#672 - Trace Adkins

Today's guest is a country music legend. He's got six gold and platinum albums. He's a Louisiana boy. He's got so many hits every light in the house. You're gonna miss this That home get home, but don't get he's on a special 30th anniversary tour right now I've been a fan for a long time and I had a blast with the one and only mr. Trace Adkins I was just looking at all I was just was that I was seeing a commercial that it was for Was it pogo stickers or something see if you can find something it's like a pogo uh I didn't have a pogo stick Yeah, this is it extreme pogo athletes. This was what is it wow That's insane That's pogo stick and did they have that Y'all have pogo sticks when you were a kid any toy you remember not like that That's crazy No, I originally had like an old shock absorber spring on it I mean, I didn't have one, but I remember seeing them when I was a kid That's like super charged. Oh, yeah, that's for somebody. It's trying to probably make their own power at home or whatever You know, you got your you got four kids out there in the artist pogo sticking You know, so you can watch an episode of as the world turns yeah charging your batteries She can be sitting inside watching unsolved mysteries or something that would have been Something you maybe would have seen nowhere Yeah, I'm trying to think of toys that have an eyes. Was there any toy you remember growing up Trace? I'm just trying to think I don't remember when I got a Gas-powered little car for Christmas one year and it had a little gas-powered motor on it where you had to mix the gas and everything It was like a tiny little motor on it and had a propeller on the back of it Where it would propel the car, you know But I mean, I guess my old man didn't know you really needed to have like a lot of concrete to have this car It wouldn't run in the yard, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, we had a gravel driveway So it didn't work at all, but I thought man Yeah nowadays, I mean that thing was dangerous. It had a propeller on the back of it and there was no guard or anything and it's a real gasoline Yeah, well what you had to mix it up With something else. Yeah, you crank it sucker up man You know, it cut your finger off. It looked like it was like that Just like that man. That was the car. It was like green. I remember that It says high-performance prop driven racer. Yeah super action on free runs roars around On tether not sure what that means you had a string on it and you could just stand and it would just go on a circle You'd stand still and they'd just go in a circle. Oh hell yeah, damn I can't believe you had to mix your own gas for that thing. Yeah, just the fact that they entrusted kids There was there was definitely some things that they were too interesting. I there was one they had lawn darts I remember and they got a lawn darts. Yeah, then bitches got recalled well You don't want to get drunk red next long darts. Yeah I think what happened was there a long dog was there a lawn dart recall Well, I think I think the general public probably just at some point went we're not about our kids that anymore Yeah, we got one. Yeah, you got a kid who's got we got one kid left and We've lost two from lawn dart mishaps so yeah, you got a you got a daughter with two new dimples all of a sudden Metal-tipped lawn darts were found to present an unreasonable risk of death or serious injury And that's on perplexity right here About 6100 people were sent to the emergency room in the 1980s. Wow. That was it, man I remember also they had something Was it called Tugger? This was an animal thing This was and you ever just going down memory road here a little bit. Uh It was Tugger. Can you look it up? It was a dog. See if they have a Oh, that's a dog there. Mm-hmm Oh, I see Look at this I mean that's That's weird. It's a bit much because I mean, it's kind of crazy man. I look at this yet. I mean dude look You'd see some real creepers grabbing them. I think you'd see a guy walking four of I mean you don't have any children or whatever That's when it's a bit much yet Tugger that was it No, I never saw that one. Tugged my sock. That was his motto or whatever. Yeah, play that that's crazy I remember one year the most ridiculous thing my mama did was bought a saw three pair of boxing gloves. I had two younger brothers and so one Christmas. We all got a pair of boxing gloves and That was bad. Yeah That just Yeah, that didn't work out well. Well, well, well, what were your record? I was undefeated until my old man Yeah, I remember my old man came home from work one day and I was on my knees And I had one glove on and then my younger my baby brother. He was 10 years younger than me And he had on his little gloves and so I'd let him hit me a few times and I'd knock him down, you know And then my old man was like he Came to walk him down the hall and he had my other brothers pair of boxing gloves on. He said get up or put to the glove on You know, I was like oh, yeah, I was like 18 years old and good shape, you know, and I was like I'm about to wear you out And I just remember crawling down the hall to my bedroom. I couldn't stand up, you know He just he knocked me out so good. He had that man's strength on him. Oh, man He just yeah because I was gonna hit him in the gut because I knew he'd be soft and so I went under and he just hit me right It's just in my memory my mama screaming and oh you killed him you killed him Yeah, wow that was it for the boxing glove You know, I'm trying to think of a good toy. We had oh, I remember we grew up by this guy He was like a Elvis impersonator, but he didn't really want to be but he um He had broke his hip like in like a In some type of deal he'd broken his hip or his leg and they'd set it in cement You know, he'd had some locals set it and so when they broke the cast off of him They broke it with like a ball pin hammer something they broke his leg in another place when they broke the shit off So his leg was bad man Elvis impersonator, but he didn't really want to be well. Yeah, and this is what happens All right, I think I started the story in the middle, but um, so he ended up having that like he had that Oh, he was an Elvis impersonator after he broke yeah, cuz he had he ended up getting this at tips. He had that He had that force got things. Yeah, he had that like you know the thing he didn't want to show Elvis how to dance, but he did Yeah, I didn't thought about like that, but you ever know Yeah, you ever see that thing like on a like a rich guy's desk that moves back and forth and keeps time or whatever He had that just he ended up getting that tick-tock in him a little bit And so he ended up he everywhere he'd go people started calling him Elvis and so he started impersonating him, but um I can't even remember that story was about uh-huh Yeah, what was it where were we oh Christmas stuff. Yeah, you won't talk about Christmas for some reason Yeah, one night I went over to it. I was walking by their house one night and he was making his son um He was trying to make his son like a shirt out of wood And I remember thinking this they've really gone off, you know, yeah, it was just like Different times who were always using wood for different stuff in our town, but um anyway Oh, yeah, sorry. I got a little bit lost there, but Trace Atkins man. Thanks for coming by man It was on my way I didn't have to go far out of the way It's it's good to see you man. I know we've been talking about it for a little while, man, so thank you very much Um Do one thing that we talked about last time I saw you I think it was two times ago that your mom was a mayor your mom's a mayor We're both from Louisiana and your mom's a mayor in Serrepta Serrepta yeah, Serrepta she's still the mayor. How's she fairing as the mayor? Nobody else wants to do it. You know, nobody else. I mean, it's one of those little towns. Yeah That you know, it's just not a lot going on around there anymore once the mill shut down and Everything is just uh, just not a lot happening. So Population decreases every year, you know So she's trying to hold it together best she can, but nobody else wants the job You know, nothing that not that much to do. What kind of issues you feel like is she dealing with us? Even relating you that she just writes a lot of letters to people to clean their yards up You know, that's what she does. I swear man. She's always writing people letters. You yard looks bad. You need to clean you know She wants everybody to clean their yards up. I mean, hey, it starts with that kind of what making your bed or whatever Dude, I got a freaking letter one day here from neighborhood watcher like you've been doing your shift. I'm like I didn't, I didn't even, I didn't know We had a neighborhood watch, you know? And I'm like, I had to renew my shit. And my shit was from Saturdays, from like one to four in the afternoon. I'm like, that's you, you know, I'm usually trying to enjoy, that's when I kind of will enjoy myself on the weekends. But I'm like, I don't even, I didn't know we had a neighborhood watch. And I don't think y'all want me out there 'cause I forget that what team, what side I'm on, you know? I start going near people's houses or whatever I forget what team I'm on, brother. - And that's a volunteer thing too, right? - Yeah. - Or they just volunteered you. (laughing) - I think that's just a way to end that. - I mean, if I'm, I don't recall volunteering to take a shift. - That's what I said. And I was like, well, I don't even know, I don't even know, and I was like, I'll go back, do we have a uniform or anything? And they, and they were back, ha, ha, like in caps. I'm like, bitch, don't, you know, I don't know. It just kind of like, I think it's-- - You're asking serious question. - Well, yeah, I don't want, don't I get like an orange face or something to do, yeah. - Don't I get a damn merit badge on a hat or something? Because what I don't want to be is wandering around somebody's yard saying, I'm neighborhood watch, and they don't have any, you know what I'm saying? They've never heard about it. - Sure you are. - Yeah. - Yeah. And you get popped off, so. How's that, how's Sirrepta changed since you were there? Before we answer that, actually, what does Sirrepta mean if you can you look that up for me? Or do you know? It was an old, it's a town in the, it's an old biblical somewhere around Israel way back in the day. - Sirrepta. - But they named it after an old woman named Sirrepta Carter back in the late 1800s. - Sirrepta Louisiana yet says got the same for Sirrepta Carter an early benefactor who donated a large Bible to the community's first church around 1868. That's all it took to get the town named after you? - That was it. - It's the Bible. I wonder what it cost to get it renamed. - I could see it be. - Two Bibles, maybe. (laughing) That reminds me one thing my mom did. There was this girl got in trouble for something. I can't remember something to do with drugs or, and so my mama was, she gets to play judge every now and then over these little, you know, misdemeanor type things, you know, and she sends the girl to go to Sunday school for six months, and she, my daughter called me and she was like, "Dad, you're not going to believe what my mom did." And I was like, "What?" She said, "She sent us this girl to go to Sunday school for six months, and I called my mama and I was like, "You can't do that." You know, I'm pretty sure that's illegal. You can't make somebody go to church and she said, "Well, I did." - Yeah. - Look, that's Jay. - Okay. - Oh my god, that's her. - This is my jurist, Dixon. - I can't believe you're going to have a picture of my mom. - Oh, she's beautiful, lady. What's her first name? - Peggy. - Peggy? Adkins is she goodbye? Peggy Adkins. - Yeah, she's the mayor. - Thank you for your service, Peggy, over there. - Keeping it together. - Somebody's got to keep it together, and that town's changed. You said a lot ahead of milk. Did it have a milk when you were growing up? Get out of the meal about eight miles away. That's where everybody worked. All feels still doing pretty well around there, but that's the only game in town. But then, you know, the school was what really made that town special, I thought, when I was growing up, it was K-12, all on one campus. But then when they consolidated the schools, now all the kids have to go to another town. And they just made that, took that campus and just made it a middle school school. It's not the same anymore. - I think that happened in a lot of places over the time. - Yeah. - You know, I think that was kind of a popular thing. - They just saw all the people moved away and they're just one enough kids to justify having a K-12. They're just one enough kids. - Yeah, I think when you start to lose little things like that, it takes away something, you know? - It did. - It takes away some tradition. - It did. - Yeah, that was, it had that little charm about it because all the kids in town went to that school, you know? So every the whole community was always behind the school, supported the school at every ball game and all that, you know? But then that just went away and they're sad. - Yeah, a lot of things started to kind of change like that. I wonder, do you think that was like a financial choice that the town's made, or was it like? - Well, you're just one enough people, man. Once the meals shut down, people start leaving. So, you know, it's, I mean, it's decreased. The population has decreased pretty much every year since that happened. - Yeah. - You know, decades ago, it's just. - It's a lot of towns like that in this country. - Yeah. - When a lot of business went away, man. When we go out toorn, I'm sure you've seen it over the years. You go by places, in some places, it's, you know, they're trying to redo the downtown. Like, Amarillo, I was surprised at downtown. Like, you know, I'd always heard about it in country music. You know, and I went there and, and there's some things that are coming back in it. You know, and it's a night, there's, there's structure there, but it just doesn't have, you know, it's just missing like a, you can see like an energy that once was, you know, in a lot of places, you know. Shreeport's the same way. - Yeah. Yeah, sure. I mean, I've never spent a lot of time in Amarillo, but yeah, Shreeport, you know, the casinos have helped, you know, on the river, Bogey City has really prospered more than Shreeport has. I think in the very beginning, I think Bogey, Bogey Parish was a little more receptive to the casino stuff than Cattle Parish was. - Yeah. - So, yeah, did I ever learn about the parishes growing up in Louisiana? That was fun, man. - Yeah. - It was still the, it's only state in the country that's still under Napoleonic law. I mean, they practice Napoleonic law as much as they can. - I wonder, what are some wild things that happen under, under Napoleonic law? You see if you can bring that up. - I don't know, man. - 'Cause it used to be, I would hear a rumor, like if you lost a thumb or something during employment, that was 25 grand or wasn't any lawsuiting or there wasn't any, you know what I'm saying? You had a, yeah, like you had a justifiable rate. If you lost a whole leg now, we're talking 80 grand, you know? - Oh, he's thought of it. - If you were a long legion. - Per did, per joint. Like a whole finger was like, maybe that, but then if just this, then it was not as much. If you just cut it off here. - Oh, I see. - You know what I mean? - Yeah, 'cause, but then you had a joint. - But then you'd have some drunk guy who was late on his rent or something just chopping one off just to catch it, you know? - Yeah, I could see that. - But I guess that's fair. Louisiana's civil law system, the most notable in practical highlights. Louisiana's the only state that practices forced airship, a concept rooted in Napoleonic code. If a person dies with children aged 23 or younger, a specific portion of the estate must legally go to them. - Oh, so you can't even ride your kids out of the wheel and lose the end, I guess. - Dang. - I moved for that. - Yeah. (laughs) What up? - No buyer beware. Oh, wow. - What does this say, no buyerware? In standard common law states, real estate sales operate under caveat mTOR, which means buyer beware. Because Louisiana follows European civil law, the burden is strictly on the seller to disclose known defects and potential issues prior to the sale. I like that. - Yeah, that ain't bad. - That's fair. - Do that everywhere. - Feels fair. What about if you lose a limb or something, if you get a rebate on it? - I don't know. - Get it in there. - I got that, you know? But they put it back all. - Oh, you missing something? - No, like I cut my little finger off, but they put it back on and just fused all the joints together 'cause it didn't work anymore. So. - Can you straighten it or not? - No, no, it's fused like that. 'Cause he asked me how I wanted it. And he said, "You want me to put it straight?" Or, and I was like, "No, man." I said, "Put it like in the sus position." - Yeah. - You know, and he's like sus position. I said, "Yeah, I'm playing guitar because at least I can, if you put it straight, you might as well just cut it off. It's gonna be useless." But put it like that, and I can still play little guitar. I can't reach up the neck with it anymore. - Better be sharp, it'll help, huh? (laughing) I just, I can't reach with it, but, you know. - Dang. - And piano playing, I mean, it's really bad. - Oh, yeah. I mean, maybe you could rattle off some Christmas carols with that bad deal. But, are, but is that true though? You had it set up like that? - Yeah. - You asked me how I wanted it before he fused the joints. - You're like almost like a little bit of Pinocchio. Like a, that's wild, dude. Yeah, I wonder what I would get my hands say if something if they had to have it. I'd probably get these down and this went up to be honest with you, you know what I'm saying? Just in case they ever come around to ask me to do that neighborhood watch again. (laughing) But that's wild. That's one of the wildest stories I think I've ever heard, brother, you thought about that in advance. You said, "Well, look." - I had plenty of time to think about it 'cause I cut it off, I was working off sure. So took 'em six hours to come get me and fly me back to the beach to go to the hospital. - Does for you were doing music? - I was playing guitar, you know. That was the first thing I thought when I cut it. It was like, oh man, I think I'm a bit of a play guitar anymore. - You're wrong. Well, I'm not very good, but at least I can still use it a little bit. - You play, so you worked on Orrig, 'cause that's kind of a Louisiana job. That's something I forget about, dude. When I got out of school, you'd hear like some guy if he was kind of lucky. He got a job out on the rigs. He was going to do two weeks on, two weeks off. - Yeah, that's kind of my, my first wife's uncle worked offshore. He was a superintendent for Texco and he got me a job working on drilling rig. We'll for global marine. - Was that a pretty good gig? Like, you remember enjoying it when you went out there? Like, what was that like? - I loved it. - Yeah, I've worked on it for 10 years, six years I worked offshore on drilling rig, and enjoyed it. - And when y'all hit all, would people lose it and just be like beating their hat against their knee and stuff like that? Like you see. - Man, that never happened, you know. It wasn't like that anymore. - Were y'all having a good time out there? Like, were you guys, would you play music at night for the gang? - I'd go up to the wheelhouse and try to ride and it might start coming up. Wanting me to do haggard tunes or whatever, you know, Hank Jr., and stuff like that. But by the time I was working out there, you know, those wild cat and things that you see from the movies back in the day when they'd hit all, and it just blow out, you know, but like that anymore. They had people catching in their mouths and shit. - They had a dial in, you know, so very, very seldom did we take a kick. - That sucks, man. It almost takes a fun out of it 'cause some of the fun would be running under and letting that shit hit you. I'm a rice, I used to work on, I worked on a soybean farm up near like Faraday, Louisiana, up near like right across the river from matches. And sometimes it's fertilizer and rig. I'd be sitting there filling up like one of those big balls that's on it with fertilizer. And I'd forget the fertilizer was going in there. And so I'd be sitting there just daydream and whatever, just kicking dirt or just, I don't know, listening to country music, I used to, it would just be top 40 out there all the time and I'd listen to it. And that spray rig would just start, it would just right off the top, just guys are in out. And it would be like bad chemicals, fertilizer. And I mean, just flying pretty high of voltage, shit pouring all on you, getting in you, and it was hot sun. So finally, I'd get over there and turn off. I'd be like, oh damn, 'cause I was so absent-minded, but then you're standing in the hot sun with this fertilizer on you man, and that shit would just go, I couldn't get body hair to grow on my neck or anywhere near some of my glands for probably 18 months. I would bet. I thought I was, I thought I was going to turn into a damn turn up, you know, they're going to put me in a little chair or something, a little baby seat. I used to have dry spots on my hands from sometimes when we would complete a whale, which was very seldom usually we just drill one and then move on to the next location drill another one, but sometimes they'd want us to stay and complete it and test the whale. And so when you completed one, you'd have to just place all the mud and put calcium chloride or zinc bromide or something like that, and man, I worked there, so it was my job to make sure all that stuff was mixed up right. And if you got it on, yeah, it was just, it was nasty man, and it, it ate you up all your skin would peel off. Actually damn, summer adds up fast, a trip here, a dinner there, a couple concerts, makes you wonder, are you getting the most out of your money? That's where time comes in. Time is changing the way people bank. They're not like traditional old banks who charge fees and gate keep rewards, nope. Time offers the most rewarding fee-free banking, all with no overdraft fees, no monthly fees, no minimum balance fees. You get 5% cash back on chime card in a category of choice, like gas or groceries, all while building credit through regular everyday spending, with no credit check. In the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking, head to chime.com/theo. That's chime CHIME.com/theo. Sign up now, it only takes a few minutes. Time is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services and chime card provided by Chimes Bank Partners, qualifying direct deposits required, terms and limits apply, go to chime.com/disclosures for details. You didn't lose that client because of bad luck, you lost them because nobody picked up. They called, it rang out, and 30 seconds later they were talking to your competitor, dang. Every unanswered call is money walking right out the door. At some point you got to stop leaving money on the table and say, "Let's f*ckin' quote." Today's episode is brought to you by Quo, spelled Q-U-O. The business phone system built so you never miss a call. With Quo, all your calls, texts and voicemails live in one place. So anyone on your team can pick up a conversation, see the full history and respond fast. Set up in minutes on any device, keep your existing number and add teammates as you grow. No IT, no hassle. Money is on the line. Always say hello with Quo. Try Quo for free, plus get 20% off your first six months when you go to Quo.com/theo. That's q-u-o.com/theo. What's up Gary? Oh, is that a little dog, huh? Yeah, it's Victoria's dog. That's a beautiful dog. It's Gary Busy. His name's what? Gary Busy. Is it? Yeah. How'd y'all choose it? Because I was pulling a float in a Christmas parade in our little town and we live in. It was for a pet shelter that Victoria volunteers out and she came running up to my truck, had this little baby dog and she held him up to the window and at the time he had like his baby teeth and his grown teeth at both because he had like two full sets of teeth and she brought him up to the truck and his teeth were sticking out and he had that blonde thing sticking up on top of his head. I said the dog looks like Gary Busy. And so we took him home that day and that was his name. They do have similar kind of hair structure, but he's lost all his teeth now so he's didn't look the same. Oh, as you haven't seen Gary Busy. If you put their picture side by side, it would exactly like. They should put a dog collar on Gary Busy, the man, just so people- At least. Or yeah, you know what I'm saying? I think all of us at certain points in our lives should have a collar on with our mother's information on it. God, that's not a real picture of him is it? Is that Gary? Someone said he was delivering pizza somewhere. He's dad. Is that real? Oh my God. That could be him or that could just be any guy from Maine. So I think that could go either way, man. That's unfortunate. No, but I think you look pretty good. How old is Gary Busy though? Maybe. He's got to be late 70s, I'd say probably. At least. 82. I'll get to go back and watch some of his work, man. He's a talent that I sometimes forget about. A lot of people have. He's a talented guy. I know he was doing like a lot of TikTok, he was doing like a lot of like a Christmas cards for some like audio, verbal Christmas things. Yeah. I saw a couple of them. They were pretty cool. I thought one of them was kind of wild though. What was it? I think he'll do anything if you'll send him some money, he'll read anything for you. Yeah. Oh, this might be it. Let's see. Let's see. Is that a video that we could see? I'll do that too. Here we go. Hey, it's Gary Busy and I have got a great Christmas present for you. Listen to this. That's what a goose sounds like, but they're flat, they'll let you know they're up there. You get a bunch of geese together, they're hawking in the air. Thanks Gary. That's awesome dude, but I'll tell you this. He needs to be on National Geographic channel, you know, with that kind of insight to the wildlife. That's shit. That's shit we didn't know. That's more than I've heard. That's Gary. That's more than I've learned in a while, I think though, but at least he still has a great sense of humor, man. I'll say that I don't think he was trying to be funny. You don't think so? I don't know. I hope he was. Yeah. He might have been. I've been around here. Good bit. Oh, you have. He's legit. Crazy. Yeah. Yeah. I just see stuff and you always think it's just him being him, you know. Uh. Oh, we had a traumatic brain injury. I didn't even. Yeah, he had a motorcycle right. Oh, I didn't know this or I didn't remember it. He had a malignant tumor from a sinus cavity as well, it said in '97, in '88 he had a motorcycle crashed. So there was kind of a before him and after him type of energy. Oh, wow. He's always been a little crazy though. Yeah. to the most of. Ricky went full blown. - Oh yeah, that'll bake it in, that'll bake it is. It's in the ingredients then. - I love you, no he's funny. - Yeah, entertaining guy. Did you have, did you have any other jobs man for you really got kind of like, for you took all music full time? - Well when I moved here, I went out to Dupont. I worked out there. I don't know, Hickory Lake at that plan out there. I worked for B.E. N.K. Construction. I worked out there for a couple of years before I got a record deal. - Yeah. - And was that just like day to day like, like what kind of stuff they have you doing? I'm a. - Fitter sapper. Fitter sapper. - Oh, you worked with Pipe Fitton. Do we were you in the union? - No. - Oh dude, my buddy Frickin' Corey was in the Frickin' union dude. - Fittin' Pipe Fitton's union. - Yeah, he said he was always over there just drinking. He'd drink a big thermos of milk and drink it all the time on the sidelines of work. And then he gets sick if they were out in the sun and shit, he was a damn liability. But my brother ended up ironing him because there were friends, but he's a gypsy. You know, those types of those guys can do whatever. They'll spray your house and they'll spray your driveway and sell these toys to asphalt. You know what I'm talking about? If somebody show up with a truck full of nothing and be like, "Yeah, we got a truck full of. " And you don't even go look in the truck to see if anything's in it. Nothing's in it. It's just a spray rig with a little bit of paint, no paint in on there. But anyway, yeah, I'm trying to think. - What are we talking about? - Just jobs, we had, "Oh, dude, I'll tell you one." I remember, I sold, they had door-to-door Italian going on in our area for a while there. This got Donnie Ferrari or whatever. And he was selling door-to-door Italian food and I got linked up with him somehow. Some guy, my mom was kind of dating or whatever. Some guy, she met at a damn, probably by a Xerox machine or something 'cause it was in the '80s or whatever. And I ended up doing workin' for him for a while. And it was just door-to-door. You take Italian food and try to get people to buy it, dude. And that was probably-- - Well, they weren't even calling you to bring it. You were trying, you were goin' to their house trying to sell 'em. - Yeah. And I was a print-assassistin' or whatever. - Sorry, dude, but I'm not buying any food. You come up knock on my door, you know? I'm gonna look at you, I'm just, no, man, ain't buyin' no food from you. - Well, when I show up on my little ravioli dance, probably it would be poppin' out there. - You come on, man. - But I will tell you this, it did help me 'cause I was kind of an apprentice at first. And so, it did help me, I think, get a little bit of that. I'm gonna do somethin' I don't wanna do. - You were an apprentice for what? - Sell sellin' to him. - Oh, man, if you don't-- - Everybody that sells door-to-door is a fucking apprentice. - Yeah. - There's no professional door-to-door selling food. - Oh, this guy was good, brother. Donnie was pretty good. I mean, he was the best in our area. And, yeah, I've worked it for almost, probably almost 11 months, four months. Probably about some of seven months. But, yeah, I was out there, dude. I think it did help me a little bit 'cause we get a new, you know, the big thing that all the ladies wanted at the time was garlic bread. And it's still what they want. It's still what they want. But, I remember that was kind of probably one of the wildest jobs that I had. But, when I first started listening to country music, was when I was working on that farm and I would put on top 40. They'd have like casey case or something at the time. But, and I think that was a little more like pop, but on one day they would do, I guess it was country top. I think it was probably top 40. It might even be a day where they would do 100 songs or something, you know? And I'd cut the tractor off and I'd stand out there and just sing the songs that I loved, man. - I remember every Sunday morning, it was always a countdown. That's what it was in. - But it wasn't casey case of my god. - Who was it? You're right. - I believed that I don't remember his name. I did a bunch of interviews with him. Now I can't think of his name. - Yeah, I couldn't. - I'm getting to be that way though, man. Forgetting names and stuff. - Yeah, mixing them up. I do it. - I don't know, Leo. It's terrible. - Yeah. - I can't remember. - Well, dude, I can barely remember Donnie Ferrari who I freaking apprentice with. - No, why can you remember something of some insignificant Italian dude from back then and you can't remember stuff from just a few days ago? - I think it's just because you go through so many neighbors with the man. You're pulling the wagon. He's pulling the wagon. Your past, he's past, y'all are right there. But when you get to the door, you gotta work together. - So I think-- - But you know what, I'm gonna remember though. Next time I'm trying to woo a lady. It's garlic bread. - Oh, yeah. I gotta remember that. - Oh, well, fucking, I'd warm peace up in the microwave and just freaking dab it on the sides of my neck, brother. They know what's up. - They know what's up. - But that's when I fell in love with country music, man. That's when I felt, 'cause I would just be out there all day. And I think that's what a lot of the radio stations would play. - I used to put a cassette in and record the top 40 countdown. That's the way we always got our tunes like, 'cause, you know, back in the mid '80s, I was playing in a cover band and, you know, you needed to know a certain number of songs from, you know, the current top 40. You know, it was a big deal. You needed to know a bunch of those songs. 'Cause that's what everybody wanted to hear. It was what they were hearing on the radio. So we cover all those tunes and that's how we learned them. We just record them on cassette off the countdown and that's how we learned them. - When did you put together, I mean, your first time dreaming out loud was your first time? How did it get to the place where you're, you know, you're working on an old rig, you're playing some and then you're playing covers. And then how do you get to that next step? Is that of your own volition fully or did somebody come along and kind of give you an inspiration or let you, like, take me through a little bit of that if you don't mind? - Oh, God, it's just such a long story. I mean, I-- - Oh, is it? - Yeah, I would, but it did start when I was working on Drillin Rig. I'd take my guitar out there and I'd try to write. And then I met this guy out there that knew these other guys in a band in Lafayette, Louisiana. And he said, man, this time when we're off for two weeks, come down, I'll introduce you to these guys. So I went down there and, you know, sang with them a little bit. And then they wanted me to go to Dallas. They had already won a local competition and battle the country bands. And they wanted me to go to Dallas with them for the regionals. And it was gonna fall on the time when I was off for two weeks. So I went and we won the thing in Dallas and then we came here for the finals. And, you know, we lost here, but that was my first taste, you know? I came off for Drillin Rig and then I'm on stage at, you know, T-Pack, you know, in front of all these industry people and you freaked us all out. - You must've been nervous, huh, that's nervous. - Oh, we choked, yeah. So we didn't win. But anyway, that kind of, that kind of gave me the, you know, the fever, you know? So, and then a few years later I moved up here, you know? And that's kind of how it started and met the right people. And, you know, songwriters and some other music executives. - And that's been it. - That was it. - Man, I saw you at the rhyme in a few weeks ago, dude. You have, and I hate to say this, but I just was reminded of so many songs. You know, you just kind of like, when you go watch, you just, it kind of takes you through little parts of your life, you'll hear a song you're like, oh, I used to kind of, that song is almost becomes a champagne. And then bubbles of like memories during that time start to come up through it, you know? - That was my first single, June 26th, 96, 30 years ago. - And you wrote it? - I wrote it with Viv Vipraman, Carl Vipraman. Everybody calls him Viv. - And was there any story behind some of that? - No, he was just, we were just sitting down, getting to know each other 'cause I'd never met Vip before, but, you know, the guy I was working with, producer at the time, just hooked us up and said, I think y'all the right with Vip, he's good, dude, you know? I think y'all get along and we sat down together and we were just kind of getting to know each other. He was asking me questions and asked me where I'd come to Nashville from. I told him I'd been living in Texas and playing honky-tonks out there for a while. And he asked me and he said, well, is there a girl in Texas? And I was like, yeah, a bunch of them. And he said, well, it's right there. I was like, why? That's how y'all do this. So that's what happened. We just wrote it. - One of my favorites is every light in the house, man. That song, dude, I'll frickin' - Well, that was my first hit. I mean, girl in Texas, I think, got to 17 or 18 or something like that. - On the charts? - But then every light in the house is on, got to number five. - Wow, man. Dude, that song. - And then the next single went to number one. Then the next single went to number one. And I was like, here we go. - That song. 'Cause I was all broken-hearted because I'd separated my girlfriend and I'd went separate ways because we were boyfriend and girlfriend. And then I was going to school in Arizona. She was staying in Louisiana not to make your song about me, but that's what was going on. And I think I think I ate a bunch of mushrooms or something. I was, and I was saying goodbye to her at this gas station. And I didn't know these mushrooms really gonna start hitting. And they had a lot of oil spots on the ground. And just from course of gas station. - What's that? - Yes, gas station. - Yeah, so what's a gas station? - Yeah, so yeah, so a lot of oil spots. But the mushrooms was kind of getting my brain and starting massaging my brain a little bit and really touching my brain stem. and then I saw those. All those old spots started moving. I thought there were roaches because Louisiana we also have a lot of roaches. And you'll see somebody, you know, that's how I just stamped the hell out of a damn old spot. But yeah, I started freaking out and she got kind of scared and was like this weird like anyway. Anyway, that relationship ended, but I remember just being heartbroken, I'd be out there in Arizona. It's listening to that song, dude, and it was just, anyway, I'm sure a lot of people-- - You want to see old spots pull up in front of an O'Reilly's or an auto zone. - Oh God. - Oh my God. It's like just all slicks out in front of the store. - Pull up in front of my sister's house when she was married to her ex-husband, too. - Pull up in front of my house until I started making some money and got a carper and got a truck that didn't just pour all out of it. I used to put as much oil in my truck as I put gas in 'em. - Well, yeah, you did. You did it with your first toy as a kid. No wonder that shit made sense, bro. That was just a predecessor of what was gonna go on. Dude, do you remind me I had this 86 Jimmy or something that was called, right? I think the call, it was a Chevrolet. It was 86, maybe Chevy. Something like that. - GMC Jimmy. - Yes, GMC Jimmy, man. I would always fuck up. I would tell people it was a Chevy and I'd get Chevy parts forward and they wouldn't fit it or whatever. But something was broken on it in about every 80 miles I had to pull over and I headed out to Arizona driving out west from my first semester of college. Dude, I must have stopped. I can't even tell you 90 times I had to stop. Let it cool down and then keep it cruising. Oh, it was kinda like that brown one. It wasn't that nice. It was something different. Oh, it was a blazer. It was a Chevy blazer. - Is it a blazer? Yeah, not the GMC Jimmy. - No, and the seats were all flammable. - But you could use Chevy parts on the GMC. - That was it right there, dude. And you had to hold us and check magnet. - Oh, dude. - It was some chance. - And your girlfriend left you and you were driving and that sweet ride. (laughing) - What's wrong with that bitch? - I know you're right, dude. - You know what? She's probably with some low rent dude now, man. Driving around in a Corolla or something. - Yeah, she could have had that. - I know, well look. - Every now and then I'll send her a mother and her an email and say she missed out. Toilet ain't one of your sponsors, are they? - No, that's good. - No big company like that would sponsor us. But yeah, dude, that vehicle right there to pull over and dude, the whole back at a vehicle, even for a while, was antifreeze. Because that's what I needed the whole time. So I couldn't even have guests come in the car. Because it was full. I'd probably have, I'd be sitting there sometimes out of 20 bottles of antifreeze in there. And I'd have to use them all pull over and use antifreeze in water. But if you just use water, it would burn off too quick. But man, sometimes the car got so hot that it'd have to step away from it for a while. You know, and I'd go walk or go sit in the distance and ride a poem or something, but that bitch was hot dude. I don't know if they allow cars to get that hot anymore, but yeah, dude, that was unrequited love. I found out it's gone. - Where'd you go coach? - I went to University of Arizona at first. - Oh yeah. - How'd you do that? I mean, why? - I just wanted to do something. - Way off now in the desert. - I wanted to do something different. - Well, you went deserts different from Louisiana. - Yeah, I'm just like, I'm gonna do something different, but I came back after one semester and went to LSU. - Mm. - And then. - I don't like desert. - Yeah? - Do you? I don't like desert. - You know what, there's a moment in the day I really like it, you know, right around that. I, you know what I'm like? - Daylight. - Yeah. Daylight, yeah, or even just right, it does. - At all? - Yeah. I like that. There's something nice about it. There's something that, but there's something about it that it doesn't really have much of a memory, but it's, but it has like a wisdom or something. I don't know there's something about it that I think's pretty interesting, but I didn't like it then, man, that was a tough time, but it was a good time, man. But that was when, you know, love was just, your whole body was just damn made out of damn hormones or whatever. And you, you know, you took, you know, you touched on, you'd pet a dog and it'd give birth, you know. It was just like, you were just that agile, just that viral or whatever. You know, you'd spit on a tree and it fucking grow fruit or whatever out of it. - How many puppets you had? - I know. (laughing) - Yeah, that's true. I don't know what I'm talking about. Gary Busy, bro. - And Gary Busy just left the room. I will say that. - Yeah. - What about, is there a story behind that song? Is there a story behind that song? - Which one? - Every light in the house. - Oh, dude, that's just when I heard it. I was like, that's something like a hit to me, you know. In Scott Hendrix, it was producing that first record. I mean, we just, there's some songs you hear and you just go, that's a hit. - Yeah. - There's no doubt, you know. So that was one of those no doubters. - Was there a song you wrote that you felt like had a story to it more like that? - More like what? - That's a great question, actually. I don't know what the end of my question was. - Oh, all of them have a story, man. - Was there one, there was one, somebody said Arlington has a cinema. - Yeah, of course, man, that was a very personal, I didn't write that, but it was just such a personal thing that I knew who wrote it and I knew the story behind it. And I knew who it was written about. And so before we released that song, I asked the family to come in, you know, and we played the song for them. And I said, look, this song's written about your son. So we want your blessing before we put this out. - Yeah, it was a very personal thing. Everybody listened to it and cried, and we got their blessing, and so that was cool. - Wow. - And has that family come to some of your shows and stuff? - I haven't seen the Nixon's in a while. - Was it about their son? - Yeah, yeah, it was about Patrick Nixon, last Corporal Patrick Nixon, he was a Marine. And his dad was a Marine, and his grandfather was a Marine. And so that's where that song came from. - Amen. - Yeah. But I've written some personal ones, they're all, they all come from that kind of place, you know? - Yeah, I was just wondering, I just didn't know 'cause I think, you know, as a person who just like, you know, I've written a lot of, you know, love letters and all of that. And they, oh yeah. - Love letters. - Apologies? - Well, I can imagine that, but yeah. - I don't know about the love poems. - Yeah, I've written a lot of apologies, I think. - More apologies than love letters. - Yeah. - Oh yeah. - If you had written more love letters, you wouldn't have to write so many apologies. - I thought it was truth, right? - You were better at the other one. - Yeah. - I think there might be a song in that, in that little idea right there, that song coming there. - I think probably one of the most personal songs I've wrote to me was a song called Welcome to Hell. And I was really, really pissed off when I wrote that, you know. So, I mean, of course I wrote it in 2001, you know, sometime after the World Trade Center thing, after 9/11. No, it was personally, it was very personal to me, you know. - Where did that angst come from? Was it just from that sort of thing, just from like America, like, just the, the devastation our country and what it felt like it did to us? - Yeah, I wrote it because I thought, you know, these guys, they think that they're going to do this kind of stuff and then they're going to end up in heaven with 72 virgins and all this. And I said, how surprised are they going to be, you know, when they end up, you know, and the guy says, Welcome to Hell, you know, it's, you, oh, you thought you were going there? Well, no dude, you know, this is where you're going to be. And so that's how I wrote that. - As your career's going on, has it been tougher to have inspiration for songs or do you feel like certain songs kind of check a certain box as an artist moves through time? And then that has kind of been filled. - Man, I don't write as much anymore, but it's because I don't, that inspiration that you're talking about every now and then, it'll, you'll hear something, you know, I'll hear a phrase or just a line that somebody said and then I've been, and then it rings the bell. And I'm like, oh, God, that's a song. I'm going to have to write that. You know, and it's almost like it's a gift. It's just given to you and you have to deal with it, you know. Like having some kind of disease or something, you know, God, I'm about to deal with this now, you know. - That's a good point actually, yeah, like having a disease. Because creativity is kind of a disease. I feel like if you want to tend to it. - Yeah, you got to, you know, you have to deal with it. It comes knocking and you just got to deal with it, you know. - Dude, it's so funny, I forgot about that. I forgot that that's like how creativity happens a lot of times. - It's like herpes, it just, you know. - Yeah. - I don't, I mean, you know. - Yeah, neither one of us have it. - No, but I've heard that. It's like, you know, it just comes, you got to deal with it. - Yeah, yeah. I've heard it shows up like a damn cousins. - Well, it shows up like family. - It shows up like door-to-door Italian food. - Yeah. - That's how it shows up. - I've got to deal with this guy now. - Oh, Donnie. - Trying to sell me food that is grandma cooked, you know. Didn't her roachy kitchen? - Hey, I'll say this. I will say this. I remember we had a Manacodian May special. And that shit was popping, dude. What was it? Manacotti in May. 'Cause a lot of women, they get so hot in the summer, they're like, "I ain't cooking." Well, in our town, you give your damn kid a piece of ice or something, put a little sugar on the back of it. You know, give that to him or whatever. You know, we're just sometimes a woman to spit cold water in your mouth or something, and that's that kind of the side item. But yeah, it was just a different time. We had a beautiful Manacotti. Bring Manacotti up. Yeah, it was a different time. (laughing) Now look at that trace. You telling me, you telling me burritos. You telling me a man named Donnie Ferrari with an 11 or 12 year old kiddie, a no shows up at your door trying to say you that, you ain't gonna get you a couple for your lady. Yeah, I don't think so, man. Not today. You're not today, man. And not now. Not in this time. Maybe in that time. But not now. You know, that's some desperate shit. No, I'm not buying food from you kid. Go away for a call social services to come get you ass. We kept some of that. Some of them we kept in the warmer and some of you had to warm yourself. But I was a good job. It was how I learned to just be a pro, to go on ahead and approach people. What's the love life been like over the years? Trace, you got some stories from it. I hate to lead you in like that, but sometimes a creative person, they feel love kind of deep. I feel like, you know, if your brain is kind of deep, I feel like your heart can be kind of deep as well. Not reckon I gave as good as I got. Oh, that's fair. You know what I mean? Yeah. I love you as good as you love me, I guess. Yeah. You just gotta be that kind of deal though. I can just love you if I ain't getting any back. I'll quit. Yeah. I'll quit loving you if you quit loving me. Hey, I'll do that sounds like a deal. I mean, you know, but I love you as hard as you want to love me. I'll get down. I'll come on. I'll match you. Heartbeat for heartbeat. Yeah, dude, whatever. I'm not joking though. I swear to God, one of my past relationships if we'd had just met one day in the kitchen and said, "Look, I'll quit loving you if you quit loving me." We would have both, and if we would have, 'cause we both, that's what we both wanted to do. We just didn't do it, you know? Yeah. It's happened, of course. I mean, I'm on my fourth marriage now, so. Are you really? Yeah. Really? Dang. What'd you learn about? I think really because Blake married us, so we're not 100% sure if we're actually really married, but I think we are. Who Shelton did? Wow. Dude, somebody said he has like a sandal collection. I heard a room he has like a male footwear collection or something. Sandals? Yeah, men sandals. Is that true? Have you heard anything like that? I hope not. I'm gonna stop being friends with him if it's true. (laughing) 'Cause Blake's always said, "You can't trust the guy we're in flip-fops or sandals." Oh, maybe he's doing it on the side. Or, you know, I don't mean, I just mean maybe he, you know, maybe he keeps a pair under his bed. I don't have any idea. That's just something I heard. Bring that up. Wow. That's. Bring that up. Bring a Blake Shelton sandal rumor that we just started. Oh my God. See? He's anti. Oh, is he really? Yeah. Yeah. I was like, "No, man." He said, "You can't ever trust the guy we're in flip-flops or sandals because if you get stuck, he can't hang on helping you out." It's true. He won't help push you out. He won't help doing it. A guy wearing sandals is not hardly gonna help you do anything. You know what I'm saying? Because he's going to get his toes banged up. So he's not going to help you do anything. You know, he's not even wearing shoes. Yeah. So he can't help anybody. He's not going to run in a house and save children when the house is on fire. He's going to shoe zone. Yeah. Well, there he goes. He's worthless. He's a worthless, he's a worthless male, you know, hanging on shoes on. It's absolutely worthless. They go half of the sigma towels out there, and I'm like, "Oh, yeah, that was good." That was shit. Oh, I don't care either. I'm just saying it. It was shit. Yeah. If somebody has sandals on, it means like soccer, you know, come on, stop with that crap. Well, if somebody has sandals on, it's just like, "Well, the worst is you will see someone, and I'll say this out loud right now, Trace. You'll see somebody with sandals on, who have sunburn on their top at their feet." They wear sandals a lot. Yeah. And they can't do nothing now, like my buddy Brice. They put shoes on because you've got sunburn on you. Yeah. If you can't put shoes on and go to work, because your feet are sunburned, because your top's your feet are sunburned, then you are not, then you definitely, you're not helping society at all. Yeah. Yeah. Then you're definitely, you should be selling them dorded or Italian. From Johnny Ferraggo or whatever, what his name was. Johnny Ferrari. Johnny Ferraggo, okay. That's made up shit. Anyway, his name, his name wasn't really Ferrari. You know, I didn't ever saw any of his paperwork. I know he bit. I mean, I know he lived in city limits. Okay. Well, then he's legit. Bro, thank you so much for hanging out with me today, man. I know we've been trying to catch up for a while, and I've been a fan for a long time, I didn't know if I was going to be able to make it. I've got to explosive die real. You hear about that going around? Bring that up. What are they doing? That's some funny shit, isn't it? I mean, you ever had explosive die real? I have not. I've had like semi explosive or, you know, something that, you know, the DOT would pull you over if you didn't have the right tag on your truck. If you didn't have the right placard, so I went, I've had that cyclo spora. Yeah. That's the new one. Yeah. Oh, explosive die real. Yeah. I've had it. Have you really? Yeah. If you had a colonoscopy. I haven't had one. I mean, I've felt around the outside. You're not going to have explosive die real when you get that. Really? Yeah. That's fine. I don't want that. I shit my pants twice that day. No. Ah, same day. Same day. Ah. Twice. And it wasn't like, you know, it was an involuntarily involuntary. Of course, it was involuntary. I just don't voluntarily shit myself. Yeah. Yeah. You know, very rarely do I do that. Oh, that's, that's when the Italian comes. Yeah. I probably got it, but I can't remember last time. Oh, yeah. Oh, voluntarily shit yourself. That's just a way to get out of a fight, usually. Or church. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Even the Lord don't want you around at that point. But then you really, often plates come and I got to shoot myself. So you got this, you got this disease that happened there. Or what is this? Cyclo snore. And then I just took all that stuff that doctor gave me the day before I had a colonoscopy. And so you're saying you didn't have a choice if you wanted to go to the bathroom or not. It just went for you? Well, no, it was kind of a weird thing. I thought I kind of thought I felt fine. I was taking all the stuff, drinking the stuff, taking the pills, the whole thing. And I was at the farm and I was just like, well, I think I can go do some stuff. I don't feel bad, you know, at all. So I went and I had a little 10 foot John Boat and a pond and I was going to pull it up on the bank and I just reached down and grabbed it. Don't weigh very much. Yeah. You know, just a little little aluminum boat. I reached down and grabbed it and pulled it and just, you know, it was like I mean really in my boots bad. To the top of your head. And so of course, I, you know, just went on in the pond. Oh, you just got in the water, cleaned that up. That's the way to do it. And I'll leave your clothes in there. And I thought, well, okay, that's not going to happen again, you know. So that's got to be a yet, you know, so what do you mean? You don't think I went and changed clothes and then I went to try to do something else. Yeah. And I had a flat tire on one of my sides and I had it on jack and I was going to take the jack out from under it because I'd already changed the wheel. So got up in there, took the jack out and then I was going to get up off the ground and I grabbed the tailgate on that thing and pulled myself up. And when I strange is that little bit, I call that explosive diarrhea. I mean, if you make the least little, you know, exertion, it just come, you know, oh, yeah. That's explosive. Oh, I've had some shit where you try to blow your nose. And my wife thought it was the fun. Yes, that woman laughed at me all day long. She laughed right now because she loved it. She thought it was the funniest thing in life, man, seeing me soiled like that, you know. God. And just, it blows me out. She professed a deeper love for me than ever before because I was, I guess I was at my most vulnerable, you know, that's what they say. She thought they say a vulnerable man attracts a woman. I was attractive that day. Super attractive, man. I was drawing them like flies and flies. Dude, I remember one time I was on something. I think I was on antibiotics and I'd also been using a lot of Tabasca or Frank's Red Heart. And I plan. Oh, no. I don't know. No, no, nothing. I was using it on food. And I took a, uh, dude, I've put, I've tried to blow my nose, just blew my ass, I'll just shit my ass. I didn't even want to. I know. Well, of course you didn't, well, maybe you did. I didn't, and I didn't want to either. Yeah. And then that was it. I didn't go back outside. That's it. He didn't go back outside. I didn't put clothes on again. Oh, that's when you're really bad off. My wife put like four towels down on the couch and I just laid there for the rest of the day naked. Oh God. That's when the devil's got your ass. Yeah. God. And so I've, so I'm sympathizing with the explosive diary of people that I've had to miss fortune. Yeah. Yes. I think it's the lettuce. And so last night, my wife made me this big old salad. And I was like, uh, huh? I know what you're doing. Trying to make some vulnerable. I know. Yeah. And some more. She wants to love me hard again. So she wants me vulnerable, man. You know, God, I think we put women through so much pain. They just need to, they, some of them, they just have to poison us. That's what I think. Well, time, but I don't know. I'm alone. Anyway, is pornography causing a problem in your life? Do you find yourself watching porno for longer periods of time and having trouble stopping? Is porn affecting your relationship or dating life? Well, you're certainly not alone. Watching pornography has become so commonplace today and oftentimes men use porn to numb the pain of loneliness, boredom, anxiety and depression. Shame and stigma prevent men from talking about these issues and getting help for them. I want to introduce you to my friend Steve. Steve is the founder of Valor Recovery, a program to help men overcome porn abuse and sexual compulsivity. Steve is a long term sexual recovery member and has personally overcame the emotional and spiritual despair of abusing pornography and has dedicated his life to empowering men to do the same. Steve is an amazing person and he is a close friend of mine. I mean that Valor Recovery helps men to develop the tools necessary to have a healthier sex life. Their coaches are in long term recovery and will be your partner, mentor and spiritual guide to transcend these problematic behaviors. To learn more about Valor Recovery, please visit them at www.ValorRecoveryCoaching.com or email them at [email protected]. Thank you. Dude, I'll tell you this story. So I got invited to a Randy Moss fish internament was and it was up in Lake Minneton, Minnesota. And the night before they took you out, everybody went out. And I got out and this was when the egg or myster was popping. Remember that? It was basically German motor oil or something that they'd fermented and they were selling here allegedly. That's what it was. It tastes like robot Tusson. Yeah. It tastes like robot Tusson too, dude. It tasted horrible. Tasted like you, you know, it just made you so angry at everything when you ate it. You just, you just didn't even want to have anymore. And some people would put it on their skirt steak. They put it as a damn demiglase. And that blew them on. But anyway, so I go out to this fish internment. I'd sit up all night, dude. I'd slept maybe 40 minutes. And I was like, I'm not missing this fish internment. Roy Jones Jr. was there. It was like, this is the first time I've been around any celebrities in my life. So I got out there. I didn't buy you. I don't know. Were you celebrity then? When was that? No, I don't remember. It was a long time ago. A long time ago. Oh, you probably went to their house selling that Ferrari stuff. Oh, yeah. You mean the Manacotti? Yeah. Want him over with that? And they invited you to the fish internment. Yeah. So they invited me. And this is a true story now, Trace. And so I get over there. And dude, I definitely had adult diarrhea, right? Or you or young adult diarrhea is what I had. And so I get there. And we got to start catching fish. It's a fish internment. I never been in a fish internment. I don't know what it was. I thought you go around and you see the fish or whatever and you go back and you wrote down how many you spotted or whatever it's almost like a scavenger on. So anyway, the second I get a bite, man, the second I get a bite, I just, I get a tug on the front. But I got a tug on the back. You know, I'm saying ahead, I don't care what I was getting on my line. I had a bunch in the live. Well, you feel me? And it was, yeah, I ended up having to just troll me hanging off the ladder on the back. And with no shorts on and stuff, just to wash my body. And it's couldn't fish anymore. But like, you got a fish, man. And I didn't want to tell him, like, I'm, you know, so you didn't tell him. I didn't tell him. You spilled off into the water. Yeah, I said, I got to hang off the back for a little bit. I got to get the toilet. I thought, yeah. But it was just, I don't think young adult explosive diarrhea is bad as old man explosive. That's worse, probably. Yeah. You know, just just the fermentation. Oh, yeah. The recipe. Yeah. Oh, that recipe. Yeah. Probably much worse. Yeah. Is that older? Young adult still kind of fresh. Yeah. It's still. Yeah. You know, you're in, you guts aren't rotting yet. Yeah. But adult, you got that damn crock pot on you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Stuff is aged in there. Oh, yeah. That's a booya base. Maybe that's a French onion right there. Um, I know. I heard a story that I think, well, you told me this. I'm saying I heard a story of it. You told me this. How did things fare like with some of your first marriages? How did things, like, when you look back on your love life, what do you think maybe could have been a little bit different? I know you said you, I know you said that you kind of gave more. Maybe then you got it felt like at times or like, you got to have both people loving just as much to make it work. But uh, do you have any thoughts on it looking back on love? Because having four marriages, that's a lot of experience, you know? Well, just it, but it certainly doesn't make me. Very good at it. You know, I've got a pretty bad track record. Yeah. You know, so don't take any advice from me, man. I'm no authority on what makes everything great. But um, did you learn anything along the way though? Like really? Sure. I mean, you learn what not to do, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Well, that didn't work. That was bad. Did you take any of it to heart? You think? Cause I mean, I, you know, yes. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of the bad stuff that I used to do. I don't do anymore. Amen. Yeah. And I heard that one of your wives, uh, I'm going to have to say this shot that they shot you. Is that true? Yeah. I took it a little far. I thought that was just as I'm called for. That was totally I'm called far. Just leave. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's the true story. Just call it quits. We don't have to go that far. Yeah. Yeah. Do you think she shot you with the intent to tell? I don't think so, man. I don't think she even had any idea of what that gun was going to do. I'd never seen her hold a gun. I never seen her shoot a gun. I knew she had one, but I'd never seen her use it. I mean, yeah. I had a bunch of guns. Still have a bunch of guns. And I shoot them here, you know, pretty, pretty often, but I'd never seen her do that. I just don't think she knew what was about to happen when she pulled that trigger. She thought it was a toy, you know, was she saying anything as she was pulling it? Was she, was it like, was she pulling it like in a fit of anger? Or was she just kind of shoot a man? Yeah. Okay. Want me to leave and hold him, leave. So nice. That's how it went down. How did it hit you? She put it under my left arm and the bullet came out under my right arm, so it went straight through. Did you give your hands up or something like that? I had this hand out like that reaching for the shoulder to give me the gun. She just shot me. But what did it feel like? Like a beat like a B biting you? Man, I think when one is that serious, your body protects you, you're just going to shock, you don't really feel anything. I just remember getting up off the floor and then taking a few steps and then going back down. That's all I remember. You blacked out? Yeah. No way. Yeah. I mean, yeah. So I didn't really feel like it really hurt me, you know. And where did it go through your body? It went under this arm came out this arm, so it went straight through. It went straight through my heart and both my lungs. No. Yeah. It was killed. And the only reason that I survived was because the doctor said the only reason I survived was because the bullet went through at point blank velocity at muscle velocity. So it didn't have time to mushroom. It was just, you know, muscle velocity. So it just went straight through. Oh, I see. So about and after that, it would have mushroomed. Yes. Damn, bro. Thank God she shot you so close then. Yeah. In a way. I mean, that's crazy to say. Sorry. God, I'm not I have to I'm just not good at supporting people. Like verbally, you know. No, I don't need any support anymore, it was a long time ago was the healing. What's that like when you get shot right? Well, that was the hard dark. That's the part that hurt, you know, the healing up and stuff. I mean, because when I went to Vanderbilt, they life-flighting me to Vanderbilt. And so when they do the trauma surgery, they just cut you and just crack you open, you know, could you feel any of it? No, of course not. I was out. But so the recovery from something like that though, man, that hurts, you know, because they don't care. They just, they stretch everything and break stuff and they're just trying to get you open to get to your heart to save your life, you know, I see. So and thank God, you know, having been for that life-flight and Vanderbilt Medical Center, I wouldn't be here, but so it took a long time to recover from that. And then six months later, I had to have another open heart surgery because they had to put a dark round patch over that hole in my septum because it didn't heal up. Because when they went in in the beginning, they sealed the hole on this side of my heart and sealed the hole on the other side of my heart with the bullet went through, but they didn't seal the hole in my septum. Damn. So six months later, I had to go back and that one was a lot easier though, because they took their time and very careful. Right, they're not, yeah, it's not, time isn't of the essence as much. Yeah, I actually walked out of the hospital the next day. Did you? That one wasn't so bad. And did you ever apologize to you? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Did you forget where you think? I think so. You know, I just always felt like that. I don't think she meant to do it, man. I don't think I just don't think that she thought it was going to hurt me. She thought I was indestructible, you know? Yeah. Hey. Yeah. That's wild, man. Anyway. Did anything like that ever happen again or not? No, I've never got shot again. That's a blessing then. You got to see the blessings. Yeah. Nobody shot at me in a while, that's good. Yeah, that's what I'm saying, man, that's the kind of, yeah, that's the kind of stuff we need, man. And you know, I guess you can always say that, how you doing? Well, anybody shot at me today. That's good. You're third wife's Canadian, right? Fourth wife's Canadian. And you're fourth wife's Canadian, yeah, which is maybe you got her. So my first wife was from Louisiana. My second wife was from Arkansas. My third wife was from Illinois. My fourth wife from Canada. So I'm just like, my fifth wife was going to be an Eskimo. Yeah, I just keep working on up, you know, going to be a hot Eskimo chick. Yeah. You know, well, you moving up to the, yeah, you're moving up to the Arctic, man. And well, I guess, and at least you've got a Canadian because they can't even have own guns, you know, because they don't have any guns, that's probably a good. I didn't even think about that. That's a plus. Yeah. Canadians are good. And they have great posture. Have you ever noticed that about Canadians? Most of them are pretty polite, not so much with my wife, but a lot of them are, you know. Yeah, I've heard that a lot. Very, very polite. And they always say, and I'm sorry. Yeah. Oh, I've had a Canadian come across the street. They didn't even do anything. They just said, hey, sorry. And then went back across the street. Came over just to apologize. In case they ever did anything, I guess. That's pretty cool of them. Mm-hmm. Which apologize. No, I think they were coming over just and they looked at you and went, sorry. Yeah, that probably. Yeah, I think that's what you must have took that for. Maybe you had wronged them in some way. I think they just felt sorry for you. They probably could have. And that's what I get for buying some of those sandals from the damn, from the damn Blake Shelton sandals. Yeah. That's what did me. Yeah. Were you wearing them at the time? Yes, I was. That's why they came over. Oh, man. No, you weren't ever going to get laid. Yeah. So there's nothing sadder than some woman invites you over. And you should. It's got to be sad. She opens the door and sees those sandals on. Just damn. Unless he's carrying the canolies from Ferrari. Then she'll let him on in. Yeah. Now every now and then we did have a dessert. No, the little canola action. Oh, I don't show up. They missed it. They women weren't interested, but they were semi-interested. We leave half a canola in a little box, having a welcome mat. You know. A little, let me your old jiggle-o going around with a bunch of Italian food. If they didn't have a pet. Because otherwise pet to get in them. You know, you'd see Gary Busy with his damn bus and damn canola all over his chin. Country music. It's big right now. Have you felt through your career that has went through a lull that it's been like different? Like how have you seen it kind of? And I don't think there's ever been really a lull, you know. I mean, it started blowing up, you know, right before I got signed. I think it really started blowing up in the 90s and it's just continued to dominate as far as genres go. I think ever since and still going stronger than ever, you know. But I mean, of course, you know, my career is stagnant, but the rest of it is doing great. You've had a great career. I have had a great career. Don't get me wrong. I'm totally content. I mean, I'm very happy. You know, I've had a great run. It was a great ride. Things pass you by. You know, people move on to different things. You know, and I'm cool with that. When you say that, like, do you mean like that, like certain opportunities kind of come and go? Because like, yeah, what does that mean kind of a little bit? What? Like when you say that, like, you know, that people come and they kind of go. And, oh, yeah, well, I'm not competing really competitively anymore in the game. I'm not releasing singles to radio and trying to get them to play my stuff, you know, whatever. That game that we used to play. I don't play that anymore. I'm, you know, I'm not playing it. I'm not playing the game competitively anymore. I'm just doing it for just the joy of doing it. And because I still like to do it. But I'm not in there crossing swords with the young guys anymore. I don't need to do that. Yeah, for sure. I mean, yeah, I don't think that you need to. Do you feel like, was there a part of your career where you felt like a stab was enough? Because I think this is just interesting to talk about. It's like, you know, in my own career, even with comedy, it's like, you know, I've had some success. And it's been like, like, for, for, like, the gods of this career have been good to me, right? I mean, good to me. And I've been treated better really than I probably ever should have been. Maybe you know. And then I guess I wonder like, yeah, I guess it's like, I don't know. It's interesting because you can, you can try to still like be on the gas. You can look at like, well, where am I? And what's going on? What do I need? You're like, I guess are you happy with your career? Because you've had a great career. Yes, like I said, man, super happy with it. I mean, I've been able to do what I wanted to do. I recorded what I wanted to record, saying what I wanted to sing, said what I wanted to say. I've had an opportunity to do some acting stuff and had a lot of fun doing that. So yeah, man, it's great. And to answer your question about was I ever, when did I felt like I was establishing enough? Like about probably a year or so after, but don't, don't came out. I realized I really probably don't have to put my saddle on another horse. You know, I can just ride that one on off into the sun. Yeah. I just kind of knew that that one was going to be around for a while. Did you know from the beginning after you wrote it or was it just people saying that? I didn't write that, man. Okay, got it. But Jamie Johnson and Dallas Davidson, Randy Houser, wrote that and and. Jamie Johnson's birthday's coming up. And Jamie was singing the demo. And when I heard it, I was in Scott Harris office. I'll never forget. And he played that song for me. And as soon as I heard Jamie's old cornbread mouth at the beginning of that. Houser sheet night ball, I just started laughing, you know, and it got worse from there. You know, with him singing it, it was so funny. I about pissed myself and just to hear him do that, you know. And I just and I told Scott, I said, oh my God, I got to cut that. I was like, you know, probably I don't care. I don't have to ever get it. We probably won't ever get played on the radio, but I'm gonna cut it because that's hilarious. You know, he's cleverly written, it's funny. And so we cut it, you know, and didn't think any more about it. That's crazy. And it's crazy how much that really, that made it into like EDM places and everything. That made it into like, there was a lot of remixes that I've heard over the years. There's been a lot of stuff. I was at, I was at Jack behind this summer camp. Yeah, he played it that he played it last year. We were at this summer camp together. Jimmy John has his summer camp, we go up there and he played that. And I had no idea that he had anything to do with writing that. Oh, yeah, man. But it was awesome, dude. Yeah, that's funny. God, he's a great artist, man. He's fun to be around him and his wife. He's funny. He's a good dude. He is a good dude. I lost a bit. Good old Marine. Bet to him on the Super Bowl, I think, or UFC fight something. And we had a donate to a charity. I don't remember what his charity was or something. I think it was my. have been helping Blake Shelton with that recover from that sandal thing he went through. But that's rumors. I don't know about all that. Oh, Jamie Johnson and his wife Brittany run the Give It Away Foundation named after his hit George Straits song. The foundation supports veteran family and crisis charities and it's funded by merch sales and a $1 donation from every concert ticket sold. Yeah, he just, did you play at Algary Sinese's fundraiser? No. I know we just had a fundraiser there. Yeah, I wish I could have been there, but I was out. Me too. I was on the road. I'd just gone through some plant medicine and I couldn't make it over there. Has there been a song that was, was, but Uncle Don't probably the most, was that the biggest surprise for one that you cut and you were like, wow. Yeah, I mean, I was surprised that it succeeded the way that it did, you know. But then I was equally shocked whenever I thought, okay, if that one worked, then this one will work. And that's when I put out that was the horrible brown chicken brown cow incident. Oh, yeah. When I put that out and I thought it was going to blow up like what Uncle Don't did and the radio was like, no, that's you've gone too far here. Just ended up like a porn meme, didn't it? Yeah, yeah, brown chicken brown cow, you know, that's it. Dude, I don't even know you started that. Well, I sang the song, you know, and then, you know, and so the radio people were like, no, he playing that shit, that's porn, you know, whatever. Yeah, and it was a nasty song, but I thought it was in the right spirit, you know, it was meant with love. So, I mean, it was, they were married. These two people I was singing about, they were married. Oh, yeah, you know, doing it in the barn. That's not like illegal or anything. No, I don't think it is good, clean fun there. I mean, it's fine with me. I don't know them, you know, but now we'll say this, if I'm a neighborhood watch guy and I pull up and you're doing something. Yeah. Well, that's why we need you to wear the vest so we can see you coming. I mean, if you come up, you ain't got on your official, you know, neighborhood watch uniform, you know, you can't watch, you can come walking up on me and Betty Lou in the barn doing our thing, man. I agree. I'm just saying, if I pull up in your yard and you were doing something that goes against our charter, we're doing something that goes with brown chicken, brown cat, you know, then that's probably against your charter. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's just, I don't know, it's so hard to keep you doing it out in the yard. Well, it's so hard to keep a neighborhood safe. That's what I'm trying to say out loud. Was there a tour that you almost went on over the years and that you didn't? What is that like? Like, how is it over the years? How you choose to tour and win not to tour? Because I'm at a point where it's like, you know, touring's great and stuff, but it takes up a lot of your time. And I feel like you'll get off of a tour and you realize, wow, you know, my life has been sort of just like little pictures, little moments here and there and that hasn't been a real like a streamlined thing. Did that happen to you at times and you had to kind of slow it down to make things happen in your life that you wanted outside of work? No, I mean, I've had to take some time off, you know, to maybe do a movie project or something like that. But as far as tours go, I never, I went on the tours that people wanted me to go on. And if somebody offered me a tour and I didn't like them, I didn't go, you know, so yeah, I did the tours I wanted to do. And was there any that I regretted? I probably should have done that Madonna tour when she asked way back when, because she heard me do my go-to karaoke song is like a virgin and she heard me do it once and wanted me to tour with her. Did you really? That's all alive. I just made that. Oh, I do. I will sing that song, though, that karaoke. I'll tell you a story. You don't expect to hear that coming from me when I get up and bust out like a virgin. It takes the audience. Touch for the very first time. Yeah. They like that. That's probably the best part of it. Well, I'll tell you this, man, I'll tell you this. So my grandparents would let us come up there sometime in the summer. But I was probably after about five, they wouldn't let me come up there. But one time, I went across the street to the park. They live in a small town, probably maybe 800 people in this town. I went across the street at a nice park there. And I went across street and some girl was over there and she had a radio. She plugged it into the little outlet under the, they had a couple picnic tables under a little like just a steel shed kind of top. And she plugged in that radio and she played like a virgin and dance on this picnic table. Some little kind of native looking girl. I'd never seen her before and I didn't even know. I didn't say anything. Native to the town or native. I don't know. Native looking. I mean, I don't even mean. I don't know. I could draw a picture of her. But I don't know that much about her. But she plugged in the radio and she played like a virgin, just dance to it. And it was just bizarre. I just remember being like, I don't know. I think it was the first time I felt anything towards a woman or whatever. I just didn't know what was going on. Little cocktail when you stood up on you. Oh, you five? You were five. I mean, I had, you know, I can't remember. I had that wane or in me. I can remember, you know, I was a lot older than five though. I think I did. I don't know. Some of that could be in my imagination. Trace. But now I did plug it in and she's saying that's all you know, I was the first time I'd ever seen a woman kind of perform something like that, you know. And how many times now you pay for it? Yeah. Now you pay to see it. That was the first freebie you got. Yeah, they were paying me. Now you got to put money in their drawers. That whole thing. That whole thing was a big bait and switch, man. That's what it was, man. You've gotten to play with a lot of legends over the years, uh, as a legend like yourself does, man. Um, and or there's somebody you ever get to, did you ever get to play with like or see Jerry Lee Lewis play? No, before your time. Well, he still plays some, does he still play? He passed away. He finally passed away. Yeah, but man, he lived a lot longer and he lived longer than Keith Richards. Yeah, you know, he kept on live and dead. Yeah, no, I didn't see him. I never got to see Johnny Cash. I did a show with Whalen and I actually got to sing with Haggard and Ronnie Mills up and Buck Owens and some of those guys that I just revered and, you know, just put on that pedestal, you know, and I actually got to sing with them. And so, man, that, that was unbelievable. Just the surreal moments that I'll never forget performing with those guys. So yeah, I've got to be a fan. And that's what I am. I've always been. I've been a country music fan. Yeah, still am. You know, and those opportunities as it came along were just priceless. Who's that photo right there? George Jones. Gosh, I love George. Was he pretty neat guy to be around? George was, George usually didn't have a whole lot to say, man. I'd go over to his house and watch TV and we'd sit and watch TV. Yeah, we worked talking, you know, we just watched TV. Yeah. George won't watch a ballgame or a movie or something. That's what we do. We didn't talk. You remember doing some of those early mornings, like I remember, I used to work as a tour manager for an artist for this guy, Josh Kelly and his brother Charles is a musician as well. Charles Kelly. And I worked with Josh for a while. He would go play at all the radio stations in the morning to push his single. So I was just working as just a tour support, you know, for him. So it was just me and him traveling around the country. He was pushing this single that he had that did well. And I just remember those mornings at those radio stations, you'd be like, we're bringing in lobster and they'd have like a lobster like 555 in the morning, dude, which is like not a good time to put lobster in your system. And also they'd have doughnuts. We got, it's like doughnuts and lobster on the on the waz or something that has like some crazy radio shit, you know, like we're giving away a free bass boat or whatever, you know, and it's like who can eat the most lobster, you know, remember that kind of shit? Those morning shows, oh my God, when you're trying to, at all, it never ceased to amaze me. And I would bring it up every now and then and they would just blow it off because I'd be like, let me tell you something, okay, let me say this on the half of everybody that sings, we can't do it well at six o'clock in the morning. It's just, it's an impossible thing to do and you expect us to come in here and do it and be good and it's not going to be good. I'm just telling you, it's not going to be good and nobody's going to do it well at six o'clock in the morning. I mean, you know, that's why we do shows at nine o'clock, ten o'clock at night. That's, you know, yeah, man got to wake up, you know, have a few cups coffee. Three seconds goes good with lobster. I never went and had lobster the morning show. He must have been in my inner son. - No, dude, this was someplace. We were like, we got 40, it was like, we got 40 pounds of lobster coming in, and they were like, car washes and lobster. But it was always some, you know what I'm saying? It was always some regular roll. Like, we got hot air balloons and lobster or whatever. And it would always be some kind of shit and like, what in the fuck am I getting involved in? Like, 'cause comedians, we had to go there too. Like, so it would be crazy that I went on this tour with Josh. We probably went to a hundred radio stations around the country. Like, it was a couple months of him going, we played this single, I'd bring in some coffee, we'd sit there, you know, and then we'd drive to the next place. And it was great, man. I felt lucky to have the job I was getting to travel around the country, but then 10 years later, I'd be there doing it with comedy, you know. Yeah, doing it with, as a comedian going in to the radio station, you'd have to go in early. You know, you'd have to be in there and like, you know, you have to be funny on the radio at, you know, at 640 A.M., yeah. - And you know, it's like-- - And we'd see y'all in the lobby. We've always thought to like actors, like big movie stars. You know, I always thought, okay, I want to go in, I want to talk to these people and, you know, tell them about my new project and how good it is and what the inspiration was and blah, blah, blah, and all that kind of stuff. But then just play the song. - Yeah. - Play the song on the radio. The way that I recorded it in the studio. That's what we want to hear. - Yeah. - I try to sing it at 6 o'clock in the morning. And it's like actors with the go-do talk shows promoting a new movie or something. You know, the guy sitting there interviewing them, you know, at some point he doesn't go, okay, well, how about doing a scene for us from the movie? (laughs) And you know what I mean? Can you imagine that Leo DiCaprio will be going, excuse me? - They should have to. - Do a scene from the movie. - Then they should have to. - No, show the clip. No, we want you to do a scene. You do it here right now. Do it. And action. Come on, man. But we have to go in at 6 o'clock in the morning and sing. - And we have to go in there and be fun. - And tell jokes. - Yeah. It is kind of unfair, isn't it? - I think so. - That's why they bring in the lobster. That's why they add in the bullshit every time. It was always something, every time. Well, with comedians, I'd be up there like we're giving away a free Christmas treat, you know, 8/30, be, you know, be on the jingle dial or whatever. And we'd be shitting in there and there'd be somebody calling in asking if it's a damn Douglas Furr or whatever. It's like bitch, I don't give a shit what it is. Like I'm trying to get in here, you know, be funny. If I can and help sell some tickets, you know, and get people to know them in town. But I just always remember those morning radio, man, that stuff was a, that, that stuff was a haul. And it was also a great bunch of times. - Same, man. I did it so much. I did it so much, dude. But sometimes you dig it to know a place a little bit better. Sometimes if we get me out of bed in the morning, I think there was blessings to it. What do you, do you think you've achieved all your goals with the entertainment? Like I mean-- - Wait, man, I did weigh more than I ever thought. I would do, you know, I mean, this whole thing was like, I would never have allowed myself to dream that big, you know? I think I'm a, I'm a realist in that respect. I wouldn't have allowed myself to dream that I would have this kind of career and get to do this for as long as I've done it. No way, so everything's gravy now. - Did that change any of your perspective about certain things that would give you like, did that adjust like kind of how you think about life or even how you like, how you like, things you talk with your kids about? 'Cause that's pretty interesting to think that shit, life gave me more even than my dreams, you know? - Yeah. - Or that God gave it, you know, what I'm not sure what your beliefs are, but, or that's, you know, the entities of the universe gave me more than even my dreams. That's pretty wild. More than I, you know, I think I took just a very little bit of talent and just went way farther than I should have, you know? So, I mean, Buck Owen's told me one time I went to Buck's place and went to his radio station there in Bakersfield and it was raining that day. And so Buck wasn't playing golf and he was actually in the radio station. So he, he, he wanted me to go in his office. So he and I went in his big office there and he locked the door and wouldn't let nobody else come in. I was sitting there with guitar and he'd tell me to sing this, sing that and he said, sing that new single you got and so I did it. And he was like, son, let me tell you something. He said that low note that you can sing. You need to do that on every song because that's all you got going for you. So, he told me. He was just something, just something. That's all you got going for you. That's what Buck Owen said to you? Yeah. And he was serious. Yeah. And I appreciated him for it, you know? It's like he was, you know, he'd just go with that. Do that all the time. Do that because that's kind of the one thing you got that nobody else has. So do that, you know? Was it good advice? I've done it in just about every song. Yeah. You know, hit that low note and rattles and subs and, you know, chicks kind of get a little wiggly. But don't get done. Yeah. Can't sit still. Yeah, look, I mean, you got a deep voice, you know? Look, I'm not even a woman and it makes me, you know, one of, at least make sure I have deodorant on. So, chicks dig bass singers, man. They do? Yeah. God, I should have done it. Been a bass singer? Yeah, I couldn't have done it. I know how to get more balls at it in my bag. I think I need six balls. I think to hit the notes, you hit, man. I need probably eight balls or something. Dude, you might, you must have some, you know, I can't even imagine hitting those, you must have some damn balls on you. You got to have to, it would take probably two hours to neuter you. You shave your balls, you get somebody else to do it. You don't know? Not sure. Oh, you're not sure. You just end up shaving your out of hell if that happened. I mean, remember, Nair, when people would rub that stuff on there, God. Yeah, I freaking put it in my, I pretty, that stuff was painful. Oh, that's shit. When, especially you put it all, I put it, I remember doing my legs one year, I was trying to get ready for Christmas or whatever and I was like, I thought I was getting ready for Christmas. You didn't want to have hair on your legs for Christmas? Well, I knew that, I knew that I got in these cool velcro pants. My grandfather had died. And sandals. Or, yeah. I mean, toenail fungus is okay, but hair, you can have that. No, dude, I remember what happened was I got this pair, velur, not velcro pants. My grandfather had died in them and I inherited them. And so I was so excited about it. And I said, but the hair on my legs died in them. He died in them. He died in them. He had smokers footer, whatever, and they cut both of his toes off, two of his chin toes. Smokers foot is not a thing. Yes, it is. Smokers foot? No, it's not. Yes, it is. Smokers foot. Bring up smokers foot. Oh my God, that's just straight up diabetes, man. Smokers foot. Well, he got it from watching, he from smoking cigarettes and watching the damn St. Louis Cardinals play. Smokers feet refers to various foot conditions. Oh, well, that's, I mean, look, that dude shouldn't wear sandals that guy. Yeah. And don't even, don't even come close to a pair of sandals. Yeah, I agree. But yeah, granddad lost those toes and I was wearing a pair of velur pants. You weren't wearing velur pants when he passed and so I got, but my leg hair would gather in them and it would come out the pants kind of, you know, and your leg hair will come out like it through. No, I don't know how that is at all. It would shift through the fabric. It would kind of come out through the textile or the tapestry of it. No, no, I've had that happen, you know, putting on a pair of them tight, insulated underwear, but not just regular pants. Yeah. Why? I think at the time they were skin tight pants. No, they were right. They were pretty, no, they were, they were a little bit tight. At the time, I'll be honest with you, I think I was using steroids or something so my hair was growing fast. So I had, my body was damn, I mean, I'd give dang little Gary Busey around for his money over there. You know, I had a lot of hair and that's a true story and I, it's, but anyway I use an air on my legs, but also, yeah, that shit was painful though. My legs got all kinds of like pimples and stuff on them and just it was horrible for them. That stuff was toxic. So we got there talking about an air or something. That's toxic, man. It's one of the most humbling moments because, you know, in your career was, or in your life kind of, it's been a moment that's kind of like, I guess we were more in your career. Like, what's been a part of your life or your career? I guess it's, that you've kind of felt humbled by. Oh, wow. That's a, that's an interesting quote. The first time I really remember being humbled was when I, my first year college, when you know, I had a good dominant senior year playing football and then I went to college and I got out on the field with those guys and it was like, whoa, this is a, this is a different game right here, you know. Yeah, that, that step up and talent right there. That was humbling. Yeah. And you got to pretend that it's not, I guess, out there you can't, well, yeah, but I mean, you know, going from a year in high school when you kind of felt like the stud pretty much every Friday night, you know, and then didn't really run into anybody. that I couldn't handle, you know, my senior year. And then the toughest guy, I always tell people like that toughest guy that I faced across the line of scrimmage my entire senior year, you get to college in the whole fields full of those guys. Especially on there, you played a Louisiana Tech. That's where Terry Bradshaw played, yeah. Yeah. And Antonio Brown's dad played there. Yeah. Well, and then you go into the field house at Louisiana Tech. And it was just a big mural of Terry Bradshaw at the end of the building. You know, he's a god there, you know. So, you know, that was really humbling. Did he ever come to one of your games? I don't remember him coming. He should. Y'all look alike a little. I could see. And of course, I've been humbled since. I mean, you know, you get into this business, you got to eat a little humble pie every now and then or you're not going to stick around. Yeah, I think it's the same probably in most things. I think it's like, I don't know. I think in most parts of like entertainment probably, comedy, there's always like somebody who's better and are younger and different that comes along, you know. And I think, yeah, just make sure, make sure I stay on the side of like, oh, I think that's cool or that's awesome. Instead of getting on any begrudge inside of it. Yeah, you get humbled, I mean, you know, I had my, you have to wake up and realize, you know, like I said earlier, you know, I had my turn, somebody else's turn, you know. And you just got to accept that and it can be a little humbling, but you just deal with it and move on. You said that book. Oh, it probably gave you a decent piece of advice there. Was that probably the best advice you ever got? You think, or what's a decent piece of advice that you've gotten in your life that's kind of stuck with you? Or even if he didn't follow it at the time and hunts how you look back and be like, hmm. Yeah, my old man. Yeah, keep your knife sharp. My gun's loaded. Yeah, yeah. Ain't the two thing to use those things in this world of dull knife and have to go on. Yeah, my old man told me that. And he also said, this Christmas, I'm going to get you an handful and a rubber hammer and see how long it takes you to tear it up because I tore up everything for man. They had trucks, tractors. You do it for fun. You did it on purpose. You think, no, I didn't do it on purpose. No, but I tore them all up. Yeah. Yeah, I'm trying to think of I tore a lot of shit up. My buddy, Jeffrey, he had some sort of issue, but he would. And we survived the gas leak at his house also, but I've talked about that. He would get upset and beat all the drywall out of the wall in his room at his house. And for Christmas, his parents, we get the room redone every year and get him fresh drywall in there. Probably if he's just sitting around smelling gas all the time. Yeah, I never thought about that. They thought he had a damn make you go crazy eventually. You sit there and just keep smelling it and don't fix the leak. Yeah, they don't survive the gas leak while you just sit there in it. And you know, okay, well, you get a you get a new merit patch on your neighborhood watch vest for surviving gas leak for reporting him. And doing an experiment to see how long a man could survive in a gas leak is sat there. You and your buddy, what was his name? Jeffrey Jeffrey. Guys named Jeffrey sound just a little that's just, you know, he was doing some things. I apologize. All the cool Jeffries. You know, I think no cool Jeffries out there. I mean, first of all, yeah, Jeffrey, I think, Jeffrey, your name is Jeffrey, you don't ever go by Jeffrey. You shouldn't. Yes. No. I mean, once you want you get hair on your nuts, you go Jeff, right? Yeah, you go Jeff. Dr. Jay, I go Dr. Jay. Yeah, I go Dr. Jay, boy. I go big Jeff with them nuts. That's what I'd call myself. Yeah. What else trace? What's new in your world right now? What's something that you're looking forward to? You know, I'm going to do another record, another country record. Because you're on your 30th, this is your 30th anniversary tour right now, right? I came and saw, man, it was a great show, man. Thanks. It was really great. We sat there and I just didn't, you know, you just like, yeah, you just kind of lose track of all the songs that are attached to certain people, and then you lose track of ones that just that you just that you don't remember, you know, and it's nice to sit there. Just go through the anthology, man. It was awesome, dude. Well, thank you. So, yeah, I'm going to do another record. I didn't know if I was going to or not after I did that last one. We did that the way I want to go album and had 25 songs on it, because that was, we did that during COVID when we didn't have anything else to do. So we stayed in the studio all the time, you know, and ended up with 25 songs, and I thought, okay, that's it. You know, I don't have to do another record. And then when 30 years came along, and my voice is still the way it is, I thought, you know, I guess I will do another record. And I've always been like that, you know, I'm going to let this determine how long I keep doing this. As long as I can still sing those songs in the same key that I recorded, I mean, and I can still hit the licks and hit the notes and do all the things that I need to do. And I'm just, I guess I'll just keep doing it, you know, but it's kind of like though it's just the old jock in me, I guess, you know, I had to walk away from football when I just couldn't do it anymore. I was too tore up and couldn't perform at the level that I was satisfied with. But as long as I'm satisfied with my performance and, and I think that I'm doing it okay. And, you know, then I guess I'll just keep doing it. So I might as well make another record. Do you feel like a calling, almost a responsibility to do that, or is it just sort of a personal thing? Like, hey, if I can do this and I, and I do love doing it, I'm going to keep at it. That's kind of yet, you know, I'm just going to keep, I'm just going to do it because I feel like I'm still, I'm still good at this. You know, I feel like I've, I've gotten better at my craft. I think I'm better at it now than I ever have been. I don't know. My voice is still, you know, quit smoking and range got better. The bottom's gotten better over the years. I mean, I can go deeper than I ever could and that's just going to get better with age. Your voice just gets lower and lower. But I haven't lost anything on the top either. I can still hit everything, you know, on the top end that I always could. So hell, why not? Just keep doing it. Yes, it was popping when we came, man. We didn't feel like, you know, sometimes you're there and you feel like the artist is kind of, it's not like what you've heard, you know? I know. I don't want to be one of those guys. I've seen those guys. I've been to those shows where they're still out doing it. It's like, dude, just quit. Yeah. Just please stop. We don't want to remember you like this. You know, I don't want anybody to say that about me ever. You know, what was one of the, has there been a, what was like one of the toughest point your career do you feel like? I mean, obviously got shot. Well, I wasn't, I was way before I got record to. You know, the toughest point of my career. I don't know. There was a period, you know, there after that sophomore album came out, you know, that sophomore jinx kind of thing. And it rared its ugly head and started biting me pretty hard and things got, you know, got, they just slowed way down. I thought, I mean, when I first came out, you know, first album, you know, two number ones and platinum and, you know, I'm just like, this is going to be easy. You're the hot cake and town. Yeah. And then, and then reality sets and when you put that sophomore record out, but I wouldn't say that it was hard times just, you know, disappointing. I just thought that graph was going to keep going that way, you know. When you look back on that, do you think like it's like that you, that you stuck to all your laurels, even though you were like a young artist at that time, or do you feel like because a lot of times with artists, you get it. Like after that first album, sometimes they'll try to attach a lot of other producers and things like that can happen. And no blame or anything. I'm just thinking like, what would you, would there be any suggestions you would offer from your experience to an artist that had, has had some early success as to what like, you know, if there's any like thing you could share about that next experience that maybe you would have done. I don't think you should ever try to change your game to fit into what's going on now, you know. Yeah. You just, you don't do that. You know, just be who you are and dance with the one that brought you, you know, you keep doing that. And, you know, it's been my experience anyway that those fans that you had, that those people that became fans of yours for what you did. If you keep doing that, they'll stay. Yeah. Don't run them off. Yeah. You have a farm, which I'll grow in over there. Weeds and trees. Weeds. Weeds and trees. Oh, yeah. That's it. Yeah. Not weed. Okay. I didn't know I kept you smoking you smoke potter. No, I haven't in a long time Make me kind of nervous. Turn me into a damn heart. Make me so parent. I did the old rock. I got the old rock I got the worst the paranoia was they came with it and it just finally got to point where I can't do this anymore Yeah, you know, that's all I am dude, and I mean now that stuff they're growing now I mean that's just like acid or something. Yeah, people having hallucinations, it's like having a fucking gas leak in your head. Yeah, man. That's sitting in the gas leak all day long Oh, that new shit will just turn me into a damn haunted house that I'll be doing neighborhood watch inside of my own head brother It gets bad, you know, yeah, she gets a little bit dark. No, I hadn't done it in a while. What's in the news? Anything we want to look at fellas? Semi truck spills nearly 40,000 pounds of Frank's red hot boy. I'd pull my pickup truck there Start low. Oh God. I'd fill my pockets with that Dude, I'd put up two handfuls of my little sister's mouthmaker bringing home, dude We would be we would be storing that in our cheeks like damn just like damn recipe squirrels I'm in a brutal near nationwide heat wave. It seems strangely appropriate the spill scene on a Ohio highway Now we'll say this they could use a little bit of season and up there has been labeled red hot a semi truck Elite the strange reddish liquid on the highway near Columbus Frank's red hot Near a 40,000 pound shipment. What I'm looking at here though is the Jeremy Roth there are the guy that wrote the stories I'm seeing in new source You know, I mean what do you think Jeremy's gig is there at the news station, right? It's like okay We've got the shit spilled out here on the road. We need somebody to go right about it Jeremy You ain't doing nothing go right about these shit spilled that on the road out here Jeremy Jeremy Jeremy Jeremy's this far from getting fired You know what I mean? So we got to find something for him to do until it comes into the month and we get rid of him So we don't send Jeremy out there and he's gonna write a thousand words about this red shit spilled on the highway He'd probably drink in a morning coffee out of damn baby bottle or something over there because he's been through some stuff He has maybe as PSTD from like he got a computer with bad spell check on it or something in college and he had never really processed it But dude, I can't even bought a bad Italian burrito from an 11 year old We've worked hard, okay. I'll say this some of those driveways were uphill trace Okay, I'm losing anything worth that far uphill. Okay, you're right. Okay, that part. I am that part I've slightly made up but there was some mild elevation in some of the sidewalks. You know that okay I know that you have a new single American made that I haven't gotten to hear yet. I'm gonna check it out Good Appreciate you for preparing for this interview You got a professional sound bitch Dude, please put that you ain't worth the shit, you know I've had better interviews on a small market radio station in the middle of Nebraska. Hey We got some lobster coming in right after this guys Yeah, show is coming up. Oh a lot of these festivals. I love that man Do you like being at the festivals him like it's a good time to get to be around other artists? Yeah, I'm never now in the end, you know And he got a short rolly green coming up. I know that's happening really yeah Yeah, I heard he's doing pretty good. He's doing all right. We just had him in here man. It was fun chat with him This was actually really great to them and I had a nice time Well, thanks. How do you do hey look at that? Oh? Dude, that's awesome man. It makes me feel good me excited This is what I look like I look man. This is orgasmic face. I look you know Now I know why some of them lady said I can't he's sticking around through any more of this I'm obviously not doing the man a good man Hasing New England phone do lock Wisconsin dude. I'm so excited to go up to Wisconsin this. I'm gonna go take a we're gonna rent some camp Cheese curds. Oh God. Yeah, I love cheese curds Is there a part of the country that surprised you there's a few for me that have surprised me over the years of just places I've gone like lacrosse Wisconsin. Oh Claire, Wisconsin I'm I want to go to Charlevoi, Michigan now Grand Rapids, Michigan I thought just little places that I've thought that I've gone to and I've been like oh wow this place is really unique And I never would have got to go is there a surprise or two clear lake Iowa. That's another place Why are you just coming up with these random places man? That's like wow. I've been to all those places by the way Played all those festivals and Wisconsin So cool in Michigan. Yeah, I mean they throw down in the summer because you know, it only lasts for like a week So they get it all in when they can you know, yeah, your husband's thought out you got to get him out in the yard do shit Yeah, so at least thought out or whatever. Yeah, I've done all those festivals up there. I think the the craziest In most surprising place I would have to say it's it's a place that I just played a couple of weeks ago But it's like the third or fourth time I played there because I love to play there Because it's it's the most unique County fair in America and that's the Nassaube County, Mississippi Yeah, already talks about that people talk about that place bring it up because they got the beautiful homes that are all painted up over there and people Rent them out well at homes are shacks, but yeah, they're oh they are they're nice I mean, yeah, you know, but they're very small because they're built on these little Least pieces of land that basically were meant to be Where you would set up your vending tent, you know to sail stuff at the fair like they usually do you Rent this little place and you come there and you set up your tent and sail, you know turquoise or you know Funnel kegs or whatever the hell it is you're selling. Oh, yeah, but then these people started doing these long-term leases on these places And just keeping them in the family for years and years and so they bought these narrow built these narrow little houses It just goes straight up for three stories And so it's supposed to be wide enough to just a cell of funnel cake out of but then they end up making it so Yeah, I mean they started doing that years ago a hundred years ago, you know, and and so that's what they do And I mean this this picture right here just doesn't do it justice. I mean because this fairground is you know hundreds of acres And these things are all over the place, man, it's huge Well, this thing must be calling me because we were just talking about this last week, you know with Hardy Yeah, he's from there. No with Raleigh Green. We're just talking about it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he was bringing it up I was I was just at that UFC event a few weeks ago Did you watch any of that you watching any of that? UFC fighting the one where Conor McGregor just yeah, just Whatever he did. I don't know what that was. I felt like he really did get hurt About he was hurt for getting a ring. Hey, well, I don't know if he was or not Some things did his energy going to the ring did feel suspe it felt different and it made you be just because he's he's been five years removed Sometimes it's hard to like show up and fit into an older to fit into a different different you or you from a different time I think he was hurt. You do He might have been dude, but God it just would have been all the people in Ireland were fucking cheering for him and you're like God But you have to show up in the ring because you had to do it, but I don't know man. I think you should have backed out I think he was hurt damn. I wonder if they'll do a lot of Tector test on him. You think they will Yeah, I don't know I just think it's funny a lot of ticket test on Conor McGregor That'd be crazy, huh. Yeah, if they did it Because you can't press charge like I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I don't know. I've never known I know man. This thing everybody loves about you hardly ever know what fuck you talking about Charming thanks, man Thanks All right, man. Well Okay, I appreciate your time, man. I appreciate oh Bob Kingsley. Is that him? That's him Bob Kingsley. Thanks for bringing that up Oh, man, and I knew him good too Bob was a great guy man. He did that American country countdown show for Decades man, and he was the one I'd listen to If you hurried out of church is if the preacher quit right before noon you could get out there and hear the number one song You know I always tried to get to the truck before Bob, you know got the number one Can you play him this play is intro and hear it for a minute just a beginning of his show if you're on YouTube classic You know what I just bought? Jerry Klauer suit from when he performed oh no way Just got it. They knew I was a fan of his and so they said I love Jerry Klauer. Oh my god, man We had his albums and Justin Wilson. You remember Justin Wilson? Yes, dude I just got on a Justin Wilson not even too long ago, man He was funny too. He was like the Louisiana Jerry Klauer. He was Louisiana's Jerry Klauer, you know Yeah, I got that red suit right there. Oh wow I can't even believe it, man, I got it, I got inside, oh, dude, he was the best. Still one of the best storytellers ever. I believe I don't think they make him like him anymore. He talks about playing Charlie's football. Oh, yeah, he does. Yeah, Zoo, city, Mississippi. Marcell led better. Marcell. Oh, dude, I love, I love listening to Jerry. And uh, there's a lot of great artists like that. They kind of disappeared just because they didn't have as much, uh, I wear my overalls the way Marcell wore his. Do you? Yeah, with nothing under him. Yes. And the button's not done together. My wife gets kicked out of it when I wear my overalls and no drawers and nothing under him. Well, look, I'm just glad you got a, I'm glad you got a wife that gets a kick out of you, man. You know, yeah, well, I'm glad you do. Yes, right here, it says, yes, under Napoleonic law, you can be compensated if you lose a limb. However, there is no fixed price, huh? Instead of a flat feet, courts and insurance adjusters calculate damages using individualized categories known as heads of loss. Um, uh, I thought it was different. I thought a, a thumb was 14k or I, I thought each, well, I thought each body part had a little price tax to it. So they have back in day. Yeah, things change, huh? You just got to roll with it. Yeah, buddy. That's the only thing you can do. Trace Acton's, man, thanks so much for your time, do thanks for your music. It was nice to get to meet your daughters in the past year too. I've got to see them at a couple of shows. Uh, thanks for always let me feel welcome at your shows, man. Um, and yeah, thanks for your music, dude. Just, your stuff got me through some tough times of my life and it's just been a, it's been a blessing to witness. The new tour is great. If you guys get to go see him, uh, the 30th anniversary tour, uh, go check it out and I'll be back out at one. I'm a fan, man. Thanks, too. Thank you, brother. Okay. And your mom, too, what's up? Peggy. Vote for, vote for Peggy. Nobody runs against her anymore. Well, she's grown unopposed. I think in the last two or three around, I'll share this piece of my life out. I can feed it in my bones, but it's gonna take.