Paul McDonald - Unleash the Voice
True Voice
What does it mean to truly own your voice?
Paul McDonald's journey isn't just a career arc; it's a testament to the unwavering spirit of an artist who refused to be defined by anyone else's expectations.
From the dizzying heights of an epic finish on American Idol to the soulful depths of his own creation, he walked away from the machine and built something real and powerful.
This isn't just about music; it's about the courage to rewrite your own story, the grit to overcome setbacks, and the unwavering belief in your artistic vision.
If you've ever dared to dream of creating on your own terms, prepare to be inspired.
You'll Also Discover:
How to Find Your Voice
A Strategy for Starting Over
Why Intention Matters
A Step to Building Community
The Key to Sustainable Success
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What's one thing you've learned your career?
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Check out Paul's Music here: https://www.thepaulmcdonald.com/
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Transcript
Cause for the first time in a long time I'm feeling all right and I wanna get st off that look in your eyes you'd say I never let go I give all my life just for a moment with you Doing all the things that new lovers do who after all of that kind of fizzled, man, I moved right back down a block away from my old bandhouse in east Nashville.
Speaker A:I ended up going back to work, waiting tables.
Speaker A:After all of that stuff in la, I was driving a Range Rover and living in a huge house.
Speaker A:And then all of a sudden, oh, man, I'm.
Speaker A:Now I'm back, starting over.
Speaker A:I'm going to make this record, modern hearts as kind of my therapy, figuring out what the next step was.
Speaker A:So that record really saved my life.
Speaker A:At that time.
Speaker A:It was just a lot of learning about the business.
Speaker A:And now there's other things that you have to lear of.
Speaker A:I had to grow up, man.
Speaker A:You know, from my college band up until that point, I kind of had a lot of people around me helping me out with those pieces of things.
Speaker A:And I was kind of aloof singer, songwriter guy who was just making the songs and showing up and being free as a bird.
Speaker A:And then all of a sudden I was like, oh, man, I got bills to pay.
Speaker A:I got life to worry about.
Speaker B:Americana music transforms the world, and unfortunately, too many are unaware of its profound impact.
Speaker B:Americana musicians are the unsung heroes, and here you'll join us in exploring these passionate artists and how they offer inspiration and hope for the future.
Speaker B:This show makes it happen in a fun and entertaining way.
Speaker B:You'll discover new music that you'll love, hard earned lessons from the road, the story behind favorite songs, a big dose of inspiration for you and your friends, and a good laugh along the way.
Speaker B:I'm Ben Fanning and my co host is Zach Schultz.
Speaker B:It's time to get Americana curious.
Speaker B:Hey there, everybody.
Speaker B:Welcome back to Americana Curious.
Speaker B:Today, with a voice that's equal parts grit and soul, we're talking about singer songwriter Paul McDonald, who's carved out a unique space in the world of Americana and rock, building a career on raw, heartfelt storytelling and an unmistakable voice.
Speaker B:Born and raised in Auburn, Alabama.
Speaker B:By the way, that's down the road from Alexander City, Alabama, where I grew up.
Speaker C:Yeah, 15 years.
Speaker B:Paul's father bought him a guitar for Christmas, and he taught himself how to play by starting to write songs.
Speaker B:And by age 16, y'all, he was already playing shows on the local circuit.
Speaker B:And after a few years fronting bands such as the High Tide Blues and the Grand Magnolias and an impressive stint on American Idol.
Speaker B:Paul was looking to find his own voice as a solo artist.
Speaker B: And in: Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:He recorded and independently released his critically acclaimed first solo album called Modern Hearts.
Speaker B:And it's a really special album.
Speaker B:And continuing to challenge himself as a songwriter and touring constantly, Paul focused on writing.
Speaker B:In the meantime, he started the One Big Love Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, bringing together great artists, involving the community and giving back to local charities.
Speaker B: And then in late: Speaker B:And we cannot wait for you to hear these tunes.
Speaker B:I heard one or two live, and let me tell you, they're really great.
Speaker B:Often compared to legends like Tom Petty as a songwriter or Rod Stewart for his unique voice, his songs and delivery are instantly relatable.
Speaker B:It's rare for an artist to pull off such a feat of being a poetic songwriter, visual artist, widely engaging performer, an exceptional and soulful vocalist.
Speaker B:But Paul.
Speaker B:Paul hits all these on the head.
Speaker B:Paul, welcome to Americana.
Speaker B:Curious.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Whoever.
Speaker A:Whoever wrote that bio, man, I need to write him a check.
Speaker B:All right, Zach, get the check in the mail.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Zach goes deep.
Speaker B:And it's so hard with you because you've got such an interesting career.
Speaker B:We're hoping you're going to talk a little bit about it today.
Speaker B:But before we get going, we were talking about outrageous stories from the road.
Speaker B:Would you share one of those with.
Speaker A:Us and the early band years?
Speaker A:Because we were kind of taken.
Speaker A:We were playing probably over 200 shows a year, and we were just saying yes to everything.
Speaker A:Playing an grand opening of a firehouse.
Speaker A:I've done so many just like.
Speaker A:And there was one time I was playing in the back.
Speaker A:We got asked to do gig opening for a.
Speaker A:It was like a television show in Atlanta that was on.
Speaker A:It was like their.
Speaker A:Their opening party.
Speaker A:And we started playing and the guy was like, no, no, no.
Speaker A:No vocals.
Speaker A:Like, it needs to be only music.
Speaker A:And I was like, oh, okay.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And then he said, hey, do you mind calling out the food orders?
Speaker A:So all of a sudden it's like playing and I'm like popping out like, hey, number 22, your burger's ready.
Speaker A:I mean, there's been.
Speaker A:Back in those years, man, but I remember one in particular that was just so strange.
Speaker A:And we got booked to do a gig.
Speaker A:You mentioned I was born in Auburn and there used to.
Speaker A:I think there still is, like, an Auburn Rodeo, man.
Speaker A:They have an Auburn Rodeo down there.
Speaker A:And they had us booked.
Speaker A:Plan at this Rodeo barn type place.
Speaker A:And we were supposed to be the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The music after an MMA cage fight.
Speaker A:And so we thought, this is pretty cool.
Speaker A:And we didn't.
Speaker A:We didn't look at the bill.
Speaker A:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker A:It's just giving me anxiety thinking back to it, man.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:But we walked into this place and there's.
Speaker A:And there is.
Speaker A:It's dirt.
Speaker A:Dirt floors, because a rodeo spot and all this.
Speaker A:They announced the fighters for the.
Speaker A:For the cage match, and it's like just an established mma.
Speaker A:And then the other fighter is.
Speaker A:Was a college athlete who was kind of a champion wrestler, but he had no arms and no legs.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:And so this was his first MMA fight.
Speaker A:So so many people showed up to this fight to see this legendary wrestler with no arms and no legs.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Versus an MMA fighter.
Speaker A:And they rang the bell.
Speaker A:We're on the stage over there because we're supposed to, like, pop as soon as the fight ends.
Speaker A:Band is cooking, man.
Speaker A:We're on.
Speaker A:And these fights are.
Speaker A:You think they're gonna last a long time?
Speaker A:And they.
Speaker A:They ring the bell, this guy just comes over there and.
Speaker A:And beats.
Speaker A:Beats the mess out of this dude.
Speaker A:And the fight ends within a minute.
Speaker A:And it was just like.
Speaker A:We watched something that was so.
Speaker A:Just brutal and uncool, and then it was like, band go, what?
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And we.
Speaker A:We started into it, but everyone just felt so defeated that they had watched that that they all left.
Speaker A:They all left.
Speaker A:And we played to, like, nobody.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker C:Everybody was in shock.
Speaker A:It was a shocking.
Speaker A:It was a shocking event, man, in terms of wrestling.
Speaker A:And he.
Speaker A:He could hang, you know, but it was his first amazing night, man.
Speaker A:And he.
Speaker A:And he just.
Speaker A:And he just got destroyed, man.
Speaker A:And it was.
Speaker A:It was pretty uncomfortable watching, you know.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:And so that was the time you did not want to be the headliner.
Speaker B:You wanted to be like, please can I open for this fight?
Speaker A:I don't want to be sure for sure.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You wanted to be the opening act because after that, everyone kind of cleared out.
Speaker A:And I remember the promoter was like, kind of.
Speaker A:Kind of like not trying to pay us the whole thing.
Speaker A:We didn't have.
Speaker A:We didn't play because everybody left.
Speaker A:And it was that kind of.
Speaker A:Back in those days, we were with Stall handshake deals.
Speaker A:We didn't have an agent and stuff, but I remember that one being pretty.
Speaker A:Pretty brutal.
Speaker A:I mean, there's so many of a man.
Speaker A:Like, I've had a bunch of bandmates over the years.
Speaker A:I mean, we played one in Tuscaloosa back in those days where the drummer jumped off stage, he was drinking a lot and someone was hitting on his girlfriend.
Speaker A:The drummer jumped off stage and got into a fistfight in the middle of our.
Speaker A:There's been some.
Speaker B:Yeah, you mentioned wrestling in your wrestling and band play.
Speaker C:It's an interesting ride.
Speaker C:I can imagine.
Speaker B:What I want to reflect on experience I had at a Paul McDonald show.
Speaker B:So we, we saw Paul and this in this case at the Poor House in Charleston opening for Eddie 9volt.
Speaker B:And I mean it was incredible how many people showed up for Paul or the opener.
Speaker B:And we're mouthing the words at the show and I mean you, you were working the stage an insane amount.
Speaker B:The energy.
Speaker B:You were jumping into the crowd.
Speaker C:He took a selfie with you during.
Speaker B:The Multiple, multiple subways, Paul.
Speaker B:So for the fans out there, how do you think about opening versus headlining versus festival and thinking about how you're presenting your music and your show and your energy?
Speaker A:I mean, that's a good question.
Speaker A:I really, I really enjoy headlining.
Speaker A:I feel like that that's, that's when I can kind of get everything across, you know, but, but I love opening up and especially for, for great artists like Eddie, it's always inspiring getting to share the, share the.
Speaker A:With really talented musicians and artists.
Speaker A:And so yeah, it's.
Speaker A:I mean, my goal always as an opening act is to not so win the night over, but to be a great energy force to lift up all the people there that are ready to see the next person.
Speaker A:I'm kind of the hype man for in that case, but it's to get everybody pumped up to go, hey guys, now check out my friend because if you like me, you're going to love him even more.
Speaker A:And most of the times, I mean, that night in particular, we had a lot of people coming out to see, but a lot of times if you're the opening act, a lot of people don't know who you are.
Speaker A:And so yeah, so you always gotta, gotta give a lot of love to, to the headliner just because they're, they're sharing their audience with you.
Speaker B:Why does so many bands have an opener Sleepy or they're just so low key.
Speaker B:Everybody's like, why is happening?
Speaker B:And versus this one, it was just like a big ball of energy.
Speaker A:Well, I mean, I don't know if Eddie had seen the band like so a lot of times with that kind of.
Speaker A:You don't really want.
Speaker A:I mean, I don't know.
Speaker A:I love having a great opening act, man.
Speaker A:I love having a band that's going to come out there and try to one up me just, just because it makes me want to be that much better.
Speaker A:And I think we weren't going to slouch it out because Eddie's other.
Speaker A:Those guys are friends of mine.
Speaker A:So I wasn't going to kind of a half ass opening act guy.
Speaker A:I was like, man, let's go out and burn this thing down so we get to do more shows together.
Speaker A:And these guys go, man, that was fun.
Speaker A:You just burned it, burned it down out there, you know.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker C:It's kind of like that.
Speaker C:I think it's the Monterey Pop legendary story of Jimi Hendrix and I think it's the who where they were fighting over who would open.
Speaker C:Jimmy lost the coin toss, put on one of the best shows, lit his guitar on fire, walked off and said, they're all yours.
Speaker C:The legendary story.
Speaker C:How do you, how do you connecting with the fans, A smaller venue versus a larger festival?
Speaker A:That's a good question.
Speaker A:I mean, I love, I love playing those small rock clubs.
Speaker A:I mean spots like the Poor House, that's kind of, it's kind of where I got my, like in my early bands, High Tablos and Grand Magnolias, we were doing all the same clubs that I'm kind of doing.
Speaker A:It's like.
Speaker A:And that's how I, how I built up my chops.
Speaker A:And we were.
Speaker A:And, and you're, and those kind of rock clubs have just electric energy because you're so close, man, you can jump right off the stage and you're.
Speaker A:And, and you're right there, you know, it's.
Speaker A:I love playing those clubs.
Speaker A:And then in terms of bigger, I've, I've been fortunate enough over the years to some really big ones in arenas and those kind of things too.
Speaker A:And the only, the only difference in those, everyone's just so far away.
Speaker A:But, but I try to turn those big rooms into a club because I want my show to feel personal and I want it to feel like the person in the very top row is, is there.
Speaker A:So a lot of times when I'm playing those big rooms, man, I'll, I'll call out the people up on the top row and be, yo, I see you up there in the yellow shirt, man, and all of a sudden that, that shrinks the room and everyone goes, oh man, he's that big.
Speaker A:But like, he sees me.
Speaker A:And now this, now this arena is suddenly a rock club.
Speaker A:And so, man, I love, I love, I love playing just music and shows in general, man.
Speaker A:Those, those small clubs like the poor House.
Speaker A:I mean, there's nothing better.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, those are real.
Speaker C:Let me go back a little bit to the beginning of your career because I read somewhere you're influenced kind of by the 60s, 70s Laurel Canyon movement.
Speaker C:What do you think drew yourself to this.
Speaker C:This music?
Speaker C:And I mean, if you.
Speaker C:For our listeners who don't know Paul, he's got the coolest looks on stage and elsewhere.
Speaker C:I mean, it's kind of remnant of that time.
Speaker C:So what drew you to that?
Speaker A:It was my parents, to be honest.
Speaker A:I mean they, they just had.
Speaker A:They had great musical taste and, and all through my.
Speaker A:None of my parents could play music, but they were all.
Speaker A:They were avid music listeners, man.
Speaker A:And so constantly just.
Speaker A:I'd come home from school and Jackson Brown or Joni Mitchell crowds who still snatch would just be on.
Speaker A:And so that was, that was my parents way to escape through these artists.
Speaker A:And I kind of learned that music through them.
Speaker A:And that was just embedded in me as a child.
Speaker A:And then as, as I, as I got older and wanted to find my own, I was like, mom, take me to the CD store.
Speaker A:I'm buying Green Day Dookie and Oasis and branching out from that.
Speaker A:But like as I got older, once I, once I went through all these phases and kind of was deep diving into a lot of different genres and artists.
Speaker A:I always found myself coming back to, to that scene maybe because it feels comfortable and it feels, it's like.
Speaker A:It's just one of those things.
Speaker A:It feels kind of like home.
Speaker A:Whenever a Jackson Brown record comes on or James Taylor Crabson Ash just makes me feel closer.
Speaker A:Closer to parents.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, Whoa, yeah.
Speaker B:I love that and I love the connection with your family and the music.
Speaker B:You're.
Speaker B:I gotta ask about the voice.
Speaker B:When did you discover that unique quality where you can go up and hit the higher range, go everywhere and it's very you.
Speaker B:I'm curious.
Speaker B:That's something that you've always had at 15 and 16 or you're on Subway and Firehouse.
Speaker B:Like I got this.
Speaker A:I mean if my voice was.
Speaker A:Was dialed in at 16, I would have been on the moon by now, man.
Speaker A:But it's like if you listen back to my.
Speaker A:Some of my early recordings, I mean, you listen to some of those early high tab blue stuff.
Speaker A:I had no clue how to sing at all.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:And I wasn't ever trained.
Speaker A:My training was like, let's play some gigs.
Speaker A:And like in high school it was like, all right, let's start a garage band and who's gonna be the singer?
Speaker A:And we just Went around and it was like, well, we all kind of suck, but I guess I'm the best out of all of us, so I'll do it.
Speaker C:I was wondering if that's how that happens sometimes.
Speaker A:It was like, oh man.
Speaker A:Well, I guess I'm the best at all of us, but we're all terrible.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:So, so that's how I got.
Speaker A:That's how it started.
Speaker A:And, and, and I never really.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I enjoyed being on stage.
Speaker A:I enjoyed the energy that, that, that.
Speaker B:You, you can see that when you're performing.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean it just the push and pull of the energy between the audience and.
Speaker A:And the band is really something special.
Speaker A:And that's, that's what kind of drew me in.
Speaker A:And then over the years I kind of fine tune it.
Speaker A:And you talk about the high stuff.
Speaker A:It was, it was playing like those four hour cover gigs, playing dive bars and like those 200 shows a year where I was going if low register.
Speaker A:You can't hear my voice over a sea of people that are kind of drinking and a bar band that's just.
Speaker A:I have to find a frequency that if I sing then it just pierces through and the whole room can hear my voice.
Speaker A:And that's kind of how it developed into that range and it, and it got higher like over the years.
Speaker A:It's so strange.
Speaker A:Like my.
Speaker A:I remember my parents being like, Paul, your voice is like.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's higher now because I used to sing kind of more in my.
Speaker A:There was a lot more rods references early on because I was like, I just, just gravelly and polyps on my vocal cords and didn't know how to sing at all.
Speaker A:I still don't really know how to sing, but it's.
Speaker A:But I, but I figured out a way to do it that works for me, you know.
Speaker B:And what did you notice when you began to hit that note and find or you said find that frequency pierce through the bar.
Speaker B:What was the reaction you got before versus after finding that frequency?
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean your kind of background noise in, in those kind of clubs when you start your people are.
Speaker A:Are drinking a lot of times sports games that are going on and you're the band.
Speaker A:And I was just digging through some of my old stuff from college and found the songs that we were playing and that it was like all these bar burners that crowd hits that if you pull out now it's like every single one of the songs was like a giant hit.
Speaker A:And I was like, God, dude, that was so easy, man.
Speaker A:Just like hit after hit.
Speaker A:And people are, you know, it's like.
Speaker A:But yeah, you're back.
Speaker A:You're kind of background noise and.
Speaker A:And I was.
Speaker A:And back in those days, it how if we can't entertain the crowd and we can't hold people like that, even with all these.
Speaker A:These covers that we were doing, we're not going to get paid, we're not going to get asked back to do it.
Speaker A:And so it just took me.
Speaker A:Took me years, man.
Speaker A:It was like.
Speaker A:It's like exercising.
Speaker A:It's like if you're to the gym every day, like you're gonna eventually like build up some kind of.
Speaker A:And that was like me exercising my voice every single.
Speaker A:I mean, we were playing so much and it was just me figuring out and fine tuning it and messing up and falling on my face and getting back up.
Speaker C:Do you time on Idol, I mean, performing for so many people kind of helped that or.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, there's definitely some aspects.
Speaker A:I mean, I mean, for sure.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That it was.
Speaker A:It was school that you really can't get unless.
Speaker A:Unless you're tossed into that.
Speaker A:I mean that was like pop culture whirlwind.
Speaker A:Like you immediately.
Speaker A:I mean I had.
Speaker A:I had been touring consistently for a solid probably six years.
Speaker A:Like.
Speaker A:And we were.
Speaker A:I had.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The Grand Magnolia's record was out at the time.
Speaker A:Like we were.
Speaker A:We had done tours with Mo Fro and a bunch of different things like before I got on the show.
Speaker A:So we were moving co bills with the Revivalist fan back in those days and moon texting stuff.
Speaker A:Just.
Speaker A:We were kids, man.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But it was a lot of venues similar to the Poor House and that was kind of my life.
Speaker A:Living in a van and playing rock clubs and.
Speaker A:And with that particular show, I was so uncomfortable, number one, because they would throw songs at you that didn't feel as organic as playing with the band and stuff.
Speaker A:And I'm technically not really karaoke singer.
Speaker A:Not that show is a karaoke show.
Speaker A:But it was do this and the musicians are going to play it just like the record.
Speaker A:And it was a lot of just hopping on and doing it, which was.
Speaker A:Which was hard for me.
Speaker A:It was challenging.
Speaker A:But when you're thrown into something like that where you're like, all right, now you're on TV and here's a song Jimmy Iovine told you you gotta like before tomorrow and you're playing it in front of 23 million people or you're singing it and like we didn't have in ears at the time and the wedges were in the floor I was like, man, there was a lot of things that they just hadn't figured out or I hadn't figured out as well.
Speaker A:And like to play in those kind of televised gigs, man, and the only way to learn that stuff is to be thrown into it.
Speaker A:And, man, I learned real fast, like how to navigate that.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:And then we got to do.
Speaker A:It was a lot of late night shows or Good Morning America, those kind of things.
Speaker A:And just pop culture things.
Speaker A:Pop culture stuff.
Speaker A:General.
Speaker A:Yeah, like Ellen show and all the stuff that, like.
Speaker A:Yeah, that just a lot of an Americana artists wouldn't get to that stage of things until just years down the road, man.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:And then the tour in particular we were.
Speaker A:We were doing.
Speaker A:Doing was all arenas all over the United States and internationally, and it was like we were playing the same rooms as Taylor Swift and the Foo Fighters.
Speaker A:And it was.
Speaker A:I would look at these bills and I was like, oh, I wonder who's playing after us?
Speaker A:And it was NHL teams or basketball or Taylor Swift fighters.
Speaker A:And then like American Idol kids.
Speaker A:And like, here I am singing like a Rod Stewart cover and.
Speaker A:And like the imposter syndrome is setting in so hard.
Speaker A:Like, what is even happening here?
Speaker A:But what a gift in terms of me being able to learn how to run that kind of even.
Speaker A:Even with the small amount of time that I was.
Speaker A:Because it was kind of a variety show.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Vegas show for that particular.
Speaker C:But your transition after into solo artist worked out well, I would say.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Was there a turning point after that where you knew that you were on the right path kind of coming out of it?
Speaker A:Man, to be honest, I thought that I had completely blown everything going on to that show.
Speaker A:I thought that I had ruined my career.
Speaker A:I thought that I had ruined the band.
Speaker A:The band did break up.
Speaker A:I ended up getting married to an actress out there.
Speaker A:We started a band.
Speaker A:As soon as that.
Speaker A:That record came about, the band broke up, man.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:So that was kind of how Modern Hearts was birthed, because it was like coming off a rocket ship like that and then immediately, like coming back down to reality after all of that stuff kind of cracked, kind of just fizzled out.
Speaker A:It was.
Speaker A:It might have been in my own head, but.
Speaker A:But I felt like a lot of the.
Speaker A:The industry kind of shunned me away in terms of like, you're.
Speaker A:You're.
Speaker A:They kind of.
Speaker A:They've kind of put me in a category of like, oh, yeah, you're the guy.
Speaker A:The tabloids who sang the Rod Stewart tunes, who did the American Idol thing versus, like, all of the years I had with my band and, and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker A:But that could have also been my own narrative that I was insecure about and continued to tell myself.
Speaker A:And because I was saying that, like, man, I've ruined it in turn, that also kind of had an effect of how viewed me during that time as well.
Speaker C:That's very self aware by you to realize could be just your own narrative.
Speaker C:But I mean Modern Hearts is.
Speaker C:I mean that's about growth and I mean being open.
Speaker C:I mean, is there.
Speaker C:Those are very personal, well, personal songs and you can tell by listening to it.
Speaker C:Great album.
Speaker C:Great album.
Speaker A:You see you love me, but right now you're just breaking my heart.
Speaker A:Darling, you're wild.
Speaker A:I mean that was, that was an.
Speaker A:I mean just a, a wild time in my life.
Speaker A:I had come off of that.
Speaker A:I'd come off of that TV show.
Speaker A:My first marriage was highly publicized.
Speaker A:Man, we were in all those tabloids and stuff.
Speaker A:It was just, just a very strange time.
Speaker A:And then to be shot down, I mean to be.
Speaker A:After all of that kind of fizzled, man, I moved right back down a block away from my old bandhouse in East Nashville where, where I'm still at.
Speaker A:And I was driving my mom's at the time and I ended up going back to waiting tables after all of that in la.
Speaker A:It was like this huge thing.
Speaker A:I was driving a Range Rover and living in a huge house and all this stuff and then all this, everything seemed to be going really well.
Speaker A:And then it was like, oh man, I'm.
Speaker A:Now I'm back, starting over.
Speaker A:I'm going to make this record Modern Hearts as kind of my therapy, figuring out what the next step was.
Speaker A:And man, I hired some, some amazing guys to make that record with, man, that ended up pretty legendary session players and producers a few years after the fact that record came out, man.
Speaker A:So that record really saved my life at that time.
Speaker A:But then after I made it, I spent a.
Speaker A:I spent a whole lot of money making that record and, and it was.
Speaker A:I think it didn't, it didn't.
Speaker A:I had expectations of like, oh cool, this is going to get me back out on the road.
Speaker A:And the last, the last few things that I had done had, oh cool.
Speaker A:I put out a record.
Speaker A:We're going to do late night shows, we're going to.
Speaker A:It was all like, I kind of had this expectation of like, oh, this is just kind of weir where it's at now, you know.
Speaker A:But a lot of that came from things that were out of my control and I put the record out, and it was an independent release.
Speaker A:And I realized real quick that if you don't have an extra $25,000 for PR and you can't actually hang with the big boys and all of this stuff and major record label deals, it was just a lot of learning about the business and falling on my face once again after I'd spent all this money making a record that I thought the best thing I could possibly make at the time and then going like, oh, oh, now there's other things that you have to learn.
Speaker A:And I.
Speaker A:And I don't have a manager.
Speaker A:Oh, I should probably get a manager.
Speaker A:And it's like kind of.
Speaker A:I had to grow up from.
Speaker A:From my college band.
Speaker A:Up until that point, I kind of had a lot of people around me helping me out with those pieces of things.
Speaker A:And I was.
Speaker A:I was able to be the.
Speaker A:The kind of aloof singer songwriter guy who was just making the songs and showing up and being free as a bird and.
Speaker A:And not having to worry about anything else outside of just making the music.
Speaker A:And then.
Speaker A:Then all of a sudden I was like, oh, man, I got bills to pay and I got life to worry about, you know, wow.
Speaker B:And what a journey.
Speaker B:And thank you for being just so.
Speaker B:Just coming, just sharing that behind that album.
Speaker B:I mean, it makes me love the album even more to know how personal it is, but also what you're just going for and all that.
Speaker B:What did you like once Modern Hearts came out and you return with that and you're like, hey, I need to get.
Speaker B:It sounds like to me you really had this discovery.
Speaker B:I need to double down on the music of business, not just the music part.
Speaker B:What were some of the big lessons in the music of business that you think, you know, what?
Speaker B:If I would have known that earlier or tried that earlier, it might have helped accelerate things for me.
Speaker A:Yeah, you don't.
Speaker A:You don't have to.
Speaker A:It doesn't cost.
Speaker A:You don't have to make an album that costs $50,000 to make a great.
Speaker A:You can make.
Speaker A:You can make a brilliant record that does all the things that $100,000 album would do for 10,000 bucks.
Speaker A:You look at the Alabama Shakes and some of those early records, man, those were done for, for nothing, you know.
Speaker A:And coming.
Speaker A:Coming in at that point in time, I thought, man, I've got to hire the bit.
Speaker A:The best guys.
Speaker A:I got to go to the best.
Speaker A:The best studio.
Speaker A:I've got to spend the big boy money to make the.
Speaker A:To play in the big leagues.
Speaker A:And I made that record.
Speaker A:And then, yeah, I just didn't realize that you have to have the big boy money on the PR side and all that other kind of stuff that comes along with it.
Speaker A:So after that record, I went the complete opposite route where I was like, I'm not going to do that again.
Speaker A:I'm going to take some time.
Speaker A:And I made this psychedelic rock album with some buddies in Atlanta.
Speaker A:I've made so many albums in between Modern Hearts to this one that never saw the light of day.
Speaker A:They're on my hard drive.
Speaker A:But in.
Speaker A:In doing this, it was like we made.
Speaker A:We wrote 20 songs all together as kind of a band.
Speaker A:And this band in particular, they had played with a.
Speaker A:A girl named Matil, who assigned to ato, really cool kind of rock and roll group.
Speaker A:And they had just got off tour with Jack White and stuff and.
Speaker A:And my old.
Speaker A:My old piano player introduced me to him and we went in and we just started.
Speaker A:There was no computers in the studio.
Speaker A:It was all like 70s analog gear.
Speaker A:We made that record for 4,000 bucks.
Speaker A:It was right.
Speaker A:Right before the Pandemic hit.
Speaker A:And I was like, oh, this is so.
Speaker A:It's like 10 minute songs and like completely opposite of what Modern Hearts was, because I was like, well, now I want to try something completely different.
Speaker A:And then by the time that one was done, I thought, man, that this might throw people the wrong way.
Speaker A:And also these songs aren't really great songs.
Speaker A:It was more kind of a jam, you know, And I thought, well, I'm going to put that one back and I'm going to keep writing.
Speaker A:And I think the birth of this new album came after the Pandemic.
Speaker A:I started writing because the Pandemic hit right as I finished that record.
Speaker A:We were pitching that.
Speaker A:That rock and roll album to folks and everyone was like, we don't really know what's going on.
Speaker A:And then by the time the Pandemic was over, that album was old to me and I had moved directionally just to new sounds.
Speaker A:And I started writing a lot of.
Speaker A:I kind of had like three or four albums in the works, man.
Speaker A:There was like a hippie gospel album I was writing.
Speaker A:It was like I didn't really know kind of what I wanted to do, so.
Speaker A:So I was dabbling in all these things and like.
Speaker A:And also when you're doing, your team doesn't know how to, because you're going like, guys, listen, I got four albums coming out.
Speaker A:Like one gospel one's going to be a psych rock one's going to be.
Speaker A:And they're like what?
Speaker A:Like, hold on, slow down, man.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Because like in the creative process there's a huge expansion of possibilities and then eventually you have to narrow it down to get everybody on the same boat, same laser pointed process.
Speaker B:And that's got to be very difficult because you, you seem like a very creative person.
Speaker B:You're like, well, I like, I like all these for sure.
Speaker A:I mean, yeah, that, that it's, it's hard to, to narrow it down.
Speaker A:But I also realized, like, oh yeah, the most successful artist and like a lot of things, it's like the vision is fine tuned.
Speaker A:And without my vision being fine tuned and me kind of all over the place, it's hard for folks to understand kind of what you're going for.
Speaker A:And to be honest, I didn't know what I was going for at that time and that's why I had my hands in all kinds of stuff.
Speaker A:And, and I think after the Pandemic hit, I was working on a record with a producer here in town, a really great producer, man.
Speaker A:And, and I recorded a lot of these songs that are on this new album with him.
Speaker A:And it was just me with this producer and he, and he hired in his buddies, his Nashville kind of players within that camp.
Speaker A:And I, and I, and I, I mean, this record cost me a whole lot of money, man.
Speaker A:And, and I, at the end of it, we had it mixed mastered by like world class folks.
Speaker A:And I said, I can't put this out, man.
Speaker A:This isn't like, this isn't me.
Speaker A:This sounds like I'm the lead singer, producers, like, like if, if my band, if my band shows up, they're not going to sound, it's not going to sound anything like this.
Speaker A:And so I put that on hold.
Speaker A:And at the time I kind of built up this touring band and, and it wasn't heavy hitting session players, man.
Speaker A:It was like my drummer was a bartender.
Speaker A:It still is.
Speaker A:A bartender at the five Spot.
Speaker A:Like a pedal steel player, you know.
Speaker A:And I was a dad with a kid.
Speaker C:Did he get a pay raise or is he.
Speaker B:Well, I don't know.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, man, you don't know.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's like this eclectic group of, of artists that, that also had something in Nashville.
Speaker A:It's so difficult to keep together.
Speaker A:Over the years I've had so many great musicians play in my group and then they'll call and say, this superstar asked me to be in their band.
Speaker A:Like, we're gonna have to, we're gonna, we need, we're gonna take this gig because Stability Catering Tour Buses, big paychecks, and you go.
Speaker A:You gotta go, man.
Speaker A:And so I've had so many musicians over the.
Speaker A:Go off and do that.
Speaker A:And so this time around, I was like, man, listen, let's just get this group real tight.
Speaker A:And we started doing this.
Speaker A:These residencies, man, in town.
Speaker A:My ego had.
Speaker A:Was starting to dissolve around this time as well.
Speaker A:And it's time for me to just, like, I just want to play.
Speaker A:And so we started booking.
Speaker A:I was playing hamburger joints here in Nashville, like Brown, Steiner and Dees, and just.
Speaker A:Just showing up to play for the love of playing.
Speaker A:It was like.
Speaker A:It was what I did when I was a kid, and it was like.
Speaker A:And I think.
Speaker A:I think going through that pandemic was like, what am doing?
Speaker A:Like, why am I thinking about logistics and all this stuff?
Speaker A:I just want to make music and play and in turn doing that.
Speaker A:And that's how the one big love thing was birthed.
Speaker A:And I started getting over myself.
Speaker A:And so I wanted to, like, my energy to also give back to the community and to kind of build a scene around Nashville.
Speaker A:When I first moved here was real, sure.
Speaker A:The country scene, the indie scene.
Speaker A:It was, like, real hard to walk into a room and people be like, oh, man, so nice to meet you.
Speaker A:It was like, kind of.
Speaker A:Kind of snooty.
Speaker A:And I thought, man, this feels like high school, man.
Speaker A:And we're like, we're.
Speaker A:We're too old to be doing this, this, and.
Speaker A:And that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I just thought, there's so many artists out there that are so authentic and unique.
Speaker A:If they walk into a meeting on Music Row, they're gonna go, like, we don't know what to do with you.
Speaker A:You're one of a kind.
Speaker A:And, like.
Speaker A:And I feel like I'm one of a kind, too.
Speaker A:And so I just started reaching out to a lot of artists that I felt like were one of a kind and getting us all together in the same room.
Speaker A:And none of us are competing, leading by any means.
Speaker A:We're just all there to lift each other up and support one another.
Speaker B:And what does the festival become since you started it?
Speaker B:And what.
Speaker A:I mean.
Speaker A:I mean, it was kind of like a concert series when we first started it out, man.
Speaker A:In this past year, I had to put it on hold because my.
Speaker A:Because my team just.
Speaker A:We were.
Speaker A:We've been touring so much, man, and.
Speaker A:And this.
Speaker A:Paul, we gotta.
Speaker A:I know you love to give back, you know, to the community.
Speaker A:We gotta get your career off the ground, dude.
Speaker A:So we.
Speaker A:That kind of thing.
Speaker A:And so I think this year, we're going to bring it back, and it'll probably be.
Speaker A:I mean, the goal for this is to.
Speaker A:Is to have like a weekend festival at some point in time, and it'll kind of the same curated roster of my buddies and things and artists that I think are really special, and then in turn, giving back to the community and mental health issues and music care.
Speaker A:It's a lot of these different things.
Speaker A:It's just to kind of bring people together and, And.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And make a bigger thing out of.
Speaker A:With all of it and, and not point it towards us, but point it towards the greater.
Speaker C:That's great.
Speaker A:Yeah, man.
Speaker B:Well, I hope Zach and I can be there for the next one.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah, man.
Speaker A:I mean, yeah.
Speaker C:You had Aaron Lee Tasgen one year, I believe, right?
Speaker C:Yeah, he was on our show.
Speaker C:He's.
Speaker C:He's great.
Speaker C:We love him.
Speaker A:He is, man.
Speaker A:That guy is.
Speaker A:Is brilliant, man.
Speaker A:We've written.
Speaker A:We've written some songs together, and I'm just like, God, you were so good.
Speaker A:And what a deep well of rock and roll knowledge.
Speaker A:And he's just an encyclopedia.
Speaker A:I'm grateful to call him a friend, man.
Speaker A:And we've written some music, man.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Is there a song, speaking of writing music that maybe you've written that's so personal you haven't shared and you would like to share with me and Ben?
Speaker A:I mean.
Speaker A:Yeah, there's.
Speaker A:There's a lot of them that I have on my hard drive right now that are.
Speaker A:Especially when I was in the sad.
Speaker A:The sad moments.
Speaker A:And there's.
Speaker A:And there's.
Speaker A:I mean, and there's always new songs.
Speaker A:Songs.
Speaker A:It's interesting.
Speaker A:Gosh, man.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You guys hadn't heard the new.
Speaker A:The new album yet, right?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:Well, I've heard our two.
Speaker B:I think I heard two of the songs In Charleston.
Speaker A:Yeah, in Charleston, we did.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker B:Strong.
Speaker A:Thanks, man.
Speaker C:I'm excited.
Speaker A:Thanks.
Speaker B:We want to hear it whenever you'll.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'll shoot it upon us.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's done now and we're going to start putting songs in.
Speaker A:Out in the next few months, which is.
Speaker A: said, the record was done in: Speaker A:With all those.
Speaker A:The guys that played my underdog residency band, the Morning Doves.
Speaker A:Morning Doves, at that point in time, like, Grace Bowers was.
Speaker A:Was playing with us every night, man.
Speaker A:She was 15 at time.
Speaker A:It was like we were.
Speaker A:I mean, it was just.
Speaker A:Everyone was jamming and I would have like five people on the bill every night.
Speaker A:And by the end of it, it was Greta Van Fleet, Maggie Rose, Andy Frasco.
Speaker A:All these people were just there hanging out.
Speaker A:Butch Walker.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Oh yeah, man.
Speaker A:Like the underdog.
Speaker C:Well, I would also like to say that it's morning, as in M O U r N.
Speaker C:So sad songs.
Speaker C:I got a feeling.
Speaker A:Well, check it out.
Speaker A:This, this confuses people.
Speaker A:It's actually a species of bird, Morning dove.
Speaker C:Yeah, I was totally thinking like the.
Speaker A:Sad bird, you know.
Speaker C:Oh, that's cool.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So if you look them up, I mean, if you look up a morning dove, you, you see these birds all the time, man.
Speaker A:And the idea behind the morning dove is like, it's.
Speaker A:They kind of bring aspects of peace.
Speaker A:Even when they're in the saddest, the saddest state, they're still bringing peace and love and like.
Speaker A:And I thought, man, this next, this next wave of music is very much the message behind these songs is kind of hopefully going to help and heal people.
Speaker A:Because it was my kind of getting out of my own way season and I was writing these songs almost like as I'm like kind of just a manifestation or a mantra of, of like if I sing these songs every night, this is going to remind me to get out of my own way and to be present and to, to be grateful, you know?
Speaker A:And this is just getting older, man.
Speaker A:It's like I'm in my George Harrison hippie.
Speaker C:You're so evolved.
Speaker C:I mean, you're becoming involved and you're working on it, it seems.
Speaker C:And I love that.
Speaker A:Yeah, man.
Speaker A:I mean, I think we should all be doing that.
Speaker A:You know, it's like every day trying to do something different, to just kind of grow and be a better, better version of yourself, you know, I mean that's.
Speaker A:We owe it to this depth of.
Speaker B:Reflection that you've had.
Speaker B:What are your go to tools?
Speaker B:Is it songwriting, journaling, therapy, Coaching, Meditation?
Speaker B:Zen?
Speaker B:It's yoga.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, I'm still trying to figure it out.
Speaker A:Like I really do.
Speaker A:I feel like my brain is, I'm pretty hyperactive.
Speaker A:I mean, I'm just like, I'm constantly creating or need to, need to be doing something.
Speaker A:And I don't know if I don't know the, the, the diagnosis on that, but I know that I'm happier when I'm constantly in motion.
Speaker A:And so as of recently, I've tried, I'm trying.
Speaker A:I started in January, not drinking any alcohol.
Speaker A:I've been, I've been partying and throwing down very hard for 20.
Speaker A:Yeah, for a long time, man.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:20 years on the Road rockstar.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I thought, I'm just gonna see.
Speaker A:I'm gonna challenge myself to see how this feels.
Speaker A:And I'm actively like, I got a calendar back here that's like, OCD out where it's like, I'm gonna.
Speaker A:I'm gonna hold myself accountable, go to the gym.
Speaker A:On every single day that I have off, I do this kickboxing.
Speaker A:It's mostly like.
Speaker A:It's mostly girls in there.
Speaker A:And, like.
Speaker A:Oh, it's not any meatheads or anything.
Speaker A:It's so chill.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:Yeah, so it's more of, like, a cardio thing.
Speaker A:I'm not actually learning how to kick people's butts.
Speaker B:You're not going back to Auburn?
Speaker A:Yeah, I wish.
Speaker A:I wish I was.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I'm a peace and love kind of guy, man.
Speaker A:But just in case, man, I know how to throw, you know, I know.
Speaker B:How to jump into the crowd so much.
Speaker B:You got to be.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, it's.
Speaker A:It's good for that, man.
Speaker A:So I've been doing that.
Speaker A:I've been this next thing.
Speaker A:I'm trying to just kind of plan more.
Speaker A:More time outside of going on.
Speaker A:On trips, man, hiking and.
Speaker A:And spending time with family and stuff.
Speaker A:But I've.
Speaker A:I've.
Speaker A:I've got into.
Speaker A:I've got into yoga.
Speaker A:I've got into a little bit of meditation, man.
Speaker A:I've.
Speaker A:I've been researching.
Speaker A:Going to Costa Good to do, like, an Ayahuasca.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I'm just kind of tapping in.
Speaker C:Can we get you back on after you do that?
Speaker C:That would be great.
Speaker C:Stories.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Just trying things out, man.
Speaker A:And I've, like, over the years, I've done a lot of psychedelics and things, and that's why I was trying to.
Speaker A:I'm going to see what it's like to be off everything and see how that feels, you know?
Speaker A:And it's even more of a trip, man, because you can feel everything and you can't hide from your emotions.
Speaker A:And you.
Speaker A:And you kind of start to.
Speaker A:When you.
Speaker A:When you're.
Speaker A:When you're going up and going down, and when you're kind of going to this zone and you go, oh, flip that.
Speaker A:Like, you're the one that's creating this narrative, like I said, man.
Speaker A:And it's like, you don't have to think that way, and just flip.
Speaker A:Flip this one.
Speaker A:Hey, man.
Speaker A:And I lost my mom in November, and I think that really kind of shifted things in a real way.
Speaker A:I don't know if you guys lost parents before, man, but it's.
Speaker A:Especially when you got.
Speaker A:When you, when you got good ones.
Speaker A:My mom was kind of the center of our crew and yeah, losing.
Speaker C:Very sorry to hear that.
Speaker A:Yeah, man.
Speaker A:But yeah, losing her kind of just kind of put things into perspective.
Speaker A:It makes me.
Speaker A:It just makes me want to be more intentional with my time and, and how I use my voice and how I use my energy on this earth, you know?
Speaker C:That's beautiful.
Speaker B:What a journey you.
Speaker B:I've got maybe we got maybe two more questions.
Speaker B:First one is on merch.
Speaker B:So I've got a sweet merch shirt that I bought.
Speaker B:Bought it at Paul show and it's got his big beautiful head of hair and smile.
Speaker C:My daughter last night on the merch site.
Speaker A:I love merch.
Speaker B:Zach's a big merch, A huge merch version.
Speaker B:I bought a really cool.
Speaker B:It's like a vintage look.
Speaker B:It's a pink pony drinking a beer for my 14 year old daughter who does not drink.
Speaker B:Like she's gonna love this because a little edgy, but I mean there was a lot of people buying merchandise.
Speaker B:Merch.
Speaker B:You seem to have sort of the magic touch on that.
Speaker B:How do you create merch?
Speaker B:What's the role that it plays for you?
Speaker A:Oh my gosh.
Speaker A:Well, right now I'm a household name artist and a lot of time I'm the opening act.
Speaker A:The guarantees for these clubs are they.
Speaker A:They cover my gas and, and hotels and.
Speaker A:And band, if that, you know.
Speaker A:And so I've always been obsessed with band merch, man.
Speaker A:Like before, before I was an artist, like doing, doing this.
Speaker A:I've just been a huge fan of music, of album art, all of this stuff, stuff of merch since I can.
Speaker A:And so I try to create merch that feels very personal to me.
Speaker A:Like if, if I showed up at my.
Speaker A:At this gig and saw the merch, I'd be like, this band is super cool and I would wear that stuff.
Speaker A:Like, if that shirt didn't have my face on it, I would be wearing it.
Speaker C:Like, I totally agree with you on that sentiment.
Speaker A:I mean, I've actually worn that one to the gym a few times, man.
Speaker A:And people are like, thank you.
Speaker A:I'm like, yeah.
Speaker C:I was so mad when I saw Ben wore that a couple weeks ago.
Speaker C:We were together in Raleigh and he pulled that out at the show and I was like, you didn't buy me one of those.
Speaker A:What the hell?
Speaker B:Yeah, it was a.
Speaker B:It was a road trip to Raleigh with American Aquarium.
Speaker A:Oh, man.
Speaker A:Yeah, those guys are great.
Speaker B:And I'm convinced people People that did not know Paul McDonald were like, who's that?
Speaker B:Like, they.
Speaker B:I would say, hey, I just saw him.
Speaker B:He was incredible.
Speaker B:But this face on this shirt, is this a certain moment?
Speaker A:So that.
Speaker A:That particular.
Speaker A:That was a photo that was taken of me.
Speaker A:I was playing Santa Rosa beach at this little dive bar called Stinky's Bait Shack.
Speaker A:It was like.
Speaker A:It was the 38 songwriter festivals down there.
Speaker A:And one of my buddies used to throw these jam nights over there.
Speaker A:So during the festival, he was like, hey, man, will you pop over and play a few songs unannounced kind of thing?
Speaker A:And it's this, like, little hole in the wall dive bar that, you know, it's like a.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:They got shrimp, and it's one of those spots at the beach.
Speaker A:And that p.
Speaker A:Nature was snapped.
Speaker A:And then I hired an artist.
Speaker A:Garrett Moreland, I believe is his name, man.
Speaker A:And yes, I know him.
Speaker A:You know that he does a lot of stuff.
Speaker A:David Bros And Willie Nelson and stuff.
Speaker A:And I reached out to him and said, hey, man, I really want to kind of mimic this old kind of like, Willie Nelson style tea.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And so he sent me back that sketch of my face, and he had some other kind of writing, and I was like, man, it's not quite there.
Speaker A:And so then I took the picture and then I did the circle, and I hand drew, like, the font underneath, and I kind of.
Speaker A:It's kind of a rip of an old.
Speaker A:An old Dylan shirt, man, like, from the 60s that.
Speaker A:That I saw for sale at a place.
Speaker A:600 bucks.
Speaker A:And I was like, yeah, I'm gonna make that.
Speaker A:Hopefully in.
Speaker A:In 30 years, that T shirts worth 600 bucks.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Hopefully that's gonna be worth even more.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah, y'all.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So you go, all right, final question.
Speaker B:The Paul McDonald LEGO Legacy 20.
Speaker B:You've been doing it for 20 years.
Speaker B:20 years in the future.
Speaker B:Paint the picture for us.
Speaker A:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker A:I mean, I hope that.
Speaker A:I hope that people think I'm a good person, man, and I hope that they.
Speaker A:I hope that they knew that I tried my best to lift other folks up and.
Speaker A:And make the best records I could possibly make at the time.
Speaker A:Always stayed honest and.
Speaker A:And true to myself creatively, but gave back and helped and helped lift up the community and.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And just everyone around.
Speaker A:I hope.
Speaker A:Yeah, I hope they just think I'm a good person, you know, and I hope they like the records, but that's out of my control.
Speaker A:I hope they just go, man, that Paul was pretty.
Speaker A:He's a good Guy, like, he was always.
Speaker A:He was always on top of it, you know?
Speaker C:Love that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Thanks for coming on the show, Paul.
Speaker A:Yeah, I got big dreams.
Speaker A:I'm trying to go Jimmy Buffett vibes over here.
Speaker A:Sammy Hager.
Speaker A:I'll have my own tequila.
Speaker A:My moan.
Speaker B:You do it.
Speaker B:We're gonna.
Speaker C:Yeah, we're ready for it.
Speaker A:All that stuff said the one big love fest.
Speaker A:There's a lot of different things in my brain, but all that stuff takes time.
Speaker A:The mission and the message behind it is to always just peace and love and.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And hopefully have a good time at the shows.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It really strikes me that what you do, you're doing with intention, and you're trying to make it more and more and more, Paul.
Speaker B:And the truer it is, the cooler it is.
Speaker A:I really wanted to feel, like, a sense of community at the where it's like f folks go there to almost.
Speaker A:It's some of my favorite bands.
Speaker A:You see people following them from town to town, and it's like.
Speaker A:And it's this energy that, like, it just is such a beautiful community.
Speaker A:It shows, man.
Speaker A:And it's starting to happen in Colorado in particular.
Speaker A:But a lot of folks are kind of following us from place to place, and.
Speaker A:And it's just building this sense of community that, like, people are making new friends at the shows, and it's like, yeah, that's great.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's what we love.
Speaker B:That's great, Paul.
Speaker B:Thanks again, my friend, man.
Speaker A:I appreciate you guys so much for inviting me on.
Speaker A:Sorry for rambling and giving you some weird detail.
Speaker C:This was really good.
Speaker C:Really good stuff.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Smoking weed now you can do all that you want.
Speaker A:You know, everything I saw, that's what it seems.
Speaker A:But you don't really know nothing.
Speaker A:Do you need some more?
Speaker A:You can hold.
Speaker B:Thanks for joining Zach and I for this episode of Americana Curious.
Speaker B:Subscribe where you listen to your podcast so you are notified when a new episode is released.
Speaker B:I'm Ben Fanning, and it's been great sharing these artists and music with you.
Speaker B:Until next time, stay Americana Curious.
