So much fun to talk about college, politics and education with Chancey Wiliams in this episode of the podcast! Thanks to Chancey for his time, and thanks to you all for your submissiones of "successful moments" which I share at the beginning of the episode. After you check out our interview, make sure to watch the amazing BBC tourism video in the website description of this episode (backroadspodcast.com) about Wyoming, America, and country music with Chancey Williams!
Gethen Jenkins, a powerful musician with an honest American soul, joined me in this episode to talk about defining success as an artist. As I mention in the intro, tell me what you've been successful at lately! DM me @countrymusicpod and I'll share some of the stories on next week's episode!
If you're from LA you know Graham Bunn from #grahaminthemorning on Go Country 105. If you're in ABC's Bachelor Nation, you remember him from The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise. Graham was so gracious to meet up with me in the middle of the Driftwood Music Festival right before his interview with Kip Moore. His energy is contagious and I hope his warm heart is as well. After meeting him, I understand why Graham is pals with all the greats.
Sam Riggs tells me THE craziest stories about what he has seen, and been a part of, at concerts in this episode. That is reason enough to listen. Enjoy!
Tracy Dixon, co-host of 98.5 KYGO's Denver morning radio show, is an incredible role model to me, as a woman in the media and country music industry. It is easy to understand why she has been so successful when you get the chance to talk with her. There is so much to learn from listening to Tracy talk about her work and love of her career in this episode!
Russell Dickerson and I had fun telling stories about camping problems and wine tasting, but what really amazed me was to learn about his hard core hustle in country music. He shares so many the details about the road that led him to his debut album “Yours.” I also got to meet his wife Kailey, not only the inspiration behind his love songs, but also the photgraphic genius behind his music video and album cover.
When you look at Country music today you’ll see a patchwork of people with different ideas about what they think country should sound like. You may hear some say that Florida Georgia Line raps too much, the Dixie Chicks are too political, or Wheeler Walker Jr. is too dirty. But it’s all country. Does country music have to twang, or have a banjo, or be about a girl and a pick up truck? Or do you just have to wear a cowboy hat when you sing it? When I met Joe Stamm for this interview, he started off talking about his upcoming song American Freeborn Kids. As he described the song, and why he wrote it, I began to see that the way that country music is divided, is much like the way America is divided. I’m not sure what the fix is, for unity in general, but I’m pretty sure that great music like this will help! Their song American Freeborn Kids is coming out soon, so stayed tuned for the release date! Joe Stamm and his band are Back Dirt Country Rockers, and this is our conversation.
This episode marks the beginning of what I want this podcast to be, a casual conversation with an artist after a show. Hudson Moore and I talk for about 20 minutes, then we sign off, and then we really talk. Actually I do most of the talking, sorry about that Hudson, but I really enjoyed the relaxed nature of this conversation. Im so thankful to Hudson for taking the time to sit down and share his thoughts with me after his show here in Denver. He is an amazing guy who is a really talented artist with some really great songs.
Jerrod Niemann, the artist of songs like "Lover, Lover" and "What Do You Want," has soothed and inspired country music fans for years. Leading up to the interview, I started out with a list of 50 questions and whittled it down to six...knowing I would have ten minutes to talk to him. Interviewing Jerrod and having him tell me stories about his life, is the experience I dreamed of when launching this show. He was not only generous with his time, but he thought to share experiences that made me laugh, and that changed the way that I see my work.
A week ago, I had no idea what meeting and talking to William Michael Morgan would be like. If I had to guess, I'd say that maybe he'd be a little self important, as a rising Country Music star might be. I might even have thought that he would d be in a rush to get done with our interview, especially since he was about to go on for a show. As you probably guessed, those thoughts were totally wrong. From the moment we shook hands, to hanging out in the green room before the show, WMM was every bit the old-soul gentleman you hear in his hit singles “I Met a Girl” and “Missing" off of his album, Vinyl. We talked about music, God, and his decade long journey to where he is today.
The guys from the Eugene Tyler Band, Dan and Eugene, came out to Colorado for a month long run of shows from Denver to Boulder and Fort Collins. If you didn't catch them here, you'll have to head up to the East Coast, where they play almost every weekend. They're based in New York, have been playing together for 10 years and have a brand new album coming out September 2017 called Young Randy. Make sure to follow them @eugenetylerband! Thanks for listening.
I cannot count the times that I've started humming "When It Rains" on days that I am feeling down and I'm sporting a frown. I can still feel the passion in "Guinevere" as I set my iPod on repeat and pound out the miles on a treadmill. I will never forget the moment that I stood with my arm around my sister, tears of sisterhood streaming down my face, as the band struck up our song, "Crazy Girl." What about the times we drove down an actual dirt road, in a Ford pickup truck, windows down, screaming out the lyrics to "Even If It Breaks Your Heart." I could go on for days, about every single song since their third album Jet Black & Jealous (2008) --- that is eight years after the band started.
They released a new album this year, Fingerprints, which is every bit as raw as the true-blue fan could hope. Taking the wheel on this album, the band wrote eight out of the 11 tracks including the title track Fingerprints, Never Land, and God Love the Rain.
I'm proud to bring you this episode with the legendary Eli Young Band. Thanks for listening and subscribing!
Sometimes in the music industry (okay in LIFE) you make mistakes, or decisions that you wish you could change. But sometimes you do everything right, go all-in, and everyone you love supports you. Both of these scenarios have happened to Nick and both times, things didn't go as planned. Nick Lynch is here to tell you that he is no victim to past decisions or uncontrollable circumstances. I'll just let him tell you what he's learned and how he's conquering his career today.
Taylor Swift has been in Denver all week for the trial about her assault in 2013. While I think it is disgusting that this man could bring her to trial over something terrible that he did, I think there are a lot of dirty problems in the music industry that this conversation has brought to light.
I was lucky enough to go to the trial last week and hear directly from her about what happened. What I didn't expect was the other stories of abuse and bad behavior that arose.
I had so much fun talking to Maddie, Emma and Dawson the other night on the phone. Their band, Temecula Road is fresh, vibrant and already an amazing track record. They've played all over the country, opening for Martina McBride, Jessie James Decker, Kenny Rogers, Love & Theft and so many more. They're coming out with some new music soon so keep up with them at TemeculaRoad.com or @TemeculaRoad everywhere!
Happy New Year friends! I am so excited for this brand new year of country music podcasts. You know its going to be a great year when your first episode is with a country music legend. While “God Bless the USA” is his most prolific song, Lee Greenwood has released over thirty country music albums starting in 1962. Seven of his songs are #1 hits and twenty five songs on the charts.
This is a short and sweet episode where we talk about his work as an ambassador for Disabled American Veterans. The DAV is a non-profit organization that has been working to support and help disabled veterans since 1920. They host job fairs, provide rides for veterans to get to their medical appointments, and help veterans attain billions of dollars of benefits so that they and their families can be taken care of.