Nashville Talks w/ Taylor Jones

Wassup fam! It's been a long summer off from the podcast but today we make our return with a show unlike any other that we've ever done. I've called in two of my best church family to talk about some tough issues we see in America & across the world today. Issues like Donald Trump, police brutality on African Americans, fake news, feminism & others. About a year ago I caught an idea to discuss some of these topics but to do so with an African American man & a Caucasian woman. The idea being to hear both sides of the perspectives that the two will certainly have. Keith & Kristi are two great friends with me & Kyla, & part of that is talking & listening through tough subjects when they come up. I wanted to document one of those conversations so here it is. Take a listen if you dare.

My good buddy Taylor Alexander just got done with a TV run on NBC's The Voice, & he's here to tell us all about it. Taylor sang his own country arrangement of Cher's hit "Believe" for his blind audition that was so intriguing that Adam Levine just had to turn around & meet him. That video is in YouTube if you wanna see it. Check him out, fam!

After a few weeks off from the podcast I'm back with my good buddy & neighbor Ross Holmes. Ross is a world class fiddle player & has played with the likes of Cadillac Sky, Mumford & Sons, Warren Haynes & Bruce Hornsby just to name a few. Check it out, fam!

My new friend Timmy Jones joins the show today. Timmy plays drums in a band called For King & Country & he's also a native Tennesseean, hailing from Memphis. Timmys story goes all the way from working a retail job, to being in one of the biggest touring bands in their genre. We talk all about how that happened & much much more. This one is can't miss! Check it out fam!

My friend Dave Clayton joins the show today. Dave is a leader in our community here in Nashville as a teacher & preacher of the word of Jesus. Dave had a hand in starting a church in Nashville called ETHOS, and for about the last decade he has been a pastor there leading & teaching in downtown Nashville. In this episode Dave breaks down how ETHOS was started, how he ended up in Nashville unexpectedly, how God has provided for him & the church every step of the way & much more.

Two podcast alumns re-join the show today to talk about their upcoming "real friends tour." Baylor & Jordyn are indeed real friends, but they are not a duo. #NotADuo confused yet? They've decided to take both their brands on the road this fall to do a Bluebird Cafe style performance in small venues & friends houses all over. They'll be sharing songs & stories as well as traveling together in Baylor's red Jeep everywhere they go. It's a fun concept that I'm excited to talk about today. Have a listen & let us know what you think!

In the first of a series of classic album discussions, the producer & I discuss the awesomeness that is Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors." "Rumors" has sold 40 million copies worldwide & is widely considered one of the best albums ever recorded, so we figured it's a great one to start off with. In this discussion we talk about some of the personnel involved in making the record, some of the classic band drama that Fleetwood Mac was dealing with at the time, how the tape from the sessions was damaged & had to be resurrected & much much more. This is our first attempt at a series we're highly excited about, so please check it out and let us know what you think! #NashvilleTalks on twitter

My brother Bruno Jones joins the show this week to help tell some stories from our past. Ian the producer was there for a lot of them as well over the years, so we've definitely got plenty to go around. Bruno was the first ever guest on my show & it was nice to get him to finally come back on here & year & a half later. What a guy. Check it out, fam!

New Orleans based photographer Michael Tucker joins us for the show today. Michael is crashing at our house in Nashville for a few nights as luck would have it, so of course I asked him to do the podcast while he was in. Michael is one of the most popular photographers on instragram & he tells us all about how that came to be & much much more.xi Check him out! @mchltckr

Today we learn about the art of play acting & musical theatre with 2 of Nashvilles best young performers. Cameron Gilliam is the leading man for several theatre company's here in town, acting singing & dancing in many with his best friend & dance partner Ms Tucky Myhre. The two of them break down some If what goes into becoming a character, rather than playing a character & much much more. I learned a ton in this episode & I think you will too! Check it out, fam!

For the new year we decided to talk about some of our goals, ambitions, failures & successes from 2016 & 2017. Tre Dunn stops by the show to talk about his new podcast & give us his thoughts on what he's looking forward to in 2017. Me & the producer tell a couple gettin fired stories as well. Hope y'alls new year is off to a great start, fam!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, fam! I hope you're prepared to laugh in this episode of Nashville Talks because joining us today is one of the funniest men I know, Mr. Aaron Raitiere. Aaron is a songwriter that's had songs recorded by Miranda Lambert, Anderson East, The Vespers & many others. He's one of the real ones & I love em. Check it out fam!

1st time talking with my new friend Ross King & it's being recorded for the podcast. I love it when that happens. Ross is a musician & songwriter from Texas & he's now living here in Nashville writing full time. Ross smartens me up about how the contemporary Christian songwriting world works in this conversation & much more. Check him out!

Blimey Cow's Josh Taylor re-joins the show today for a special STAR WARS edition of Nashville Talks. Rogue One is out & we're all excited about it. Aside from being the creator/writer of a highly successful YouTube channel, Josh is a serious Star Wars fan & a borderline expert. He's seen all of the movies MANY times & he helps me understand the plot a lot better every time we talk about it. Check him out, fam!

My buddy Ben Sparaco joins the show today. He has a pre-order to his full length album called "Wooden" that starts today. A few of us got together & collaborated on that album with Ben & I'm pretty pumped for how it turned out. You can find it on iTunes or wherever music is sold & heard. Ben is a great guitar player that reminds you a lot of legends like Derek Trucks & Duane Allman with the way he plays slide. We talk all about jamming with some of his heroes, moving from Florida, dropping out of college & much much more. Check him out fam!

No guest this week so The Producer & I decided to get together & tell all of our funniest car trouble stories from over the years. We've got everything from windshields mysteriously shattering & blowing off in to the road to being on top of a mountain in Montana overheating in a 96 dodge van. Everybody has been through it & sometimes all you can do is laugh, so that's us today. Hope y'all like it.

Happy Thanksgiving fam! Our new producer & my soul brother Ian Stewart joins me to chat it up about our favorite thanksgiving memories as well as some funny stories we have from growing up together. Ian is a great friend & funny guy & will quickly become one of your favorite parts of the show moving forward, trust me!

My friend Darius Fitzgerald joins the show this week & he plays in a band called The New Respects. You might remember his sister Zandy being in the show back in August. They've recently just done 6 weeks on the road with Crowder & Tedashi so we talk all about bus life, playing 20 or so shows in a row, music inspiration & much much more. These gals & guy in The New Respects are taking over the world very fast. Im excited to see where all it goes!

This week my friend Tre Dunn joins the show today to tell his story & talk racial issues with me. His story starts in a small town in Kentucky, to playing football for the Wildcats & eventually becoming a mentor to kids here in Nashville working at Harvest Hands. Simply put this is 2 guys that love Jesus; a white male & a black male chopping it up & trying to make sense of some tough subject matter. Hope you guys enjoy.

Hello! just a quick 3 minute check in about things going on with the podcast. I've changed the name of it to "Nashville Talks" w/ Taylor Jones. I really wanted to work city name into the show after a year of most my interviews happening here & interviewing mostly Nashvillians. That's not to say that I won't ever record a show elsewhere, but you get the idea. I hope the name change makes the show a little easier to discover & grow from here. That's really the only change. Same concepts, same interview form, same schedule. Thanks again for your support! much love! ~Taylor

After a 6 week hiatus from the podcast, I'm finally back. Today I talk about the Live Original Tour where I've been the last 4 weeks, give an update on the status of The Vespers & even talk a little Hillary & Trump. This episode is me shooting from the hip & speaking from the heart.

Judah & The Lion frontman Judah Akers joins me on the show today. We talk about all things J&TL as well as his personal journey from college baseball to rock n roll. We talk about twerking at family parties & much much more.

My former neighbors & recent travel mates Jenny & Tyler join the show today. They've been making music together for many years now & have plenty of stories to tell. We talk about how they met, started playing music, got married, had kids, buying a house & living happily ever after. I genuinely love & respect these two for who they are as a couple, & followers of Christ. Tyler has been a legit mentor, teacher & example to both me & Bruno for the last 5 years & we've both been blessed by their friendship. Im excited to finally get a conversation recorded with them. check it out, fam. // @jennyandtyler on socials DISCLAIMER: In this episode we talk a little bit about The Gray Havens & me going on the road with them, but since this conversation was recorded those plans have changed & I will no longer be appearing on that tour with them. Please disregard those comments, but still go support those guys on tour if they come to your town. They're good folks & the show should be a great time.

My buddy Snoopy Clark joins me on the show today. His brother Terence has done this podcast with me before & together the two of them make a pretty awesome rhythm section. Snoop has played bass for Group 1 Crew for the last several years & most recently just got done with a couple months of shows with Toby Mac. He's truly a hustler in this industry & an example of hard work, persistence & focus earning you a great reputation as a musician. We talk about what all that means & much much more. Check him out, fam! // @snoopyclark on socials

My friend Jordyn has been a professional songwriter since she was 14 years old here in Nashville, so now at 22 we talk about what that journey has looked like. What was it like going to high school during the day & then to her publishing deal every afternoon. We talk about that & much much more. Check it out, fam! // @jordynshellhart on socials

My friend Zandy from The New Respects joins us on the podcast today. Their band is taking off like a rocket right now so I'm more than stoked to have gotten an hour of her time while she's home. We talk all about how quickly things are moving for the band right now & much much more. Check it out, fam! // @zandyfitz on socials

Artist manager of the stars Ben Hutto joins me on the show today. Judah & the Lion, Penny & Sparrow & Kris Allen all trust their careers to Ben & for good reason. I think you'll dig his perspective on things. Check it out fam!

My new friend Pat Kiloran joins the show today. Pat is from Minnesota & has a new record coming out July 12th. We talk in depth about his journey to Nashville, finding hustle jobs, having a son at 23 & much much more. Check it out, fam!

My neighbor & friend Joel Frame joins the show today. Joel is a hip hop artist with a vision to teach kids how to make hip hop music & express themselves in a positive way. The Battleground is a place Joel dreamed up (& eventually brought to life) where teenagers can come learn how to write songs, make beats, record & produce their music all in the same place. The Battleground is equipped with state of the art studio gear that the kids learn how to use & work on their stuff. Joel & his team of volunteers have created a safe place for kids (some of whom live in not so ideal situations) to come after school and work on their passion in a real studio. We talk all about the details in this conversation. check it out fam! // @nonamehiphop on socials

My buddy Taylor Alexander joins me this week. Taylor is a traditional country singer that loves Merle, Willie, Waylon, George Jones, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan & more. He's only 24 but his voice sounds like it comes from the 1950's, which I think is really cool. He has an EP out Friday June 17th, so search him out for it. We talk about what its like to be so broke that you have to go downtown & busk for your rent money & much much more. Also, He gives his opinion on todays country music, a response that you don't wanna miss! check it out fam! // @taylor4lexander on socials

My new friend Baylor Wilson joins the show today. I met Baylor at bible study recentely & immediately knew her story would be great for the podcast. She's a singer songwriter & has her own publishing deal with Sea Gayle publishing house here in Nashville & was also on the TV show SURVIVOR a couple years ago. We talk a lot about her journey to Nashville came to be. You'll find out what a chance meeting at a bed & breakfast with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did for her career, as well as whether or not all that Survivor stuff is the real deal or not. She tells all in the this interview & I think you're gonna dig it! check it out fam! // @BaylorWilson on socials

My friend B. Reith joins me on the show today. Brian truly is one of the most talented people I've ever met. He's the total package of singer, rapper and artist. He plays guitar & loop pedals as well, & writes all his own songs. Brian & I talk about his start in Milwaukee, WI and how he sang in his fathers studio as a kid. He talks about a few of his favorite authors & books & much much more. // @B_Reith on socials

My bandmate & soul sister Callie Cryar returns to the podcast in this episode. She's been on the road singing with Matt Maher for most the year & stopped in on her day off at home to tell us all about it. She talks about the differences in being on the road in your own band vs being the background singer with an artist, touring with other guys than just me & Bruno & Phoebe. Together we give an update on the state of The Vespers & talk about some of her favorite albums of all time. Its always real talk when me and Callie get together so everything we get into in this one is from the heart. Great to catch up with an old friend too. // @calliecryar on socials

My buddy Zach Crowell joins the show today & yes you did read that right, he's a Grammy winning Producer. He talks all about the unconventional way he won that award & why he still feels like that is still on his career bucket list. Zach has co-written & produced several hit songs in the country market in the last 5 years with artists such as Sam Hunt, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Dustin Lynch, & Scotty McCreery. Zach tells the story of how he went from broke songwriter about to lose his publishing deal, to one of the most in demand writers & producers in all of Nashville. You wont wanna miss this one, fam!

My guest today is none other than Jillian Edwards. Her signature voice & love songs have been the soundtrack to many of our lives for the better part of the last decade, & her story is just getting started. Jill tells us all about her approach to songwriting, traveling the roads for long miles both by herself & in a van full of people. We talk about how she met her husband Mr Will Chapman & much much more. check it out, fam. // @JillianEdwards on socials

My new friend Noa Jordan joins me on the podcast this week. We have some mutual friends in Jenny & Tyler & decided to have our first meeting be on this show. What better way, right? It was fun getting to hear Noa's story in real time as she was telling it as I knew very little about her. She talks about leaving her small town in Pennsylvania to come to Nashville to be a part of the Contemporary Music Center & how thrilled her mom was when she told her she wanted to drop out of college, which is always interesting. She talks about her love & respect for her favorite artists & the influence they have on her music. She talks about the first two years of her musical dream chasing journey in Nashville & much much more. Check it out, fam! // @NoaJordanMusic on socials

My British brother Adam Stockdale joins me this week. He fronts a project called Albatross and plays multi instruments for different artists from time to time as well. Adam talks about his literal journey from the UK to the US, touring the world with Mumford & Sons and the Avetts, he talks about some of the different attitudes & approaches between the two cultures & much much more. check it out fam! // @albatrossmusic on socials

My friend and fellow drummer Will Chapman joins me today. He's fresh off a European tour with his band Colony House so I finally was able to meet up with him at his house to record a conversation with him. His band is as busy as any band goin right now, and he tells all about how they came to be that way. Check it out, fam!

Today my mate Dan Jenkins returns to the show to talk about one of our favorite subjects: PRO WRESTLING. Its WrestleMania week so Dan & I thought it would be fun to record a conversation about our predictions & opinions about the WrestleMania 32 event thats happening April 3rd in Dallas, TX. It's the Super Bowl of wrestling so I'm always pretty excited this time of year! Check it out fam!

Im excited to have my buddy Paul Moak on the show today. Paul is a 5x Grammy nominee & has produced hundreds of albums here in Nashville including The Vespers most recent album "Sisters & Brothers." He's a Mississippian & guitar player as well and is the owner & producer at The Smoakstack studio in Nashville. We talk about the The Beatles, early MTV, the music industry now vs then, the importance of starting work early enough to be home for dinner with your family & much much more. check it out, fam. // paulmoakmusic.com @paulmoak3 on socials

Messy Mondays host Jordan Taylor joins me this week. He & his bother Josh (who I had on the show back in October) are the boys behind the YouTube brand "Blimey Cow." Jordan is the host & face of all the shows while Josh is the director & behind the camera. Jordan talks about what it was like growing up homeschooled, making home movies with his family, starting Messy Mondays & being the star of a viral video, being recognized at Disney World & much much more. check it out fam! // socials: @Messy_Jordan

My guest today is legit one of my favorite drummers in the world. This man's groove is the stuff of legend and its making its way onto records in Memphis, Nashville & beyond. Terence has played on the road with the band Gungor & is set to go out with them again this spring. We talk about tons of musician life stuff in this conversation & I promise we didn't nerd out about drummer stuff for too too much of it. Terence is my brother and I'm honored to have such a talented player and drum mentor on the show. // check him out on socials @terencefclark & his website terencefclark.com