He Became Jelly Roll's Drummer Because of a... Mullet? (Cody Ash)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Escaping the Drift with John Gafford

Episode: He Became Jelly Roll's Drummer Because of a... Mullet? (Cody Ash)
Date: January 28, 2026
Guest: Cody Ash (Drummer for Jelly Roll)

Episode Overview

This episode of "Escaping the Drift" features Cody Ash, the drummer for Jelly Roll. Host John Gafford explores Cody's journey from a small town in Kentucky—through his rebellious foray into metalcore, relentless hustling in both sports and music, and ultimately landing his high-profile drumming gig. The conversation uncovers the pivots, grit, and serendipitous moments that defined Cody's path, including the infamous "mullet" story, and provides candid advice for dreamers feeling directionless or on the brink of giving up. The tone is raw, relatable, and at times hilarious, filled with music lore and lessons on risk, humility, and the pursuit of adventure.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Small Town Roots and Upbringing

• Background in Kentucky: Cody details coming up in Mount Washington, a small manufacturing town (03:30).
• Family Dynamics: "My parents are still together... I come from like a factory family. No one in my family really played music." (05:30)
• Growing Up Multidimensional: Balanced being a "jock" (played football and baseball) and a band kid, feeling out of place in both groups (09:39).
• Sense of Community: Shares nostalgia for small-town traditions, parades, and riding in truck beds after games (13:46).

2. Early Musical Development and School Experience

• First Instruments & Education: Played percussion in concert band; attended summer music camps at EKU (08:00).
• High School Struggles: Felt like an outsider in all groups, but used these experiences to develop independence (11:23).
• Pivotal Decision: Realizes after touring that he actually cherishes his hometown (11:38).

3. Adventure, Opportunity, and the Value of Saying Yes

• Touring & First Big Band: Describes the grind of driving from Kentucky to New York to rehearse and tour with Siler, a signed metalcore band from Queens (22:11).
• Sacrifice & Hustle: Balanced multiple jobs while managing self-booked tours; lived out of vans and soft drum cases (28:23).
• Crucial Mindset:
  • "Anything that was bigger than what I was doing was an opportunity in my eyes." (31:45)
  • "For me, it was about the adventure and the story... who would drive to New York for one show just to drive back home the next [day]? That's crazy." (31:45)
• Host Reflection: John highlights Cody’s perspective, urging listeners to view opportunity not as zero-sum but as a source of stories and personal growth (32:45).

4. Stories That Shape and Bind Us

• Family Stories: Cody laments not having "big legend" family tales, then shares humorous and wild family anecdotes—including his dad’s bar fights and pool hustling (34:47).
• Host’s Childhood Story: John shares a hilarious account of nearly burning down his mother’s house—and the ensuing insurance fraud cover-up (41:00).

5. The Music Career Rollercoaster

• Metalcore Years: Details relentless touring despite lack of financial stability. “I was working four jobs just so I could go on tour and eat.” (47:52)
• Questioning the Path:
  • "Maybe I'm not meant to make money touring and playing drums… what else could you really do?" (48:21)
  • Shares a moment of doubt similar to musicians on the edge of success, paralleling stories with high-profile peers like John Driskell Hopkins (Zac Brown Band) (48:55).

6. Starstruck, Heroes, and Drummer Talk

• Drum Nerding: Swaps drum brand stories and favorite gear (Yamaha, DW, Vic Firth, Zildjian, Remo); reminisces about legendary first kits (29:25 – 31:09).
• Hero Encounters: Describes meeting Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe and being (rarely) starstruck (54:28).
• Influences: Lists drumming heroes: Aaron Spears, Tony Royster Jr., Chris Coleman, Stix Taylor, Rook, among others (52:27).

7. The Jelly Roll Break – How a Mullet Changed Everything

• Networking Pays Off: After regularly hanging around Jelly Roll’s Nashville studio, building relationships, and managing bands, Cody starts getting noticed (61:18).
• The Gig Call:
  • "I’ve heard two different stories of how I got called...That they called one dude and he didn’t want to tour, then eight to ten people brought my name up. Then, Jelly was like, ‘Alright, just call him!’… The other story is I only got the gig because I had a mullet. Which is just as cool." (64:21)
• Reflection: Cody acknowledges the role of both perseverance and random chance in big breaks.

8. Moments of Arrival and Future Aspirations

• Defining “Making It”:
  • "I’ve never had that 'I made it' thought...Everything’s a level. Now I want to buy a house, a car, build a studio—until I get all that, I haven’t ‘made it’." (65:33)
• Gratitude:
  • "Every day, I stop and appreciate where I am. I was in a van for 10 years; now I get to play stadiums…but there’s always another level." (66:40)
• Host’s Advice:
  • "Once you get those things…there's another level where you just want time. The ability to do what you want, when you want, and say no to whatever you don’t." (70:04)
• 10-Year Vision: Aspires to keep playing with Jelly Roll, start business ventures, manage more bands, do branding deals, and possibly start a podcast or TV project (73:28).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Opportunity & Story:
  • "Who would drive to New York for one show just to drive back home the next, like, after the show's done? That's crazy...for me, it was about the adventure and the story." – Cody Ash (31:45)
• On Growth Through Rejection & Dual Worlds:
  • "To make those matters worse, that’s when I started getting into metalcore… I remember, like, lifting with the baseball team, and them making fun of me for listening to screamo music and skinny jeans." – Cody (10:47)
  • "I didn't really fit in with the jocks...the band kids didn't mess with me because I was a jock." (10:53)
• On Making It:
  • "I've never had that 'I've made it' thought...Everything's a level." – Cody (65:33)
• On Time as Success:
  • "A lot of what you just said was about things...but then you'll get to another level where you just want time...to do whatever you want, whenever you want." – John Gafford (70:04)
• On Small Town Life:
  • "You want real Florida? That’s real Florida...That’s Baja Georgia, man. That ain’t Florida." – Cody & John (05:08)
• On Family Stories & Keeping Secrets:
  • "My favorite story about my dad…[he] was standing there munching on potato chips like an idiot, as Jack Nicklaus missed a putt, and Jack turned and looked at him like he wanted to murder him." – John (36:04)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:30 — Cody describes growing up in Mount Washington, Kentucky
• 09:39 — Navigating life as both a jock and band kid, feeling out of place
• 22:11 — Driving 14 hours to New York for band rehearsals/tours
• 31:45 — Deciding to say yes to wild musical opportunities; perspective on risk
• 34:47 — Sharing family stories and John’s infamous insurance fraud anecdote
• 47:52 — The grind of metalcore: four jobs just to eat while on tour
• 64:21 — How Cody got the Jelly Roll gig—and the mullet connection
• 65:33 — What "making it" means to Cody
• 70:04 — Host and guest discuss the nature of success, “time” over material things
• 73:28 — Cody’s 10-year vision and future creative/business ambitions

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode is candid, irreverent, and motivational—full of real talk about sacrifice, the role of community, the unpredictability of music careers, and the value of saying yes to life's “adventures.” Cody’s story is a masterclass in perseverance, humility, and the power of both grinding and serendipity.

Listeners are left with a powerful core lesson:

"If you're faced with an opportunity, don't pigeonhole the decision-making into a win or loss. Chase it for the sheer adventure of adventure’s sake." – John Gafford (closing remarks, 76:41)

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For more: Escaping the Drift Website

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

And now Escaping the Drift, the show designed you from where you are to where you want to be. I'm John Gafford and I have a knack for getting extraordinary achievers to drop their secrets to help you on a path to greatness. So stop drifting along, Escape the Drift. And it's time to start right now. Back again. Back again with another episode of like it says in the opening man, the podcast that gets you from where you are to where you want to be. And today, dude, I got a rare treat for you guys in studio. Straight from Nashville, straight from the road, straight from tour. I got a dude that you'll probably know who he is. This is a cat that has a pretty cool story, man. Came up in a very small town in Kentucky and you know, wanted a little bit of rebellion as we all do with those young ages, moved to the Big Apple, fell into kind of the metal core scene, if you will, of music. That's that, that's the harder stuff from the late 2000s, late 90s, they kind of hit and then got back to his roots a little bit and hooked up with a little guy you guys might know named Jelly Roll and has been on selling out stadiums from one side of this country to the other. And I can't wait to hear his story. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the program. This is Cody Ash. Cody.

[A]

Oh, man, that was an impeccable intro.

[B]

Dude. I'm.

[A]

That was incredible.

[B]

You gota. You gotta catch him, dude. You had. You.

[A]

You got it. I was. I'm hyped up about. You're hyping me up about me. I'm like, man, I don't get hype about myself, but that was. That was. I was like, holy, dude. How. How do you remember all that? Like, there's no paper here, just so. Yeah, that was off. That was off. The. That was crazy.

[B]

No, dude. So, dude, thank you for coming in, bro.

[A]

Thank you for having me, man. I appreciate you doing like, set this up like a day or two ago, but I was like, fuck yeah, man, let's go.

[B]

Yeah, dude. Yeah. So let's. Let's talk about. Let's go back because I think this story that we want to tell today, at least what I think we're going to tell is going to be a story of kind of coming up and then pivoting, which I think a lot of people start one way in their careers or their life or direction they think they want to head, and then don't really find true success until they kind of pivot back to their roots or whatever it is. I want to start with you, man. So you grew up in a small town in Kentucky, like I said.

[A]

Where did you grow? Mount Water, Washington, Kentucky. Out in Bullock County.

[B]

Okay, what is that close to?

[A]

It's about 30 minutes south. Louisville, an hour west of Lexington. Okay, yeah.

[B]

So that's kind of middle of nowhere. How many people in your hometown?

[A]

Well, now. Now there's like 18, 000 now it's like grow like blown up, but, like, which actually, even in the grand scheme of things, 18, 000 is still small compared to a lot of other small towns. But like, it's just not a small town anymore. But when I. When I was growing up there, it was. It was maybe around like 1800 to 5 to. To 2001 or 2000. 2001. Ish. It was probably like 1,800 to 5,000 people. It was real small.

[B]

I feel. You did.

[A]

My.

[B]

My hometown is a stop on the map.

[A]

Where were you at?

[B]

North Florida, dude. Lake. Lake City, Florida. So Florida greatest coming down 75 into Florida. My.

[A]

From Georgia?

[B]

Yeah, from Georgia. My city was like the place where like your dad was like, well, as soon as we get to Florida, we'll stop and get gas. Yeah, you got gas in my hometown.

[A]

How was that? How far was that from Shawnee?

[B]

Swann.

[A]

Swann.

[B]

Right in the middle of Swan river basin.

[A]

Okay. So we played.

[B]

We had a house on the Swann River.

[A]

Yeah, we played a. We played a festival on. At Swan Springs. Yeah, whatever. This Swannie, I think. I think it was just called Swanee River Country.

[B]

Swan Music Festival.

[A]

Yeah, something like that. And yeah, we got to play. I. I like Swanee a lot.

[B]

Oh, dude. Cool place to visit. I mean, I don't know if I'd want to try to shop for a suit there. Yeah, not exactly the kind of place.

[A]

No, I just. I think it's. It's just a. A small little redneck town. It's small. It's like real. You want real Florida? That's real Florida?

[B]

Yeah, that's. That, that's. Yeah, that's. That's just north. Yeah, it's Baja Georgia. It's Baja Georgia, man. That ain't Florida.

[A]

Well, no. Well, because it's like right there on that cuff. Right? Like it's the northern cuff of Florida where it's the.

[B]

Yeah, It's. It's literally 20 minutes from the Georgia. Literally 20 minutes down.

[A]

That's crazy.

[B]

When you, when you were growing up, dude, were you a Bell's kid? Like, how was home? Like, what, what was that like growing up?

[A]

Dude? Home for me was awesome. I. My parents are still together. Cool. They do mom there. So I come from like an industry family, so like my mom works at UPS and my dad works at Ford. So they. And my sister works at GE or did work at ge. She just got fired.

[B]

Suck at ge. Come on, man. Did she deserve it? Did she get.

[A]

No, she didn't deserve it. She was. No, she was in a probationary period and they didn't tell her. First off, they didn't call her with her union rep. They said that the union rep was sitting next to the person on the phone and union rep was not there. I don't think so. I. I think they was lying, but they said. So she was in her. She like just got hired. She was in like her 90 day probation. She got pulled over one day and it made her late and they said. But the person said that she could have up to an hour or something and then. And she got there well within the hour and then something else happened and she. I don't know if there was traffic or whatever, but she got there like five minutes after she was supposed to be there and.

[B]

And she got five.

[A]

Yeah. And I was like, damn, dude, that's ruthless. Dude, that was ruthless. And I was damn. Like, yo, she. I don't know, not my business. But yeah, so they come. I come from like factory family. Like no one in my family really played music. And yeah, my mom and dad were still together. Dad, they were very. It was very much so, like small town idea of like, you know, go to college, get a 9 to 5, so on and so forth.

[B]

So many of those small towns are.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, your high school girlfriend buy.

[B]

A house three blocks away from your parents. Like how many people did you go to high school with, literally married their high school girlfriend and live within a mile of their parents?

[A]

Well, I only, honestly, I only know one. I didn't, I didn't have a lot of friends growing up in school and stuff. But like there was one kid in band that, him and this other girl that was in band, they like fell in love when they were juniors and then got married out of high school, had kids live still live in the town and everything. And I was like, damn, that's good for them. You know what I'm saying?

[B]

So that's interesting because you started playing drums in band.

[A]

Yeah, well, no, concert band. And I played baseball and football, so I couldn't do marching band. Oh yeah. Because the football team wouldn't let. The football coaches wouldn't let me march at halftime.

[B]

So. In concert band.

[A]

Yeah. So I was like concert band, symphonic band or like orchestra. I did like.

[B]

Is that the first place you were ever exposed to it?

[A]

Not so at the elementary school level it was just concert band. And then middle school I did, I did just concert or symphonic band or whatever they called it. And then in high school that's when I started like going into like intercollegiate stuff. So I was like doing. I was doing like summer band camps and then I was doing like some more casual stuff, just like not anything crazy. But at the college, at eku, they, they did these camps and I forget what it's. What it's some like, some like two a week or two long summer camp and basically like the percussionist, you go in and you get to play like steel drums. And then they ended up finding out that I played drum kit. And you know, I was like decent in percussion and so I played drum kit with the orchestra. And then I went and played some other stuff with the orchestra. And then they put the symphonic band together and did stuff for there and then we did a steel band. And then because of that I actually. Doc, I think his name was Dr. Coots. He or Dr. Coons or Coots or Coons or something. Jason Coots or He. He's a. The percussion professor over at eku or. I don't know if he still is or not, but he saw me at this band camp thing and was like, dude, you need to come to eku. And I was so. I was, like, dead set on going to eku. Yeah.

[B]

I'm asking a question, dude, because growing up in a small Southern town, as I did. Right. Yeah, you were kind of. This is an interesting kind of dynamic for you that probably shaped how you were, because here you are. You're playing football, dude. Where I was like. There was a definitive line for the football players did not exactly run around the band kids. No, that did not happen right at all. That was.

[A]

Oh, they absolutely didn't.

[B]

That was not it. So here you are, you're kind of straddling both worlds a little bit.

[A]

And baseball and baseball, you're jock. Yeah.

[B]

But you're also playing music in the band with, you know, the people that might not be the most popular people. Call it as it is.

[A]

Yeah, no, that's. Well, that. Yeah, that's what it was. Definitely a crazy dynamic for me, personally, because you're right. Like, it wasn't like, where I was from, like, jockson band kids didn't, like, really hang out. And to. To make those matters worse, that's when I started getting into metal core. And because like I said, I was basically on just like, some kind of, like, rebellion thing and against the small town because I didn't fit in and didn't have any friends and, you know, whatever, and. And I know it's just a cliche story everyone tells, but if it was true, it was real. But it was. I literally, like, debate. I remember, like, lifting with the baseball team and them, like, making fun of me because I was, like, listening to Scream of Music and, like, you know, wearing skinny jeans and stuff. And then, like, no one on the. All the football team. The football team didn't, like. I didn't really get along with my coaches at the final years. I just wasn't coached, like, how I, I guess, needed.

[B]

Did you feel like you didn't really. Okay, so you definitely didn't fit in with the jocks at that point. When you're metal coring, were you also not fitting with the band kids at that point?

[A]

No, the kids didn't with me because they. I was a jock bigger than they were. No, no, no, no. They didn't with me because I was a jock. So they just had this premonition that because, like. Because, like you said, jocks and bandcase don't hang out. They just had this premonition that because I play football and baseball, that I was a. Like, just because I played sports.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know what I'm saying? But it was like, no, man, I love music. Like, I love this, and I love this. So it's like. It was a weird dynamic for me. I spent a lot of time, like, eating lunch in my band director's room and.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I'm saying?

[B]

Like, brother.

[A]

It was a. It was a weird dynamic growing up, but it was cool because, like, it really just taught me a lot about independence and, like, I just didn't need anybody around.

[B]

Were you just. I can't wait to get out of this town. I just cannot wait to.

[A]

At that time, I was. And it wasn't until I started touring that, like, I realized how much I actually loved, like, my hometown. And I still, like. Dude, I still. I go to, like. I try to make it a point to go to, like, at least two high school football games or some baseball games. I went and I got to see the. I finally was home to see the. The band Christmas concert last year, which was super sick. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I. I love. I, like, still love my high school. And, like, my. I. It wasn't. Like I said. It wasn't until I got on tour that I was like, oh, I really love Mount Washington. This. This world is a. A weird place. You know what I'm saying?

[B]

Like, I. I agree. I agree with that, bro, because you come to a place, especially like, a big city like Vegas, and one of the things about living here, and I think part of it's the heat, you know, Part of it's like. But people just, like, roll up, go into the garages, shut the garages, and stay in their house.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, the sense of community that you had in those small towns, I always look back at that, like, I think about a lot, especially this time of year. I think about, like, the Lake City, like, Christmas parade. Like, everybody in town was out. Like, the whole. Everybody. Not. There was nobody. Not at that thing. Out at that parade. And, like, the Olustee Battle Festival thing we had, everybody in town was at that thing.

[A]

Dude, ours were, like, when the. When the kids. Like when I was a kid and I played baseball for the youth league or, like, the rec league down there, they would do a parade of, like, all the baseball teams, and all the dads would, like, get their trucks and put. And, like, Decorate the trucks and put all the kids in the back and all down the line of Highway 44 for, like, a mile all the way up to the baseball fields. They would, like. They're sorry. I think they lined it up from, like, Winn Dixie down down to the baseball field. So it was still, like, a mile, but it was, like, that whole way, it was just cars along the whole road just, like, blocked off so that they could let these kids do, like, let us do the parade. And it's like little cool things like that.

[B]

And after. And after baseball games or whatever, all you and all your friends would get in the back of a truck and go to. Go to the. Dude, not a seatbelt inside, buddy.

[A]

That was one of my favorite memories, was, like, getting out of football practice and, like, getting out of baseball pract. And look at my dad be like, can I please ride in the bed? And he's like, yeah. And I'd just be, like, soaking wet from practice, just, like, sitting here. Yeah, dude, it was. I loved that. And, yeah, I loved the. We would do the McDonald's trip. Yeah. And we had a Sonic at. So we only had a McDonald's and a Sonic at that time. And so we would, like, go to Sonic and get milkshakes. We go to McDonald's and get, like, a burger or something. It was really cool.

[B]

Big deal.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So you. Did you go to eku? Is that what you want?

[A]

No, no, no. So I went to UofL. But the. What happened with that is because I. I went and did that summer camp when I was a junior. They were trying to get me to go to EKU to study music there and. And do percussion, you know, whatever, through them. At that time, I ended up quitting football or quitting baseball because I was still playing baseball. I just quit football. I was trying to get through baseball, but me and coach didn't see how to on some things. And. Yeah. So then I started marching, and then I was like, I don't know what I'm gonna do anymore, because I thought bas. I wanted. I was gonna. My only realistic goal was to go to a D2 college for baseball.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's, like, what I was like, okay, I can do this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Am I good enough for D1? I don't know. Like, could I be sure if I'd practice harder than. But I was, like, already practicing. It was, you know, just one of those things where it's like, I was practicing hard and just wasn't starting and just. It just nothing mattered. And. Yeah. You know, there Was like coaches favorites and politics and Daddy, Daddy's. Daddy's. Daddy's corny. You know, small, small town political dads building. Ugh. Dude, dads are more drama than moms. I swear.

[B]

For real sport. Yeah.

[A]

Especially when it comes to sports.

[B]

Well out here. Well, I'll tell you, Vegas, dude, because of like Maddox and because of like Bryce Harper and all of these guys come out of Vegas, right? They're all like like. I mean there's like, there's like five of them that are just great players that have come out of ve know youth baseball here is insanity. Like when my kid started playing, he was little, he's like seven. They're like, oh, who's this hitting coach? I'm like what? He's seven, dude. Yeah, I'm just trying to like have fun bro.

[A]

Whatever the umpire. And, and granted now nowadays it's even worse because of social media and everything that these kids are getting to like be opened up to of like how these they. Because they don't have the concept of like oh, these are grown adult people in a professional sport that have been doing it for this long so they can dress this way and they, they've earned the right to do that. So. But so as a kid you don't understand that whole process. So you're just seeing these like 8 year old kids come out here all decked out in chains and freaking oakleys and like nice ass stuff. But it's like they look cool, but it's. Yeah, well that you. What I was saying was I was, I was umpiring and it's even worse now but like back the, even back then, dude, I was, I was, I was literally umpiring coach pitch to 5 year olds and parents were screaming at me over calls screaming at me five year olds. And I literally looked at, I said this is not major league baseball. Yeah. Your, your life, there is no money on this line. Your life is not changing. And if you have money on five year old, you're an idiot. Jesus Christ. Sorry man. But I was, I was like dude. And I was a teenager so keep. I was in middle, middle and high school and you got grown, grown ass parents yelling at me over a call at home plate because a kid slid. Oh dude, so funny.

[B]

I was it last last week I went and met some friends at a bar to watch the SEC championship. And one of the guys there is. How can I say this? One of the guys there works for some, some of the most influential people in Vegas. Yeah, I'll just say that. And we were talking about clubs, club, youth sports, and this. This group of very wealthy businessmen in Vegas owns one of the biggest youth sports programs in the country. And he says it is so incredibly profitable because these parents will just pay anything to get their kids in this thing. And he goes that. He goes that. That now that business is becoming the next. It's better to own a youth sports club team than it is to own a minor league sports team. It's more profitable. How crazy is that?

[A]

That's.

[B]

How nuts is that?

[A]

That's insane. I was like, they're really. Which I don't. I think the idea behind it is. Is genius to, like, build these kids as a unit from a young age and to just. Basically, you're just creating, like a. A legend. Yeah. And, you know, especially if they're playing.

[B]

You're not.

[A]

Or you're not. Or you're not. But I. I don't know. I think the kids, like, hanging out from a young age and growing up together and playing ball together and learning how to. Learning each other and being friends and being in that group, you know, I think that brings a tightness and an awareness within those friends that isn't something that you normally get to see. So I think that, like, by the time that they get to high school, it's like, they're already prepared to. To be great. They already know how to communicate, they know how to talk, they know what player is going to do what, how this guy's going to pitch, if how this guy's going to bat. And it's like, they already know these things. But I think it takes a little bit. Like, I didn't have any of that when I was growing up, so it was like, for me, it was just.

[B]

You played Dixie League? Was it Dixie Youth Baseball?

[A]

Ours was my official Little League.

[B]

We played Dixie Youth.

[A]

Ours was Little League. Okay. It was the Mount Washington Youth Baseball League was what it's called. Mwyb. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

It shows how far south I was. Mine was Dixie. Dixie. There it was. All right, so.

[A]

Oh, yeah, sorry. I want to tell you something.

[B]

You.

[A]

You brought up Bryce Harper earlier.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

First off, we studied Bryce Harper when I played baseball in high school. As. And we studied him as a high schooler, which was. Or like, when he was in college. It was crazy. But I. This is just funny. I was getting my hair done at the salon. Excited. I go to the salon in. In Nashville. It's called Vagabond. I go there to get my color done, and I'm, like, sitting there just with with these foils in my hair. And. Sorry. And. And I've. A dude walks in. I was like, that guy looks familiar. And then he's. He's upstairs for like, an hour, and then he comes back down and leaves. And I was like, what the. I was like, why does that guy look so familiar? I was like, I know who that is. And the. The girl comes down, and she was like, do you guys know a baseball player named Bryce Harper? And I said, hold on, hold on. And I stopped everything. I was like. I turned every music off. Hold on. Yes. Why are you asking that? She's like, I just think I just gave him, like, a facial massage because she. And I was like, you. That Bryce Harper? Like, did you look him up? And I was like, this Bryce Harper?

[B]

Yeah. I was like, the MVP price?

[A]

Yeah. And she was like, yeah. And I was like, I knew. I knew who that was, dude. And, yeah, I think he moved to Nashville, but he was just getting a little face and massage.

[B]

When you see people out of the context of where you. You know, you would see them, right? I. Dude, I've done that so many times where I've seen people completely out of context, and it's somebody that I should know that I've met in some cases, and I'll just walk up, be like, man, it's driving me crazy. Like, who are you? I. Dude, I did that to Tim's Story one time, and I don't even know. Tim's story is. Tim's a legend. He was like Michael Jordan's coach. I mean, this dude is legendary. And he's a. He's a massive speaker, and he's just everywhere. And I ran into him, and I was like, or no, Tim Grover. Not Tim. Not Tim Story. Tim Grover. I did this to. And I was like. Because he was out of context. I just saw him randomly standing from the casino, and I was like, man, I know you. I know I've met you before. Who are you? I was like, oh, I'm Tim Grover. And I'm like, oh. Oh, yeah, I should know that one. Dude. I hate when that happens. That's the worst. So back. Back to the story.

[A]

When did you move to New York?

[B]

Dude, when did you.

[A]

I never moved to New York.

[B]

Oh, you didn't? Because I saw one of the bands was from Queens.

[A]

You never moved to New York? I was in that band that was from Queens for, like, five years. I never moved to New York. I would drive there for rehearsals and practice from.

[B]

From Kentucky. You would drive to New York?

[A]

Yes. In Pennsylvania.

[B]

And how long. How far is that drive?

[A]

New York was 14. Pennsylvania. I could get there in like 10 or 12.

[B]

And how often were you doing this?

[A]

If we had a tour that flew out to Europe or if. If there was a tour that flew out, we always followed jfk. So I'd drive up to Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, which is like right on the. The edge of Jersey in New York, and then I'd meet the bass player and guitar player, one of the bass player and one of the guitar players, and then we'd get in the van and drive to New York and pick up the vocalist and other guitar player and then fly out from there.

[B]

Was that the first band that you were in that was kind of getting it?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. They were the first band that I, that I joined that was like, signed. I filled in for some other bands, but, like, it was, you know, it's just like filling in. They. They had a driver. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Okay, so this is. This is weird, dude. Here you are diving into the. You're like, I want. This is what I want to do. I decided now I'm gonna play music. This is my. This is my future.

[A]

This is the only thing.

[B]

And I'm gonna live right here. I'm gonna live right here in Kentucky and make that dream happen with a 14 hour commute, bro.

[A]

I had no idea how important the importance of, like, where you were mattered. Like, it. I think someone told me one day they were. They were like, you are what you surround yourself with. And I was like, oh, there is nothing going on with music here. There is no way in hell that I. I'm not Internet savvy enough to where I know how to like, you know, do, you know, do whatever. Like, because content and social media wasn't crazy back then for music. And, you know, you had MySpace and Facebook and it was like, hope, hopefully your. Your posts get seen. And then Instagram came out and then they. All the algorithms for all those stuff. And so it was like, it was just. It just made it really hard for like, local baby bands to get out there. But we were touring. Like, I was booking our tours, we were doing all kinds of stuff. And so wait. Oh, yeah. But I realized with the medical core band. Yeah, my local medical. Okay, cool. And then the other one, the one from New York, they. They were signed when I joined them.

[B]

How did you get that gig?

[A]

So in 20, like. So when I was filling in for other bands and one of the years was 2013, there was a band from Kentucky. Well, from Lexington, Kentucky, that signed to this record label called Metal Blade, which in the medical world Metal Blade was. Had some cool bands on it, but they weren't big. But they signed, and so it was like, holy crap. They were called beyond the Shore. We were like, oh, like, someone from Kentucky signed a deal. Like, this is crazy. And so what we all thought was a big deal actually wasn't, like, that big of a deal. And. But their drummer couldn't do the tour, so I. They asked me to do it, and I was like, absolutely. So that was the first. Dude, I was so stoked.

[B]

I'm saying, why couldn't you do the tour? Couldn't leave the state.

[A]

Oh, no, no, no, no. Just. No, they were just like. They were like, can, you know, can you play our songs? Or, like, do you want to tour with us? Or, like, do you have time? Because, you know, whatever. I was like, dude, I'll. I'll literally quit every job and leave every human behind to go do this.

[B]

Was that your first chance to go on tour?

[A]

No, my. My local band that I was in, we. Like, I said I was booking our tour, so we were doing, like, weekend runs in. In 2011, and then 2012, we started doing, like, actual runs, and that went over into 2013 and all the way till 2016 when I left and joined the band from New York.

[B]

We'll talk about that, dude. So talk.

[A]

Yeah, I met. I met them because I was filling in for a band in, and the first leg of the run of that tour with that band from. With beyond the Shore was with Syler from New York. And this was, like, early. Their early days, too, so. So we did, like, a week run with them. I ended up hanging out with them longer than or more than what I was hanging out with the band that I was filling in for. And. And I just really love those dudes. And I started listening to their music and became, like, a huge fan. So then it was like. Because my. My local band wasn't doing anything. So when I got home from the tour, like, I was just another fan, you know what I'm saying? So, like, I'd show up to shows as a fan, still trying to get my name out there. Even though, like, I was starting to hang out with these people and knew these people, it was like I just wasn't in it. And I was trying to be. And so I just kept in contact with him over the years. And I was feeling. In 2016, I was filling in for this band called Picturesque, and we were coming home. We were doing a Deadhead from LA to Kentucky on the tour just ended and it ended in la. So we were driving from LA to Kentucky and I got a call from the Siler guys and I was like, that's weird. Like their vocalist never calls me and, and I was like, maybe it was a Bud dollar mistake or something. And then he called again and I was like, oh. So I called him back and I was like, yo, what's good? And he's like, hey, what are you doing next week? And I was like, nothing. I'm, I'm like getting home from tour now. He was like, he's like, can you. He's like, can you come fill in for this tour? Like whatever. I was like, yeah. And so I got home, learned the songs, drove to New York, did a rehearsal, we left for tour. It was like like a three week tour. Got home and I thought it was just going to be a fill in thing and then they end up hitting me up again and they're like, hey, our drummer's not ready. Can you come play this one off show in New York? And I was like, one show? And they're like yeah. And I was like, yeah. And so I drive from Kentucky to New York immediately, load drums in, do a rehearsal, tear drums down, drive to the venue, load drums in, sound check, play the show, tear down, watch a couple songs from the other band that we were, that we did it with, and then drove home and drove back to Kentucky all. All in one night.

[B]

For those of you listening to this that don't understand what he just said, you guys must us a long time. You know, I've been playing drums since I was a kid. And I'll put it this way, when I was playing with some dudes here several years ago, our little, our little garage band we had and then they started wanting to play out in bars. This is what I told them. I don't care what you guys get for money. I don't need one nickel of it. But you need to make enough that somebody comes to my house and carries my drums to this place, sets them up and brings them back. Other than that, I'm out. And then they found somebody else. So that's fine. But yeah, that's how much I did not want to carry drums.

[A]

It sucks. It's not fun. And then it's like. And then if you have like a big, like if you have. So I, I couldn't get a road case because I had nothing to haul the road case in. So all I, all I got was like the small little soft handle cases. And dude, it. It. That beat my drums to. Dude that. Oh, they got so ruined in that trailer from those soft cases. But it was. I mean, it was like my second drum kit that I ever had, so it was like, it was fine, but I end up getting another one.

[B]

But it's not the Sears Blue denim special.

[A]

Yeah, I was. I think at that time I was playing a Yamaha. Yamaha. And my. It was a Yamaha that my parents had said. They said, yo, if you can finish in the top 10 of your class in middle school, we'll get you a new drum kit. And I finished at number seven. Six or seven. I'm pretty sure it was number seven. And. And I was like, yeah, I'm still proud of that to this day, dude. I'm, like, still stoked about that.

[B]

I'm. I'm guessing you probably had stage customs if they were Yamaha.

[A]

Yeah, it was. It was tour customs.

[B]

Okay, cool. And then trying to think of the Yamahas that I had back, and I don't remember the name of them. They were not state. They were on stage customs. I didn't do as good. I got this. I got the secondary. Like, all right, it's. We'll get you something. But it's what it was.

[A]

Well, it was before. Well, before that they had me. Did. Have you ever heard of CB?

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

CB drums.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

The little $200K.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

That was my first kit, and I've been playing that for, like, three years.

[B]

My first. My first. Okay, so I laugh because the SEAR or the JCPenney Blue Denim Kit was the first kit I ever got from, like, whatever. They're all connected. When I was, like, 6 and then after that. But the first real set of drums I ever got were called Thor. I don't know if you've even heard of this.

[A]

That sounds sick.

[B]

Yeah. I'm gonna look it up, see if I can even still find this thing. But they were the first drums I ever had. Thor drums. Yep.

[A]

There it is. What color?

[B]

They were blue.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

First ones. And then. And then after that, I went to the Yamahas and I had a set of pearls that were yellow.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

And I am very.

[A]

I like a good yellow kit. I almost had a yellow kit. I almost had a yellow Mapex kit when I was with them.

[B]

Or drum set. Not. But now. Dude, honest. Like, because you're on DW now, which is.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I mean, if you're gonna.

[A]

Blessing is a blessing.

[B]

Is there any other drum kids to play on the DW if you're a Professional drummer. That's just what it is. When I saw your setup, I'm like, yeah, dude, Vic First, Zilgen, and dw. This is.

[A]

Yeah, dude, there's nothing better.

[B]

You. That's. That's the best.

[A]

I call. I call him the Four Horsemen. And I was like, I. I couldn't settle until I. I had all four of those. Remo, Vic, First, DW and Ziljan. Those. Those are my favorite companies of all time. So I'm like, really, really stoked. Like, I got to. That they noticed Nerd out on drum sets after this.

[B]

Like, what are these guys even talking about right now? Anyway? So you get the.

[A]

So you drive 14 hours for one gig, one show. I'm guessing that goes pretty well. This is a very real story. It was the hardest.

[B]

Hang on a second, though. Let's talk about that. Because there's. There's a lot lesson in that, dude. Because a lot of people, you know, when opportunity knocks like that, they don't see it as an opportunity. They see it as, this isn't a great opportunity. But you saw it as the door creaking open. So what about that? Were you willing to say, hey, man, this is a lot of. This is a lot for one. One crack.

[A]

Like, it was. Well, for me, it was about the adventure and the story. You know what I'm saying? Because now it's like, so the adventure in the story. And then also what you said about opportunity. So for me, like, I wasn't doing anything. Like, I wasn't doing what I wanted to do. So anything that was bigger than what I was doing was an opportunity in my eyes. And on top of that, it was like, dude, who would drive to New York for one show just to drive back home the next, like, after the show's done? That's crazy. And so to be able. I. I just think. I. I don't know. That's. I think that's.

[B]

That the thing. That's what launched you.

[A]

It was one of them. It's. It. It's the adventure and the opportunity to be real with you.

[B]

So I. I love that, man, because.

[A]

It'S like the adventure comes from taking different routes there and just seeing different things and driving overnight and just jamming in my car.

[B]

But.

[A]

But opportunity comes from. It was. I was just feeling in. They were like the biggest thing I'd ever played was at the time.

[B]

You're skipping over this, but it's telling you, bro, this is genius. Because so many people look at opportunity, right? It's like, it's a Zero sum game. It's a win or it's a loss. I'm going to succeed or I'm gonna fail. And that's the two results that I have from, from chasing this opportunity. And you look at it as is. I don't really if it works out cool. If it doesn't, cool. But I'm gonna have a great story.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I think if everybody attacked or looked at opportunities that, that are fed them that way, probably chase a lot more. That's. That's. That's good stuff, man. That's great, dude. That's great.

[A]

I'm. I think I have a obsession with, with the concept of the story, you know what I'm saying? Because, like, I didn't have anyone to. I love my mom and dad more than anything in the entire world. I'm not close with my. My mom's dad. My mom's mom has passed away. I'm very close with my dad's mom. My grandma and my dad's mom's husband passed away when I was born, so I didn't get. I didn't get a chance to have a relationship with him. So I never had like, the store. Like, I'd hear like these wise stories and these wise tales and like these other things from like, seeing other. That these like, Jelly, you know, he's like, dude, my, you know, my dad told me this and my grandpa, Grandpa told me this and it's like sayings and stories and all these different things. And I, I just never really had that because my, My parents are, you know, are the. Do the nine to five thing. And, you know, they'll. They'll. My dad is in one of the most badass dudes I know. Like one of the most terrifying badass dudes that I know. And you know, but when I, when they had me, he, like, he got out of everything. So he wasn't, like, he never drank. Like, I never saw him drink ever, my whole childhood. Because he, he said he only drank a few times when he was younger and he would have an anger issue and he didn't like it. Gotten a lot of fights because of it. People were fighting him because they were drunk because he'd worked his security at bars and.

[B]

Walk away from it.

[A]

Yeah. So it was like, you know, granted, they, they chose a different route in life, but. But in that. And it's not a bad route by any means, but I just never had like, cool stories to like, listen besides like, the dude. Like the coolest story that I got to hear was a dude Breaking a beer bottle over my dad's head, and my dad threw him through a glass window. You know what I'm saying? Like, the hardest. Like that. Like, that shit's tight. And then, like, my grandma has, like, legend stories about my grandpa. Like, my grandpa called. Used to hustle poker or hustle pool at a strip club in Louisville.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And there's a. There's a story, apparently, that there was this. They've told. They've told me this since I was young. There was a story that they. There was. Do you know much about pool? I mean, okay, so one of. One of. At that time.

[B]

I know enough not to play money with it. I know nothing about pool. Never to gamble with a dude who has a nickname. That's a city. I know that. Never play pool against a chick that has a tattoo of a dagger on her leg. I know that. And other than that, if you make the eight ball in the break, you win. That's pretty much. That's pretty much where it begins.

[A]

I don't know a lot of stuff about pool either, but I was just asking because there was In. There was a. At the time, the best pool player. His name was Minnesota Fats.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, sure. And. And the legend was that my dad beat him, and then he. My. Or my. My grandpa beat him. But then my grandpa got jumped in. My grandma. My. My grandma had to take my dad to the strip club, and they had to walk in and get him and take him out or say something. Something funny like that. But it's like, I just. I didn't have, like, a lot of those stories growing up, and I just. I think it's cool to be able to, like.

[B]

Part of that's because your parents are still together. See, when your parents. When your parents get divorced, you get great stories. Like, my favorite story about my dad, who passed away several years ago. My favorite story about my dad was he went to a golf tournament at the TPC in Jacksonville. And I don't remember what year this was, but it was really windy, and him and my mom had gone. It was in the 70s, and Jack Nicklaus had a putt on the 18th green from, like, 8ft to tie it up and make it go to a playoff. And Jack got over the putt, and he missed the putt to the left, and he immediately turned around and shot this death stare into the crowd. Now, my father's side of the story is it was very windy, and he had a bag of potato chips, and he was trying to shield them from the wind under his jacket, and they were still making some noise. And then Jack. Nicholas shot him a look, as is to say kind of thank you for trying at least to shield that. My mom's side of the story was your dad was standing there munching on those potato chips like an idiot. As soon as Jack Nicklaus missed that butt, he turned around and looked at your father like he wanted to murder him. So, yeah, that was effectively. Yeah, you get little stories like that, but I get that. That. But it's also, I think, part of it, man. Like me. Same thing. Like, grow up in a small town. I think you either settle into this is all there is, or you go the other way, which is. I'm looking for adventure, in which I.

[A]

In which I. That I think settling in is. Is such a beautiful thing, too. And I don't think there's any problem, Like, I. I don't think there's any problem with that. Yeah, I just was the. I was just a black sheep and just. I couldn't settle with. It didn't make sense to me to only be in one place. So it was like I. I was constantly. Even in high school, dude. Like, I was. Even though I was in, like, that rebellion, like, oh, screw my small town, you know, whatever, like. But I was, like, going to the city all the time. And then I started going to, like, Chicago randomly for, like, three years. Like, for three years, like, every three to five months, I was going to Chicago, and it was like a regular thing. Had like, a whole. Basically, like, a whole other life up there and, like, which was, like, crazy in itself, like. And. Yeah, I. I think I was definitely just, like, big on adventure and. And trying to see as much as you can in that. In that story and have. Having those stories that be cool.

[B]

Do you have kids yet or.

[A]

No? No.

[B]

All right. So when you do have kids, you'll be able to tell them all stuff, which is cool.

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's. That's, like, what I'm most excited about. I was like, yo, if I. No matter what ends up happening in life, if I'm able to have, like, a kid or a grandkid or whatever, and I can just sit in that rocking chair and.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Hope to God they asked me about, you know, something crazy that I did, and I'll tell them about how I got kicked out and banned from hotels in Vegas, and. Dude.

[B]

Oh, well, it's funny because I just. I just put a book out of the same name as this, and there's a lot of stuff I did. We just put it out. Just came out two weeks ago. Yeah, it just came out two weeks ago. We leave. You can have one, two weeks here. We did it. But there's a lot of stuff for my childhood that's in there. Things that I did, they're a little crazy.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

And my kids are like like, you burned down Nana's house almost. And I'm like, not really. Sort of maybe burn the house down a little bit, but not really. But they found a lot of stuff about dad that maybe they didn't know from reading the book, which was cool.

[A]

Dude, I. I love like little like childhood, like family trinket stories like that, that like not a lot of people. Like, like, dude, one time I broke my sister's arm because we were playing basketball on accident. Like, we were playing basketball. We just got home from like eating lunch and I. She went up to shoot and I like went to block it, but she walked under me and I came down and she fell and. Oh God, she broke her arm and puked everywhere. It was so funny. But like, well, the story about birth, little thing.

[B]

Let's listen to this. So when I was 12 years old, this is in the book. But when I was 12 years old, me and my buddy, you know, child of the 80s, my mom's work dad's, you know, at work, whatever. So me and my friend are playing match flip in the house where you take the kitchen matches and you thump them off the. Off the thing and they light in the air. Here. We're doing this in the damn house. There's a knock at the door.

[A]

Wait, hold on. Yeah, hold on.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Explain that again.

[B]

Kitchen matches, the big wooden ones, Right?

[A]

Okay.

[B]

All right. So you're holding the box and you take your finger and you hold a match on the top. Oh. And then you flip it.

[A]

That is so it strikes and it.

[B]

Lights in the air.

[A]

How did I never do that as a kid? Yeah, now I'm gonna do it as a 32 year old kid.

[B]

There you go. Yeah, it lights in there. So we're doing this in the house, right? We're just. Is really responsible. And there was a knock at our front door and we had these big wooden doors that didn't. They were like a bitch to open, right? So we go to open it. I'm trying to get the door open, trying to get the door open. And my buddy Corey, who was aware of me, tips me up, taps me on the shoulder, I turn around and my living room's on fire. Like drapes are on fire, Couches on Fire carpet. Holy shit. So the people at the front door were these two kind of juvenile delinquent dudes that my sister Mandy went to high school with. And they were there to get a hose for a car wash. So they run around the back and they put the fire out, and I'm like, my mom's going to kill us. She's going to kill us. She's going to kill us. So these dudes are like, we're going to get you out of it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm like, how are you going to get us out of it? They go, you two idiots disappear and come back in like two hours.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So we go just beating into the woods and we're gone. And two hours later, we come back and I come walking out of the woods and there's my mom standing there. There's police cars everywhere, and there's my mom. And I come walking up and I'm like, what's going on? And the, you know, this is, again, small town, North Florida, not exactly, you know, your best law enforcement situation. These guys like, well, yep, that's what they do. You know, These two boys came around to get a hose and caught these two gentlemen breaking into your house. And, like, our 1975 TV is outside or shitty stereo stand there. And he goes, yep, they're trying to break into your house. And they caught him and they dropped the stuff and they were going to set it on fire to cover their tracks. That's what they do. And I'm like, like 12 years old, and this is happening. This is happening right now around me. And I'm like, you. Like, my mom's like, oh, my gosh, can you believe this? And I'm like, that's crazy.

[A]

No.

[B]

Wow. Dude, insurance covers everything. And I totally get away with it until, like, I got away with that until my sister Mandy's wedding, like, 15 years later, where we're laughing about all the, you know.

[A]

You held it for 15 years, dude.

[B]

I didn't out myself. Are you nuts? So we're sitting there at my sister's wedding, and we're kind of telling on each other for all of this stuff that we did as kids, whatever. Like, oh, you snuck out. You did this. Blah, blah, blah. And my sister Mandy's like, oh, well, he said, ever made mom commit insurance fraud? I'm like, literally says that to my mom. And I'm like, My mom's like, what? What? What did I do? What happened? I'm like, no, man is like, no, this is what he did. And she's like, Are you serious right now? I'm like, mom. It was like, this is now, at this point, like, 20 years ago. I'm like, you can't be mad for something happened 20 years ago.

[A]

Dude, that is phenomenal.

[B]

Yeah, you can't.

[A]

First off, your mom. Mom legend. That's so funny.

[B]

A plus, mom.

[A]

There you go. Mandy, the sister.

[B]

Yeah. Narc me out. Okay. To be fair. To be fair, I probably started narcing her out on stuff before she did it to me.

[A]

Dude, one time I. I did acid with. We. With the. The New York band. We were. We were about to do. It was 2017, and we were about to have, like, the coolest year that we'd ever had as individuals. And, like, we were doing. And it was like, all of our first time going to Europe, we were going to Japan for the first time, like, doing some, like, really cool stuff. And we were doing Warp tour and, like, writing, and it was, like. It was, like, a really cool year. And so we were like, damn. We're all together. Like, not on tour with a day off. Like, we're at. We're at someone's house. Like, we should do acid and so to, like, do this as friends. And we did. So I took just, like, a little half tab. Everybody else took a tab. And. And, dude, my parents got home from work early. If we're just laying in the driveway staring at the sky, all seven of us just laying across the driveway. And my parents. I don't think my parents had any idea what's going on. I think they were. I think my dad was like, oh, damn. Smoking too much that damn weed today. And my mom was probably like, what are you guys doing? And I'm like, you guys want a snack? I'm like, you can look at parts. I'm, like, looking at the guys, and they're. They're tripping. And I'm like. I'm like, I'm not tripping. I'm. I'm. Everything's just elevated. And so it's like. I'm like, all right, I got this. I'm gonna go talk to you. And they're like, no, don't do it. I was like, no, I got to. If I don't, they're gonna think it's weird. I always talk to him. And so I, like, walk up. I'm like, what do you. What are you guys doing home so early? They're just like, nothing. Why are you guys laying on the driveway? I was like, we're just hanging out as a band. Yeah, we're Just thinking. We're just talking, you know, and they never, they never. I don't think I ever told them that we were on acid that day.

[B]

Well, you know, the rapid listeners of the podcast, so they're probably gonna hear this now.

[A]

You know, they, dude, honestly, they watch every single thing that I do. So I, I, yeah, they'll see this for sure. My grandma will absolutely see this.

[B]

Well, gonna make an interesting Christmas meal.

[A]

No, so this would be good. Hey, they keep, they keep a lot from me.

[B]

You're going to have, like a Kentucky intervention for you, dude.

[A]

I, like, I, I'm gone so much that, like, my sister is my best friend. So, like, I'm gone so much that my, my mom is very, very, like, overprotective of me. And my dad, like, gives her about it a lot. You know, they kind of have that, that, oh, mama's boy. And like, oh, that's your sweet baby. You, like, just kind of like back and forth repertoire. Like, he'll mess with her all the time and crap. I forgot where I was going with this.

[B]

You know, it happens.

[A]

Oh, my God. I literally forgot why I was telling this story.

[B]

It happens. And just if you're listening at home, just so you need to know this, he's gonna remember 30 minutes after we stop this, and it's the best story you've ever heard. It really, it really brings it all home. But he's gonna remember 30 minutes after this is done. But let's.

[A]

I don't even know why that came.

[B]

Eats your brain. Your brain.

[A]

Oh, they watch it. Sorry. They watch. They're going to end up watching the podcast. And I, and I, I like leaving little, like, footprints in. Yeah, because, like, I don't get to see them so much. And my mom's like. Because they look at me like a mama's boy. Or they, they look at me. I'm not, I don't think I'm a mama's boy. But my mom is definitely very overprotective of me. And I love my mom for sure, but, like, I don't go to her for approval on, like, you know what I'm saying? But yeah, so they don't tell me things because I'm on the road so much. Like, things that happen at home or things that are going on or whatever. They're like, oh, no, we don't want to, like, stress him out and he's gone and this and that. And so every now and then my sister will just hit me with some random wild. And then I never, like, get to Talk to them about anything. Because I'm gone so much. So I love doing, like, when I'm on podcasts, I know they go through this and listen. I know that their friends listen to that they all work with. And then they'll go and tell them at work and be like, yo, I didn't know Cody do this. And my parents would be like, I. I didn't know he did that either.

[B]

No, your mom. Your mom and dad are. Be like, I knew it. That day in the driveway, I knew it. I told you there was something wrong with him in the driveway that day.

[A]

No, it was so funny.

[B]

Well, let's go back to the medical deal. So you're. You're. You're deal. You get this break you're on. So this is your first, like, big break with a band that's really running.

[A]

It was the biggest band that I had been in at the time. They. They had signed, but there wasn't like any. I was working four jobs just so I could go on tour and eat. You know what I'm saying? There wasn't any money coming in, and if there was, I didn't see it, and I have no idea where it went. Yeah, man. It. It. You know, so for like four or five years, it was just like, really? It. I was just coming to that point where I was like 27, 28 years old, and I was like, do you.

[B]

Ever hit a place where you're like, I don't know if this is gonna be.

[A]

That is exactly. I was like, I don't think. I was like, maybe I'm not meant to do music. Like, maybe I'm not meant to make money touring and playing drums and. And then I was just. And then I sat there and I was like, well, okay, well, let's think about this. Like, what else could you really do? And I was like, garbage. I could get a CDL and go drive buses. I was like, but I don't. I was like, but I can't. I was like, you know, nothing was made sense that I was like, this sounds right. This. It's like playing drums and touring is the only thing that, like, when I say that about what I do, that's like the only thing that, like, makes sense to me.

[B]

Dude, I'll tell you a story. I was a similar story of redemption that I love, which was. I was. I was hanging out with one of my buddies, he here in Vegas, and he was out here with a band that he was van pulling a trailer, touring. They had just played the canyon 10 years on that dude, they had just played the Canyon Club at 4 Queens in front of 50 people. He had just gotten. His wife had just filed for divorce from him. And we were right. He was super down. He's like, man, I don't know, maybe I should do something else. I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know what we're doing. And that was. Gosh, now that's probably 18, 19 years ago. And tonight we're going to see him at the Sphere. So. Yeah, yeah. John Hopkins of the Zach Brown Band.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

I'm going to see them tonight.

[A]

And someone said something about John Hopkins last night, and I said, yeah, I smoked weed with Johnny Hopkins.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And no one got the reference. And it made me sad. Yeah, it was a stepbrothers reference.

[B]

I get it. I do.

[A]

So I didn't know he had someone. I, I haven't actually got to. I' played with Zach Brown yet.

[B]

Have you been in the Sphere yet?

[A]

No, I'm. I, I, I can't. I, I can't. It's. There's, there's like, I, I had this one rule that was only a rule on one thing, and it was, I won't go into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame unless I get in it. I won't go in there until I get in it. And so I think for me, the Sphere is kind of the same place where it's like, I won't step foot in the Sphere unless I'm playing the stage. You know what I'm saying? Like, it. The only per. The only way I could get into. The only way.

[B]

I don't, Dude, I don't hate. I don't hate it, bro. I don't hate it.

[A]

Unless Motley Crue played. That's the only way I'm going in there before. Yeah, that's. That's the only way I'm going in there. Or if it's like a, Like a best friend.

[B]

You know what's funny? So I saw. That makes a lot of sense now because I saw something about you yesterday where I saw. I loved your drumeo, by the way.

[A]

Yeah, thank you, man.

[B]

I watched your job.

[A]

So fun.

[B]

I will say this. I'm gonna call on something on your drumeo.

[A]

Call it.

[B]

You're telling me that a dude that played metalcore had never heard. Heard that Slayer song?

[A]

Dude, Song was released in, like, 88 or 89.

[B]

I know. Yes, of course.

[A]

I did not listen to Slayer. I didn't listen to Slayer. I didn't Listen to Anthrax. I didn't listen to Motorhead. I didn't listen to none of those. None of those bands. Not to say that all of those musicians in those bands are great. Like, they're. Let me. The greatest bass player in the world. I just. The. I didn't listen to the big four. Any one of the big four that I listen to. So I know Motorhead's not in the big four, but any. I only listen to Metallica and even of Metallica, I only listen to like 10 songs maybe. And that's only if they came on or someone else put them on. But I never listened to Slayer beyond Raining blood on Guitar Hero 3.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And then I never listened to Anthrax because I didn't Just never cared for their music. And then I. I always thought the vocalist of Mega Death, I always thought Dave Mustaine was just always crying about something. I was just like, dude. So it's like that turned me off from everybody even trying.

[B]

Never heard it.

[A]

Lightning. Yeah. I was like, God, dude, never.

[B]

You'd never heard that song.

[A]

The only Slayer song until that day that I had ever heard was Raining Blood. And that is a very factual statement.

[B]

All right, so if you haven't seen his drum, you'll go check it out. And what part of it is a Tommy Lee challenge which now adds up? You said Motley Crue, Because Tommy's probably outrush more drummers then.

[A]

Yeah, it's for. Yeah, for entertainment.

[B]

For entertainment purposes. Okay, who's. Okay, let's talk about that. Who's your main rush for more drummers?

[A]

So Aaron Spears is number one. He's passed away now. It's. It's him. And then as. As drummers. Aaron Spears, Tony Royer, Chris Coleman, Tony.

[B]

Roycer Jr. Yeah, yeah, that kid. I remember.

[A]

And.

[B]

And he's savage.

[A]

And he's cool savage. And he's like. That dude has. Has.

[B]

He's been since he's 12 years old.

[A]

Yeah, he. Well, he's. He's like. Like he has every right to, like, have a chip on his shoulder. And, like, me and him have hung out multiple times now. And I think he. I think he lives out here, actually. I think he lives in Vegas.

[B]

Does he really?

[A]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure. No clue.

[B]

I just remember. I just remember, literally, because I was playing probably a lot when I was. Maybe in my early 20s, but I was watching him play when he was like a kid. Same like when he's like 8 or 9 years old. And it was always so demoralizing to Be like, I've been doing this for like 14 years, and this kid's like 8, and he's better at this than I ever will be.

[A]

He's so good. He's such a great drummer. And he's. He's a. More. Even more. He's a. He's a real dude. He's like a real. Like a real.

[B]

He goes out with Katy Perry.

[A]

Yeah, he. Well, he's out with her right now, or that's who he's been playing with lately. But I just. I have a lot of respect for him. Like, we just had some really good conversation and. And he's came out to multiple shows and he's. You know that. That he's an idol to me. But it's. It's been very cool to be able to call him a friend. So I've. But yeah, Tony Royce and then Chris Coleman, JP B. I'd have to look at a list. I forget names all the time. I just. I just go and look up the drum. I like. I'll look up like a. The drum video and then I'll get. I'll just. Oh, Sticks Taylor. I love Rook with mgk. He's.

[B]

He's.

[A]

He. He's in the. Tommy, like, he's an incredible drummer as well. But I love the show that Rook puts on. He's great.

[B]

Who's the. Who's the person you walked into a room. Room with and you've just been, like, starstruck, like Tommy.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Like, I don't. I don't really get. I. I used to get very starstruck. I. I did. I'm not gonna, like, ever deny that. But as I started, like, touring more and more, it kind of just became.

[B]

Normal.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. It just became more just like. Though, okay, I'm these. I'm meant to. I'm meant to be in these rooms like that. I'm been part of this circle as well. You know what I'm saying? And so I. So the. The fandom and star thing kind of faded for me personally. But, like, the only people that could bring that was Motley Crue, so I played it cool. I did all right. No, me and Tommy ended up like. Like hanging. Hanging to where like, his TM had to come. Like, pull him to be like, yo, you gotta go cool. And. Yeah, we like. We like bro down, like, really hung out, talked about about bonsai trees. Talks about, like a bunch of talks about Japanese culture. Talked about, I mean, music and like, energy and life and like, just not. It was. It was really really? Like, I. And we said like, we'll text back and forth every now. I like love that dude.

[B]

Yeah. The only time I've ever like, seen somebody and kind of geeked out about it, I was like, whoa. Was living in Vegas, occasionally you get, you get random calls to just show up for like, cool stuff, right? Like every now and again, like your phone ring, be like, like, I got a call one day time. This is many years ago, but I got a call and it was like, hey, if you can get to the bear pool in 15 minutes, which was used to be this private pool at Mirage. I said, if you get the bear pool in 15 minutes, yeah, we can go to Perry Farrell's 50th birthday party.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I said, I will be there. I pulled it together. We go to Perry's birthday, we go to his birthday party. There's like 200 people there. And I'm like. And it was, it was 200 of the right people. I mean, I'm still. Yeah, we're watching. I mean, it was the first time porno for pyros had played in like 20 years or whatever. And like they're all playing and Camp Freddy was, I mean, dude, it was Billy Idol played Blondie or Debbie Harry played Tom Borello from Raging Sachin was there. Be real from Cypress Hill was there. It was just a non stop rotating, like, holy moment. And I went to the bathroom and I'm standing there and I'm taking a leak and I looked at the urine on my right and Matt Sorum was standing there. And this was a dude that played drums for the Cult. Played drums on Use your illusion one and two for Guns and Roses. And I was like, as a kid, like, I was like, oh my God, that's Matt Sorum. And that's the only, and I can honestly say it's the only time. Being in Vegas, you see people all the time. That was the only time I've ever been star struck by somebody.

[A]

Yeah, I, I, yeah, I, I think the only time. So a similar situation like that, I guess this would be starstruck too. It was back in like 2019. 2020. Actually that was 2019 when I started going down to now Nashville. This is before Morgan Wall and it popped off. I, I was a massive Morgan fan. Like, I loved, I liked Morgan from Up down, like his first single and like when nobody knew about him and he's huge, he's great, he's doing it. But like I started going to Nashville and one of it was like my second time going down there. I was at this bar called. Well, was called Winners, but now that bar. Bar is duck blind or whatever or odies. And. But I was sitting at the bar and next. And I was with the metal band Siler, because I was still in that band. And. And I'm sitting at the bar and. And he. Morgan walks up and he's standing right next to like, meeting like, next to me to order a drink. And I was like. And then like, three dudes come behind him, like, dude, yo, can we buy your whiskey? Or whatever, like, start fanning on him. And I turned to my boy. I was like, it's Morgan Wallen. And. And keep in mind that the, you know, the dudes that I was in a band with, they're like New York, like tough guys, you know, it's like. Like, literally they were like, I don't know who that is. And I was like, he's. He's up and coming. Like, he's up and coming. He's gonna be crazy.

[B]

He's gonna be the guy.

[A]

And I was. They were like, okay, dude, say hey. And I was like, nah, man, it's not the time. It's not the right time. Yeah. I was like, we'll be in the same room one time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that's.

[B]

Tell that story.

[A]

Well, no, I haven't even got to meet him yet. Really, I haven't. The.

[B]

I would have seen. You guys would have definitely been the same.

[A]

No, we have. I haven't met. When we played those shows with him. He's, you know, because everybody. He. Dude, his name is just a headline in general. So it's like everybody's trying to get something from him and like, everybody looking for some little thing to try to put out, to press for. Get some off, whatever. Like, he Is he like a rapper. Lowkey, like a very low key.

[B]

Get on, get off, get out.

[A]

I saw him behind a gate by his bus one time and that was it.

[B]

That was it.

[A]

So the. Which I'm friends with his whole band and they say he's mad cool, but he has.

[B]

But you have to.

[A]

But yeah. Yeah. And I. So I think. I think there will be a day where I'm. I'm hanging out with the band and they'll probably take me in a room and like, say, hey, what's up? Real quick. Which I. I don't even care. Like, but I haven't. I haven't met him and I haven't met Luke Combs yet. And I haven't met Zach Brian, but. Or Tyler Childers.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But those are. Those are probably like four of the dudes in the country world that I would like to meet. But. All right, let's talk or hang out with whatever.

[B]

Let's talk about. Let's talk about the Jelly Roll deal going from the metal core thing, because Siler obviously went to another band, I think.

[A]

No. No. Okay.

[B]

Was first. Then Siler.

[A]

Well, then I started managing bands. And then. So I. I picked up a band to manage in 2019, and then 2020, we were going down to Nashville all the time because the. The guy that they were recording with had randomly got hired by Jelly Roll and to work out of his studio. So we were going to Nashville every two weeks. Well, we would go down there at least once a month to write. And then I would be going down there on my own just network and get my name out around the city and, you know, promote myself and try to get my foot in the door and. And yeah, so we. We. I'm like, going down to Nashville and I get to the point where I'm, like, going to that studio so much that I'm kind of starting to become friends with his people because it's like, it's. It was his studio. And so he. His management worked out of there at the time because, you know, he wasn't huge. So he had his, like, own personal management that worked. They all worked in house, so it was like his own management was there. He had the studio there, so come in and record whenever you want. He had a. They had like the. The YouTube room or whatever. They would do all the editing and all that. There was this another studio upstairs that DJ Chill had that they would like, make beats and stuff and full, like, every. Cameras and lighting gear and all, like, everything you could.

[B]

Who would have that in their office?

[A]

Like, like, they, like, they were just so ready to like, like, record, shoot a music video, release a song. Yeah, like, it was like, bam, bam, bam. And anyway, so I was going down there a lot and just became friends with. With them to the point where they were like, yo, if you need to, like, cra. When you come down. If you need to crash here, like, just stay here and don't spend money. And I was like, cool. So I'd start crashing on this. That couch in the studio just so I could go down there and like, go to the bars and network and meet people and. What? I wasn't even playing. I wasn't even playing on Broadway or nothing. I was just literally going to the bars and like, like meeting people online and being like, yo, let's get lunch. Let's, you know, whatever. Just taking any advice that I could get from anybody and love that. Yeah. And that. I mean, that really helped, too, because it was like, bro, I sat down. I sat down with Kane. So Kane Brown's old drummer, he passed away. His name's Kenny. He was the reason that I, like, kind of got my name brought into it, because a lot of people knew who. A lot of drummers in the country world knew how I was because of my, like, drum covers online. But I didn't know because country musicians don't get any sort of, like, spotlight put on them. So it's like, I don't know who plays for who. And it's like, so you have to, like, really do a deep dive. So I started deep dive. I was like, I wonder if there's any country drummers follow me. And he, like, he followed me. And then Cody or Miles from Cody Johnson was following me, and Jake from Luke Combs was following me. And. Yeah, and I was. So. I was like. I just started messaging these people, and I was like, yo, if you're in Nashville or whatever. And it got to the point where I started becoming friends with them, and they were like, giving me great advice and kind of just talk to me about how they got their stuff and how they got to where they were and, you know, X, Y, and Z. And so fast forward, I'm just doing all this networking and. And get to, like, do all this stuff and going to Nashville a lot. They're letting me stay at the studio studio. And 2021 comes around, and the producer was like, jelly doesn't have a drummer. Jelly doesn't have a drummer. Like, he. He's gonna get you a drum. I was like, dude, he has a drummer. I saw it online, and he was like, no. I'm like, we're gonna get you the job. Like, you're. You're a good drummer. You're this or whatever. And I. I just take that with a grain of salt because everybody's like, yeah, I'm gonna do that. Everybody say they're gonna do something.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so we end. They show up to rehearsals, and the drummer wasn't ready, wasn't prepared, and so I guess they ended up firing him. And I've heard two different stories of how I got called. The one story that I've been told for a long time now is that they called one dude, and he just didn't want to tour that extensively or whatever. And then, like, eight to 10 people were all going to management and Jelly like, yo, get this kid this. And everybody was saying my name. And finally Jelly was like, all right, right. Like, okay, just call him. Like, if he can get here, call him. And so that's that story. And then the other story that I've has recently come to light was that I only got the gig because I had a mullet and. Which is just as cool. That was. That one sounds a little bit more like Jelly. You know, I heard a third story.

[B]

That involved your mother committing insurance. I don't know. True.

[A]

I knew it.

[B]

I think. I think it's out there somewhere.

[A]

Dude, that might be one of the coolest stories I've ever heard, actually. And it's not. It's like the act of it happening is. Is crazy. The. The act of you coming back and not getting caught and hearing this made up story and just being like, holy. Yeah. I can't even imagine how legendary that was. And then to hold it from her even well into your adulthood. Yeah, well into adulthood, you held that. You could have easily turned 18 and told her. Yeah.

[B]

By the way, that's not a lesson of victory in my book.

[A]

That is. No, that's victory. That's incredible. Dude, you set a house on fire and got away with it. That's badass.

[B]

It's not an accomplishment in the book. It's more of a parable of why it's important to tell the truth is kind of what that is in the book. That's the framework of which we operate. So let me ask you this. So you go out on tour with Jelly, you get the gig, and you go out.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

What's the first time when you thought to yourself, man, maybe I've really kind of made it at this thing? There had to have been some sort of a moment.

[A]

I. I've. To be honest with you, I've. I've never had that thought. I've never had that. I've made a thought. I don't think I can have that thought until I, like, like, am completely everywhere that I want to be. You know what I'm saying? Like, there's times that I. I look like I'm on stage and I'm like, okay, I made it here. I made it to this level. Like, it's. Everything's a level. And it's like, all right, I made it to this level. Now, like, I'm here, I'm playing stadiums, I'm playing arenas. How do I make something of it? Okay, now. Now I'm doing this. Now I'm able to play drums and make a paycheck. But now I want to buy a house. Now I want to buy a new car. Now I want to buy a boat. Now I want to build a studio. Now I want to do things that I can further advance and make investments in and do these things, start clothing lines, start a, like, some kind of brand, start looking into, buying into other businesses and, you know, so on and so forth. And so it's like, until I, I, I made, I made it to this point, is how I view that. You know what I'm saying? Like, I, I don't think that I've made it yet.

[B]

Do you ever take a minute to stop, though, and appreciate?

[A]

Like, every day, every single. I. Dude, there's, There are times that I'll find myself just being a little, Little, you know, a little diva, baby, because, like, I, I, I tore in a van and trailer for, like, 10, 11 years, you know what I'm saying? Like, slept in the bottom bunk of something that wasn't even as wide as this. And in the back of a van on a metal thing. I mean, we put, like, foam and on, but you know what I'm saying? Like, not an ideal place. I sat there for 10 years, like, trying to, like, no, I didn't live there. It was just one. I was just on tour. Just on tour.

[B]

This is the, this is the overnight success.

[A]

Not that there's any success, there's anything wrong with, with living in the van by any means. I just, like, if I, we were on tour and I was just sleeping in the bottom van, that's just not an ideal place. And I did that for 10 years. So I like, I, I, like, ate the. I worked the multiple jobs to do it to, to be able to go on tour and so on and so forth. And coming out of COVID to thinking I didn't have a job job to joining Jelly because I, because Siler was falling apart, like, and we weren't doing anything. We hadn't written anything. We hadn't done any, so. And I, I didn't know about the Jelly call didn't come till May. So I'm, like, sitting here in 2021 just kind of, like, twitting my thumbs, praying that we get a tour. Like, oh, my God, it's Sal. Are going to tour. We break it up. What do we do? Like, what am I going to do? Did. No one's calling to Nashville. I got to move there, you know, just like, just roll. Because I was like, I don't know what the. I'm going to do. And how do you stay.

[B]

How'd you stay focused during that time?

[A]

Ah, dude, I just, I. It's just the goal. Just remembering, like, focus on the goal. Literally, just literally remembering, like, what was the goal? What was the dream?

[B]

What is it?

[A]

Well, the dream is the dream. What I just said was the dream. So like, the overall, the overall. The point where I will look out and say that I made it will be when I can look out of my back porch. Porch at the sunset of a house that I own with a pool and you know, just the thing. The things that I want to be able to have to. To have in life, like in a family and. And because of playing drums, you know what I'm saying? Like, when I can look out and see that and that I made that from my passion and all the hard work that I put in behind playing drums, that's. That's when I think that I'll be able to be like, oh, I did it. I made it. Like, I may. Like, I played playing arenas, I'm playing stad. Seen the world. I was able to do this for. For me and my family and live and acquire this place and take care of us and like, be happy and live, live comfortably and. And so it's like, we made it. We made it to here. We're playing the arenas and stadiums and now I got to get to here.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I'm saying? So I think the thing that kept me really going is like, it's not over. It's not done. We're not done. You know what I'm saying? And like, there's still more to achieve and there's still ways that I have to find out how to do it. So constantly learning, constantly being inspired and just, you know, and then bring. That brings it back to the. Almost like a full circle back to what I was saying earlier, to the adventure, this even. Even failures adventure, you know?

[B]

Dude, I get it. Well, look, brother, it's been an incredible talk. We're an hour. I gotta.

[A]

We can get into some shit.

[B]

Look, I'm confident you're gonna. You're gonna get whatever you want, man.

[A]

Thank you, brother.

[B]

Like, you meet people and you see a fire in them that burns and you see what it is. And the one thing I will tell you, it's funny, is when we talked about levels of success and levels to the game. And the thing I can tell you is a lot of what you just said was about things, right? Was about, I want a house, I want a pool, I want to see this blah, blah, blah. And what I can tell you is once you get those things, and you will, and they're coming rapidly at you, right? But then you'll get to another level where you'll just want time. You know what I mean? Where, you know, I've had guys on that, on that sit in that chair that are billionaires. They're literally like. I'm like, what is your definition of success? And the answer is always pretty much the same. Some version of I just want to. I get to do whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it. And I can say no to whatever.

[A]

I want to say no to whatever.

[B]

I want to say. No.

[A]

Yeah, I, I want to. Like, I like the idea of, of being able to like, like, not, not control something, but like, knowing that the work that I put in was able to because. Because I, The. The things aren't like, necessities, you know what I'm saying? Like, I can. I cannot have any of that stuff and like put a roof over my head and have a family and play stadiums, arenas, and like live Com. If I can buy groceries and put a roof, like, that's. That is inevitably the dream. You know what I'm saying?

[B]

But saying don't be. You walk past my rolls when you walked in here. I'm not saying don't be.

[A]

No, no. Know, I. But I, But I too.

[B]

Don't get me wrong.

[A]

Yeah, but I like, I like, I think those things are like, everybody has the different things that they. They want or need or, you know, like. Or have. Have always want. Like my. I've always wanted a Lamborghini or I've always wanted.

[B]

Can I give you some advice on that? Can I give some advice on Lamborghini?

[A]

Oh, God, yeah. Yeah. Here's a lifted truck.

[B]

Here's my advice on the Lamborghini. Go rent one for a week.

[A]

I. Dude, I don't think I'm even.

[B]

I don't.

[A]

Here's why the reality. I probably can't buy it that small.

[B]

When you get to a point like the supercars. I did the supercar thing too. When you get to a point where you get there, go. I tell everybody that wants a Lambo, go rent it for a week. Because you rent it for a week and if you drive it and after about four days, it just kind of becomes a car. The feel, it's. It's like, it's like smoking. Not that I've ever smoked crack. Mom. I was going to use as a bad example, but they say, like, you never get as high as the first time you smoke crack. That's what Ronald Reagan said. And that first feeling of having that car, like, it diminishes.

[A]

It just goes away a little bit, I think. Yeah. I think it's.

[B]

Every time you get in it.

[A]

I think what I'm trying to say is just having the ability to not have to stress about something that I want.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know what I'm saying? Like, that's, that's what, that's what it's coming.

[B]

Zero stress. That's what you want.

[A]

Because right now, Right now I'm like, like I said, I. I'm just renting a house. I don't own a house, and I have a truck for my mo. For, you know, and I want to get to a point where I buy land and I can build my dream. Build my dream home and, And. And have. Have my dream truck. And like, that would be awesome. But. But to have the amenities that I. That I think of or want with without having to stress or. And be financially stable enough to have these things without question or without like, having to go through finances and stuff, like, to be. I just want to be like, that comfortable. It would be awesome to. To be that. That would be a goal, to be that comfortable from playing drums.

[B]

So where do you see. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

[A]

In 10 years, what I would like to be doing, Hopefully I don't get fired from Jelly Roll, because I would still like to be doing that. I, Man, I really, like, I've been contemplating trying to, like, put out a record. I'm. I'm. I'm managing or not even a record, like an ep, just like, because I, I, I think that'd be so fun. Yeah. And I think that'd just be so fun. And if that's something I just have on my own and I play like two shows a year, you know, in my hometown. Like, I think that cool. But I want to do, like, I really want to start doing business ventures and, and like, I would really like to get into, like, brand endorsements and, and work with. Or brand partnerships and work with more brands. I just did my first one on the Internet with this Wallet company, which is pretty cool, but I'm looking to get more into those. And then I have two bands that I managed. I'm possibly fingers crossed that this business venture is about to happen in January, but I'm looking to team up with a management company that is well, so I'm hoping that they'll bring me on. Had a few business meetings, went really well, so. And then, so there's that. And then both of the bands that I manage all just sign deals with labels and so looking into getting them booking agents and you know.

[B]

Do you have them on 360 deals?

[A]

No, no, no. God, no. No, no, no.

[B]

That's the Motown. That's the Motown in me.

[A]

Yeah, no, it was. It's. Yeah. So 10 years I. I'll be. Man, I'll be managing them, but I. I hope it's at a bigger level and, and with. If. If I get brought on to this company, God willing, I'll probably be. Have taken on some more bands. I would like to have. Like I said, I want to do more brand partnerships with like my brand with like Pork Chop and so on and so forth would. Would be awesome. And then, I don't know. I'm trying to do some. Some weird stuff that no country drummer has ever done before. You know, I'm trying to. I want to like do some weird TV stuff. I'd hopefully, hopefully I'll have a podcast or some kind of streaming something set up here soon.

[B]

Get these to kind of anybody.

[A]

You got podcast. I just don't have the. I just don't it the time to find it because it's like we're on the tour bus or we're flying. It's like I can't set up on planes and stuff. I could set up on the bus. It's just a hassle.

[B]

Yeah. But my, My buddy John, I said to him, Zach earlier started doing a podcast for a while before his ALS kind of kicked in full gang year. But he was doing one called under the Influence, which was kind of cool. Yeah. Or after the show, whoever was open up for them on tour, he would sit down and they would record and just play the music of what their musical influences were while they were having a couple drinks. I thought that was such a cool time.

[A]

That is sick. That's really cool.

[B]

Such a cool tie in.

[A]

That is really. That's a sick tie in.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And it's a sick name to like because it's like.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It's a double meaning, dude. Really cool.

[B]

Double entendre. So cool.

[A]

Yeah. Double entrance. Yeah. So, yeah, I. I hope that that's what I'll be doing next 10 years is. I just hope. Hope that my business ventures come to fruition and, and you know, with. With merch and branding and different stuff and keep on pushing. Yeah, keep pushing.

[B]

Well, brother, when you, when they do, you got to come back and let us see it, dude.

[A]

Any day Come on back anytime, brother. I'm here.

[B]

Well, we're gonna wrap up. We'll do. Thank you so much, man. Wish you well. Can't wait to see us.

[A]

Thank you for having me here, man.

[B]

And dude, if you listen to that today, if you're still with us, you're with us. Number one. Yeah, I think the statute of limitations is up on whatever I said earlier. I'm pretty sure. No, it is. And I had no plausible not. I'm not even going to get into the legal ramifications that. Yeah. The thoughts and sayings of John Gaffer do not reflect whatever the lesson of today is this right? If you're faced with an opportunity, the number one thing I took out of this today is if you have an opportunity to face this, you don't pigeonhole the decision making about what the result of that could be is into a win or a loss. Chase it for the sheer adventure of adventure's sake. See you next week. What's up, everybody? Thanks for joining us for another episode of Escaping the Drift. Hope you got a bunch out of it or at least as much as I did out of it. Anyway, if you want to learn more about the show, you can always go over to escaping the drift.com you can join our mailing list. But do me a favor, if you wouldn't mind, throw up that five star review. Give us a share. Do something, man. We, we're here for you. Hopefully you'll be here for us. But anyway, in the meantime, we will see you at the next episode.