RJ Preston

A great song can start as a joke, a brand name, or a bad travel day then turn into something listeners wear like a memory. RJ Preston joins us from Florida to explain how his country rock style took shape, why he leans toward edge and storytelling over pop-country trends, and how “Tropically Impaired” came from the very real feeling of being stuck up north wishing you were back in the sun.

We get into the nuts and bolts of modern Nashville recording, including what it’s like working with producer and engineer Jacob Garner, how studio musicians build tracks, how vocals get captured and comped, and why some of the most impactful “studios” are private spaces that feel more like a backyard hang than a high-rise facility. If you’re curious about music production, mixing, and mastering for country rock and independent country artists, you’ll hear a clear, practical look at the full process from demo to final master.

Then we zoom out to the career side: writers rounds, relationships, and the grind that turns opportunity into momentum. RJ breaks down how he landed shows opening for Lakeview with a straightforward cold email and EPK, what he learned watching a pro team handle soundcheck and tour routines, and why the merch booth is still one of the best places to convert a new listener into a real fan. He even shares the persistence play that led to performing at Florida Panthers games.

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

Jay Franze 0:00

Welcome to the Jay Franzi Show. Your stores for the latest news, reviews, and interviews. With insights you can't pay for and stories you've never heard. Now, here's your host, Jay Franzi. And we are coming at you live. I am Jay Franzi, and if you are new to the show, this is your source for the latest news, reviews, and interviews. So if you would like to join in, comment, or fire off any questions, please head over to jafranzie.com. Tonight, we have a very special guest with us. I said it once, I will say it again. We have a very special guest. We have a recording artist that is hailing from the great state of FLA. We have RJ Preston. RJ, my friend, thank you for joining us.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

Well, thank you for having me, man. I appreciate it.

Defining The Country Rock Style

Jay Franze 0:58

It is my pleasure. I know we only have six hours here tonight, so I want to jump in right away and get started so we don't waste a moment of our time. Why don't we just start off with defining your musical style? Because it doesn't quite fit into a genre that I would consider to be mainstream.

SPEAKER_02 1:15

I think that's kind of correct, because I I grew up with like a lot of 90s stuff. Obviously, a lot of a lot of like 2000s, 2010s kind of stuff. I think I just kind of went down the route of like the country rock vibe kind of thing. And I think that's what we're trying to stick with. Like my personality fits it, and I don't want to be the pop country, bro, country kind of guy, you know, either.

Jay Franze 1:38

But yeah, no, I could understand that. And here on the show, too, we focus a lot on rock and country. Those are our main genres of choice here. So it's kind of good to see somebody trying to blend those two genres. I know working in the industry for the amount of time that I have, that's always been my favorite projects to work on, is when we can blend genres like that. For sure. Tell me more about the the style, where it came from.

Florida Influence And Beachy Songwriting

SPEAKER_02 2:03

So, I mean, I'm a big Brantley Gilbert kind of guy. I I I love Jason Aldean, stuff like that. I feel like nowadays, like TrueDoke Revival is a big influence on what we're trying to play. Coe Wetzel, Colby Cooper, people like that, you know, like just that like care less kind of country vibe. You know, like we're we're we're out here trying to say what we want to say instead of trying to fit the the mainstream part of things.

Jay Franze 2:31

Well, you you have the artists like that that kind of put a little bit of edge on things. Yeah. But if we take a step back for a minute and we talk about some of your music, it also has more of uh Florida influence, I'll say, to it. So how does that you know come into play?

SPEAKER_02 2:49

I mean, I I guess just growing up down here and like what I did in the past, yeah, we we did a lot of um like Tropical Impaired for a sense of song that we just put out at the beginning of the year. It's very beachy, like kind of Kenny Chesney rock, but like country beach rock kind of vibe, and in a sense, like Brian Kelly style, like when he went away from FGL, whatnot. Prior to that, like you had 615, you had um I bet Granddaddy Knows, you had Pull for the Dogs, stuff like that. I mean, it in my opinion, it's a storytelling thing in what I'm trying to write. And I mean, we're veering away for it a little bit, trying to do the country rock stuff, but Tropically Impaired is definitely a beachy kind of vibe that we put out.

Jay Franze 3:35

Well, you mentioned a couple things there I want to touch on, but let's start with Tropically Impaired. So, where did the inspiration for the song come from?

Producing Tropically Impaired In Nashville

SPEAKER_02 3:44

So I I I was working with some guys that they owned an apparel company down here called Tropically Impaired down here on Jupiter, and I was like, you know, we could we could write a song called Tropically Impaired, and I could like take it and like let's say we were in Iowa or Wisconsin and it's free. I got snowed out in Iowa like in in November, and I was like, okay, this is a perfect example. Like I I'd already written the song at this time, but I'm like, this is what I was trying to reach people with. I got snowed out, I couldn't fly back to Florida, and that's just basically what the song is about being up there wishing you were down here, kind of thing.

Jay Franze 4:20

Let's talk about the the production of it. What was it like working with Jacob Garner?

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Uh I I love that dude. He he's one of my best friends. I love that guy to death. And I mean, for him to be one Brother Green's lead guitarist is cool enough, but he he's so easy to work with. The process behind everything was so easy, and it every time I go up there to Nashville and hang out with him, it's just I feel like I'm hanging out with a brother, you know, like it very easy. He's like, if you know if you want anything different, just let me know.

Jay Franze 4:55

That's the best part about Nashville is whatever you can think of in your head they can recreate.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

Oh yeah, and like the studio musicians up there are phenomenal. It's so such an easy thing. How did you meet Jacob in the first place? We were at uh I I think it was in either Jacksonville or St. Augustine. I can't I I think it was St. Augustine, and um so my dad had made guitar straps for Riley Green and everybody like that, and then he had made one for Jacob as well. And we were backstage, yeah, it was a St. Augustine Amphitheater, and Corey Smith had opened up for Riley Green and everything. We were backstage hanging out, and my dad's like, you should go talk to talk to Jake because he's doing production and stuff now. So me and Jake talked behind the scenes there backstage and hit it off, and I threw, I think it was three or four acoustic songs at him. We did like 615, Granddaddy Knows, stuff like that. And uh, we just became friends and I started going back and forth. He was recording in Franklin, Tennessee, just south of Nashville, and it it was fun, man. We would go up, I think I went up like twice a year, and we we knocked out three or four songs. It was fun, and we just became really, really good friends after that.

Jay Franze 6:11

So you meet up with with Jacob. Yep. Let's start with the the process. Did he help you write any of the material?

SPEAKER_02 6:18

I already had these kind of done and over with, like the songs were finished. But I will say when we went into the studio, like he would help recreate some lines in a sense to make it flow better. Other than that, I just kind of brought songs to him and he made them come to life, and that was pretty much it. And where did you record these songs? I don't remember the exact studio name, but it was a private thing. Like it he would rent it out from a guy, and all I know is like I remember the first time I went in there, older guy that owned the place, big property. We were in a giant shed on his backyard, and uh one of the first things Jig told me as we went into the studio, he's like, a couple Beatles songs were recorded on this mixing board. And I was like, that's pretty freaking cool right there. I'm not gonna lie, but but I I couldn't tell you off the top of my head where in Franklin we did it, but it was private. It was a private little shed in the back of a giant house's yard.

Jay Franze 7:18

Well, it's funny because I don't think a lot of people understand or realize that there's a lot of studios that are in private property or in homes in Nashville. It's crazy. I would say, oh yeah, I know that barn or I know that property, but there's probably a hundred barns, and so was Jacob the one that hired the musicians?

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Yeah, so Jacob did everything outside of just when we did Tropical Impaired for a sense, like he's like, Yeah, I'll make a phone call. We have people that'll come in, and but for example, I know one of the studio musicians, his name is David. He's Riley's guitar player or bass player. He did the background vocals on Tropical Impaired. So that was pretty cool. Other than that, I I don't know any of the guys and never personally met them that did the rest of Tropical Impaired.

Jay Franze 8:09

Okay, so the track was recorded before you entered the studio then.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

Yeah, and it was cool. Like Jake sent me a link and I was able to listen at home. He's like, just press a button and you can talk into this if you want to change anything. And I was like, no, everything sounds pretty good right now, not gonna lie. It was cool. It was a big link, it was like a kind of like this, like a zoom thing. But um visuals to it. There was no visuals, it was just all audio. And Jake was texting me, he's like, if you have something you want to change, just right chime in. And I was like, okay.

Jay Franze 8:45

No, it's pretty cool that the technology can be used like that.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Oh, yeah, it's crazy.

Jay Franze 8:49

And again, it's these musicians can recreate whatever you can think of. So the more input you give, the more likely you're gonna get something that you like. 100%, yeah. So you left creative control when it came to the music side of things to Jake.

SPEAKER_02 9:05

Pretty much. I mean, like I kind of gave him the vibe that I wanted it to be, like I wanted it to be like a tropically like beachy scene like thing and just be upbeat. I didn't want it to be like a sad thing or a moderate thing. He kind of just took over from there and ran with it and did his magic on it, and here we are.

Jay Franze 9:23

Nice. So when you finished tracking the song, when did you actually record the vocals?

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Um, I think it was like when they the studio musicians went in, I think it was like a solid month and a half later. I I went up to Nashville and spent a day or two and did vocals.

Jay Franze 9:41

And then I assume that background vocals were done after the fact. Yeah. So you go up, you record your vocals. Did you stay for the background vocals or did you leave?

SPEAKER_02 9:51

I did not know. Yep.

Jay Franze 9:53

So then the background vocals are are tracked. Then how long until you have a final mix in your hands?

SPEAKER_02 10:00

Jake was usually pretty quick with that stuff. Like within two to three weeks, I'd have something to work with, and he'd be like, is this good for you? And I'd be like, Yeah, 100%. And it would take maybe a week to get it mastered and it'd be done it over with.

Jay Franze 10:14

Now we talk about Jake producing it. Was Jake also the one who engineered it and mixed it?

SPEAKER_02 10:20

He mixed everything, he engineered it, yes. He did he didn't play on it though, which I was kind of like, Man, Jake, you want to play lead on this one? That's alright. Sometimes when you're sitting behind the board, you want to focus on the recording. Oh, yeah, for sure. He he's gotten so good at what he does now. I remember when he first started doing it, and that was like one of his first acoustic projects. Not one of the first, but very early off, he's gotten so good at his art now, you know, even behind the guitar, like him being out with Riley and he does this on the off time. It's so good.

Jay Franze 10:52

Well, knowing his connection to Riley and knowing the studio when you were in the studio, what was the feeling like for you?

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Well, I mean, I'm a big Riley Green fan in general. And I'm like, well, this is pretty cool out here working with his guitar player and everything, and that was awesome. But I mean, Jake just made me feel comfortable in the studio, like it was just like a buddy like making the song for us.

Jay Franze 11:17

But well, that's pretty cool. That's what it's like in Nashville. I mean, you go in a studio and it's literally just a group of friends hanging out. People think it's a mystery. And when I used to come from New York studios, people used to think there was a curtain, you know, like you're peeking behind the curtain and like the wizard of walls there, but it's not, it's just a studio, it's just amazing musicians who go in and play live.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

Oh, yeah.

Jay Franze 11:39

I think that's something that doesn't happen in other music mechas, like in New York or in LA. You're not playing live, you're overdubbing almost every instrument we're in national. Yeah. You get a group of guys who go out in a room and play together and create that vibe.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

It's such a small, like tight-knit community too, like everybody's friends with everybody.

Jay Franze 11:59

Right. I'm sure everybody who's played on your record has played on everybody else's record. For sure. You talk about Riley Green. Well, yeah, Riley Green and probably a hundred others or a thousand others at this point.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

Yep.

Jay Franze 12:12

So, what was the studio like?

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Going into it, like I recorded in South Georgia before when I first started and everything. We put out Addicted and 17, one of those first songs that I first put out. I think it was like 2018, 2019 when we did those. And it was a great studio in South Georgia when I did that. But like going into this one, it was like there was a room here, room here, room here. And I'm like, oh my god, this is crazy. Right. Even when I recorded the acoustic stuff in Nashville, it was like a giant separate room for just that, and like it was it was awesome. Like, and then they had the main room with the big board that is like 15 feet long, and it was cool. I mean, I I enjoyed every little bit of it, and like being in somebody's backyard was even cooler. It wasn't in a giant high-rise in midtown or anything. Right.

Jay Franze 13:04

Was there any intimidation for you?

SPEAKER_02 13:07

For weeks prior before we went into the studio, me and Jake had talked about a lot of things, and like just we just kind of went into it into it, and I sang it a few times, and that was pretty much it.

Jay Franze 13:18

Did you do from start to finish a few times, or did you take it line by line?

SPEAKER_02 13:23

So for the acoustic ones, we did line by line. We did start to finish a couple times and then we nailed down the issues and certain lines and everything. We went through trioply and paired, I think, three or four times straight through. We did it straight through three times, and then we broke it down line by line after that. Instead of like trying to fix everything, we just did straight through to see if it sounded cool. Right. And then we were like, all right, well, let's just run through it specifically instead.

Jay Franze 13:54

That's my favorite way to do it. You run through it a few times you feel comfortable, and you're in a groove, and everything sounds like it flows together, even if you flub a word or if you don't quite hit the pitch you're supposed to. Exactly. When you do it a second time, odds have it that you'll hit the right pitch or the right word that time, and you might mess up another line. And then at the end of the day, we comp it, which is just making a comp track of the best takes of those, and then that's your final take.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

I remember we went through with um we did that cover of the truth. It was me and my bass player, he played lead guitar on it. I think we sat there for like an hour just trying to get my vocals warmed up where we can get it going, and it took forever, and I was like, we finally went through it line by line and it all worked out, but it took a while.

Jay Franze 14:44

Yeah, it's tougher that way, especially if you're a live musician like you are and you perform all these shows live, you kind of get into that groove and you wanna you want it to feel natural. Yeah. So it's kind of cool that you did that. So overall, you would say the the experience with Jake, top notch, you were happy with that.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

Oh, yeah, phenomenal. That that dude is a high class person in general, and then just even better producer. Like the dude is amazing, and I would recommend anybody that is trying to find somebody to record with. I would love for them to go to Jake because Jake is just gonna take care of you and everything. And Jake Gardner, shout out, buddy.

Jay Franze 15:23

What did you enjoy most about the entire experience?

SPEAKER_02 15:26

Just working with a good buddy, honestly. Like just having that personable it's not just a business aspect of like me calling somebody we're gonna go produce. Awesome. No, like it was a friendship that we already had, and being able to work with a buddy, I mean, that was probably the coolest part, and have such a great product come out of it. Was there anything that disappointed you? Not at all. I mean, like, even if there was something wrong with the track, I could call Jake and be like, hey, I don't like this, and he would it would be fixed.

Jay Franze 15:58

So from start to finish, how long of a period of time was it for that one song?

SPEAKER_02 16:02

For Tropic and Paired, it was a little longer because it was a full band thing and then like the mixing mastering. So start of when the studio musicians went in and tracked it to when it was mastered, probably like two months. Two months from start to finish. It's not bad. Well then and then you also have to take into account it took me a month to get up there to go track the vocals.

Jay Franze 16:25

So when when you first went up there, did you go straight to the studio? Do you spend any time in Nashville?

SPEAKER_02 16:31

Um, that trip. So we we got in the night before. We went out that night. I went to like I think it was Losers and Duckblind, and we went and saw a couple writers' rounds. And then the next morning we went and did the vocals. And then that night, I think I did a writer's round.

Jay Franze 16:50

What did you think of Losers?

SPEAKER_02 16:52

That and Red Door are probably my two favorite places to go hang out in Nashville. Right, they're on Opera de Mumran. Yeah. Me being kind of biased with Riley Green. I like duckblind a lot. I mean, one of my first my first writers round that I ever played in Nashville three or four years ago was at Live Oak. And I love that bar too. And they just moved. I think they're in a new location now. But then I I love I love the local. I love all those places. Even in Opera Mills, like Scoreboard, Music City Bar and Grill, Nashville Palace, and like all those places are awesome.

Jay Franze 17:27

I remember at Opera Mills when Gibson used to have their showcase open there. I mean, that was awesome. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

I've never been there for that. Last time I was at um where do we go? We went to Scoreboard, Music City Bar and Grill. My buddy Sam, he plays lapsteal for Tracy Lawrence. He was playing with his band at um Music City Bar and Grill. I've been to Nashville Palace with uh Mark Wills a couple times. That was fun.

Jay Franze 17:54

For those who don't know, tell us what our writer's round is.

SPEAKER_02 17:58

So, I mean, you have either three or four musicians on a stage. You basically go down the line between the three or four of you, you play a song that you've written and that is either cut by somebody else or you're you're gonna cut it or whatever. Tell the story, and uh it's it's about an hour slot for each round in that amount of time. Each person will play like three or four songs depending on how many people are up there, and uh you just kind of play your own music and tell stories about it. I mean, I I loved every second of doing those, man. It's been a while.

Jay Franze 18:29

I want to get back up there and do another one, but well, compared to playing with your band, it's an entirely different experience. I know I know you play acoustic sets, but when you're typically used to playing with a band and then you go in there and do a writer's round, yeah, it's kind of like you're stripping down naked to perform.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

Pretty much. And and I I love both aspects of doing both things. Like, I love the band because the energy is different, like we're up there and everybody's in your face, kind of thing. And like it's also cool to like sit back and just play acoustic and listen to like the three other phenomenal people that are on stage with you talk about their stories of their songs, and like you you build such great relationships behind it, too. Like, I mean, me and Luke were talking earlier about our buddy Bryson Cooper that we're gonna go up pretty soon and do some uh work with. And I I played around with him one time before, and just hearing his songs and like plenty of people that he's worked with, and plenty of people I've met in the aspects of just playing writers' rounds, dude. Like, that's it's such a big community, but such a small community at the same time.

Jay Franze 19:38

Just for reference, you referenced Luke, so Luke is your manager. Yep. So the first time you played a writer's round in Nashville, did anybody join in and play lead or sing harmonies to you?

SPEAKER_02 19:51

Up until the last time I was just in Nashville last year, I've never had anybody either play lead or sing harmonies along with me. I was just kind of the new guy that was just from Florida, and nobody knew me other than the guy that hosted it. But that was pretty much it. And then the last time I went up there last year, I brought my bass player, the one that played on The Truth with us. He came up and just filled in lead and stuff, and it was actually cool the last time we were up there because a buddy of mine, Jay Valor, he was on the same round as me, and I've known him from down here before he moved to Nashville, and we were all on the same round together, and like my bass player Austin filled in a little on his songs and stuff too. It was pretty cool. Felt like a little reunion. Yeah, it was a big Florida reunion for us.

Jay Franze 20:38

I only asked you that question because you're up there, typically three, four people, like you said, and there are four solo singers playing an acoustic guitar typically. And the first time somebody joins in and starts playing lead, it might catch you off guard because you're just not expecting it. But in Nashville, they have that capability. The talent level is high. So people typically do try to join in and sing harmonies and play a lead for you.

SPEAKER_02 21:03

Yeah, I remember my first round, I was kind of in the middle, I think it was either two or three on the lineup, and the end person, I I forget who it was exactly, but like you'd have one guy that was like to my right singing a song, and then the dude on my left was like filling in lead for it. I'm like, that's kind of cool.

First Stage Moment At The Raceway

Jay Franze 21:21

It is, it's pretty impressive when you get to see people do that. I wish I could play guitar like that. I just can't. Yeah, no, I can't either. I am definitely not a guitar player. I play rhythm, and that's about as far as I go. I can play bass and I can play piano. I know what I'm supposed to do, I just can't get my fingers to do it. I hear you. But that's all right, that's why I sit behind a board. All right. Take me back to uh a time at Palm Beach International Raceway and tell me what the feeling was like going through my book. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 21:53

That was such a long time ago. So that that was uh first time I ran up on stage. Wow. Now that you said that, I haven't thought about this one in a long time. Like I I remember it like it's yesterday now that I think about it. I had a buddy, it was probably the weirdest venue ever. Like one, there was a drag strip going on. It was there were races going on. It's the loudest thing on the face of the planet. And you had this band that was playing. And I know this know the guy, the lead singer of the band, through my dad. His name's Eric Durant. He also had a band called Tobacco Road Band. He wrote the song called Eight Second Ride by Jake Owen. I think I was, man, 16, 17 years old, and me and my best friend went out there and we're like, let's go watch Eric's show. And I I loved that drag strip anyways. Like I grew up going to that one. Let's go check him out and bumped in Eric. I think it was the first time I officially met Eric. And uh he's like, You want to get up on stage for a song or two? And I was like, sure, dude, why not?

Jay Franze 22:57

Well, wait, wait, before you say that, you say yes. Did you have any clue what you would play or even how it would go about?

SPEAKER_02 23:05

Off the top of my head, no, I didn't have any idea about what I was gonna play. Alright. And um, I went up and I I sang one song by myself, and uh I I couldn't even tell you. It was an original song. It was one I wrote back in the day, and I I played it a couple times. I read my best friend that I was there with, he used to rodeo in Mexico. Which is awesome, by the way. Yeah, yeah. So I wrote I wrote the song, uh Cowboy Rides Away, and I haven't thought about the song since then, which is actually crazy. I wrote it about like his like growing up and the Mexican rodeo and stuff like that, and played it because that was like the newest thing I'd just written, and it I thought it was cool, and I thought it was great. Played that one, and then I went up and I played You Don't Know We're Like I Do by Brentley Gilbert and Eric's band joined in for that one. And it was my first time one on stage, first time playing with a band, and I'm like, this is just all I like it was weird, but and then just I was like, at least if I suck, everybody's watching the drag racing on me. Well let's just ask, did you suck? I couldn't tell you. I think I'm pretty sure I blacked out like the entire time I was like sure it was perfectly fun.

Jay Franze 24:20

What was the feeling when you got off the stage? What was the first thing that you did?

SPEAKER_02 24:24

Um well, I mean, definitely went up to Eric, thanked him for everything, and it was fun. And just shook all the guys' hands, watched the rest of their show, and kind of just hung out at the drag race and talked to my buddy. I was like, That did it suck, dude? And like, was it good? He's like, if it did, nobody could hear it. Nice.

Jay Franze 24:45

So I'm sure the feeling must have been amazing.

SPEAKER_02 24:48

It was fun, you know. It was definitely like one of those moments where you're like shaking, and like even though there's three people watching, you're like shaking.

Jay Franze 24:56

No, that was back when you were 16 years old. Did you know at that point that you wanted to be a musician?

Military Perspective And Writing Real Life

SPEAKER_02 25:03

I knew I wanted to, I knew that was the big factor in my life. I was like, I definitely want to, but I'm like, how do I start here? How do I get it going? And then um I graduated from high school, I went into the military and I got back from basic training.

Jay Franze 25:18

I'm like, let's just start going to writers' rounds and like trying to well you can't just mention military and skip right over to writers' rounds. When you're in the military, first of all, thank you. And second of all, I am sure you were faced with a whole bunch of experiences. Did those experiences come into play into your songwriting?

SPEAKER_02 25:37

It has just for the simple aspect of like I'm a lot more mature than I was when I was 16, even compared to like 16-18 when I got out of basic training. Like I I just had a different view on one life and then two songwriting. Like it er everything but just felt different in a sense. But I mean, it it definitely did change a lot of things in the way that I operated.

Jay Franze 26:02

Give us an example.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

I mean, just the way that I look at like when we go play, uh, a lot of people say it and it kind of they're like, you're a lot older than you actually are, like, just in your the way you carry yourself and everything. And I'm like, uh I appreciate that. But um it's definitely just affected the way that I look at writing certain songs, like, you know, like with Grandaddy Knows, like I love that song to death, and I feel like I would have written it a lot more. I feel like I'm connected with more people now with the way that I've been through things and like being able to write about them than I would have been at 17 years old when I wrote Addicted or the song 17. Like it is about like childish experiences, but now I'm trying to get more into the nitty-gritty of like real life aspects of the world.

Jay Franze 27:01

So tell us about that. You sit down to write a song like that. How do you approach it?

SPEAKER_02 27:07

I when it comes to songwriting for me, I feel like I it really has to hit me in a sense. Like I can't purposely sit down and write a song. Like, for example, let's say tomorrow I'm like, I'm gonna write a song at four o'clock tomorrow. I can't do that. Well, Nashville. Yeah, I know. No, I know entirely. I feel like I could, but 99% of the time it's not gonna come out good. But 90% of the stuff that I've put out has been like a hit-me kind of aspect. Tropically impaired, was it like the idea hit me and I wrote it within like two hours. 615, I wrote in like 45 minutes by myself. Like it's just one of those things that I can't purposely sit down and write something because I feel like I force it in a sense.

Jay Franze 27:57

I tell my wife that all the time. She she gets on me. If I write a song too quick, she says, Oh, come on, that was too fast. And I'm like, Well, that one just came to me. She's like, Well, in the past, it's taken you a week or two to write a song. I'm like, Well, sometimes it does. Yeah, I think that's just it. Sometimes, I mean, I wake up in the middle of the night with a song in my head and I jot it down on a piece of paper or something right down there. But then sometimes I come up with a maybe a great hook or something, and then I can't put anything around it, and it just takes time to develop.

The Story Behind Grandaddy Knows

SPEAKER_02 28:25

Yeah, I've definitely revisited like notes of like just one-liners that I've had pop in my head before. Like it, like, let's say I'm driving somewhere and I'm like, this would be a great hook, and then I'll shot it down and I'll forget about it for a month, and I'm like, wait a second, we had this one like one-liner that I want to go back and revisit. Yeah, of course.

Jay Franze 28:46

So tell me more about Grandaddy Knows.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

So, I mean, um, I grew up with my grandparents, they basically raised me and everything, and I grew up very close to my granddad, still am very close. He took me to all my first concerts, like fishing, taught me how to drive, all that good stuff. I was like, yeah, I I think it was closely after uh Riley Green's Grandpa's Never Die came out. And I'm like, oh man, it's like such a great song. Like, grandpa's song is just so good. And I was like, let me let me write one. And I don't know where it first like hit me that I wanted to write this, but I always knew that once I had the idea, I'm like, this would be a great song. And wrote it just basically about everything that he pretty much taught me growing up. The way that I explained it when I played in shows, and I'm like, you know, I wrote the song about my grandpa, he basically had the answer to everything that I had a question to growing up, and that's why it's called I Bet Granddaddy Knows. I remember Jake telling me this when we were in the studio recording it. He's like, I love the line in the second verse, I'm like, which one? He's like, the line where you say, Um, I bet the old hardware store just outside of town doesn't have half the tools he has, and that's such a realistic statement because my grandpa has millions of tools in his house, and I worked at the hardware store. I mean, I just wrote it about the way I grew up with him, and it was awesome.

Jay Franze 30:15

That is awesome. So you mentioned Jake. I know you went in the studio with Jake to record this one as well. Was the process similar to when you recorded tropically impaired?

SPEAKER_02 30:24

So it was different because one, it was acoustic. Two, we it was kind of more laid back. It was because the guitar wasn't tracked before I went in. So I played guitar on this song. I just played rhythm, and then I I can't remember Back Grandad News has background vocals on it. It doesn't have lead guitar. Dave from Rally Green, the bass player, he did the background vocals on it too. So I just went in, sat in a room, and I think I played through the song like six or seven times and until we nailed it down, and that was it. And then Dave went in later and did background on it.

Jay Franze 31:04

Well, that's impressive because in Nashville, even if you can play, they typically don't have you play.

SPEAKER_02 31:10

Yeah, and and I was like kind of weirded out with that too, not weirded out with it, but I'm like, man, these guys are way better than I am to play guitar, why don't you have them play it?

Opening For Lakeview And Learning Tour Life

Jay Franze 31:20

Well, that's typically why they do that. Not just because they're necessarily better. It's because they do it more frequently and they're used to the process and they can capture an idea right away. You might be comfortable because you've played the song probably a thousand times, and then when you go in the studio, you're comfortable with it, but they can pick it up immediately. Yeah. Even when you're capable of playing a guitar part, they typically don't have you do it. Yep. But that's all right. All right, so let's move on a little bit. I know that you've had an opportunity to open up for Lakeview quite a bit. And Miss Tiffany, my co-host, she is a huge fan of Lakeview. Matter of fact, they were just here in my neck of the woods. I think it was not last week and the weekend before. So she wanted to come up here just to see them. And she lives in Jacksonville, by the way. So she wanted to come up here just to see that show. What was that experience like for you and how did it come about?

SPEAKER_02 32:18

I loved it. I mean, I loved every second and minute of it. I mean, it was something that it's like one of those things that you thought about like five, six, seven years ago, what you dreamt of doing, like just opening for somebody and like going on a a tour. It it was awesome. And like their guys, Matt and Wyatt, their manager, tour manager, amazing people. Luke and Jesse, the two front men of Lakeview, they're awesome, dude. I I learned so much from them and just one, how they operate outside of like the show aspect of things when it comes to like the sound check, the daily life, everything like that. It was really cool to like sit back and kind of watch and like take notes. And then just watching their one, their show is just phenomenal, and like in your face, and it's like country rock metal, whatever you want to call it. I I think they uh use the hashtag alternative. Nice. Which I I think's pretty funny. No, they they are great people. I I just was just with them on Friday. I went down to Tortuga and love those guys, I'd do anything I could for them. I mean, I and I'm pretty sure they'd do anything they could for me, but how that came about randomly went on a whim one night, and I was like, all right, I see these guys are coming to Florida. This is back in December. We went, we did the shows with them in February, and I randomly messaged Matt, their manager, on on an email, and I was like, hey, I know it's a long shot, I know you have no idea who I am, but I live in Florida, and here's my EPK. I think me and my band would be an awesome fit as your opener. And I think he got back to me either the next day or the day after, and he's like, Alright, well, we'll put your name in the pot and we'll talk about it with our label when we decide in a few weeks, and if you get it, you get it. We'll we'll email you back. And then three weeks later, they emailed me back, and we went out on tour with them in February, and it was awesome. I mean, I I remember the day I was driving home from the gym that day, and I got the email notification, like, no way. It was awesome.

Jay Franze 34:31

So the day you find out it's gonna happen, who was the first person you told? What was that excitement like?

SPEAKER_02 34:38

We had been talking about it for a minute, and we're like, if this happens, it'll be awesome. It'd be like, you know, a little bit of a game changer for us, you know, we'd be able to one get our name involved with like an agency, not really, but like they had to call us to book us the agency, and um that would be a game changer because our name's in our mouth or their mouth now, and then I was like, man, I'm like, this would just be awesome. And then I called him immediately. He's like, No way. The first thing that went through my head after that, I'm like, damn, I got a lot of work to do.

unknown 35:10

All right.

SPEAKER_02 35:12

I'm like, I gotta work on merch, I gotta work on marketing, I gotta work on everything.

Jay Franze 35:17

All right. So you said you had the opportunity to learn a lot on and off stage. So give us an example of something you learned off stage.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

So, I mean, one, for example, just the way that they soundcheck. It was very too a tee. There was no messing around, there was like no time wasted. Obviously, everybody wants their sound to be right when they're playing a show, but like they were very too-ty. After that, the way that they interacted with us, like it was so professional. Everybody was very nice and like very giving in a sense of like advice. If we had any questions that we had, they're like, just call us if you have a question outside of this, or like if you want to hear anything now, like ask us anything. I mean, we had plenty of conversations with Luke and Jesse during soundcheck, during like catering dinner and everything. And it was just a very cool experience, just the way that they like put out a helping hand if we wanted it. I I I want to do that as much like with local artists around here. Like, I I want to put people on the right path as much as I can that are in a different aspect of where I was like four years ago. Pay it forward, my friend, yes.

Jay Franze 36:33

Of course. So when you were out on the road with them, were they jokesters? I mean, what what type of environment was it?

SPEAKER_02 36:40

Well, I obviously during the work, like the sound check, everybody's like, you know, getting getting stuff done and everything, but like outside of that, they were just very cool individuals, laid back, you know. Like I remember they went fishing on one of the off days, and like they were very chatty the next day about it. Cause I I mean, being from Florida, I've fished a lot too. So I'm like, what'd you all do? Yeah. Just laid back individuals and like very easy going. Even like their staff, like the their sound guy, Brad, like Matt, and Wyatt, their management, like they were all just very easygoing people. I couldn't ask for a better team to work with as an opener. And like me being me, like in the military and everything, like I'm early to everything. I think we were like three hours early, like to everything. Like, my guys are like, what do we do? I'm like, hang out, like, watch their sound check or something. But um, no, they're very awesome people.

Jay Franze 37:36

What did your band think of it?

SPEAKER_02 37:38

Oh, they loved it. I mean, just one with the process of like being on the road, truck trailer kind of stuff, and like town-to-town thing, and then doing the whole like touring aspect of like, okay, we have an itinerary, we have to be here at this time, sound check, load in this time, hang out, do whatever, have dinner, and then go rock a show, and then hang out and watch these guys kill it. They loved every second of it. It was awesome.

Jay Franze 38:08

So now that you've had that experience and you had the ability to open up for an artist like Lakeview, what has that led to for you?

SPEAKER_02 38:17

Um, we're working on some stuff now. I mean, we have a few festivals coming up, and I asked Luke and Jesse, I'm like, you know, what should my next step be? And they're like, just keep grinding, like keep pushing stuff out on social medias, keep going out on a limb, like kind of like what I did with them. We have a couple opportunities that are coming up, and we're putting together a run right now with all the like colleges, SEC to work, and I think that's just really what they kind of suggested is just stay in the relevant.

How He Landed Florida Panthers Gigs

Jay Franze 38:51

All right. Being from Florida, typically not known for ice hockey. So, what is the connection to the Florida Panthers?

SPEAKER_02 39:01

I I grew up a big sports fan down here, and I I always have been, and I can't skate to save my life, but I love the Florida Panthers and hockey, and I I love the aspect of hockey, and it's such a fast-moving sport. I went to a game last year, very beginning of last year, and I I knew that they had bands. And I was like, it'd be awesome to play for one, my favorite hockey team, two, the defending Stanley Cup champs. I'm like, let me go find out who this dude is that books here. So I went up to the sound guy. I was like, who does the booking here? He's like, Me. And I blew up his email for a solid month. I think every two days I sent him an email until he finally responded. And uh we got really tight with him. His name's Tony, he's an awesome dude. I think we played five or six games for them last season. We played like probably four or five this year with them. And I loved one being just a hockey fan in general and a Panthers fan. It was cool just to I was like, go watch a free game and then play music on top of it. It's awesome.

Building Fans Through Energy And Merch

Jay Franze 40:15

Alright. The audience that you're building, how are you connecting with them?

SPEAKER_02 40:20

I try as much as I can on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, stuff like that. I I'm very bad at social media, and I feel like that's just my mindset. Like, I I like grinding in the bars and like, you know, doing it old school kind of way. I'm not that good at social media by any means, but I try my best.

Jay Franze 40:43

That's alright. I mean, the in-person interaction there at a bar is much better than time on the city.

SPEAKER_02 40:49

Yeah, and I feel like you build such better like interactions with people and like fans, and you know, just you build personal relationships with people.

Jay Franze 40:58

So, I mean, if it's a new audience for you, especially when you open up for somebody like Lakeview, how do you capitalize on their audience?

SPEAKER_02 41:07

Um, we just it's just really about bringing that kind of energy that people want to either sing back to or dance along to or just have a good time. Us on stage, we are really like not necessarily a carefree kind of band, but like we are just like everybody, let's have a good time. Let's get loud, let's kind of do that kind of aspect. And I feel like opening up for Lakeview is very easy for us, you know, like just that energy that they bring, first of all, and then it wasn't that hard to really match it because it's just about yelling and screaming, let's just sing along to these songs, you know.

Jay Franze 41:44

In a case like that, do you have a place at the merch booth? I mean, is there an area that you can connect with fans after your performance?

SPEAKER_02 41:52

Yeah, so like I mean, when we especially when we did the shows with Lakeview and like we played these fairs and festivals and stuff, like, well, I'll I'll play my set and everything, and you know, one of the biggest things I say at the end of the night is like, hey, you know, love to take some pictures, shake some hands, I'll be over at my merch booth, come say hi, everything like that. And that really helped out a lot and a lot in the Lakeview shows because people come over, I'd be able to like personably talk to people and like develop a long-standing like friendship and fan base.

Jay Franze 42:25

Absolutely. That's the way it should be done. And that's what I like to hear too, is that when you're on a stage like that, that you take advantage of it. You say, Hey, I will be over at this merch booth, please come by and say hello. You're not trying to take them away from Lake View's show, you're just trying to make that connection. So that that's really cool. So, what do you hope that the fans take away from your music?

SPEAKER_02 42:46

I mean, I I just really hope that the songs that I write just resonate with people. Because growing up being a major music fan, whether it was country rock, anything, like it if a song made me feel a certain way, that meant more to me than how good a song sounded. Like if my lyrics are connecting with somebody, it means more to me than you're like, okay, that's a good song. But no, like I hit you in the heart here, dude. Like, I I feel like that means a lot to me. Like, when people come up to me, I I had somebody uh I think it was our second show with like View. She came up to me, she's like, You played that granddaddy song, and it it made me cry, it hit me a certain way, and I'm like, that's awesome! Like, I love that. That means you and I connected on a different level there.

Unsung Heroes Shoutouts And Closing

Jay Franze 43:32

That's the best feeling ever. I play songs for my wife every once in a while, and she'll cry, but it's not for the right reasons. But you know, hey, that's all right. All right, sir. Well, we do this thing here we call unsung heroes, where we take a moment to shine the light on somebody who's worked behind the scenes or somebody who may have supported you along the way. Do you have somebody you'd like to shine a little light on?

SPEAKER_02 43:53

Oh man, I mean, I I got a couple people. Um I like to give a a good Personal shout out to my buddy John Buckley. Like he's a good friend of mine. He's always stood in my corner, especially here locally. And um, like the dude has always believed in me, has come out to plenty of shows and booked me when I didn't have a chance of being booked anywhere else. Love him. Um, another one I'd like to give a shout-out to, if you don't mind, uh a guy named Andrew Morris. He's the one that got me started when I first started playing acoustically. He'd bring me on his sets and everything and let me play some shows and play a few songs. I got booked that way.

Jay Franze 44:35

Very nice. Alright, folks, well, we have done it. We have reached the top of the hour, which does mean we have reached the end of the show. If you've enjoyed the show, please tell a friend. And if you have not, well, tell too. You can reach out to to both of us in this case over at jFrenzy.com. We will be happy to keep this conversation going, or any other for that matter. RJ, my friend, I cannot thank you enough for joining me tonight. I would like to leave the final words to you.

SPEAKER_02 44:58

Thank you guys for having me. I appreciate if you check out the music. Thank you, Jay, for having me on here, man. Check him out, man. I appreciate that, sir. And on that note, have a good night.