This week, the writers of Try That in a Small Town tell stories behind some of their legendary Nashville hits such as "There Goes My Life," "I'm Still a Guy," and "If I Didn't Love You."
This week, the writers of Try That in a Small Town tell stories behind some of their legendary Nashville hits such as "There Goes My Life," "I'm Still a Guy," and "If I Didn't Love You."
One of my favorite songs, just because the story of it is a Brad Paisley song. It's called I'm Still a Guy that I didn't even know you wrote until a couple years ago.
Speaker 2:There Goes my Life.
Speaker 1:That's one of my favorites Anytime you have straight-up songwriters in the room with an artist and you're high-fiving the songwriters saying, yes, we can stay in our house for one more year. This is amazing, you know Chris Jansen drank so much meliella that he, he couldn't sweat anymore.
Speaker 1:And he broke out in all these who, chris jansen, a few years ago. Yeah, he couldn't sweat anymore. He got these bumps on him and he went to the doctor and he said it's because he drank too much meliella, and he couldn't, he couldn't, he couldn't sweat, you know, because it's pretty dangerous, you know. So he couldn't sweat and so and so, so I went over there the next day. He goes, he goes. I said what are you drinking? He goes it's, isn't it like a 32 ounce cherry lime? A, I'm thinking, is that better? Is that better? Yeah, it's fantastic yeah we're back.
Speaker 4:Yeah, let's do it, we're back I think that was a fantastic intro maybe we'll use it.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it's an intro. I didn't know. We're rolling. I don't know either.
Speaker 3:Oh, we're rolling oh, okay, so are we five episodes in. We're a few in, yeah.
Speaker 2:I can't believe we're still on.
Speaker 3:I'm curious Are we good, are we bad? People like us, I like us.
Speaker 2:We've got some comments. We've got some comments. We've got some questions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, some of them are good. Some Some of them are foul.
Speaker 4:Yeah, some of them don't like us, that's okay. Yeah, but you know what? We welcome all questions.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 4:Whether they're good, bad. If they try to put us in a bad light, I welcome it. In fact, I like answering those more than I do this?
Speaker 2:Well, we're going to do that, this episode, right, we've got a lot of questions. We're going to read some comments and just kind of get everybody involved. Uh, seriously, though, if you guys are on the youtube page, obviously you got to like and subscribe, but leave comments, leave a review. We want to hear from you guys on the instagram page, all the socials. That'd be great for you guys to do. I got one question put in front of me. You guys want to hear it. Yeah, I do, you got such a good voice.
Speaker 4:Thank you, it's like a game mean he does.
Speaker 2:He talks his ass off. That'd be great. I wish I had a game show. What would it be?
Speaker 3:Ooh, I just had a thought though Try that in a small town board game.
Speaker 4:We're not allowed to say try that in a small town. Well, we hadn't announced that though.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:But you're on, but we hadn.
Speaker 3:Try that in a small town board game. It's amazing. It's pretty good, though You're going to be buzzed again.
Speaker 4:I thought we were going to try to do an episode without saying the title of the song.
Speaker 1:It's a board game, but we hadn't laid the rules out yet, so we have to lay the rules out. What are the rules, kelly?
Speaker 4:Well, we can't say try that in a small town. What would it look like?
Speaker 3:A board game, little squares of different towns.
Speaker 1:You're in a big city.
Speaker 4:You lose, you get your ass whipped if you land on New York Boulevard.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's not bad.
Speaker 3:You get sucker punched if you land on New York Boulevard. You guys are laughing at me while I'm spitting genius over here.
Speaker 4:It's fantastic. I think that's pretty good. Actually, it's going to happen.
Speaker 3:Caleb build the prototype.
Speaker 4:No, it's Trinopoly.
Speaker 1:That's what it is we should probably cut this part out because somebody's going to listen to it and they'll have that board game out in six months and we'll be screwed again All right back to the question, but we can still do the board game.
Speaker 2:I don't know where Anastasia is from. But it's from Anastasia. Thanks for the question. I feel like I am hosting a game show. Would you ever have any other country artist on the show, like maybe cody johnson, uh, and goes on? I would love for you to interview cody britney aldean we'll have something for that tuned, and maybe candace owens those are all pretty good, yeah what do you guys think about that?
Speaker 3:cody? For sure, cody's, uh, I mean, he's one of us, yeah, he's a patriot. We love cody. Yeah, he and he, uh, he came to the defense of aldine when all that was going on. So, and cody's, solid, solid artist yeah, he's unique right.
Speaker 2:All you ever ask for in an artist is that they be themselves, they be genuine, and he is that in space 100.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like he's, he's. He's a true artist, and I know in our camp, uh, everyone has full respect for Cody Johnson and he's on fire.
Speaker 4:He was one of the ones that kind of came to Jason's defense, right. Yeah, one of the few that actually got vocal about it a little bit.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he came out and mentioned it.
Speaker 2:What do you guys think about Candace Owens? That'd be pretty good, absolutely.
Speaker 1:She's a rock star. She's sharp, she's a rock star.
Speaker 2:Definitely Will she come on. I don't know. Getting back to you, are we doing good? We're going to have to get her, that's another thing.
Speaker 3:So we're gaining followers on our Instagram. We are, yeah, how long before we get to a million followers?
Speaker 2:A million. I want a million followers.
Speaker 1:Hey Wade, based on the current map.
Speaker 2:A million. Something would have to go viral for us to get it. I think six seven months. Seven months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, something like that, quicker Much longer.
Speaker 4:We have to be a little more controversial to get that many followers. Are we not To pass Oprah on the charts?
Speaker 2:It would take something viral, like Kalo streaking down Broadway Singing Try that Song. I've seen that, I've seen it.
Speaker 4:I don't know it's happened, I've seen it.
Speaker 3:What's your guess on the amount of time before we get to a million followers on Instagram?
Speaker 1:Oh, it's a total random guess. I don't know. Go guess Based on my personal followers. I have 13 now, but I've only been at it for like three years, so I was behind. I think you guys are wrong, but you can pass it down. I can pass it down to my daughter, lucy, and then I think, by the time she has, grandchildren then maybe I think it's going to be quicker.
Speaker 2:I'm going to say by Christmas, christmas miracle.
Speaker 3:It's a Christmas miracle that we're going to have a million followers on Instagram.
Speaker 4:We could easily. If we get Candace on the show and she posts about it, if we get Cody Johnson on the show and he posts about it and he has a good time, we make him feel at home. And Ko's 10 followers come on yes, 13, 13 and they start talking. It'll be perfect? I don't think so. I want to get ted nugent on here.
Speaker 2:I think so I would love the nuge, but I don't think, I don't think it's gonna happen gosh care to make it interesting I would love to make it interesting tattoos anyone.
Speaker 3:I say this if we go wait let it be everybody listening in podcast world. All of you, how many followers do we have at this point? All 12 of you need to listen. 13 if we get a million followers by.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna say christmas eve, because Because that's one of my favorite nights. It'll be a true Christmas miracle.
Speaker 3:Kurt has to get a tattoo, you have to. We have to make that the bet. Why am I the?
Speaker 2:only one that has to pay up. Well, Kalo has to pay up too?
Speaker 3:That's a great question.
Speaker 4:We're the only three that don't have tattoos, at this table, right here, and you're the one holding everybody back.
Speaker 3:Or Kalo has to get it on the small of his back.
Speaker 4:It's just like You're the one not being a team player. I'm just saying.
Speaker 2:I know I feel like this is an intervention.
Speaker 4:It's a pretty good deal, though, if we get what he said, what Tully said, zully.
Speaker 3:A million followers by December 24th.
Speaker 2:Well, we're not getting a million.
Speaker 3:So I say yeah, oh yes, okay, y'all heard it, everybody heard it.
Speaker 4:Hold on everybody heard, everybody heard it.
Speaker 2:Can we edit that out and we'll?
Speaker 4:and we'll video it and it'll be an episode.
Speaker 3:We will get our tattoo let's go to the next question has to get on the small of his back just because you have to like a spring break that's not painful enough.
Speaker 4:We'll see, I don't know it's emotionally painful. We gotta pick another spot.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure, hey, let me go with this. There was a comment on um, one of the instagram posts. It was interesting, um, it was talking about how I think tully in the clip is saying how an artist should be able to say and sing what they believe, and this person said hey, hey, I 1,000% get this sentiment. But if artists should take the risk to say what they believe and you truly believe that, you can't be upset if an artist puts out a song that might have liberal viewpoints which you responded to, of course, right, no problem with that. No problem, no problem. That's all we ever wanted, right, because actually that's kind of. The point is that we feel that there are a lot of people that have a different point of view, but once a song like ours comes out, you kind of get the heat for it, but we're all open to it. It's part of the First Amendment Free speech, right? Free artistic expression, of course 100%.
Speaker 3:The people will let you know, whether they like it or not.
Speaker 2:Right, they just don't listen to it.
Speaker 3:If there's a song that comes out that has liberal ideals in it, fine, go for it, right. If it's good and people like it, that's fine. It's their right, like it was our right.
Speaker 1:So anyway, right, yeah, yeah, and generally, especially if it's coming out on the radio.
Speaker 3:What's a liberal?
Speaker 4:view of a song. You'll know pretty soon if it's not, I don't know what's a liberal view of a song. I want to know what a liberal view is in a song.
Speaker 2:Well, okay, I didn't know we'd go here, but for whatever reason that sparked something with me, say it. No, I'm just saying, as an adult, you don't like a song, you don't listen to it. But it gets hard when you're a parent, right, and I have an 11 year old who gets on whatever and he's listening to songs like no, we can't listen to that one. Uh, this isn't necessarily a liberal point of view, but I remember we were watching the grammys a couple years years ago and Sam Smith was on. You guys remember that unholy song. I love him. He's awesome, well, you know. And Sam Smith is a good singer. That's not the point, right. The point is is that song came on and it was like he's dressed up like the devil, he's got his whole thing going on. It's like, okay, we can't watch that and so, as an adult, like he said, just don't listen to it. But it gets into a different thing when you're a parent and you have to try to watch what your kids listen to yeah and that's.
Speaker 2:You know that that's. That's. That's the tricky part. Everybody does have, uh, the freedom to do what they want, what's's funny on that note, my oldest daughter and her boyfriend.
Speaker 4:They were listening to this rap stuff and it was just like total filth, right. But they're bebopping around the ocean and the beach, you know, and listening to this stuff in their car and stuff. And my wife, lana, one evening broke out the lyric to one of the songs To this song. Yeah, and handed it to my oldest daughter's boyfriend and wanted him to read it to her.
Speaker 2:Oh snap.
Speaker 4:And he couldn't do it. He started to read it and he couldn't. He said read that lyric to me. I want to see what it says.
Speaker 2:That's amazing.
Speaker 4:And he couldn't do it. And I'm like, if you can't read a lyric back to an adult, or to your parent, that is awesome yeah, why in the world would you want them listening to it? It's that filthy, wow, that's good but our song is like we got banned our song. Well, ours is offensive. Yeah, it's very offensive.
Speaker 1:Well, first off, first off. So so we'll have the rules, okay. So, since in every podcast so far we've had a mention of the song that we wrote, jason aldean recorded try that in small town. So we've kind of talked about that a lot, so we're gonna we're gonna give that a break for tonight and I'm one of us that says try that in small town after that okay it's the buzzer gets the buzzer.
Speaker 2:does neil get the buzzer? Does he get to keep the buzzer? It's the buzzer. Does Neil get the buzzer? Does he get to keep the buzzer it?
Speaker 1:depends. As the night goes on, he may do shift over toward.
Speaker 4:I'll pay for the buzzer Cause. He'll start buzzing Great answer.
Speaker 3:You know, you know what, yeah, you know what's great. I got some questions too, like about other songs that we which I love that, because it's not just about this song and everything but you know what we do for a living and how fun it is, you know. I would love to get thoughts on all of our favorite songs, like Kalo, your favorite song you've written. Neil, favorite song you've written. Like I think I like to know that stuff.
Speaker 2:I like that, I like that.
Speaker 4:It's not fair to ask us what's our favorite song. We've written because it's going to be this one and I'm not saying the title, but it's going to be this one Right Every time because of what it did.
Speaker 1:Well, you can just say one of your favorites, we can talk about other songs, but Well, another one that this one kind of took over.
Speaker 4:It kind of jumped everything else I have, can I tell you, it changes all the time with me.
Speaker 2:Can I tell you a favorite song that I have that I didn't even know you uh wrote until well a couple years ago. There goes my life. That's one of my favorites I mean, that's just an all-time great song. Do you have a story or uh anything?
Speaker 4:about that. Yeah, a little bit of a story. I wrote that with wendell mobley, good buddy of mine that I've written a lot of songs with over the years. He's a great leader too. Probably 90% of my success has come with Wendell. He was involved. You guys were just like a team. Yeah, yeah, there goes.
Speaker 4:My life was like a title that was written in our notebooks and it was. Wendell had it written down first and then I wrote it down in mine and it kind of sat there for a year. It was like we knew what it was going to be about but we just didn't. We never sat down and actually worked on it. We just kind of look at it every now and then We'd get together and look at the title and like, man, let's write something. We'd go off and write something else, yeah. And then finally one day we just jumped on it and when we did, it was like instant. And we went upstairs in his house and did a little work tape and jimmy mattingly, who plays fiddle, came over and put a little fiddle part on it and we sent it to kenny. He plays for garth, right, yeah, jimmy, and we sent it to kenny, and so he was instant. It was kind of like try that in a small town so did you when you were writing?
Speaker 2:were you thinking about kenny, or were you just letting the song be what it was and then, at the end of it, yeah, no, we weren't thinking about Kenny, but he was our first pitch, okay, I don't know, it was just like.
Speaker 4:That was kind of obvious. He was looking at the time and it was perfect timing.
Speaker 1:Did you already have stuff with Kenny just to send it to him? So you already had a good relationship with?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, so okay yeah, what a great feeling too when you get on a song. And I think a songwriter's, I think you write a lot of songs and you and you feel good about a lot of them. But sometimes you're you write one like that, like, like you said, like you just kind of knew you were on one. Oh, there was no doubt yeah, and that, that's, that's, that's a great feeling.
Speaker 4:This is a you know, and one of the sad things about today, in today's country music, is like we couldn't get that song cut today we could pitch that song to everybody and we would just get pass after pass. It's just not, it's a timing thing, it's an era thing and it's yeah. You know, the timing of that song was perfect for him.
Speaker 2:Yeah what an amazing song is that like? One of your favorites, or is it oh?
Speaker 4:it's. Yeah, it's definitely one of my favorites it's the biggest song I've ever had, as far as biggest, it was number one at seven for seven weeks. What? Oh yeah, wow, seven weeks. Wow, yeah, it stayed up. Wow, yeah, number one for seven weeks and just stayed there wow, can't hide that's you especially, especially as a two-way song you can't't hide money.
Speaker 1:A lot of songs nowadays we're writing three, four and five people, so you have a two-way song. You know, you just talk about the pie and the money being split. I mean, that's a lick. Yeah, it was a good lick.
Speaker 3:That's great, kalo. I mean you've written your share. Is there one besides? Try that in a small town. Epic fail. That sticks out, seriously that sticks out.
Speaker 2:Don't be humble. You did right Laugh Until we Cried. We've talked about that right.
Speaker 1:I said hits yeah, which is kind of funny Laugh Until we.
Speaker 3:Cried was a great show. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Kurt. We played it one time ever. Hey, it went to number six.
Speaker 3:Got an ASCAP award for it. It was not bad, you know, I'm kidding, but what's funny is Kevin O'Neill.
Speaker 1:Aldine's agent we're at his house and Neil was there and we were talking about that and I didn't know Kevin that well, but Neil was just trying to be complimentary and kind of bring the room together and he said yeah oh, because I love that song.
Speaker 3:Okay, kayla always love this. It is a great song thank y'all.
Speaker 1:And uh, neil said yeah, kayla wrote a laugh toy cry and he goes, he goes. I hate that freaking song. He goes. That's my, that's my least favorite song that jason's ever recorded.
Speaker 2:I said you know what it's good? That's good because it wasn't right for Jason at the time. Yeah, it's actually a great song.
Speaker 3:You know it's a great song, Caleb, You're an amazing songwriter.
Speaker 1:No, thank you very much.
Speaker 3:But yeah, it was the timing of it. It wasn't the song, it was just the timing of it. But what's your?
Speaker 1:Well, one of my favorite songs, just because the story of it is a Brad Paisley song. It was a good while back, but it's called I'm still a guy and uh, and and I love it just because the way it transpired. And uh, because brad is, he is a very gifted writer and he's hard to impress. And and uh, me and my co-writer, uh, lee miller, we'd we've been writing for probably six months just trying to find something that would impress him. He kept, you know, knocking everything down and everything, and and well, when I say six months, I mean technically me and lee were getting together every other tuesday between 11 and 3, but still it felt like six months, you know, but um, anyway. So so finally I came up with the opening two lines of the, the song, and uh, and lee said what's that? I said I don't know, he'll record that. And he said what's the title? I said I don't know, but he'll record it.
Speaker 1:And so we got into a framework you know uh, outline form enough, you know to to present it to him and for the, for the sake of the story right now, living on the same farm for a long time, you know. So. So I called him, told him about it. He came over and, uh, and for all the times we say, oh, this song came out in two hours and it was so easy and everything I mean a lot of times, as we know, it takes a long time. So it's about four o'clock in the morning and we got done with it and we were laughing and high-fiving and stuff like that and so, and as y'all know, anytime you know you're, you have straight up songwriters in the room with an artist and you're high-fiving the songwriters saying, yes, we can stay in our house for one more year this is amazing.
Speaker 1:You know so. But in all that jubilation, brad gets a call and he picks up his phone. He said your water broke. I looked over at Lee and I thought this is a terrible time for a miracle child. So, anyway, brad gets up and he starts going down my office steps and I sheepishly follow behind him. He gets out there in the driveway and he starts to jog. I said you want me to give you a ride over there? He goes no, I'm going to run. You want me to give you a ride over there? And he goes no, I'm going to run. And his little white cowboy hat disappeared over the horizon. I said you still love the song.
Speaker 3:And then you had to think about it. What does he?
Speaker 1:think, yeah, crickets, nothing. Anyway, the next day he calls and he said hey, it was a false alarm. Last night Everything was fine. I said, oh, thank God, I stayed up all night praying and fasting for the child to be. He said you're an idiot, he goes. But I think we wrote a hit song last night. I said, really, I didn't think much of it.
Speaker 1:But, anyway, it's always been one of my favorite ones and we play like songwriter nights or corporate things and Neil and I play almost every one of them together and he sings what being played. It's just always a fun song just to make people laugh, because in today's world a lot of things are so heavy. It's just fun to have that song. Now that when you're talking about a timeless song that is not timeless, yours is that one. You can't say forever. Well.
Speaker 2:I mean, what was it about that In every room, you know, that was kind of his thing, though, right, I mean, how many Paisley cuts did you have? A, how many Paisley cuts did you have?
Speaker 1:A lot. I'm not sure how many cuts.
Speaker 3:You've counted? No, I haven't. You have it's quite a bit.
Speaker 1:I've counted. I know I've had 10 number ones, but I don't have any cuts.
Speaker 2:Can you tell us a story?
Speaker 3:of Tix. For those of you who don't know about this, it's a song recorded by Brad Paisley called Tix.
Speaker 4:I mean it was a number one song, right? Yes, it's number one. Yes, it's actually pretty brilliant. Well, anytime I, you know, I'd like make fun or diss a song, it's because I'm pissed because I'm not on it.
Speaker 2:Oh 100%.
Speaker 1:Only 100%. Yeah, even if I don't like something at all, I want to be on it. You know, I want people to make fun of me.
Speaker 2:I mean people don't get this. I want people to make fun of me, but I mean people don't get this. I mean we're songwriters and they think, oh, it's artistic integrity. I mean, listen, this is our job. Our job is to make money and write songs for other people. Brad Paisley has a gift of writing songs that kind of make people laugh and, and you know, that's kind of part of this thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, definitely kind of this thing and actually it's kind of odd because the topic of that and the place that we wrote it is we're in. He had a house in the Pacific Palisades, which is a real rich part of California and everything, and definitely there's no ticks there.
Speaker 4:I wouldn't imagine, unless they're already on you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, unless you brought them with you, which I think it's okay as long as you're in the US, but if you came from somewhere else that'd be a problem. But anyway, we were, you know, having trouble coming up with a good idea, you know, and his career was, you know, rocking, and so they were looking for something different, which it gets harder and you know it just, it just is. Um. So anyway, we were striking out.
Speaker 1:I was out there with tim owens, a great guy and a songwriter, and and brad just kind of been there for two days and had nothing, you know, and he'd go away for a little bit. I guess he went for a jog or to the coffee shop or maybe to eat, as he left us there to, you know, eat the stale honey nut Cheerios in the back of the pantry. But anyway he comes back and he said, well, y'all got anything and we'd throw him some stuff that we thought was okay, but we knew we didn't have it, we didn't have anything good, and he was getting frustrated and he just looked down at his phone and then eventually he said he just said. He said he said what. Then eventually he said he just said. He said he said what about? What about? I want to check you for ticks. That's what he said.
Speaker 1:That's what he said and I just kind of I just kind of you know grinned a little bit and looked up and I said, because he was still looking at me and I thought I said oh, you mean for a song, you know, and he goes, yeah, and I said, oh, I don't know, brad, I'm not sure if that I mean maybe um, and so, because it didn't hit me right right off the top, you know, as a song and um, so we just started talking about it and and writing it, and and it was one of those things. You know, you get around artists in there, they love something for a little bit, and then you call them the next day and they're like, yeah, I don't think so. And then you called next day, I said, yeah, I love it, I think it's gonna be, oh, that's great. And then three hours later they don't like it.
Speaker 1:Well, anyway, we went through that cycle, you know, and he was looking for a first single and, and so I thought that was could be it. But I also thought we were, you know, a little bit crazy. That's not a, that's not a layup type of song. Let me check you for ticks, right? I mean that's not no, that's not uh, the song that we're not going to mention tonight, but uh but anyway, were y'all drinking when you wrote this song?
Speaker 1:no, no, it was all it's all.
Speaker 3:We never never drank uh anything oh he didn't drink he doesn't you know, yeah, and that would just never no fun that was just never a.
Speaker 1:Thing no you know, um, a lot of coffee, you know, and cigars sometimes, you know. But uh, anyway, so he, he finally, what what in ended up making him record it and get excited about it is he finally found the sound of the sound of the guitar, not even the riff and that intro. He just found a certain sound on this old amp that he had and I think it was kind of an old, like a, like a pig pig nose or something, right. So I don't know all that stuff, but anyway he found that and he got so excited and he called me and he goes, he goes, this is it, he goes, I found it, he goes, it's going to be, it's going to be the first single. And uh, and I said, well, that's great, and then he plays.
Speaker 1:It sounded really cool to me, but it sounded a little bit, you know the same, and Joe Galani was running the label at the time and I love Joe, he had a great song sense because, for whatever reason, he liked most all the songs that I was on. So I really love Joe Galani, you know. But anyway, he sent it to Joe and Brad says, well, he's either going to think we're brilliant or we're absolute idiots. Well, I was going to ask that because right, were you like?
Speaker 2:oh yes, I can't wait for this to come out.
Speaker 1:Or this right, were you like, oh, yes, I can't wait for this to come out. Or were you like, oh, I was a little, yeah, it was. It was like that because I wouldn't. Now, as soon as joe galani, because he gave me, uh, you know joe's uh, you know response, you know, and he's a, he's a new york guy, you know, and uh, everything is, he's not a, not a country at all, but he loved country music and he's, he's, you know, one of the few, uh, that really love country music. And brad brad called and he said, he said, he said, hey, he goes, I, because I went in there and played it for him, and he goes. I didn't know what he's gonna say. I said he was jumping up and down and he said you brilliant bastard, you've done it again he said he said he was throwing stuff on his desk and everything, and I was
Speaker 4:saying well, of course, of course, brad yeah, it was because it was different at the time. Yeah, I mean, it really was.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah and um and so. So anyway, and I actually played it one time at the bluebird after it was a hit and it was just the worst crowd for it, I guess, but it got a not so good reception and I've never played it since you know, hey, you know.
Speaker 3:You know what's awesome, though, when you get locked in with an artist and and you just and that's what you and you have a Brad right. I mean just locked in and and you know what he wants and what he won't say, and that's a good feeling what are your number?
Speaker 4:what can you name off the number ones you've had with Brett? Can you name off all 10?
Speaker 1:um, you've had 10 with Brad, 10 with Brad, yeah, wow, I know that because somebody asked me one, I mean total number ones have you had? 18. 18?.
Speaker 4:Can you name off the 10 you had with Brad Jeez?
Speaker 1:Tix online.
Speaker 4:That's why he bought the sound equipment by the way, Tix online.
Speaker 1:I'm still a guy.
Speaker 4:Online. I'm still a guy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's several.
Speaker 4:Oh, he didn't have to be, he didn't have to be.
Speaker 1:American Saturday Night.
Speaker 4:Five Water Six.
Speaker 1:Water.
Speaker 4:Six. You wrote Water. I didn't know you wrote Water the World.
Speaker 1:That's Brad's idea too, yeah. I mean that's a lot. How many is that?
Speaker 2:seven. That's a lot. That's seven, yeah. So I guess the answer is no. Oh well, how many number ones you?
Speaker 1:got mind me the Carrie Underwood duet. Start a band with Keith Urban.
Speaker 2:I don't know, it's a little depressing.
Speaker 1:It's so funny.
Speaker 3:New songwriters who are listening to this are like what a dick. Yeah, no, can't remember his 10, number ones are Brad, he's stuck. He's stuck on nine.
Speaker 1:Well, the frustrating ones to that point is the number twos. That's what sucks, hey listeners out there.
Speaker 4:If you can name the tenth one, Caleb, will write the lyric out and autograph it and send it to you. Hey, that's a good idea.
Speaker 1:Well now so, kurt and Tully, you guys have had several Jason Aldean number ones, but you also had a huge song Outside the Camp right With Dustin Lynch right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we did.
Speaker 4:I didn't know that. What song is it Scene Red.
Speaker 1:No, but that's a big song, you know.
Speaker 2:And it's very difficult.
Speaker 4:I did not know this.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Did not know this.
Speaker 1:Well, it's difficult and I'll let you all speak to it, but we call the relationship that I have with Paisley or you guys have with Jason Aldean or Kenny Chesney or whatever, those cuts on the inside. They're not easy to get, but it's easier because you have the relationship. Getting an outside cut is what we refer to to the listeners out there as people that we don't necessarily have a relationship with. So getting those cuts, it's like an act of God, almost getting them. So could you all?
Speaker 2:tell us about it. I can't remember what year it was Because we came to town to be players, right, that's what we were first and foremost. I forget what year. Tully probably remembers better what year we actually got our first songwriting deal. Probably remember is better what year we actually got our first songwriting deal, but it wasn't a month in until he already had a dirks cut and a big hit. Oh wow, tip it on back. I mean that's right yeah, like a month of our first deal, right, yeah?
Speaker 3:yeah, that was really. We went so far back with dirks too, from 03 to doing like seeing him on a radio tours together and sleep on the floor radio stations, and so it was really cool for dirks to cut that song, tip it on back. It was, it was a blast and and seeing red was fun. It was just a tempo. We wrote that people liked, you know that, and that dusting cut um and that's all great. I think I think me and kurt both agree that. You know, we've kind of found our voice through Jason, yeah, which you know we really love other people liking our songs, but we write for Jason, you know it's kind of what we enjoy and feel like what we're good at, you know. But yeah, any time you get any kind of people that like your song, I think you've already won Well.
Speaker 1:and two, when you're focused on writing for Jason Aldean, his bar is so high y'all's bar is so high that if, for whatever reason, he doesn't like it, then you can pitch it to other people because it's going to be a solid song. If you pitch it to him, it's going to be a solid song.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like Neil would attest to this. I think jason had the reputation in town for quite a while. It was like if you got an aldine cut, it was a good song. You had to have a good song, right, and it's like I mean a testament to all those ones that you wrote. But that's why, I think, when we first got you know our first couple who were like, okay, god, we, we've made it, because this must be a good song, because we're boys, we're friends, we go way back.
Speaker 3:But, believe me, we pitched him a lot of songs that he was like eh, it was probably harder on our stuff, just because I don't think he ever wanted people to think he was cutting a song because we wrote it. So, to his credit, he wasn't going to cut a song that he didn't like. He's always been that way, yeah, so that's when you. Every time I get a Jason cut or single, I feel as grateful today as anything.
Speaker 4:He's cut some of my songs that I never in a million years would have thought he would cut Like what I never thought he would have cut Night Train, really Nope. I love Night Train I told Michael Delaney when we wrote it because we wrote it in about 45 minutes and I was like we didn't work hard enough on that He'll never cut it. And they pitched it to him freaking cut it and put it out.
Speaker 3:Well, you know what happened to that song we were producing. I've never heard this.
Speaker 1:No, it's great, I'll take a drink.
Speaker 3:We were producing a girl named Christy Lee Cook who was a really, really great singer.
Speaker 4:I got a cut on her and Randy Howser, so Night Train was pitched to her as a song.
Speaker 3:What? Yeah, it was pitched to her for. Christy to sing it, and that's when I remember listening to it with Jason, because Jason was co-producing Christy with us and that's when he first heard Night Train.
Speaker 2:I believe. No, this is 100% right. And he listened to it a little bit more and more and he was like, hmm, maybe I don't want Christy to cut this Really.
Speaker 1:That's exactly what happened yeah.
Speaker 4:I did not know that. I have a new story to tell in my writer's room.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good, it's fantastic. Yeah, we need something new to spice the show up, but I never hey.
Speaker 4:I never thought he was going to cut that song.
Speaker 1:We didn't work hard enough on it, because I'm like usually songs, because it happened to me a lot when you're that close to an artist. Does Jason ever run songs by you guys that you're not a writer on? Oh all the time.
Speaker 1:And does it get like inside? To me it was always a little bit of that internal struggle of all right, I've got this song here that Paisley loves and he's going to record, or he likes this other one here, and so listen there, that's uh, yes, that happens, but I think he plays it for us and I think tully would agree with this because he trusts that we will give him our honest opinion on it, right?
Speaker 2:and I mean, there's been a number of songs that have come in and we're like, oh damn it, that's good, yeah I wonder how many cuts I've lost because of you two.
Speaker 4:Not any, I promise you no.
Speaker 1:But but there are times, especially when you, we have that kind of one friendship and and business relationship with that, you know, it's it's for the good of all to have the absolute best song, even if it's not yours, you know. And there's several times when I, when I look at brad and I said I said they beat us on that one right and that's why it's hard to say, but they did.
Speaker 2:That's why jason is a very successful artist, because he can separate that. It's like hey, best song wins, best song always wins, because that's for the greater good. You know I mean. You put out the best song, wins. Best song always wins because that's for the greater good. You know what I mean. You put out the best song, it's good for the career, it's good for us, it's good for everybody.
Speaker 4:What album was Dirt Road Anthem on?
Speaker 3:Like on a party.
Speaker 4:I remember Knox playing me, taking me out to his truck and playing me Dirt Road Anthem, and we were at the studio where y'all were tracking and I don't know. I had a couple or two or three songs on that record, but when he played me Dirt Road Anthem it's not my song, I'm not a writer on it and he played it for me and I go, I want to be on the album that that song's on, because I knew when he played it for me I was like that's going to be freaking huge, like I didn't care if I got a single. I want to be on that freaking album.
Speaker 4:I mean, you're a songwriter, you know a good song oh yeah, when I heard it I was like that's freaking gonna be huge right, yep, yep, and that's a good example of jason being jason cutting something different like that.
Speaker 3:Um, people were worried about that song, oh gosh, you know. But to your point though, it made that album huge, you know, and you also had tattoos and fiber states on that album. As a writer, you had that and that was a huge album, huge, huge album. So, and that, yeah, like you said, it got us to where we are now, you know. You know, kurt, what sticks out to you?
Speaker 2:buddy, any, any songs, oh songs, yeah we've written yeah well, you know, not necessarily for the song, but because of the story would be if I didn't love you, right, and I don't know if you'd agree with that or not yeah it's yeah, tully, and I had a song already that was going on the album.
Speaker 2:Uh called over you again and we wrote it with uh, lydia vaughn and john morgan. But lydia did a background part on the song and actually a lead part on the song and j a lead part on the song, and Jason loved it, michael loved it and they're like, oh, we're going to make this a duet, so that was going to be the original duet.
Speaker 3:That was going to be the original duet Until.
Speaker 4:With.
Speaker 3:Carrie Songwriting lesson coming in here, go ahead. No, no, you had it.
Speaker 2:No, continue. Well, no, I was continue. Well, no, I was just gonna say that it, you know, it got pitched to a pretty big artist who said that first, if she was gonna do it, and then late, and we're like, oh my god, this is awesome, we got, there's gonna be a single big hit. You guys know the feeling, right, you get a big duet with two big people. It's a hit, you've had it. So, anyway, yeah, you know. Anyway, then maybe a couple weeks later this artist backs out and we're like, oh no, who was it? I can't tell you.
Speaker 4:Why not, it's just us.
Speaker 2:I can't say, but anyway. So all of a sudden it goes from we have what could be the first single big duet to. We don't have anything. And the word gets blasted out on town Jason Aldean's looking for a duet to. We don't have anything. And the word gets blasted out on town jason aldean's looking for a duet song. And we're like, oh no, and this is a week before we're going in the studio to cut the last round, and you guys know this right. When that goes out, everybody in town for a week is writing a duet for jason aldean.
Speaker 3:It was management. We were at a rehearsal, we were playing a show we had to rehearse, and management came up to us and goes hey, what other songs you got for the duet.
Speaker 2:And we're like oh God, we're working on one right now. You'd already put a down payment on it.
Speaker 3:I remember thinking oh't, don't say that to us, you know, and uh, it was just a a kick in the gut, because you think you have it and um, and Kurt, you're telling us, well, no, I was just gonna say so it totally sends out in a text to the our group that we had written with a lot of thin John Morgan and Lydia Bonham, with ambulance sirens and everything saying emergency right tonight.
Speaker 2:We never write at night. I don't know if you guys ever do. We never write at night, it's just not when you feel creative, it's not when you do it Right. So we go in at night after we were in the studio all day doing something and we're like, hey, let's just, let's give this an hour. You guys know this right, if you're on something, something, we're going to know it. So we're like, let's just give it an hour, let's try to write for this. We get in there and it, by the grace of god, it's a magic moment. We have this idea, totally suck, and we just happen to come up with this thing and it just spills out. So we write the song that night, we do the demo that night, we get it mixed the next day. We send it in the next day, michael Jason, they love it. We're like, oh, my God, thank you, sweet Jesus, thank you. But there's no, we don't know who can do it. Still, but they love the song.
Speaker 2:We go in the studio. The studio is we're going in the in less than a week, last round of cuttings, we go in and cut the song if I didn't love you, without knowing if there is a duet partner or who it would be. We're cutting the song we'd like what key, I don't know. Just, let's just do it, wow. So we're going to cut the song. Later on they find out that carrie, you know, was going to jump on the song and you guys know that's not an easy negotiation, with Singles and Fridays, all that stuff. But it was just. I mean, literally, by the grace of God, that thing worked for us.
Speaker 3:Which I think some of the magic, I think some of that not knowing that Carrie or whoever, was going to be on it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:I think if we would have knew carrie was going to be on it, we might have played it differently. Sure, but because we had no or wrote it differently, who knows? Yeah, we had no idea if anybody was going to come.
Speaker 4:Usually write better songs when you don't have an artist in right, and so you're right when we're tracking it.
Speaker 3:We just played it like an aldine song, like we would play. We didn't have any thoughts about. Oh would whoever like this here you know what I mean so it came out sounding really unique because we didn't write it for Jason and Carrie right wrote it really just for Jason was singing.
Speaker 2:But even as we cut it. It could have been on the cutting room floor, or it happened to be the first single big duet, jason and Carrie. So it was. You know it was divine, at least I think so. I love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great, I'm just pissed.
Speaker 4:I didn't get the call.
Speaker 1:You didn't get the emojis, the siren emojis. Hey, neil, help us finish this song Nothing. Well, neil, for you, I know, for me, I'll ask you this. But speaking of Maldine Tattoos on this Town, has that got to be one of your favorite songs, right? Oh yeah, I don't know if I heard the full story on that.
Speaker 4:There's not really much of a story for that. When I was sitting at a red light going to the writing appointment with Wendell Mobley and Michael Delaney and literally I saw skid marks on the opposite lane on the other side of the road and it just kind of I'm serious. It just fell out. It looked like a tattoo and I was like, hmm, tattoos on this town. That's where the title on the way to the writing appointment.
Speaker 1:That's such a money title.
Speaker 2:It is that title fell out. It's unbelievable.
Speaker 3:One of my favorites too. Even the play every night. Look for it. I mean we it's always pretty high in the set list. It gives a great response. Yes, it's, it's really fun, but yeah, it's always so rewarding. I know we all feel that way whenever it works out like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we kind of skipped tully, uh, and maybe your favorite song or one that sticks out to you well, honestly, like my favorite one so far.
Speaker 3:And I love if I didn't love, I love all the songs that we've had cut. I really love Trouble with a Heartbreak. It's just true. I do love it. I just I, yeah, I just love the song and I love the way it feels and the track and the way Jason sang it feels and in in the track and the way jason sang it. I love playing it. Yeah, you know, it was a great, a great right. You guys, you know, thinking about those, those batch of songs he wrote back then it was like we had this office called the shack and, uh, I actually miss this place and you guys would laugh.
Speaker 2:The shack actually makes it sound glamorous.
Speaker 3:It's actually a garden shack for lawnmowers and stuff.
Speaker 2:It was a shed.
Speaker 3:A shed.
Speaker 4:It smelled like gasoline. No, no.
Speaker 2:It's kind of like a reverse outhouse because it was a shed outside of a building that Tully said you would keep lawnmowers and stuff. But we had it as a writing room. But if you did want to go to the bathroom you had to go find a main building and use their bathroom.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and there was this weird like asbestos-y stuff that would fall down you as a writing you know, and there are fruit flies everywhere, and there was this really-. No windows, no windows at all, and had this old like wood paneling on the. Why? Well, I mean, why did y'all do that to yourself? Well, to be honest, like it was, uh, it was really all we had yeah, we didn't know.
Speaker 2:I mean you guys know, I mean it caught downtown nashville. It cost money to rent a space, right I?
Speaker 4:mean, yeah, there's park benches downtown outside. We'd be like the clean air.
Speaker 3:Alb would go. What are you guys doing today? And we're like we're going to the office and he goes the office. No, but it had this really old AC unit and whoever sat next to the AC unit always got really sick. They'd walk in fine and they'd leave with a terrible cough.
Speaker 1:Might be some mold in there, possibly.
Speaker 3:No, it's terrible it was really, really bad, um in the garbage. You know we didn't have anybody cleaning it, so the garbage would like. I remember one day a good friend of ours, dave lee murphy yeah he goes hey, man, I need some coffee. I said we got you. So we had a coffee maker there and we hadn't cleaned it in a little while and we opened the top of it.
Speaker 3:Dudes, there was a white green mold like coming out of that coffee maker. We just dumped the filter out and put a new one in and rocked, you know no, I'm not kidding.
Speaker 2:Hey, we had this up until just a couple years ago, but I'm scared. It was it was a magic.
Speaker 3:For some reason, though, it was a really magical place, had like really bad wood paneling, the ceiling was falling apart and but, like kurt said, like we just, you know, no windows. We had a great time, bro, it wasn't?
Speaker 2:bigger than this. No really, oh it. Oh, it was really bad. We wrote If I Didn't Love you in there. Oh yeah, trouble with Heartbreak. You know a lot of big songs, but you know what's funny about that little.
Speaker 4:I had no idea, you guys, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, we're slumming it like that.
Speaker 2:We're used to slumming it. Yeah, actually it was. Uh, I prefer to write in those situations of desperation. See, you know, people think tilly and I are exactly like we're not. He loves it dark, dark and cool, loves it dark and cold. I need sunlight, man it's like it's like a good marriage that we have to compromise something.
Speaker 4:This is good.
Speaker 3:I'm taking notes here, since I just signed with you guys. I'm taking notes. It's a distraction, sunlight.
Speaker 2:There's something to that. So Trouble with the Heartbreak is.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just was really proud of the way that came out. It's our kind of song, it is.
Speaker 2:It's kind of an Aldine 101.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just enjoyed the way that came out.
Speaker 4:Once again, I didn't get the call.
Speaker 1:You were on the golf course, they probably tried you, I don't have a cell phone. I'm sure they tried.
Speaker 4:You got any more questions?
Speaker 2:I was about to ask that Anybody got any more questions. What do we got?
Speaker 4:Give us a question.
Speaker 2:Neil.
Speaker 4:When you guys wrote this is from Mark.
Speaker 2:When you guys wrote try that in a small town did you ever think it would get as popular as it did? Popular is an interesting way to put it. I don't know if I would categorize it as popular.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, I felt like the messaging.
Speaker 4:I think it means as big as it did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I felt like you know, like the messaging of the song to me it was right down the middle, hitting the fan base right in the face, you know in a good way, to where. I just felt like you checked every box so I felt like it was kind of a, you know, a layup hit if it ever got to radio. I did not have any idea of all the backlash and stuff it would.
Speaker 3:I could not foresee that yeah, I'm sure glad it did, amen. You know, and like we talked about before love, how it brought everyone together In my eyes. That's what it did. You know, that's why we're here doing this podcast. You know it is. You know it's what a great ride. We're still on it.
Speaker 2:I did not think it would get as big as it did Really.
Speaker 3:No Well, kayla, not think it would get as big as it did, really. No well, kayla, didn't think it'd come out. No, I mean, I want a grand.
Speaker 4:I knew he's gonna. I knew jason was gonna put it out, but I had no idea of the movement that it was gonna do. We talked about this on the first episode, but thank god it did. We wouldn't be sitting here, right here with our 18 listeners anything else?
Speaker 2:no, that's a good one.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, and actually for all the you know the the uh, that's kind of kidding about our small listenership and everything. It's actually been pretty crazy. I mean, we've only been going for like a week and a half, you know what, and so we're kind of kidding it's been pretty amazing the response, and really, really amazing, yep, but not as amazing as december 24th would be, when we hit 1 million instagram followers you know I'm so confident about
Speaker 4:that the tattoo uh episode is gonna be amazing everybody listening out there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, follow us on instagram please.