390. Bulleit Jam Session with The Pretty Goods

Welcome to another great episode of The Bourbon Road with your host, Jim and Brian, where they talk bourbon and of course, drink bourbon. Grab yourself a pour, kick back, and enjoy another trip down the Bourbon Road.

We're very excited to have Blanton'sBurbanShop.com as a new sponsor for the Bourbon Road podcast. In fact, this podcast is brought to you by Blanton's Bourbon Shop. Blanton'sBurbanShop.com is the only official merchandiser for Blanton's Original Single Barrel. Looking for a unique gift? Blanton's Bourbon Shop has got you covered. Blanton'sBurbanShop.com is your home for all Blanton's gifts. We're excited to have pintsandbarrels.com as a sponsor of this episode, as well as our official custom apparel provider. Be sure to check out pintsandbarrels.com and browse their ultimate online store for bourbon lovers. Hello listeners, and welcome back to another episode of the Bourbon Road Podcast. I'm your host, Jim Shannon, and today you are in for a treat. We're going to have a lot of fun today. We've got two great whiskeys we're going to taste through, and we have a whole room full of people here. So, I mean, this is going to be something else. We have never done this before, so I'm pretty excited about it. At the same time, a little nervous. So, I mean, I've never had to, like, Mike up an entire band before with a mixer board and all this kind of stuff. So guys, it's going to be a great show and we've got some awesome guests on today. I've been a big fan for a while. Melody's been a big fan for a while. We've listened to this, this band on numerous occasions and we just had to have them on the show, but today we're going to drink some whiskey with them. We're going to listen to some of their music and we're just going to enjoy bourbon rye and good music. So, Let's start out by welcoming the Pretty Goods. This is a local band of Shelbyville, Kentucky, but they do get out and about a bit. And we're just going to go around the room here and let everybody introduce themselves and kind of what they do for the band. So we'll start here.

I'm Louis Mathis. I sing and play guitar for the Pretty Goods. All right, Louis, welcome to the show.

I'm Melinda Mathis Harden and I sing and every now and then shake a little something for percussion.

Awesome.

I'm Sarah Bond and I sing and play fiddle as well.

Play the fiddle. I'm Aaron and I play the bass.

Brandon Bond and I play guitar also.

Awesome. Well guys, we're really excited to have you here. Everybody has a pour whiskey in front of them. and everyone is drinking it the way they like it. So some of us have a cube on, some of us are drinking it neat and Glenn Karen, some of us are drinking it out of a coffee cup. Whatever works for you is perfectly fine. But the whiskey in our glass today is the Bullitt 10-year-old bourbon. And this is a good choice for us, right guys? This is local fare for us. This is local whiskey. This is made right here in Shelby County. And we're all pretty excited to represent Bullitt on a show today. We haven't had them on in a while. It's been probably a year and a half or so since we had Bullitt on the show. So I wanted to make sure that we had a chance to have them on again today. And so we chose a couple of their extra aged whiskeys. So we've got the 10-year bourbon. And in the second half, we're going to have the 12-year rye. So lots of fun. Everybody take a chance. Let's pick up that glass. Let's check it out. And I'm going to ask you what you think about it, so make an opinion. One thing about Bullitt is that it always lets you know it's there. It's some bold stuff, isn't it?

What do you think about that?

I like it. Do you normally drink your whiskey straight?

Most of the time on the rocks for me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Nothing wrong with that, especially when you're drinking Bullitt, because it can be hot as fire sometimes. It's pretty bold whiskey. I mean, they put a lot of rye in their whiskey, so it makes it really kind of spicy. It's spicy. But I think the Bullitt tenure is at 91 proof-ish in that range. It's not super high proof like some of them out there today. Um, you know, it's not, uh, 110 proof or 120 proof or anything like that, but that ride just gives it such a punch and I've enjoyed it. I enjoy it a lot. Do you guys normally have bullet on your bar?

Yeah. One of the few. So one of the few, that means you've got a few bourbons. No, no, just, you know, I don't. get too crazy with it. I know there's people that really collect all the rare bottles and bullet you can find anywhere, so I like that about it.

You know, that's what I say. I like whiskies that are affordable and available, and I don't have to choose between owning an automobile and a bottle of whisky, so it's pretty important. So tell us a little bit about the Pretty Goods. You guys have been around for a while. We obviously are able to come out and see you guys play on many occasions in the Shelbyville area. How long has the band been together?

What guys, a couple years?

Close to three.

Three years maybe?

I think we've been close to three, yeah.

Yeah. I mean, I think it was after the COVID started, right? That we got together and kind of something to do to kill time. I think is what the idea was when we first started getting together.

So you guys. I mean, you're a band and you play music and we can find you in town on many nights doing that. But I mean, you guys have regular jobs too? Yeah.

Yes, we do. Me too.

I mean, I do this podcast. I have a lot of fun at it, but I have to go to work every day as well. So nothing wrong with that. But what would you call your style of music?

I would say it's eclectic.

Yeah.

We pull from a lot of different genres and we like that. So you'll hear covers, but you'll also hear original music because a lot of us write. But you'll hear country and a little R&B and rock and roll. Yeah. And I think our website says it's stripped down and gussied up.

Yeah.

You know, we kind of like to sometimes put our own twist on things and yeah. So it's an eclectic mix, I would say.

You guys, you guys have a lot of original music too.

That's been a new thing for us. We had a couple of songs that we kind of trickled into our set list, but more and more we're gravitating towards writing our own music. And it's really fun because we're starting to recognize that folks who come and hear us are starting to recognize it and ask for it. So that's been really fun.

So your followers know your new songs, your own songs, things that you aren't covering, and they're requesting them. It's pretty exciting, isn't it?

It's a great feeling. It is. That's an exciting thing. To be in the creative process and kind of get something out into the world and then get to play it. That's super cool. But then when somebody comes in, they may ask for that song or you'll see them singing along with it in the audience. How cool is that? It just means that somehow that's touched them in some way. you know, they're enjoying it. So that's a really cool experience.

And we've seen you guys play like all together as a complete group, and we've seen you break down into smaller parts of the group before. What does that do for you guys? It gives you a little more flexibility?

Yeah, I think so. I think we all come from different backgrounds, I guess, and have different interests, you know, separately, but we like to make music together at times too.

Yeah. You know, it's, we, we have what? Five of us. And so scheduling is can be an issue sometimes, right? Um, but, you know, so we play together a lot, but we also do, you know, we'll play with other people as well, just cause it's fun. It's our creative. I would say a lot of us would say that's our creative outlet. We like to make music however we can.

That's awesome. So can I get you guys to play a song for our listeners? Absolutely. Something fresh and new and exciting.

Yeah. Awesome. Do you want to say what this one is, Brandon, since it's yours that you wrote?

Oh, Anchor Me? Yeah, it's a song not about a boat.

It's not about a boat. It's not about a boat. Folks, brace yourselves.

OK, so we're going to do this song. It's called Anchor Me. I wrote it last year. I was looking at land out in Montana and Wyoming and little cabins. I was thinking about just making a getaway. I just said, you know, I thought I needed Sarah to talk me down from making a big change in my life. And I thought, anchor me, keep me from blowing away. Kind of, you know, it's the story as old as time. So here it is. It's called Anchor Me.

I can feel the wind picking up There's a storm front forbidding the evening air I think I'm asking if you feel as much We're as fragile as a cheap lawn chair

The same way that fills our sails Can tear them all to hail Maybe we should just rest a spell Won't you anchor me? We've drifted way off course Help me locate true north A place to weather this storm

me my girl I'm no dreamer but I've been sleeping Is that the fog lights on the shore Don't jump now cause the ship ain't sinking But I can't say it's seaworthy no more The same when the bills are sales

Can tear them all to hell Maybe we should just rest dispel Won't you anchor me? We've drifted way off course Help me locate true north A place to wed

Be my girl We went capsized under dark skies with no beacon to be found There's a tidal wave a quarter mile away It'll throw this ship aground It'll throw this ship aground

The same one that fills our sails Can tear them all to hell Maybe we should just arrest a spell Won't you anchor me? We've drifted way off course Help me locate True North A place to weather this storm

So that was, that was such a great song. I really, really enjoyed that. And you said before, you said before you started that you were thinking about like heading to Montana or something like that. You mean like off the grid, Montana? Um, maybe depending on the price, probably way off the grid, Beverly hillbillies cabin up in the woods kind of thing.

Yeah, I kinda, yeah, I dream about that sometimes, but I realized I got, you know, some other anchors here, you know, family and things. So you kicked in some common sense.

Well, you know, I feel like that's like a, it's almost like a midlife crisis song. I mean, you know, you get, you hit that midlife phase and you know, the universe sort of starts to shaking you by the shoulders and saying, what the heck are you doing with your life? And I think a lot of us go through that kind of feeling. And then you start thinking, well, what should I do instead? Or what do I need to do differently or add? And he started feeling that, I think, pressure and that feeling. And so that's really where that song came from. You really need, and it's nice to have somebody sort of rein you back in off that proverbial ledge, I guess, of making some crazy decisions.

So did you kick into like, got to save him mode or something?

I wasn't that drastic or anything.

No, she was saying, like, you know, there's a spot down here in the Bahamas that people just as good have been warming to you.

Yeah. That's awesome.

So has everybody got plenty of bullet bourbon? Oh yeah. I kind of like it. It's good stuff. Yeah, it is very good. There's a lot of different kinds of bourbons out there. There's the soft and sweet bourbons that are just kind of easy on you. They don't burn too much. Anybody can kind of drink them. And then you got this frontier whiskey, man. It just, it just pounces on you. It's just, it's hot and it's strong and it's powerful. And I guess that's Shelby County, right? Yeah. It gets the job done.

I mean, I like it.

Here's, here's my problem with the Bullet 10 year. And it's, it's a great whiskey. Don't get me wrong. Cause I never tell people what not to drink. I only tell people what they should drink. So we, our show's based around drinking a lot of different whiskeys. Finding out what we really like, my preferences, what I like, and then telling people what we think about it. If there's a whiskey that I don't like, that I really don't like, it never makes the show. Because I don't want to do damage to a young distillery trying to make a start. But you know, I will give my honest opinion on something. So this bullet 10 year is something that I would buy. I would drink. In fact, I have, I paid for this bottle. I brought it over here tonight because I wanted to drink Shelby County whiskey with you guys. My, my problem with this whiskey is that, is that the finish on it is kind of short. In other words, you drink it, you taste it and it's gone. It kind of goes away pretty quick. But it's pretty bold. I mean, it hits you hard when it comes into your mouth, right? It's pretty spicy stuff.

It's kind of like chips at the Mexican restaurant. They got stuff in there to make you want more.

Yeah. I have a problem. They don't bring my plate real quick at the Mexican restaurant. I can't eat my food because I'm full of chips. Everybody does that.

Everybody does that. You're not alone.

I know it. Have you been over to the the music things they have in the summer at the Bullet here in Shelby County?

I have, I've been to a couple of them. Amelia and I have gone over a few times. It's pretty fun. Yeah, we saw Raylon Baxter there last year or the year before.

It was really cool.

Yeah, it's a great event they have there. A lot of people show up to that. It's a lot of fun. They've got a great stage. Yeah, we've only been twice, but I think I might try to do it again this year if I get a chance.

Who was that we were going to go see over there?

I'm trying to remember. I can't remember. I hate this impromptu stuff.

I can't figure it out. Brent Cobb was playing last year.

That's it. Brent Cobb came in and he was supposed to come on the show and he called us. No, it wasn't last year. I'm sorry. It was when COVID first started. Brent Cobb. We called Brent Cobb up and he said, yeah, I'll come on the show. So he was coming this way to come on the show because he was playing in Kentucky. And he called us, I don't know, somewhere around North Carolina or something and said, sorry fellas, I'm not going to make it. I got to turn my bus around because we're canceling our tour.

Oh my gosh.

So Brink Cobb never made it on. Then I reached out to him again and he didn't answer.

I was like, oh, I missed my chance. And then stop answering. Those were just such crazy times. Sorry. I know.

Brink Cobb's something else. He's a good... My goodness. But anyway, that's a lot of fun. I had the pretty goods on now, so it's all good.

Right.

All right, so yeah, definitely love this. You guys have been together for two years, you said, but I mean cumulative, how many years? Almost three.

We've been together for almost three.

We've been together three years almost. But how much years of music is in this room? I'll start with you. How many years of music, Lewis? How long have you been playing? Be honest now.

What do you think here?

I know math is hard when you're drinking bourbon, sorry.

48 years. The 48 years, wow. That's me being 10 or so.

But you've been literally putting out music for 48 years.

Yeah, when I was 10, I didn't really get to put it out. But I started in high school and played in high school and we played for, you know, we did a lot of things. The jazz band wouldn't allow me in. I was a problem child.

Yeah.

And so I hired the jazz band to play at events. There you go. And that's what I did.

He's a table turner.

Yeah. How about you?

Well, I grew up his little sister. So we grew up in a house full of music, just different music than we make and different music that we probably gravitated towards. So all these mic stands here remind me of my dad used to play in this Shelby County thing called The Entertainers, which I always thought was like the talent show for adults. When they got out of school, they missed the talent show, so they just put their own on. So we had mic stands and I would... sing downstairs at the top of my lungs to absolutely nobody, but never really had the bravery to sing out except at church where they have to like nod and pretend like you did a nice job. And I forgot the words to my first solo at nine and didn't sing again a solo or just by myself till I was 35. So overly traumatizing.

Thanks.

How about you?

I grew up in a family of music musicians. It's kind of, you know, what we did as entertainment growing up in Eastern Kentucky. My grandpa started teaching us all. He played fiddle and guitar and pretty much anything he wanted to. And so he taught the whole, you know, most of the family how to play something. I grew up with, you know, that was what we did. The grown-ups would gather around and he would turn on his old reel-to-reel recorder and they would play songs and stuff and the kids would be kind of there hanging out. you know, over time we started playing as well. So played a lot back then and- And he taught you the fiddle? He did, yeah. He did. It was, it's a cherished memory and cherished time. We had a really close bond and relationship and I learned a lot from him. And so we played a lot of music as children and, or I did as a child. And then, really stopped playing music for a lot of my adult life, just because I was raising a family and had kids and things and responsibilities. And now that my kids are older and, you know, now we've gotten back into it and started having a lot of, a lot of fun with it.

It was second act, second act. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

How long you been on that bass? I'm still learning. Yeah. It's a new thing for me.

Yeah. So when I was a teen, I played, I played an ovation magnum in a garage band and, uh, but I couldn't pick one up today and, and do anything with it. I mean, it's just, it's not like riding a bike. You got to do it or you lose it, I think.

For sure. You love the bass though? Oh, I do. I love it. I love it a lot.

When we first wrangled Aaron into our craziness, he was playing the just bass, not electric bass. And then I remember you walking in with, I said, she needs a name. You walked in, we had like a practice here and it was like, wow, there she is. And so we haven't picked up the electric bass again, we've just been playing that.

Yeah, the first day I bought it I brought it in. Yeah, I know. Yeah, we had practice that night.

It's a totally different sound.

She fits right in.

Yeah, and when I say I just started, I mean, maybe two years, maybe two years on the upright, I've been playing the electric bass for longer than I'd like to admit. Yeah.

So you said she, so she does have a name?

Sometimes people ask me if it has a name, and I call it Novella. Novella. Yeah, the bass is called Novella. Yeah. I like that.

That's good.

That's my grandmother's name, my grandma. Oh, wow. That's cool. Yeah.

We didn't even know that. See, we got to bring in one podcast, give him a mic, and we find out all this stuff.

And the man of many talents at the end, on the board with the guitar, headphones on, got the mic, running the show. How long have you been doing it?

Probably mid teens. Yeah. I can't remember. Just started playing guitar a little and you know, something to pass the time back in the old days before the internet.

That's awesome. Well, I think what we ought to do here, guys, we ought to top off our glasses and you guys ought to play another song. What are you thinking? That's a good idea. Yeah.

I think we're going to do a song we wrote together. It was our first go at like group songwriting. Aaron wasn't there, but we channeled him. So I still say we all did it. It's called I Struck First. And oddly when we all get together, we write songs about murder. So that's what it's about. We borrowed some sprinkled in details from things and probably a whole lot of dateline or something. I don't know, but this is what we came up with.

All right. Well, let's take our fresh glasses of whiskey and let's listen to this new song from you guys. Awesome.

light of the morning gives last night its day pistol on the table by glass of chardonnay turn to my side for no one in my bed trembling my fingers ringing of an angel who's cursed, but this time I suffer. He was a man around town, had the right family name Silver-tongued devil, put a smile on every face I'd tell you all about him, but I know you won't believe Thought he had a halo, you'll see what you will see

Of an angel who's cursed, but this time I struck first.

Neither one of us is talking so no one has to know I'd stay a little longer but I really have to go Fallen angel buried in your lies Our secret's safe but now this life is mine heard of an angel who was cursed but this time I struck first

Well, that was a great song. I really, really enjoyed it. The harmony was amazing and I really, really enjoyed that. You guys, how long have you been playing that song?

A year, like 14 months.

Probably a year. It's a baby kind of still.

Do you have different versions of it or is that kind of?

I mean, that's really what we landed on. It came together just one night when we were hanging out and we thought, let's get together because we write. but we hadn't written anything together. And so we just wanted to see what we could come up with. So yeah, we hung out and that's what we came up with. I do enjoy the harmonies on that song. That's a fun one.

But it's not about murder, right?

What's it really about? We actually went around and put words on a piece of paper. This is how we did that one, remember? And we were like, pistol. And then we kind of, I don't know, we tried that and then it just springboarded us to other things. And it is really about like, In my mind, Elle was writing about a couple who looked like one thing on the outside, but he was kind of like not good to her or whatever, but he was a family man, like the man around town, like people just knew him, but he had all these secrets. And so maybe she got him or maybe she was in on it or maybe she framed, I don't know, maybe she set it up, I don't know. But then at the end, in my mind, she's standing over his grave. saying, like, fall an angel buried in your lies. Our secrets are safe, but now this life is mine. Oh my gosh. It's cold blooded. I used to watch Dateline every Friday night. So I mean, it's not hard to find material.

We used to watch some show called Snapped. Remember that? Snapped, where it was always about the wife who killed the husband. I'm like, we need to stop watching this.

He probably deserved it.

She's taking notes. He's like, why do you have your notebook out taking notes feverishly?

All right. Well, we're going to take a quick break. We're going to continue sipping on this Bullet Bar. And when we come back, we got a new whiskey and some more songs from you guys. So stick around folks. Blanton's bourbon shop has got you covered. All of their handcrafted wood products are made in their in-house wood shop with authentic bourbon barrels. Specializing in barrel-age potent treats, they use Blanton's barrels to age their own maple syrup, honey and coffee. Find the most unique gift ideas for your golf lover, cigar connoisseur, avid coffee drinker and Blanton's fan. Want to win an authentic Blanton's barrel head? Make sure you sign up for the giveaway on the home page of their website. Blanton's bourbon shop dot com is your home for all Blanton's gifts. If you're a bourbon drinker, and I bet you are if you're listening to this podcast, you need to head over to pintsandbarrels.com and check out the ultimate online store for bourbon lovers. Pints and Barrels Company was started by bourbon lovers for bourbon lovers, from spices to t-shirts to find the perfect bourbon gift. Pints and Barrels proudly supports the bourbon road and invites you to visit pintsandbarrels.com. Do you need a custom apparel or swag for your bar, distillery, maybe even your bourbon society? They can do that too. As a matter of fact, they print our apparel. We're so happy with the quality and fast turnaround, heightsandbarrels.com, the ultimate bourbon lovers gift shop and branding specialist. All right, folks, so we are back. We had a nice little break there. We finished off that bullet 10 year old bourbon. Some of us are drinking it on rocks. Some of us are drinking it straight. I don't think anybody's mixing it, but we're all enjoying it. Actually, we're on to a new one now. So we just we just filled up our glass with a new whiskey. And now we have the bullet 12 year rye. This is a 92 proof, 95, five rye out of bullet. And, um, you know, it's 55 bucks. I think that, I think the bourbon that we just had was like $50 and this is like 55. So these are kind of middle shelf bottles, like $50 range. And, uh, like I was saying earlier, your whiskey needs to cost just a little bit of money so you don't drink it too fast, right? So you're like, I don't want it to go away too fast.

I paid $50 for that.

But anyway, so this is a 12 year old rye, which is really unusual for a rye. Normally you don't see them at the 12 year age statement. So both doing it right here. And I've heard some good things about it. I've never had it before. You guys tasted it yet? Yeah. And you said you were having a reaction to it.

That makes it sound really bad.

I did say that. It made an impression on you.

It wasn't the correct word to use for me. Yeah, I shouldn't have used that word. But I don't know. It's good, but I like the first one better. It's just a personal preference. And I don't even know what words to describe it. I like the other one better.

Like we were talking about during the break, the first thing you do is decide whether you like it or not. And I think you said you like it, but you like the bourbon better.

I really liked the first one a lot.

So boiled bourbons are kind of bold and spicy, but their rye is really bold and spicy. So this is much more like getting a hot sauce on your Mexican food, right? And it's a little bit more spicy. So if you're not a spicy person, you don't like things to set you on fire at all, then ryes are probably not your whiskey. Ryes tend to be a little bit more spicy and a bolder, and they tend to have a little bit of bite on the back end as it's going down your throat, You guys getting a little bit of burn on the chest? Yeah. Yeah. Little chest hug they call it.

Y'all get some vapors, Vicks rub or whatever it is on your chest.

Clearing your sinuses just a little bit. This is only 92 proof, so it's not really high on the proof, but it's high on the rye content. So it's kind of a spicy whiskey. That's good for a few reasons. So rye has been kind of the cocktail whiskey forever, right? All the cocktails are made from rye because rye has that big spicy It really affects the cocktails and gives them a lot of flavor.

So you can tell it's there.

Yeah. We'll keep sipping on this. I kind of like it. I will say this, the, the, the, we talked a little bit about the bourbon, how the kind of the, it kind of fell off. I was drinking it and it was flavorful and bold, but then it kind of just went away and it's like, Oh, wow, that didn't stick around very long. You know, when you're eating something really good, like a steak, you want that flavor to stick around, right? Well, that bourbon didn't, but that's okay. This rye is definitely sticking around. So I like it.

So you do like it better.

It sounds like it's more sharp.

Sharp's a good word. It's definitely sharp. It's got a little bit of like, uh, I don't know, like a dill or kind of a, I don't know, some kind of a dill or a... There's more red. There's more red in it. Sounds like I need to taste it again. It's red. Yeah, it's got a little Sammy Hagar in it. You just haven't drank enough of it, sir.

It's good. I just think I like the other one better. You know what I mean?

The other one was more buttery, if that's a correct term. Actually, that's a really good term.

I agree with that.

It was not buttery.

And it was. Yeah. So yeah, the last one was really buttery. It's amazing that you picked up on that because I probably should have said it myself, but yeah, the Bullet Bourbon had a little like a velvety, buttery texture to it.

And who doesn't like velvety, buttery texture?

A little bit like blends. Absolutely.

See, you guys know more about whiskey than you're letting on. Come on. It's like comparing pickles to butter.

We have a pretty good knowledge of the...

So when you guys are playing on stage, you've got your followers. You've got people that follow you around when you play and everything. Do they always pass drinks up to the stage?

Sometimes they do. Yes, every now and then they do.

What are you hoping for when they're passing them up there? You're like, man, I hope that's like a what?

I'm always hoping for whiskey or burp, you know, like Weller or Buffalo Trace is good.

Are there tequila shots coming up sometimes though?

I don't know if we've had tequila shots given to us. I don't think so.

So mostly whiskey, right?

Yeah, I feel like maybe that or yeah.

Beers?

The guys drink beer sometimes. So yeah, sometimes they'll do a beer.

We have to keep it under control on stage.

So when you go up on stage for a set, you take a drink with you and you make it prominent so people know what you're drinking.

I always get accused of having moonshine. I always have a mason jar with water and lemon and sometimes there's like ginger or something in it. People come up, what is that? I never tell them. I like to maintain mystery.

There you go. All right, so we're ready for another song. We've got a full glass of whiskey. You guys have got one more in the... Well, you got two more in the set you're going to play for us, but what's coming up next?

We are going to do a song I wrote called Keeper of a Thousand Keys. It's the first song I wrote by myself. I started it in the spring. It started off one way and then just kind of detoured. So it started off about when you're with someone, how you and your partner are like a keeper of a thousand things. Like, you know, you have conversations without words. You just see, I'm looking at y'all. They're sweet.

We have conversations without words.

They just, they keep the little nuances and the details of your life. So that's kind of what it started out sweet. And I just told the band like, I kind of want it to be grungy. And then it turned into a total different, like it turned into a song about betrayal and a song about secrets.

I think I've heard this song before. I think I heard you guys play this out of Whiskey Thief. Wow. I'm looking forward to it. Awesome.

Looking forward to sharing it.

you

You text her, toast her, lean in close All this time you said she was a ghost Looking back it's all so clear Things were not as they appear You always had reasons to be heading out You called me crazy, gaslighted my doubts I was suspicious, I knew there was more You're headed over, she's unlocked the door You are the keeper of a thousand keys A thousand secrets that you keep from me You lock away your collection of lies Tell me a story that I wanna find The girl in the mirror is just within reach She's looking at me like she wants to be free She won't measure up to the bar that you raise It's never enough and there aren't enough days Like Tito's and Tonic, I was drunk on your love But things are so clear since I've sobered up You can't twist the truth to make this make sense I'm done here, we're over, this is the end You are the keeper of a thousand keys A thousand secrets that you keep from me You lock away your collection of lies Tell me a story that I wanna find Sexy glances, bedroom dances You're asking me to take more chances What you don't seem to understand is Now I've got the keys I am the keeper of a thousand keys No more secrets will you keep from me I'll lock away your collection of lies I'm writing a story that I want to buy my own story oh i'm writing a story that i want to buy wow i do remember that song that was so great you guys did play that at whiskey thief i think i've heard you play it at

Maybe, I mean, I'm trying to think of where else I might've heard you play it at. The barrel room? Probably the barrel room.

We played there several times too. We did it at the John Prine night. It was part originals and part primes. We did it there.

Wow, what an amazing song. Does the idea of the song cause you to write a song or do you start to write a song and then you look for the... How does that work? What comes first? The idea of the song or do you say, I'm going to write a song and you got to come up with a subject or do you have the subject going, I got to write a song?

I think it's both. I think we've all done it in different ways. I would say sometimes you work on a song for weeks, maybe months. And then sometimes, I mean, I think this happens for Brandon a lot, you just, all of a sudden something just pours out.

Sometimes, yeah. And then sometimes you say, I have said, I want to write a song about this word and try to write a song just as an exercise.

So we've had some songwriters from Nashville before, and some of them say they actually literally sit in a room together and try to jam and come up with songs, right? They're trying to, and that to me seems like that's hard to do. It seems like they need to come naturally, almost.

Louis, don't you write songs before breakfast every morning, pretty much?

I have a curse that I can write a song whenever I want to. And I don't really know what it's about. But I do know what it's about exactly and precisely. However, it's more of an emotion and not really specific. And you really find out what it's about later after you've seen it a bunch. you have an idea exactly what it is, you know, at the beginning. And it's still that, but it just, so it's music is a spiritual thing. That's all it is. Music is instant spirit. That's it.

And that's, that's deep. That's deep. So you write a song about nothing, but it becomes something over time and it just, it blossoms.

Well, there's children in the back seat, but you have to make people pregnant.

Yeah, okay. I get it. Yeah, the chicken comes before the egg.

I don't. I totally get it.

That's a great thing.

I'm tracking with it.

I know Brandon, he, you know, he writes a lot of different ways. I can talk about him because I'm married to him. But he has a whole notebook full of ideas and thoughts and phrases and, and, you know, like some things are completely finished and no one's ever heard them. And some things he's had in there for years um but you know and sometimes he'll like he said he has a an idea or something that he wants to write about and then sometimes he'll be very intentional and just like challenge himself to write something so

I heard a song before it talks about somebody had a notebook of songs they'll never sing. And I just wonder, when a writer writes songs, how many of those songs will they never sing?

Oh, probably most of them. Really? Yeah. A lot of them probably paint me in a bad light because you're always, you know, people think the writer is the character in the song. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. But none of us have killed anybody. And we wrote a song about murder, so I mean, there's that.

Well, that we know of. Some of us are suspected. But yeah, sometimes if you're lucky, a song just comes out and it's finished in 15 minutes or 20.

Are those the good ones usually? The ones that just naturally just flow out real quick?

I think they're the good bones. I think you probably usually need to go back and tweak. Sarah likes to say tweak. She's the tweaker of the song.

I find that hard to believe.

Imagine that. Well, you know, and I think that's kind of a cool thing, though, because he'll have a song and he'll play it for me and, you know, he'll say, what do you think? You know, and we have a relationship where it's OK to say, you know, and to sort of give an opinion and things like that. But I don't normally even think that anything should be changed from what he's doing, honestly.

I just want to hear Aaron's all quiet all the time. How's it go for you?

I write songs and throw them away. It makes you wish you were there when it happened. It was a really cool song, though. Trust me.

Well, it's kind of like, what is that, Snapchat? You take a picture, you send it, it just goes away. Right. So he writes a song, it's gone.

I wish mistakes were like that. You know what I mean? Like, no, no.

Actually, you guys got another song for us?

Yeah, this one is called blind eye and, uh, let's see backstory. I think I heard the term and thought it was neat and just wrote a song like a blind eye. And, uh, I don't know if I'm using the right context, but this is what it meant to me. You know, sometimes you just, you turn your head and ignore some things and let him go. I guess you turn a blind eye. That's right.

He's turned a blind eye.

I've got a blind eye Don't know what to do I've got a blind eye Maybe you do too Maybe you do too I've got a blind eye But it's not so hard to see I've got a blind eye And I what's right in front of me Well I see you And I see where you've been going You think that I don't notice Well maybe I don't show it Well I see you And I see who you've been holding I've seen it all unfolding Without you even knowing And I've got a blind I don't know what to do I've got a blind eye Maybe you do too Maybe you do too I've got a blind eye But it's not so hard to see I've got a blind eye What's right in front of me? What's right in front of me? Well I know you And I know where you've been sleeping I just saw you creeping But you don't see me leaving And I know you And the moments you've been stealing You gotta hurt you think you're healing But you're just getting even I've got a blind, I don't know what to do And I've got a blind eye Maybe you do too Maybe you do too I've got a blind eye But it's not so hard to see I've got a blind eye What's right in front of me What's right in front of me

All right, Brandon, that was a great song and you wrote that. Yeah. I mean, I understand what blind eye means. We've all heard the saying, turn a blind eye to it, right? Like don't pay attention to it. Is that like the meaning of it?

I think so. It's two people looking at each other, but not looking at each other at the same time.

I think sometimes it's easier to ignore some crap that might be going on. You know, if you don't want to face it, you don't want to face what's happening. It's easier to just turn a blind eye.

Sweep it under the rug. It's a lot easier to write a song than talk about a song. Why does everybody want to dissect your songs?

It was just a little song.

Just be in it.

Yeah, but it can mean whatever it wants to, whatever you want it to mean.

Yeah, I think so. I mean, yeah, I'm asking these questions and you had an inspiration to write a song and you kind of build it around a simple idea, but it can mean so much more to the listeners out there.

Well, you know, he'll, a lot of times he will record things into his phone. Like Lewis said earlier, that's a great thing because he'll be on his way to work or something and just record something, you know, into it, some lyrics or whatever. And then, you know, he'll send them to me and say, you know, this is from this morning. You know, what do you think? So, you know, it's just it comes from everywhere and anywhere. You just never know, you know.

You got to know which avenues to pursue when it comes to song starts. But Blind Eye, I wrote Driving to Taylor'sville Lake. I don't know why I remember this to pick up my son from Boy Scout camp. So there's the backstory. And I just like kind of hummed it into the iPhone. Fantastic.

Songs for children.

So it is about pirates, huh? It is about pirates. You know, it was pirate night at Taylor'sville Lake.

So you guys are going to be playing, you're going to be bringing in Bourbon on the Banks this year. You guys are going to be in Frankfort, Kentucky. Bourbon on the Banks is kind of our premier bourbon event in Kentucky. We love to go to that every year. And you guys are going to be kind of like, I forget what they call it, kind of the launch party, right?

Yeah, I think so.

Tell us about that.

Well, I guess it starts on Thursday night, so... October 3rd. Yeah. So it's a Thursday night, so that's going to be us. We're going to be... Six to nine.

Six to nine, yeah. And Whiskey Thief asked us to come out, and we love singing with them and for them, and we were excited to be a part of it. We missed it last year because we were singing somewhere during the whole time, so we didn't get to come. So it's good to not only be able to experience it, but also sing. Yeah.

Well, Whiskey Thief, I think last year was their first year of ringing in the Bourbon on the Bank. They have kind of the kickoff party, I think is what they call it, right? The kickoff party there. And it's kind of a party from six to nine on Thursday night before Bourbon on the Banks. Bourbon on the Banks is Friday and Saturday. Really, it's mostly Saturday, but they have this huge party in downtown Frankfurt on Friday night, which is just amazing. And we go every year. We have a big 40 foot by 20 foot tent. And then we just, we just have, we have a blast. Wow. Frankfurt is a Friday town. Yeah. Yeah. It's a Friday town, but Saturday is going to be a big day for us there too. And Saturday night's going to be good. They do kind of the pub, the pub stroll there where you can go to each pub and you.

Yeah, we sang at one of those last week, two weeks ago in Frankfurt. Frankfurt's been a sweet spot for us.

Yeah, the town is coming into its own, no doubt. It's a lot of fun. I love going there. Sick, Lucia.

Yeah, we've played there a lot. Yeah, fantastic. It's a great place. And we're hoping that Thursday night is... a great night for this year.

Well, they do promote it. And Bourbon on the Banks, Dianne Strong and the folks at Bourbon on the Banks and the Frankfurt Bourbon Society do a great job of promoting this event. And the Thursday night event at Whiskey Thief is promoted right along with everything else. So I would be fully expecting a full house there, no doubt about it.

Yeah, we're ready to have a lot of fun.

Yeah, I think we'll see you there. We'll be there for sure. And then, of course, we're going to be there all weekend. And you guys should come by on Saturday and hang out with us a little bit.

Yeah. I mean, I think if we're not booked anywhere else, that sounds like a lot of fun.

Yeah.

Definitely want to experience it.

Awesome. So we have another song, do we not?

We sure do.

Yes, we do. And what are we going to be listening to now, Louis?

Do you know what this is about when you wrote it, or are you just waiting to find out when you sing it? The kids in the backseat.

I wrote this song and I was at my shop and it was really late and I sung it into the phone and I forgot about it for a couple of years.

So you sung it into the phone, it got recorded as you sang it? Yeah, I just sang it into the phone. So you just, you got it recorded so you could come back to it.

Yes. So I wouldn't forget it. And, you know, I was surprised to find it and it was good. And so there it is. And it's, it's called street lights. And you just have to kind of, it's whatever it means to you.

Okay. Let's check it out.

I've been leaving damn near home for long I really think you'd like to play along But I'm good, I just can't explain Sitting and watching the pigeons swing Sitting and thinking, what is my next move? Oh, thank God Street light lead me home Yeah, well at least I'm not alone Thought she was an apple of my eye She grew wings and flew off in the sky And that's just the way that things unfold Once was hot, now it's grown cold I got problems all of my own Like to get some sleep before I roam Oh, the street light lead me home Well at least I'm not alone I once saw the meaning of it all Then I dug a hole where I could crawl Think my dreams, they must have been too small Must have missed the writing on the wall I got voices calling out my name Once they know you, you don't ever change Lead me home So at least I'm not alone Oh, street light, lead me home Well, at least I'm not alone.

So the name of that song was Streetlights. As to the meaning of, what do you guys, what do you guys take on the meaning of that song?

I've always pictured it as Louis trying to get home from the barrel room at night.

Every time I hear that.

I've been there before.

Is it like late PM or early AM? It's always early AM. I've had a lifestyle of staying up very, very, very late. And, you know, I'm kind of like getting up very early now too. So I'm in this cusp of

It's called, it's called getting old. I do the same thing. Five 30 comes, I'm waking up. I can't help it. It's something about getting old. I don't know.

I'm not, I'm not putting it on you. Everything now is about getting old. Kind of, you know, yeah, the young songs are different. You know, that's for sure.

I love a song that can be left up to interpretation though. You know, you don't want it to be so literal that it only means something to the writer. You want to be able to find little things in there that really stand out or mean something to you and, you know, really like be able to kind of focus in on some of the nuances in the song and have it hit you in the heart. So, you know, there's a lot of that in that song. It's one of my favorites that he's written. One of the lines is, thought she was the apple of my eye. And then she grew wings and It's a head to fly. I don't know the exact, but I've never sang it myself. But anyway, it's just, I think that's a really important part of being a writer is to be able to not be super literal so that everybody can find something within the song for them.

I guess that's true. If you're writing a song, you want to make sure that it's not too specific, right? Yes. Have to leave it open a little bit. Might get arrested.

It's like windows and mirrors, right? Because you're giving them a view into your own life, but then also holding up a mirror for them to see.

Yeah, that's pretty cool. That's a great way to look at it. That's pretty awesome. That's a song actually.

Well, I teach writing and I teach that line. Glad to know it's working. Sounds good. Great.

All right, folks. Well, we've had such a great time tonight. We've gone through four of your songs, haven't we? All originals, all available out there for people to listen to.

Yeah, so we've been recording some of these and we hope to have those out on streaming, to be able to stream soon. But yeah, for right now they're on our website though, you can hear them on our website. But really we'd like for everybody to just come to one of our shows and have a live experience. with our music.

And you guys mostly play in the kind of the north central Kentucky area, right? Is Louisville north central? Shelbyville north central?

I would call it central.

Central? Kind of central?

I don't like labels, but I would call it central.

I mean, I don't like anything that says north. I'm not a north person, but we are almost on the river. So I mean, I guess you can't go a whole lot further north.

We're way north, south central. Western as well.

A little bit.

I heard a song, I heard a song that said, do south is my true north. Have you heard that before?

No.

Isn't that clever? Do south is my true north. Means I need to go south. I think that's my song. I like the equator. But so let's, let's talk about how people can find you guys, social media, the website, all that kind of stuff.

Pretty GoodsBand.com.

Yep. Yep, that's it. And then, of course, we have our Facebook page, The Pretty Goods. And then we have our Instagram, which is The Pretty Goods Band. And we are trying to build that up. So if you're listening and you like our music, just please go find us and follow us, because that's always cool.

If you live nearby and know of anybody that wants to book a local band, we'd love to come out.

I think you can hear about where it's at. Even the internet, you know, it's the whole world or whatever, but it's broken down into local.

Yeah, absolutely. You guys are pretty prominent in the area. You definitely get out. You make your name known around here. And Shelbyville and Shelby County, Kentucky is kind of, I call it the heart of Bourbon, right? We're at the heart of Bourbon here because if you look on the map at Shelby County, it's kind of equal distance from Frankfurt, Lexington, Louisville, Bardstown, you know, every, all these places are surrounding us, right? And we're like right in the middle. So, I mean, if your goal is to visit bourbon country, there's no better place to start than right here in the middle, in the heart of bourbon, right in Shelby County, Kentucky.

We were bourbon before bourbon was cool.

That's true. That's true. Tons of places to stay, good restaurants, good bars, good beers. I mean, if you're a beer drinker, we've got some good beers here too. Just opened a new one, by the way.

Yeah.

Pretty excited about that. You guys are always playing it somewhere nearby. We can see in Louisville sometimes, we saw you guys down at the... Off the rails, yeah. Off the rails. I was going to say the whistle stop. I knew it was something to do with trains. Yeah, they have a nice place down there. That's a nice place.

It is a good place.

We try to get out. So we kind of split our time between bourbon and beer a little bit. So Melody is a huge craft beer person and I'm a big bourbon person. So we've got this arrangement.

Don't drink wine when you're in the middle of that.

Wine comes into the show once in a while, but normally it's beer or bourbon. And we do a pretty good job of getting around.

So you know all the good places to go then. We know a few.

We definitely know a few. Well, guys, it's been such a blast to have you here. I hope you will take a moment, perform a song as we lead out of this episode. I'm going to take a few minutes myself and let everybody know where they can find us. But if you wouldn't mind, do a song for us, something that is kind of special and well-known.

Yeah, we'll do a cover.

Yeah, that'd be awesome.

Yeah, we'll do a little Valerie.

Awesome. That sounds so great. All right, folks, well, you can find The Bourbon Road on all social media outlets. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter. You can find us on threads, TikTok even. I hate to say it, we're on TikTok. Oh my gosh, how embarrassing. Okay, yeah, we're there. But isn't everybody nowadays? Right, I think pretty much. I think you have to be until they shut it down, I guess is what they're talking about. But we also have a website, the bourbonroad.com. If you come on there, you'll find our episodes, you'll find our blog articles. You'll find all of our swag. We love to sell shirts and glasses and all the good stuff, so come on there and check it out. We do a show every single week on Wednesday. We hope you'll check it out every week. You can always drop into our private Facebook group, The Bourbon Roadies, and we've got about 3,500 members in there, and they love to share their whiskey, share their fun, share their photos. It's just a great group of people having fun, enjoying their whiskey and enjoying a good time together. Hope you'll drop in and say hi to us. But until the next time, we'll see you down the Bourbon Road.

Well sometimes I go out by myself and I look across the water And I think of all the things, what you're doing. And in my head, I paint a picture. Since I've come home, well, my body's been a mess. And I miss your ginger hair and the way you like to dress. Won't you come on over? Stop making a fool out of me.

Why don't you come on over Valerie? Valerie? Valerie?

Valerie? Did you have to go to jail? Put your house on up for sale? Or did you get a good lawyer? I hope you didn't catch a tan. I hope you found the right man to fix it for ya. Oh, are you shopping anywhere? Change the color of your hair and are you busy? And did you have to pay that fine that you were dodging all the time? Since I've come home, well, my body's been a mess. And I miss your ginger hair and the way you like to dress. Won't you come on over?

Stop making a fool out of me. Why don't you come on over fast?

Don't you come on over, Valerie.