- 3 days ago
Restless Road Full Interview
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00:00You released your EP right before the pandemic, which kind of just threw like a bucket of water on everything.
00:07Do you feel like this year is sort of like your redo, like your mulligan, since we're talking golf?
00:15A Tennessee too.
00:17I mean, I don't know if it's a redo, but definitely looking forward to picking up where we left off at least.
00:26And I think we'll be back even bigger and better than we would have been had we gotten to do the tour last year.
00:32Because we really did take the last year and made sure we didn't let it go to waste or anything like that.
00:39We spent a lot of time writing songs and, you know, just jamming with each other, make sure we're just getting better as a band.
00:47And then we just had a ton of fun on social media, growing our platform and just engaging our fans and sharing the music.
00:55The EP that we did get to put out right before the pandemic.
00:58So we got to do a lot of exciting things with that music.
01:01And I think we'll be in a lot better place going into hopefully touring this year when that is possible.
01:09Because, you know, we've, I mean, we've gained like 600,000 followers on TikTok.
01:14We, you know, gained like 70,000, 80,000 followers on Instagram.
01:18So it's just been, things have been growing in the right direction.
01:21And like we said, we've been writing these songs this year that we're about to put out one next month.
01:27And so we just have a lot of fun stuff for people.
01:30And I think when we get back on stage, it'll be even better than had we done the tour.
01:35So yeah, I think it's one of those things where I always look at things and think it's probably a blessing in disguise.
01:42I think like, you know, I think it's made us definitely more strong.
01:46I think we've, like Zach said, I mean, we've, we've really tried to grow our fan base and connect with those people.
01:54And we're looking forward to like seeing in person, like our new fans and followers and letting them see our live show.
02:01And I think that's something we're really looking forward to.
02:03And, um, yeah, I mean, we're really excited and hopefully we get the tour of the series.
02:08Ears crossed.
02:10Yeah, I was looking at, I was looking at your social media.
02:13Um, and I'm always curious because you guys are like, you've been, there's been a lot of like praise as you being like, really like the next generation of country stars.
02:24And you have like this incredible potential.
02:27Uh, your EP is like, wouldn't like, it's the first introduction.
02:33Um, I would imagine any artist in your place would be really frustrated after like, we just dropped the EP.
02:40We're about to go on tour.
02:42Like, everything's going great.
02:44Oh, we have to stay home for the next eight months.
02:47But like, your social media is so positive.
02:50Like, you guys are a blast to watch.
02:53Like, did you, did you have like a moment of like,
02:57feeling frustrated or anger or aggravated and then turned it around?
03:01Or are you all just really like three of the most sunniest disposition gentlemen?
03:07No, honestly, I kind of feel, I mean, I feel like everybody probably at some point in time earlier on in the year when all this happened.
03:14I mean, your entire lives got halted.
03:18I mean, everything came to a halt.
03:20So, I mean, there was definitely some bit of frustration.
03:22But, I mean, our jobs as, as entertainers and artists and what we love so much to do is to bring people joy.
03:32And it was one of those things of, okay, well, if we can't be on the road, how can we do that?
03:39How can we find a way to still bring people joy and, and to just bring a little bit of positivity to their day?
03:46And, I mean, that's where like TikTok came into play and Instagram and just our social media in general.
03:52And we got a band phone number and we just tried to find as many ways to connect with fans and stay connected.
03:59And one thing that we're known for in Nashville is we always, when we're going to write, we're always like making up funny songs and just parodies and different stuff like that while we're writing.
04:13And so, that kind of was able to shine this year on TikTok, I guess, for us.
04:19We were able to do that and just bring a little bit of, I guess, light to people's lives in such a dark time right now.
04:26But, I mean, yeah, I think everybody's been frustrated this year.
04:32I mean, we're all human.
04:32So, we're all human.
04:33So, to answer your question, I mean, were we frustrated?
04:36Yeah.
04:36Were we angry, scared, and all those things?
04:40Yeah, we were.
04:40And the thing is, though, kind of what we represent is we all have each other's backs and we're a band and we're not brothers, but we feel like it.
04:50And so, I mean, we all just kind of rallied around each other and just kind of, you know, first things first is you just kind of have to accept what's going on.
04:59And once you can do that, you can just move forward from there.
05:02And that's when we did dive into songwriting and social media.
05:05And it can be tough to remember why you're doing what you're doing when you don't get to see people, you know, enjoying themselves, playing your music.
05:15It's hard to remember, like, why are we doing any of this anyway?
05:17And then, but then you post a TikTok and you see thousands and thousands of people have taken our TikTok and made their own video to it.
05:25And they're having fun with something stupid that we made.
05:28Just something as small as that, that gives you this whole feeling of purpose and, like, feeling like, oh, I contributed to someone's, like, joy and happiness.
05:37And that's why we do what we do.
05:39We were just, I mean, just, what, last night or two nights ago, we were watching YouTube and we saw this cover from someone had covered our song off our EP called It Ain't Easy.
05:51And it was just really cool because I don't know what country they're from.
05:54They're from another country.
05:55Just, it was like this, almost like a whole alternate universe to us.
05:59And it was like, wow, somehow a song we wrote we thought was cool has made its way over there and they're making a really cool version of it.
06:07It was incredible.
06:08Like, their harmonies were crazy.
06:10Like, it was like a guy and, like, three girls and they were all harmonizing together.
06:13And I told Zach, I was like, that is, I was like, if that doesn't motivate you, I don't know what will.
06:19Because we were just kind of, like, I told him we were joking around.
06:21I was like, we should go look ourselves up on YouTube and do a year in review and just look at all our old content and just see what we did over the year.
06:27And that was, like, one of the first things that popped up.
06:29And we were just, like, blown away.
06:30We were like, wow, I can't believe, like, our music, like, reached that far and, like, somebody, you know, made their own arrangement to it and everything.
06:38And kind of to go off of what he was saying, I just feel like, you know, we were a little upset and angry, like you said.
06:44But I think, you know, we've been a band for seven years and we've had so many ups and downs through trying to, you know, get our music out and working with different people.
06:54And I think it's really given us a lot of strength, like, mentally and just how to deal with situations.
07:01And I think, you know, we've been through some certain things where there just seemed like there was no way out or, like, what do we do next?
07:08Or, you know, is this going to happen for us?
07:10But, you know, I think that was one of the things that kept us motivated because we've been there before a few times and this was nothing new.
07:17So we've seen how it can work out even better in the long run.
07:21So we were like, you know, this is what's happening, but we've got to take it with a grain of salt and we've got to keep our head down and keep working and making ourselves better.
07:28Like, this is time to work, not time to, like, take off.
07:31Like, this is what you need to get it going.
07:33So that's what we've been doing.
07:34Yeah, I read that you said that during this period you've probably done the best songwriting in your career.
07:42I was curious if, like, what would you say makes this the best songwriting as opposed to what you've done in the past?
07:51I honestly don't know if, I mean, nothing's changed as far as what we do.
07:56It's just, up until this point, I mean, we've wrote tons in the past and I think everything, songwriting's an amazing thing and it's one of those, you pull from so many different places in your life and things that are going on in your life and things that's happened to you.
08:15And previously, I mean, up until we had released the EP, we had never released any music.
08:21So it was this, we had been, you just write for in the hopes that one day we'll be able to release some music and release some songs.
08:27And then it was, well, we got to experience what that felt like and we got to experience seeing those in front of 17, 18,000 people and hearing those people, their stories and all those things.
08:40And then that all come to a big halt.
08:42And then it was like, we were so busy and so caught up in everything that was going on during that time that when everything came to a halt, it was, well, what do we do?
08:57What is something that we can be doing, something that we can be productive and that we can continue to get ready for a moment when everything does come back?
09:04And it was, well, let's, let's really dive hard into writing.
09:09And I mean, we were writing a ton on Zoom and it was just, we, we, we found like this core, like our core group of people that we just really mesh with every time we write with them.
09:21And we just hit it hard.
09:23I mean, and just really wrote and trying to be as creative as possible.
09:27You really just got to do a lot of it.
09:29I think, I don't, I don't really know because I think there's a lot of different songwriters out there and ones that get different results.
09:35But I think for us, like, I just think if we are writing more songs and we'll definitely be writing better ones just by keeping it up as a practice, because there's been times like months have went by and I'm like, gosh, I feel like I haven't written anything good.
09:49And then like you, three months go by and you like, go back and listen, you're like, all right, I guess that stuff was, some of that was pretty good.
09:55And yeah, I don't know.
09:58Songwriting is really weird.
09:59It's like, sometimes you feel really on, sometimes you're not, but I just think you always got to show up
10:04because you don't know when God, the universe is just going to give you that, like, that perfect idea, that perfect thing.
10:11You just have to literally show up and make sure that you're there for it when it happens.
10:14So yeah, that's that.
10:17This year has really allowed us that opportunity to really spend time on it.
10:20That's awesome.
10:23Do you think you like, I really don't want to like bury the previous EP, but like, do you think you're going to like release a bigger project this year?
10:33Are you going to give the like last year's EP a chance to like, kind of like breathe or are you ready to move on?
10:41Um, we definitely have some, you know, we're super proud of that, that EP and like, that is still definitely our sound.
10:48And, um, it's songs that, you know, when we pick up tour this year, we're definitely going to be playing those songs.
10:53And, uh, we have some more like, or ideas with the songs, a couple songs on there that, that we might go for this year.
11:02But we, we definitely are going to, you know, people, people want new music and you got to keep going forward.
11:07And we have new music definitely to share with people.
11:09And we're going to start doing that starting next month.
11:11We have a single coming out.
11:13We're really, really pumped about it.
11:14And we know our buddy Kane Brown is too.
11:17And he's really excited about this song as well.
11:18And, uh, so we're going to put that out and kind of go from there.
11:22But I mean, we definitely have the music back in our back pocket already.
11:28We have so much of it and so much of it that we love.
11:30We'll, we'll kind of feel out how much we'll put out or how soon, but.
11:34Yeah.
11:34And, and to play off of that, that, that song we have coming out is one that we did right during the pandemic.
11:41And that's what I was saying.
11:43This, as far as, yeah.
11:44Yeah, we, we went in and, uh, we cut some songs with Dan and yeah, the songs that we cut came out of the pandemic.
11:51And it's just that that's the rewarding part about all of this.
11:55It's like when you try to look at, okay, well, what really happened this year?
12:01Did, did you do everything possible?
12:03And it's just like, you know what, if we, I don't know if we would have ever had the pandemic,
12:07if these songs would have ever came to life or if we would have ever been able to write them.
12:11And so that, that's kind of going to be the neat thing to, to see looking in, I guess,
12:17looking in the rear view when these songs come out is just like, wow, that, that came
12:22from a time when we were all in a really weird place, but something great came out of it.
12:28And we're just excited, I think, for just to see what, what happens this year.
12:32Yeah, that's, I think that'll be awesome.
12:34You'll have like, even if it, hopefully there's, I'm a fan of physical media.
12:39So like, if you guys put it on, like on an, even a CD or an album, it'd be nice to have
12:43something you could hold and be like, in our darkest moments, this is what came out of
12:48it.
12:49Like that has to be like something that would make you feel incredibly proud.
12:54I think that's a, honestly though, for every artist, to me, I think music is going to be
13:00bigger than it ever has been when we get backing up and rolling, just because every artist has
13:06had this opportunity. I mean, I'm sure some took some time off, but I'm sure some were like us and
13:11they were just grinding the whole time. And, and I, but I think people are eager for live shows and to be
13:18able to see their favorite artists in person and be able to just hear new songs from everybody.
13:24Another bright moment of a dark period is your TikTok.
13:29First off, I have to ask, have you guys been contacted by Anheuser-Busch about a sponsorship
13:36yet? Like either Bud Light or Coors?
13:40We have done some videos for Bud Light, but I mean, no, so I'm assuming, uh, I guess you can tell
13:46everybody. So to be sponsored by a beer company, I guess you all have to be 25 and Garrett's our baby
13:52of the group and he's 24. I'm 24. Oh, hopefully we're setting ground. I think, uh, I mean, here's
13:59the thing. Uh, we love drinking beer. We love singing about it. We love making videos about it. And,
14:05uh, when he's 25, I mean, we're, we definitely got some relationships in the works. We're, uh,
14:10ready to partner. Yeah. We're free. Hopefully we set the groundwork for it. Yeah. That, uh, that,
14:16that song with the, uh, the 12 pack of, uh, Coors Light. It was in my head.
14:24Cheers to the beers that we bought. Cheers to the beers that were here. Now they're not because
14:30the beers light up my board. Gosh, it goes hard. So again, that song though came out of Atlanta,
14:36right? And that was, our co-writers were awesome. And we come up with that during the thing. That was,
14:42that was really the tick tock that started it all because this was like, I don't know,
14:48a couple months into the pandemic. And we started trying to make tick tock. So we weren't sure how
14:52to do it or what, you know, what to do or any, any of it. And no one was watching any of our videos.
14:57We put up like 12. We're like, gosh, I don't think we're going to work on tick tock. And then
15:03we come up with that song that we were singing. We thought it was so funny. I was like, dude, let's just
15:08buy some beer and just film it at the park. You're like, let's just go to the park.
15:11We just literally walked down just the block from our house set, set up at the park. And we just
15:18cracked them open, started drinking a little bit, sang it, posted it. And we woke up and it had like,
15:24you know, 80,000 views. And we were like, dude, that's our biggest one. Yeah, that's good. We did
15:28it. We did it. And then at noon has half a million. And then we go to bed that night and it's at a
15:34million and we gained like 40,000 followers in a day. And we're like, we were freaking out. We didn't know
15:40what to do. It's seven or eight million now. That's crazy. And then what happened was is we
15:46all got coped right after that. And so we had to be quarantined and we had no way to follow up our
15:52big hit, our video. We were like, like our video is blowing up. We can't even make it.
15:56Yeah, it was unfortunate. We're all stuck in our room. So then like two,
15:59three weeks passed. We're in the clear. And we just, we just kept doing, what else can we sing about?
16:04Like what other drinking things? And we did like a white claw one. We did a Chick-fil-A song. We just
16:11Taco Bell. We got free Taco Bell. I think the most painful one was definitely the redneck Harry Potter.
16:17That was crazy. We were, we were, I'm swinging from like an excavator. And I had to get tied up with
16:24like this hunting harness. And it was like, it was crazy. And that, I think that's like our biggest video.
16:29Yeah. I think it's like eight or 9 million views, but it was crazy. Yeah. That one was very,
16:34very not fun. Like, like hanging from a rope on a, on an excavator, swinging like at 20 miles per
16:40hour is not comfortable. Please stick to the more drinking for all of us.
16:48So, I mean, I, I do hope that you guys do get sponsored because it was like all of your,
17:01well, all the tech talks, not just the beer ones or the, like, I saw the shot of tequila,
17:06which I'm going to say was Colton. Was he the one with the tequila?
17:11No, it was sad. It was sad. It was sad. Oh, damn, man.
17:16And water. Yep. Yep.
17:18So like you guys really have taken, I think once you found like your vibe,
17:23you've really taken to TikTok. And I'm curious, artists really have to consider
17:28that platform when making music. I mean, we've seen a lot of like songs with maybe like 30 seconds
17:36of a hook, like top the charts. I was curious since you found success on TikTok,
17:42if that any way sort of like influenced your writing or have you been able to kind of like
17:47keep them separate? Like, this is what we do for this platform, but this is what we do for like,
17:52our, like. Yeah, I think, I think with, with TikTok, I think what's so great about it is like,
17:58we like to think that we're pretty funny, like relax dudes. You like to joke around. And, uh,
18:03I think that when we discovered that and started like connecting on it, I think we really saw that
18:08and still do as a platform to like show people our personality, because you can song write and
18:12release music and do shows, but there's like only a limited amount of time to like get to know you
18:17on a personal level. So when we started making these fun things, we, we kind of see it as like,
18:23hey, this is kind of a window of like off the stage, off of writing. Like, this is what we would be
18:28doing if, if we were all hanging out, like just joking around, singing drinking songs. Like,
18:32that's what we kind of think of it as. Yeah. The cool thing about it is, is just
18:36with TikTok now, it's just like, you have an opportunity to put something you made and get
18:40a huge, massive, you know, response from, from, from real people who are buying and listening to
18:47your music and you can get so much like data that way. And so we're definitely going to be sharing our
18:54upcoming music on TikTok. And it's just such a great way to get feedback. And, and like you said,
18:59did it influence our writing? It definitely did. We, we definitely were like, yo, dude,
19:04we need like some really, really good drinking songs, at least one that we can like, you know,
19:09put out and put in our set. And so honestly, we could, we could come out with a whole album
19:13of only drinking songs. And that's something I don't, I don't know if we can one day,
19:18when the timing's right, we're definitely, you know, going to look into that. But we have,
19:21you know, if you want to do a campfire session with us, we could sit,
19:24sit up all night singing these, these drinking songs. I mean, we haven't met.
19:29I'm sure we could set up a campfire here down in Brooklyn.
19:33I'm sure there's like some park that we could get away with it.
19:36Oh yeah. Under the bridge. You know, always ask for forgiveness, not permission.
19:42Uh, well, are you going to shoot a, you have a new single coming. Are you going to shoot like
19:46a conventional video? We are so, um, Kane is super, super pumped. He's honestly,
19:56he's probably equally, if not more excited about this single than what we are. And he has,
20:02he's already told us that he's like, we're going all out on this video where we, so we've got some
20:07really good plans. And I think when people hear this song, it's going to bring a smile to their
20:12face and they're going to really, really enjoy this. But yes, we have big plans for this video
20:19and we can't wait for, uh, to be able to show them to me. That's awesome. Um, do you have a general
20:26ETA on when it's coming? No clue. No clue on the video, but the song next month. All right.
20:33Song will be out next month. Well, I think we'll be, we're, we're winding down. So I do have like
20:39one more question that like what's up with Colton and truff sauce. Oh, finally, somebody asked me,
20:49I'm telling you, this is a good stuff. If I don't get a truff sponsorship, I don't know what I know.
20:57I had a friend. Um, we all, so actually our manager, Joey up in the top, we'd all, uh, we were eating at,
21:05uh, Joey's friend's house and he pulled out this bottle of truff sauce and I had it and it changed
21:13my life. It was literally, it is the most intense flavor. It's not, it's, you can get any hotness you
21:23want. Like the black is just perfect. The white's a little spicier and then the red's like super spicy,
21:29but the flavor is just out of this world. And so it was, it really was, but truthfully,
21:36it's one of those things that, um, it's not the cheapest sauce in the world. And I was putting
21:43it on probably way too much. Like I, I, it wouldn't have put it past me to put it on ice cream.
21:48He would have ate it on cereal, like Frosted Flakes milk and truff sauce.
21:52I was putting it on everything. Like it was very unhealthy, the amount of truff sauce that I was
21:57eating. Some say it runs through his blood. So we did, Joey, I did talk to Joey. I said,
22:02dude, you got to reach out to these people. Like I'm just blowing through truff sauce left and right.
22:08And luckily these people loved us and knew of our music and loved what we were doing and sent us,
22:14um, sent us some truff. But I'm telling you, truff, I'm here for you. I will be your spokesperson.
22:20Have you tried it? If you have not tried it, I'm telling you, go try it. It would change your life.
22:26All right. I haven't. So I'm counting on you to not to let me down. Like would, if there were,
22:32if there was supposed to be like me, uh, a, uh, restless road branded truff sauce,
22:37what flavors do you think it should be? Oh, I think it would be called road rage.
22:41It would just, the hottest, the hottest, uh, one that you can possibly make. We call it road rage.
22:46Yeah. I think like from, well, I love spicy stuff, but if I'm having to not enjoy it because
22:53it's so spicy, that's too much, but something that's got just enough kick and it's still got
22:59an amazing flavor. I would love to do that. I would love to collab with truff and like do
23:04something like that. I think that'd be awesome. But I think it's super funny though, that you ask
23:08that because I had a friend text me last week who could have swore up and down that I was sponsored
23:13by truff because I talk about them so much. He's like, so trust sponsoring you. Are they sending
23:19you money? I'm like, no, dude, honestly, I just love it that much. Like I can't stop talking about it.
23:25Okay. So we've got to get new music out. You guys got a tour. You've got to get that beer sponsorship
23:32up once you're all same age. October 2021. Let's go. And a truff deal. Like if that's not a,
23:40I mean, what's the problem to ask for? Like if, let's make this happen. Let's do it.
23:46That's what we do. With your help, with your help, anything is possible.
23:51I will do my best. Well, thank you for taking time out to speak with me today. This has been a blast,
23:57guys. We enjoyed it. We enjoyed the convo and we, you know, we were itching to just
24:02hang with people and get back out there and hopefully soon we'll get to meet in person and
24:06go disc golfing and eat truff sauce together. But yeah, we really appreciate you taking the time
24:12and it's, it's really fun to always get to talk to people. It was, it was my pleasure. Hope to see
24:17you soon up this way. Yeah. All right. You take it easy now.
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