Episode 24 - Macy Nicole

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Y'all, I'm so scared I'm going to raise some preppy ass, spoiled ass youngins, you know what I mean? And like I'm also, which I, I probably should not say this, but there's a Christian school that is like notorious near us for their kids just coming out co Kids like, is it. Did you come out of coed or. You don't have to answer that. [00:00:29] Speaker B: This was for the home. [00:00:33] Speaker C: Oh, hey. Welcome to Tailgate Beers. We've got Austin and Ryan here as normal. Hey. We have a special guest today and super excited to sit down and, and, and hear some of Macy Nicole's story. What brings her to, to where she is at today as an artist. Some of her background, some of the, the ups and and downs and the highs and the lows that, that she has gone through in life, how she has adapted to that, how she has become a better person because of that. And I'm super excited for, for all of our Tailgate Beers listeners and followers to hear Macy's story. And welcome. Welcome to Peoria, Illinois. Welcome to Tailgate Beers. [00:01:14] Speaker A: Hey, thank you for having me. That's a big ticket to fill. We'll see if we can squeeze all that. Right. Right. [00:01:20] Speaker C: We might be here a little while. The good news is so, so Macy, you're went out of the way. You and your team here went out of the way to come and sit down with us today. And we can't stress enough how appreciative to you and your team, Colin, for working this out as well to be able to come and just sit down and talk to us. [00:01:42] Speaker A: Hey, I appreciate y'all, you know, I mean, I wouldn't have nowhere to go if it wasn't for you or anything. [00:01:47] Speaker B: To talk about because Ryan's been telling me, hey, you know, you know this Macy girl, this Macy, you know, what about getting her on? I'm like, dude, I figured, I. Whatever you want to plan, let's make it happen. [00:01:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:01:58] Speaker B: And. And then he's like, yeah, they're on their way to another show, so they're gonna like stop in. I'm like, dude, that's, that's awesome. It's so appreciative. [00:02:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:02:05] Speaker B: He's like, yeah, they're on their way to Michigan and I'm like drawing the. [00:02:09] Speaker C: Line on the map. [00:02:10] Speaker B: I don't know that this is on the way to fucking Michigan. Like, so I was like, I mean, more power to him. And Lakeview's playing tonight, so, you know, I think you guys are kind of fans are connected with them and stuff. So I'm like, what a perfect night for you guys to get to see, you know, the show, see what Cruisins is about, have a fun time. And we're. We're beyond grateful. [00:02:30] Speaker A: So, yeah, I usually just do what Colin tells me to do. You know what I mean? And so, like, he. He just was like, we're gonna go to Illinois. And I was like, yes, we're gonna get Chris in Chicago. [00:02:41] Speaker B: It's beautiful this time of year. [00:02:42] Speaker A: And he's like, no, you're gonna do a podcast. And I was like, oh, okay. You know, like, all right. And then. And this was a while back, and then we're planning out our whole trip, you know, and I'm like, here, we have to go here. Hey, why are we going to this place? What's going on? And then he told me, and I was just so, so excited. It didn't even seem like an out of the way thing anymore. It just was like, all right, we're gonna go here, here, and here. My kids were super confused when I was telling them where I was going. [00:03:10] Speaker B: Even your kids are like, mom, I don't know if you know this yet, but this is not like, on the way. [00:03:15] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:03:16] Speaker B: You get mad when we have to stop for bathroom brakes and you're sitting here saying you're gonna drive clear out of the way. [00:03:20] Speaker A: They're like, you have one show. You're gonna be going for five days. What's. How's this going on, Mom? When are you coming back? [00:03:26] Speaker B: How old are the kids? [00:03:27] Speaker A: They're nine and five. [00:03:28] Speaker B: Okay. [00:03:29] Speaker A: Huh. So my five year old, she actually, when we were walking out the door, she just went, have fun in Nashville. And I said, okay, that's once again, not where we're going, but. [00:03:37] Speaker B: And then you have a boy or. [00:03:38] Speaker A: Girl, so a five year old little girl and a nine year old little boy. [00:03:42] Speaker B: Okay. Those are fun ages. [00:03:44] Speaker A: Yeah. So I'm made. You're busy all the time. Just all the time. [00:03:49] Speaker C: So. So tell us about your story. And I've heard and I've watched a lot of the podcasts that you've done previously, and I know that you are obviously no stranger to podcast either and love to hear about more of the plans and what you've been doing podcast wise, but then also what you have coming up, because I think there's some exciting stuff there as well. So talk to us from the beginning. I know you were a teen mom. You know, you had a lot that you were dealing with as a teenager in high school. You know, how does that make you the person that you are today? [00:04:25] Speaker A: Oh, I think one word simply, it gives me stubbornness. It just makes me like, I don't accept that I can't get what I want. I don't accept that there's no way to make it happen. Because, like, I was 17 and I was like, okay, mom, bye. I'm gonna go rent this trailer for $350 a month and raise this baby, you know? And like, I jumped into the world thinking that and now knowing, like, here we are almost 10 years later, and I'm like, girlfriend, that was dangerous, you know, But I really just jumped into the world and figured out how to make it happen. And I, like, you know, forged by fire. That was, that was my whole kind of being in existence for years was just I was walking through the fire and like, keep grinding, keep going. This isn't what I want, but I'll get it one day. And eventually it just like gave me this confidence in myself that I didn't even have. I just was like, trying to survive and feed my kid for a while. And then one day I turned around and was like, oh, wow. I'm actually really good at, you know, figuring out how to make things happen. So it took a lot of struggle, but it taught me so much confidence in myself that now I just, I feel like I just exude nothing but get up and go and do it. You know what I mean? [00:05:35] Speaker B: We don't live in a society that looks at, hey, I'm gonna be a 17 year old mom as you. This is on. You're on your way to success or anything like that. We live in a society, it's like, your life's done, you're screwed. [00:05:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:05:48] Speaker B: And there's a lot of people that then could move into that trailer for 350 bucks a month and never leave anything and never go anywhere. [00:05:56] Speaker A: Yeah, my daddy was really mad at me when I left that trailer. Really mad at me, because I had, I think I had paid him enough money at that point. It was his property and the trailer was supposed to be mine at some point, but I guess I had paid him enough money to not pay him anything anymore. And so that was when I was like, okay, I can afford to go somewhere else. I can afford to figure something else out. And he was like, no, that's not safe. You can't do that. Like, you need to stay at the job that you're at and stay in this house and just build a life here. And I just was like, sorry, dad, gotta Fly and, you know, scare you half to death for a while. Which, looking back, I'm sure my daddy was scared for me for a long time because I mean, I honestly was just blindly, I wasn't, I wasn't like succeeding and succeeding and succeeding. It was more like lots of failure back to back. But we were surviving, which is, you know, that was the only goal at the time. But yeah, I think, I think I ended up, I don't know, just building this whole Persona of like, whatever, I'm gonna do it anyway. Because Nobody likes a 17 year old pregnant girl. You know what I mean? Nobody has big dreams for a girl who, you know, was the trouble kid in high school and she didn't seem like she was really gonna do good things. And here I am. [00:07:13] Speaker B: Were you that bad in high school? [00:07:14] Speaker A: Yeah, it was horrible. I was pregnant at 17. Come on now. [00:07:20] Speaker B: I know, but there are people that can like have a whoop season, you know, it happened. But I didn't know if you were like, like, were you a really, really bad kid or were you like, yeah, I didn't know. [00:07:29] Speaker A: Yeah, I was a ridiculously bad teenager. And I honestly, I don't even know like what the heck I was looking for, but I was just yearning. I think I've always just been yearning for something different, which is just a blessing and a curse because like, here I am with this personality that's like, oh, yeah, I don't have to do what everybody else does because that's not normal for me. And I don't really care about, you know, those things and fitting in or being in the trends or whatever. I'm just trying to live, you know. But a lot of people would like to, to see that from. [00:08:01] Speaker C: So it's kind of a rebellion. I mean, were you like a rebel? I mean, if everything that, that, you know, your parents told you you shouldn't be doing that made you want to do it that much more. [00:08:11] Speaker A: Yeah, like, my mom would be like, okay, 10 o'clock, I'm locking the door. And I'd show up at 10:03, you. [00:08:16] Speaker C: Know, just to be there. [00:08:17] Speaker A: And she did lock the door. Let me say this, I always, every interview I've ever done, I've made sure to say something about my mother. I come from an encouraging woman. Okay. That woman constantly spoke good into me. Even when I was like, some of the things I did, I want to write her an apology letter, you know, I mean, I just was horrendous and she, she still was just always like, you're gonna do Great things. You're gonna be incredible. You're a powerful young woman. I'll send you to military school if I have to. Macy Nicole, you know, like, she was behind me, like, you're gonna be a good girl. You're gonna be a good person. You're gonna be a good woman. And I always swore I'd never have kids. I swore I was just always gonna be this angry person. And then I got my little blessing at 17 and. [00:09:16] Speaker B: And you and your mom, still a good relationship now? Still. [00:09:19] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I couldn't live without her to this very moment, actually, as we were walking in the door, there was an emergency that she had texted me and said, it's all good, so I can't live without my mother. [00:09:31] Speaker C: So I've heard the story of you going to have the conversation with your mom. [00:09:36] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:09:37] Speaker C: And all of that. And you can tell anything about that that you would like. But also, you know, to give you some credit too, at a 17 year old and as much as a bad teenager, you were just. Even in preparing for that conversation, you started to plan, you started to figure out. You took three days, I think it was off top of my head, and started to figure out the path forward and having that conversation with her, wanted to have the conversation with her. It sounded like she wasn't quite ready for that yet at the time. [00:10:09] Speaker A: It took her two days as well. [00:10:11] Speaker C: But the head on the shoulders that you had there to kind of, all right, this is life and this is what the cards, and I'm gonna do whatever I can to make this successful or. [00:10:24] Speaker A: Yeah. I think at that point my parents had really just said enough times that they weren't dealing with this crap anymore. That I was like, this is it. I've hit the wall. There's nothing to do now, you know. [00:10:35] Speaker B: Like, oh, God, I've broke them. [00:10:38] Speaker A: I did the one thing, you know, and like my stepdad took my phone when I got pregnant and, you know, and I immediately was just like, what is that gonna do? There's no going back on this, dude. You can't ground me from this, you know? But I. I didn't want to be told how wrong I was that that was it. I had been told already so many times that there were going to be consequences that now I felt like I was looking at the consequence, you know? [00:11:01] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. [00:11:02] Speaker A: And I just was like, shit. I have to admit that I did the wrong thing and I have to now also take up for it. And I know what Kelly's gonna say. Kelly's gonna say, oh, I told you not to do this. Oh, I told you this was gonna happen. Oh, wrong. You're not gonna be able to do this by yourself. So I went and got all the paperwork and the insurance and the ultrasounds and whatever. And I remember the nurse, I don't think I told this story on the baby my podcast. I remember the nurse telling me or calling me mama. And I remember being in that chair. This 17 year old kid who also knows for a full fledged fact that her boyfriend is not a good dude, you know what I mean? Like he's just not good baby daddy potential off the bat. And so I'm sitting in all this regret and this woman goes, all right, mom. And I'm just like, oh God, that's, that's me. Oh, okay, all right, I'm mama, I'll get it together. And I remember like, I remember like staring at my feet and having my hands like this and there were like two tears and I just was like, all right, you don't get to do that shit anymore, you dumb ass. You got to suck it up. I was so mad at myself. So honestly it was just that I wanted to get to her and be like, I already know what you're going to say and I don't want you to be able to say that. Like I want to be able to say it's going to be okay cuz now I have to take up for this thing like this is going to be a human child. And I also, in the first week probably was full fledged convinced that she was going to let me get rid of it. And I was certain that that was the solution. Like nothing, I saw nothing past that. I didn't see any future as a mother at all. And because I, like I said, I was an angry teenager so I didn't see any future as a mother. And I knew I was just going to run around and be kooky and crazy and a baby did not fit into that, you know what I mean? And when I finally got her sat down and was like, okay, let's go get rid of it. You just, you come on and you sign the papers. I thought she was gonna be like, okay. And she was not. She was like, oh no, no, no, no, ma'am, not doing that. She said, I don't care if I have to drag that baby out of you and raise it myself. We are not doing that. And that was the best thing that could have happened to me because I didn't have an excuse anymore. Like when you have A mouth to feed, you know, Y'all know what that feels like. Like, you can take the biggest risk in the world, but you still have to turn around and look that kid in the eye, and they're the ones that have to answer for a lot of it. So, like, I've always, like, even small things, like, the first time my son called me a princess, like, I remember being like, wow, you. You look at me in such an adoring way. I have such a thing that I have to, you know, live up to for this child. And he's nine now, so he's like my best friend. We're so cool. We also fight horrendous. [00:13:42] Speaker B: What are you gonna do if one of them starts doing some of the things you did and going down that path? [00:13:46] Speaker A: I think about it all the time. My daddy actually called me the other day and laughed in my ear about what I was going to experience. The older my kids get, I honestly think it's just going to be a lot of repetition. I think I'm just gonna, like, hear my. My parents voice in my head, you know, just like, yeah, you yell at him. [00:14:04] Speaker B: You walk out of that room like, I'm my dad, and I, like, hate my dad. So when I walk out, I hear like. I'm like, God damn it. [00:14:11] Speaker C: I'm like, I turned into him. [00:14:13] Speaker A: I used to think my stepdad was the. Or my stepmom was the absolute worst. And now, like, Saturday mornings, I'll be like, all right, kids, if everybody helps clean, we'll get it done in two hours. She used to say that all the time. [00:14:26] Speaker B: My dad used to say, pull your head out of your ass. And I say it, and I'm like, God damn it. [00:14:31] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Get your hands out of your pockets and act like you want to do something that is over and over in my head. And I say that in my kids all the time. [00:14:38] Speaker B: And I try to take the route of, you know, I don't want to be. You know, that was something, too, that really fucked me up of, you know, my dad and saying, pretty much, you know, I'll never be your friend. You know, I'm never gonna be. I'm your dad, and I. And I agree to a certain extent. But then there's a part where like, no, fuck that. I'm like, dude, my kids are my best friends. I love traveling with them. I love talking to them like they're older. I mean, I treat them that way. But I think that there's a certain point where I'm, like, choosing the good things my parents did, and then even some of the things to do differently of, like, listen, I'm gonna be mad as fuck at you, and I'm gonna tell you I love you and good night, and we're gonna start the next day, you know, trying to bring that. Bring it out. I just. I hope. And then also as a dad, there's a lot of guys that I'm around that will look at me and go, yeah, good luck, you know, your daughter, that'll be gone. You know, my daughter doesn't even talk to me in teenage years. And they like, that's like, again, that's that stereotype of what it's supposed to be as a teen daughter. And that's normal. I'm like, that. That's not normal. I'm like, me and my daughter are always going to have a great. We're going to work on this, and I'm going to fight for it. But at the end of the day, I'm like, no way that's going to be. And I don't. I just. Fingers crossed, because mine turns 10 in February and. [00:15:52] Speaker A: Are you in, like, the preteen years already? [00:15:54] Speaker B: My boy is 11 and a half. And then my daughter is going to be 10 in February. [00:16:01] Speaker A: She already have that, like, teenage attitude, though? [00:16:04] Speaker B: No, no, not yet. [00:16:06] Speaker C: She's a sweet girl. [00:16:06] Speaker B: She's very sweet, but she's going through kind of like. She's like a. Just go with the flow. Whatever happens, happens. So I also. I don't know, I always say that girl's got a lot of quit in her. And the fact that she just kind of like, she hits a brick wall, she's like, whatever, fuck it. I'm like, no, work hard at this. Like, get this. You know, my boys, like, I gotta be at school on time. You know, I'm. He's all about getting straight A's. He's like, my OCD one a little bit. And, you know, I. Audrey wakes up with, like, scissors in her bed for making bracelets. I'm like, audrey, I'm like, you psychopath. I'm like, pick up your shit. Like, stop being weird, Audrey. Like, you're not like. And then, you know, like, I open up her little bank. Like, she's got one of these little banks you slide money in, you know? And she's like, dad, I can't get. We got it open, you know, And I open the door, there's like a bunch of money in there, but then there's all these candy wrappers that she's Just been feeding into them. Like, what is wrong with you, you weirdo? Like, stop being weird. [00:16:59] Speaker A: Look, I walked into the kitchen just yesterday, and I said, hey, Garrison, that drawer in your room? And he goes, yeah. [00:17:08] Speaker B: Oh, the hoarding drawer, huh? [00:17:10] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, I said, because I had. I was looking for. I don't even know what it was. I think a TV remote, But I just was drawer, drawer. And I get to the top drawer, and it's like, some happy. In, like, oatmeal cream pies, and there's, like, toasty crackers and, like, oh, my God, the freaking squished up capri sun things. He'd. Where he's just drank all that he could out of it and just stuffed it in there. But so I walk in the room, and I'm like, hey, bud, the drawer. And he goes, yeah. And I said, you know the top one in your room? He said, yeah, Mom, I should clean it out, right? I said, okay, cool. So let's not have that conversation again. Like, my kids are just. They're one step ahead of me. And so. And I don't mean that in, like, an I'm dumb kind of way, but they're constantly, like, assuming what I'm gonna say and guessing it. Right. Like, we communicate really well, but it also makes us really knock noggins really hard. Because I'll be like, hey, you're literally standing here showing me that you're competent, but you don't care to do the thing. Like, that's where I'm like, you said, you kind of talk to them like they're a little grown. I'm that way. Like, I remember the first time I realized I was gonna be one of those parents. My baby was in those jumper things. The Johnny jumper things. [00:18:19] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:18:20] Speaker A: And he. He kept going side to side, and I kept standing him up and making him go up and down, and, hey, be careful. You're gonna hit your head. And he knocked his little noggin, and he cried. And I remember just automatically going, I told you that was gonna happen. And I was like, oh, no. I'm a tough mom. I'm not gentle parenting. [00:18:38] Speaker B: See, that's where I've always say I. I talk the same way I talk now. I mean, I talk around them. [00:18:42] Speaker A: Mm. [00:18:43] Speaker B: And neither of my kids would say a bad word to save their life, period. Because, I mean, but I talk to them as they're like, any of us. Yeah, but that drawer. Going back to that, I was in my boy's room, and he's at this age where he Again, we're separate households. You know, they go to Mom's 50% of time mine. And he's very. Again, he has that dad. Like, he just wants Dad's approval. And we are best friends. He loves all of his time with me. His room is always pretty spotless. But he's getting to that age. He's a stinky boy, you know, all that stuff. But, you know, I'm up there and I'm like, all right. Hey, man, you're good. And you could tell he's kind of like, all right. Yes, pass the test. Pass the test. Pass the test. And I'm getting ready to walk out. And you could just tell that I was getting ready to open that drawer, and I kind of opened some other drawers just to see that he did everything else. And then I was like. And I was already kind of frustrated about something, and I opened that drawer, and he's like, dad, please just shut the drawer. [00:19:42] Speaker C: I'll address it. [00:19:43] Speaker B: And I'm like, fucking figure that drawer out, Luke, or I'm going to lose my fucking shit. I'm like, it's like, well, I don't know. I don't know what the shermot goes to, but what if I find what it goes to, you know? Oh, I have this cool container I got with a deck of cards one time, and I don't know, it could be cool for something, dad. I'm like, you're a hoarder. Stop hoarding shit. Get rid of it. I know, but I don't know if I'll ever need this thing, you know? And I'm like, what is wrong with you? And then there's just like. He made one of those things at school where it's like the oil and water and there's, like, the glitter, essentially, it's like a poor person's leg or. [00:20:16] Speaker A: Lava lamp, you know? [00:20:17] Speaker B: Lava lamp. But he's like, that was a year ago, and it's in your drawer. I'm like, if it's tipped upside down, I'm like, if that shit spills, Luke. He goes, I know. You'll kill me. And I'm like, just get it figured out, man. And I walked away because I'm like, at the end of the day, if he contains it to a drawer. All right, I could. It could be worse. It could be his whole room. But, yeah, the funds of the parenting. [00:20:40] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:20:41] Speaker A: Well, my kid was texting me yesterday as. Okay, so my sister lives with me and her son as well, so we've got a full house. There's a nine year old, a five year old, and a four year old, and the laundry never ends. The. The bathroom's always dirty. You know, it's just like a very kooky, crazy household, right? Okay, so my little boy, I just bought him new pants. As a matter of fact, I've had to go twice because he's growing very quickly. So just got all the new pants, and I picked up some cool hoodies. And I was excited, you know, you're gonna love this, because I bought the baggy pants before trying to be cool. And he doesn't like those, mom, so had to go back, you know, so a whole thing, right? So I'm coming home with what I know he's gonna be excited about. He doesn't give a shit. So he's like, yeah, all right, whatever. Put the pants away. You know, I'm just wearing clothes like that. I don't. I don't really care. Well, the next day, those clothes are still laid out on the end of his bed whenever I wake him up in the morning. So I wake him up, Garrison, I asked you to do that yesterday, son. And you got damn chicken nuggets and French fries sitting on the bed beside you. And you just sleep with your PlayStation controller in your hand. It's Wednesday morning. What's happening here? Are you like, this is not a frat house, dude. There are rules in this house. What's going on? So he gets up. He's. Oh, this, that. Oh, I'm not. I don't want to do it. So I get to where I'm leaving, and I'm doing my bedroom check, you know, seeing what everything looks like, and I see those clothes, and I get a text after we've been gone about an hour from my sister. Does Garrison get his PlayStation? No, he certainly does not, because he was being mean to me while he needed to be doing his chores. Okay, Does Garrison get his iPad? Yeah. Yeah, hand that boy his iPad. I sent a text. Did you finish your chores? Yes, ma'am. How about them clothes on the end of your bed, mama? Drop in on the Alexa, Garrison. Yes, ma'am. You got them clothes hung up? Like, I'm literally, like, I'm not helping you with anything until you verify that you have hung these clothes up. You cannot have any form of communication or play until you have hung them damn clothes up. I guarantee you they will still be sitting right there when I get home, guaranteed. [00:22:54] Speaker B: So going off of, you know, parenting and all that stuff. I mean, tell us about the music. Because honestly, when Ryan Shared your stuff. I'm like. I mean, I didn't. I didn't know you from Adam, like, who you were. And so. So how did that come about and when did that really begin for you? Was it. Was it the pre 17 where you're into music a lot? [00:23:14] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. My. So I came from a gospel family, so my dad had a band. They were called the Walker. My dad's. My dad had a band, him and his brothers, they were called the Walker Brothers, and they did bluegrass gospel music, and they toured to, like, churches and little Christian music festivals, bluegrass festival, stuff like that. So I grew up in it, but I never, like, I never really put two and two together. Like, I never put the music industry in with what my dad did. You know what I'm saying? Like, it didn't. The two didn't really coincide to me. It just was like an activity we once did with my dad. Kind of like he used to race and now he doesn't. You know, it's like it was just one of dad's hobbies. But, yeah, they all were instrumentalists and harmonizers, and I grew up just sitting in on those practices and like, there's seven of these men with these gorgeous, you know, different octaves, and their harmonies are wild, and they've got a big bass in there and they got a banjo and they got a dobro and they got a couple acoustics, and my daddy's on the mandolin. And like, it was in. It was a pretty awe inspiring thing to be in the middle of. And I was in the middle of a lot of different things like that. So by the time I was 11, I loved it, like, sitting in this thing they called the picking circle. It was at a barn, it was way far away. And I had to ask my dad to drive me there. It was like an hour away. And used to, if my daddy wouldn't take me, I'd call my Uncle Larry, who was across the road, and I'd be like, can you take me over to the barn? And I never knew this until I was older, but I used to sit in that picking circle with Allison Krause. Never knew that. Never knew that until I was older. My uncle just mentioned it one day. He was like, my Uncle Larry, he was like, you know, Allison Krause used to go to that picking barn with us all the time. And I was like, no, shit? I did not know that. You know, I just like to sit around and watch everybody play instruments. I mean, there's no telling how many people the. The. The Greats that I've seen and have no idea, you know, because I just. I loved being in it. And so when I grew up, you know, my daddy was so, like, corporate at that point. He had, you know, done a really good job with a really good job that really just kept our family going. And he had no reason to, you know, pursue the. Those hobbies and stuff like that. You know, he boats and hunts and whatever. And so I never saw it as a dream. I never thought it was, like, a. An option. But going through school, I went to chorus and I did Allstate chorus, and I had, like, the national solos, and I had, like, the. I would win a talent show or, you know, I was doing stuff like that. I just never once, like, put two and two together. I never was like, hey, girl, you can go achieve a dream. You know what I'm saying? And so once I got out of high school and got married and started my life as a banker, like, I was wholeheartedly dead set on that. That was my life. And then the bottom fell, and I got a divorce, which, Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. And how old I was. Oh, when did I get a divorce? [00:26:06] Speaker C: 21. [00:26:06] Speaker A: 21, 22. I love that. He's just got. He's got the. He's got the facts, you know, I. [00:26:14] Speaker B: Got to do the research. He does all the research. And I started my notes here, as. [00:26:18] Speaker A: A matter of fact. Yeah, actually, you got pregnant again. [00:26:23] Speaker B: If you can get six numbers right. [00:26:25] Speaker A: He could probably take the last four. [00:26:28] Speaker B: We started when we started this podcast. And again, Ryan got. He did such a great job at looking up all this information even. I'm just like. Sometimes I'm like, dude, there's way too much going on. And Ryan would print off, like, these fact sheets or just, like, random, you know, And I'm like, I'm, too. I just want to come in and kind of just see where it goes. [00:26:47] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:26:47] Speaker B: And I think it's still good to have the facts, but there was a couple times that you made a comment, somebody's like, damn, you did your research. You know, and also I was like, I don't want to be sitting here in front of me like, so when you were 21 and got divorced, he just remembers all that shit. [00:27:03] Speaker A: Who initiated the divorce back then? [00:27:06] Speaker C: Oh, I can tell you who, actually. [00:27:08] Speaker A: I know that. [00:27:09] Speaker C: Looked it up. The court records. [00:27:10] Speaker A: I have your divorce records here. Do you need copies? [00:27:13] Speaker B: And the court stated. [00:27:16] Speaker C: Irreconcilable differences. [00:27:18] Speaker B: I got mine during COVID You got your divorce started pre Covid and went in through Covid. [00:27:24] Speaker A: That was wild. So I think we were quarantined at one point of my marriage was quarantine. I think that was the demise of my marriage. I think I could have. I could have kept going had I not had to participate on a day to day basis two weeks at a time with the man that I was married to. Like, it made me realize, like, so because of quarantine, I was home with kids two weeks at a time every two weeks because I worked at a bank. Okay, so we were two weeks on, two weeks off. So when I was home for two weeks, I'm like, oh my gosh, this loving, doting father is going to be so glad that his home. [00:28:00] Speaker B: You got divorced during or right after? [00:28:02] Speaker A: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I feel like that was my. The, like, beginning of the demise because I was so. I had no freaking clue that I was in this, like, pretend marriage. I had no idea. Like, I really thought I was. I got married at 19, though. So, like, who the. That's what they're doing, you know? But I was just. I was just living in La La land and then quarantine came and my husband's working across the road and we have moved here to be closer to his job. And we're in this life because it's what he wanted. And I'm like, hey, honey, lunch is ready. And I'm getting like, scolded for bothering him, you know what I mean? And like, I just very quickly realized I was raising kids by myself. And I was like, well, shit, I guess I might as well just get a damn divorce. And I really like this. Anyway, so I got out and I spiraled for a very long time in Set My Self Worth and with alcohol and with. Just honestly how I felt about myself was like, very slowly seeping into what I was doing with my work and with my social media, you know, and so there was a long time after getting into social media right after my divorce that I was really just jaded. And so like, okay, just put on a show and like, you've. You've figured out the algorithm already. So just keep doing what you're supposed to do on social media and like, make things look okay. And. And you'll be fine. But I'm. Look, this is a psa, a warning. Don't start that shit. Because, oh my God, like, getting out of this place where you're like, okay, I have to open the curtain in order for anybody to actually know, like, what I'm doing or how I'm feeling truly, you know, it's like, yeah, it's horrible because then you go home and you're like, oh, everybody thinks I'm great and I'm really falling apart. And like, I don't know why I keep choosing these horrible relationships. And I don't know why I keep going through all this drama and all this toxicity, like, oh, woe is me. It's everyone else's fault. Boo hoo. [00:29:53] Speaker B: And you know, look at everybody does it. [00:29:56] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:29:56] Speaker B: Facebook lifestyle. [00:29:58] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:29:58] Speaker B: One day a picture of how great their life is and they got divorced two weeks later, literally. Or you see it all falling apart and it's crazy where you're like, it's so. But we all feel pressured to do this fake and make it look like we're so great. And it's, it's, it's a trap. [00:30:15] Speaker A: It is, it's a trap. And it gets ugly. But I'll tell you what. Oh wait, Ugly is my new single that's coming out. Haha. [00:30:22] Speaker B: We've got a plug there. We keep going rabbit trails. [00:30:26] Speaker A: I know, right? Yeah, no, okay, so, so look, okay, if we want to get to the music, then. Coming out of my divorce, fresh out of my divorce. I was just brought this like random invitation to this dude's studio. He was like, hey, we went to high school together. He messaged me on Facebook. He was like, hey, I remember you doing like Allstate and National, so do you want to come be on a song? And I was like, you know, I'm divorced, you know, what else do I have to do? I'll go sit in the studio, I guess. And so I got on this track, it was called no Remorse by Rasa. And I was on the track and I was like able to write my own little verse and like do my own little cadence. And that was the first time I was creating on my own, you know what I mean? And then I went home and I was like going through all these poems that I had written just during these times of like sadness, like these little personal poems that I'd written for myself. And I was like, oh my gosh, I could be a songwriter. That's awesome. So I had like years and years of poems ready to be turned into songs when I actually started songwriting. So it's been like, it's been a very big self discovery journey. [00:31:35] Speaker C: So that was post divorce though, and. [00:31:38] Speaker A: That was born 2019. [00:31:40] Speaker C: Okay. [00:31:40] Speaker B: You should know that. [00:31:41] Speaker C: Yeah, no, I should. I look back my. [00:31:43] Speaker A: That was when I put out Far for the wrong. One was 20, 19. [00:31:46] Speaker C: Yes. [00:31:46] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:47] Speaker C: And so you were born and raised. And I love the Southern twang. And just. Just listening to you is. Is. Is that wrong? [00:31:57] Speaker B: I mean. No, I love it. [00:31:59] Speaker C: No. No offense, anyone in the room. I love the Southern twang. I love listening to the voice. [00:32:04] Speaker B: Because where are you actually from? [00:32:05] Speaker A: Where? So, like, eastern North Carolina, like, close to Wilmington, close to the beach. [00:32:10] Speaker B: Because, like, a bunch of my relatives are like, southern Missouri, and they have that twang. And so does, like, Brian. [00:32:16] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:32:17] Speaker B: When Brian. When Uncle Co. Or from North Carolina came and we were over at Ducks, one of the girls working behind the bar was like, your accent. She's like, it's hard to understand. I'm like, I'll translate. Yeah, I'll translate as he talks. But I'm like, it's not that different, but some people appear. [00:32:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:32] Speaker B: Like, you have such an accent where she's probably like, you guys accents fucked up. [00:32:36] Speaker A: No. We were in Salt Lake City not too long ago, and people like, oh, my God, the whole day, people were like, you guys are from Texas. And we were just kept being like, no. You know, and it was weird. Like, the third time, it was our waiter, and I. I actually. I think I said to him, like, that's actually so weird that you just said that, because you're the third person today that's from Utah. [00:32:56] Speaker B: Texas is the only south. I mean, yeah, Caroliners are just east. True. [00:32:59] Speaker A: I usually get like, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky. [00:33:02] Speaker B: I was going to say Alabama. [00:33:03] Speaker A: Yeah. I'm just an east coast girly, which I don't necessarily know what our accent's supposed to sound like, but I do know that I. I've grown up being conditioned to understand that the accent's cuter. So I think that's why it's so much thicker, because you'll have, like. You'll have people that come from the same road as me that don't sound like me at all, you know, And I honestly just think it's like, I come from super southern roots with the, you know, the bluegrass and the gospel. And then they're just like, oh, you're so stinking cute, you cute little country girl. Listen at that. You know what I mean? [00:33:36] Speaker C: So, like, I didn't go that far. [00:33:38] Speaker A: You just grow up. [00:33:38] Speaker B: I was just laughing. [00:33:40] Speaker A: Well, no, no. I mean, like when I was little, you know, like you. I'd be. I remember being young and talking. You know, we'd go visit family in Florida, and they'd be like, oh, my God, she's so Southern. It's So cute. So I honestly think I conditioned myself to be like a little more Southern over the years because not everybody's as Southern as me where I'm at. And I'm not like yee haul Southern. [00:34:02] Speaker C: You know, but even like your, Your, your son, you know. Yes, ma'am. And yeah, and stuff like that and, and mama and. And those, those types of terminology, they eat him up. [00:34:13] Speaker A: In the comments on Tick Tock when he says mama. Yeah, he's like, mama. He doesn't say mama. Yeah, he like draws out the mama like he's tired of me or something. Like he's already over it, you know. [00:34:26] Speaker C: So, so fast forwarding, right? And, and in North Carolina, you start making some, some trips to Nashville. Start, start getting used to the scene there, doing some writers rounds and, and stuff like that. And then what eventually was like, I just, I. We're packing up. We. We need to, to go there permanently. [00:34:46] Speaker A: Okay. So we moved over to Nashville in January of. When did I buy my house? What year are we in right now? Yeah, when did I buy my house? What was the tags? [00:35:00] Speaker C: I missed that cue. Well, county records show if you actually. [00:35:08] Speaker A: Whip that out, I would be a little bit weirded out. [00:35:10] Speaker B: She's like, I'm not gonna lie. [00:35:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I would be like, we are. [00:35:14] Speaker C: Not staying in Peoria, Illinois tonight. [00:35:17] Speaker A: Are we sure we're going home from here? Okay. So I bought my house in 2023 in North Carolina. So I still have my home in North Carolina. Where we're being very normal, raising children that go to public school. We're trying to be very normal. I say that because, y'all, I'm so scared I'm gonna raise some preppy ass, spoiled ass youngins. You know what I mean? And like, I'm also, which I probably should not say this, but there's a Christian school that is notorious near us for their kids just coming out. Co kids like Austin went to Christian school. [00:35:54] Speaker B: Christian school. [00:35:55] Speaker A: Did you come out of cokehead or. You don't have to answer that. [00:35:57] Speaker B: No, no. I'll give you no. I've so. I've never done. I've never done drugs ever. [00:36:02] Speaker A: That's good. [00:36:03] Speaker B: But yeah, we lived a very. Maybe different life, but I was a spoiled. I was a spoiled rich kid. I guess you will. And I went to a Christian school till 8th grade. And then I went to a public school. [00:36:16] Speaker A: Okay. [00:36:16] Speaker B: Through high school, but it was a farm school. [00:36:18] Speaker A: Okay. [00:36:19] Speaker B: Still did like Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Very. Still very good school, but much, much bigger because I had a class of about 50 kids at the Christian school, so 20 some boys, 20 some, 30 some girls. [00:36:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:36:34] Speaker B: And so then after I went to a public school, which one would think, oh, now Austin goes to this public school, blah, blah, blah, oh, I went back to a party in high school and it was still to this day one of the worst parties. When I came back because it's just a bunch of rich kids with too much money to do shit with and drugs and all this shit. I'm like, where are your parents? I'm like the same age. I'm like, what the fuck? [00:37:02] Speaker A: Yeah, where are your parents? [00:37:03] Speaker B: Yeah, I was just. Because I'm like, we never have had a party like this at Metamora. But again, you had just a bunch of farm kids and people that didn't have that money to do stuff with. And it can be very horrible because just because you send your kids, kids to a Christian school isn't going to make them, isn't going to, they're not going to parent them for you. [00:37:18] Speaker A: Yeah, no. And not to mention you literally don't know if you're doing the right thing either way. You know what I'm saying? Like, your, your, your kids could turn out however the hell they could turn out. And I'm like, I live in fear because I'm a helicopter mom. So I'm constantly like, what could I touch and move that way? That like, it could be better for my child, you know, I want to fix everything. I don't want there to be issues. We're really trying to work on that because I know that's not a good mommy quality because my kids fall apart when they get like, they get to me and they're like, oh, okay, we can have all of our vulnerable emotions and you'll just be kind to us. And I'm like, mommy needs a break too, guys. But no, I don't think that there's like a, I don't think there's a way to know if there's a mistake that you're making as a parent whenever you do one thing or the other. But I moved and bought the house that I bought specifically for the school that I'm sending my kids to because my brother was already at that school and he was having some issues and they were like head on with the guidance counselors, you know, having meetings weekly. They were just a really hands on school, you know. And so we moved over there and we've been, we've been relatively happy with it. I've considered the private school thing, but it just is like my Kid is such a loudmouth, my boy. He's so like whatever I think is going to be funny and entertaining, even if it's like off the wall. And I really should not have said that, you know, so he gets himself. [00:38:40] Speaker B: That'll be normal at a public school for the most part. [00:38:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:43] Speaker B: And that's what's crazy is I was at a private school and yeah, I was a troublemaker. [00:38:48] Speaker A: Oh. [00:38:49] Speaker B: Because I was a. I was a rambunctious, you know, teenage kid that said dumb shit. [00:38:55] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:55] Speaker B: Thought it'd be funny to see who could say penis the loudest in class. And like, you know, like, you just did dumb shit. I wasn't a bad kid. Yeah. [00:39:02] Speaker A: That's how my kid is. [00:39:03] Speaker B: But out of 20 some boys, I was considered a bad kid. And you also don't get to choose who you hang out with. I just hung out with who was on the basketball team, who did this and all that stuff. But then when I went to this bigger school and I have 500 kids to choose from or even bigger than that of other classes and stuff, I never got in trouble one time. [00:39:23] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:23] Speaker B: Because I wasn't a bad kid. I was just a boy. I was, you know, I don't know. That's how I felt at a Christian school. [00:39:28] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:29] Speaker B: I don't know. Just. It's a. It's a tough thing. [00:39:32] Speaker A: Well, kids are just tough in general, especially these days, because they're all over stimulated with iPads and I don't know how to. [00:39:37] Speaker B: You just gotta beat them more, you know, just. [00:39:39] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Let me tell you. [00:39:41] Speaker B: With the iPad maybe. [00:39:42] Speaker A: No, y'all are gonna. Y'all are gonna love this story. O. So my kid has his football pads on. He's getting ready for football practice. And I'm talking. He's padded out. He can get tackled right now and he will be okay. And he smarts off at me. Oh, it was like the heaven had. [00:39:57] Speaker B: Rained down Oklahoma drill with her kids. [00:40:00] Speaker A: Kidding me. Oh, my heavens. I was wearing a house slipper. I was wearing a I'm talking robe, tied up, coffee in my hand and that mouth. And I slung that slipper off of my shoe or off my foot. And I just went away laying on them shoulder pads. [00:40:13] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:40:14] Speaker A: Getting him. And the whole time he was just scared, you know, he was just like, what the heck, mom? Like, he's not feeling anything. He's like, what the heck? And I was like, now I only did that cause you got them pads on. I love you. Quit smarting off of me. [00:40:25] Speaker B: I Mean, I've never even, I've literally never even paddled my kids. I have a paddle at my house that was I earned. [00:40:31] Speaker A: Does it say attitude Adjuster on it? [00:40:33] Speaker B: No, it says, it says never smack a child in the face. Nature provides a better place. And it's a full blown wooden paddle. And I mean, I got my ass beat and my mom was the worst because my mom wouldn't hold back. Women don't know their own strength because you kind of feel like you got a. You're like Babe Ruth in the bottom of the night. You kind of gotta go through as a male. You kinda like, I don't really want to hurt him. I'd come down, nine pairs of underwear, butt padded up. My mom's like, bare ass, no chance swing through. And he had to like lay over the bars for the whole night. It was fucked up really, at the end of the day, but, but my kids fear me and I've never beat their ass at all with that. [00:41:15] Speaker A: So they respect you then? [00:41:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I just leave it kind of sitting up there. They see it all the time. [00:41:19] Speaker C: But fear is an emotion. Fear is an emotion. I'm okay with emotion. [00:41:22] Speaker B: I got my ass beat and I really can't. I mean, I can't. I was scared of my parents, but I still did some fucked up shit. [00:41:27] Speaker A: Oh my. Yeah. I mean, I don't know what, what. I can't tell you where my parents went wrong or if they did, but something was clicked in the wrong direction. It might have been a teenager or something was definitely crossed up. [00:41:38] Speaker C: So what I've come to realize too. So I have, I have two older kids and two younger kids that are about the same ages as his. My older two kids, 21, 22. My 22 year old has, is married, has a kid of her own. So I am a grandfather. I know I look like I'm, you know, no more than 21, right? No more than 21. But you know, I think we all grow up and go through traumas, go through events, life, things happen. And you always tell yourself, I'm going to do this different when I'm a parent. And so now that my daughter Joelle is a parent herself, I can see where she is trying to do little things that bothered her from my parenting and she's doing, I mean, she is an incredible, incredible mother and I have 1000% respect for what she is doing and how she's handling life. But. And with her son, my grandson. But you can see those things where she made a mental effort at some point. A conscious decision at some point that she wanted to do things this way. And it's awesome to watch. [00:42:47] Speaker A: Yeah. My mom and I talk a lot about our parenting styles and she's really awesome because she takes everything with so much grace. So I mean, I've literally been able to be like, like, here's what I'm doing because of what you did. Like, I'm doing this differently. And I'm able to say that to her because she. We broke it down one day and it was such a cool moment for us to like really bond over, like realizing our parenting styles, you know, but we broke it down pretty much to like, she wasn't raised by her mother, she was raised by her grandmother and her mother was a 17 year old mom. And so, like, there was so much she was trying. My mom was trying to keep me away from that. She kind of did a little more hovering with like, personal stuff, you know what I mean? Like, like really being involved in the. The, like she wouldn't go through my phone, but then I'd get in trouble and she would go through my phone, you get what I'm saying? And then she'd be super involved and she'd know who I was friends with and not friends with. And then she like, would be giving me advice this and that and you know, like, that was great. And there's some things that I hear that are, that are awesome that I take into my parenting and there's some things that gave me anxiety, you know. So like, we were able to break that down and like, look at it in a way that's like, okay, there was Rose, my great grandmother who raised my mom, and then there was Libby, who was her biological mother. Mom did things a little different than the two of them. And then I'm doing things a little differently than mom. And it's like the parenting style is just gonna keep getting better if we do, if we do good, if we pursue good. That's our whole like mantra this year is just as long as you're doing good. [00:44:21] Speaker B: I think also it being open and honest because there's a lot of things about my parents that were full blown, just lies. It really didn't come out till I was 30 of their relationship was never good at all. Going back to removing the curtain and even being transparent is very hard with your kids to be fully transparent. But sometimes just say, hey, I'm not okay sometimes, and that's okay. Like, that's okay because we're gonna get through this. [00:44:45] Speaker C: The lies he's talking about though, are like the tooth fairy, you know, the leprechaun for St. Patrick's Day. [00:44:52] Speaker B: No. Yeah, it's. It is crazy because. Feeling like, you know, man, we lived this fake life for however long to put on a happy face, and again, they did their best to raise us, and, you know, we turned out okay. But. But going back down the rabbit trail, we are about up the rabbit trail, 50 minutes. What. What do you want to see over this next year? What's your goals for music? Like, what. What do you want to accomplish? Or where do you think you'd be? Like, man, you know what? We worked hard, and I'm. This is everything I'd want for this year. [00:45:23] Speaker A: So I have an album that we're working on that we've been working on that should be coming out. I mean, we don't have a date for it because we're just kind of trying to feel it and, you know, like. Know when it feels like the time is right. But my just, like, greatest wish, the only thing that I think that the universe could provide for me this year, honestly, is just some kind of affirmation that people are hearing what I'm writing, and it's making them feel like they got somebody sitting right there with them when they're experiencing those emotions. You know what I mean? Because I've said a million times, my mother was such an encouraging woman when I was growing up, and I went through horrible things. I mean, starting at a very young age, I went through things that no child should have to process, and I was surrounded by encouragement. But there are people living today, right this very second, with no encouragement around them, and they've never heard one person say, hey, there's a light at the end of this tunnel. They've never heard one person say, hey, girl, you're stronger if you leave that abusive, man. You know what I mean? And I want to be in a song just. Just doing what I do, right? And it reached somebody in a monumental way. And I, like, I just want that to be the reason why I wrote the song. You know what I'm saying? Like, once there's an affirmation where there's a, you know, a group of women that's like. Like, hey, we're doing this with you. Thank you so much. That's. That's all I wanted to share, Right? [00:46:45] Speaker C: I think a strong. The strongest word that goes along with that is something you said within the first five minutes of sitting down with you and that vulnerability that. That you show, you know, your. Your life is out there. And if you look at your Tick Tock, your Instagram, your Facebook, I mean, your life is. Is out there and you show the. The good, the bad, the ugly, the. The things that you've been through. And I think that is. Is something for. To be commended of you that, you know, you're, you're helping, you know, those, Those types of women that are out there, possibly going through those types of situations and, and that there is another side and that there is hope. You know, you. [00:47:23] Speaker A: You've. [00:47:23] Speaker C: You've been there and you, You've come out on the other side. [00:47:27] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm in the, I'm in the, like, positivity era, but there was a long time where I was not in that. You know what I mean? Where I was just allowing myself to believe that the things that were going wrong around me were simply because that was how life was going to go, you know, And I, I understand that feeling wholeheartedly. Writing, even in my early stuff. If there's anybody listening that hasn't heard my ep, my ep, Hope and Heartbreak is. Is probably the rawest I'll ever get. I'll never write that way again because that was. Write it because you felt it and leave it and don't let anybody touch it. Like, I'm the writer on all those songs, so I'll probably never write like that again. But there's so much vulnerability and just being like, all right, this is how I feel, and it's dark and it sucks. And like, I had people telling me, like, wow, why don't you just write something happy? When we were working on the first ep, you know, and like, now we've got this album that's coming out that I feel like it's so true to me and raw with, with, like, just wishing you could fucking fix things. You know what I mean? Like, you, you ever just been sitting and wishing, like, damn, my brain's all kinds of scrambled. I don't want to feel this way. Like, why can't I get out of this darkness? You know, I'm disappointed, or I, you know, I thought life was going to feel a little different or whatever. Like, why can't I get out of this? I write from that perspective. But then I've written with these other writers who I'm. I'm able to walk in with a song that's written and say, this is super dark now. Let's put a light at the end of the tunnel. And one of my favorite things we've done, we have a song coming out called 17. We wrote that song. And then we got to the end of it, and we were like, guys, the bridge literally has to say, don't worry, I'm not going to kill myself, because this is a suicide. Like, this is not good. And. But it really just ended up being like, okay, we're actually with Lex. Lex wrote on this song with us. She sat down. It was her idea. She's like, I want to come from a place of, like, man, I'm trying my hardest. I'm not gonna give up. But I had all these dreams when I was 17, and, like, nothing's going the way that I thought it was gonna go. And by the time we got done, that was me, Lex, Mary, Sarah, Seth, Michael Collins sat in on that, right? Kaden Jones is on that, right? And we got to the end of it, and it was this beautiful, like, really sad thing. And we were like, this isn't gonna help anybody if we don't put a light at the end of the tunnel, you know? So that was our running joke, was like, all right, we have to say it. Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill myself. And the line ended up being, don't worry about me. I won't give up on 17. So that. That one line has been really, like, ringing in my head for this album. So the album might even be called 17. Who knows? [00:49:55] Speaker B: Because every. Everybody goes through. Whether you're 30, whether you're 17, whether you're 21, and you look back on what I thought when I was 30, going through something, you're like, God, I was such a bitch. Like, it wasn't that. Like, it wasn't that bad. Yeah, look back at what I thought when I was 18 of my world is fall. What about your world is falling apart? And then I look back, I'm like, gosh, I was such an idiot, you know? And I think every time you can look back and go, if you just get through this, it's really not as bad as what you see when you're in it. But at that time, I thought at 18, I thought my whole world was collapsing. Yeah, My whole world. And then again, I look at what was going wrong, I'm like, it was nothing compared to what I have gone through later on. It was nothing at 18, honestly. [00:50:36] Speaker A: And time is so humbling in that way, because then you look back on something a few years later, and you're like, oh, that's drama. Why did I even do that? [00:50:44] Speaker B: What you kind of said, though, plays a part into a segment that I like to ask and surfside is our sponsor for 2025. They're great people. So we're kind of doing the Surfside segment, and I like to ask something where you're on a plane and you're headed somewhere beautiful, and plane's going down. You've got a parachute. You've got. You've got just a few minutes, and you have access on this plane. I don't know why, but you brought every album known to man on this plane. You can only grab five. What five albums are you gonna listen to for the rest of your life on this deserted island? [00:51:18] Speaker A: For the rest of my life? [00:51:20] Speaker B: You'll never listen to anything else other than these five. [00:51:24] Speaker A: Okay, let's. Let's be really careful with this here. All right? We gotta go. Our American Heartbreak, Zach Bryan, because that. Nothing after that. I haven't listened to a single Zach Ryan song since that album. [00:51:38] Speaker B: You're not Team Bri. [00:51:40] Speaker A: Oh. I mean, I don't. I don't care either way, but I will. I will say this now. Y'all ought to have known. Everybody on Earth ought to have known that the man was gonna be a lunatic. He writes songs that literally, he has songs about, like. [00:51:56] Speaker C: That's the viral moment of this podcast. [00:51:58] Speaker B: You mean to tell me Morgan Wallensky. You mean to tell me Zach Bryant. Brian's got issues. They write. [00:52:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Like, I mean, hello. The songs are literally saying the issues. It's a written list. Go to the lyrics. It's a. It's a. It's an explanation of how he feels in here. Nobody should be jumping into that with dreams of having children. You know what I'm saying? [00:52:16] Speaker B: I get it. [00:52:17] Speaker A: You're not gonna build a home with a man. [00:52:18] Speaker B: You're telling me it wasn't a straight shooter. [00:52:23] Speaker A: Right? Okay, but American heartbreak. American heartbreak. Planes going down. We got American heartbreak. I don't know that I can do this that fast. I don't know that this is on an album, but Megan Maroney has. Oh, my God. Jesus, I'm jealous. You know that. Oh, man. I don't know if that's on an album, but that's going down with. [00:52:46] Speaker B: You're gonna take a Megan Maroney album? [00:52:47] Speaker A: I'm taking. No, no. That. That's mackenzie Carpenter. I'm so sorry. That's Mackenzie Carpenter. Jesus, I'm jealous. Okay. [00:52:54] Speaker C: I take. [00:52:55] Speaker A: Am I okay? [00:52:57] Speaker B: What is it? [00:52:58] Speaker A: Am I okay? [00:52:59] Speaker B: Okay. [00:52:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Megan Maroney. You know that album? Okay. [00:53:02] Speaker B: That one has got three. We're hovering the water at this point, okay? [00:53:11] Speaker A: We're dying with some Leonard Skynyrd. [00:53:14] Speaker B: Okay, okay. [00:53:16] Speaker A: And going completely down with Fireman by Lil Wayne. [00:53:21] Speaker C: Wow. [00:53:22] Speaker B: There we go. Add some variety. I love it. [00:53:25] Speaker A: Well, that's it. Yeah. Some. Some good. Some good. Like, while the plane's going down, we're thinking about it, you know, we're a little sad, we're reflecting, and then we get to the bottom, we got some Leonard Skynyrd. You know, things are really revving up. We're actually ready for the fall now. And then we just. I'm the fireman. [00:53:43] Speaker B: And see, that's the thing, is it tells a lot about a person of, like, what. I mean, there are albums that you haven't listened to. Some of those albums you probably haven't listened to in a while. [00:53:52] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Yeah. [00:53:53] Speaker B: They're gonna stand the test of time. And also, there's albums that we've talked about. I think him and I just did a podcast between us, talking about just ones that mean so much to us that you. I remember being a freshman in high school, listening to Blank. I remember I can listen to this album, know what I was going through. And I think it means a lot to people when you're like, yeah, I haven't listened to this album in. In 10 years. But I'm telling you right now, if I have to pick five, it's going to be one of them, because it stands the test of time or it means something to me. [00:54:21] Speaker C: It's a period of your life. Right. So, you know, it's a certain vehicle that you were listening to, or it's a relationship, or it's, you know, whatever it is, there's a period of life that that kind of attaches to that. [00:54:31] Speaker A: Yeah. I remember being in maybe like, the fourth grade, and I had my little ipod with the little ring thing. It wasn't touch. What was. Was. What were those? You know, I'm talking about shuffle. Is that what it was called? [00:54:44] Speaker C: What was it? [00:54:45] Speaker A: Where were those? [00:54:45] Speaker C: I. Ipods. Yeah, just ipod. [00:54:48] Speaker A: Ipod shuffle. [00:54:49] Speaker C: Yeah, there you go. [00:54:51] Speaker A: I had that little guy, you know, and I had been illegally downloading the music off the lime Wire, you know, back in those days. [00:54:57] Speaker B: A couple computers with that. [00:54:59] Speaker A: Yeah, a few, actually. Yeah. And my stepdad was a computer guy, so he was always very upset with me over those. Those situations. But, yeah, download the music and simple man. Sitting in my tree house, just headphones on, away from the world in my little backyard tree house. [00:55:16] Speaker B: When I had my first ipod, I was more into the rock of, like, Taking Back Sunday, going through kind of not the emo phase, but we all Do a lot of that where I'm trying to think of the other one. Motionless or Motion City soundtrack I used to listen to and went to asking. [00:55:35] Speaker A: Alexandria, were you ever. Yeah, yeah. And Blood on the Dance Floor. Did you ever get there? Yeah, man. [00:55:41] Speaker B: That. And then I went through that I was going through at the same time of like motionless and. Or motionless and white now, but like a Trey you back then and like really hard rock. I love that. [00:55:53] Speaker C: So I kind of want to end on. So Austin and I have been doing this podcast since October time frame. We've learned a lot in, in a very short amount of time. But I know that, that you are, like I said at the very beginning, no stranger to podcasts. You've got some, some podcasts out, been a part of. You've got some, some stuff in the hopper for, for 2025. Can. Can you share any of. Of what you enjoy about podcasts, Watching podcasts, being on podcasts, what. What is to come, Anything along those lines? [00:56:25] Speaker A: So I've been in podcasting. I actually did my own podcast for two years. It was called Toxic Talk. And it was an era that we are glad to be rid of. I was the top to bottom dude on that podcast. Like, I did all the editing, I did all the filming, I did all the posting, all the metadata, all of that stuff, all the ads, sponsorships, the packets, the graphics, all this. So that being said, there is a lot. [00:56:55] Speaker C: We've learned that very quickly. [00:56:56] Speaker A: Yeah, it's like. And if you don't have, like, if you don't have hands on it daily, it just runs away from you. If there's nothing just somebody like doing some editing or, you know, running through and at least downloading some files or something. Like, if there's not more than one person doing those things, it's just a huge job. So I got. I kind of stepped back and started going with a producer friend of mine. His name is Matt in. Matt McWin in Nashville. And we started filming our podcast with him. So we would like, ran an Airbnb and film a podcast for a couple days and post it. And we started doing these little, like, episodes where we'd have a videographer come and like, get the whole house of people who were doing interviews and stuff. And like, we had Trey Lewis in one of those episodes where we're all in the house just drinking and, you know, doing these podcast interviews or whatever. I mean, we have, we've really played with how much fun you can have with podcasts because they can be mobile. You know, we've had it. We've had a to go podcast where we just popped up wherever. I've been on podcasts in Nashville that are the live podcasts rounds, you know, like, the writers absolutely love those sitting at the table and just being able to, like, chop, you know, while people are singing. They're not. Or after. Before and after people are singing. You know, like, you're just up there just talking at. Around where it's supposed to be all professional and cool, and you're just up there bullshitting. I love podcasts because you can literally do whatever you want. [00:58:19] Speaker B: Right. [00:58:19] Speaker A: You know, like, I've admitted some things on episodes that are now deleted, that will never see the light of day ever again, but you can do that. That. [00:58:27] Speaker B: When we first started ours, we kind of felt like we. It was like, live. [00:58:31] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:58:33] Speaker B: So now, you know, you could just be like, piss. Oh, hey, cut that. Hey, edit that. Don't put it on. It'll never see the light of day. And like, all that. [00:58:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:58:41] Speaker B: And we were so. Once we learned that, it became very nice of then it became much more free. I mean, we've had some that have had some very wild on there. And then you're just like, oh, my God, I hope this never. But again, it all gets. [00:58:54] Speaker C: Taylor Holder and Little Z were on. [00:58:56] Speaker A: Yeah. And they're entertaining. [00:58:58] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:58:59] Speaker A: To say the least. Yeah. Yeah. No, honestly, guess was one of my favorite things. Like, I have met some of the coolest people. Like, we had Cody Ash, Jelly Rolls drummer. We had him on, and that was my first time meeting him. And, like, now we're good buddies. [00:59:12] Speaker B: He's supposed to be. [00:59:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:59:14] Speaker B: I think we're gonna go to Nashville to do a. Like a mobile one. [00:59:19] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, well, he. Okay. So Cody. Oh, my God, he is just funny. [00:59:24] Speaker B: As he gave me my third tattoo. Did he only got three of them? Yeah. He's never given a tattoo either. [00:59:29] Speaker A: I'm jealous. And he's never given a tattoo and he did that. [00:59:32] Speaker C: Are you gonna show it or no? [00:59:33] Speaker A: I mean, no, you're best friends with him because you get on a podcast and you can say and do what you want. So, like, there's. There was this clip with Cody that went viral. I think we have, like, four hours of Kody Ash podcast. Like, eventually, at one point I was like, are we. My mouth is so dry. I'm about to die. Are we about to get some food? What's up? Can we stop? You know, like, Cody, can you stop talking for a minute? But I mean, it just. We did like this. We just kept going on the tangents. You know, he's just a funny bunny. [01:00:00] Speaker B: And that's where I think it's interesting doing this because again, when we started it, one, you learn habits of yourself. I'm like, I didn't know I did that shit all the time. And I hate listening to myself. I hate watching it the whole nine yards. Then you're doing all that work you talked about and you're like, wow, what are we doing this for? And it's a grind. But then we'll be out somewhere and somebody's like, oh, my God, I love listening to that. And it's like a person that you're like, I would never think this is. And this person loves it, you know? [01:00:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:00:27] Speaker B: And also the people you meet of. You know, you and I have never met. I don't know where this is going to go. I don't know how vulgar somebody could be. I don't know which direction it could go. I don't know how polite or how, like how PG versus the next level. And you don't want to take it. And then there's some of ours that kind of just start off here and then they're just nose dies. Just a full blown, like, oh, my God, this has gotten out of control. [01:00:49] Speaker A: Yeah. I had. I won't say who with, but we did an episode where we. You could tell we were both just trying so hard to enjoy ourselves. And it was like we were just. Were not vibing. And it was a good episode. Like, all in all, the artist did great. We did a great job. I mean, it was a good episode. But her manager ended up calling and being like, like, let's pull that. Let's just not. And we honestly were like, respectfully. [01:01:10] Speaker B: Okay, well, on the promoter side. On the promoter side, for us, I mean, there's shit that, like. I mean, Lily Rose might talk about. There's some things that we, as friends. [01:01:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:01:19] Speaker B: I mean, me and Lily could talk about all sorts of weird shit. [01:01:22] Speaker A: Right. [01:01:22] Speaker B: Okay. But I don't ever want it to get back to an agent and then be like, what the fuck is this, guys? Because again, if we were just a completely independent party that didn't have a festival, didn't have. Have the music video, oh, my God. We could be. We could do whatever we want. But when an agent's going, what the. [01:01:40] Speaker A: Yeah. Why'd you say that? [01:01:41] Speaker B: Yeah. So do you still talk to Cody? [01:01:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I actually should try to call him. Yeah. His sister, actually. He gave me his sister's number one time and randomly was just like, hey, FaceTime, my sister, she's gonna love you. And now we're friends on samchan watch. [01:01:57] Speaker B: She's not gonna answer. God damn it. Oh, we're gonna do a double back. Well, he must have it on, like, do not disturb or he's. [01:02:08] Speaker A: He probably does. [01:02:09] Speaker B: Yep. God damn it. Are you me? You pick up for her and you didn't even pick up? No, I'm literally about to. Well, I thought you were telling me to pick up if she was calling, but I'm literally to hop on the phone with the lawyer, so let me call you all back. [01:02:26] Speaker A: Love you. Bye. [01:02:30] Speaker B: God damn it. [01:02:32] Speaker A: He said, I thought you were coming to telling me to pick up for her. [01:02:35] Speaker B: He's in bed. [01:02:36] Speaker A: That is so funny. [01:02:39] Speaker B: Cody's a perfect example of somebody so genuine in a world that there's some sketchy bad people, people that you meet, and later on, like, they're just not a good person. [01:02:50] Speaker A: Yeah. And it's so scary, too, because, like, I'm the kind. I want to see good in everybody, so I don't want to see anybody could be a snake in the grass. I don't want to even consider it. So, like, I'm always in my prayers, y'all. I'm, I'm telling you, like I said, I'm scared most of the time. That's how I operate. I operate out of fear. That's why I'm successful. I'm just always scared. But I literally will pray, like, lord, just give me the discernment. Let me see it. [01:03:13] Speaker B: We appreciate you coming all the way here. Your, your team and you guys doing this. So much fun. I hope you enjoy. [01:03:18] Speaker C: No, I, I, I want to thank Colin, too, your manager for, for. I met Colin in Nashville when I was down there for butt rock night. And we're at Red door, started chitchatting and connected there. [01:03:30] Speaker A: It's never surprising to me whenever he connects with people, knows people. Like, it's actually insane to me sometimes that we can be so far from Nashville, so far from home, and he like, like, or he'll be in the airport and he'll be like, oh, so and so, like, you know, I've been following this guy for a while, and he's on the same plane as me, and I'm like, how does life happen to you in that way? Because life doesn't happen to me in. [01:03:51] Speaker B: That way for the most part. I think it's crazy how I know you and, you know, this whole group of people in one way. Or another, or you're trying to get in a venue and I happen to know somebody. Again, the networking and how life works, and that is crazy. And just my list that I've gained over the years of when we write out who we're going to do an interview with, it's so crazy long. And I just. From over the years of knowing different people and having those friendships that are. I don't know, you just know they're gonna last for, you know, a long time. [01:04:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I do enjoy whenever I actually get that feeling of like, oh, this is a good one. Like, Danny Warshnop is a good example. We got him on our show, and I had been, like, thinking I was gonna meet this guy that I just doted over when I was in middle school, like, oh, my God, fangirl. But he ended up being so normal, you know what I mean? And just like us and funny and fun. And we ended that podcast. Same deal. Just a long friendship, you know, I think there's a lot to be said, too, about sitting here in front of the camera and, like, you've already gone in your head being like, all right, do a good job. Like, be entertaining. You know, speak well, whatever. So then whenever you get asked questions, you answer with a whole lot more talking than you normally would. You know, you give a lot more detail than you normally would. Unless, you know, you're me, like, good. Late into the night. Delusional. Sleepy. I'll tell you everything. Absolutely everything. [01:05:12] Speaker C: Well, I want to again, tailgate beers. I want to. I want to thank Macy Nicole and her team for coming all the way out of the way. Got a show in Michigan, which by the time this. This episode is released, will be done and over. But the folks in Michigan have a truly a great night to look forward to here this weekend. I'm looking forward to. I know Austin is too, hanging out with you guys tonight for Lakeview. [01:05:36] Speaker A: Absolutely. Yeah. [01:05:37] Speaker C: And. And Jason tonight and. And getting to know you guys more. But just going out of the way just to sit down with us today and spend some time. You've got some new music coming up in 2025. [01:05:49] Speaker A: We do. Yeah. Ugly comes out January 30th. That's going to be the acoustic version of Ugly. That'll be on the remastered or the remastered version will be on the album as well. And then we also will be announcing the 21 Days with Macy Nicole podcast. Yes. [01:06:04] Speaker B: Podcast will drop January 31st. [01:06:07] Speaker C: Yes. So we'll. We'll timing Will. Will be right. [01:06:09] Speaker A: Oh, good. That's great. [01:06:11] Speaker C: That's Absolutely. [01:06:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:06:12] Speaker C: Colin mentioned the podcast, so that's. I'm looking forward to that. [01:06:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:06:16] Speaker B: And we all just need to stay in touch of. We'll make a show happen here at Cruisins. And whether it's your own, if you guys just need to route it and we have to plug it in, or if we can keep looking at the schedule, we're always, you know, again, we always need an opener, possibly for somebody in any way we can make that connection. [01:06:31] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. [01:06:31] Speaker B: Let's make it happen. For sure. So. [01:06:33] Speaker A: For sure. I would love that. Thank you all so much for having me. I really appreciate it. [01:06:36] Speaker C: I think we can sit here and talk. Talk for hours. [01:06:38] Speaker A: Oh, I will.