October 15, 2024 • 38 mins
No joke, one of my favorite intervews in my 20+ year radio career just hppened with one of the bests doing it, Cody Johnson! CoJo shares the crazy story of how him & Carrie Underwood got together for his new song, why he will only can fly private & what he says about Post Malone may shock you!
Also, you'll neverr guess who interupts our interview...
LISTEN NOW!!
Also, you'll neverr guess who interupts our interview...
LISTEN NOW!!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh man, it's been a minute since we caught up
with this guy. And I gotta tell you, when his
name pops up on the calendar, I get excited. Man,
Cody Johnson's.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Here, y'all, let's go what I'm talking about?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Dude? Uh? How was do you sleep good?
Speaker 4 (00:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (00:13):
Look you there.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Listen just we're doing this interview at noon, so there's
a cocktail. Yeah, I slept good. I was late, I swear,
I just swear. I looked over and it had the
green button, which means I didn't push yeah snooze. I
didn't turn it off. It just didn't go off. And
it's the scariest thing in the world is when Noe
busted your door at nine o'clock, I'm like, what what happened?
Speaker 4 (00:31):
He's like, bro, it's nine o'clock.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah. So, like that was the quickest I've ever showered
and got dressed in my life.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Are you a good napper? Like? Can you are?
Speaker 4 (00:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Like I'm somewhat of a professional.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
The problem is if I nap, I'll wake up.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Like if I nap and I have stuff to do,
I'm groggy for like an hour.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I man, I've gotten to where I just listen to
my body. Yeah, And I mean there's certain days where
I know, like if I wake up like out a
habit at like seven or eight o'clock in the morning
and I look at what I've got to do that day,
I'm like, no, No, today's the day.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
I'm gonna sleep till noon. Like nobody gonna miss me.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I'm good And I've just learned to like like on days,
on show days, if I don't have interviews and I
don't have man, I'm just gonna go take a nap.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Like what's it gonna hurt?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Because like, we keep the schedule the way we keep it,
and it can be hard on you if you don't
take time to just let your body chill.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
What is a show day like?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Because obviously, let's say you don't have interviews, and let's
say it's let's say you're doing three dates, three shows
in four or five days.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
What's that second show the second night?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Like usually so, like say if we were doing a
three show deal, I would probably be flying in the
morning of show for the first show, skip soundcheck. There's
usually interviews and stuff like that. You know, you got
radio room, you got meet and greet, and you knock
it out. The first of three shows is not I
won't say conservative, but I'm very conscious.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
On stage that I have two more to go.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Okay, It's like being in the second quarter, like you know,
you've got third and fourth quarter coming up yep. And
then like the next day is my precaution day, Like
I don't really talk. I don't come out of my bus.
If I do, it's like I may work out, you know,
just get out and move a little bit, take a shower,
chill on the bus, and not really do anything.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Maybe read a book or watch a little TV. Just chill.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And then Saturday, depending on how I feel when I
wake up as far as like my voice, it could
be like a really chill day.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
If I'm really oh man.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Like my throat's a little sore or I'm feeling it,
you know, then I'm really conservative. If I'm not, I'm like, okay,
now it's time to burn Saturday night down, Like let's
just go all out, and I generally go have fun.
Like I've got a segue, a rope and dummy and
a scooter and all kinds of stuff on the bus
that we just go fun with. Dude, I can rope
the dummy off the segwae Ken you it's very dangerous.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
That's one thing that I love to mention anytime we're
playing one of your records on the radio. Is I
talk about like not only your love and respect for
the Rodeo, but your involvement in the Rodeo as well.
And obviously you're a big fan of NFR. That's normally
when you play Vegas the most, right, it's like you're
saving time to get to Vegas.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
I am.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
So this year we've got a golf tournament in Vegas.
Cheer golf tournament that we did last year was a
huge success. We raised I want to say, upwards of
like three hundred and fifty thousand dollars for charity. And
then the next day I started the World Series Team
Rope and Finale at South Point, and I'll rope the
next day. I'll rope in the thirteen and a half,
then the twelve and a half, the eleven and a half,
(03:17):
and then the ten and a half, and then the
day of the ten and a half rope and I
have to move to the MGM to go play my
show that night and then play the next show the
next day and then go home.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
It's gonna be It's gonna be awesome.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Is that like?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Is that so for people that don't know NFR, it's
the super Bowl of National Finals Road and it's ten
days in Vegas, and I mean the amount of people
that roll through Vegas.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
And first of all, if you ain't wearing a cowboy hat,
you were out of place those ten days. Absolutely, that's
for damn sure.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
But is that like the time your wife goes, Okay,
this is this is the weekend you get out of
the year to be twenty five year old Cody Johnson
again and then shake it off and get home.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well, there's this thing called the Taos Bakiros that I
do every year. That's what this tattoo is on my hand.
I know that said tattoo. We're gonna get to a
trust me. I've already got an.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Idea for you.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I got But the Tails Fuck Caros is one week
of the year there's no cell phones receptions out in
West Texas. It's kind of a kind of a cowboy
fraternity in Texas. And all I do is rodeo every
day and announce Rodeo and then we have like pa
like booming voice, like I've got the microphone, and it's uh,
there's three rules. There's no pictures, no women, and no fighting. Okay,
(04:27):
So when I get on a microphone, I'm very, very brutal, like,
don't let me find out any of your personal information
because I'm gonna roast you on the microphone. And it's
like it's like no rules, microphone, And I look forward
to it every year. Like, for instance, there was a
guy that came into the arena this year and he
was wearing khakis, Like who wears khakis, you know, like
(04:48):
unless you're an office setting, and so like for the
rest of the week he was only like I didn't
announce his name at all.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
He was only Jake from State Farm.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Or he could have been sponsored by Cole's Good Now
coming to the ring wearing this kakis, he breastfed tell
he was eight Michael.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
All right, we're getting you out there next year. I'm
gonna get you out there next year. Wayne D's guest
appearing in the announcers.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Both take me through because because Vegas is special for
a lot of artists, it's different for you because of NFR.
Has there ever been talk about a residency? And I mean,
don't get me wrong. I know you've done a couple
of shows and a couple of nights, but I'm talking
like a true put you up at a at one
of the hotel venues play their amphitheater. You know.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
There hasn't been really been talks about it, but I've
thought about it, you know, like as uh like so say,
like Cmas are coming up, Like what if we just
sweep these awards?
Speaker 4 (05:41):
You know what that does?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I mean the ripple effect of stuff like that as
the career grows and as my children grow. I think
that at some point, because I've seen Miranda do it,
you know, and Carrie's done it. There's a few other
you know. I think Aldine did a residency, didn't he.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah he did. I think he did like a five
dates and ten nights.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Do you think what it do is it would alleviate
some of the stress of like traveling to where like, hey,
I'm just gonna go do these you guys can come
to me for a little while. So yeah, I think maybe,
like eventually it would be pretty something cool to do,
especially since like I've never done it. I think it'd
be awesome and it'd be really cool to play the
same venue over and over with different people.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
I think that's awesome too.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
It's funny because we got to Keith Urban did his
first residency like I want to say, like six seven
years ago, and we got to ask him like, what's
it like, Like what's it like? And why did it
take you so long to adventure? Here he goes, it's
not playing the same room. I'd get bored as hell.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
To me, no, no, no, no, there's no load in,
there's no load out, Like it's the same feeling, but
different people.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
I think it would be awesome.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
But I met your crew.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Even though there isn't a load in or a load out,
their hands are still going to be out daily, right.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
No offense, guys, that's true.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Sorry.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
When it comes to the rodeo, we were catching up
with Fabiano here a couple of minutes ago, and you
just played a rodeo in Brazil.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Yeah, so the.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Largest rodeo in the world in Behaetos, and I was
doing all my media leading up to it, and so
I this is just me being a stupid kid from Texas.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
I thought, like Spanish, it is not Spanish, it is.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Portuguese, and oh I would have I would have got sis.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
I tripped all over myself because then they started talking
to me and I'm.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Like, I have no clue what this person just he
goes oh line and they're like.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
No, no, don't say oh uh, grassius does not work. Okay,
but here's the problem. So I'm doing all my media
and I was like, they were like, oh, don't worry.
English is a very well taught second language in Brazil.
You know English this and English that. And I was like, okay,
so I'm gonna be good, like they'll at least be
able to understand a little bit of what I'm saying. Really,
(07:42):
how many people it was like fifty thousand people, fifty
thousand people in the stadium, and I noticed like whenever
I would say something besides singing, when I would say something,
everybody just kind of looked at me.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
And I went, how many of y'all speak English?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
And ten people raise their hands, And I was like,
I want to find the interview people and be like
you lie in sons of bit like like nobody spoke English.
I'd be like, are you all ready to party?
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And they went and I'm going, oh, like this is
gonna be bad.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Man.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
So they knew all the words of the songs.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
And that's what I was gonna ask. Do they still
sing along?
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:17):
And I actually saw, well that's I very rarely pay
attention to social media. But afterward the fact on that
when I was like, I need to know whether that
was just the worst thing that ever happened to me
or not. And like some of the comments were like,
we had no idea what he said, but his passion
and this and that, like we loved it. You know,
he was very entertaining and so cool to hear somebody
talking and singing in a different language. And I was like, okay,
(08:37):
so it went over well, But dude, it was insane.
I've been to a lot of rodeos. I've never seen
anything like that. It was nuts, Like Houston Rodeo is
small compared to this thing.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
And that's which is nuts, because Houston Rodeo is iconic,
like that.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Le Shy in Frontier Days has nothing on this thing.
It was huge. I've never seen anything like it.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
I was just talking to one of the members of
your record label, and you're getting ready to play your
first massive stadium show.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
In the US right in Texas.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Yea, in Arlington.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Is that wild to you? To think that that's where
you're at now.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Shoot, that's been That's what been the goal the whole time.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Like I've been wanting that and wanting it, like I
can't wait for it because for me, like you know me,
like I'm pretty competitive, very driven for me, like I'm
walking in that door going Okay, I'm gonna prove to
everybody that I can do this. I'm gonna prove to
everybody that I deserve to be here. All you poll
stars just watch, you know, Like that's that's kind of
my mentality of it. But it's also like it's very
(09:33):
fitting that it's in Texas, kind of a homecoming. I
haven't got to play in Texas very much, just because
we've been going all over the place, all over the world,
and so to get to go back home and have
the first big stadium show is pretty damn special.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Well, And to be honest, the way the Cowboys are playing,
this might be the best show that this year.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
The offense.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
The the recent single on Country is with Carrie Underwood.
Tay and I were having a conversation about it yesterday.
It's so cool because country music is this more than ever,
is this melting pot, right and it's you do your
you do country your way, right, Carrie does country her way,
and then you got guys like Morgan Wallen doing it
his way. How how do you and Carrie end up
(10:20):
working together? And how does it make sense? Because you're
not a guy that that dips your tone in the
colladpool right right?
Speaker 3 (10:25):
So how did that? How how did it come to be?
And how are you like, yeah, this is the one.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So this is a pretty interesting story. Travis Dinning, We've
known each other probably almost let's.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Say, eight ten years.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
He's crazy underrated, by the way, so underrated.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
So, like I forget how long ago it was before
the Human album came out. Travis was actually out on
the road with us and he played this song for
me and I was like, man, can I is there
any way I can get that song?
Speaker 4 (10:49):
Like I love this song?
Speaker 2 (10:51):
And Universal said, you know, basically that's going to be
Travis's next single, and so I just let it go.
You know, congratulations, man, you got one hell of a song.
And I don't know what happened it didn't come out
as his single. Unbeknownst to me, he pitched the song
to Carrie and it wound up in her pile didn't
make the cut on her album, so it goes back
out into the abyss, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Well, when we were cutting leather, I was like, what
happened to that song?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
You know that I fell in love with it, I
never heard again, and they were like, oh, it's actually available.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
I was like, well, put it on hold.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Well, then when I get it back and I start
listening to it again, I was like, dude, I hear Carrie.
I hear Carrie Underwood on this like crazy and.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Well I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I didn't know that, like at this point we met
in two thousand, I would think, like twenty twenty two,
I think in an award show. It just kind of
nice how are you?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Is?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
And I told my wife that night, I was like, Yo,
she's like really nice, like really down to earth, Like
I enjoyed talking with her.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
And you know, anyway, whenever I was like Carrie and.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
An, you know, people on my team were like, well,
what about this person or what about that person, I'm like, no,
it's either Carrie Underwood or I'm not doing it. Like
I felt that strongly about it because I could already
hear it in my head. Yeah, So long story short,
it gets pitched to her. We'll get in the studio
and she's like, well, this is the second time the
song is coming into my life, and I'm like, what
are you talking about. She's like, I had this song,
but she's like, apparently everything happens for a reason, because now.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
That it's with you, it makes sense to do it
as a duet.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
And she told me she's like, two things I don't
do love songs and low register.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
I was like, well, I got you to do it,
So I got carried to do a love.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Song and a low register. But doesn't her voice sound
great on it?
Speaker 3 (12:20):
It's a whole different Carrie.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
It's like a whole different side that sultry soft, almost
like sexy low man. It's crazy to like she has
had Aretha Franklin quality that I don't think anybody really realizes.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Is it tough to stay confident on a song after
you've heard other people turn it down? Are you like,
does any part of you think, well, what did what
did they hear that I'm not hearing.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Till you can't sat on the shelf for ten years?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
So no, no, not at all, Like it doesn't matter
to me what other people do because like, I was
just at Dean Dylon's songwriter tribute last night in Alabama,
and I'm sitting in a room just for me to you,
and George Strait's doing his interviews and I'm next up
in the chair and sitting back, just chilling watching George
do this interview.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
And they were talking about, uh, what was the song noe?
What was the song that it was?
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Uh? He turned down Tennessee Whiskey. Dean pitched Tennessee Whiskey
to George first, and he was like, you know, it
wasn't for me. He's like, you know, and then George
Jones cuts it, and you know, David allen Coe and
then obviously Chris Stapleton like stamped this song forever. Yeah,
And he's like, man, if I had to cut that song,
my version of it would have probably been horrible and
(13:28):
not to ruin the song, you know what I mean? Like,
so it's it just because somebody turns it down doesn't
mean it's not It just means it's not for them, Dude.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
I love That's what And I and I've gone back
and forth about this. I want to start a podcast
talking solely about.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
Can be your first guess?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
I do. It's like they told us, like we have
thirty minutes. I'm like, hey, dude, everybody else will wait?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Do wait?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Like I've been looking forward to this interview. I looked
through my interview page and I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, Wayne,
d Baby, here we go.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Anyway, dude, I appreciate that because I feel the same
exact way.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
But but I've been toying with this podcast idea because
the stories about songs and and what happened for somebody else,
and we've had amazing talent, just like yourself sit across here,
and uh, you know, Jason Eldan ended up with Big
Green Tractor.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Jake Owen passed on that.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
And you're talking about George straight check yes or no.
Was pitched to Kenny Chesney first and Kenny said no,
And now it's a George.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
But he regrets that.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Yeah, well he's Yeah. Three boats and two beach houses later,
he's doing all right.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
I think he owns an island.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
The Kenny Coast. But but I just love stories about
songs like that. And I feel like we've talked before,
have there Because you're a guy who likes your hands
in the mud when it comes to anything you're putting
your voice on, but there has to be stuff that
you've been like, should have hung on to that one man.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Not really, you're gonna say no because.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
You're here's what. No, it's not that. Here's what.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
I'm not cutting the kind of songs anybody else's cutting.
So there's not really a whole lot of people in
their hands in the mud trying to get these songs.
Like Till You Can't was too much of a ballad.
You know, it didn't work, It's not gonna work on radio.
The Painter is just a you know, middle of the
road love song. And it's like, I'm I'm picking these
songs that nobody else is because everybody else is chasing
(15:16):
the ambulance. I think, in a way, I got to
get a number one hit. I gotta get this, I
gotta get that, dude.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
I don't care.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I just want to I want to record songs that
mean something to me that I can go out and
I can play for my fans, that actually mean something.
And so I think, whenever you're looking at it from
that aspect, I don't lose a lot of them, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
I mean, I'm not picking those. I'm not picking from
the same pile. I don't think you know.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Tony Lane is one of the most incredible songwriters in history.
Has been sending me a lot of songs lately, and
it's it's so crazy to text Tony Lane back and say, man,
that's not really what I'm looking for. You know, hey,
I loved it, but it's just not it's not gonna
work on my album. And I'm sitting there shaking, like
I'm texting Tony Lane this kind He's like, Okay, I'll
be coming back with another one. And I'm like, dude,
(15:59):
what is this world we're living and we're I'm getting
talk to these incredible songwriters and they're writing songs for
what I'm doing. But I think that comes from picking
from that certain pile, like Okay, Josh Phillips dirt Cheap,
he said.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
He told me.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
He was like, man, I really, Oh, this is funny.
I can't wait to tell this, he said. I wanted
to wait for the right artists to pitch this song because.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
It meant so much to me.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
The day that my album comes out, Leather, I get
a text from Luke Colmbs and it's a lot of words.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
That I can't say, and I was like, what did
I do to Luke? You know, like, God, he's mad.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And he sends me a screenshot of his thread on
his phone from Josh Phillips and dirt Cheap is sitting
there and he never clicked on it.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
No way, no, yeah, he never clicked on it.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
He could have had dirt Cheap, but he never clicked
on it.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
So yeah, back at you, Luke, I got you. Yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Well, And speaking of Luke, he's doing well on his own.
He he has a bar downtown now that's about to
open down the street. Have you ever wanted to dabble
in stuff like that? I mean, you're so prideful and
so focused on music, Like do you is that anything
eventually down the road?
Speaker 2 (17:03):
We are.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Kind of well, we're in the works.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Talking to give details.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Nobody listens to me, but it's not going to be
in Nashville. It's going to be in Caltown, in Fort Worth,
in Texas, Okay. So I think like it's it's kind
of like my mo to, like, yeah, I could have
everybody wants to put a place on Broadway.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
I mean I think it's great for longevity for your family,
legacy type financial situation for sure. But for me, I
want to be able to go to my own restaurant.
So we're gonna put it in Texas where I can
just drive to it.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
There you go, don't. I don't know that Nashville is the.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Spot for a Kojo's, but Kojo's in Caltown has a
pretty nice ring to it.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I do dig that early in your career, and I
bring this up all the time because it's it's to
talk to you at stagecoach in twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen,
to the Cody Johnson that sits in front of me.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Now.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Early in your career, you were so protective of everything
you touched, and not that you're not now, but to
get where you are now, you had to trust others
a little and you had to give up a little control.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Does that sound right?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I don't know that it's giving up control. It's dropping
your pride and knowing that like you. So, why put
people around you that you trust if you're not going
to trust them?
Speaker 4 (18:21):
You know?
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Why put people around you on your team that you
know can make you better if you're not going to
value their opinion? And sometimes I'm right sometimes I'm wrong.
Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong, but I think you
have to.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
It's like that conversation that I had with John S Posito,
who was the president of Warner at the time when
I signed. I said, look, here's the thing, man, I
don't need you and you don't need me. But I
need you and you need me, Like, how do we
make this work? Like I know that I'm not going
to ever get to that spot without putting that Warner
team around me. But also I'm not willing to go,
(18:54):
you know, chase the ambulance. I'm not willing to you know,
try to get the dangling carrot of fame and fortune.
I'm still going to be myself. So I don't think
I've lost control. I think it's more of a matter
of a maturity in my career as a as what
you call it, what you want, but as a business owner,
as a CEO of a of a brand, I think
the maturity of going, Man, I you know, I'm gonna
(19:15):
have to have help. I'm gonna have to have good
people around me and and to to take me to
that next level. Otherwise I would have done it on
my own already.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
It's part of you now, knowing that you held on
tight to all of that, does any part of you
today wish that you I trusted these people earlier, or
trusted situations earlier.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Man, No, dude, everything happens for a reason. Like I've
I've always looked back at my career in my life
thinking why is it taking me eighteen years? Like why
didn't it happen here? Honestly, dude, I wasn't ready.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I think if you'd have gave me the record deal
here versus here, I would have screwed it all up
because I wasn't my I wasn't developed enough as an artist,
as a singer, as a songwriter, as a businessman, as
a as a man period. I've had such an opportunity
in my life to develop such a wonderful marriage and
a wonderful relationship with my kids. You know, a ranch
(20:07):
back home in Texas. I wouldn't have had all that
because I would have been too caught up. I think
that overall, Dude, God's got a plan, and it's not
always Cody, Cody, Cody. I don't think I was ready
for it. So really, knowing myself, I'm glad that it
took this long because now I can sit here and
have these conversations with you or even a young artist,
you know, and give really good sound advice because I've
(20:28):
already screwed it all up. I've already made all the mistakes.
That's why it took eighteen freaking years, you know. But
I wasn't I wouldn't have been ready. I think I
would have been just a Roman candle in the wind.
It would have popped, it would have been really good,
and then i'd have faded away.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
That's a great way to think of it. It's you.
You were the crock pot country singer.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
That's what we're gonna call. I was gonna say Coleman lantern,
but pots way better.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
When when it comes to I'd mentioned you do country music,
your way, carry her way.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
All that country music.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Over especially over the last nine plus months, it seems
like is where the party's at right, everybody wants to
buy a cowboy h So number one, as a guy
who who has stayed in his lit that was gonna
sound super disrespectful, not stayed in your lane, But I
(21:21):
like it have to but like I mean it in
a good like I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (21:26):
I'm with you.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Everybody's trying to do something different. You continue to dominate
doing it to Cody Johnson Way, but what is it?
What's your opinion envision on artists stepping into country wanting.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
To try it out. I mean, obviously I'm talking like
post Malone and people like that.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
So Post is a friend of mine, So I'll just
say this, he's doing it the right way. He's here
in town, he's showing up, he's doing the interviews, he's
going to these events, and he's he's rubbing elbows with
true country music artists that have a passion for it.
He's not just coming in and saying, I'm Post Malone
and I deserve every award and I deserve number ones
because I'm post Malone. He came into this with like
(22:05):
I'm a nobody. Doesn't matter what I've done over here
in the world of country music.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
I'm brand new.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
He's very respectful to everybody, and he's a great guy.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
But he's not coming in with any arrogance.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
It's like, doesn't matter you were post Malone, but now
you're post Malone a country yeah, And he's so good
at that man, Like he's just a normal genuine person,
and he's doing it the right way, like, man, I'm
gonna come up through the ranks. Obviously, dude, it's Post Malone,
you know, so you're gonna love the record, you know.
But he didn't come in with this arrogance of I
deserve anything. He didn't have an entitlement since. And I
think that's the difference between Posts and some other artists
(22:39):
that have tried it, is that those other artists come
in with, well, my name is this, and I deserve everything.
It's like, man, no, you don't. There's some of us
that have sacrificed eighteen years of our lives to be here.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
So step off.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
You know what, as somebody who met you a handful
of years ago, I'm gonna rewind not eighteen years ago
because we would have caused trouble, but that eighteen years ago,
anybody trying to cross over that less mature Cody Johnson
had been like, what the hell are you doing?
Speaker 2 (23:05):
That's exactly right now. I appreciate it because we're getting
we're getting more light to what we do. I mean, like,
so I'll say it like this. Last year, I spoke
at the Wrangler NFR for the professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,
the board members, and I was like, you know, we
as cowboys, we have a tendency of what is what
is that dude wearing a hat for he's not a cowboy?
(23:27):
Look at him, got brand new boots on, Like what
is that? But here's the deal. When I was a kid,
I had Michael Jordan tennis shoes and I had a
red and black Bulls jersey with the twenty three on it.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
You know why? Because I wanted to be like Mike.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Remember that.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yep, I want to be like Mike.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
I'm the worst basketball player in the history of the game, dude,
I'm telling you you would rather watch me golf than
to play basketball. And I'm a pretty athletic guy. But
the point I was making is this, I just wanted
to be like Michael Jordan's So I had a jersey
and I had J's on my feet.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
Right.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
So when you have these other artists that want to
come to country music, I think it's because they think, man,
I just want the country's cool and I want to
do something. Really, I want to try country music. I
want to put a cowboy hat on and rhyinestones and
fringe and it's cool because what's good for the hat,
what's good for country music is good for us. Man.
It's good for your business, it's good for my business,
and it's good for the reason you're in radio.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I would have just willing to bet.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Because you love country music absolutely, Okay, Well, the reason
I'm here is because I love country music. So it's
not bad, man, I mean, who cares like them? Let
them come, unless that's different from the old Cody's opinion.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
I love it enough where if I could play and sing,
I'd be running after your ass right now. I tell
you that I go for the opening spot, but then
i'd show up late, so you had to open for me.
I don't know if that's how that works, but.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
We're gonna try it.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
No, it's not.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
In between now in the end of the year, what
are some things that you're looking forward to. Obviously, there's
gonna be someone plugging around the holidays.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
We've talked before. That's extremely important to you.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
But outside of that, really, that's that's like the biggest
I've had such a crazy two years. Leather and then
getting ready for Leather Deluxe. There's a lot of recording,
there's a lot of promoting. There's a lot of touring,
and uh, this year has been I've done more appearances
this year. Like I've spent more hours on a private
jet just trying to get to here, to get to there,
(25:16):
to get to here, to get home.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
To do it again. And it's exhausting. Man.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Like everybody thinks it's a really you know, glamorous life,
it's man, it's a lot of work and getting through October.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Like this week, I'm on the road.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Next week I'm gonna be at my team roping, the
Kojo Championship Team Roping in Belton, Texas. And that's gonna
be a lot of work when you're hosting an event,
like you're.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Can I say balls of the Wall?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (25:41):
Yeah, your balls of the Wall all week?
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Man.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
And it's like when you get through that October period,
when November comes around, it's like I get to breathe,
go home unplugged. That's what I look forward to the
most every year is deer season's coming around, which gives
me an excuse to go sit in a deer stand
with my kids and you know, build a fire and
sit around and real small marshmallows and all that cool
stuff that everybody else is.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Like, yeah, we do that all the time.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Well, I don't get to, so it's really special to me.
Uh yeah, I said on Sunday and watched the football.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
I don't want to hear it. I just got all
a plane at four am.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
I slept till two. Now everybody's doing their own thing.
I'm going where the holding my family go, you know,
like it's.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Yeah, hey, and the private you can tap that in
if you want to come on in. Oh' just like
that to me.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
I just wanted one, but I really shouldn't.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Okay, you're fine, I really shouldn't, but uh, okay, what's
one more? It's fine.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
That's how it gets started, dude. I know it is
not even noon.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
That's self true to see how the one in fifteen minutes.
The private jet life. We've talked to other artists about
this and it's not necessarily like you're balling. It's no, no,
you want to get home as fast as you can
in between things.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
Yeah, and that's something that like.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
So here's where it started for me was airports, public airports.
I went to the first time it happened, I landed.
Actually know we for those of you don't, I don't know.
That's like my best friend in the world. He's my
right hand man.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
Like his his title is no, he like, there's not
really a title. Maybe my handler?
Speaker 1 (27:08):
What is it?
Speaker 4 (27:09):
What is this?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
He's the only reason I'm here.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
He's the one that woke me up at nine this morning.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
And I was like, I'll just take this trip by myself,
no big deal, and I'll never forget it. Like I
landed in like Minnesota or somewhere somewhere up north, and
I was on the phone with my wife walking out
from baggage claim, and I look up and there's like
fifty people and they've all got signs and they're screaming,
and they just kind of rushed me, and it kind
of No, he wasn't there.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
That was normally he would fight him.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Normally he'd be like, hey, you know, hey, here's my
here's my point. I said, hey, guys, I'll sign all
this stuff. How it's like nine o'clock at night. I
was like, how did you guys know I was even here,
Like I'm flying into nowhere. They were like, oh, we
got your flight number from Houston and I'm like what.
They were like, yeah, well, somebody followed you in the
airport and took a picture of your flight number, so
we knew exactly what time you'd be here. And I'm like,
(27:56):
I don't like being hunted, so I kind of got
I was like, okay, Deerfield, the tables turned. But then
like so I started wearing like joggers and a you know,
ball cap pulled down.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
Doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
And it started getting kind of chaotic in airports to
the point where I was like, Okay, I have anxiety
about even being here, So how much is it gonna cost,
you know, to fly private and look at this astronomical number.
But looking ahead, we were able to strategically plan financial
gains and you know, I've got my own personal investments
and things like that that I was like, Okay, we
(28:32):
can afford this. I'm going to start flying private just
because I can take my kids and my family. Or
like you said, if it's if we get off stage
at eleven and it's midnight, dude, I can be back
home by two or three in the morning, and I
sleep and I'm home and I can take my kids
to church on a Sunday morning like a normal person,
you know, or or we go rope or whatever, it is,
but it's a lot of sacrifice financially, and it's a
(28:55):
lot of sacrifice time wise, but it's worth it.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
You're getting what you pay for for sure.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Absolutely, deluxe edition. What made you decide that leather would
be deluxe? And I want to say we talked at
the ACM Awards, not this past year, but the year
before about doing a leather cologne with the release of this.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
I've seen in the notes you decided not to do that.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
I I didn't think it was very lucrative.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Well, if I give you ideas that a year and
I'll take them, okay? Or is that not something you say.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
Recorded?
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Yeah, we have that down by the way, I'm watching
the sound lights.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
But when it when it comes to the deluxe edition,
a lot of people are doing it, but you definitely
are doing it different.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
It was an accident.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Why if you want to know the real truth, it
was an accident. So I had Human the double album, right, Yeah.
I don't want to do another double album because like
that's double album, double album.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Yeah, So here's how this goes down.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
At the end of the day, I looked at all
the songs that I had to record, and there was
twenty five of them.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Had to like, I can't get rid of these.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
There's no way I'm not recording these, and they were
kind of already recorded, and so I was like, shit,
there's twenty five songs on here.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
Yeah, what do we do now?
Speaker 2 (30:08):
So Chris Lacey Warner Music, Nashville, one of my best
friends in the world.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
I was like, what do I do? She's like, I
have an idea. Let's deluxe it.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
She's like, so, basically, you need to separate these songs
because I already had it in sequential order, like I've
told you before, I do it like a set list.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
She's like, you need to go back through and separate
this into two different set lists. Let's do leather and
then later on we'll release the deluxe edition. I was like,
what is a deluxe edition. She's like, basically, it's like a.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Part two but not really.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
And You're like, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
And so, like any other interview, we strategized and when,
and it was absolutely my idea, but it wasn't.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
It was Chris Lacey.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
But we talked before. You're not a big deluxe guy
in general.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
No, But it was either that to release another double
album and I didn't want the redundancy of that, you
know what, the everything happens for a reason.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
I've said that twice in this interview.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
The cool part is for me, I've noticed that the
fans on the first part of Leather, they had a
chance to really die just that record.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
You know, we watched it in streaming.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Was sitting there and I pay attention to all this
stuff of like, these songs are streaming really well, we
should maybe put those in the set. These songs did
really well live, but they didn't stream as much.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
Obviously.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
We got two number ones off of this thing, and
the fans are like, okay, we've we've had, We're finished
with this plate.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
What's the next course?
Speaker 2 (31:20):
And I think that's a cool concept like that, And
in me as a fan, I started thinking about it,
like for people that I like, like, dude, I wish
that record would have been split in half, where I
could have had these twelve songs first, where I could.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
Have just fallen in love with what I fell in
love with.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Maybe this was not so much, and then you get
the second course and you're like, oh, I have something new,
Like it was really cool, but it was all one project, you.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Know, so what made you go leather deluxe instead of like,
did you so? I'd imagine you bring up Michael Jordan
and Jays and all that. Did you ever listen to
the Nelly the rapper Nelly? Yeah, bro, so he put
out the album Sweat and then Suit. So why didn't
you do like leather and lace leather. That's the first
person that said, why deluxe?
Speaker 3 (31:59):
That it sounds okay. It's because it's deluxe deluxe.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
It sounds cool because the first one was like, actually version,
this is the four wheel drivers.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Yes, yeah, this one has leather.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Got it.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Like that?
Speaker 4 (32:13):
No, you really want to know the truth. Apparently, in
this industry, if it's.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Called a deluxe, if you put the word deluxe.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
On it, it all counts as one project.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
So for instance, when you're talking about gold or platinum
or diamond certifications, if it was two different things, if
it was a part one and a part two, it's
two separate things.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
Deluxe on it.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
All your streaming and all your sales and all your
numbers count for one project.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
The business side, I couldn't do it. I just hit
play dude, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
I had really cool names. But then when they told
me that.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
I was like, deluxe it is, yeah, so let's get
a diamond.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
So what was the cool name?
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Like if you're gonna say if if they were like, hey,
rename it, we hate deluxe.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Rename it.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Now go the extended version.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
I was trying to think like movies and stuff like that,
like like quin, what would Quentin Tarantino call it?
Speaker 4 (33:00):
But I mean there's nothing. There's a lot to be
said for a part one and part two. It's like,
oh there's a part two.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Are so you do leather and then leather leather, stick
with the put out pleasure first because then you get
ye holler at me for more marketing tips.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
Jelly Roll just text me. Sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
No, he's a he's a friend of ours. He comes.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Actually last time he was here, somebody was playing a
show or you know, they got the people playing out
here and he went out and sang with them.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
He said, he's on Joe Rogan's podcast right now and
he's like, I'm fixing to pump you up again.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
I don't know, Joe, But jelly Roll, you're getting mentioned
on Wayne D. Like we're down here in the in
the slums. Buddy told Rogan have us on the show
a lot more.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Isn't that nice that you're stuck here with me? And
he's it's Joey Rogan.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
I'm where I need to be, buddy.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Last thing I want to ask, which I'm over my time?
Porte is the one that has to go through all
this audio. I just I just go I'm over my time,
and she goes, it's okay, I'm sorry, it's fine.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
There's I have a famous quote like if I'll ever
remember anything I've ever said, here's the quote, They'll wait. Yeah,
well we have another appointment here in it they'll wait.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
True. Hey, we had to.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Prick said if he said they'll wait this morning before
he left the bus, I'm done.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
Now.
Speaker 4 (34:25):
You know that was for the first interviews.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
It wasn't for you, obviously. I literally got to the
first interview, was like, hey, we got to hear this
ship up.
Speaker 4 (34:30):
We gotta get to Wayne d Okay that, but do one?
Speaker 3 (34:33):
How long are you in town for?
Speaker 4 (34:35):
I'm just looking over at my Warner buddy over here.
Just today.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Now we're headed out tonight. We play a Minnesota tomorrow
in Minnesota, Minneapolis, and then we go uh Kansas City, Missouri.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
Excel Energy Center.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Yeah, yeah, sure it's a good spot.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
No, it's a nice I'm from Minneapolis, so take me,
take me with us. What I'm saying, hop on.
Speaker 4 (34:54):
The bus, buddy bus, no.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Talking all this, PJ. All of a sudden, I get
it in, but I gotta ge on a fucking buss.
I'm out. Sorry, I'm not fancy.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
It's not as fancy as you think.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
I believe that's pretty.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
The last thing I want to ask you is, uh,
you are a tattoo guy, but your tattoos tell a story, right,
I mean we've talked before.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
There are some that you're like, just cuz what was
most recent and what's next?
Speaker 2 (35:23):
So uh, let's see I can pull this off here
show you so like, you know, I've got the feathers
kind of represent like growth in indians Is where I
went to school, and so I love the red and
black feathers. So I just started taking the feathers up
my arm and putting the shading in around like.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
So this is my wife, Clara Corey.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
But like I've still got to go in and shade
all this all the way up my arm, and these
feathers you can't see it. What a gig all the
way up the back of my arm right here, and
I've got my ranch brand, the jbar C, and so
like we'll finish shading that I did six hours and
then my arm just got pissed off and started spitting
the ink back out. And he's like, dude, you're done.
Like he's like, I've had a leg to work on.
(36:02):
We could switch, but like, your your arm is done today. Uh,
we gotta do the shading, paint the feathers red and
a few little blue things here and there, and then
I'll be completely done with this arm.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
The same guy, Buffalo Jake out of Vegas.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
He wants to come back and reblue this and kind
of reread the feathers just to kind of make it
all cohesive where it looks like it was done at
one time. And he's like that way at ages the
same you know what I mean, Like you don't want
like half your arm looking like it was done twenty
years ago. But uh, I don't know, like I thought
I've thought about from here up on this arm, just
doing black one offs like of Texas stuff, just like
Texas flags, historical Texas flags. I like that because I've
(36:39):
got a Texas over my chest on this side. I
have an idea for like when we do get to
pull this tattoo off, like you you know, we talked
about the microphones and all that stuff, right, I have
a feeling you're gonna go over the top, like you're
gonna be sitting there for four hours. I figured out
something I canna be done in thirty minutes.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Okay, so I used.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Obviously, I've got so on my chest.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
I've got resist all just all cawboy hatline, right yeah,
because you only get a Cowboy heatline for the first
time once, right Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
I ride for the brand. I use cactus ropes and
I ride for the brand.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
So I'm just gonna get a little tiny cactus right there,
and then I'm gonna sit back and watch you go.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (37:16):
I'm gonna be like, I'm gonna have a cocktail and
I'll be like, hey, my cactus is done. When are
you still sick in the chair?
Speaker 3 (37:22):
And you know what, I'm gonna make a mordering pizza.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
You've been here for three freaking hours.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
I'm gonna make sure you keep drinking until you pass out,
and then I'm gonna have him add sunglasses.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
To that cactus. So that's so cool. It's actually it's
gonna have a daisy on.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
This's not a bad idea ude.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Listen, you're talking to the guy who has one on
his foot.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Oh that's true, the bottom of my foot. What is
it again, one foot over a line?
Speaker 3 (37:43):
Oh that's way Jennings lyric. Yeah, yeah, I remember that guy.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
I barely remember that. I have pictures of it though,
that it's there, that it happened, that it happened.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
My wife called me the next day and was like,
did you tattoo your foot last night after the show,
And I went.
Speaker 4 (37:59):
Yes, I did.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
You're like, ship, I thought I stepped on the nail.
Speaker 4 (38:02):
It's like, no, wonder my foot has swollen. Oh dude, yeah,
that was a that was a night. Things you do
on a tour bus can't do that on a p J.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
That's true. Too much Turby, you can't. That's but that's
why we ride the bus, right boys.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Yeah, cheap ass Cody Cody Johnson, Thanks man, Thanks for
Oh man, it's been a minute since we caught up
with this guy. And I gotta tell you, when his
name pops up on the calendar, I get excited. Man,
Cody Johnson's.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Here, y'all, let's go what I'm talking about?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Dude? Uh? How was do you sleep good?
Speaker 4 (00:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (00:13):
Look you there.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Listen just we're doing this interview at noon, so there's
a cocktail. Yeah, I slept good. I was late, I swear,
I just swear. I looked over and it had the
green button, which means I didn't push yeah snooze. I
didn't turn it off. It just didn't go off. And
it's the scariest thing in the world is when Noe
busted your door at nine o'clock, I'm like, what what happened?
Speaker 4 (00:31):
He's like, bro, it's nine o'clock.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah. So, like that was the quickest I've ever showered
and got dressed in my life.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Are you a good napper? Like? Can you are?
Speaker 4 (00:38):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Like I'm somewhat of a professional.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
The problem is if I nap, I'll wake up.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Like if I nap and I have stuff to do,
I'm groggy for like an hour.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I man, I've gotten to where I just listen to
my body. Yeah, And I mean there's certain days where
I know, like if I wake up like out a
habit at like seven or eight o'clock in the morning
and I look at what I've got to do that day,
I'm like, no, No, today's the day.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
I'm gonna sleep till noon. Like nobody gonna miss me.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I'm good And I've just learned to like like on days,
on show days, if I don't have interviews and I
don't have man, I'm just gonna go take a nap.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Like what's it gonna hurt?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Because like, we keep the schedule the way we keep it,
and it can be hard on you if you don't
take time to just let your body chill.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
What is a show day like?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Because obviously, let's say you don't have interviews, and let's
say it's let's say you're doing three dates, three shows
in four or five days.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
What's that second show the second night?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Like usually so, like say if we were doing a
three show deal, I would probably be flying in the
morning of show for the first show, skip soundcheck. There's
usually interviews and stuff like that. You know, you got
radio room, you got meet and greet, and you knock
it out. The first of three shows is not I
won't say conservative, but I'm very conscious.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
On stage that I have two more to go.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Okay, It's like being in the second quarter, like you know,
you've got third and fourth quarter coming up yep. And
then like the next day is my precaution day, Like
I don't really talk. I don't come out of my bus.
If I do, it's like I may work out, you know,
just get out and move a little bit, take a shower,
chill on the bus, and not really do anything.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Maybe read a book or watch a little TV. Just chill.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And then Saturday, depending on how I feel when I
wake up as far as like my voice, it could
be like a really chill day.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
If I'm really oh man.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Like my throat's a little sore or I'm feeling it,
you know, then I'm really conservative. If I'm not, I'm like, okay,
now it's time to burn Saturday night down, Like let's
just go all out, and I generally go have fun.
Like I've got a segue, a rope and dummy and
a scooter and all kinds of stuff on the bus
that we just go fun with. Dude, I can rope
the dummy off the segwae Ken you it's very dangerous.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
That's one thing that I love to mention anytime we're
playing one of your records on the radio. Is I
talk about like not only your love and respect for
the Rodeo, but your involvement in the Rodeo as well.
And obviously you're a big fan of NFR. That's normally
when you play Vegas the most, right, it's like you're
saving time to get to Vegas.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
I am.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
So this year we've got a golf tournament in Vegas.
Cheer golf tournament that we did last year was a
huge success. We raised I want to say, upwards of
like three hundred and fifty thousand dollars for charity. And
then the next day I started the World Series Team
Rope and Finale at South Point, and I'll rope the
next day. I'll rope in the thirteen and a half,
then the twelve and a half, the eleven and a half,
(03:17):
and then the ten and a half, and then the
day of the ten and a half rope and I
have to move to the MGM to go play my
show that night and then play the next show the
next day and then go home.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
It's gonna be It's gonna be awesome.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Is that like?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Is that so for people that don't know NFR, it's
the super Bowl of National Finals Road and it's ten
days in Vegas, and I mean the amount of people
that roll through Vegas.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
And first of all, if you ain't wearing a cowboy hat,
you were out of place those ten days. Absolutely, that's
for damn sure.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
But is that like the time your wife goes, Okay,
this is this is the weekend you get out of
the year to be twenty five year old Cody Johnson
again and then shake it off and get home.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well, there's this thing called the Taos Bakiros that I
do every year. That's what this tattoo is on my hand.
I know that said tattoo. We're gonna get to a
trust me. I've already got an.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Idea for you.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
I got But the Tails Fuck Caros is one week
of the year there's no cell phones receptions out in
West Texas. It's kind of a kind of a cowboy
fraternity in Texas. And all I do is rodeo every
day and announce Rodeo and then we have like pa
like booming voice, like I've got the microphone, and it's uh,
there's three rules. There's no pictures, no women, and no fighting. Okay,
(04:27):
So when I get on a microphone, I'm very, very brutal, like,
don't let me find out any of your personal information
because I'm gonna roast you on the microphone. And it's
like it's like no rules, microphone, And I look forward
to it every year. Like, for instance, there was a
guy that came into the arena this year and he
was wearing khakis, Like who wears khakis, you know, like
(04:48):
unless you're an office setting, and so like for the
rest of the week he was only like I didn't
announce his name at all.
Speaker 4 (04:53):
He was only Jake from State Farm.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Or he could have been sponsored by Cole's Good Now
coming to the ring wearing this kakis, he breastfed tell
he was eight Michael.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
All right, we're getting you out there next year. I'm
gonna get you out there next year. Wayne D's guest
appearing in the announcers.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Both take me through because because Vegas is special for
a lot of artists, it's different for you because of NFR.
Has there ever been talk about a residency? And I mean,
don't get me wrong. I know you've done a couple
of shows and a couple of nights, but I'm talking
like a true put you up at a at one
of the hotel venues play their amphitheater. You know.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
There hasn't been really been talks about it, but I've
thought about it, you know, like as uh like so say,
like Cmas are coming up, Like what if we just
sweep these awards?
Speaker 4 (05:41):
You know what that does?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I mean the ripple effect of stuff like that as
the career grows and as my children grow. I think
that at some point, because I've seen Miranda do it,
you know, and Carrie's done it. There's a few other
you know. I think Aldine did a residency, didn't he.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah he did. I think he did like a five
dates and ten nights.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Do you think what it do is it would alleviate
some of the stress of like traveling to where like, hey,
I'm just gonna go do these you guys can come
to me for a little while. So yeah, I think maybe,
like eventually it would be pretty something cool to do,
especially since like I've never done it. I think it'd
be awesome and it'd be really cool to play the
same venue over and over with different people.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
I think that's awesome too.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
It's funny because we got to Keith Urban did his
first residency like I want to say, like six seven
years ago, and we got to ask him like, what's
it like, Like what's it like? And why did it
take you so long to adventure? Here he goes, it's
not playing the same room. I'd get bored as hell.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
To me, no, no, no, no, there's no load in,
there's no load out, Like it's the same feeling, but
different people.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
I think it would be awesome.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
But I met your crew.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Even though there isn't a load in or a load out,
their hands are still going to be out daily, right.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
No offense, guys, that's true.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Sorry.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
When it comes to the rodeo, we were catching up
with Fabiano here a couple of minutes ago, and you
just played a rodeo in Brazil.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Yeah, so the.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Largest rodeo in the world in Behaetos, and I was
doing all my media leading up to it, and so
I this is just me being a stupid kid from Texas.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
I thought, like Spanish, it is not Spanish, it is.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Portuguese, and oh I would have I would have got sis.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
I tripped all over myself because then they started talking
to me and I'm.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Like, I have no clue what this person just he
goes oh line and they're like.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
No, no, don't say oh uh, grassius does not work. Okay,
but here's the problem. So I'm doing all my media
and I was like, they were like, oh, don't worry.
English is a very well taught second language in Brazil.
You know English this and English that. And I was like, okay,
so I'm gonna be good, like they'll at least be
able to understand a little bit of what I'm saying. Really,
(07:42):
how many people it was like fifty thousand people, fifty
thousand people in the stadium, and I noticed like whenever
I would say something besides singing, when I would say something,
everybody just kind of looked at me.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
And I went, how many of y'all speak English?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
And ten people raise their hands, And I was like,
I want to find the interview people and be like
you lie in sons of bit like like nobody spoke English.
I'd be like, are you all ready to party?
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And they went and I'm going, oh, like this is
gonna be bad.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Man.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
So they knew all the words of the songs.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
And that's what I was gonna ask. Do they still
sing along?
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (08:17):
And I actually saw, well that's I very rarely pay
attention to social media. But afterward the fact on that
when I was like, I need to know whether that
was just the worst thing that ever happened to me
or not. And like some of the comments were like,
we had no idea what he said, but his passion
and this and that, like we loved it. You know,
he was very entertaining and so cool to hear somebody
talking and singing in a different language. And I was like, okay,
(08:37):
so it went over well, But dude, it was insane.
I've been to a lot of rodeos. I've never seen
anything like that. It was nuts, Like Houston Rodeo is
small compared to this thing.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
And that's which is nuts, because Houston Rodeo is iconic,
like that.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Le Shy in Frontier Days has nothing on this thing.
It was huge. I've never seen anything like it.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
I was just talking to one of the members of
your record label, and you're getting ready to play your
first massive stadium show.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
In the US right in Texas.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
Yea, in Arlington.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Is that wild to you? To think that that's where
you're at now.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Shoot, that's been That's what been the goal the whole time.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Like I've been wanting that and wanting it, like I
can't wait for it because for me, like you know me,
like I'm pretty competitive, very driven for me, like I'm
walking in that door going Okay, I'm gonna prove to
everybody that I can do this. I'm gonna prove to
everybody that I deserve to be here. All you poll
stars just watch, you know, Like that's that's kind of
my mentality of it. But it's also like it's very
(09:33):
fitting that it's in Texas, kind of a homecoming. I
haven't got to play in Texas very much, just because
we've been going all over the place, all over the world,
and so to get to go back home and have
the first big stadium show is pretty damn special.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Well, And to be honest, the way the Cowboys are playing,
this might be the best show that this year.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
The offense.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
The the recent single on Country is with Carrie Underwood.
Tay and I were having a conversation about it yesterday.
It's so cool because country music is this more than ever,
is this melting pot, right and it's you do your
you do country your way, right, Carrie does country her way,
and then you got guys like Morgan Wallen doing it
his way. How how do you and Carrie end up
(10:20):
working together? And how does it make sense? Because you're
not a guy that that dips your tone in the
colladpool right right?
Speaker 3 (10:25):
So how did that? How how did it come to be?
And how are you like, yeah, this is the one.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So this is a pretty interesting story. Travis Dinning, We've
known each other probably almost let's.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Say, eight ten years.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
He's crazy underrated, by the way, so underrated.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
So, like I forget how long ago it was before
the Human album came out. Travis was actually out on
the road with us and he played this song for
me and I was like, man, can I is there
any way I can get that song?
Speaker 4 (10:49):
Like I love this song?
Speaker 2 (10:51):
And Universal said, you know, basically that's going to be
Travis's next single, and so I just let it go.
You know, congratulations, man, you got one hell of a song.
And I don't know what happened it didn't come out
as his single. Unbeknownst to me, he pitched the song
to Carrie and it wound up in her pile didn't
make the cut on her album, so it goes back
out into the abyss, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
Well, when we were cutting leather, I was like, what
happened to that song?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
You know that I fell in love with it, I
never heard again, and they were like, oh, it's actually available.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
I was like, well, put it on hold.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Well, then when I get it back and I start
listening to it again, I was like, dude, I hear Carrie.
I hear Carrie Underwood on this like crazy and.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Well I didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I didn't know that, like at this point we met
in two thousand, I would think, like twenty twenty two,
I think in an award show. It just kind of
nice how are you?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Is?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
And I told my wife that night, I was like, Yo,
she's like really nice, like really down to earth, Like
I enjoyed talking with her.
Speaker 4 (11:43):
And you know, anyway, whenever I was like Carrie and.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
An, you know, people on my team were like, well,
what about this person or what about that person, I'm like, no,
it's either Carrie Underwood or I'm not doing it. Like
I felt that strongly about it because I could already
hear it in my head. Yeah, So long story short,
it gets pitched to her. We'll get in the studio
and she's like, well, this is the second time the
song is coming into my life, and I'm like, what
are you talking about. She's like, I had this song,
but she's like, apparently everything happens for a reason, because now.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
That it's with you, it makes sense to do it
as a duet.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
And she told me she's like, two things I don't
do love songs and low register.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
I was like, well, I got you to do it,
So I got carried to do a love.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Song and a low register. But doesn't her voice sound
great on it?
Speaker 3 (12:20):
It's a whole different Carrie.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
It's like a whole different side that sultry soft, almost
like sexy low man. It's crazy to like she has
had Aretha Franklin quality that I don't think anybody really realizes.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Is it tough to stay confident on a song after
you've heard other people turn it down? Are you like,
does any part of you think, well, what did what
did they hear that I'm not hearing.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Till you can't sat on the shelf for ten years?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
So no, no, not at all, Like it doesn't matter
to me what other people do because like, I was
just at Dean Dylon's songwriter tribute last night in Alabama,
and I'm sitting in a room just for me to you,
and George Strait's doing his interviews and I'm next up
in the chair and sitting back, just chilling watching George
do this interview.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
And they were talking about, uh, what was the song noe?
What was the song that it was?
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Uh? He turned down Tennessee Whiskey. Dean pitched Tennessee Whiskey
to George first, and he was like, you know, it
wasn't for me. He's like, you know, and then George
Jones cuts it, and you know, David allen Coe and
then obviously Chris Stapleton like stamped this song forever. Yeah,
And he's like, man, if I had to cut that song,
my version of it would have probably been horrible and
(13:28):
not to ruin the song, you know what I mean? Like,
so it's it just because somebody turns it down doesn't
mean it's not It just means it's not for them, Dude.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
I love That's what And I and I've gone back
and forth about this. I want to start a podcast
talking solely about.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
Can be your first guess?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
I do. It's like they told us, like we have
thirty minutes. I'm like, hey, dude, everybody else will wait?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Do wait?
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Like I've been looking forward to this interview. I looked
through my interview page and I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, Wayne,
d Baby, here we go.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Anyway, dude, I appreciate that because I feel the same
exact way.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
But but I've been toying with this podcast idea because
the stories about songs and and what happened for somebody else,
and we've had amazing talent, just like yourself sit across here,
and uh, you know, Jason Eldan ended up with Big
Green Tractor.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
Jake Owen passed on that.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
And you're talking about George straight check yes or no.
Was pitched to Kenny Chesney first and Kenny said no,
And now it's a George.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
But he regrets that.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Yeah, well he's Yeah. Three boats and two beach houses later,
he's doing all right.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
I think he owns an island.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
The Kenny Coast. But but I just love stories about
songs like that. And I feel like we've talked before,
have there Because you're a guy who likes your hands
in the mud when it comes to anything you're putting
your voice on, but there has to be stuff that
you've been like, should have hung on to that one man.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Not really, you're gonna say no because.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
You're here's what. No, it's not that. Here's what.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
I'm not cutting the kind of songs anybody else's cutting.
So there's not really a whole lot of people in
their hands in the mud trying to get these songs.
Like Till You Can't was too much of a ballad.
You know, it didn't work, It's not gonna work on radio.
The Painter is just a you know, middle of the
road love song. And it's like, I'm I'm picking these
songs that nobody else is because everybody else is chasing
(15:16):
the ambulance. I think, in a way, I got to
get a number one hit. I gotta get this, I
gotta get that, dude.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
I don't care.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I just want to I want to record songs that
mean something to me that I can go out and
I can play for my fans, that actually mean something.
And so I think, whenever you're looking at it from
that aspect, I don't lose a lot of them, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
I mean, I'm not picking those. I'm not picking from
the same pile. I don't think you know.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Tony Lane is one of the most incredible songwriters in history.
Has been sending me a lot of songs lately, and
it's it's so crazy to text Tony Lane back and say, man,
that's not really what I'm looking for. You know, hey,
I loved it, but it's just not it's not gonna
work on my album. And I'm sitting there shaking, like
I'm texting Tony Lane this kind He's like, Okay, I'll
be coming back with another one. And I'm like, dude,
(15:59):
what is this world we're living and we're I'm getting
talk to these incredible songwriters and they're writing songs for
what I'm doing. But I think that comes from picking
from that certain pile, like Okay, Josh Phillips dirt Cheap,
he said.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
He told me.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
He was like, man, I really, Oh, this is funny.
I can't wait to tell this, he said. I wanted
to wait for the right artists to pitch this song because.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
It meant so much to me.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
The day that my album comes out, Leather, I get
a text from Luke Colmbs and it's a lot of words.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
That I can't say, and I was like, what did
I do to Luke? You know, like, God, he's mad.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And he sends me a screenshot of his thread on
his phone from Josh Phillips and dirt Cheap is sitting
there and he never clicked on it.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
No way, no, yeah, he never clicked on it.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
He could have had dirt Cheap, but he never clicked
on it.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
So yeah, back at you, Luke, I got you. Yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Well, And speaking of Luke, he's doing well on his own.
He he has a bar downtown now that's about to
open down the street. Have you ever wanted to dabble
in stuff like that? I mean, you're so prideful and
so focused on music, Like do you is that anything
eventually down the road?
Speaker 2 (17:03):
We are.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Kind of well, we're in the works.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Talking to give details.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Nobody listens to me, but it's not going to be
in Nashville. It's going to be in Caltown, in Fort Worth,
in Texas, Okay. So I think like it's it's kind
of like my mo to, like, yeah, I could have
everybody wants to put a place on Broadway.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
I mean I think it's great for longevity for your family,
legacy type financial situation for sure. But for me, I
want to be able to go to my own restaurant.
So we're gonna put it in Texas where I can
just drive to it.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
There you go, don't. I don't know that Nashville is the.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Spot for a Kojo's, but Kojo's in Caltown has a
pretty nice ring to it.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I do dig that early in your career, and I
bring this up all the time because it's it's to
talk to you at stagecoach in twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen,
to the Cody Johnson that sits in front of me.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Now.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Early in your career, you were so protective of everything
you touched, and not that you're not now, but to
get where you are now, you had to trust others
a little and you had to give up a little control.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Does that sound right?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I don't know that it's giving up control. It's dropping
your pride and knowing that like you. So, why put
people around you that you trust if you're not going
to trust them?
Speaker 4 (18:21):
You know?
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Why put people around you on your team that you
know can make you better if you're not going to
value their opinion? And sometimes I'm right sometimes I'm wrong.
Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong, but I think you
have to.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
It's like that conversation that I had with John S Posito,
who was the president of Warner at the time when
I signed. I said, look, here's the thing, man, I
don't need you and you don't need me. But I
need you and you need me, Like, how do we
make this work? Like I know that I'm not going
to ever get to that spot without putting that Warner
team around me. But also I'm not willing to go,
(18:54):
you know, chase the ambulance. I'm not willing to you know,
try to get the dangling carrot of fame and fortune.
I'm still going to be myself. So I don't think
I've lost control. I think it's more of a matter
of a maturity in my career as a as what
you call it, what you want, but as a business owner,
as a CEO of a of a brand, I think
the maturity of going, Man, I you know, I'm gonna
(19:15):
have to have help. I'm gonna have to have good
people around me and and to to take me to
that next level. Otherwise I would have done it on
my own already.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
It's part of you now, knowing that you held on
tight to all of that, does any part of you
today wish that you I trusted these people earlier, or
trusted situations earlier.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Man, No, dude, everything happens for a reason. Like I've
I've always looked back at my career in my life
thinking why is it taking me eighteen years? Like why
didn't it happen here? Honestly, dude, I wasn't ready.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I think if you'd have gave me the record deal
here versus here, I would have screwed it all up
because I wasn't my I wasn't developed enough as an artist,
as a singer, as a songwriter, as a businessman, as
a as a man period. I've had such an opportunity
in my life to develop such a wonderful marriage and
a wonderful relationship with my kids. You know, a ranch
(20:07):
back home in Texas. I wouldn't have had all that
because I would have been too caught up. I think
that overall, Dude, God's got a plan, and it's not
always Cody, Cody, Cody. I don't think I was ready
for it. So really, knowing myself, I'm glad that it
took this long because now I can sit here and
have these conversations with you or even a young artist,
you know, and give really good sound advice because I've
(20:28):
already screwed it all up. I've already made all the mistakes.
That's why it took eighteen freaking years, you know. But
I wasn't I wouldn't have been ready. I think I
would have been just a Roman candle in the wind.
It would have popped, it would have been really good,
and then i'd have faded away.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
That's a great way to think of it. It's you.
You were the crock pot country singer.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
That's what we're gonna call. I was gonna say Coleman lantern,
but pots way better.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
When when it comes to I'd mentioned you do country music,
your way, carry her way.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
All that country music.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Over especially over the last nine plus months, it seems
like is where the party's at right, everybody wants to
buy a cowboy h So number one, as a guy
who who has stayed in his lit that was gonna
sound super disrespectful, not stayed in your lane, But I
(21:21):
like it have to but like I mean it in
a good like I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (21:26):
I'm with you.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Everybody's trying to do something different. You continue to dominate
doing it to Cody Johnson Way, but what is it?
What's your opinion envision on artists stepping into country wanting.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
To try it out. I mean, obviously I'm talking like
post Malone and people like that.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
So Post is a friend of mine, So I'll just
say this, he's doing it the right way. He's here
in town, he's showing up, he's doing the interviews, he's
going to these events, and he's he's rubbing elbows with
true country music artists that have a passion for it.
He's not just coming in and saying, I'm Post Malone
and I deserve every award and I deserve number ones
because I'm post Malone. He came into this with like
(22:05):
I'm a nobody. Doesn't matter what I've done over here
in the world of country music.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
I'm brand new.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
He's very respectful to everybody, and he's a great guy.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
But he's not coming in with any arrogance.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
It's like, doesn't matter you were post Malone, but now
you're post Malone a country yeah, And he's so good
at that man, Like he's just a normal genuine person,
and he's doing it the right way, like, man, I'm
gonna come up through the ranks. Obviously, dude, it's Post Malone,
you know, so you're gonna love the record, you know.
But he didn't come in with this arrogance of I
deserve anything. He didn't have an entitlement since. And I
think that's the difference between Posts and some other artists
(22:39):
that have tried it, is that those other artists come
in with, well, my name is this, and I deserve everything.
It's like, man, no, you don't. There's some of us
that have sacrificed eighteen years of our lives to be here.
Speaker 4 (22:48):
So step off.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
You know what, as somebody who met you a handful
of years ago, I'm gonna rewind not eighteen years ago
because we would have caused trouble, but that eighteen years ago,
anybody trying to cross over that less mature Cody Johnson
had been like, what the hell are you doing?
Speaker 2 (23:05):
That's exactly right now. I appreciate it because we're getting
we're getting more light to what we do. I mean, like,
so I'll say it like this. Last year, I spoke
at the Wrangler NFR for the professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,
the board members, and I was like, you know, we
as cowboys, we have a tendency of what is what
is that dude wearing a hat for he's not a cowboy?
(23:27):
Look at him, got brand new boots on, Like what
is that? But here's the deal. When I was a kid,
I had Michael Jordan tennis shoes and I had a
red and black Bulls jersey with the twenty three on it.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
You know why? Because I wanted to be like Mike.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Remember that.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yep, I want to be like Mike.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
I'm the worst basketball player in the history of the game, dude,
I'm telling you you would rather watch me golf than
to play basketball. And I'm a pretty athletic guy. But
the point I was making is this, I just wanted
to be like Michael Jordan's So I had a jersey
and I had J's on my feet.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
Right.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
So when you have these other artists that want to
come to country music, I think it's because they think, man,
I just want the country's cool and I want to
do something. Really, I want to try country music. I
want to put a cowboy hat on and rhyinestones and
fringe and it's cool because what's good for the hat,
what's good for country music is good for us. Man.
It's good for your business, it's good for my business,
and it's good for the reason you're in radio.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I would have just willing to bet.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Because you love country music absolutely, Okay, Well, the reason
I'm here is because I love country music. So it's
not bad, man, I mean, who cares like them? Let
them come, unless that's different from the old Cody's opinion.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
I love it enough where if I could play and sing,
I'd be running after your ass right now. I tell
you that I go for the opening spot, but then
i'd show up late, so you had to open for me.
I don't know if that's how that works, but.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
We're gonna try it.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
No, it's not.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
In between now in the end of the year, what
are some things that you're looking forward to. Obviously, there's
gonna be someone plugging around the holidays.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
We've talked before. That's extremely important to you.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
But outside of that, really, that's that's like the biggest
I've had such a crazy two years. Leather and then
getting ready for Leather Deluxe. There's a lot of recording,
there's a lot of promoting. There's a lot of touring,
and uh, this year has been I've done more appearances
this year. Like I've spent more hours on a private
jet just trying to get to here, to get to there,
(25:16):
to get to here, to get home.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
To do it again. And it's exhausting. Man.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Like everybody thinks it's a really you know, glamorous life,
it's man, it's a lot of work and getting through October.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Like this week, I'm on the road.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Next week I'm gonna be at my team roping, the
Kojo Championship Team Roping in Belton, Texas. And that's gonna
be a lot of work when you're hosting an event,
like you're.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Can I say balls of the Wall?
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (25:41):
Yeah, your balls of the Wall all week?
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Man.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
And it's like when you get through that October period,
when November comes around, it's like I get to breathe,
go home unplugged. That's what I look forward to the
most every year is deer season's coming around, which gives
me an excuse to go sit in a deer stand
with my kids and you know, build a fire and
sit around and real small marshmallows and all that cool
stuff that everybody else is.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Like, yeah, we do that all the time.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
Well, I don't get to, so it's really special to me.
Uh yeah, I said on Sunday and watched the football.
Speaker 4 (26:09):
I don't want to hear it. I just got all
a plane at four am.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
I slept till two. Now everybody's doing their own thing.
I'm going where the holding my family go, you know,
like it's.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Yeah, hey, and the private you can tap that in
if you want to come on in. Oh' just like
that to me.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
I just wanted one, but I really shouldn't.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Okay, you're fine, I really shouldn't, but uh, okay, what's
one more? It's fine.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
That's how it gets started, dude. I know it is
not even noon.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
That's self true to see how the one in fifteen minutes.
The private jet life. We've talked to other artists about
this and it's not necessarily like you're balling. It's no, no,
you want to get home as fast as you can
in between things.
Speaker 4 (26:48):
Yeah, and that's something that like.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
So here's where it started for me was airports, public airports.
I went to the first time it happened, I landed.
Actually know we for those of you don't, I don't know.
That's like my best friend in the world. He's my
right hand man.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
Like his his title is no, he like, there's not
really a title. Maybe my handler?
Speaker 1 (27:08):
What is it?
Speaker 4 (27:09):
What is this?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
He's the only reason I'm here.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
He's the one that woke me up at nine this morning.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
And I was like, I'll just take this trip by myself,
no big deal, and I'll never forget it. Like I
landed in like Minnesota or somewhere somewhere up north, and
I was on the phone with my wife walking out
from baggage claim, and I look up and there's like
fifty people and they've all got signs and they're screaming,
and they just kind of rushed me, and it kind
of No, he wasn't there.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
That was normally he would fight him.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Normally he'd be like, hey, you know, hey, here's my
here's my point. I said, hey, guys, I'll sign all
this stuff. How it's like nine o'clock at night. I
was like, how did you guys know I was even here,
Like I'm flying into nowhere. They were like, oh, we
got your flight number from Houston and I'm like what.
They were like, yeah, well, somebody followed you in the
airport and took a picture of your flight number, so
we knew exactly what time you'd be here. And I'm like,
(27:56):
I don't like being hunted, so I kind of got
I was like, okay, Deerfield, the tables turned. But then
like so I started wearing like joggers and a you know,
ball cap pulled down.
Speaker 4 (28:10):
Doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
And it started getting kind of chaotic in airports to
the point where I was like, Okay, I have anxiety
about even being here, So how much is it gonna cost,
you know, to fly private and look at this astronomical number.
But looking ahead, we were able to strategically plan financial
gains and you know, I've got my own personal investments
and things like that that I was like, Okay, we
(28:32):
can afford this. I'm going to start flying private just
because I can take my kids and my family. Or
like you said, if it's if we get off stage
at eleven and it's midnight, dude, I can be back
home by two or three in the morning, and I
sleep and I'm home and I can take my kids
to church on a Sunday morning like a normal person,
you know, or or we go rope or whatever, it is,
but it's a lot of sacrifice financially, and it's a
(28:55):
lot of sacrifice time wise, but it's worth it.
Speaker 4 (28:58):
You're getting what you pay for for sure.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Absolutely, deluxe edition. What made you decide that leather would
be deluxe? And I want to say we talked at
the ACM Awards, not this past year, but the year
before about doing a leather cologne with the release of this.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
I've seen in the notes you decided not to do that.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
I I didn't think it was very lucrative.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Well, if I give you ideas that a year and
I'll take them, okay? Or is that not something you say.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
Recorded?
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Yeah, we have that down by the way, I'm watching
the sound lights.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
But when it when it comes to the deluxe edition,
a lot of people are doing it, but you definitely
are doing it different.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
It was an accident.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Why if you want to know the real truth, it
was an accident. So I had Human the double album, right, Yeah.
I don't want to do another double album because like
that's double album, double album.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
Yeah, So here's how this goes down.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
At the end of the day, I looked at all
the songs that I had to record, and there was
twenty five of them.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Had to like, I can't get rid of these.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
There's no way I'm not recording these, and they were
kind of already recorded, and so I was like, shit,
there's twenty five songs on here.
Speaker 4 (30:06):
Yeah, what do we do now?
Speaker 2 (30:08):
So Chris Lacey Warner Music, Nashville, one of my best
friends in the world.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
I was like, what do I do? She's like, I
have an idea. Let's deluxe it.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
She's like, so, basically, you need to separate these songs
because I already had it in sequential order, like I've
told you before, I do it like a set list.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
She's like, you need to go back through and separate
this into two different set lists. Let's do leather and
then later on we'll release the deluxe edition. I was like,
what is a deluxe edition. She's like, basically, it's like a.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Part two but not really.
Speaker 3 (30:33):
And You're like, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
And so, like any other interview, we strategized and when,
and it was absolutely my idea, but it wasn't.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
It was Chris Lacey.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
But we talked before. You're not a big deluxe guy
in general.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
No, But it was either that to release another double
album and I didn't want the redundancy of that, you
know what, the everything happens for a reason.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
I've said that twice in this interview.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
The cool part is for me, I've noticed that the
fans on the first part of Leather, they had a
chance to really die just that record.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
You know, we watched it in streaming.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Was sitting there and I pay attention to all this
stuff of like, these songs are streaming really well, we
should maybe put those in the set. These songs did
really well live, but they didn't stream as much.
Speaker 4 (31:12):
Obviously.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
We got two number ones off of this thing, and
the fans are like, okay, we've we've had, We're finished
with this plate.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
What's the next course?
Speaker 2 (31:20):
And I think that's a cool concept like that, And
in me as a fan, I started thinking about it,
like for people that I like, like, dude, I wish
that record would have been split in half, where I
could have had these twelve songs first, where I could.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
Have just fallen in love with what I fell in
love with.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Maybe this was not so much, and then you get
the second course and you're like, oh, I have something new,
Like it was really cool, but it was all one project, you.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
Know, so what made you go leather deluxe instead of like,
did you so? I'd imagine you bring up Michael Jordan
and Jays and all that. Did you ever listen to
the Nelly the rapper Nelly? Yeah, bro, so he put
out the album Sweat and then Suit. So why didn't
you do like leather and lace leather. That's the first
person that said, why deluxe?
Speaker 3 (31:59):
That it sounds okay. It's because it's deluxe deluxe.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
It sounds cool because the first one was like, actually version,
this is the four wheel drivers.
Speaker 4 (32:08):
Yes, yeah, this one has leather.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Got it.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Like that?
Speaker 4 (32:13):
No, you really want to know the truth. Apparently, in
this industry, if it's.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Called a deluxe, if you put the word deluxe.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
On it, it all counts as one project.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
So for instance, when you're talking about gold or platinum
or diamond certifications, if it was two different things, if
it was a part one and a part two, it's
two separate things.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
Deluxe on it.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
All your streaming and all your sales and all your
numbers count for one project.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
The business side, I couldn't do it. I just hit
play dude, I don't know.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
I had really cool names. But then when they told
me that.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
I was like, deluxe it is, yeah, so let's get
a diamond.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
So what was the cool name?
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Like if you're gonna say if if they were like, hey,
rename it, we hate deluxe.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Rename it.
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Now go the extended version.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
I was trying to think like movies and stuff like that,
like like quin, what would Quentin Tarantino call it?
Speaker 4 (33:00):
But I mean there's nothing. There's a lot to be
said for a part one and part two. It's like,
oh there's a part two.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Are so you do leather and then leather leather, stick
with the put out pleasure first because then you get
ye holler at me for more marketing tips.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
Jelly Roll just text me. Sorry, go ahead.
Speaker 3 (33:22):
No, he's a he's a friend of ours. He comes.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Actually last time he was here, somebody was playing a
show or you know, they got the people playing out
here and he went out and sang with them.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
He said, he's on Joe Rogan's podcast right now and
he's like, I'm fixing to pump you up again.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
I don't know, Joe, But jelly Roll, you're getting mentioned
on Wayne D. Like we're down here in the in
the slums. Buddy told Rogan have us on the show
a lot more.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Isn't that nice that you're stuck here with me? And
he's it's Joey Rogan.
Speaker 4 (33:50):
I'm where I need to be, buddy.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Last thing I want to ask, which I'm over my time?
Porte is the one that has to go through all
this audio. I just I just go I'm over my time,
and she goes, it's okay, I'm sorry, it's fine.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
There's I have a famous quote like if I'll ever
remember anything I've ever said, here's the quote, They'll wait. Yeah,
well we have another appointment here in it they'll wait.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
True. Hey, we had to.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Prick said if he said they'll wait this morning before
he left the bus, I'm done.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
Now.
Speaker 4 (34:25):
You know that was for the first interviews.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
It wasn't for you, obviously. I literally got to the
first interview, was like, hey, we got to hear this
ship up.
Speaker 4 (34:30):
We gotta get to Wayne d Okay that, but do one?
Speaker 3 (34:33):
How long are you in town for?
Speaker 4 (34:35):
I'm just looking over at my Warner buddy over here.
Just today.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Now we're headed out tonight. We play a Minnesota tomorrow
in Minnesota, Minneapolis, and then we go uh Kansas City, Missouri.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
Excel Energy Center.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Yeah, yeah, sure it's a good spot.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
No, it's a nice I'm from Minneapolis, so take me,
take me with us. What I'm saying, hop on.
Speaker 4 (34:54):
The bus, buddy bus, no.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Talking all this, PJ. All of a sudden, I get
it in, but I gotta ge on a fucking buss.
I'm out. Sorry, I'm not fancy.
Speaker 4 (35:05):
It's not as fancy as you think.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
I believe that's pretty.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
The last thing I want to ask you is, uh,
you are a tattoo guy, but your tattoos tell a story, right,
I mean we've talked before.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
There are some that you're like, just cuz what was
most recent and what's next?
Speaker 2 (35:23):
So uh, let's see I can pull this off here
show you so like, you know, I've got the feathers
kind of represent like growth in indians Is where I
went to school, and so I love the red and
black feathers. So I just started taking the feathers up
my arm and putting the shading in around like.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
So this is my wife, Clara Corey.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
But like I've still got to go in and shade
all this all the way up my arm, and these
feathers you can't see it. What a gig all the
way up the back of my arm right here, and
I've got my ranch brand, the jbar C, and so
like we'll finish shading that I did six hours and
then my arm just got pissed off and started spitting
the ink back out. And he's like, dude, you're done.
Like he's like, I've had a leg to work on.
(36:02):
We could switch, but like, your your arm is done today. Uh,
we gotta do the shading, paint the feathers red and
a few little blue things here and there, and then
I'll be completely done with this arm.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
The same guy, Buffalo Jake out of Vegas.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
He wants to come back and reblue this and kind
of reread the feathers just to kind of make it
all cohesive where it looks like it was done at
one time. And he's like that way at ages the
same you know what I mean, Like you don't want
like half your arm looking like it was done twenty
years ago. But uh, I don't know, like I thought
I've thought about from here up on this arm, just
doing black one offs like of Texas stuff, just like
Texas flags, historical Texas flags. I like that because I've
(36:39):
got a Texas over my chest on this side. I
have an idea for like when we do get to
pull this tattoo off, like you you know, we talked
about the microphones and all that stuff, right, I have
a feeling you're gonna go over the top, like you're
gonna be sitting there for four hours. I figured out
something I canna be done in thirty minutes.
Speaker 3 (36:54):
Okay, so I used.
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Obviously, I've got so on my chest.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
I've got resist all just all cawboy hatline, right yeah,
because you only get a Cowboy heatline for the first
time once, right Yeah.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
I ride for the brand. I use cactus ropes and
I ride for the brand.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
So I'm just gonna get a little tiny cactus right there,
and then I'm gonna sit back and watch you go.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (37:16):
I'm gonna be like, I'm gonna have a cocktail and
I'll be like, hey, my cactus is done. When are
you still sick in the chair?
Speaker 3 (37:22):
And you know what, I'm gonna make a mordering pizza.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
You've been here for three freaking hours.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
I'm gonna make sure you keep drinking until you pass out,
and then I'm gonna have him add sunglasses.
Speaker 3 (37:29):
To that cactus. So that's so cool. It's actually it's
gonna have a daisy on.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
This's not a bad idea ude.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Listen, you're talking to the guy who has one on
his foot.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Oh that's true, the bottom of my foot. What is
it again, one foot over a line?
Speaker 3 (37:43):
Oh that's way Jennings lyric. Yeah, yeah, I remember that guy.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
I barely remember that. I have pictures of it though,
that it's there, that it happened, that it happened.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
My wife called me the next day and was like,
did you tattoo your foot last night after the show,
And I went.
Speaker 4 (37:59):
Yes, I did.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
You're like, ship, I thought I stepped on the nail.
Speaker 4 (38:02):
It's like, no, wonder my foot has swollen. Oh dude, yeah,
that was a that was a night. Things you do
on a tour bus can't do that on a p J.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
That's true. Too much Turby, you can't. That's but that's
why we ride the bus, right boys.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Yeah, cheap ass Cody Cody Johnson, Thanks man, Thanks for
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