Ep. 43: Chris Janson on Working with The Rock and Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

Published Oct 8, 2024, 9:00 AM

This week Reid and Dan host Grand Ole Opry member, Chris Janson out in God's Country. Chris had just gotten back from East Tennessee where he discusses how people can help the folks affected by Hurricane Helene and what it was like. Reid and Dan have the most petty "What You Mad At" stories to date, but we're pretty sure all our dad listeners can relate. They get the play by play from Chris on his most recent elk hunt in Colorado, talk about deer season prep, and the work he is doing with Bass Pro Shop to encourage conservation across the country. They cover the meaning behind "What Ya See Is What Ya Get" and what it was like working with "The Rock" for the music video. A presidential candidate makes an "appearance" that leaves the guys in disbelief and the episode "Gravorite" is a bit rowdy.

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What's up?

You're offering? God's Country with Reed and Dana is also known as The Brothers Hunt, where we take a weekly drive to the intersection of country music and the great outdoors. Almost forgot it there two things that go together, like.

Merle Haggard and the rock. Bet you didn't bet you didn't know that.

I might have to listen to find that one out.

Produced by a meat eater, and iHeart podcast. This Cat's country, dude, I mean, I knew it from the second I saw it on stage. He was pumped about bo Season, and I'm like, bro, if you're pumped about bo Season fifteen years ago, you're a country cat.

If you've been to one of his concerts. I have not, he will stomp a hole in that stage. Oh yeah, and blow the hell out of a harmonica.

Yeah.

We got uh, we got our pants and Jansen dance and Jans and christ Jansen out out in God's Country with us today, man, and we just went we just uh. We just talked about life, about music, about hunting. Not a lot about music, honestly, but a lot about hunting, a lot about you know, his beliefs and conservation.

And he is a good conversation. Yeah, he's a bast prolover. The guy loves bass.

Pro you know that guy a signature hat does a lot of does a lot of great stuff with conservation from.

I'm tucked in on that. Uh, just a good conversation, just to you know, I honestly had had heard he was extremely energetic and and honestly kind of reckless, but he was very controlled and smart and seemed to know everything he was talking about. It's a lot of fun, dude. He's awesome.

Yeah, he's a he's a real country music fan. He's a real country music singer player. He's a real guitar, real player, real hunter, just all the things that God's Country is about. So stick around, listen to it, watch it, enjoy it, share it, follow it, love it, subscribe, follow it, share it, Instagram, see it Facebook.

Thanks piece out.

We've already been showing deer pictures. Chris's kids killed. Is it confirmed yet?

So we had to wait for the get Yeah, the dry Yeah, it's really more like a year by the time you get it all scored in and everything. And I don't know if we'll actually even do it, but I know this. We we taped them out originally and we got a gross one seven eighths, which was nice.

A ten year old might have the state archery record.

Yeah, and I talked to T W R A and they said, old, that's I mean, well by far, you know, like it would definitely be top two right now overall archery. And then if they open up a velvet category, which I'm hoping they do, it'll be, it'll be, it'll be number one.

Man, that's interesting. Are already That's what I'm saying. We've been showing pictures, we've been doing all that. If you don't recognize that voice, which probably we've got a multi multiple, multi platinum number one singing a dad in harmonica, slanging grand Ole Op remembrance, cigar smoking, mountain dew, drinking with us today we've got mister Chris Jansen.

Forgot how much I loved you.

I can't take the credit. My my wife manager. That's wonderful. My wife does too, so it's perfect. Yeah, absolutely, Well, that's that's good.

I appreciate that.

You just walk around the mountains and harmonica.

Well you know what, I, as a matter of fact, kind of crazy, guys, But six months now, I haven't had a mountain dew. Oh wow. Yeah, I've turned my life around, found Jesus and really got got Jesus and sobriety. I mean, I just you know how much I used to drink mountain dew. He does, He told he was in my cabin one time riding and we and I drank like a twenty four pack. But we got it too. It was a great day, you know.

But just say mountain dew is it's really oh.

Man, Yeah, I just quit drinking that coach any any kind of added sugars and preservatives. I've been trying to go as much gluten free as possible. I cut out red I haven't had red meat in the last six months except for wild game, which is not really that I can't so it's just crazy, man. But I've changed my whole lifestyle. And uh, I was. I was getting kind of sick, truth is told. I was getting kind of sick in my stomach like my I was getting really bloated. I didn't know what was wrong with me, and so a combination of things. I got some blood work done for the first time of my life the other day. Blood work came back normal. That's partly because I've been totally cleansed for like six months. But I did like a parasite clin. I did the whole thing that all the hippies do. Man, I did it, and I feel a lot better.

I'm good.

There is a point because I'm there too, man like I and mine's not necessarily because like, well, yeah, I mean our our family deals with heart health stuff, and so like I want to I want to be the healthiest I could possibly be, live as long as as I can for my kids all that stuff. But at some point in your life there there is a turning point on It's probably the same for females, but for males especially, Like there's a turn point where it's like, hey, man, I've been eating like ship for the past thirty something years ago. Oh yeah, and like I cannot continue to do this one because I want to live longer. Two physically it it really it really hurts to eat bad, you know.

And I'm a walking trash can for like for the the whole life.

I was a big Max double Cheeseburger's taco belt bro all the time.

Yeah.

And now if I if I on my way home today, if I stopped and got now, listen, I want to every time I passed one. But if I stopped and got a big mac meal and a double.

Shit, if you're passing the egg visit, it's got all the things, all the ones on it. What's your what's what do you turn? What are you pulling in? For sure?

Well, I it would either be Taco Bell or McDonald's. That's just just depending on you. I'm a trash, rett't it.

But I'm going to waffle House.

You got to go in all star breakfast drive through.

I'm actually I'm a I'm a steaming hash Browns with Worcesters, side of bacon for eggs over medium yellows, running whites, hard dry white, toast, snow butter, kind of guys water, limited ice.

If I ate that right now, I would feel I would feel so bad for about three days.

Like a diet water with no ice. Please.

But it feels like I'm thirty six and everybody in in my life right now, Yeah, like in my life, like the people around me.

One, they're all having kids, all having babies. Two.

Everybody's trying to everybody's trying to get healthy.

Man, My gi doc said, hey you can. He was actually a guy that Luke Bryan took me duck hunting with is one of Luke's real longtime buddies, and we went duck hunting a few years ago, and you know, kind of kept in touch and became friends. And when Kelly finally made me reach out to him, she said, you gotta get with Brad. So she reached out. Caroline hooked the thing up and I called Brad and I explained my symptoms to him and I was like crouched over, like I could barely walk in Florida. And he goes, well, you have two choices, man. You can get off the mountain do if you haven't already, or you can die and I'll call you back in a minute. I was like, holy Shnike.

So I guess I'm I got a drinking water.

Yeah.

I mean, it's like I was to the point where the kids were crying, Kelly was worried. I mean, I could barely walk. My kidneys were so swollen. It was it was I was masking it pretty good. I mean I had a number one party for all I need is you, and my co writer Mitch was like, you are fat, and I was like, you, I'm.

Not fat, says Man says once on his mind.

But hey, it was he had a point. I look back, and I'm like, I was kind of fat anyway, I'd uh, you know, I'd went up like two pants, Susan or done that my life. I've always been one hundred and thirty five or one hundred and forty five pounds at max.

Bro I was one fifty five in the fifth grade, Okay for sure, because I couldn't run the ball. They wouldn't let me run the ball in uh pee wee because I was two different body tops.

That was Where did you grow up in Savannah?

Okay?

Yeah?

So rob where we tell everybody Robergh, Alabama, missus BI and Tennessee.

I killed a ton of turkeys down there. Oh yeah, Mark Cally used to have a farm.

Oh Yeahyne, Wayne County, that's where we Yeah, Kenny Line, what was it Wayne?

The man in the moon is crying. I went We went down there and hunted, went down with Monsia years and years ago, a long time ago, and killed a bunch of turkeys.

There's a bunch of turkeys down there. It kind of went through a little they kind of went through a little dry period back a few years ago. But they're they're back and there's turkeys all over the place down there.

Not just not to just completely sideline your story, but I played around with Mark Cally one time. This this is really funny. So Darryl Worley's from Savannah, we're from the you know, he's he kind of helped us along the way, played one.

Of his events this year.

He's a great guy.

Yeah we are and Pickwick.

So me and Darryl and Mark Caley were playing this this writers around thing, you know, and uh, there was some Darryl said some things and when when Barble was there, and man, you know how when can just make a situation so awkward so fast by like in jest you are ya? Are you really about to tell No, I'm not. I'm not gonna tell that, okay, but anyway, that had just happened, and so I'll tell you after ye Mark he played So we're supposed to play four songs, right, well, he was the first. It was like Mark and Darryl me win. So Mark played his four songs and there was like another three songs round after it. Pro just gets up, puts his guitar in his case.

Left and took I mean the show is going, Mark superstar movie man he had just done.

He was in some movie like the.

Marvel movie and yes Marvel movie. Was in a Marvel movie.

Yeah, he's like some what was he He was an equalizer.

Yes it was, Yeah, that's what it was. He was on a super punisher.

Yeah right.

I think he was like like the Mad Games. Yeah, the back damn.

That's it, dude.

He is a hord mother.

That's a hard dude.

Like just like he's super nice, super sweet Mark Colly, He's like he's been in a bunch of movies. That is crazy.

I know, didn't know that.

The Interesting Life of Mark Cauley.

Yeah, it is interesting.

When I was back when I was starting.

You can do that when you're a movie star, and he didn't care.

When I started in Nashville, I started Tutsis and uh that was my first gig and I was playing the four hour shows for shows a day kind of thing. And he used to come down there and and always want to get up and sing. You know. I guess I was back in his drinking days. Probably it was always pretty wild and loose. But uh, I remember the first time he came in, I was like I recognized this guy, Like who oh yeah, yeah, and then they're like that smart college man. Even the man in the moon was crowded, and I was like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, great Johnny cash a lot of context, you know.

He does. He does kind of have this this black.

He does well, he looks like Johnny cash. I mean they cast him as Johnny Cash movie. I mean Johnny Cashman would have been even even bigger in my opinion. But yeah, but anyway, that's that's enough about him.

Yeah, enough about Mark. But Shadow Mark what a great guy.

I don't know if anybody told me about this, but we do this thing called You're mad at It?

We prep h all our stuff, don't you know.

Let me just tell me and we we like it's a little it's a little rant session.

You know.

If you want to get involved, you can. You can say things that you're at the sight.

We ship, we can run about what you mad.

Just tell us what it is?

What you're mad at?

Is it gen lost kids?

Mind?

Be your boss man or your neighbors cat. Just tell us what mad.

Best we've ever done like that. I love it.

Actually, It's pretty much what I sing in my head every day and I've heard it.

Oh what you mad? At man.

I was thinking, are you glad a pretty decent week last week?

Bro?

You've been chippy?

You You've been like real like not chippy in a bad way, but like you called me theydn't call me yesterday, and.

Uh, I was well, first off, I had I was rong with Bethard. He wasn't going to be there till ten thirty. I was already in spring Hill.

I was like, well, I'll you wake up feeling good that day anyway, because you like don't have to go anywhere.

Oh yeah, that's to drive it again.

Also, you can't. It's hard to find something to be mad at when you're right on casey for sure.

I know it's gonna be fun hanging session. So I like, I was like what I'm He's like, hey, man, I'm at the park and I was like, no, I'm early, man, whatever you need to do, and he's like, man, can you give you thirty minutes? I was like sure, ran by Goodwill and just to see if what I could find. You know, I'm a bargain hunter guy, so are we awesome? So I was just going to see what I can find swoop in there, and I was like, man, I ain't talk to read. I need to hollerd read, you know, just checks. So I call him and we talked for maybe five seconds about and.

Then it was like, what's up, dude, what are you doing? Man? I was like driving to town. Man, He's like, cool, bro, Man, I got that deer's big I killed man, and like I did.

He was just h yeah, here is awesome.

Man.

Don't you wish you could kill it? The story I don't know where goes.

Hey, Man, I'm just gonna be honest with you, like, I'm just really not in the mood to small tar right now. I was like, all good, talk to you later man.

The dude, and I was trying to be like I was trying to be involved.

But like, so were you mad at?

I was just I was just driving and I was just wanting like I was coming into town, had a long day, just wanted to zone out. Put music on, not talking, not talking.

You want to listen? Who listens to music?

I'm in a music listening phase right now.

I am like, I just.

Love that you said that.

Oh dude, I can't even bro, I can't turn it on. I didn't for no offense to anyone that I mean I didn't.

I didn't either way. I go through these like like sometimes like I don't. It's the last thing I want to listen to. I want to do a podcast or not even podcasts, like an audio book or you know, my work tapes trying to figure out. But like when I'm in a music like, I don't want to listen to an audiobook of the book right now because I've listened to listen everything.

What comes on when you picture?

I listened to I listened tor, I listened to Luke Bron's New Thing this morning.

On the way in.

I listened to Are a little bit of Haggard this morning.

Me and Geordgan just talk strategy the whole way end.

Thanks for the phone call.

You were listening tomorrow. I don't want to mess out up.

Just everything, just what's I don't know what's going on because I haven't been listening to music for two months. So interesting just seeing what's happening.

Yeah, I'm not mad at anything. I am okay, Yes, yeah I'm mad. I'm mad at the way I don't feel like and I'm not I'm not trying to make this a blue thing, but I don't feel like the you know, what bash in the media is not political, by the way, you can do that, bro talk. I don't feel like they are showing an honest depiction of what's going on in Eastern Sea.

And Western what's the deal with that?

What's there not?

Why?

Why?

We just got back from East Tennessee, my wife and I and we took.

Our Hey, good on you for doing that. Good on y'all for doing the post.

I don't say it just you know, for for the for sure, for the glory, for sure. You don't just the neighborly thing to do for sure. It was Kelly's idea. She said, Hey, we're going to East Tennessee today.

I said, we're Tennessee, it is Yeah.

So we went to East Tennessee. We took my youngest son, we took mc ruggles be with us, and we were right in the day and I said, Kelly just said you're going with us. He's like what I said, just you're going yeah?

Yeah. So with those yeah, I got nothing to.

Do now me and we partnered with bass Pro. They donated a bunch of stuff, I mean like a ton of stuff, waters, uh, dry goods, things like that. We went over there. To your point, the media is not covering East Tennessee. Now I'm not to say that they shouldn't be covering Ashville or or Florida or Georgia wherever else, but East Tennessee is getting zero coverage. I had no idea how poverty stricken and how literally people do just when you know, when people say, oh, I didn't have much growing up, like they don't have anything growing up. I mean, it was unbelievable. So and and you know that's that's and they're prideful people, which is amazing to see because you know they're they're mountain folks, They're app it's true Appalachia.

They're not going to have a common respect for that.

I mean, I spent so many years touring West Virginia before ever had a hit, so that's not that far away. Same the same kind of people. But we went over there, man, and we were able to do some drop offs of some specific churches up in the mountains. The ones we could get to, I mean, most of the roads are washed out, and that kind of thing. It pisses me off too. I really wish the I really wish well, first of all, the coverage that it's getting over there in North Carolina and East Tennessee is not enough in my opinion.

Bro, there's literal towns wiped away. Yeah, there's literal whole towns that will never be a town again.

There's babies running around with no shoes on stuff man, like you're looking for their parents and stuff, running around in money in muddy roads that aren't roads anymore. I mean's I drove through them, so I know what it looks like. It's you know, the blacktops not there, and if it is there, underneath the blacktop is washed away, the rocks are washed away, the river's running right here. I'm talking about a trailer would be a luxury. I mean, you know, to some of these places, man, I'm talking about shacks built with plywood, two by fours and tarts, and that's these people's way of life. So you know, it's really eye opening.

Man.

We have so much to be thankful for, and we don't live One thing I realized about after we left there the other day. We don't live in reality as far as what a lot of America lives in. And something that I complain about all the time to your point, is that we don't. We have a bad habit in this country of not taking care of our own and taking care of other people. So I think that's complete bullshit. And after you see that in person, because the truth is, that's the backbone of America. That's actually too that's that's a lot of like for instance, you know we're all in country. We write and see country music. That's a lot of our country fans.

For sure.

Those are people who like, that's the backbone of this country. It goes, it surpasses just being able to give back to your fellow man and your fellow woman and your neighbor. It really needs to be viewed as a bigger subject in my opinion, because there's only so much that water and food can do. If you don't have If you don't have running water for three months, that's hard and you're used to it, that's hard to get that's hard to get back.

And it's you're not prepared for it. You take it away right and.

Then then you know you've got somebody say, well, those people not to hunt and fish and stuff, Well, yeah they know how to hunt when they have weapons.

Yeah they're gone. But I'm talking abottom of some lake.

But I'm talking about she's like washed down the river, dude. I mean trucks piled up against bridges and the Interstate ps by the way. We were driving these back roads and the water is still rushing. It's not like it rained, it went away. Some stuff flooded, and we're all moving on.

You know. I saw a thing that is crazy from a guy that's a buddy of our, Zach Massey, And I think we Jordan and I actually talked about maybe getting him on, uh later on to give us kind of a breakdown of what's going on. But he did a video and kind of analyzed and he wasn't He wasn't putting down or make her putting lightly floods that happened in like coastal regions where the water comes up, it messes everything up, and then it subsides. He was just kind of making a point so that the layman understanding of it was basically the velocity at which the water poured from the lake onto these small towns. And I mean he did a real good job of explaining that it was basically just like a surge and it's.

Like just as just a quick one.

Yeah, nothing to prepare, no, no prep we got rain coming. Uh.

It was just like, so there's this.

Elevated one second, it's not one second.

I'll give you the ten second thing. So basically there's an elevated lake in the mountains that then all these different little communities use source water from. Well, when thirty inches of rain drops in six hours to go somewhere, it's got to go somewhere. Well, it filled that lake up and just immediately poured over the dams and the structure's not built for that. So once it's comes surging, dude, it's like a it's like a tsunami in the mountains, just coming down clear and everything out and to Chris's points, like it's still flowing.

Oh yeah. And not to mention those mountains are really if you I had never been I've been to East Tennessee a million times. I've never been to East Tennessee. Like I went to East Tennessee the other day. Yeah, it's a whole Yeah, we've been in Knoxville, We've been. We've been in Severeville. Unless you're getting up on the on the North Carolina border, you're not in East Tennessee. Trust me, it ain't.

The mountains, The Great.

Smoky Mountains are a whole different thing. Over in the mountains of Newport. Huh yeah, trust me, dude, it's a whole different world. And those mountains are like really steep. So you're driving in the canyons, which where does water go goes down here and so that water rushes mud slides off those hills. I mean there were I saw houses like on technical high ground if you will, Yeah, that were broken in half like this at the start, at the foundation and just crinkled up like this, and then and then what you just don't have anything anymore. So I guess what we would say is for anybody watching this podcast, uh the time, it's going to be a long time rebuilding process. So don't hesitate to It's not just about sending funds and sending money. It's like, does that actually get to the hands of the people who need it. Get your ass over there and and take a look. Once you see it, you'll you'll want to do, You'll want to do, you'll want to live there, and just fix it until it's better. Yeah, man, I mean really truly. And I'll tell you that the water and the food it matters.

Man.

We pulled into one little country church and you wouldn't have been able to find this place if you because there's no GPS there. Let me shed light on this. There's no cell phone service, there's minimal electricity, zero water, no cell phone service, so you don't have a GPS, you don't have a Verizon at and T any of the services carry and you have none of this stuck. So we pull in just because my one of our in laws lives there and he's a mountain man. So we pulled in this little country church. We're gonna drive off some water. And immediately, I guess somebody saw us off the mountain and here came this lady. She had her daughter with her, and uh, and she was very kind. Hey, could you guys spare some water?

You know?

And of course you know, no problem. Haven't been with water, been without water now for four days. I mean, could you imagine that telling your baby, oh, sorry, we don't have food and water meat. Can't everybody watching this can't comprehend totally. No, So you gotta get you gotta get invested. Man. There's been things in the past too where we've been like, oh, let's just write a check and give it to them. Then that's out of side, out of mind. That's easy.

To do.

That's the easy out. But once you go over there, it's pretty breathtaking. I'm glad Kelly said something because if it weren't for her, I mean, you know, guilty as charge, we would all be a little out of side, out of mind. If you're not right there in it, it's it's hard not to be.

But it's like without seeing it, you know, like it's been three or four days now, and it's it's already I feel like it's already kind of slotting back.

Next news cycle, next news cycle, what's going on?

What's the next thing?

God, that's my biggest complaint to your point is the news cycles in this country. Man. It's like here today, gone tomorrow, I know, and we forget about we forget about our.

Own They want you to believe that the problem goes away, like when it goes out of your mind, it's it's fine. And this is the case.

We have We as crippled the middle class. Dude, No, we have crippled the There is no middle left in the middle class. I wrote it into a song, there is no middle left in the middle class. Me Andrew Parker write that, and I just said you too, and uh, and I just it just blows my mind. It blows my mind, man, because the people that are the backbone of our nation are the ones that get shipped on the most.

It's unbelievable, and they're the ones that worked the hardest.

It's unbelievable.

Part of me was wondering if maybe it's that mentality of like, here's a here's a quick example. So somebody was talking the other day and said, after being forty fifty years old, I finally asked my parents why they didn't why they didn't show me the love that I felt like they showed my brother, who was kind, I can't get right kind of guy. And the mom said to her, well, you never you didn't need it as much. And she was like, that's entirely incorrect, Like I needed it just as much as he did. And I wonder if that kind of applies to society where they go, oh, they're tough down there, they'll take care of themselves. Let's move on to a different thing. It definitely does, and it's not true, man. Those people deserve attention and help just like everybody else, regardless of whether they're tough or not. Yeah, sorry, I could do this.

You fire me up.

I wrote with Ray Folch yesterday and he literally after our co write, drove straight to Harlem, Georgia, where he's from, which is just outside of Augusta, and he's like, bro, my town is gone. Oh like my town is is like, there ain't food and water. They're charging twelve dollars the gas pumps for gas right now because I know there ain't no gas anywhere, so people are having to drive three and four hours to get water gas. And he's like, it's just He's like, it's a it's it's catastrophic, man. He's like, and nobody is talking about it. Nobody's talking about Yeah, it's weird.

It's a weird. We live in a weird times right now.

For sure, Pray pray that the Lord takes care of care of all those people.

He's gonna take care of it, one way or the other. I promise you no doubt, ain't no doubt. I mean, y'all better get ridy. I mean, y'all are I ain't gonna tell you nothing, but y'all better get ready watching this. I don't care if you believe in God or you believe in what you want, but I'm telling you as a Christian man. You better prepare yourself. I've preached because at some point, yeah, the rapture's happening. It's happening. And I might go down on this podcast as being the craziest bit. I don't care. I'm not I'm not trying to preach, but I'm just telling you the truth. It's gonna have.

To prepare yourself.

And you better prepare yourself. And you better learn to hunt and fish. You better learn to hunt and fish. If you don't know how to hunt and fish, you're in trouble to.

Let's get it. You better know somebody that does.

Yeah.

On a lighter note, I am mad at going back to you, going to good Will and you, I know, we all I could deal.

I'm mad at toothing things. Second is super petty. Uh first one.

The first one is I'm mad at that. Literally, bro there we have a shot like a sharp mop back or what a sharp mopack or something that like that. You you know, you can vacuum and mop the floor at the same time.

It's things that hit songwriters good.

We never, you know, the thing never, we never use it.

This thing is like seventy five bucks.

We never, we never use it. And the fact that I put it on the marketplace to sell is beyond me. I don't even know why this is still dude, It's been on there for two and.

Has got a great shark vacuum here for bus.

And I still like, I'll get there. I'll get the message from Facebook. It's like, have you sold this? I'm like, no, renewed seven days. And so I got a message this is literally happened. I took a screenshot of it is still available?

Yes, it is.

If you want it, it is, you can have it.

So somebody, is this available?

And I.

Succumb and I said yes, it is. The next thing, she said no, thanks.

She asked if it was available.

I said yes, and she said no thanks to me. I was like God, and I took a screenshot. I was like, this is what's wrong with people? Like this is the matter of Facebook that drives me crazy. Is it available driving? Don't ask it, just tell me you're gonna come get it, and I'm gonna say, yes.

Boy, can you give me tons of ammunition?

Here?

Keep going?

Second thing, second thing, And Jordan's gonna roll her eyes at this, and I listen.

I want to watch the sea.

I don't like I do it, and I don't. I try not to say anything and be miserable. Leave what dippers on the changel No, no, no family pictures.

Oh man, did that happen yesterday?

That's why you were in the bath? No, it was tell me that I was not offer. I did it. I did it, and I was smiling, and I kissed you on the forehead and we made the little googly eyes at each other while she took pictures. But I literally apologize to our photographer. But yeah, lean.

Sorry, bad, my bad.

She's really smirling.

Yeah, but here's the deal out there. Here's why I don't know her name very well. And I'm sorry she's taking so many pictures of me. It's because I'm in a bad mood every time I'm around her. And I literally apologize to her. I apologized to her yesterday. I was like, she walked in, She's like, how's it going to read? And I was like, oh, and George's like you caught him again on one of the best you know, and one of this finest day. I was like, listen, I was like, Lenn, we need to hang out outside of this, because I promise you I'm a pleasant person.

I am.

I really am not an asshole like you see me like you've only seen me.

In your life.

She came to my kids' birthday party, and we've had a fun time there, but like the percent of the time we hang out, she's taking pictures of us and my kids and our family and I'm all jet dressed up.

Why are you get mad at that?

Oh it's miserable.

I mean, yeah, it's miserable.

But I feel like at this point you just can kind of compartmentalize, did I not? Yeah? What else is miserable?

Being a week?

Okay, we did just get back. Well well first though.

Yeah, let's let's be quick quick to say miserable about that.

It is a hunting trip, but it was also a lot of work going on, a little bit of work going on. We tagged, We played a little Utah jazz thing. Yeah, we're some Foundational paid some things off of anyway.

Family pictures, Oh yeah, family pictures.

Sorry, will you mad at anything else? So you think you're good?

Oh, I can go on for days. I'll give you the first thing I agree with you, So that would be the first thing that me too. I hate people on their phone when they're when they're driving, including me, including me totally. But I hate people in front of me on their phones when I'm driving. I like to drive fast, I make no bones about it, and I will ride your ass all the way to the interesting. Oh yeah, I heard you were fast, real fast.

What does that mean? I mean, I think I've heard someone say Chris Jansen passed me this morning doing one hundred and twenty on his way.

Yeah, I mean I am number three Earnhart all the way when I yeaheah. So that is that's not that's the now. The third biggest thing is social media drives me on. Yeah, well here's why. Though it doesn't drive me insane, just for the people that are on it, including myself, but it drives me crazy. The censorship and social media and the censorship, especially in our country music community that nobody that nobody.

Talks about that way.

We all talk about streaming, we talk about downloads, We talk about this and that and this and that. Numbers and numbers matter. Numbers are full of ship, numbers are full of shit. Show me numbers is third grade map. No, it's true, it's true. You get censored if you say God's guns. Christian Republican conservative right now, literally, I do too. You have no idea, You have no idea. I'm talking about to the hundreds of thousands of people who got swapped from me from social media for what for all those things I just mentioned and.

And the core values in your life, our life.

Because social media will shadow ban you people people, people, shadow band they start calling you a conspiracy theorist.

Right.

Well, that's because if they know you're right, they start calling you everything. It's just like you call a liar a liar if you're a liar.

You know.

But so social media drives me crazy. It also drives me crazy on social media when people keyboard warriors like Brantley would call them like people who talk so much ship online. But they but but if they ever came across a redneck's face, they would never say a word.

And you know, because they know what would happen.

And you know we see them a million times a day.

Okay, I'm about I'm gonna close my eyes and I want you to to just walk me through the day that you just had up Colorado Mountains, where Colorado, Colorado Mountains, where you you shot your elk. I want to I would I just want to feel that day, dude.

All right, Well, I every I had, we had. We went with a great group of friends, first and foremost, and it's a it's thankfully it's been a yearly trip that I've been able to go on. And Kelly goes with me, and uh, Jesse, my little ten year old, goes with me and hunts with me. Georgia, our youngest daughter goes sometimes, mother in law went this year. Was it was really fantastic family event.

That's awesome.

I don't go on. Let me just be clear. I don't like to go on hunting trips. That don't go on hunting trips if my family, our kids are not invited. So I just don't think that's a great I don't think that's a great vibe. I just don't like that. So I'm not gonna do Yeah, I know you love those, but I'm not gonna do any of that. I just don't do those.

Jordan was there for all this.

We go, uh, we go out and uh it was the first day, first afternoon, and well, first I'd gotten a mule deer tag, which is pretty coveted, and so I got this bow mule deer tag and we saw the mule deer first, and he was out in the you know, the the lower mountains and the plains, kind of out there amongst the sage and everything. And I spot and stalked the mule deer on foot. My little boy was right there with me. He was filming behind me, like forty yard.

Yeah.

My ten year old is a total badass. He was in a deer stand this morning before I got up.

He might have the state record archery.

Yeah, yeah, he's a he's a big time bog. Yeah. So we're out there, I'm crawling around with a bow. He's like forty yards behind me with his with his iPhone kind of whispering like, hey, he's right there. Weren't you shooting? Why aren't you shooting? And I couldn't get a shot, you know, of course where I was that I ended up finding a little hole about like about a heart sized hole and flopped one in there at fifty five yards and smoked one hundred and eighty five inches mule deer. That was my first mule deer, which I'm I'm grateful for. He was still in velvet too, right, yeah, full different. The velvet on a mule deer is different than a white tail. So white tells you just like really peach fuzz, but a mule deer velvet is like actual hair. Its yeah yeah, yeah, so it's it's it's crazy. But so behind us was like a creek bed and then a little I called a cindero, but like a just a basically one hundred yard opening of sagebrush and and things like that. And then it went straight up to the mountains and the draws. Well, the elk were coming down to feed in the evenings and do their deal.

And I said, the same day, oh yeah.

This is as I'm taking pictures with the mule deer, right, You've got screaming bulls coming down. Oh yeah, yeah, no, there's there's screaming and they're screaming everywhere, and and so I'm like, all right, so we get the pictures. We load the deer up, and we had the truck because we were driving way back into this ranch. So we had the truck, we loaded it up, hit it behind a cottonwood tree, and these bulls were screaming. I so let's just walk down this road. So we go walking down the logging road and man, there are there's bulls down in the room and they're tearing up trees and there's bulls fighting, and I mean they were like there's a whole herd of them. So it was and you know, just cows everywhere, just bleating and doing the whole deal. So come around this bend and one of them that was in the little creek in front of me kind of sees me and he darts up the darts of the river bank runs over and Pat the guy who hunts with us. He's as a longtime guide. And now this is not like, you know, okay, mister Jensen, here's the one you shoot.

He's not that.

This is not that kind of hunt. Yeah, this is a This is a real mountain man guide who's just you know, he's just there. And I'm glad he is because he knows it better than I do. So he hits the pew and that thing stop man threw his head over. I was drawn back at fifty two and I let it go. And as soon as I let it go, the bull turned and quartered to me. As soon as I let the arrow go, he turned and it's you know, smack, and he took off running and he fell and I'm like wow, And Jesse you can hear Jesse's filming the whole thing behind you, behind me. He's like, oh, he's down, that he's down. So we just kind of hunkered down for a minute, and the elk got back up. There were a bunch of other bulls running around crazy. You know, act.

Already adrenalin is probably surging.

Yeah, so I'm assuming the adrenaline kicked in on my bull and he got up and kind of wabbled off, and I was like, how on the hell? So long story short, we look a little bit that night after dark. We gave it a few hours. We found we found some blood. We uh, just no great blood, and so we backed out, came back in the next morning, found my arrow, found the same great blood and tracked him for about seventy five yards and then and the way he went, you know, we could see in the binoculars the way he went until he went over a crest of the hill and we lost him. And there we lost all the blood. So then we started grid searching with all with all the people that you know, we're on the talk with Johnny JP all, so we're grid searching.

That's a that's a tough.

Yeah, my ten year old found him.

No, what come on?

My ten year old found him and found him with my buddy JP and UH and called me and said, hey, we found some new blood. Come way back. And I was way at the mountain two miles away, like the way gone I put in. I mean, I had put in some steps. So I come back down off the mountain to meet them, and they're showing me this. I'm like, okay, cool. So I get right on the blood and I'm going around and I walk right around the corner and they all started laughing. They were filming me, and I didn't.

I was so just.

So I found the elk and got to him. Great bull, big mass, just awesome bull. I had hit. I had hit him when he when he stepped to me. When I shot, there's a like when your shoulder attaches to your body. There's a crack right here. I don't know what that's called, but that crack where the shoulder crack, that's what it's called, you know, the one the shoulder crack where the cartilage is and then if it goes in, so the rib cage kind of goes up behind that on you. Well, I the arrow hit right in that crack. Yeah, And went right through into the vitals and that's where the good blood was coming from. Wow, this is the meat Eater Job's Country podcast. You can tell where we talk about hunting, fishing, blood, Yeah, blood, shoulder cracks and killing and shoulder cracks.

Now can you tell me that exact saying shoulder crack? Analogy? Yeah, and trump voice.

It was a fantastic thing. We got a lot of great Well, first of all, let me say that I crack is not great. It's not a great thing. We don't we're going to shut it down. Actually, we've got a lot of crack coming in and.

We're gonna we're gonna get We're gonna get rid of the crack.

And I can tell you this, We're gonna and by January twenty sixth, we're going to be cracking skulls if you got the crack. But we love hunting, we love fishing, and I've never actually done it myself, but I but I want to. I want to do it, and I know that we're gonna to be taking it. And I'm a meat guy. I love McDonald's. It's a great place. We it's you guys are the meat eaters. God's come to We love God, We love meat, We love everything that goes along with it. Elk when Deer, all the great people Colorado. We're going to change a few things there. Fantastic Well, it's a fantastic thing. I mean we I'm gonna propose that we have Elk Burgers at mar Lago, beautiful place by the.

Way, gold gold, shocking shock impressions of it.

But by far even like Shane Gillis, I think you're better than him. Yeah, Shane Gillis is like.

Wei, Shane, great guy, nothing like me. Maybe I don't know.

Maybe it's a little new once.

Well it's competing. I mean nuances and we love. I love nuances. I mean when I was arguing a lot of time, excuse me, when I was arguing.

So good, I had to get you to say something so good. Beautiful Michelle and I we we ship behind the scenes for a lot of the debates.

I know, dude, I had no idea.

Well it was we go back in history. Uh, we changed a lot of things. And uh you know I was a president for not only one term, but two terms. People really loved me. Uh we got to bring the country together, I feel, and did.

You practice this stuff? Man? How does somebody get so good at that it just.

Comes to me, Hey, I won't I say one thing.

Really, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

No about this point.

Okay, I wanted to say this earlier. So this is like probably the realist podcast that I've seen, Like you got this is the real deal. Your wife's here. I love that, by the way, you know it's my wife's here. Your wife's here. So I'm gonna say this loud and publicly earlier when we were talking about the things we hate, you know, that's that's that's one thing that I personally love. But I want to but I want to say this for real. I mean this the heart. We can sit here and we can bitch about things, but what good are we doing for people listening. We're not doing anything but just bitching, and that just creates negativity. And a lot of the way that I wake up every day is trying to get rid of the negative shit in my life. And so maybe I just want to add to my point about the negativity. Thing is this, man have the we have the power to control the narrative. We as people have the power to control the narrative. So how we present ourselves is how people will react to us, right, And so when it comes to like I was talking about from the stage or from the social media thing or whatever, how we present ourselves can change that narrative. And I think the more positivity that we put out. And also I again may I say, I love getting into the things we can complain about, but because we're humans. But I think that adding to that the things that we can be grateful for sure, and the things that we can we live in such a greater picture that I don't think we even have to focus on the negative things anymore. I mean completely the things. If we want to change things, if we want to change the narrative in the way things are viewed in our country, vote, If we want to change things in the way that people are viewed in the hunting community, man, be a good representative, clean it up, be a good representative conservation if we want to be If we want to straighten out the social media crazy world and the live shows and stuff, man, straighten it up. Be the guy that they be, the guy or the girl they talk about it goes. Man, those those are that's that's awesome.

I want to be So that's a great transition, and let's talk about some of your what you're doing with your partnership with bass pro and your hat and the heart of the conservatory and hunters for the Hungary and Tennessee River Keeper, like what's your where's your heart and all that, and and why do you want to get involved with that kind of stuff?

Well, thank you so for the last couple of years, well since twenty seventeen, I've been a bass pro man and I'm so proud of that. And Johnny with bass Pros become one of my best buddies in JP his son. Just fabulous people, great organization and company. As you know, I told them right off the bat, after like the first week of meeting them. JP tells a story at the time he said, man Jansen called and said, we got to get a Chris Chance's signature hat. Yeah, and so we did, and this is it. It's got my signatures on it, Johnny's on the back classically, and then it's just a typical bast prohat. But when we sell these, seventy or seventy five percent goes back to conservation, the ones you just mentioned. And why is my heart in it? Because of the things actually You're exactly right. Great segue to that. Man. If we you know, we complain when we float down the heart of river about trash being in the river, we'll pick it up. Yeah, I mean, how simple is that?

Sure?

Correct?

The things we complained about in life, we have the narrative to change it. So and we have the power to change it just waking up every day. So my heart's in it for that with Hunters for the Hungry, and that goes for all the rivers conservatives or the conservation everts that we do as far as the Hunters for the Hungry is concerned. There are a lot of people that don't have food. There are a lot of people that don't have water. We've been talking about with East Tennessee, Ashville, Georgia, Florida, all these places that were devastated by the hurricane. There are a lot of people things that we take for granted. And one of the things that I've we all take for granted as outdoorsmen is hunting and fishing. I mean we've just grown up doing it, you know, and so and a lot of us do it for sport. Even we're oh, then this is just a fun thing we do.

Well.

Some people survive off of that. So with the funds sold from the hat, we give a large portion to the Wildlife Federation, which pays for the processing of wild games. So anything that you you know, you shoot an extra dough and you don't have room for it in your freezer and nobody wants to take it, you can donate it to whatever whatever the Federation has, like certain processing places that they work with, and the hat pays for the hat goes to the Federation, which pays for the funds to make the process food and it goes to people for free. So we've done a lot of meals.

So just so you're clear on that, the processor doesn't lose money no processing the deer.

They get paid them.

They get paid, yeah, but they get paid by is.

Out of the Wildlife Federal, the Hunters for the Hungry program.

Like if you see a game warden truck, you'll see an upside down triangles stick around whatever it is Tennessee Wildlife Federation. And so that's it, and Hunters for the Hungry is a great organization. There's plenty around the nation that do this in their own regard.

But for to waste if you've got absolutely no yeah, there's always a place that will take it.

And there's somebody that Yeah, and a quick Google can can give you that. And there's probably one within driving distance from where you're.

At over there.

Yeah, there's a spot in Lawrenceburg down there on the way to Wayne County that also does that. There's a lot of a lot of people get involved. It's a great program to feed less fortunate.

It's a nice thing. So I love the conservation minded stuff. And uh, you know, people have written me up now and called me a conservations which is something I never called myself. But I'm proud of it and I take it now, so I put it on all my things. I mean, it's it's a big part of who I am and what I stand for.

And you know, it's a great badge to wear.

Man, it is. I thank you. And with bast I mean, we've also been able to help our veteran community a lot. You know, they do a lot with veterans, They hire a lot of veterans, and Johnny and I really see out of eye on that in a big way, and so I try to lend my efforts as much as possible, and that's led into lots of circles with lots of different people. And I think it's you know, just promoting the lifestyle of the outdoors, I mean the God's country. I mean that that goes right along with it. I mean promoting the lifestyle and living it and walking it like you talk it and actually doing it, not just putting on a camo hat, but actually getting in the woods and hunting.

It's a part of the calling, right, Yeah, And it's who we are, Yeah, it's who It's who God intended us to be. And so I completely couldn't agree with you more like it is not just talking to talk man, it's walking the walk and yeah, and being about it, you know.

Kind of the reason that we even started the Brothers Hunt and this whole thing in the first place. We were I guess at ten eleven years ago now at this point, maybe even longer, that we were at a point where we were so tired of the way hunting was being conveyed on social media. Man, it just was such a like conquering thing, like look, how bad a trendy fake as opposed to like an ethical, honestly vulnerable to live in a country where we could even partake in this thing. You know, and it was one of the reasons that we started in the in the first place. And it's taken us all over the world and and and and uh and in the same the same mindset you're in, man like portraying a sensible, you know, level of hunting that that's not just how big this thing is.

You know that there's actually one of my favorite things about you too, is like like in Nashville, Nashville and and the cities all over the America and all over the country do this and in the world. But like we live in a very trendy society where where there's something that's cool, something gets portrayed on social media that somebody famous is doing, so everybody wants to do it. Hunting has, I feel like, has been a type of fisient, has been a type of that. Being an outdoorsman in this genre is becoming a thing and it is becoming cool again, you know what I'm saying. And there's a lot of guys that are coming to it, not being from it, but wanting to be from it now and be.

Portrayed like that. Bro, you have your.

Whole career have been that way, man, and listening to the what a top twenty five song. Now, Kelly, like, listening to what you see is what you get is Dude, you're speaking it like that, like and that's people can sing that song and not live that way. Dude, listening to that song. Man, I'm like this Cat, I me Dan, others that I know that are really truly you know, have been outdoorsmen and try to be conservationists.

Bro.

Like, that's what we're about. What you see is what you get, man, and you do that in a song.

Man, thank you very much for saying that. I appreciate it. I'm living the lifestyle. I mean, you know, if I weren't here this morning, I'd be getting out of deer stand about now. Yeah, So, like I said, my little boy was in one this morning. But man, I'm you know, you can ask Kelly. Like, I'm food plotting just about every day that we're home.

And my food plot is rocking with all this rain.

Mine too. I'm working. I'm working the land. I'm not a farmer by any means, but I'm farming for wildlife and so, uh, you know, it's pretty awesome. But so I guess I'm pretty much a farmer.

But anyway, I.

Just I appreciate you saying that what you see is what you get is it is a very accurate title for me. I mean, it's a very accurate description of who I am and you know as you see, and especially even during this podcast, I mean, I just say it like it. I just say it like I think it and I don't really care. I really don't. I mean I spent a lot of years starting man, like you know, like how do you say this or how do you navigate that? Want just say what you think and with life.

Funny, I have a great story about you that you don't know perfect. But it's my first It was my first introduction to you. I was I started writing in town probably about eight ish, and it was right when Whiskey Jam was getting popping. Do you remember this, like when Whiskey Jam kind of first took off.

Nope, you don't keep going.

So it was it was that era, right and you were playing Whiskey Jam, and it was like it must have been Okay, you going, what did Joe diffy night? Remember when Joe diff you played down there in the parking lot. It was out in the parking lot.

Okay, oh yeah, that's not I broke my tooth, is it?

Yeah? So he you had just had your first that was Whiskey Jim first, or an outdoor show at Losers.

It was the it was the big ninety eight show.

Okay, okay, well it was so you were on stage and you had just written you had to have your first rider hit with truck.

Yeah, okay, yeah, and this was twenty that was twenty twelve.

I was it, Okay, okay, okay. So you said, you said, hey, y'all, Chris Jansen, Uh, it's great to be here. A great day. Both season open today. And I was like, there's another guy in the state that knows both season open. He was so pumped.

I'm really only pumped up about that.

And I was like, man, I gotta know that guy, because I think we were probably the only two in the crowd that knew, you know, because that in Tennessee at the time, nobody really bow hunted man, nobody. And so when you're like that, I was like, Oh, this is.

A real it's a great day, this is a real this is a real.

Dude right here, we're on the same plane.

So yeah, you definitely uh have have lived it.

Even on stage, man, you start hollering about Yeah, both season opening when the Gun season opener, it was the bust season.

Yeah, well that's the that's the most important one in my opinion. It's like, but okay, so that night I do remember that. So we had me and Kelly were leaving on the road that night, and that is the night as I was singing truck Yeah, which was my first big hit single cut. And this is like, keep in mind, people out there, this is this. You know, this is several years pre buy me a boat.

So oh geez, I mean it was it was two or.

Three four years before buying me a boat. So I mean like we were, you know, I was. I had a super low level artist career going on and had a hit as a songwriter, so that was cool. But uh, we had a good, nice touring operation. Anyway, we're leaving on the road that night. Well during truck Yeah, those strobes were hitting so hard that I was going, I was going truck truck Yeah, and I put that microphone and it busted my front tooth out brust busted it in half. And so that night, before we left on the road, we took that bus all the way to to Franklin. That's where I met my now dentist at porcelaind Uh. Yeah. Literally, he built me a new tooth and I went on the road. So my my front two teeth are broken ones broken off because of a water hose when I was a kid. You know, oh you know that. So my buddy Philip, when I was a kid, broke my tooth out with a water hose and chipped it right in half.

Come on, yeah, what's swing on that hole?

Yeah?

Come on, man, you know the middle part on the end, you can you imagine? And then the microphone. I'm a I'm the world's guy who's done that the most. I think probably I've smacked myself on the face of the microphone a bunch. But but I just get into I was doing. I remember, I remember exactly what I was wearing. I remember the bustle of a photograph. Memory like that.

I was doing dips one time in high school for basketball practice, and like the dip bar. So have you ever done the dip bar? It's like this is that a workout th big contraption. Yeah, It's like two coming up and then two bars going out on either side like this, So you jump up and you grab the bars and then you like do like that, and so you're doing dips like this.

It's like a whatever.

I haven't done it in a million years since that day, probably, but I was like, we called this thing dips till you die. And I was doing that and I was up on that thing like this, and about that time my arms gave out, died, and my tooth went straight down on that middle bar and went and it was a buzz. I mean, I was forced one. And when I was a senior in high school, and went and bounced off, and this the whole side of this ship, like this tooth right here happened.

They came off had to porcelain and porcelain.

The last time in Red honestly worked out together was when we were back living in Savannah. This is a great story, uh, And we decided we were going to go to the gym after church. And so it was Wednesday night we went and we were doing those things where I was standing on his feet and he would throw the medicine. He would throw the medicine ball to the god and he would do a crunch. He could come back up and throw it to you.

You know this thing right lost My favorite jacket, this night, did you. Yeah, I have no clue where it's up.

Sorry about that. It wouldn't fit down totally. Absolutely. So I'm standing and he's throwing the ball to me, and I'm throwing the ball at it. Well, I'm a squirrel kind of guy, you know what I mean, Like, I can't it's hard for me to stay focused. So as I'm pitching in the balls, you know, so hey, well, I'm I'm he's counting. I'm not counting. Well. He goes down twelve pound medicine and it's done, and I just like watching Sports Center and I just chunked the ball all back to assuming he's gonna catch it. Bro, he catches him in the forehead knock out and just hammers his head.

Onoout six inches from the hardwood floor back.

To the heart of forties, Like, oh oh god. I'm like, oh shit, dude, you dude, I'm so sorry. Man, you okay. He's like, yeah, Man, I think I'm fine. I'm just a little give me, give me just a second. I'm like, bro, that's twelve pounds to the dome, man, Like, I think maybe we should get you checked out.

You know.

He's like, no, I'm fine, man, I'm fine, and then he starts like weirdly kind of like crying, laughing.

I was not crying.

I mean it was like like like spacing.

Out, like the brain might have been loose for something was loose, dude.

So I'm like, oh, we gotta get out of here. We gotta get out of it. I gotta get you to the hospital. Well, our brother in law is a licensed doctor. He's a doctor, which works out great in our favor in a lot of situations now. So I call him on phone. I'm like, hey, man, I think I just killed read like he's kind of crying, laughing, weird in the passenger seat. I'm taking him the hospital as fast as I can. He's like, well, what happened? Man? I was like, well, I kind of chunked the twelve pound medicine ball on his face. He's like what. I was like, No, it's not. We were working out, you know. He's like, okay, well, here's the first thing you do, Like, do you have any water. I'm like yeah, he's drink some water. He's like, okay, don't let him go to sleep. And I was like, oh, okay, cool. And I look over and reads against the windshield. A window going.

Oh, perfect, he's as sleep.

Wait anyway, he ended up having somewhat insane concussion from where I just like, yeah, killed him. Sorry about that.

Yeah, so the brain really was detacting.

So don't work out. You know it's bad for you.

Don't work out me either. Don't do dips to you.

Yeah, teeth break, concussions. Just don't.

It's like this whole culture nowadays, as you well know, it's been going around for years. But I think you just noticed things as life goes on or whatever. But like, of all the dudes, man, they like tight T shirts and we work out, and let's just the hell with all that. I'm not doing any of that. Yeah, dude, do that? He ever worked out?

No?

Turned out all right?

I don't really care. I'm cool being a forty five.

It's cool.

And I don't care if the arms are a little slinky on my I don't care.

Who cares trying to kill two?

I got my wife and I ain't worried about it, impress. I don't feel that.

Amen. Oh dude, we're an hour. We're an hour already.

Hey, this has been a good this is a good podcast.

If we've talked, we talked about this single.

How was it like working with the Rock?

It was really good. Thanks for asking. He's of course in the video for what you see is what you get?

Did you ever do? Do you smell what the Rock's cooking?

He did? He's a He's a wonderful person. I really have to say that I've met two wonderful people over the last year that I've become close friends with who are incredibly famous. Uh Rock being one of them, and Brett Michael's being the other.

Andtt Michaels is a nice guy.

He's the nicest person you've ever met it in history. Wow, literally would do anything, would do anything for anybody, and like the brother to me.

But wait, sorry, this is this is me. Did is Brett Michaels the one that died?

No? No, Brett Michael's poison Okay, he was not poisoned.

He is Okay, you know the one?

Yeah, yeah, Okay, So he didn't.

I don't know why.

And I think he died.

That's okay, I don't know.

Said he met him this year, dude, but I thought it might have been bad.

I hope he didn't not but no to it. But The Rock is an amazing guy and we're we got some things planned and we're we're going to try to I'm thinking knows speak first quarter of twenty five, but I think we're gonna do some musical things together. Maybe he's a big he's a big Haggard Hank Junior kind of fan. That's how we initially big time. He can sing you any song like decent. Yeah, he's great, and he moved. He lived here as a kid. He grew up in Nashville, went to mcgavick High School.

I did not know the rock what and and.

Get this, don't know anything.

Bert Michaels.

It's okay when we uh.

Bert, Yeah, you know the one Michaels.

Yeah, Bert Michaels.

He's found a brother Ernie right.

Yeah. So when he moved when he short story, but you know, I started at Tutsis when I first moved to Nashville, and the Rock tried to get a gig at Tutsis when he was a kid just like me. So we have a very similar story as far as that's concerned. And that's just living proof of the guy who's lived the American dream and as far as I can tell, Yeah, but he is the most humble dude. And after after we did the video, totally after we did the video together, which was which was incredible. I mean, his team set up a whole press day and we went to Los Angeles and did you know, the entertainment night, the whole the whole big spectrum press and media stuff and uh, just set there like we're sitting just me and the rock and did it, which is you know, school. That's pretty impressed. Not everybody can say they got to do that.

So that's awesome.

I'm thankful for that, and I appreciate you asking. He's a he's a great guy, great great guy.

That's a cool video. If you didn't watched that video, go watch it. Sitting in a redneck you know, like blond And.

He's a fisherman too, man. I've seen him. I've seen him hauling bas album and.

He's a southern I mean, he's a Southern boy. Played we played football at George Judge, Georg dude.

I don't know, played somewhere.

Dude loves to fish, I can tell you that.

Yeah, I've seen all a pretty decent bass.

Yeah, yeah, no, he loves the fish and it is a great guy. And so we filmed half of that at bass Pro Shops in Nashville. Then we filmed the other part at my house and the red Neck blinds and stuff like that, And then we filmed the parts with Dwayne in Texas. He was doing a wrestling match and I had a show and we met in the middle and filmed that. He actually rented that awesome forward for the video the and he rented it. And it was hard to It was hard to take out and trash and go mudding in a truck that nice. I mean, that was a collector piece, you know. But we had a good time.

And did you legit catch a fish out of the tank?

Oh?

Yeah, like like legit legit hooked one, and.

Well we took the hooks off just for the just for the privality of it, you know, and respect sure for Johnny's tank. But I did catch one. They will they'll they'll snag onto oh absolutely, So I got them right up to the water's edge. But I never lived one, you know. But I'm also respectful of the tank.

Like have you seen this trend going around with that pisses me off? What people are jumping They're filming their friends jumping in the tanks and.

They're they're like fault.

They're they're jumping in, flipping over the glass wall and then running out of the store.

I can tell you from that dude. You know, you know John is one of my best friends in life. And the effort that he puts into his stores and personally puts into his storage and the investment that he personally puts into those stores. Man, that's so disrespectful. Yeah, and it pisses as a bass pro, man, it pisses me off.

This song is nothing like the other one. I'm sure it was important that thing you're trying to say, but.

It's a part of the show.

For the one that got Actually, just like just like.

Chris, we do the one that got away. It could be a deer, it could be a fish. It could be not a girl. Because you're married and she didn't get away, that's the one for you.

Anything.

It could be a hamburger. We'd say this one all the time.

Uh.

Colby Kalay was paid with a twenty five thousand dollars gift card one time for a show to like this resort, and she let it expire, So that one's the one that got away.

That was a good one. Yeah, we should start increasing that number every time, because we tell this every week. Total, whoever's on.

Get it up to like two million dollars.

It was a fifty thousand. And just see how dramatic anyway could be.

So when we say the one that got away to you, what would that? What do you think.

Of twenty eleven? Uh, November November thirtieth, twenty.

Eleven, when it was the date?

Oh yeah, yeah, it's got.

To be a deer.

Yeah, definitely he would have definitely, definitely been at least two ten, two fifteen here in Tennessee.

We don't know anything about that, do we do?

I had him at seventeen yards and here in Tennessee.

Wait, give us this. Well, I got to know, how does that? How does that even happen?

Like?

How are you are you watching this deer? Year after year? Year after you? No?

No, I was. I was going into hunt a different deer rut deer. Yeah, it was a late rut deers November thirtieth, never forget it. Wow, tell you what truck I had? Tell you everything? Yeah, and uh so I was going to hunt on a piece of land that I had permission on back then, Buddy Mine's place, and I was going to hunt a different deer, And as I came around the bend, the neighbor's property right across the road's big, big sanctuary, no hunting allowed, like super super against hunting. Yeah, don't love that.

So love to be the property button up to that guy.

Yeah yeah yeah.

But it was like, you know, two lane road in between them, so same deer. Sure, So I was, I was going in and as I turned the corner about to go in the driveway standing right next to the road tending four doughs, was this the biggest deer I've ever seen ever in the wild?

And like like main for I mean like typical, non.

Completely typical, completely typical, completely typical. I got him on video on an old phone somewhere anyway, So whipped into his driveway and I go back and it starts pouring down rain, and I was standing there. I have all this documented, by the way, and so I'm standing by his fence and I'm like belly crawling up there, and I get to seventeen yards. You can't shoot across the road, right, So I'm like, all right, so if I can just call him across the road, I get him over into this thicket shoot him. Yeah, and never happened. Never happened.

You just sat there and watched him.

Well, cars kept stopping, the cars kept stopping. At some point he just he got a little spooky. Never saw you, never saw him one time ever and never and I don't know if him being shot ever.

Yeah, you would have heard about that.

You definitely heard about it. So somewhere there's a deadhead laying somewhere and sheds you know, probably gone by now. But but the biggest deer I've ever seen was the one that got away, and I was seventeen yards from If you could have shot across the road, this would have been a done deal. Yeah, but look as you stay on legal and it ain't worth it?

Man worth it? I agree?

Are no deers? No, no, nothing is worth getting in trouble over.

Yeah it's stupid good one.

Okay, Now we do favorite songs, so this is like greatest slash favorite.

Took explain this one too, because it's not like the greatest song ever written. It's more like your cornerstone song in your life, Like you know, what was the tune that kind of maybe inspired you to do this, or you know that resonates with you when you look back on your life.

Okay, uh yeah, play it?

Yeah yeah, hell yeah you want to play it? You want me to play?

Give him that thing?

Okay, I'm gonna do this, well yeah, I want to do this. I'm just gonna kind of aiming.

Oh yeah, thanks man, I used to have the into you perfect.

I'll just point my mic that way too, Yeah, just.

Pointing fighting mo. That's great. So let's say again. What's say again?

What's the favorite song?

Just like your cornerstone?

I got a BITCHU on my blood gas I dude bur my hands. Oh it's on a be bachelor.

Man.

I got girls, I can.

Cook girls, I can wait girl, I can do anything in the Queen I got I get ready make game.

Everything right.

It's on my rowdy Prienson coming over tonight.

You didn't want to pain, you didn't want to party. Hey, hey, this is all hand ready to get the things down.

We cooked a pig in the ground, got the beer wrong, ice o my rowdy.

Prison coming over the night, dude, Chris Jansen, out of God's Country.

Every wait, wait in tonight, I'll kick the footlight, said again, trying to hide the mood. I'm release, I not put on my own instamatic brig tonight, I'll kick the footlight side to be. That's another one.

Just go go.

Plat well, excuse.

Food.

I think out in my shoes new Lands, not take I on mine? You said here, I'll be glad. This shall issues me packed her on Friday nights. We love you, don't mine, uncle? I talk out of a line.

That's another one, like bro.

So good?

How about you?

You have a great story about that song about right with Dean?

Okay, so the first time I wrote with Dean, he uh he said, h I had this idea for a song. It's actually a pretty sweet story. So my grandmother when my granddad came back from war, she was at my aunt or her aunt's house, and so when she came when my Granddady Spug pulled up, she was trying to get out the door and that you know all those padlots. She lives in Mississippi, and they had all these padlocks stuff and she couldn't. She said, somebody opened this damn door. And it was the only customer they ever heard. My grandmother say, like period. So I'm telling deandling this song. I'm like, I have this idea for a song. Called damn door, And I said, but and I told him the story and I said, but the end of it, it's just like a four byte seven four by six inadamate object of piece of wood, you know. And he went, he was like, well, I did write the chair in the chair.

He walked into my place first time, the house I used to live in before the when we live in down. He walks in, strolls in, you know, sits down.

That's a cigarette smoking song.

Literally lights of lights of cigarette and goes, can I smoking here?

Are?

You're like, yeah, I guess I smoked cigars in doors all the time, no problem. But I was like, I'm like allergic to cigarettes. But I'm like, of course you can.

Yeah, I don't.

I don't. He's like to me, I mean he's the epitome of what cool songwriter looks like.

Cool. Yeah, Dad, murphy're kind of the gods you have.

Cool guy Oh Man, David David Lee Murphy so cool. Mine's out there with Donn on the farm man we the South. There we was, We was out there, man were we was out there at Jansen's house. Man that dude was cooking us some doves. We were writing some hit songs, and I was telling him all the kinds of things man by me and Chesney was out there on the road. We was out there and I said, I A'm gonna sit on your man. By the way, David sees that he knows I love him. Was that guy. You know we grew up. We grew up thirty minutes apart. So you know, I bought my first car hair in Illinois, sixty nine Coronet four Ford. He never forget it. Pulled into the old lady came out curlers in her hair and a nightgown and UH had it on swapshop, which was like the original, like the og Craigslist on the marketplace.

Swapshop, I don't know. Swapshop.

Swapshop is the thing in the like in the in the southern Midwest. It's like the trading post, the swap shop, which where you can it's like a you can call in to an AM radio line and you talk to a DJ and the the DJ says what they're selling, and it's like, oh, yeah, I got my first gun like that, I got my first four to ten like that, have across bicycle like that. So it's like calling swapshop. Swapshop yeah, I got a I got three bandy roosters down here and pot belly stove. I've got a ninety two Ford Ranger, a four to.

Ten Savage all love it for sale.

I got a two row bottom plow and you know, just whatever you can imagine, right, and a sixteen. I got a sixty nine Coronet with a bad panel, with thirteen thousand miles with a four forty.

Engine, and I'm looking for a deer.

Yeah, one hundred thousand percent. So first car came on swapshots. We drove over to Harold, Illinois.

We got it.

The old lady comes out and she's she comes out, and you know, she was kind of cranking. First thing she says, she goes, you do know this is the home of David Lee Murphy, don't you?

Oh wow?

I was like, yes, ma'am, I do. And you know, me and David Man we grew up, I mean, you know, years apart. Of course, I mean, he was a he's a was already a big star when I was when I was young, and but I was always such an icon to me. You know, he's an icon. He was always such an icon to me. And when and so when I get to write with him.

It's a privilege, sure, a privilege for.

Me, and he just cracks me up. He's just the He's maybe the most realist deal guy that we all know.

Can't help but be the first time I wrote him, he tried to sell me. This is funny. I don't even know if I can say this because I don't want to incriminate his cousin. But it may not have been his cousin. We'll just say it. Some guy, some guy not his cause, was pulled a camper into David Lee's barn and was hiding from the law in the barn.

Sure had left.

And called David Lee like, hey man, you can just have that camp trying to sell me.

The campers.

Talked about he loves crop. He loves crop, loves For the record, David Lee Murphy loves croppy. So I had like twelve bags of croppie in my freezer and I brought him a frozen uh bag croppie. And every time I see him to this day, this is ten years ago, he's like, heymen, memory, you brought me that bad crop. I'm like yeah, He's like he was good man. I'm like cool, mant. I'm like you still got that Campers now sold.

It got you sound just like.

No, dude, I'm just I'm just marking you at this.

He was out of the he was out of the house the other day and we we wrote. We've been writing a lot, and I've been writing a lot of new new stuff and and uh.

There you go, there's some music. We're kind of talking.

Hences you guy, Hences you guys got to come over and be ato.

We're down there.

And and Mitch has been over there every day we've been. We've been writing out.

At my cabin.

Mitch love Mitt me too. Yeah, so great.

My wife, you know, discovered Mitch really and uh, back when he was working, Kelly discovered him. He was working at Nissigan. He was writing songs for a little publisher in town, and and I just didn't have a whole lot going on, but he had some great songs. And I remember when she first said you got to write with this guy. I remember where we were right down here off Music Row.

We were down by the trap, this kind of still trap.

We were down by the old sub shop and right across from Southern Ground Studios and before Southern Ground was there.

Oh yeah, remember that shop okay.

Okay, remember the old sub shop. And so we were right there and getting back into two thousand and one white Lexus suv r X three fifty and she said, you got to listen to this song. She put the CD in of Mitch Oglesby and uh, it was a I'll never forget the opening line son coming up on wild Woodlake Old zeb Co and and uh she said he sounds like Witling Jennings and I said, yeah, he does.

And so.

You got to write with him? I said, well, what cuts has he had that back then? I did't have any cuts. I didn't have anything going on, and you always want to write with somebody who has something going on. So I was like, I'm not right with those guys. Yeah, and she's like, yeah you are. And so I did, and I'm glad I did because it started a lifelong relationship and friendship and uh, one of my one of my brothers in life. But uh, I'm so proud of him. You know, he's he had, uh he's had two number ones on on me and with me. All I need is you and done. And then he just had his third number one with Country on with Luke and then we wrote one for Cody Johnson called Bill de Fire that we're real proud of, yes, and uh thank you, and he's just doing really good. He wrote my song Redneck Life, which is a big song in my set. Never was a radio single, but all thanks to Kelly for signing him. Yeah, Kelly's the best man.

Kelly seems like she keeps you straight.

Dog, I told you, want to tell you the first time I met you. Yeah, I told you that first time I met you about I said, she runs the whole operation, and uh yeah, it's it's wonderful. We have a great marriage. Might as well talk about that in this God's Country quickly because.

Pulled up mic in just a little bit.

So God's Country, man, I think represents probably for me a lot more. You know. Just try to be as godly of a man as I can. I think we all probably do. We fall short of it daily. But my marriage is awesome. I married my best friend. We met in Melrose Pool Hall down below. Years ago. She was doing A and R on the road here listening. For those of you who don't know what A and R is artist relation, she was listening for songs by songwriters to give to artists because she worked at a record label. So anyway, I saw her for the first time there and then I fell in love with her for first sight, and then we got married three years later, and it's just a was just an amazing journey we've been on. She's my manager, and I don't know that she even loves being my manager anymore. But I can tell you that I'm pretty hard to manage in some points. But we don't know if she loves the managing pil Yeah, she loves the managing no, but but man, it's the only way. When buy Me a Boat hit, Okay, we'll fast forward to that. When buy Me a Boat hit, the only way I was comfortable being a songwriter. I had loved this life. I had lots of songs on the chart like things were going really good, and we had a little bus so our independent touring was going great. I was out of a record deal and didn't want one and wrote buy Me a Boat, and that happened independently. Most people don't know that buy Me a Boat for the first four weeks was just an independent Now I don't know that was all ours before we ended up eventually signing with Warner, which is just again, was a great deal. But I said, I'm only doing this if you manage me. Period, I'm not doing I am not doing it any other way because at that point we had been kicked around so much in Nashville, trust that that we had built it totally ourselves when everybody wants yeah, yeah, correct, So we still are just building it ourselves. And without her, I wouldn't be doing this today. I would not be sitting here with you. I would not be doing anything musically if if it weren't for her, if we're not a team, then if you don't get her, you don't get me. And if you don't get me, you certainly don't get her.

I mean I can speak for us too, and this thing like like kind.

Of Jordan, but we definitely wouldn't be here everyone.

And yeah, and this thing started the same way where she was like, hey, we we feel I feel like you should do this, but like I need to be a part of it because nobody knows y'all the way I do, and nobody can manage this thing the way I'm going to manage it.

And bro it is. I mean, it's the reason that we're sitting here too.

Actually, it's just incredible that you just work with your wife. I mean, that just shows what kind of a man you are.

And uh wait wait, don wanted to commiment him.

Appreciate that.

I know it shows what Chris are you.

I mean, yeah, you know you know my wife's great too.

Yeah. Man, you know, real men, real men stand by their women. They don't just stand by themselves and then the women stands in the shadow. So I'm a firm believer.

Ye man, I agree with that just the way it is.

I agree with that the way it is.

Well, we could go forever because you're awesome and this has been awesome.

I actually like it. I mean I could talk come back.

I have to come back.

I know we're gonna have to edit the ship out of this because of allat'll she'll take care of it. Okay, good, great you. It's my pleasure to meet you too. I really liked your brother. First time I met him. I said, man, we're going to get along good. And it's not like and you guys know what I mean. Let's just be real with people. Everybody you meet, Just so the fans out there watching, No man, everybody says in country music, oh, we're just a little buddy community. And that's for the most part true. But sometimes we're competing against each other. And then sometimes you meet people who are right in the middle, and you love competing with them and you love working with them. And when I met your brother and now I already knew you were cool, Cassey Betherert, and he told me. But man, it's like, it's such an honor to be with people who are like mindedness. I mean, to sit in front of a sign that says God says a lot so.

We ain't scared him.

I appreciate them there, and I appreciate I appreciate what you're saying. We should probably make this a regular deal.

It's a lot of let's do it.

We're gonna write some Dawn.

Songs, everybody, Chris Jansen handing in God's Country.

Good duck, good duck.

We'll check you'll, We'll check you'll next time.

H

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God's Country

“God’s Country” with brothers Dan and Reid Isbell is a rollicking weekly podcast that sits at the in 
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