00:00:00 Speaker 1: Hey, this is Bart Crowe and you got it right here on the Element Podcast to night. I mean you by my side, hold on to me. So what is happening all you would snow? People? This is Casey and Tyler on the Element Podcast. Like you just heard from another one of our buddies. Tyler, who are we talking to today? We're gonna be talking to Bart crow He is a guy that I know from several years ago, playing some music together and turn around the country doing things. Yeah. Yeah, and uh, you know, he wasn't wearing a ring the other night, which was kind of weird. But uh, I think that that Bart has like the tattoo win and ring thing going on, so it's cool. But before we get to Bart in the interview that we did with him, guys, I know that you're like zoned in working hard or driving or whatever, but what a great opportunity to pull over, use the bathroom, take a break, go get a donut, and head over to the Element YouTube channel right now. Hit subscribe if you haven't, and take a screenshot and send it to us in a message. All right, send it to us Facebook or Instagram and you will enter our one thousand slash eleven thousand, actually one thousand, ten thousand uh slash eleven thousand uh subscriber giveaway over on YouTube. Guys, we are giving away a ton of stuff and we don't do these cheesy giveaway stuff that often, you know, like we're not gonna be like, oh, here's a you know, a used talk that we you know, would you please subscribe if you know whatever, like it's it's it's a big deal. Yeah, we watched it. There's ae Marino one that's gray and one Marino one's black. But h anyways, we're gonna give away a bunch of stuff here because we really appreciate y'all helping us get to this point. We know that a lot of y'all have been subscribed on YouTube for a very long time and we appreciate the comments, the likes, the shares, all that stuff. Um, but if you would do this for us so we can keep on keeping on, it's what really need to do. So um, anyways, we're giving away a ton of stuff. It's all stuff that we use that we love that help us kill dear um home in a way. So go subscribe on YouTube. Sent us a screen shot and you'll be entered into that giveaway. So we're doing we're you know, this texting thing, right, so there's a grand Huh that's only part one though, right. Oh yeah, Part two is coming this week on Instagram, so be ready. There's a part two where you get extra entries. Um. So this is a texting thing, right, So we have a Grande Prize, not Starbucks texting Texans did this not Starbucks? Okay, we got a Grande a Prize, which is the big dog, and we got some grand prizes. Okay, uh so the Grande Prize you win pretty much everything that Tyler and I use on a daily or weekly basis to go deer hunting. It's pretty awesome outside of our bows. But you're gonna get arrows, you're gonna get broadheads, you're gonna get camo, you're gonna get back back, You're gonna get it all. Um. Oh, and all these prizes come with a elite subscription to on X, not just like single state. We're talking all fifty states, legit. In one, you can travel to Maine and go hunt deer and find public land there because on X is giving you that stage. So be sure go screenshot the the screen showing your subscribe to the Element YouTube channel and send it to us in a message. Now, that's all for the plug guys. Tyler tell us about here bro, Mr Crow. Oh he is, Uh, he's a guy that likes said a note from way back, and he's he's a good dude. Man. I just always seem to care about people, and um, be a are less interested in um, you know where he and his famed them and and uh music we're taking and more about kind of the relationships in the industry and stuff, and so I naturally kind of um, you know, it was I guess drawn to him, and um, we played several shows together that were really good, um, kind of regionally and and that kind of thing. And um, I don't know, he's had a lot of fun and so I kind of know him from from those days. And we we did some trash talking, you know, on Twitter and stuff quite a bit, um, just to kind of freak everybody out, like we were actually getting into fights, you know, and uh, and then we would uh you know, we we we we ended up keeping up with each other kind of you know, we'll text every once in a while, a couple of times a year, several times a year and see how everything's going, you know, and um, uh even though you know, me and my band hadn't toured formally and full time for you know, five years or so probably now, but um, you know, still play music and stuff and still think about him, see what's going on with him in his life. He enjoys his family and that kind of thing. So we kind of have some of the same values. And then so I'm I'm I'm looking on Instagram kind of scrolling through one day I think it was, and I see Bart has killed and Elk, and I'm like, is this guy clowning or not? Is he you know, like did he like photoshop this or something? Because I didn't know Barb was a hunter, you know, And uh, I think, as you you'll find out in this podcast, you'll kind of see that he is. Um he had a hiatus, I guess you'd say, for a while there, but it seems like he's kind of getting back into the swing of hunting, seems to have enjoyed it this year and gone several times. And so I was like, mans be, let's been a good uh you know, different different angle and uh, you know, we don't have to have uh, you know, the same fourteen guys that have been on every podcast on UH to talk about why tell tactics this league. We can have a guy talk about his journey and what that looks like one hunting means to him, and maybe somebody can relate to that, and maybe there's some information in there as well that you can use to think about concepts and stuff like that as you go forward and you're your own uh outdoor journey. You know, Yeah, for sure, I think that, uh it's very relatable for a lot of people, especially like you know, the working folks who uh I used to hunt a lot, maybe hunting with their dad and granddad, and then you know, just life's got busy and you don't get to go that much anymore, and if you do, it's you know, kind of quick on some your in law's property or whatever. And that's kind of how Bart's been. And then this year he just kind of you know, set the woods on fire pretty much, just getting after it, and I think he's fixing to go duck hunting and he's just kind of getting back into stuff. Man. It's pretty cool and and really there's a lot of um life stuff in here that's pretty relatable for a lot of folks. But I'm gonna give a give a caveat, give a disclaimer here. Um, y'all if if you got young uns listening to the podcast. UM, not that there's a lot of uh, you know, bad words or just lude crude things in here, but we talk a lot about some real life stuff, you know, with some substance abuse and and just struggles that that people have. So uh, if you want to, it would be a great opportunity to use this as a teaching tool, you know, to uh your kids and to talk about you know, some real life stuff or you know, if you're not not quite into that or your kids aren't quite ready for it, maybe it's a good time just maybe turn this one off until later. But either way, I really enjoyed, you know, getting talked about. It's funny like uh, you know, circuit two thousand nine, two thousand ten, there was a a case with a bare haircut, much better hair hairline out, you know, two stepping in college station to this guy singing on stage. And never would I have thought that, you know, I'd just be chilling in a and Fisherman's motel room doing a podcast with you know, two guys on a bed and in their socks, you know what I mean, Like it's getting weird. I was on a chair luckily. Yeah, no, that's uh, it was you know, it was a it was a good night for sure. I think very Uh, you know, anytime we can get to do one in person, you know, it's unfortunate that we don't get to do more of them in person, but we just don't have the means and method to do that right now, especially during Hunt season. But it'd be nice to be Joe Rogan and fly everybody out to h Emory, Texas and you know, have a studio set up, interview you know, all these people. But yeah, it's good to have it in person. Man. It's just a lot easier to communicate. It's a lot more personal and uh yeah, it was a fun time man. You know, like like most musicians, there's uh, you know, some kind of artistic our side that you have to you feel like a lot of musicians have to go through to to write good music or whatever. And so like a lot of these guys, you know, like Bart and others have been through that stuff. And I think there's also kind of a a certain type of person that kind of tends to two Uh you know, be be that way. I guess in for lack of a better phrase or term, but like he's uh, you know, he's definitely you can tell that there's a different kind of joy these days, I think. And so that's a that's a good thing. Then happy for him and and uh look forward to people listening to this conversation and give feedback, hopefully on what they liked about it or what they you know, I would like to hear more. Yeah. Absolutely, man. You know, the first part of the conversation is a lot of you know, music and life talk, and then Bart gets into some of his hunting stuff there at the end or not at the end. It's you know, two thirds of the way through or whatever. But it's just a good long conversation. Uh. And uh, I had a lot of fun man. He he's a funny, funny guy. So good dude to hang out with. Uh, I have I've hunted at my property twice. Nothing nothing too crazy. Um. I'm you know to the point of naming does because I see him every day, which is this is the story of East Texas. Uh. You know, late season hunting, you know, you just if you run a feeder on your property, you're gonna have your residant does and you just kind of I don't know, it's it's a tough game, and I don't have enough time to hunt every day, uh to go and hope that, you know, a buck shows up. But that's kind of what you gotta do, is just hope that a buck shows up or tries to swing through and see if there's any you know, late cycle young does or something didn't get bread first go around. Um, I've got a mature eight point that's you know, found the corn. I haven't got any day lot pictures of him yet, but as you know, winner pushes on. UM kind of that post Christmas time is a good time to maybe catch one kind of slipping a little bit. So it's kind of what I'm hoping for. But I think you and I are probably gonna really get after the Texas public stuff the next few weeks because my wife is fixing to go on uh what do they call that winter break? Christmas bread so is yours and so we're about to just rage and kill all the dear hopefully. So I'm looking forward to that. Man, it can be a tough time a year to be uh hunting. You know they used to having Texas God, Yeah, for sure, guys, real quick, Um, if you're interested, there's an Element d l Y hunting page on Facebook. UH asked to join that group, and it's a place where we do a lot of kind of more form style discussion stuff. And we're also talking about UH doing a meet up slash hog hunt in the spring. So if you're interested in that, go join that page and you'll be able to you know, kind of we'll talk about the details and see what win in hair? What win in hair? Yeah? What when? Where? And how about about that deal? But right now, man, let's get to the conversation with Bart. Sounds good. So we've got Bart Crow here in his hotel room he invited us in. It's a cozy echo e place right in here with lots of linoleum. Yeah. Yeah, Bart's wearing his Texas socks. Man, you can pretty much always count on you to have something that says something on you know what I mean, Like in the Boots video, where did you do you just have that stuff in your closet? Well, my wife so uh set designer and a wardrobe okay for film and and she's a photographer, So I have access to things, if you notice, didn't always fit really properly. Yeah, I somehow get them. That's all right, I get them on. Yeah, it's all right. So they look cool. Yeah, it's kind of like a little bit of Elvis little Dwight yoak Um different things going on there. Yeah, kind of Elvis's heavier year. We're blonde hair. Yeah, no, he Uh. I watched that video and I liked that song a lot. Man, it's got the whole album has cool vibes. Man, I think what you do with it, I think we um. I quit trying to figure out what everybody wanted, and h kind of started just doing what I wanted, not started, just kind of got back and found myself and just played the songs, wrote the songs, played the music. And then since I've been hooked up with Nick J working with him, he's produced. We've actually done three records, but we've only released the two so far. I'm not finished in Pretty Good Heart, and uh, Nick just got a cool he he's got a cool understanding. Like they're kind of like I'm not I'm not seasoned in music, in um proper terminology and in the education, but he is so I can like tell him like, man, I've kind of got this cool, like swampy idea with this, and then he'll throw a few things at U s him. We disconnect, and it's been really easy to make these records. Dude. Producers are such a big part of it, man, they are. And when it works, it's beautiful. When it doesn't, it's a freaking nun trainer. Meant, it's just and with me. In my couple of records that I did not did not feel comfortable at all. I felt like we were already too committed and I, you know, I know it should be like, hey, let's just stop right here, like this isn't working in hindsight. But when you're young and you hire somebody, you trust that they're going to direct the train, and you know, and then you start, at least myself, start second guessing, like, well, you know, who am I to say they're not right? Maybe their idea. Maybe that's why I hired them, is to take my ideas and then make me go a direction that I might not be comfortable with but it could be better. The first Big the first full length album that I did with with Tyler and the Tribe we had like a rock star dude produced an engineered platinum albums and stuff like that, and that was our producer, and like that was kind of where I was at. Was like I was kind of afraid to say anything, like, man, I'm you know, twenty four years old, Like yeah, I know what I'm talking about, you know what I mean? Like that was me, you know, with my my first one, I kind of wasn't grooving with. We were just so committed. We were a young band. It was the third record though the first one had no clue what we were doing. And I think you can absolutely tell that it's not that great of a record, but it's probably one of our more popular records and and it, you know, it garnered wear my Ring, which obviously gave me a foundation to build a career on. But it's like I didn't know any different, didn't know any better. We just did. And then the second one, we we thought we found, you know, this a great producer who at the time did great for us, but then there was there was just a whole lot of sound and tonal things that I didn't like but was trusting and did think it was because he was more of a rock producer and we were in a you know, a larger studio. We're down in San Antonio, and it was it was a good time. We're having a great experience, but you know, forty dad guitar tracks and overdoes it's like just stacking and and using orange amps when we're all you know, when we're using whatever Paul was using at the time, you know, um, probably a box or the Luxe or something. And then we're running all this crap through all this computer eyed stuff that's still out of my you know knowledge, you know. And then the third one, it's like, well, now we're doing one in Nashville and nothing and none of this stuff that I'm saying is personal attack on these people. It was just our our jail wasn't jelly and so. But then the Nashville once we were flying out and I was adamant about doing it with my band so and I don't even know where we got the money from because so broke and and young. But each time flying out, I would fly out of band members. So it was me and the bass player spent the first week and then um we did use a session drummer and then UM, then me and the guitar player went out and it was just a week of guitars and I flew back out and there was a lot of stuff. I wasn't digging, but I was trusting. And it's easy to say that. I mean, if the record would have went skyrocketed and blowed us, blown us into the stratosphere, I'm sure my opinion would be different. I think it would have to be. I'd like to think it wouldn't. I'd like to think that I'm mature enough to just be like it still wasn't. It was a fun environment, but it wasn't like a we're all on the same page environment. How old? How old were you? And where am my ring started to do what it did? Like when did you really say when you record this song? I don't know, man, because I weird weird evolution of that song was? You know? I played? I had a band. First of all. I played for about six months just by myself, acoustic, and my mother gave me the money. I did a four or five trap acoustic record with Doc Watson, who was Tommy Alverson Doc Watson or Doc Weston TALC Weston. Sorry, Doc dude, I've done that before, and I think back to some of my early stuff. I'm like, what's that kind of thing? They used to have three Fools, three Fools on three stools and it was their trio. They played all around the Metroplex and in small towns, run May Pearl at the bs B, in in places, and they were fantastic because Tommy Alverson had that UM I forget what his record was called, but had Texas Woman on it, UM Hill Country and great great cassette tape. And so I went to those guys because I was just getting kicked off. So then fast forward six or eight months after that, I put a band together. In the band, we played gigs just off that acoustic record and me bugging people, and I bet we played for almost the year before the drummer at the times mother loaned us the money. I think it's like three thousand bucks, astronomical amount at that time. That was back in the seventies or something like that. Yeah, yeah, two thousand and three, and we recorded the Finally record and where my Ring was on there, well, I mean Ring was just another passing song in the set list. I mean it's not called Angel with the Bottle. I mean, you're calling anything you want to as long as you're playing I know, you know you like it when people ask you play that one. I even put that on the live record in print se I think I put Angel in the Bottle. Um. Oh my dad he still was like, uh, you know where the Angel bottle song? That's good. Stop. But we recorded it in two thousand and three, and this is where it got weird because it was just another passing song. Hey. We were trying to get the simple Man, yeah, and in our probably are Back in Black and Metallica mont Hodge of you know a little our Little Feller Break. We're trying to get into those songs. But I started noticing ring and then I released it as a single with my first promoter ever, Debbie Green, and it really didn't do much on the radio, but UM started noticing at the gigs. People were wanting to hear it, you know. But back then it was probably like the fourth or fifth song out well year m maybe four of something like that. I do I remember. So when I first started, I listened to a lot of rock growing up, and it was a huge Nirvana fan stp those are like Incubus, So it was probably my top three favorite bands in like high school. And then I remember somebody introduced me. Ryan Beaver introduced me to Cross Cane Ragway when I was in high school. Yeah, and so because Beavers from here, you know, we actually didn't know that. See I know Beaver from Austin that he became Yeah, no Beaver and I his younger brother, Cody, did did you ever meet him? Cody's one of my best friends. I actually hung out with Cody today. Um, but they're from Emory. We're all from Emory, and so we're here at like four right now that the listen. I have an uncle that lives in Yeah, yeah, so so I uh, I my my parents owned my dad owns a fishing lodge and has for about thirty years up here. And um, I can remember going from the fishing lodge heading south towards Alba, which is between memory equipment. If that makes any sense to you, it probably doesn't, but I can remember I can remember going south out of there and hearing this where my Rings song, and it was the it was the first song that would be considered you know, Texas country, red dirt, whatever it is, would be considered that that was that I had ever heard outside of Cross Kay Ragley and that was all the radio. I was like, this is a pretty cool song, you know, and uh and I was. I was in high school at the time, and I'm thinking, this is cool, you know, So just a little side note there, but it was like, this was the my introduction into uh this, you know, saying or whatever. Pretty much well, a strange thing for our band. I didn't even know there was a scene, like I learned as we were going. Sure, we just like to play music. And my my get into it was Bowland. Jason Bowland had married a girl I grew up with, so when they would come to Stephenville to play, they would come in a few days early and stay at my house and we would just party for the week. And I've already been writing songs, but with no thought whatsoever on the planet of ever doing anything with them. I think I probably did him the thing that you and I probably rolled our eyes about, at least on the inside. And I'm sorry anybody if that comes off rude. But when somebody's like, hey, I wrote this song, you can I play it for you, it just like, but at least you have turned out good. But I've become mature enough when people ask me that I say mature and I'm not mature. You know how An we're friends, but I've become comfortable enough to be like, you don't want my opinion. Can't we just let's just be pals? Because what if you need real feedback, if you wrote a song, or if you're thinking about writing songs and playing music, you need real feedback. I'm not gonna give you real feedback. I'm not a nice person. Yeah, you're gonna just be like, oh, that's awesome, man. But at the same time, that's what I was like. People don't I'm like, you don't want my feedb you don't need my feedback. If you love it, that's good enough. Who gives a darn what I think? Who am I? I don't want to critique someone else's art because we both know, especially in the Texas scene, plenty of people that just want to be in it. I want to be a part of it. Hey, look what I've strung together some words and look at this. And then there's people who really believe in art and love what they do. And I'm not trying to be anybody's bubble buster. God knows, I had plenty of them coming through it. So anyway, back to bowling. Sorry for the segue, but he was. I don't think that I asked him to listen, and if I did, he just was such a scatterbrain. Then he probably just talked me out of it or something. But he did say, hey, man, call Heath out of city limits. Just book a damn gig and I'll see how it goes, and his famous quote, and this was, I mean, my god, this was two thousand and two or three, which made me lie about when I did. Finally, I think we recorded at least at No. Five, but Smith Music picked it up right after that and rereleased it, so it's technically oh six. Anyway, Bolin was like, we got the rest of our lives to be old and boring, may as well go for it. It was just like light bubble, yeah, like sense. And so I booked a gig at city limits, I mean, excuse me, the agave next door, which I spent all my tuition there anyway, and everybody and my wife did too. She must be super smart. She actually went the close people ever met yea second one of yeah yeah, and so I go to yeah, I think I'm ade three hundred bucks, was like yeah, that was easy, and you know, of course, then all my friends came. It was just probably probably the last sold out show I ever had. So there's like three people there, three and a half so paraplegic. It was a small person. We have to be careful here you get banned to land this long winded plane of mine. I'm sorry, it's going to answer your question with all this we I mean, how did wear my ring? When we record it was just another song on the on the list, on the track list, And I think that's what you asked me. I lost myself. Yeah, I don't remember either. I was asking me. I can get long winded. You know. It's good though, that's what podcasts are for. So you asked me when I realized where my ring was doing. Yeah, when it was kind of taken off, Yeah, And I think we even had it out of the set for a while, just scary, Yeah, just like almost didn't make it, Yeah, not knowing. And then this is how stupid I was, how ridiculously stupid. So then when it started doing well, I felt like it was the dumbest song I had of my my maybe not dumb, but the least the weakest of the songs that I had of the X number we had to play in the set, plus we had to play a simple man of course in our montage of annoyance and loud music. And uh so I remember trying to almost like distance myself from it when in hindsights, like you're you stupid, Yes you are, And so I guess I don't know, I don't know what. I don't have this like burning bush moment of like that song, let's put it back in. But we did, and it just kept going, and it kept going. It kept getting bigger, and shows got bigger and better, and and everybody was, you know, yelling for it. And then that gets annoying because it's like, well, what about these other songs? And I really could tell you whole backstory on You're not the one I really don't remember, and uh but we embraced it, and we just moved it to the end of the set where it's lived for geez, I guess forever, due at least at least probably ten years, it's been this show closer and it will be till yeah, until you get to put nine o'clock and start time. Yeah, then when you're in your contract will open with it. And then close with it, so you know, it's funny thing too. It is, you know, I did a new version of it on the last ep. I'm not finished, and we just kind of went more kind of honky talk think Alabama, and uh golly, I got some hate messages. Yeah, it was terrible. This suck, And of course I don't have the wherewithal to just ignore that, like no, it's it's actually really good. You just prefer the other one and that's okay, but so many people do like yeah, man, you're run yeah all the time on YouTube. Man, Like if if somebody, you know, because the nanymity of the Internet is a terrible for people don't have enough responsibility to deal with it. I wonder what the world would do if, you know, the government's taking everything anyway, what if they just shut down the internet for I think it'd be amazing. Everybody has to get back to communicating and being civil and yeah, and that's each other. It's crazy how like somebody will be like I can't believe you did that, you know that deer or whatever, and then you say, well, man, actually you know we feed your family with that food or whatever, and like oh yeah, man, good point. It's like, ohrd guy with your chest out. You know, it's weird how many people think that when they're commenting online to you, that you're just like this person that will that doesn't see it and will never respond to miss. That was like, like that guy's me. I'm the guy that owns this. Nobody else works here, you know, like it's not a company you know well, and some things you want to be like, oh I have I've used this before, Like, oh my bad. This isn't the Q and a discussion board. This was me putting my opinion. Uh, it wasn't really asking for feedback. This is just what happened or but that's why I'm just so it's like, um, you know you have to do it. I have to do it. You guys have to do it, but you kind of play the stupid social media game and I hate it. I just listen to the music. Listen to the damn music. If you like it, cool. If you don't, don't listen to it, that's unfortunate because you know, if you come see us live, we're pretty fun. We have good time. We don't get all drunk up and act fools, which there's always a place for that. I'm not knocking that side either, but they're But when you when musicians do that, they tend to get more lame. They think they're cool, but like the people watching them were like, this guy is just that's me. And but I'm such a weirdo because I remember like seeing Gary Stewart when I was in high school and I was like, that's cool and guts losht. But then when I do it, then you just kid like he was still drunk. I need my money back. This was cool. I played a show Garry Stuart one time. We opened for him and the first band that I ever like turned in at all, how was the guitar player and harmony guy, So I wasn't like the main dude, you know whatever. We were at the Lightning Rod. Yeah, we we like branded ourselves as punk country and so we played kind of country, but like, you know, is it fit into the scene except for that, like everywhere we went we destroyed things and so uh we we literally opened for Gary Stewart. We ex destroyed a guitar at the no we uh we had a trash can metal trash can. We threw black cats in at the very beginning of the show. On stage, and then we we lit them and threw it in there and all walked off and just a hundred black cats went you know whatever. And then at the end of the show, our field player got up on the shoulders of our lead singer and soloed. At the end, we're just going nuts. I mean there's like forty people there, you know or whatever. And uh then the singer grabs a guitar and go smash this, and I said, no, I'm not smashing your guitar. We don't have money, and so he just walks over and just starts destroying this guitar. And he goes, take your shirt off, and I was like, okay, whatever, you know, like back then, I was in decent shape, you know, So I ripped my shirt off. I'm solo out or whatever. And then like we just like are like whatever, we freaking just killed this in front of like forty people. Throw my guitar down and let it feedback, you know, and walk off the stage, bust out the back doors and there's Gary Stewart and I'm just like freaking sweating so hard, no shirt on, no guitar, and they're like like hey, fellas, and they just started laughing. It was good. It was good. That was the only time we ever played Gary Stewart. So these guys, those guys, so where my ring is like, it's like, Ben, You've built a career on it, basically, yeah, And so how do you feel, like, does it still rank down there? Because like I've heard Dave Girl talk a lot about um certain songs that he's written. He talks about him, He's like, you gotta you know, if you write a song, you better be prepared to play it for the rest of your life. And he's and he has kind of I think hit like the same thing where like he's written some songs he wasn't super proud of after he had to play a lot, but people like him a lot. And then he's kind of come full circle to where like, man, I really appreciate the fact that I had the chance to write a song that has I've been able to build a career on even though it may not be like my best song ever. Yet you feel that way kind of with that song or you still just kind of put out by no, No, I am like have learned to love it and uh very much appreciate and respect what it's meant to other people. I mean, it's been everything from like you've seen in high school and you didn't say this, but some people that was our party anthem. Other people have talked to you like, man, I got me through a divorce or that got me through a breakup, and it's like, man, I want everybody to own it their own and it's been huge, Like I mean, yeah, I mean my career is kind of in the middle mediocre anyway, so I can't imagine how terrible it would be without the song. But no, I'm I'm definitely definitely a fan of that and any song you know, there's I've been fortunate to have a a few were they are meaningful to people and that I always hold that very dear. It just took me, honestly, can look back and think I was just trying to be too cool for school. You know, you had bands like Ragweed that had Carny Man, but at this time they were like, we don't play that anymore, don't request that, which is fair because I was acting exactly what that works for them, and that's cool and I like that. I like that they're kind of like, no, we don't We're trying to be a little more serious, and I can honestly see in hindsight, I'm sure that's where that kind of gravitated from me. Instead of having my own opinion and embracing it, it was trying to be cooler than I was, or you know, well that's working for that band, so we should try that, which everybody does to a degree. Shoot, when I first started, there wasn't a soul in this scene that played in ears. Then one band gun on in ears. They're like, well, we should get on in ears. We should get on in ears too. Well, guess what, we should get a tour manager. We should go to Hey. They had a sound guy. We need a sound guys. They had lights. There was like, damn it, we gotta have lights. Did you have coached by like a like a ears broker or something. It was the weirdest thing ever. They were like, they were like trying to sell me in Your monitors are all of us, you know, And but I was so confused because it's like, so you don't actually work for the in ears company that you're trying to sell me on. It was the weirdest thing. They're like, no, we we help out this band, this fan, this band. Look at the backup Van I don't understand, like, and they tried to hook us up and I was like, uh, that's way too expensive. We can't do that. Now. Where I was where I was lucky in that regard was then I hired a tour manager that he sent me. Now He's like, you don't need all this crap, dude, So we started minimizing. I stayed on ears even when the band went back to two wedges, you know, don't save money. But that's because I'm deaf. I mean it was for the safety of the rest of the band for me to stay on ears, because my monitors would have had to be so incredibly loud. But are you deaf because of music? Probably the most, but you know growing up hunting. Yeah, never your protection because you're you're a veteran too, right. Yeah. And in those tanks, I've never putting your plug in. Yeah, Um, what do you do in in the tanker? It's what you are so army. Yeah. I was a nineteen kilo Fort Stewart, Georgia for three years. Is that where Sean is where biding for bidding? I was on the other side of the state. Yeah, And um, yeah, I mean we're too cool. I mean your nineteen twins invincible. Not climbing up, but I'm gonna jump up on it, not climbing off. I'm jumping off now. I got had four back surgeries and so it's like, oh, right, maybe I should have listened. So, uh, did you see any overseas action or anything? I did not. I was fortunate, very fortunate enough to be here in peacetime, Yeah, four years and then out No. Three. I went into ninety five and got out and nonety eight got you. So, um, yeah, I was very fortunate. I was in between desert storm and I guess all right, yeah, all right, recorded yeah, yeah, man. So one of my high school best friends he uh actually, so if you came in on one fifty four that I always named after him. He was a army ranger and uh lost his life and service over there and all right war so yeah, it's uh Tanner uh Stone Higgins highway out there. Partially the reason my wife, I'm sorry, partial the reason my son is named Stone is because of him. So awesome. Yeah, so that's that's a good tip of the heart and hat. Yeah, buddy, it did a lot of things wanted out door. Nay, of course, and uh my buddy's middle name and it was her mate name. So I was like, this has meant yeah, thanks for the service man. So then from uh from he said ninety eight was when you got out. Yeah, so I saved up some leave time. I got out running January, okay, and then uh, then you went to Tarleton stated I went to Tarleton for one year or when I got out. It was kind of like, h now what Yeah, I mean, I didn't really know what the world I was gonna do when I got out of high school. And now it's just like I got out of high school all over again. I still don't know what due. And so I went to the fire academy for that first semester of school, if you will, because I got out in January. So that first January through May, I went to a fire academy and I started testing for to be a fireman, and uh just kept doing well, but the hierarchy just I didn't give it long enough. You know, I'm tested for like three months. But in that time I had met some some peeple, some guys and girls who went to Tarleton who would come home on the weekends, and I was working for one of them's brother in law, and we were roping together and running the highways and rodeo stuff of the most interesting man in the world in the entire world. Your beard kind of looks like that, guys just looks like mine, it does, That's what I mean. Yeah, did you get tats in the service or I got one in the service, But it's not there anymore. It's covered up now the Nazi um yes, swastika because actually no, it's actually better than that. It was a son. Wait, get yeah, I was a son with a goatee on it, sir, you heard me correctly, So yeah, we had had Okay, I mean, if you looked at it right, it kind of looked like the Kellogg's son, but it was cooler. They're really happy, but then kind of cool. Yeah, had a goatee on it. With your life better than that. I got it somewhere outside of Hinesville, Georgia, which is about the size of Dantis, Sir Henry, and the guy had an old house on his property. He lived in a trailer behind it. But the old house, I'm not b s and had a piece of ply with it said tattoos here, And I was sitting on his motorcycle inside of this old house where he was tapping me. You know that sounds so uh unique, but I almost feel like that happens in the most because there's one of those places there outside the helicopter. It's got the helicopter eighteen Wali. I did that without without batting an eye, like yes, sir, please use her needles. And so when I met those boys and girls from Tarleton, and since I was young and um it was my buddy during it was his brother in law, so Royce and those guys were you know, he was married, and so I would they would come home Tarlton. Heck, we did go to the bars, go to Arlington. I got to be friends. I go down to Stephenville and I'm like, this is the life down here, daddy, this is where I need to be. So I went to Tarlton for um, making sup poor decisions and uh doing some drugs and being an idiot like man, I'm gonna I'm gonna mess up my g I Bill, I'm gonna lose. I'm gonna losing. I'm gonna waste all this time and I'm ended up not making good grades and I'm just getting high all the time. And it's like, probably not good. So then I went back to May Pril and I was just gonna go for the summertime, you know, dry out and clean up and go back. And that lasted three years. I had to do some more drugs, but which is terrible. I'm not advocating that children just don't ever do that. I'm just trying to be honest to tell you my stupidity and mistakes. And it got right with God man and turned around and went back to Tarleton and oh January vot two and graduated in December vote four. Did you graduate with music degree? Obviously you know everything, the smartest kid on campus. Yeah, it was a different Uh no, that's funny. My dad was like, I didn't hear them say that after your name, and like they forgot I left my sash at home. No, I gotta. I got a Bachelor of Science in Public relations with business communications. Cool. Yeah, so, um it's you're built for podcasting, yes, own podcast you are so so while the rest of the tats came after you became a powerful musician. Man, it was a slow because they're cool. Is why I'm asking like this slow evolution, to be honest with you, like I would never get one. I just I just never would. But I think that they're cool. I think I think like I like the color I did um like I had the awesome son. How didn't tell me my my first one I got in high school, which it's gone to it's covered also, but that was amazing. I've got those. Yeah, they're awesome. I was told they say family and love, but I mean, who knows, Yeah, it probably does. I'm not even repeat what I think. It probably says. No. The other one, my first one was get Go Lizard, but he was standing up on his back to feet in a fireman's outfit because I was going to be a fireman. Like in high school you felt like you wanted to be a fireman. Two uncles that were fireman a great career, and just I have lots of friends who have lots I had two other friends who are fireman and terrific career, and I just kind of thought, like, man, I want to kind of carry on that deal and my uncle's did and it seems to be working for them. Hey, those guys only work a third of the year. Yeah, man, dude, I could kind of do what I want. I know, I got I've got to actually in that cover band I play in. Two of those guys are firemen, so unfortunately, you know, they don't work for the same department, so scheduling is still tough. But I bet so. But you know, we don't they don't. I don't need him, you know, bass player, you know what I mean? Seriously, do you need that guy? Straps the doors? I mean, come on, lack straps doors. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the tattoos, I don't know, they just kind of started growing. But then once you get past the point, it's kind of like you just get a wild here and like, oh, I'm gonna go get this meat today. But what's what which one means the most to you? I don't know either the scripture not either this gonna sound terrible out of context. Obviously my children's name, but then scripture, what's the scripture say I could do all things? Who Christ strenthens me? Yeah, you wrote that in Phlippians to the Philippians actually did to the Philippians and asked them, if they don't put it, it's goodie. Did you get that after you cleaned up? Is that? Like? No, it wasn't like a testament? I mean my my making bad decisions with narcotics was a complete choice. And one day I just woke up, like me, my mom knew what I've been doing less three or four years and break her heart and quit. Yeah I was done. Moms hold us accountable, don't they? Absolutely? I just you know. And it went from being fun and cutting up and partying too some some weeks daily use and then maybe not for a few weeks, but it was becoming too much of a regular occurrence, and then people were starting to make it and people are starting to get arrested around me, and yeah, it just it was turning from like this like every story you've ever heard about drugs, like it becomes unfun and it's just like what are you doing? Dude? When I m the first man I turned in, um, like when I first got in there, there was like nobody, I mean everybody. The lead singer is kind of uh, he did pills quite a bit, but like he hated the smell of pot. Well then next thing, I know, like we hired we got this fiddle player in the band, and like, dude, they're bringing like gallon bags of pot, you know, and like when one night they were jacking around um in the hotel room in Love It. We're on the second floor and we had played the show Gotten Bags, like probably like one o'clock in the morning, and our drummer and our singers start kind of wrestling around, just having fun, you know, dude, and they they like are banging around on the floor. You know, yeah, exactly right. And so but the thing is I had already gone to sleep. They they banged around, and then I was like, Uh, this is dumb. You know, I'm just going to sleep. Go to sleep, Larry. Wake up to the sound of the knock and uh, love It, you know, police or whatever. And I when I wake up, I can't see across the room. There's so much smoke in the room. And I was like, this is a bad deal right here. And I just had my first kid, and it just I was like when I started thinking about it on the way home, and I was like, it's just not worth it, man, It's not you. And my mind was all pre music, think goodness, and so it wasn't even a factor. And obviously, you know, there's been offers come up over I I'm doing this seventeen years ago. It's like, I have no desire. I mean, you could put anything you want on the table, and I'm like, that's funny. Been there. What do you want me to do? I'm too old. I'm not staying up on that. If you lost your mind, don't take drugs I like now or advil PM zeke will Yeah, it's got to have some PM. So I ask a guy who's who's done heavier stuff? You know? Uh, God, never ventured off in that world. But I'm nothing nothing. There's no light at the end of that tunnel. I'm pretty freedom oriented when it comes to things, you know what I mean. And the jurisdictions against marijuana, I kind of just kind of over it. You know, me too, But I don't smoke, but I'm prob I'm pro marijuana. Yeah, and I'm like, why not, just you know, stop locking people up for But all politics aside, what do you think about the whole um? Uh? What do they call it? Gateway drug idea? I don't know, man, because I didn't smoke weed until I was doing other stuff. I mean no, in high school, I smoked a little bit here and there, and then it just never. It's kind of like now, I mean, I could where can you not find marijuana? Yeah, it's like why is it why I you know, I have no, I don't have a desire, but I did during all that time. I was a pretty heavy smoker. But it started from like trying to come down from the weekend party and then it was like I kind of like this and I can function, you know, And it's just nothing in the kid any kids listening to I'm not bragging or trying to highlight any of this. It's all trash. But through technology and and lots of research, there is some with THHC, there is some very beneficial things, you know, especially for people with chronic pain. But no, I'm talking about stuff that will never be legal. And you know, cocaine and met the inn fetom means it's like, that's just trash. It's trash. It doesn't do good for anybody, um, you know, and like to say when I when I quit or even when I was messing with it. And this is not glorifying it in the least, but it was made by some old timers that took a week or so to manufacture this stuff, and we just knew him and we just knew what it was going on. And then next day, you know, within the a couple of years. Then it's like everybody's making in their bathtub and about sores, and people are getting divorced and a fan of minds getting arrested because he's asleep in his truck downtown and it's like, what come out? Nobody knew I was doing this. I'll blowing the cover where we're from. Um, I don't know if it still is, but when when I was you know, growing up up and even passed when I left here, like Rains kind of is the meth capital of Texas. Um, I don't know if it still is. A minute, stuff just went like and you know, it has always been around, it always has been, but not like it got it just it just swarms kind of like the opioid epidemic. It's just like blanketed our country and it's not good, man, Yeah, not good at all. People are board, man, they need to find something better today. Really, it's like on one weird, weird ideological hand of mine and my messed up brain, I think that if I was going to mess with that, thank god I did. Then when it was like made with less under the counter chemicals, where it just really it just kind of kept you up gave you juice. It was kind of like, what what everybody's justifying adderall? It did that, and adderall is the exact same thing. It's just made by manufacturers making billions off of It's no, I've done them both, but um didn't started changing. The Internet was getting more broad you know, dial up was going away, wireless was becoming some more people. Smartphones were beginning to come out, and these recipes were being found. You know, there were people just from where I was from getting arrested because they went to Walmart and bought eight cases of double D batteries, I mean D batteries. And it's like, alright, guys, I'm gone because I'm I'm predominantly a rule follower and I just don't be I don't like, never liked being in trouble, and so I'm like, I'm out. Yeah, this isn't cooler phone anymore. So yeah, I mean it's all trash. Yeah yeah, not that's not people doing it. I mean, bless their heart. Some some just have issues and problems. I've had family, you know that's dealt with it for a long time and seemed to be it seemed to be over it. But that's the thing is you just don't know. Sometimes you don't know what's going on behind there. We were talking about COVID before we got on, which you know, the world's talking about COVID, so you know, I don't want to just spend other thirty minutes on that. But it's like you never know who it's gonna affect. It's in a bad way, and that's the same way with drugs and stuff like that. So why why not just protect yourself from it and not give yourself to the opportunity to have that addiction. I mean, like I think God every day, Like I mean, I have an addiction to ice cream and cookie too. Step that is the best I My wife and baby were distracting me yesterday there two days ago, I had a quarter of a pint left. I was gonna save it, and I don't even have a quarter of a pint left. Just a pint is a one city there a pretty good food discipline. Sometimes he's like I left. He called me on the way over here and was like, I was thinking about something at Taco Bell. Have you eaten yet? You want to talk about? Like if if I didn't get Taco Bell, he wasn't gonna get it because he doesn't want He just wants to make sure that we're on the same dime playing here, you know, seeing I'm the opposite, but guilt. All the guys in my band are skinny minis and they're all in their twinnies and can eat like twelve year olds. Just and I'm do whatever they takes. I'm like me too, I'll take what he's having. That's what's funny. Is like, um, I'll get down like in the mid one nineties for ELK season. Yeah right, and then like right now, I'm probably sitting about two oh five and thirty five last spring when we had her kid, you know, and it's like, oh, let me just lose a clean forty pounds this summer and get back every year try being five ft ten and being to fifty five. It's like, where is it? What what happened? Okay? So speaking of this, I got a story. This is uh, this is from when you and I played together when one night up in Oklahoma City at warmond Dog. Remember that show? Okay, yeah, so we're we actually may have I don't know. We made there a few times, a few times, but this was the first one. Yeah, yeah, I remember that my that was my thing back then. Um, you know he had to get people to understand, you know, what they need They need to watch this, you know. So anyway, uh, Colton our bass player, he's uh a kind of he's a super good guy, like talk to anybody, you know. Sometimes that kind of gets you where you're sticking your foot in your mouth, you know. And so we're sitting there, he comes up to me. At the end of the night you had been at the merch booth. We had been right beside you at our merch booth talking and hanging out a little bit, and then night he comes up to me. He goes to I think, I just think it just made Bart really mad man. And I'm like, I don't think that's I know, I was thinking the same thing. But he I was like, what you do, dude? He was so worried. He's he's really worries about stuff. Sweet person he is. And he goes he goes man Bark came up to me and he was like like rubbing his chest and stuff and like doing all this funny stuff, you know. And uh, and I just said chubby because he was I think you get it, you know. And then he thought, Oh crap, he thinks I just called him chuby, you know. So you know, a little man love turned into like he was worried that you hated him. Yeah, but those are some good good times. That place is closed down right, That's why I think I've heard that. Yeah, Sad, I loved playing there man, so um so I didn't actually know that you were a hunter until like recently. Oh yeah, See, I don't like to tell everybody I'm the greatest hunter's ever been born. I don't either, Um, you know, I tell them, Damn no, I don't. Uh. It's it's kind of a funny thing for me because I grew up, honey, when we grew up in April. Yeah, that's what you do. Yeah, and um very fortunate enough to grow up with the dad who was deer hunter, and we hunted in Comstock from the time I was I think six or seven till it was ten or eleven, until I was just old enough to where I was going to get to start kind of going out on ridgelines and walking on my own. And that's when he quit. That's quick. They're kind of started back and it was business company started getting really busy. Um and he kind of I mean, he'll tell you the story. He just kind of mean when he was fifteen to probably thirty, I mean, eat, sleep, breathe hunt, drywalling and hunting, and that's all he did back then, though it was a lot because to put food on the table and put you know, fill the freezer up. You know, he never shot a dough and he always shot bucks. But you know it was kind of a split thing. I want to get a big buck, but we need meat to so. And then you know, as as his business got busier and things were getting a little better, the necessity for it wasn't as strong. But he still loved hunting, and I think just with the age, he just kind of outgrew his desire for it and he just found other things to do. My dad's deal was, you know, he just worked so much that I think it kind of became unpractical to spend you know, a thousand bucks back then when they were only a thousand bucks per gun, which was a lot better, especially for a family of you know, he's a ninth grade dropout, and so all he did was work, and you know, he made millions in the drywall industry, but he worked. I bet the man worked seventy hours a week for twenty five years. So it I think it got to where when his business started doing, well, we're not turning down work. Well, I don't have them. I don't need to pay a thousand dollars a gun if I'm only going to get to go one weekend, you know, because if we got work, we're staying here and working. That was kind of that thing, you know. And those kids we had sports and my sister, my little brother and I. So I just think it kind of more got in the way as we got a little older, even though we loved taking us honey. So that's the only reason it kind of slowed down. Then it was just funny. I still laugh at I'm like, yeah, right about the time I got the age to really learned, and he just tag along with you and mess up all your hunts because when you kind of started slowing down, but we still could get to we would go on occasional hunts. You know, Um, we just did. I mean, he had a dear lease and Ozona there for a while. But again comstock Ozona. That's like, you know, eight and ten hours. I think maybe six and eight whatever, But long way long drive from may Well, so it's a commitment and you know, and then getting home late on Sunday and then you know he's up at five to go to work the next Monday. So I think a lot of that was kind of like a big bug factor. But then through business he got some hunts. I remember we went to Junction one time, really nice place. But anyway, I love Honey. Well, when I started playing music, any I take that back, because when I was at Tortleton, they were on at least out in Colorado City. But even then he was just like, well, you know Kaylee, which was my first niece, first born niece, She's like, well, Kaylee likes to hunt, and so I want to take her out there and she shoots something because he'll be like when I passed up three tenth onches because I didn't want to Lena damn thing. And I got to go out there with him a couple of times. But then by the time I graduated from college Brooke and our dating, I was playing gigs, you know, two or three times a week, and I had a regular job. I had a nine to five working for a construction company home builder. So going hunting, which just it wasn't on the radar because there was no time, you know, Friday Saturday were playing gids and I did that for the better part of fifteen years anyway. I mean the last two years is probably the most time I've taken off. When town started getting older, I'm like, man, I'm just not rat racing anymore. I'm not missing anything. And so hunting just wasn't It wasn't on my radar because we just always had gigs. And then out of nowhere, this year, I go on three white tail hunts and elk hunt. I'm going for a first duck hunt next month, first ever, first ever. Really yeah. My wife's like, I don't know how I feel about this. I'm like, well, that's doing around here, man, because we have the lakes, you know you. I've never duck hunted ever. My dad was We always dove hunt. Oh. I went on a dove hunt to this year. But it's also cool for me because Towns is nine and I took him on his first dove hunt. My wife was bis because he shot a bird but it wasn't a dove. Uh. He shot some varmits too, and she was just like because they were just My wife is mega hippie. But she she it's interesting. She's not pro and not negative hunter. She just don't hunt a feed her and I don't care what you do. That's her real Well what's her what's her mentality on the feeder thing? This is interesting. I remind you she is pure hippie to um and I'm quoting her, So don't throw spears at me. So you feed these little babies all year long and they walk in to get dinner and you blow their heads off, I'm like, I would say, to shoot him in shoot him in the head. Pretty crazy. It's just kind of interesting to me because we're actually talking about this earlier today. But like there's a big pushback on baiting deer from a lot of other states, whether that's pro or anti honey. And it's kind of interesting too because it's so far out of my realm to think that it's not okay to bait dear. So it's hard for me to understand where people are at on that. I'm kind of like, I think I'm fifty fifty I'll be honest with you now that we're talking about because I haven't really put a lot of thought in it. But where I grew up hunting in Comstock. It was such an adventurous hunt, like that terrain that Terry. I'll show you some pictures from one because I was fortunate to go down there this last weekend after I mean, I've probably been there since I was ten or so. It was neat And as I was telling your listeners, as I was telling you guys, coincidentally, the ranch I got to hunt on was next door to the ranch that I grew up hunting on, which was neat. We grew up hunting on a food acre ranch, and for whatever reason, by the grace of the universe, I've got to hunt on the twenty seven thousand acre ranch that we didn't cover a third of it out in our time out there, but so we would hunt. There were very few feeders on this because the train was just so rough. There was a couple of tripod stands and a couple of blinds, but predompt my father and I. We never sat in one. It was walking ridge lines and canyon lines and rattling and scouting. I guess if you know, it's code of term on it. So that was how I learned to hunt. We'd ride a four wheeler to whatever section we were hunting, which was coordinated through the other hunters, so no one stepped on each other. And then we would just walk and you know, to have a backpack on because Elf Fatty had to have snacks, and so, you know, it was it was getting up dark and you know, eating, putting on your you know, um, I think I had a snowsuit. But basically, you know, you're you're hunting clothes and warm stuff and eating some cereal and haul and bud on the four wheeler to whatever backside of the canyon we were going to and then getting off because of my dad wanted to be in X spot when the sun comes up. And then we would walk and we'd you know, set my watch and I would be with him. But then once the sun came up, and I think it was more or less my dad just to be like, oh wait, you're hitting rocks. You're not quiet. And so I could go one direction and he would go different and we'd meet back at the four wheelers. But I mean this was where pto cactus were taller than me. So he would put flagging tape and you know, take the whatever the stick is and the photo cactus put on the fore wheelers, so you could find it pretty easy because you get lost real quick. Huge, And I was so nowadays we use on X you know, on our phones, it's just maps and stuff like and I'm saying, we're not that far part in the agent. And I was doing the same kind of stuff. You know, when I was nine or ten. How were y'all figuring out, like where your section was and how did that had a map? They had a map of the ranch. So the rancher had a map, a topo map made of the ranch. So every hunter had it. And I mean, I don't that doubt they knew the real topography of it, my dad, but they knew the sections. And like, you guys are gonna go I mean, but again, fourteen thousand akers, you're going a mile over there, I'll go a mile over here. We'll never see each other. Each other buffer to do that, and so it was just that big. But you know, then again, you a dad and his kid walking a canyon and ridgeline of me. He takes two hours and you're not traversing that much territory, but with bonos, and you know you see him so much. So walking being what I just for dumb cause nomadic type hunting like you would with your mule deer hunting. That's how I grew up hunting white tail. So then when we went to Ozona, I remember a couple of times he put me in the stand and it was boring for a kid board already, and then um so all that, and then we went that junction hunt that was I'm so trashy. That's where I burnt myself with a cigarette to see if I could tough without getting a tattoo, because I was pack of my dad. So I was the eighteen seventeen or eighteen, but I had an uncle when I was a kid. I was like, did that hurt? Pointed to his tattoo, and he grabbed my arm and he act like he was gonna put a cigarette ou on it. He's like, yes, it hurt. It hurt like that would have hurt. So I'm sitting there at seventeen, not an idiot, but I guess I am gonna lit that cigarette and just put it out on my hand. You can still see the scar right there, and I'm like, oh god, oh god, okay, I can take that. I can get a tattoo. I'm really smart. So then you got a get go. So so that was it. And so then when we got older, my wife was in my head a little bit and I went to that colorod City place and I passed on two bucks just kind of the same thing. I don't think there were wall hangers, but it was just like I'm shooting them out of the feet. Are like, yeah, it wasn't fun for me personally. We're not judging anybody else because I mean, if I had a bow, I probably I mean, if I saw the right one, I'd probably do whatever it needed to be done to own it. But I don't know. But I also don't have Again, that was even the Colorado City was probably five, six, seven, eight years ago. But after getting this year and being around more guys that hunt and what happened was last November, I got to take my oldest towns on some friends of mine that own Mosquite Creek Outfitters in Georgetown. They also have an organization called Veteran Outdoors and I'm really I do a lot of work with them. They're really good friends of mine, are great people, very pro hunter programmed, pro education, awesome dudes, and uh, they invited me up for a cleanout hunts what they call it. So it was on the DPS UH in Flugerville, the DPS driving facility because at night they'll try to, you know, to teach officers how to pull over or spe chases. But dear getting that facility cause havocs. So and it was it was a great, perfect hunt. First hunt for my son too, because it was all father and son and a game warden in each blind and this I think that's when it started re clicking for me because Towns didn't even get to pull the trigger. But he got set there with the two twenty three. He got to by no and see a couple of small deer. He had got to see one through his scope, but the game warden it was too small. The game ward had to make the call, and uh so we're out there and he just like, I don't know. Just seeing that as a dad, I was like, man, I bet that's how my dad was like, this is really cool. And then the way Towns just wouldn't shut up about it. So we ended up not going home that now, which we were supposed to just go for the evening. It's less than an hour from our house, and so we end up spend the night with one of the guys at his house and going back out there for the morning hunt. And we're back out there at five and Towns was just hot. Damn, let's get it and same thing. And so that's kind of I think when it clicked with me, They're like, man, I forgot how much I love hunting. And then seeing him because even on the way out there, I stopped by academy and I bought like a little ten dollar full lock nine lock blade nine. It was really cheap bush, no binos, just sitting a boy up and I'm sure we didn't have to take rifles or ammo or anything. Everything was just waiting on. So then from that point he got a big interest in guns. So we've been going home to May Pearl during all this COVID and my dad, you know I have I've got a two seventy seven mag my dad's got an are and we got to twenty two and some seniors like we just go down the pasture and to shoot. And I got all all three of my boys, the seven year olds in Towns all shooting and they love it. My drummer's dad has a range in Johnson City, and so when I was getting ready for that elk hunt. I took my three wind bag out there to zero it and get comfortable with it and shot in ten years. I'm going on a trip of lifetime. I want to put in some work and be ready. So we'd go out there and i'd put you know, ten twenty rounds down range, and then he would let the boys shoot some twenty two rifles. And the boys got all three of them, got to where, you know, fifty yards. They were his tag in the target left and right, and it was just kind of like beating my tail. I like, it's cool. So I saw you. So where was the elkhunt? McCall Outah, which is two hours north of Boise. Nice. So shot a pretty good elt Like, wouldn't the slouch at all? Man? Man, I didn't shoot him stabbing crawled up and stabbing right, yeah with your finger. No I had a knife. Okay, well it was actually a stone, I'd like, yeah or whatever. Yeah, yeah, shout out to Veteran Outdoors again. Um invited me to this elk hunt and McCall out of Hope and we flew up. So you know, I want to take it really serious and shout out to crypticch um Gear for sending us just some amazing because then it's like, what do I need to go on the elk? Yeah, I don't own anything camouflage. Oh wait, I bought a camouflage T shirt from my Dove Flannels. You got plenty of flannels, flannels, real bright red ones and so you have. So Cryptech took care of us there, and Veteran Outdoors really gifted some great gears, and Leopold of Nice Binos just really took care of it. So I got a borrowed a rifle from a buddy. I didn't want to go up there. I was gonna take my dad's out six. I didn't really want to go up with anything less than a cannon. But a buddy that's a competition shooter that lived in Austin has a three d win mags, so he's like, take this thing like done. Yeah, And so I really man as nerdy as this may make me sound, I bet I dry fired that thing two hundred times, just getting used to the trigger and getting comfortable and prone and kneeling and just ready for any variable. So, Mike, if I don't want to miss the damn thing, like if I don't see an help, that's okay, but if I see one, I don't want to be the factor that we don't come home with a coutherful. And so actually I went to Daniel's father's um range in Johnson City and I probably ended up putting, you know, fifty or sixty live rounds between three hundred yards slee and just different shooting positions, you know, because I did, I'm like, man, let's nerd out, bro I don't hunt, I don't shoot. Then I'm fixing too, and I want I don't want to miss. And man, uh that yeah, that morning we got up that first morning and we were up on the mountain. We're about eight thousand feet. One guy's here watching this mountain side. So me and the guide go around and walk in the perimeter, and Cody texts back and he's like, I got some cows and I've got on glass. So me and the guy his name's Ed, come back to this side of this mountain because he's gonna bugle see if there's any bulls with him. So we spread out. I'm probably three yards down. She's bugling and he's calling, and I'm glassing over here. I mean as far as the eye can see. To all the way back to you, and it's I'm on one mountain and it's a big dip down and there's the other one, and so from the other side of that one, you just hear this faint answer, and I'm like, okay, was that me breathing? What's going on? And so you know, and I've got Everydad Gum movie in my head, like side notes, same thing. We were laughing. I was laughing at myself at comp stack. I said, I've always just imagined like a buck and has imagined this bull just walking to the crest of the mountain, just standing there all majestic like and beautiful with no brush around it where you can just take the shot or just paint a picture of it. And uh so, but the second time it bugled, the guy came back to me and I was like, yeah, you can hear him. So he started walking this bulling. I mean, I'm talking, guys. As the crow flies, it was probably a mile and a half. I mean, you can faintly hear it, you like that saying, don't you but as the crow flies it kind of did, But but you can hear it getting closer. When that bull was talking. So after about forty five minutes of this, He's just like, man, we can His guy's name is Ed. He was like, we can take an adventure and go down in this name and back up the other side. And I'm already panting, just walking in a circle. I'm like, why don't we not? What's what's option B? And so he's like, well, we can take that growing up logging road and go around the ridge and sad and come back in two loops and we'll be kind of should be coming in on it. Like let's go, so we boog you over there, I'd say booger. There was probably about an hour and a half walking and kind of falling this road to get to that other side of that one mountain, and uh, you know, he's still calling. He's cow calling, he's bugling, and he's staying in contact with it. So we get a distance from it and Ed's like, all right, you take a point. First of all, he told me, he's like, get up, get ready for your shot. And so I'm like, okay, everything, and so I flipped by, pop down, I get bind is off, and I get my fat butt in position for him to be like, never mind, let's go. I'm like I just took all that stuff off. I'm laying down. It feels comfortable, but it puts me on point. And we're probably a half mile of like like elm or Fudd stalking just but we're on the edge of a old log grown up logging roads, so we're not in the thicket of the but we're still on the incline too, but on the flat personal it's just beautiful. It's gorgeon I mean's Idaho m So we go around a couple of these corners and each time, you know, we're switching sides of the road so you can kind of sneak around the corner to have the view, and we come around when he finally ad stops and he goes, here's the deal. I'm cow calling this thing. So this thing is coming to love us. If he comes charging through that brush around this corner, you shoot him in the face. He's like, cause you're either gonna get that or you're gonna get a nice set up shot. He's like, be ready for both. So then my heart is just like a dude, and we're walking again. Finally I just stopped. I don't know, I had this moment of clarity. It and I hand big props to Big Dan at that range. And my buddy Ridge Pogue's my competition shooting friend who really taught me, like really how to shoot this rifle. And I just stopped and I'm like, God, damn it, this is what this is what I came here for. And I'm as prepared as I can be. Just calm down, because I mean, I just like and man, some just kind of found like a cool piece. And we come around this one corner and the guy was like, hey, once you set up over there, because he's fixing the come right here. So I set up. I mean, it's just like so easily perfect. I set up my bipod on a tree stump and I sat down, Uh, for all your children out there, I sit down cris cross apple sauce behind it, and he walks it right in and it comes in. It's about somewhere between seventy eight yards. The coolest thing about it, though, is the head. The guy's probably twenty yards behind me, and I know at home, y'all can't see this, but I'm here on the stump and he's across the road and back and this bull's coming here. Well, I see the horns but I think they're mule deer because we've seen a bunch of mulde, but what they were the elks brow Time's what I didn't know is he was down about six ft off this little steep whatever. So I'm watching him, or I'm watching what I see. There's also a little pine tree, so you can't see anybody, and plus he's down, so I'm still looking over here where he keeps calling and I don't know what. He goes like this to me and I give him the what I determined in that moment was the universal sign for you. I see the mule deer, I go and I's just like he's like, I see his face and I knew. I was like, I don't know what I'm doing. And then I still see what I'm thinking as a mule deer. But I mean, here's in the winds coming at us. So the guy was ed Anderson did great getting in some position, working the wind and all that. And I see another set of horns, but again it looks like a mule deer horse like the big ones whatever those points are. So, but I mean, black out of a dad gum movie. I just good like this, and I'm already trying to get my breathing, and I'm not nervous at all because I don't think it's an elk, but I'm also not wanna scared this meal deer. And then it just took that one step up that little six ft grade, and I mean, my majestic thing happened because he raised his head and I've seen all five by five come up and just his whole torso and I just went Exhale looked down, Exhale shot him and hit him right in hart and the first thing that hit was his chin, and I was like, then I started shaking, like I did, Like it happened like what Ridge and Dan were telling me, Like if you do it right, you won't have time to get nervous, like be quick, And that's probably elementary to all your hunter listeners, but to a guy like me that hasn't ever hunted anything of that size or nature. I've only shot two white Hill in my life. And then like a sad I was twenty plus years ago. Um, it was pretty magical. That's awesome, and it was very still never shoting out. It was so you know, and it's it's it's just a drilling, dude. I called my dad from the mountain and he was like, you know, he was pumped. He was stoked for me because because I'm i FaceTime and even like hey, he's like, hey, let me call you back. I'm in a meeting. I'm like, I can't have time. I need to show you my friend. And then he was like, oh shot. And so he got real pumped him and this and that, and of course typical dad real fired up for him. Was like, now, imagine if you had a bow and you had to be about yards closer and you had to be quiet and all that ship and I'm like, whoa, that's why I knoed up, no reason. Yet he was great man. It was. It was a really neat experience. And then you know we got lucky too since we was right by that logging road that was grown up. It wasn't a used road. He dropped. He dropped in the middle of the old tracks. That was because my dad was like, how far off the road are you not? Just put the camera down like kind in the middle of it. That's funny, that's awesome. What's the family to think about? Eating helped me? Ye? Did you did? Your wife? Yeah, she loves it. That was that was her thing to like she get my dad and buddies. She doesn't care, truthfully, she doesn't care. But um, she'll give him a hard time for hunting for sport. But most everybody I know, you know, eats the meat and a lot of times we get venison from friends who just you know, have small families and can't handle at all. And no, she's not she's not against it. Like I said, she's not against it all. It's just not her cup of tea. But I've been given her so much flag like you're gonna hang this, I'm gonna have it. It's gonna be right above the mantel. And the thing is, Baby, it gets better because when I got home, I s you know, we didn't think about this because it's being incent outa hoo being mounted. Now I'm like that rat can't get through a standard door and we have French double doors on our bedroom, so it's going to right above the bed. And she's like one night in bed, she's like, hey, you're not serious only and I'm like, I don't know. Before you left, you said you were gonna offer, you know, if your dad want to put up to his house, Like what if he doesn't. She's like, then you said you're gonna offer ms keep creak outfitters. But if they don't. But in truth be told in defense of my wife, Oh, she's an ilk meat eating machine. When I left, she's like, hey, just bring get the freezer full, that's all I want. Like, no, I'm trying. And in her defense her old our whole house, like an elk head would look about as appropriate as if you mounted one at a I don't know, at a techno rave. You know, like our house is so hippie aesthetics and old vintage stuff, and then there would be this beautiful, majestic creature that needs to go above our bed. So yeah, I think I just talked to myself into a little something on. Well, I know that you've got a show that you're gonna have to go play a night here and just a little bit, so I appreciate all your time. One thing I would uh like to give the opportunity to do is send people where you want to send them so they can do every live show ever that I ever played here, because that's the only place you really can make money these days as a musician. They're in the website Bark crow music dot com. We do people are pretty cool. I mean, everybody's in a in a weird spot, but it seems like the people who have been fortunate, like my brother and all my friends, they haven't missed a day of work. You know, Construction World's gotta keep cruising, baby, and so a lot of people fans friends, people I don't know, people we know from other gigs and stuff been I feel have been very cool about, you know, somewhat spreading the wealth like they've been hitting the website. Our merch sales have been really good and helped us keep moving, and uh, you know, it's allowed me to take some merch sales and send the guy's checks when we didn't work for seven months, you know, and you know a lot of people it's every man for themselves. But I gotta I got a band that I love and and I think they loved me. Yeah, So you know, I was able to send everybody a little money, not a lot, but something better than nothing. And so I feel like people who haven't been financially boogerd are still buying merch and doing what they can to help some of us that made terrible decisions in our career. Choice for real. Have you have you felt, um, have you felt that there's a weird uh? I don't know, hypocrisy maybe um with like all the different gatherings of people. While musicians can't go play shows and stuff, when everybody just come out and be mad about something. At my shows, there many protesters listening right now. I can guarantee you know, just like you guys, I'm I don't care about I mean, I care, but they're they're in my own head, my political thoughts and things. But there's a hypocrisy on every news outlet station. So I was talking about last night my brother in law. It's just it's just the I think the thing that is most baffling to me is the blatant lies in hypocrisy on different topics and the amount of freethinking, intelligent adults who will see one thing one way when it's played out in front of you a different way. And it's like, what, just at least say no, that's not right. Even though I like that team better, you know, it's like, you can't be My analogy would be you can. You can be a fan of the Houston Astros and you can love that they won the world serious, but you can't lie and say they didn't cheat with the with the sign stealing, So just be a free thinking, intelligent human. Yeah, it's okay. Yeah, I think it's good. I think that's a good analogy. I think I'm brilliant. I think it is too man. I think it's right. I mean, it's right in line with it. Start a podcast, you'll put us out of business. I'm so lazy. I can't even keep my merchandise up. And that's that's money that's sitting on the website. It's suck. These handwritten lyrics who were doing for the holidays. You should have seen my reaction when management so I said I should do that. You would have thought they want to be extract my teeth without deadening them. And and I've done like six so far, and it's taking me a grand total of maybe forty minutes. And that's between Captain sees a squirrel against the fact like it's no effort, a little carpal tunnel. But just like I forgot being an adult. You know you don't. And I'm not an attorney, so I don't sit and write on paper that often. And I can write a few cents and I'm like it hurts, man, it's hurt. Nobody writes any Why am I squeezing my pencil aboard? Where is it going? Yeah? That's awesome man. Well, thank you guys. It's for the friendship fade to meet you. And I enjoyed this. I hope my questions aren't. I mean, my answers aren't as mundane as they will send it into a head because I can be long winded. You wait till you get a guy from Canada basically on this podcast talking about deer hunting, and you'll find out how mundane people can actually be at home. But I appreciate it, man, Yeah, yude, good luck tonight. Um what else? Oh where should people go that want to request shows with Tyler in the Tribe that Barcrow would play. Uh, they don't don't request, they don't, they don't want, they don't universes No, absolutely please do that. You and go to Barcrow Music dot com and if you go to the contact page, you'll see Shelby Vonnick, who's my booking agent. When you let her know how much the Tyler and the Tribe guys need to come close shows for bark Crown. That way they can be in bed early, appreciate it? Does it count for love if I leave the show early to go to bed early, but the rest of the band stays and parties and choose. I think it is whatever the contract says, So shride it in. You know, y'all just close the show. I'm gonna go with that. Actually, I'm good with my guys doing the closing, and I'm gonna probably you want to hang out with my band. Yeah, we were about you and I just why don't you? And I just opened the show acoustic and the band plays when what very instrumental versions of wearing my ring and stuff right, pure country? Remember that movie, you know, remember that I turned the smove and durn the last town we're about saying hot, I can just be dusty and nobody. No, no, Mr two o five, you know I need you up. He can do it, don't you worry? Heaven forbid, I lose the weight to get down to you. Yeah. Yeah, well once again, man, thanks for doing this, buddy, it's been a while. Yes, sir, dude, Old barn is a pretty cool guy for sure. I mean I didn't know how this would go because it's you know, it's somebody I didn't really know, you know, and uh, you figure out that a lot of times musicians are either total weirdos or the total weirdos, um, and uh, one of those is bad, one of those good. And Bark is a good kind. Yeah for sure. Man, He's yeah, he is. Man, he's party kind of funny. You know, people like that man a lot. Oh yeah, Man. It sounds like he's getting back into the hunting thing for the right reasons too, and that's that's cool. I can I can definitely respect that. Let me tell you something to this because let's here, you know, I like, I really am glad because I didn't know for sure how this could. This could have gone one of two ways, and you know, the way it went was the better of the two. Where he is doing it for the right reasons, and he likes to use methods that include, you know, hunting versus just shooting. And a lot of the musicians that I used to chere with and stuff do hunt because a lot of country musicians that play uh in those circles and um, a lot of them are basically you know, they tore pretty uh pretty hard, and so they've only got a few days and they end up going to uh some places not very big and you don't have a whole lot of place to go, if you know what I mean. And so and then they end up shooting uh you know, three thirty five and in there two days off you know or whatever. And so it's just kind of like it's just I like to see that the other side of it, um can be taken on by musician and that it can be understood and um, you know that it can be enjoyed as well, even if even if there's no success every time, you know, yeah, yeah, absolutely, man. Speaking of success, last season, we had he extraordinarily a successful element hog Hunt with just a couple of the true blue Element uh buddies, and we want to share that with a lot more y'all. This year, you know, we talked about doing some stuff in this giveaway that we have going on, uh and and kind of pulled the audience about what we should do, and some people were like, yeah, should give away a hunt with y'all. I was like, well, that's a crappy prize, but y'all can come home with us if you want to. Uh. So we decided to do this uh springtime hog Hunt meet up because it's a good time. There's not a lot of other hunting seasons going on, and we'd like to really just kind of get together. What we're gonna do is get together on February of the twelfth, a Friday evening, all kind of meet up, share a meal together, and talk about you know, may of course, some hog hunting, maybe even some deer tactics, some mapping stuff. Established where we're going hunting. It's gonna be in Northeast Texas, of course, but there'll be more details to follow on that. And then Saturday morning, the thirteenth, will all get up, go hog hunting, have a ton of fun, shoot some pigs, and just go wild. So, Tyler, how do the people sign up for this deal? Um? So you can go to the website at the element lall dot com and go to our um you know the tabs, and you can shop go to shop which is where our apparel is. And it looks like on on mine that the first the first shirt to show up is to make them squeal shirt. It's an orange public Land shirt because when you go out there running around and chasing pigs with shotguns, you're gonna need a T shirt. And so it's a it's a blaze orange, just got a pig on it. It says make them squeal. And so we've got them set at price of fifteen dollars, which basically covers the shirt and gives us a little bit of room, uh to make some food. We are not gonna make any money on this, just so you know. But that's your admission to this. There's a limited number of them, and so uh, if you're gonna, if you're gonna want to do this, you're gonna need to get in as soon as possible because at some point I'm gonna put a limit on the number of shirts probably that we have left in stock. And that is all that's gonna happen. Uh. This hunt is gonna be in Northeast Texas. I'll just tell you that we're I'm gonna tell you exactly where it is until you have your uh, until you have your shirt. But it's gonna be Northeast Texas on the twelfth and thirteen, and um, it's gonna be a good time. We're gonna hunt. You know, you all go out there and hunt however you want, but we're gonna be out there with shotguns trying to trying to take some down. Oh, we're gonna take some down. We're gonna make them squeal, you know what I'm saying. So anyways, guys, if you're interested in that would be a lot of fun to I'll meet up and do that. If you haven't, go subscribe on YouTube, send us a screenshot, enter the giveaway, and be sure that you also fall us on our social media platforms like Facebook and Instant. That way you can see how to gain a couple of extra chances and winning this ten k giveaway that we got going on. Um. Otherwise, I hope that you were finishing out your season strong. Whatever that means. If that means shooting a couple of dose, if that means just after the pigs, if that means you're still trying to chase that big old buck. Listen. I know that it seems like the rut is over in that dear season is just ending forever. But it's not okay, guys, There's still plenty of deer in the woods to get out there and get after him. Tyler, is there anything else that you need to make the people aware of? I think you covered all the bases man good one too three, But is there more than three basis because homeplate isn't a base, right, No, well, I don't know. I don't know. It's a good question. Anyways, Guys, I hope you are living life to the fullest. I hope that you're going to have a great Christmas with your family and friends. And remember this is your element living it

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