BOBBYCAST - Aaron Watson on His Infamous Feud with Bobby + Why He Will Be 'Blitzing' Country Radio for the Next 5 Years + TikTok Video That Backfired on Him + Having to Be Crazy to Be Great

Summary

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BOBBYCAST – Aaron Watson: Infamous Feud, Country Radio Blitz, Social Media Redemption & The Crazy to Be Great Philosophy

Podcast: The Bobby Bones Show – Bobbycast
Host: Bobby Bones (A)
Guest: Aaron Watson (E)
Date: October 31, 2025
Episode: #550

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Episode Overview

This lively episode dives deep into Aaron Watson’s career as an independent country music artist, his infamous “feud” with Bobby Bones, the ins and outs of trying to crack mainstream country radio, and why Watson is set to “blitz” radio over the next five years. Watson opens up about viral social media moments, the lessons learned from past battles, the necessity of a little craziness (and delusion) for greatness, and his family Christmas touring tradition. Throughout, the conversation is unfiltered, full of humor and candid wisdom, with both men reflecting on how their old “outlaw” personas have shaped their jourhttps://ai.stackexchange.com/questions/55657/how-to-query-database-in-chatgpt-pluginseys.

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Key Themes & Insights

1. Revisiting the “Feud” – Bobby vs. Aaron’s Memory Lane

• Opening Up Old Wounds—For Laughs (03:20):

  • Aaron Watson and Bobby Bones retell their infamous “feud,” sparked by a Facebook post and a surprise, unannounced radio station visit by Watson.
  • Watson frames it as, “It’s kind of our anniversary...The story gets better as time moves on” (03:11).
  • Both recall how small misunderstandings, competitiveness, and loyalty led to a local legend:
    • For Watson, it was about fighting for a spot as an indie in mainstream radio (“It was the first independent album to chart number one for a guy, and I was super excited about that.” – 07:45).
    • For Bones, it was defending his staff and pushing back against the Nashville “system.”

• Behind the Barbs – The Real Story (08:45–15:16):

  • Watson describes breaking into Bones’ building after being brushed off, channeling the Kris Kristofferson-Johnny Cash mythos—“I ought to show up at his place tomorrow...I gave the O and I caught the door before it closed” (10:08).
  • A “sweetheart” comment to Bones’ staffer lead to misunderstandings and anger.
  • The two laugh about how far both have come: “After we cooled off...the more I got to see what you’re all about, I was like, that dude's just like me, but he's got glasses” (16:04).
  • Bones admits, “The town hated my guts. I was a bull in a china shop” (16:36), while Watson reflects on being labeled the ‘bad guy’ from Texas.

Notable Quote

“Everyone talks about being some outlaws. Me and you. This is some outlaw.”
— Aaron Watson (15:16)

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2. The Facebook Rant and the Radio Debate

• Reading the Post a Decade Later (30:54–33:54):

  • Bobby Bones reads his original Facebook post (from “his sleeping pill years"), which challenged the sentiment that album sales alone justified radio play:
    • “Radio is about hit songs, not hit albums...the cream always rises to the top.” (32:32)
  • Both realize their ‘feud’ was more about defending turf than personal animosity.

• Industry Evolution:

  • The episode discusses shifting landscapes in country radio, digital/streaming dominance (Bones: “I was really ahead of it...Let’s go, baby!” – 32:31), and how Texas/Red Dirt artists were (and still are) fighting for recognition.
  • Watson: “I wanted people to know not just about me, I wanted people to know about Texas music. Like it...I love country music.” (34:38)

Notable Quote

“Within any industry, the cream always rises to the top...I’m pro Aaron Watson. I’m just anti that his album sales have anything to do with radio being disconnected.”
— Bobby Bones, reading his Facebook post (32:34)

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3. What Feuds Teach, and the Power of Grit

• Learning Curve (40:36–43:09):
  • Watson reflects: “If you live by the sword, you die by the sword...When I’m talking about another artist, I make sure that there’s no hatefulness behind it” (40:36).
  • Both agree their early years of fighting—against Nashville or Texas stereotypes—laid the foundations of their long-term success.
  • Watson shares about supporting his band and family: “There's a certain number I need to make a month so that I can take care of all my guys in the band and all the employees because they depend on me for that” (06:20).

Notable Quote

“You didn’t do anything wrong by sticking up for your person, and I didn’t do anything wrong for sticking up for the family business...You have to be willing to do that. If you want to be successful in any facet of your life, you have to be willing to do that.”
— Aaron Watson (41:59)

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4. Social Media Redemption & The Viral Baby Jesus Story

• Social Media as a Career Lifeline (43:09–49:56):
  • Watson describes “becoming irrelevant” during two vocal surgeries and how he’s “blitzing” social media now: “In the last five months, we’ve had more growth than we had the previous five years.”
  • A playful TikTok video about fans throwing things at him (including baby Jesuses) backfired/fueled fan enthusiasm as fans rained “baby Jesuses” on him on stage—“I got a fine collection of baby Jesus now!” (42:00).
  • Bones praises Watson’s “consistent” and “compelling” social content: “Consistency is currency. And to watch you consistently be good on social media and be present again, I was inspired by it.” (49:56)

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5. Being Crazy (and Delusional) Enough to Be Great

• Embracing Delusion & Setting Big Goals (61:57–66:32):
  • “You got to have a bit of delusion to be good. You got to have a whole lot of delusion to be great.” (61:59)
  • Watson reveals he’s going to “blitz” country radio with singles for five years (62:05), with his upcoming album Horse Name Texas planned for March.
  • Emphasizes that believing in yourself is essential: “That’s not being arrogant. That’s called believing in your guys, working hard, rehearsing. Also. We have been doing this for forever. We should be. We should have been the best band.” (59:14)

Notable Quotes

“If you don’t believe in you, nobody else will.”
— Bobby Bones (76:02)

“I want my kids to see me win.”
— Aaron Watson (53:57)

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6. Family, Fatherhood, and The Christmas Tradition

• Parent-Artist Balance & Generational Legacy (51:33–64:24):

  • Watson discusses the joys and challenges of having teen children who now participate in his family Christmas shows: “We integrate, you know, traditional songs, you know, songs about Jesus, songs about Santa. We have Santa show up. It is so much...Now my kids, they can’t wait to go.” (69:36)
  • Touching on life beyond music—selling his beloved Z28 after becoming a dad, coaching baseball, and mentoring his son Jake (19), who tours and plays guitar with him.
  • Parental pride and generational wisdom: “...you have to be a little crazy to do the things that you and me are doing. You have to have a bit of delusion.” (61:57)

• YouTube Series & Paying It Forward (58:01–58:57):

  • Watson’s “Good Song” initiative: spotlighting doing kind things through music, inspired by family and personal tragedy (loss of daughter in 2011), and marked by community acts, such as supporting a handicapped child in Illinois.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• The Feud Retold: 03:06–22:00
• Bobby Reads the Original Facebook Post: 30:54–33:54
• What Makes a Radio Single? Music Industry Rants: 34:27–38:00
• Lessons Learned from the Feud: 40:36–43:09
• Social Media, Virality, & Career Revival: 43:09–49:56
• Being ‘Crazy’/Delusional Enough for Greatness: 61:57–66:32
• Family, Fatherhood, and Christmas Shows: 51:33–71:41
• Future Plans—Blitzing Country Radio, YouTube Series: 62:05–79:19

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On why Aaron broke in:
  “You hear the legendary stories about Kris Kristofferson, like, renting a helicopter and flying into Johnny Cash's compound...I based my whole attack on that. And it was pretty funny.” (10:14)

• When family trumps everything:
  “I forgot about the car. I never cared about the car again.” (52:10, on becoming a dad superseding previous dreams)

• Consistency is currency:
  “Anybody can do anything great a couple of times. But the hardest thing in the world is to do anything consistently. Consistently. To me, consistency is currency.” — Bobby Bones (49:56)

• On believing in yourself:
  “I tell people we are good. I think we are the best band in country music. And that's not being arrogant; that's called believing in your guys, working hard, rehearsing.” — Aaron Watson (59:14)

• Bittersweet on aging and fanbase:
  “Grown women walk up to me. Grown women. And they'll say, oh my gosh. When I was a little girl, my dad used to listen to you in the truck...And then I start doing the math.” (68:44)

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Conclusion & Takeaways

Bobby Bones and Aaron Watson turn a decade-old “feud” into a lesson-filled, candid conversation about ambition, reinvention, and standing by your principles and your people. Through stories of family, social media blunders, music industry frustrations, and mutual respect, both show how a little outlaw spirit, some thick skin, and a bit of delusion are necessary not just to survive, but to thrive—independently or otherwise—in country music.

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For more on Aaron Watson’s tour, Christmas shows, and music, visit AaronWatson.com and check out his YouTube series “Good Song”. Follow him on Instagram: @AaronWatsonMusic.

Transcript

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Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone talks about being some outlaws. Me and you. This is some outlaw.

[A]

Welcome to episode 550 with Aaron Watson. A couple things you can go to aaron watson.com and he's doing well. It shows that he still has left on his tour, but also an Aaron Watson family Christmas tour, which we do talk about later on. I think the reason it was fun to get Aaron on is we got into a pretty big fight. I didn't realize it was like eight years ago and it wasn't even a real fight because to me everything's wrestling and a lot of feuds, even when I do them, are for promotional reasons. But no, we get into it and I thought that was good. I like Aaron. I think he's been killing it on social media. Think about Aaron. He is a major name in like Texas or Red Dirt or just general country music. But he's built his career independently without relying on a major label and that's a big part of who he is. It's a big part of his musical identity and we talk about that. So I enjoyed this. I hope you enjoy it. It's Aaron Watson on Instagram. Aaron Watson Music. And Here he is, episode 550. Aaron Watson. Aaron, good to see you, buddy.

[E]

Hey, it's. It's good to be here.

[A]

Where do we start? We got, like, three places. I thought, where should we start? Where do you want to start?

[E]

Where do you want to start? We've got a little history. It's kind of our anniversary.

[A]

I think that'll be good to do.

[E]

Yeah, it's our. Hey, happy anniversary, brother.

[A]

Is it our anniversary?

[E]

I think so. I don't know.

[A]

So I think what would be interesting for me is if we told both versions of whatever story ended us in a place where we were temporarily unhealthy with each other.

[E]

Yeah. And what's crazy is when you think about it, you know, how, like, as time moves on, the story gets better. Like, 10 years later. This could be good.

[A]

You go first.

[E]

Okay. So, Golly, that's been 10 years ago, which is wild. So we had this album come out in 2011 called Real Good Time. I was in a great place with. Had a wife. I still have my. Had a wife. This is not. This is gonna get me in trouble right off the bat. But my wife and I, we had Jake, Jack, and Jolie. You know, they're like, ages. I don't know, 5, 4, and 3. We had them back to Back to back, and Real Good Time comes out. And I remember I got a call, and they were like, you're not gonna believe this, but your album charted top 10 on country Billboard. And for me, I was an independent artist. I wasn't looking for anything beyond that. I was just really happy where I was at, and. But I got to thinking, well, what if. What if we. What if I got a real producer? And what if we. Instead of just, like, making a record and just throwing it out there, there was some strategy involved. So I got in touch with Keith Stegall, which, you know, legendary producer, did all Alan Jackson stuff, and we worked on this album called the Underdog. And so we finished the Underdog album, and then we held onto it for maybe, like, nine months and tried to work strategy, and the album came out, and it became a number one and. Which was huge for us, you know, And I don't think really back then, I really understood that that was quite the feat because things are much different now. I don't think people really pay a lot of attention to some of that stuff, but it was the first independent album to chart number one for a guy, and I was super excited about that. And we were trying to get a song to radio. We had a song called that look that I still feel like could just be a hit today. And so we're trying to convince. It was it. It was during crs, I think we were trying to. Like we're meeting with all of these program directors, trying to convince them to play us. But I don't know, I feel like back then independent artists weren't as celebrated maybe as they are now. I kind of felt like I was looked at like a bad guy. And I think at the end of the day, you know, my career, it's like, it's no different than if I had a lawn care business. It was just the family business. Like, literally when I'm working, I'm thinking about one thing. There's a certain number I need to make a month so that I can take care of all my guys in the band and all the employees because they depend on me for that. So there's always that goal. So at the end of the day, there is always that on me. Like I have to take care of my boys. And so I felt like we were here battling for, for the, you know, going to war for the business, the family business, you know, trying to say, hey, we're not these outlaw Texas artists, you know, and. And then I end up breaking into your place, basically. So we'll. But we'll get to that, you know, which kind of makes me go, okay, maybe I was a little more. More of that than what I thought. But I will, dude, I will never forget. I know the exact time and place where I got, I guess tagged on a. It was Facebook. It was Facebook. It was a Facebook post. But Keith Stegall. We were at dinner kind of celebrating the number one and we were literally talking about how like, I think we can do. We can get mainstream raider to jump on this stuff. We could hire a radio team. We can do this. You know, at that point I was like, maybe a label would even want a part of this. And it was either me or Keith somehow got. And it's been too long ago, but I read. I can't remember in my mind. It's like a seven paragraph thing. I have it somewhere on a computer. And it was well written.

[A]

Well, what was written, What I can.

[E]

Remember is it was nothing really against me. It was. I think I probably should have read that and been more prepared when I came in here. But I think what you were kind of getting at was where music was at that time.

[A]

Did I actually write something?

[E]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Got it.

[E]

And and did I write it about you? Yeah. Got it.

[A]

As you can tell, I'm not prepared either.

[E]

Okay.

[A]

Because my version of this is way different because yours actually has like a story behind it and like a reason. Mine was just, I was just running hot. But go ahead.

[E]

So at the end of your seven paragraph thing, I'll text it to you when I got it somewhere.

[A]

I probably don't want to cringe, so you can.

[E]

Well, at the end of it it said something like, I like Aaron, but just because he has a number one album doesn't mean that he belongs on mainstream radio. That is what made me go, dude, we got to go see that guy. So Keith contacted someone and I started running hot too. I mean, I don't run as hot as I used to.

[A]

Same. I'm running a me too.

[E]

Currently. I can't. Here, here's how unhot I am at the moment. I can't. It hurts to shake with my right hand because my 18 year old boy did some jiu jitsu thing on me and now I'm, I'm wounded. I am a. I'm. And he actually laughed at me and he goes, ah, dad, did I hurt your little money maker? I, I run so unhot now that I just retreated from that smart aleck comment. So what I remember is Keith reached out to somebody that maybe worked for you and they were, he was like, man, they don't have time. And I was like, well tell him they have time. He just wrote this long paragraph. I'm trying to get mainstream radio to play me and literally the biggest DJ in all of country music said like I don't deserve to be played. So for me it was more like I didn't want to fight you. I wanted to be like, dude, listen to this album. We slaved over this thing. Like this is a competitive mainstream country album and it's. And my thing is it was Texas music. And that was my big argument 10 years ago to every label. I said Texas music is a great version of country music. And there are artists. And I said it back then. I said there's this kid named Cody Johnson that's going to blow Yalls minds and there's a whole bunch of him back in Texas. And, and you know, and it, that just wasn't the vibe. And as I've gotten older I understand that it's phases and stages and stuff like that, but. So I don't remember, I don't, I can't accurately say exactly what it was, but I think maybe someone that worked for you Said, we don't have time to meet with him. And then maybe three or four glasses of wine later, I was like, you know what I ought to do? I ought to show up at his place tomorrow. Because my thought was this. You hear the legendary stories, but about Kris Kristofferson, like, renting a helicopter and flying into Johnny Cash's compound. And basically I based my whole attack on that. And it was pretty funny. But so before you. I remember. I remember waking up early in the morning, and I don't know if it was 5:30 or 6 in the morning, but I remember the doors were locked. And I'm sitting. I'm on. I know exactly where I was at. You walk up the steps, and I'm on the right side. This little lady walks up, and I guess she had the code because she opens the door, and as the door is. As the door is shutting, dude, I gave the O and I caught the door before it closed, dude. So I'm mosey in like I'm fixing to rob a bank, and I go sit down and I think I was thinking about, like, so you have a wife and three kids and this is your career. My mom, always my mom. I have the sweetest mom and dad. And she's like, take a moment and think about the decisions you're fixing to make. And what's so bad is I've told my mom. Oh, I did. I thought about it. I knew it was a bad decision, and mom, I just did it anyways. But I remember, so I remember that. I think I built up the courage at some point after I snuck into your place to ask to speak to you. I remember. I think it was your producer, Elena. Elena. And she. I can't remember, but I think she basically told me it was very unprofessional to just show up unannounced. And I probably was like, yeah, well, I'm not professional. I probably popped off and said some smart Alec thing, because if you know me, that's. That's that. I've gotten a few butt kickings over my. Through the years because of my mouth. But what set her off? I said, will you tell Bobby that I will sit down here in this lobby all day long until he has time for. Immediately shake his hand and give him this album. I says, if he has time to write that Facebook post, he has time to shake my hand. And she said, well, something, something, something. And I popped off of her pop. I popped off at her and she said something. Then I went, thank you, sweetheart. And I saw fire in her eyes. And I felt suddenly like a. A second grader when you make your teacher mad and, you know. Yeah. And then a large man. I don't know if he. In my mind now, it's gotten better, but I feel like he picked me up by the back of my shirt and hoisted me out. And so I walked out with my manager at the time and I. He said, how'd it go? I go, well, that did not go so well. That was not my Christofferson Johnny Cash moment that I was hoping for. And then, dude, we turn on the radio and I hear you go, who? What did he do? And, dude, and it was like, next thing you know, my phone. Oh, gosh. It was. Yeah. And those were the end of my outlaw days. I have not. I have not broke into any place. I. I was a changed man after that. I didn't like the feeling of, you know, breaking and entering.

[A]

That's funny, the breaking and entering part, because a big part of my career is I broke into another radio station and took over their airwaves.

[E]

Dude, that's awesome.

[A]

It's now looking back, it's awesome.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

But there was a time that I could have really been in a lot of trouble because we took over their airwaves. Like, we locked everybody out and then took over on the phone and drove around the city and like, we FCC violated many things that day.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

So when you say that and you're like, I knew I wasn't. That's how I felt the whole time. I was also breaking into a radio station. Yeah.

[E]

Yeah. I. Well, also too. Let me say this about you, because there's a lot of artists even in this town. Everyone talks about being some outlaws, but just because you don't, like, dress the part. I mean, me and you, I mean, I've. I don't know that I've ever dropped a four letter word on. On a podcast for radio. Radio before, but. But this is some outlaw, you know, and you look at us, we were.

[A]

Very much in a similar place at that time.

[E]

Definitely. But you know, what it was. Is before you tell your story, I'll say this after the, you know, after we. We cooled off a little bit, and the more I got to know about you and see what you're all about, I was like, that dude's just like me, but he's got glasses.

[A]

Same, except he wears a cowboy hat. That's kind of how I felt. Yeah. I don't remember the Facebook post at all, so I would love to even see it. At first, I was Like, Mike, if you find it, if you happen to go back 10 years, I was looking for it.

[E]

Mike wasn't even born.

[A]

I would love to read it, because I'm curious as to where my head was then. 10 years. My version of this is, if it was 10 years ago, I hadn't been here very long. The town hated my guts.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

I was a bull in a china shop with anybody who put. They could have pushed me out of the way of a car. And I was like, you pushed me. It's time to fight.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And so anyone trying to assert any direction or authority on me.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

We're gonna fight. Because I had to fight forever to get there. I thought everybody was. Was coming for me, so I was going to take everybody down before they got to me.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

That's very much my headspace, and not just specifically towards you, but it's what made my first few years here very difficult. I do think, though, in the same way that you have success, my success now is based on those first three or four years of just fighting everybody, because, one, I think it got me a lot of respect, and two, I got to be myself very unapologetically. I didn't have to play the game.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, you didn't want to play the Nashville game. I don't want to play the Nashville game.

[E]

Yeah. Yeah, totally.

[A]

You know, when I moved here, they were like, you got to wear a cowboy hat, and you got to act like a little more of. And I'm like, dude, there's a difference in trailer park country. Like, I was.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And cowboy country. And both count.

[E]

Both count.

[A]

But I'm not going to be a version of the country that I'm not.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And so the only thing I remember was Elena showing up, and she said, hey, there's somebody out front. And again, this is so long ago.

[E]

Yeah. It's so long ago, bro.

[A]

And I was like, I'm in the middle of a show.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm not going out there. And secondly, I don't meet people about music ever.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Because although I can, like, spike music here and there and play what I want, I don't want to play music. I don't want to be known for that.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I was like, I'm not going to meet anybody out there. And she's like, I'll go meet him. And she comes back pissed.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

The only thing that I remember is that my person was pissed.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And it. It wouldn't have mattered if you would have said, hey, hope you have a good day, but she was pissed and she felt offended.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Anybody that came after my. And you didn't come after. I don't feel like now knowing you. Yeah, you came after her. I feel like it was. Both people were in a place that. It was a bit awkward. You were in an awkward place. She was in an awkward place. And I was like, if you're offended, I'm offended. And I like to fight. Let's go after him.

[E]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

And that's what it was. And so, yeah, I just was like, let's just burn it all down. I don't. I do not. I don't know this person. Yeah, I'm able to. I'll burn anything down right now. And then I did. And I remember it was all about her saying that you called her sweetheart. And in my head, I'm like, dude, I grew up in Arkansas.

[E]

I was shocked. I said, man. I remember someone interviewed. Interviewed me. And I said, all I know is this. Do not call a girl in Nashville, Tennessee, a sweetheart. Because it does not. It. That does not. But you know what's. What's hilarious? We ate it. It was like, a couple of days later. We were still here. We were at one of those, like. What do they call it? The hot chick, the hot chicken.

[A]

The, like, one of the hot chicken places. What's the one called, Mike? The big one there. As you can see, we don't really go to Statue of Liberty down here.

[E]

Yeah, I think we were Hattie B's. Yeah, actually, it was Hattie B's. And I ordered something, and the lady was like, can I get you anything else, sweetheart? And I was like. And we all. I was like, oh, did she just. What? Did she just call me what? That lady? Just. No, but. Yeah. No, and. And, you know, I. But I. I will say this. I knew that's what it was.

[A]

She was offended. I wasn't offended. Yeah, but because she was offended.

[E]

Yeah, totally.

[A]

My person's upset. I'm upset.

[E]

You got to take care of your.

[A]

People, and I wasn't there to see it. And also, again, I'm from a small town in Arkansas. Everybody called everybody sweetheart.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

So even if you'd have called me that.

[E]

Well, that might.

[A]

I might have been different. I'd have thought maybe you thought I was cute.

[E]

Yeah. But, like, he's a really nice guy.

[A]

I wouldn't have been offended had she not.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Been out of her mind mad. And I'm like, okay, I got you. And that was it. And so I went with it. You went with it. It got to Be kind of fun for a second. And then the more people I knew that knew you, even second layer, they were like, he's a good guy. Like, he's. And that's what they tell me. He's got. He's kind of got a mouth like you. Yeah, he's a good guy. And then it just kind of faded away.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

But for me, it was never. Because there are some people from that long ago that I have no relationship with, because I really became offended with you. I never felt that way, actually. I followed. I mean, I messaged you a few weeks ago, and I was like, dude, you were killing it. Like, I guess I don't even think about that version of us.

[E]

Yeah, well, we were both. You're very right. Because also what happened to me is I love country music. I just love it. It's. When it comes to base, baseball and country music are the two things that my dad have always. We've always had together. You know, even when I was a teenager and I was being a turd, if it came down, if it was involved baseball, country music, me and dad were suddenly best buds again, and we. We would get along. And that's still the same thing today. You know, it's like, I'm ready to get back home. So he. He's. He's ready to come over to the house and hear the new Waylon Songbird album, and he wants to hear it on vinyl at the house. And so country music means a lot to me. And so I've never been. Been like, I want to be a big country star. I kind of looked up to guys like Guy Clark and Robert Ear. I've always kind of been infatuated with these country boys that can just sing their songs on a stool and make a living. And. And I love business, so I'm good at that. And so when I was in college, I thought to myself, okay, I probably. I don't want to be George Strait. That's. You know, if it were to go there, then that would be cool. But I had a very realistic business plan. I thought to myself, if I can play shows and break even, paying the band and all the expenses, if I could sell just 3,000, 4,000 CDs a year out of the back of the van, I'd make more than I would make if I was going to be a baseball coach in high school. It was really that simple. And then it grew from there. But that week was a. That week was an interesting week because I thought that having a number one album would be celebrated and earlier that week, what happened is that's when the president of Sony, Gary Overton, said, if you're not played on. That's what your article was about. Oh, my gosh. It just hit me. You were. Your thing was about. Gary Overton made a comment. He said, if you're not played on mainstream radio, then you don't exist. Well, then I've got a smart mouth. I got interviewed by like one of the big papers here and then whatever the paper is in, in London, obviously.

[A]

Because that makes sense. Yeah. Here in London. Yeah.

[E]

It was the weirdest thing. I was like. And Rolling Stone was. I mean, I'm getting.

[A]

I.

[E]

You have to realize at this point, I've already been doing this for 15 years. I have never experienced this kind of thing in, in my life. And all of a sudden I'm. They're like, hey, Rolling Stone wants to talk to you. And I'm like, rolling Stone. And so they asked me, Gary Overton, the president of Sony, said, if you don't get played on mainstream radio, you don't exist. They said, what would your response be to him? And I said, well, I guess I'd walk up to him, shake his hand and go, hey, Mr. Overton, my name's Aaron Watson and I got the number one country album this week. So I guess I kind of sort of exist. Well, that started going viral and next thing you know, people started and I, at that point, I accidentally threw him under the bus and I started. It was just, it was a wild thing. And I am a guy, I am pro artist. I wave the flag for all artists, whether they're on a label, whether they're independent. Obviously, I really cater towards the independent kids because I can tell them something, that I can actually sit some of these kids down and go, tell me your numbers. Okay. No, don't even think about a bus right now. Don't even think about this right now. No, you don't need a higher social media person. You need a front of house guy because your band sounds horrible out front. I can help an artist. There are mainstream young artists that. Because I've probably almost got 3000 shows under my belt that I could say, tell me what you're doing. Because I've made a lot of mistakes and they may be 100 million times more talented than me. Raw talent. But I've honed my craft over 25 years, 3000 shows or whatever it is. But that was a crazy week for me just because of all of a sudden all this heightened publicity. I mean, I was already Selling out every show. I played in the south, in Texas and everywhere we would go. So it wasn't like I was new. It was literally I'd been doing it for 15 years already. I was like, you know, people would talk to me like, well, you know, like I'm some new artist and I'm like, Well, I mean, 15 years ago I was. Got a wife and three kids. Come on, you're sure?

[A]

I wrote. I just was never a guy that wrote stuff. I mean, I wrote books.

[E]

Yeah, I'm very sure.

[A]

Yeah. I'm not saying I did.

[E]

No. Yeah, I have it somewhere. I'll send it to you. It wasn't, here's the deal in this. It didn't offend me. It's almost very parallel with what you just said with you weren't mad at me for saying sweetheart. It was more the fact that she worked for you and she was upset. You were. More. Now that we are talking about it, a lot of this is coming back to me. I think you were addressing the fact that Gary Overton made a very bold statement about, I don't know.

[A]

Gary Overton.

[E]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Did you find it? I found it, yeah.

[E]

Okay.

[A]

Can you text it to me?

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Or just hand me a computer or something. I would love to see it because I. These are my sleeping pill years.

[E]

Yeah. Well, I'll tell you this, it's so funny because I will still have people come up to me and ask me about you. And I go, we're friends now. We're good. Now let's take a quick pause for a message from our sponsor.

[B]

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[E]

All I know is what I've been told. And that to half truth is a whole lie.

[D]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[E]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[D]

We know A story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[A]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[D]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[A]

I did not know her and I did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[E]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her.

[D]

From Lava For Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[E]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[D]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. So subscribe to Lava For Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[F]

Michael Lewis here. My book the Big Short tells the story of the buildup and birth of the US housing market back in 2008. It follows a few unlikely but lucky people who saw the real estate market for the black hole it would become and eventually made billions of dollars from that perception. It was like feeding the monster, said Eisman. We fed the monster until it blew up. The monster was exploding. Yet on the streets of Manhattan, there was no sign anything important had just happened. Now, 15 years after the Big Short's original release and a decade after it became an Academy Award winning movie, I've recorded an audiobook edition for the very first time. The Big Short story, what it means when people start betting against the market and who really pays for an unchecked financial system is as relevant today as it's ever been, offering invaluable insight into the current economy and also today's politics. Get the Big Short now at Pushkin fm. Audiobooks or wherever audiobooks are sold.

[E]

And we're back on the Bobbycast.

[A]

Let me read this. And I wrote this. Okay, here we go. And the bio's Facebook letter guy. I can't believe I wrote on Facebook this article. So what am I wrote? The S word looks like. Yeah.

[E]

Wow.

[A]

I haven't. I haven't said a single curse word in six or seven years.

[E]

You're refined now. That's crazy.

[A]

Okay, I'm just going to read it and cringe afterward.

[E]

Okay.

[A]

In the article about country radio being out of touch because Aaron Watson isn't getting played is absurd. Not because the title is wrong, but because of why they wrote it. First off, in a few ways, country radio is out of touch. I get s for playing awesome 90s songs on the air because we are new country. So many suits throw tantrums because of it. Then they do research and said, you know what? People actually like 90s country. No s. I can save you research money about 95% of the time. But not playing Aaron Watson isn't the reason there's any sort of disconnect. Radio purchasing music is a singles game now. The old Internet allows us to buy one song at a time, so we do. Rarely does anyone buy an album anymore, usually only if it's one of our favorite artists. This is why the world flipped when Taylor sold over a million, which is unheard of in a week. Now, I like Aaron, but I just checked and he doesn't have a single song in the top 100 on iTunes. And last time I checked, radio doesn't play albums, they play songs. I love radio. And radio's changing every day. The days of it being just in your car or through a transmitter are coming to an end. Dang, I was really ahead of it.

[E]

Yeah, you were.

[A]

Let's go, baby.

[E]

Yeah, you were.

[A]

It's going to be in your car, but in your Wi Fi. Mine already is Spotify, iHeartRadio, podcasts. That's the landscape. Radio for now is still king, but the king realizes that other people are invading its territory and it's cool that it typo iHeartradio, which was created by my radio company. I think I was just like saying I am part of a company that does that. I don't know, wrote that. Terrible. Radio still dominates and quote, you only play the same artist over and over is what I hear all the time. Note, I don't pick the music. But yeah, you know why? Because people love and they're buying those songs right now. It's a ratings game just like the local news. It's a business. Radio is about hit songs, not hit albums. Hopefully a song that you check out on an album and you buy is then if the album is great, it'll thrive regardless of radio play. C bet, Kasey Musgraves, et cetera. Within any industry, the cream always rises to the top. However, the article is dumb. Side note, I've been scolded twice for playing Johnny Cash on the ear twice in the last two days. Side note two, I also played Aaron Watson on the Year earlier in the week way before the article and said I really like the song. So I'm pro Aaron Watson. I'm just anti that his album sales have anything to do with radio being disconnected. Side note three. What's up, Aaron? I'm a fan. Don't take this as a personal shot. Everybody check out the album. The album will not be played on the show. Signed Bobby Bones.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, that's. I don't know. I still kind of stand by it most of that.

[E]

Yeah. Yeah. And it was a good. It was, that was all good stuff. And I think that's where the. What's up, Aaron? I was like, for me, I'm a very realistic person. Like the last three albums that I've made, I have not even thought about pushing nationally because I can listen to them and go, I'm not going to spend my kids inheritance. I'm not gonna gamble their inheritance on this music.

[A]

I think my point with that though wasn't anything to do with your. Anybody.

[E]

No, totally.

[A]

It's that just because an album exists doesn't mean that a song should have to be forced down.

[E]

Whatever.

[A]

Whatever radio was becoming.

[E]

Totally.

[A]

So I don't, I don't even think it was about you.

[E]

No, it wasn't. It was like the, the Gary over. The more we talk about it, it's bringing back. It's bringing it all back. I think for me, I was thinking, okay, literally one of the biggest radio names in the game, Bobby Bones. Like, I felt like that was another. Like I already have. Like there's like Eric Church talks about being an outsider. I remember thinking, well, if you're an outsider, where am I actually? Like, am I outside the outsider? You know, I remember thinking, like, so we had all those obstacles and I think for me, I don't know that I went over there even like wanting to meet you behind the dumpster and fight. I think it was. There was some of it that was like, hey, what's up, Aaron? But, you know, whatever. And I, I kind of was like, dude, I want to get this guy the album if he could hear this album. This thing turned out really special. And. And I think too, we were just, I mean, you know, like my manager now, Greg, you know, I. I couldn't get him to even take a whiff of it back in the day, you know, and. And it was just roadblock after roadblock after roadblock. And I think at the end of the day, I wanted people to know not just about me, I wanted people to know about Texas music. Like it. I love country music. So I have enough music music education that I could hear what mainstream radio is playing and then I could hear some of the stuff that my buddies are playing. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, this stuff is good. And. And I was really getting fed up with people putting me in a box. And I used to say, were the Beach Boys popular in Kansas? Yes. Are there beaches in Kansas? No. Was west coast rap popular in West Texas? Yes. I mean, I got a whipping for owning Dr. Dre's the chronic. You know, your bark was loud, but your bite wasn't vicious. I know that album like the back of my hand, which is weird. And I use that now. I rap when I want to embarrass my daughter. And that's one of my. But. But it's one of those things. I think you and I were in a very similar place where we were both scratching, clawing for every inch of the way and having to actually fight for. For our little territory, our. Our space. I think that's really, really probably what it was.

[A]

But when you talk about that, because it's funny how we're talking about it and stuff's coming up. Because I don't remember writing that. It's. I'm kind of proud that I predicted all the digital stuff. And I'm like, dude, I was kind of like Jim Morrison when you predict computers would do music straight up.

[E]

Did I? You're reading that. I'm like, okay, wow.

[A]

This is. In my head. Is another freaking cowboy telling me how to do my show.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Because that's all this town was were cowboys telling me that everything I was doing was wrong. And again, it wasn't even you specifically. It was another cowboy.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Coming to me.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Saying, no, you don't get it. In me, in my box, as an outsider, I'm going F you, dude.

[E]

Yeah, totally.

[A]

All you cowboys are doing is telling me how to do country music. I grew up on country music.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Just because I don't look like you doesn't mean I don't own an equal love.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And so in a very similar way, makes you represented the system to me.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And I was like, screw that, dude. And then the sweetheart thing. Well, my person's upset. But it's funny how. And both stories are true because we own. We each own a version of that story.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

That's funny.

[E]

It is funny. But, you know, it was. I learned a lot from. You know, I learned a lot from. From that. I can tell you what I learned from it. And I don't know that I've actually. I realized it until we're talking about it face to face. But my mom said something to me when we called with a follow up call. I said, mom, I don't feel like I did anything wrong. Well, besides breaking into his place, I go, but they're mad at me. I go. I called her sweetheart. And my mom said, baby, at the end of the day, if you hurt her feelings, you owe her an apology whether you think you did anything right or wrong. So my mom came in clutch again. I. Which he always is right. And I apologize. But it was. What I learned from that situation is a lot of things that I'm applying now to social media. And the reason why people are like, where did you come from? And I was like, well, I've never taken social media serious. I had a guy tell me that I have become irrelevant. The last five years have been pretty hard on me. I've had two surgeries on my vocal cords where it's like, anytime I feel like I'm finally ramping up and ready to go, I have to stop and go have surgery. And it shuts the whole thing down for. It's. It's like, you're ready. You're ready to have the season of your life. And I've been feeling like that since almost 2020. Like, I'm ready to have the best year of my career. And then I have vocal cord issues, and I have vocal cord issues again, and I'm finally, for the first time, in the clear, and I'm like, okay, let's go. And everybody talks about. It's about social media, and I'm like, oh, I can do this, and I can do this good. And in the last. I'm pretty sure that in the last five months, we've had more growth than we had the previous five years. But I think what our experience taught me is if you live by the sword, you die by the sword.

[A]

Yeah, that's true.

[E]

You know, and it's like, make sure that you're willing to die on that hill. And. And also, too, when I'm. When I'm talking about another artist, I make sure that there's no hatefulness behind it. It's very important that they. It's very important that I don't act like that. If there's someone that I don't care for, that that's. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna go there. I talk about things. One artist told a fan to do something awful from the microphone, and it's unacceptable. And. And all the young artists can tell me that it's okay to drop f bombs from the stage if they want to, but I don't think it's acceptable. I. I'm a dad. And I think that some of these young artists, someday, when they have kids and they understand how. How sensitive and precious those little ears are, they're going to change on that stage. They're going to go, I have no right to talk like that to fans who brought their children. And they can try to argue with me. I have experience arguing. I have three teenagers. So that's. That's more of my standpoint of when we're. And then also, too, I like to just be. I like to be funny. Like, it backfired on me this week.

[A]

Which one?

[E]

Well, I made one. A lot of artists get fed up with people throwing things at them, which I've been hit with everything. So a couple of girls threw some. Those little baby Jesuses at me. So I made a funny. I thought it was funny. My wife didn't think it was funny, but I made a little like, I'm fed up with people throwing things. And I was like, would y' all look at what hit me in the, you know, baby Jesus? And so. So I was on stage. We. We played with Braxton, Keith. We were in Arizona on Saturday night. And the moment I hit the stage, it started raining. Baby Jesus is on me. 5050 plus baby Jesuses bombed me. And part of me, it wasn't that the baby Jesus is hurt. I'm trying not to laugh when I get smacked with a little baby Jesus. And I was like, yep, baby Jesus. I got a fine collection of baby Jesus now. But, you know, it's taught. I will say this, that the experience. There's a couple of things. Our ticket, our album sales soared that week because of our little confrontation. And there's a couple of things I learned from it. You didn't do anything wrong by sticking up for your person, and I didn't do anything wrong for sticking up for the family business. And that's important. You have to do that. And if you want to be successful in any facet of your life, you have to be willing to do that. I mean, you are passionate about your brand, your people. And in the same way, I'm like, oh, heck no. I. I got songs on this album. Fifteen years into my career, I've. I'm as good as anybody on radio. Give me my shot. And we were both willing to die on that hill. You know, now that we're older, you know, we realize, okay, we're. We were running hot. But you're not where you're at today. If you hadn't have reacted how you reacted for sure. And you got it. I mean, that's the thing. There's not a great athlete out there besides Shohei Ohtani. That's passive. You know, everybody has to be a bulldog. That guy is not from Japan. He's from another planet.

[A]

He's from another planet. I agree.

[E]

So he's an alien.

[A]

I agree.

[E]

The Bobby cast. We'll be right back.

[B]

Hear that? That's what it sounds like when you plant more trees than you harvest. Work done by thousands of working forest professionals like Adam, a district forest manager who works to protect our forests from fires.

[C]

Keeping the forest fire resistant, synonymous with keeping the forest healthy. And we do that through planting more than we harvest and mitigate those risks through active management. It's a long term commitment.

[B]

Visit workingforestsinitiative.com to learn more.

[E]

All I know is what I've been told. And that's a half truth is a whole lie.

[D]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[E]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[D]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[A]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[D]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[A]

I did not know her and I did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[E]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her.

[D]

From Lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[E]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[D]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[E]

It's Anna Ortiz and I'm Mark and Delicato.

[B]

You might know us as Hilda and.

[E]

Justin from Ugly Betty.

[B]

We played mother and son on the show, but in real life we're best.

[A]

Friends and I'm all grown up now.

[B]

Welcome to our new podcast, Viva Betty. Can you believe it has been almost 20 years? That's not even possible. Well, you're the only one that looks that much different. I look exactly the same. We're re watching the series from start to finish and getting into all the fashions, the drama and the behind the scenes moments that you get never heard before.

[A]

You're going to hear from guests like America Ferreira, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, Becky.

[E]

Newton, Tony Plana, and so many more icons.

[B]

Each and every one, all of a sudden, like someone like comes running up to me and it's Salma Hayek and she's like, you are my Ugly Betty. And I was like, what is she even talking about? Listen to Viva Betty as part of the Michael Tuda podcast podcast network available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[E]

This is the Bobby cast.

[A]

And that guy, I don't know about you, but that, that bull, I'll call him the bull. He, he's still in there. And sometimes, sometimes I feel uncomfortable when he starts to come, when he starts to fight, to get out.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And then I have to re about because I also think this, everything's wrestling at this point, even the fights. And I, I, I did a whole thing about Zach, Brian and Gavin Adon and I was like, to me as a spectator, I'm watching wrestling. It ain't real.

[E]

Yeah. I don't it is either.

[A]

It a, I, I mean, to them it could be, but it's going to be over and they're going to be doing a song together in two years.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Like it's that all of entertainment is wrestling and, and get it how you can get it. And when you get older, you're going to realize you got it in a very immature way.

[E]

Yeah. Now if I see a video and they're just throwing punches and there is bloody noses, I'm going to be like, that's what I'm talking about.

[A]

And I think there would have been. But I, I would bet money, I would get on DraftKings right now and I would bet that in the next five years they do something together.

[E]

Probably so. Yeah. Because, well, you were already right about the entire streaming world back in 2015.

[A]

That was again, I'm pretty proud of that. I didn't even know I wrote that.

[E]

You know what? I do. You know what? As you're rereading that, what I regret is instead of being selfish and making it all about my music, why didn't I listen to the wisdom there and go, I need, I need to invest.

[A]

There's no wisdom. It was guessing. It was all guessing.

[E]

But it was, you know, no, yeah.

[A]

I did reach out to you a couple weeks ago. Wait, way before this was even set up. And it wasn't for any other purpose other than just to see what you're doing, watching you do it, and consistently, because I think anybody can do anything great a couple of times. But the hardest thing in the world is to do anything consistently. Consistently. To me, consistency is currency. And to watch you consistently be good on social media and be present again, I was inspired by it. And so I sent you a message at like 10 o' clock at night.

[E]

And I was like, dude, by the way, thank you.

[A]

I was like, I've been watching your stuff. And you got to know that I think the world of what you're doing because it wasn't like two videos, it wasn't a couple that went viral. It was like over months and months and months. You were consistently compelling from a lot of different angles. And so now when I see people do things, I would like to recognize them because I think sometimes it feels awfully lonely. We're making all this stuff and for whatever reason, people don't communicate to us either. They don't like it, they're jealous of it. They think everybody else is communicating to us, so why should they? So I was just like, hey, dude, like, I love what you're doing and I hope that wasn't weird.

[E]

But I did feel that, you know, it was nice. It made my day because, I mean, and this, it. I was chuckling as we're driving over here because I'm like, literally, it was almost 10 years ago where it kind of hit the fan. Yeah.

[A]

Sweetheart Fest.

[E]

The Sweetheart.

[A]

Sweetheart Fest 2005 or whatever.

[E]

Yeah. And it was, yeah, you know, that Watson, he's an outlaw. He'll call a woman a sweetheart. I mean, but, you know, you know.

[A]

And that Bobby, he'll protect his people if they're upset.

[E]

It does, it does make sense that I've always said that I have a really. I have this God given ability of accidentally pissing off a woman. And I did it right there. You know, I, I just, you know, I, I look at my daughter now and go, hey, are you mad at me? Did. What? Did I what? You know, like, girl, I, I drove 30 minutes, took you into town to get you an acai bowl. I, I feel like you shouldn't be mad at me right now. But how.

[A]

What's it like having teenagers?

[E]

I love it. It's, it's. I can't believe that they're the age they're at. Everyone says it flies Everyone told me that just yesterday when they were little. Does.

[A]

Does it? Because again, I'm about to have a kid. Everyone's like, it's gonna fly. And I'm like, nothing really flies.

[E]

Well, I don't think that the first couple of years fly.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[E]

At all. Great. Yeah. At all. It's a. It's. It's a. It's a life adjustment. It's a lifestyle adjustment. The culture changes on you. Next thing you know, you're revolving everything around your baby. But it's also one of those things that before. I'll give you a good example. I had a 1978 Z28 that I bought off ebay when my wife and I got married. And for three years, I saved up and I was fixing it up, redid the interior, put a new engine in it, new transmission in it, and I was getting it painted. This paint shop said, hey, we'll do it for a really good deal if you don't. If we can just kind of do it in between projects. I was so excited. I would drive up there and see progress that they had made, and I could not wait. I could not wait to get that car. They called me to tell me my Z28 was ready on March 6, 2006, a few hours after Jake was born. I forgot about the car. I never cared about the car again. And that always made me go, wow, that's crazy, because for three years, I was obsessed with like, I can't wait to get this car all souped up. The car set out there. A kid came by the house one day and said, how much would you sell that car for? And I was like, you know, I don't ever drive it. It's really hard to put a baby seat in the back of a Z, old Z 28. But I remember the kid brought like $3,500 in a shoebox. And I just. It was worth probably four times that. But I was once 16 and would have given anything to have that car. And I. But it is the coolest thing ever. And my oldest. I'll tell you one of the reasons why I am the best version of me as an artist. And while, like, my five year plan is gonna win, first of all, it's not about me. I want my kids to see me win. I want them to see me win. They're at an age right now where I'm telling them, if you work hard, if you work hard and you're willing to put in the time and the effort, you can do anything. And I've been preaching that, and now they're getting to watch me. And my oldest boy, Jake, is 19.

[A]

He comes out with you.

[E]

Yeah. Plays the guitar. I mean, he's. He's a hundred times more talented than me. He just. I'm not gonna allow him to record songs until he can grow good sideburns. Because I'm like, dude, your voice is still changing, and you can't grow sideburns. That's the deal. He's like, oh, I wanna freaking grow sideburns. And I'm like. I'm like. He's like, dad, when could you grow sideburns? I was like, I don't know when. I was like. Till I was like, 26. And he's like, no. And my middle boy, Jack, is all into business. Bitcoin, gold, silver, stocks. So we talk business. And then my daughter, she's like a young Aretha girl, can just sing and she writes. And they're watching me. And I'm having more fun. I'm having more fun than I've ever had in my life. I'm just different now. When we were on the stage at the American Rodeo in front of 50,000 people, I got up on that stage, I just looked around, and I literally was like, thank you, Lord. Like, I am the luckiest man in the world right now. Like, I'm lucky. It's not blessed. I'm just lucky. I'm lucky. And then last night, we just played to 500 people at a little place in Flagstaff, and I felt the same way. I had as much fun in front of 500 people last night as I did 50,000 people in Arlington. And it's just. I'm loving it. I'm writing better songs than I've ever written. And I understand. I understand. I understand the business better. And I also am like, oh, man. Like, Willie didn't have his moment till his 40s, and so, I don't know. I might get into acting. I don't know.

[A]

Really?

[E]

Oh, yeah. I'm all about it. Like, I have. I am. I am here to show every independent artist that you are in control of your destiny. And I will not be stopped. Dude. It's like, I did not give social media the credit it deserved. I. I was being an. Like, just a fuddy duddy about it. Like, this is a pain. This is stupid. But then I realized, oh, man. Do it right, and. And it gives you the opportunity to do what no other artist has ever been able to do in the history of music. And my streams are going up because why Because I'm making a video. You know, I made. One thing that I saw that was cool is I did a video on Father's Day about bread. David Gates, the songwriter, he wrote a song. And all my life I thought this song was about like a. A girlfriend. It's like a love song, like she's gone. But I actually listened to the lyrics and I was like, oh, my gosh, this is about his dad. And I. I have old record players and I played it and the thing had like 10 million views, like 40,000 shares. And I thought to myself, you know what? I want to be more than the music. I want to. I've got this new you YouTube series that we just started, and it's called Good Song. And it's where we do good things for people through music. And I've always.

[A]

People give me an example.

[E]

Well, well, the basis of the show is people always say, how do you want to be remembered? And I always say, well, I'd like to be remembered as a guy. He loved Jesus, he loved his family, and he wrote a pretty good song that would make me happy. And so it's called Good Song. And the first episode, we were in Amarillo. We went to the veterans hospital. My dad's 100% disabled from Vietnam, so I spent a lot of time up there with daddy growing up doing volunteer work. I mean, we were just going room to room and visiting, but that had a huge impression on me as a kid. But we just took out some veterans, went and played golf with them, took them out to get a steak, brought their families to the concert and just really just loved on them. And we're doing another one next month where we're going to Love and Care Ministries in Abilene. It's a homeless shelter. And, man, I've got a guy at a place in Abilene called the Shed. And we've already talked about they'd get. Man, I'm like, dude, let's give these folks some New York strips. Let's, let's, let's. Let's give them something. Let's give them a wonderful experience and just understanding. I have, I will say, I say I'm lucky when I don't like to say blessed on certain things because I don't think that's fair. I don't think, like, oh, I'm more blessed because, oh, God decided to bless me. But they're not blessing this person. I feel like I'm lucky. I feel like. I feel like I. I have work ethic, but my job. But where I am blessed is I have this platform, much like you, where you've done a lot of great things. You use your platform to bless others. And that's a blessing to you. That. That you being able to do that to help others. That is the. That's. That's. That's the blessing. And so for me, you know, something came across my feed and some little boy in Illinois. His mom's pages. Wonderful life with Bedford. And Bedford is two and a half. He has this genetic disorder. He's handicapped. And they're just trying to raise some money so that he can have a playground that is suited for him. And I just reached out to the mom and I was like, could we. Could I just try? Because it was my wife and I, we lost a little girl in 2010. And no, 2011, golly, she'd be 14. And we lost her shortly after she was born. So I saw Bedford's post that week that it would have been her 14th birthday. And I thought, you know what? Let's celebrate Julia's birthday by doing something nice for Bedford. And so really, that's where I'm having more fun than I've ever had in my life. I enjoy music more than I've ever had. I. Our shows are so good. Like, we are good. And I tell people we are good. I think we are the best band in country music. And that's not being arrogant. That's called believing in your guys, working hard, rehearsing. Also. We have been doing this for forever. We should be. We should have been the best band. We're about 10 years behind. So, you know, but that. You have to believe in yourself. You have to be a little crazy to do the things that you and me are doing. You have to be a little.

[A]

You have to have a bit of delusion.

[E]

Yep.

[A]

To be good. You got to have a whole lot of delusion to be great.

[E]

You don't say you love sports, right?

[A]

Big time.

[E]

Can you imagine starting a season and the coach going, man, if we could just come in third this year, you know how hard it would be to get on that field knowing that there's no expectation. Like, for me. I have an album coming out in March, Horse Name Texas. I want it to be the best album in country music. And my five year plan is I will put out three more albums also. I'm going to be blitzing. Hear that? Country radio. I'm going to be blitzing you with singles for the next five years out of my pocket. I'm going to blitz and blitz country radio. With the best songs of my career because I can. I'm. I'm in a dangerous point in my life where the house is paid off.

[A]

Yeah. Now that I relate to, too. I'm at a dangerous point in my life, too, and it feels good. I got no debt and I got extra money, so I do what I want to do.

[E]

Absolutely. And you've earned it. And you've absolutely earned it. And I've spent all this time I've spent all this time being told why I can't do things. And I always. I have no regrets for not pushing a bigger mainstream. I have no regrets for not trying to go bigger in 2015. Through night, my kids were little. They cried when I would leave. And music didn't bring me a fraction of the happiness that I felt when I would walk through the front door and all three of them would tackle me. Now you ask what it's like to have teenagers. Now I walk through the front door and I'm like, my dog, Bandy, she tackles me. She loves me. She loves me. My wife. It's my wife's dog. My wife says, well, the only reason that she loves you more is because you give her snackies and scratchies, because that's what I call it. And I'm like, that's that dog's love language. She loves snackies and scratchies, so of course she loves me more. But now I got to go to each kid's room and I'm like, dad's home. Oh, hey, daddy, you know, But I'm like, oh, you'll miss me here in just a minute when you want to go to town to the bookstore, get another dude. I've spent about fifteen hundred dollars this year in acai bowls.

[A]

The way I know you're not lying is. You know how to pronounce it.

[E]

Yeah, I can. It even spells weird.

[A]

Yeah, it's like, hi. But it's. I say, because you've been around it and.

[E]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, it's. But it's fun. It is the most fun you're ever going to have. Like, the hardest thing so far that I've experienced is I've been one of Jake's baseball coaches throughout his. You know, we got 15 seasons. His first season was used three T ball. And so far the hardest thing was last game, they got knocked out of the playoffs and he was holding it together good until he got to me. And the boy just. He. The way he said daddy and just fell on me. And dude, I mean, for me, it's like Baseball is life to me. I mean, I. I love baseball. Baseball. I.

[A]

You played ball, too?

[E]

Yeah, I got to play in college, which was nice. I love baseball. And you know, my analogy of who I am and I've been telling people like, like where I'm at in my career right now. Roy Hobbs, that's. That. That's what inspires me. Showed up middle aged. They said, you don't. He said, man, people don't start at your age. They retire. But, man, I'm. I'm. I'm straight up gonna be the Roy Hobbs. Country music these next five years.

[A]

Yeah. By using effectively a medium.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

That is being effectively used by young people.

[E]

Yeah. And it's. It's amazing. I got asked to do a. My what? What? I got asked by a media outlet what are my thoughts on these artists that overnight go viral. And I said, it's wild to think that you could sing a song in a garage and then not long after that be selling thousands of tickets a night. I said to me, that is intimidating.

[A]

I mean, that's Bailey Zimmerman.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

He really hadn't sang at all. Even to his friends a lot. He sang. One video was working, and I think it was a circumstantial as well, because it was Covid and he was working oil. Working on the pipes.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

And they were like furloughed and he's like, what else I got to do? Screw it. I got one video that goes viral.

[E]

And I'll tell you. So a lot of people think that unless you're, like, more artsy, I won't like you. Because I'm. I kind of come from that singer, songwriter background, but I like that kid. I'll tell you why I like him. Well, first of all, he's corny, and I've got a whole bunch of him hanging out with my boys at the house. They have. We. We have poker. Poker night at our house about every night. So I've got teenage boys everywhere. But what I like about Bailey is there was one video in particular that I think about that I was like, dude, you know, this kid could have the worst music ever, and I'm going to like him. And I like some of his songs. He's doing it. But what made me like him was he does that corny thing where he's like, ah. You know that thing he does where he screams and. But he goes, y'.

[A]

All.

[E]

Like a couple years ago, I'm singing in my basement and now I got my freaking face on the side of an 18 wheeler. And he was like, thank you.

[A]

That it was genuine.

[E]

That's genuine. And I will tell. I'm telling you, every artist listening to this, that right there will win the hearts. I mean, when people come up to me and they. It's. It. It happens to me more than I like. But when I have people say, hey, I'm not the biggest fan of your music, but I like who you are and what you stand for. I'm always like, huh, well, thank you. You bought a ticket tonight, so thanks for. I wish. I really wished. I'm going to try to do better. So you like my music?

[A]

Yeah. Sometimes somebody come up and go, hey, I'm not a fan, but, like, my sister is. Can I get a picture?

[F]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And I'm like, I wish you wouldn't lead with the first part. Like, you don't have to even say the first part. Just say, like, hey, do you mind if I get a picture?

[E]

Yeah. Could you just leave out the first part?

[A]

Just say, you know, Aaron, I just like what you stand for. You can leave the other part.

[E]

And also, could you leave out the part before that where you said, wow, you're a lot shorter than I thought. Could you. Could you leave out that part now? I've been doing it for so long that I. I'm gonna tell you, I have grown women walk up to me. Grown women. And they'll say, oh, my gosh. When I was a little girl, my dad used to listen to you in the truck.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[E]

And I'm like, no, you're a grown woman. Ain't no way. And then I start doing the math.

[A]

I get that, too. Not the truck. But it's like, my people, when I was in third. When I was in third grade, we would listen to you, and I'm like, that can't be true.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Then I go, okay, we'll drop the 5.

[E]

20. Yeah. Yep, it's true.

[A]

I got a question about the Christmas family tour you're doing.

[E]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

What is that?

[E]

Dude, one of my regrets is not starting that earlier. It is so much fun. We just pick a couple little Texas towns, we find some little theaters, and my entire family, we put on a show with my band. We. We integrate, you know, traditional songs, you know, songs about Jesus, songs about Santa. We have Santa show up. It is so much. Dude, it is so much fun. I never thought I would love it as much as I love it. But now my kids, they can't wait to go. It kicks Christmas off, you know? You know how sometimes you. It's like all of a sudden it's December 1st and then you blink and it's like December 22nd and then Christmas is over and you're like, I don't feel like I even got to experience Christmas this year. Well, since we started up our Christmas shows, they're just, it's so fun and it's just some, it's just something else to give the fans a little something different. I, I would like to, you know, make it even bigger someday.

[A]

It's just as in, do more cities.

[E]

Do more cities. I, I, I don't. I like the Christmas shows because I like seeing, I like the feedback. So many people are like, man, this has become a tradition for us. Like, it gets us out of the house. We, we go get dinner, we come see your show. It's just a ton of fun and it, and it's just one of those deals where it's, it just, I'm like, why didn't I start that earlier? And the whole family loves it. My wife actually does not really probably love it. She likes the time we spend together. We, we make her come out the last song and, and sing Silent Night with us. And I mean she's, yeah, sounds a.

[A]

Bit like my wife.

[E]

Yeah, she's like, mm, mm, my wife. Yeah, she gives me that. And so, but we have fun and it's fun singing with Jolie Jackson. He doesn't care to sing. He's my middle boy, but he gets up there and reads some Bible verses and it's just become a fun thing. I mean, it's a blast. Thanks for asking about that. Let's take a quick pause for a message from our sponsor.

[B]

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[E]

All I know is what I've been told and that to have truth is a whole lie.

[D]

For almost a year, decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[E]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[D]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national TV.

[A]

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[D]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[A]

I did not know her and I did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[E]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured guess on her.

[D]

From Lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[E]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[D]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the I Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[E]

It's Anna Ortiz and I'm Mark and Delicato.

[B]

You might know us as Hilda and.

[E]

Justin from Ugly Betty.

[B]

We played mother and son on the show, but in real life we're best.

[A]

Friends and I'm all grown up now.

[B]

Welcome to our new podcast, Viva Betty. Can you believe it has been almost 20 years? That's not even possible. You're the only one that looks that much different. I look exactly the same. We're re watching the series from start to finish and getting into all the fashions, the drama and the behind the scenes moments that you never heard before.

[A]

You're going to hear from guests like America Ferreira, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, Becky.

[E]

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[B]

Each and every one, all of a sudden, like someone like comes running up to me and it's Salma Hayek and she's like, you are my Ugly Betty. And I was like, what is she even talking about? Listen to Viva Betty as part of the My Cultura podcast podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[E]

And we're back on the Bobbycast.

[A]

We were talking about your tour before you came in and talking about the Christmas shows. I was like, I don't know anything about Christmas shows. At least I didn't know because you're doing. It's Amarillo, Abilene, Lubbock.

[E]

Lubbock. Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

So, yeah, that's, that's cool.

[E]

We usually do more towns. I'm going to be at National Finals Rodeo for almost two weeks in Vegas. In Vegas, we always play, I think for 15 years now. We've played the buckle ceremonies and then we're doing a bunch of stuff promoting the new record. And so Horse Name Texas. Horse Name Texas in March of next year. March of next year. It's the one I've heard well from you, but I heard, I mean, just, just ask me, I'll tell you how good it is.

[A]

You have to. If you're, if you don't believe in you, nobody else will.

[E]

Well, you know what? The other thing too is that you get this too, because, because you love sports and, and with us both being athletes, it's a different frame of mind. You, you have to. Sometimes talking big, it, it makes you step it up, it makes you push yourself. You have to back it up. Like when I tell people, when I told people a year ago, my goal was to put out one of the best albums in country music. When I went on record saying that, that started waking me up at 5 o' clock every morning to get up and write and write and write and write. And that's the same thing. Me going to radio right now saying, I've got a five year plan. I'm not sending you one single and then I'm going to disappear. There is a five year plan. Five year plan. And at some point it's going to get real redundant telling me no. And I just keep showing up.

[A]

It's an assigned credibility or assigned accountability.

[E]

Five years, you can do what. Also, what it's saying to radio is you can depend on me. Like, I will not say no. I'm here for country music. Any radio station that needs any help with a fundraiser, I'm lucky that I can help. And so for me, telling people, like, dude, I'm putting out three more albums, I'm. It's got me working and I'm at a place where the kids, they're busy. I mean, I'm fixing to have two in college. You know, as long as I'm home enough to get her her acai bowls, she's happy. You know what I'm saying?

[A]

So what's the YouTube channel?

[E]

It's just going to be Aaron Watson. It's just. Yeah, yeah, you're able to get it.

[A]

You already have it? What, the YouTube channel? Like your actual YouTube domain?

[E]

Yeah, we have it.

[A]

Oh, you already own.

[E]

Yeah, we have.

[A]

If you're planning on going to get.

[E]

No, yeah, we have it. We just have never utilized it.

[A]

Got it.

[E]

And, and that's really with all the socials. I've just never. We've had steady growth because I play shows and there'll be a moment where I post something or do this or do that. But like, oh, dude, I've already got my next. I've already got my next, like while I was on the plane. But also I love to create. Like, I could write sitcoms. So really I'm just doing little, little things. You know, it's like, if I can do something that makes people happy in the day and it makes them want to go play my music, that's what drives me. If you tell me by you doing this, people will go listen to your songs. That I'm sold. And why it took me forever to figure that out is I'm a slow learner, hard headed. I don't know. But dude, I'm figuring it out and I'm able to, you know, I'm passing that on to my son Jake. I'm like, jake, I don't want to see another cute country boy sitting on the edge of his bed singing songs. I want to see more about you. I go, I don't know, bud. Take some fun videos of you singing country music while you're playing golf on your daddy's dime.

[A]

You know, you're mentoring him.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

Social media.

[E]

Yeah. And I'm literally, I'm literally saying, dude, I want to know more about you. Make me believe in you. Separate yourself from all the. Because I'm telling you, it's overwhelming how many talented countries I. Every time I scroll, I come across some kid with no followers that sounds like Keith Whitley. And I'm like, well, I'm still trying to sound like Keith Whitley, you know, but. But I love that I'm at a place in my career where I truly believe. I really feel like I'm just getting started. Like, I really feel like I'm just getting started. I. I want to go back. I wish I could go back and tell me years ago, like, dude, every moment you get to step on that stage and. But I think I was so distracted by the haters that I, I like, like, you were saying how you were 10 years ago. You've. Everyone hated you in this town and you were, you were just ready to go toe to toe with people. I was a lot like that too. And I think what that does is it keeps you from enjoying that moment. Like, oh my gosh, I got to play the Houston Rodeo. I've got to do this, I've got to do that. I mean, the things I've gotten to do. And I'm kind of like, man, I wish I would have soaked that in more. But now I Get it. I get it. And I can share that with others. You know, I'm like, man, anytime you get to get on that stage, man, you're man, you don't have to do it. You get to do it, man.

[A]

I really appreciate the time, dude.

[E]

I do. Thanks for having me, brother.

[A]

Are you kidding? This is awesome.

[E]

And.

[A]

And again, when I reached out, it was never, hey, man, come do this. It was just like, I admired what you were doing, wanted you to know that. And then I was like, hey, if Aaron's in town, like, I would love to have him up and just talk for an hour and see what's up. So, yeah, looking forward to the music.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

If I happen to be in Abilene or Lubbock or Amarillo, I'll stop by the Christmas show.

[E]

Come on by.

[A]

You know, I got a feeling I won't be near, but if I am, if I happen to be there, well.

[E]

Dude, here's what you do need to do.

[A]

That sounds fine.

[E]

Hey, what you do need to do is this. You need it. You need to text me when you're like, got questions about the dad thing. I can probably tell you more things to not do. But, dude, I'll tell you. Talking about Christmas, you have the greatest Christmas of your life next year. I mean, like, this Christmas, what we're doing after our Christmas shows are done, we're all flying to Disney World, and we spend Christmas there. We have fun, make everybody put up their phones. I mean, it's just one of those deals. It's like. It's wild. And I'll tell you this, so because we were talking about everyone says it goes by so fast. Saturday night, we played two shows with Braxton Keith this week, and Braxton and Jake are just hanging out in the back of my bus for forever. And because I'm like Cali. They're, like, so close in age. I'm, like, literally old enough to be Braxton's dad, right? And after they left, I told Jake because Jake had to fly out on Sunday because he has college on Monday. So we were flying him back, and I was already in my bunk, and he was back there. And I opened the curtain, and I said, hey, Jake. And he said, yeah, Dad. I go, I am so proud that you're my boy. I said, I love you. And he goes. And he goes, I love you, dad. And he did this little grin that he has done his whole life. And I looked at. I just. We locked eyes, you know, the kid's not 10 years old, but we locked eyes and Dude, I could see him as he was. It was like he was three again. And then I think I shut the curtain and cried. But it's fine. But, dude, you're gonna love it. It's the best thing in the world. I mean, you just. Man. Yeah. Don't blink. And do you know what you're having yet?

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

They keep you keeping it silent?

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

Nice.

[A]

I would keep nothing silent. My wife would keep everything silent.

[E]

Yeah.

[A]

So we're negotiating.

[E]

Well, good luck with your negotiations. I know.

[A]

Yeah. I lose most of those.

[E]

Yeah. I am not a good negotiator, apparently. You know, it's funny. I bet you're a good negotiator with anything. Yep.

[A]

Everything, man.

[E]

Dude, we're the same, dude.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm a. I'm tough to deal with. Until it's her. And then I pretty much lose them all.

[E]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Good to see you, man.

[E]

Hey, it's good to see you too, but thanks for having me. Thanks for listening to a Bobby Cast production.

[D]

The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[E]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[D]

Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast and tube. Binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[F]

Michael Lewis here. My best selling book, the Big Short tells the story of the buildup and burst of the US housing market back in 2008. A decade ago, the Big Short was made into an Academy Award winning movie. And now I'm bringing it to you for the first time as an audiobook narrated by yours truly. The Big Short story. What it means to bet against the market and who really pays for an unchecked financial system is as relevant today as it's ever been. Get the Big Short now at Pushkin fm. Audiobooks or wherever audiobooks are sold.

[E]

I'm Eva Longoria. And I'm Maite Gomez.

[A]

Jejun. And this week on our podcast, Hungry.

[E]

For History, we talk oysters. Plus the Miami chief stops by. If you're not an oyster lover, don't.

[A]

Even talk to me. Ancient Athenians used to scratch names onto oyster shells to vote politicians into exile. So our word ostracize is related to the word oyster.

[E]

No way. Bring back the ostracon.

[B]

Listen to Hungry for history on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[E]

This is an iHeart podcast.