Real Country, Ranch Life & Nashville Dreams with CJ Garton Ep124

In this episode, Deb sits down with country artist and songwriter CJ Garton, a sixth-generation Oklahoma rancher whose life and music are deeply rooted in authentic country traditions. CJ shares his journey from growing up on his family's historic cattle ranch to building a successful career in Nashville, where he has written songs for legendary artists including Tanya Tucker, David Alan Coe, Struggle Jennings, Whey Jennings, and Daryl Singletary.

The conversation explores CJ's passion for preserving traditional country music, the inspiration behind launching his own record label, G-Bar Records, and the unforgettable 700-mile horseback journey he took with his 13-year-old son from Tennessee to Oklahoma. Along the way, they discuss the stories, people, and experiences that reinforced CJ's belief that authentic country music still has a place in today's world.

CJ also shares behind-the-scenes stories from his music career, life as a rancher, songwriting, Nashville, and what's next as he prepares to release new music. If you enjoy honest conversations, inspiring journeys, and a love for real country music, you won't want to miss this episode.

If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and turn on notifications so you never miss a new episode of Happy Hour with Deb. New episodes premiere every Thursday.

Follow Happy Hour with Deb on social media for behind-the-scenes content, exclusive clips, and upcoming guest announcements. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Whoever's watching probably doesn't see the net, so they probably think uh uh how much beer and jitter and mushrooms have these people have?

SPEAKER_00 0:08

We're talking from mushrooms to flies that you people can't even see.

SPEAKER_05 0:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

I know, they're probably like even if you saw like one of those people in the street if like jump stand near that stranger. Hey, it's Deb. It's Happy Hour, Deb, and Deb, my very new friend, CJ Garden. Welcome to Happy Hour.

SPEAKER_03 0:39

My pleasure, dog.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

I can tell when you walked in, I'm like, this man knows some shit about country music.

SPEAKER_04 0:46

I grew up country, so I guess that's the first step to uh achieving that.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Yeah, your resume is impressive. You started in Oklahoma, born and raised.

SPEAKER_04 0:56

Yep. Fam a family of music, or you know, it was a family of cowboys and outlaws who happen to make music.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

I'm Irish, sir. We have we have outlaws in our family too.

SPEAKER_04 1:08

I tell people I'm half cowboy and half Indian, so I just get drunk and shoot at myself.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

That's beautiful. I mean, it's your gun. You could do whatever you want with it, right? Exactly. It's your constitutional right to do whatever you want.

SPEAKER_04 1:17

It's even harder when you got a bow.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Right, exactly. I know. Well, it's it's hunting season in the Pocono Mountains, and it just went to to sh guns, but it was bow for a long time. And I know I don't look the kind of chick that could like I learned how to skin a deer and cut the meat and for me I learned a lot about life through through hunting in the woods.

SPEAKER_04 1:40

Um and probably just the ethics of working and growing up on a ranch. You know, as a kid, I think a lot of kids get the chance to just play goof off, yeah, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Um my playtime was not farm working kids, not ranch kids, they don't.

SPEAKER_04 1:54

Yeah, my playtime when I could sneak away was hunting and fishing. That was a passion, just in the woods. Yeah. You know, it didn't matter if I was out finding arrowheads in the creek or I was chasing, you know, frog gigging, whatever. But it was for me that's that's what I knew. I didn't really know uh social current events, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

It's well, quite honestly, you did yourself a favor. Yeah. Because I don't know if you've looked around, Lily, but it sucks. It does, it does. Definitely not.

SPEAKER_04 2:22

Well, and that's why we have such a great team of people that we work with, because it's just really hard for me to get online and be excited. I love meeting the people out there and talking and stuff like that. I love doing these podcasts because it gives me a chance to just be me. Absolutely. There's there's such a disconnect with with the online approach as an artist and and often it's like texting. Like, oh I know.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

You don't you don't know how to read it.

SPEAKER_04 2:44

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Because it's got no personalization.

SPEAKER_04 2:47

You're like and I grew up, I'm the type of guy who still picks up the phone and calls. Same.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

You know, same all the time. I I think that it's kind of we've disconnected as humans, especially the younger generation, like they don't nobody answers a damn phone, nobody like it's absurd.

SPEAKER_04 3:04

It drives me nuts because someone will text me and I'll be driving or something. Like, I'll just call them. Just call them. And then I call them and they don't pick up. They don't pick up. I'm like, man, come on, bro.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

I know I probably text you this as I'm driving. Right.

SPEAKER_04 3:17

Right.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

You know, I think there's a huge disconnect with that too, as well as like, I feel like the younger generation kind of hides behind it. They're not accountable because they don't you're not actually speaking to them or shaking hands or everything is through some form of platform or text.

SPEAKER_04 3:32

Almost like a social awkwardness. Totally. You know, it's like they don't know, like I can see people in a room sitting next to each other all texting and looking at their phones, and they're literally talking to each other, but they're not looking up, they're not communicating. And for me, that's what country music, the kind of country music that I make, uh, emulates. It emulates a um a a time when people connected, a time where stories were told. Yeah. And um, you know, someone asked me the other day that was in the business, they're like, you know, who what do you sell? Like, who are you as an artist? I said, Well, I don't I don't sell anything. I said, obviously we're a product if we're a name, a brand, but I said, I think for me it's memories.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Amen.

SPEAKER_04 4:13

Because the biggest compliments I get is when I go online, I love it.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

I was just gonna ask you, what's your greatest compliment?

SPEAKER_04 4:19

Um is when people say how this reminds them or takes them back to riding grandpa's truck around the farm. Wow. Or this is me and my wife's wedding song. She's been gone now for five years ago. That's earth, like you can't put a dollar amount on that on somebody saying that to you. And it's crazy because uh, you know, I write songs, I write a lot of music for a lot of artists. Yeah, but I'm known for you know, singing songs that people don't remember, like the old Randy Travis Forever and Ever Amen.

SPEAKER_03 4:49

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:49

Um, Old Habits was like one of our first ones that blew up. Yeah, and that stuff's gone viral because people resonate with that. It reminds them of of what radio used to say.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

That's what country music should be. It's a good story and a good person that you could trust.

SPEAKER_04 5:04

Yeah, yeah. There's I think there's two kinds of music in life. There's music for the times and there's timeless music.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 5:10

And I want to make timeless music. I want to make songs that resonate, that that are healing, or and even if they're a party honky tonk song, they still remind you of a moment. They still remind you of this little little piece of your past that just is a gem.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

And then this kind of world right now, I think, you know, being the age I am at, we all have you hear a song on the radio or you're you're sitting in a bar and you hear a song, and it just instantly brings you to the moment.

SPEAKER_04 5:34

Oh yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

You know, what and we all have a fight song that's you know, we all have a sad song that lifts us up, and yeah. It's crazy. How long have you been in this industry?

SPEAKER_04 5:45

I've been making music since the day I was born. Wow. Um it's funny because there's a one of our first CDs or whatever. If you look on the I know, isn't it crazy?

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Now it's like how many streams?

SPEAKER_04 5:57

I'm like, I used to have to buy music and it's if you look at it uh on the uh center or the back, I can't remember. But it opens up and it's got me as a baby and a diaper. And um, you know, with the guitar laying next to me. Oh my gosh, this uh my parents said that I would harmonize before I could talk to the radio whatever it's on.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

It's in your blood, it's in your DNA.

SPEAKER_04 6:23

Yeah, and and I started writing just it's how I understood life. It was my it was basically my way of understanding life, like therapy for me. So like whenever I couldn't comprehend something going on around me, I I related that into music. That was my way of of of processing it, yeah, and being okay with it. Absolutely, that's beautiful. A lot of ways as a kid things are not okay, you know.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Hundred percent.

SPEAKER_04 6:47

And you want to try to find another way to see that. And I think music uh allowed me to find a a a second or third person view of what was occurring. That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

That's so beautiful. Who's your who was your inspiration?

SPEAKER_04 7:01

My dad. Yeah, yeah. My dad, he he's no longer with us, but he sang, and he never did it professionally. Like they play little honky tonks, they're kind of the red root royalty.

SPEAKER_03 7:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:11

He played the Skinner brothers. Skinner brothers played with Garth before we got off here, and then they turned Garth down to come back to Nashville. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Are you Nashville local now?

SPEAKER_04 7:20

Uh yeah, I I I spend time here, and we also still have a cattle ranch.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Okay, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_04 7:25

Yeah, so I get the chance to do both, but my kids call Nashville home. Call Nashville.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

How old are your children?

SPEAKER_04 7:31

I have an 11-year-old and a 20-year-old.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

What? You got still a little one to raise and one going out. What's your 20-wood? What's your 20-year-old do?

SPEAKER_04 7:39

Uh well, he goes to college right now and he uh makes cotton candy at the mall and gets paid crazy good. Does he really? That's impressive. They get they make emojis. Like in characters. They were making like Spider-Man and stuff like that, but I guess legalities they're gonna be. From the cotton candy? Yeah, it's pretty.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

I'm so impressed by that.

SPEAKER_04 7:59

Yeah, that's pretty wild.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

You have to send me a picture of that. That's incredible. What's he going to college for?

SPEAKER_04 8:05

Uh well, I don't think he knows yet.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Dude, I don't know what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_04 8:10

I told him because he he's very artistic like us. Yeah. But he got runs in the bush. When he does something he loves and that has a passion, if he starts doing it for money, it it kind of kills his enthusiasm. Like he uh when he was like 11 years old, he made a music video for me. Oh a lyric video. And it was the very first one he ever did. He taught himself code. Eleven. Eleven years old. So when he's when he was whenever he was like six or something, he was doing stop motion on a dry race board and making making videos on his phone. That's a good thing. By the time he was like eight, he done taught himself code. What? He's very smart. Yeah, very smart kid, very intellectual, but had a lot of empathy. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

You did a good job. So if you raised a child with empathy in this world, you I think that's mostly mama. Can well, I don't know. I I always say that like good people come from other good people.

SPEAKER_04 9:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

You know, so you did any you it's very hard to teach empathy, you know. So you guys did an amazing job.

SPEAKER_04 9:07

Yeah, yeah, and I taught him life about hunting and fishing and stuff like that, and he does it. He understands the difference and he respects life. Right. And but he also, you know, we've got you know, two dogs, four cats, and a wallaby.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Oh, you have a wallaby.

SPEAKER_04 9:23

We have an albino wallaby.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Oh what's the what's the wallaby's name?

SPEAKER_04 9:27

Russell.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Russell is a great name.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

He's albino, so he's got pink eyes.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 9:32

He's solid white.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

How long do they live?

SPEAKER_04 9:34

Uh about 18, 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Oh, longer than dogs. Yeah. That's like a good marriage. It is.

SPEAKER_04 9:41

It all depends on how nice everybody is. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Exactly. Right. You don't need a lawyer to break up with a wallaby.

SPEAKER_04 9:47

No, you don't. You don't need to hire a law attempter. Just let him go, man. White fang him. That's like be free.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

I mean, I think if you're on a ranch, it is mandatory to have dogs and you know.

SPEAKER_04 10:00

This is Nashville.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Oh, here in Nashville.

SPEAKER_04 10:02

Yeah, I wouldn't even I didn't even mention all the animals that made that is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

And what was the transition like moving here full time?

SPEAKER_04 10:09

You know, um I sp I was in the military, so uh I got a thank you for your service to this beautiful country. Oh, well, this country deserves a lot, a lot. They totally do. Um without without what soldiers and veterans and those folks do and the sacrifice they make at such a young age, we couldn't be doing what we do. We couldn't be the country we are. Yeah, we could not.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

And I think we don't give enough. Um, I am a coach and a therapist, and I work a lot with PTSD and stored trauma and regaining your life. I have a lot I work with a lot of military, um, both active and you know, retired. And I don't think that the regular world knows that we couldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for somebody who was willing to lay their life. What branch were you in?

SPEAKER_04 11:01

I was in the Navy. Yeah, I think my brother was so much. Me and my brother went in. He caught up after me after I got out of boot camp and stuff. And uh he actually works at the VA now. Yeah, before he worked for TSA for a period of time. I always but I always knew I was gonna make music. Um the military thing was uh honestly, it was one of those situations where I just kind of wanted to get out and grow up a little bit, maybe save a little bit of money. Right. Um I don't know if any of that actually happened. Yeah, but I'm very grateful. Don't look backwards now.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

It's good for to get a VA loan, it's good for you know, yeah, it is, it is. In other countries, men mandatorily have to serve.

SPEAKER_04 11:39

Well, yeah, you do, you do, and I know a lot of places you you have to, and they've changed some of that. But I think it's good for because at 18 I don't think you're thoroughly an adult. I mean, in my whole twenties I wasn't an adult. But oh I don't feel like an adult now. Yeah, I don't it's mentality. It's amazing. It totally is. But I think I think you know there's a difference between chaos and controlled chaos.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

Absolutely, you know, 100%.

SPEAKER_04 12:02

We just get smarter about decisions we make, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Or we've gotten, we've put our hand on that stove and it's burnt like hell, so we know don't don't touch that shit again. Don't you big demi, don't do that again. Yeah, and you try and instill that in your children, but like everybody's gotta they gotta touch it to know, you know. I I think as a parent, you're so like, I'm gonna tell you that's gonna suck, but they gotta learn it their way.

SPEAKER_04 12:25

Well, they do, and it's so funny because I'm talking to my kids and I tell them, Hey, don't do that, and then they they do that, and I'm like, it's I think it's just the human nature. Totally. It's human nature. Absolutely on your own. And honestly, my biggest failures are my greatest success. Absolutely. Because, like I said, you know, the question you asked, I joined the military and what it was like moving here. Well, it was just another trip. Yeah, you know, because I I traveled a lot. Um I was I was always kind of that road dog even as a kid. Yeah. Uh my dad, and then we'd make a random hey, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Well, that's great because you weren't gonna be shell-shocked and bang, you know.

SPEAKER_04 13:01

I love travel. Yeah, me too. And I married my wife who loves to stay home. And she plays fiddle and sings too. She does. So yeah, so we we're dragging her out of the house when we go. It's like it's time to leave. It's time to leave. Oh my god, it's time to leave. But it's so funny that you you attract opposites and things like that. Yeah, my husband. Same total.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

He's completely I'm uh just a social butterfly, and I love humans, and I just I am. I'm Susie talks a lot. And he's although I have to tell you, we moved, we live outside of Philadelphia in one of the suburbs, and we bought a house a little over a year ago, and since I've been in that house, at this different house, I've kind of become the homegirl. You know, like he's like Saturday night, he's like, when you do have dinner. I'm like, we have to get out of sweatpants, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:48

Well, it's nice just to relax. I mean, us that goes so much, to be home is great. It's a blessing. I like watching sports or football anyways.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Yeah, who's your team?

SPEAKER_04 13:59

Um, all of them, but I'm a Titans fan, and I know I know sorry, they've had a rough. I know, it's but you know what though? It I I gotta look at it this way. Tom Brady would never have been Tom Brady without a great core around him.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Amen.

SPEAKER_04 14:13

You know, and I think Cam Moore has a great opportunity, but they're not investing in the offensive line. They're not investing in star talent around him. I mean, they're they're buying guys that are veterans that have maybe have a year or two left, right? Overpaying them. You can't build a team a Super Bowl winning team from that. Don't don't give me all these quarterbacks that are good or possibly great, and then not protect them. Right, absolutely. I totally agree with that. Yeah, me neither. I think I think they're cutting corners trying to find a team that works with what they're wanting to do.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

You know, I think when you do that, you sacrifice the win today for the win down the future.

SPEAKER_04 14:50

You know, exactly. You can't build a Super Bowl. Everybody wants instant gratification.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

That's light. That's just totally like I think when you are old enough to realize that you're like, that shit is not happening. Like you just you have to be patient. Greatness comes with patience.

SPEAKER_04 15:05

Well, it's crazy because my team, I love the the Houston Oilers, because I grew up, I was not a Cowboys fan. Thank God, sir. And we don't have an Oklahoma team, so our team is OU for college and stuff. And so we're yeah, go OU right now. Go OU. But um, when I moved here, it was funny because after I got out of the Navy, I I went and sold cars uh for like one month. I'm like, what can I do that? God, what's that like some money quick? And then I can because I bought a school bus.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

So I could start getting touring, right?

SPEAKER_04 15:34

I bought a school bus at the tractor auction uh off my grandpa for $800. The full-size school bus took half of it out and put like a living quarters in it. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 15:44

We're not going anywhere without cold beer. Well, absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 15:47

And if I wasn't driving, I could still drink from what I understand. Right, absolutely. You know, so it was one of those things. Well, well, I met a guy who just signed a contract with the Titans. He was one of their offensive linemen. Well, well, he was there buying his brother and him a brand new Yukon loaded out. That was one of my clients. And so I sold them two matching Yukons, and and it's a thing called a mini in um in car sales to where if you if you sell like and give someone a great deal, make no money off of it, they they pay you a mini, which is like a couple hundred bucks back then.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Right, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_04 16:20

Well, this guy didn't care. He's like, dude, just charge me whatever sticker is, sack them out. I want you to make money too. He goes, because I got paid and uh that's what a beautiful human. I was like, man, so it was awesome. So I was able to leave with um half of that. I my grandma uh was struggling at the time, so I gave her half of that and gave her what I I got, you know, uh out of the military, and then whenever I left, I left with you know a couple thousand dollars in my pocket. Yeah, you know, which was I thought, okay, I can handle this. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Little money in a dream will get you a long way. And you grew up on a ranch, like you know what it's like to struggle. Yeah, like you're not, you know, I like this generation's very bougie.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

Do you know, like they're addicted to their coffees and they're and I'm like, we're from the generation of rubbing it.

SPEAKER_04 17:04

Exactly, yeah. I mean, it's like seven dollars for coffee. And me, I was like, you know, four or five G.I. Joes. I was like, come on, man. Right. That was that's a whole box of fishing loops.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

Absolutely, and you know, it is, it's so ridiculous. And now, even that age, you know, even these younger artists, like, I'm like, that's an expensive habit to have a coffee habit.

SPEAKER_04 17:22

It is, it is. But well, but the thing is though, is people want to feel good. They want, they want what they want.

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 17:28

You know, for me, uh it's funny because I've got into I don't really, I'm not a big coffee guy, but I was doing coffee and I I just got a habit of kind of doing it in the morning. Right, right. But I just didn't still care too much for the jitters and the stuff. Yeah, because I don't do any caffeine at all.

SPEAKER_01 17:44

Oh, shut up.

SPEAKER_04 17:45

I don't, I don't drink crazy.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

You don't have to wake up and power down some diet Coke Zero.

SPEAKER_04 17:49

I don't I don't well I don't drink pop. Yeah, I haven't drink pop since I was like 12 years old. Wow. Uh I used to mix a little whiskey and coke, but I don't drink uh whiskey anymore. So might as well give it the Coke, it's full of sugar. Yeah, so I don't do any pop, I don't do energy drinks.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

Yeah, I don't do that, but my morning it like bang is a Diet Coke.

SPEAKER_04 18:07

Yeah, so so I found this uh mushroom coffee online because I forgot to. I love mushroom coffee. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

It tastes like chocolate. And it's it's it's so people don't think people don't think that mushrooms are fabulous. Mushrooms are fabulous in every single way. I don't get the jitters either anymore. I coffee because I don't do caffeine. It's so good for your cognitive health, and it's so good for memory and focus and clarity. So many people with ADHD are drinking the mushroom coffee because it's a natural way instead of chemically altering these beans to be, and I am a huge proponent of of mushroom powder.

SPEAKER_04 18:43

Yeah, yeah, like re with the Rishi, the turkey's tail, because I mean we used to use all these for like tinctures and things, and that I grew up, you know, Native American history and stuff, and learning about how to forage and and what's out there. Right. What's available that that big farmer don't want you to know about.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

Right, absolutely. Yeah, I think you know, it has such amazing healing properties and you know, it's got a bad stim in the in the world because we think that everybody that ex that will use it is automatically using some kind of a legal drug. I feel the same way about marijuana.

SPEAKER_04 19:18

Well, it's funny because uh, you know, the first time I every time I meet somebody and they find out that I that I hunt mushrooms or I look for mushrooms, right? The very first place they go to is the psychedelics. Right. They're like, oh man, yeah, bro. Right, I know. Like we're not gonna trip together, sir. I do know what those are, and I do know that there is actually productive things for that. It's upsetting the brain and things like that, you know. But also there's there's there's like five-star delicacy mushrooms out there. Absolutely. Like your morills, your lion's mane, your chicken in the woods, your head of the woods. The lion's mane is is amazing. My topic.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

You know, it's the coffee, it's and a good coffee regimen with mushrooms is like a micro dose.

SPEAKER_04 19:58

Oh, I love it. Well, my wife likes it better too, because I I got me one. Yeah, I'm sitting there next thing you know, she's like, ooh, this is like this is like what I already, because it tastes like coffee kinda, but it tastes like chocolate. Tastes like chocolate. And she's like, this is what I do in my coffee anyway. I put chocolate in it.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

You're putting all the right.

SPEAKER_04 20:14

Now you can just do this. Yeah. So we cut out the coffee, and now we're doing mushroom coffee.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Oh, that's awesome. And you know, the focus for an artist or for somebody who's on the road like you are, the clarity, the focus, the creativity.

SPEAKER_04 20:26

Without the jitters.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

Without the jitters, and without paying $35 for a round of coffee drinks.

SPEAKER_04 20:33

Well, and and you gotta look at it this way, because I told my brother, I was like, it's $20 for the bag of coffee, but there's 30 doses, there's 35 packs, so it's like buying 30 coffees. Yeah, it's less than a dollar. So I get a month's worth of coffee now for 20 bucks I'm saving money and I'm eating doing healthier.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

And you're doing and how do you feel on it? Do you feel like this morning? That's right. That's it's amazing.

SPEAKER_04 20:56

I don't know and I do feel like energized a little bit. It does have a very minuscule amount of caffeine. I think the one that I buy has like 25 milligrams.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Yeah, it's very low in caffeine. Bless you, sir.

SPEAKER_04 21:07

I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Yeah, so I know. I am and it has so many medicinal, you know, I work with some veterans and stuff, and and there's so many medicinal, like we've got to get out of like people just labeling things and just thinking it's bad.

SPEAKER_04 21:22

Yeah, I'm I'm a big, I'm a big fan of like eating how I grew up. You know, we have a garden, we have friends who have gardens who are both. Farm to table. Yeah, exactly. And you know, like it's sad, a lot of folks don't know realize this, but the word organic had to be created because our food in the US is so overprocessed, we had to find a place for natural food.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Absolutely. You know, I'm hoping it's changing. Like, I'm hoping people are starting to realize that you really are what you pump into your body, and you're only gonna be able to perform to the level of the quality of that. Absolutely. Sleeping and and everything, you're just general health. And I just we're we're just kind of disposable society like we'll just and it's another thing with like the younger generation like they don't eat at home they don't sit down but they there's something so amazing about a hard day's work and a good meal at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_04 22:15

There is well and and working hard through the day especially when you sit down you feel accomplished. I mean you're totally exhausted obviously right because a lot of people it's like when we get on the road we don't there's things that people don't see on our side of the industry. They're like man you guys got it made you know you you guys get out there and you're throwing down your part and you get paid to play music I gotta work for a living I'm like man I hate to break this to you that's what I'm doing too. This is probably the hardest job I've done right because the grind in for artists is incredible. Well yeah because I know when I when I wake up at a job say if I had like in the military or I wake up at the ranch right I have a cricket I know what I what I need to do absolutely and I know what the accomplishments are and the rewards.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

Right absolutely right that's such a beautiful way to phrase it. You know your work is going to give you these rewards.

SPEAKER_04 23:04

And and in the music industry it's not the music industry is a lottery ticket and no matter how many times you play you're working at it you're achieving an accomplishment you're you're you're making relationships you're always shaking a houty and you're always finding another way to stay ahead of the game and and then as the music industry evolves and changes or evolves and changes you you have to evolve with it and understand what's going on so you can maintain your your your name your success and where you're headed and so but it's so volatile because none of these are guarantees.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Amen this is one of the very and there's no HR and there's no sick pay and there's no 401k you know you you you have to be schooled to work.

SPEAKER_04 23:49

Yeah and and and then you have AI thrown in on top of that and now you're competing with something that's what's your thought on that on the AI I my personal opinion is I think to have an AI artist is BS. Me too and I think it's I think it's ridiculous. I see artists out there that have three or four hundred thousand followers because fans don't even know about AI that aren't in the business. Right. And they're phrasing something that's digitized that's a copy of a real artist all they're doing is mimicking another artist that's how they came up with those samples.

SPEAKER_03 24:17

Right.

SPEAKER_04 24:17

But for me like we use Suno um for for when we're writing songs but we put our song in which literally our song it just gives us a demo skill quality absolutely interpreting it.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

Absolutely like I think it has some really amazing things but true artist is true artistry. Exactly because we're I brought these these two gnats flying around these suckers came from Philadelphia I'm not even kidding you I honestly think they came from Philly.

SPEAKER_04 24:40

They've been following me around all day they love the mic area too I swear to it is so true.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

I'm like every time I'm shooting at every you know I shot the CRS last year and I swear to God there was one like I'm like what? Somebody killed us for a lot like it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_04 24:55

I'm glad you mentioned that though because whoever's watching probably doesn't see the net so they probably think of how much beer and jitter and mushrooms have these people have those are some good mushrooms we're talking from mushrooms to flies you people can't even see yeah we're twitching out and waving our I know they're probably like and if you saw like one of those people in the street you'd be like don't stand near that stranger.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

You tell your kids like don't get near that stranger.

SPEAKER_05 25:19

That guy's talking to himself man don't don't do that.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

I know listen you're not even you're not even talented unless you can talk to yourself all the time all day long.

SPEAKER_04 25:28

I'm like Deb would go here like literally you should only worry when you start answering yourself.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Absolutely right I mean I think talking to yourself is is mandatory.

SPEAKER_04 25:36

But yeah it's it's like when thinking that way about the business you know segueing back to it is you know it it's it's got to be a passion. It's got to be a plan because for me like when I moved here people were like what's your backup plan and I'm like I don't have a backup plan backup plan.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

I've asked artists that and I'm like what's the plan B they're like there's and that's how I know they're in this to win this. There's no plan B.

SPEAKER_04 25:59

Because you're gonna live and die doing this no matter how successful how unsuccessful you are at it because it's who you are it's your passion and and little rewards every day are an attaboy and it feels great. Like you attay I love that it's true. You'll get it you'll get like an attaboy you know like where you'll get a song cut by an artist that feels great. Feels amazing but it only feels amazing for a minute.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Right because their next one's coming out.

SPEAKER_04 26:24

Yeah well and then and then you got to stay on the ground and grinding. Absolutely you can't sit there and relish in your success what you're doing. Yeah because there's another one right behind you.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

Exactly right I know my husband's like why do you shoot like that many I'm like because my competition's watching yeah and there's only so many you know there's only so many that get used you know there's only so many that that get and you you do you you pour you grind it out but I think honestly we grew up in a generation where you grind you had to grind it out.

SPEAKER_04 26:55

You do and I mean I love it I love it but it's it's so funny because we talked about sports earlier it it's such a well drawn out thing that that's simple. I mean it's a lot of hard work I don't want to absolutely I don't want to to uh devalue what occurs but you know you have a direction and there's still reward like you go to you go to college you get you know you you you know you work your butt off in school to get a place on the team absolutely go to college then you and keep your grades up you get a place on the team and then you gr then you go into the draft you instantly get signed to a multi-million dollar deal that can change your life absolutely similar it you can change your life but there's no path of like hey you you're great at this right here you go you've got a yeah that's it here's your greatness pass for the universe you know there's no participation trophy no no you don't get a purple ribbon in this sport I would give you a purple ribbon if I had one appreciate I I'll send you one I'll send you a purple ribbon just because I'm like you know what you're cool we should send you one so what was your first thought when I told you I was a Philadelphia Eagles fan oh I I apologize to you um you know were you like I'm still gonna do this wack O's job like you know I was like dear baby Jesus I know but I can tell you what though you guys are winning you're just winning really ugly right now it blows my mind that we are the Super Bowl champions we dominate and well you're still number one also in your in your uh in div in our division we are but I mean we got spanked by the Giants yeah you know but that was when Dart and Scataboo was playing right yeah and that that those guys when those guys came on as rookies there was a fire about that team that came to life and the moment I haven't seen the Giants good since like uh what's the Al what's the guy that does the morning show um you know he's Giants Eli Manning not Eli Manning he's like does a morning show it'll come to me with a gap between his teeth what are you talking about right right and I swear that's the last time I remember that I grew up in football a football family um we you know we lived and breathed college football professional football uh shit stray hand yeah straight hand Michael Strayhand see you put some mushrooms and beer together we got a couple we could run the world if we had to right now it's magic happening viewers just magic happening here um but it's so funny because you know Philadelphia was notoriously known for being bad for a very like the Buddy Ryan era if you survive the Buddy Ryan era you're fine and then they were so dominating they're winning but they're not dominating and they have to win tonight it's mandatory we got beat the I'm gonna be real honest about my opinion and strictly only my opinion I I don't know anything but I've got a few ideas yeah and I just been around some time I just don't think that they're a good enough team to win I don't think they are either I think they can win games I think they can win a division I think they can compete they're not gonna win another Super Bowl going into playoffs they're they're out yeah they're just not gonna this year definitely unless they're this was the like the eight that's a few years ago we won went 10 and oh and then tanked for the whole rest of the season and then like AJ Brown and the internal conflict you guys are having stuff like that I know this is you know football talk that creates a problem in the in the totally because if you're needing to feed somebody who's whining about not getting enough touches you people you're paid a lot of money right like I'm paid to be here you're paid to be in a certain place and and then you're gonna get in a locker room and talk smack about your teammates and what kind of example like I always you know athletes and and artists they're somebody's hero you're somebody's I you are somebody's idol and that's and that's my thing like you'll never see anything negative posted from us on social media yeah that's it doesn't mean that our life is is just one big beautiful scenario. Right. We all have struggles we all we all have personal issues we all have loss of family we all have things but do I need to be another negative no piece on in online nope because people do look up to us kids somebody called me a Karen last week on social media well I know I'm right I you know clearly you don't know me people people accuse me of being the AI really yeah do you handle your own social media you have a team that doesn't I have a wonderful team that helps me I do do all the content so everything you guys see out there is actually me it is actually where I come from I'm not faking I'm not singing I'm not lip syncing over stuff I'm still you're probably one of the most real human I've had some incredible guys but you're very a very real human being oh I appreciate you really are but it's one of those situations where like I I don't have time to to post on seven different things after I've made all this content I'm making music studio I'm producing I'm raising my kids you're writing you're a husband you're somebody's dad exactly and so they get they get the number one most important part of my time right and after that I dedicate everything else to what we're trying to accomplish out there and so it's it's kind of an ebb and flow thing. So I have team Mitch and uh Hope they got clutch socials they've been doing clutch social is the jam.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

If you have a media team in Nashville you need if you need media you go to clutch social.

SPEAKER_04 32:09

Absolutely they're good folks and you know they're wonderful folks you know and and what you see is what you get there's no shiny ribbon there's no like they're fabulously honest loyal and hardworking well and every day they share with me what what they're wanting to share that day because we'll we'll do clips we'll have everything ready to go and then we'll we'll write the captions and then they send it off and so people are getting me it's just totally it's almost like I'm getting somebody who's an assistant absolutely to what we're doing absolutely yeah the worst day of my week is when I get the call they're like we're gonna just shoot some reels I'm like now you've been performing yeah being in front of a camera is nothing to me but the second I like put the camera on to shoot a reel all of a sudden like I'm I'm speaking from Mars and I'm like it just doesn't work.

SPEAKER_01 32:57

Yeah you know so I like this like authentic from the podcast and like the clips of that because that's corely who I am. Yeah the nitty gritty but when I start to like tell people stuff I'm like why why would they care? Like who would care? Like nobody gives a shit about you know it's so funny but I mean we grew up in a time where there wasn't that pressure.

SPEAKER_04 33:17

No there wasn't and we grew up you know I grew up roughneck I grew up honky tonking and I grew up my you know I remember being in clubs like the Blues brothers had the chicken wire and the I was in those bars and the thing was those bars might have been like crazy dangerous to an adult everybody would it was like the protectors of me. I never felt more safe around a bunch of people absolutely absolutely bikers and cowboys yeah honk and and so that was you know I feel like for me as an adult uh going into my adulthood even as a kid I related more to people who were 40 years old when I was 15 because that's who I spent my time with.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

And you you're an old soul you can just tell you I can tell you're an old soul you're a salt of the earth kind of guy and I appreciate that. And that's it is a thank you for saying that it's an amazing compliment to tell somebody to have somebody who I can tell like is speaking from their heart and their experience is such an amazing thing to have.

SPEAKER_04 34:17

Well I appreciate that I mean it really is and you're you're hooked up with the best and I gotta give a a shout out to while I'm on here to uh Truck Central LLC the Bloss family okay a lot of our major sponsors they own a great company in Missouri we love a great and um a good sponsor will make your real without without my sponsors and without the people that work with us the team that we built I can't do this you just can't do anything on your own you cannot I don't even try you can have a lot of ideas on the I can't be good at everything. No but yes it's tough it is I know but it's one of those things where you know I think people if they just realized that the secret to life is each other. The secret to life is relationships we would have nothing we would have so much more success um as you know as as individuals. Absolutely because once you start becoming the individual and you think that you're gonna do it all on your own and that you're entitled and this and that you're gonna miss out on all the opportunity of what relationships bring to the people absolutely and you know I just think you know the show's called Happy I with Dead but I'm like this is not my show.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

I'm just the chick behind the mic show is not my it is it is Hope and Mitch's show and Jared's show and and Alan's show and you know and every artist that sits here.

SPEAKER_04 35:35

You're you this show is for you you provide opportunity for us like uh the most important thing now is Spotify and streaming. Yeah that just came out last week all the numbers from Spotify right yeah I think so yeah the wrapped wrapped and stuff yeah but what folks don't know is like radio used to be the way it was the way everything was heard and there's radio is still huge but it costs millions and millions of dollars to money yeah so if you hear a song on the radio you gotta understand that's three to five million dollars it's ridiculously have you shot the country radio seminar have you been a guest there I've been a CRS I've done CRS for years and I've done a lot of things like I've done the the the booking shows the I love the CRS Southwest all that stuff yeah that's amazing I think this the I think the CRS is just like a free for all of ridiculousness. It's just fun it's so the energy in that is amazing. I'm a believer in radio like I've been on radio but but to break a number one nowadays you're thinking of that kind of money Spotify and streaming is really and social media is really how the new artists are being discovered. Absolutely and radio used to be the only way that you know you had to be on radio and this is your booking dates this is right that's where you're gonna be you're this is you've made it kind of thing now it's it's streaming and social media numbers. Yep. How crazy is that for people from our generation yeah and so for everybody that are fans out there listening the best thing that you can do for your artist the best thing you do for me say J Garten is to go look us up and give us that follow on Spotify and stream. Yeah because I still sell CDs I still sell absolutely I'll make cassettes every now and then for fun and sing those I've got vinyls. No A-tracks though you're not popping one of those in your car right remember that I'm like that's how you know you're I don't even I didn't even I didn't grow up in that generation but my my grandpa and then had them and so I got to enjoy um pretty much every generation of music because I'd open up the closet in grandpa's house and it'd be real to real it'd be eight track it'd be vinyl it'd be C D and so every version of music that was out was there and so I got all these cool things to play with that you know fed my mind I totally think that people that didn't live in that generation miss the oh my gosh this the it's coming out this and you have to go buy the record and you've got the the art of the I mean that's your that's your Bible that's your profile that's who you are you know and I just think that they miss out on well there's a warmth to hearing something not digitally. Totally you know like it that real the real to real the eight track the tape and then the vinyl all that had this kind of feeling of like a vinyl the thing I love about it is when that's why we have the double vinyl out and we continue to make vinyls because you can put a vinyl on and put the needle drop the needle down and close your eyes and you can feel totally and just the the smoothness of it and it going like you feel like you are in the studio. Totally you know because like I can give you a song digitally and you're like oh man I love that that's great and play it in your car but then when you sit down and hear that another way it's it's like it's more of the story.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

You brings back the story um part of country music and I I have to give you a compliment and and a lot of artists you know the way that you guys support each other and that you cheer for this is not a cutthroat industry. Like I love that you everybody's like oh my God that's a great artist and they're hyping each other up and they get each other's backs and they promote each other. I think that's such a beautiful thing like we're all in this together.

SPEAKER_04 39:11

We are we are you know and you and I mean let's be honest I mean there's there's parts of parts in every business so it all depends on really who you are and anyways when you go into it is who you're gonna be to others. Absolutely and you know if you're gonna be a good person generally you're gonna be a good person to others just be a good person. It's not hard it doesn't cost anything just be a be a good humanity and be and be grateful like the number one thing that I learned in this business that I've watched you know like just being a fly on the wall that was probably my biggest thing that I could pass down to anybody else don't be jaded. Don't be jaded don't become jaded don't feel like you entitled like you deserve something right because I meet such great talented people that have all the talent in the world but they become jaded at what they're not succeeding doing. Focusing on the things they don't have as opposed to the blessings they do have is is causing fail.

SPEAKER_01 40:09

Totally and because it's a gratitude thing. I wake up every morning before my feet hit the floor and I'm like here's what I'm grateful for. It could be like the dog made through the night without having to get a like my dog thinks that we just get treats all the time.

SPEAKER_04 40:23

Yeah like you on Pika, you know like consequently a little chubby my wife has a bad habit about this now they now when she comes in the room they instantly just jump up and take off because it's like oh I get to go outside.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

I know I know and I work from home too like if I'm not on the road I work from home and I'm like oh this damn dog but it is and if you can find gratitude before you hit the world you have life mastered.

SPEAKER_04 40:47

Yeah and and appreciation for others because truly you know if if you genuinely show enthusiasm and love for another individual they're gonna recognize that and remember that.

SPEAKER_03 40:57

Absolutely they need that we all do people to people we we're we're humans for a reason.

SPEAKER_04 41:03

And it's so funny because people will go online and there'll be hecklers just a heckle. I have some fans that literally I don't think they've ever had anything good to say but they're still always there.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

They're listening.

SPEAKER_04 41:12

And they're listening a badass until you have a hater. Well you're not even a badass. And it's so funny though because like the things they say are so just absolutely not accurate. Or they're or they're just kind of just rubbing the gr against the grain thing.

SPEAKER_01 41:26

Absolutely but where it actually helps our our our I know I say that all the time somebody called me a Karen last week I'm like thanks for thanks for the algorithm thanks for yeah good I mean you're watching bad how much could I annoy you if you're tuning in.

SPEAKER_04 41:40

It's all publicity.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

It is and I say to people all the time you know it's you're not famous until you've had a scandal at least absolutely you've had some asshole do something wrong or some manager has done you wrong but yeah I think the younger generation is so sensitive to that I'm like you're not even a badass until somebody said something about you.

SPEAKER_04 41:57

Yeah and you got to get thick skin you know you do you do my uh I have to give a shout out to also to Joe Joe Spivey is my partner in my label. Joe's a legend and uh Joe is I don't know if you know who Joe is but Joe is one of the top session musicians. We gotta have him all you got to come in with him.

SPEAKER_00 42:14

I would love to you have to come in with him we would love that.

SPEAKER_04 42:17

Joe Joe is just a wealth of knowledge and probably one of the most humble sweetest people you've ever met. I love that um like be humble be hungry you would never imagine that he's probably one of the top world's fiddle players and but he's prolific on everything that's amazing you know like when you listen to the pick and porch stuff on the on the record that's out and we hear the basic pick and porch thing Joe is playing literally every instrument. Wow that's me and Joe.

SPEAKER_01 42:41

He's talented you're both very very talented.

SPEAKER_04 42:44

And so yeah he's I mean like if you ever heard you know okay you know John Anderson he toured with John for 20 years. Wow player but he also when you listen to Seminole win yeah that's Joe on the fiddle. Wow I mean he has this amazing way of stepping out of who he is as a player and becoming who you need him to be that's that's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 43:02

And uh what an incredible and you're in a label with him together.

SPEAKER_04 43:06

Me and him partnered we have G Bar Records and we got Truck Central LLC is one of our major sponsors my wife plays fiddle for me on the road and she plays seven string fiddle on the road with me so I'm surrounded by fiddle players. That's amazing. Well they're highly talented I mean if you can play the fiddle you're extremely talented. You know I I did get at a point you know before I started my label I I'd been on several labels and just kind of been run through the mud in this town and I was like man I'm just not happy because even though I was signed or I was doing this I was doing that I didn't I didn't really feel like I had the control for my creativity. Right. And all the empty promises just eventually just overwhelming well where there's golden sunshine there's also darkness. It's like it's like people handing you gold bars that could be valuable and then throwing you in the ocean. I know it's like you're to like I know let go of all those opportunities that that are that are drowning killing you. Absolutely so you can find true opportunities that are right that have

SPEAKER_01 44:00

That is such a the the way you just said that for everybody young that is watching the show and everybody that's young that's been on this show, remember that.

SPEAKER_03 44:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:08

You know, like it's really it's a grind and you'll find your people.

SPEAKER_04 44:14

You will.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

You don't.

SPEAKER_04 44:18

You don't know what might be. It's like there's a door.

SPEAKER_01 44:22

Your door is coming. Just be patient with the door.

SPEAKER_04 44:25

Yeah, it's it's the same thing as like, hey, we're gonna give you this show and you're gonna open for so-and-so, it's exposure. I'm like, I don't need that. I can die from exposure. That's right. You could die from exposure. It is a business. And I said, I said, and you you're getting paid, uh, they're getting paid, the vendors are getting paid, but the fans are paying you guys, so we deserve to get paid. Absolutely you deserve to get paid. That's really and it's it's just part of a job.

SPEAKER_01 44:49

It's not even an entitlement, it's just like, hey, why would you work if you have bills to pay, you have children to feed, you have to do it.

SPEAKER_04 44:55

Yeah, we're offering a job, so it's it's so funny because when they when those opportunities show up, you just gotta value yourself. Absolutely. Absolutely. For me, whenever I met Joe, um, he was a breath of fresh air, he was nothing like what I'd experienced. He let me be me. I love him. Um he's helped me, you know, mature and and and get back to him of the roots where I came from, make the music I want to make, yeah, you know, and then also that's why you do it. This is why we get up because you want a relationship, you want a partner, a friend, and somebody you can trust, and somebody that's got your best interest at heart. Yeah, exactly. And so even through the personal stuff, he's been there for me. And so that that to me has just an overwhelming amount of value because I couldn't be where I'm at now without him and everybody around me.

SPEAKER_01 45:43

That's uh telling you, that's what I say. They're like, You have your own podcast. I'm like, this isn't my podcast. This is not my podcast. I'm like, this is some other podcast. CJ, I can't tell you what an absolute honor and pleasure it has been. You're gonna come back. Absolutely. You can come back and hang out with them. Oh my god. Come out and write. Come out and drink some beer with me. Right.

SPEAKER_04 46:03

We're doing it, we're doing it.

SPEAKER_01 46:04

Right. And oh no, I have, I don't know if you've watched the show, but they're mostly the returning people. Like, I, you know, you build relationships and you know their lives and you follow their stories. I'm like, I gotta have them back. Because I hear such good feedback. Like, wow, that the CJ really taught me, you know, and that's such valuable information that you're not gonna learn it at school or anything else.

SPEAKER_04 46:25

So no, it's hands-on. I've always been very hands-on.

SPEAKER_01 46:28

Yeah, and bring your partner back. We'd love to have the both of you back. We would be so honored to have you back. Oh, Joe, Joe. Do you know Big Vinny?

SPEAKER_04 46:39

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:39

Oh, first of all, Vinny's one of the coolest guys.

SPEAKER_04 46:41

He was at my wedding.

SPEAKER_01 46:42

Vinny Rocks.

SPEAKER_04 46:43

You know that?

SPEAKER_01 46:43

He was at your wedding.

SPEAKER_04 46:44

Yeah, Vinny was one of my first people I knew here.

SPEAKER_01 46:47

We love you, Vin. We love you. We love Vinny.

SPEAKER_04 46:49

Vinny, we had like this like click of like have you ever watched like something like The Sandlot where all the kids are buddies or stand by me? That was like our click. We came to town, we didn't have that. We made that pretty instantly. Before I moved to town, my uncle was at Loretta Lynn's Songwriters Festival. Benny was in high school and working at Sonic. And he's like, You met I met this crazy guy, Big Benny, and Oh my god, he's great.

SPEAKER_01 47:15

The overalls, I want to pee my pants with.

SPEAKER_04 47:18

So um, when I came to town, I met him, then my buddy Scott Harris and uh a bunch of others, you know, uh Matt Jones, and so we wanted to just kind of click it, like five guys that were just tackling it and struggling and working, yeah, you know, and trying to figure it out. And we eventually all started kind of finding our own paths and breaking off and doing their things, but they're still brothers. And Vinny Vinny was one of my groomsmen at my wedding. Vinny is a hug and a human. Okay, so I can tell you something funny about Vinny. Vinny had never been drank ever. And he don't drink now, but he told me, he said, for your wedding, he said, CJ, I'm gonna let you get me drunk.

SPEAKER_01 47:54

Oh my gosh. I'd I would kill to be with Vinny drunk.

SPEAKER_04 47:56

We got we got Vinny drunk.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

Vinny, come on, let's go out and get some beers.

SPEAKER_04 47:59

At my wedding, we got Vinny Big Vinny drunk for his very first time.

SPEAKER_01 48:02

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 48:03

And then and he kept telling looking, and we was having like this like pre-bachelor party. We're all sitting in the cabin at the lake because we got married on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. Beautiful. And he kept he was drunk and he was he because he was throwing back that wild turkey. He's like, You're gonna let this guy marry your daughter. You're gonna let this guy marry your daughter? He's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 48:23

Vinny rocks, he is.

SPEAKER_04 48:25

He's like was voted like least likely to ever get married. Oh my gosh. It's so Ben easy on the wild turkey. I grew up that skinny little butt was always rowdy, always testing the boundaries, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 48:36

Same. I was born in with the like ability honoring. That's it. I can put like I'm who's better at pushing buttons.

SPEAKER_04 48:43

And being a skinny little kid growing up at school, you had to scrap your way through it. Absolutely. Easy trips. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 48:49

We're gonna get you a purple ribbon for that for scrapping your way. I'm getting you two, sir. I'm gonna bring you a couple. Your wife's gonna be like, who's this stalky weirdo podcast lady that keeps sending ribbons to us?

SPEAKER_04 48:58

Hey, this lady's got a 12-pack and a ribbon for you, honey.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

Totally, right and with wrapped around beer. She's a saint.

SPEAKER_04 49:05

Oh yeah, so but it's funny how you know a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 49:09

I know so many people, and I truly I think you know, the universe put these the right people on this show.

SPEAKER_04 49:15

It's the biggest little high school you ever went to. Yeah, absolutely. And you you find your people totally and you and you stick with them. My grandma always said, you know, you don't have to burn bridges. People that don't belong in your life will burn their own.

SPEAKER_01 49:28

They'll burn their own. And you know, I can honestly tell you, and you'll know this now because we're gonna be friends. Like, I've never left here without a friend.

SPEAKER_03 49:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:35

There's always somebody who, you know what I mean? I always have somebody I can call and be like, can you or will you, or will you come back, or will you help me co-host or whatever? And this uh this country music industry for uh from a girl from Philadelphia has been very good to me. And just it has been it's an honor to have you on the podcast.

SPEAKER_04 49:55

Hey, thank you. I'm honored to be here, and uh, I can't thank you and everybody else enough. You know, I want to thank the fans out there and people listening.

SPEAKER_01 50:02

Where can they find you? Where can the fans find you?

SPEAKER_04 50:04

Please look up CJ G A R T O N. Uh the first case I would love for you guys to go is please, if you got Spotify, Apple, iTunes, even if you say you don't do that stuff, please get on there and and start listening because I can sell you a CD one time or a vinyl record one time, and I know you love it. But when you go on there and you click the stream and you listen to our music and you share it with others that way, the then the world knows the world knows that they love it.

SPEAKER_01 50:29

That's it, and we can share. We can share the greatness of people.

SPEAKER_04 50:35

So, yeah, CJ Garten, G-A-R-T-O-N. I tell people it's like Dolly Parton except with a G. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

Find him, follow his stuff, and I promise you he will be back.

SPEAKER_04 50:44

Oh God bless y'all.

SPEAKER_01 50:46

Thank you so much. Happy holidays.

SPEAKER_04 50:48

Hey, you too. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_01 50:50

Yeah, that's great.