← The Official Yellowstone Podcast
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- [00:11]
Jen Landon
Hey, welcome back to the official Yellowstone Podcast. We have an awesome show on tap for you today. Besides my partner in crime, Jefferson White, I am so excited to speak to the amazing new addition to the Yellowstone family, CMT's Breakout Artist of the Year and six time CMA Award nominee, the amazing Laney Wilson. So stand by and we will be right back with you. Hey, Jeff.
- [00:51]
Jefferson White
Hey, Jen.
- [00:52]
Jen Landon
I want you to. I'm here to do my weekly check in on your muscles.
- [00:59]
Jefferson White
Bigger than ever, better than ever. My main issue right now is sleep hygiene. Everybody who's serious into bodybuilding and fitness says you have to get your sleep right. And that's been hard for me because I've been traveling. Speaking of traveling, we've recorded three episodes of this podcast together and I don't think you've been in the same state for any two episodes.
- [01:21]
Jen Landon
I haven't. Not physically or mentally. I find that my physical travel mimics my emotional state. I am currently in Las Vegas. I'm here to watch the Junior World Finals. I've made some friends with some young bull riders and I'm here to cheer them on and see what this world is about.
- [01:48]
Jefferson White
That's incredible. So now you know you're deep in it via Yellowstone. You're getting deeper and deeper, digging deeper and deeper into the rodeo world.
- [01:59]
Jen Landon
That is correct. I have my manager and producing partner here with me and he is so new to this. And you can tell that he lives a life where safety is just sort of assumed. And Jeff, you know that like anytime you're dealing with animals and you're in the cowboy world, safety is not assumed anymore. So a gate opened by accident while one kid was riding and the bull was careening towards him as the gate opened. And I sort of grabbed my manager by the scruff of his neck and pulled him out of the way.
- [02:40]
Jefferson White
Oh, my God. That's some cowboy shit right there.
- [02:43]
Jen Landon
It's some cowboy shit.
- [02:44]
Jefferson White
I feel like you guys are having a bit of a JD In Summer moment. You're jd, He's Summer, and you're sort of. You're showing him a little window into your life. Does that feel fair to say?
- [02:54]
Jen Landon
It does. I wish we had a visual side by side right now for the audience so they could look at Nate and Piper and see that two humans couldn't look more different. Jeff, you're traveling a lot as well. You were on a plane today. I can't say as much. You were just in Chicago. I was on a plane today shooting a show.
- [03:12]
Jefferson White
Shooting Chicago pd. Yeah, I'm Working on Chicago pd. I'm having a great time over there.
- [03:16]
Jen Landon
It's fantastic.
- [03:17]
Jefferson White
It's about as different from Yellowstone as possible. It's a lot of sitting and talking as opposed to riding and falling. So it's a really nice little refresher. But it also makes me hungry to get back into Yellowstone. Speaking of which, absolutely breathtaking new episode this week. Couldn't like. Truly my favorite episode of the season so far and top five favorite episodes ever, I'd say.
- [03:44]
Jen Landon
Yeah, I couldn't agree more. It was my favorite episode when we read it for sure. For one scene in particular that did not fail to meet my expectations. Potentially a more disastrous family dinner than anything I've ever had at home. Even worse than any worst Thanksgiving I've ever had.
- [04:10]
Jefferson White
About as bad as you can possibly imagine it going. You can tell. We'll get to it. We'll get to it. We'll start out like the episode itself. We will craft some momentum. We'll start at the beginning and we'll build to that climactic scene. So this episode starts out with. I also. I've come to love these episodes that start in the flashback because I love seeing young Rip, I love seeing young Beth, and I absolutely love seeing Josh Lucas as young jd. I think it's so fun to start in these flashbacks. Not to mention our man Kai as Rowdy.
- [04:47]
Jen Landon
Yeah, all of those actors are so phenomenal. And it was sort of doubly satisfying, this episode, because of the way Taylor bookends the episode with the exact moment, you know, however many years ago, and then in the present day at the very end. Which I loved.
- [05:07]
Jefferson White
Yeah, it's very cool, this sort of heading out. You know, it shows that JD, Rip, they've been doing this for what, 30 years, 40 years JD's been doing it. These guys have probably been doing this as long as they've been alive. Which really the sort of ritual and kind of historical cultural significance of branding and gathering, you know, no matter how many decades or centuries Yellowstone spans, there's certain things that have stayed the same for a hundred years. And this is a kind of beautiful expression of that.
- [05:41]
Jen Landon
There's a theme in the episode that ties into sameness and being tied into the land and how those rules don't change. And it's sort of an offshoot. But moving into the next scene with Beth and with Beth and Rip, when she wakes up from that dream, there's this amazing dialogue exchange where Beth says, yesterday is what eats me, and Rip says, yesterday is what eats everybody. It's why I don't think about it. And that moment really struck me because Rip sort of represents the lifestyle and the mentality of when you're tied into the land, there's really no thinking about past or anything else. It's so immediate. And Beth is sort of plagued by what most members of society are, which is since you're so ungrounded in the physical world, you're sort of left in this. In this emotional, in this mental place that can kind of carry you all over.
- [06:52]
Jefferson White
Yeah. They both have such difficult pasts. Right. Both Beth and Rip have these difficult, complicated pasts, and they handle that in such different ways. Beth is clearly spending this season processing some of these painful memories, some of this shame, some of this trauma from her past. And Rip's attitude is, you know, what's dead is buried. And I have work to do today. I'm going to head out today and handle what's right in front of me. This animal I'm responsible for. The guy to my left, the guy to my right. That's my job today.
- [07:29]
Jen Landon
Totally. And we've hit on this before. But when we're shooting those scenes that involve animals that involve work, because we usually are doing right what we appear to be doing, you're completely out of your head in those moments as well. There's no room for thought or actor thought or second guessing. It's all so immediate.
- [07:51]
Jefferson White
You're so right. It is such a sort of actor. I don't want to speak for other actors, but I spend so much time worrying about, oh, fuck, I missed an opportunity in that scene. I could have tried to do this, or ah, shit, I wish I could get another crack at that scene from season two. You know, that's dwelling on the past. And this is a good reminder to all of us, like, hey, hey, wake up. Look at what's right in front of you. Keep moving forward.
- [08:14]
Jen Landon
Yeah, 100%. I think you nailed it right there.
- [08:19]
Jefferson White
So, so much of this episode revolves around this tradition and this custom and this just part of cowboy work, which is that we're gonna go out and we're gonna gather. And when a ranch is as big as the Yellowstone ranch, that's not an. So in practical terms, there are cows scattered over many, many miles of terrain, of varied terrain. We're talking about Montana. We're talking about mountains and prairies and rivers. And in practical terms, a lot of this episode is spent sort of preparing to go out and round up the herd.
- [09:01]
Jen Landon
Yeah. And there's this wonderful dichotomy. You get the sense that the work is going to be that there are a lot of creature comforts that one is going to give up. And at the same time, it is something that fills everybody with such joy. It's almost like the version of what we were just talking about in terms of when you're working with animals and dealing with the land and how it makes you be very present. This is sort of that moment on steroids when all of your creature comforts are stripped away. And you even see it in the scene later on in the episode where Casey and Monica are sitting on the porch talking, and he talks about going and gathering and branding. And Luke did this really wonderful thing. You see this sort of smile break out across his face. And given what they're going through right now and how we've seen these two people, that's quite a monumentous moment.
- [10:04]
Jefferson White
Yeah, it is amazing that for those two characters particularly, they need a little bit of joy. They need a little bit of, you know, respite from the tragedy that has racked them for years now. And it's so nice to see them come together and their resilience in the face of that tragedy and sort of, you know. Yeah. Get excited to relive this tradition that they've both probably participated in since they were kids.
- [10:31]
Jen Landon
Yeah. I mean, I feel like I want to jump to the dinner scene because it's so juicy.
- [10:40]
Jefferson White
It's so juicy. Let me hit a couple more quick plot points, but I feel the same way. We all know it's coming. It has a sort of, you know, ever since Summer moved into the house, there is this gravity between Summer and Beth that you can sense that the disaster is looming. So as you mentioned, you know, they're going out together, and it's. It's. It is, you know, it's. It's pretty cowboy. Rip says to. To Lloyd, hey, you know, just cold packs. We're cold camping. I forget exactly what he says, but basically, we're packing sleeping bags and we're sleeping out under the stars. And for E.J. smith, as Lloyd gives us a classic for E.J. smith, yeehaw. And says, that's cowboy shit right there. Which I always love.
- [11:24]
Jen Landon
Yeah, it was. I mean, you know that on the day, we probably did that scene 12 times for all the coverage that we needed. And that yeehaw. Never failed to sort of cheer me up as we sat up and broke down the fence for the hundredth time. And actually, that scene, Jeff, is one of my favorite scenes in the entire episode. The scene that happens between Summer and Carter, there's. There. I think I feel like Carter has the best, sort of the best line of the episode. And certainly it's in that exchange when she says that he says that God puts out the fire. God brings rain. And she says, nature puts out the fire, kid. And he says, that's what I said, implying that nature is God. And I feel like that was the star moment of the episode for me, actually, even though I really wanted to jump to the fight.
- [12:29]
Jefferson White
Yeah, that is such a beautiful moment. And between these two characters who are both kind of fish out of water, just Carter demonstrating this sort of slow wisdom that he's gained, this kind of, you know, he's been on the ranch, you know, being put through his paces. He's really growing in so many ways. And that. That feels like one moment where Carter demonstrates the wisdom he's accrued, you know, there. Jimmy had some of these moments, too, where you get shit on for seasons. You really. For seasons, everything out of your mouth. Rip walks by and go, shut the fuck up. That's wrong. You know? And for once, Carter managed to. Carter managed to have a nice, wise little moment. I'm glad Rip was nowhere near him to, like, smack him and tell him to get some manners, you know? Yeah.
- [13:16]
Jen Landon
And then Taylor does this amazing. This really wonderful writing thing after that, which is. I don't even know what the heck. That camp. What kind of camp is it? Is it a sky? A spy camp? Sky camp? A spike camp? I don't know. I don't know. And neither does Summer. And the moment that is so great is that Carter doesn't know either. She asks him what it is after. This kid has sort of channeled wisdom from the universe, and he says, I don't know.
- [13:44]
Jefferson White
Yeah.
- [13:45]
Jen Landon
Yeah.
- [13:45]
Jefferson White
It's amazing. I love that. Throughout this episode, there's this kind of mounting excitement. There's this feeling that we're going out, we're going on this journey together. We all know what it means. And there's this kind of recruiting. You know, there's this. All these other characters are sort of getting recruited to this cause, including Clara, which I really love. There's this amazing scene between Clara and JD where it sort of becomes clear that Clara is going to come on this journey, too. And I think that's so fun. It has this kind of gravity, you know, that this. This journey, this riding out to go gather has this kind of gravity. And throughout this episode, you're seeing these characters sort of prepare themselves for it. Some of them knowing what they're Getting into with a sort of smiling familiarity. And some of them embarking on this for the first time, including Carter, including Clara.
- [14:32]
Jen Landon
Jeff. Speaking of the conversations between John and Clara in this episode, there's a moment where Clara meets Casey and she says to John, is that your youngest son? And John says, that's my only son. Right. Pretty. Ooh. Hurts the heart now even to say it.
- [14:54]
Jefferson White
Yeah. Rough for Jamie. I mean, Jamie, this whole season has been this real test of Jamie's place in the family. It's been another time that Janie, Jamie's loyalty is tested. You know, Beth is really pushing him to the limit. And to hear jd, you know, dismiss him so brutally, that's. That's a rough one.
- [15:19]
Jen Landon
And it's not the only time in the episode that John says something about Jamie that's incredibly painful. There's the moment at the end where he ends up complimenting Beth, but he says, I have a child that I miss, one that I pity, one that I regret, and one that I envy for Beth. But again, Jamie gets it pretty hard.
- [15:43]
Jefferson White
And, yeah, before we get too deep, let's take a quick break and we'll be right back. This season is a highs and lows for Jamie because this episode has another, dare I say sexy rendezvous between. Between Jamie and Sarah. So it's not all bad for Jamie this season.
- [16:11]
Jen Landon
No, that, that scene is so sexy that when I was taking notes on it, I just wrote, this is very hot, hot sexy scene, and then put some stars around it and then maybe circled it and then decided, I don't know how to talk about that except by being like, hot sexy. Yeah.
- [16:30]
Jefferson White
We can acknowledge that, you know, Jamie. Jamie is suddenly being sort of lured deeper into what seems like a trap. You know, we've. We saw Sarah basically picking Jamie out of a lineup and saying, that's the weak point. That's the weakness that I'm going to exploit to destroy this family. So since then, it has had a bit of a feeling of a slow motion car crash, like a sensual slow motion car crash.
- [16:59]
Jen Landon
Right. And it's not. It doesn't feel to me like the wall is being completely pulled over his eyes. It feels like he sort of knows it. There's a look of agreement between the two of them about what is happening, despite whatever they say on the surface. But, you know, at the end of the day, she makes an offer he can't refuse.
- [17:25]
Jefferson White
She makes an offer he's not quite equipped to refuse. So, you know, speaking of Jamie, Jamie is also a conspicuous absence from the dinner table. In perhaps the most. The biggest, most wide ranging, explosive dinner scene yet. What do you think?
- [17:47]
Jen Landon
Yeah. And that opening shot, the way that everybody was sitting there, I was getting, like, the Last Supper images. You know, you saw the length of the table.
- [18:00]
Laney Wilson
It.
- [18:01]
Jen Landon
It also felt to me like that odd meal after a funeral. But I have to say, it ends up being the most lively supper I've never been to.
- [18:12]
Jefferson White
Yeah, thank God. I'm glad. I'm glad. It's never quite gotten that bad at my family reunions.
- [18:18]
Jen Landon
I. I have to say, as somebody who has a very, very opinionated vegan in their family, eating with them is a pain in the ass. And I say this as somebody who was vegan for about two years, I've. I've been vegan. Somehow I got gout while I was vegan, which is a. Another episode of another show. But the shaming at the table is usually where I draw the line.
- [18:48]
Jefferson White
That's pretty rough. Yeah. You know who's the least judgmental vegan I've ever met? Denim Richards.
- [18:55]
Jen Landon
Totally not judgmental.
- [18:58]
Jefferson White
He's not judgmental, but he is incredibly specific about what he's going to eat. I'll order, like, a hamburger and fries, and he'll be like, oh, cool, man. Enjoy that. And then he'll be like, do you guys have. Talk to me about your lettuce varietals? And they'll be like, bro, this is a Dairy Queen in Montana. And he'll be like. And, you know, tell me about. Tell me about. Okay, so you got lettuce, you got tomato? Maybe just give me a pile of lettuce and tomato.
- [19:23]
Jen Landon
I. I feel like I. I watch denim slowly starve to death over the course of a season as there just isn't anything for him to eat.
- [19:36]
Jefferson White
There really isn't. Every time I'm with him. Yeah. It's always a series of disappointments. He'll be like, you guys got lettuce? They'll be like, no. He'll be like, rice. Nope.
- [19:44]
Jen Landon
We have lettuce. We have lettuce, but we battered and fried it. Did you use egg in that batter? We did. Okay.
- [19:50]
Jefferson White
Do you guys have ice? Maybe just some ice in a glass? Yeah, there might be milk product in it.
- [20:00]
Jen Landon
Back to Summer and her food shaming at the table. Jeff, how do you feel about. Does somebody have a.
- [20:11]
Jefferson White
That's my little cat. Can you hear him? He wants to get involved.
- [20:14]
Jen Landon
Is somebody holding a woman hostage in.
- [20:18]
Jefferson White
No, no, no, I'm not. Jen. No, I'm not holding a woman hostage.
- [20:28]
Jen Landon
Help. How do you feel about that?
- [20:31]
Jefferson White
That's my little cat.
- [20:33]
Jen Landon
I really want to meet that cat. I'm so allergic. How do you feel about Beth's handling of Summer?
- [20:38]
Jefferson White
Oh, yeah, Beth. There's something about Summer that really reverts Beth to the a young, fierce kind of pre logic. Pre logic. Beth. You know, Beth, normally, she's got some. What do you call them, checks and balances in her brain. Beth's not usually just throwing fists first thing. This cat is so cute.
- [21:03]
Jen Landon
No, the cat loves this part of the episode.
- [21:05]
Jefferson White
Yeah.
- [21:05]
Jen Landon
She's like, you're talking about the dinner part. Oh, man. Cat fight.
- [21:09]
Jefferson White
He wants to get involved. So Beth, usually. She's so smart. She usually uses other tools at her disposal. She has so many tools at her disposal. She's so brilliant. But something about Summer turns Beth into kind of takes her to a sort of pre logic, pre intellect space. A kind of primal space.
- [21:32]
Jen Landon
Yeah. And she is about to go on this gathering and branding, which is she's about to go cowboy. And if we look back, I think to the season before or where Rip actually takes out Walker and Lloyd to settle it in an arena, and it sort of feels like her version of that.
- [21:58]
Jefferson White
You really are. Yeah. We've seen the men on this show handle conflicts in this way. It's happened a few times. There's been these sort of fair fights. The same thing happens with Casey and Rip, right?
- [22:10]
Jen Landon
Yeah.
- [22:11]
Jefferson White
There's a sort of explosive fight between Casey and Rip, I think, in season two or season three. So we've seen that this is a sort of custom on the ranch. It is a conflict resolution protocol. You know, you go to HR and you say, I'm having an issue. And they say, have you tried standing in the middle of a circle of your friends and punching each other until somebody faints?
- [22:34]
Jen Landon
Have you tried hitting?
- [22:35]
Jefferson White
Have you tried hitting?
- [22:37]
Jen Landon
Have you tried hitting? Yeah. I love that Monica gets joy out of this dynamic as they go out. It's the first time we see her laugh. I found that to be a lovely sort of framing of it. And Clara's POV on this whole thing might be my favorite pov.
- [22:59]
Jefferson White
It's so funny. Yeah. The Outsiders. Every time somebody new sits down at that table, it's such a funny baptism into the Dutton family dynamics. And there is something, you know, I think throughout the show, there's been this kind of interesting idea of that there is a kind of brutal simplicity that can also serve as a bonding agent. You know, so totally, Casey and Rip kind of had to fight it out. Lloyd and Walker kind of had to fight it out. We've seen this. In some ways, there's a cathartic release that comes from this kind of fist fight that, you know, makes. Seems to actually serve as a bond at times.
- [23:47]
Jen Landon
Totally. It's very different than what you and I do, Jeff, which is that we never have it out with anyone. We repress all of our feelings and our aggravations, and then we just hold grudges against a person until one of us dies.
- [24:03]
Jefferson White
Yeah. Or we sort of have it out. I sort of punish myself, you know, What Beth does to Summer, I sort of do to myself in the mirror. It's poison. Poisoning myself to try to hurt my enemies, I think is a term I've heard before. Yeah, you want to get better at conflict right now, Jen. Jen, right now. Do you want to have a slug out, a slugfest?
- [24:30]
Jen Landon
I'm not saying yes on air.
- [24:33]
Jefferson White
Next time I see you, we drop the gloves and we just punch each other until we're better off, you know, until we're better friends for it. So, Jen, let's get down and dirty and dig into some of the details of this fight.
- [24:48]
Jen Landon
Yep.
- [24:49]
Jefferson White
Because I spoke with Piper briefly about the process choreographing this fight, about how long it seems like Piper and Kelly really invested in getting this thing right. And the results were incredible. So walk us through that fight a little bit.
- [25:08]
Jen Landon
I mean, I remember as well when the rehearsals were going on for that fight, I felt like they had so many. There was one that I almost went to because it became a thing that you could do in your free time. The Beth lands. Beth. Beth strikes first and then she. I believe she strikes again and again. Does she not hit Summer a few times before Summer finally, you know, wallops her back.
- [25:39]
Jefferson White
Yeah. Beth's a striker and Summer's like a grappler. You know, Summer tries to take it to the ground. Beth's a stand up fighter. She's. I think she's got reach. She throws a headbutt in there at some point that is particularly vicious.
- [25:54]
Jen Landon
Yeah, the. I mean, the fight gets. The fight is going on and it's dirty and they're hurt. And then for whatever reason, the fight is so elevated to me when Rip comes out and sort of there was something. He comes out there to sort of settle it and to make it civilized. Right. And yet it becomes so much more brutal. I found myself flinching so much more at this sort of. You go, I go of it all. And this, it's. It stops being fun and games. The Fight for me up to that point is, like, sort of fun and exciting. And then to watch them take independent blows at each other made my spine, you know, tremble a bit. And then there's that amazing moment where Piper is eventually down on the ground and Beth looks to rip. Like, what do I do next? Cause we're now under his sort of fight choreography in a way, and she sort of, you know, takes his lead. And then the Summer character starts sobbing. And I loved that moment because I have had many experiences in my life where I physically hit a limit and I just start sobbing. And I usually start sobbing about everything that has ever happened to me and everything that I'm trying to hold on to.
- [27:32]
Jefferson White
Yeah, there's this kind of release in that moment. You know, Summer has. Summer just spent a year in jail because of Beth, because of John Dutton, because she got wrapped up in this mess. She just spent a year in jail. So there's all of these pent up feelings, this frustration, this anger, this pain. And it feels like in this moment, yeah, when she. When she breaks down, she's not just breaking down because she got hit. It feels like all of this frustration really comes to a head. And. Yeah, there's a catharsis in it. You know, there's. There really is a release there.
- [28:11]
Jen Landon
Yeah. And then they sort of walk back. They start to walk back into that house, like, all right, it's out of your system. Beth makes a snide remark and then remembers, oh, we're not doing that anymore. And Summer talks about respect, about being treated with respect. And Beth says, you'll be treated with. You'll get back what you give. And again, there was a flash across Piper's face when she played that moment, and it was awesome because it. She sort of realized who she's been and what she's been doing.
- [28:41]
Jefferson White
Yeah, that for sure goes both ways, I hope. I think that also, it seems like in that fight, Summer really earns some of Beth's respect because she does give as good as she gets. She takes the hits and throws hits back. So I. It seems like in that moment, those two women really see each other clearly for the first time with some of the layers of. They're both very smart, they both have very strong opinions. It feels like they see each other on a deeper level at the end of that sequence.
- [29:10]
Jen Landon
Totally. And then not much later in the episode, we find them at the table again. Of course, it looks like nighttime, but it's pre dawn and there's breakfast and everybody gets up from the table to Leave. And Summer looks so lonely without them. And I just love the way Taylor framed that.
- [29:31]
Jefferson White
Yeah, I think that is beautiful. There's this kind of bonding that happens. There's these. As contentious as those dinner table scenes are, there's also a reason everybody comes back. You know, there's this kind of profound bonding that they represent, too. So, yeah, like you said, now we're the next morning. If you're going to wake up to go gather, you're waking up long before the sun rises because you've got a long ride ahead of you. And there's this beautiful sort of montage of everybody getting ready and getting ready to head out.
- [30:01]
Jen Landon
Yeah. And there's a couple great moments towards the end where Monica says to Summer, I guess if it doesn't make you cry to see your family right away, you shouldn't have a family. Yeah, ma'am. And, of course, Summer looking a bit verklemt in that moment. I feel like she's suddenly, for me, in that moment, the Duttons became her family. And there's also that great moment with the legend Buck Taylor. And for those of you who don't know, Buck Taylor is a legend of the Western world, not only as an actor, but as an artist. And John sort of, what does he say to him, but basically questions whether or not he's got another one in him. And Buck Taylor says, I'll race your ass to the top, governor. And also, just Buck Taylor saying ass is this interesting thing in and of itself because he is just such a gentle, artful man.
- [31:07]
Jefferson White
So absolutely one of my favorite episodes ever. Let's take a quick break, and when we come back, we're going to be talking with Laney Wilson. We want to welcome CMA 2022 Female Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the year. ACMs 2022 new female artist of the Year. And now officially, actor and our dear friend, Laney Wilson.
- [31:46]
Laney Wilson
Oh, my God. What an intro. What a dang intro.
- [31:51]
Jefferson White
Laney, we feel so honored, so lucky to have you with us today.
- [31:56]
Laney Wilson
Dude, I'm so excited to be just hanging out with y'all, chatting. It's going to be fun. We got a lot to catch up on.
- [32:02]
Jen Landon
Yeah, I feel. Lainey, I feel like you're the busiest person in America right now. I don't know how you hold it all together, girl.
- [32:13]
Laney Wilson
I have probably slept in my bed in Nashville a total of 13, 14 nights this year.
- [32:19]
Jen Landon
That's unbelievable.
- [32:20]
Laney Wilson
It's crazy, but it has been a hell of a ride. And we just getting Started.
- [32:25]
Jen Landon
Also, before we go any further, can I just say that you're amazing on the show.
- [32:29]
Laney Wilson
Thank you. I mean, I'm getting to learn from the best.
- [32:33]
Jen Landon
You're naturally fantastic in a way that could make a lot of seasoned actors annoyed because you just know how to do it. And you are so charismatic and so detailed in every single scene that I've seen you in.
- [32:48]
Laney Wilson
I appreciate that so much. I guess I will say that even though I've never done anything like this, I mean, this is my first rodeo with. With acting. But I guess in a way, I do get on stage and act certain nights because, I mean, you know, there's days when I have bad days and I don't feel like getting up there and acting like, you know, I'm there to have a heck of a time or whatever. But it's just a part of the job. So I guess I kind of have been doing that in a way for years, just a different way.
- [33:17]
Jefferson White
That's so interesting because obviously I think something that I admire so much about your music is that it's not unambiguously happy. It's not just a sort of sugar coated version of your life. It feels very true, it feels very honest. And it also. Not to get too theoretical here, but acting, it feels like, is in a lot of ways about stripping away layers, stripping away masks, and sort of revealing this kind of intimate truth beneath that, for sure. Can you just talk about your songwriting process, how you apply that to your experience on set? We just talk about that a little bit. I'm so curious.
- [34:01]
Laney Wilson
Absolutely. So before I was an artist, before anything, I was a songwriter. I mean, I wrote my first song at nine years old and I brought it to my mama, and it was a song called Lucky Me. And I sang it to her, and I think she kind of thought, oh, this is, you know, just kind of those one and done type things. But the next week I brought her another one. The next week I brought her another one. And it just. It really took a hold of me in my heart. And it was one of those things where I felt like I had no other option but to do it. Because it really was a way for me to express myself. You know, where I'm from, I'm from northeast Louisiana, from a town of 200 people. Country music is life. I mean, we eat, sleep, and breathe it. It is truly a way of life. We lived out those songs. And so for me, writing country music was really just me pulling back those layers and me sharing the way that I grew up and the way that I was raised. And I tell you what, I'm so thankful for songwriting because it has gotten me through some hard times. It is my therapy, and I have really learned how to step outside of my comfort zone with songwriting. I mean, especially when you're co writing with people, you have to sit there and you have to. Have to tell people the way that you really feel about things. And then you kind of hear, like, another. Another angle, maybe, you know, a different side of the story, and it makes you a more understanding person, too. And I feel like I've just learned a whole lot about myself and about life in the writing room. And so when it comes to this opportunity, you know, when Taylor called me back in February, he's like, you know, I've got this idea. He said, I want to create a character specifically for you. I want you to pretty much be yourself. You know, I want you to wear your bell bottoms and sing your songs. And I said, I can do that. You know, if anything, I have learned that me being myself is. I don't even know how to put it. Let's say you can try to be everything else under the sun. I mean, when I moved to Nashville, I saw all the things that were working. I saw all the kind of music that was working. But I have a lot of people in my corner and in my life who remind me where I come from and who I truly am. So I have a really hard time being anything other than myself. So, Jen, when you said I look natural or whatever, it was because I did. He gave me an opportunity just to be myself. And so I'm excited, though, to take on another role of some sort later on down the road and give it a try. And, you know, maybe I'll try something without this thick accent. We'll see what happens. But it's been such a cool opportunity.
- [36:49]
Jen Landon
Lani, do people compare you energetically in ways to Dolly Parton?
- [36:56]
Laney Wilson
All the time. And that is the best compliment anybody could give me. That's like the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, Dolly Parton, period.
- [37:04]
Jefferson White
You know, it's so interesting. It feels like part of what people respond to with Yellowstone is this feeling of authenticity. You know, you're describing growing up in Louisiana, really sort of living the culture and the lifestyle that you're singing about, about, you know, writing in your songs about your authentic lived experience. I think that's also part of what people respond to with Yellowstone because a lot of these stories, a lot of these struggles, a lot of this culture in this history are real and are coming from a place of tremendous authenticity because they're coming from Taylor, somebody who grew up in this world, and he has seeded throughout the show people just like you from backgrounds that make it feel so real. So I'm thinking of, you know, Ryan Bingham, who similarly has a character that's written for him that nobody else could play but him. I'm thinking of Mo brings plenty. Who plays the character Mo, who has a character that is written for him that nobody else could play. We spoke last week with Piper Peribo, who plays Summer, who has a part written exactly for her. So I think that it can't help but sort of permeate throughout the whole environment on set and then throughout the whole experience for the viewer that in many cases, the people telling this story, the story of Yellowstone, are telling a true story from their own lives. Yeah, it's such a fascinating thing. So you start out in one place, you know, writing these songs just for yourself. You're nine years old. It's a quiet, intimate space for you to express yourself. Now flash forward, it's 2022. You are. Forgive me. I don't want to embarrass you. You are a rock star. You're a country music star. You are a famous sensation in this world. And that's a little bit like the phenomenon of going on this set. You know, you're supposed to play yourself. You're supposed to sort of have this quiet, intimate moment with. With Ian Bowen, who plays Ryan. But being on set is not quiet and intimate. There's 300 people standing around pointing $100,000 supercomputers at you, so you can sort of have a quiet, cute little moment. How do you stay yourself? How do you hold on to that authentic core when these big, like, exciting, sort of huge forces are swirling around you?
- [39:46]
Laney Wilson
I will say, the last three or so years, I feel like, you know, even during the pandemic, I spent so much time, like, behind a camera, whether it was my own cell phone or doing something else just to put on social media. I feel like I almost forced myself to get comfortable with it. And over the last two years or so, I feel like I've done so many, like, interviews, and I've noticed that the things that people relate to and latch onto are the moments when I am being 190% real and genuine to myself. Even if I say something that kind of makes your eyebrows raise or makes your skin crawl a little bit, like, at the end of the day, at least I made you feel something, right? So I will say, whenever I showed up to set. I mean, I didn't know what to expect. I knew that I had met a few of y'all during 2020 when I came up and I played the little acoustic show for the cast and crew during the pandemic. And I knew that the folks that I had met then, they were super nice. But I'll be honest, I thought for a second, I was like. I mean, these people could literally be like, who is this girl coming up in here acting like she'd been acting her whole, like, girl, go back home. I didn't know, because I'll be honest, if. If somebody was trying to come up into my, you know, like, get on stage and act like she was a singer or whatever.
- [41:04]
Jefferson White
That's funny you should mention it. I actually have some songs I'd like to play for you, if you don't mind.
- [41:10]
Jen Landon
They're beautiful. They involve. They involve a kazoo.
- [41:14]
Laney Wilson
Hey, you know what? I love different. No, but everybody made me feel so welcome. And a lot of people, you know, they were fans of my music, and I was fans of theirs, and so it was just this, like, mutual respect that we had for each other, and it just made me feel comfortable. And, you know, Taylor, I think maybe saw something in me before I even saw it in myself, and I don't take that lightly. I appreciate that very much. And it's given me the courage to step outside of my comfort zone and try new things. And I think at the end of the day, if you're not doing that, then you're not growing. And I want to grow. I want to. I want to try new things. I want to be better. I want to. I want to do things that are scary.
- [41:55]
Jefferson White
It's also. It's true. Correct me if I'm wrong. I think you have four original songs that are being featured in this season of Yellowstone. You know, these songs that you are writing and performing, it also is such a gift to the show. It feels like such an honor for us that your story is so intimately lining up with this huge story. And it feels like such a sort of gift that. To have those songs on the show. What does that feel like for you? These stories about your own life going out to an audience of, I don't know, like, 180 million people or some insane statistic?
- [42:33]
Laney Wilson
I tell you what, there's some folks back at home now that I'm in Yellowstone, they like, oh, you really are making it now. They thought I'm like, is that what it took? Is that what it took? It's huge. It really is huge. You could not plan for this to happen. And this to line up with the way that my music career is going right now. And any opportunity I have to share my music with the world, sign me up, you know, I mean, no matter what, songwriting is always going to be my number one because that's what has given me opportunities to begin with and that's my roots. But it is so cool to even think about that nine year old little girl who was writing her first song. And you know, I wasn't writing things that were completely true to myself because I was writing about tequila and cigarettes and we didn't even have tequila and cigarettes at the house, so. But to think that I have, you know, I have dove in and I have shown that vulnerable side to me and written songs about my personal life and I get to share that with a huge audience is scary. But also there's a sense of freedom that comes along with it. And I hope people can hear these songs and think like, dang, you know, she wrote this song for me. I just, I want people to feel like I wrote my music for them and their story and the way that they feel. And I want them to feel like they're not alone.
- [44:02]
Jen Landon
I mean, I can tell you that your music does feel that way and I feel that way when I listen to your music. And I love being a fan of somebody who I like so much. I have a question about your music style and just your personal style is so unique and a mashup of so many things. And one of the things I thought about when I first saw you and met you is just icon. You just are an icon. And I wonder if you always were comfortable mashing these sort of different genres together or if there was a moment in your career when you tried to fit into a box a little bit more and went, well, screw it, nobody wants me in that box. I'm just going to do whatever the hell I want.
- [44:51]
Laney Wilson
When I moved to Nashville in 2011, I didn't know anybody. There was this, this one guy from my hometown, Baskin, who wanted to be a singer, songwriter, producer back in the late 70s. And my GRANDF had actually given him a few hundred dollars to help him move to Nashville and get started. So as a favor in return, he let me park my camper trailer in his studio parking lot for free for the first three years I was there. And I would walk over to the studio every single day and I'd write songs with him. And I mean, we wrote 300 plus songs together. He's the one that really taught me how to do that. And he taught me how to put myself into the shoes of whatever it is that we're writing about. I mean, we could be rocking about this dang hairbrush right here. And he taught me how to, like, feel everything that that hairbrush was feeling. And I will say this. The kind of songs that I've been writing, the things that I've been writing about my entire life are. Is still the same. I feel like, of course, I've. I've kind of gotten to the point to where my give a damn is busted. I'm just a little bit like, what you see is what you get. What I do now is what I did years ago. Of course I have grown and I've become a better songwriter and a better singer, but this has been it. This truly has. Even when I first got to Nashville. I don't know why it has taken me so long, though. I feel like, you know, I've been in Nashville for 11 years. I kind of feel like a part of my story was supposed to be time. I think people were supposed to hear my story and, you know, think, okay, well, she's 30 years old and it took her a lot longer than it took some folks, but she stuck it out. And I hope people see that. If you keep your head down and you keep your blinders on and you roll your sleeves up like there ain't nothing that you can accomplish. You just, you let you turn those no's into yeses and just go get the dang thing yourself because ain't nobody going to hand it to you.
- [46:45]
Jen Landon
I love that. I also got the sense while you were talking that it wasn't about you. That took time, but it took. It took the music industry time to catch up with you. That's what it really. An acquired taste by everyone.
- [46:59]
Laney Wilson
I'm an acquired taste. No, I know that it would have probably been a lot easier had I gone another route and maybe did everything that was popular during that time. And I could have done it, but I'm way too hard headed. I know who I am. And like I said earlier, I've got way too many people in my life who would be like, laney, that is not you, and quit acting like it is. So, yeah, this is it. You know, if it all goes downhill tomorrow, at least I could say that every part of this was me being genuine to myself and to my raisin and my family.
- [47:35]
Jen Landon
And yeah, I'm going to get really LA for a second because you said hard Headed. I'm a little obsessed with astrology and.
- [47:44]
Laney Wilson
What do you think I am?
- [47:45]
Jen Landon
Aren't you a Capricorn?
- [47:47]
Laney Wilson
No, I'm not.
- [47:47]
Jen Landon
You're not? I thought you were a Capricorn. What are you?
- [47:50]
Laney Wilson
I'm a Taurus.
- [47:51]
Jen Landon
You're a Taurus. Okay. It's. What are you sign? Hard headed bull. Taurus is my moon sign. I'm a Virgo. So like, I love me an Earth sign. And I like, I knew you're an earth sign. Sorry, guys. Thanks for. Thanks for indulging me in that.
- [48:04]
Laney Wilson
Yep, I'm hard headed.
- [48:07]
Jen Landon
I love it.
- [48:09]
Jefferson White
It's so funny. Yeah. Because it's really like our whole job. It's so refreshing talking to you and it's so clear how firmly you stand in yourself and have such a sort of clear, distinct idea of yourself that is impermeable. Because I feel like my whole job is to not have that and to just be whatever somebody else wants me to be at any given time. So. And it's a fascinating thing, trying gelling and sort of reconciling these two different things. Like your music career is based on you as an authentic, unique individual. Nobody else could write your songs, Nobody else could perform your songs or dress like you or have your presence. And then acting. Is this kind of strange. There isn't a contradiction here, but there's a sort of an apparent contradiction here because some of the best actors, some of the coolest performances come from people who are so distinctly themselves. Like, no, nobody could play this character like you play her. You are the only person who could ever have been Abby. And at the same time, you're also Laney. You know, it's a really. It's a fascinating contradiction that I think I'll spend, you know, the rest of my career trying to wrap my head around.
- [49:31]
Laney Wilson
It really is fascinating. For sure. I'm so glad that Taylor didn't say, but you can't talk the way that you talk because that would have been real bad.
- [49:40]
Jefferson White
I can't wait for it. This is all method acting. And when Yellowstone's done, you're going to reveal that you actually have, you know, a New York accent.
- [49:48]
Laney Wilson
Yes, I actually talk like this. This is.
- [49:50]
Jefferson White
Yes, exactly.
- [49:51]
Jen Landon
There's the California.
- [49:52]
Jefferson White
That's exactly right. The California is popping out.
- [49:55]
Laney Wilson
I hate bell bottoms.
- [49:58]
Jen Landon
It would be so terrifying and heartbreaking. I'd be like, no, go back.
- [50:03]
Jefferson White
But also so impressive. Also so impressive. If you don't mind. How exactly did you meet Taylor? How did that relationship first come about?
- [50:15]
Laney Wilson
So I had not Even signed a record deal at this time. And I had just put out a self titled ep and there was a song on there called Working Overtime that my manager, Mandolin, which she was hanging out there on set too. The little curly headed girl run.
- [50:31]
Jen Landon
I love her.
- [50:34]
Laney Wilson
She pitched my music to wme, my booking agent, and WME had sent the music over to Andrea Van Forester, who is such a huge champion of mine. And she pretty much introduced my music to Taylor that way. And so I know he was doing a horse reining competition out in Vegas and he invited me to come out there and play a horse reining show. And that's where I got to meet him and thank him for putting Working Overtime my song. It was episode one, season two. It was when the bull was busting into the bar and which is one of my. Still one of my favorite scenes of just the entire show. And so I got to meet him at this horse reining competition and just got to know him and got to talk about my love for horses and how I grew up on the back of a horse. And we exchanged numbers and he said, you know, like, I want to help you. He said, you know, I just, I love what you do and I want you to keep sending me music. If you think it'd be something good for the show, just text it over to me. So for a couple years I would just. If I wrote something that I thought might would be a good fit, I'd send it to him and Mandolin would send it to Andrea and just kind of, you know, was super excited about those opportunities because, I mean, I have had people show up to my shows and be like, I found you through Yellowstone. Which is crazy to think that a show can have that much of an impact when it comes to the music. So fast forward a little bit. He ended up putting a couple more of my songs in the show from my record, saying what I'm thinking. And we just kept up, kept staying in, in contact. I went out to the ranch and in 2020 and I played a little private show for the cast and crew during the pandemic, because everybody's getting real antsy and got to hang out with Taylor a little more there. And in February, he just called me and said, you know, I've got this idea. He said, I want to create a character specifically for you. And I remember I was on the phone outside of my house and I had this little French bulldog, her name is Hippie, and she took out running towards the road. So I'm on the phone with Taylor, running, trying to catch my dog before a car comes around the corner. And so I was out of breath and I'm like, hold up a minute. Yes, I'm interested. I'll do it. So that's how that happened.
- [52:51]
Jen Landon
I'm like just being mindful of time and making sure I want to hit certain things and it ties into time in a bigger way. You said you only slept 14 nights in your bed or something this year. So on January 4th, you are going on what, a 27 city tour? I'm anticipating that you will be sleeping in your bed even less than this.
- [53:17]
Laney Wilson
Yeah, that's okay. You know, I feel like we've been working hard to work even harder. This is my very first headlining tour.
- [53:24]
Jen Landon
Amazing.
- [53:25]
Laney Wilson
It's. It's almost sold out, which is mind blowing for me because I mean, I feel like it wasn't that long ago when, I mean, nobody knew my music, my mama, and that was it, you know? But it's crazy how, like I said, it's all about that timing. I was supposed to wait this long and it was all worth it. Looking back on it now, I'm like, if it was, had I known that it was going to feel like this, you know, then I wouldn't have been too upset about it taking me as long as it did.
- [53:55]
Jen Landon
Also, I feel like loneliness in some way is sort of inherent in. To the creative process, especially with songwriting. At least that's what I've heard. And I feel like the amount of time that you probably spent alone, not just, you know, you could have been with people, but I know that the feeling of when you're not living the life that you almost know is down the road, but it's not there yet, is a very lonely, lonely experience.
- [54:22]
Laney Wilson
It is lonely. It is so lonely. I mean, when I was living in that camper trailer, the furnace could not keep up with the cold weather. I was sleeping in several jackets. And I mean, there were definitely times where I was like, what in the world am I doing? Or what have I done? But I never wanted to pack it up and go home. There was never a plan B. I was like, you know what? If it takes me 30 years, I don't. It don't matter if I end up being just a songwriter, if I end up being an artist, if I whatever. I know that I'm supposed to be here. And it was put on my heart for a reason. Just like yalls jobs are put on your heart for a reason. You know, you knew that you were supposed to track it down and see it through. And you're doing that. And I think that's what we're supposed to do. If we're given a gift, I think we need to share it.
- [55:08]
Jen Landon
Was there ever pressure from family or friends in a way, to sort of. Those years. I know for myself, you know, from the moment that you leave home and go to college through adulthood, there's this pressure at times to settle down, start a family, all of that stuff. And for people who live the creative life like us, they know that a lot of those things just aren't the priority. And sometimes it's hard to explain that to the people around you who think you're mentally ill. Oh, I know. Yeah.
- [55:41]
Laney Wilson
I think some of them are still. They still have me on the prayer list. I'm like, you kiss my butt. Actually, it was last. Last December, I went home for Christmas, and a family member was over at the house and literally said, so, Laney, at what point in time are you going to come home and just be a kindergarten teacher?
- [56:01]
Jen Landon
When was this?
- [56:02]
Laney Wilson
Last December.
- [56:04]
Jefferson White
Wow.
- [56:06]
Laney Wilson
And it took everything in me not to tell her to kiss it, but I was like, you know what? I think it's. I think it's going pretty good. I think we're right around the corner for something pretty dang magical. And I'm like, take that. I hope she listens to this podcast.
- [56:21]
Jen Landon
Yeah, I kind of hope she does, too. Also, you missed earlier, but Jeff and I talked about how now. We're now going to be settling all three things through fighting, so we're gonna go fight her.
- [56:31]
Laney Wilson
I'm not trying to fight you, Jen, though I'm gonna be honest.
- [56:34]
Jen Landon
No, you. No, no, no. You and I are not fighting. We're not fighting ever. Also, comments like that make some. They. I've dealt with my own fair share of that. And you feel so deeply unseen. It's almost like you have no gift and no talent and no value unless the world is saying that you do.
- [56:59]
Laney Wilson
Yeah.
- [56:59]
Jen Landon
And the fact that that person couldn't see you for the creative genius that you are in advance is a real loss for them.
- [57:07]
Laney Wilson
And maybe this makes me, like, a sick individual. I don't know. But honestly, it kind of made me want it that much more totally. I'm like, oh, you sit down and watch this. Hold my beer. You know, like, we've got some stuff to do. We got some ground to cover, but. But I don't know. I feel like a part of me is definitely, like, doing this to show a lot of folks who didn't believe in me. Like, hey, I'M doing it, but also, more importantly, I'm doing it for a lot of the folks who did believe in me, too. I mean, my family believed in me before anybody did. You know, my mama was the one who would sit in the bathroom and listen to all my songs because that's where the acoustics were the best. And my daddy's the one who taught me how to play a few chords on the guitar and everything. From finding my team members in Nashville, you know, a lot of people have took a chance on me, whether they let me play their bar, whether they let me play at their grand opening of a convenience store, or whether it was Taylor Sheridan giving me an opportunity for Yellowstone. It's just like, you know, a lot of people have given me opportunities, and I'm gonna give it 190%.
- [58:10]
Jefferson White
So you first had music appear on the show from your first album. Will you tell us about your new album?
- [58:16]
Laney Wilson
Absolutely. It's called Bell Bottom country, which means country with a flair. It's about finding whatever it is that makes you you and different and leaning into it as much as you possibly can. It could be where you're from, the way that you were raised, the way that you talk, the way that you dress. It's about being unapologetically yourself. And just like we've been talking about on here, you know, sometimes that's hard to do, but there's a big old sense of freedom that comes along with it. And this record right here definitely pulls back those layers and shows who I truly am and what I want to say and how I want to say it, and I'm proud of it. I mean, every song on this record is my baby, and a lot of the songs are on the show, and it's just. It's. This is one of the biggest moments of my career so far, and I'm just so appreciative of all of the opportunities and the belief in me. And I promise you, I won't. I won't let you down.
- [59:09]
Jefferson White
Laney, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for sharing light with us. I'm certainly walking away from this conversation inspired and excited, so I'll be down there in the front row screaming.
- [59:21]
Laney Wilson
Come on. Thank y'all. I appreciate y'all so much, and it's.
- [59:26]
Jen Landon
So good to love y'all. Amazing. Amazing.
- [59:40]
Jefferson White
What an incredible honor to be joined by Laney Wilson today. Just like season five of Yellowstone, the official Yellowstone podcast just goes up from here. It's just getting bigger from here. Jen and I, we're finally clicking after five years of real enmity between us. Real. Just contentious.
- [59:59]
Jen Landon
It's nice to finally become friends.
- [60:01]
Jefferson White
Yeah, I feel like just this forced proximity is making us finally get along.
- [60:07]
Jen Landon
We just want to thank everyone for tuning in to another episode of the Official Yellowstone Podcast. We've got more episodes coming to you weekly. We have more exciting guests, so hang in there.
- [60:20]
Jefferson White
Listen to the Official Yellowstone Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast cast.