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A replay of Peaches Pit Party which you can hear on KBEAR 101 weekday afternoons 2pm - 7pm MST
The Artist Interrogations podcast. How are you? I'm doing great. How are you? Doing great.
Can you hear me okay? I can hear you great. Okay. Perfect. How's everything going so far?
Just, getting ready for the tour and whatnot? Yeah. Just, you know, catching up at home. We got a a we we did the whole Disney Disney World thing a week ago, and we're still recovering from that with the kids. And then, got a couple weeks before, you know, getting back out there.
So yeah, man. Spending the day, doing some interviews and writing songs, and here we are. Right. Yeah. We're no we're psyched to have you at the Shoshone Bennett Casino, July 16th.
I know that's a big deal. I know when I told my parents I was interviewing you today, they were like, I love Daughtry. My even my sister for some reason who was, like, screaming. They're you're you're like the one and only artist because my parents don't really listen to, like, rock and heavy metal and whatnot. So when I told them I was interviewing you, they're like, oh, sweet.
That's fantastic. And it's crazy. We we just came out with a t shirt, recently that says your mom loves Daughtry because that's, that's generally the, the, you know, the the consensus. Yeah. I definitely need to get her one of those.
So how's it been? I mean, like, I know with 2020 happening, no touring whatsoever. And then somewhat last year, kind of, like, nothing nothing really going on. Have you developed, like, any hobbies during that downtime or just been a parent the whole time? Or what is it?
You know, here lately, I've been doing a lot of time spending a lot of time writing, and just trying to catch up on life. I don't know what's going on. If I'm if I'm being honest, life just feels like it's been coming full force tenfold lately. So we're we're all, you know, and we got 3 kids in the house. So it's it's always something getting them to camps or or appointments or or whatever.
So, honestly, I haven't had a chance to pick up any hobbies. Getting back out on the road has become become a hobby. Like, all right. Here we go again. Did you have to do like vocal warm ups and whatnot to get yourself back into it?
Oh, yeah. It was, I think the first, right when we went back out with Tremonti, it was like the 1st week was, man, it was, it was like I I could get, like, 30, 40 minutes into a show and I was already wearing down, but comes back after after a few shows. But, yeah, that time off was was, you know, it it makes you realize how how important it is to to keep it up. Right. Yeah.
I mean, did you do any, like, private family shows at all, like, when the the downtime was there or just kinda, like, you know what? I'm a parent now. I'm a parent's full force. We we actually did a, we did a, an acoustic livestream tour for a few weeks where we would set up in in this club in Nashville, and then we would livestream it to different venues or not to the venues in partnership with the venues and people would just watch it from home. We did that to to kind of help, you know, benefit all these small theaters and clubs that were struggling and, you know, to help out with their their, you know, employees or whatever.
So that was a lot of fun, but it definitely does not take the place of of getting out actually in front of people. Absolutely. Yeah. That's tremendous. Because I know, like, when I was first introduced, obviously, I'm sure you get this a lot, the American Idol audition.
I watched that as a kid. And then now fast forward that? What heard no. I'm just kidding. I've never heard of it.
Right. No. Yeah. Because I remember seeing that, like, back in the day, and I remember, like, 2007 around there. I was I was 11 back then, if you can believe that.
It's like can imagine what it's like back then. Like and then now, you know, going into radio, moving here to be on the station and whatnot, and all of a sudden I see Daughtry with Heavy as the Crown. I'm like, what's woah, what's this? They're on they're on cable? This is awesome.
So what made you, switch from, I would say, like, Feels Like Tonight, Home and all those great songs to kind of amping up the, amping up the volume there, amping up the the rock to it, so to speak? Well, Feels Like Tonight was never, my it's never my choice. I didn't write that song. Mhmm. That was one that was kind of, like, thrown on me at the very end of that of that record.
But, Home was kind of, like, my first attempt, at writing a pop song back before I even went on Idol. And, I had no idea that song was gonna do what it did. And I don't think, I'm not even sure the record label thought it was gonna do well. As a matter of fact, I feel like there was a point when they said it was never gonna be a single. And then American Idol calls and asks if they can use that song for their, you know, to make people feel better about their life when they kick them off, I guess.
And, and it just kind of took on this life of its own and blew up. And then once that happened, the label was kind of, like, really laser focused on keeping us in that lane. And no matter how many heavy rocks on me, you can go back and listen to every record aside from baptized. You don't have to do that. Every record has its, you know, 1 or 2 big rock tunes and they wanted nothing to do with that.
So, it kind of became this thing where we were playing ball with the with the record label. And once I had completed my contract and we decided to part ways, I was like, I got all the other voices out of my head and decided to listen to my own again. And it was like, what do I really that started kind of like I went this through this phase where I didn't like anything. I turned something. I was like, I don't there's nothing good on the radio, you know, I don't like any.
And I would go back and listen to the records that made me actually wanna do this when I was a kid. You know, like Dirt, the Facelift, you know, those great Alice in Chains record, Soundgarden, Super Unknown, and Bad Motor Finger, and, Loud Love, and all those records that made me want to get in front of a microphone, pick up a guitar, and write songs. And I started to come alive again. And I was like, man, why am I not putting why am I not doing music that, like, that it what inspired me? And so I started writing for this record, you know, without anyone telling me what I could and couldn't write or needed to write this for a radio single or look at what this man's doing.
They're not playing guitars. You know what I mean? And I didn't have any of that. So I, you know, I picked my producers, and we just we kept it close to the chest, and we started working on the record. And and I was so happy to to be back in in the, you know, surrounded by big guitars and big drums.
And and, and yeah. So it it was kind of just what I've always wanted to do. I just wasn't fully allowed, if you will. It wasn't like they didn't they said you couldn't, but it wasn't really it wasn't really promoted if we if we didn't really play ball with them. So, you know, that's neither here nor there.
I don't wanna throw anybody under the bus, but I'm glad to be independent and, and doing what I love and and standing behind every song with every ounce of me. And I'm already writing for the next one now, and and it's probably gonna be even heavier. Oh, fantastic. I love to hear that because we play bands that are completely out of the ordinary. Like, we play Lorna Shore, Slaughter to Prevail, like, these crazy, crazy bands.
Yeah. And so when I saw Adachi Do you like do you like Sleep Token? Yes. I love them, actually. I love Hypnosis.
I love that song. Yeah. What a what a freaking band that is. Tremani Mark Tremani turned me on to them, and, I was blown away. I've they only have 2 albums, I think.
I've burnt I've I've wore them out. They're incredible. Even, like, Tramonti's latest record too. Like, the entire thing is just so heavy, especially with that bass. Like, I I love his vocals.
I love everything about it. So I heard, like, everything recently, and it's been I've been catching up pretty much because I'm more of, like, the classics dude. And then when I came here, it was like, have you heard of this band, this band, this band? I've been catching up as well. But, you know, it's it's just funny that, like, with, the first album as you mentioned, like, with American Idol and whatnot, I mean, going back to, like, 2007.
I think I read it. Like, your first album was the best selling album of 2,007? Supposedly, it was the fastest selling rock album in in SoundScan history. That sounds ridiculous to me, but I'll take it. Yeah.
But, yeah, we we sold, like at the end of it, it was, like, 7,000,000 albums worldwide, and nobody saw that coming. We didn't see it coming. The label didn't see it coming. They were they were really banking on me selling 500,000 records, and they would have been okay with that. So they didn't really interfere.
They didn't really push. It just it just turned out the way it did, and it was something that none of us could have predicted. So and then we got to see the reality when we put our second record out, and it only sold, like, 1 and a half 1000000. And then the 3rd record, it was, like, barely went gold. So it was, we we saw the, a very interesting trend happening right after that first one.
People's like, oh, we don't buy records anymore. So we've accepted that defeat now, and we're just putting what we love. Yeah. I think that's the way you gotta go is you gotta put out what you like and what you want to make and whatnot and just have the people follow. It's like that old Field of Dreams quote.
If you build it, they'll come and that sort of thing. And they'll come. Yeah. Exactly. Right.
Yeah. But the one also thing I've noticed, one of my favorite songs of all time from your you is the what I want, and I saw featuring Slash. And I was like, how did you be able to get him on that first album there, you know? Like, that's so cool. Yeah.
I, I I asked that question myself when it happened. When I was very lucky enough to have on our first record, and we never had him again, but my a and r guy, Ashley Newton, he was a big rock guy, worked Foo Fighters, he worked Velvet Revolver. And we were lucky enough to have him on our side with that first record. And when we lost him, I think that was part of the the issue, but, I digress. He was friends with Slash.
He asked me to make a list people that I would wanna collaborate with if the opportunity arose. And Slash was up there. You know? I was like, when I wrote what I want with Brian Howes, I we I remember cruising down Sunset Boulevard that night with the demo going, this sounds like some old g and r, man. And, and so fast forward to when we're recording the record, Ashley Newton called me up and was like, hey.
I think I got slash, confirmed to to do what I want. And I was like, what? Did you tell him who I was? What did what did you tell him? And I remember being at the studio that day, he shows up, the baseball cap, ripped up jeans in his in his Aston Martin, and he gets his guitar.
And I'm like, hey, mister Slash. Can I help you with it? He's like, no, man. I got it. And I was like, hey.
Do you mind if I, like, like, sit in the studio and watch? He's like, dude, it's your record. And I was, like, so floored that he's here and he's playing on my record, and I hadn't sold a single album yet. And this dude was so gracious enough to, to come in on a song that, by the way, he hadn't even heard it yet. Jeez.
He's just he had just taken, you know, my a and r guy's word for it and, and came in and and figured it all out on the fly. I mean, he played a bunch of different versions and was like, y'all can pick what you like and and go from there. And, yeah, that was a that was a pretty surreal moment. So it is confirmed that he's as cool as he is on TV and whatnot and all that? He is absolutely the chillest of chill.
Oh, that's so cool, man. So I know you said you're working on some new music, some heavier music. When can we possibly expect that? We're hoping to have something to listen to by the first of the year. That is that is the host.
I've got I've actually got my pro tools up right now. I'm cutting vocals on on a couple songs that, I wrote while we were in Europe. I've I've I've had no shortage of things to write about over the last year. So, it's it's definitely been giving me a lot of ammo. And, we're we're we're cranking out some song ideas, but I have a meeting with my producer, on Friday, and we're gonna kinda start getting the ball rolling.
But, yeah, that and and doing some touring, obviously, we're gonna be doing a lot of writing in in between shows and stuff like that. So we wanna have at least a single out by the first of the year, if not, you know, having the record being worked on. Well, I can't wait to hear it. And so that pretty much sums up all the questions I had. Thank you so much, and thank you for spending time with me today.
Can't wait to Hey. Thank you for spending time with me. I appreciate it, man. Thanks for the love and support. Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely. Alright, man. Be well. You too. The artist's interrogations broadcast is a production of Riverbend Media Group.
For more information or to contact the show, visit riverbendmediagroup.com.