Reliving Our Reality TV Days with Jay Demarcus 52:37

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- Today on Unlocked, we have, who you may recognize from Chrisley Knows Best, Jay DeMarcus. - One of the stars of Chrisley Knows Best.

favorite thing to do now it's my favorite thing because what's your line in case you don't know he's obviously from rascal flats which was huge yeah but nobody knows me from rascal flats why every time i get recognized out i like puff my chest up i'm like they're gonna want a picture because of all the great music that i've put out and they walk up and go we love you on chrisley knows best it's awesome

It doesn't matter that I sold 40 million records and had 17 number ones. They know me from the TV show. That's got to feel so good. It actually is kind of nice, actually, that you don't just get recognized for one thing. But that's the power of television, right? Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. I've always had a face for TV anyway. I mean, more so a voice, but we'll go with face. That's fine. No, I love you. Okay, so let's go ahead and squash one thing. Yeah.

People saying, so are you still friends with the Chrisleys? Yeah. Yeah. You've gotten that. Yeah. I find it so bizarre that people ask if you're still friends with someone. I mean, if you're really friends with somebody and you really love somebody, don't you love them unconditionally? That's the way I've always seen it. And, you know, I,

I feel the same way you do. It's like once I'm in the trenches with somebody, I'm not going to leave them. I'm going to stick by them and I'm going to support them. I'm going to love them and be there any way I can. So I've always found it a little silly that people go, Hey, are you still friends with them? Do you still speak with them? It's just so stupid. It really is because you have like consistently checked in. Yeah. I mean, I love you guys. You're a huge part of our lives and we consider you guys our extended family and I hope you feel the same way, but.

I mean, it's just, it's crazy to me. I love you guys and I want the best for you guys. And I'm always praying for you and pulling for you and everything. So you hadn't jumped ship. That's good. No, I'm sitting right beside you here. Well, two feet away from you. I'm done. Okay. So Rascal flats. Yeah. Good band.

Good man. No, we had an amazing 20 plus year run, you know? That's insane. And I think for us, the thing that happened is we burnt the candle at both ends for so long and we toured and we did another record and we would do press and we'd tour and we'd do another record and we would do press and it was a never ending cycle. But it worked. It did work, but it's hard to put the machine down or put the brakes on when everything is cruising along and going full speed ahead. And for us, it's

We should have taken a break at some point, just a year off, just to kind of collect ourselves, hit the reset button. And I feel like we got to the point of just being burnt out and not knowing how to stop and how to just go, okay, everybody, we need to take a break for ourselves, for our own mental health and for our own, um,

I don't know, relationships. I think that everybody needs a little time away. Everybody does need a little time away. And I think that maybe we stayed in a couple of years too long and we should have taken a break. Do you think if you would have taken a break, you would still be working on music today?

I would like to think so. I think that if we'd had a chance to do the farewell tour in 2020 and the pandemic hadn't happened, who knows where we'd be today. We might have a greater appreciation for it. But I think that we were so at the point of exhaustion and I think we had other things that we wanted to do individually that...

we may still be making music, but we may still be on the path to trying some other things. I think everybody comes to that point to where no matter how much you love somebody, no matter how much you've been through together, there are always things that you want to do yourself that may not be in line with the other partners or whatever. And I know Gary always wanted to do a solo record. I always kind of wanted to do my own thing and produce a little more and develop other acts.

I don't know really what Joe Don wanted to do, except for go play golf at all the country clubs he was a member of. But we all kind of had our own things that we wanted to try and do, and that was gonna happen sooner or later. - Yeah, okay, so was it, 'cause you guys were like the Backstreet Boys of country music. - We were? - Yeah, I think so. - We played our own instruments though. - Touche, touche. - We did. - Okay, so what-- - And I'm gonna have those moves.

You've seen me dance. It's terrible. It's terrible. I know. It's terrible. And looking back at y'all's wardrobe in the day, oh my gosh. I mean, it was hip when it was...

Oh, was it? I mean, I don't like to look back at those photos either. It was there were some rough times there. I have no idea what was going on with my hair. There was about five or six years. Thank God you have switched up your hair, even just since I've known you. Finally, you let it go and you no longer look like like Jimmy Neutron, you know? Wow. All right. I thought I was man. I didn't know I was going to come on here to get insulted. That's awesome.

Thanks. It's okay. You need to feel good about yourself. Come on Savannah's podcast. Isn't that what you've always said? You need to feel good about yourself. Go to like Chris Lee. Yeah, I know. I know where you can get torn down, but you build me right back up. See, I do. I'm like a sour patch kid, you know? I like it. Sour than sweet. No, I have questions about my hair back then too. I have no idea why Allison wanted to hang out with me when it looked that way. Yeah.

It was bad. It was bad. It was. It was bad. But everybody was sort of doing that back then, you know? Yeah, sure. Everyone was doing that. I'm going to keep telling myself that. Keep telling yourself that. So when you were on the road, I mean, you said 20 plus years. Well, I've been on the road since I was 15. So even before, long before... I forgot about that. Long before Rascal Flatts ever existed, I was on the road always in bands with older guys and I would spend my summers touring. In fact...

I got a scholarship to Lee University and the only way I could keep it was to tour my summers off of school with the recruiting ensemble, which was called New Harvest at that time. And we'd go around to youth camps and churches and conventions and recruit for the school. So I've literally been on the road most of my entire life. That's crazy. And so was that

Did you ever was it ever a challenge for you like this was it just something you were passionate about or did you encounter? Like the drugs the oh, I was there all of it. You know yeah, I am I

I was exposed to everything, but I spent a lot of my time in Christian music and most of the drugs were there. No, I'm kidding. I'm totally joking. I spent a lot of my time in Christian music. So, you know, it was, there were pretty clean lifestyles out there. And then once I get into the mainstream pop and country world, obviously it was everywhere and it was accessible, but thank God I was not one of those people that had a highly addictive personality and let their, you know,

you know, live circle the toilet after one night's bad decision. So it was, it was easy for me. I don't know. I had, I had pretty good self-control. Okay. That's a, cause he, I had Lance Bass on and he spoke about his experience and,

And it was just crazy to hear. Yeah, I think that you can go one way or the other. I was always scared to death that if I tried something. Well, you're a hypochondriac. I am. So I'm hypersensitive and really worry about the least little thing. That's very true. You know that about me. So it always scared me that if I were to try crack one night, that it would destroy my life. And I loved and respected music too much to let it ruin the thing that I love the most. Well, yeah, because we all.

share the same family doctor yes we do y'all joke because you and dad the first sight of anything oh my god am i dying do i have cancer is it this is it that like he told me to stop sending pictures of myself to him while he was at dinner one night with his family because i always do that what does this bump look like to you does this look bad he's like i'm at family i'm in my family dinner can you please stop sending me photos can

Stop. He's a saint. He really is. I know. It's the stuff he puts up with. I know. It's true. I have him on speed dial. He's in my favorites. Every time something goes wrong. Or if I cough twice in a row. Oh, God. Uh-oh. You're dying. I got cancer of the esophagus. It felt weird. It just felt weird. God. Yeah. Okay. So we know you're a hypochondriac. That's a very obvious thing. So you were always just too afraid of screwing up your career. Yeah. I mean, yeah.

I'm not going to sit here and try to convince you that I was perfect. We all know. But we had a lot of fun, you know, and it just was not something that I was ever interested in trying to screw my life up with. Yeah. I've seen too many people go down that dark rabbit hole of getting addicted to pills and drugs and everything. And it's not pretty when someone you care about spirals out of control. Yeah. Well, it's tough because and it's

I feel like we're very similar in that aspect. Like I've seen it firsthand, so it immediately turned me away from it. Yeah. Versus other people, you see it, you may fall right into it as well. Yeah, that's so true. And you were raised much like I was. My mom drug me to church all the time anyway, so I've got this curse of this guiltiness

guilty conscience so I always like there's a line out there somewhere and when I get close to it and I feel like I'm crossing it I always have this massive weight of guilt yeah but I also feel like not to you know over sensationalize it but I feel like that's the holy spirit a little bit too like kind of checking you and yeah kind of going you know better than this like what are you doing you know so I'm grateful for that barometer too kind of it's been constantly in my life yeah and

You know, my faith is really important to me and that I feel like it's kept me centered more often than not. For sure. And too. So how many tours did you guys have? Well, we did. We opened up for in the beginning. We opened up for Toby Keith. Kenny Chesney took us out. Very first tour. Yeah. Very first tour was with Jody Messina. OK. Then we headlined.

About our fourth year out and we kind of never looked back. So, you know, 13, 14 headline tours. That's crazy. And we had a great track record of openers too. Yeah. Everybody from, you know, Taylor Swift to Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton. So we had a really good run of. That's amazing. People that, and you know, went on to be superstars in their own right. That's amazing. So when did you get married? I got married in 1964. Wow.

Shut up. It feels like it's been that long. At first, my dumb ass is like... You're doing the math? He's 78 years old? Dear God. I got married in 2004. I met her on the set of the These Days video in 2002. All right, so we have to talk about this because I will never forget it. It was scandalous. Allison was sitting...

at my table and we were talking about someone else and the industry. And I was like, he should have known when he met her on the set of his music video, that shit was never going to work. And she looked at me and goes, bitch, keep talking. And I was like, Oh no. I love it. Yeah. I love it. I was, uh,

I sat beside her in the makeup chair first thing in the morning. And, I mean, you know, she was gorgeous. I was like, hey, what are you doing? Shut down immediately. She was not having any of it. And she was engaged, but I didn't know it because they made her take her ring off for the video shoot. So I had no idea the whole time that she was engaged. And I'm over there, my idiot self, trying to hit on her the whole time. Sit down beside her at lunch. Spilled my salad all over her. No.

No. Yeah, it was disastrous. But I kept running into her all over town. And the more I ran into her, I'd never seen her in my life. And then after the video, I ran into her at Green Hills Grill. And I ran into her at another bar that we all used to go to, The Trace. And so finally, after the third time, I was like, we got to at least go have lunch. Like, I keep seeing you everywhere. Yeah. And then once we had that lunch, it was...

I was hooked. - No way. So when did she call for engagement? - We went to that lunch. We hung out a little bit, but not much, 'cause she was like, "I'm engaged." And we kept, like, I would text her and we would stay in touch.

And then finally she called and she was like, you got to leave me alone. Like I'm getting ready to get married. And then she called me again about a week later and she was like, I hate this. Like you've really screwed my life up. I thought I had this plan and now I got to go tell my dad I can't get married. And I, you know, she said, I'm in New York trying to pick out bridesmaids dresses and my wedding dress. And I was like, it's okay. Just swap out grooms. And she was like, who do you think you are?

Well, I had nothing to lose. What in the world did I have to lose? She drove to Jackson, Tennessee. That's where she's from and told her dad she couldn't get married and came back. And she was like, I need some time to figure my life out. I think that lasted about two days. That lasted about two days. She called me and said, you know, I want to see you. Let's go to dinner. I had a lot of game back then, Savannah. Oh, dear God, I bet. A lot of game. This episode of Unlocked is sponsored by BetterHelp.

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That had to have been hard, though, because her dad was close with him, right? No? Sort of. Sort of? Didn't really...

No. He said he was proud of her for cutting ties with him. Okay. Yeah. Dude, that had to have been hard for her. Because... It's really tough on her. In the South, getting engaged, now I gotta get married, I gotta... But knowing...

You don't want to, but you don't want to hurt the person or you don't. It's, I've been there, I've done it. Oh, have you really? It is not fun. You've been there? I've been there. It is not fun. I know. And to have the whole world watch your engagement on national television. I knew when it was happening, I knew this cannot be happening. Like I was blinded.

So when we were all together and the cameras were rolling and that wonderful moment, you knew in the back of your mind that it wasn't the right thing. It should not be happening. Wow. I knew. Walking out there, I was like, this can't not be happening. So it's like I knew right then. Why didn't you walk over and say, Jay, get me out of here right now. Let's go to Corner Pub. Don't tell anybody where we're going. Grab the kids in Allison. We're out. You know what? I probably should have. Looking back, I should have. But when you're on...

And too, part of me was like, all right, we can make it work. We can get, you know, but I just knew he did it because his career was falling apart. So yeah, he wanted something that wasn't falling apart. I can understand that it, you know, and it goes back to what I was talking about with the flats. Once the train gets to rolling down the tracks, it's really, really hard to slow it down. So when it's heading in a certain direction and you feel it and you know it, it's hard to get those breaks and like slam on them. And when that, when it,

What was the feeling that you had? Was there like heartbreak associated with it or was there relief? - Honestly, in a lot of ways I feel like I'm still mourning the loss of the flats. Even though there wasn't an official like breakup, most of my adult life it's all that I've known. Getting on that bus and going out and singing to people and seeing what your music does and how it's touched people.

is a wonderful, wonderful thing. It's better than any drug you could ever be on. Yeah. And to have that stripped away from you, not on your own terms, was a very painful thing. And to not have known in March the 7th of 2020 when we were in New Jersey doing our last show that that was the last time the three of us would be on stage together.

Makes me really sad to think about. Well, because 20 years, you said. Yeah. Like you. I mean, including playing at the bars, probably 24 years, something like that together, you know? Wow.

And so to not have had time to give it its proper goodbye and to really savor those moments. You know what? Well, it's maybe good because I'm tired of seeing three farewell tours from the same person over and over again. I feel like there's never just one farewell tour. It's like we're going to say four farewells. Kiss has been on the road saying goodbye for 10 years now. I mean, they really have. Alabama's been saying goodbye for.

15 years at least. It's the funniest thing. I'm like, oh, another farewell tour. I know. So do you think there would ever be a chance of you guys coming back? I mean, we're all in such a different... Well, I would want to say never say never, right? Yeah. We're in such different places right now and don't really communicate on a consistent basis. Gary's out kind of doing his own thing and...

I think he's enjoying being the boss and calling all the shots and I don't begrudge him for that. It must be hard to, I know it is because I was in it too, but it's hard to be the lead singer and have to consider other people's opinions because you have partners. I can't imagine how liberating that must be for him to do things the way he wants to do it now.

But it's also liberating for me too, because there were times in our career that I looked at things and I would go, I absolutely know this is not the right thing to do, but because I'm outvoted, we're going to do it anyway. And we're going to crash and burn here because it's a dumb decision. Yeah.

And so all of us probably shared those frustrations at some point or another, even though we love each other and there was no hate or any misgivings, we're on totally different pages now. And of course, Joe Don went through his very public debacle a couple of years ago and he's

better than I've heard him in 10 years. I mean, he's 19 months sober and he's, he's enjoying having some peace and living, learning how to live again without his addiction. And so I'm really, really, really proud of him and where he's at right now. And I love that. There are just so many steps that would have to take place in order for us to get back to even talking about it. Yeah. I don't think it's ever too late. No, it's not too late. I just, yeah. Yeah.

I mean, I think that the further we get away from it, the harder it is to put it back together. For sure. So it would have to, you know, I mean, it's been, what, three years now? Is my math correct? Yeah. So it would have to be, you know. Almost, yeah.

That's wow. Oh, a little over three years. Yeah. It's a little over three years. And it's weird not going out and playing music like that. Like I said, that's all I've ever done. Because now you're on the other side of it. You've got your own label. Yeah. That Red Street Records, that presents its own challenges because, you know, a lot of times we

We live in this world of instant gratification. People feel entitled. They want instant success. And they don't realize that you can have all the talent in the world, but it still requires a whole lot of work. That's what people don't realize is they think just because they see your face plastered somewhere. Yeah. That it's like, oh, you get this easy life. You get everything handed to you. When in reality, it's like, no, I work day in and day out for this. You know, as well as anybody. I mean, this.

you don't wake up and all of a sudden everything's in your lap and you have all this success. People don't see the grind, you know, they don't see the years of playing down at the bars on Broadway till three in the morning and exhausted because you have to get up and go to some server job at 6:30 in the morning, you know. They see the fruits of all of that hard work when they see you on an award show or a TV show or whatever.

And it still requires sweat equity to this day. That's what it still requires in order to be successful. 100%. And even though people go on these talent shows like The Voice and X Factor and America's Got Talent and whatever. Yeah, let's just promote every...

known to man, Jay? They still gotta go out and, well, I know, but the problem that I have with all those shows is they still have to go out and be entertainers. Yeah, you do. And they're not equipped for it. Because you get this fast success it seems like and then you just expect

all these things to happen for you. - I know, and 90% of them don't make it because they're not equipped for it. - Well yeah, that's, I have seen, it's crazy, like as you've seen, the entitlement of a lot of artists that are just like, well why don't I have this, why don't I have that, why don't I, and it's like how many hours have you put in for this? - Yeah, and they get a record deal and they think that it's smooth sailing and then they're shocked

a year later when they get dropped because they haven't been willing to put the work in to help themselves and they expect everyone else around them

to make it happen for them. They get a team and a record label and they get a management company and they think all these people are gonna magically wave a wand and make it happen for them. - Yeah, doesn't happen that way. - The unique position I have being the head of Red Street is I can sit down, ask an artist to do something and they know I'm not asking them to do anything I haven't already done myself. - Mm-hmm. - You almost yawned right there. - I almost did. - I'm putting you to sleep. - Hey, I've been up since six o'clock. - Well, I'm your eighth interview in a row today. - Well, I saved the best for last.

No. So with that had to have been hard, though, transitioning from being the artist to shut up. It had to have been hard transitioning from being the artist to now being the one behind the artist. You know, it wasn't as hard as you might think. I think that it was easier than I expected it to be.

Because I didn't realize that the whole time that I was an artist and on the road, I was learning and getting an education that really money couldn't buy. You know, I was doing on the job training and I learned all the aspects of the business from...

putting a tour together and budgeting and, you know, doing a record and making sure you stayed within the budget for a production and putting a stage show together and what that looked like and how those costs were amortized over an entire tour and all that sort of stuff that never really thought about twice when I was in the middle of it. Yeah.

But now I can sit down with an artist and go, well, here's why you do this. And here's why we do that. And this leads to this. And you get from point A to point B that leads you to point, you know, D. And so it's been really fun to use a different skill set. You know, that's what I've really enjoyed about it. Well, because now, you know, both worlds, which is awesome. I do. So how was touring whenever the kids came along?

It was tougher. It was tougher. Yeah. Maddie and Dylan. I, I, it was tougher because I had to, um, I had to really miss a lot of things early on. And that just breaks your heart when you're getting sent videos and pictures of birthdays and first baseball games. And, you know, it's tough.

You know why you're out there doing it. So that keeps you going. But it still sucks to have to sit and know that you're missing. Especially you, because you are such a softie. Yeah, I'm pretty sentimental. Yeah, you're. I am. No, you're a softie. Yeah, well, somebody has to be in the family, Savannah. You know, Allison's heart is a rock. There's nothing that's going to penetrate that armor.

You know that's the truth. It is. She is very, like, you're just the soft one. Mother's Day. Yeah. Kids make her these sweet cards. I make her these cards. We put them out on the countertop in the kitchen, you know. She displays them for a day. They were in the trash the next day. I opened up and threw something away. I was like, oh, my God. I just poured my heart out in that card there, and there it is with egg yolk all over it in the trash. Yeah.

It's amazing. She's like, well, I mean, if you just keep everything, it just clutters everything up. I mean, you got to purge. You got to get rid of stuff. I'm like, a day later? A day later. Are you kidding me? We can't get a week out of a card? I think y'all are hilarious. It's unbelievable. It really is. Okay. And so then transitioning from. No, I haven't transitioned. I'm still a man. Shut up.

Okay. As of today, going from being on the road for 20 years and then you guys had a show. We did. Family rules. Yeah. That was how was that experience? Well, I mean, I loved it and I feel like I was well prepared for it. Having been on your own show so many times, you were kind enough to bring us on and.

Every time you needed a ratings boost, we would pop on there. Exactly. We just called Jay DeMarcus. Very grateful for that. Now, you know that you and I never got a scene together the whole time. We never got to go do anything fun together the whole time we did that show. Did we not? You and I were never in the same room in the same scene together, except for your engagement. And that was it.

I think we went to lunch one time. There was like a group of folks. Maybe. I don't know. I can't remember. See, you didn't get to... I'm bummed out about that. I know, because that was the life of the party. Yeah. So how was... Too much magic. Too much magic in the same... Too much magic. They couldn't have two big personalities. I loved being on the show. I loved filming the show. I loved doing something with my kids. It was great. Dylan was...

Money. Yeah. Money. He's kind of built for it. He really is. Because he'd be like, we have to work. I know. Like, we have to work. I know. It was amazing. I loved it, too. He would like, he was, I think, eight at the time, maybe seven. And he would see where the cameras were. And he would ask me, he'd go, Dad, is that camera going to catch me?

what I'm doing over here because I'm doing some funny stuff. And I'd be like, buddy, I mean, they're not really concerned about like capturing just you and what you're doing. We're trying to, you know, we're trying to. And he would always want to know, like if they were going to, if they were going to get something. You want to stop hitting the sofa? I'm sorry. I'm very animated with my hand. You are. We're going to hear every few seconds. I know. It was fun though. We had a blast doing that. That's amazing. He really is. And his voice. Yeah.

is insane. Like he is very, he's very musically inclined. It's been fun to watch him develop into really loving and appreciating music. So now does he want to do music? Yeah. He's, he's like, I'm starting to teach him piano. So he's starting to make up his own little songs and he's written his first lyric that we've, I've got a song like halfway completed that he's written.

90% of it. I've helped him with a couple things here and there. And how is it? It's fantastic. I mean, it sounds like a 10-year-old wrote it, the lyrics, but it's fantastic. It sounds like a 10-year-old wrote it. What's it about? It's called Welcome Home. He said, I want to write a song about how safe and secure I feel when I'm with my family and when I come home.

Yeah. He's a softie like me. That's amazing. And it was actually really good. He sang it for me and I recorded it on my voice memo. No. I want to hear it. I did a track in the studio, put his vocal on it.

I cannot wait. That's amazing. So what are his, he wants to do music. Wants to be a singer for sure. Okay. He loves football. He's playing football and basketball right now, but he, um, he's got a real natural ability for music. Like his, his instincts and his knack for it are very, very natural that he's got the things that

that you can't teach phrasing and control and pitch reference and all the things that you want someone to have he has it

That's amazing. Because how old is he now? He's 10 now. He'll be 11 in July. That is crazy. He does not look 10. I know. He's huge. He is. Where does he get that from? Well, my father-in-law, Robert, was big. Really? Six, four. Okay. He was huge. And Allison's tall. Yeah. She is. Yeah. I think she's maybe a little taller than me. She may be. Yeah. I don't know about with shoes on. With shoes on.

I mean, you wear like heels. I do. I do. Yeah. You're just short. Is that her lower back at all? Sometimes it does. Yeah. I'm not going to lie. Okay. So Maddie, what's, what would you say are the two biggest differences between the two of your kids?

Maddie is a little more of an introvert. Okay. Obviously. And, and you know, Dylan's more of an extrovert, but she is very, very, I took her to work with me yesterday. She shadowed me all day long. I was amazed at how mature and how well-spoken and funny she is. And, and,

It was the first time because of school and, you know, I've been working hard and I've been traveling a bunch too with a new group that I put together, Generation Radio. But it was the first time I've got to spend an entire day with her and just watch her carry herself in front of people and how wonderful she was interacting with all the people at the label that worked for me. And she's just...

she's turned into a little human being and it's really remarkable to watch and it's sad at the same time because you realize that the little girl is, you know, gone forever. She's turned into a person. - That's so sad. Did you ever want more kids after Dylan?

I, a couple of years ago, like after the pandemic, we started to come out of it. You know, I tried to talk Allison into having like one more, like a little baby, like having a third one, but she wouldn't have any of it. She wasn't having it. Nope. She was like, I told you I'd give you two and that's it. We're done. We're done. So we've had sex twice and that's it. Anyone that knows Jay knows he's probably not lying. Well, I mean, you know, we made the most of the two times we got two kids.

Oh my God. That's amazing. We will, we will say all their prayers for you. I appreciate that. We'll say all the prayers. Okay. So what's next? Well,

Well, I've been on the road with a new band that I put together, Generation Radio. It really started during the pandemic out of sheer boredom. Nobody could play. Nobody could go out and be in front of a crowd. So I called up one of my dear friends, Jason Sheff, who was the lead singer and the bass player for Chicago for 32 years. Remember, I met him at the Italian spot in Belle Meade. I guess it's not there anymore. Yeah.

Giovanni's West. I hate that they shut that down. I know. I love that place. So I called him up. I called my buddy, Dean Castronovo, who had been in Journey for 17 years and he played drums, but he sings like Steve Perry. I mean, he's incredible. I called him up.

I said, "What do you guys think about just making some music just to have some fun?" And I called another couple of friends of mine, Tom Yankton and Chris Rodriguez, who I'd known for years here in town. Awesome guitar players and singers in their own right. Session guys and really great singers and performers. We camped out in my home and recorded a bunch of songs and put out a record last year, August of last year.

And it turned into this really fun thing to where we would go out and do shows, corporate events, private shows and things like that, fairs and festivals and do all of our hits from all of our bands together. So we'll do like Rascal Flatts and then we'll do a Journey song, do a Chicago song. And now we have Steve Ferroni from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers because Dean went back to Journey.

So Steve is out playing drums with us now. Now we do Tom Petty songs. That's amazing. That is so fun. It is so much fun. So you love doing that. I love doing it. I love being on stage with, they always kid me because they say I'm trying to make them sound old, but I love being on stage with my heroes that I grew up listening to. All the old guys. They're kind of shaped my musical, you know. Taste and guidance and all the things. Yeah, definitely. Huge influences on me.

on me growing up. Yeah. And to be on stage playing their hits with them is really, really, I don't know, it's surreal.

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We all have moments where we feel like we're just not good at working out. I know I'm guilty of that, especially when it comes to cardio. Cardio is just not my thing. Bye.

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Upfront payment required. Return within 30 days of delivery for full refund, provided that interest amounts paid to Peloton financing partners may not be refunded. Only eligible in 48 contiguous states. Full terms at onepeloton.com slash home dash trial. I love that. Okay, I'll have to come. If you're lucky, I'll show up to a show. I've invited you several times. You're such a liar. Yes, you always say you have something else to do. Oh, do I?

Yeah, I got it. I'll show you. Okay. Yeah, you're going straight to hell. You're going to bust hell wide-ass open. You were like, I don't want to fool with downtown and the traffic down there, remember? That was one time. One time. Marathon Music Works. Yep. One time, Jay. I'm not going downtown to fight that traffic.

Shut it. I said it one time. The truth comes out here. Okay. Truth comes out. Confessional. What artist are you working with right now? Are you trying to find more artists? We're always looking, but always not looking. If something comes along that's undeniable, we've got to have it. We'll sign it for sure. On the countryside, we have Ryan Griffin was our first signing. He had a hit a couple years ago with Salt Lime and Tequila. He's got a great new song out right now called Heart to Break.

We've got this new act called Neon Union. They're incredible, incredibly gifted singers and songwriters. It's the very first male black and white duo. Really? Yeah. Is it country? Yeah, it's country. They got their first single out called About Damn Time. Okay. It's doing well on the charts right now. And we signed a new guy that will be coming out with some music here in a couple months. His name is Ryan Larkins.

And he's really great. He's got a throwback to an old traditional sound like a Randy Travis or a Don Williams or someone like that. That's amazing. And on the Christian side, we just had our first big hit with Consumed by Fire's First Things First. It's great. Wow. And we got Jason Crabb. I think you know Jason Crabb. Yes, yes.

uh he's on our label uh this gal from dallas it's amazing uh yvette luna okay and she was the most played artist on air one last year so oh my god we're really starting to for a company as young as we are we're starting to stack up some nice little wins i love it i love it and too i mean you look good thank you young thanks you look like you're putting your health first i am young that's why i look young for once in your life yeah

I appreciate that. Yeah, I got, I think like everybody, you know, you go, the pandemic really hit me hard. Like I kind of went through mild depression, started eating my feelings all the time. You know, just... Well, we had nothing else to do. I know, I was post-mating, like I had to go...

I think I had to go get some counseling for my addiction to Postmates and DoorDash. Oh, is that what the addiction was too? Oh my God. And alcohol. I was backing my truck up to the Bud's Liquor here in town, just letting them fill it up. Literally. And so a year later I woke up and I was like, that dude's fat. Like he's let himself go. He's let go. And I had no friends like you that would pull me off to the side and go, do some pushups from the table. Please. Please.

You really do look great. I appreciate it. Thank you. That means a lot. I've tried to do better. Yeah. I'm taking karate again now, too. Are you? Yeah. No way. When I went away to college, I didn't have time for it anymore. So the pandemic hit, had nothing to do. I was like, I've got to move and exercise some. So I started taking karate again. Okay. And then golf. Chase always says he kicks your ass in golf. You know better than that, right? Is it true?

I beat his ass every time we play. Okay. He's a liar. Is he? Yes. About golf. Okay. He's good, but he's not as good as he thinks he is. I think you should play with Grayson. I'd love to play with Grayson. Grayson's gotten good. Has he? Grayson's gotten good. I need to take them both out. You should. I know. Because Grayson, I think, whoops, Chase. Does he really? I think so.

I'm going to have to give him some crap about that. I think so. I think so. Yeah. I think he, in all honesty, I think Chase has beaten me once. Are you being for real? I'm being honest with you. For real. See...

He's all talk. You can't listen to what he says. You cannot. About golf? And he's a cheater, too. You get out and cheat. Oh, yeah. No. He likes to use the old foot wedge and kick it over to where he can get to it. The old foot wedge. Oh, yeah. That is amazing. Yep. I'm overdue, though. I need to take him out again. You do. You should. You should play with Greg. You should come play with us.

I can't. My brain moves too fast for golf. It does? Yes, it does. It's a little too, I feel like it would give me anxiety. I don't know how to play. I need to do some lessons. Because that is, you secure a lot of business deals on a golf course. You do, and you can play forever. You can play until you're an old man. Yeah. I mean, it's a great way to keep active. For sure. For sure. My father-in-law actually gave me this advice. He said, never, ever,

take your wife golfing with you. Because then you're stuck with her for the rest of your life. And that's the only window of time you have for four hours by yourself with your buddies. Stop. So don't ever get your wife involved in playing golf. Okay, men, you hear this. It's the best advice. And I was given it. It was given by my father-in-law, which was...

I don't think Allison would ever play golf. She played golf in high school. Did she? She did. She was on the golf team. No. She played with me on our honeymoon. We got like six holes in. She was like, it's hot. I don't like this. It's hot. And we went back to the hotel. She played with me one more time about a year. We'd been married about a year and it was over. Four holes in. She was like, this is too hot. I'm sweating. I'm miserable. I need to go back to the house. That is amazing. She does nothing.

We don't hike. We don't see movies. We don't do anything. She's a homebody. I do like hiking. You know what I've wanted to do? I've wanted to start biking. You know what? Biking is fun. We ride bikes at the beach a lot over in Hilton Head. It is fun. But like actual cycling. Do like 15 miles a day. I want to get to at least 15 miles a day. Those seats hurt your butt. But there's pants for that. Oof.

There's pants for that. The glutes all sore and walk funny the next day. I think I'm going to try it. So just don't hit me as you're riding down. You're going to wear the helmet and all the business? I've got to wear a helmet. Elbow pads, knee pads? You'll see me going down. Just don't hit me. I can't wait to see that.

Just don't hit me. I won't hit you. I don't like it when bikers get in the middle of like Hillsboro Road. Yeah. And have a whole line of traffic behind them. No, I don't like when you hold up traffic. It just drives me crazy. Yeah, I'm with you. All right. Well, thank you, Jay, for not turning your back on us. I appreciate it. You didn't talk about my book. Your book? Oh, we didn't talk about your book. I love your book. I thought it was the realest thing you've ever done. It was very therapeutic.

Okay. Are you trying to say everything else I've done is fake? Wow. That's amazing. Thank you, Savannah. Listen, it's the most real thing you've ever done in your life.

It was the first time people actually got to see you and not Rascal Flatts or a band. No, I appreciate that. The opportunity came up from someone that had known me since I literally moved to town. And I didn't take it at first. And they circled back around. And I thought, you know what? This would be fun to really give credit to the people in my life that came along that gave me opportunity. And my mom, I wanted to honor her. And I talk a lot about her in there. And it...

My life took a lot of broken road turns to get to where it is. And I wanted, it was very therapeutic to revisit those moments in my life to where I knew that it was almost supernatural and it could not be explained any other way than God having his hand in my life and

I'm telling you, it was, it's a book that you don't want to put down because you want to hear like what happened next. I appreciate that. Shotgun Angels. It's so good. And where can you find, you can find it on Amazon. Yeah. I think it's available now for like 98 cents. It was on the bestseller list for two days. Hey, two days more than I've had. Yeah. It was fun. I really loved the opportunity. I loved it.

doing it. And it, if for nothing else, it really helped me. Yeah. See, and if, like you said, if nothing else, as long as it helped you, then you got something good from it. It was great. I really loved being able to shine the light on the people behind the scenes in my life that were very important in supporting me and praying for me and

cheering me on from the sidelines. Well, because that's all it takes is having those few people to get you through. I agree. Because it really, the book was amazing. I loved it. Thank you. Well, I love you and thank you for having me on finally. Thank you.

Finally. Your fans have been screaming for it. They've been screaming for it. I saw your feed and they've been demanding that I be on this show. Okay, well. And I appreciate you finally giving in to your fans' wishes. Yes, thank you for the charity work that you have done today. You got it. I appreciate it. I love you. I love you too.

See?

See you next Tuesday.