Tag

Here’s What We Know

Sep 16
Love29

Kenny Chesney

By Music, Podcast No Comments

Our host, Gary Scott Thomas, has spent nearly 50 years in radio, and during that time he has met plenty of artists who went on to become stars. But there was one he never saw coming: Kenny Chesney.

This week on Once Around the Country, Gary walks through Kenny’s full journey, from a self-produced demo album sold out of the trunk of his car in Johnson City clubs to a publishing deal at the Opryland Music Group to a first record deal that ended when the label shut down to the persistence that finally landed him a deal with BNA Records. Gary also shares a personal memory from a moment in a program director’s office, when a young and slightly discouraged Kenny Chesney needed a laugh and a little belief from the people around him.

Years later, when Kenny had become a superstar, he returned the favor by being the first big guest on KRTY’s new streaming radio station. This is a story about Kenny Chesney, hard work, humility, timing, and what happens when someone keeps going even when the path ahead isn’t obvious.

This episode is sponsored by:

Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!

(Use code “Gary” to get $89 off any service!) License #: 679261

In this Episode:

  • Kenny Chesney’s childhood in Luttrell, Tennessee, and his athletic beginnings
  • Attending Gibbs High School, the same school that later produced Morgan Wallen
  • Discovering bluegrass music at East Tennessee State
  • Meeting Alison Krauss while both were still students
  • Selling over a thousand self-produced albums with no promotion
  • Moving to Nashville and playing the Bluebird Cafe and the Turf
  • Signing his first record deal on Capricorn Records in 1994
  • The label closing and what came next
  • Signing with BNA Records in 1995 and his first top ten hits
  • The moment Gary and his radio partner Julie helped Kenny push through self-doubt
  • Kenny agreeing to help launch the radio station’s move to streaming
  • What Kenny Chesney is really like, according to someone who has known him for decades

Bio:

Kenny Chesney is one of country music’s biggest stars, but his story started far from the stadiums. A Tennessee native and former college baseball and football player, Chesney discovered bluegrass at East Tennessee State before moving to Nashville and building his career one club, song, and fan at a time. Known for hits like “How Forever Feels,” “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” and “That’s Why I’m Here,” Chesney’s career is a story of hard work, persistence, and knowing when to change course.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennychesney/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 03
Love42

Alex Pearlman

By Comedian, Podcast No Comments

What happens when anger becomes funny?

Alex Pearlman has built a following by saying the things many people are thinking but cannot always say themselves. His viral Mexican Pizza rant helped put him on the map, but there was a lot of work behind that moment.

This week on Here’s What We Know, comedian and TikTok star Alex Pearlman talks about growing up outside Philadelphia, finding his voice through more than two decades of comedy, going viral, and what happens when the internet suddenly decides you’re an “overnight success.”

Alex believes people have lost sight of the fact that there is a real person on the other side of the screen. His Crashing Out Tour is part of his effort to get people out of comment sections and back into real conversations. Listen now.

This episode is sponsored by:

(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)

In this episode:

  • The real story behind Alex’s viral “Mexican Pizza Hut rant” and what he learned about timing, monetization, and TikTok
  • Why Alex calls himself an “anger translator” for people who can’t say what they’re really thinking
  • Growing up in Delco, outside Philadelphia, and how that shaped his comedic voice
  • The difference between angry-and-funny and angry-and-jerky, and why so few comedians land on the right side of that line
  • What Alex means by a “25-year overnight success” and the odd jobs that quietly fed his material for decades
  • Why his wife became his most trusted editor and what that partnership taught him about ego
  • The danger of young creators going viral with no life experience to back it up
  • Why Alex built the Crashing Out Tour around getting people off their phones and back into a room together
  • What’s coming to San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts on September 11th

Catch Alex Pearlman’s Crashing Out Tour on September 11.

Pick up your tickets here before they sell out! 

Bio:

Alex Pearlman is a comedian, podcaster, and creator who has been performing stand-up since 2002. A longtime Philadelphia-area resident, Alex has built a following with his sharp, often angry, and always funny takes on everyday life, culture, and politics. His viral videos have introduced him to a much larger audience, but his comedy is rooted in more than two decades of performing and developing his voice. He is also the creator of the Crashing Out Tour, which aims to bring people out of online arguments and back into real conversations with one another.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pearlmania500/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pearlmania500/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pearlmania500

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexPearlman2000

Aug 31
Love42

Dolly Parton

By Music, Podcast No Comments

We lost the biggest star country music has ever had.

This week on Once Around the Country, our host, Gary Scott Thomas, takes you back to a Saturday afternoon in Red Level, Alabama, where an eight-year-old boy stood in a plowed field, fire ants and all, as Porter Wagoner performed on a flatbed trailer and a young Dolly Parton walked onto the stage. Gary had no idea then that he was watching someone who would become one of country music’s biggest stars.

In this episode, Gary shares what he remembers about that day, industry insight from his years in country radio, and a heartfelt tribute to a woman who built an empire, stayed true to herself, and never forgot where she came from.

Gary also talks about Dolly’s relationship with Porter, her rise from country music star to cultural icon, her marriage to Carl Dean, and the few moments he was lucky enough to speak with her. And at the end, he’ll tell you what happened when he asked Dolly if she remembered that first concert. Listen now.

This episode is sponsored by:

(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)

In this episode:

  • Gary’s first concert ever, and why it still sticks with him today
  • The real story behind Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton’s partnership and eventual split
  • How “I Will Always Love You” started as a professional goodbye letter
  • Dolly’s business instincts, including the decision that cost Elvis Presley the song and made Dolly millions
  • Dollywood, her marriage to Carl Dean, and what she was like one-on-one
  • Why Gary believes Dolly was country music’s first true crossover starrescue

Quotations:

“Honey, when you’re singing on a flatbed trailer on a hundred-degree day in Red Level, Alabama, you don’t forget that.” – Dolly Parton

“She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.” – Gary Scott Thomas

Bio:

Dolly Parton is a country music legend, singer, songwriter, actress, author, and entrepreneur who rose from a large, poor family in Tennessee to become one of the most recognizable and beloved artists in the world. Known for her distinctive voice, songwriting talent, humor, and business sense, she built a career that crossed from country music into pop culture while remaining proud of her Appalachian roots. Her catalog includes classics such as “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “I Will Always Love You,” and her legacy extends beyond music through Dollywood, philanthropy, and her commitment to literacy and children’s causes.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dollyparton/

Aug 10
Love41

Johnny Cash

By Music, Podcast No Comments

Long before Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson got credit for starting outlaw country, Johnny Cash was already living it. 

This episode of Once Around the Country traces how a poor farm boy from Arkansas, born with only initials for a name, became the man behind one of the most legendary live albums ever recorded.

The episode covers Johnny’s growing outlaw reputation, his arrests, his drug use, and the empathy he developed for the men he met behind bars. That empathy led to a dream he chased for over a decade: recording a live album inside Folsom State Prison. Record executives thought it was a terrible idea. Johnny thought it might save his career.

On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash walked into Folsom State Prison alongside June Carter, the Statler Brothers, Carl Perkins, and his backing band the Tennessee Three. He recorded a concert that revived his career and became one of Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums of all time.

This episode is sponsored by:

(Be sure to tell them Gary sent you!)

In this episode:

  • Why Johnny Cash wasn’t actually born “Johnny”
  • The tragedy that shaped his childhood
  • How Sun Records changed his career
  • The surprising reason he always wore black
  • Johnny Cash’s arrests and drug struggles
  • Why Folsom Prison became his greatest performance
  • How Merle Haggard’s life changed after seeing Johnny perform
  • Why At Folsom Prison still ranks among the greatest live albums ever made

Quotations:

“God works in mysterious ways. Maybe you just get the talent you need, not what you want.”

“When you grow up poor, you learn what you need to spend money on. And washing a suit every other day is just something you don’t need to.”

Bio:

Johnny Cash (born J.R. Cash, February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an iconic American singer, songwriter, and musician. Known as “The Man in Black,” he blended country, rockabilly, rock and roll, folk, and gospel. He sold over 90 million records, earned 13 Grammy Awards, and was inducted into both the Country Music and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.