From the sunny landscapes of Dade City, Florida, to the cool, crisp airwaves of your speakers, we bring you an intimate conversation with the brilliant musician, Emmett Stevens Jr. His journey is not just about the chords and lyrics he strings together, but the stories and experiences that breathe life into his music. Today, he shares the exhilarating tale of scoring his first gig on a not-so-typical Monday night, and the profound impact of hearing from fans about how his music has resonated with them.
Ever wondered what it's like to write a song with a complete stranger? Emmett unravels this mystery as he takes us behind the scenes of his songwriting collaborations with artists like Jared Blake and Ira Dean. He also introduces us to his most trusted critic, his sister, who pushes him to elevate his craft. And, as he emphasizes the importance of building genuine industry relationships, you might just find yourself inspired by his deep commitment to authenticity.
However, this episode is not just about the music—it's about the man behind the strings and his unique life experiences. From his love for bass fishing to peculiar tales of backyard gators and a daunting weight loss journey due to illness, Emmett's stories are as compelling as his melodies. We also touch on the harsh realities of life, like the tragic accident that took his friend Larissa's husband. Join us on this roller-coaster ride as we explore the life and music of Emmett Stevens Jr., sharing laughs, thoughts, and perhaps a few tears along the way. Tune in, and let's strike a chord together.
Thanks for listening! Follow us at youtube.com/c/skiphappens
From the sunny landscapes of Dade City, Florida, to the cool, crisp airwaves of your speakers, we bring you an intimate conversation with the brilliant musician, Emmett Stevens Jr. His journey is not just about the chords and lyrics he strings together, but the stories and experiences that breathe life into his music. Today, he shares the exhilarating tale of scoring his first gig on a not-so-typical Monday night, and the profound impact of hearing from fans about how his music has resonated with them.
Ever wondered what it's like to write a song with a complete stranger? Emmett unravels this mystery as he takes us behind the scenes of his songwriting collaborations with artists like Jared Blake and Ira Dean. He also introduces us to his most trusted critic, his sister, who pushes him to elevate his craft. And, as he emphasizes the importance of building genuine industry relationships, you might just find yourself inspired by his deep commitment to authenticity.
However, this episode is not just about the music—it's about the man behind the strings and his unique life experiences. From his love for bass fishing to peculiar tales of backyard gators and a daunting weight loss journey due to illness, Emmett's stories are as compelling as his melodies. We also touch on the harsh realities of life, like the tragic accident that took his friend Larissa's husband. Join us on this roller-coaster ride as we explore the life and music of Emmett Stevens Jr., sharing laughs, thoughts, and perhaps a few tears along the way. Tune in, and let's strike a chord together.
Thanks for listening! Follow us at youtube.com/c/skiphappens
5. There's more.
Speaker 2:Skip happens. Please return Bubbles, your flight attendant to her fully upright and locked position. Oh wait a minute, ladies and gentlemen. Please take your seat and buckle up, seat back and tray tables in their full upright position. It's another episode of Skip Happens, your weekly view from 30,000 feet, from the first music lesson to the first paid gig to signing the deal. It's the Journey that is the life of an artist. Here's your captain and co-captain, aka your hosts. Skip Clark at Deblan fear.
Speaker 1:Damn. Hello everybody, hey, hey, hey Happens and of course, deblan fear my co-hosts with the podcast, president of the official country music fan club and the audience company and all that good stuff, and tonight we have a great guest. I'd like this guy. We've been, we've been. Matter of fact, I probably saw him when I shouldn't have seen him. Oh, Because, he was like, let me, let me just kind of tell you what happened.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's kind of crazy, you tell it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, okay. So I noticed he was on extra early tonight. So I sat down here and I, kind of, you know, I'm doing my thing on my end and Checking everything and I'm going test one, two, checking the microphones. You know all that that you need to do is you get ready to do a podcast and all of a sudden this guy comes running over half naked in front of the camera. He's got a towel around him. He goes dude, dude. I'm in the shower and I heard this guy yelling.
Speaker 4:So I just had it open and then I hear like one, two and I was like, oh, did I miss it.
Speaker 1:Yes, emmett Stevens Jr Is with us here tonight and it's so good to see you, my friend. I feel like I have known you for a long time now. We've been sitting here having a great conversation.
Speaker 4:You've seen more of me now than, like a lot of people have to be honest. But hey, emmett, tell us where are you so I'm in my hometown of a Dade City, Florida. That's where I'm at right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like all right. You said near Tampa, right.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we're about 30, 35 minutes north of Tampa.
Speaker 1:Yeah very cool. You've been there all your, all your life, whole time.
Speaker 4:I was at. Well, I was born in Tampa, but then, like we, moved to Dade City when I was well, I say we, like I had a choice, moved me to Dade City and then, when I was one, so I claimed Dade City.
Speaker 1:Damn. I don't know if he's ever seen snow. Have you ever seen snow?
Speaker 4:So I saw snow one time when I was. I was either I Think I was five. I was either five or six. I saw us know. But what do you remember at five?
Speaker 3:Well, you're missing out on something real special.
Speaker 4:There's pictures of me in the snow when I was five.
Speaker 1:I look cute, I love you, it's out there doing snow angels, hmm, I don't know Exactly, and I gave him a little idea what it's like like December, january, february. We are located in the, in the Northeast or in Syracuse, but it's nothing for us to get a foot of snow and we still get up in the morning, we still go to work, the kids still go to school. For the most part, you know, and Not like you, you get the hurricanes and our weather's changing too, but at least I know if we get a blizzard we still have our house, yeah, so the hurricanes can be.
Speaker 4:If you're on the coast, the hurricanes are definitely a lot more up and, honestly, depending where that hurricane hits. If you're on its path, it's yeah. What do you?
Speaker 1:want. What do you do for fun? Do you like deep sea fish? Are you hanging out at the beach? What are you? You know being where you are, in Florida.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I, I mean I work out a lot, I live going to the gym, but me and my dad we go bass fishing a lot. I don't do a whole lot of the deep sea or going out off the into the golf, but, um, we go bass fishing. Is it like sea bass? No, it's like just freshwater bass. Oh okay, we got some lakes out here, like Panasofky. Late is up where we mostly go. For we got you know idea.
Speaker 3:Bass fish so you're not too close to the ocean and the beaches, you're more in.
Speaker 4:You're in Dade City. We're about Probably an hour away from the closest beach Beach at all we can go whenever, sometimes, you wake up, if you want to go to the beach a lot of us Laryons don't, but it's nice. You know that we could. You know, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 1:I like, and a week like this where actually I'm not working my other job. I would have I'd be at the beach every day and I'm more or less on the beach right now, but you know, it's all.
Speaker 1:I Would be at the beach. Let's talk about you a little bit, though. Brand new musician Artist I shouldn't say brand new being an artist, but brand new getting a song on a radio. You just dropped a brand new single, done. Done with you, like Brooks, and done with you. You know, I didn't listen to it and you're throwing the names out there. You mentioned Stapleton, you mentioned bent, oh, dirk Spentley. You mentioned, oh my gosh, brooks and done you just keep going. Tell us about that a little bit.
Speaker 4:Man. So I wrote this song, actually wrote the song in this house. I wrote it back in November of 2021, actually in my kitchen that's right over there. I'm not gonna pan to it either, because it's not clean.
Speaker 4:Not dirty clean and I was just in the kitchen and I was listening to Whiskey glasses by Morgan Wallin, because that's like the first like line of the choruses, I got my whiskey glasses. That's what Morgan or no, well, whatever, to talk about whiskey glasses, yes, first one of my things. Like I got my whiskey glasses because that's what Morgan said, there's no shortage of breakup songs by any mean, and country music, you know.
Speaker 4:There's very few tropes that go, that are thrown around from time to time and I didn't want to just write like another, just another breakup song, because you know, and I say that now, I'm sure one of the next any number of something, but I will be breakup songs. But when I said, like you know, I got my whiskey glasses, that's what Morgan said, I kind of like I was like, oh, that's kind of a cool idea. What if I took like these, like famous tags in certain songs, and then like Remix it to like also include like who said it, that's like where the I got my whiskey glass because of Morgan said, and got a drinking problem. Like ask Midlands because they got the dream song, stapleton, start over, and so on, so forth. Like with Dirk's and Luke Combs and and then Brooks and done, who arguably have one of the Greatest, saddest breakup songs, me on moon. It's kind of like tag in the course.
Speaker 1:Yep, well, I do. It's all like the artists that you've always looked up to. Oh, in the song.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So I mean Brooks and done. Obviously they just been around for so long just hit after hit. Stapleton's got the Arguably. You know one of the greatest voices on the planet, morgan and Luke Combs you know they're killing it right now. And then on, dirk's has always just been. Dirk's always has really fun songs. I like drill on playing like that's, like that, I don't, I don't, I don't think I could have thought of that. I was like that's, that's like a cool thing. And then midland Midlands got some of the coolest Sounds to their songs. I don't think Midland gets the credit they deserve really and Very valid point.
Speaker 1:I think, yeah, deb, and I both agree with that. You know they're from obviously Midland Texas, yeah, and you're in Florida. But you're right, I mean, they're very unique in their sound.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So how has it been going? I mean, have you heard it on the radio yet?
Speaker 4:So yeah, so it came out. So it's been out a week today, today's, okay, we've done what he's been out the day after it came out or the day that it came out, so one week ago, because cameras it comes out like midnight, so it came out like this Tuesday, going into Wednesday, that midnight little period. I don't know the day we call that, but I I Woke up when to do we, do you guys, do we call it Wednesday? Do we just call it Wednesday? I'm 25, I dropped out of college to be a musician, so you know, bear with me.
Speaker 1:I thought a college to work radio.
Speaker 4:Don't do it so far. You know, yes, you are so um. So the next morning that it came out we went to our local radio station. That's actually over in Brooksville, florida, which is just one town over which I love, brooksville it's second only today city, and they played it on one or three nine the boot with a DJ Trey. He had me come in, we did a little bit of an interview and we got, I got to hear done with you like my first song on the radio for the first time ever, which that was pretty cool.
Speaker 4:My parents were in the room when my friends, alex he was in the room, he was getting some pictures and it was. It was really cool, very, very. I Don't like to get emotional, but yeah it was very cool.
Speaker 1:No, you should get emotional. If you didn't, I'd be worried about you Because I know I would. So you heard it from actually being in the studio as opposed to being in the car, leaving the park a lot and heading to the next stop.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so actually I haven't heard it Like on the radio in my car yet, but I heard it like in the studio that, like you know, I got a bunch of text from people saying, oh I heard your song on the radio. I was like oh awesome, he personally I've not yet been here on the radio itself. I'm trying, I'm looking for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so this is your first attempt at radio, getting it out there, but you've been doing this for a little bit. Tell us a little bit about the Emmett Stevens band for a été.
Speaker 4:While little place in my hometown, a little restaurant, that when I started playing out I wanted to play at this one spot and at the time looking back it's funny when I went in I said, yeah, I wanna play here. Like I know, y'all don't have live music here, and it was something like off like I think it was like a Monday night when, like no one has live music on Monday, especially like where I'm from and I said, can I play around Mondays?
Speaker 4:And they said yeah. They said, well, you wanna get paid? And I was like, oh, whatever, it's fine. And I was like perfect. Looking back now I was like, oh kid.
Speaker 3:It was four hours.
Speaker 4:It was four hours. They paid me $50. And I got a cheeseburger and fries. You know reservations and I just had such a good time playing music out for the first time. I would have done it for free I would have paid them to you know cause I just I fell in love with it at that moment, playing out for people and again, there was probably 12 people in this little restaurant.
Speaker 3:I was just gonna ask.
Speaker 4:Me and the 12 people. We had a big of a time.
Speaker 1:Well, look at it this way, it's 12 new fans.
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 1:At least something to say. You gotta have a base to start with and you gotta be able to. You know, I always say and Deb does as well it's always one fan at a time. Yeah, absolutely, and you just build that fan base, brother.
Speaker 4:That's what, yeah, I mean. When I play out, I like to say, I try to say hi to everybody, because I think that personal connection with people I think that's what a lot of the world is lacking nowadays is that no one knows how to communicate with each other, and so just having like if they come up, like after, like the set or after the show, like hey, like I do my best to at least have somewhat of a real conversation with everybody, not just a hi how are you?
Speaker 4:smile for the picture kind of thing I don't like doing that. I'd rather get to know you, at least at the level I'm at, too like I'm able to do that. Yeah, I love. But yeah, I love talking to people. I love hearing what they thought of the songs you know, because you know that's when you get the best stories, like when they hear a song of yours and they can like, really like resonate with it. They tell you how it made them feel or what they were going through when they were listening to it and how, either like, help them or help a friend of theirs, and that's really cool.
Speaker 3:I think connecting with your fan base one on one, on a personal level, like that even though when you start off this way and you start off small, you'd really be surprised how much that multiplies, because I have a great experience with you, I had a conversation with you, I'm now going to tell my friends and I love your music and on and on and on. And you know, when you have 5,000 fans, you might only be able to give them a minute with the 5, but you know you've got that relationship there, so that's awesome.
Speaker 1:And what other? Is there other singles right after this one? You've already got lined up, you get. Do you have some sort of a closet full of songs?
Speaker 4:you've written in your history I know, I know I love this.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 4:Yes, there are other songs. They're written, some are recorded. I'm trying to think here on my feet. Some are recorded, there is a plan in place and I don't want to say anything wrong. There are songs, they're recorded, and you have a plan and to get them out. Okay, there's a plan, that's all.
Speaker 1:That's all Okay, so that's good, so you're ready to roll. I mean, you're putting out done with you, brexen, done with you, done with you, you're putting that out Now, that'll run its course. Then you can say, okay, it's time for this one, or it's time for that one, and hopefully, being a radio guy, it's nice to have something with a little bit of tempo, which we have. But then there's also those love songs, which is country music, as you know I know Dev knows it is the story of the soundtrack of our life.
Speaker 4:I probably wrote my favorite ballad the other day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I want to be able to drive down the road and hear Emmett Stevens Jr and go. He's singing about my life. This I just went through this, or I'm going through this Cause, then you know what? I just even become a bigger fan and I want more.
Speaker 4:That's the plan, man. We got some good songs coming. And yeah, I've been very blessed recently to write with some cool people and, yeah, we got some good songs.
Speaker 1:I was going to ask you about your songwriting. It's one thing, and Dev is totally fascinated with the songwriting aspect of everything, and some of my and are there, like? All right, throw some names out there. Who have you written with? Oh?
Speaker 4:and there's a monster. So actually this past week and I was just up in St Augustine for the St Augustine Songwriters Festival, oh, yeah, okay, which is great, and man, we try not to name them We've met a bunch of really really cool people. We met a bunch of really cool people, got a bunch of contact information and, more important than that, we built like some real relationships over the weekends and some of the best songs come out of real, authentic, organic relationships. You can really I've been in rites that have been non-organic, if that makes sense Like he's just kind of like hey, you and this guy are gonna write, or you and this person, this person, y'all are gonna go write, and then you go in there and it's kind of awkward because, you know, it's kind of like hanging out with a stranger for the first time.
Speaker 4:It doesn't always go as you wanted, the way you want it to, yeah, but if you have a friendship with somebody like I got a good friend named McCoy Moore. He's a great guy and like we have a really good connection so when we get together and we just have a good time, and whether or not we write a song that day or not, those emotions, those feelings of like camaraderie are there. I will say I did have a write with I'll name drop one guy wrote with Jared Blake who was on season one of the Voice, yes, traveled the country doing a ton of shows, and a monster songwriter by the name of Ira Dean.
Speaker 1:From Trick Pony. Yeah yeah, exactly, and I know Ira and definitely yeah, yeah, I mean, it's not like you know, you and I being best friends, but I know him, he knows me, and you know he's on the Nashville and I see him at the radio seminar or something. It's like hey, dude, what's up? You know? It's something like that.
Speaker 4:Ira is a monster songwriter. We were in that room and Lear's just fall out of this man. It's crazy.
Speaker 1:What's amazing.
Speaker 4:I think we, I think we were in the room for almost it was over five hours and me I'm a big snacker so I kept and they wouldn't eat any of the snacks. I'm a. I'm a really like I was. You know I was not hurt, but I was like I felt like a bad host, like I didn't have the right snacks. We had some Ritz crackers and some like I was like salami and like cheese. Little trays there, whatever they are.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah so describe to us a writer's room. So where were you like?
Speaker 4:in a hotel and a conference room, or are you at a so we were at this hotel Can't remember the name, but there's an M on it. It wasn't like a Marriott or anything, but there was like. There was like Airbnb-ish kind of hotel, like people own like some rooms. Okay, we were at this hotel and me and my manager were staying in it and the day of the right came and it was just me in the middle of the living room. Again, I had my snacks on the coffee table, like you were the host right, Do what now?
Speaker 3:You were the host, so you were in charge of it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I was the host, and so I had the snacks out, thinking I was ready to roll the. Ritz crackers and there's a bag of checks mixed that I. I put a bowl out for everybody. So I kind of like you know, nibble on or whatever.
Speaker 4:And halfway through the right no one was touching. I was like, do you guys want any of this? And then I was like, okay, so I just took the bowl onto the couch with me. So, like the whole time we're writing this song, I just got this big old bowl of checks mixed. I just found it on my side, like right next to the guitar and back to the songwriting part. But no, the room it's just like a living room and we're all just kind of sitting around in a circle. I was on the couch, jared and Ira. They're both in like chairs and everyone's kind of bouncing ideas off of each other and it was really cool. And again, I didn't know, I didn't. I've met Jared before, I had not met Ira before this first time, but man, he was just so nice, so kind. It's knowledgeable when it came to writing songs.
Speaker 4:Which is something I just recently got into probably about two years ago, I think is when I started writing and seeing someone at his level it's very motivating Cause it gives you someone to like. You know, chase after To be like okay, this is where you can go with this.
Speaker 2:Whether or not I'll ever catch them.
Speaker 4:I doubt it cause Ira's amazing, but Well, it's a great role model for you.
Speaker 1:Great role yeah absolutely, and you know, when it comes to being on stage, ira is somebody you may want to watch as well, because, if I remember correctly, when he would perform with a trick pony- and he'd be playing to stand up and they had the headlights on it and it'd be swirling around and he'd be doing all sorts of wild shit with it. Just be nuts. It would be nuts, but a lot of fun to watch.
Speaker 4:He's got great hair too. Yes, yeah great, yeah.
Speaker 1:Is there somebody that you bounce your music off of and you know to get another opinion? Deb's going in and out there. I don't know what she's doing. She's probably trying to check on the ball game tonight. I don't know. But is there somebody like your sister or somebody that you bounce your music off of and say, hey, I just did this. What do you think so?
Speaker 4:I always say this my sister is my best critic because she used my heart shit. Obviously I sent my manager and stuff to get her feel for it and then I do got some friends. But I think my sister's got to be the best critic because she is the harshest critic, because she's not aware. She's absolutely, and I'm very much like. I'd rather you hurt me with the truth than help me with a lot.
Speaker 1:And then your song sucks and it's like, okay, I'll go back, but you know what you learn from that?
Speaker 4:And she said it, she has said it and she's written some garbage cans man. But I'd be like what do you mean? What do you mean? It sucks.
Speaker 1:No, it's a. I spent all this time writing this song and you're telling me it sucks.
Speaker 4:Yeah, well, you can actually get like kind of like almost Belying to it, like love is like, love is blind, like you can like be with something for so long, work on it for so long, just to like you almost form this attachment because you just been with it for so long. If that's not a metaphor for relationship, I don't know what it's. But you can, you know, just be with something for so long that you're like oh no, this is great.
Speaker 4:And then you show up to someone though that's probably not it- I don't think that's it and um, then you take a step back, you listen to it and when you're like, what is it? When you think objectively about it, you're like, ah, now that ain't right, you know right. But it takes it out that outside source to like make you look at it all that.
Speaker 1:It makes you focus better and makes you want to. It just makes you better all the way around. Oh, yeah, about that, absolutely. Are you a here we go Deb? Like your ears? Are you a baseball fan? I?
Speaker 4:Like baseball. I wouldn't call myself a fan because I have friends that are real fans of baseball. Okay, I wouldn't. I watched the game if it's on, but I'm not. I wouldn't. I wouldn't call myself true, true baseball fan.
Speaker 1:The Tampa Bay is playing in the wild card. Yeah.
Speaker 4:I did hear that.
Speaker 1:I think they lost it at Texas, but that's probably.
Speaker 4:I mean, we have a history will. We'll do so good during the season. See if I do know a bit about baseball, but like the postman and not even close. We always do good Like regular season, with as soon as, like, the playoffs come around. For some reason, man, we just we just decided to choke at the end and and if they hear this, I'd love to come through again and let me sing. I.
Speaker 1:Think they're done for the season? I think they. I could be wrong. I don't. Even if somebody's watching this down the road, they're gonna go. Hey, that was a long time ago, but no I think for the season. Speed him yeah. Hey, don't worry, we're Mets fans here, so our team yeah.
Speaker 4:I'll get it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll get it. Yeah, so Do you ever get get up to Nashville?
Speaker 4:all the time.
Speaker 1:I'm there.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, I'm up in that. So, as much as I can, at the bare minimum, I'm there one week every month.
Speaker 3:And you're not ready to leave your hometown yet. Huh I.
Speaker 4:Do love it here, but I love Nashville too, but I love them both for different reasons.
Speaker 1:Yeah why do you, why do you love your hometown so much? Oh, the people heat and the humidity.
Speaker 4:Oh no, the heat immunity is like this. It's one of those driving factors driving me out, but okay well, national has it too in the summer.
Speaker 4:So not as bad, though, like I was that I was up when it was that I was up there with my buddy, colin, I Think it was in July. I was up there in July and he said, bro, it's so hot, and I was like I'm over there and like, and uh, not a sweatshirt, but I was wearing like a thick cotton shirt. No, why, I just left the gym. I was wearing some thick cotton shirt and some like sweat, like gym pants, you know, some tennis shoes, and I'm over there like man. It's beautiful out here, it feels great, and it's just because in Florida right now it's like 98 degrees and it feels like 112 Right now and you're sweating through everything. But he's also. He's also a Kansas City guy.
Speaker 1:So Well, there you go.
Speaker 3:They're there, exactly there you go Totally so so we skirt, you skirted the question.
Speaker 4:The people. I do love the people. I mean, I grew up here. I know everyone here Um that that number of people is growing here.
Speaker 1:Well, I did read that you're somewhat of a hometown celebrity. That's where I was going with that. Because, it's just doing what you're doing with the music, and you've been playing around your hometown for so long. Yeah that people there. They absolutely love you.
Speaker 4:I Hope you're right. I mean I love them, but uh, they read again there's not that, there's not a whole lot of us. So I mean there's not a whole lot of competition. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah right, there's not a whole lot of artists like you. Is that what you're saying?
Speaker 4:There's not a whole lot of people. In general Everyone's kind of a celebrity to the certain group here. Yeah, I mean, don't get your wrong, I haven't played out here while in I've been trying to like fans and like friends here and I know it's hard, it's weird to say fans, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know that's weird, I like being from the Northeast, you know we look like, oh, we want to go to Florida, we want to. You know it's gonna be a great vacation. Now I'm sure you're in Florida and you're probably going. Where can I go to get out of Florida for a good vacation? Yeah, do you have a favorite vacation spot Outside of Florida. Yeah, I mean you're down there. I mean that's the whole. You see it every day. We don't know.
Speaker 4:So I mean, obviously we got the beaches and stuff. So beaches are kind of like just know, it's just here. I like, I Like, I like the mountains. I do like the mountains. I will say, though, some of the best vacations that I. One of the best vacations I had, oh man, we went to Vegas. I went up into Vegas a few times. I do like it, but it's because I like to people watch. You know, I like to see the characters that are there now our characters there.
Speaker 3:Thank you, yeah.
Speaker 4:That's what we're gonna call them to his character.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I like that great term for that great.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly, there's a lot of characters, and I'm with you, I'm it that there's nothing better than watching people.
Speaker 4:Well, shoot man. I hear up say New York's nice. I might have to come up there with the awesome time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, and we talk about it because we're in Syracuse and, as I mentioned earlier, you know we don't get the Perr canes per se like you do. We may get maybe a tail end. I think we came close to one and one came close to us last week, but it was just some clouds, some rain, a little bit of wind, then it was gone, but nothing like what you're getting. But up here I can say we get the four seasons and it's absolutely beautiful. Summer can be hot as hell, and it was hot today, even though it's autumn, but the leaves change color or the trees turn colors. Right now the leaves change. Did I say that really?
Speaker 1:Well, you said it right the first time, and then you and messed it up and we get snow with for Christmas, which is which is absolutely beautiful. After that, the snow can go away, spring is nice and the flowers and the trees come out again, summer's hot, and then we get autumn and the colors. So it's you know, it is a beautiful part of these are.
Speaker 4:We change a whole lot colors. They kind of just go from green to brown. Here there might be some time when, like, some of the trees have like less leaves, but then they come right back. They come right back to green and they're like they're all good to go. So do you like the orange, the yellow, the reds? It's just green.
Speaker 1:Oh, you know the different colors. If you go online and you search the Adirondacks this time of the year, you're gonna see some beautiful, beautiful pictures the what Adirondacks at around X yep, the mountains in northern New York.
Speaker 4:So I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1:I will. I will do that. I will do that Absolutely. It would definitely text it to you. So so do we have an EP in the future?
Speaker 4:We have songs recorded.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 4:Recorded. We've long written that have yet to be recorded that I really plan and there's a plan.
Speaker 1:Okay, I love that. Oh man, that's so awesome. That's so awesome. You seem to have it all together and Not even close, but you know. It's looking good. It's sounding good it. How much of that? Are you doing yourself With what like, like your plan? You know everything that, being an independent artist, you have a team that's working with you, or are you doing most of it yourself?
Speaker 4:No, I have a team around me that does More than I could ask them to do. My manager, mandy, is great. I'm working with a company called Aristo they're great.
Speaker 1:Yes, they are.
Speaker 4:Chrissy and Matt are great. Obviously, my producer, greg Campbell, he's. He's a huge help with that. And then another lady on the team who's important to us is her name is Deanna K. She's over one of us. She's like sunshine and a bottle man. She is the sweetest person. Yeah, then I got a few like photographers, videographers, that like kind of bounce around, depending on the job, when it is, and there it is. Tyler and Chelsea are their names and they do fantastic work and I couldn't I Would not be able to do what I'm doing at the level without them.
Speaker 1:Right now let's talk about Craig Campbell a little bit. We haven't really gotten into that. How did that Whole relationship between you and him come about?
Speaker 4:so I went there's a place, there's a city down here called Sanford Yep, close to the Orlando ish area. I was going down there to meet another artist named Big Vinnie, which you guys don't know, you guys yeah okay, yeah, man, big Vinnie he's.
Speaker 4:I went down there to meet him and he was actually opening up for Craig. And I ended up just meeting Craig you know some fan of his work and I Took a picture with him, posted it in. A buddy of mine Said Craig's actually doing an event Next, the following month, and he needs an opener. I was like Shoot, sign me up. Like you know, if this is an offer I'll take it. So we met at that event and then I opened up for him. So he like then became a little bit more familiar with me and he saw me get to the forum for the first time and Obviously he didn't ate it. And then there was one more time that I got to open up for him down here in Florida and Honestly we just kind of hit it off.
Speaker 4:He's a great dude, that's awesome a little bit after that second show, my manager called me. So hey, I was just talking with Craig and, um, craig wants to work with you. No, it's like I'm honored, like that's. You know, it's great, campbell, that's awesome, it's crazy. I was like hey, yeah, let's do it. Obviously I'm gonna go say let me talk to my people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let my people decide what we want to do, and they'll be in touch with your people, and then we'll go from there.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so that's what it is. And then you know me and Craig went in the studio, worked on the songs Done with you as one of them, and yeah, we, yeah.
Speaker 1:Did you feel intimidated at all, like, oh my god, that's Craig. You know, campbell, I?
Speaker 4:Felt. I don't have the word into it. I didn't feel motivated to be my best, because you can't do better than your best anyway. So as long as I'm giving 100% of me, 110% of me, that's the best I can do, intimidated, obviously, like a monster songwriter too.
Speaker 4:So I mean, when it came to the songwriting aspect of it, yes, I would say I'm intimidated. I was intimidated at the time. But honestly, craig, at the same time he's so nice and so like down there, it's such a genuine person. He makes you comfortable. So, like all that, like, oh man, is this song going to be good enough? Is he going to like it? That all goes out the window as soon as you start talking to the man.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, that's a good feeling. Oh yeah, no doubt Really good feeling.
Speaker 4:Love Craig. He's great.
Speaker 1:I doubt I was going to say something.
Speaker 3:No, I'm just absorbing and I'm thinking, though one of the things is a little off tangent, but you have such a happy personality. Like you just give off a very happy vibe, very energetic, very positive, Like you just really. I think it just really comes through that you love what you do.
Speaker 1:You're talking to me or him?
Speaker 3:No, I'm talking to Emmett. I know you love doing your podcast, but he, you know. I just and I just was just really like zoned in on that part of your character. So I think I don't mind. I'll tell you, seeing that Skip opened up that door for me.
Speaker 4:Thank you, I tried. Yeah, I don't know why you wouldn't be positive. I know it's not as common.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 4:It's not as common as it should be.
Speaker 3:I think you receive what you put out, yeah, and you are in a tough business. I mean, there's no doubt there's a lot of compasses, oh, and don't get me wrong.
Speaker 4:There are some days that are tougher than others, when you know the positive side might not come through as much as I think it to.
Speaker 3:But look it, you even say that with a smile. I mean, it just amazes me that just it's just your, just that energy is just fantastic. So, thank you, keep it up.
Speaker 1:That's. That's after ballgame right there. Smiling wave and shaking hands and do whatever you need to do. Hey, do you ever like have alligators walk around in your backyard or anything like that? It's a wild one.
Speaker 4:I mean it's funny question, but yeah like the answer is yes, which is kind of scary if you think about it.
Speaker 4:It's funny going up to Nashville actually, because that's like a common question that people ask like have you ever seen an alligator? And I was like yeah, and on my way to the airport this morning I passed four of them. You know what I mean. Like they're just everywhere. Yeah, there's like a little where I had my parents all my, where my parents said where I used to live all the time. Like you know, there's water on the backside of the property, so like if the gate is getting bored they just kind of come hang out. But where I'm at there's like a little retention pond close by and so like every once in a while there'd be like just an alligator, just kind of not a huge one, in these little retention ponds. You know not that you'd see like in a big lake that you go like bass fishing on, but you know there's little like, say, little like a four or five foot alligator.
Speaker 3:Oh my god.
Speaker 4:You don't bother them, man, they don't bother Y'all. Don't have those in Syracuse.
Speaker 3:No, no, but is that what it is? You just don't go near them and they don't come near you. I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong, we got some buddies that'll you know, some people that'll be coming sometimes. But, there's some people that like to wrestle them sometimes, but that's not as confident as y'all think it is down here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we have a viewer. Sandy just commented a gator fries Gator.
Speaker 4:I don't know Gator fries I mean, don't get me wrong, I've had gator tail.
Speaker 1:You know, have you ever had?
Speaker 4:gator tail. I've had gator.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it was gator tail probably, but it tastes, and I don't mean this as a joke, but it tastes like chicken. It does man it really does.
Speaker 4:So the very first, I guess, private gig that I had, it was actually a wedding for a couple, mark and Eva. They're some of my favorite people to this day. I still talk to them. They come to my church that my father pastors and that I lead worship at on Sundays when I'm in town, and their wedding. So Mark, he's like a mechanic, but on the side he traps alligators Because there's a ton, there's too many here, and so they'll go and catch them. But the food at the wedding was a gator. Most weddings have this really nice steak or chicken or whatever it's like. They had a fried gator. It was like the main course of the wedding dinner and he knew what he was doing. It was good. I ate too much of it.
Speaker 1:They weren't they? At the state fair they had like gator, gator meat or something. Yeah, I even fried gator. I wasn't going to try it?
Speaker 4:No, you should. If you guys ever come down here, I'll have Mark make you some, because it's delicious.
Speaker 1:Like I said a minute ago or two, I have had gator. It's not that I have it a lot, but it was just one of those here. Try it, it's gator, and so I tried it. And, no kidding, it tasted like chicken. But Sandy also says, oop, I really meant to say rooster fries. And then she says keep reading, I don't know.
Speaker 4:I don't know. I don't know about rooster. I've never heard of rooster fries.
Speaker 1:Nope, Now is she, gator is good. She says oh.
Speaker 4:OK, I'm starting to see. Yeah, I can see her messages.
Speaker 1:But it's just interesting and it's fun to talk about all this. And you living in Florida, where you know I mean you don't see snow but you see a lot of wind and rain, and then you have the beautiful days as well, and you've got baseball down there that I always seem to bring up, but you get spring training, you get to get all that. It's right in your own backyard, plus you're able to do what you love and that's music.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And, as you mentioned, I did read about your dad being the pastor and you performing at the church as well, or are you?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I need worship at the church.
Speaker 1:Yes, very cool.
Speaker 4:Me and my mom. My mom sings as well. My little sister sings too.
Speaker 1:Very nice.
Speaker 4:So me and my mom, I say we leave praise and worship at the church. You know, and that's where a lot of the music background came from was the church where I learned how to play. A lot I learned off of YouTube, but learning to play with people, like in a band, I mean the church, is what did that for me. There were musicians around.
Speaker 1:And you talk about learning off of YouTube. How common is that now?
Speaker 4:Definitely more common now. Definitely more common now. I think I was I don't want to say I was like when I was learning guitar on YouTube. I'd say that's probably when I started to pick up some momentum of like you know, at the time I was 12. So I think that's when YouTube kind of was hitting its stride in the sense of like everyone posting, like hey, if you want to play this song, like this how you play it, and they would like show the chords and stuff on the video. But now I mean, shoot, honestly, you can learn just about to do anything off of YouTube.
Speaker 1:Now I think Well, that's kind of. My point too is that you know you can learn how to play guitar and you can also learn how to build an engine or whatever. You know you've got something you need to get done around the house and you don't want to call somebody to do it.
Speaker 4:Dude, I was changing the because I never, because I just moved into my first house, probably two years ago now, and I realized I had never changed doorknobs on a door.
Speaker 1:Well, well, dude, dude, did you have to go to YouTube to look out and change it?
Speaker 4:Not, as much as I had to. I feel like I could have figured it out eventually, but it saved me. It definitely saved me a lot of time. That's gonna save me a lot of time.
Speaker 1:But you know, to your point, you're right, you can anything. It's all right there, from changing a light bulb to learning how to play guitar.
Speaker 4:Now that that one I did learn at home with that. But for some reason. I just had never changed doorknobs before, so I don't know it was funny.
Speaker 1:You do have to put them in the right way. If not, things won't work right. It'll be back. Trust me, I messed up the first one, yep, it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun to go to YouTube.
Speaker 4:It's a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:It's a lot of fun yeah, totally, totally Well that's what I hate about my kids now is I can't figure something out, and I think they may have done it. We'll call them and they'll say just look it up on YouTube. They don't even want to take the time to explain it, it's all video.
Speaker 4:Everything's on YouTube, anything you want to see. Learn, do cook.
Speaker 2:You want to keep.
Speaker 4:I learned Gordon Ramsay has a bunch of videos on how to cook on YouTube. Yes, yes, yes, I make a mean steak now because of Gordon Ramsay.
Speaker 1:Well, that was going to be one of my questions. What's your favorite meal?
Speaker 4:Ooh, so I used to be a bigger board back in the day. I was a hefty kid until about 2021. So I mean honestly anything at the time. Right now my favorite meal? Ooh, I do love steak. I had like up in St Augustine I went to this steak house and I got a steak a New York strip, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a nice New York strip.
Speaker 4:oh my gosh yeah delicious, loved it, great place.
Speaker 1:Beef seems to be the food of choice, yeah. The most popular, the artists that we speak to. They everybody's like. You know, we just love a good steak dinner.
Speaker 4:I think, being on the go all the time, it's not so often you get like a good, like sit down steak. You know what I mean If you're on the go all the time, a lot of the time, and I still, I'm still guilty of it. I shouldn't do it, but like I stopped at so many fast food places like Thursday through Saturday, Dude, you look great, you go to the gym.
Speaker 1:I mean, I know we're all living in a world where we're all on the go.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, I run out to get lunch. What do I do? I go through a Wendy's drive-through. I go through a McDonald's drive-through, oh and don't get me wrong, I'm all.
Speaker 4:I love all that stuff. Like I still like stop myself from getting it. But so what I do, at least what I do like Sunday through. I have this a lot Monday through. Wednesday because you got to go to like to the Mexican restaurant in your local town after church on Sundays. So, Monday through Wednesday. I try to eat as like healthy as possible. Right, so I eat, like you know, my chicken, my rice, my vegetables, whatever I'm lying again, I don't eat vegetables a whole lot, but my chicken and my rice, that way on.
Speaker 4:You know, days I'm traveling and stuff. I don't have to be as strict. Like you know, if you're at the gas station I don't feel like spending $20 on a bag of jerky. Lot of times just easier to go, you know.
Speaker 1:Totally. Get something you know, yeah, no, no Pack your road snacks, you know, pack your road snacks. Oh jeez, that's a lot of work, you know.
Speaker 3:I know, but it's healthier. Ms Debra, do you have kids? Oh, yeah, yeah, oh yeah, and you're all in the same generation where you know you kind of get out and eat out quite a bit, but we're trying to transition them into eating home more often or cooking more often. You know, use the crackpot, you could make several.
Speaker 4:Oh, I got an air fryer, so I can't put the same amount. So my only and I tell everyone this my meals that I make at home consist of, like you know, uncle Ben's Rice. Do you all have Uncle Ben's Rice? Yep, yep, like the bagged rice, it takes like 90 seconds in the microwave. Mm-hmm, it's Uncle Ben's Rice. It's half. I do. I split the bag in half for two meals, so it's a half bag of Uncle Ben's Rice. And then so I'm like, is it the Purdue? Like already grilled chicken that comes in a bag? Yeah, and literally like rip open the bag, throw that chicken on the skillet and then like put the bagged rice in the microwave and that's basically. I have that probably six or seven times on the Monday, tuesday, wednesday that I'm eating. Oh my gosh. Yeah, but you know what it's good for you.
Speaker 3:I do have an air fryer and I like.
Speaker 4:There's a certain brand of chicken nuggets called Just Bear Chicken Nuggets.
Speaker 1:I've heard that. Yeah, yeah. Well, you see that, the chicken and rice number one, it's really good for you, yeah, and I should be doing more of that, but it's also cheap.
Speaker 3:It's not expensive.
Speaker 1:Heck yeah, you're getting a good meal for a decent price, especially if you're on your own and you got to watch your spending and just try to do your own thing. You know that's great. And you said you were a hefty boy. How did you? Did you work out?
Speaker 4:I know you say you go to the gym every day, but you've lost a lot of weight then yeah, so I mean, if we got time I can tell you all the story of how I lost all the weight.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what's really up to you. We've got all night, but we're here to talk music.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I was in college for a little bit and I was a hefty boy. I ended up getting strep throat, all right. So this first time I ever got a strep throat and I couldn't you can't eat because your tonsils are so swollen, and so for a week I lived off of Gatorade and applesauce when I was used to eating Wendy's. Every day, wendy's was like my spot, you know.
Speaker 4:Still left and so I only ate applesauce and Gatorade for like a week. And then I ended up taking some medicine, obviously to get better, and I had an allergic reaction to the medicine and I broke out in hives Not everywhere, not everywhere, but almost everywhere in my body. So I couldn't go out either. So I was having home cooked meals that were again chicken, rice and some vegetables for a week and, yeah, so for about two weeks straight I just either didn't eat or had chicken and rice and I ended up losing like 25, 30 pounds in those two weeks Because I just had so much extra weight on me. And that time came when I was finally better and I was like I kind of you know I look a little bit better than I did and my parents used to own a gym, so we made a bunch of old workout equipment out at the barn at my dad's shop and so I said could you show me how to work out and stuff like that?
Speaker 4:and be, healthy and he goes well. I was hoping you were going to say something and I was like you know, you could have told me earlier instead of just waiting for me to almost die from strip thrills and like malnutrition and so, yeah, then I started working out and just kind of fell in love with it, you know.
Speaker 1:Very cool. I do it. Good for you. That is excellent. That is excellent. I'm thinking about the chicken and rice diet. I have to tell my wife when I go upstairs.
Speaker 4:Man, I again three days of the week. Really good, that way the other time I can, like you know, have my fun. I still don't get me wrong, I still, but it's hard.
Speaker 1:It's hard, you know, doing what you do, being an artist, being a performer, and me being the radio guy and kind of running from the radio station to the shows and then having to do what we have to do. It's like I don't have time to stop and eat. I don't have time to sit down for an hour and have a good meal. I need to go through a drive-through, get something on the road and eat it as I go.
Speaker 4:Just the only hack, if you want to call it, that I've seen is getting the grilled sandwiches from places, but half the time man, if you're getting, I don't know. I know I'd like to say that I do that, but I just get the burger and fries.
Speaker 1:And you think about that. You think about that as you're pulling up to the drive-through. But when you hit the actual part where you have to give your order, it's like, OK, I'll have the grilled chicken. Ok, I'll have this and that I'll have the Big Mac and the fries Always.
Speaker 4:It always happens. You go up with the most pure of intentions and then you get there and then your inner thoughts take over. You're like no, no, no, extra Mac sauce on that.
Speaker 1:Emmett Stevens Jr. It's a name I think we're going to hear a lot more of down the road.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I hope so it's definitely good stuff Done with you and done DUNN, like in Berks and Dunn, and obviously that's part of it. And just if somebody wanted to hear your music, I would imagine you're on all sorts of socials, right? You got your Facebook. Are you doing TikTok?
Speaker 4:I'm on TikTok, yeah, facebook. Tiktok Instagram, twitter. What's Twitter? No, twitter changed its name X.
Speaker 3:Twitter X no, not.
Speaker 4:X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, yeah and done with you. It's on all the streaming platforms.
Speaker 1:It's on YouTube too.
Speaker 4:Go check it out on YouTube.
Speaker 1:Yeah, done with you. You can download it, probably off of iTunes too.
Speaker 4:Yeah, half of the music's on my way. I think it's on Tidal, all of them. Just go look for it, it's there. I promise you. If you type in, done with you, it's there.
Speaker 1:And my friend Larissa just said fun song. I just listened to it.
Speaker 4:Heck. Yeah, thank you, Larissa.
Speaker 1:Larissa's awesome, and I know I don't know. There's one thing I'm trying to think of the right way to say this and I don't do you hunt at all.
Speaker 4:No, I haven't been in years. We used to hunt all the time when I was a kid.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Larissa, I'm gonna get her on my podcast and there's a reason for that she is actually from this area, Her husband a big hunter, with the hunt out of the tree stands.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:He fell out of the tree stand and passed away and Larissa is now. It's because he didn't strap himself in and you should always strap yourself in when you're in the tree stand and you're hunting deer. I don't know how it is in Florida, but I know here in New York. Deer hunting is just, it's huge and all that, and my brother-in-law is hunting. They go into a tree stand and what happened to her husband? She is now on a mission to make sure that if you hunt that, you strap yourself in, so this doesn't happen to anybody. She's a beautiful lady, she's got a beautiful son and her, but she lost her husband because of he didn't do what he needed to do in the tree stand.
Speaker 4:We could definitely use that down in Florida, because I got a bunch of uncles that they're always hunting and I got a bunch of friends too, and I like to say my friends that are my age, they you know, they strapped in, you know what I mean when they're going up and down. Yeah, exactly, yeah, I know I got some uncles that do not, so we definitely probably because they're old.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because they're old school or they're in a hurry. Yeah, and you know what I mean. She is just a wonderful and a beautiful lady and she's been through so much in the last year and you know now what happened and but the good what's coming out of this, that is good. She's on a mission to make it known that if you're gonna hunt, you're gonna sit in the tree stand. Please don't, don't let that happen. What happened to my husband? Yeah, because you need to strap yourself in, because now you know, little boy doesn't have a father, while he still does, but doesn't see him every day, if you know what.
Speaker 4:I mean yeah.
Speaker 1:So you know, that's just Larissa. I saw you were on there, I just wanted to mention it and you know just really, and she will be on my podcast here down the road. So but anyways, tonight we've been chatting with them at Stevens Junior, as I mentioned a moment ago, a name that hopefully is going to become a very familiar name to you and go online, get the music, download it. His first single, done With you, is out to radio Now. He's enjoying life in Florida and he hits Nashville quite often. Oh, I didn't ask. So when you're in Nashville, do you hit up Broadway?
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, yeah, I love. So my buddy plays down on Broadway. A couple of buddies of mine play down on Broadway like every like Tuesday and Thursday. His name is Ashton Butler you should go check out his music and he's always he's always down in Nashville playing. So I hit a Broadway probably two or three, two times when I'm there, for if I'm there for a week, typically twice. So Broadway. And then there's a street called Demumbrian.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh yes, oh yeah, I used to call it Demon Burl.
Speaker 4:Dude, that's what I called it the first time, and I got roasted by my buddies.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, I said oh, we're on Demon Burl Street, no, no and.
Speaker 4:I said no, it's not how you say it. I was like, well, they should spell it differently then.
Speaker 1:Basically yes.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but yeah no I love going, I love, I love being in Nashville.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's where you hang out, though. Is what you're saying, or do you have somebody that plays that character?
Speaker 4:Oh, no, demon, you almost got me. You almost got me saying bad man Demumbrian, I hang out at Demumbrian, oh okay. And I do go to Broadway to see my buddy play.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly Exactly, and it's been great chatting with you tonight talking about your music. Hopefully we get some of viewers that'll go and check out the song. Download the song, excuse me, support you. Look forward to hearing more. Maybe whoever's listening to this they can call their local radio station and say hey, you know, play this guy.
Speaker 4:Yeah, do it and let's, let's help him out. So thank you so much for having me. Man, this has been, and you too, mr, but this has been fun. I love this. We should you know. I'll happily come back anytime you guys want me. So thank you.
Speaker 1:Come back as many times as you want. How about tomorrow night at seven o'clock? We have somebody tomorrow night, you know what? Yes, our door is always open and anything goes with. That's why we call it skip. Happens, because it happens, and we like to talk about your journey.
Speaker 4:I was waiting for you to throw that in there. I was waiting for you to throw that in there.
Speaker 1:What skip happens happens.
Speaker 4:I was waiting for you to say it.
Speaker 1:And you'll never forget it.
Speaker 4:Never.
Speaker 1:Never, never. So make sure you share it as well, and you know we're going to sign off, but just hang out right there when we say goodbye. Thank you for joining Deb and I tonight on skip happens and Deb, I want her to tell you a little bit about her country music fan club.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, we definitely at least, at the very least in six months, we'd love to check back and see where you're at and how your journey is going. So for sure, and I do have a country music fan club. It's a social media Facebook and Instagram Avenue where we love to follow and promote the new artists on their way. And, graciously, we work with skip and he's been awesome and in helping us to help you guys. So follow us, will follow you, and when you have the music, we'll put it out there for you. Awesome, yeah, people know.
Speaker 1:It's a great deal, skip happens. Everybody give us a like on YouTube and the Facebook and the hang out. Thank you for joining us tonight.
Speaker 3:Everyone Thanks.
Speaker 1:Peace out everybody.