1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:29,339 --> 00:00:31,307 Dreams are funny things. 4 00:00:33,033 --> 00:00:38,176 As a kid, one's boundless imagination is inspired by the notion that 5 00:00:38,279 --> 00:00:42,042 we're invincible and anything is possible. 6 00:00:44,596 --> 00:00:48,669 Our childhood super heroes confirm those notions for a while 7 00:00:48,772 --> 00:00:51,568 with super powers that ultimately vanish 8 00:00:51,672 --> 00:00:54,813 in the face of our world's unavoidable realities. 9 00:00:55,779 --> 00:00:57,781 But the dream doesn't go away 10 00:00:58,472 --> 00:01:02,476 because we see living, breathing heroes in this world 11 00:01:02,579 --> 00:01:05,306 -who accomplish great things. -Oh, strike 3. There's 300. 12 00:01:05,410 --> 00:01:07,446 With God given gifts and talents. 13 00:01:07,550 --> 00:01:09,448 Hakeem Olajuwon showing... 14 00:01:09,552 --> 00:01:11,519 Sharpened by courage 15 00:01:12,658 --> 00:01:16,076 wisdom and a passion for never giving up. 16 00:01:16,179 --> 00:01:19,665 My God Woodrow you just don't ever get the point do you. 17 00:01:19,769 --> 00:01:23,738 It ain't dying I'm talking about. It's livin'. 18 00:01:23,842 --> 00:01:27,397 So then why not me? Why not my dream? 19 00:01:30,297 --> 00:01:32,747 What if it's not even up to me? 20 00:01:33,403 --> 00:01:37,269 What if my dream is just the road to a greater calling? 21 00:01:39,029 --> 00:01:40,790 A destination 22 00:01:41,411 --> 00:01:44,242 that not even I could have ever imagined. 23 00:01:59,429 --> 00:02:01,086 This place looks so different now. 24 00:02:02,122 --> 00:02:07,437 This was where I pulled up right back here for my very first high school rodeo 25 00:02:08,128 --> 00:02:10,268 and I was nervous. 26 00:02:15,997 --> 00:02:19,587 The minute that I went to my first high school rodeo here in this arena, 27 00:02:19,794 --> 00:02:22,935 I fell in love with the whole show, the whole thing. 28 00:02:23,315 --> 00:02:26,180 And I just wanted to be a part of it someway, somehow. 29 00:02:27,664 --> 00:02:30,736 Lookin' back on it now, I think the bull was just a representation 30 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,326 of something I was lookin' for and I didn't know then that 31 00:02:35,016 --> 00:02:37,364 all that was going to lead to the things I've done now. 32 00:02:42,438 --> 00:02:45,820 When I was a kid, I wanted to be the Lone Ranger. 33 00:02:46,062 --> 00:02:49,548 Like I've always had those figures, like Gus McCray from Lonesome Dove, 34 00:02:49,652 --> 00:02:52,344 John Wayne. That's what I want to be, you know, 35 00:02:52,448 --> 00:02:54,415 I wanna be that when I grow up 36 00:02:54,519 --> 00:02:57,004 because he's always the good guy. 37 00:02:57,107 --> 00:03:01,422 He's always the larger than life guy that walks into the room. 38 00:03:03,044 --> 00:03:06,186 Well I always thought everyone wanted to be a cowboy or a cowgirl. 39 00:03:06,462 --> 00:03:09,085 It's a way of life that's very romantic. 40 00:03:09,189 --> 00:03:11,915 It's honesty. It's mother nature. 41 00:03:12,019 --> 00:03:13,779 It's what God gave you. 42 00:03:13,883 --> 00:03:16,368 I always wanted to be a cowboy. I think everybody 43 00:03:16,472 --> 00:03:18,853 secretly dreams of being a cowboy. 44 00:03:18,957 --> 00:03:20,269 No matter where they're from. 45 00:03:20,372 --> 00:03:22,823 The American cowboy is an icon. 46 00:03:22,926 --> 00:03:26,827 It's part of who we are. Our identity as Americans. 47 00:03:27,034 --> 00:03:31,487 It's something that is deep inside all of us to some degree. 48 00:03:31,590 --> 00:03:35,145 A cowboy is somebody that takes pride in their work 49 00:03:35,249 --> 00:03:38,321 and has a lot of integrity in what they do. 50 00:03:38,425 --> 00:03:40,047 But it's tough and it's hard. 51 00:03:40,150 --> 00:03:43,602 And the country is tough and you got be just a little bit rougher. 52 00:03:43,706 --> 00:03:46,536 We have this unique ability 53 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:48,607 to dream whatever we want to dream. 54 00:03:48,711 --> 00:03:51,231 Nobody can tell us what we can't dream and chase. 55 00:03:51,334 --> 00:03:54,130 At the same time, nobody's gonna pick us up and dust us off. 56 00:03:54,234 --> 00:03:56,097 We gotta do that ourselves. 57 00:03:56,201 --> 00:04:00,240 Every cowboy enjoys being able to work in nice lookin' country. 58 00:04:00,343 --> 00:04:04,105 Every cowboy enjoys the scenery, and the sunrises and the sunsets. 59 00:04:04,209 --> 00:04:07,350 I think there's a lot about being a cowboy that's wholesome. 60 00:04:07,454 --> 00:04:11,872 And there's you know the rodeo world, the comradery, the community. 61 00:04:11,975 --> 00:04:16,117 It's something in and of itself. It's different than you find anywhere else. 62 00:04:16,635 --> 00:04:18,775 All I knew was what I wanted to be. 63 00:04:18,879 --> 00:04:22,848 I think often times a cowboy is not something you do as much as 64 00:04:22,952 --> 00:04:24,574 who you really are inside. 65 00:04:30,546 --> 00:04:32,651 I grew up in a place where you could ride your bike 66 00:04:33,100 --> 00:04:36,966 a mile to the store and your parents didn't have to worry about you. 67 00:04:37,311 --> 00:04:39,279 I think if somebody was to write a 68 00:04:39,382 --> 00:04:42,247 story about the countryest little quintessential 69 00:04:42,351 --> 00:04:44,111 upbringing, that's pretty much what I had. 70 00:04:47,873 --> 00:04:50,980 My Mom and Dad taught me everything about music in church. 71 00:04:51,083 --> 00:04:54,535 My Dad played the piano literally like Floyd Cramer. It was beautiful. 72 00:04:54,639 --> 00:04:59,713 We would sit around the piano and they would make me sing the harmony parts first 73 00:04:59,816 --> 00:05:04,407 and then I would have to sing the harmony parts of the song with nobody else singing 74 00:05:04,511 --> 00:05:06,858 and it's really shaped me. 75 00:05:06,961 --> 00:05:10,102 I can't read music. I don't read guitar tabs, 76 00:05:10,206 --> 00:05:13,451 but that basis and that foundation of music was laid by my parents 77 00:05:13,554 --> 00:05:17,351 and that we just sang gospel in church. 78 00:05:19,491 --> 00:05:23,564 My Dad worked for the prison system here in Texas and 79 00:05:23,668 --> 00:05:25,980 I can make the joke 'cause their my family, but in my family 80 00:05:26,084 --> 00:05:29,536 you either worked for the prison or you go to prison, 81 00:05:29,639 --> 00:05:32,953 but there's a few exceptions here and there. 82 00:05:33,056 --> 00:05:37,509 You know he went to work with a gun belt on and spurs 83 00:05:37,613 --> 00:05:40,926 and chaps and I always thought that there was kind of 84 00:05:41,030 --> 00:05:44,171 a little bit of a badass factor to that. 85 00:05:44,274 --> 00:05:47,968 He did sit on a horse all day and work those guys in the field 86 00:05:48,071 --> 00:05:50,453 and he had to be a horseman but I don't think 87 00:05:50,557 --> 00:05:53,318 even he would tell you that he's a cowboy. 88 00:05:54,561 --> 00:05:57,460 The first cowboy that I had my own personal contact with, 89 00:05:57,564 --> 00:06:00,843 that personally influenced me was my AG teacher Larry Fortenberry. 90 00:06:00,946 --> 00:06:04,778 His whole family ranch rodeoed and he was the one that saw it in me. 91 00:06:04,881 --> 00:06:06,780 You're a cowboy son. Make no doubt about it. 92 00:06:06,883 --> 00:06:09,196 You just need somebody to guide you. 93 00:06:09,299 --> 00:06:10,853 You just need some help. 94 00:06:10,956 --> 00:06:12,889 I told him I wanted to ride bulls in high school rodeo 95 00:06:12,993 --> 00:06:17,515 and he said, "Absolutely!" And he got me all the paperwork. That was that. 96 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,626 I had the opportunity to go to Mike King's house in Pumpkin, Texas. 97 00:06:25,730 --> 00:06:27,904 I'll never forget it. My buddy Josh Harrell told me about it 98 00:06:28,008 --> 00:06:31,183 and I went over there and you know I got kinda trash talked to. 99 00:06:31,287 --> 00:06:34,428 There's only real bull riders back here. And I'm like, "Well I'm not scared to get on." 100 00:06:34,532 --> 00:06:38,777 "Oh really well let's do this." And they really loved and they enjoyed 101 00:06:38,881 --> 00:06:42,402 puttin' me on bulls I had no business being on. 102 00:06:43,195 --> 00:06:44,956 They were makin' jokes like, 103 00:06:45,059 --> 00:06:48,304 "I'll give you my rope. I'll give you my spurs if you can ride one." 104 00:06:48,408 --> 00:06:50,099 I mean they were just torturin' me. 105 00:06:50,789 --> 00:06:54,586 These were bulls that guys that have been ridin' their entire lives were gettin' on 106 00:06:54,690 --> 00:06:57,037 I didn't have that desensitizing period. 107 00:06:57,140 --> 00:06:58,832 I mean I'd barely sat on a horse 108 00:06:58,935 --> 00:07:01,973 and so to go get on this Colorado bull was just... 109 00:07:02,076 --> 00:07:03,802 It was stupid. 110 00:07:04,527 --> 00:07:07,081 And I did. I got to about 6, 7-- 111 00:07:07,185 --> 00:07:08,911 We didn't have clocks and we didn't have timers. 112 00:07:09,014 --> 00:07:11,672 It was just kinda, "That's good enough. Get off." 113 00:07:11,776 --> 00:07:14,088 And I barely held onto one 114 00:07:14,192 --> 00:07:15,538 and I mean got the, 115 00:07:15,642 --> 00:07:18,334 just the piss stomped out of me at the end of it. 116 00:07:18,438 --> 00:07:21,026 But the adrenaline and the feelin' that I got was unlike 117 00:07:21,130 --> 00:07:23,304 anything I've felt in my entire life. 118 00:07:23,408 --> 00:07:26,135 Everybody was happy. "Hey man!" 119 00:07:26,238 --> 00:07:29,483 And I don't remember what the bull did, I just, I don't really remember. 120 00:07:29,587 --> 00:07:31,312 I just remember the feeling of like 121 00:07:31,416 --> 00:07:35,316 that acceptance of, "Man I could be a cowboy. I could be a real cowboy." 122 00:07:35,420 --> 00:07:37,733 And this was before I'd realized 123 00:07:37,836 --> 00:07:41,737 ridin' bulls has nothin' to do with really bein' a cowboy. 124 00:07:44,222 --> 00:07:49,538 I don't think that being a cowboy can be defined by any one thing. 125 00:07:49,641 --> 00:07:52,817 It can mean different things to different people. 126 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,269 We all have our own perception of what being a cowboy is 127 00:07:57,373 --> 00:08:03,793 but the lure, the thing that draws us to cowboy is more often than not very personal. 128 00:08:04,104 --> 00:08:07,866 Chris Kyle's story is the definition of a hero. 129 00:08:07,970 --> 00:08:12,492 His strength and his courage captured the hearts of a nation. 130 00:08:13,769 --> 00:08:15,736 But how was that metal sharpened? 131 00:08:17,289 --> 00:08:22,640 A rodeo cowboy and a cowboy on a ranch are a little bit different. 132 00:08:24,055 --> 00:08:28,093 The rodeo cowboy gets his heritage from the working ranch 133 00:08:28,197 --> 00:08:31,580 because the events that are demonstrated in the arena 134 00:08:31,683 --> 00:08:33,167 come from the working ranch. 135 00:08:33,271 --> 00:08:36,550 Ranchers would get together back in the old days 136 00:08:36,654 --> 00:08:40,243 and they would have competitions on who could ride the wildest bronc 137 00:08:40,347 --> 00:08:43,523 and who could tie the cattle the fastest and 138 00:08:43,626 --> 00:08:46,940 that stemmed from what they did every day 139 00:08:47,043 --> 00:08:51,358 so as time has evolved and the sports have evolved 140 00:08:51,461 --> 00:08:54,810 we have rodeo cowboys that they might not have ranched. 141 00:08:54,913 --> 00:09:00,263 They might not have come from a ranching family. 142 00:09:00,367 --> 00:09:03,404 My name's James Barton and we're here at the Houston ranch 143 00:09:03,508 --> 00:09:07,201 in Bluff Dale, Texas. It's been owned by the Houston family 144 00:09:07,305 --> 00:09:10,998 for over 100 years. My wife Emily and our kids are the 145 00:09:11,102 --> 00:09:13,932 sixth generation running this ranch. 146 00:09:33,538 --> 00:09:36,230 Oh, oh wow. 147 00:09:37,887 --> 00:09:39,130 Wow. 148 00:09:44,169 --> 00:09:45,723 Sounds about right. 149 00:09:47,069 --> 00:09:50,900 I feel like either started out in a horse trailer 150 00:09:51,004 --> 00:09:53,385 or it was the size of a horse trailer but I look at this, 151 00:09:53,489 --> 00:09:56,492 I think he actually started in a horse trailer until this freed up 152 00:09:56,596 --> 00:09:58,252 or at least at one of the ranches. 153 00:09:58,356 --> 00:10:01,083 But this is about the size of a horse trailer too. 154 00:10:03,464 --> 00:10:04,983 Wow. 155 00:10:05,777 --> 00:10:07,020 He'd do fine. 156 00:10:07,434 --> 00:10:10,161 This is like being deployed. Probably the size of their-- 157 00:10:11,438 --> 00:10:13,302 and they have bunks their too. 158 00:10:14,441 --> 00:10:15,994 I think there was a, 159 00:10:16,788 --> 00:10:19,653 I wanna say a romance to going back to your past 160 00:10:20,102 --> 00:10:22,138 your youth a little bit and seeing where 161 00:10:22,414 --> 00:10:24,140 things started. This is you know where he 162 00:10:24,244 --> 00:10:26,177 started living his dream of being a cowboy. 163 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,180 He did it of course growing up and he did FFA. 164 00:10:29,283 --> 00:10:31,078 He did rodeo and he did rodeo at Tarleton, 165 00:10:31,182 --> 00:10:35,048 but this was sort of now making a living, if you call it that, 166 00:10:35,151 --> 00:10:39,397 being a ranch hand for a bit and so he loved it. 167 00:10:41,951 --> 00:10:44,160 Chris Karl's a former Navy Seal. 168 00:10:44,264 --> 00:10:48,993 He's also quite possibly the most lethal sniper in American military history. 169 00:10:49,096 --> 00:10:51,754 -Mr. Kyle, thanks for coming. -Thanks for having me. 170 00:10:51,858 --> 00:10:54,550 We were driving down here and I was thinking obviously about Chris 171 00:10:54,654 --> 00:10:57,277 and our life and my daughter was asking 172 00:10:57,380 --> 00:10:59,313 if you can make good money being a ranch hand. 173 00:10:59,417 --> 00:11:02,006 And I would say, "No, it's really just like love of the game." 174 00:11:02,109 --> 00:11:05,112 Right? You do it because you love it. 175 00:11:05,216 --> 00:11:07,287 Chris knew the two things he wanted to do in life. 176 00:11:07,390 --> 00:11:10,014 He wanted to be a cowboy and he wanted to be in the military. 177 00:11:10,670 --> 00:11:13,707 Once I graduated high school 178 00:11:13,811 --> 00:11:15,882 I was gonna join the marine core. 179 00:11:15,985 --> 00:11:19,506 Decided well before someone else is tellin' me what to do 180 00:11:19,609 --> 00:11:22,267 besides Mom and Dad, I'm gonna go to college, have some fun. 181 00:11:22,371 --> 00:11:24,200 Yeah, now what did you do as 182 00:11:24,304 --> 00:11:27,687 -far as rodeo? What events? Really? -Saddle bronc. 183 00:11:27,790 --> 00:11:32,277 He got a rodeo scholarship to Steven Bell Tarleton, a great school for rodeo. 184 00:11:32,381 --> 00:11:36,385 I think he was three semesters shy of graduating and 185 00:11:36,488 --> 00:11:39,457 he just realized he wasn't motivated for the school part of it. 186 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:42,287 The studies weren't going to be his, his concern 187 00:11:42,391 --> 00:11:44,531 and he loved rodeo, so he thought, "Why am I doin' this?" 188 00:11:44,634 --> 00:11:48,397 He left school and came out and he was a cowboy for a long time. 189 00:11:48,500 --> 00:11:52,125 Chris Kyle worked out here as a ranch hand. 190 00:11:52,228 --> 00:11:56,370 He spent a lot of time out here while he was going to school 191 00:11:56,474 --> 00:12:00,340 but while he was out here he wanted to be a rodeo cowboy. 192 00:12:00,443 --> 00:12:04,585 He went to rodeos. He rode horses, took care of the cattle. 193 00:12:04,689 --> 00:12:10,005 Here he learned the value of hard work and getting up in the morning. 194 00:12:10,108 --> 00:12:13,146 Not having somebody just stand over him every day. 195 00:12:13,974 --> 00:12:19,186 What did life look like as a child in Oklahoma growing up on a ranch to Reba? 196 00:12:19,290 --> 00:12:22,086 I was the third out of four kids 197 00:12:22,189 --> 00:12:26,159 growing up on a working cattle ranch in southeastern Oklahoma. 198 00:12:26,262 --> 00:12:27,574 8,000 acres. 199 00:12:27,677 --> 00:12:30,370 We were the hired hands, Alice, Pake, Susie and me. 200 00:12:30,473 --> 00:12:34,788 I absolutely loved growing up on the ranch. 201 00:12:34,892 --> 00:12:37,342 We learned a lot. Work ethic. 202 00:12:37,446 --> 00:12:41,657 And I loved to ride and I loved the cowboy way of life. 203 00:12:41,761 --> 00:12:44,487 After gettin' to know you a little bit, I feel like you still have that. 204 00:12:44,591 --> 00:12:48,526 -It's very much being a cowboy is more inside than outside. -Yeah. 205 00:12:48,629 --> 00:12:52,150 And I think that's true for men and women that grow up around that. 206 00:12:52,254 --> 00:12:54,912 -Do you feel like that's helped you in your career? -Totally. 207 00:12:55,015 --> 00:12:58,743 Totally. Not only with the work ethic, but respect. 208 00:12:58,847 --> 00:13:01,815 -Right. -Show up. Be on time. Be prepared. 209 00:13:01,919 --> 00:13:04,059 And do what you say you're gonna do. 210 00:13:04,162 --> 00:13:06,786 I mean that's the cowboy code. 211 00:13:09,581 --> 00:13:14,966 When people come out here and work for us, we say you ride for the brand. 212 00:13:15,070 --> 00:13:21,214 You take ownership of it yourself and you're proud of the work you do every day. 213 00:13:21,317 --> 00:13:24,389 One of the things that is a ranching joke is 214 00:13:24,493 --> 00:13:28,462 when a new hand comes on here we call him fingers because 215 00:13:28,566 --> 00:13:30,292 he hasn't made a hand yet. 216 00:13:30,395 --> 00:13:33,674 It kinda shows like, you know you have to earn it out here. 217 00:13:33,778 --> 00:13:35,538 That's really what a cowboy's about. 218 00:13:35,642 --> 00:13:39,128 The calling might not be being out in the country. 219 00:13:39,232 --> 00:13:41,717 The calling might be lots of different things. 220 00:13:41,821 --> 00:13:46,066 When Chris left, he felt the calling change to join the military. 221 00:13:46,170 --> 00:13:48,379 At one point he thought he was getting maybe a little bit 222 00:13:48,482 --> 00:13:51,209 too old to join the military, so he thought I better go do it. 223 00:13:51,313 --> 00:13:55,731 Got in a rodeo accident. I had pins and screws put in my arm 224 00:13:55,835 --> 00:13:57,940 and then the marines wouldn't take me. 225 00:13:58,044 --> 00:14:01,495 Kept workin' on the ranches and figured alright, this is what I'm gonna do for a livin'. 226 00:14:01,599 --> 00:14:04,982 Then about the time I was 23, I got a call sayin', 227 00:14:05,085 --> 00:14:08,468 "Hey, we're willing to take you in." 228 00:14:09,607 --> 00:14:13,162 When he went there, the marine recruiter was out to lunch. 229 00:14:13,266 --> 00:14:16,131 The Navy guy said, "Come on in here and talk to me." 230 00:14:16,234 --> 00:14:20,652 I went, I don't want to sit on a ship. 231 00:14:20,756 --> 00:14:23,724 And he goes, "No, there's something called Seals. 232 00:14:23,828 --> 00:14:25,450 "You can go do it right now." 233 00:14:25,554 --> 00:14:29,489 He was capable of a lot of things but he had this path that was 234 00:14:29,592 --> 00:14:33,803 accepting of what life was bringing. I'm gonna go where I feel 235 00:14:33,907 --> 00:14:36,634 led to go but I'm gonna be serious about it. I'm gonna do really well. 236 00:14:36,737 --> 00:14:39,223 He didn't accept the standards that everybody else had. 237 00:14:39,326 --> 00:14:42,260 He decided what they were and he lived by 'em. 238 00:14:45,988 --> 00:14:48,577 When you were growing up, did you have it in your head that you wanted to be 239 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,304 a superstar in country music or did you really look 240 00:14:51,407 --> 00:14:55,549 just no further than, I wanna barrel race, I wanna do anything I can do to be in rodeo? 241 00:14:55,653 --> 00:14:58,173 I told Gail Patskill one time I wanted to be, 242 00:14:58,276 --> 00:15:01,003 my dream was to be a world champion barrel racer. 243 00:15:01,107 --> 00:15:03,178 And she said, "Man I wish I could sing like you." 244 00:15:03,281 --> 00:15:06,215 And I said, "You wanna swap?" She said, "No." 245 00:15:07,423 --> 00:15:09,494 But I wanted to be a world champion barrel racer 246 00:15:09,598 --> 00:15:12,566 and I would go to bed after the CMA awards 247 00:15:12,670 --> 00:15:16,018 the night that Merle Haggard won for 'Okie from Muskogee'. 248 00:15:16,122 --> 00:15:19,401 I could still, I laid in bed and I was lookin' out the window and said, 249 00:15:19,504 --> 00:15:22,093 "I'd like to thank my Mama and Daddy." 250 00:15:22,197 --> 00:15:23,957 -I had my speech ready. -Yeah. 251 00:15:24,061 --> 00:15:26,339 For one day I wanted to be that too. 252 00:15:26,649 --> 00:15:30,239 Did you ever have a turning point where you knew before somebody else told you? 253 00:15:30,343 --> 00:15:33,001 Like I feel like that music is what I was born to do. 254 00:15:33,104 --> 00:15:35,624 Well it was kinda laced together. I got my start 255 00:15:35,727 --> 00:15:38,420 singing the national anthem at the national finals rodeo 256 00:15:38,523 --> 00:15:40,008 in Oklahoma City in '74. 257 00:15:40,111 --> 00:15:42,458 I was gonna go up there anyway. I loved to party. 258 00:15:42,562 --> 00:15:48,154 After the rodeo watch the barrel racin', have all my buddies up there. Daddy was very smart. 259 00:15:48,257 --> 00:15:51,398 He said, "Reba why don't you get you a job if you're gonna go up there?" 260 00:15:51,502 --> 00:15:54,539 And I said, "Doin what?" And he said, "Singin' the national anthem." 261 00:15:54,643 --> 00:15:58,681 ♪ Oh say can you see 262 00:15:58,785 --> 00:16:02,168 ♪ By the dawn's early light 263 00:16:02,271 --> 00:16:06,137 ♪ What so proudly we hailed 264 00:16:12,074 --> 00:16:15,767 So I asked Glenn McSpadden if I could do it and he got me the job. 265 00:16:15,871 --> 00:16:18,391 I sang from '74 to '84 266 00:16:18,494 --> 00:16:21,325 and then they moved to Vegas and I've done it several times there. 267 00:16:21,428 --> 00:16:23,154 -Yeah. -But totally loved it. 268 00:16:23,258 --> 00:16:26,054 Matter of fact, we were at the national finals rodeo 269 00:16:26,157 --> 00:16:28,608 before that and I met Red Steagall 270 00:16:28,711 --> 00:16:31,956 and he was the one that said, "Jackie." to Mama. 271 00:16:32,060 --> 00:16:36,685 He said, "Jackie, why don't you bring Reba down and let's see if we can get her a record deal." 272 00:16:36,788 --> 00:16:41,207 And it was 11 months later I had a record deal with Polygram/ Mercury Records. 273 00:16:41,310 --> 00:16:44,141 So it was the rodeo, the cowboys 274 00:16:44,244 --> 00:16:48,628 being Glenn McSpadden, Daddy and Red Steagall that kinda 275 00:16:48,731 --> 00:16:50,526 helped me on my way. 276 00:16:50,630 --> 00:16:53,012 Mine was my AG teacher back in high school he said, 277 00:16:53,115 --> 00:16:55,773 "We need somebody to sing the national anthem for this rodeo." 278 00:16:55,876 --> 00:16:58,810 He was the one that always pushed me to play music and pushed me to 279 00:16:58,914 --> 00:17:02,573 still maintain that cowboy way that you were talking about. 280 00:17:02,676 --> 00:17:03,815 Yeah. 281 00:17:10,098 --> 00:17:12,203 Tell me if it needs to be louder. 282 00:17:13,032 --> 00:17:16,069 When I was like 12, I would play guitar every day. 283 00:17:16,173 --> 00:17:20,142 I would play till my fingers bled. I would get my homework done as soon as I could 284 00:17:20,246 --> 00:17:22,075 and just play and play and play and play. 285 00:17:22,179 --> 00:17:26,217 You know I would play everything from George Jones to Led Zeppelin 286 00:17:26,321 --> 00:17:28,392 and so I brought my guitar to school. 287 00:17:28,495 --> 00:17:32,534 I kinda have to give credit to my English teacher Dorothy Kennedy. 288 00:17:33,431 --> 00:17:35,606 She tells Mr. Fortenberry 289 00:17:36,365 --> 00:17:40,093 and he says, "I hear you play. Bring your guitar." 290 00:17:40,197 --> 00:17:41,991 So one day we get the entire class and I played. 291 00:17:42,095 --> 00:17:45,685 He just, the entire period, he let me play and entertain. 292 00:17:45,788 --> 00:17:49,378 The first time I ever saw Cody Johnson perform I was 14 293 00:17:49,482 --> 00:17:53,037 and a freshman in high school and I was competing in FFA. 294 00:17:53,141 --> 00:17:57,662 He had a talent team with some kids from his school and his cousin. 295 00:17:57,766 --> 00:18:03,047 My girlfriends and I sat front row underneath the stage. 296 00:18:03,151 --> 00:18:07,569 He was so cute and so talented. I remember he had a broken leg. 297 00:18:07,672 --> 00:18:09,467 I know now that's from ridin' bulls. 298 00:18:10,399 --> 00:18:14,023 And Mr. Fortenberry pulled me aside and he was like, "You're gonna start a band. 299 00:18:14,127 --> 00:18:16,785 "You're gonna start a band and you're gonna play for the FFA talent team 300 00:18:16,888 --> 00:18:19,270 "because you've got it in you." And I said, "I didn't want to." 301 00:18:19,374 --> 00:18:22,446 And he said, "Well I don't really care what you want. I see something in you." 302 00:18:23,378 --> 00:18:25,276 He was the one that really pushed me. 303 00:18:25,380 --> 00:18:28,728 And your first place team from Groveton, Texas. 304 00:18:33,595 --> 00:18:35,079 He always told me, "You need to be two things. 305 00:18:35,183 --> 00:18:37,909 "You need to play country music and you need to be a cowboy." 306 00:18:39,670 --> 00:18:43,398 That was that abrupt cowboy fashion I grew to love. 307 00:18:45,676 --> 00:18:48,230 Thank you very much Texas, have a good night. 308 00:18:48,334 --> 00:18:49,921 Thank ya'll. 309 00:19:02,071 --> 00:19:06,248 Whenever I was a kid growing up we would come here to the Walker County fairgrounds. 310 00:19:06,352 --> 00:19:08,423 This was where the big PRCA ropings happened. 311 00:19:08,526 --> 00:19:11,253 I watched Joe Beaver rope here. I watched 312 00:19:11,357 --> 00:19:13,152 Fred Whitfield rope calves. 313 00:19:13,255 --> 00:19:17,432 Trevor Brazile. I watched the Carrillo Brothers ride bulls here. 314 00:19:17,535 --> 00:19:20,676 Michael Gaffney. Tuff Hedeman. 315 00:19:20,780 --> 00:19:25,371 It was a big deal. To me this was the big arena 316 00:19:25,474 --> 00:19:28,443 and now lookin' back at 33 years old, 317 00:19:28,546 --> 00:19:31,722 one of these exists In every small town across America, 318 00:19:32,861 --> 00:19:36,692 but when I was 18 years old, this place was pretty intimidating. 319 00:19:37,693 --> 00:19:40,869 Watched every event and waited all day long to 320 00:19:40,972 --> 00:19:45,598 get pretty embarrassed. I've got a picture of me my buddy Codrick 321 00:19:45,701 --> 00:19:48,256 and my Dad standin' right here on the back of this chute. 322 00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:51,845 Back then they had a lot of bodacious calves and they loved to put 323 00:19:51,949 --> 00:19:56,436 young ignorant kids on 'em. Probably lasted right out to about here. 324 00:19:59,888 --> 00:20:02,649 I got drug all the way to the other end of the arena. 325 00:20:03,132 --> 00:20:05,480 And that was that. 326 00:20:05,583 --> 00:20:07,620 I was the kinda guy that I wanted to be a cowboy so bad 327 00:20:07,723 --> 00:20:11,417 it didn't really matter to me if I looked stupid or got hurt. It was worth it for me. 328 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,626 I was really just gettin' on as many bulls as I could 329 00:20:13,729 --> 00:20:15,938 truly having the confidence and believin' 330 00:20:16,042 --> 00:20:19,079 eventually this is gonna take hold. Eventually I'm gonna get it. 331 00:20:19,183 --> 00:20:23,187 I'm the first generation rodeo cowboy in my family. Very proud of that. 332 00:20:29,607 --> 00:20:34,474 When I was high school rodeo with my buddies Mark Johnson, Codrick Murphy and Tyree Cosse 333 00:20:34,578 --> 00:20:37,512 the camaraderie was unlike anything I'd ever felt. 334 00:20:43,242 --> 00:20:45,658 Hang in there buddy! Hang in there! 335 00:20:46,831 --> 00:20:50,249 When I started listening to Chris LeDoux's music. Things changed. 336 00:20:50,352 --> 00:20:54,149 Cause to listen to Chris LeDoux's early music, it makes it sound like a fairy tale. 337 00:20:54,253 --> 00:20:56,807 It makes it sound like a bunch of ol' boys jump in a car 338 00:20:56,910 --> 00:20:58,740 and we're gonna go hit a bunch of rodeos 339 00:20:58,843 --> 00:21:00,983 and to me that was me he was singin' about. 340 00:21:01,087 --> 00:21:04,263 I didn't know that he was tellin' stories of his professional 341 00:21:04,366 --> 00:21:06,610 20 years into his professional rodeo career. 342 00:21:06,713 --> 00:21:12,547 I was experienced in those rodeo legend type scenarios in my high school years. 343 00:21:13,479 --> 00:21:16,654 I rode a couple of bulls at a series over in Liberty. 344 00:21:16,758 --> 00:21:19,795 I rode one, one night at CPRA in Mexia, Texas. 345 00:21:19,899 --> 00:21:23,592 I covered a couple of New Caney. Then I made the state finals. 346 00:21:23,696 --> 00:21:25,905 It wasn't a lot, but it was just enough. 347 00:21:26,008 --> 00:21:28,563 It's like feedin' a drug addict just enough to be addicted. 348 00:21:28,666 --> 00:21:31,255 Next step, let's start tryin' to ride in some of these amateur bull ridings 349 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,776 and these amateur rodeos and what I did was I stepped into the lion's den. 350 00:21:34,879 --> 00:21:38,814 I am in so far over my head, but I am not going to back down. 351 00:21:41,472 --> 00:21:45,476 That's just not in me. I don't have it in my DNA to back down from a fight. 352 00:21:45,580 --> 00:21:47,996 Every single bull I ever got on 353 00:21:48,099 --> 00:21:52,034 I said, "I'm gonna ride this bull. There's no doubt in my mind." 354 00:21:52,138 --> 00:21:55,935 Protect the young man who's a little guy named Cody Johnson. 355 00:21:56,038 --> 00:21:59,732 If I die, at that point I was just young and that competitive, 356 00:21:59,835 --> 00:22:02,113 doesn't matter, I'll go down as a cowboy. 357 00:22:03,943 --> 00:22:09,397 Let's help him! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 358 00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:11,295 Wooo! 359 00:22:19,372 --> 00:22:22,824 I think this is something that only people from East Texas understand. 360 00:22:22,927 --> 00:22:26,517 There's a lot of black bull riders and black rodeos. 361 00:22:28,208 --> 00:22:32,281 But you can enter. You can enter no matter what. It's just gonna be mostly black guys and 362 00:22:32,385 --> 00:22:35,354 Most of the time we were like the two, the only white guys there. 363 00:22:35,457 --> 00:22:40,324 At that point I was hangin' around guys like Craig Jackson and my friend Justin Richards. 364 00:22:40,428 --> 00:22:43,776 And those guys were freakin' cowboys man. 365 00:22:44,811 --> 00:22:47,262 And could ride a lion. I'm tellin' you. 366 00:22:47,366 --> 00:22:49,160 They call'em dragon slayers. 367 00:22:51,818 --> 00:22:55,063 I found guidance from those guys. I found encouragement 368 00:22:55,166 --> 00:22:58,515 and I found out I was watchin' some of the best bull riders in the state. 369 00:23:02,381 --> 00:23:07,075 You can get off. Where you ridin'? It don't really matter. Look out. 370 00:23:07,178 --> 00:23:09,526 So I clung to those guys. I wanted to be around them in the car. 371 00:23:09,629 --> 00:23:12,218 I wanted to sleep in the same hotel. I wanted to listen to what they said, 372 00:23:12,321 --> 00:23:16,843 watch how they did everything and that was enough for me to hold onto confidence. 373 00:23:26,922 --> 00:23:30,650 At that point, we were broke. I didn't have money for a McDonalds cheeseburger. 374 00:23:30,754 --> 00:23:33,688 And a lot of times we didn't eat. And we didn't care. 375 00:23:33,791 --> 00:23:39,728 We just really didn't care. It was about being together, chasin' that dream. 376 00:23:39,832 --> 00:23:43,525 I think at that point I really stared turning to music because 377 00:23:43,629 --> 00:23:47,633 like Chris LeDoux, well I won't say like Chris LeDoux. 378 00:23:47,736 --> 00:23:50,152 Chris LeDoux was a professional world champion 379 00:23:50,256 --> 00:23:54,950 who sat on the back of his tailgate and sold tapes of his professional album 380 00:23:55,054 --> 00:23:58,298 that was Capital Records out of Nashville. Huge difference. 381 00:23:58,402 --> 00:24:01,474 But what I did was like, well okay I'll spend 200 bucks 382 00:24:01,578 --> 00:24:04,926 I'm gonna go to somebody's garage that owns something that can record me 383 00:24:05,029 --> 00:24:07,135 and I'm going to play every song I've written 384 00:24:07,238 --> 00:24:12,002 about rodeo and every country song, whether it's good or not, just me and a guitar. 385 00:24:12,105 --> 00:24:15,074 I bought a printer and after rodeos, whenever I would lose money, 386 00:24:15,177 --> 00:24:17,525 I would sit on the back of my tailgate and I'd play. 387 00:24:17,628 --> 00:24:19,561 And people would sometimes give me tips. 388 00:24:19,665 --> 00:24:21,080 Sometimes they would say, "You got any CDs?" 389 00:24:21,183 --> 00:24:23,358 And I would print them out a CD right there. Burn'em. 390 00:24:23,462 --> 00:24:26,119 And I'd give it to them for hey, five bucks. Whatever you got. 391 00:24:26,223 --> 00:24:28,846 And I would take that money and go down the road. 392 00:24:29,709 --> 00:24:33,748 Cody Johnson, Texas. 393 00:24:36,889 --> 00:24:41,997 So you could say at that time music was already makin' me money even whenever 394 00:24:42,101 --> 00:24:44,483 I was throwin' it away on bull ridin'. 395 00:24:49,384 --> 00:24:53,492 The hardest part was after high school with those guys 396 00:24:53,595 --> 00:24:56,218 when I really started to see the herd separate. 397 00:25:02,604 --> 00:25:04,606 How about it all? 398 00:25:04,710 --> 00:25:10,163 I had to start takin' jobs. I worked at a department store sellin' hats and boots 399 00:25:10,267 --> 00:25:12,614 and all the while wantin' to be out there hearin' what they're doin. 400 00:25:12,718 --> 00:25:16,238 "Oh, we're in, we're in Amarillo tonight. We're going to New Mexico." 401 00:25:16,342 --> 00:25:19,000 I can't afford to go to New Mexico. If I do I know I'm gonna, 402 00:25:19,103 --> 00:25:21,416 I know I'm gonna lose all the money I've just made. 403 00:25:22,348 --> 00:25:26,352 But I had my guitar and I had my songs and I had what I'd been developing 404 00:25:26,455 --> 00:25:31,219 so at that point I really started turning to, "Well I'm just going to play." 405 00:25:31,322 --> 00:25:35,637 And that's really where the rough times really started. 406 00:25:40,987 --> 00:25:43,127 The best man at my wedding, Nathan Reedy. 407 00:25:43,231 --> 00:25:47,787 I meet Nathan and he plays drums and he's a really good drummer. 408 00:25:47,891 --> 00:25:49,927 "Cool man, you wanna get together and jam sometime?" 409 00:25:50,031 --> 00:25:54,725 We work at the same place. We start hanging out. We start drinkin' and partyin'. 410 00:25:54,829 --> 00:25:57,210 Throwin' parties with just a djembe 411 00:25:57,314 --> 00:26:00,524 or a small stripped down set of drums and I would plug up my guitar 412 00:26:00,628 --> 00:26:02,491 and we made a little amp set and we'd have 413 00:26:02,595 --> 00:26:04,873 full on house parties and just play covers. 414 00:26:04,977 --> 00:26:09,188 We didn't make any money, but we, man, we were happy. We should start a band. 415 00:26:12,709 --> 00:26:16,678 We gotta find a bass player. Enter my Dad. 416 00:26:17,645 --> 00:26:19,716 And at the time my Dad was going through a lot. 417 00:26:19,819 --> 00:26:23,892 There was a lot going at home with my brother. There was a lot going home with him personally. 418 00:26:23,996 --> 00:26:28,310 And I think it was an outlet for my Dad. I think he always wanted to be in a band. 419 00:26:28,414 --> 00:26:32,280 I remember him telling me when I was a kid his dream was to be Elvis' drummer. 420 00:26:32,383 --> 00:26:35,697 I always thought that was really cool, like that was really high expectation. 421 00:26:35,801 --> 00:26:40,944 And at the time it was also an outlet for him to kinda come party. 422 00:26:41,047 --> 00:26:44,499 I didn't really know any different. I love my Dad and at the time 423 00:26:44,603 --> 00:26:46,190 I had a great time partying with him. 424 00:26:46,294 --> 00:26:48,503 I didn't see then, I didn't have the maturity then to see 425 00:26:48,607 --> 00:26:51,644 the pain that he was going through and the dark place I was in. 426 00:26:52,231 --> 00:26:55,234 And we started traveling the roads the three of us. 427 00:26:57,132 --> 00:27:00,584 My mother, whenever I'd started playing in bars actually was like, 428 00:27:00,688 --> 00:27:02,586 "You're gonna wind up like your Uncle. 429 00:27:02,690 --> 00:27:04,174 "You're gonna wind up like this guy." 430 00:27:04,277 --> 00:27:06,901 It was drilled into me that if you play in a bar 431 00:27:08,074 --> 00:27:13,183 the Devil's gonna get ya and that was very true. 432 00:27:19,672 --> 00:27:21,605 ♪ Mmmmhmmm 433 00:27:21,709 --> 00:27:23,952 My parents raised me playin' in church. 434 00:27:24,470 --> 00:27:27,162 I think that was one of the biggest shocks, the culture shock 435 00:27:27,266 --> 00:27:30,718 for me was when I finally did get out into the honky tonks I was going wow 436 00:27:30,821 --> 00:27:34,135 you can move people with music in a honky tonk 437 00:27:34,238 --> 00:27:36,206 just like you can move'em in church. 438 00:27:36,309 --> 00:27:38,760 It's just different subject matters and different people. 439 00:27:39,692 --> 00:27:43,558 All I know is that we would just care about the hundred bucks a man. 440 00:27:43,662 --> 00:27:46,457 Give us a hundred bucks a man and a free tab and we're good. 441 00:27:46,561 --> 00:27:49,737 So basically what happens is you put a hundred bucks, you go sit someplace 442 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:51,946 and you play till you're wasted. 443 00:27:53,050 --> 00:27:55,708 Early on I thought that's what, that's what you do. 444 00:27:55,812 --> 00:27:57,399 That's what is supposed to happen. 445 00:27:57,503 --> 00:28:00,368 There were not really a lot of good influences 446 00:28:00,471 --> 00:28:03,164 in any of my friends that were around me back then. If you're watchin' this 447 00:28:03,267 --> 00:28:06,615 you know dag gum good and well you wasn't no good influence on me. 448 00:28:06,719 --> 00:28:08,169 And I wasn't on you. 449 00:28:08,825 --> 00:28:11,828 And we eventually found other bass players and guitar players 450 00:28:11,931 --> 00:28:14,554 and we added and we're in a bar playin' for 300 people 451 00:28:14,658 --> 00:28:18,766 playin' Bob Seger 'Turn the Page' as wasted as it gets. 452 00:28:19,456 --> 00:28:20,940 It started. 453 00:28:22,010 --> 00:28:25,151 We're in a band man and we're supposed to travel, raise hell 454 00:28:25,255 --> 00:28:29,362 fight, you know and it's just, it starts to take off. 455 00:28:29,466 --> 00:28:32,814 ♪ Baby, why don't you stop now 456 00:28:32,918 --> 00:28:37,129 The more places we played and the more popularity that I started to gain 457 00:28:37,232 --> 00:28:39,545 my ego started to really take control and 458 00:28:39,648 --> 00:28:42,272 you know my buddy Codrick shows up at my house one night 459 00:28:42,375 --> 00:28:46,621 and I was in a really bad spot doing a lot of things that I 460 00:28:46,725 --> 00:28:49,382 really shouldn't have been doing and he called me out on it. 461 00:28:49,486 --> 00:28:52,903 You know, he's like, "Hey man, I heard you're out at these parties man. 462 00:28:53,007 --> 00:28:56,251 "Are you doing these drugs? Are you? Are you drinkin' this much?" You know. 463 00:28:56,355 --> 00:28:59,082 "Nah. I'm good man. I'm good. You outta come hang out." 464 00:28:59,185 --> 00:29:03,017 He's like, "Nah, I'm good, but I'm gonna go do my thing. I'm gonna go ride bulls." 465 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,847 And I couldn't blame him. You know, I wouldn't, lookin' back 466 00:29:05,951 --> 00:29:07,953 I wouldn't want to hang out with me either. 467 00:29:10,231 --> 00:29:13,441 Seems like my constant MO at this point in my life, in my young life 468 00:29:13,544 --> 00:29:15,615 is I'm constantly having to shake off the bad. 469 00:29:15,719 --> 00:29:19,240 Constantly having to shake off these demons that I'm putting on myself. 470 00:29:19,343 --> 00:29:22,415 And my wife is, played a huge incredible role of 471 00:29:22,519 --> 00:29:25,280 keeping me in check with reality and reminding me who I really am 472 00:29:25,384 --> 00:29:29,388 because I think she saw me before I ever saw myself. 473 00:29:29,491 --> 00:29:33,564 I could see that something's wrong so I said to him, 474 00:29:33,668 --> 00:29:38,397 "Why are you angry? What is the root of anger?" You know? 475 00:29:38,500 --> 00:29:41,331 And I think a lot of times for him is the failure 476 00:29:41,434 --> 00:29:43,989 that he doesn't want to admit because he's really tough. 477 00:29:46,646 --> 00:29:53,274 When I couldn't accomplish what I wanted with rodeo, it ate me up. 478 00:29:56,139 --> 00:30:01,109 The first buckle I thought, I can win this. I'd actually been ridin' pretty good. 479 00:30:01,213 --> 00:30:04,837 It was at the Cody Dernehl memorial bull ride. 480 00:30:06,632 --> 00:30:10,705 Me and a bunch of guys get out in the middle of the arena and line up 481 00:30:10,809 --> 00:30:15,883 and they turn out this bull and they play the song 'Bull Man' that I'd written. 482 00:30:15,986 --> 00:30:19,783 The song's over and we all start walkin' forward and the bull goes back in. 483 00:30:20,197 --> 00:30:22,855 I drew that bull to ride in the first round. 484 00:30:24,650 --> 00:30:28,171 And I had it in my head that because my song was played for Cody Dernehl 485 00:30:28,274 --> 00:30:31,864 and I drew that bull that they turned out for Cody Dernehl 486 00:30:31,968 --> 00:30:33,970 that I was gonna win that. 487 00:30:36,524 --> 00:30:39,665 I had my buddy Justin Richards and now my buddy Codrick 488 00:30:39,768 --> 00:30:44,049 and Mark, a couple other people that were all really pumping me up. 489 00:30:44,152 --> 00:30:47,293 Like, "You got this. This is gonna happen." 490 00:31:01,756 --> 00:31:05,587 I blew a spur rowel in half. I don't know how. It just happens. 491 00:31:05,691 --> 00:31:11,870 And I ate dirt got stomped and Justin Richards won that buckle that night. 492 00:31:15,114 --> 00:31:17,876 I think that was a very discouraging moment. 493 00:31:18,773 --> 00:31:23,467 At that point I started really focusing on this is fizzling out 494 00:31:23,571 --> 00:31:27,299 and I was lookin' for some type of fulfillment. 495 00:31:27,402 --> 00:31:31,579 Something to make me feel like I wasn't just a loser. 496 00:31:31,682 --> 00:31:36,239 Really. Cause that's what I felt like when I had to quit ridin' bulls was a loser. 497 00:31:37,930 --> 00:31:41,761 That's where the real torture started. The setting in of that 498 00:31:41,865 --> 00:31:44,143 I'm really not good enough. 499 00:32:02,265 --> 00:32:09,134 When I was 5 years old my Dad took me to National western livestock show rodeo. 500 00:32:09,237 --> 00:32:12,792 The national western. They had a guy up there had a booth 501 00:32:12,896 --> 00:32:14,553 with a bunch of belt buckles in there. 502 00:32:14,656 --> 00:32:18,695 My granddad, he said, "You want a belt buckle?" 503 00:32:18,798 --> 00:32:20,697 I said, "Man that'd be nice." 504 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,182 I picked a belt buckle out, a calf roping buckle 505 00:32:23,286 --> 00:32:27,773 -and the guy said, "What do you wanna write on it?" -What'd you say? 506 00:32:27,876 --> 00:32:32,778 -I said, "Randy Weaver, world champion calf roper." -No way! 507 00:32:32,881 --> 00:32:35,436 -I promise! -Alright. 508 00:32:35,539 --> 00:32:40,579 And they said it's like something was inside of me 509 00:32:40,682 --> 00:32:45,377 -that it just, it was always there. -Right. 510 00:32:47,620 --> 00:32:51,348 I think that Randy's story is very unique. 511 00:32:51,452 --> 00:32:54,938 He's had a very successful rodeo career and the man 512 00:32:55,042 --> 00:32:57,147 is a third generation pastor. 513 00:32:57,251 --> 00:33:00,081 I told him recently that the only reason you rope this much 514 00:33:00,185 --> 00:33:02,325 is because it's the only drug a preacher can do. 515 00:33:02,428 --> 00:33:06,191 He's figured out a way to take ropin' with people and help shape their lives. 516 00:33:06,294 --> 00:33:09,159 You don't realize you're in a counseling session 517 00:33:09,263 --> 00:33:12,093 till you've roped 2 pens of steers, you're going 518 00:33:12,197 --> 00:33:14,061 we're not talking about ropin' anymore. 519 00:33:14,164 --> 00:33:18,065 I'm hearing things from this man and he's been very influential on me. 520 00:33:21,447 --> 00:33:25,451 One thing that stuck out to me was, as a cowboy, you said you felt like you had 521 00:33:25,555 --> 00:33:28,523 confirmation that you were going to be a world champion calf roper. 522 00:33:28,627 --> 00:33:30,422 Right. Right. 523 00:33:30,525 --> 00:33:33,839 When it didn't happen right away, I was sitting in the pew going, 524 00:33:33,942 --> 00:33:37,360 -"Man I kinda feel that." Tell me your side of it. -Sure. 525 00:33:37,463 --> 00:33:41,260 We had a church service at, in Eugene, Oregon. 526 00:33:41,364 --> 00:33:44,505 My brother and I were going to sing and preach there. 527 00:33:44,608 --> 00:33:49,372 They're in the middle of church. I'm sittin' back there and this guy comes up and he says, 528 00:33:49,475 --> 00:33:51,753 "Randy Weaver I want you to come up here." 529 00:33:52,616 --> 00:33:54,446 In front of all these people in the middle of church. 530 00:33:54,549 --> 00:33:57,069 So I get up and I walk up there and he says, 531 00:33:57,173 --> 00:33:59,520 "God spoke to my heart about you." 532 00:34:00,486 --> 00:34:02,764 And I'm like, "Well that's pretty cool." 533 00:34:02,868 --> 00:34:06,285 He said, "You're going to be a world champion calf roper one day." 534 00:34:06,906 --> 00:34:10,048 How long was that before you really start to go? 535 00:34:12,291 --> 00:34:16,916 -Well... When I turned 40 I was like -Or did they? 536 00:34:17,020 --> 00:34:21,266 -this is gettin' a little past my deal, you know? -Yeah. 537 00:34:21,611 --> 00:34:26,409 He's ready to dominate. He's got it on his mind. 538 00:34:26,512 --> 00:34:28,687 Here's what was interesting. 539 00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:39,215 In 2010 I won the reserve world champion in the quarter horse calf ropin'. 540 00:34:39,318 --> 00:34:44,461 Next year we qualified again, went back. 541 00:34:44,565 --> 00:34:49,121 Reserve world champion again. Behind the same guy. 542 00:34:49,225 --> 00:34:53,056 I'm listening to this from an outside perspective of goin' that's just gotta be a test. 543 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:56,128 He's waitin' for him to be out there a little bit. 544 00:34:56,232 --> 00:35:00,995 In the last two, me and him again and I looked over at him, I said, 545 00:35:01,099 --> 00:35:03,342 "This is lookin' awful familiar." 546 00:35:03,446 --> 00:35:09,417 And then, then they call his name meaning that I won the world, the world championship. 547 00:35:10,591 --> 00:35:18,116 He'd do the little victory lap and all that, but it's the same way with this rodeo business. 548 00:35:18,219 --> 00:35:23,569 It's the same way with our lives. We're on our way to a destination. 549 00:35:23,673 --> 00:35:28,056 If you want to go someplace, you need to get on the right road. 550 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:33,510 You gotta figure out what road that is that's going to take you where you wanna go. 551 00:35:35,063 --> 00:35:40,103 Throughout this time period in my life I know what I'm doing isn't right. 552 00:35:40,207 --> 00:35:42,485 I feel it. I have that conviction of 553 00:35:43,141 --> 00:35:45,557 you know I can't live this way forever. 554 00:35:45,660 --> 00:35:47,524 The turning point I think in his life 555 00:35:47,628 --> 00:35:51,010 is when he started surrounding himself with a very, very strong 556 00:35:51,114 --> 00:35:53,081 group of men around him that 557 00:35:53,185 --> 00:35:57,155 just simply won't put up with his crap you know? They call him on it. 558 00:35:57,258 --> 00:35:59,398 Howie Edelman is my manager 559 00:35:59,502 --> 00:36:02,643 and Howie was the guy that sat me down and said, "Look 560 00:36:02,746 --> 00:36:04,886 "I don't care what this takes. I believe in you. 561 00:36:04,990 --> 00:36:07,165 "I'm not makin' a dime till you make a dime." 562 00:36:07,268 --> 00:36:09,339 And he knew Trent Willman. 563 00:36:10,029 --> 00:36:11,686 So he brings me to Nashville 564 00:36:11,790 --> 00:36:14,896 and I met him and immediately It was like I found a big brother. 565 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,521 We had so much in common. Our personalities were a lot alike. 566 00:36:18,624 --> 00:36:22,421 In our love and our passion for country music was a lot alike. 567 00:36:22,525 --> 00:36:26,460 Trent was a cowboy. I was a cowboy. He grew up on a ranch. 568 00:36:29,325 --> 00:36:31,396 When I was growin' up in West Texas 569 00:36:31,499 --> 00:36:34,157 cowboy's what you did. That's what you put on your 570 00:36:34,261 --> 00:36:36,539 tax form as occupation. 571 00:36:36,642 --> 00:36:39,680 The people there are just the remnants of the dust bowl. 572 00:36:39,783 --> 00:36:43,718 They are made of grit and wind and cocklebur seeds, 573 00:36:43,822 --> 00:36:46,825 mesquite. That's the kind of people that I grew up with 574 00:36:46,928 --> 00:36:50,691 but I think that gives you a good perspective of life. 575 00:36:50,794 --> 00:36:54,039 You know being raised around cowboys I feel like I got a 576 00:36:54,142 --> 00:36:56,593 I got a good sense of I'm on my own 577 00:36:56,697 --> 00:36:59,217 in this world. Nobody owes me anything. 578 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:03,738 And as intimidating as that sounds, it's also very freeing. 579 00:37:07,570 --> 00:37:10,573 There was a lot about Trent that I really looked up to 580 00:37:10,676 --> 00:37:12,091 as a mentor but at the same time 581 00:37:12,195 --> 00:37:14,542 he made me feel like we were on the same playing field. 582 00:37:14,646 --> 00:37:17,027 He had struggles in his life with 583 00:37:17,131 --> 00:37:20,134 family and his career at the same time that I was. 584 00:37:20,238 --> 00:37:24,414 So there's a funny thing that happens when you're the new kid on the block. 585 00:37:24,518 --> 00:37:27,037 Everybody blows smoke up your ass in this town 586 00:37:27,141 --> 00:37:30,248 and it's called the buzz. Everybody get's the buzz. 587 00:37:30,351 --> 00:37:32,871 When you're that young up and coming guy 588 00:37:32,974 --> 00:37:35,460 it's hard not to drink your own Kool Aid. 589 00:37:35,563 --> 00:37:40,050 And I didn't realize but I was setting myself up for a big disappointment. 590 00:37:40,913 --> 00:37:43,502 Trent was eaten up by the system. 591 00:37:43,606 --> 00:37:46,574 He had a record deal, goes to work one day, 592 00:37:46,678 --> 00:37:48,887 this record label buys this record label. 593 00:37:48,990 --> 00:37:51,924 Your contract's null and void, you don't work here anymore. 594 00:37:52,028 --> 00:37:54,927 We were out on the road and I remember gettin' that phone call 595 00:37:55,031 --> 00:37:58,276 on the bus. You've been dropped. 596 00:37:58,379 --> 00:38:01,002 it was devastating. Here's my dream. 597 00:38:01,106 --> 00:38:03,902 It's right here in the palm of my hand and then 598 00:38:04,005 --> 00:38:06,629 it just like sand goes through your hands. 599 00:38:06,732 --> 00:38:08,424 It was tough. 600 00:38:09,908 --> 00:38:12,255 Trent wasn't a producer when I met him. 601 00:38:12,359 --> 00:38:14,464 He was a hardcore song writer. 602 00:38:14,568 --> 00:38:17,605 And Trent and I hit it off so well when we were writin', it's like 603 00:38:17,709 --> 00:38:19,435 everything else came after that. 604 00:38:19,538 --> 00:38:23,059 We started writin' music then we would form this bond. 605 00:38:23,162 --> 00:38:24,716 He gave me this sense of confidence. 606 00:38:24,819 --> 00:38:27,235 I feel that love and that affection like a brother 607 00:38:27,339 --> 00:38:30,480 and I know that he's shaping me and I know he's mentoring me 608 00:38:30,584 --> 00:38:33,172 and I think that's very special that we cultivated it 609 00:38:33,276 --> 00:38:35,692 organically just because of Trent 610 00:38:35,796 --> 00:38:38,971 and I's common bond and our belief in each other that 611 00:38:39,075 --> 00:38:41,526 we were meant to be together to accomplish something. 612 00:38:41,629 --> 00:38:43,148 We just didn't know what yet. 613 00:38:48,947 --> 00:38:51,881 To be able to influence a young person and 614 00:38:51,984 --> 00:38:54,849 maybe change their direction in life 615 00:38:55,540 --> 00:38:57,714 is something very powerful. 616 00:38:58,646 --> 00:39:02,581 I've really enjoyed taking that as part of our job 617 00:39:02,685 --> 00:39:05,239 not only stewards of the ranch 618 00:39:05,343 --> 00:39:08,276 but you know helping people learn lessons 619 00:39:08,380 --> 00:39:11,107 and become better cowboys at heart. 620 00:39:12,384 --> 00:39:14,800 I think that Chris learned so much 621 00:39:14,904 --> 00:39:17,458 from just that cowboy part of him and 622 00:39:17,562 --> 00:39:20,116 being on the ranch or around animals. 623 00:39:22,118 --> 00:39:24,120 He knew more about people 624 00:39:24,223 --> 00:39:27,054 having spent the time that he did and being the person he was 625 00:39:27,157 --> 00:39:29,470 so the main difference I think with Chris and a lot of other people 626 00:39:29,574 --> 00:39:31,161 even people that he knew very well 627 00:39:31,265 --> 00:39:34,855 you know so were related to, he didn't hit a horse. 628 00:39:34,958 --> 00:39:36,857 He didn't believe you ever had to. 629 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:39,480 So he could return a horse that he had trained 630 00:39:39,584 --> 00:39:42,172 to the person that wanted to ride it for long term 631 00:39:42,276 --> 00:39:44,209 and it wasn't broken spirit trained. 632 00:39:44,312 --> 00:39:45,935 It had a good spirit. 633 00:39:48,178 --> 00:39:52,079 When he was here, there was a horse that nobody could work with, Floyd. 634 00:39:52,182 --> 00:39:55,220 He was just a throwaway horse because he was never going to be any good 635 00:39:55,772 --> 00:40:00,018 and Chris just decided Floyd was the challenge. 636 00:40:01,744 --> 00:40:03,849 And so he would ride him late and 637 00:40:03,953 --> 00:40:06,058 spend more time with him after everybody had been done 638 00:40:06,162 --> 00:40:08,060 and he'd done his other work for the day 639 00:40:08,164 --> 00:40:14,446 and, in the end, Floyd was the best roping horse. 640 00:40:14,550 --> 00:40:18,312 I think that speaks a lot to who Chris was. 641 00:40:18,416 --> 00:40:21,936 Just his patience. Challenge didn't scare him. He enjoyed it. 642 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:26,976 He could get people who others wouldn't connect to to connect to him. 643 00:40:27,079 --> 00:40:31,256 He would see if it was a kid, an animal, his wife, 644 00:40:31,359 --> 00:40:33,327 somebody on the battlefield. 645 00:40:33,431 --> 00:40:37,435 If he saw you in need, he was there and he'd bring you up. 646 00:40:41,266 --> 00:40:45,339 We spend a lot of time with our ranch hands. 647 00:40:45,443 --> 00:40:47,859 You know, they become part of our family, 648 00:40:47,962 --> 00:40:51,725 but when they do leave we want them to have a 649 00:40:51,828 --> 00:40:54,797 productive future. We want'em to learn from here. 650 00:40:54,900 --> 00:40:58,490 I feel that anybody can choose to do whatever they want to do 651 00:40:58,594 --> 00:41:02,770 as long as they work hard, follow their dreams. 652 00:41:02,874 --> 00:41:06,049 It's fun to learn that they've gone on to do 653 00:41:06,153 --> 00:41:09,467 special things and become productive in their life. 654 00:41:11,123 --> 00:41:12,849 Chris didn't want to write a book, 655 00:41:12,953 --> 00:41:16,335 but ends up doing it. It becomes a way of service. 656 00:41:17,060 --> 00:41:20,029 You know they say with great power comes great responsibility or something. 657 00:41:20,132 --> 00:41:21,720 Well he was the guy they would go to and say, 658 00:41:21,824 --> 00:41:23,757 "Do you ever have bad dreams? Is this normal?" 659 00:41:23,860 --> 00:41:25,137 Cause they knew it wouldn't go anywhere 660 00:41:25,241 --> 00:41:27,277 and that he would relate to them on a kind level. 661 00:41:27,381 --> 00:41:29,832 And I remember that the moment that we were in bed. 662 00:41:29,935 --> 00:41:31,696 I was lookin' and I said, "Babe, do you realize?" 663 00:41:31,799 --> 00:41:34,733 He was tellin' me about a phone call that he had and 664 00:41:34,837 --> 00:41:38,737 some questions that guys were opening up and asking him and they always did that. 665 00:41:38,841 --> 00:41:42,258 And I said, "You realize your serving again with this book." 666 00:41:42,361 --> 00:41:45,399 He started to see that more and more. He was like, "Wow. You know that 667 00:41:45,503 --> 00:41:48,747 "is a way I can help and serve." And so 668 00:41:48,851 --> 00:41:51,957 I think in a lot of ways 669 00:41:52,061 --> 00:41:54,857 he was starting to recognize that he could impact people 670 00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:57,135 and he sought out the people who were struggling. 671 00:41:57,238 --> 00:42:00,690 He just wanted to quietly be behind the scenes bringing them up. 672 00:42:05,246 --> 00:42:08,560 I believe you're a product of who you place around you. 673 00:42:09,975 --> 00:42:12,081 And I didn't realize that a lot of my friends at that point, 674 00:42:12,184 --> 00:42:14,048 a lot of people I had in my life at that point 675 00:42:14,152 --> 00:42:16,188 were affecting me in negative ways. 676 00:42:16,292 --> 00:42:18,432 When I started to get the right influences, 677 00:42:18,536 --> 00:42:20,434 it made me more uncomfortable 678 00:42:20,538 --> 00:42:23,402 with things in my life that I didn't realize I needed to get rid of 679 00:42:23,506 --> 00:42:27,510 and that's where the turning, I think that's where the real turning point starts. 680 00:42:27,614 --> 00:42:30,513 I told you I had that aha moment, where I finally, when I was like 681 00:42:30,617 --> 00:42:33,274 okay and I feel like that 682 00:42:33,378 --> 00:42:37,140 -God said, "Okay. Now I can work with that." -Yeah. 683 00:42:37,244 --> 00:42:40,523 But I feel like I was damming up my own path 684 00:42:40,627 --> 00:42:42,905 and I've heard you say this a lot, like He's not a forceful God. 685 00:42:43,008 --> 00:42:44,803 He's not going to kick your door In and say, "You're gonna follow." 686 00:42:44,907 --> 00:42:46,529 He'll make you do nothin'. 687 00:42:47,392 --> 00:42:50,706 What is that thing they say now? It's enjoy the process. 688 00:42:50,809 --> 00:42:54,088 Or you know, really be there for the process because 689 00:42:54,192 --> 00:42:58,437 the failure and the pain fills you, you know, and think about how much 690 00:42:58,541 --> 00:43:02,131 art and how many significant things have been born from pain 691 00:43:02,234 --> 00:43:06,722 and from failure and that's a lot of times where it starts. 692 00:43:06,825 --> 00:43:10,518 So many wonderful things have happened from rock bottom. 693 00:43:11,692 --> 00:43:16,248 This entire story that's gone on, God has been at work. 694 00:43:16,352 --> 00:43:20,908 There's not a single failure, there's not a single dark place 695 00:43:21,702 --> 00:43:24,636 that I truly believe He didn't allow me to go to. 696 00:43:28,157 --> 00:43:31,091 I believe that God's not someone who's sittin' up there goin', 697 00:43:31,194 --> 00:43:33,024 "You're gonna do this. It's my way or the highway." 698 00:43:33,127 --> 00:43:35,578 He kinda stands back and, "Hey. I'm here. 699 00:43:35,682 --> 00:43:37,649 "I'm gonna keep workin' in your life. 700 00:43:37,753 --> 00:43:39,962 "If you don't acknowledge me, I'm here." 701 00:43:41,342 --> 00:43:45,105 And I definitely didn't acknowledge but I truly believe 702 00:43:45,208 --> 00:43:48,764 everything He allowed me to go through and allowed me to screw up 703 00:43:48,867 --> 00:43:51,007 was for a greater purpose. 704 00:43:51,318 --> 00:43:53,354 And I feel like we're getting closer to the point in the story 705 00:43:53,458 --> 00:43:55,425 where that's coming to light. 706 00:44:01,949 --> 00:44:04,952 Looking back as an adult, you're like 707 00:44:05,056 --> 00:44:07,334 failure's all about perception and how you handle it. 708 00:44:07,437 --> 00:44:10,578 You know, if you can turn failure into something positive, you didn't really fail. 709 00:44:10,682 --> 00:44:12,304 And I didn't realize that then 710 00:44:12,408 --> 00:44:16,826 so I held that anger and that kinda loneliness and that loss and that 711 00:44:16,930 --> 00:44:21,831 not havin' closure for a long time until we wrote the song "Dear Rodeo". 712 00:44:24,834 --> 00:44:27,595 When I quite ridin' bulls it was like 713 00:44:27,699 --> 00:44:29,563 like I lost my best friend 714 00:44:30,564 --> 00:44:33,740 because let's face it, my best friends at the time 715 00:44:33,843 --> 00:44:36,225 were out ridin' bulls. 716 00:44:38,054 --> 00:44:41,195 At this point I've got buddies that are in the PBR, 717 00:44:41,299 --> 00:44:43,819 buddies that are in the PRCA that made it 718 00:44:43,922 --> 00:44:48,893 and I, I didn't ever address that tiny bit of jealousy. 719 00:44:48,996 --> 00:44:55,278 Couldn't even watch bull ridin'. Couldn't even watch it. My publisher Scott Gunner, he said, 720 00:44:55,382 --> 00:44:59,869 "You told me one time that when you stopped ridin' bulls "it was like a divorce." 721 00:44:59,973 --> 00:45:01,871 He said, "I think you need to address that. 722 00:45:01,975 --> 00:45:04,011 "I just think that's a piece of you 723 00:45:04,115 --> 00:45:05,668 "that you've never addressed." 724 00:45:05,772 --> 00:45:07,394 And I was like, "I don't want to." 725 00:45:07,497 --> 00:45:10,949 About a week later my buddy Dan Couch comes out 726 00:45:11,743 --> 00:45:14,159 and I told him I need to get this out. 727 00:45:14,263 --> 00:45:16,334 I need to get this out of my system. 728 00:45:17,197 --> 00:45:19,061 And he said, "Well if you could talk to rodeo, 729 00:45:19,164 --> 00:45:23,134 "like if she was the love that got away and her name was rodeo, what would you say?" 730 00:45:24,238 --> 00:45:27,794 I said, "I think I would start by saying, Dear Rodeo. 731 00:45:28,311 --> 00:45:31,867 "I'd be lying if I tried to tell you I don't think about you." 732 00:45:31,970 --> 00:45:33,731 He's like, "Woah." 733 00:45:33,834 --> 00:45:36,664 I said, "After all the miles and the wild nights that we been through." 734 00:45:36,768 --> 00:45:39,150 And he said, "Lord knows we've had a few." 735 00:45:44,534 --> 00:45:46,605 Dear rodeo. 736 00:45:46,709 --> 00:45:49,091 I said, "I'd like to say I took the reigns and rode away." 737 00:45:49,194 --> 00:45:51,990 He said, "No regrets. No left unsaids." 738 00:45:52,094 --> 00:45:53,889 I said, "Just turn the page." 739 00:45:53,992 --> 00:45:56,719 And he said, "Aw, but you know better babe." 740 00:45:56,823 --> 00:45:58,445 We both kinda sat there and I'm going, 741 00:45:58,548 --> 00:46:02,794 we know what's happening. Songs just don't fall out like this. 742 00:46:02,898 --> 00:46:05,038 I won't say that. When songs fall out like this 743 00:46:05,141 --> 00:46:08,800 it's rare and this is the first time its ever fallen out for me like this. 744 00:46:10,112 --> 00:46:12,252 But he said, "Okay, at this point though, 745 00:46:12,355 --> 00:46:14,737 "would you rather never experienced it?" 746 00:46:14,841 --> 00:46:17,326 I said, "No." He said, "Well somehow the highs outweigh the lows." 747 00:46:17,429 --> 00:46:20,122 And I said, "You know what, I'd do it all again. 748 00:46:20,225 --> 00:46:22,572 "Even though I know I'd have to let you go." 749 00:46:22,676 --> 00:46:25,679 And at this point the production that we're putting on this is very sad. 750 00:46:25,783 --> 00:46:27,612 'Cause that's the atmosphere in the bus. 751 00:46:27,715 --> 00:46:31,133 The more and more the song progresses, it takes this turn. 752 00:46:31,236 --> 00:46:33,756 It takes this turn and this emotional 753 00:46:33,860 --> 00:46:36,448 outlet of it's okay. 754 00:46:36,552 --> 00:46:38,381 It's okay. 755 00:46:39,900 --> 00:46:44,318 And the very last line of the song is, "I'm still in love with you." 756 00:46:44,422 --> 00:46:47,666 It was like for the first time I'd written down 757 00:46:47,770 --> 00:46:50,428 emotions that I didn't want to address. 758 00:46:52,533 --> 00:46:57,435 And every night since I've written it and I've played it, I smile. 759 00:47:10,448 --> 00:47:13,796 If I had to put my finger on what I believe is unique about 760 00:47:13,900 --> 00:47:17,696 the dream to be a cowboy, I'd say this. 761 00:47:18,042 --> 00:47:21,873 I didn't see a cowboy and say I wanna be that. 762 00:47:22,563 --> 00:47:25,256 I don't think most people even see it that way. 763 00:47:25,739 --> 00:47:30,848 The dream of being a cowboy is more about discovering if it's in you. 764 00:47:31,331 --> 00:47:33,678 We just wanna know if that toughness, 765 00:47:33,781 --> 00:47:38,994 that honesty and determination lives inside of us. 766 00:47:39,304 --> 00:47:41,893 And can we claim in certain arenas 767 00:47:41,997 --> 00:47:45,207 what we believe cowboy stands for? 768 00:47:49,349 --> 00:47:51,972 It was so cold one night that you had to sleep 769 00:47:52,076 --> 00:47:54,802 on the floor between some cracks 770 00:47:54,906 --> 00:47:56,701 to get some sort of heat 771 00:47:56,804 --> 00:47:58,565 that you kinda curled up and 772 00:47:58,668 --> 00:48:01,775 I know one night he got stuck outside all night 773 00:48:01,879 --> 00:48:04,398 and he didn't complain. Just did his job. 774 00:48:06,538 --> 00:48:10,197 Being a cowboy to Chris was somebody who was really doing the job. 775 00:48:11,371 --> 00:48:13,545 And it drove him nuts the people that sometimes wore 776 00:48:13,649 --> 00:48:15,962 a cowboy hat and weren't an actual cowboy. 777 00:48:16,065 --> 00:48:19,172 You know it's not a glamorous life right? Like being a ranch hand isn't glamorous. 778 00:48:19,275 --> 00:48:21,415 It's sort of, I think that idea that somebody would glam it up 779 00:48:21,519 --> 00:48:23,624 and make it look like something different. It's like you don't know what you're doing. 780 00:48:23,728 --> 00:48:25,730 You don't know what it's like to sleep in that bunkhouse. 781 00:48:25,833 --> 00:48:29,389 That's the dedication that a real cowboy would probably have in his mind right? 782 00:48:30,769 --> 00:48:33,117 I believe it was December before he was killed. 783 00:48:33,220 --> 00:48:36,637 He'd been out of the military for a couple of years 784 00:48:36,741 --> 00:48:40,158 and Montana Silversmith, they made this buckle 785 00:48:40,262 --> 00:48:44,128 that was so cool and it was 'Battlefield to Back country' 786 00:48:44,231 --> 00:48:47,372 and it sort of spoke to his life because 787 00:48:47,476 --> 00:48:48,960 that's what he was. 788 00:48:49,064 --> 00:48:53,137 And at that time he was transitioning out of the military into 789 00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:55,035 family life again. 790 00:48:55,587 --> 00:48:59,764 And he said, "Babe, can I wear this buckle? 791 00:48:59,867 --> 00:49:02,974 "Do I look like an idiot?" And I said, "Hun you're a cowboy." 792 00:49:03,078 --> 00:49:06,771 He goes, "I'm not though. I was, but I'm not." 793 00:49:07,703 --> 00:49:10,844 I just remember that moment. I remember where we were in the hallway and 794 00:49:12,121 --> 00:49:15,297 just that thought. It's not something that was common for him 795 00:49:15,400 --> 00:49:18,541 to consider because he was who he was. He's comfortable with it. 796 00:49:18,645 --> 00:49:23,063 But that moment of can I go back is almost what it was, you know, 797 00:49:23,167 --> 00:49:26,101 and can I still harness that part of me? 798 00:49:27,826 --> 00:49:30,174 And I felt a little bit of sadness, you know, because I thought 799 00:49:30,277 --> 00:49:33,246 I don't know if you can ever take it out of you. 800 00:49:33,349 --> 00:49:36,870 It's been you since you were little and you pull it off. 801 00:49:36,974 --> 00:49:39,114 You know. Wear it. 802 00:49:41,323 --> 00:49:44,050 Are you havin' fun so far tonight? 803 00:49:54,405 --> 00:49:56,303 When I would get on stage I've always taken that 804 00:49:56,407 --> 00:49:59,168 athletic viewpoint to it, of I don't wanna be the 805 00:49:59,272 --> 00:50:01,964 best show you've seen this week at this place, I wanna 806 00:50:02,068 --> 00:50:03,793 be the best show you've ever seen. 807 00:50:03,897 --> 00:50:06,900 I dove into it, I poured my heart and soul into it, and 808 00:50:07,004 --> 00:50:11,974 we grew from one bus, to two buses. And we were out headlining 809 00:50:12,078 --> 00:50:17,221 every big Texas festival there was and now we're starting to headline arenas. 810 00:50:17,876 --> 00:50:22,019 And going outside the state. We started courting a lot of record labels 811 00:50:22,122 --> 00:50:27,679 and very quickly I got asked, "Well would you be willing to take the cowboy hat off?" 812 00:50:27,783 --> 00:50:30,855 And I said things like, "You think I bought this to come see you?" 813 00:50:30,958 --> 00:50:34,583 And how he had to be the nice guy and I was not so nice. 814 00:50:35,860 --> 00:50:40,416 I think about what Willie did when he changed the world, y'know 815 00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:42,936 sold the first platinum country album. 816 00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:46,215 He wasn't chasing anything, he was doing Willie, y'know? 817 00:50:46,319 --> 00:50:49,943 What Garth did, he was just doing what he did. And that's 818 00:50:50,047 --> 00:50:52,014 what Cody Johnson does. 819 00:50:52,118 --> 00:50:54,672 Kim Wiggins was with Sony ATV at the time. 820 00:50:54,775 --> 00:50:57,261 She was the first person to really try to approach me. 821 00:50:57,364 --> 00:51:00,298 We tried and we tried and we tried and we tried and we couldn't get the deal done. 822 00:51:00,402 --> 00:51:05,096 And she told me, "It's okay. Be who you are. Don't change those things. 823 00:51:05,200 --> 00:51:07,892 "I just feel good about it and I love you." 824 00:51:08,858 --> 00:51:13,104 No harm no foul. Next to enter would be Cris Lacy who was with Warner Brothers. 825 00:51:13,208 --> 00:51:16,694 She would travel out to shows in the 826 00:51:16,797 --> 00:51:19,455 bleeding snow and the pouring rain just to play me stuff. 827 00:51:19,559 --> 00:51:25,703 Just getting to know who I was. And to help and develop. And I really wanted that deal. 828 00:51:25,806 --> 00:51:27,670 And it didn't work. 829 00:51:28,292 --> 00:51:30,742 I was really hurt by that. I said, 830 00:51:30,846 --> 00:51:33,193 "Because of that I will never sign with Warner Brothers." And I truly 831 00:51:33,297 --> 00:51:36,162 feel like you wanna know how God was present in my life? 832 00:51:36,265 --> 00:51:39,475 When I said that I really felt like he went "Okay. 833 00:51:39,579 --> 00:51:43,617 "Let's see who's in charge. Let's just sit back and see." 834 00:51:50,107 --> 00:51:53,040 At this point, because I'm a member of the organization 835 00:51:53,144 --> 00:51:55,733 the Tejas Vaqueros I'm roping, team roping. 836 00:51:55,836 --> 00:51:57,942 I'm getting to ride cutting horses and enter 837 00:51:58,045 --> 00:52:00,531 sortin' events and all these different ranch rodeo type things 838 00:52:00,634 --> 00:52:06,640 so I'm still cowboying. I wasn't worried about proving anything that I was a cowboy. 839 00:52:06,744 --> 00:52:09,402 But bull riding specifically was a touchy subject. 840 00:52:09,505 --> 00:52:12,336 Trent's probably the most inspiring individual I've ever met. 841 00:52:12,439 --> 00:52:14,545 He was one of the first people to tell me 842 00:52:14,648 --> 00:52:17,617 "You don't have to be ashamed of not riding. 843 00:52:17,720 --> 00:52:20,102 Just because you're not riding, just because you're not 844 00:52:20,206 --> 00:52:22,553 competing doesn't mean that you can't take 845 00:52:22,656 --> 00:52:25,487 what you learn and take who you really feel you are deep down 846 00:52:25,590 --> 00:52:29,594 in your soul, that John Wayne wannabe and apply it right here. 847 00:52:29,698 --> 00:52:32,632 And it can be a part of your personality. 848 00:52:32,735 --> 00:52:36,429 You've got a cowboy's heart. And you need to start acting like it." 849 00:52:41,123 --> 00:52:45,300 And I think that's the first point where I said, "I wanna do something nobody's done yet." 850 00:52:45,403 --> 00:52:48,510 I want to be the guy to come from Texas 851 00:52:48,613 --> 00:52:52,410 and stick to my guns, not change my name, not take this hat off, 852 00:52:52,514 --> 00:52:55,620 not change my sound, and be accepted. 853 00:52:55,724 --> 00:53:00,763 That's when I think I truly started to let go of bull riding. 854 00:53:00,867 --> 00:53:04,111 I started to let go of my past. I had a new mountain to climb. 855 00:53:04,215 --> 00:53:08,461 And I knew that it was gonna be tougher than any mountain I'd ever climbed. 856 00:53:15,261 --> 00:53:16,883 Yes sir. 857 00:53:21,957 --> 00:53:23,924 Success! 858 00:53:29,689 --> 00:53:35,177 In 2017 I was in San Antonio. Trying to help my brother out. 859 00:53:35,281 --> 00:53:37,904 I won't go into any detail out of respect. 860 00:53:38,007 --> 00:53:41,252 But my brother needed some help and he didn't want help. 861 00:53:41,356 --> 00:53:47,396 And as I'm going through the worst day of my life, quite possibly the worst day of his, 862 00:53:47,500 --> 00:53:50,710 I get the phone call from my manager Howie, 863 00:53:50,813 --> 00:53:55,232 "Hey, Houston Rodeo just called. And Old Dominion had a death in the family 864 00:53:55,335 --> 00:54:00,167 "and they need a replacement. I need you on the phone now." 865 00:54:00,271 --> 00:54:06,001 I'm like "I can't. There's a reason we're 50/50 business partners. Make the decision." 866 00:54:09,211 --> 00:54:12,559 Ooh Houston let's go! 867 00:54:15,079 --> 00:54:17,392 ♪ Of the world's biggest rodeo 868 00:54:23,121 --> 00:54:25,262 Well here we go! 869 00:54:40,346 --> 00:54:42,555 Ladies and gentlemen. 870 00:54:42,658 --> 00:54:48,595 How loud can American patriots get inside this building? 871 00:54:52,392 --> 00:54:55,050 That day was a very emotional day, today I'll never forget. 872 00:54:55,153 --> 00:54:57,639 I remember every minute of it. 873 00:55:05,025 --> 00:55:10,859 Tonight's about more, for me, than fame. It's about more than money. 874 00:55:10,962 --> 00:55:13,448 Bring the fire tonight. 875 00:55:15,173 --> 00:55:19,799 You are, the underdog, you are the rookie, you are the "call up". 876 00:55:19,902 --> 00:55:22,940 But this type of pressure, and this type of anxiety, 877 00:55:23,043 --> 00:55:25,667 This is what you've been asking for your whole life. 878 00:55:26,426 --> 00:55:31,362 This is your calling, this is your time, this is your spot. 879 00:55:32,984 --> 00:55:35,401 You're only gonna play the Houston Rodeo one time 880 00:55:35,504 --> 00:55:37,195 -for the first time. -For the first time. 881 00:55:37,299 --> 00:55:41,303 This is it. Leave nothing behind. Each one of you leave nothing behind. 882 00:55:41,407 --> 00:55:47,171 We go out there, we prove to the world that we're supposed to be here. 883 00:55:48,241 --> 00:55:51,520 When you walk off that stage you just played the Houston Rodeo. 884 00:55:52,245 --> 00:56:00,080 Ladies and gentlemen, from Huntsville, Texas, Cody Johnson. 885 00:56:12,783 --> 00:56:16,890 Played in front of 61,000 people and I'll never forget riding a horse out that night. 886 00:56:24,898 --> 00:56:28,212 I was supposed to walk out. Back then you had the entire 887 00:56:28,315 --> 00:56:31,767 floor of NRG Stadium full of dirt. 888 00:56:31,871 --> 00:56:35,426 And I was supposed to walk the horse around. 889 00:56:39,292 --> 00:56:41,536 Screw it, my show was done. 890 00:56:42,709 --> 00:56:45,471 I kicked that horse and I rode as hard as I could. 891 00:56:50,407 --> 00:56:55,446 And I'll never forget riding out and going, "This is the turning of a page." 892 00:57:01,038 --> 00:57:04,973 I felt like I was just leaving things behind. 893 00:57:06,215 --> 00:57:07,941 Like I was just running. 894 00:57:08,045 --> 00:57:11,531 Letting go of things and knowing that there's a different future. 895 00:57:11,635 --> 00:57:17,157 Knowing that that moment, that night, was going to change things for me. 896 00:57:21,230 --> 00:57:24,682 That show that would turn the career, and break the 897 00:57:24,786 --> 00:57:27,029 dam that I'd always said we were gonna play? 898 00:57:27,133 --> 00:57:28,928 We'd just played. 899 00:57:33,415 --> 00:57:35,590 And I'll never forget it. 900 00:57:42,597 --> 00:57:45,979 So at this point we've probably got 10 plus #1's on the Texas 901 00:57:46,083 --> 00:57:48,810 Regional Radio Report or back then it was called the Texas Music Chart. 902 00:57:48,913 --> 00:57:52,641 And we just knew this thing was starting to grow, and it was starting to get bigger. 903 00:58:06,103 --> 00:58:10,556 And the next year we set the record, 74,000 plus for the largest 904 00:58:10,659 --> 00:58:15,112 crowd sold by an independent artist in NRG stadium. 905 00:58:15,215 --> 00:58:18,460 I'm watching the things that hurt and the things that I was 906 00:58:18,564 --> 00:58:20,738 angry about are starting to pay off. 907 00:58:20,842 --> 00:58:23,948 What didn't happen is now coming to make things happen. 908 00:58:38,445 --> 00:58:41,656 That record deal I was so pissed off about not getting. 909 00:58:41,759 --> 00:58:45,073 I wouldn't hold the record if I had taken that. 910 00:58:46,315 --> 00:58:48,939 ♪ Hop on the bandwagon 911 00:58:52,598 --> 00:58:57,016 I think at that time I realized "I am not the smartest guy in the room anymore." 912 00:58:57,119 --> 00:59:01,917 I'm not gonna think that anymore in my life, like, humility starts to set in. 913 00:59:02,159 --> 00:59:05,921 We get to play music for a living, keep telling yourself that. 914 00:59:06,025 --> 00:59:09,960 I'm thankful for my job, there's a lot of people out here man. 915 00:59:10,063 --> 00:59:14,965 Let's go play this thing like we want to do it for the rest of our lives. Let's go have fun! 916 00:59:16,932 --> 00:59:19,935 At that point I'm thinking, well I don't want a record deal. 917 00:59:20,039 --> 00:59:22,351 I don't need a record deal. 918 00:59:22,455 --> 00:59:24,906 I don't need to be that guy or that gal on the radio, and 919 00:59:25,009 --> 00:59:28,772 I know that my music doesn't sound like that, so why don't I just be happy with where I'm at? 920 00:59:28,875 --> 00:59:31,740 Look what God's gave me and look how far we've come. 921 00:59:31,844 --> 00:59:35,261 And I think when the confidence and comfortability in my life sets in 922 00:59:35,364 --> 00:59:39,230 I think God honestly at that point allows me to go to the next chapter like, 923 00:59:39,334 --> 00:59:41,578 I was ready for it. 924 00:59:43,407 --> 00:59:46,168 We went in the studio and I said "Guys I don't want to record 925 00:59:46,272 --> 00:59:47,549 "to get a record deal." 926 00:59:47,653 --> 00:59:50,207 I don't want to record a record to get played on the radio. 927 00:59:50,310 --> 00:59:52,968 I want to record a record for these thousands 928 00:59:53,072 --> 00:59:55,419 and thousands and millions of people that are streaming our music 929 00:59:55,522 --> 00:59:59,250 These people that are paying our tickets? That's who we're playing for." 930 01:00:02,460 --> 01:00:06,879 And my manager Howie says, "I think we need to shop this to a record deal." 931 01:00:08,397 --> 01:00:12,194 I don't wanna do that! We specifically recorded this not to get one. 932 01:00:12,298 --> 01:00:15,612 He says, "Yeah, but man this is just too good, trust me." 933 01:00:15,715 --> 01:00:17,821 I said, "Alright. Shop it!" 934 01:00:17,924 --> 01:00:19,857 And one record label. 935 01:00:19,961 --> 01:00:22,377 One record label said, "Okay." 936 01:00:22,895 --> 01:00:24,793 It was Warner Brothers. 937 01:00:25,483 --> 01:00:29,246 And I laughed, I laughed. And I remember thinking... 938 01:00:30,937 --> 01:00:36,356 Y'know God has a really good way of making me look stupid to myself. 939 01:00:36,460 --> 01:00:40,326 Doesn't make me look stupid to anybody around in the room but me. 940 01:00:40,429 --> 01:00:43,467 And it's in those moments, those "ah-ha" moments where I'm like, 941 01:00:43,570 --> 01:00:46,643 "You've been, you've been at this, this whole time!" 942 01:00:46,746 --> 01:00:51,509 Like the best thing I can do for myself is stay out of the way, and just work. 943 01:00:59,310 --> 01:01:04,246 I know for me, riding, when I thought that bull riding was my career it was all fast. 944 01:01:04,350 --> 01:01:08,388 It was very fast. But now that I rope, slower is faster. 945 01:01:08,492 --> 01:01:11,771 And the more you slow down and you trust your horse and you give 946 01:01:11,875 --> 01:01:16,293 more to him, he's giving back to you. There's this relationship and this bond 947 01:01:16,396 --> 01:01:19,158 -that you have to be patient, you can't rush things. -Yeah. 948 01:01:19,261 --> 01:01:22,437 -I think it's therapeutic. Don't you feel like -Very. 949 01:01:22,540 --> 01:01:24,715 that you get to shake off some of the road and shake off some of the music 950 01:01:24,819 --> 01:01:28,477 -whenever you do get to reconnect with that first love? -Oh absolutely. 951 01:01:28,581 --> 01:01:34,104 When I'm off riding by myself that's my time with God, the holy spirit. 952 01:01:34,207 --> 01:01:38,591 And just talking, and visiting, and talking with my angels, and 953 01:01:38,695 --> 01:01:40,973 thank them, and they're always with me. 954 01:01:41,076 --> 01:01:44,183 And you just get to see the beautiful creation that he's done 955 01:01:44,286 --> 01:01:46,668 -and it's so peaceful. -I agree. 956 01:01:46,772 --> 01:01:48,946 It just settles, it grounds me. 957 01:01:49,050 --> 01:01:51,984 One of my favorite sayings is "be still". 958 01:01:52,087 --> 01:01:55,332 -Hard for me to do, I have not accomplished that. -Yeah. 959 01:01:55,435 --> 01:01:58,335 I'm not a master of it at all, but I'm getting close to it. 960 01:01:58,438 --> 01:02:01,234 So, a good friend of mine Carolyn Snell got me a little 961 01:02:01,338 --> 01:02:03,581 framed picture we saw it in a little curio shop. 962 01:02:03,685 --> 01:02:08,414 It said "be still". She said "I can't believe we found it" and I said "Hmm well, 963 01:02:08,517 --> 01:02:11,520 -"things happen for a reason as you said." -That's right. 964 01:02:16,698 --> 01:02:20,288 I think that 'Dear Rodeo' speaks to people on a spiritual level 965 01:02:20,391 --> 01:02:22,946 because that's where your dreams come in you know? 966 01:02:23,049 --> 01:02:25,534 The first time I listened to the song 'Dear Rodeo' I cried 967 01:02:25,638 --> 01:02:28,675 because it was so much of Chris's spirit in there 968 01:02:28,779 --> 01:02:31,195 and it took me off guard. 969 01:02:31,299 --> 01:02:34,405 After listening to 'Dear Rodeo' a couple times 970 01:02:34,509 --> 01:02:39,652 I realized this song's not about rodeo. This song's about life. 971 01:02:39,756 --> 01:02:45,209 It's something that we can all relate to, letting go of a dream. 972 01:02:45,313 --> 01:02:49,973 Even if the dream doesn't come true, 973 01:02:50,076 --> 01:02:52,838 doesn't mean that a dream isn't going to come true 974 01:02:52,941 --> 01:02:58,395 The one that's gonna be so much more fulfilling than one you ever could possibly imagine. 975 01:02:58,498 --> 01:03:02,123 So many of us are having to reinvent ourselves 976 01:03:02,226 --> 01:03:04,470 'cause we're having to let go of a dream. 977 01:03:04,573 --> 01:03:09,130 But you know... we're Americans, that's what we 978 01:03:09,233 --> 01:03:13,099 do best is reinvent ourselves. That's the cowboy way. 979 01:03:17,069 --> 01:03:21,487 -I think everybody has a 'Dear Rodeo' story. -I think so too. 980 01:03:21,590 --> 01:03:24,214 I think everybody has something that they wish they could've done, 981 01:03:24,317 --> 01:03:27,113 Y'know maybe a relationship that failed, or a job that 982 01:03:27,217 --> 01:03:29,460 they lost, or a position that got messed up 983 01:03:29,564 --> 01:03:33,430 Or maybe, maybe something real strong where, even 984 01:03:33,533 --> 01:03:37,883 they've lost a family member and this is not what I planned. 985 01:03:37,986 --> 01:03:40,161 Come here Bubba. 986 01:03:43,889 --> 01:03:46,305 We'll read two more, then you can go to bed. 987 01:03:47,616 --> 01:03:49,342 This is so later. 988 01:03:52,552 --> 01:03:56,384 When I'm gone, you can look at the tape. 989 01:04:05,358 --> 01:04:07,395 I looked back not long ago and thought, 990 01:04:07,498 --> 01:04:11,054 When I was young my mom asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up. 991 01:04:11,157 --> 01:04:15,713 My very first answer was, I just wanna be happy. Right? That always used to irritate me like 992 01:04:15,817 --> 01:04:19,131 And that's a, c'mon dude, Taya have some goals y'know? 993 01:04:19,234 --> 01:04:21,305 I never really could quite get my hands on it. 994 01:04:21,409 --> 01:04:23,549 I loved psychology, I loved helping people, 995 01:04:23,652 --> 01:04:25,551 I didn't want to get my doctorate's, so I thought, "What's the point?" 996 01:04:25,654 --> 01:04:28,036 You know I loved philosophy, "What's the point?" 997 01:04:28,140 --> 01:04:30,694 I never really saw the plan. 998 01:04:31,453 --> 01:04:33,973 We have these dreams sometimes that we think, 999 01:04:34,077 --> 01:04:36,458 "This is what's gonna fulfill my life." 1000 01:04:36,562 --> 01:04:39,254 And then that rug's jerked out from under you. 1001 01:04:39,599 --> 01:04:43,534 And it's easy as humans to get devastated about that. 1002 01:04:43,638 --> 01:04:47,021 But God has got a lot better of a plan than we got. 1003 01:04:49,886 --> 01:04:53,406 All this time I spent trying to figure out, "What's my plan? What's my path?" 1004 01:04:53,510 --> 01:04:56,858 And I was banging my head against the wall and then in comes Chris and... 1005 01:04:58,239 --> 01:05:05,246 It's like it ends up providing me everything that was supposed to be my plan. 1006 01:05:05,936 --> 01:05:10,044 So now I have this different experience of living more like Chris did which is 1007 01:05:10,147 --> 01:05:14,496 It's okay, it'll work out. I don't necessarily know what's coming next. 1008 01:05:14,600 --> 01:05:18,121 But I know it's gonna be good, and I know I'll somehow be prepared. 1009 01:05:18,224 --> 01:05:22,194 And in the end I look at it and I go, "Wow that person who just wanted to be happy 1010 01:05:22,297 --> 01:05:24,817 "I think that really is my path." How do you be happy there? 1011 01:05:24,921 --> 01:05:30,857 And I'm finding it. And I'm finding it I feel like in a large part because 1012 01:05:30,961 --> 01:05:35,621 God gave me Chris to learn from first. He gave me a lot to build on there. 1013 01:05:35,724 --> 01:05:38,175 There's a lot of turmoil in the world today. 1014 01:05:38,279 --> 01:05:43,974 Because people didn't get what they wanted or it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to. 1015 01:05:44,078 --> 01:05:46,977 But I'll just say this, and this is what I believe we're all learning, 1016 01:05:47,081 --> 01:05:52,914 When we make it about Him all of the sudden things change in our lives. 1017 01:05:53,018 --> 01:05:56,953 -Hi how are you? I'm Taya. Nice to meet you. -Hi. 1018 01:05:57,056 --> 01:05:58,437 -What's your name? -Ezra. 1019 01:05:58,540 --> 01:06:00,370 Two years since the man known as the U.S. 1020 01:06:00,473 --> 01:06:03,200 military's most lethal sniper was shot and killed 1021 01:06:03,304 --> 01:06:05,202 By a veteran he was trying to help. 1022 01:06:05,306 --> 01:06:07,929 Now Chris Kyle's widow, Taya, is stepping up and reaching out 1023 01:06:08,033 --> 01:06:11,519 to care for veterans and active military families across the nation. 1024 01:06:11,622 --> 01:06:13,762 If I can give hope to people, if I can 1025 01:06:13,866 --> 01:06:18,181 tell them that it's okay, and that they're not alone in that 1026 01:06:18,284 --> 01:06:22,012 I'm hoping that we can do a lot of good and 1027 01:06:22,116 --> 01:06:24,566 it's very therapeutic to be able to take 1028 01:06:24,670 --> 01:06:27,293 something negative and turn it into a positive. 1029 01:06:27,397 --> 01:06:30,572 John Beck is headed to, uh, West Point. 1030 01:06:30,676 --> 01:06:32,436 -TAYA] Oh wow. I feel like crying. -JOHN] Nice to meet you. 1031 01:06:32,540 --> 01:06:34,128 I don't know why it's emotional but 1032 01:06:34,231 --> 01:06:35,922 I um, I wish the best for you guys and 1033 01:06:36,026 --> 01:06:38,166 I'll be praying for you. Don't lose yourself. 1034 01:06:38,270 --> 01:06:40,962 Don't be afraid to talk about it if it gets hard you know? 1035 01:06:46,830 --> 01:06:49,867 I think that one of the best things that ever happened to me 1036 01:06:49,971 --> 01:06:52,629 was me losing my record deal. 1037 01:06:53,285 --> 01:06:55,942 Because also at that time 1038 01:06:56,046 --> 01:06:58,945 not long after I got custody of my kid 1039 01:06:59,049 --> 01:07:04,917 I knew being out on the road I couldn't raise my daughter. Not as a single dad. 1040 01:07:05,021 --> 01:07:08,438 And I was praying for something to come along to where I could make a living 1041 01:07:08,541 --> 01:07:10,647 being at home and raising my daughter. 1042 01:07:10,750 --> 01:07:14,547 And so all these things started happening at one time 1043 01:07:14,651 --> 01:07:18,655 and I met Cody Johnson. And I got to produce that first record. 1044 01:07:18,758 --> 01:07:22,072 And then I got to produce some other records. And kept writing, and 1045 01:07:22,176 --> 01:07:26,111 what looked like this devastation of losing my record deal 1046 01:07:26,214 --> 01:07:29,528 became this huge fulfilling blessing 1047 01:07:29,631 --> 01:07:34,705 because I was, y'know, getting to stay home and making a living making music 1048 01:07:34,809 --> 01:07:38,606 and I had my daughter with me 1049 01:07:38,709 --> 01:07:41,954 and it brought this incredible life that I have now. 1050 01:07:45,854 --> 01:07:49,479 Looking back on my career from music I look back and think 1051 01:07:49,582 --> 01:07:51,722 man you know everything happened for a reason. God had this like 1052 01:07:51,826 --> 01:07:55,105 little woven plan to get me to where I'm at. 1053 01:07:55,209 --> 01:07:58,384 Do you look back now on your career, and like, there's the high- 1054 01:07:58,488 --> 01:08:00,317 'cause for me it's like I see all the highlights of, 1055 01:08:00,421 --> 01:08:03,665 "If that hadn't happened, and if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here." 1056 01:08:03,769 --> 01:08:09,154 Yeah. It's kind of like rodeo... released me. 1057 01:08:09,913 --> 01:08:13,813 Said, "C'mon you go do what you're supposed to be doing over here." 1058 01:08:13,917 --> 01:08:20,717 Because I had to have my foundation laid for me to come to Nashville and slowly grow. 1059 01:08:20,820 --> 01:08:27,275 So it went from ranching to rodeo to singing to... helping. 1060 01:08:27,379 --> 01:08:29,174 And now I know what I'm supposed to do 1061 01:08:29,277 --> 01:08:34,627 and why he took me from this, from Chockie, Oklahoma, population 18 1062 01:08:34,731 --> 01:08:37,768 to being in front of people. 1063 01:08:37,872 --> 01:08:40,599 You know I was discovered singing the national anthem at the national 1064 01:08:40,702 --> 01:08:44,050 finals rodeo in Oklahoma city in 1974. 1065 01:08:44,154 --> 01:08:48,917 And here we are 20 years later getting to do exactly what I love to do the most. 1066 01:08:49,021 --> 01:08:51,955 And I always pray before I go on stage 1067 01:08:52,990 --> 01:08:55,821 -"Who do You want to reach tonight? Please use me." -Yeah. 1068 01:08:55,924 --> 01:08:59,721 "Let me help somebody. I mean that's why I'm here right?" 1069 01:08:59,825 --> 01:09:04,105 And that's the greatest thing that I've gotten out of all of this 1070 01:09:04,209 --> 01:09:11,077 are the people I get to meet and get to work with, and hopefully get to help. 1071 01:09:17,394 --> 01:09:22,848 I know Chris would not have imagined the influence he has on so many people. 1072 01:09:22,951 --> 01:09:27,093 It's like he had this way of seeking out the people in need 1073 01:09:27,197 --> 01:09:30,821 and being whatever they needed. 1074 01:09:30,925 --> 01:09:33,652 When you look at his life of serving people 1075 01:09:33,755 --> 01:09:36,620 and bringing out the best in people who needed the most 1076 01:09:36,724 --> 01:09:38,967 I feel like he did it with me too. 1077 01:09:39,071 --> 01:09:43,489 He did it with our kids. I feel like he did it with everybody. 1078 01:09:44,801 --> 01:09:48,391 It was just this really unique path where I think... 1079 01:09:48,494 --> 01:09:51,877 In the military he said he'd rather be known for the number of lives that he saved. 1080 01:09:51,980 --> 01:09:53,948 That's what he was doing. 1081 01:09:55,294 --> 01:09:58,124 But I haven't thought about it before but I think if I had to sum up 1082 01:09:58,228 --> 01:10:00,886 his life that's the common theme. 1083 01:10:11,448 --> 01:10:14,520 We thank You Lord for loving us today. Thank You Lord for Your many blessings. 1084 01:10:14,624 --> 01:10:20,216 We thank You Lord that You are more than enough for every situation we find ourselves in 1085 01:10:20,319 --> 01:10:22,045 We know God that You have Your hand in 1086 01:10:22,148 --> 01:10:24,703 everything that we do because we've invited You Lord 1087 01:10:24,806 --> 01:10:29,466 and we thank You Lord for the privilege we have right now of coming to You and saying thanks. 1088 01:10:29,570 --> 01:10:31,986 We love You, in Jesus' name, everybody say it! 1089 01:10:32,089 --> 01:10:37,578 -Amen! -God bless y'all. Thank you. Just jump in. 1090 01:10:42,030 --> 01:10:45,413 This one's gonna run on out of there though Cody. 1091 01:10:46,414 --> 01:10:50,315 He's one of the better steers, but he's one of the stronger ones too though. 1092 01:10:50,418 --> 01:10:55,527 This one'll run. Get you a good start, that way you'll be ready right here. 1093 01:11:02,154 --> 01:11:05,744 -Aw Randy! 1094 01:11:05,847 --> 01:11:08,643 You should've never told me that! 1095 01:11:08,747 --> 01:11:12,129 -I told you he's one of the better ones! -Oh no! 1096 01:11:12,233 --> 01:11:14,649 -Did I say that? -Yeah! 1097 01:11:16,133 --> 01:11:19,516 That was a good, that's the one you wanna draw right there. 1098 01:11:19,620 --> 01:11:23,071 -Yeah, there went the truck, the trailer. - Yeah, yup. 1099 01:11:23,175 --> 01:11:27,041 All of it! 1100 01:11:27,144 --> 01:11:31,735 He hasn't been the pastor to me. He's treated me with respect as a grown man 1101 01:11:31,839 --> 01:11:35,429 and quite frankly, he's been himself with me 1102 01:11:35,532 --> 01:11:39,018 about how he did have a dream, and he'll tell you. 1103 01:11:39,122 --> 01:11:42,298 I don't think even he realized the gravity of his story. 1104 01:11:42,401 --> 01:11:45,991 About struggling with that not happening while still being obedient 1105 01:11:46,094 --> 01:11:48,614 still starting churches, still doing rodeo ministry 1106 01:11:48,718 --> 01:11:50,685 and not saying, "Why didn't you give that to me?" 1107 01:11:50,789 --> 01:11:57,071 But being human at the same time and saying, "That was supposed to happen. Am I wrong? 1108 01:11:57,174 --> 01:11:58,762 "What's the deal?" 1109 01:12:00,212 --> 01:12:03,664 Y'know I don't know if I could've done that, felt I got a word from God 1110 01:12:03,767 --> 01:12:05,769 or somebody walk up to me and go, "You're gonna be a-- 1111 01:12:05,873 --> 01:12:09,773 I would've banked on that. But your maturity level, you continued to rodeo 1112 01:12:09,877 --> 01:12:13,708 and do you think maybe that's why, because you didn't get bent out of shape about it. 1113 01:12:13,812 --> 01:12:16,677 That you've continued to have so much success rodeoing? 1114 01:12:17,367 --> 01:12:22,234 Here's what's interesting. Those belt buckles 1115 01:12:22,338 --> 01:12:27,170 come and go, and it's really more about what's going on in here. 1116 01:12:27,273 --> 01:12:29,448 Yeah I was sitting here thinking while you were saying that 1117 01:12:29,552 --> 01:12:32,969 I believed in that fairy tale of, "I'm gonna win a buckle and all of a sudden I'm gonna- 1118 01:12:33,072 --> 01:12:36,110 -"It's gonna happen!" And it doesn't work like that. -Yeah. 1119 01:12:39,527 --> 01:12:43,980 Many, many years after my buddy Justin Richards won that buckle that night 1120 01:12:45,326 --> 01:12:47,949 I'm sellin' out 'Big Texas in Spring' which is a pretty large 1121 01:12:48,053 --> 01:12:50,262 club and we were doing pretty well. 1122 01:12:50,366 --> 01:12:53,403 It was back to the point where I could go to the merch booth and sign for 1123 01:12:53,507 --> 01:12:54,922 everybody in the bar. 1124 01:12:55,025 --> 01:12:57,649 And uh, I'll never forget it, Justin comes by and he says, 1125 01:12:57,752 --> 01:12:59,409 "Hey man I'm fixing to get out of here." 1126 01:12:59,513 --> 01:13:01,894 I said, "Alright." and I leaned over and he took his buckle off 1127 01:13:01,998 --> 01:13:04,172 and he stuck it in my jacket pocket. 1128 01:13:08,004 --> 01:13:10,938 I said, "What're you doing?" He goes, "I want you to have that." 1129 01:13:11,732 --> 01:13:13,734 He said, uh, "You deserve it." 1130 01:13:14,838 --> 01:13:16,702 "What I don't- why do I deserve it?" 1131 01:13:16,806 --> 01:13:19,602 He said, "Because I've never seen somebody work that hard." 1132 01:13:19,705 --> 01:13:21,845 He's like, "You're tough, dude" 1133 01:13:21,949 --> 01:13:23,537 And you know it... 1134 01:13:27,644 --> 01:13:34,548 It meant a lot. It meant quite a great bit to me. 1135 01:13:34,651 --> 01:13:37,343 So much that I started putting it on and wearing it. 1136 01:13:37,447 --> 01:13:38,828 And people'd say, "Man did you win that?" 1137 01:13:38,931 --> 01:13:42,176 Nope! My buddy Justin Richards did, and he gave it to me. 1138 01:13:42,279 --> 01:13:45,110 "Aw well that's kinda gunsel." 1139 01:13:45,213 --> 01:13:47,250 It is what it is, it had a different meaning for me. 1140 01:13:47,353 --> 01:13:49,632 That man that I looked up to 1141 01:13:49,735 --> 01:13:52,704 gave me that recognition of all my hard work. 1142 01:13:53,774 --> 01:13:57,985 And uh, he recently passed. He recently passed and... 1143 01:13:59,020 --> 01:14:02,438 I really started to put together two and two together. 1144 01:14:03,439 --> 01:14:04,785 That was the buckle. 1145 01:14:05,164 --> 01:14:08,167 That day was that the dream of a buckle I'll never put on. 1146 01:14:08,271 --> 01:14:12,033 That was the first one that I thought, "I've got it on already." 1147 01:14:12,137 --> 01:14:13,621 And it didn't happen. 1148 01:14:14,898 --> 01:14:18,246 But I wound up with it because of him and he was a very special man. 1149 01:14:25,184 --> 01:14:29,119 In time we all come to know the greatest challenges 1150 01:14:29,223 --> 01:14:32,468 exist well beyond the shade of a wide brimmed hat. 1151 01:14:32,985 --> 01:14:35,505 The cowboy, maybe more than most, 1152 01:14:35,609 --> 01:14:40,821 understands that life will not only test him but mold him without apology. 1153 01:14:41,891 --> 01:14:45,584 What's left in the wake of that life is character. 1154 01:14:46,654 --> 01:14:51,866 Justin Richards had a level of character greater than any one buckle. 1155 01:14:52,349 --> 01:14:57,044 He was my friend, and he was undeniably a cowboy. 1156 01:14:58,597 --> 01:15:01,462 Now Justin being gone I look at that buckle the other day 1157 01:15:01,566 --> 01:15:03,809 and I thought, "My focus was on some trinket." 1158 01:15:03,913 --> 01:15:06,847 Yeah. You may be disappointed along the way with 1159 01:15:06,950 --> 01:15:12,024 your lot in life, but God takes hard situations 1160 01:15:12,128 --> 01:15:16,373 and makes extremely good things come out of that 1161 01:15:16,477 --> 01:15:22,276 if we will embrace the process. I think that's the story behind 'Dear Rodeo'. 1162 01:15:30,664 --> 01:15:35,047 David Lee told me one time, "Songs, good songs, float around in the air." 1163 01:15:35,151 --> 01:15:40,432 And it's those that will sit still long enough and listen and let that song come visit you 1164 01:15:40,536 --> 01:15:43,400 and if you're lucky you'll grab It and you'll pull it out of the air and you'll put it down. 1165 01:15:43,504 --> 01:15:46,127 I think that's really what happened to me and Dan that day 1166 01:15:46,231 --> 01:15:48,682 because it went from being my life story 1167 01:15:49,372 --> 01:15:53,169 to everybody's life story. And the relate-ability of something so specific 1168 01:15:53,272 --> 01:15:56,552 that can be relatable to everybody, that's beautiful. 1169 01:15:56,655 --> 01:15:58,381 Alright, everyone ready to roll? 1170 01:16:04,111 --> 01:16:07,286 -I'm glad you got to sing that line. -Me too! I loved it. 1171 01:16:11,670 --> 01:16:15,087 ♪ I'm still in love with you 1172 01:16:15,191 --> 01:16:18,401 You know the unison just kinda hops up out of there from nothin'. 1173 01:16:18,504 --> 01:16:20,472 -Yeah it does. -Yeah, we didn't have it anywhere before so it kinda 1174 01:16:20,576 --> 01:16:22,543 -Uh-huh -You wanna try the lower unison? 1175 01:16:22,647 --> 01:16:25,546 I like the lower harmony the best. Can we hear that? -Of course. 1176 01:16:25,650 --> 01:16:27,928 -Well then afterwards if you do any lead parts -Uh-huh. 1177 01:16:28,031 --> 01:16:30,447 That we're gonna take my vocals out I can harmonize 1178 01:16:30,551 --> 01:16:32,933 -with you and just go that 3rd up or whatever. -Perfect! Okay. 1179 01:16:33,036 --> 01:16:35,418 -I'll just go play with it. -Yeah, go have fun! 1180 01:16:35,521 --> 01:16:37,247 You can change it however you want. 1181 01:16:40,699 --> 01:16:42,632 Check one-two. 1182 01:16:44,392 --> 01:16:49,087 When we recorded it we were supposed to stop the song at 'Dear rodeo' 1183 01:16:49,190 --> 01:16:51,986 and the band just starts playing, and we're going, "Don't do anything." 1184 01:16:52,090 --> 01:16:55,852 The band played this huge outro and we said, "We don't know what we're gonna do with that." 1185 01:16:58,096 --> 01:17:01,375 My band played that outro for the last Houston Rodeo that I played 1186 01:17:01,478 --> 01:17:02,928 and I could hear every note. 1187 01:17:03,688 --> 01:17:05,517 And I got on that horse again. 1188 01:17:05,621 --> 01:17:09,590 I'm sitting there thinking, "Now I'm a labeled artist with a single on the radio 1189 01:17:09,694 --> 01:17:12,731 "and this is actual reality now." 1190 01:17:12,835 --> 01:17:14,871 ♪ Dear rodeo 1191 01:17:28,505 --> 01:17:31,508 ♪ Lord knows we had a few 1192 01:17:31,612 --> 01:17:35,927 And I'll admit, I didn't run out like I did the first time 1193 01:17:36,030 --> 01:17:38,964 and it hit me, it hit me right then and there. 1194 01:17:39,068 --> 01:17:41,311 At this point I'm not running from anything. 1195 01:17:42,002 --> 01:17:45,281 I just kinda made my way out and it was incredible. 1196 01:17:46,869 --> 01:17:48,940 And that song started, I started to fall in love with 1197 01:17:49,043 --> 01:17:51,011 the song the way I fell in love with the sport. 1198 01:17:51,114 --> 01:17:53,047 The way I fell in love with my wife. 1199 01:17:53,151 --> 01:17:57,569 It started getting deeper when people around me were telling me how much it meant to them 1200 01:17:57,673 --> 01:18:01,297 and then random fans would come up and tell me, "That song changed my life." 1201 01:18:01,400 --> 01:18:04,921 "Y'know that song, that song kept me from committing suicide," or 1202 01:18:05,025 --> 01:18:07,199 "That song pulled me out of depression." 1203 01:18:07,303 --> 01:18:10,409 "That song made me go back and apologize to somebody." 1204 01:18:11,100 --> 01:18:12,895 Things that I never thought. 1205 01:18:16,899 --> 01:18:18,797 Things I never thought would happen. 1206 01:18:26,909 --> 01:18:28,980 ♪ I'm jaded 1207 01:18:29,705 --> 01:18:32,259 ♪ Woah I hate it 1208 01:18:33,605 --> 01:18:36,056 And I say every night, "I want you to know that I 1209 01:18:36,159 --> 01:18:38,334 "have just as many problems as any one of y'all." 1210 01:18:38,437 --> 01:18:42,131 However, when I started to see the ripple effect of this song in my life 1211 01:18:42,234 --> 01:18:46,963 I started to see that God had taken me from beating my head against a brick wall 1212 01:18:47,067 --> 01:18:51,934 and changed everything for me because I said, "What do you want me to do?" 1213 01:18:52,797 --> 01:18:56,904 The crazy part is all the big rodeos that I used to dream like, "What would it be like?" 1214 01:18:57,008 --> 01:18:59,424 I've headlined all those rodeos with my band. 1215 01:18:59,907 --> 01:19:04,118 And all my buddies that made it, that I didn't wound up on the bus hanging out 1216 01:19:04,222 --> 01:19:07,501 and they talked to me like, "Man it must be cool to do what you do." 1217 01:19:07,604 --> 01:19:12,126 And I think, "If that's not a full circle, I don't know what is." 1218 01:19:15,440 --> 01:19:18,132 I've already told you once, I'll tell you again I'm living proof, 1219 01:19:18,236 --> 01:19:21,860 step outside the box, defy everybody, and chase your dreams. 1220 01:19:21,964 --> 01:19:24,311 This is for everybody who says, "No." 1221 01:19:43,951 --> 01:19:46,989 Because of my manager, Howie, because of Trent, 1222 01:19:47,092 --> 01:19:50,095 mostly because of my wife, Brandi, 1223 01:19:50,199 --> 01:19:53,167 they've shaped me into being this man that I am. 1224 01:19:53,719 --> 01:19:56,584 My life's about the journey of getting to where I am now 1225 01:19:56,688 --> 01:19:59,898 and for the first time in my life I can't wait for the next chapter. 1226 01:20:01,244 --> 01:20:05,007 We have such a unique lifestyle and I just 1227 01:20:05,110 --> 01:20:10,840 I pray that as we're living with someone leaning on the fast-forward button 1228 01:20:10,944 --> 01:20:13,567 that we're able to soak it all in and we get to the end of this 1229 01:20:13,670 --> 01:20:16,121 and we take a deep breath and look at each other and say, 1230 01:20:16,225 --> 01:20:18,606 "Wow, here we are, we made it." 1231 01:20:21,161 --> 01:20:26,166 And listen, if all this stops tomorrow, if this is it, 1232 01:20:26,269 --> 01:20:28,858 what a ride. I don't have any regrets 1233 01:20:28,962 --> 01:20:34,657 and if they told me, "Cody you're done, go home to your wife and kids." 1234 01:20:34,760 --> 01:20:36,486 I'm gonna do it with a smile. 1235 01:20:36,590 --> 01:20:39,558 ♪ Dear rodeo 1236 01:20:42,976 --> 01:20:44,978 You guys ready? 1237 01:20:51,674 --> 01:20:53,503 ♪ Dear rodeo 1238 01:21:07,932 --> 01:21:10,900 ♪ Lord knows we had a few 1239 01:21:12,143 --> 01:21:14,317 ♪ Dear rodeo 1240 01:21:28,262 --> 01:21:31,334 ♪ Oh but you know better, babe 1241 01:21:42,759 --> 01:21:45,970 ♪ Woah I hate it 1242 01:22:00,053 --> 01:22:02,365 ♪ So dear rodeo 1243 01:22:38,988 --> 01:22:41,611 ♪ All again even though 1244 01:22:41,715 --> 01:22:43,889 ♪ We both know 1245 01:23:05,601 --> 01:23:07,741 ♪ So dear rodeo 1246 01:23:09,053 --> 01:23:11,331 ♪ I'd like to think you'd miss 1247 01:23:11,434 --> 01:23:14,368 ♪ Me too but I know you don't 1248 01:23:15,542 --> 01:23:17,958 ♪ Oh but that don't change the 1249 01:23:28,727 --> 01:23:32,214 ♪ Dear rodeo 1250 01:23:41,740 --> 01:23:45,675 -My man! -Whew.