SkiP HappEns Podcast
Skip Clark is a dynamic and captivating podcast host and radio personality who has left an indelible mark on the world of broadcasting. With a voice that can command attention and a personality that oozes charm, Skip has become a beloved figure in the world of entertainment. His passion for storytelling and his ability to connect with his audience shine through in every episode of his podcast and every moment on the airwaves.
Skip’s journey in radio began decades ago, and he has since evolved into a seasoned professional who effortlessly navigates the waves of the media industry. His deep knowledge of music, pop culture, and current events keeps his listeners engaged and coming back for more. Skip Clark's enthusiasm and authenticity make him a trusted voice in the world of podcasting and radio. His dedication to his craft and his commitment to providing quality content continue to make him a standout in the world of broadcasting.
SkiP HappEns Podcast
From Ranch Life to Yellowstone: Garrett Bradford's Journey Through Music and Friendship
Hello everybody, we are live. Welcome to Skip Happens, y'all. My name is Skip Clark, of course, the host of Skip Happens, and welcome to tonight's episode, and our guest is Garrett Bradford, who, by the way, we're going to get into this. This is so damn cool, I'm telling you. He made a splash on the Texas music scene, but big time, because he was a little part of Yellowstone which really had to change his life. It had to, and we're going to find out about that. He had a breakout single. It's called this Way of Life. It was season three, episode nine of Yellowstone. That is so cool.
Speaker 1:This song quickly became the most shazammed country track in the United States, skyrocketed to number 32 on the iTunes country top 40 chart, and Garrett's story is one deeply intertwined with the essence of, as you can see, western culture. Look at that. He's a country boy, you can see it. And, of course, with what's going on today, we're diving into his journey, music and the heart of his craft. And let's get right into it. And as we do that, garrett, I'm going to do a little bit of this Awesome, bringing back memories of that episode, dude.
Speaker 2:Yes sir, yes sir. That was the song right there. For me that kind of started everything.
Speaker 1:Let it play for a second. Here we go.
Speaker 3:The rain never seems to fall. On the price of haze, the futures go. I remember that episode, that moment. The feed store spitting snow say it's never been this tough. If they were me, they'd move to town.
Speaker 1:It's called this Way of Life and that's the one that really put that man right there on the map. Garrett Bradford. Wow, yes sir. That whole getting on Yellowstone and you know it was the one episode. I understand that, but just that little bit it really skyrocketed. You to like new levels right.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, I mean I've been playing music my whole life, or I say my whole life, I mean since I was in grade school, writing and playing guitar, and have been playing shows and things. I even started doing that in high school, but I did not have any music released, not on Spotify or Apple Music or any of the DSPs I just considered it kind of my hobby. You know, it was something that I did that I loved and I played and wrote songs every day, but it wasn't what I was looking at doing for a living and although I did get paid every now and then to play back then, but it was just kind of a cool thing I could do on the weekends. And yeah, that song came out and it just changed everything overnight and I really didn't have any idea the magnitude of that show or just how many people listened to it. I knew there was a lot of people that watched the show, but I don't know of anybody who hasn't seen it.
Speaker 1:I know right, all the way to the end and the way it ended. It's like are you kidding me? But still that season and we watch them over again.
Speaker 2:Oh, I can always tell when there's a Yellowstone marathon on, because if I look on my Spotify for artists or Apple Music for artists, I'll get a huge jump that day in listens and streams and shazams and things like that.
Speaker 1:So can you, um garrett, can you walk us through that moment that you first found out that you would be featured on such a huge platform?
Speaker 2:sure, so actually, I mean, the story is really crazy. So when taylor shared and he created the show, he moved to weatherford, texas. Um forget what year that would have been, but it would have been like right at the beginning of the show is in like season one.
Speaker 1:He's like a mentor to you, correct? Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're very close. So he moved there and he had hired me to do some work on his ranch because I live just five miles away from him there in Weatherford. And I did. I went over and worked for him for a day and he invited me to dinner and at that time it seemed like he didn't, since he was new to town. He knew a few people but he wasn't a local. So he said why don't you come over to dinner, you know? And we became friends and he would invite me over to dinner and eventually found out that I wrote songs and played music, so he'd have me bring my guitar over and play. And I mean it was awesome I got to meet. Over the next couple of years I got to meet all sorts of you know, different people in the movie business and actors and things like that.
Speaker 2:But eventually I never asked him for anything because A I didn't really view myself as the kind of artist that could even have a song on Yellowstone. I knew the show was so huge and I mean, I wasn't even. I wasn't even putting music out, I was just playing shows and just writing for my own fun. And one day we were sitting on his porch it was during season three. He said you know, garrett, sometimes just me and him.
Speaker 2:He said sometimes, when people write songs and they know I've got a show that's the number one show in the country and it's known for its music, they'll ask me if they could write a song for the show. And I said, well, I bet they do. And he said that's a hint. And I said, well, okay, uh, what are you thinking? And he said, well, I've got this scene and I need a song about the western way of life and how it's. Uh, seems like it's dying, but it's still alive and well. And he said I've given the idea to a couple people and I didn't like what they came up with, so I want you to take it, because you understand that. And I said, okay, well, I'll give it a shot and I I took my time doing it, uh, because he's not the kind of guy that's just gonna tell you he likes it.
Speaker 2:You know he's very opinionated and that's probably why he's so successful. So I knew, knew it had to be good and I sent it to him. And luckily I sent it to him on a Tuesday. He called me the next day, which was a Wednesday. He said I love a song, buddy, we're going to use it on Sunday. So they just used that acoustic demo that are recorded in the barn in Weatherford, texas. I got a little studio in the corner.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:So that was just a God thing, man. I mean I can't take credit for that. I was in the right place at the right time, or somebody put me there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a lot more than that, I think, eric. I mean, listen to that song and it's just, it's so soulful and so good, just so good. And to get it on Yellowstone. Well, there you go. So that, and um, he's been in a lot of episodes. He's been in almost all of them himself, so yeah, he has.
Speaker 2:He even cast himself. I think it's so funny. The horse trainer guy that he put he cast himself in is like the least liked character on the whole show he doesn't give a crap, though, man, he'll do whatever. He's a great actor and uh, he's.
Speaker 1:Did you get to um meet like rip and beth and the only?
Speaker 2:one I haven't met is rip. Yeah, um, I haven't met cole hauser who does that, but everybody else on the show I've met in one way or another and then that is so cool, one of my favorite things, things or stories about.
Speaker 2:That is the lady that plays Beth. I think her name's Kelly, she's from the UK, she's got a British accent and when I met her I didn't know that, so I thought she might be like method acting and maybe she was in a different role as a British person and I said, boy, her British accent's good. I told somebody and they said, yeah, it's because she's from England.
Speaker 1:But you are so correct by saying that, though she does so well, because when you hear her, we're here to talk about your music, but just for a second about Yellowstone. When you hear her speak in the show, you would have no idea, no idea.
Speaker 2:I had no clue. I mean, that's why I was so shocked. It didn't even cause I'd only known her from watching her on the show, and when I met her it didn't even dawn on me that that's how she could really talk. I thought, well, that must be like some. Beth doesn't talk like that, you know.
Speaker 1:Garrett. Garrett Bradford is who I'm chatting with tonight here on skip happens is who I'm chatting with tonight here on Skip Happens and hopefully Skip doesn't happen. But you know you've got just your whole backstory is so cool and being on Yellowstone and how that catapulted you to new heights but where are you right now? Are you living in Nashville or living in Texas? Where are you?
Speaker 2:So I'll never have simple answers. I live about half the time in Nashville and the other half back home in Texas. Um, when I'm up here in Tennessee, where I'm at right now, I actually live a little bit outside of Nashville. I live on a ranch out here in a little town called Fairview, which is great for me, cause I don't know if I would have made it very long if I would have moved into an apartment. I'm not used to all that.
Speaker 1:No, you're a country boy and I mean that in a good way. That's pretty cool. I mean, the whole city life is so different and it sounds like you've been brought up on a ranch and the farmland.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, it's beautiful, absolutely, and that's what America is, and it's made up of so much like that. So it is, and I think, for me, whenever I've spent time in the city before, obviously, and even I lived in Fort Worth, which is not a huge city, but it's pretty big city- in Texas.
Speaker 2:I lived in in the actual city for about two months was the longest I made it in the actual city proper for about two months was the longest I made it. I couldn't write songs to save my life, I just didn't feel like myself. So I think being able to live out on a ranch out here kind of helps me stay connected to who I am.
Speaker 1:Is that because maybe distracted, being distracted, not being able to concentrate everything going on around you 24-7?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's part of it. I think it's just the hustle and bustle and, like you say, distractions of things and you have a lot more time to sit and think, and especially doing like I work on this ranch a lot when I'm here, um, just because during the weeks a lot of times, unless I'm I'm co-riding with somebody, I don't necessarily have things to do all day during the week. So so I need something to do at least keep myself out of trouble, you know.
Speaker 1:I got you. Tell me a little bit about your ranch, though. What horses, cattle, what do you got? I mean, what are you raising? Are you like grain, anything like that?
Speaker 2:So the place where the ranch our family ranch I grew up in, back in or on back in Texas, the ranch our family ranch I grew up on back in Texas I've done a few different things. So my mom shows cutting horses which are like quarter horses oh nice. And so we've got a few of those around all the time. And then we've got cattle too, mostly cattle, so it's predominantly a cattle ranch. But most of the time growing up my dad and my mom helped him too, but what we did was we raised bucking bulls and bucking broncs.
Speaker 1:So were you in the rodeo.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, we would take all these bulls and horses to the rodeos growing up and it was just an awesome like during the summertime. I got to spend all summer with my dad going from rodeo to rodeo.
Speaker 1:Did you ride in the rodeo? Were you on?
Speaker 2:I never was much of a bull rider. No, I got on about two and they scared me both times, so I thought that I better stick with music.
Speaker 1:Have you had the opportunity to play music at the rodeo? Oh yes, sir, yeah.
Speaker 2:I've played at a lot of rodeos. I mean just being from Texas and I'm also so tied in with that world because of my family, and I mean almost everybody I know is involved with rodeo or livestock to some extent. So been a lot of things over the years where I've gotten to play at rodeos, and especially since the yellowstone thing, um oh I bet it's been. It's been a lot of fun. That's one of my favorite places that my favorite crowds to play to is a rodeo crowd.
Speaker 1:I have to and I'm probably wrong because I'm assuming Do you drive a dually?
Speaker 2:I do not. I do drive a three-quarter ton pickup, but it's not a dually.
Speaker 1:All right, I get it. I get it, yes, sir.
Speaker 2:And then I got a little Chevy Equinox. See, now, ever since the Yellowstone thing, I had to get a car too, because I've been driving so far to go play games.
Speaker 1:You got mileage man, you got to get good mileage.
Speaker 2:Now I got the Equinox and my Silverado, so I can leave the truck parked and then until I need it.
Speaker 1:You know I just traded in for a Chevy Colorado and I've got the trail boss. Now it's a smaller truck, but it's not a smaller truck, it's still sits up high. I love it I've got. You know, here in the Northeast we get snow every day. Oh, I bet we had a lot of ice, so it's nice to know that I have that to go to. You know, I go to the radio station every day and all that. It's nice to. You know, I feel safe. You just got to watch out for the other person.
Speaker 2:That's exactly right. I actually sold a. I worked at a Chevy dealership in Texas Jerry's Chevrolet. I worked there for three months and then I had a little misunderstanding with the management because I had a show to play on Saturday and they wanted me to work, so that was the end of that. But I remember I loved those Colorados and the trail boss package and stuff. I thought those were cool little trucks.
Speaker 1:I just love them. I fell in love with it and got a good deal, so anyways, I love it. You got a good deal.
Speaker 2:You can't beat that because that's hard to find nowadays.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, it's I. I don't know if I well let me I was driving get this just in between trucks. A Kia Sportage Wasn't a bad vehicle. Kia is kind of cool.
Speaker 2:Is it like a mini SUV?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, like a mini SUV. And then I said, yeah, I just, oh my God, I saw that and saw the for the Kia Sportage is what I'm paying monthly for the Colorado with a trail boss.
Speaker 2:You can't beat that.
Speaker 1:It was just like how the hell did that happen? I'm going to be talking too much in the beginning, but anyways, no, it's good and I'm very happy. We need to talk about your music. See, I told you we go down different roads.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love going down rabbit holes.
Speaker 1:I'm the world's worst I could make it through this whole podcast and did. Uh see, I told you we go down different roads. Oh, I love going down rabbit holes.
Speaker 2:I could go.
Speaker 1:I could make it through this whole podcast, never even talk about music well, the most important thing is your music, because you are, uh garrett bradford. You've been in uh yellowstone that one season, um. But how did you get involved with country music? I read a little bit in your bio that you sang in the children's choir way back in the day. Obviously, yeah, and your love for country music grew from there, right.
Speaker 2:Well, yes, sir, I think country music was just the only kind of music I knew existed until I was 16 or 17. Just because everybody I'm around, that's all you know. I mean, that's all anybody listens to is country, and usually kind of traditional country. I mean, growing up like being a small kid in the late 90s, there was a lot of, a lot of good country music made then and, um, like I said, I did, as you mentioned.
Speaker 2:I did, children's choir in church. That's how I first ever even got introduced to the idea of singing in front of people and it took me a while to get that through my head, cause when I first started doing that, I mean, my mom had to force me to go up there and I was not. I was. I did not think that was cool. You know, I wanted to be out hunting or fishing or riding my little pony, but I did not want to be singing. But I kind of grew to love it and, um, one of the coolest things that happened because nobody in my family is really musical I mean, they love country music but nobody plays or sings and one of the coolest things that happened was a guy named Dan Roberts who's a songwriter from Nashville, and he wrote like Beaches of Cheyenne with Garth Brooks.
Speaker 3:I am with Garth Brooks.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yep, he moved to Weatherford, texas, the little town where I'm from, with his family when I was about 10 or 11 years old, and his son, jd, is in the same grade as me and we became best friends. So, that's where I got introduced to playing, singing, writing songs, and it's such a cool thing to be able to have met somebody like that way out, in the middle of basically nowhere you know or in a small town, Texas.
Speaker 1:I love that and you know Texas country Pat Green, randy Rogers I love that stuff, but it's a whole different. You have your own chart, the music, it's Texas country, it's just. But it's so awesome and it's nice to see it starting to move out of Texas. Yeah, you've made your way to Nashville. It's just so very cool. Have you had the opportunity to like to hang out with Randy Rogers or Pat Green or any of those?
Speaker 2:I've met, like I'm pretty close with Jack Ingram If you're familiar with him. Jack's been really awesome to me. Last year, about a year ago I got a chance to get up and sing Snake Form with Ray Wiley Hubbard, which is one of the highlights of my whole life. But I've got to meet a lot of those Texas country guys.
Speaker 3:I mean, I write some with a guy named.
Speaker 2:Josh Abbott, who's been pretty successful, and some of those people like that, so I've met all of them at like one point or another, if it was just shaking their hand or something, but but it's still making that connection.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Make that connection. And those guys Stoney LaRue is somebody I've met and got to talk to quite a bit, and then Cody Johnson, even though he's national now me and cody I know cody well um really the last six months um he and I, because of some mutual friends through rodeo, have gotten connected and so cool, that's huge for me because he's one of the biggest country artists in the world right now, and to be able to play in the know him there, yeah yeah, it's.
Speaker 2:It's very inspiring for me, for certain, because we have such similar backgrounds you gotta get you on that tour heck.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know I'm working on that dude, if you know, I'd be making phone calls going. Cody, talk to your team, because you know, have them reach out to my team.
Speaker 2:I need to be on that tour once this record comes out, I'm I'm hoping some things like that can start happening. You know it's all about who if you know who your record label is and who your management is. And there's so many I'm learning, there's so many things behind the scenes that even for the guys that want to help you, sometimes it's it's uh, not as simple as them. Just that it's not just their decision. You know they've got a, a whole team, it's a whole business going on.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I know you're ready to drop um the first part of honkiest of tonkers yes, sir where did you get that title?
Speaker 2:you know I wrote that song. I was fishing in east texas one day. I was bass fishing and it just came to me this the clouds parted. No, I'm just kidding, the clouds didn't part, but it happened it happened.
Speaker 2:I was just fishing and I thought honkiest of tonkers. So I said, well, I gotta write a song. So I started writing it in my head while I was fishing and that's the title track of the record. And when I was looking for a title for this record, I just wanted something that stood out, because there's so much music nowadays and I think the hardest thing is standing out. And I was like you know what, if I made this a title track, that'd be just enough to pique people's curiosity, maybe.
Speaker 1:Well, it did me Great, it's like. Am I? Well, it did me Great, it's like. Am I misreading this? Is it spelled wrong? No, but Honkiest of Tonkers. It's a two-part album. The first part's going to drop what I'm reading here Correct me if I'm wrong. It's the 21st of February and then part two's going to come out early April.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, yes sir, sir, now you've already dropped a single uh, just just a bit ago, january 17th, watching you burn that, yes sir, and then there's actually, and then um last week, so I guess I forget what date that would have been, was it, do you? So there's two. You got the notes yes, sir, I need to get those here. Let me hold it up here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, let me look.
Speaker 1:Let's talk to Garrett Bradford.
Speaker 3:That's right, that's right.
Speaker 1:The 31st, do you? I do. And then in March, on the 21st. She Loves Horses.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir.
Speaker 1:And then talking early April we'll be in baseball season, Fireflies coming out.
Speaker 2:I'm excited about this first part especially because, specifically, the first single that we put out, watching you Burn. It was the best release I've ever had, even more so than the Yellowstone song, which is hard to believe. It got more streams in the first week than any song I'd ever put out and I was kind of wondering if I would ever be able to top that Yellowstone song. You know you start kind of thinking, man, is that going to be the pinnacle?
Speaker 1:That's got to be tough. It's got to be tough when you know something, does that well. Now you have to come out with something that's got to be a little bit better.
Speaker 2:Although that was great.
Speaker 1:I think it's great.
Speaker 2:Exactly no little bit better, although that was great. I think it's great. Exactly no, I appreciate it. I mean, you're right, you're always wanting to improve and always wanting to build upon whatever success you've had, and that was such a great way to splash onto the scene. You know, it's kind of hard to believe that you know, right at the beginning of my career, something that huge would happen and kind of propel me into whatever I'm doing now. I'm still trying to figure that out, how to capitalize on all of that and make it, make it a long-term thing, you know.
Speaker 1:And it doesn't happen overnight, for you know it takes a while. I mean, you had the luck of getting to know somebody, getting on good terms. He asked a favor, it worked, and now look at, but anybody watching this or anybody listening to this, take that as a lesson that you know never burn your bridges and say hello to everybody. You get. Just network and make it work, because I mean, you're a good example. How you know, you hooked up with him and uh became friends and drinking buddies and all that. And uh, here you are.
Speaker 2:So yeah, it really does. I don't know. I think um, I think sometimes, um, especially since moving to Nashville, like I've meet so many other artists and have so many friends that play too, and it it's um tempting to get sucked into the cycle as an artist, especially if you're independent and you're still relying on yourself to promote yourself, like it can be a little bit of a trap too, because you also have to remember to be a normal person and get out and meet people and like, for example, if part of the whole reason that Yellowstone thing happened is we had nothing to do with me pursuing music, it it was me pursuing work, you know, and going to work on his ranch and being up here in Tennessee. I can't tell you how many connections I've made and really like the best connections I've made were not music, we weren't doing anything music related, like.
Speaker 2:It's a guy named John Randall who's phenomenal, yeah, so I met john because I got hired to haul an airstream from his place up here back to texas and now we've become friends. I just saw him and talked to him for a long time, a couple of weeks ago, and he's invited me to do some things. Um, that big, loud texas is putting on a couple of little events, so I'm not signed to them or anything, but they're inviting us to some of their events, so maybe some things will happen there. I don't know.
Speaker 1:Exactly. Have you had any offers from the big labels?
Speaker 2:Nothing from any of the majors, like not Sony or any of those.
Speaker 2:I've had a couple of small like independent labels. Especially right after the Yellowstone thing happened I got reached out to from a ton of small labels and small publishing companies but I really kind of learned the value. That taught me the value really quickly of what publishing royalties are worth on a song. So I'm a little bit tougher to negotiate with nowadays. After having that success, after having that placement on the show I mean before that I would have signed anything anybody gave me. But once I realized the value in that and you know, still being able to get checks every quarter.
Speaker 2:From that it changes your perspective on it a lot.
Speaker 1:I get it, and I hear that from a lot of independents that it changes your perspective on it a lot. I get it and I hear that from a lot of independents. They have had opportunities, but when they sit back and think about everything, it's like I think I'm better off doing this the way I'm doing it.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I think that there will come a day, hopefully, where I will sign with the label, but I don't think I'm quite at the stage yet, because you got to build up enough leverage and build up something that's worth investing in. That way you can come to the table and have some negotiating power, because if you don't, the deals just do not look that great when you start crunching the numbers. And it's exciting that it gives you a little validation when you start crunching the numbers. And you know it's exciting that, uh, and it gives you a little validation when you think that that somebody like that is interested in you. But, uh, there's a lot of people that have, um, got horror stories about this business.
Speaker 1:Are they really interested, or are they just interested because of the money that might come forward?
Speaker 2:And exactly.
Speaker 1:You know you don't really see a lot of that. I know this whole routine. You don't see a lot of that until down the road you have to. I mean you got to work your ass off. You got to hit after hit after hit before you start seeing any return on your investment. So you know, I think with a lot of the independents I talked to, they're happy doing it themselves and they're happy with the level that they're at. They're getting the gigs they're getting out there. They got friends that start labels and then they get signed to that label and they have a much better relationship. I'm not dissing the big labels at all. That's not what I mean, but you do know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, there's so many stories, I know so many, I can't share anybody's story without them being here.
Speaker 2:But, man, I've heard some people that I know and write with and people that you would probably recognize their names, that have had hits and everything they talk about. You know one of my friends in particular. He had two number one hits that he wrote by himself. This was back in the early 2000s. We write together a lot and for some reason, after he had these two hits that he wrote himself, then the label decided that he needed to record all these other people's songs on the next album, because everybody wanted to get their hands in the pot, because he was a hit artist now.
Speaker 2:And the next album flopped. His second album didn't do good. Good and he knew it wasn't going to do good because he was telling them, before they even released it, this we're doing something totally different than what worked, and having that creative control is so important to me. I mean, I would, I would always want that, you know, because you have to stand behind what you put out and you've got to be loving it if people are not.
Speaker 1:People aren't going to love it if you don't love it talk to me a little bit about your songwriting and your creativity with that. How do you get inspired about things to write now, before even you know? I know I was reading the bio. I have the notes. Um that, uh, you lost one of your best friends in a car wreck. Yes, sir. It was a very pivotal moment in your life, and how did that impact your songwriting and the direction of your career?
Speaker 2:So that was in December of 2014. Actually, my best friend, colt Bruce, and I were in a car accident together. It was just a single vehicle accident and he was killed in that accident and it was horrible. Colt was like my brother I mean, I'm an only child and we had been close since we were kids and we even started the business that I was doing when I met Taylor was tree work and land clearing and we had actually just started that little business together and, of course, after that, I was super distraught I mean just grief and all those things, and that was a time when I really figured out how big of a part of my soul like songwriting is, because that's what I would do every single day, I mean for for months or even really years.
Speaker 2:After that, uh, I just it was cathartic and I felt like if I had my guitar and I could write a song about it. It was a way to get things off my chest, even if I didn't go play it. Um, there's a lot of songs that are super personal and I'll probably never play them or put them on a record, but just the process of doing that it's kind of like journaling, I would imagine. I don't know, because I don't journal.
Speaker 1:No, but it's like healing too.
Speaker 2:It is, it's healing, and to me, songwriting. My inspiration comes from being out around normal people. I always kind of joke. Sometimes you can get in if you're a musician. All you do is hang out with other musicians and all y'all talk about is writing songs and music. Before long you don't have any inspiration. You're so disconnected.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So being out and, um, I mean working around the ranch, whether it's here in texas or I mean I do that intentionally because, um, especially doing things like building fence, chopping firewood, things like that, it keeps your hands busy but your mind can run the whole time you're working. So that's one of mostly that's when I come up with most of my song ideas is if I'm working or driving. That's another big one. Just driving down the road, I try not to. I try not to listen to music all the time when I'm driving, because I want to be thinking, as I want to be thinking of songs instead of listening to songs. So I do that a lot, just driving in silence.
Speaker 1:You're not the only one that has said that. I had an independent artist on the other night, and he's also a truck driver.
Speaker 2:Oh really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it was a great conversation Randy Cobb and he hauls cars. Oh, he drives a car carrier. So we got talking about, I said, dude. I said, but his music is great, but he's doing this because he's got to have an another job. He owns his trucking company. I don't know, I'm not going to get into a lot of that, but he said that when he drives over the road, he just he doesn't have anything on. He's thinking he goes. I'm thinking about songs, I'm thinking about oh, or I'll see something alongside the highway, yeah, and it gets my mind going and you know, when I stop I make notes and it's like, yeah, stuff like that.
Speaker 2:So it kind of goes along, uh, with what you're saying, garrett hey, you know that's one of the reasons I was so eager to uh get fired from I can't really say that I quit. I got fired from my car dealing job.
Speaker 1:It happens, dude it happens.
Speaker 2:But no, I would come home for that period that I was selling cars and I wouldn't feel like playing my guitar or writing songs when I would get home, because even though it was probably one of the physically one of the easiest jobs that I had had, sure, mentally it was taxing, you know. And um, I can, I can go cut up trees all day and I come home and even though I might be physically tired, I'm excited to play.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, you know and to write.
Speaker 2:So I think and I love truck. I've got two truck driving songs on part one of the album, one called Keep on Driving and one called Peterbilt Pipe Dream.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:Those songs have done really good for me on like social media, on TikTok. Apparently these truckers, they love TikTok. They must be going down the road.
Speaker 1:Well, you have a title like Peterbilt Pipe Dream be going down the road. Well, you have a title like peterbilt pipe dream. I think they're gonna. You know, I'm just saying that's kind of they're gonna go. I gotta check this out absolutely and I hope brandy watches this because I think he needs to know how you, how you work and stuff too. So that's kind of cool. Um, with your songwriting, tell me about uh, winning the texas songwriter you contest. That was just a couple of years ago in 23.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir. Yeah, it's just coming on. Two years ago that was a huge deal for me. So Texas Songwriter U is what that contest is called and it's put on by this organization called the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association and they also have a Texas Songwriting Hall of Fame and everybody you can imagine that's from a Texas Songwriting Hall of Fame and, like everybody you can imagine that's from Texas, is in the Hall of Fame and it's just such a cool group of people and they take eight young songwriters or they don't even have to be young, actually a lot of them aren't, a lot of them are even older folks, but it's just up-and-coming older folks, but it's just up and coming aspiring songwriters and they take eight.
Speaker 2:You and you go stay on this ranch outside of austin and you have mentors there and you're there three or four days and, like liz rose was one who wrote tons of hits, jack ingram was one um, there's just a handful of just top-notch riders who you get to meet with. And then when I won, it really opened up a lot of doors, because having Liz Rose and Jack Ingram actually helping me and helping to put me in contact with people up here in Nashville, that was a huge deal and I'll forever be grateful to that. That's the only contest I've ever done.
Speaker 1:That it's so cool.
Speaker 2:I did it twice. So the first year I went I didn't win. A guy named Brian Douglas Phillips won. He's phenomenal, we're really good friends. So they brought me back the second year and I won the second year. That's so cool.
Speaker 1:There was a show on. It was with songwriters. I guess you write a song and then you can have a major artist perform. I'm trying to think what that I think it was with Martina McBride was the one I I know which one you're talking about.
Speaker 2:I can't remember the title.
Speaker 1:I know it was something similar, or maybe it wasn't the same, maybe it was the other way around, but it it was something to do with songwriting you as a nobody writing a song, not you as a nobody, but no I know what you mean and writing a song and, uh, hopefully they like it enough that they will sing it. Yeah, I think that would be.
Speaker 2:I think that's a great idea for a show. I think there's a lot of really neat things about songwriting in the music business, especially here in Nashville, meeting people that are exclusively songwriters. Some of them are phenomenal singers and entertainers as well, but that's just. The lane they've chosen is to write for other people. I think there should be a documentary or a movie made about some of these people, because they're just phenomenal. I know so many of them and their stories are incredible. You know behind the scenes.
Speaker 1:You know, we have the country radio seminar, which is actually coming up in just a couple of weeks right there in Nashville at the Omni, but they do a songwriters night, an acoustic alley, and they have writers on stage of you know all these big songs and they perform the songs and they talk about it from their perspective, which is the coolest thing, and these are the unsung heroes. You hear a song on the radio. You hear a song on the Wolf, where I am that you hear so-and-so singing the song. You automatically think it's their songs, but no, you know. Yeah, you hear so-and-so singing the song. You automatically think it's their songs, but no, you got to go deeper. Yeah, people like you that you may have written that song, you know or see a co-write on it.
Speaker 2:That's really true. I mean, I have a lot of respect for a lot of these writers and it's interesting like the business is changing significantly for those people in the last five or 10 years to where you know, there's a lot less artists nowadays who will record what they call an outside song, which is a song that was they had no hand in writing. That used to be extremely common. If you go back and look at the early 2000s and the 90s and even way back before that the early 2000s and the 90s and even way back before that that you would see all the time people would record songs that they had no hand in writing.
Speaker 2:But now I think, because of the revenue streams changing and streaming being such a big hit on the bottom line of like all these labels and things, a lot of them really want the artist to be a co-writer on it too, and I think a lot of times well, I know a lot of times because I know people that do this but they'll, they'll, uh. A lot of times the artist is just in the room while the song gets written. So they really are the unsung heroes and so many of them. It baffles me sometimes when I meet some of these writers and I mean they're they've got a great look, they're super talented, they can play and sing, and you'd almost wonder why aren't they the ones that are recording these songs?
Speaker 2:you know it's just the way the business is. It's. It's a funny business, I'll tell you. You, if you want to try to the music, business is just hard to. It's one of those things. It's like what do they call it an oxymoron? Music and business together they don't go well together.
Speaker 1:No, they do not. It's hard to understand it definitely is.
Speaker 1:You know, there's so many people like you in Nashville that now you've got to step ahead of a lot of people. But there's so many that go there. They want to live the dream, they have the passion, they want to sing country music. But there's thousands upon thousands of young artists, male, female, everybody trying to get that break. They're down on Broadway, they're playing at every bar, they're doing whatever they have to do in hopes of getting noticed. It's just not everybody is going to make it. It's a crazy world. It's a crazy world.
Speaker 2:It really is. It's kind of funny because one thing that I've noticed is sometimes the most talented people that I've met up here have the most self-doubt. Some of the people that are really not very good at all have confidence in work ethic, and it's it's almost funny sometimes. So that's like inverse. There's like an inverse correlation there, not all the time, but, but yeah, it's so easy to be Cause I think when you're self aware enough to be a good songwriter, you're also self-aware enough to know how difficult it is and how much competition there is. But sometimes, man, it cracks me up.
Speaker 2:A few of the characters I've met up here, man, they're the most confident in the world.
Speaker 1:It's like dude, you don't get it, yeah, right, no, and I totally get it. And the other thing is you got to learn how to take criticism. You have to, because anybody that's out there trying to do what you're doing, I mean there's going to be a lot of no's, there's going to be a lot of well, you know, that's honest with you. You suck, but yeah, you know. But you got to learn. You got to learn to learn from that and not be like you know so and I know you're past that, but I'm just saying I'm still getting.
Speaker 2:I I still get no's all the time, brother. I mean it really is. I don't think that ever stops, you know.
Speaker 2:And yeah, it's gonna open up another door it sure can, and I think it's a fine line. You have to be able to like. You have to be able to take criticism process it, decide whether it's worth listening to, like if it's something you should act, because a lot of people will just tell you no for whatever reason. A lot of times they don't even listen to your music. You're trying to get an opportunity or something. They'll just say no. So you have to have enough self-confidence to not get discouraged and quit. But you also have to be aware enough to be to grow as an artist and take those no's and that uh criticism sometimes and apply it, turn it into something.
Speaker 2:So true, so true 100 bam, that's a battle I'm always fighting.
Speaker 1:Hey, Garrett, let me ask you what do you like about performing live? What is it? You have a full band, you get out there, you get on the stage. What's so cool about that for you?
Speaker 2:I think my favorite part is A people watching. Especially, depending on the venue, that can be really good. Those Texas honky tonks there's some good people watching. Especially depending on the venue, that can be really good.
Speaker 2:Those texas honky tonks, there's some good people watching and you know you're up on the stage so you can see everything. But I love like I love trying to find. Usually what I'll try to do is I'll, you know, play in the first few songs. I'll look across the crowd and I'll find one or two people that seem totally uninterested in what I'm doing, and my goal for the night is to get them to smile or clap or dance or something like that. It's like go find the person that looks like they don't want to be there, and that's what I'll always do, and I'll just kind of keep looking back over to them, and that's how I'll be able to judge okay, am I accomplishing my goal or not?
Speaker 1:over to them and that's how I'll be able to judge. Okay, am I, am I accomplishing my goal or not? Have you got down near san antonio? I'm trying to think I went to. Uh, they called it something store um the kenny store no, it was an outdoor venue. It was the coolest place I had ever been to because it was so country. It was outdoor, um, it was some, but something country store, um oh, florist, florist country store, that's it.
Speaker 2:That's it. I love that place. I still haven't gotten to play there because where I live in texas, I'm five and a half six hours away from there.
Speaker 1:I wasn't really sure, but that's where I ended up going and we saw Colby Cooper there and it was just we had. So my wife and I had so much fun.
Speaker 2:That's a cool venue right there. I can't wait. One of these days I definitely will play there, Probably sooner rather than later. I want to know what we do.
Speaker 1:We'll make a trip, man, that'd be so cool. Yeah, I just love the venue. The venue was so cool that it made me think about it, and that whole Texas scene, like I said before, I mean it's kind of in a world of its own. Yeah, that world is expanding.
Speaker 2:It is, there's more and more people. You know, when I was, I remember when I was younger, like Texas, artists didn't really go to Nashville very much, or if they did, they didn't tell anybody because there was like this animosity. I don't think they cared to go to Nashville.
Speaker 1:They were doing their own thing. I don't think they cared. I don't think they cared. You know, I mean Pat Green eventually, you know, released Wave on Wave and songs like that, but still something tells me they didn't really care to go to Nashville.
Speaker 2:They had such a good thing going, and now I see more of the guys in my generation. Colby Cooper is a good example of that. There's some other ones, like Coe Wetzel and Parker McCollum, that really have a foot in both worlds, and it's cool, like you said, to see what we do in Texas.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:A bigger audience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know for a fact Coe Wetzel is coming through with a big artist here in the Northeast this summer.
Speaker 2:Oh he is, that'll be cool.
Speaker 1:I can't wait to see Cole so.
Speaker 2:I went to college with co at Tarleton state university. We're the same age, so very cool. Yes, sir.
Speaker 1:I just kids. Uh, that could be your dad, um, but uh, so performing live. I so performing live, I mean, it's got to be nothing like it. Like you say, you get your eyes on somebody and your goal is to get them moving and get them smiling, having a good time. So is there anything wild that's ever happened to you while you've been on stage? Anything that you go holy shit, what the hell just happened. You know.
Speaker 2:Man, I can think of a few things. I was playing in Gallatin Gateway, montana, at a place called Stacy's, and this was acoustic during COVID, right after my song was on Yellowstone.
Speaker 1:Right, oh my God.
Speaker 2:And a whole brawl broke out in this place, man, there was like 15. And this is not a big place and there wasn't that many people there. I just remember it was so awkward. I was trying to figure out do I keep playing, or then? Finally, I was like yeah, I gotta, I gotta, quit playing because somebody's about to throw something up here exactly you got to take care in a small venue like that.
Speaker 1:I think you know. Look out for you, look out, that's right, I'll be back when everything comes down.
Speaker 2:That's right. Y'all let me know when you've got it figured out, because that's not what I'm here for.
Speaker 1:What advice would you give to somebody that wants to do what you're doing?
Speaker 2:Boy, I'll tell you One of the things that I say and I don't know how wise it is, but I think there's some truth to it is in the in, like the day and age we're living in, of social media and online influencers and things like that, it's easy for a young artist to get caught spending all their time trying to convince people that they are a great songwriter or a great singer or a great entertainer or an interesting person, instead of actually becoming that.
Speaker 2:And if that makes any sense. It's kind of a trap. People can get caught in where all they think about is promoting themselves and promoting themselves and eventually I don't think you're able to connect with people because you're living this life that's just so much different than your average person. And in country music I mean the way I see it we're writing songs for just your average Joe. You know good old blue collar and just normal people. And being connected and being one of them and thinking of yourself as one of them is what I do, at least to get my inspiration. I try not to get too horty-torty with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, and I totally get that, because if you look at what I do in radio, I don't make it about me. I don't make it about you know what I'm doing. It's about you as the listener and yourself, where they are. You know, it's just, and I always say that. One thing we do in radio is, every time I open my mouth I'm pretty much asking a question. Oh hey, you know I go. Uh, you know 92.1 the wolf have. Yet how would you like to be sitting up front for garrett bradford show coming up next week? Wouldn't't you like to do that? Wouldn't that be cool where you could sit up front and actually talk to him? You?
Speaker 1:know, so I'm putting, I'm throwing a question out there. Now I get them responding to me. It's not about me saying I'm going to sit up front and I'm at work and radio and I do this. That's not the case. I turn it around to make it about them, so make it about them. So I love that.
Speaker 2:there's a guy, um, who I really look up to from by the way, bradford is not here next week, but I'm just saying I wish one of these days I'll get up there, no go ahead.
Speaker 1:I didn't mean to cut you this guy oh, you're fine.
Speaker 2:this guy, um, dave perez, he's a. He's a, really. He's a texas guy and he's been playing probably 20 years. He's in this band called the teos Brothers and he's one of the most magnetic people that I've ever been around and I played at a festival with him and spent about two or three days around him every day and I was picking his brain because he's such a good entertainer and he's so good with people, and one of the things that he always, or that he told me I was asking him like, how do you hit it off with these people so well? And he said I ask them questions because usually somebody will come up to you.
Speaker 2:Oh, I like your music da da, da, da da, and then you know you ask them and it kind of comes naturally because I like talking to people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, but that's good.
Speaker 2:It's different, you know, whenever you give somebody an opportunity to tell you about themselves, and it's also inspirational as a writer.
Speaker 1:Cool, cool Super Bowl Sunday.
Speaker 2:Super Bowl Sunday.
Speaker 1:What are you thinking? It doesn't really matter. I think, I don't really have a dog in the fight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like football. I haven't been watching a lot, but I think Kansas City is probably going to pull it off.
Speaker 1:You think?
Speaker 2:I think so. I think it's going to be good who do you think?
Speaker 1:I'm thinking the Eagles.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm a Cowboys fan, unfortunately, so I have to hate on the Eagles. I cannot root for the Eagles.
Speaker 1:I know, I know and they got this bet going that apparently the rumor is that Kelsey is going to propose to Taylor Swift after the game. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:So I mean, so that's why they got odds on that.
Speaker 3:They got odds on everything, everything they on that. I don't know they got odds on everything.
Speaker 1:I know. Everything they got odds on I don't know. Isn't that crazy?
Speaker 2:I don't know yeah, I don't know how that it seemed like that wasn't legal.
Speaker 1:And then all of a sudden, the last five or ten years now, gambling on everything is legal and every other platform out there where you could throw five bucks down last minute and win 50.
Speaker 2:So you know, it's crazy.
Speaker 1:It is. It is you know so quickly, before we wrap it up. If somebody wanted to find out more about you, garrett, they can go online. You've got your socials. Tell everybody.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm. I'm on all like the main socials. I don't really do Twitter, but I do. You know there's Facebook, primarily Instagram, and then TikTok. I got on that about a year ago. I was a holdout. I didn't want to give in, I didn't want to cave in, but I got on there and it's become my most successful platform. So any of those. If you just look up Garrett Bradford, you should be able to spot me. I'm usually wearing a cowboy hat in my pictures, but I'm going to put my headphones on with cowboy hats.
Speaker 1:I don't think they'd fit. What about now the album Honkiest of Tonkers? All right, so again it's. The first part is on the 21st of February. The second part is coming up April 11th, correct?
Speaker 2:Yes sir, yes sir, and that's my debut album, so I've never put out a full-length album and I decided to just go on ahead and do a double album to start with.
Speaker 2:So very cool I'm excited about it and um we've gotten some really good feedback so far um getting some album reviews and stuff done. I've actually been blown away with the feedback we've gotten and, believe it or not, a lot of people in the UK and over in Europe have been really turned on to this and I've been. I've probably done probably eight or nine interviews just in the last couple of weeks with European outlets and you've never been over there.
Speaker 2:Never been over there, not even as a tourist or anything, so I'm. I actually got an email a couple of days ago about planning. Uh, they're inquiring about getting me at a festival in switzerland and I'm dying to go there if somebody flips the bill, get on the plane.
Speaker 1:Grab your guitar, get on the plane. I might never come back. I want to see that. Oh, you'll come back.
Speaker 3:Yeah that's true.
Speaker 1:You talk about country music, like in Europe or Ireland or England, any of those places. It's huge, huge. I had. Megs McCarthy was on with me the other night. She's in Ireland and she's a country music singer.
Speaker 2:I listened to that podcast. That was a good one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's just phenomenal, phenomenal and it's just amazing. That was a good one. Yeah, she, it's just phenomenal, phenomenal and it's just amazing. It was a great podcast. She's known here in the states as well, but you know, having the number of fans or they just love your music and you know they're dedicated because somebody like you don't mean this in a bad way, but not so well known yeah but you go over there and if you play tracks off honkiest of tonkers, they're singing back to you.
Speaker 1:Damn, they know your music. Damn, they've got the album already. That's how they are.
Speaker 2:It's amazing that's what I've heard. I mean, I, I can't believe. Uh, one of the truck driving songs that I've actually already released keep on driving is like I never even thought about it. But I mean, of course, there's truck drivers everywhere. And these European truckers they use it Like. If you go on my TikTok and look, I think somewhere on my profile you can see it, but there's been over 1500 videos made with that song and I bet 80% of them are in Norway or Switzerland or Denmark or something like that. Oh cool.
Speaker 2:The other day I got on there and it'll tell me when somebody used my song in a video which I love. It just makes me so happy. The other day I got on there and there's a guy with my Keep On Driving song playing and he's standing in a sled with dogs pulling sled, dogs pulling him.
Speaker 1:Dude, that's so awesome awesome.
Speaker 2:Who'd have ever thought that somebody in norway up in the arctic circle is listening to my song while they got their dogs mushing?
Speaker 1:you're worldwide. Not only is pitbull worldwide, you're worldwide that's right, that's right, dude, that's so awesome, so awesome something to proud of. It says a lot right there. You know that, yeah, you've got talent.
Speaker 2:You've got to think that I don't know it's still so surreal to me. For the last few years it has been, but whenever I mean and the Yellowstone thing was a lot of people overseas listen to that too and they'll message me. And it's just so crazy to me to think that, being from you know small town texas where I'm from, I write these songs and somebody literally across the ocean is listening to them and that they resonate with them, even though they're from a totally different culture and life. Yes, it's really a like, it's a blessing man, to think that you're doing something that people even care about across the ocean.
Speaker 1:So cool man, so cool. You've got a whole career ahead of you.
Speaker 2:Well, I hope so. I'm enjoying every minute of it so far. Like I said, earlier.
Speaker 1:You need to get on the horn. You need to text Cody and say dude, your team needs to call my team because I need to get on that tour that you got out there, that's right Everybody else that you got out there.
Speaker 2:That's right. Everybody else that you know. I would clear my schedule to get on the Cody Johnson tour. That would be a dream come true.
Speaker 1:Let's see what happens. Yes, sir.
Speaker 2:I'll work on it. I'm sending him whenever this album comes out. I'm going to send that to him, so maybe that'll get the conversation started.
Speaker 1:See, I'll tell you from my perspective. We do so many shows and you kind of get numb to certain things after a while, you know, but I always love the concerts that come to town. In the way of it's not the headliner. I like seeing the, the openers, and I can judge how well the opener is doing by looking at the crowd. See how many people are in their seats when the opener is on that stage. That means a lot. That means a lot that I look around and go oh, they know. Okay, good, I like that, I like that.
Speaker 2:I'm the same way when I go to a big you know, and it's funny because unless I'm playing, I don't really go to that many big shows, like you know, festivals or things like that unless I'm playing Just cause I get all that out of my system. I've gone to plenty of them, but I do, whenever I do go see somebody, like I went and saw the Eagles when they were on their reunion tour, I think they might still be doing it, but Chris Stapleton opened up for him which is nuts, was Vince with the Eagles for that.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir, yeah.
Speaker 2:Vince was with them, but seeing Stapleton open for the Eagles was just surreal. It's like you know you've made it when Chris Stapleton comes to open the show for you Exactly 100% Garrett Bradford.
Speaker 1:Pretty cool man. Cool chatting with you tonight, cool getting to know you a little bit.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, will you be at CRS? Cool getting to know you a little bit. Well, thank you, will you be at CRS?
Speaker 1:I will be at CRS.
Speaker 2:I'll be there too, so hopefully we meet.
Speaker 1:Yes, sir yes, I would love to so many independent artists, so many artists that I've talked to in the last few months, that everybody says we're going to CRS. It'd be great if I could just get like I'll go get a suite, we're going to have all my guests in there, we're just going to have a good time. I would love to do that.
Speaker 2:That would be awesome. Well, if you see me walking around, make sure you say hi. I'll be the big tall skinny goofball in a cowboy hat.
Speaker 1:I'm the old guy.
Speaker 2:I'll find you for sure.
Speaker 1:Exactly, garrett Bradford. Thank you so much for your time tonight being on Skip Happens. Just such a great story. You're just off and running dude and Yellowstone. I was such a big fan of Yellowstone, like I said, I said, holy shit, it's Gary Bradford. Yeah, okay, he does that song. I'm not kidding, I'm not just saying that that's really cool, it's really cool.
Speaker 2:Thank you, skip. It's an honor to be on here and I appreciate everybody who's listening. And, um, you say I've got. Whenever you're listening to this, I've got new music out. The first two singles are out and, depending on when you're listening to it, the whole album might be out. So just look me up wherever you listen to music and support the artists.
Speaker 1:Go online, download it, buy the music, because that these guys got to pay their bills too, so hey, you said it, not me I just know, and it's a struggle sometimes, I don't care who you are. It's a struggle. No, it is it really is.
Speaker 2:And you know, I I don't mind having a day job, but I'd rather not. So tell these people to go buy it what is your day job? Just working on the ranch yes, sir, just working on the ranch that's a lot Just working on the ranch. That's a lot of work it is, but I love it.
Speaker 1:And you go out and play at night.
Speaker 2:Yes sir, yes sir.
Speaker 1:And you get in about two or three in the morning Sometimes.
Speaker 2:And I sing a lot of these places in Nashville that I play at like these songwriters rounds. They really are not that late. They'll be from like eight to nine o'clock, so I love that Cause.
Speaker 3:Then I'm getting home at an easy hour.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, I'm in my bed by 10. It's good, yes sir.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir Garrett.
Speaker 1:Garrett, you're awesome. Thank you so much, dude.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you, Skip. It's been a pleasure, buddy.
Speaker 1:Yes, stay right there. Thank you everybody for watching. We go nonstop at least twice a week, so pretty cool. Thanks for watching Garrett again, thank you, stay right there. Thank you so much, everybody. Good night Good.
