This week the writers of Try That in a Small Town remember country music legend Toby Keith and share stories of what it's like to live life out on the road.
This week the writers of Try That in a Small Town remember country music legend Toby Keith and share stories of what it's like to live life out on the road.
I met Toby one time. You know he was in 93. And he goes. So what do you do? I said I think I want to write songs and he goes. Really he goes. Are you any good? I think so. I think I'm pretty good, he goes. Well, I'm here all the time he goes. If you ever got anything, just come by, just send me something, we're back.
Kurt:We're back, we are back here we're back. We're back. We are back, here, we are.
Neil:Thanks for joining us. What a week, what a week.
Tully:So, aldine, that was awesome, that was incredible.
Kurt:It was pretty cool, huh.
Tully:I mean just talking about some of those old stories. It's like the first time hearing them for us sometimes, I know.
Kelley:Well, just having him here with us and I didn't know any of those stories back. You guys known him for 20-25 years. That was fun for for me hearing those.
Neil:I've never had the opportunity to sit down with him. As long as I've known him I've never had that opportunity to sit down and talk to him like that and listen to those stories in here from his perspective and it's easy to see and we see it on a nightly basis on the road.
Tully:But but why? His fan base relates to him? Because he's that guy that came in here, sat down and was just talking. That was who he is and that's the same guy.
Kurt:He's been that way. I think you said this. He's been that way for 20 years. Exact same guy. Yeah, and we've been on. You know, shoot, shoot, we're, as you guys probably picked up on. I mean, I mean, we're a family, right. We've been on the road 20 years, is that right? Yeah, you know people don't uh realize this, but in those days we were all on one bus together. You know it's a 40 foot tube and there's jason the band and it's like probably a couple crew guys, right, yeah, and we're out there 300 days a year.
Tully:There was a span from 2004 probably to what, 2010, where we didn't come home, we would leave. We would leave, We'd play a show New Year's Eve and we'd come back the next December 23rd, pretty much.
Neil:Ooh, you know I've got to ask y'all this, though Okay, when y'all?
Kurt:were all on one bus. Did anybody smoke on the bus? Cigarettes, yes, great question.
Kelley:Well, you've got to qualify.
Kurt:Whatever he did smoke cigarettes, but he was always polite. He would go out the window and go in the back, out the window yeah, yeah, I don't think smoking was our vice.
Neil:No, no, the crown, the reason I asked that we're way overdue for a crown royal sponsorship.
Tully:I'm just throwing that out there. I mean we had 60 empty purple bags on that on that bus.
Neil:The reason I ask that is because I mean, I come from a long line of singers. My dad was on the road for 40-something years and I bet half the guys in that 12-man crew smoked and they were all on one bus for that long, for that many years, and they didn't crack a window, they didn't do nothing and it was a smoke tube going down the road.
Kelley:That could be your next song. Yeah, you didn't crack a window back, then I come from a long line of smokers.
Kurt:But it was a lot of time together, right, I mean we spent what you just said six years probably straight on the road and I mean we formed what is now like you know, people say road family, right, well, I mean, this is totally is my family family. Jason is my family family. That's how much time we spent together every day, you know. I mean, you guys know this life. You get on a bus, you go to sleep, you wake up, you have your coffee, you go to sound check, you do the show, you get back on the bus. It's all day, every day. You're surrounded by these people and people ask.
Tully:They're always like oh, it's so cool, you got to go to this town and that town. I'm like, let me tell you something. Here's how this goes we go to bed at 3, and we wake up in the next town and the sun's going down in those days. When we wake up in the next town and the sun's going down in those days and we get up. So it doesn't matter what town we were in, it was very similar every night. We didn't see any of the daylight or the sights.
Kurt:That's so funny. You're right. People always ask where's your favorite place to play and you're like I don't know, just on stage.
Kelley:I've got no idea.
Tully:The Red Seats are kind of cool in that place.
Neil:Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this so you get a schedule out on the road where you sleep a long time and you get up in time for sound check and whatnot, and then after the show, I know your adrenaline is still pumping, sure, and it's like so what time do you actually go to sleep after a show?
Tully:when you're on the road. I don't get to sleep any time before 4 am. I'll get to my bunk before then, obviously, but I'll lay there wired up. Yeah, you know, and that's what the thing about the road is, which is, no matter what you try to do, you always end up being a little tired. I mean, don't you agree?
Neil:Does that carry over when you come back home and the tour's over?
Tully:and you get back home. Does that carry over? These days it's a lot tougher because we don't play as many shows as we used to. We play, you know, probably 50 shows a year at this point. So you, you know your schedule is completely different. Six months of the year you're home and you're you know our work schedule. We get up at six, 30 in the morning, you know, go to work. You know we come home, we're in bed at a decent hour, nice, and all of a sudden You're starting to act.
Neil:your age yeah.
Tully:All of a sudden, though, you get back on the road and you're not getting ready for bed at 930. The show is starting at 930.
Kurt:That's a fact, so oh, my God, and some of those festivals that you do when you go on last, I mean some of them. You don't go on until 10, 30 or 11. We're taking naps bro that's where we're at. That's where we're at.
Tully:We are taking naps, no but it was incredible to have him on here, yep, and talking about why the song connected with him. It's very obvious stuff for us. It's like the disrespect of the police, you know, the smash and grabs. It's just like when he heard that song he was like who could not be against this? You know, and we talked about that on his episode. It was great for people to hear that. It's like you know, how could you not agree with some of that stuff?
Kelley:we're saying yeah and from his perspective, you know, how could you not agree with some of that stuff? We're saying, yeah, and from from his perspective, you know, because the you know the first episode we got to talk about how, how we wrote it and how we all got together and everything and why we're even doing this podcast, and then the second episode, getting him to out into come and actually was sitting, you know, right here in this very chair that I'm sitting in now, um, but uh, to hear his perspective and how the song hit him, you know where was he when he heard it, what did he think, you know, and all the pressure he took, you know during that and standing up for it, and you know God's free him for doing it.
Tully:you know, sorry to interrupt, but I think he was kind of he didn't give himself enough credit. Obviously he's not like that, but for the amount of you know, he took a lot of abuse in the media, you know, undeserved, you know, and to see him go out there every night and stand up for what he believes in was just talking about it. Now it's like I'll never get sick of talking about that.
Neil:He never apologized not for one line of that song. Well, nothing to apologize for. No one line of that song. Nothing to apologize for? No, there's not.
Tully:But seeing him out there, it really was every night picking up someone's flag and slinging it over his shoulder. I'll never forget that. Last summer that was definitely. Of all the years you've talked about it, how many years have we been out on the road? How many shows, Thousands of shows. We played Hicktown 150 000 times we used to play that thing twice.
Tully:We used to play it twice and it was the only hit one thing that we didn't talk about, that I wanted to talk about last week was and we lost toby keith and I meant to bring it up when Jason was here, great American, and I don't know if what's talked about enough about Toby. You know we played in Oklahoma City, kurt, was it end of October, right? Yep? And our friend Brian O'Connell from Live Nation said, hey, I think Toby might come out tonight.
Kurt:I remember this so vividly and I'll let you keep going with this. No no go ahead, go ahead. No, I was going to say when he did that, I think just as a courtesy call. Whenever Brian or somebody he's with is in Oklahoma City, he kind of says hey, toby, we're in OKC, come on out if you want. Toby never comes.
Tully:And Brian handled Toby's tour like he handles our tours for our nation.
Kurt:And so he put in this call to Toby and Toby says, yeah, maybe I'll come down and see Jason and the guys, and he's really.
Tully:I mean, this is end of October, this is past October, yeah, and we to be fair, I think me and Kurt said man, how awesome would this be. But knowing that Toby's not feeling great, we didn't really think that it would happen. And Brian O'Connell told us that his son had a ball game that day and so we're like he's not going to drive down into the city after any sick and apparently he avoids going to the arena there, Like that's just, you know, it's his own place.
Kurt:He just doesn't want to do it right.
Tully:So, we're thinking it'd be cool but he's not going and we're thinking, okay, if he does come, I think Brian or someone said, or Jason, one of us said we'll play Should have Been a Cowboy, which none of us has ever. We've never played this song together. Should have Been a Cowboy Great song, his first single, but to be honest, we didn't even run it as soundcheck.
Kelley:Yeah, because we thought't even run it as soundcheck.
Kurt:Yeah, we cause we're thought the chances that it comes 2% and about Kurt.
Tully:Help me out. Here Was it. I know it was before, not that far from showtime, maybe it was at eight o'clock.
Kurt:Oh, we didn't find out he was coming in 30 until we were in the middle of the show.
Tully:Cause we were still wondering, and you guys know we wear ears.
Kurt:Everybody does that now, right, and they get on the talkback mic. It was at least halfway through the show and we're thinking well, he's not coming. Toby is in the building, In the building.
Tully:And so, to be safe, we listened to Shubin at Cowboy in our green room, our little hangout room, before the show and we all listened to it and kind of played through the chords and like still thinking this is let's just make sure we are familiar with some of this. Well, halfway through the show, toby's in the building and Aldine introduces him in the. You can see it on YouTube and it's a great introduction and the roof blew off that place so loud, unbelievable the introduction jason gave him. He walks up there and you can tell he's not feeling well and toby talks getting goosebumps sorry guys and uh, uh we busted, it should have been a cowboy and it felt so good and Toby I got to tell you he sang his ass off.
Kurt:He sang his ass off, he did and he owned it and you would never think anything other than here he is, you know, mega superstar doing it, we do it. We figure he's leaving. Right, yep Going to come up and sing, do his thing? Well, of course he sits there and hangs out with us, for I don't know, an hour and a half after the show, by the way, I guess he told his wife he was going to pick up a hamburger, you know, and three hours later he's still with us.
Tully:Told us some great stories, some van halen stories that are amazing, and we're just sitting there, like you know, and we go pretty far back with toby. We met toby in 03 um, but telling us stories hanging out and you could tell he just wanted to be around it. He just wanted to be around it, yep he wanted to be around what he loves music. He wanted to be with the guys he wanted to be.
Kurt:The fact that he got up there with Jason, that was amazing and I think he's always respected Jason because he probably sees a little of himself in Jason. Yeah, I was going to say that respected Jason because he probably sees a little of himself in Jason, yeah.
Kelley:He's doing it, his way you know I was going to say that just on the side of. I can see why they have a connection, because I met Toby one time, you know, it was in 93, and there was a little hotel and they had a bar real close to Music Row, close to where BMG is right now. You know that little, I forget what it's called, but anyway I'd stopped in there and I'd heard there was writers there and I didn't have a deal or anything. I was going to go to Belmont University, so I just sat there, you know, checking things out, and so I ended up talking to him at the bar. He was there and he already had his first single out, you know, and he was there, like why is? Why is he here? You know?
Kelley:For, for one thing, we started talking and he goes, he goes. So what do you do, I said? I said well, I don't do anything, and he said he said you don't do, you don't do anything I said well, I said I'm, I'm going to school, you know, and he goes, he goes, he goes.
Kelley:yeah, I did for a minute I went to a lot of schools actually. But um, he said uh, he said where are you going? So I'm gonna go to belmont, he goes, where are you going? I said I'm going to go to Belmont, he goes. What are you going to study? I said well, I guess I'm just going to study the music business. He goes. Well, what do you want to do? He said do you sing or something? And I said not really. I said I think I want to write songs, and he goes, really, he goes. You write? And I said I said I said I write a little bit and he goes are you any good? And then I started getting really insecure.
Kelley:I was like, well, maybe, I think so I think, I am, and before then I thought I was this great writer. But as soon as somebody like that, who already is a hit writer and artist, asks you, you think well, I think so, I think I'm pretty good, he goes, well, he goes. I'm here all the time he goes. If you ever got anything, just come by, just send me something, you know, just come give it to me. You know, and, uh, to me I just thought that was the biggest thing ever. I went back every night for three years, never saw him again. But uh, no, I'm kidding, I didn't. Most, most artists wouldn't have said anything. But that's right, we're just having a beer together.
Tully:And he just asked me, and I was, I was nobody and he was way somebody and, uh, the fact that he gave me the time of day and asked what I wanted to do. I just thought that was great. You know, in his career he had 42 top 10s, 32 number ones, and this is what I love 18 usl tours. Well, yeah, that's, that's, that's the highlight of his career according to, to him it is. He's played for over a quarter of a million troops at that time.
Kurt:And you know, jason actually brought up this last week. He was talking about country songs that have kind of moved the needle in a way that ours did, and he mentioned Courtesy of the Red, white and Blue After 9-11. Right, after 9-11. And apparently he wrote that just to do on the USO tours.
Tully:Right, and it was not supposed to be a single right. No, no, no, it was just for the crew.
Kelley:I didn't know that.
Kurt:Yeah, and I guess a commander came up to him and said you have to put this out, you have to do this for us. And he's like all right, I'll do that.
Tully:Of course that. Of course that's what happened. And those tours we've done some uso tours, dod uso tours. Few things are more rewarding than doing those because it's there's, they're so appreciative and they so need it. Toby did those, a lot of those. I don't know how many he's done in these places, but a lot of them were in in conflict areas like actual active behind enemy lines and secret bases and secret bases and, and we've done a couple of those, and you know it's not like it's a, it's an easy thing to do.
Tully:I mean, you know it's, it's you've. He did it right, though. He went and and performed for the troops, the guys that really need it, that are putting their lives in the line, which you know. I mean really. It just says so much about toby um, it's amazing and one of my favorite songs uh, don't let the old man in. So I heard it. I mean so how he? He wrote that for the mule, for for Eastwood, for the movie, right? So I guess I heard that Eastwood actually gave him the title for that in a conversation. Yep, you guys hear this. Yeah, really, I didn't know that Yep.
Tully:I saw something Toby was talking about and he mentioned that he was talking to Eastwood and I think it was when Eastwood was turning 88. By the way, eastwood's 93 and directing a movie right now. I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning and Eastwood's directing a movie at 93. But I mean, I guess Eastwood or Toby said how do you get up every day and you're 88 years old and doing this? And Eastwood's like well, you know, know, I don't let the old man in. And what a what a story.
Neil:What?
Tully:a song. I know it's such a good song, I mean it's it's.
Kelley:When I hear that song I'm like wow, okay, you know I've got a long way to go, yeah well, and and we were talking about earlier, courtesy of the red, white and blue, I mean, that was one of those things as far as being a proud American and a uniter I mean Toby Keith was that, jason Aldean is that? Yeah, you know. And that song came, you know, just a couple years out of the worst tragedy ever you know to happen on American soil.
Kurt:I had heard that he had written that too. There were a couple other great songs that came out around 9-11. Alan Jackson when Were you? And what was the other one?
Kelley:Daryl Worley, have you Forgotten?
Kurt:Which rhymes with Bin Laden.
Kelley:Good song right.
Kurt:But anyway, I was going to say apparently Toby loved those songs, but he was saying it was. You know, they were kind of sad and of course the event was sad, but he was angry, which kind of goes back to how this was. You know, our song was born, but he was just angry and he needed to get that across so.
Kelley:And it's funny too, because in the actual title of it it says Toby Keith, courtesy of the red, white and blue in parentheses the angry American Right. And it just spoke to me so much. I just grinned when I saw that. I thought you're kidding us, because that's the same place we were, because you're angry about stuff that's happening in the country that we love, right. And so then you write something about what you believe and you have an artist like Aldine that stands up for it, takes all the bullets for it to get the message out. There you find out there's millions of people that think the exact same way. But it also, you know, the song was revealed to us. But what was also revealed is what is happening in America, you know, is revealing to me how much dissension that there is and that we're more divided than ever. I think I mean I don't know of another time in my life that we're, you know, I mean it's 50-50. This group over here thinks this, this group over here thinks this, and there's no one, there's not a uniter currently.
Kurt:It's bringing us together I heard tully say this last week. He was like how can we have been so united at that time and then come to this and it's just. It's when you sit and sit back and think about that.
Tully:Yeah, it's crazy because we were at the, everybody was pulling together whatever we needed to do and somehow it splintered and it bums me out it bums me out because it's I don't know how we can be so together at a time of tragedy like that, and it's like every time 9-11 comes around, the anniversary of it every year I can definitely feel people forgetting about it. I don't want to think that, but I feel like that. Whether I'm wrong or am I right.
Tully:I just feel like people have forgotten what can happen, and when I see someone burning a flag, that does piss me off. That does absolutely piss me off, and I don't know how there's any positivity in that. Whether you're trying to prove a point one side or the other, I don't see how that is a way to convey any kind of point you're. You know, people have, in my opinion, have forgotten how to respect the flag, respect the military and and yeah, and to come back to toby for a second like that's what he was doing. He was giving back to the. This freedom is not free. Yeah, I feel like we definitely have lost.
Kurt:And that wasn't political with Toby either. I mean he wasn't a hardline conservative. I mean I think I heard him say he labeled himself a conservative Democrat. He was like in the middle, which a lot of people are. Yeah.
Tully:I feel like people in the middle don't feel like they have middle ground anymore.
Kelley:Well, you're right.
Tully:Caleb just said it. Right, it's one way or the other. And really, toby, you said it great giving back to the troops, giving back to those who are putting their ass on the line. You know what I mean and that and that, that.
Kelley:Yeah, and you and you have, you know, just for so many years, men and women who have, who have died for the right for somebody to stomp on a flag or burn a flag, you know.
Tully:I just don't, I'll never understand that. It just, it just. I'll just never, I'll never understand that. I just don't, I'll never understand that, I'll just never, I'll never understand that.
Kelley:Just don't get it. Just the privilege that we have, and it's the greatest country in the world and it just irritates us. So that's why we're doing this, because we got people out there listening that are just like us and, thankfully, we have Toby Keith and Jason Aldean and other artists like that to stand up and put out that message.
Kurt:Do you guys remember where you were?
Tully:I know we were together.
Kurt:I know, I know where you were.
Kelley:Neil, where were you when, when the world stopped turning? Alan Jackson.
Neil:On 9-11? Oh yeah, I was in our house in Cool Springs getting ready to go play a golf tournament to raise money and I can't remember what the foundation was for, but it was a Diamond Rio golf tournament. And I was getting ready to walk out the door and I was in our bedroom standing in front of the TV getting ready to leave and I saw it unfolding and watched it all live and I remember having to call somebody that was a representative of Diamond Rio and ask them if the tournament was still going on. And the guys in Diamond Rio said, yes, this tournament's going on.
Neil:We're not going to let what happened today stop our purpose and what we're supposed to be doing and raising money for this foundation because that's exactly the reason that they did it was to get people to stop doing what they're doing in America all the good that everybody wanted to do. So we went and played in the golf tournament and had a moment of silence. It was a really moving thing. I'm glad they did the tournament that day, but I remember exactly where I was when that happened.
Kelley:I think it was just a shock. I didn't know how to process it, and maybe the same even with the people on that tournament committee. You don't fully process what's happening at all. As Kurt was asking, I was at Alpine Bagel in Brentwood, where you guys live, and I had just come from a Bible study, you know, and was with some guys just talking about family stuff and God and all that, and you're just watching on this little TV and trying to process that, which you couldn't. It's like, okay, what do we do? I mean, obviously you go home, you know, but it was just—.
Neil:Yeah, I remember wanting to go pick up the kids at school, bring everybody home, because we didn't know what was coming next.
Kelley:Yeah, and you're wondering all right is my— Is the whole country under attack? And it was a scary time.
Neil:I remember it well.
Kelley:Yeah, what about you guys? Where were you going?
Kurt:We were on our way to a session. Well, yeah, we got to the session. We got to a session. Well, we, yeah, we got to the session.
Tully:We got to the session this is when uh, rich and I lived together.
Kurt:Castle door we're going to castle door, okay, yeah, recording studio, yeah and I think, as we were leaving to go to the session, the it made the first hour might have been hit and at that time they didn't know. We didn't know if we didn't know what it was.
Tully:What was going on, like that a commercial plane did something happen and we got to the session. We were playing the session, yeah, recording it, and this I don't remember who this was on the session, who we're doing it for uh, some writer and we've got. We were watching on the TV there and the way I remember we were all sitting there and watching this happen and we're like we're out of here and the writer goes oh no, we've got five songs to get. Today. I said I think Kurt or me and I remember Russ Paul was on this session and I remember Russ Paul. I think we were all in agreement like we played our last note. Right now, I tried to forget about Russ. You're right, you know, I think we were in.
Kurt:It's such a confusing thing, yeah, and after that, I mean probably, like you guys, you're glued to the TV for I don't even know how long. It was a week or a month. You're just like glued, like you're getting information. Yeah what's next? What's next? Yeah, the unknown was scary People band together and you get that feeling of America uniting.
Kelley:Yeah.
Kurt:It was so united. It was so united. Yeah, it was then for sure.
Neil:And you talk about the— there wasn't anybody burning the flag that day. I can tell you.
Tully:No, no, they were raising the flag that day. That's a fact. And you talk about these amazing people. 343 firefighters and paramedics died that day. 23 NYPD officers and 37 Port Authority officers all died going in to save people. And when you think about the police, it's like the lack of respect you see towards them and towards the flag. It's just like it's gut-wrenching to me. You don't have to be on—it doesn't matter what side you're on politically to have the common ground and respect of the country and the flag.
Neil:Yeah, and a people. And I can't imagine, kalo, the day you were walking and you saw that footage, which spawned the idea of Try that in a Small Town. I can't imagine you know, after going through something like 9-11 and some of the other things that happened after that how anybody could do the things like burn a flag and defund the police, you know, be mad at a cop or whatever it is. I can't imagine the anger you felt walking that day coming up with that title. We're all thankful that you did, by the way.
Kelley:I'm thankful too to the Lord for giving it to me, as my wife would say in my fit of rage.
Tully:Yeah, but you know what To be fair, not fair, but just honest with you about this. I don't think the Lord could have given that to a better person. Wow, thank person.
Tully:Wow, thank you Amen, because because I think what you did with the gift of it, like the, the way it came to you, and what you've done with it. We're sitting here now talking about things. Look what Jason did, look what the song, what it came to be and what the movement that it became. You know it all brought us here, which is, uh, you know there are no accidents like that.
Kelley:Yeah, I agree. Yeah, even though you were wearing tights. I wasn't wearing tights and you can go back and listen to episode one, please, to know that it was a prayer walk, not a power walk. Okay, but you said they're compression pants.
Tully:They were not they were not.
Kelley:That's good for circulation, okay, that's very healthy, but but know, Neil, you're talking about that, you know. But it's about the flag and about the defunding the police and all that. I mean, it's what's even more, you know, infuriating and frustrating, and painful and heartbreaking is that it's getting worse. And painful and heartbreaking is that it's getting worse. And it's getting worse, especially in the cities, and it's not, you're just disrespecting the police.
Tully:See, I don't understand. I don't get breaking us down like this.
Neil:Because it's not like Everything that happens is igniting the division in this country. We have 75,000-plus homeless vets, yeah, and they're giving money and feeding and housing. There's over 75,000 homeless vets in this country and they're feeding and housing illegal immigrants. I'm not saying there's anything bad about these people that want to come to a free country like this. Who wouldn't want to come here? Sure, but when they get taken care of before that many homeless vets, I got a big problem.
Tully:It goes back to my. I hate that. I feel this way, it bothers me, but I feel like there's no respect for military. I shouldn't say there's no respect. I just think there's a lack of respect from people. You know my grandfather, all of our family. My grandfather was a World War II veteran.
Kelley:My granddad, world War II. Yeah, uncle and aunt, we all have.
Tully:You know it's my dad was in the Navy, my uncle was in the Navy, my wife's grandfather was a pilot in World War II. You know dogfights and landing aircraft carriers and crazy stuff and it's like that whole pride in this country, like that generation, our greatest generation, you know, think about what they endured for our freedom and we have lost that.
Kurt:We've lost that, and that's for sure, and bleeding over into law enforcement. Now you have cops that don't want to be cops anymore because of the lack of respect.
Kurt:And they can't do their job, no, and like in Austin, whatever it was, it was like $150 million they took away from there and they had 40 police officers retire in that year. Like we, we're not going to do this. You know, there's so much lack of respect and I've got extended family in law enforcement. One of my best friends in uh growing up his dad was a cop. We thought that was amazing. Right, it's like your old man's a cop that we thought that was amazing. Right, it's like, oh man, he's a cop. That's so much, that's cool, that's so much honor. My friend, he was a cop his whole life. He just retired. His brother was a cop. His two sons are cops. There was so much pride that they had. But it's hard for those guys to do that now. You know they should be giving more resources to the police to be able to deal with what's happening, as opposed to taking the money.
Neil:It'd be cool to take this. You know, if we're fortunate enough to take this podcast on the road, I would do writer's rounds and raise money for vets in small towns and first responders. It'd be such a rewarding thing to do to go sing for those people and raise money for those guys.
Tully:On our scale with this song, even on tour last year. A lot of places we go are connected to the Wounded Warriors Foundation and we'd see them backstage and people there and they'd say thank you and the local cops on hand that night would say thank you and it's like you know what, whatever small part we can play in us saying thank you for doing a thankless job, it's a thankless job you know, and I don't again look, we've had.
Tully:I remember me and Aldine were driving to macon, georgia, in 1999 from you know nashville, and we got in my old truck we look like crap. You know we're going to you know macon. And then, and we had my truck loaded up with gear and everything you can imagine and we're leave town. We got like 25 minutes out of town down near murfreesboro, tennessee, and we're we're rolling. We got a crappy radio on and all of a sudden the lights come on and I don't think I was speeding. Maybe I don't know, I don't think that truck could go faster than the speed, but I was. We get pulled over. We get pulled over and we got pulled over. I would have pulled us over too. So I, I mean I get pulled over and we got pulled over. I would have pulled us over too. So I, I mean I get pulled over. And uh, he comes to the truck and we look, you know, we look like crap. I mean we, probably you know out of the car out of the car, exactly right.
Tully:So he gets me out of the car, gets Aldina out of the car and I can't remember I think it was they might have put Jason in the car and I was sitting on the road.
Neil:God loved that video of that.
Tully:He emptied out my whole truck, convinced that we probably had some drugs with us. We were up to no good, which, to be fair, we probably looked like that to be fair. But you know, what I didn't do, or he didn't do, was run from the cop. You didn't resist. Try to hit the cop, he's got a job to do. It sucked. He emptied out all my stuff and all my gear and it was a sad scene out there on the interstate All your tighty-whities Embarrassing I get it, I get it get it.
Neil:It's totally embarrassing uh no, but the guitar in the back seat saved you, didn't it saved. You didn't know that? I don't know if it saved me.
Tully:I think he's. He's probably convinced that he did us a favor and let us go. But um, we all have those stories like we've. You know, we've all been pulled over when you know, whatever you know. But I remember I've never not respected the police. I mean, bad things can happen if you do something stupid and you try to run or drive away.
Neil:What those guys have to put up with, I can't even imagine.
Kurt:It's a ridiculously hard job. They're making life and death decisions in a split second and they're afraid to make those decisions because imagine walking up to a window, somebody you don't know.
Neil:You've pulled over on the side of the road it's you know. You're walking up to the window and you don't know what you're walking into.
Kurt:You don't have a clue training that goes involved. You know those guys, that's years of training to do it. Now what? Now what's happening? It's just they're getting flooded with new people and it's man, as you're seeing, with some of these cities that are defunded, obviously the crime rate has gone up. I mean, that's no big surprise.
Tully:I heard in New York City. I heard this today, yeah.
Kelley:I know National Guard yeah.
Tully:Is in the subways.
Kelley:A thousand have been deployed.
Tully:I mean just think about that With weapons.
Kurt:Come on, but they'll tell you the crime rate has gone down.
Kelley:But if you live there I'd be thinking, well thank God Compared to what Thank God somebody's down there.
Neil:Has there ever been a National Guard instructed to go to a small town? Has that ever happened in the history of America?
Tully:I'd love to know that I don't know, Well, you mean for, I mean probably for, like For exactly.
Kelley:Maybe for some, I don't know, but not for civil unrest.
Neil:I'm just saying have they ever needed? Has it ever been so bad that they needed the National Guard at a small town, or did the good old boys just take care of it?
Kelley:Caller, we're going to get back to you on that one. We don't know 100%.
Neil:Hey, I'm just saying. That just leads us back to our song.
Kelley:But the point you're making is great, and that's small towns. It's really what I feel like America used to be as a whole. You know that now a lot of it has boiled down to small towns because their smaller communities actually know each other's names and they watch out for each other, and now everybody is so just disconnected that it's almost there's just an apathy, it just seems. You know, which is a shame, you know, it just is.
Tully:Yeah, it's, definitely.
Neil:I think we should make a toast to you for coming up with the title of the song and raise one for Toby. We should have actually raised one for Toby.
Kurt:That's a great idea.
Kelley:Yeah, let's do that. Hey Wade, hey Wade, hey Wade.
Kurt:Hey Wade, hey Wade, hey Wade, hey Wade, hey Wade. One for the red, white and blue, oh, red solo cup and he's in a red solo cup.
Neil:Yes, cool story.
Tully:Cool story about this cup. So a couple years ago we were at the BMI Awards in 2022. It says here BMI Cup, red Solo Cup. Toby was the icon. Give him the icon award. You were there, I remember, got up there Great speech, and you knew that he was telling his life. He knew what he was doing, how much this town meant to him, how much the songwriters meant to him, everybody in that room. So here's to a great American.
Kurt:Yeah, absolutely Toby.
Tully:Keith.
Neil:Yep, okay, all right Time dresses to the band Indeed who poured that shot Wade?
Kelley:That was, that was, that was that was. Hayward, that was Hayward.
Tully:How about running that over some mice next time? Good dang? Wade.
Kelley:All right. So, guys, just in talking about the border, I mean that that to me is I know it's a hot button, not for everybody, but but the fact that you have so many millions of people coming from so many different countries. I don't even know, kurt, you probably know how many countries. I don't know how many countries, but they're coming from some countries that don't love America already, and we talked about 9-11 earlier. And you think about really a brilliant plan for years that that was planned to create 9-11 from the people that wanted to devastate us, hurt us, destroy us, kill us. You don't think they've been thinking since then? You don't think that they're already sending people?
Neil:here, the unknown is what's scary.
Kelley:And they're coming from everywhere. So it's not like you have people from Mexico coming over because they don't have enough work and they're coming over for work and money. Now, some people are right, but out of 7 million, you said 10, kurt right. Out of that, many people, somebody means us harm. No two ways about it, because it's already happened. It's already happened. It's already happened. They're already killing. They killed that girl, that Georgia student.
Kurt:It's heartbreaking, and you kind of alluded to this what I don't get, and you said this you can have an illegal that gets arrested and 48 hours later they get let let go because they only shoplifted, so that you can't.
Kelley:You can't hold them for that right.
Kurt:Then they kill somebody yeah, and I mean, and you know what if? If you have an illegal that commits a crime and you don't deport them, what is that? Like? I don't get that.
Kelley:Somebody explain that to me. They're criminals. Yeah well, tully if you stole something, if you stole a 12-pack of beer tonight on the way home like In front of everybody. I know you'll pay for it. But if you were to steal it, you would be in jail Absolutely, and you'd be in jail tomorrow.
Tully:Here's my issue with the border, and my ancestry came from Ireland, landed in New York City.
Kurt:America was built on immigration, we know that.
Tully:That is the fact. But it's a different time Post 9-11,. The border is now a way to get in and hurt us, if you want to. A lot of those people just want to be here. I get that, but we can't be that naive to just assume that nobody wants to come and hurt us. And it feels again. It feels like we're being set up for failure. Like, am I forgetting this or did this happen For three years? Wasn't Biden, the administration, saying, oh, there is no problem at the border, the border is secure even though we're watching this, but now, all of a sudden, there's a problem at the border.
Kelley:Well, and we know why.
Tully:Yes, yeah, but it's.
Kelley:The election is coming soon, so let's fix the things or make it look like I care about these things because I want to get reelected, so now I care.
Tully:Well, they expected the border towns to absorb the influx.
Kelley:Oh the sanctuary cities. They no just the border towns to absorb the influx. Oh the sanctuary cities.
Neil:No, just the border towns. You just said it, Kalo Right.
Tully:You said it. They just wanted to decimate these border towns. And funny, we were on the road this is God a couple years ago and near a border town, and one of the guys that was running us back and forth to where we needed to be was actually a police officer and he was saying that they are just getting destroyed. And this is before it became where all the media started covering it. Right, but that's what they wanted. They wanted the border towns to absorb this and it just crushed them. And you said the words sanctuary cities, Okay, well, you see what happens then. They don't want them and it's I don't know how. Maybe you guys can help me figure this out. How do we get out of this? There's so many. What's the number, kurt? You had? You'd said the number, well, and again it's it's, it's up near 10.
Kelley:Oh yeah, oh yeah yeah, oh yeah, that's amazing. Go ahead, no, kurt.
Kurt:No, you go ahead, no I'm just saying it's disturbing because, like I said, uh, that's as many. That has been 18 years prior to that combined.
Neil:That's more than the population of 34 states. 10 million people, right, 34 states in our country.
Kurt:That's more than the population of 34 of them, and when you look at what's being newborn in America, it's about 3.5 million a year. So it's equal to that and they're flooding them into these states.
Neil:It's all about retaining power for the left. That's all it's about.
Tully:That's all it's about and it's all about retaining power for the left. That's all it's about, and that's all it's about. I tell you, I can't imagine. It's a terrible thought. But we one of our, you know, I have two kids and it's hard, it's scary enough. There's a scary enough world out there. You know you, things can happen, but the feeling of like if, if something happens to one of your children by someone who's illegally here, who has a record of violence, and we didn't do any vetting, we didn't do any that is unrecoverable, I don't know how to even react to that.
Neil:Well, have you noticed that the states that are reacting to it by constitutional carry? Now you don't have to have a permit I don't know how many states have passed it now but you don't have to have a carry permit to carry a firearm, a handgun, and while all that's going on, that's going on over here, which shows where the division is. You've got people that are taking—you've got sanctuary cities that are paying the price now that they're all coming in, and then you've got states over here that are enacting constitutional carry and I don't know where it's going to end. It doesn't look good, but I don't know where it's. It's all going to come to a head at some point, do you guys think? Because most people are going to protect their own.
Tully:Do you guys think the population is actually divided on this issue? How can it?
Kurt:Okay, that's a great question. How can that be?
Tully:Do you think that I do just because, On this subject, immigrants do you?
Kelley:guys. Okay, that's a great question. I don't, how can that be like? Do you think that?
Tully:on on, I do, just because it's illegal on this, on this subject immigrate like what's happening at the border, okay, and what's happening now, to the cities and in, in these you know, unfortunate situations where someone gets murdered, are there people saying, oh, no, no, I like this so well, I don't think there's people saying I like this, but it's funny.
Kurt:You ask because I think you would think that we're all on the same page with this, but I know there are people that think differently on this and it's. I don't understand where that's coming from. I don't you know if it's, if they're just watching a different.
Neil:But those same people. If you were to bring 20 Venezuelans to their doorstep and say these people need a place to stay, they're going to turn them away. They're a bunch of liars.
Kurt:I don't disagree with that.
Neil:They are not going to take them in. They're all talk. They want to sound that way and if you were to drop them off at their front door and say these people need a shower, they need food and they need a place to stay, they would turn them away.
Kurt:Well, you're right, and if you zoom out a little bit, it's like we kind of turn the other way on this because we think, oh, it's down there, it's on the border. Whatever it's affecting different cities, when it affects you and your hometown and, like you said, if it affects your family, you're going to think a lot differently on it.
Neil:It just shows you how much Biden cares about his own people, the citizens of this country. It shows you how much he cares about them by letting somebody that nobody knows crawl through a fence, climb over a wall and walk through somebody's homestead.
Kelley:Wearing a Biden-Harris t-shirt.
Neil:Exactly. It shows you how much he cares about his own people.
Tully:No lie and they know they love Biden and they know, you know, and we're seeing pictures of it and these people getting arrested and stuff. You know they're gang gang members. You know they're gang gang members, you know. And I think what scares me is the fact that it's, it's just we're. How could it? How could we okay with it? How could we be naive enough to think, oh, they don't mean us any harm, of course they mean us harm. Not all of them, you know, and that's that's the shame of it. Like the, we've just lost the process of, of becoming a citizen, you know, which. A lot of people spent years doing the correct way and it's amazing, you think about it, what this country is. That's why this country is great. The same thing that made it great is now tearing it apart, which is yeah which is crazy to think, which is every known anyone who's ever ruled the world.
Kelley:It all falls apart from within and not saying it's going to happen tomorrow, it could be a thousand years, but it's not a good feel right now for sure. And I think I think the, the current, they think okay, let's just love everybody and just bring everybody in. Because we love them and give them things, they'll be nice. Well, and to your point, tully, that is.
Neil:They don't really think that. Here's the thing. They don't really think that. Is that what you?
Kurt:think they really think.
Neil:They don't really think that. No, they know, they know what really think that. Is that what you think? They really think? They don't really think that. No, I know, they know, they know what they're doing.
Kelley:We can. Sometimes you can be in your bubble, in your community, your neighborhood and you can think everybody's wired the same. Everybody is not wired the same. They're not. There's not an amount of love you can give them or money you can give them to make them be like you and feel like you and love like you. It's impossible. They're not going to do it.
Neil:I want everybody to feel like me.
Kelley:They just do so. I just want to know who's coming over, that's all.
Tully:We just want to know is there an issue of violence? Have you been arrested for violent crime?
Kelley:And what's interesting is because it's an election year, right? So we've been three years, okay, not visiting the border and I think, vp, she is in charge. Kamala Harris, right, kamala?
Kurt:Harris, she's in charge. I think she's the czar.
Kelley:And just bless her heart. She just doesn't say things that resonate. It's difficult, you could say it nicer.
Neil:I can't, I know you can't, I can't.
Kelley:Sorry, I can't, I know you can't, I can't, sorry I can't. It's a freaking joke. But anyway, getting back on the point, you know is the is is the fact that three years now Biden is going to the border. Now he only goes very slow on slow days. Now, now we've learned that Mondays are slow, just like, just like with, like with, like with Aldi, and you guys, you guys don't do shows on Monday nights, right, you know why? Because everybody's working and eating their dinner and stuff. They're not going downtown, they're not going to a coliseum or anything like that, they're going to. You know, it's just. They go when there's no traffic. And then Trump goes too. He goes where there's traffic, Biden goes where there's no traffic. You know it's all political. They do not care, they don't care who's coming over, they don't they don't.
Tully:That's a fact. That's a fact At its most basic level.
Kurt:Or under.
Tully:They don't care Whatever side you're on, you have to see what you're saying. Like you said it very well. I mean it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense not to make sure who's coming over isn't an obvious threat?
Kurt:And then, when they present the threat, they show that they will be a threat you don't do anything about it we don't. It's like it's one conversation to let the illegals that should be all that needs to be said.
Neil:They show that they're a threat or a criminal. Enough said and the illegals out.
Kelley:enough said, enough unsaid you know, we kind of believe America currently is here to help Israel survive. Israel is very, very important, very, very important, and God knows. None of this is a surprise to God, it's all biblical.
Kelley:He knows who the next leader is going to be. He's not saying, oh no, it's Trump. He says terrible things. He's not surprised, so he is in control. That's the thing that does give us peace at night. So we're not, even though we get on a topic and we get passionate and angry. And you care about people and you don't like people getting hurt. I mean to me, you know, I mean God's on the throne, he is going to take care of stuff, but it doesn't mean we don't pray. It doesn't mean that we don't do things. It doesn't mean we don't help each other. You know, because that's what we're here for.
Kurt:And it doesn't mean that there's not still some good acts and some good things being done in the world. And, Kalo, you were just talking about Braylon Edwards, right?
Kelley:Oh, yeah, yeah, hey, wade sent us a story this week, which is great.
Kurt:So tell us the story which it kind of pertains to the song and it kind of gives us some hope and speaks to what we're trying to say here yeah, he just said that that's a great point.
Kelley:I mean, um, because there are a lot of positive things you know happening and and just like we're talking about in the small towns, people helping each other. It was so cool that nfl player, uh, he was at a ymca, you know, he's working out and and he's just in the locker room and everything and and he heard something and the first thought he goes that music's really loud back there and he just thought that and he was just aware, right. And then he heard a thud. And when he heard a thud he said all right, that's not right. So he went back there and there was a 25-year-old guy beating up an 80-year-old man in a YMCA locker room, right. So he goes back and he says he grabs the back of his hair and says I subdued the young man.
Tully:I subdued.
Kelley:Which I love.
Neil:That's the epitome of our song too. It's so good.
Kelley:No, but I absolutely love that. And then it gets down to the point and to everything that we're talking about and thinking about, and it's like they're asking so why did you do that? Why did you put yourself at risk and do that? His quote was, at the end of the day, it's just what you do.
Kurt:It's just what you do.
Kelley:It's just what you do.
Kurt:It's just what you do and it wasn't like a big thing. He didn't make a big thing of it. These are basic values, right?
Tully:It's the same thing. It's the same mindset that those cops had running into the towers that day yeah.
Kelley:Yeah, firefighters, it's just what you do. It's just what you do, exactly.
Kurt:It's just what you do, exactly Well, it's just what you do, amen.
Kelley:That's awesome.
Kurt:I mean, those are the kind of messages that we're trying to spread.
Neil:I mean that could be a title of a new song too. So anybody out there listening thinking you're going to write. It's just what you do.
Kelley:Cut hey Wade. No, hey Wade.
Kurt:Stay tuned for that one, because that's a fantastic title.
Tully:That is the overall spirit of what we're talking about. Absolutely that feeling. What we started this conversation with tonight is how we'll end it.
Kurt:It's like feeling that united, just helping your neighbor.
Tully:It's just what you do, you see something wrong going on, you see something messed up. You see something going on, you know, and that is Just helping your neighbor, it's just what you do. You see something wrong going on, you see something messed up. You see something going on, you help out. That's the small town mentality. Absolutely, it's just what you do.
Kelley:Help out your neighbor. All right y'all. One more Cheers, boys, here we go. Love y'all, yep.