← The Bobby Bones Show
The Bobby Bones Show
#510 - Eric Church on Getting a Call from Michael Jordan to Become an NBA Owner + Going into Business with Morgan Wallen + Almost Getting Dropped For a Hit That Almost Never Got Recorded
00:53:30
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- [00:00]
Podcast Host
You're listening to an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
Bobby Bones
Thank you to the presenting sponsor of today's episode, American Express. I'm always traveling for work, which means I'm constantly trying new restaurants in a bunch of different cities. Some good, some bad. And while I love most of the food I try, the rewards I am earning with my Amex Gold card while eating in these different cities is the best part. With AMEX Gold, you earn four times membership rewards points on purchases at restaurants on up to $50,000 per year. And now you can leave the restaurant and get straight to the action with access to card member entrances at select venues. That's the powerful backing of American Express card member entrance access not limited to AMEX Gold Card terms apply. Learn more@americanexpress.com withamx.
- [00:47]
Instagram Voiceover
Introducing Instagram Teen accounts. A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow. Like making sure they always have their seatbelt on.
- [00:55]
Bobby Bones
All right, sweetie pie, buckle up. Good job.
- [00:58]
Instagram Voiceover
Or ring the bell on bike.
- [01:00]
Bobby Bones
Okay, kid, give it a try. Nice.
- [01:03]
Instagram Voiceover
Or remember their elbow pads.
- [01:05]
Bobby Bones
Knees too. Okay. Yep.
- [01:08]
Instagram Voiceover
There you go. New Instagram teen accounts. Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the content they can see.
- [01:16]
Podcast Host
Time is precious, and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24,7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.
- [01:53]
Eric Church
First of all, the label told me if I release that they were going.
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Bobby Bones
To drop me because of what the song was.
- [01:58]
Eric Church
Yeah, there was no song like that in the year that it came out like it was. First of all, we're all on our own path anyway. And the label was like, listen, if you do this, you just might as well go do it somewhere else.
- [02:10]
Bobby Bones
Welcome to episode 510 with Eric Church on Instagram rickchurchmusic. His single now is called Hands of Time. We talk about the album, we talk about the tour, we talk about the time he got fired for working for basically Home Shopping Network, which, that's a pretty funny story.
- [02:26]
Eric Church
It was awesome.
- [02:27]
Bobby Bones
Yeah. And it was a good pretty much hour with Eric. I think what's cool. And I've been lucky enough to spend a little time with Eric outside of work, outside of anything professional. He's Just a really nice guy. He's definitely still the Chief. And he had his sunglasses on the whole interview. See, I should have done that way early so people couldn't see my eyes. I couldn't see my eyes. He could have been checking out my shoes. Looking inside the house. I had no idea. That's what I was wondering coming into it. Was he going to wear them? Yeah. Is he going to be the Chief, or is he just going to be Eric Church? He was kind of like Chief Eric, I feel like. And he's like, so smart. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah, you're right. Because the image of Eric Church is like this tough dude, and he's, you know, he gets up and he does his thing and writes songs people love, and he has that. But he's also, yeah, very smart, which is why he's such a great songwriter. And he's so cerebral. But if they called him cerebral and not the Chief, if that was his nickname, cerebral probably wouldn't have the same impact. So super cool to sit with Eric. He came over to the house and, yeah, we did this for about an hour. He's got a new album, Evangeline vs. The Machine, that is out now. He's playing a ton of shows and ericchurch.com get tickets to the show. Here he is. I gotta say, the Michael Jordan story is pretty cool. It's coming up. It's just so nonchalant. MJ calls him MJ. MJ. Here he is, episode 510. Eric Church. Eric, good to see you.
- [03:51]
Eric Church
You too. Bobby.
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Bobby Bones
Do you have Carolina blue one on purpose underneath?
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Eric Church
Is it? Yeah, yeah.
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Bobby Bones
I mean, most every. Well, I don't. Oh, I do, too, but not on purpose.
- [03:58]
Eric Church
Yeah, you do.
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Bobby Bones
This wasn't in your honor.
- [04:00]
Eric Church
I appreciate it.
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Bobby Bones
That's funny, because I was talking because I. Most everything I have has a hog on it or a razorback on it. Yeah, like red or phone or a lot of my clothes. Do you have North Carolina stuff everywhere and like your.
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Eric Church
And now. And now. Which is weirder. But we're involved with the Hornets, too, so I have purple and teal, so it's Carolina blue and purple and too.
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Bobby Bones
What do you mean, involved with the Hornets? Are you part of the ownership?
- [04:21]
Eric Church
Yeah.
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Bobby Bones
Dang. I bought a pickleball team. I don't have NBA team, though.
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Eric Church
Ball teams are cool, too.
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Bobby Bones
But what's up with it? So what's Lamelo gonna do?
- [04:30]
Eric Church
We'll see, Bobby. We'll see. There's a really important draft coming. Okay. I got to be friends with mj. A few years back and when he sold the team and it was one of the weirder calls you ever get in your life. But MJ goes, hey, I want you to be involved with the Hornets ownership group. I was like, what does that mean? He said, I want North Carolina presence. I want people that are local. The group that's buying, it's out of New York private equity. And he said, I want you to do it. He said, I'll help you if you need help. But he said, I want you to be involved so you don't say no to Michael Jordan. So I got involved.
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Bobby Bones
That's super cool in a couple of ways. One, because it is Michael Jordan, the greatest athlete or pop culture sports figure in our lifetime, I think. Right. It's like Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, 100%. Two, that Michael Jordan played for North Carolina.
- [05:24]
Eric Church
Right.
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Bobby Bones
And for you, that's such a personal thing.
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Eric Church
Right.
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Bobby Bones
And that now.
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Eric Church
Yeah.
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Bobby Bones
That you talk to him on the phone. I'd have been like putting on speakerphone, recording it. So what do you do as like part owner?
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Eric Church
Well, the great thing about the Hornets is the majority owners. You have majority and minority, but the majority guys are. You can different groups in the NBA, but sometimes you get a majority that, you know, owns 95% of the team and you're just involved. But our group's really good about keeping us involved and all the decisions we're making. So, you know, a lot of it revolves around draft picks. A lot of. We renovated the arena there in Charlotte. We did a big renovation. So you kind of have a three to five year plan and Charlotte needs it because the Panthers aren't awesome and the city needs it. So we're on a three to five year plan, really, through draft picks. That's the best way to build a team. And luckily or unluckily, the past couple years, we've got some good draft picks. So that's the game we play right now.
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Bobby Bones
Dan wasn't expecting that. That's awesome. I put a bunch of money into the Nashville baseball team. So if we get a baseball team.
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Eric Church
Here, Nashville be a great city for that.
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Bobby Bones
Yeah, let's go then. I. I'll call you up, be like, what's up? Owner. Owner.
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Eric Church
100%. Yeah, that's right.
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Bobby Bones
When did you get your first guitar?
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Eric Church
13.
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Bobby Bones
Why'd you get it?
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Eric Church
I was writing songs, poetry, kind of song things, and I was having to sing the melodies in my head and Scott as like a Christmas gift. And then it took me a little bit to learn to play It. But, you know, that was just an avenue for me to get the songs out.
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Bobby Bones
Did you take to it immediately?
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Eric Church
Yeah.
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Bobby Bones
Were you good at it quickly?
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Eric Church
Yeah.
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Bobby Bones
Do you have a brain that allows you to not just write lyrics, but how do you compute music? Like, how were you able to do key? I mean, like, how did you learn music?
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Eric Church
That's a great question. I don't know. It was the fastest thing that I was able just to kind of get. And then you learn a lot of that too. And, you know, earning your salt where I got in a band pretty quick. I mean, I was in a band at maybe 17. I wasn't 18 years old, and I started just playing in bands and some shady places. And I did the chicken wire thing. I've been at that show. I've had a band member leave the stage during a song and go fight a guy in the parking lot and make it back before the end of the song. And that guy was my brother. So we've done that during. Now, you know, when you make it back for the end of the song, that's doing it quick work, you know. But it was a skyd song, so it was a little long. But we. That. I've done all those. I've done all those things. And you learn a lot from those situations. I always talk about in the world we live in now, and you know this. In the world we live in, it's easier to get discovered and to earn a following, but it's harder to earn that as a musician where you can. I'll give you an example, and I won't name a name, but there was an act recently that I like a lot, and we were going to. We were talking about our next tour, and it's a person who has a presence, social media, whatever. And I said, hey, you know, we'd love to have you. They don't have a band yet. They've not toured yet. That's all just on what they do on their channel. They've not played yet. And it's like, you know, you've not. You've not taken anything on the road. You don't. Right. And that's a problem because you learn so much from being in those situations and what I found in my career, you're gonna get in big moments, and if you don't feel like you deserve the big moment, you might not meet the moment. And those early days allow you to know when you get to that moment, you've put in the work to earn that.
- [09:25]
Bobby Bones
When I talk about being an advocate, I Think even in this record that there's songs where you're an advocate as well. And so I don't think it's. I think a big part of it is what you're doing for the communities and for people that maybe don't have a voice, but also for people that maybe need a voice. And, I mean, I could pull up a couple songs even like Johnny or Darkest Hour, like those feel like advocate type songs. Like you're speaking for somebody, for yourself, but also for others.
- [09:52]
Eric Church
Well, I think a lot of that also comes a little bit with our. We're a little bit of an anomaly that we. We got here completely on the backs of our fans early on because we didn't have a ton of industry success. We were a little bit pushed to the. To the fringes. And, you know, I remember one year I played Grand Rapids, Michigan, like nine times because I could get a thousand tickets in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We just kept rolling back. How many times can we go to the well? Because we had to have gas money to be able to move that bus around. Right. So a lot of that is the people that you end up seeing every night. And then something happens or you think about their. Their lot in life. Yeah, I think that comes out a little bit now when I think about that, because I wouldn't be in the situation that I'm in if it weren't for them.
- [10:42]
Bobby Bones
Revisionist history is Eric Church moved to town, wrote a bunch of songs, was successful songwriter, but didn't hit and then he was a massive star. That's revisionist history.
- [10:55]
Eric Church
Yeah, that's false.
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Bobby Bones
What's the truth.
- [10:58]
Eric Church
Came to town? Was it different with what music I was writing and early on it wasn't great. You know, you come to town and you learn what real. I mean, I say this to all young artists is. You can't imagine. And a lot of people, dog. Now a lot of the songwriting thing and say, oh, it's Nashville songwriters. Nashville songwriters are the best in the world. I mean, they are the greatest craftsmen in the world. And it took me a minute to come to town, and I was fortunate. I came at a time when we still sat across from each other and did that, you know, where. Now there's a lot of stuff that technology's involved and that's fine, but I got to learn from a lot of those guys. So I came here and my perspective when I came, it's gonna be hard to believe, but there was a kind of a soccer mom type format. There were a lot of females. It was very Driven that way. And I had a more masculine approach and it was not liked by most everybody. And I just had a different lane and. But eventually got a record deal and got in that lane. But then that was a hard lane because we were just. We were a little different on the radio and we had a hard time getting songs played because it didn't fit the formula at the time. And touring was interesting. So it was just a long. The first couple albums were a really. A really challenging time. Everybody comes to town and, you know, a lot of these young artists and they get a record deal and they think, I made it, I've done it. But that is just the beginning of the hardest part. And for us, it was in that first two album period before Chief that we were grinding on the road. There was one year we did over 200 actual shows in a year. And a lot of that was just to keep the money moving in at any level, to keep moving forward, you know, to keep gaining ground. And at the time, a lot of people in the industry would have said, this doesn't really fit what we do, you know, and it's just a. It's a grind. It was a grind for us earlier.
- [13:12]
Bobby Bones
Why did you move to Nashville? Was it to write songs or was it to be an artist? And writing songs was going to get you to that place to be an artist, write songs? It was. You're a writer?
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Eric Church
Yeah.
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Bobby Bones
How did you know that was a job?
- [13:25]
Eric Church
I found that out. I was in college and had a band and I started, you know, just playing some of my original songs in our cover set. And, you know, people, the next time I would go back and play there, they would request those songs. And that just kind of where I started thinking, okay, you know, songwriting. I just never thought it was viable for me to be able to go and get a record deal and do that. It never crossed my mind. It just wasn't something I thought I could do. So I really wanted to come here and write songs. And, you know, I met a couple songwriters when I. When I moved here and kind of saw what they did and how they did it. And you go get a, you know, you take a draw and you go write for a big publishing house and try to get songs cut.
- [14:12]
Bobby Bones
So what'd you pack up and what'd you. What'd you move into when you got here?
- [14:16]
Eric Church
I was in a. I came to town in a two tone 1986 Chevy Blazer, blue and gray. That's the color back then, man. And I had a guitar, had a duffel bag and I found an apartment, but I didn't know where to be. You know, when you moved to Nashville, it's like I didn't know what was what.
- [14:36]
Bobby Bones
Did you have anybody here that you could ask those questions to?
- [14:39]
Eric Church
No.
- [14:39]
Bobby Bones
So you blindly moved to town?
- [14:41]
Eric Church
Yeah, I came. I went to Broadway first. I tell this story at my chief's residency as I came to Broadway because that's where the Ramen was. That's where Tootsies is. That's where all these iconic things. And I tried to get gigs there and I couldn't get a gig there because I came with a sack of songs and my guitar and they wanted cover songs. And so I couldn't make it on Broadway. So I ended up over at Printer's Alley back in the day, which is. There's a place called the Fiddle and Steel Guitar Bar. And what I found there were all the people that got kicked off Broadway. That's where they congregated. And I kind of found my tribe. And there were a lot of hit songwriters in that group. There are a lot of musicians in that group. And just kind of found my people and started figuring it out. I took a job. I had a job at the Shop at Home network. I sold knives. That was my job. Thanks for calling. Shopping on. My name is Eric. How may I help you?
- [15:41]
Bobby Bones
Oh, you answer the phones?
- [15:42]
Eric Church
Oh, yeah, I was a. I was the phone guy. Had the little headset. Good stuff.
- [15:48]
Podcast Host
What.
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Bobby Bones
What kind of knives? Like, what was your. What was your. What was your rap?
- [15:52]
Eric Church
My rap at that time, I actually got fired because of my lack of rap. But I would answer the phone. I had the shift that was. I think my shift was 11pm to like 7am I was the overnight shift. So that's the shift where the guy comes in, he's been at a bar, and he turns on Shop at Home. And there's the guy. We were looking at the studio. So where the phone bank was was like an amphitheater type seating. And we all have our little chairs and our headsets on. And we're looking at them selling the knives out there, television studio in front of us. And this guy, you know, would call in and go, 3:00 in the morning, slurring, going, man, I gotta. I gotta have some of these knives. It's like 300 knives for 59.99, right? And I actually. One night there was a guy that called in and he. I could tell he had had a long night and I had a few of those too. And he was like, Man, I just gotta have some of these knives, you know? He's slurring. I was like, yeah, yeah, you know. He said, you know, I said, hey, you know what? I'm gonna do you a favor. I said, why don't you go to bed? And first of all, when somebody calls and says, I need a knife at that time of night, you think there's already a problem, right?
- [17:01]
Bobby Bones
They don't need a knife.
- [17:01]
Eric Church
Yeah, not right now. You don't need a knife right now. You need to go to bed. So I said, why don't you go to bed and why don't you call me in the morning? I'll still be here. He said, well, it says there's three left. I said, brother, trust me, there's more than three left. Okay? You're going to be okay. And there's that thing where when you call into something like that and they'll say, for whatever purposes this call may be recorded. They do that, and they happen to record this call.
- [17:27]
Bobby Bones
That's how you got got.
- [17:28]
Eric Church
So I got cut. That was it.
- [17:32]
Bobby Bones
You're advocating for that, dude?
- [17:34]
Eric Church
I was advocating for that, dude. They didn't like that shopping on this. They fired me.
- [17:39]
Bobby Bones
What's up with the name of the record? Evangeline versus the Machine.
- [17:44]
Eric Church
Well, so I think a lot of. Some of this. Some of this somewhat started. There's a. There's a line in Johnny that's a very important song on this album because of the Covenant shooting here in Nashville. But it. There's a line in there says, machines control the people, and the people shoot, shoot at kids. And what I found having younger kids is there's so much of our life nowadays. It's just so fast and disposable with how we consume anything. And what I've seen is it really rounds the edges off anything we try to do different or creative. That's just not what the world is set up for today. It's not set up for the patient part of that. And so I think that that line is when that title started. But the crux of this is Evangeline on the album plays almost a creative museum, that song. So it's that creative muse and following that versus the machine that makes it very hard to execute that. And that's the juxtaposition of what this is. Let's take a quick pause for a message from our sponsor.
- [18:54]
Bobby Bones
Thank you to the presenting sponsor of today's episode, American Express. Between my shows, 25 whistles. Lots to say, Too much access. It's a lot of traveling for work and I get to attend a bunch of different sporting events. And while the travel can take a toll on me, sometimes, all the points I get makes it so much better. With the Amex Platinum, you earn five times membership rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com on up to $500,000 in flight purchases per year. Plus you get access to the Centurion Lounge, making travel that much more enjoyable. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms apply for more information www.americanexpress.com travel.
- [19:38]
Eric Church
Introducing Instagram Teen accounts. A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow. Like making sure they've got the right gear for writing.
- [19:44]
Bobby Bones
Knee pads. Check.
- [19:46]
Eric Church
And helmet. Done.
- [19:47]
Bobby Bones
See you, dad.
- [19:47]
Eric Church
New Instagram teen accounts. Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the content they can see.
- [19:53]
Podcast Host
Time is precious. And so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24.7access to licensed VE with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.
- [20:30]
Eric Church
And we're back on the bobbycast.
- [20:33]
Bobby Bones
When you mentioned Johnny and the shooting and that was very personal to all of us here because it was so close to us and it's probably close to a lot of people in a lot of places because it's so close to a lot of people. It's happening everywhere all the time. The Johnny, Johnny versus the Devil. Devil Went down to Georgia that the song was playing like. Is that. Is that part of the. You were thinking about when you wrote the song?
- [20:56]
Eric Church
Yeah, I was here.
- [20:56]
Bobby Bones
The song Devil Went down to Georgia as I was.
- [20:58]
Eric Church
My kids go nearby here and I was. Which is a couple miles from Covenant, whatever. And the hardest thing I've ever done in my life is drop my kids off the day after the shooting because they had decided that kids needed to feel some normalcy and go back to school. And I remember I've never done anything harder than that. When I watched them walk in that school and both boys go in together. There's a bunch of people out front, teachers are crying, everything. So everybody goes inside. And I didn't know what to do. I felt helpless, scared, all those things. So I just parked in the parking lot there and I sat There. I don't know how long I was going to sit there. I just felt like I needed to be there. And as a. At some point in time, during probably an hour, at some point in time, I looked to my right and I looked to my left, and there were parents that had done the same thing all the way down the line, moms and dads, and they were just sitting there, and I had the radio on, and it was down low. I wasn't paying attention to it, but Dead one down, Georgia was on. And there was a. There was a piece of that in that moment as I'm looking to my left and looking to my right and thinking about my kids, that, you know, Johnny, rawsing up your bow and play your fiddle hard. Hell's broke loose in Georgia and the devil deals cards and if you win, you get this shiny fiddle made of gold and if you lose, the devil gets your soul. And I remember thinking, if only Johnny was confined, or only if the devil was confined to Georgia. He's out of Georgia. He's everywhere, and we need Johnny to come back and help. And that was it. And I pulled out of the parking lot finally, and I went home and I did like. And some of this may have went to the Evangeline versus the Machine, because there is that. Johnny versus the Devil, you know, that started that thing. Good, evil kind of thing. And I went home and I said it would be interesting if. If we. If a song was written from that perspective where you bring back a character from a song we all know from 30, 40 years ago, and he gets to play a different role. And so I wrote Johnny.
- [23:13]
Bobby Bones
Yeah, I don't know that I. I'm glad to hear that version or that, like, the actual story behind how you wrote the song, because now it kind of all makes sense with the record and even within the song because you may just see the name Johnny and not understand. But do you believe things happen for a reason?
- [23:29]
Eric Church
Yes.
- [23:30]
Bobby Bones
Do you believe that you heard that song at that time?
- [23:32]
Eric Church
Yes.
- [23:33]
Bobby Bones
So you could have that thought?
- [23:34]
Eric Church
Yes.
- [23:34]
Bobby Bones
So you could write this song?
- [23:35]
Eric Church
Yes. 100% believe that.
- [23:38]
Bobby Bones
And so whenever you write Johnny, you call Luke Laird and Brett Warren.
- [23:44]
Eric Church
Yeah, I couldn't get out of it. I got in it. I just couldn't figure out how to quite get out of it.
- [23:49]
Bobby Bones
So what do you tell them?
- [23:50]
Eric Church
I just sent it to them. I record kind of what I'm doing. And time. It was so fresh with what was going on. They. I mean, it wasn't once I. I couldn't figure out how to land it. Like, I got in the air and got it where it was supposed to go. And I was like, I don't. And I was probably. Some of that was emotional, where I was so tied in, I couldn't. I had a couple things that I thought were too. They weren't the right emotion. And so I was like, hey, check me on this. And then within a day or so, we had it. And then I kind of knew it was a different, you know, different perspective and different thing. And then that was before us. I started the residency. And so in the residency, one of the big moments is I would play that song late in the show, and we would kind of do a flash mob choir that would come out behind the people and sing. Those choir parts ended up being a big, big part of the show and also a big part of formulating what the conception for this album was. Where I had voices and then all of a sudden started thinking about strings and horns. I did Stagecoach, which was noisy, but I loved. And all these things before I ever went in the studio were taking us in a different musical direction, and I was starting to feel a different pull.
- [25:03]
Bobby Bones
Was this the first song that you did for the album? Maybe not even knowing it was going to be the album?
- [25:07]
Eric Church
Yeah, first song.
- [25:08]
Bobby Bones
So did this song actually create the rest of the album?
- [25:11]
Eric Church
I think it created the template for how we were going to do the album. So I. Not. A lot of people look back and they say, well, your Last record is 2021. That's not really true. We recorded the album in December of 2019 and January of 2020, and Covid happened, and we sat on it for over a year like everybody else in the industry. So I've not been in the studio in five, six years. Five years. And I think that I've got a lot of songs. There's a lot of different avenues we could have went down for this album. There's. And I've done this song enough. I understand this song is gonna be a hit song. I get it. And there were different lanes we could do, but it was really Johnny and then Stagecoach that started to develop a different path. That was interesting to me.
- [26:00]
Bobby Bones
I'm a big Tom Waits fan.
- [26:01]
Eric Church
Yeah, me too.
- [26:02]
Bobby Bones
It was passed down to me because I think as a kid, you don't really move toward Tom Waits tone. Started listening. I was like, 12 or 13 years old. Love, love the rasp, love the grittiness. You did a Tom Waits song on this. Clap hands. Why that song?
- [26:17]
Eric Church
So this is. You just. You've already asked Me, you've already answered this in a question you already asked me. And do you believe things happen for a reason? So I was searching for filling out the rest of this project. And the challenge of this project is not every song fit the room with who was in the room, and not every. Not the people in the room. Fifth a song. So let's say we had 50 songs for this project and what you're finding is those songs that made it are really the only ones we cut. Other songs, it worked just. They. This didn't match this. So I was sitting in my house and there was a. And I'm telling you, on the Nickel is one of my favorite songs of all time. And I was sitting in my. My house and there was. It was the end of. And I got to go back and figure out exactly what it was because I've been asked this already, but it was either the end of like a Netflix series I was watching or a movie. And on the outro on the credits, Clap Hands comes on and I remembered it. I remember I was like, oh, yeah, it's been a while since I've heard this. And I was listening to the vibe of it and I was. I just left the studio that day and I was thinking about the room and I paused it. It was on like a DVR thing, so I paused it and I grabbed my guitar, I rewound it to when it started, and I sat there and just worked up the progression. And then I laid it down with an acoustic guitar. I sent it to Jay, my producer, and I said, hey, call me crazy, but I feel like this would really work with who we got in the room with the weapons we have there. And he sent back almost immediately, I'll see you in the morning. And we went in the next day and cut it. So, you know, within a 12 hour period, I heard it on a TV show and it was cut the next day. And there's a. There's a freneticness to, you know, to that with the voices and the breaths. There's a. There's a thing there that was really interesting to me that I hadn't heard on a cover of that song. And Tom Waits is creatively just an animal. And this record's a lot about creativity.
- [28:18]
Bobby Bones
A few weeks ago, I was sitting just like this with Ringo Starr, who come over to the house and we were doing this. And it's pretty legendary to have a beetle. And he talked about how they would play 13 hours a day and they were playing clubs constantly and that now people Aren't playing anywhere.
- [28:37]
Eric Church
Right. That's. That's a. It's a huge problem.
- [28:39]
Bobby Bones
And that it's actually taking the overall product and it's not. And he didn't say as good. But as it's not as consistent as it was back when they were going. I mean, you go all the way up until the last seven or eight years or so, probably whenever people are able to create without actually having to go out and do it. And, you know, I think he was a little concerned for the future of music as far as live music, because these guys aren't out playing in order to get good. That feels a bit about what you're saying.
- [29:11]
Eric Church
I am 100% the same. And you can see it, like, you can just see that it's just a key part, but it's a key part of everyone's journey is that you're gonna learn a lot about yourself. I mean, everybody should have those shows where the band outnumbers the audience. Or those shows when you've got feedback all night or the guitar player's guitar goes down, you still gotta play. You still gotta figure those moments out. Those disasters that you manage in those places are what allow you to get to a different place and grow. The growth is the biggest thing. It's hard to grow when you're putting out whatever it is and all of a sudden it's massively popular. But there's no journey from when you put that out to the popularity. There is no arc there. It just goes boom to boom. When you go straight up vertical that way, it's really hard to do what you need to do to be able to do this for a long time.
- [30:07]
Bobby Bones
It's funny you talk about disasters, because I think some of the biggest growth in my career doing stand up or doing like, live television is screwing up and realizing the world isn't over. Just. Just keep going, right? Like, just keep going.
- [30:17]
Eric Church
Yeah. And yours directly would be related. Like, stand up is exactly what I'm talking about.
- [30:22]
Bobby Bones
You just have to keep you.
- [30:24]
Eric Church
It you're in and you'll. But you're committed. Like, that's the thing. And that's what. If you didn't have that, I would venture to guess you would not be as good at what you're doing now.
- [30:34]
Bobby Bones
I would agree.
- [30:35]
Eric Church
So that's that. That's the bones that I'm talking about. You got to earn those bones. And no pun intended, but it's the. You gotta have those things right.
- [30:44]
Bobby Bones
For me, it's like doing it terribly, like having a disaster Happen and getting through it, that gives me the confidence to do it and get through it again. When it happens to go, oh, the world's not ending right now. I can keep. I got my bearings. I've done this before and it's gone wrong and I've been just fine.
- [30:56]
Eric Church
And also, you gotta chase some things. So there's. I'm assuming, since it's standup, I haven't done it, but I know what I've done on stage. Sometimes you chase things that don't work.
- [31:04]
Bobby Bones
Oh, yeah.
- [31:06]
Eric Church
But the chasing is what allows you to kind of. You learn there. Right. And I've done that. That create musically. Like, we've chased some stuff. Like, hey, you know what? We haven't played it for? Let's play. We've done that. But there's a lot of the younger people, and the problem is there's just not a mechanism for them that's fast that they can go earn it on the road because it's. It's not instant gratification. They. Who wants to do that? You know, so they. They end up going from here to here and back to the artist I was talking about. I was pretty surprised that I was like, wow, so, okay, you got a pretty good following, but you don't have a band yet. We've not even. We've not even went to. Normally that's step one where you are step 12. You've went to step 12, but one through 11 is not there at all. So that's not good. You know, I would say, as someone has done it a long time, I'm.
- [31:56]
Bobby Bones
A massive fan of Andy Kaufman because he was just brave. And Andy Kaufman died. I was probably a year old. Didn't know him then, but he would go and just try things, what you're talking about. And sometimes it would go terrible.
- [32:08]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [32:08]
Bobby Bones
And sometimes they would be amazing. And people still talk about them today, but I feel like you're that artist to where you will go and try things. Yeah, I've seen you try things.
- [32:17]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [32:18]
Bobby Bones
And that would be mixed. Some people would be like, that's the greatest thing I've ever seen. And some would go, like, what even just happened?
- [32:24]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [32:24]
Bobby Bones
But where does that bravery come from?
- [32:29]
Eric Church
I think. I think looking at the. I think the fearlessness of the. Of the moment is something that's really important. And whether that's confidence or doing it or trying it, I try to put myself in. When I go to shows, I would rather see a person try something and maybe not get it than see the same show. I'VE seen a thousand times. And that's just me personally. So I think a lot of times it's a safe spot with me. Sometimes when there's a great relationship that we've built with our crowd back to what we're talking about over a lot of shows and a lot of years, and I feel safe to. Sometimes I'll go for something, and I feel comfortable with that. And it might not work. There have been nights it has not worked. It has been a disaster.
- [33:12]
Bobby Bones
Do you know it's not working when it's not working?
- [33:14]
Eric Church
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. 100. But I think we did. We were in Pittsburgh one night and we were playing golf the day we did the arena there, and the guy we were playing golf with was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. And he said, hey, have you ever thought about Renegade? So in the fourth quarter up there, they play Renegade, and everybody waves the terrible towels or whatever. And I was like, nah, you know, that's cool. So in the van on the way back from the golf course, and this is right before meet and greet. We got back late. Showtime. I send the band the Renegade thing, the song. I said, let's just try this tonight. And they're sitting. That's complex song to try to come together in a hurry. And we started it, and it starts out acapella. And I couldn't hear the acapella thing when we started because it's, you know, hell, mama, that whole thing. And I looked at. I looked at the band. I was like, I need a note. I said, what key? What? What did I say? You know, I didn't know what I sent them. And three different guys gave me three different notes like it was D, C minor. And I'm sitting there going. So I started. It was a disaster. And I didn't even make it to the chorus. I was like. Caught it off. Like, I audibled, I punted, you know. But it was one of those things that it's still.
- [34:25]
Bobby Bones
You called it off mid.
- [34:26]
Eric Church
Oh, mid.
- [34:27]
Bobby Bones
No, it.
- [34:27]
Eric Church
We had. I had a bass player and a key and I had a guitar player. None of us were in the same key. So, I mean, jazz is cool, but it just didn't really work, you know? It didn't work in that setting.
- [34:36]
Bobby Bones
Did you ever try it again?
- [34:37]
Eric Church
I ain't tried ever again. No.
- [34:40]
Bobby Bones
That is such.
- [34:40]
Eric Church
You know what I learned that I've.
- [34:43]
Bobby Bones
Also learned to cut losses. Yeah.
- [34:45]
Eric Church
Like, this was never going to work.
- [34:47]
Bobby Bones
Yeah. Because nobody. Nobody cares. Like, if you cut, I've done that too. It's like, you know, what this is not. This joke ain't working. I want to go and move off of it. Nobody goes home. And man, he was in the middle of a joke and he quit and it sucked. I'm never going back.
- [34:58]
Eric Church
They probably honestly went home and said they tried Renegade and fell on the face like. Rest of the show could have been the greatest show of all time, but that's what they're going to go home and talk about. And that's what I think is great about live music. It's experiencing a moment that no one else will ever get to experience on the rest of the tour.
- [35:15]
Bobby Bones
Is that why your shows are so different? Because you want the moments to be different?
- [35:18]
Eric Church
Yes. And we try to change it. There should be something every night. Doesn't always have to be a song, the set list difference either. It could just be something that happens at the show that that person knows. I had to be here and I had to be present. I couldn't have saw this anywhere else. I think that's what makes live music and the world we live in with streaming and all the stuff we're going to, it still makes it the most special thing because you can't really simulcast that and feel that the way you can if you're there.
- [35:46]
Bobby Bones
Got about four more questions for you. I want to ask about another song, though, Darkest Hour and based in concert in Carolina. Like, what happened there? Was it a bit.
- [35:57]
Eric Church
It was written before. This is back to the things happen for a reason. I had written Darkest Hour and I was listening to a guy at the time. Darkest Hour is a little bit interesting that it's a hopeful song. Wrote it by myself. And I wrote it about 10 days before Helene happened. I wrote it, I recorded it. I went to Florida. I was in Florida for something. I was on my way back when Hurricane Helene hit. And I got back home and I remember seeing the devastation, which I couldn't fathom with being from that area. I didn't recognize any of the areas that I knew intimately. And there's a line in that song. In your darkest hour, I'll come running I'll light your way. And we were way off schedule. We were nowhere near releasing a song. We were going to be. We were eight months early. And I called John Peace, my manager, and I said, hey, you're not going to like this, but I'm going to regret if we wait till next year to put this out when the. I think this song could be an anthem, mainly for the moment, because what I realize is in this world and we all Know this. Something happens, and everybody pays attention, and then it's a busy world. News cycle in this world's in the hours, it's not in the days. And then something else happens. And I said, we need something just to keep people focused on this problem and that it's going to take years. And I said, I really want to put this song out. And I said, I know it's not a radio song. I know it's not what we would have done, but I said, I think it's a great anthem for the people there. And we. It ended up. Everybody thinks I wrote it after Helene. That's not true. I wrote it before.
- [37:47]
Bobby Bones
That's why I thought you wrote it after Helene.
- [37:50]
Eric Church
Yeah, but it was sitting there ready to go. And that's where, you know, sometimes you give a song its moment, sometimes a song finds its moment, and that's one of those that it just did. And I didn't feel. It didn't feel right to me to wait almost a year to then go, oh, yeah, you know, it just. It felt like I was missing an opportunity there.
- [38:08]
Bobby Bones
Did you and Morgan buy Field and Stream as a. Hey, it's open. You text them, be like, let's buy it. Because we had every Field and Stream in Arkansas. My stepdad had all of them. Like, that was a brand.
- [38:20]
Eric Church
Oh, it's still a brand.
- [38:21]
Bobby Bones
Like it was.
- [38:22]
Eric Church
It's an old. It's the O.G. yes. 1871.
- [38:24]
Bobby Bones
It's the O.G as a brand. It still exists. But the magazine. I didn't see the magazine after a while, like, the actual paper.
- [38:29]
Eric Church
It's coming back. Yeah. Now. Yeah.
- [38:31]
Bobby Bones
So what was that? How did you guys decide to do that?
- [38:33]
Eric Church
We got. I've got a partner who I did chiefs with, who called, who actually just kind of stumbled across a deal. He. Dick's Dick's owned it at the time. It was. Stumbled across a deal, the sporting goods store. And they. He called, and we were actually getting ready to go on a golfing trip with. With Morgan. It was me, Morgan and Ben. Ben Webern's his name. And he called and he said, hey, do we. Do we want to look at Field and Stream? And I went, what do you mean? He said, well, they're looking to maybe sell it. I said, the brand? He said, yeah. I said, sold. Well, that was. It was a bible growing up for me, and they had let it kind of fall in disarray. And what really happened, it was such a big umbrella that they let all the pieces be sold to different entities. And so what we were able to do was take about a year and go and pull all those entities back under that umbrella and buy each one of those little pieces. So for the first time in almost 100 years, it's back under the same roof. All the things are vertical.
- [39:36]
Bobby Bones
You've unified the belt.
- [39:38]
Eric Church
Right. All of it. So. And then Morgan's. So we talked to Morgan and we're like, hey, we should do this. He had the same experience growing up that I did with Field and streaming. And it's been, it's been a ton of fun and doing well. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's. It's a wagon. So it's, it's fun for me. It's fun. From a writer side. Some of my favorite writers and articles were those articles by guys who wrote for Field and Stream. There was humor, there was satire. There was. I mean, that, that we were looking at. They have a wall in my house where I went back and took all the old iconic covers. And what's interesting is you look up there and at the bottom, there's the date and you're like, it's 1917. Like, that's insane. You know that there's hand drawn, just. Just an American icon. And they were telling me a story. One of the guys that's been at Field and Stream a long time, when World War II happened, they weren't sure how they were going to address that, such a big thing in the world. Well, the only thing that's on the COVID of Field and Stream is outdoor scenes. And they couldn't figure out how they were going to address World War II ending. And they took a flock of geese in the V formation, the victory formation. And that's the COVID of Field Stream. And just stuff like that that you think about a brand that you're involved with. And I keep saying to Stuart, to Ben and Morgan, that, you know, we are stewards of the brand. It's. We don't own the brand. It's our job to get the brand to the next generation and to make sure it's taken care of. Because it's a piece. It's an American treasure.
- [41:25]
Bobby Bones
You have 22 arena dates on the Free the Machine tour. All them be different a little bit. Little something different.
- [41:31]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [41:31]
Bobby Bones
That's just from now on, your life is. You're going to present a different environment. Yeah.
- [41:35]
Eric Church
And I usually. I get bored. Like, if I do a show on, let's say Friday and Saturday. If I do a show on Friday, I'm Allergic to doing that same show Saturday. I just can't do it, you know, so I'll come. There'll be something that happens, and a lot of that I take myself where toward the end of the show, a lot of times, I'll just get an acoustic and I'll just play for a while, and I'll bring up stuff I hadn't played or maybe a song nobody's heard. I mean, I do that at the end of a show.
- [41:59]
Bobby Bones
So how's your memory with songs and things you've written forever ago of people that play this? You're like, dang, I thought about that in 10 years. Can you do it? Can you pull it out?
- [42:06]
Eric Church
Yeah. I mean, pretty deep. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm gonna try it. Back to your thing. That's right. In three different keys, man. Three different keys.
- [42:17]
Bobby Bones
You're taking out Marcus King. I love that dude. And he's so good.
- [42:21]
Eric Church
Yeah, he's talented.
- [42:22]
Bobby Bones
Yeah.
- [42:23]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [42:23]
Bobby Bones
We sat over here and talked forever like that.
- [42:25]
Eric Church
He's South Carolina guy, so he's near. He's kind of Carolina.
- [42:28]
Bobby Bones
Yeah.
- [42:28]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [42:28]
Bobby Bones
Kind of.
- [42:29]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [42:29]
Bobby Bones
Not the same.
- [42:30]
Eric Church
He's the other Carolina.
- [42:30]
Bobby Bones
It's like a second cousin. Not quite the same. Last. Last thing. You playing golf at all?
- [42:36]
Eric Church
I played this. I just got back this last night. Oh, I was in. I was in Pebble.
- [42:41]
Podcast Host
We.
- [42:42]
Bobby Bones
I played the Pebble Pro Am when you played it a couple years ago.
- [42:44]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [42:44]
Bobby Bones
You probably played it since I played this past year. Yeah. I saw. Because we have the same golf buddy. Coach.
- [42:50]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [42:51]
Bobby Bones
And so I saw he caddied for you. I was like, I should have ca. I should have taken you because I took my buddy Eddie and he sucks.
- [42:57]
Eric Church
Yeah. It was actually a good idea. Now it doesn't really help when you're not playing well and he's, like, telling you it's. You can never fix it in the middle of the round. As you know, it's either there. It's not. Don't. Once you start moving hands around all that stuff, it's a disaster.
- [43:10]
Bobby Bones
I feel like he's like. I get there. Like golf therapy.
- [43:11]
Eric Church
He's a good therapy. Yeah.
- [43:13]
Bobby Bones
That's what it is. I got a simulator behind here that, you know, whenever I am having a bad night or anxiety or just want to get away, I'm going to crank out some balls. You have one of those?
- [43:24]
Eric Church
I don't. I'm gonna come up here.
- [43:25]
Bobby Bones
How do you hit?
- [43:26]
Eric Church
I'm only. I'm only. I'm only five houses from here, so this is really easy. Now that I know it's no Big gates open. Yeah.
- [43:35]
Bobby Bones
Okay. Last. Last thing. Only eight songs on the record?
- [43:37]
Eric Church
Yeah, there was six, and I was very happy with the record with six songs. The two songs that weren't on the record were Hands of Time and Rockets White Lincoln. And it had a vi. The thing I like about this record, Bobby, is it's got a. It's a ride. And when you put it in, it's meant to write it. And if you start and then you go to the finish, it's only 38 minutes. Right. But it's meant to be written. And the six songs were great. I loved it. It was. But it was a little thick, it was a little heavy, and I was missing a smile. I was missing a rye moment. And I told Jay that. I said, he said, what do you think? He said, we doing a six song album. And I said, well, I don't have a problem with that. But I said, there's something. I'm. I'm missing a thing. And, and I'll relate this to. This is important. So when Hurricane Elaine happened, I called radio, I called Rod, I called Captains, and I said, I need a favor. I need you to lean in on Darkest Hour because I want to raise the awareness of what this is, and I'm raising money. And they were. They did. And then what was interesting is, is in one of the conversations they said, you're still really important to this format and when the time comes, we need something that we can run with too. And I had Hands of Time and that resonated with me because I was asking for help and I understood the position they were in. I understand that. And when it came time to. To do that, I. That fit what could be the smile and lighter part of the album along with Rockets White Lincoln. And it just ended up being the last two songs that filled out the.
- [45:26]
Bobby Bones
Puzzle, which leads me to this. And then we're done. What song almost didn't get recorded that ended up being a massive consumption or a massive just hit for you that you almost didn't record?
- [45:37]
Eric Church
Smoke A little Smoke.
- [45:38]
Bobby Bones
Why. Why didn't you not. Why did you almost not record it?
- [45:41]
Eric Church
I didn't get it at the time. I mean, that was my wife and another, my guitar player I had that kept saying. And we. What really changed it is we started playing it before I recorded it. We started doing a janky version of it live and they climbed the walls. But I didn't get it in the moment. First of all, the label told me if I released that they were going.
- [46:04]
Bobby Bones
To drop me because of what the song was.
- [46:07]
Eric Church
Yeah. At that time. No, no marijuana. There was no song like that in the year that it came out. Like it was first of all, we're all on our own path anyway. And the label was like, listen, if you do this, you just might as well go do it somewhere else. And so that was a big moment. But yeah, I got close to going. I don't think, I don't know if it's going to work. You know this is not what I think.
- [46:28]
Bobby Bones
But once it did, did it give you more. Hate to use the word credibility within the label, but it give huge. Yeah, yeah.
- [46:34]
Eric Church
Because the next thing we did was made the chief album and we came out with homeboy first and they were, instead of fighting that which they probably a lot of labels would have, they just went, hey, I don't, I don't know that smoke song work. Should just let him run a minute. They. They get whatever rope you gave him. Let him, let him use it all. So the Bobby cast, we'll be right back.
- [46:57]
Bobby Bones
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- [47:40]
Instagram Voiceover
Introducing Instagram Teen accounts. A new way to keep your teen safer as they grow. Like making sure they always have their seatbelt on.
- [47:47]
Bobby Bones
Alright, sweetie pie, buckle up. Good job.
- [47:50]
Instagram Voiceover
Or ring the bell on their bike.
- [47:52]
Bobby Bones
Okay, kid, give it a try. Nice.
- [47:55]
Instagram Voiceover
Or remember their elbow pads.
- [47:57]
Bobby Bones
Knees too. Okay. Yep, There you go.
- [48:01]
Instagram Voiceover
New Instagram Teen accounts. Automatic protections for who can contact your teen and the content they can see.
- [48:09]
Podcast Host
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- [48:46]
Bobby Bones
This is the bobbycast home, obviously, super important to you. I was talking to some friends about the news story that came out where they're like, Eric's building these houses in North Carolina. Where did that. That version of you giving back? Because you've done it in many ways. You did the concert, where did that, like building a neighborhood come from?
- [49:06]
Eric Church
From the concert. So when the concert was over with, we were able to raise a substantial amount of money. And when it was, we had raised the money immediately, it was, okay, what are we going to do with it? And there were four or five charities that were lined up there that are great charities, they do great work. And they said, you know, why don't you give it to us? And my next question was, okay, what are you doing? And a lot of them were doing immediate stuff, keeping people alive, water, diapers, just temporary housing. But none of that did anything to change the trajectory of the lives that the people who had lost homes, none of that was going on. So I asked about housing and nobody had an answer for me on housing. So as opposed to what the government does where they come in and they provide temporary housing in a different location to have a roof over their head. So basically, and you know the area some. So it's little small communities and there's not a lot of people in these communities. Some of these communities are 3, 400 people. And you're taking a majority of those people and you're moving them. You're going to lose the community because you lost the people. So we started trying to see, can we do this ourselves. So I started working my Rolodex and my phone and calling people and I got to Kevin Clayton of Clayton Homes and I said, hey, can we do this? And I called a buddy of mine, he runs Cisco, and I said, can we do this? And they said, yeah, if you want to do it, we'll do it. So we really came up with a novel idea of building permanent housing, not temporary, and not only allowing them to live there for a period of time cost free, but the key to this, the whole, we call it blueprint for the Blue Ridge, the whole key is we want to give them a path to ownership for that home. So a lot of these people are people that maybe could have never owned a home in their life because of their financial situation. But now with our help and with the people who Gave help. You can change that entire family's generational life, not just theirs, but their kids. And so for those 45 families, the idea would be they'll end up owning those homes. And we just closed on two other properties. We're doing two additional properties. We'll end up doing about, as of right now, about 200 homes. But the best thing is, like, as I looked around the country, nobody's done this, which is shocking, by the way, that in the United States of America, this is not done. But it wasn't done during Katrina. It wasn't done during any other disaster we've had. And affordable housing is a major problem in the US and this is when a disaster happens, it just shines a spotlight on that problem. And so we're trying to solve that best we can in something that's blueprintable for other states when a disaster happens.
- [52:00]
Bobby Bones
That was my question. Is this a template that other areas can use?
- [52:04]
Eric Church
Yes. That's the whole purpose.
- [52:05]
Bobby Bones
And that's all. Usually, again, I do a lot of food insecurity where that's important to me back in Arkansas.
- [52:12]
Eric Church
Right, right.
- [52:12]
Bobby Bones
And it's. Yeah. A difference in help people. Right. The second. And do it some temporary, but also actually building them something that they can have. It's like give a person a fish or teach them to fish. Right. It's a version of that.
- [52:25]
Eric Church
Correct.
- [52:26]
Bobby Bones
And the hardest thing is having something that you can easily pass along a template, a formula that somebody else can use. But it sounds like what you guys are doing with that group that you're working with is able to produce that. And there is so much value in that for other people to just lay it down and do the same.
- [52:42]
Eric Church
Right. You probably affect, from a government standpoint, like, the way they would look at it, you're probably not affecting as many people in a minor way, where you take a big sum of money and you put more people in something for a year, but you're not changing those people's lives. Then you have problem number two, which is year two, year three. So what we looked at was if you can affect a smaller number and change their entire life and their family's life, it provides a pillar for the foundation of that community, which was. It's a little bit different than what's. Completely different than what's been done. But. But it's what we're doing, and so far it's going well. And we'll see where we go from here.
- [53:25]
Bobby Bones
It's interesting, the seasons of your career. I feel like this is very much the advocate season. But I feel like the last five, seven to 10 years. And I don't know if you ever thought you would end here or it'd be a part of your career where you're often spending a lot of your time and energy advocating for other people. Was that the plan? Was it purposeful at all?
- [53:44]
Eric Church
No, I think a lot of that is you. Things happen, you know, I'm fortunate to have done what I've done in my career to be in a position that I could influence, specifically North Carolina. I could. When Hurricane Helene happened, I was able to. I was able to help there. And then, you know, all of a sudden you start helping and trying to help. It did intrigue me. I remember being on a call and I was talking to some state legislators and a person from Washington involved with fema, and I remember saying, like, how is this not already been? Why is this not what we do? Like, how has this not been thought of or tried? And it just hadn't. And so the interesting thing for me was, like, okay, you know, I like stuff like that. Let's try something here. Let's try something that hadn't been done. May not work, but nobody else is trying it. You know, what's. What's happening is not working. So let's try something here. So I think a lot of that is just. It's the position. Answer your question. You're just in a position in your life that you never thought you would be in. And you have a chance to use your voice and Rolodex to call people and move the needle.
- [55:01]
Bobby Bones
I found that bureaucracy shuts down a lot of change.
- [55:06]
Eric Church
Yeah.
- [55:07]
Bobby Bones
And you need big loud voices and you talk about your Rolodex, but yeah, you need people that can be louder than the bureaucracy. Because if you have to go through nine, and I've had to do this at times, go through nine different people to get one thing checked off. That was three months to get a small thing maybe changed. But if you can take a sledgehammer to it, which you usually can with louder voices and bigger tools, they'll often listen.
- [55:34]
Eric Church
And that's the. With what we did, the federal government, that's what we were doing. You know, I mean, just as an aside, but like $9 billion went to the state of North Carolina from the federal government for Hurricane Helene relief. Right. You could give me a billion dollars right now, and I can't weaponize that billion dollars. Nobody can. There's no down chain weaponization. There's not the contractors, there's not the land to purchase. So take your billion dollars. And what we didn't really think about that I've seen and been on a thousand calls, is as you go down the line from the money to putting people under a roof, we don't have that chain developed. So some of this is trying to develop one very small arm of that chain that. Okay, we're into mid to long term housing forever. We want them to own them. We'll take this lane and you guys can figure out some other stuff. So it's not trying to solve all the problems, but it is trying to solve one of them.
- [56:35]
Bobby Bones
Okay. And we talked about before you got here, but just the records out, the Evangeline versus the machine, the free the machine tour, it's 22 days with L. King and Marcus King and Charles Wesley Godwin. And yeah, it's awesome. Again, I'm talking about it. I'm not talking about the record, the tour. I'm just talking about what. What kind of you stand for now. Like, just generally, I think we talk about a brand like Field and Stream. I think that, pardon the cliche statement, the Eric Church brand now has turned into somebody who cares. And like, I hope you like that. You didn't really pick it. It's kind of been put on you because you feel like helping.
- [57:18]
Eric Church
Well, there's a lot of parallels, too. I mean, the longer you do something, like, in music, you think more about the people that did it before you. In music, you think about those artists. But like with Field and Stream, those writers and those stories and what that meant, I think the more you do something in any lane you're in, the more you have reverence and respect for the people that did it before you. And that leads you to widen out in a lot of different ways.
- [57:45]
Bobby Bones
I think the Eric Church brand cares now, which is different than it was to me even 10 years ago, which was the Eric Church brand. Don't give up, you know?
- [57:52]
Eric Church
Yeah. Young and young and arrogant is the thing that's also. It's very powerful. It's very powerful. I mean, I see a lot of artists now that are that way and they should be that way. They should be. That's a little bit of a superpower. But as you get older, you know, and you start to. There's other superpowers out there.
- [58:08]
Bobby Bones
I appreciate the time. Eric, good luck with everything. Yeah, you're making a difference, man. That's the coolest thing that I could say about somebody making a difference. So thanks.
- [58:16]
Eric Church
Thanks for listening to a Bobby Kast production.
- [58:26]
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- [58:56]
Bobby Bones
You're listening to an iHeart podcast.