SkiP HappEns Podcast
Journey with Soul Circus Cowboys: Southern Rock, Songwriting, and Beach Dreaming
Ever wondered how a band with over 200 years of collective experience navigates the ever-changing music industry? Join us as we sit down with the vibrant and talented Soul Circus Cowboys. With lead singer Billy McKnight and his bandmates we uncover their journey from the bustling Tampa Bay music scene to collaborating with Grammy award-winning songwriter Frank Myers. They share the challenges of band life, from local traffic woes to the intricate art of songwriting, and how their influences like the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd shape their dynamic southern rock sound.
Feel the sun and sand as we explore the band's love for the simple joys of summer. Imagine a perfect beach day with the Soul Circus Cowboys, where the backdrop of girls in bikinis, umbrella drinks, and books sets a scene of ultimate relaxation. Their music, brimming with dedication and passion, is not just about the grind but also about the moments of connection with fans and the joy of performing live. This episode is a celebration of camaraderie, the intrinsic rewards of the music journey, and a laid-back beach vibe that promises to leave you yearning for more sun-soaked days and soulful tunes.
Thanks for listening! Follow us at youtube.com/c/skiphappens
Ever wondered how a band with over 200 years of collective experience navigates the ever-changing music industry? Join us as we sit down with the vibrant and talented Soul Circus Cowboys. With lead singer Billy McKnight and his bandmates we uncover their journey from the bustling Tampa Bay music scene to collaborating with Grammy award-winning songwriter Frank Myers. They share the challenges of band life, from local traffic woes to the intricate art of songwriting, and how their influences like the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd shape their dynamic southern rock sound.
Feel the sun and sand as we explore the band's love for the simple joys of summer. Imagine a perfect beach day with the Soul Circus Cowboys, where the backdrop of girls in bikinis, umbrella drinks, and books sets a scene of ultimate relaxation. Their music, brimming with dedication and passion, is not just about the grind but also about the moments of connection with fans and the joy of performing live. This episode is a celebration of camaraderie, the intrinsic rewards of the music journey, and a laid-back beach vibe that promises to leave you yearning for more sun-soaked days and soulful tunes.
Thanks for listening! Follow us at youtube.com/c/skiphappens
go. Hello everybody and welcome to skip happens. Look at these guys. Oh man, oh, it's another edition of skip happens. And uh, from the beautiful northeast which, by the way, I'm recording this and there's a tornado warning in the area. So I'm just saying it's been a little cray cray up here in the northeast, but these guys I'm sure sure they're used to the hot weather, they're used to all these warnings that they get. They live near the ocean. I know that and I want you all to say hi to my new friends. We just got to know each other just a few minutes ago, before I turned on the lights and the camera. But our friends, the Soul Circus Cowboys, gentlemen, how are you? We're doing great down here. Gentlemen, how are you?
Speaker 2:we're doing great down here awesome first of all, go around the room. Who's who? Who do I have there? All right, I'm billy mcknight. I'm the lead singer, to the left of me on lead guitars and vocals as ronnie zebron, right behind me on bass guitar and vocals as dan turner, to the right of me on lead guitar and vocals as jo Kirkland, and behind him on the drums and vocals as Barry Price.
Speaker 1:Now I thought that would be a guy from ZZ Top. You know, I kind of had a quick glance. Yes, exactly, exactly how long? How long have you been growing that beard dude?
Speaker 3:A little while. A little while.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:He just trimmed it for this episode.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good For the Skip Happens okay. Okay, he just trimmed it for this episode. Yeah, good for the skip happens episode. I love this, welcome. Welcome to the podcast guys. Uh, it is skip happens. So when I do a podcast, just about anything, we talk about everything. Um, you know a lot about you, because that really that's what it's about, but we go a little bit deeper than just the music. We find out about each and every one of you individually and you know what do you do for life and and all that stuff. And so let's, first of all, let's talk about the music, billy. Um, how long have you guys been doing this as a group?
Speaker 2:we're a little over a decade. I think we're an 11th or pushing our 12th year wow, okay, and it's like a southern rock country yeah, we, we like the big guitars, the really big vocals, you know, influenced by the Eagles or the Skinner band, and but we write good stories and back them up with a lot of power.
Speaker 1:So let me ask I'm in the Northeast. Where are you exactly?
Speaker 2:We are actually in Tampa. We're spread out, we're in the Tampa Bay area, but you know we're a little bit spread out. One of us is in. Lakeland two of us in Lakeland, one in Wesley Chapel and Riverview. So we're all within about 20 miles of each other.
Speaker 1:Well that's cool. Lakeland's over towards Orlando, is that correct?
Speaker 4:It is, am I correct? Yeah, yeah, like right between Tampa and Orlando, kind of Lakeland.
Speaker 1:But it's easy to get to wherever you got to go.
Speaker 2:You got Route 4 that goes right across right that's always easy to get anywhere on the worst I think it's the worst road in the united states actually really say, I would rather fight a bear than drive on i-4 no, well, I guess you're there all the time.
Speaker 1:I off the air we were talking about. My parents actually had a place in dunedin, just outside tampa, but we used to drive from I think we would get on in Tampa, go to Orlando and then go to the other coast, and we were on route four all the way across, if I'm not mistaken, correct.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a spit of it like, um, just between Tampa and Orlando. That's just, you know. Maybe it's the amount of people that's moved here, but it's. It's always jammed up. You're always sitting bumper to bumper nowadays. Wow, yeah, you know, it's not only there, it's always jammed up.
Speaker 1:You're always sitting bumper to bumper nowadays. Wow, yeah, you know it's not only there, it's in nashville too. I know you've been there and you take a look at. You know, I've been going there for 20 years, for different things over 20 years. First started going, there was a 20 minute ride from downtown or from the airport to downtown. Now it's about an hour and 20 minutes, and I'm not exaggerating, yeah, and I guess it all depends on what time of the day you get on that road, but still, you know, during the daytime hours it's. It's crazy, crazy.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about your music. Who does most of the writing? Do you guys do it as a group, or how does all that work for you?
Speaker 2:We do, uh, frank Myers, uh, who was our producer. He's also a Grammy award winning songwriter. He wrote, I Swear I met him many, many years ago when I lived in Nashville, so he and I started writing the majority of the older stuff Now. Since we got picked up Ronnie not too long ago, about four years ago or better, ronnie and him are tight now. The three of us have been writing so we co-write. Sometimes they'll pitch me something, sometimes we'll find something and we just it's a group thing kind of. But these next batches of songs that are coming out are mostly me and Frank and some of Ronnie.
Speaker 1:Wow, now, how did you guys actually meet? You've been buddies all your lives, or how did you guys get together?
Speaker 5:I like the way you answer this, I think most of us just know each other from the scene. We just get to see each other or play on multi-bill shows you just kind of get to know each other after a few years. I knew Billy for quite a while before we actually got together and tried it out and I'd sit in with him sometimes and we always kind of knew there was some chemistry there sure when the opportunity came up, that was going to be a good fit I love it.
Speaker 1:I love it. Billy, for some reason your name sounds really familiar. Did have you been doing? Have you done something on your own before I did?
Speaker 2:I was. I was the billy mcknight band for a long time okay and put out quite a bit of music. Um, when I lived in nashville so I got you.
Speaker 1:Now why did you get out of nashville and go to tampa?
Speaker 2:well, because in nashville you work for tips you're right and you can't really play so much of your own stuff all the time, but when you get down to the beaches down here it's almost like you're on tour because you've got the whole world visiting. So every time you go to a show it's a different crowd and there's money to be made down here. As a band, we're an independent label. We're doing everything ourselves, of course, with Grassroots. Yes, we love promoting our music and getting it further north, but it was just after I went there, for, like college, I wanted to learn about the music business, make my connections, see who I could work with, who I could write with, and I go back quite a bit. As a matter of fact, me, ronnie and our significant others are going up August 18th to cut five more, and then frank myers will come down here one week for my vocals, the second week for all the harmonies and the third week for the mixing. So we really mix us in with nashville and create our own sound I love it.
Speaker 1:Uh, how much of a being an independent artist like you guys are. How much of a being an independent artist like you guys are. How much of a grind is it every day doing what you do?
Speaker 2:It's always a grind because you know just everything's always changing. So you know, and then we have to fight weather a lot these months. Right here I used to do we still do a lot of bike rallies, but all the way from now through September it's boiling hot. So you have to find, you try to find rooms with air conditioning, and then you know a lot of the places that were really great places have were closed during COVID, one of the biggest musical venues we had in our area just closed, built condos on their beautiful property with this huge stage, because they just, you know, somebody made them an offer and you know. So you lose a place. You got to find another place.
Speaker 2:And we do a lot of bike rallies, which we're grateful for Daytona's good to us.
Speaker 1:I was going to ask about that. I was watching one of your videos. I think it might've been this morning when I should have been working. Instead, I was looking at the video and somehow you had Harleys. Do you all ride?
Speaker 2:No, and it's too dangerous to ride here.
Speaker 1:Oh, actually this one back here rides.
Speaker 2:He's a nut, but where do you go, you?
Speaker 1:don't ride in town, you go north. You don't want to ride in the city. It's actually no fun. You've got to watch out for everybody. Number one, number two you can't open up and enjoy the uh, the wide open road for sure one time he came to a show he's with a.
Speaker 2:Uh, his club is called life behind bars. Is your club or that was just your logo? Uh, that was a little so. I saw it and I said, boom, there's our next biker song and we that that's currently out right now on streaming. Uh, you know that it's, it's just so.
Speaker 1:And that's life behind bars.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but not these kind of bars.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, Totally. But see, that's great, because somebody would automatically think it was the other ones but they would look into it.
Speaker 2:This is about freedom, not prison.
Speaker 1:Which is a good thing. Yeah, so you're the only one that rides.
Speaker 3:I am yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, oh, all right, I figured Mr ZZ Top over there would be riding. Or? I'm only kidding with you. I'm only kidding with you, it's all good, you guys are a lot of fun. So there's only one actual motorcycle owner in this group.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you should see when he brings his wife I did all his equipment on the back how he pulls up the gigs. It's really a sidecar.
Speaker 1:I was going to say do you have? You don't have a sidecar on that, obviously Only for the gigs. There you go, so you're playing all these gigs and stuff and your songwriting. Have you had the opportunity, Billy, to sit down and really write with somebody that's been there and back again?
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, I mean Frank really has. I mean because he's written so many number ones and he was with Baker and Myers and then Billy Montana and Kate Gibson. Those guys are huge. I've had the opportunity to write with them. I've actually wrote Gator Girls with, with johnny garcia, who is trisha yearwood director. I'm really tight with him. So I've written with some really big hitters along the way and, uh, it's great to go in and see their stories and their experience.
Speaker 2:I mean he, he wound up going on tour as the lead guitar player for garth brooks for a long time and he's showing me video.
Speaker 1:He's packing a hundred thousand person stadiums and then I'm coming back down and writing a song with me, so it's really good, no, that's so cool and I've heard that, uh, you know he's done that with other artists as well, and it's just just to have that connection and not not to make it sound like it's you know, it's who you know, but sometimes it is who you know and who you connect with and you know, then they know somebody and they know somebody. Next thing, you know, it all comes together and we have soul circus cowboys it literally does.
Speaker 2:Where the whole network thing is is just a fact and, and of course, what you said earlier, it's the grind. You have to, you have to love it. You can't want anything more from it than just how it makes you feel. It's inside of you. You got to get it out of you and hopefully there's uh rewards that come along all the time. I mean, just having a nice show is a big reward for us, or uh people, getting married to one of our ballads was really good and taking video of it.
Speaker 2:So there's a lot of rewards besides, just the big old buck oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1:How about the social media side of things? I mean, I like you and no offense, please, but we're not kids anymore, right? And uh, if I need to get something done, I'll go to my son and go zach, I need, can you, will you? You know, and he'll be on tiktok or insta or one of those, and he I got it for you dad, we're good so, but who handles the social in the group?
Speaker 2:it's's funny, I have a social media manager. Her name is Faith Good and she's really good. But it's so funny you just picked up TikTok because one of my really close buddies is standing behind doing this right now. His name is Sivo and he just took over my TikTok page and he's going to get it all blown up.
Speaker 1:Nice, nice, it's nice to have somebody that actually knows a little bit about that. And because I mean, I'm right there with you and you know, I've been doing this for a lot of years and the radio thing, no-transcript, people would push back on me and go, no, dude, you know that that's a bunch of crap, that's a bunch of shit, this and that, but you know what? No, no, you, you need to embrace the technology and go with it, because that's what? Look, look, look what's happening. I mean me as a radio guy and a lot of the music that's coming up. You get your zach bryans and and all those, uh, just all these new artists. Um, it's just, they're all coming off the socials, they're all you know. They're getting. You know, uh, cole wetzel is another one. His streams are through the roof and they get it phenomenal I really like that act too.
Speaker 2:He's a good yeah, he's got a really great show. I'm I'm a fan of his. I would love a chance to do a bill with him and go out with him.
Speaker 1:Wouldn't that be cool. Yeah, and speaking of that, billy or anybody can answer any of these who have you been on stage with?
Speaker 2:Oh wow. So quite a bit of few people. Some bigger old school acts was a Steve Miller band, Kenny Rogers.
Speaker 1:Take the money and run.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I couldn't believe he did 90 minutes. I only didn't know one song and he was fantastic. He was in the 70s and he was really really good to us Big and rich. We've done about five shows with him.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, A little crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're definitely crazy. Um just uh, dina Carter, uh Gretchen.
Speaker 1:Wilson, um, there's, there's a whole bunch of them on there.
Speaker 1:So yeah, and uh, just uh, just uh, just about six months ago he came down and I mean I think he's a cool young guy, yeah, and we did a show with him here a few years ago, but he's kind of, you know, we haven't heard much from him lately, so, but definitely a great artist, great guy and all that um, just a lot of fun. So so, all together, how many years? Let's put it all together. How many years have all of you been playing, for example? Wow, just add them all together how many years?
Speaker 2:If you add them all together we're probably up to 1,000, maybe. Yeah, I'd say it's up there. I mean I've got 30 years in myself.
Speaker 3:So, I know, Ronnie's.
Speaker 2:Even Ronnie was a kid when he started.
Speaker 5:I got started when I was nine, so I'm close to 50 years on stage.
Speaker 1:No kidding. So have you been playing the guitar since you were nine?
Speaker 5:Yes, my dad shoved me out on stage. Have you ever seen the meme where he says, Dad, I can't swim and he's throwing him in the pool?
Speaker 1:That's you with the guitar? Get up. What about right behind you? How many years have you? What's that? The bass? How?
Speaker 5:many years. I've probably have about 50 as well.
Speaker 1:Okay, All the time, all the time. All right, so that's 100.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, and let's go over to Billy Gibbons over there. No.
Speaker 3:About 45.
Speaker 1:All right, so we're about 150. Now, what about your lead guitar player?
Speaker 4:Probably about 45 also.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:So we're well over 200.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:See that right there. The reason I do that is that's a lot of experience and you're putting all your minds together and everybody came from their own background and now you brought it all in and that's really going to make you stand out. That's, you know, it's not just a bunch of guys that have known each other for two weeks and only been playing for a month and a half, and whatever, but no, we're going to have to write a song called we're 200 years old.
Speaker 1:If you do, as long as you put skip happens in it. I'd be happy. I'd even get it played on the radio here for you. So well, I gotta be careful there, um, but yeah, wow, so uh, everybody's got an instrument. Can we hear something really quick? And then we'll get back talking a little bit sure.
Speaker 2:Well, we, uh, we have the new single out right now and it's uh, this is a beachy song and so we're usually a little heavier than this, but it was a summer song about people wanting to get out of their office if they're from the North and come down to our beaches and have a drink on the beach and just let it all go. It's called sit on a beach.
Speaker 1:All right, here we go.
Speaker 2:One, two, three. I've been 12 other days the past six months. My body complains, my mind's in a rut. All I ever do is work and sleep. The cooler's packed and so are my clothes. Tomorrow I'll be miles down the road.
Speaker 3:Mid afternoon I'll be right where I won't be I wanna sit on a beach, a drink in my hand, my face in the sun.
Speaker 2:My face in the sun, my feet in the sand. Give me one, give me two, give me three, give me four beers. Five, six, seven, eight. Who cares? Sleep all night with the stars in a beach chair, oh yeah who's ever been there?
Speaker 3:Na na na, na, na na na.
Speaker 2:Na na na, na na na na nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. Chill out and rest. The weather's warm. The group is the best. I love the sound of the waves and an ocean breeze. There'll be girls in bikinis laid out in the sand, umbrella, drinks and books in their hand. I got a baseball cap and some good sunscreen.
Speaker 3:I want to sit on a beach sunscreen. I wanna sit on a beach. I drink in my hand, my face in the sun, my feet in the sand.
Speaker 2:Give me one, give me two, give me three, give me four beers. Five, six, seven, eight. Who cares? Sleep all night with the stars in her beach chair, oh yeah who's ever been there?
Speaker 3:Na na na, na, na na na Na na na na na na na Na na na na na na na. Sit on a beach, sit on a beach. Yeah, I wanna sit on a beach. I drink in my hand, my face in the sun, my feet in the sand. Everybody. Give me one, give me two, give me three.
Speaker 2:give me four beers, five, six, seven, eight. Who cares? Sleep all night with the stars and a beach dinner. Oh yeah, who's?
Speaker 3:ever been there. Na na, na, na, na, na na.
Speaker 1:Na na na na na na, na Na na na na na na na. Love it. Whoa, you guys went down. Wait a minute. Well, I don't want you in the corner like that. Hang on, man. Nobody should put anybody in the corner, just saying, just saying, and it's gonna do the same thing again. Hold on, okay, now, that's good, I can see both of us. Then, no, I don't know, let's go back here nope, and it's going to do the same thing again.
Speaker 1:Hold on, that's good, I can see both of us then. No, I don't know. Let's go back here, nope.
Speaker 3:Well, I don't know.
Speaker 1:That might work. You do it works, it works. Just now I see my big face. Dude, that's a fun song, thank you. Now it's going to be in my head and what I like about that, it's going to.
Speaker 2:I'm just going to say that you need to come on down to Tampa, sit on the beach with us Dude, you say when and I'll be, there.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying it's been a while since I've been to Tampa, but since my mom and dad it's been quite a few years, but always loved it. We used to go down to tarpon springs oh yeah, we love tarpon springs.
Speaker 2:That's. That's a really nice place. There we're doing their festival. Uh, september 6th, first friday yeah first friday they have a big street festival and we're headlining that show and there's big. There'll be thousands out there, so that's, that's just a great part of our community I love that.
Speaker 1:I love that. Uh, I remember going down with my mom and dad and they used to always go to this certain restaurant. I can't remember the name of it, but we used to go like at 3.30, 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I used to love it.
Speaker 2:Was it the Sponge?
Speaker 3:Docs.
Speaker 1:Might have been. Do they have like a senior menu? Because at that hour at that hour that's.
Speaker 2:They cater to the seniors there for sure.
Speaker 1:Well then it was my mom and dad as well, and I was tagging along and I said, damn, this is cheap, I like this. So, anyways, we all ate off the senior menu. That's cool. So you must have some pretty cool places to play there. I mean, you think you know you got all year round, as opposed to being up here where you can only get out maybe eight months out of the year. If that, um, you know being where you are and I'm sure he can ride his bike, you know, all year round. I mean, how cool is that?
Speaker 2:yes, it's very cool there. There are a lot of places to play. Live music is very relevant here. Um and again, not to be repetitive, but it's just the amount of people who come visit and that that you wouldn't have seen. It's like if you're up in another city outside of the state of Florida, you're probably playing for a lot of locals. We're playing for people all over the world.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's true, and maybe too many people go to Florida Right now it's too many Right now it really is.
Speaker 2:It's frustrating. You have to pick the time of day you leave or try to come home because the traffic is just unbearable.
Speaker 1:You know, as we mentioned a few minutes ago, same thing in Nashville. Everybody goes there, so it's like you know what used to be a nice.
Speaker 2:Now what about? Do you guys have live venues up there?
Speaker 1:We do. We have an amphitheater, we have a lot of great venues, actually outdoor venues. Unfortunately, they only get used, like I say, maybe eight months out of the year, but our big one is called the Amphitheater at Lakeview and, for example, we just had Jason Eldeen there. Last week we had Jason Eldeen, we had Chase Matthew there, we had I'm trying to think who else Hayley Witters, who I absolutely love, and then this week we've got Jordan Davis there, very cool. We also have another venue that I'm actually going to throw your name out there to the promoter, who I know it's called Kegs and it would fit you guys perfect Downside.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's exactly what it sounds like. There's a liquor bar behind me right.
Speaker 1:Yes, I see that it's exactly what you think it is. And this guy has a the owner, his name's Tony beautiful indoor stage for the winter shows and that room will hold maybe eight to 900 and he's got a beautiful stage, he's got, you know, the sound systems all top notch and the outdoor will hold at least 3000 and and the outdoor stage and all that, and they have Cameron Marlowe there this Friday. Oh my God, they just do a lot of the big acts and the promoters. The promoter just is called Back to Back Entertainment Ross Catalino. So anyways, I'll throw your name out there.
Speaker 2:But that's cool. We appreciate that and we will make the driver of the flight up there for that. You get a paid gig. That's all your name out there. But we appreciate that and we will make the driver of the flight up there for that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you know, you get a paid gig. That's all built in there, so that's kind of cool. So yeah, oh yeah, somebody just commented. They would be great at kegs, I know it. Then I'd share some of my brew here with you. So that's kind of so what? All right? So you guys, you've got this single out on the radio now and it sounds great. What's next? You said you've got some in the can.
Speaker 2:Yes. So of course I'm biased. We love everything that we're doing, but what we're going to do is we're going to give grassroots everything that we've recorded and we're going to let them choose what's next to go to radio, because we're talking about the socials and the streaming. We put out a different song about every eight weeks, so the ones that aren't going to radio, we're going to promote with them on the streaming world. And I have a feeling I don't want to jinx it, but there's this we have. Remember seven bridges by the eagles oh my god, all five singers getting down.
Speaker 2:We have a song that's really, really got that blend. It's called Southern Life. I think it would be a perfect fall song. I'm pushing for that one, but if the crew over there says you got to go with this one, I will listen to the majority.
Speaker 1:You know, with grassroots I'm going to brag a little bit here. They know radio.
Speaker 2:Yeah right.
Speaker 1:They know radio, they have people that work for them, that have done what I'm doing in radio. Yep, also, they're musicians, yes, so you've got both sides to help you. You know what you want and what you want to get out of it, but at least they can assist you and point you in the right direction.
Speaker 2:Help out where needed so first first uh time around has been a great ride. We're gonna stay with them so are you happy?
Speaker 1:yeah, okay, but are you happy being an independent artist?
Speaker 2:I am, I think, right now I love being an independent artist. I don't want to, you know, I don't want to jinx it again, but we have some eyes on us. That uh could be a game changer right now, and it's because they put us on a radio tour and right now I'll leave it at that. But uh, there there's going to be some people visiting us. Um, that could make a difference, uh, in the next few months, and if they they already liked the music, they liked the uh what they heard the feedback from their radio stations.
Speaker 2:They want to do one more thing that see us live and in my opinion opinion we shine best live standing up with the electric guitars going all out. So if they already like us. They're going to come in there, we're going to we hope to blow them away and it could really make it finally, finally, some a group of people that could really make a difference how does how does that make really?
Speaker 1:how do you feel when you're on stage and you know that there's somebody there of importance or you catch wind of it? Does it kind of you feel a little intimidated or a little nervous? It's like, man, if I, if I screw up here, this is not going to be good.
Speaker 2:You know I sat in the hot seat, tim DeBlois, arista Records. Oh yeah, nineties by myself without an instrument and saying and that was about as scared as I ever was and now that kind of fear it doesn't, it's not with me. It kind of amps me up. When I think that someone's gonna see me, I like to Pam it up a little bit, and I know these guys do too. I believe it gives us a rush and not fear cool now.
Speaker 1:Do you guys do something else during the day? Do you have other gigs, or is this all you do?
Speaker 2:for me. I'm also working the business of the band, so this is my full-time job. I do that. I do the the all the work that needs to be done off the stage and then, of course, on a stage. But these guys all do different things.
Speaker 1:I'll let you tell them, yeah, one at a time. What do you guys do?
Speaker 4:I'm gonna. I'm a. I've been an electrical planner, a maintenance project coordinator, for almost 35 years at my job.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 5:I do construction, sales, construction material.
Speaker 1:Construction. Okay, yeah, how do you fit that on a motorcycle Trailer the trailer and the sidecar, now that I'd like to see both of them. All right, who's next?
Speaker 5:I do studio work and I teach as well.
Speaker 1:Nice. So what do you mean? Teach, like in the school district? Or like instruments, guitar, okay, that's all right, that makes sense, cool, cool. Do you have a lot of students? Yes, and do they know that this is what you do?
Speaker 5:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:That's very cool, very cool. And what about in the back?
Speaker 2:Remodeling business.
Speaker 1:Cool, you got a number.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that'll be a double win when we come up and play with you guys. We'll come here the extra couple of weeks to fix you up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, stay a few extra days. I got a few extra rooms. What do you do in the downtime, like when you're not doing your other jobs and, billy, you're not running the office? Do you ever get out to say you know, I just need a few days off, need to take a break?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it's pretty easy to. Sarasota is my spot when we get off. I love the train. I keep myself as good of shape as I can. I will definitely go to a beach whenever I can. We do about 150 shows a year so we do have a pretty full schedule the weekdays at night and hang with the friends. I'm a big golden tee. Ever heard of the game Golden Tee?
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:It's a golf game, but it's extremely difficult to play. I'm just addicted to that.
Speaker 1:Is that like golf?
Speaker 2:It is. It's got a little ball, a track ball, it's got the wind, it's got the tees that you've got to buy your own clubs. It's so precise t's you got to buy your own clubs. It's so precise if you make a mistake you're going to water and you really kick the machine. You feel like you're golfing, but in the air conditioning oh, okay.
Speaker 1:Well, I guess I mean I could do that. I've done top golf before, but I know, with a beer and gators, no, no gators, no gators, I get it, do you? Kind of lost my train of thought, but all right. So if I was to ask each and every one of you, this is you know, I realize you know, but you must have had a favorite toy growing up. I know this is a crazy, crazy question, but, like I say, with the podcast I always have a lot of fun and you think back as a youngster, did you? You know, let's start with you, billy. Did you have a favorite toy, something?
Speaker 2:I mean, I learned the Rubik's Cube real fast. And I used to challenge how fast I could solve it, so I'd be walking up the street trying to do it in under two minutes. That was pretty fun.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I guess Whatever blows your that's fun. Yeah, who's next? So I started playing guitar when I was seven, but at five I started riding dirt bikes. So that was like. Those have been my two mistresses my entire life, if I'm not playing music. All the time I'm racing dirt bikes or four-wheelers or something, so it's really but yeah yeah, you still do that now actually you.
Speaker 4:I haven't done it for the last three years, but the last season that I rode in the local state series I got second overall in my class. Oh shit, pretty cool. Yeah, it was pretty cool. I had some like good sponsors, some good help and stuff like that so pretty brutal. We do a thing called hair scrambles. I'm sure they do them in New York as well. It's a, it's woods racing, it's an hour and a half to two hours long, it is brutal.
Speaker 1:You say woods racing, you're actually in the woods, oh yeah yeah. And you have the trails and the mud holes and the trees and everything that you got to go over.
Speaker 4:Yeah, Literally. Some areas on the trail you can barely squeak the handlebars through the trees are close, I'd never come out.
Speaker 3:It's awesome, it's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what about next?
Speaker 4:I would say probably, because I was always in drag racing.
Speaker 5:So I would say go-karts and mini bikes, just kind of like Joe would be. That was always my thing Running around a neighborhood getting chased by the cops.
Speaker 1:You know it's funny that you say that, because that's a big issue here in Syracuse. After dark in the city they're just out on these bikes, no helmets, no nothing, and just going crazy and the cops are trying to get them to stop. And you're reading about. You're reading about something happening almost every day.
Speaker 4:They're like that in Orlando man. No joke. I mean right now I drive. There's like 30 dirt bikes and four wheelers just blazing down down the road and on I drive.
Speaker 1:Well that's crazy Get yourself killed. I guess they don't think about that.
Speaker 4:I'll take my chances with the trees any day.
Speaker 1:Exactly. You know, my wife thinks I'm nuts because I went out and I just purchased an electric bike. You know, I need to work, I need to do, you know, and it showed up the other day and she got all pissed at me, and when?
Speaker 5:I put it together.
Speaker 1:I know there's a long story, dude. Uh, I won't go into a lot of details, but yeah, I put it all together and I started riding it. But it's been so long since I've ridden a bike that I'm saying, okay, this is going to be good, I can pedal or I can hit the throttle, and we work every day, so but I don't know, we'll have to wait and see.
Speaker 5:But uh, yeah, so anybody else favorite toy? Well, for me, you know, I'm the youngest of five boys and everybody played drums, so that's not necessarily a toy. But before that I'm from west virginia and the big wheel was huge in my life I love it, I love it, oh, oh, my God, that's great, that's great.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah, you got to have that thing. Yeah, exactly At the pool break. Oh, that is so cool, you know, it's just fun. I mean it breaks the ice, it's great conversation and it's a lot of fun. So you know, just uh, if somebody wanted to get ahold of your music and they have your web, what is your website or what are your socials? Where can they go to look up the Soul Circus Cowboys?
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for asking that. Soulcircuscowboyscom is our website, but what we do for almost every song that we record or put out is we do a video with it. So if you'd like to see what the videos are, we have a a soul circus Cowboys YouTube channel and we'd love for you to subscribe. We're on every single streaming platform because of grassroots, of course, and we are all very personal guys. If you want to get on our soul circus Cowboys Facebook page and ask us anything, it will be one of us that answers back to. It's not going to be, even though faith does all the dates and stuff. I will be one of us that answers back to. It's not going to be, even though faith does all the dates and stuff. I communicate, or one of us communicates with whoever wants to ask a question. It happens all the time. We really like that. We want to be one-on-one with the SCC family. We call it.
Speaker 1:I am so glad that you said that. Who turned off your lights? I? See oh no, that's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 2:It's not bothering you.
Speaker 1:No, not at all, not at all, I'm fine, I'm fine. You said it was your fish tank, but no, I'm fine. So I have a fish tank upstairs. I'm just waiting for the fish to, kind of because I've had it way too long.
Speaker 4:What was your favorite toy?
Speaker 1:man.
Speaker 5:Yeah, For me. I think I got my first guitar at age eight and my parents made the mistake of giving it to me in the morning because it was my birthday and I had to go to school. That was the longest day of my life watching my clock.
Speaker 1:Oh, I bet.
Speaker 5:That until I got a chance to come home and play guitar. That's always my favorite. Wow, that's too cool.
Speaker 1:That is really cool and that's a good indication that you're a good guitar player. And that's too cool. That is really cool and that's a good indication that you know you're a good, good guitar player. And that's something that was in your blood right from the get-go and you couldn't wait to get your hands on it. So that's cool. Do you have a name for your guitar?
Speaker 5:what's that do you?
Speaker 1:have a name for your guitar.
Speaker 5:No, I mean, I got a bunch of them. I kind of got past the name stage Okay.
Speaker 4:You know what I when Ron ran out of letters in the alphabet, then he's like I'm not going to name any more. Wow, you got enough of those.
Speaker 2:He does have a really nice home studio, so we do all our pre-recording there. When we write a song, we'll start with the guitar vocal and he'll stack more and more and then we get an idea of what we want to do.
Speaker 1:So you know see, the studio is so very important.
Speaker 5:I was going to ask you about that before we we wrap this up tonight, that if you did have a home studio available or you know one of the guys in the band, and obviously you do I mean, it's pretty much like what I'm doing here, yeah and uh, you know it's something you gotta have and have we spend a lot of time just sussing out what we're gonna do, whether we try and find a key that fits Billy's voice where it's in the sweet spot, and we try and work on tempos, what feels good, and we live with it for a little while, for a couple of weeks, and if we feel like it gets the thumbs up, then we move on to the next stage. Have you guys?
Speaker 1:it's the craziest up, then we move on to the next stage. Have you guys? It's the craziest thing that has ever happened to you while performing.
Speaker 2:I have so many, I mean stuff happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, skip happens. But it's okay, there you go.
Speaker 2:Completely forgetting a whole verse to a song I wrote is real crazy. And then you have to do the. You know the kind of Chinese.
Speaker 3:That's embarrassing Real good.
Speaker 1:And what happened? You're not the only one that has happened to. I know that for a fact, but is there a certain look that you give to each other going? I just forgot the lyrics.
Speaker 2:I turn around and start acting like the drummers, make the mistake.
Speaker 1:Gotta blame it on somebody.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so they don't actually see my face when I'm mortified, not remembering the lyrics.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, oh my God, how crazy, how crazy. You know, you guys are pretty awesome. I like this, I like this conversation.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, absolutely. You know, you guys are pretty awesome. I like this, I like this conversation Absolutely. And Soul Circus Cowboys go to the website. You know what? If you just go to Google and search Soul Circus Cowboys, I think just about everything will come up, because that's what I did earlier and I was checking out some of the videos. And if I didn't subscribe to the channel, I know I'm going to, so you'll see that on there and for anybody watching this, they can do it with. Skip happens as well on youtube and we'll connect. And one thing I like to do is really put the spotlight on the independent artist. Uh, you deserve the recognition. Um, you're doing it on your own, so to speak, for the most part, and it's not easy, it's a grind, and you know the more we can do to help each other out. I think it's, you know, really appreciate it and you're never too old.
Speaker 1:You know the more we can do to help each other out. I think it's you know, and you're never too old. You know what I mean. I please, please, don't take this the wrong way, but you know, you get a lot of the real young kids on here. I call them kids. I'm probably, like you, about the same age, but you get the. You get the kids on here and they just, I don't know. You know they want to make a big instantly. It's not going to happen. It's a long road. You guys have been playing together. You're doing all right. You're out there doing these shows.
Speaker 2:We're doing all right. We're having a good run. It's only getting better. We're not going down, we keep on going up. As long as that's happening, we're just going to stay the course 100%.
Speaker 1:All right, guys, you know what You're awesome, thank you so much Thank you for being on.
Speaker 1:Skip Happens Definitely appreciate you and appreciate Grassroots helping me out with the podcast here and I get to chat with great artists like yourself. Thank you, it's pretty cool. Once again, everybody, make sure you check them out. Give them a little click on the YouTube channel. Subscribe to their channel. Don't miss anything. Like I said, they will talk to you on the socials if you look them up. I don't know how many others do that. This is really cool. They've got it going. Soul Circus, cowboys, everybody, you guys stay right there. We're going to say goodnight. Thanks for watching Skip happens.
Speaker 3:Skip happens.
Speaker 1:Skip happens Love it.