← Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist
Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist
Riley Green on New Music, Acting and Coaching The Voice
00:42:34
Riley Green has been on the country music scene for more than a decade. The singer-songwriter has hit his stride selling out his North American tour, guest starring on the Yellowstone spinoff show Marshalls and now landing a coveted seat as a coach on The Voice. Green got together with Willie Geist in New York to discuss this moment in country music, his new album “That’s Just Me” and more.
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- [00:00]
Willie Geist
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- [00:51]
Willie Geist
Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Got a great one for you this week with one of the biggest stars in all of country music. He is Riley Greene had a really successful steady career in Nashville for about 10 years and then things just blew up for him two years ago with these duets that you know with Ella Langley, you look like you love me. You know that song was a number one song, little talky, two people looking at each other in a bar before they start singing. Then their next one was don't mind if I do. They got a reputation as singing really well together. But he had this full catalog, had number one hits of his own before, was building and building and building and this kind of opened the door wide open for him. He's out with a new album called that's Just Me. He's on a sold out North American tour. He had a guest starring role on that Yellowstone spin off show Marshalls playing a former Navy seal. And now big news, he's been named a coach for the next season of the Voice, which obviously is a huge step up. Those are always big name artists. Kind of fill in that seat held by Blake Shelton representing country music there. A native of Jacksonville, Alabama, played quarterback at his hometown Jacksonville State University. Music was just kind of a hobby you'll hear him describe. And then after school he was back home working construction with his dad, building houses, putting decks on things like that, and played gigs at night. There's a place called Loco Mex where he would just go and play on the weekends. And as you hear, he also was working doing construction on the place while he was doing music There as well. And it took off. He started to build a local following, then a regional following. Next thing you know, he's got a record deal in Nashville in 2018 and had his first number one song that same year. So great guy, just a real guy. Very straightforward, just tells stories, writes all his own songs. He's got the new album coming out. Also, if you're ever on Instagram and you love country music, you may have noticed that there's an entire genre of, let's just say, women going to country music concerts and looking at Riley Greene with their mouths wide open. He's a good looking guy is what I'm driving at. So anyway, he and I sat down a spot in New York City called Freeman's. Cool little room that we were in. He's got the cowboy hat on. It's all working. He's Riley Green and he's on the Sunday Sit down podcast right now.
- [03:18]
Interviewer
Riley, thanks for doing this, man. It's good to see you.
- [03:20]
Riley Green
Appreciate it, man.
- [03:20]
Pharmaceutical Advertiser
Good to see you.
- [03:21]
Interviewer
I feel like I'm catching you at a moment. You got this new album coming up down the road. You're in the middle of a big tour, just got the Voice, big cover story and Billboard. It's kind of all happening for you after a lot of years of work. Does it feel that way to you, like you've reached a certain point in your career?
- [03:37]
Riley Green
Yeah, I can tell it's just going well because I'm tired, you know, I think that's always the gauge for me is how spread out I am. And it's just a lot of things seem to be kind of happening at the same time, which is great, you know, I mean, it's what you work for all these years. And what's crazy now about what I'm doing is stuff I never thought I'd be involved in, like doing the Voice and, you know, hosting CMA Fest and things like that. You know, this is a completely different world for me.
- [04:02]
Interviewer
All right, so let's talk about the new album. 19 tracks, most of which you wrote yourself. When you sit down to put an album together, how do you decide what it's going to sound like, what it's going to look like and kind of what you want to say and your process for putting it together?
- [04:19]
Riley Green
Well, it's changed a lot over the years. I mean, when I first started recording music, I didn't have a, you know, producer or manager or anything. I was just writing songs. And somebody said, man, I like that when you played the other night, you should Record it, and I'd scrape together some money and go, you know, get in the studio somewhere. And so I'd put out, you know, two or three songs at a time, EPs, maybe singles or whatever. But when you start really recording the whole album, it's like, man, to try to encompass a theme for all of it and really tell a story. And now that I'm a few albums in, like, where I'm at in my career now, what's different? I always try to think about what got me here, you know, what. What types of songs and. And where I was mentally writing from, and make sure those songs are always on an album.
- [04:59]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [04:59]
Riley Green
And then I always try to find some. Something stylistically is a little different, maybe outside of my comfort zone or, you know, a little bit outside the box, and try to write some of those songs. And then, you know, you know, I always lean a little bit towards sad songs. And I definitely grew up with a very traditional influence from my granddaddy and all the music he listened to. So, you know, trying some things that are a little happier, a little lighter, to make sure there's some songs that, you know, if you want to roll the window down and ride around listening to. And when you get all these songs and you start looking at them and you record the ones that are, you know, your favorites right off the bat, and you get to the last 10 or 12, it's kind of like I go back and cut songs I wrote two, three years ago, you know, and it's crazy how you go and find them and that second or third or even 100 listen, you know, it really. Something about it jumps out at you.
- [05:45]
Interviewer
It seems to be listening to your music through these years, last decade or so. Obviously, like you say, you take a chance here and there, but you've kind of stayed true to the way you write a song and the sound you have, which is to say, you know, sounds come and go. And now we're doing this in Nashville or this is hot right now, and it seems to me like you've sort of just avoided the trend and stuck with who you are.
- [06:06]
Riley Green
I think that it's tough in Nashville to have blinders and not be concerned about everybody else's success. And especially when you have a little lull in your career and everybody has it. I mean, you know, there was a couple of years there where I didn't have a single at country radio. I was writing songs and putting them out, and, you know, you start thinking, man, this guy's doing well. He's in the top 10. And he's writing with this guy and this guy, and they're writing this kind of song. And I think that's the worst thing you can do. I think that the best thing you can be right now, especially with all the avenues you had to put music out, you know, there's new artists on TikTok or whatever every day is to be something different that kind of stands out. And I didn't know what it was about the songs I was writing that was working, but I knew where I was writing from, you know, I knew what I was writing about. And so, yeah, I'm mindful of it for sure. And it helps a lot for me to have that farm back in Alabama where I go and get most of my inspiration from is I make sure I sneak down there as often as I can.
- [06:55]
Interviewer
You've talked about not being too songwritery, which is like, it's good to be clever, but don't sort of out clever yourself. Just tell a story.
- [07:03]
Riley Green
Yeah, the word. And. And people have struggled to say this word to me because they think it sounds like an insult. Is simple, but I don't hear it that way at all. I mean, I. There's so much about Merle Haggard that was just really simple, you know, like the songs he wrote. He didn't dance around an idea. If it was what happened or, you know, what he thought or what he felt, that's what he said. And I think that simple is something that's also very relatable. And you don't got to dress some things up, man. If you get the. If you get a great idea and you feel emotion attached to that thought, whatever it is, just tell it, you know. And I'm always one, especially when I write songs by myself, I don't second guess a lot. If I say something and I feel it right, then I don't go back and look at it again. And because of that, you know, it's tough for me to go back and mess with songs that I've already written, even if they're not exactly perfect. You know, I'm kind of like, that's. That's. For whatever reason, when I was in what I think was that zone, that's how it came to me.
- [07:57]
Interviewer
And it's real because that's what you were thinking and feeling at that time. You go with that. When you go out now on tour, you've been all over the place. You've been to Europe, you've been to Australia, getting sellout crowds all over the place. Are there songs from the new album that people are responding to in a good way and really excited that this could be your next big one.
- [08:17]
Riley Green
Yeah, you know, social media and all that is a huge tool if you use it that way. And for me, I always like to play things that I write. Just a little clip of it. Just kind of see what people think about it. And as a songwriter, I think we're always the most in love with the last song you wrote, you know, so you get excited about something. And what's so great about that is the way fans are now. They want to know the song's not out. They want to be the one that told their buddy about, hey, have you heard this one yet? You know, and so I play a lot of songs that aren't released out on the road. And My Way was the first song off this record that I released and that was one that I liked a lot. And I saw a response, you know, and, and because of that, it's. It's one that they're singing, you know, already. And so it's always great when you've got a song that people are attached to that is not overdone. It's not a huge product, you know. I mean, you have to love something about the lyrics of that song to like it because it's not one you're going to tap your foot to or get up and dance to, you know?
- [09:15]
Interviewer
Right.
- [09:16]
Riley Green
And those are some of my favorite songs.
- [09:18]
Interviewer
And you've got one that is kind of homage to one of your heroes, Toby Keith, that you almost have to read the title three times to figure it out.
- [09:27]
Riley Green
It's. It's called Think as you drunk.
- [09:29]
Interviewer
You had to think about it there.
- [09:30]
Riley Green
It's easier to say when you're drunk, I think. And that one will make you want to get up and dance. That's the fun honky tonk song. And we didn't sit down to write a Toby Keith kind of song. I had that title. It sounds like something my dad said. He's one liner guy, you know. And we sat down to write it and that's just how it came out, which we all love Toby Keith. And when we got done, whoever in the room it may have been me and said, that sounds like something Toby would have wrote. And that's pretty high praise, you know, when you think about songwriting and songs that he wrote. And so when you have something like that, you want to. I wanted to make sure it was a tip of the cap to Toby Keith, you know, so we, we sent it to his manager and he Played it for their family and, you know, kind of. How do. Is there anything y' all want to do with this? What do y' all think about it? And they love the idea of him being a part of the song and having that little line. As good as I once was at the end, which is a really cool moment for me because my dad said that my entire childhood.
- [10:27]
Interviewer
Wow.
- [10:27]
Riley Green
And he always joked that Toby Keith got that from him. It's way before I ever got into music, so it's cool to have something like that. And. And Toby, you know, as a country music artist, was one of my heroes.
- [10:38]
Interviewer
Yeah. It's a very moving moment just to hear his voice again since he passed away a few years ago, you know.
- [10:43]
Riley Green
Yeah. Well, it's cool, too, because you've got something that, you know, it is a moment that'll kind of pull at you a little bit, but it's also in a moment that's very happy.
- [10:52]
Interviewer
Right.
- [10:52]
Riley Green
And that's. That feels right, you know?
- [10:54]
Interviewer
Fun lyrics to write, too. Talk about the CBAs instead of the ABCs. All those little fun just to play with that again.
- [11:01]
Riley Green
I don't know that we. We had anything to drink that day, but I think this song would have been easier to ride that way, probably.
- [11:06]
Interviewer
So I'm curious, Riley, if now that you've attained the level of success you've attained, if it feels different now to put out an album, is it easier because, you know, you've got this group of fans with you, is it harder because the expectations are higher? Or is it just kind of feel the way it's always felt to put out a new.
- [11:25]
Riley Green
It feels different. It's not an expectation thing, though. There's. There's not really more pressure now, especially not from fans. I mean, there is a certain level of success I'm almost guaranteed because I've got a fan base that's been with me for so long, you know, which is a really awesome thing. It's. It's kind of like having a pat on the back before you even release music. I mean, it's like. It's a. It's a confidence thing, you know, and it makes you want to go in and write more songs. Something's working about what you're doing. But there is a little bit of. There's so much more that could come from an album now. You know, there's so many. Well, I'm getting new fans every day. You know, we start talking about doing television stuff and the Voice and hosting shows and things like that. Is. More people are Finding me every day. So to make that circle bigger, you know, how do you do it? And it's. It's by stylistically writing a little bit different. It's about trying to come up with different ideas, maybe writing with different people. And so, you know, I'm able to put out music and grow something that's really been growing for the last 12 years.
- [12:30]
Interviewer
Mentioned your dad and your granddad a couple of times already. Obviously, they form a lot of the inspiration, especially your granddad, I think, for the musical side of things. When you're growing up in Jacksonville, Alabama, at what point does music come into your life? I know you're a big athlete, you listen to music, but when do you start thinking about, okay, here's a guitar, Let me play around with it and see where it goes.
- [12:50]
Riley Green
I. I was a music guy in the sense of I loved music, not a music guy in the sense of I thought I was musically talented at all. I think I thought the guitar was cool.
- [12:59]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [12:59]
Riley Green
You know, I loved Eric Clapton growing up, and the first guitar I bought was what he had on his album, the Cream of Clapton. Like that. That guitar, I thought that was the coolest thing. And so I. I started playing a little bit, taking some lessons here and there, and I didn't get a lot out of it. Like, I played three sports all the way through school, and that was really my passion. And my granddaddy, Buford, just loved country music so much, and he was a big music guy, and he had an old epiphone guitar. So when I'd go to his house, that's what we would do is, like, you know, we'd sit around and try to play old songs on the guitar, and neither one of us was good. Neither one of us could sing. But that was how we bonded. My granddad, Lyndon, we'd go fishing or golfing. My granddad, Buford, we'd sit around and play. And I think that definitely steered me into the traditional country world. And it probably even pushed me more to write and play shows after he passed away, because that was kind of nostalgic to me. That was our thing.
- [13:50]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [13:51]
Riley Green
But I don't remember any point through high school, even college, thinking, like, I might have a music career. Really? No. And when I. When I stopped playing ball in college and I was kind of just working construction, and I started playing in bars, you know, like little cover shows. And again, several years of that went by with no real aspirations from it. It was a songwriting that really turned it for me, because I remember there were so many people that were so much better than me. Like, you know, I'm playing cover shows at these bars and somebody else would get up after me and they could sing circles around me. And I'm like, I can't. I can't do any better than them, you know, so what only thing I could do to set myself apart was to write. Because nobody can write the exact story that I'm going to come up with, whether it's good or bad. That's something that's unique. And when people started to tell me that this meant something to them or that line reminded them of this or whatever, that was when I kind of became passionate about it.
- [14:48]
Willie Geist
Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Riley Greene right after the break.
- [14:57]
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- [15:58]
Riley Green
Soccer teaches us lessons we can take
- [16:00]
Willie Geist
with us long after we leave the field.
- [16:02]
Riley Green
That's why bank of America and US
- [16:04]
Willie Geist
Soccer are committed to helping bring soccer to every school.
- [16:08]
Riley Green
Raise your hand to helpofa.com soccerchools welcome back.
- [16:13]
Willie Geist
Now more of my conversation with Riley Greene.
- [16:17]
Interviewer
So you're talking about going to college and you played football, your quarterback at Jacksonville State. Is it a reach to think that there's a parallel between being that kind of leader of a football team and standing up in the front of a band on stage. Did you get anything from that, from being an athlete that gave you the confidence to stand up there out front?
- [16:36]
Riley Green
There's definitely a confidence thing with, with playing ball, especially somebody like quarterback or you know, to where you've got to overcome nerves. I mean, there wasn't a game that I didn't have butterflies, you know, up until the first snap. And you know, going on stage is the same way. So there's definitely something there. For me, it was the accountability of having to go to work, basically. You know, I mean, we had five, 30 workouts and I was playing in bars, you know, and I mean I was in college, kid. I was, I was wanting to stay out all night and you know, it's not like high school where somebody's making you go to class and making you do this. You had to show up. And that was something that was pretty crazy for 18 year old kid, you know. So when I got to a music career, when it did get to a place where I thought I could be successful at this, I realized that it's really completely up to you. I mean, a music career, there's no. I don't have a boss. I mean, now I got people that put stuff in my schedule and a lot of it I don't feel like doing. But it's, it's up to me. If I want, I can say no to any of it. I could take off three months if I want to. But I realize that I've got a lot of opportunity and very fortunately it's continuing to get to a place where there's more opportunities thrown at me. And it's, it's. You can really be as successful as you want to. And that mentality I think comes from, you know, what little bit. I had a college career playing ball. I learned a lot doing that.
- [17:51]
Interviewer
Yeah, it can't hurt. And then when you were, you were in Jacksonville playing guitar and doing like those Loco Mex gigs that you talk about. I was interested to just look at the timeline that you took a while to go to Nashville. Like you were home for several years. Was there a thought during that period that if I really want to do this, I do need to go to Nashville? Or were you okay, right where you were?
- [18:13]
Riley Green
I think in anybody's mind in country music, you have to think Nashville is kind of the key in some way, shape or form. And that's changed a little bit over the last few years. But that's just this music city, you know, and that's where. And it's pretty unique to that genre. There's not really a Nashville for pop or rock. You know, they're kind of spread out all over the place. So I don't remember thinking like it wasn't that I needed to go because I didn't think I was good enough, you know, And I was pretty content with what I was doing. I was building houses during the week and playing shows in the weekend, making two or three hundred bucks, you know, Friday and Saturday night. I thought I was going to be rich.
- [18:47]
Interviewer
Pretty good.
- [18:48]
Riley Green
I did that. Let's see. I mean, I guess around 2011, I started playing 1011 in bars. And I did that until things kind of started to build for me around 2015, 16, and around 2017, I guess I got to a place where I thought I was a good enough songwriter that, you know, a publishing deal in my mind was. You get paid to write songs?
- [19:10]
Pharmaceutical Advertiser
Yeah.
- [19:10]
Riley Green
That's your job. That's like amazing to even think about, you know. And, man, I've built a pretty good fan base off of songs that I'd written. So I've got to be, you know, I've got to have a chance. So I started taking meetings with publishing companies. And around that time, things were really taken off for me on a, you know, a local scale, I guess, in the Southeast. And record label started calling, you know, it was. It was kind of a shock to me. So I started taking meetings with record labels. And for that year, it was, you know, and again, the levels of rise is crazy because people are like, you know, some people are just fine to me right now. But that was a huge year for me. 2017 to. To, you know, go to Nashville, play my first show at Exit Inn. Oh, you know, and, you know, there was a. I went from playing Loco Mix, which was about 80, to 100 people for 150 a night, to going and selling out Iron City in Birmingham, which I'd seen Chris Stapleton play at. And it was this big venue to meet, in my mind, 1300 people. And I didn't even know anybody knew me in Birmingham. You know, that's the thing.
- [20:08]
Interviewer
Were you surprised to walk in and see that place sold out?
- [20:11]
Riley Green
Yeah, I remember the guy called me and said, man, I'm, you know, so. And so I own Iron City in Birmingham. I've been hearing your name a lot. Let me get you down here to play. And I was like, man, I think it'd be empty if I went down there, you know, he stayed after me and stayed after me, and we went and played a bar called Zydeco, which held about 500 and we sold it out. And I thought, okay, well, I guess we'll try it. And we sold like 1260 tickets, you know, for that show. And I remember my Grandmother came, and, like, when they opened the door, people ran in to get to the front. We were sitting up in the balcony, kind of. They had a little dinner before. And she said, what is everybody doing here? I said, well, I'm playing. You know, she's like, well, who else? Like? And that's kind of how we all felt at the time, so.
- [20:50]
Interviewer
And is that just word of mouth? Is it social media?
- [20:52]
Riley Green
It's com. It's completely word of mouth. I mean, social media is involved, obviously. I try to use it any way I can, but there was no big, like, spike here or there. I just written songs. I'd recorded them. I put music out. I think I googled how to put music on tunecore cd, baby, or whatever it was, and people were listening to it. I didn't know you could look and see how many streams you had or, you know, there was money going into a TuneCore account that I didn't even know about at the time. You know, when I found that login, it was a completely different situation.
- [21:20]
Interviewer
So you get to Nashville and you got this dream, but now you're in the big leagues. Right. So what were the early years there? You get the record deal in 2018.
- [21:29]
Riley Green
Yes.
- [21:30]
Interviewer
You get a number one song pretty quick, right?
- [21:32]
Riley Green
Yeah, I signed a record deal and a publishing deal a week apart. March of 2018 is when I signed, and I had four labels offer me record deals. So I even got to get kind of recruited a little bit. I got taking some nice fancy dinners. I drank wine, like, nice wine, you know, And I was on tour. My first major tour. I got asked to go out and open for Brad Paisley. So, you know, that was a huge moment. I'd never gone, like, on a real tour before. And there was this girl. It was my first number one song, first song sent to radio at that time, and it did really well. You know, kind of lined up for the second single. It was a song called In Love by now. We shot a big music video for it down in Belize, which was a lot of fun.
- [22:17]
Interviewer
That's big time.
- [22:18]
Riley Green
Yeah. And. And it. It definitely had a radio sound to it. It was a fun song, kind of in that there was this girl vein, you know, and while it was a country radio, I wrote oh, Grandpa's Never Died, My grande Lennon Passed Away.
- [22:29]
Interviewer
Such a good song.
- [22:30]
Riley Green
And I remember writing it. I was Macondo in Nashville, and I remember playing it back for myself. And, like, you know, when I. When I got the idea, I thought, I don't want to just write a song talking about my granddaddies. That's been done a lot of times, you know, so it took me a while to sit down and write it because I wanted to just write a tribute to them. And I. My mindset was kind of, what. What would I say to my granddaddies if they were here to see all the crazy things I'm getting to do now. You know, I'd never been on a plane and until I signed a record deal, now I'm going everywhere and on a bus and all that. And. And so I was just thinking about the things I. I think I would change about the world, you know, was. Was this and that. And I loved that they were fictional things. It couldn't happen. You know, coolers never run out of beer. Every road named Copperhead and
- [23:21]
Interviewer
every truck. Every car had a truck.
- [23:23]
Riley Green
Yeah, cars and truck beds. Of course, El Camino did some El
- [23:25]
Interviewer
Camino Ford Rancheros and all that.
- [23:28]
Riley Green
But. But something got me when you was surprised by the hook, you know, nothing talks about my granddadies until that one line. And. And I felt something from it, you know. So anyway, fast forward month, two months later, whatever. I'm playing at the Crazy Bull in Macon, Georgia, and I'd had a little bit to drink, you know, and I came out for a little encore, and I played it, and somebody videoed it. Crowd was going nuts during it. And I think the next week, there was a couple million views on it, on YouTube, off somebody's cell phone.
- [23:56]
Willie Geist
Wow.
- [23:56]
Riley Green
It didn't sound good, you know, I mean, it just. There was something lyrically that people attached to. And so I took it to labels, like, man, we might need to record this song. I remember playing at the West Virginia State Fair a couple weeks later, and they knew every word to it. It wasn't even recorded.
- [24:10]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [24:11]
Riley Green
You know, so that was my first time seeing something like that. Something happened organically and really quickly. So we swapped singles and Wish Grandpa's Never Died was, I mean, you know, arguably my biggest song for a long time.
- [24:21]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [24:22]
Riley Green
So that was something that, looking back, really was a jumping point in my career because I remember going out with Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, and all those situations. I could have just played my five or six songs, waved, and got out of there, and it'd been okay for me. But that was a song that. That moment at the show where I came out and played that song acoustic. I got fans every night from that. Like, my. My audience grew every night because everybody seemed to relate to that song.
- [24:52]
Interviewer
I was telling you, I Saw you play about three summers ago at the Eagles football stadium in Philly and there were probably a lot of people there to see Luke Combs. And you came out and the same thing. I'm like, a lot of people in here already love Riley Green, but a whole bunch of new people now love Riley Green. So that's those kind of opportunities, right? You feel like, let me deliver on this.
- [25:12]
Riley Green
Oh, yeah, well. And it's, it makes it fun to go do that. You know, opening shows is a great opportunity, but very fortunately I got to a place, you know, the next few years there where I was selling a lot of tickets myself. So it wasn't always the best financial decision to go open for somebody.
- [25:27]
Interviewer
Right.
- [25:27]
Riley Green
But you know, you start talking about doing stadiums and the moment Luke Combs was having right then was like, you know, how do you not go do that? And it is. You're investing in yourself, you know, so being able to have that song that was sort of a win for me every night was, you know, it changed my career.
- [25:44]
Interviewer
So you're rolling along different round here becomes a hit as well. And then if you get up to even like this window of the last two years, is it fair to say things exploded for you starting with the, with the duet with Ella. Yeah, it became such a breakthrough hit. It wasn't even. It's a country song, of course, but man, that was all over the place. All of a sudden everybody goes, who's that guy? And who's she? Let me listen to more of their music. Did that feel that way?
- [26:10]
Riley Green
Yeah, I don't think you can. Well, I know you can't. You can't fabricate something like that. I mean, Ella's from, you know, Alabama as well, I think influence wise. We grew up very similar, listening to traditional country music and she was on tour with me for the better part of two years, you know, I mean, really. And to have two songs, you look like you love me and don't mind if I do, both come giant hits at the same time while we're also on tour together and her be able to come out and just to see the excitement of the fans for that moment. And also they're two completely different songs.
- [26:43]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [26:43]
Riley Green
You know, so you got the really light hearted fun, like, you know, beers in the air, you like you love me thing and then don't mind if I do, we come out, sit on a stool together and it's very intimate moment. And it was, it's, it's. That doesn't happen often. I don't think you know, so you, like. You love me. Surprise. Certainly surprised me. Surprised about everybody, I think, because talking verses is pretty traditional, you know.
- [27:05]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [27:07]
Riley Green
But to become the giant hit it was. And that's a. That was my first, like, what do you want to call it? Tick tock Success.
- [27:13]
Interviewer
I mean, I was gonna say, I think part of it was social media. It was like teenagers in New York City getting hooked on that song.
- [27:19]
Riley Green
You.
- [27:19]
Interviewer
You.
- [27:20]
Riley Green
You get on your phone, and every scroll, that song was played in the background of somebody's video.
- [27:24]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [27:24]
Riley Green
I'd never seen that before. So you have that song become a giant hit and then had a song called Worst Way. Yeah, that again, it was a huge surprise to me. I wrote this song in my farm. I was by myself. And, you know, it's a little. I don't write a lot of love songs. And it was a little risque love song, too, for country music. You know, we got. We can't write dirty songs in country music, you know, So I was flirting a little bit there, and I remember thinking, like, man, there's something cool about it. But I don't know. I don't know if I can do that or not. I played it for a couple of buddies of mine, a couple songwriter buddies, and they were like, man, that's great, you know? And so anyway, he ended up making the record. There was not a thought in my mind that it was just certainly not the biggest song on the record.
- [28:07]
Interviewer
Right.
- [28:07]
Riley Green
And it was. I mean, it just blew up, you know, and don't mind if I do. It's kind of the same way. I did love that song, but the moment. The moments that those songs had was a surprise to me. And all three of them were platinum records before they ever got sent to country radio.
- [28:24]
Interviewer
Amazing.
- [28:24]
Riley Green
Which is not necessarily how it's supposed to work. It's a little backwards now.
- [28:29]
Interviewer
You say that you don't know if you can do a dirty song, like, Worst Way. That video is filthy, my man.
- [28:34]
Riley Green
It is, yeah.
- [28:34]
Interviewer
It's just rotten. I watched it again this morning.
- [28:37]
Riley Green
This morning?
- [28:37]
Interviewer
Well, I was doing some homework.
- [28:39]
Riley Green
You know why you hugged me when I came here?
- [28:41]
Interviewer
I mean, in the restaurant, for God's sakes. Come on, now. It's got to be cool for you and Ella to have done those two songs together, to kind of be having this moment simultaneously where you're skyrocketing and she's doing the same thing right there with you.
- [28:57]
Riley Green
Well, I mean, it's certainly her talent as a huge part of it, but it's. It's Also a little bit of, I think country fans, more so than rock or pop or hip hop, feel like they need to know the artist. Like, they, they know our story. I've always thought, like, there's rock artists that I love that are a little mysterious, I mean, Eric Clapton type, but, like, I don't know a lot about him, which always made him cooler and made him seem a lot more famous. But now with social media and everything there is, they want to know everything about you. I mean, my dog's. People know my dog. You know, he gets more pictures than I do. But I think that fans, because of that, they want to believe a story about. They want to feel like they know you.
- [29:33]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [29:33]
Riley Green
With me and Ella, you know, it's like that was. They were looking for that, like, Johnny Cash and June Carter thing, a Tim and Faith thing. Like, we haven't had that in a long time. So it was something to where fans really latched on to us, you know, the songs. It helped that you had. We had two big hit songs together. But really they just, they love the story of us being from Alabama, being on tour together. We're seeing together everywhere on the road for better part of two years. And I think that had a lot to do with it.
- [29:56]
Willie Geist
Stick around for more of my conversation with Riley Greene right after a quick break. There's only one Ozempic.
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Riley Green
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- [30:09]
Willie Geist
You redid your jingle?
- [30:10]
Riley Green
Ah, thanks for noticing. Catchy, right? No.
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Riley Green
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- [30:29]
Willie Geist
There's only one Ozempic.
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Riley Green
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Riley Green
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- [31:03]
Willie Geist
Welcome back now to the Rest of my conversation with Riley Greene.
- [31:07]
Interviewer
You talk about the importance of social media and people getting to know you. How much do you balance sort of musical talent, which you've got loads of and writing and all that, with an image that you're creating. People talk about how your looks all the time on social media, how you're in great shape and all those things. Do you think about that as part of the package you're presenting?
- [31:30]
Riley Green
Yeah. I mean, the great news is I don't have to play somebody that's not me. I mean, my, when I first came to Nashville, I was, I was dressing like, I still dress, you know, I'm like, I, I, I've still got the exact same boots that I've always had, you know, and it's like, it made it really easy on me. The as far as, like, how I present myself, I mean, staying in shape, you know, that's, that's something I've always wanted to do because it's playing sports and, you know, obviously being on the road is not the most conducive lifestyle to be in great shape. Yeah, I remember, you know, getting off stage every night and having a few drinks and there being three pizzas and, you know, four things of chick fil a nuggets on there. Like, it's tough, you know, but I think that just fans knowing that you're who they think you are is a really big thing. And I've always loved that about getting to meet people that I always thought were famous is. I love when I meet somebody, I'm like, man, that's exactly what I thought they'd be like, you know?
- [32:30]
Interviewer
Yeah.
- [32:31]
Riley Green
John Daly is one of those. John Daly is exactly what I thought John would be like. I love it.
- [32:36]
Interviewer
And he's got a bar two doors down from yours too, in Nashville. Yeah, Authenticity. Right. And audiences can see right through it. If they feel like they're being sold something, they're going to move on.
- [32:45]
Riley Green
I think there was a time when you could take a, you know, a sharp looking dude that had a good voice and, you know, write some songs for him and dress him up an outfit, put him out there and that really worked. I don't think you can get away with that anymore. Yeah, I mean, I think there's, there's too much visibility. Fans have so much access to people now that they're going to know if it's real or not, then there. And authenticity is still something that's going to always kind of lead.
- [33:10]
Interviewer
So you're getting ready to have a whole bunch More new fans because of the Voice, which you just flew in overnight basically to be here with us. We appreciate that you're working hard out there. How did that opportunity come up? I mean, that is a big. That's a big job. You got Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, now Queen Latifah, which I always love those mix. Queen Latifah and Riley Greene on the same stage. How did that come up for you?
- [33:34]
Riley Green
It was a. Definitely one of those. It was supposed to be moments, you know, I was in LA doing a show at the Grammy Museum. It was like 100 people on a rooftop. Not a great show in the sense of like one you want to fly to LA to go do, not a paying gig. And, you know. Yeah. And Ms. Melinda Billboard is. I've got a great friendship with her now. She's interviewed me several times, was doing a Q A with me before the show, which again, not fun, you know. And I always feel like fans don't want to hear me answer questions about where my influences came from. They want to hear some songs. So a couple of producers, executives from the Voice came out to that because I was somebody that was in the running for it. Obviously, I like to cut up and all that. And I think they look for, you know, some humor in there and personalities that kind of similar to Blake Shelton. He's so great at that kind of stuff. And just that moment of me and her goofing around on stage kind of back and forth, and I was just doing it to try to entertain the crowd that was there. And I think that's really what got my foot in the door. They called the next day and asked if I could take another meeting. And then fast forward two weeks, maybe they're still thinking about it. And I went on Jimmy Fallon and I was just supposed to perform and I got asked something, got moved around to be on the couch, and we had a little moment where I was showing him how to use a duck call, you know, it just that little bit, I think is what made him decide to go with me. And I wasn't going to let him think about it anymore. I always say, yeah, as soon as we could. That's such a great opportunity.
- [35:00]
Interviewer
You know, what's so great about that? And it's fitting a pattern of what you're saying. The more people see of you, the more they want. You just have to get out there and just prove yourself right time and time again. Let them see who you are.
- [35:11]
Riley Green
Well, I think that there's a. Maybe a relatability to how I grew up and how I was raised and. And I certainly am vocal about, you know, what I appreciate about my upbringing and, you know, the values that I learned from my grandparents that I think people long for in a way. You know, I can remember when I first got to Nashville, they tried to put me in media training, which they probably. I probably needed to go. But I'm like, man, I know how to talk to people, you know? And I remember they snuck it up on me one day at the record label, and this lady was in there. It was like a real formal interview thing. We're videoing it. She wants me to watch it back and all this stuff. And I said, yes, ma'. Am. And she's like, no, no, you can't. You know, that makes people feel old or whatever. And I. I struggled with that for a minute because I was like, well, my whole life, that's. I wanted people to think I was polite. And, you know, that's not an age thing. I say, yes, ma' am to the lady at the drive through, the kid. You know, that's like taking my order or whatever. It's just a respect thing. And those kind of things, I think have always helped me, and it's. It's not the norm anymore, you know, so, you know, me being able to go out and if I remind somebody of something about how they grew up or whatever. I thought my town was the most country place on the planet. Now that I've been out, there's a lot of people that grew up the way I did.
- [36:24]
Interviewer
Yeah, they all get it. That's right. Yeah. I mean, the. The Voice thing is. Is cool, too, because a new audience will get to see you and be exposed to you, and they'll see you caught up with Queen Latifah or whoever it is, and they go, I. I like him. I go listen to his music. Blake Shelton, as you mentioned, had the same experience. Did you talk to him about how to do it and what it could mean for you? Yeah.
- [36:46]
Riley Green
Blake's a jokester man. His advice to me was just don't make friends with any of the other coaches. It's a competition. But he was so great, and, you know, I remember watching a bunch of videos of him on Fallon and how they interact. And you can't help but learn something from people like that, because it takes a personality to go do those kind of things. You know, Luke Bryan's one of those. He's got a. He's got a big personality, and he's got a gear that I don't Always have. I have to fake it sometimes. And he's just. He's got it. And Blake's the same way, man. And so you watch stuff like that, and when opportunities are presented to you, I am always mindful about, okay, well, like, what would I want to see me do? You know, not that there's any act about it, but just, like, I always remember myself as a fan, and I do that in every aspect of my career. Like, when I go to make a live show and I can set list or when I'm recording in the studio, what would I want to see my favorite artist say or do in a situation? And it's always helped me a lot.
- [37:43]
Interviewer
There's one problem that you bring to the Voice, and that's the cowboy hat. They've never had it before. They don't know how to get you in that seat right up against the back of your head. But I understand they've come up with a solution for it.
- [37:54]
Riley Green
Yeah, Carson helped me out with that. We were talking about the hat, and I made a comment about, yeah, man, I can't wear it when I'm sitting down because I have to sit up the whole time. That chair is so tall in the back. And he said, we got to get you something. So they made me a little hat holster right there on my chair. You just put it right out in
- [38:09]
Interviewer
front of you, kind of.
- [38:09]
Riley Green
Yeah, well, it's right on the side. Yeah, I just kind of sheathed it when I get sat down. You know, it's great. And it's always nice to have it to pull out, too, because if a real country artist gets up there and I need to.
- [38:17]
Interviewer
You need it.
- [38:18]
Riley Green
Really win him over. I need to hat on.
- [38:19]
Interviewer
That's right. To close the deal. Carson with the innovation. Impressive. You're also acting now. I mean, I go on and on with this stuff, but you're in Marshalls, played a former Navy seal. What was that like for you? That's an entirely new thing. A little bit scary, a little bit exciting. Both.
- [38:37]
Riley Green
That was the most nervous I've been in a while, which I really enjoyed about it. You know, it was nice to have that kind of challenge thrown at me because I always say when I get to a show, everybody there was there to see me. They've already bought a ticket. You know, everybody backstage works for me, you know, so there's no real pressure in that. Whereas when I get on set, I'm not only a nobody, I'm the new guy, you know, so there was a lot of, like, having to Prove yourself. And. And there's also the uncertainty of, like, I don't know if I can do this or not. I don't know if I'm any good. And I did my read, and I was glad I read for it, and they said it was okay or it's good. And I'm like, all right, well, I guess I can do it. And then my first scene I was thrown into was kind of a traumatic. Like, Garrett, my character, former Navy seal, wakes up with night terrors. He's got extreme ptsd. And I, like, attack Luke Grimes, who plays Casey in the show. And it was a real emotional scene, and I think I just didn't. They threw it on me so quick, I didn't have a chance to get nervous, you know, And I got done with it, and they were like, that's great.
- [39:38]
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- [39:38]
Riley Green
And so I got confidence just as it went. You know, every scene I did that they said went well, I kind of, okay, well, you know, I guess I can do it. And growing up, I thought acting was something that you were born with. I thought you had to, like, be in theater and that you have that kind of personality. And I wasn't ever doing any of that, so it was. It was kind of foreign to me. But when I started thinking about it as something that I could get better at and I could learn, then it opened that door for me.
- [40:04]
Interviewer
Is that something you want to do more of now?
- [40:06]
Riley Green
I really enjoyed it. Yeah, it was great. And, you know, again, looking at a country music career, especially when you're playing those kind of roles on those kind of shows, we all know what Yellowstone did for country music as a whole. Yeah, it's. It's a great. It's a great move in my music career, you know, so the fact that I enjoy it only makes it, you know, more fun for me.
- [40:25]
Interviewer
Now we got to save the best for last, which is you get your own bourbon. That's how I know you've made it. You got your own place in Nashville, the Duck Blind, and now you've got your own Bourbon Duck, man. I mean, is. That's got to be like, yeah, I
- [40:37]
Riley Green
made it Duck Club Bourbon. It's Duck Club. It's very on brand, which I love. And, you know, I've had some opportunities in the past to do some alcohol brands, and, you know, I've been pretty stingy about who I align with, just because when it looks authentic, when it looks real, when it's. It's something that you actually use, you actually love, it's just. It's going to be so much easier. You know, I've never done well with the, hey, I'm Riley Green, and I drink this, you know, and so when I saw the branding of it, I was immediately on board. It just. It looks like an old Field and Stream magazine, you know, the bottle does. And I'm not necessarily a bourbon connoisseur. Like, I like it, but I've got those buddies that are like, you know, this is good. This is awful. You know, and when they all gave it a thumbs up, you know, I was. I was fired up about it. And it's been great. You know, everybody's bragging about it. It's going really well, and it's. Again, it's something that you can put on my stage at my show and not even notice it.
- [41:38]
Interviewer
That's.
- [41:38]
Riley Green
That's what you want.
- [41:39]
Interviewer
Yeah. Do you stop at moments like that, which is so cool, or when you get your own bar in Nashville, or all these milestones along the way, and think about the guy with his guitar at Loco Max, who could not have dreamed of being where you are right now?
- [41:55]
Riley Green
Yeah. There's a lot of moments, especially when I go home, you know, riding through Jacksonville, Alabama. It hasn't changed much, you know, And I think about. I. You know, I built that house. I built that deck on this house or whatever. I mean, I drive by Loco Mechs, and me and my dad put a roof over the back patio and built the stage because I used to play inside. And it was. People started coming, and the crowds are getting so big that we started playing outside. And we, like. I don't know why we did it, but, like, you know, we're talking to the guy that owns the restaurant. Like, man, we get more people out there if we did this. Me and Pops went there and built the stage, you know, I remember one night playing Locomix. It closing at midnight. They kicked everybody out. And then I went and retiled the bathroom that night while it was closed. Come on to play. I mean, yeah, it was. It was a lot of fun, but it was. I was still working, you know, so the opportunities I've got now are just things I never would have dreamed of. And the bar is probably the biggest one because, you know, there's a bar that I can go to and eat breakfast for free every morning. You know, nobody can throw me out of it. I got a key to a bar. I have a key right now. Me and you could go to a bar and get in if it was close to. That's wild.
- [43:08]
Interviewer
That's how, you know, you don't have
- [43:09]
Riley Green
to tile anything while I'm there.
- [43:11]
Interviewer
Well, it's so fun to watch your success, man. Congrats on everything. Can't wait to see what you do next.
- [43:16]
Riley Green
Appreciate it, man. Good to see you.
- [43:17]
Interviewer
Congratulations. Good to see you.
- [43:18]
Riley Green
Thank you, man.
- [43:19]
Willie Geist
After our conversation, Riley and I popped up and took a quick stroll on the streets of New York City to talk about this moment in his career and in country music. It was just a great visual. He's about 6 foot 4, cowboy boots. He's probably 6, 5. He's got his cowboy hat on. He's got the western look going. And here we are just kind of cruising around, around downtown, graffiti walls and all kinds of stuff going on. So Riley Green in the streets of New York right now.
- [43:46]
Interviewer
So you've sold out a bunch of shows in New York area on this tour. Just shows how big country has gotten outside of the south over the last 10, 20 years and around the world. Really?
- [43:56]
Riley Green
Oh, yeah. I mean, I thought country music was specific to where I grew up, and the last several years, I've been surprised in such a good way everywhere we've been, especially like, Australia, you know, we went over there and played small clubs, and then, you know, this last trip we went, we were selling out arenas and playing a halftime show at the, you know, Broncos game. And it's. It's just, you know, shows like Yellowstone, that western lifestyle has gotten so popular everywhere.
- [44:19]
Interviewer
It's amazing, too, to even look at the Billboard charts and it's country, country, country mixed in with Drake and Taylor Swift and all that stuff.
- [44:27]
Riley Green
Yeah, well, I'll go and look in my second biggest market, Sydney. You know what I mean? It's just, I. I don't know what it's from, but it's certainly a great time to be in country music and
- [44:36]
Interviewer
a lot of artists who've, like, pulled it into the mainstream as well.
- [44:40]
Riley Green
Yeah, it's a little bit of the pop country and the more rock country, and that's all kind of come together, and it's just really made the genres really widespread.
- [44:51]
Willie Geist
My big thanks to Riley for a great conversation. You can catch him out on tour now, and his latest album, that's Just Me, comes out on September 18th. And don't forget, you can watch in that coach's seat on the 30th season of the Voice airing on NBC this fall. My thanks to all of you for listening, as always. If you want to hear more of these conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in to Sunday Today every weekend on NBC to see these interviews with your own two eyes. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down Podcast.
- [45:35]
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