hard to get there. Yeah, let's just be honest. So who do you look up to? Where do you go?

SPEAKER_00 42:55

Man, there's so many people I look up to. Um like from a really uh an emotional standpoint, me and my mother are the best of friends. My mother and my grandmother, you know, like they they keep me grounded and you know, encourage me, blah, blah, blah. Like musically, I I can name people for for God knows how long.

SPEAKER_01 43:13

Um who's your biggest one out there now that uh you you know really inspires you that you think you're gonna do?

SPEAKER_00 43:18

Man, right now, man, I my my boy Teddy Swims is just he's a good friend, he's a good man. He's just a good human being. He's a good person. Um but he also does phenomenal music. He's just he's a phenomenal vocalist and just a phenomenal human being. Yeah, yeah. Um, I look up to him even though he's short. Shout out to him. Um, I look up to him a lot, man. He's a really good guy.

SPEAKER_01 43:41

Yeah, one of my favorites. That's awesome. That's good. Um, so where's the next tour going? Where where where are we off to? Where can people find you?

SPEAKER_00 43:48

I'm in Nashville on the 30th. I'm actually in Chevy, right outside of Nashville, at the uh Uncle Nearest Um uh at the distillery site. I'm at a The Humble Baron. We're doing um the kick off the black rodeo weekend on the 30th, and then I'm back in Nashville on the 6th for CMA Fest. I'm I'm gonna post about that today. So but I'm I'm doing the B and My Stage in front of the Ryman Theater on the 6th. And then I'm I'm all over in June. So you just go to Pinkbeard.com, you see all my upcoming dates. There you go. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

And I mean, before we go, Pink Beard, you want to say to the viewers out there that are watching, besides follow you and go to you.

SPEAKER_00 44:26

I mean, of course, follow me everywhere, just P-Y-N-K-B-E-R-D. But I think the most important thing I can tell anybody out there is don't give up on you. Right? Like, don't give up on you. And and if everybody else gives up on you, don't give up on yourself. There's something, there's something that you have to offer the world. Amen. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

It's never too late. Never too late. Never too late. Never too late. Guys, listen, go follow this guy, and I'm telling you right now, go to his concert, go to a show. If you don't like the show, get your boy Wham Bam, I'll refund you your ticket. That's how confident I know that you're gonna like the show. And as your boy Wham Bam always says, baby, if your life was a movie, would it be worth watching? And if the answer is no, then stop being ordinary and start being extraordinary. Till next Wednesday, baby. I'm your boy Wham Bam. Stay positive and keep testing negative. And I'm off.