0:00

I would totally go through that stroke again to have this perspective shoot Bring It

0:06

On 2019 we were touring with Zach Brown uh we're about to go to Australia we

0:11

take the stage and Rowan Oak probably 25 200 people there cotton candy Skies Ferris wheels and funnel cakes got

0:18

through about two or three songs I felt dizzy when I turned my head I heard a

0:24

like big pop oh man be in my ear it was a blessing that I was on stage because Mt and everybody was watching they got

0:30

me to a trauma on hospital my tour manager was like this is what's happening he has an AVM and uh they

0:35

saved my life I woke up in the hospital couldn't move anything for about a week and a half two weeks I kind of said to

0:41

God and everything else if you give me the opportunity to get out of this I'm going to flip it benefit for the brain

0:47

it was like a prophecy being fulfilled so that night playing at the ryen that was a full circle thing but men angels

0:54

are real Miracles are real and people praying is real

1:01

Drake white welcome to the podcast man good to be here how you doing I'm doing great man I'm I'm uh happy you're able

1:07

to make it I know uh last time uh we were scheduled to do this I had a kind

1:13

of an emergency come up so appreciate you coming all the way back and doing it again my pleasure man I I'm uh glad to

1:20

be here things happen and you know I think we're all we're all supposed to be where we're supposed to be in the times

1:26

we're supposed to be there so that's right I'm glad to be here that's right so um you talk a little bit about where

1:31

where you grew up and uh you know you're we're in Nashville now Drake and I uh have become friends over the last couple

1:38

years you came down for stem cells a couple years ago we had a bunch of mutual friends I'd heard about you for probably 10 years before that same and

1:44

uh uh of course we hit it off and um got to be good friends since but uh give people a little background on your on

1:50

your story how you got to Nashville and uh all that good stuff yeah I grew up in a great little small town called hoax

1:57

Bluff Alabama it's in the foot fo Hills of the Appalachian Mountains about 50 Mi north of Birmingham uh everybody knows

2:05

everybody um my grandfather was a preacher my dad sanging the choir mom singing the choir um just grew up in

2:13

that uh you know won a state championship in high school football that you know there'd be 10,000 people

2:18

there at a high school football game on Friday night um just grew up in that

2:24

town you know that town uh learning how to hunt learning how to fish learning how to talk to people had a little

2:29

Landscaping company my mom was a cosmetologist uh dad worked at goodye trying rubber plants so you know just

2:36

very middle hardworking middle class family and um just God-fearing uh loving folks and it was

2:43

it I had a fantastic upbringing you know our uh that town of hoax Bluff Alabama

2:49

is about 4,200 people outside of a a town called gadston Alabama that's about

2:55

I guess a 100,000 and um just great little Alabama Town yeah so uh I guess

3:03

you're real close to your mom and dad I remember they were at the um they were at the show correct um the uh benefit

3:10

for the benefit for the brain I was going to say battle for the brain benefit for the brain uh at Ryman which was an awesome we'll get into that thank

3:16

you thank you for being a part of of course man thank you for uh for inviting me but um you

3:22

know it reminds me like hearing you know how you grew up and you know middle

3:28

class working class family uh the importance of family and I think today I was actually having a discussion about

3:34

this last night uh today society's trying to in a way push us away from

3:39

family um what do you think about the importance of a family in your life and how it's kind of molded you you know

3:46

through your career in music but also through uh you know some of the stuff you've been through the last few years

3:51

yeah it's everything it is it's absolutely everything um to have

3:59

that that support to have that thing and that's what you know we're not battling something I I I agree with your first

4:05

statement of that that you know the masculinity and the the family is being

4:11

attacked right now it's been being attacked since the beginning of time and it's the Battle of good and evil evil is

4:17

going to attack masculinity and they're he's going to attack um the family

4:24

because you know if you break apart the family you break apart those uh those

4:29

those institutions those morals those uh those backbones um then you've got it

4:36

you you've got a weaker uh system to to penetrate or whatever you need to do um

4:41

so for me having that family that was you know going through the music industry going through uh you know

4:49

moving and going through travels and uh just having the tenacity or having the

4:55

the drive of of that challenges are good and understanding that uh you're going

5:00

to face these things and you can't have good character without uh and have an easy life you can't have both of those

5:06

things I think I said that yesterday on my Instagram page but it's like having

5:11

that that father figure a good Earthly father gives me an unbelievable respect

5:17

for my heavenly father gives me a good unbelievable respect for men and for

5:23

women and the equality of all Races the equality of all men and women and race

5:29

and gender and everything uh so it that family helped me through uh it's helped

5:36

me through everything and it's meant it is the difference in why I'm sitting here yeah what do you think the the biggest lesson your dad taught you was

5:42

growing up um well two things I mean it's cliche

5:49

but answer to this question is probably going to be cliche but it's it's the

5:54

Golden Rule and always do what you say you're going to do every time you say you're going to do it yeah absolutely

6:00

that happens a lot you know and I think that we're all somewhat uh guilty of it sometimes you know where we're like oh

6:07

yeah yeah yeah and maybe you forget or whatever but you know trust is one of the most important things and when you

6:14

can consistently do what you say and people know if you say that you're going to do it you know that's your word

6:19

that's your bond you're not going to break your word or your bond yeah um I think that that can really take you you

6:26

know far in life absolutely man I mean there's there's um and it's different it it it's

6:33

different now you don't it's it almost seems uh in business or in uh in life it

6:41

it seems now the the the proximity that that we choose to hang around that I've seen that you surround yourself with and

6:48

you know I believe proximity Is Power you know and and the people that I choose to having my band and having my

6:55

my clicks and my you know those people do what they say they're going to do but to find people like that uh takes a lot

7:03

of concentration uh a lot of prayer and and and it's it's really not me it's you

7:10

know like ATT tracks like in my mind and and I think having that confidence you

7:15

know a lot of times the world will say well you don't want to be pompous or you don't want to be cocky well I can sit

7:21

here and say that I am made of the most high power I'm I'm made of the same

7:26

fingerprints and I'm going to do what I say I'm going to do and uh I've been through a lot and I'm

7:31

I'm talented um my best days are ahead of me you know my health is improving

7:38

I'm going to be a blessing and a lot to people around me and help people around me and give people the benefit for the

7:45

of the doubt the world is for me it's not against me even though I'm sure we're going to get into you know I I

7:50

have a very realistic view of the world because we get to travel so lot so much

7:56

but I do believe the world is for you I do believe people are for you and not against you and everybody's not out to

8:02

get you um so yeah it's a it's a it's a work it takes a lot of work to to keep

8:10

that mindset and I can control my mindset it's one of the few things we can control and that was that was

8:17

instilled in me in my family through my family with my dad with my granddad with

8:24

my uncle um and my mom my mom you know very strong person yeah you said a

8:29

couple things you talking about proximity number one um and you were you were talking about uh oh gosh what was

8:35

the second part um well let's go to proximity because proximity what I think what you're saying is you are who you

8:41

surround yourself with yeah you know that the people that you're around uh pretty much dictate how your life in

8:49

many ways is going to turn out you know you hang out with you know nine drug dealers and robbers you're probably

8:54

going to be a drug dealer robber you hang out with uh nine uh successful

8:59

people uh entrepreneurs professional athletes hardworking people you're going to be uh entrepreneur or successful sure

9:07

um those type of things kind of go into that and how how uh you know what have you learned through that through the

9:13

years maybe some uh downsides too where you're were hanging out with the the wrong people I don't know that you were

9:18

but uh and you know the upside of it all obviously where you're at now

9:26

sure I've always um I've always enjoyed a bar I I like a bar I like the the

9:34

smokiness of it I grew up and you know I started playing them in in them when I was 19 20 and um being around people and

9:44

I think alcohol uh what is that saying uh uh sober man's thoughts or a drunk man's

9:51

words is that it or a drunk man's drunk man's Superman's thoughts is

9:57

a drunk is a drunk man's words yeah Superman's thought as a drunk men's words yeah something like that um

10:04

but I went I went at that answer at this answer that way because I I've always

10:11

liked in in the spirit of it doesn't

10:16

matter where you came from you know or how you got there what whatever like the

10:21

lower class the classifications of people did never matter to me in school

10:26

I was in school with people that lived in school buses you know I was in school with people that that were that were

10:32

lived out in the middle of nowhere and had nothing and they had they had a lot to give I I I have a lot of friends that

10:39

were in that world and my dad we we kind of you know we were you know getting

10:45

into 16 17 years old and you want to go hang out with those uh you know society

10:51

would call call it call them lesser than you know or something like that I was always drawn to to people that that had

11:01

a skill you know whether they but but this guy dad he knows how to rebuild a 350 you know engine this guy's one of

11:08

the best trackers and Trappers I've ever seen you know in Dad's like yeah his dad

11:13

ran whiskey and his his his granddad you know grows pot you know and I was like I

11:19

know that's what's cool there was like this rebellious side of of them and uh

11:24

it was like well you are son who you hang out with like and you will

11:30

um you will re you know you will have to uh you'll turn into you know if you

11:36

sleep with dogs you'll get fleas type of situation and it took me a long time

11:41

coming out of high school uh and and starting to get into college it I basically took me to my Junior and

11:48

Senior year of high school to understand what my dad was saying um because now looking back at those guys that I was

11:56

hanging out with that were making those port decisions you see you see jail you

12:01

see um you know adct adct Hurts Habits and Hang-Ups and you see overdoses you

12:08

see small town I mean there's there's fentanyl there's all kinds of stuff that have killed you know dozens of my

12:14

friends that I'm talking about and then you see those guys that were maybe I I would call them Squares or something in

12:21

in high school you see those guys that were that were you know waking up early

12:26

and going and going to bed early and wouldn't be at the parties or what and their doctors and they and not all of

12:33

them not all of them but I'm saying it took getting out of that place and traveling a little bit to understand

12:40

that that my that you know the the elders in my family and in my life they

12:45

were they were right you know and seeing that proximity truly is power in the

12:51

fact that you are a sum of of what you choose to be around and what you choose

12:56

to tolerate and now as I've gotten older it's just I don't have time you know to

13:03

there's so many good people in my life like yourself and and people um that are

13:09

pushing me to like I have I have very very high standards and high goals and

13:14

it is not that like my time is so precious now that I have a baby and and

Mindset and Perspective

13:20

I have my family and stuff like that that um I can tell really quickly if if

13:28

if not if you're worth my time that sounds bad but like if if it's worth my time to go in because if you're not you

13:35

know people high achieving people uh like to be around High achieving people

13:41

also I go back to that childhood type of mentality of the world is for me you

13:47

people are for me and people are good well that was the second part of what you said the world is for you and um you know I also think what's happening in

13:53

society right now we're seeing that people are becoming victims to their circumstances is like crazy they're

13:59

almost getting praised to be a victim and um you know there's this oppression

14:05

mentality I'm so oppressed I always say it looks like the the oppression Olympics you know who can be more

14:10

oppressed but the reality is uh it's all perspective because you can choose to

14:16

see that the world is against you or you can choose to see the world is for you

14:21

and you you think about from a being successful standpoint uh if we saw the

14:26

world against us in everything we wouldn't be successful but it is a perspective and people do have the

14:33

choice to look at it one way or the other mhm I couldn't agree more I mean

14:39

we there's very few things that you can control in this life and and one of them is your attitude and how you look at

14:45

things and uh uh I know this has been all over the Internet and your listeners are probably very privy to the Joo thing

14:52

of good you know if challenges hit me whether it be a stroke now you know or

14:58

you you know health challenges or you know a dropped record deal or a song

15:03

doesn't do good it's going to push me in a Direction that's going to cause an invention that you know when I had just

15:11

a little bit of an Insight uh at an AVM which uh arterior Venus malformation and I'm sure we'll

15:18

get into more of this but it's a water of veins and arteries the size of a lime that was right here that ultimately

15:24

caused a stroke on stage um but that water veins arteries the first time and

15:30

this took this took a lot of um you know this took a lot of training you know and

15:36

a lot of thought and and uh discipline to to develop this type of mentality but

15:42

um ultimately when I heard that I had that W of veins and arteries and that they

15:50

didn't know what it was it could have been cancerous it could have been my first thought was dang I've done

15:57

pretty good with lack of the lack of adequate blood flow to my to my brain

16:03

imagine when they get that right what I'm going to be able to do yeah that was my first thought right that's that's

16:08

good yes and if you and that's always and I to go back to your first thing

16:14

that is men yeah that is that is your that is

16:21

men that is men and it's not just men it's men and women in your life proximity your parents your my my mom

16:26

and dad have been married for 45 years I know how lucky I am I know how that is

16:32

that mentality is is everything happens for a reason and

16:39

you're going through this for a reason and keep going because something Good's going to happen and I still I still I

16:45

live with that every day yeah you know and you talk about um you know men or

16:51

masculinity and those type of things and of course now there's these uh you know people call it toxically masculine and

16:57

all this BS and um I've gotten somewhat intolerant with it now you know at first I would

17:03

try to like reason with people but now it's it's it it's so absurd because it's

17:08

being pushed on us so much and as you as you watch Society degrade you know to a

17:13

point um you know I think more people have to speak out and say no you know there's nothing wrong like my

17:19

masculinity I'm I'm not ashamed of it by any means and I use it for good and I don't abuse people I treat people really

17:25

well and that's part of the power of being a man is that you can be a strong man but you can be kind and gentle and

17:31

loving and those type of things but still uh hold that power um and so I've

17:38

watched it you know the last few years kind of degrading um and and being

17:44

abused as far as the the idea of that masculinity um and people you know think

17:50

that if if you talk about that you know somehow you're uh suggesting women aren't

17:57

powerful in their own right as well and it's not that actually they they they go

18:03

together you know completely and you know with what you went through I know your wife was extremely strong for you

18:10

you couldn't have done it without hero and uh talk about that like you know so you're talking about masculinity but then there's this other side uh that you

18:16

understand the power of very well because uh you live with it every day and you experience it I wrote a song

18:22

about it power power of a woman is is you know I believe in the power of a

18:27

woman uh the reason it's being attacked is

18:33

because no matter what your religious background is your thought you know I love Jesus I I'm a Christian believer I

18:41

believe in the Bible I believe he rose I believe he saved us I I'll say that here but no matter what you

18:48

believe there there is a battle I think we can universally say there is a battle of good versus evil absolutely there's

18:54

always has clear as day there always has been and if if you strip

19:00

masculinity or if you look through the histories of of the world that that's

19:06

that's that's what starts going first you start criticizing that that person

19:12

and there is definitely things where masculinity has been abused and and

19:18

women have been shaed and abused but you see how we're having to go back and justify what we're saying because we're

19:24

two masculine men sitting here but I promise you my wife she by honoring my

19:30

masculinity by honoring me and me honoring her femininity and uh and US

19:37

existing in the world together it it one complement the other and it complements

19:44

the the relationship is is passionate and it's sensual and it's it's the way

19:49

it's supposed to be and for me it's biblical you know it's it it's it's all

19:54

right there it's all been played out a thousands and thousands of years and you

20:02

know I believe history repeats itself and I believe if you look at it if you look at you know Great Men great women

20:11

great societies you know it's very obvious what's happening yeah it's very obvious

20:18

what's happening and it's okay I think for us sitting here in these leather

20:24

chairs that smell good you know it's like I think it's these conversations

20:30

that that just keep the peace keep it easy and and keep steady just keep going

20:37

because I love this saying uh it's all going to be okay in the end so if it's not okay it's not the end there we go

20:44

it's so good I love I don't know where I heard that or or where that came from but I think just just give people the

20:50

benefit of the doubt and start and and Lead With Love no absolutely lead with love well there's nothing toxic about

20:57

that you you know and if you think about I agree 100% it's good and evil you know

21:03

if they want to say toxic masculinity those toxic trait that's evil I don't want to be that uh you know I want to be

21:10

good I want I want to be loved those those type of things but um you know I do feel like uh the thought is if they

21:17

break that down it's easier for them to to get control and for you know evil terrain because it takes men standing up

21:25

against evil uh to stop I mean that's the battle that's the battle that we're

21:31

in absolutely um you're talking about uh you know having two great parents and uh

21:37

you know I also think a lot of what's going on in society right now is not having you know two parents in the home

21:44

you know you look at some some of the stuff that's going on in the black community's fatherless homes to me is

21:51

the biggest problem um you know talk about the importance of of being a

21:56

father being in your child's life you got to 10 month old uh but uh you know what it's meant for you and um you know

22:03

as a father and and of course being raised by a good father well I'll go back to what the

22:10

very first to approaching if if the listener out there is hearing uh that

22:17

that they don't maybe they grew up without a father we'll go back to what I said like the challenges that you're

22:23

facing give you the opportunity like some of the strongest men I know are

22:30

were fatherless sure also some of the most incarcerated men I know were

22:35

fatherless you know and it doesn't Define you right none of this defines

22:42

you you know the the victim mentality choose to flip it whether it be a stroke

22:48

if it's a stroke flip it and do the benefit for the brain if it's a you know

22:53

if it's a fatherless house flip it and be the best father in the world

22:59

to to the to your sons or your daughters absolutely show them the op you know show them what you want to want to see

23:06

and that that is that's biblical straight back that's that's just good

23:11

period like be the person you won't reciprocate it back to

23:16

you does that make sense like absolutely like be the person the Golden Rule like be the person you want people to be to

23:22

you y and um I think uh uh I'm spacing on your

23:29

question here uh yeah it was it was about um you know the you know what it

23:35

means to you to be a father and and and and how it's how your father kind of helped you to do well I'm kind of a nerd

23:41

like I'm watching him learn mechanical stuff and like going through my leftand

23:46

deficiencies like I literally had complete Paralysis on my left side so I'm watching him do the same thing that

23:52

I did two years ago you know and I'm watching him figure out his hands and

23:58

I'm watching it and you know I think it I think deep like he I think he's going to be left-handed so I like it's funny

24:06

that how the world works and energy works that he can be left-handed and I

24:11

can lose my left hand well he could be my left hand you know what I mean he can be my right hand he can be my left hand anyway I just think that stuff like that

24:19

is uh is interesting um but for me to look at him and look in his pupils and

24:25

say and see and we we had to use uh we went six seven years of infertility I

24:31

mean we we had to use IVF iuis IVF all kind of um ways and you know that was

24:38

that was another tumultuous situation that we had to overcome and um I watched

24:45

my wife speaking of a a badass powerful woman you know overcome all of that

24:51

including diabetes including an autoimmune disorder including basically being paralyzed from her breast down

24:58

right after she had had to help me wipe my ass you know and get me back on my feet I've watched her do that and then

25:05

wake up and breastfeed this baby as a type one diabetic that's a powerful

25:11

woman man yeah bu and these women that are out there doing that alone I mean

25:18

props more power to them that's amazing yeah and that's what we have to there's

25:24

a reason that we are I me and you so blessed we we're blessed just to be

25:30

alive in 2023 I would be dead if I was born in you know 1973 as opposed to 1983

25:37

yeah because the the the uh you know

Near Death Experience while Performing

25:42

what saved me was not it was a new technology you know being able to keep my brain from bleeding anymore and

25:48

coagulate that blood flow into more extrem of my brain and and making me a

25:54

vegetable or or or killing me you know that that was

25:59

um that was a bang bang thing that happened in you know 2021 yeah well

26:05

let's so we've kind of hit on a few times let's go ahead and do it uh talk about what happened to you because uh

26:11

some of the people listening might not know um so you were on stage uh what year was it 2020 2019 2019

26:20

Y and and had a stroke and um you know you knew about it beforehand walk us

26:26

through you know when you first found out about it and then how you kept yeah kept touring there was like you know

26:32

it's like a 1 to two% chance but um and then of course you had the stroke take

26:37

us to that whole experience yeah so um the first of the year in 2019 we were

26:43

setting up we were touring with Zach Brown uh we were about to go to Australia and uh it was just rocking you

26:51

know we had a lot of good things going our way we' actually just been dropped

26:56

uh from a record deal but but it was it was kind of a good thing um and

27:02

we I was um doing a class I think it's called shed class yep and uh yeah and uh

27:12

just was getting after it and that's something that I love to do and and I loved getting up really early and doing

27:18

it and um they would have times and if you want to get me put a time up on on a

27:25

board and I I'll kill myself trying to beat the time well that's what I was doing and I got uh and I had a lunch

27:32

meeting at uh Ted's Montana Grill which I shout out to them I love those uh so I sat down and I feel a good

27:41

and about halfway through the meal I get a headache and the headache uh puts me in MRI uh like excruciating like can't

27:49

see so you were at the dinner did you have to like uh call an ambulance or was it just one of those I just went home

27:54

and went went to bed I skipped some of that but like I went home I went to bed um slept through the night which was

28:02

dangerous um and it was a it was a headache so bad that like light or anything I could not stand up I couldn't

28:10

my equilibrium was off uh very uh very painful um scale from 1 to 10 a 12 like

28:18

extremely painful headache uh migraine times 50 mhm and went got a MRI the m i

28:27

show a mask the size of a lime right here uh in the back side of my brain and

28:34

um they're like we're going to run some tests we're not sure exactly what it is um but we'll get back with you so I go

28:39

home that day not knowing what that mass is so talk about faith talk about prayer

28:45

talk about getting in with your wife and you know your family your unit and saying

28:53

hey not sure what this is but just your prayers are appreciated and um you know come to find out it's an

29:00

AVM it's an arterior Venus malformation uh that was in my brain uh

29:07

formed in the embryotic stage of my life and and um that I layman's terms I'd

29:15

worn the brakes off is what they said I was so active in Sayang so much because I performed kind of like you know an

29:22

Eddie veter is a very good analogy like I was very I I push my veins would be

29:28

popping and my my blood pressure would be way up and I did it for years and then working out like that just wore the

29:35

brakes off that that thing uh and caused that uh that headache and a lot of times

29:43

people just find find folks in the backyard you know in their mid 60s mid-50s but very rarely it I was 35

29:50

years old 36 very rarely does it does it show signs it's usually you just have a

29:56

stroke MH so very lucky that we found it so we go to a doctor here in town whose

30:04

name was Dr Miracle um very world-renown uh doctor at handling amms that's one of

30:12

the things we got here in Nashville that we're unbelievably blessed to have he said okay what we're going to

30:18

have to do this is one of the biggest ones if not the biggest one I've ever worked on out of like 10,000 wow so you

30:26

congratulations you are uh 1 in 17,000 people have an AVM 1 in 32,000 and you

30:35

may not quote me on this but like one like one in 32,000 had them in their brains so um we're going to run a

30:44

catheter up your feminal artery and um mind you this is January

30:50

2019 um and we're going to run that catheter up your feminal artery into the back of your brain and we're going to

30:55

squeeze it full of this Sol it called Onyx and that Onyx we have to do it

31:00

gradually because the brain doesn't like sudden things like big changes it but it

31:07

can withstand small changes so he scheduled he said I think I can do it in

31:12

five maybe six surgeries mhm so we start down this path and I said well can

31:19

I play uh can I can I play shows he said well we

31:25

can possibly get these scheduled out on Mondays you can rest Tuesday and

31:31

Wednesday and then be probably good on a Thursday or Friday

31:38

you know to play so that's what we did so I I'd heard all I wanted you know to

31:43

hear like hey I got green lit to to go play my shows and there was uh blood

31:49

pressure monitors and everything and we we start playing shows in you know January February March April Start start

31:57

picking up and the first ones were a little you know I kind of was very

32:02

tender-footed and just kind of walked on eggshells and made sure everything was good um but my confidence you know Rose

32:10

as we kept going and I felt really good you know and um so we got four

32:15

embolizations in and we were probably 50 or 60 shows in to the to the

32:21

year and in August we set out to go to uh Rowan Oak Virginia uh for for the for

32:28

our run of shows that was our first show and uh we take the stage in Rowan Oak

32:33

it's about 95 degrees that evening and it's probably 2 200 people there cotton

32:39

candy Skies beautiful you know U Ferris wheels and funnel cakes type

32:44

situation and um I felt good I felt really good and uh jumped on stage and

32:51

got through about two or three songs and um I felt dizzy like maybe maybe there

33:00

was some like vertigo or something going on and so I backed up and took a drink of water and took some deep breaths and

33:06

uh started into the next song um and then my left arm my left shoulder and

33:13

left arm became very heavy and like I I I remember it felt like I had a bowling

33:19

ball on my left foot you know and I and I did my jaw kind of popped my jaw and

33:26

did like that when I turned my head I heard a loud snap like big pop like

33:32

right here oh man behind in my ear my right ear and when I when it did when it

33:37

I I couldn't remember the words I was trying to get the words out and my left side became

33:43

very he like it felt just like it everything drooped down and and then

33:50

bunch of people caught like everybody it was a blessing that I was on stage because Mt and everybody was watching me

33:56

like hey something's is not right so they grabbed me and Ed I

34:01

was 5 minutes 3 minutes from a trauma One hospital we were right down the road

34:08

from a tra they got me to a trauma 1 hospital within 15 minutes had professionals looking at me and uh

34:15

because we had all of the paperwork my tour manager was like this is what's happening yeah he has an AVM it's

34:22

ruptured you know so they go straight to it and they all the paperwork uh that I

34:27

was carrying around with me they gave that to the EMT and ultimately the doctor and had Dr Miracle on the phone

34:35

within minutes and uh they saved my life you know and um that's that's a very

34:42

quick rendition of it there was things you know and you hear my spirituality coming out in just the way I've been

34:48

talking in the first part of this interview because that was an that was a near-death experience it was out of body

34:54

I saw angels I saw things that that I can't explain and and um it the

35:00

power of prayer and the power of that realm the holy kind of spiritual realm

35:06

exists and it's as real as as us sitting here in these chairs you know and so

35:12

that in a nut shows what happened and what changed my life and um why I have a

35:17

pretty sick little limp coming in here well so so tell uh tell us um you know

35:24

were you conscious while this was going on did you know what was going on or were you in like a coma in the hospital

35:31

um I knew what was going on I could they they didn't want to give me any um pain

35:38

medication because they wanted to make sure that my I was not brain dead they wanted to make sure I was responding and

35:45

and so the doctors would ask me questions where are you at you know what is your name you know what's your wife's

35:50

name you know that was constant for two like two three four five six hours and

35:56

it got very the pain got so bad that I started kind of passing out and then coming back too because we're talking

36:02

about a level of pain in your head that would it made you my nervous system felt

36:08

like a shock was going through my whole fingertips and Toes like it was it was like a lightning bolts and so I would

36:17

throw up and just be you know and what they were doing is getting that to quit

36:22

bleeding they they coagulated that blood that you know the the the AVM burst and

36:28

it was every time my heart was beating it was and blood was coming on the uh

36:35

the tissue of my brain and that's what damages that's what damaged the mobile cortex to my left side ultimately but

36:42

they were they were trying to make sure I was cognitive and make sure they they were trying to make a decision if they were going to put a port in or not which

36:49

they didn't thank God because when they open your brain up that's a whole another bag of worms no pun intended

36:56

it's like like it's just it's there's so many blessings that happened and so many

37:02

people that um that kind of came to my rescue right there really quickly after it happened so um very cognitive very

37:11

aware of what was going on uh Alex was seven hours away she was here in

37:16

Nashville literally didn't pack a bag didn't anything just took off to Rowan Oak because she knew exactly what had

37:22

happened and I'll tell everybody out here too that there was a 2 chance of

37:27

what happened happening yeah like it was a very very low chance I sing so hard

37:34

and the way my my style of singing is I push through my diaphragm with like air

37:40

with tons of air and I mean it it's a lot of pressure in your head and uh a

37:46

lot of pressure to all all all parts you know of your brain and your blood pressure MH so that's ultimately what

37:53

caused it and um yeah it is a full on you know gave me equivalent to a hematic

38:00

stroke paralyzing my left side and uh I woke up in the hospital uh there in

38:06

Rowan Oak uh stayed there for about two weeks and and couldn't move my hands

38:12

couldn't move my left foot couldn't move anything for about a week and a half two weeks so you were conscious what's going

38:19

on in your head I mean were you afraid were you praying were you yeah what was what was going on that's a that's a

38:26

great question question um um I was I

38:32

go I have a fighting mechanism that like um whe if if I'm about to Har like if

38:38

I'm in a situation like I I I sang the national anthem before the Bears and the

38:43

Packers one not there was like 90,000 people and I don't get nervous singing but I was nervous and I have this uh

38:51

kind of this breathing thing it's kind of like box breathing but like I'll breathe and I'm basically talking

38:59

to uh I'm talking to to God I'm talking to like saying hey

39:07

calm me down you know this is what I'm made to do this is what I'm born to do like as long as I'm breathing I'm alive

39:13

and I'm thankful long as I'm breathing I'm alive and I'm thankful long as I'm breathing I'm alive you know so that's

39:18

all I did for probably two days you know is is concentrate on taking a bread

39:26

and feeling my lungs full of air and pushing it out and then going thank you for that breath thank you for the next

39:32

one thank you for the next so that's what I do when I get real pissed off now

39:37

and you can hear it in my throat right like it it's it's uh emotional because

39:44

it's a superpower yeah if you can do that you know so you know people people take for

39:52

granted that that we that we have it m that we we have the breath then we push

39:58

it out so when you get mad that a record

40:04

deal gets dropped or you get mad that you know your show doesn't sell out well

40:10

thank you for that breath thank you for this and that's that's the big change

40:16

that happened you know and what I will what I'll pass down to Hulk you know my

40:22

son is like you know be thankful for that breath cuz you're not you're not

40:27

guaranteed that breath that's right that that's why I would do it again I would totally go through that stroke again to

40:35

to have this perspective sitting here and to have have that wisdom to pass on to to

40:42

him shoot Bring it on I was built for it so that's beautiful man yeah I mean so

40:48

that's you know it's an interesting thing to come to you you know at that moment uh um

40:57

because there's a you know I know you and I could imagine you're like laser

41:04

focused you know um and I'm going to focus I'm going to

41:11

be grateful for my breath I'm going to talk to my God we're going to have you

41:16

know that ultimate connection that God really wants yeah that's it yep and uh

41:23

it's it's great that you went to that because um you know I think that's

41:29

that's what God wants us to do when we're going through those times lean on him and uh you know as the days were

41:38

going on though you know when was the first time that you saw your wife or or maybe I don't know if you could you see

41:45

uh or it was it was extremely blurry um but I saw her 7even hours eight hours

41:54

after she said she drove like n my my wife my wife just this is going to be funny but like my wife's the type of

42:00

person that one day she came into me and she's like does this does this outfit look [ __ ] I was like honey you have a

42:07

turtleneck on like she's a kindergarten teacher this girl is so Square she she's

42:13

pointy and it's like uh she drove like very fast you know to to get there and

42:22

it's funny but I I my my Vision was blurry but I felt when she got there

42:30

like I didn't necessarily know but once she got there I knew that I had survived I knew

42:37

that like I really did like I survived after that now the

42:43

battle can ensue like and we fought a bunch of battles like and we still do

42:48

today but I survived that that the initial attack and um

42:57

so that was that was probably about a week or two um a week or two deal but I

43:04

do want to mention this um and it's a so when I was

Angels, Miracles, and Prayers

43:11

in the emergency room and um I was going through and they

43:18

they couldn't give me the the pain medication yet um I noticed I felt this

43:26

really calm piece there was a extremely I I was not scared at all the

43:33

whole time the whole time I was just like keep breathing keep going you're going through this just keep keep keep

43:38

powering through and there was security guards what I thought was security

43:44

guards in the corners of the room the the the the Rockstar mentality is strong

43:51

I'm not sure why I thought there was security guards but it was like oh they got security guards in the hospital I

43:57

must be you know and it was three very

44:05

confident like Troy like Brad Pit and

44:14

Troy I couldn't really see them because it was blurry but I just remember them being very tall very built and very

44:22

confident and and their heads never stopped doing this like and they were watching me and what

44:29

that was was Alex had prayed for angels to surround the room and we didn't know

44:36

I I told her this uh we were watching the uh the super moon uh after we had

44:42

got back to Nashville from the from my east side of my house like looking

44:48

East and uh we saw a cloud that looked like the Archangel Michael like that you

44:54

see him in stories and uh I said man that looks just like and Alex we said at

45:00

the same time that looks just like an angel and I told her this story I said

45:05

hey these security guards in the corner of the room tell me about you know were

45:10

there security guards there and Alex was like no so we had this 30 minute long conversation of like Alex praying for

45:17

these angels to surround the room and they were there like they were there

45:24

with arm you know I remember them having armor and like swords I don't remember the

45:31

swords but like I could it was that type of palpability to it and that's how real that is that's

45:40

how real energy is that's how real prayer is and I and I

45:46

can't that's uh that's me sitting here and you know I've seen I've seen a lot

45:51

of stuff yeah um but I believe in miracles I believe that was a miracle that day that helped and I believe that

45:58

the power of asking with authority cuz she said she asked with authority you

46:04

know I need you we've got a lot of stuff he's got a lot of stuff that he's going to do and by the

46:10

way the the benefit for the brain was the first I kind of said to the whole to

46:18

God and everything else if you give me the opportunity to get out of this I'm going to flip it and I promise you that

46:24

and so benefit for the brain was a full it was like a prophecy being

46:30

fulfilled like of like all right that that idea was planted in

46:36

inside of me when I was still paralyzed like playing in front of the ramen so that night playing at the

46:43

ramen and you know being up there that was a full circle full circle thing um

46:50

but man angels angels are real prayers real Miracles are real

46:56

and people you know people pray in real you know no I I absolutely agree with that

47:04

um you know I can think of a number of times in my life where I mean I you know

47:11

I got arrested 20 something years ago and I'm gonna start crying talking about this story I I don't think I've ever told this publicly um but uh when I got

47:20

arrested uh my dad I mean my dad was he's a wonderful man but he was you know

47:26

pretty hard on me you know just he would always he was he was a good dad mhm and

47:31

uh I was going through a lot I was on a lot of drugs and was not like an addict

47:38

but just partying yeah you know and uh so when I got

47:43

arrested um it was kind of a shocker to everybody of course um and they I was I was in the

47:54

jail I had to call my parents you know I'm facing 15 years in prison wow and so

48:01

my dad uh he's going to get me out and I open the door and he's like balling

48:06

crying across the glass MH you know and

48:11

um I had planned on going to shoot myself afterwards I was like it's over

48:17

I'm G to end it was like losing my mind and uh you know he ended

48:23

up uh instead of being EX be hard on me at the time he was after he got himself

48:29

together bailed me out was taking me home he was the the perfect

48:35

person that I needed at the time the perfect dad I needed at the time and he later said he prayed to be that for me

48:42

at the time and uh you know at that point I really turned to God and focused

48:51

on prayer and focused on you know just leaning on him to get me through through it to not go away for 15 years yeah to

48:59

uh you know really you know I didn't have any really uh say in

49:08

what happened to me it was up to the judge it was up to the DA you know if they would have taken my case Federal as

49:14

facing 15 years my parents mortgage their house to give a donation to the drug task force to keep it from going

49:20

Federal and I I agreed to an 8year sentence at 35%

49:26

with a sentencing hearing and serious stuff oh yeah and so

49:31

the judge could have given me eight years to serve or no time with

49:37

eight years probation and um I think the Judge looking back I

49:42

think the the prayers were answered because he gave me the perfect amount of time MH I got eight months to serve

49:48

eight years probation I got out a little shorter because of good time and those type of things it taught me to fight I

49:55

appealed at the Supreme Court you know uh and I was guilty but I I needed time to build my companies Etc uh took two

50:02

years so I was building my martial art gy I started game this all between all that's going on and um you know I really

50:09

just relied on that that prayer and faith and um I think in a way too I wouldn't be here you know if it weren't

50:16

for that I don't have those thoughts anymore it's crazy how when things are just cut out from you all of a sudden I

50:23

was 19 years old just turned 20 years old yeah but um you know from then on

50:29

man I I I pray probably I don't know I don't know what the averages but at

50:34

least five times a day MH you know and it's a major part of part of my life so

50:40

when I hear that story and then I heard the the Archangel Michael crazy story

50:45

we're on our producer over here um we had flew in uh Arthur Kwan Lee he's an

50:52

artist did the podcast and he's a great artist and before the P I wasn't even

50:57

familiar with Archangel Michael by the way and Warren hands me a card of Archangel Michael uh a painting you know

51:06

of U you know a card of the painting of him with he like dagger on the devil yep yep 30 minutes later Arthur Quan Lee

51:14

walks in with a gift uh in wrapping paper I open it up it's a painting of

51:22

the exact same nice card that wore in gave me so um you know and now when I

51:29

pray I thank God for just showing me that I'm protected in that way uh cuz I

51:35

know that's like there can be nothing else in a sign within 30 minutes of of this uh Archangel that I hadn't really

51:42

heard of it's more of a Catholic thing generally yeah um and um so I just share that with you because I feel connected

51:49

with with that you know that and that's God like I I have I'm in the entertainment business I see see I know

51:56

all kind of people I love red yellow black and white gay straight everywhere

52:01

in between all kinds of agnostic and have and I love them all I really do I I

52:08

I really and there is room there is

52:14

understanding about what we're talking about if he is the body and I I heard

52:20

this analogy um if we are the body of Christ and the understanding of him and

52:27

his power then he is the every ocean every

52:32

single body of water on Earth we are but a drop of understanding yeah of what he is

52:38

capable of and when you go through a near-death experience when you're going through a jail cell and watching a

52:45

parent that cares for you break down whatever it is it could be a 16-year-old that's just lost his car keys to his

52:51

Rolls-Royce I mean it's it's all perspective right um but there is there

52:59

is a realness to the energy um you know that's why I I've never in my life said

53:06

I was broke ever no matter if I was or not like never will I've never said I was fat never said I was you know never

53:14

will never said that you know because that energy just saying it that's why

53:20

they call it spelling because that that that's a spell you're putting on you

53:26

know yeah and I know I'm speaking a lot of that that's a pagan type of word and into voodo like but it's like it's all

53:34

the same it's all the same to me like that stuff is so real and tapping into

53:39

it is a is is something that when you face the Valley of the shadow of death

53:46

when you when you literally stand up against it what are you going to do and I and I ask a lot of my uh you know I've

53:54

got a lot lot of Theologian friends as you might expect and we sat here and drink coffee and tequila and not

54:01

together but coffee or tequila I like tequila in my coffee yeah and we we sit

54:07

there and talk about stuff like this and I think questioning questioning it questioning it is what is going is what

54:14

helps us through life like questioning question the the the the the Bible

54:20

question the Quran question all this stuff like question it you you

54:25

know shoot holes all in it because it is that's what you're supposed to do that's

54:31

what you did uh in mastering martial arts that's what I've done uh in trying

54:36

to master martial arts you know it's what I've done in trying to master uh being a showman being you know looking

54:43

at you know different ways is I'm shooting holes in things trying to figure out there's no right or wrong way

54:49

to go about this thing but our understanding of H of of the of the

54:55

spiritual realm is a drop of water in a whole ocean of knowledge yeah no

55:01

absolutely that's crazy it is it is and um you know I talked about this on

55:07

another podcast but you know uh Joe Rogan's an old friend and he did this uh

55:14

skit this Noah's Arc skit it was really funny um and I think I've heard it yeah

55:19

it it made me question this is probably 20 years ago I don't know I was probably 22 or so and um made me question you

55:28

know Christianity and and I always prayed but I also it also brought me to a point where um I didn't want to talk

55:36

about it because I didn't understand how to debate that and he was making really

55:41

good points and you know what it kind of brought me to was though that I don't need to understand everything because

55:46

I'm not going to understand everything I just need to have faith and um you know that's the that's the most important

55:52

thing and um you you know I've really uh you know kind of relied on that you know

55:59

sense that in those in those things that we don't exactly understand you know that that faith is is what's important

56:07

and um yeah I can't imagine going through life now without prayer and

56:14

without you know focus on that and you know even you're talking about the spell thing um you know we are what we think

56:22

we are absolutely you know we have to be careful what we say the reason you're not saying I mess with myself and I say

56:28

I'm fat but you're probably right you got to be careful what you what you say to yourself um but you know our words

56:35

are so important because they do in a way cast spells or you know manifest those specific uh things that that we

56:43

say exactly and you know we all we all want to be the laid-back cool guy don't we like and and and I am I feel like I

56:51

am like but there there's this thing in your head goes oh don't don't don't

56:57

don't point out like because I'll stop Alex sometimes and be Alex be like ah this this makes me look this way or this

57:03

makes hey don't say that don't say that and then I'll kind of get and she she'll

57:08

be like oh Drake I'm just kidding like but yeah but don't say that and she's like oh don't go deep on this and say so

57:15

there is there is balance sure Absolut but I do believe in it thoroughly in

57:22

going through this I have learned that man I just turned 40 my dad just came in

57:28

we just went on this epic duck hunting trip he's 608 69 today and I'm watching this guy

57:36

that's always been suntan hands and rayb bands and and you know driving Thunderbirds and just a cool dude ski

57:43

boats and slom skiing and just you know jumping off the deep the high dive stuff

57:48

like that watching turn 69 gracefully and do it in a way and I'm looking at it

57:55

it like how our culture of has been has

58:00

Americanized Christianity has it's just man's attempt and it's Evil's attempt to

58:06

try to diminish it like and it's okay that if you don't believe it I I'm

58:11

listening in my head I'm listening I've got a lot of logic I call them logic bullies my buddies that are logical guys

58:18

they are that are realistic guys by the way I I battle that with the realistic

58:23

like the worst thing you can tell me is be realistic absolutely be realistic I'm from a little bitty town I'm I'm a

58:30

country music star I'm the most unrealistic person I know yeah I I I I

58:35

mean you kidding me like I shouldn't even be here you can't but I don't care

58:40

if you don't believe or don't align or think like I we get in the argument a lot you're going to talk about a 2500

58:48

year old document you know that's been spanned blah blah blah blah blah you're going to talk and we dude we get into it

58:54

and as a band man we have some bus rides that are you know from here to California that we talk about stuff like

59:01

that and you know at the end of the day I'm not the person that's like well I

59:08

just have faith I don't know I don't know I just have faith I do and you you're really good at this I've watched

59:15

you do your research like and I'm G to encourage my kid to do this like if you

59:20

want to know about a a 30 to Coyote motor mhm then read

59:26

about it m that might have been a bad example but like read about it and understand the combustion understand

59:32

what's going on in the engine and then you can talk about it if you want to know if you want to have a uh a

59:44

philosophical conversation about the word and about the Bible then then know

59:49

it know it know it enough to like I'm not saying you have to be a preacher or

59:55

be a be a a you know a scholar at it but like it is the

1:00:01

for me and all the it is the Living Word it it lives and it moves and it and it

1:00:08

bends it's it's it has a superpower to it it has a magic to it it has a a

1:00:14

mysticism to it that is that I can't explain and you can't explain but all

1:00:20

I'm saying is coming through that you know as a musician that that's three chords in the truth and believes that

1:00:26

how simple things are you know that is not so simple but yeah it is one of

1:00:33

those things that I'm open to discussing sure I'm open to I always say like I'm

1:00:40

open to a lot of things I'm open to most things yeah if if you want to discuss them so you know I I like having the

1:00:48

conversation yeah and and for me something I don't like having it um it's

1:00:55

it's that there's a lot of things I just don't know yep and that's

1:01:00

when I just have to have faith when some of it doesn't make sense like you look like uh the Beatitudes and talking about

1:01:07

chopping their hands off and I'm like well that doesn't sound like a good idea yeah uh we can't chop everybody's hand

1:01:13

off here and um you know there there there's certain things that I just can't

1:01:18

explain yeah and uh for me it's just relying on that on that Faith but you

1:01:25

know you are right in the sense that I didn't need to dig in and do more

1:01:30

research I've relied on my relationship with God per se and my

1:01:36

prayers and and those type of things without really reading the Bible a lot I mean I grew up going to church as a kid

1:01:45

uh Church Christ which uh it's a pretty strict version of of Christianity yeah

1:01:51

for sure and uh but um you know probably is about time to start

1:01:58

start going back a little bit and digging in yeah it it it I highly recommend it I mean it like I said I

1:02:04

didn't do I'm I didn't mean it's it's what my authentic self

1:02:10

eludes to in conversations like this where we're we're sitting and and have a

1:02:15

minute to talk that's not just passing by because of you know the way my life

1:02:23

has went and and I wouldn't consider myself a just a overly religious person but I

1:02:31

am a religious person uh legus uh uh is the root word of religion you know and

1:02:37

it's it's Latin for together uh together together so re just means again so as

1:02:45

far as leus together together and re mean again like that's what I do every night playing shows right

1:02:52

so it it is is a bit of a religious experience to come to one of our show

1:02:58

like and I that can't be taken out of context I understand how it could be but like if somebody wants to take it out of

1:03:04

contest go ahead I don't care but it is sometimes when people come in they're

1:03:10

looking for something at a show when you come into our shows and I'm gonna I'm gonna I guess pitch one of

1:03:18

our pitch a show here when you come into one of our shows man you're going to get an authentic spontaneous

1:03:24

show of the what what spirit is in that room what what feeling that I'm feeling

1:03:30

at that time no matter what what time what things happening as this election comes up or what could have happened in

1:03:37

the city that I'm in or the history you know that that surrounds the venue that

1:03:42

I'm in or I could have just had a bad day in the gym that day or Alex could have called me you know and I said the

1:03:50

baby was sick right before the show and you get a more docile low you know low energy show uh but that show is a

1:04:01

culmination of of proximity back to that word of a bunch of people gathering

1:04:07

together and putting their energies together and people go to shows or I do I go to shows to get what are you

1:04:13

getting out of this show and I pray every before every show we say

1:04:19

we uh what do we say we say uh

1:04:26

we are magnets for all things good we do not Chase we attract Love Comes To Us

1:04:31

easy and what is meant to find us will simply find us that's energy man I'm I'm

1:04:38

I'm declaring that off the bat that this is what we're going to put out we're putting this out and if somebody is

1:04:45

hurting or about to you know Suicidal Thoughts if we say one

1:04:51

person in this whole career then that may be that that's how back to the drop

1:04:57

in the water analogy of the the understanding that may be why God made me

1:05:03

a musician because I save that one person that is going to carry his name

1:05:08

or carry you know something further or build something like we're just a piece

1:05:15

of the puzzle and it's not we're not that it's not that big of a deal most of

1:05:21

the like you're like it's just so quick it's so quick and it can be gone and so that breath back to that breath I'm

1:05:28

thankful for that breath I'm driven as the Snowman and I'm competitive if like like you told me that I saw that pool

1:05:34

out there if you told me we're going to race I'd race you with this right side as fast as I could and I'd drown trying

1:05:39

to win because that's just who I am but I'm thankful for the breath yeah

1:05:45

absolutely that's a that's beautiful man that is beautiful and um you know going

1:05:52

through going through a situation like that I could my first thought is yeah what is what especially if you're

1:05:58

conscious what is going through your mind and um it's uh it's fascinating

1:06:04

that's what that's what you were doing because you were doing selft talk you were you were praying you were uh

1:06:09

incantations yeah yeah that's that's incredible um so after that after you

1:06:16

knew that you're going to live uh well you know uh from from the

1:06:21

injury uh you were paralyzed man you were uh you know was questionable

1:06:27

whether you'd be able to walk whether you be able to do a lot of things Y what was that like did you what was your

1:06:35

mindset like uh you know when when you were kind of out of the dangers of the immediate danger zone but you're left

1:06:42

with this new this new life yeah great question

1:06:48

um you know those you know when you're kind of asleep and you're but you're not asleep

1:06:54

and you can kind of hear the TV um last night it was like Everybody Loves Raymond you know that show like I was

1:07:01

almost asleep and I was just sitting there and I don't sleep to the TV but I was this was like nine o' and I'm

1:07:08

sitting there and and I could hear the doctor saying not last night like during

1:07:16

during the battle you know I'm not sure about we're not going to put a stin in

1:07:23

we're not going to put a a port in because we want to protect this we want to protect his ability to walk we want

1:07:28

to make sure we're not sure and what I did is I Bank those into even though the

1:07:34

like the doctor's saying he may never walk again watch me you know he may

1:07:39

never perform again watch me I banked those into like my personality into

1:07:47

competitiveness you know watch this like Nashville everybody says it's a brutal

1:07:52

industry it's not brutal if you've taught yourself to walk again at 35 perspective shift like now I can go have

1:08:00

the authority to go help somebody else that's getting through a stroke that's learning how to get through this crazy

1:08:05

thing and who are you Drake to say come in here you know I'm I'm paralyzed for

1:08:11

the rest of my life neck down well I am somebody with authority now because I've been through it and yeah I came out you

1:08:18

know very lucky and I understand that but like those those things that

1:08:26

time what you're asking I used them and I banked them into using them for power

1:08:32

when I needed them like I have to prove these people wrong I have to because it

1:08:39

it just it I just separated them into this is going this is who I want to be

1:08:44

and this is who and now that I have a son this is who I want him to see as an

1:08:50

example and so now it's just making the decisions and the discipline is like

1:08:58

I've been going to therapy at you know resilient down in in Brentwood for four years I go every Monday every Wednesday

1:09:05

two hours a day uh shout out to Dr Griff out there I love him and uh

1:09:13

it's I would I went in a snowstorm last year when the snowstorm was going and I

1:09:18

drove and he met me there because there's I do not waver on that those

1:09:24

meetings Monday and Wednesday and Hulk my son is a big a big advocate of that

1:09:30

like I gotta do it for him if if you if when I'm feeling weak I gotta do it for Alex when me and Alex both are feeling

1:09:36

weak I gotta do it for Hulk uh because he said I wasn't going to walk again but now I'm gonna now I'm GNA pack out

1:09:43

Madison Square Garden you know now I'm GNA you know I did the benefit for the brain you know now I'm going to do this

1:09:48

and it's not for fame it's not for me it's for

1:09:54

the platform because I know what I'm going to do with the platform and I'm G to exalt his name and I'm gonna go out

1:10:03

there and I'm going to help a lot of people you know like like we've just done you know with benefit for the brain

1:10:08

you know being able to go and have y'all part of it and raising 250 Grand that's great that makes me feel great with I

1:10:15

have so much bigger aspirations for that and you know and helping people just like you watch coming down to chipsa

1:10:22

down there and watching you know the folks walk out of there or you know that have ra or something the rheumatory

1:10:29

arthritis guy that I watched you know walk in limping and then come out you know it's it's amazing so your your

1:10:35

purpose is bigger and that's the fulfilling stuff so you took somebody that's that's serving eight years in

1:10:42

prison that's a druggie that could have told his oh you're a drug addict you'll never do anything again but be a drug

Character, Adversity, and Relationships

1:10:48

addict you're a piece of [ __ ] and probably so many people tried to strip you of your legitimacy because of that

1:10:55

well bring it on yeah bring it on I know my heart and I know what I'm capable of

1:11:01

and and that's uh that's that's what stuff like this does and uh back to the

1:11:08

the thing of you can't wish for an easy life and and and and a uh strong

1:11:16

character they they don't they don't coexist well it's so interesting that

1:11:21

you know the the circumstances in our life really really mold us and it's kind of like we

1:11:29

were talking about the very beginning um you know glass half empty or half full per se you know um are we going to be

1:11:36

victims to our circumstances or are we going to uh you know gain the power over it be personally responsible ultimately

1:11:43

for how our life is is moving forward and you know that is what builds character you

1:11:50

know overcoming adversity I'm so grateful for everything that's happened to me I mean I so glad I got arrested

1:11:59

I'm so glad um I mean we've had uh you know 2008 real estate market crashed uh

1:12:05

had a overcome a lot with that I mean there's been as entrepreneur you have adversity after adversity adversity I I

1:12:11

kind of forget about them honestly but I'm grateful for all of them because I know that every time they're going to

1:12:16

make me stronger I'm GNA learn lessons from them and eventually I'll be able to pass it down to my kids you know this is

1:12:24

these are the lessons that I've learned and hopefully then of course your kids grow up to U live an even better life

1:12:30

than than you did and that's kind of the Hope um so yeah

1:12:36

these you know those that are just wishing for an easy life um you know not going to say they

1:12:43

won't have any character but you know it's those hard times are really what what built character you look at someone

1:12:50

who moved to America for instance uh immigrants are much more

1:12:56

likely uh to be millionaires than someone who was born here why because

1:13:02

they have seen the American American Dream they sacrificed most likely to get over here they understand that there's

1:13:08

opportunity and there's not all these things in their way and uh risk reward

1:13:13

absolutely and uh you know fortunately we live in a country that there is it's never been an easier time to be

1:13:19

successful in America right now I agree I mean it's never been easier you have a bunch of people uh right now that aren't

1:13:25

wanting to work hard and that are you know making excuses for everything and being victims to circumstances and you

1:13:31

know for guys like us and and and uh men who want to step up and fight and drive

1:13:37

and not make excuses and Lead yes and women for that matter too uh it's never

1:13:43

been an easier time to be successful in this country absolutely and I and I'll say too to all of this what like call it

1:13:52

sunshine and rainbows like that that's me like I I I'm going to you can call me sunshine you can call me whatever you

1:13:58

want all right sunshine but it's like I battle it I B like my wife will be like

1:14:04

oh no you should have seen him two two mornings ago like when he couldn't you know was me my hand was messed up or I

1:14:11

couldn't tie my shoe and I threw I threw a phone through a you know glass sure there are breakdowns that are like I

1:14:17

battle every day you know I battle every day with the thoughts that of a pessimist mhm but I I

1:14:28

never give it ownership I never let the pessimistic win I I can't say never

1:14:34

sometimes I do very rarely does it win two days in a row yeah very rarely does it win

1:14:41

multiple times in a row you know and I think Health a lot of that is health I I

1:14:46

love you know having a drink I love having a cigar I love uh the whole uh

1:14:53

Tony Robins world I love the whole goggin's world the whole cam hann's world I love all that stuff but at the

1:14:59

end of the day and all that in the Rogan and the information is there the in all

1:15:04

the information is there but like when you get down to Drake white like what do you want how do you feel what do you

1:15:12

feel about you know these things that we've been talking about the the the

1:15:17

real things on on Earth what do you feel about this uh this ction coming up what

1:15:23

do you feel about the Bible what do you feel about the way a man should treat a woman the way a woman should treat a man

1:15:29

like figure that out for yourself like and and use the people around you sure

1:15:34

but there's so much information out there like we have to for

1:15:40

me I always when faced with adversity or faced with a decision I have to make I

1:15:46

always pray about it ask for discernment talk to my wife about it it

1:15:53

then I sleep I usually eat a good meal or sleep eat a good meal and then I wake

1:15:59

up and make a decision if I feel strongly I make the decision I even if I

1:16:05

don't feel strongly one way or the other it's like you know which way you're

1:16:11

leaning sure if and make decisions for me I I've learned how to

1:16:18

make decisions you know not quicker but quicker like make

1:16:25

decisions be a man be a woman that makes decisions that that goes out there and then stands on them yeah and if you're

1:16:31

wrong then then pivot yeah exactly I mean it's there's so much information out there and and I my point in going

1:16:38

all the way around that was I have negative thoughts just like everybody does sure and when you see me in camera

1:16:44

when you see me on stage yes there is some sunshine and rainbows but there's a reality dude there's sometimes where I'm

1:16:52

like what the [ __ ] I can't I can't I can't deal with

1:16:57

some of the stuff that's going on but it's the best time ever to be alive we're not we're not dodging arrows

1:17:04

bullets we're not no we're not hungry we're not hungry I mean it's you know and that can change absolutely can

1:17:10

change very quickly yeah so I'm thankful no I I think that most people um that

1:17:17

are are successful are like that you know it is an all sunshine and we do go through our own thought thoughts and our

1:17:24

own call it insecurities and those type of things but uh it's it's how we take

1:17:30

those and flip them that you know determines our ultimate success and

1:17:35

determines how we are to people you know I always think about you know who do I need to be for this person at the moment

1:17:41

so you know we have a lot of employees and um I treat employees different each

1:17:47

person it's like who do they need me to be in the moment you know to to be the best uh for them that that I can be MH

1:17:54

and I try to do that in life and of course we we all fall short but um you know it is easy um for some people to to

1:18:03

allow those negative thoughts to come in to really bring them down and you know it's um you it takes practice too so

1:18:11

it's not something that necessarily you can just one day all of a sudden you're able to flip these things I agree but um

1:18:17

it sounds like you practice it kind of on a on a daily basis well brother the

1:18:22

the music industry man I mean it is you can go down that rabbit hole of that some [ __ ] don't like me and I don't

1:18:28

like her and he he's got this and by pretty soon they're trying to sabotage my my my life and sabotage now they're

1:18:34

stealing my money now now is he looking at my wife and by the way does he like my shoes are my shoes the wrong color do

1:18:41

they like what what like I'm just trying to write songs man I mean like I've

1:18:46

poured conrete I framed houses I mowed grass um and I love I loved mowing grass

1:18:53

I still love mowing grass to this day cuz you can see the lines

1:18:58

M there's a thought like you can see the lines in the yard you know you can't

1:19:04

creatively like you can't see the lines in the yard and a lot of times you have

1:19:10

to go this don't this don't feel quite right I know he's the big thing or she's

1:19:15

the big thing and I need to get B but it that is what I'm talking about that's God MH for me that's God and you know

1:19:23

being a fisherman like the wind blowing my my face to the right to look over and

1:19:29

see a trout that's God like I know that that's a that's that's pretty far cast

1:19:35

no no like but it's like oh I'm trout fishing listen to the wind listen to

1:19:42

what you're what you're trying to do and that's never steered me wrong you know

1:19:47

and you know how we met is another is another

1:19:54

just completely God thing you know for me you know a good friend of ours randomly after church one day we're at a

1:20:01

Mexican restaurant here in town and and I start talking about not being able to really move my hand like I want to move

1:20:08

it and do this and I'm interested in this thing that I heard Mel Gibson talking about and this and that and

1:20:14

she's like oh I got a friend that does that I'm like oh cool I've heard about all the stuff in America like it's not

1:20:20

you know I'm thinking about going to Panama no no no you need to reach out I reach out to like two days later 3 days

1:20:27

later I'm talking to you and it it's just getting hooked up and we we just go

1:20:32

do it and now we're sitting here like that is that's energy that's because I

1:20:39

put it out there and dude we how how we can get on these cell phones and call

1:20:45

New Zealand right now I mean that's that's crazy to me and so thoughts

1:20:51

thoughts have have the energy to to turn into stuff and then and we all have

1:20:56

negative thoughts it's it's it's what you do with them uh and it is practice

1:21:01

it takes tons of practice I've had I've had more negative thoughts than

1:21:07

positive probably in my life like but it's what what I do with them

1:21:13

um it's what I do with them that I'm that I'm that I'm talking about right now that I'm proud of that I'm that I

1:21:20

want to be known for like I well he he used his challenges for good you know

1:21:26

yeah no absolutely and you know I hear you uh you talk about Alex a lot you

1:21:32

know and as you're going through this you know this stroke and you know even you

1:21:38

know since um how has she kind of kept you on on point with that with that

1:21:44

positivity yeah well when she needed me I was there

1:21:51

when I needed her she was there like because there are times where she's had breakdowns and I've been strong I've

1:21:57

been the one and there's been times where she I had breakdowns and she she

1:22:04

brought me up and that's what marriage is you know that's what and there's been times where you know I just needed her

1:22:14

to listen and she was just there to listen and there was the times where she dug her feet in was like you're an idiot

1:22:20

that's not true you just made every bit of that up oh what did I yeah yeah this

1:22:27

is you just made every by the way we do that a lot we make stuff up yeah like

1:22:34

and if you do not have that person that those people that's one proximity's

1:22:39

power to go no Ed that's not that's not quite right like no or no you're spot on

1:22:47

here your spot on here and it's it's and it's people that have your best interest

1:22:52

in M and my like Alex the reason you hear me talk about her so much is

1:22:58

because she's my soulmate like she is the person that

1:23:04

literally taught me how to walk again you know that that that there's a love

1:23:09

there there's a romance there of course but like and I'll say this and did we argued right before I got here like

1:23:14

about something like I can't read your mind woman we still have the same conversations but do don't let America

1:23:22

and hwood and New York americanize marriage it took me six years to get

1:23:28

marriage but to get married eight years to get married six seven years because I

1:23:34

was afraid because just wait till you get married you'll never get laid again just wait till you get married she'll

1:23:40

she'll you know she'll sew that thing up whatever it is I know that was a little but it's like none of it's

1:23:48

true the secret is is not going mainstream

1:23:55

because it's mainstream go mainstream because it's it's the only main stream is the stream

1:24:01

of blood in you like that's that's what I always go to so marriage has been the best thing in the world and to have that

1:24:08

person that that true ride or die person that it doesn't matter if you're

1:24:14

paralyzed and with a catheter you know with a with a CL with a bag on you she's

1:24:19

going to say we're going to get through this we're going to get through this this we won't get through this and like

1:24:24

my hand wouldn't work just keep trying I I don't want to it hurts keep trying keep trying she did it every day and two

1:24:32

weeks later you know we watched that finger go and then started creating

1:24:38

neuro passageways and one led to another and I've still got you know plenty more

1:24:44

to go but she's there to go keep going M keep going keep going um man I just feel

1:24:51

like my window opportunities sto and I feel like being 40 that that you know I'm I'm too old don't say that then

1:24:59

she's there I don't say that openly because I I you I really practice what I what I'm saying but like when I start

1:25:07

himh Haring around and feeling sorry she looks at me and she says you remember that you were in a hospital bed four

1:25:13

years ago M like you remember she she remind that's what good that's what a

1:25:19

good marriage is yeah that's awesome that's what a good marriage is isz but she's a pain in the ass sometimes too

1:25:25

you know and I am too I'm a pain in the ass too you know so it it goes both ways

1:25:30

I don't think God is so much concerned about your happiness in marriage as a m

1:25:36

as much as the commitment the Covenant we get caught up

1:25:43

in if we're happy well we just quit being happy we can't make each other

1:25:48

happy well I don't think they're like and no no offense to people that have been divor Alex has been married once

1:25:55

prior and uh so I have no like I get it divorces sometimes the only way but like

1:26:02

it's like I don't think he's as concerned about your happiness as he is

1:26:08

about keeping the Covenant that you made in front of him and that you like that's different that's different in 2023 you

1:26:16

know to to speak like that and to to talk like that is something with with

1:26:22

with with conviction you know it's I believe that I believe that people my

1:26:28

parents that have been married 47 years Alex's parents have been married 40 years you know

1:26:35

it's I've watched them hate each other not literally but I've watched them you know I've watched them fight like cats

1:26:41

and dogs but there was a there was always an understanding that it's we're always going to be here yeah no matter

1:26:48

what and I think when you battle through that and I'm we've only only been married 10 years and dude like I said we

1:26:55

we've had tough times recently we've had tough times having a kid's tough having

1:27:01

an eight 10-month-old is tough the first Christmas is tough going to our parents it's tough like trying to understand the

1:27:09

dichotomy of of a woman and a man Venus and Mars that that shit's tough and dude

1:27:15

I don't think he's concerned about your happiness I think he's concerned about the man or the woman that it's going to

1:27:21

make you by by sacrificing for their needs or your needs or back and forth

1:27:26

and then sometimes standing and go nope I'm not sacrificing that I'm I'm going I'm doing that because that's what I

1:27:32

need right now and then every now and then sacrifi going no I have to

1:27:37

sacrifice that because I can feel can feel her pulling away as long as one of you is fighting then the marriage is

1:27:45

good if both of you give up that's when it's in trouble and and so I didn't know

1:27:51

I was going to be giving biblical and marriage advice but it's like I'm not trying to give advice I'm trying to say

1:27:57

I have a hard time I have negative thoughts we have fights you know I think she's crazy sometimes she thinks I'm

1:28:03

crazy sometimes but at the end of the day we're committed yeah absolutely um

1:28:08

you talking about earlier uh creating stories that aren't true you know it it reminds me I mean I

1:28:16

think a lot of people live like that where they'll tell them themselves a story that that they're this way because

1:28:23

this happened and a lot of times the whole story that made them that way

1:28:32

isn't even a true story it's so true man and it can be 30

1:28:38

years 40 years can go by yeah your whole people can live their whole life believing something that's not even true

1:28:45

and I think because this is the great we we hear about all the um the social

1:28:52

networking how bad it is and evil AI is and evil and and I get it there's some bad stuff but the beauty of what we're

1:28:58

doing right now and Blasting it out to you know hopefully millions of people um

1:29:04

the beauty of it is we're talking and people are relating and information's getting passed on truth's getting passed

1:29:11

on but the the the flip side of that is there's also uh you have to sift through all

1:29:18

this stuff like if we separate from each other like Co example M like where we

1:29:24

can't go and get that's why travel that's why travel travel disintegrates

1:29:31

all bigotry and racism or whatever himing Way's quote is like it if you

1:29:36

travel and you and you go around from City to City to City from country to Country to Country you realize that

1:29:42

everybody's the same we're exactly the same red or yellow black and white you are precious you know it is so obvious

1:29:49

when you travel if you stay in the same mindset the same city the same five people the same eight people the same

1:29:56

little bitty thing and I'm not some people can't some people have to stay on their qu AAC and I get it but the the

1:30:02

pandemic one of the worst Parts about it was we were so we were encouraged to

1:30:08

consolidate our units and our groups well then information's not passed on as

1:30:14

hunters and gatherers thousands of years well the reason we were successful is because tribes would share information

1:30:22

the reason we're successful as human race because we share information in the medical field Vanderbilt's a great

1:30:27

example the reason I'm cured the reason Alex is cured because a group of doctors

1:30:32

got together and talked about what their thoughts and their well the pandemic shut all that down and then you start

1:30:39

making up things in the dark and then you know CS Lewis wrote a book called the screw tape letters you ever heard of

1:30:45

that no the greatest feat that the devil ever accomplished was the was convincing

1:30:51

us all that he doesn't exist and he does that in the dark he does that because

1:30:56

you may go to sleep with your with your good-look woman but you may go to bed

1:31:02

with your good-looking woman but you sleep alone with your thoughts and when when he gets you alone in

1:31:10

isolation then you know those negative thoughts come in that are not

1:31:16

true that are not and they grow and you make them true five you know five months

1:31:22

turns to five years turns to 50 and then then then generational that can be generational uh

1:31:30

wies yeah absolutely things can be you know I mean we're dealing it I don't want to go into the I don't think I do

1:31:36

anyway want to go into the Israel thing you know but Palestine like all of that

1:31:41

stuff that that is so generational we can't fix that it's we can't it it's

1:31:47

they are going to do what they're going to do because it's been ingrained in their nervous system y they are in it

1:31:54

and they are never going to see it another way that's when it gets dangerous because there's always another

1:32:00

way there's always a solution there's always a light in my in in Christ

1:32:05

teachings in my thinking there's always a light there's always positivity at the

1:32:10

end of the tunnel there's always a way out always and you know we've all dealt

1:32:16

with suicide and and lost people to addictions and stuff like that that they

1:32:22

just quit yeah because they don't see it because they isolate theirselves what do they do when they they'll you'll see

1:32:28

them draw back M and they go get alone and they start convincing their themselves that all that stuff's true

1:32:33

yeah no doubt about it and you know that's why it is so important to to seek

1:32:39

the truth and you know a lot of these stories though even if it's a madeup story that you believe is true well then

Belief, Hope, & The Benefit for the Brain

1:32:45

flip it that's the whole thing because sometimes we don't know when we're making up stories you know this is it's our interpretation of the specific uh

1:32:52

circumstance that happen and that interpretation causes us to be or believe a certain way but you know we

1:32:57

can also take those circumstances and uh you know flip them as as you talk about

1:33:03

you do constantly and uh you know a lot of people don't do that and I think it's

1:33:08

kind of like a it's almost like a plague of society right now uh for those that

1:33:14

you know I I talk about people being victims a lot you know victims to their circumstances and it's a it's a sure way

1:33:21

to misery um you know it it's it's it's how people

1:33:26

actually become unsuccessful consistently thinking they're a victim because you don't get any power from

1:33:31

that and you blame others for uh those specific circumstances it's like the

1:33:37

opposite of of personal responsibility and there's times where people actually are victims but in general most of the

1:33:45

time we can take personal responsibility for for um you know uh our own

1:33:50

circumstances and those things things that are happening but um you know I think Society has kind of turned away

1:33:57

from that and then they're teaching uh teaching the opposite um you know you think about how

1:34:04

you flipped this whole stroke that you went through into a completely positive

1:34:11

thing and you envisioned early early on the benefit for the brain and what you

1:34:16

were going to do uh how you were going to do it you know and and you put on this

1:34:22

amazing event raised about a quarter million dollars uh for uh different

1:34:28

causes one of them was our foundation as well Miracle Hope Foundation and you

1:34:33

know it's making that making that impact and difference you could have been just as easy easily you could have been a

1:34:40

victim to what happened to you been like oh woe is me I'm not going to be able to play anymore I'm not going to be able to

1:34:47

dance around the stage anymore you know uh all of these these things could have easily gone through your head and I

1:34:53

believe that if you would have actually believed that we wouldn't be sitting here right now

1:35:00

yeah yeah man I mean

1:35:06

it you're exactly right and and

1:35:12

honestly it was really hard it's not easy it's not easy to to go this is what

1:35:19

I'm going to do this is what I'm going to choose but it's all about and when I go speak to people that have battled

1:35:24

with amms or Strokes or you know uh traumatic brain injuries find something

1:35:30

to look forward to yeah I don't care man if it's a trip if it's a son's

1:35:36

graduation if it's a uh Tuesday Morning workout like move like even is hard

1:35:45

as painful as it was to move I moved MH and I figured out how to

1:35:53

move so movement and finding something to look forward to and that could have been a

1:36:01

like that could have been a sandwich at the end of the day like that was what I

1:36:07

was looking forward to that day today what I look forward to is you know my

1:36:12

dog's going to come to the hospital I'm going to get to see that dog like tomorrow I'm gonna uh a buddy's coming

1:36:19

over you know whatever it is finding that and benefit for the brain was the

1:36:25

big thing the thing that seemed esoteric almost not unreachable but like

1:36:34

a big thing call them big rocks and little rocks in in our business meetings like

1:36:39

but that was something that I kept looking looking at and I'm working

1:36:45

towards that I'm looking forward to because I'm living living for a purpose bigger than me every day and that could

1:36:51

be people pets that could be uh uh something like benefit for the brain or a foundation or something that you're

1:36:59

passionate about and that's you know what are you passionate about what are what is your tribe who is

1:37:05

your what what what what is your influence what what what do you want to do you know and really tapping into that

1:37:11

and asking yourself that question you know being around kids and people glued

1:37:17

to screens all the time one of my things with my son is always going to be when I sat down and say how was your

1:37:25

day I'm going to I'm going to be pretty militant in the fact that you I need I

1:37:31

need adjectives I need things you need to explain how your day was yeah and

1:37:36

tell me you know how was your day how how'd it go and be truthful you know be

1:37:41

truthful inside of that and and I think we need to do that with ourselves a check-in with ourselves and like I said

1:37:48

back to the cool laidback guy that might not be the cool laid-back thing to do right Drake you're you're always just so

1:37:55

serious like why don't you back off I I'll back off I'll back off

1:38:00

but you know this is what keeps me healthy this what keeps me my uh my

1:38:07

brain clean of thoughts because those thoughts start to to to bank up you know

1:38:16

and you know that's that's a mental condition yeah mental conditions

1:38:21

everybody's got them everybody's got a battle in their brain that they're dealing with like you're going to feed that wolf you're going to feed that wolf

1:38:28

they're both Wolves yeah good and evil absolutely what's the big picture uh for

1:38:33

the benefit for the brain like what's the what's the future look like for that yeah um it's it's going to be an annual

1:38:39

thing um we're going to pick uh different different like

1:38:45

CPI uh uh creative vets and make a wish was the three that benefited this year

1:38:51

year uh like you said we raised about a quar million dollars and uh got everything lined up and uh we're

1:38:57

actually getting all that uh paid out by the way uh like this week it's crazy that we're just now talking but um the

1:39:05

big idea for that is every year do you know the ryen was a great place to do it

1:39:11

um we just talked I'm not I'm going to pick an epic spot every year uh to go

1:39:17

and do to do to raise and just through prayer and through observation

1:39:24

find the partners that uh that that you know you search for a need there's going

1:39:30

to be a need somewh there's plenty of need out there so I want it to be traumatic brain injury related I think

1:39:37

this whole PTSD I think uh the whole uh micro

1:39:43

doing psilocybe and all that stuff I think that's a huge wave is coming down the pipe with that I'm very interested

1:39:49

in that stuff um I'm very interested in in figuring out where the needs are at

1:39:57

and for traumatic brain injuries specifically I'm very interested in in in uh finding these things before like

1:40:05

early childhood uh detection you know when you get tested for scoliosis like

1:40:11

why don't you do a brain scan and see because if I would have found it when I was seven or eight I can't believe all

1:40:17

the motorcycles and kicks to the head that I had you know wrestling and fighting and all the stuff like we

1:40:24

didn't we didn't I never had a concussion I never got a scan well I mean it's pretty as technology evolves

1:40:30

like it's pretty easy so the big picture for it is to have it every year to find the need to raise money in awareness of

1:40:38

actually breaking through the stigma of the Hollywood trigger phrase of uh

1:40:43

mental health awareness like what is mental health awareness yeah dude it's

1:40:49

literally you making up that life that that not true and actually seeking

1:40:54

out you know help for it you know or whatever it is well you had uh miles

1:41:01

Adcock hosting and he has onsite um how did you how do how do you know miles and

1:41:07

so it's kind of same thing kind of like how you and I met I I had I've known of miles for many many years and uh yeah

1:41:14

you got to hang that night that was awesome seeing yall chop it up for a while yeah how how did you meet uh mil

1:41:22

well total total God thing like miles is

1:41:28

so he's a plethora of knowledge and the guy is got a servant's heart and

1:41:35

literally we have this group of guys called the dang gang um in Nashville and

1:41:40

it's just a bunch of artists that if I named them all right here you would everybody would know I mean and because

1:41:47

our road is very mental we feel everything we're artists that's what we're supposed to do feel it so we can

1:41:55

feel things and a lot of times that cross is heavy and it gets heavy and Miles has trained in so many different

1:42:02

ways miles has faced a traumatic brain injury miles has come out and and shown

1:42:07

me how to navigate certain things in my life that that that you know where I'm

1:42:13

from Alabama it's like well maybe I should just go freaking whoop his ass no you no what what if you did this and it

1:42:20

his ideas are always better than whooping sometimes he probably might need his ass whooped I don't know but

1:42:26

miles has got that group and we meet you know I haven't you meet when you can but

1:42:33

they meet once a month and we come in and hash it up dude and and it sometimes

1:42:38

his training is immense yeah I've heard amazing things exponential training I I did some of

1:42:45

that uh in Las Vegas for about 10 well guess nine years now um done a bunch of

1:42:50

different uh courses and um so I was reading it his his program seemed a

1:42:55

little different but I've heard amazing things about him so it's cool that you know uh y'all were y'all are friends and

1:43:03

yeah um you connected us I think I'm going to ask him to come on the podcast sometime you should well he stepped out

1:43:09

he stepped into a uh he just he completely volunteered for that and I

1:43:15

had the thought of like a comedic relief like a Dave Barnes and Dave was like I will uh

1:43:21

I would be very nervous to do that I've never done anything like that and honestly I just uh shout out to Dave too

1:43:27

sorry if I but the miles was like Hey man if you need help like I can I can do

1:43:34

this and it worked perfectly yeah he was awesome that that event can those events can get stale and he just kept it moving

1:43:42

and kept it going and there was so that was so the whole event none of it was really planned with what the artist it

1:43:48

was just like let the artist get up there and do it and you know Randy Hower and Riley and and Jamie did a great job

1:43:55

and and they're just authentic dudes anyway we've been friends for a long time yeah I didn't know that you were I

1:44:01

me I'm not surprised but uh I've known Randy for a long time too and I was thrilled to see him on the show he's so

1:44:08

good crushed it oh my gosh just him at the ryen with an acoustic guitar Randy

1:44:13

Hower my God it's unbelievable it was it was Unreal yeah and uh so yeah you know

1:44:19

that place is conducive back to spirituality and there's so much there's

1:44:25

so much J so much spirit in that place like so many uh ghost and things that

1:44:33

are going on like you put it in there and let it do its thing let the place do

1:44:39

its thing let the spirit you know and it happened man and it was just such a cool night it was a stake in the ground to

1:44:45

say hey we're not dead sure it wasn't about me I'm not trying to make it but it was a cool thing in Nashville you

1:44:50

know this town is very like what's next yes it was a very like oh dude he's he's

1:44:58

he's back he's not he didn't die right you know and that was four years after I had the stroke you know so it it took a

1:45:07

long time and being patient for four years to a guy that's not I'm not the

1:45:13

the most patient person i' don't consider myself patient you know but

1:45:18

these things have helped me understand where things take time yeah and just just kind

1:45:23

of settle in and let let let the things you can't control let them go and let

1:45:29

God do his thing yeah and it was uh to me it was a perfect place um you know

1:45:34

the mother Church in Nashville uh you know uh a grateful

1:45:40

crowd they were just uh you know very very happy and and you know down for the

1:45:45

cause of course happy to see the Artist as well they were in it they were in it man and uh this the first first time

1:45:50

I've ever uh done anything at the Rhyman yeah so I've spoken a lot of different places but I mean I was I know you were

1:45:58

nervous I was I was like oh my gosh man two hands on the microphone yeah uh CU

1:46:03

my hands will shake with this one especially especially a place like that but same thing as you were saying man I

1:46:09

I was just uh grateful grateful I'm grateful to be here I'm grateful to be

1:46:14

here thank you God for letting me do this and that was the conversation that uh that that I was having your head

1:46:20

absolutely yeah it's so funny Dr Miracle uh I asked him to open the show which I thought was a great thing you know and

1:46:27

his wife is sitting back there and uh I saw her like whispering and I was like

1:46:33

hey you doing okay she goes yeah hope he doesn't mess this up I was like it doesn't matter if he

1:46:38

does he's he's you know he's the re he's one of the reasons I'm here so absolutely and he did he did a great job

1:46:44

but he was extremely nervous cuz he's he's a brain surgeon he's not a public

1:46:49

speaker not a public speaker everybody did great everybody did great it was it was it was a it was an awesome night I'm

1:46:56

yeah thankful for you even uh you know inviting me and being a part of it because it was it was uh it was special

1:47:02

man yeah I was I was very grateful to be there well man I've felt that way since

1:47:08

you know the day that that I met you and your crew and everybody that you've introduced me to you know talking to

1:47:15

whether it be a doctor or a fighter or just somebody that you're like hey you know you need to meet these people like

1:47:22

it it's it is a cool thing that we met and and it's it's taken me uh a long way

1:47:27

so it's so least I can do to to shed some light on on on uh on the good that you're doing oh yeah

1:47:35

thank you man what's got uh what you got for the rest of or for 2024 uh for your

1:47:40

music yeah we uh we were making another record uh right now with my buddy

1:47:46

Jonathan Singleton and it is my favorite we've got it recorded it's it's ready we're kind of packaging it up right now

1:47:53

and getting the the feels for it um we've got um uh Bunch that we're going

1:47:59

out on tour starting in February all over the US with my buddy Adam Hood um

1:48:04

who's an incredible singer songwriter performer from Alabama and uh uh it's called The Bridge

1:48:11

tour and uh dude just going out and doing the doing the thing you know just

1:48:16

continuing to build um we're looking to get into those more rhyen esque type places um and we've been doing this for

1:48:24

12 years man and we've been pushing we've been in clubs you know we worked our way up from 75 to to to 200 to 600

1:48:33

to 800 to, 1500 you know and then the rhyen you know selling that place out was a huge thing so just continuing uh

1:48:41

to to build the platform and to uh to

1:48:47

just do it you know like in and convincing yourself that you are doing it you're doing exactly what you're

1:48:53

supposed to do and and you know this is all about uh in an industry that can can be

1:49:00

a little bit surface and all about Flash and how many people were this and how many numbers like you're doing it like

1:49:08

and just keeping that momentum in that's 2024 for us man just continuing to build

1:49:13

on the momentum that you saw at the rhyen and uh through new records new music and and uh same message though

1:49:21

yeah so is uh is it one of those things because you know you had a record deal four years ago you know now everything's

1:49:27

on social media and you know Spotify and those type of things do you even want that what the record deal would you want

1:49:34

another record deal I mean it would have to be something that was very right I say this a lot but the people that say

1:49:41

they don't want one is usually the people that can't get one I'll say that I'll be fully transparent in the fact

1:49:47

that like we've been dropped from two record deals I have a manager now that's very

1:49:53

uh that's very uh independent independently minded and driven um for

1:50:00

me it just all comes down to numbers and business of like when it when it makes

1:50:05

sense for somebody you know labels can be really good for for you at certain times so you know do I even want that I

1:50:14

mean at right now doesn't make sense um but I'm sure it will uh it takes one

1:50:20

thing you know one idea one song heck one Tik Tock at this point for com your

1:50:27

whole life to change immediately almost and so we're doing that thing I'm

1:50:32

actually uh got a Tik Tock content meeting after this this podcast and are

1:50:38

you gonna do Tik Tock dances Drake No I I don't I don't do the Tik Tock Dan come

1:50:44

on man I'll do one with you if you do it I don't even have Tik toac but I'm down I'm down I don't care anymore like at

1:50:52

the point as far as like am I going to be embarrassed dude I had my my sister was two and a half years older my mom

1:50:58

was a cosmetologist they tried to embarrass me every day every minute of every day yeah so good luck yeah no I uh

1:51:06

I'll do it okay well I guess we'll we'll do our first Tik Tock dance together do

1:51:11

um well cool man yeah I just ask us you know you've you have a ton of experience

1:51:16

you know as an artist you've been through as you said I thought I I thought thought just one but she said two record deals um you've been very

1:51:23

successful um you've overcome a lot of adversity and so I was just curious if that's even what you want and you know

1:51:30

doing all those things uh someone just moved to Nashville to be a musician

1:51:36

they're Drake white 20 years ago yeah what would you uh what would you say to them man you can't replace playing live

1:51:45

go play Live go write songs with your buddies proximity Is Power go write songs with your buddy Buddies go write

1:51:51

some more songs with your buddies go out and sing them live go play Live go learn to play that and entertain that crowd

1:51:58

live and and make your pitch and make your angle and keep doing it and then

1:52:03

when you have 10 people tell you suck get back up and do it 10,000 more times

1:52:08

and you'll figure out real quick if you if you're made for it because you'll keep going you'll keep going you'll keep

1:52:14

swerving and um but go play go write songs with your friends if if you're not

1:52:20

a songwriter go be around great songwriters and get great songs and go

1:52:25

play Live go play live over and over and over get you a uh content person that that your buddy

1:52:34

if you can't afford one find one that you can figure something out with and you'll do that and get and start

1:52:40

shooting it start shooting it all and putting it out there but go play live and and record it record it all record

1:52:47

every bit of it and put it out and if it sucks and keep doing it until it's good

1:52:52

cuz it's probably going to suck at first you know you know and it's not going to suck but it's not going to be great you

1:52:58

know it takes your 10,000 hours is a real thing 10e towns is a real thing um

1:53:04

all that stuff's a real thing but Dad Gum it's the best time to be an artist it just is and I'm not it's your

1:53:10

sunshine and rainbow it's like it really is man yeah it's it's tumultuous and the

1:53:15

wolves are there but they haven't got this figured out yet and streaming and all that stuff they will figure it out

1:53:21

they will figure out the playlisting and the streaming but right now it is it is

1:53:26

a really good time to be an independent artist and be out there and um you know as far as the big labels you know there

Closing Remarks

1:53:34

they have their they shout out to them I I love that's very diplomatic of me I

1:53:40

love them all but you know I've got some great friends in them and I understand them inside and out but you know the the

1:53:48

music industry is in is it's the wild west right now it's good yeah anything in closing uh that you want to want to

1:53:54

say man just thank you for letting me have an outlet uh for some real stuff and and uh you know I just I love being

1:54:02

on this Earth and and I I really do believe that uh tomorrow is going to be better than today there's a lot of crazy

1:54:09

things going on out there but Dad G it's not it's not uh what did they say in the

1:54:14

pandemic all the time they said uh unprecedented MH they used that all the time that is fear-based like we can't be

1:54:22

fear like find your faith find your thing that you're that you love and your

1:54:27

thing to look forward to and let's go you know just keep pushing for it but I

1:54:33

appreciate the platform and uh appreciate the opportunity to take another breath man Drake white thank you

1:54:38

brother