WRIF Virtual Rock Room with Jelly Roll
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Thank you so much for watching Rift TV. Now, this interview is obviously with video, but I don't interview everybody on Zoom.
00:07That's why I put it on my Talkin' Rock with Meltdown podcast. We talk to rock artists from all over the genre.
00:13So check out Talkin' Rock with Meltdown wherever you get your podcasts. And now, to today's video interview.
00:20And there he is, Jelly Roll. How are you, man?
00:22I am good. I participated in an event yesterday called the Beer Olympics.
00:30How'd you do?
00:32I'm feeling it.
00:35Is that your drink of choice?
00:37Yeah. I hate beer. I got drug into this by some athlete friends that had put together this thing.
00:45And I agreed to do it. And I came and realized how much of not a beer person I am.
00:50So I ended up having to drink a lot of tequila and seltzers instead. So I got the short end of that stick.
00:54Well, now you're guzzling down the H2O, I see. Who are your athlete friends? Fill us in.
01:01So a buddy of mine has a podcast called Bussin' with the Boys. It's by Taylor Luan and Will Compton. They're NFL guys.
01:08Okay.
01:09They're with Barstool. And they're incredible dudes, man. We've known them forever. Just really good guys.
01:14And they had talked to Burt Kreischer and Shane Gillis and Uncle Lazer and Midland and Hardy and a bunch of bands and different comedians to come together and have a drinking contest called the Beer Olympics.
01:28And this was on the calendar for like six, seven months. And the best part was I felt like a big kid.
01:34I realized halfway through the day that we had all somehow just managed to take a day off to get drunk together.
01:40That's really what this was. It was a frat party. I've never been to a frat party because they didn't have them in prison.
01:46But from what I would guess a frat party is, this is what this was.
01:52That's it. Yeah. You know, Shane Gillis, I've met many times at Kid Rock's Comedy Jam down in Nashville.
01:57And I just actually got off the phone with Hardy about a half hour ago.
02:00Yes. Oh my God. I'm surprised we're not in the same studio right now.
02:04How was Hardy doing this morning? He was great. He was driving his F-250 around somewhere.
02:09I don't know. I don't even know where he is. Are you in Nashville right now?
02:11This man is an animal. The last time I seen him, he was hollow eyed and drunk and didn't realize what he would probably even know where he was.
02:17Man, I wish I would have known about that story. I can't believe he didn't bring it up.
02:21I can't believe I'm feeling it this much and he's not. They rallied, dude. They puked and rallied.
02:25Hardy and them played so good. They had a moment where him and his wife were a teen and they both puked and kept going.
02:31Wow. That's an interesting story. Wow. I've never done the Beer Olympics, but I'm more of a whiskey guy myself.
02:37But anyways, we can talk about drinks of choice all day long. But first of all, I just want to start out.
02:42You're playing Pine Knob here. That show sold out in August. Last time you were here with Pine Knob, at Pine Knob, you were here with the guys from Shinedown, right?
02:49Yes.
02:50I missed your entire set because somebody named Brent Smith kept me backstage the whole time.
02:55Anyways, he texted me and he wanted me to tell you how proud they are of you.
02:59And he said, I should ask you about, you know, playing those sets with Zach and coming up on stage with those guys.
03:05So let's start right there.
03:06Oh, dude. First of all, Brent and Zach, Barry, Eric, the whole crew, man, they've been mentors to me from day one.
03:14And the first people to reach out and congratulate me anytime something cool happens.
03:19Love them dudes, man. And it was cool.
03:21It was almost like last year they gave me the chance to test drive my own tour because I got to go open up for them every single night.
03:31And then I got to come back out on one of their last few songs and do Simple Man with them every night.
03:35I missed one night and see these amphitheaters and arenas just packed to the gills, you know?
03:42Yeah.
03:42Because I went on early. They were packed. They weren't packed like, you know how it is.
03:46And it was almost like it was almost like getting to take college courses in high school.
03:53So then when I get to go to college this year, like we're putting all the production stuff together.
03:57I'm like, I know these places. I've been there. I got to see them.
03:59I got to see them. And I got to see one of the best rock and roll bands ever work the crowd every night.
04:05Just how Brent carries himself, how Brent deals with singing three to four nights in a row, five nights in a row.
04:12Dude, I was a sponge. I stood side stage every night, watched every minute of every set.
04:16I watched the way their team loaded in. I watched the way their tour manager talked to people.
04:22I watched who they gave passes to, who didn't get passes.
04:25I mean, dude, I treated it like a full-blown course study.
04:29Yeah, no, that's great. You know, it's funny because, like I said, I missed your set.
04:33But I'm not sitting here blowing smoke when I tell you that I've never heard so many people talk about an opening act than you at that show right there.
04:43Everybody was buzzing about your set.
04:46Oh, thank you, man. We take good pride in our show.
04:48So we believe the connection is the answer, right?
04:52So we believe that we focus on connection, not entertainment.
04:56We know we're there to entertain, but we're more so here to connect.
04:59Well, you've connected with a lot of people.
05:01And I just want to read something that somebody posted on my Facebook because I said I was going to be talking to you and Hardy and I wanted some questions.
05:06You know, because sometimes when you're in my position, you don't think outside the box like you probably should.
05:11But this woman, she wrote in to me.
05:13She says, I'm 62 and I want to ask Jelly Roll where he gets inspiration.
05:17Where does it come from?
05:19What finally told him you can do this because I've all but given up.
05:22And for some reason, he resonated something within me again.
05:25Now, of course, I watched the Hulu video, the documentary and stuff.
05:29But that's that comment really stuck out to me.
05:32And this is kind of what you're all about, isn't it?
05:35Yeah, man, I just I truly believe that, you know, I didn't sign my first I didn't sign a real record deal until I was 36 years old.
05:42Mm hmm. Right.
05:44In the music business, I was a dinosaur in the music business.
05:47I had been 15 years past my peak performance.
05:52Right.
05:53You know what I mean?
05:53Is what they can say, say that artists are their most creative in their early 20s, you know, and I was 13 years past that.
06:01So I think that I just speak that I'm proof that it can happen.
06:05You know, we don't get to see it happen very much.
06:07So when it does, it's a big deal for people, even for people like me.
06:10And I remember the few times I got to see it happen.
06:13I was like, oh, man, it can happen.
06:15You know, and those moments stuck out with me forever.
06:18Whenever you would see those tail cases of like three, six mafia when they won that Academy Award.
06:24I know that sounds weird to a lot of people.
06:26But for me, it was a moment where I was like, whoa, hold on.
06:30Some guys from the North Memphis projects just won an Academy Award.
06:35And I know these guys personally.
06:36I've met them.
06:37Oh, I can, you know, it's just something about it resonates, man.
06:41And I hope that that's what my story does for people.
06:43Yeah.
06:44Your documentary on Hulu was fascinating.
06:47And how much has your life changed since this time last year?
06:52And man, listen, me and Brent Smith were talking about this.
06:55Think about it this way.
06:56The same venues that I was opening up on the tour last year were headlining and selling out this year.
07:06Just like here in Detroit, right?
07:07Clean sellouts.
07:09Four, five, six months in advance.
07:11I mean, it's, this is, dude, we've sold over like 570,000 tickets to this tour.
07:17Wow.
07:17And I'm not a guy.
07:18I'm not saying that as a brag number.
07:20I'm saying that as like, that's a half a million humans.
07:23Right.
07:23That's a half a million breathing souls with stories and kids and mothers and uncles.
07:29And just, it's crazy to me, you know, when you think about it like that.
07:33Yeah.
07:33And many people have not sat, walked in your shoes, but your story seems to resonate with a lot of people.
07:40Just like the, the underdog story, perhaps the, the pull yourself up by the bootstraps to use a phrase, but people seem to resonate towards that.
07:50Well, I think we've all been down, right?
07:52I think everybody's got kicked, had a little bit of dirt kicked on them.
07:55You know what I'm saying?
07:56I would say 90% of, especially the people listening to this right now, because music, you know, is such a gateway to the soul, have been in a place in life where they felt like somebody kicked a little dirt off.
08:09You know what I mean?
08:10And the 10% that has never felt that were jealous of you.
08:16I'm just saying.
08:18Yeah.
08:18Right.
08:19So let's talk about the latest record.
08:21Um, this record, man, I'll tell you what, it's so personal.
08:24Do you have anything left for another record that's personal like this?
08:29Oh, absolutely.
08:30Yeah, man.
08:31The good news about writing personal music and music from shared experiences is it's still, life is still happening.
08:38You know, life hasn't slowed down at all.
08:40New problems, new, new levels, new devils.
08:42Um, you know, new problems, man.
08:47And also I expect my next album to probably be really uplifting.
08:52To be honest, if I'm writing from the perspective I feel right now, I feel very grateful and, and, uh, very excited and, and going into the eighth year of my marriage and I'm feeling more in love than I've ever been.
09:04And, you know, most people get that seven year itch and then I treated it like a seven year stretch and got ready to go back in the game, you know?
09:12So it's, it's been really cool.
09:14Yeah.
09:14My 23rd anniversary comes up next week.
09:16I live by this rule that we go out to dinner twice a week.
09:18She goes on Tuesday and I go on Thursday.
09:20That's how you keep it fresh.
09:21You see, feel free to use that joke.
09:24If you want, I will steal that one for sure.
09:26I'll use it with my wife tonight.
09:27There you go.
09:28Yeah, no doubt.
09:29But getting back to the record here, this record is very heartfelt.
09:32It's just a solid record from start to finish.
09:35And, uh, are, are you saying, uh, that, that you, you're, are you already kind of writing stuff for the, for another album or what?
09:41Yeah, I'm, um, well, I'm always writing, but I'm not thinking about another album.
09:46Okay.
09:46You know, it's kind of where I'm at.
09:48I'm just, I've been writing a lot of songs, so I probably shouldn't share this, but I will.
09:54I have a vision that my next album will be obviously my rock record because, you know, it's just kind of how I rotate the music.
10:02And I wanted to, I'm a big fan of a hip hop guy named Tech N9ne.
10:07And he would do these tapes called the collabos.
10:10And it would be Tech N9ne.
10:12It'd be 10, 12, 13 songs like an LP, but every song would be a collaborative effort.
10:16And he would call them the collabos.
10:19And I kind of have this vision to do my rock project like that.
10:22So when it's time to start really rolling up and writing, I think I'm going to, I think I want to do my rock album that way.
10:27You're going to call up some friends and, uh, let them collaborate here and there.
10:32I think we're going to surprise some people with some of the collabs we get on this.
10:35It's going to be, it's going to be big.
10:36It's going to be different.
10:37As much as I love this new record, I, you're man, that, that sounds really interesting.
10:43Yeah.
10:43Yeah.
10:43No, always, man.
10:44I just, I got an idea.
10:46I got an idea and I've been talking to my friends about it for about six, seven months.
10:50So it's going to be cool.
10:51That is awesome.
10:52That's a, that's really exciting stuff.
10:54I just told somebody, actually the CEO of the building's walking around, uh, CEO of the radio station's walking around.
10:58I said, yeah, I'm going to talk to Jelly Roll in a couple of minutes.
11:01And he goes, is he country or is he rock?
11:03That's exactly what he said.
11:04So what do you, what do you think people that asked that, that, that question?
11:08Well, you know, I'm, um, I'm country rock, right?
11:12I guess the realest way to put it is I just, I love music.
11:15Right.
11:16And I grew up listening to all kinds of music and hip hop influenced my life in ways I'll never be able to describe.
11:22Um, I'll never forget where I was the first time I heard Bob Seger.
11:26I'll never forget how much bands like Lincoln park and Limp Bizkit just pushed on me.
11:32And this mix of like rock rock and rap and kid rock, the 1990s kid rock.
11:39And the way kid rock to this day kind of flows through and does whatever he feels.
11:43I was just inspired by all this stuff.
11:45So I'm just writing the music that feels natural in the productions, kind of where the argument comes, right?
11:51How distorted the guitar is or isn't, you know what I mean?
11:54Cause if you think about my top line, I'm glad we're talking about this.
11:57Let's go deep.
11:57Sure.
11:58If we're talking about my lyrical content, it's been the same for 15 years.
12:03Right.
12:04You know, uh, I'm a country artist, but I'm not mudding.
12:07I'm not hunting on songs.
12:09No, no, no deer were killed on my album.
12:12No fish were caught.
12:13Right.
12:13You know what I mean?
12:14Yep.
12:14It's like, so am I really country or my country because of the texture of the guitar, the, the,
12:18because I can't change my countryness as far as like, if I sing amazing grace, it's going to be a little more Southern than if Ronnie Radke sings it from falling in a verse.
12:27Right.
12:27You know what I mean?
12:28Right.
12:29But who I'm a huge, huge, huge fan of, but I use him and Jacoby as examples because they're, you know, more West coast kids.
12:34So their voice has a more of a West coast texture.
12:36Right.
12:37Sure.
12:37So for me, it's like, I never think about the genre stuff, man.
12:40I just write the music that feels good.
12:42I feel like my spirits rock and roll.
12:44I feel like my song writing three chords in the truth, which they accredit the country.
12:47So I think I just kind of live in that space of, uh, just writing good music.
12:52Yeah.
12:52Cause sometimes I like to think of this, uh, new country stuff that I'm not really a huge fan of as, uh, like pop songs with country twang around them.
13:00And that's not all what you do or what Hardy does or anything like that.
13:03So, but, but yeah, you're, you're, that's kind of interesting how you put that when this, uh, when this record drops and a guy like the rock plugs it on his, on his socials, what's that like?
13:14Oh man.
13:14And first of all, like second biggest Instagram on earth or something crazy.
13:19Just, just this like, I couldn't imagine what that would cost, you know, if Warner brothers were to call about a movie and go, Hey, Dwayne Johnson, we just want you to promote this movie.
13:30You know what I'm saying?
13:32So, um, DJ is awesome, man.
13:35Uh, he's been in my corner for a long time as just, just a, uh, a quiet cheerleader, just years of just messaging me and just encouraging me, you know, when I wasn't doing nothing.
13:46So seeing it still, I'm still a kid.
13:48I go tell my wife, I'm like, the rock posts me, the rock posts me.
13:51She's like, you talked to him last week.
13:53I'm like, I don't care.
13:54He posted me on his Instagram.
13:55Like I still get childlike excited about it.
13:58That's awesome.
13:59And so, uh, speaking of the documentary, like we just were a few minutes ago, what is it like the first time you watched that?
14:04Did you like kind of sit back and watch it?
14:06Um, did you have a big, uh, were you, were you part of the process of making it?
14:10No, they wouldn't.
14:10So it was the ABC news film.
14:12Okay.
14:12So this is a really cool thing, man.
14:14I wasn't allowed to partake in any, I didn't have a note.
14:18I wasn't allowed to watch it early.
14:20I didn't get to see a general direction of the film.
14:22It was just like, Hey, we're shooting, we're filming and we're going to put it out.
14:26That's just how it worked.
14:27And I was cool with that.
14:28Cause I thought that was the best way to do it.
14:30I thought the best way to do it was just be honest, go all in.
14:32So the first time I seen it, I cringed.
14:35There were so many moments in it that I was like, Ooh, I can't believe I let them film that.
14:40Or I can't believe I wasn't conscious of the camera being there.
14:43And I, you know, cause it was so raw.
14:46Yeah.
14:46You know what I mean?
14:47There were so many moments where just as a man, you know, you feel a little embarrassed
14:50seeing yourself that vulnerable on a, you know, and then you start seeing the documentary
14:55does well.
14:56And you're like, Oh man, I'm being vulnerable to like millions of people right now.
14:59Like I am on here bearing my childhood stories and soul and, you know, stuff, but it was really
15:06cool, man.
15:07I think, I think it, I think it helped people and that's what really matters.
15:10Yeah.
15:10And I mean, it, it definitely, uh, uh, drove your star up a little bit, especially with
15:13the record and stuff coming out.
15:15What surprised you most about the, just the massive amount of success you've had in the
15:19last year?
15:20Um, the most surprising part of it to nobody's asked that it's a good question.
15:27Um, I think I've probably been most surprised with how kind celebrities are like, I didn't
15:38anticipate, you know, Garth Brooks being one of the greatest guys ever, you know what I
15:43mean?
15:43Like I didn't anticipate, I thought even like coming into both rock and country, cause I
15:49thought the rock guys were going to think I was some hillbilly trying to infiltrate their
15:52space.
15:53And I thought the country dude was going to think I was some thug that was trying to
15:56infiltrate their space.
15:57And nobody felt that way.
16:01It was that it was, it was still me being that insecure kid.
16:04You know what I mean?
16:04Cause everybody from, um, I don't want to name drop, but from Brent Smith to David Draymond,
16:11I mean, just the whole spectrum of rock stood up and was like, yo, Ronnie Radke, people that
16:17were just like, yo, we love this, man.
16:18We think what you're doing sick, you know what I mean?
16:21And I mean, everybody from Garth Brooks to Tracy Lawrence to Morgan Wallen, you know what
16:27I mean?
16:27On this side of the countryside was just like, we love it, dude.
16:30Jason Aldean.
16:31I love it.
16:31You know what I mean?
16:32Kid rock.
16:33It's just so much.
16:35It was just so cool, man, to see that.
16:36And I think that really surprised me because I didn't anticipate it.
16:39I thought they were going to be a bunch of douches.
16:41Yeah.
16:41You know what?
16:42I've been fortunate to meet a lot of country guys actually down at Kid Rocks a bunch of
16:46times down there.
16:47And, uh, man, the country guys have always been so nice to this, uh, this rock guy here
16:51from Detroit, you know, so I just, that, that's just how they are, I suppose.
16:55Right.
16:56Yeah.
16:56Yeah, for sure.
16:57And I felt the same love from, uh, from every, I mean, it's just been cool everywhere.
17:00You know, it's just, I just didn't anticipate it.
17:03I thought, I thought it was a real good old boys club that wasn't going to let me in either
17:06side.
17:07And I was going to be the odd duck in both ponds.
17:09And that wasn't the case.
17:10Yeah.
17:10Brent Smith, I've known for over 20 years and he's, he is definitely one of the more, uh,
17:15um, for lack of a better word, one of the more beautiful people in this business, man.
17:19He is his spirit, his genuineness all the time, his work ethic.
17:24Nobody's outworking Brent Smith ever.
17:26Nobody ever will outwork Brent.
17:28I couldn't imagine Brent Smith, not, you know, I mean, that guy's all go.
17:33I've never seen him do, you know, I mean, I've never seen nobody take the music business
17:37more serious.
17:39Yeah.
17:39Now they're out there doing like this acoustic thing with radio stations all across the
17:42country, which is pretty cool.
17:43But, uh, well, I'll tell you what, I'll wind it down here.
17:45I just want to ask you about a few things here.
17:46Since we are in Detroit, you just mentioned, uh, Bob Seger, you actually have quite a few
17:50connections to Detroit between kid rock and cracker and twisted.
17:55It's like all these guys you were influenced by you've worked with, you know, right?
18:01Oh yeah, dude.
18:02I feel like I'm a Michigander at heart, dude.
18:04I'm telling you, man, it's, um, it's my favorite place to partake in recreational cannabis
18:09in America.
18:10Yeah.
18:10You were just doing that.
18:12Yeah.
18:12I got a lot going on up there.
18:14Um, no, dude, I just.
18:16You know, I mean, everything from Eminem, the eight mile story, you know, I remember
18:20sitting in jail watching, uh, you know, the trailer park and just thinking about how
18:23much it was like ours back home.
18:25And of course, twisted took me on my first nationwide tour ever.
18:29Yeah.
18:29I toured with insane clown posse three or four times.
18:31I played, uh, Harpo's for Hallowick with the clowns probably three times.
18:38Wow.
18:38No kidding.
18:39Yeah.
18:39I was thinking about it yesterday.
18:40I played almost everywhere in Detroit.
18:45Like I played like the old places to like Harpo's, you know what I mean?
18:48Like places that, you know, never have that.
18:50Do you remember how crazy Harpo's was in its peak?
18:53You know, Bob Seger's my favorite rock and roll artist all time.
18:57You know, Kid Rock's taught me more about the music business than anybody in the music
19:01business.
19:03Yeah.
19:03I don't think anybody in the music business knows more about the business than Kid Rock
19:06does.
19:07Yeah.
19:07You might be right.
19:08He's a definitely self-made and he, uh, he is, he puts his nose to the grindstone.
19:14You want to talk about a guy that really knows what's going on with the business.
19:17Oh yeah.
19:17No, he writes his own checks.
19:19Yeah.
19:20Yeah.
19:20Keep, but Bob is a totally different guy.
19:22Like behind the scenes, like the best firm financial advice I've gotten yet.
19:28Yeah.
19:28He's, uh, he's given me a lot of advice over the years.
19:30His father actually gave me advice years ago to take your wife out to eat dinner once
19:34a week.
19:34See, that's where that joke comes from.
19:36But, uh, have you had a chance to meet, uh, uh, Bob Seger?
19:41I have not, but man, it's big dreams for me, dude.
19:44It's a big, big dream for me.
19:46Yeah, definitely.
19:47Against the Wind's my favorite song of all time.
19:49Is that right?
19:49No kidding.
19:50Ever.
19:51Yeah.
19:51I have, I'm one of them dudes that has a top 10 list for everything and Against the
19:54Wind's my number one song of all time.
19:56You should cover that coming up on your rock album.
19:58I know.
19:59Right.
19:59Hey, hey, watch out now.
20:03Yeah.
20:04Write that down.
20:04Perfect.
20:05Excellent.
20:06Well, listen, I'm super happy for your success.
20:11This record is awesome.
20:12Uh, Pine Knob on August 17th.
20:15I hung out with, uh, Cody actually, when I was down there at Kid Rock's comedy gym, uh,
20:19back in April, your drummer.
20:20So, oh God, no God.
20:23Did y'all get drunk?
20:24Yeah.
20:24I hit y'all.
20:25We had to pour, uh, we poured Don, uh, Dan Donnegan from disturbed into the, into the
20:29car around three o'clock in the morning.
20:30Let's see.
20:31Zach was there from shine down.
20:33Um, yeah, no, that makes sense.
20:34And you've seen Cody, dude.
20:35Cody is a absolute animal.
20:38So he's our, he's my favorite player in the band though.
20:41He shows up every day looking like he's going to die.
20:44Well, I'm glad that on today, after the beer Olympics, you were able to, uh, to function
20:48and we wish you all the best and, uh, just, uh, keep doing what you're doing.
20:51And thank you so much.
20:52Thank you for your time, brother.
20:53And thank you for letting me sit here and pound this water while I'm fucking recovering.
20:57Anytime.