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You're listening to The Radcast, a top 25 worldwide business podcast. If it's radical, we cover it.

00:13
Here's your host, Ryan Alford. Hey guys, what's up? Welcome to the latest edition of the Radcast. If it's radical, we cover it. And I'm pretty pumped today. You know, I have all of my needs and wants and tastes all in one here, not only with the cool dude and someone who I'm calling a friend now, but who's just a fucking badass.

00:41
You know, I'm Michael, I'm just gonna tell it like it is. Michael Hobby, lead singer of A Thousand Horses, artist, writer, and a friend. It's good to have you brother, man. Hey man, it's good to be here. Good to call you a friend. I'm glad we met that night on the Gallagher Crew bus. It's a good story, you know? I had another great story. I'm hoping like, you know, like 30 years from now when you know, you've got...

01:07
20 number ones behind you and everything else. And we're sitting on the porch somewhere having a beer and, you know, we'll look back and go, we met on old Jared's Cadillac three bus. We met on that guy's. He's my oldest friend and I love that dude. I love her, Shelby and Neil. It was a good timing for, I was home to see my family in South Carolina and, uh, my brother wanted to go to their house. He's a fan of their band. And I was like, Oh, well, yeah.

01:37
We got, yeah. Yes. I'm glad you did. You got up there and sang a little, little song too, and got on stage. I'm like, damn. I mean, and then I was told in the calls like, Jared's gonna text me. We'll, we'll hit me up. But I'm glad we met man. I've been a fan of your music. Just didn't know you personally. And now getting to know you and Caroline personally, just my kind of people. And I'm really just excited for people to hear, you know, the music industry is interesting.

02:04
I've learned, and I know you can tell me, tell us all the, the stories there, but I think just, I don't know, getting underneath the music and you know, what it takes to be an artist today. And I don't know the highs and the lows, but let's just start Michael, um, again, with just kind of that journey and that story, you know, like what, what made you want to become a rock star, country rock star? Yeah, man. You know, I.

02:33
I got into music when I was around, you know, I got a guitar when I was 11, 12. When I was with my mom, she used to drag me to the Dockman Bar in South Carolina, which you know, Saturday auction. And there was a guitar there that was going up for auction and I didn't have any money. And the lady wanted 25 bucks for it. And I told her I'd help her load all her stuff that she bought to, if I could get the guitar. She said, well, if you help me load everything, I'll give it to you for 20 bucks.

03:03
And I was like, okay. So I went and begged my mom for a $20. I still owe her 20 bucks to this day. And I got the guitar and I went home and just kinda never looked back. I grew up way out in the country and didn't have a lot of things around so I just stayed in my room and learned how to play and kinda dove in and never...

03:31
never changed, it was what I wanted to do, moment forward, and just worked my ass off, try to find band members in a small town, and Columbia and Greenville were the closest big cities, and putting in ads in the paper to get calls for people to come try out, and finally just kept grinding, man. I don't know if you guys remember 93.5 in Columbia. Oh yeah. But.

04:00
They were doing the locals live thing, crocodile rocks. Oh yeah. You know, crocodile rocks. Yeah. I remember the t-shirts. They had t-shirts. Like that was the coolest thing. You got a crocodile rock t-shirt. Yeah. Banana jams, crocodiles. Yeah. All that shit was popping. Um, and we entered into that and we ended up winning the whole thing and getting to go on the radio station and, and, and play a song which was huge and got some recording time. I think the jam rim is what that studio was called. And.

04:29
made a little demo tape and just started, you know, my dad met a guy that was in Nashville. And this was all, I was in ninth grade, I was always in high school. And my guitar player, Bill, he's my best friend, he was in the band and met a guy through my dad that produced records in Nashville and we talked to him for a little while. And we moved here in 2005 to

04:59
chase the dream, you know? And learned very quickly, which is, it's funny that we met on Jaron's bus, but Jaron was one of the first guys I met when I moved to town. I went to, it was, his band was Bang Bang at the time. And it was him and Neil and Kelby still. And I went to their show at this club called 12th and Quarter and I remember Bill and I looking at each other going, holy shit.

05:27
we gotta practice. Like, we gotta get better. The bar was raised. The bar was right, welcome to town. We'll sit in South Carolina, a little Newberry. All right, so we dug into that, became friends with those guys and played locally a bunch and did as much as we could nationally in a car and a trailer and then to a van and a trailer.

05:57
which led us to, I mean we moved to year 2005, our first record deal was in 2009, we got our first record deal on Interscope Records, you know after, so 10 year town I guess, or not, no it was five years. But, and we thought, man, here we go, we're out in Sandalus and living there for a few weeks or a month at a time and started making a record.

06:27
And about time we finished, there was an EP, five songs, which is I think still out, still available on streaming and whatnot now, but that didn't, shit, streaming and stuff didn't exist then, you know? Yeah. Now it's all over everybody's house. You're Napster or iPod or whatever the hell it was, right? Oh, I remember Napster. Napster was good. Yeah. Not good for my business, but good. Yeah, right, exactly. Anyways, in...

06:56
you know, as quick as that began, you know, that went away, you know, at that time. We were probably on that label for a year, and we toured relentlessly during that time, came back to Nashville, regrouped. I've kinda only given you, I guess, the bullet points of this story. No, it's good though, man. I mean, it's good. We'll dig into some of that. Regrouped, and then...

07:25
got a record deal with Big Machine, you know, a few years later in a country label, you know? And... What are you doing in between that time? Are you just on the Nashville, like, are you working side jobs? Are you like, what are you, how are you piecing it all together? I mean, like, between gigs and all that. Yeah, well, we didn't really have any money planning gigs there. I mean, if we did, it was peanuts, but... Yeah.

07:52
Man, we had jobs. I worked at Buckle selling clothes here in Cool Springs. And then Bill, our guitar player, he worked at a restaurant in downtown. He was a waiter and he was doing that grime. Yep. And everybody else was kind of musician friends that would play with us or we'd give them a little bit of money to play with. Our bass player, Graham, is Bill's cousin. So he moved up right after high school in like 07.

08:19
when he graduated, he literally walked out of the front door to his car and drove straight to here. This was before the big machine thing. Anyways, we signed a big machine, and in between then what we did is we worked odd jobs here and there, and did whatever it took to make a buck. And I got a publishing deal before all that, so with Warner Chappell, and that was like my first getting...

08:49
money to be a writer. Yeah. And that was a game changer for me, because I got a little pub deal. And I finally had, I didn't have to do any other jobs. I could just write. And then led to the record deal. And man, in that process, we had made that first record. A lot of people don't know this. But we were working with Dave Cobb. He was our producer at the time. And we.

09:17
This was before Dave was Dave. We went into his home studio, we made that record with like on our credit cards. Like, and we didn't, you know, Dave was so nice. He didn't charge us for anything, but we had to pay these musicians and stuff that would come in. And I remember, I'll never forget it. We were out and we were walking in his driveway and all four of us in the band were on our phones with credit card companies trying to get.

09:44
whatever little wire credit we could get a piece. None of us had any money or any credit. And finally, I'd become friends with a great guy by the name of Andy Moe Theor, he was part of a local bank called Avenue Bank, but now it's Pinnacle Bank. And I called him and I said, we can't get a credit card to give us any money to finish this record, but I know this record is great. And he said, how about this?

10:14
I'll loan you enough money that sweeping my parking lots could pay for. And I said, you got a deal. So he gave us 15 grand. And we made the record. It landed us a record deal with Big Machine. And we were off for the races, right? And we ended up going back in with Big Machine and re-picking the record and adding a few songs. And...

10:42
Thank God we did because that's when Smoke came in and the drug dial had already been written and then that song on the record called Where I'm Going came in that I'd written and they were kind of like the 11th song for the record and I wrote Smoke on a Thursday, played it for the guys, there was Senate to everybody late, late Thursday night and Friday morning my phone was blowing up from our label and the band.

11:11
of like, man, guys, this is it. And our label was like, we're with this one. So we went right into the studio on Saturday, cut that song first, and it was our first single out of the gate, which- So they knew it was a hit. They heard it? Yeah, yeah. Before, I mean, that's their job, I guess, you know? Yeah, it just kinda came out of the blue, man. You know, when I wrote it, I thought it was great, and I liked it, but I just turned it in, like I always did.

11:41
And yeah, the Big Machine ran with it. And it was the highest debuting single on the chart in history from a group. And we came in at like 26 out of the gate, which was unheard of. So we were like, holy sh- Truly like smoke. Yeah, I was like, holy shit. Here we go. You know, we lost the Interscope deal, now we're Big Machine, and now we got a hit on the radio.

12:10
The rocket took off, and it never really stopped after that. So smoke goes number one, drunk die, it gets like top 15, and then things kinda started to get shaky, which was wild at the time. Shortly after that, we're on the Jason Aldean tour. We're touring with Darius Rucker, we're touring with Jason Aldean and Thomas Rhett.

12:39
Brothers Osborne, and just on top of the world, man. And then the deal with Big Machine fell apart, right? Kind of in the middle of all that, which was super deflating, you know? I mean, it was a bummer. And we came home and then, and we were like, what are we gonna do? And then boom, we got the Kid Rock tour right after that, like his tour back. And...

13:09
and we went out and did that. And then in the process, so what we did is we repeated, you know, we were in a way better position than we ever had been. So we went and put up our own money and went back in with Dave and made a new record. And while we were making that record, we got another record deal from Electra and Dave's label, Low Country Sound. And we were like, hell yeah, we got another deal. This is our third at this point.

13:38
Yep, major label deal. And we finished the record, geared up, ready to go. We had a two week European tour and then a US tour. And it was March of 2020. And we're on the plane from Nashville. We stop in Charlotte to get on the big plane to go across the pod to play our European tour. And we get off the plane to Charlotte because they banned international travel.

14:07
and our whole world shut down, you know, right in the middle of that gear up to go at it again. And as you know, I mean, things for a lot of people got tough during that time and still now are tough. And it brought our world to a halt, which was a real bitch. And a lot of our friends, I mean, so many people, it was just kind of a shitty time, a terrible time for everybody. And in that process, we, the year,

14:36
or in two years we weren't really on the road touring or couldn't tour. You know, we parted ways with Electra and Atlantic in that time period and we fired our manager, or parted ways with it, firing's such a harsh word. Yeah. Different directions. Yeah, we went different directions. And we had this record that we had back. So we did what we always did.

15:05
and we put our heads down and dove into it. We went with a new manager for a little bit, put this record out, you know, and now we're just now starting to come back from the two years or three years really of dealing with the sludge of what happened. And in that process, in the last year, we made another record. So we have that record that's not.

15:31
hasn't been released yet, you've heard some of it. Oh yeah, I can't wait to talk about it. And now we're back in the game. We're just, you know, it's a, if you don't stop, it won't stop. We got a million wreaths to quit, and you know, our true hearts and belief in artistry of what we do is what keeps us going. You know, it's the little wind along the way, and the highs and lows that keep you moving towards the bigger success, but.

16:00
It's been a process, man. I mean, that started from when I was a kid and moving to Nashville when I was 18, right out of high school with just a dream to now. And it's been very great, like very good. And it's also been shitty, you know, like anything else and frustrating. And the music business, you know, it can be frustrating, very frustrating.

16:30
It's not, it's unlike any other business in the world, I think, you know, with what it's based off of. And you learn something new every day, and you grow and adapt. But we're excited about this new record, we're excited about the things we have lined up for it. And being back out on the road, starting probably in May, I think is when we start back up, to be out through the summer. And we'll see now where this journey and this record takes us. You know, that's all we can do.

17:00
It's like every records is a different journey. I mean in a way, but before I go there man, it's I think for someone listening and myself getting to know you it's Smoke was just such a fire hit and Obviously told that story but people Don't realize the

17:28
trials, tribulations, the ups like they just don't understand. I think it's fascinating hearing the true journey, you know, from the passion as a kid to, you know, you're working at buckle, you're in between, like you do all these things. You've had a record label and all that ups downs, all that. I think people just think these things you go into a factory and you know, these hits spit out and like, but there's just such a journey there. That's unlike.

17:56
a lot of other career paths, just like you said. It's very unique. Yeah, there is, man. I mean, there's so many things that have to line up and come together at the same time. I mean, some people call that magic, some people call it the stars aligning, and it really truly is. And it's nothing, that's the problem with it. You can't...

18:23
you can't pinpoint like this is what works and this is how you do it and it'll work again and again and yet. Like it's not repeatable. It's not a rinse and repeat thing and it's based off, you know.

18:39
Criticism of it, you know, it's based off like who likes it and who doesn't like it's completely opinion it opinionized of Whether a song works and then the inner workings that go on that on the business side or you know all just have to line up and And you don't ever know why or there's no reasoning, you know why a song works why a song doesn't work you just got to keep trying and and and keep

19:08
going and trying to be better and improve yourself and be a better writer, be a performer. And also just deal with life in the same sense. A lot of us, we got married, we got kids in this process. So the growing pains of learning how to be those things, learning how to be a husband and then learning to be a father because that's a whole nother department. Especially when you're on a country rock and roll band tour in the world and you're gone and you're back and forth.

19:39
You know, it's a lot to adjust to, but it's wonderful. I love it. You know, that's why we all do it. You can't stop. Let me ask you this. You know, the politics side, you started to go there a little bit, you know, and I keep coming back to Smoke because there's such a before and after, and then today, and I'll definitely want to get to the new album, which is Fire. The...

20:05
It's interesting because I see it as if the right person wants to make your song big, it seems like it can be manufactured in a way. But the counter to that for me is smoke. I remember hearing it the first time, I was like, that's a fire hit. Like, I mean, it's just so catchy and told the story and you just never heard it like positioned that way. The whole story within the story of the song.

20:35
But they heard it. And so again, it's not just politics. They obviously, cause like you said, you sent it in overnight the next morning. No, you were recording that tomorrow. Like they immediately know. So obviously it's not just politics. It's obviously talent and a, you know, the right formula coming together. But like, because for the longest time, I was just like, well, if the right person knows you, they can make your hit a hit, but it still has to have substance. I'm just curious, like, you know, like.

21:03
That process. Absolutely. Yes, there still has to be that magic or that connection in it that you can't make up. But you know, I always tell people too, it's not that somebody has to hear your song, it's the right person has to hear what you do and align with what they believe. Yeah. You know?

21:32
And that person is very important fighting for you and making sure it's heard and making sure you get the opportunity to give it its best lice, you know, for a song. So it's, you know, if you get a thousand no's, all you're looking for is one yet. And it's the right person. You know, some people don't get it, some people do. I mean, when that happened to us, you know, there was a lot of people that...

22:02
were like, y'all are fucking crazy for signing up. Or y'all are fucking crazy for singing that song as a hit. And it's just as many people said, well this is a no brainer. You know? Yeah. It's always, you're always up against the critic, you know, especially in the business. And you know, like not to talk about another artist, but like Luke Thomas has that story of when he came to town and he played a major player in this business.

22:32
you know, four, five songs, and the guy told him to go home. That none of those were hits, and he'd never make it in this town. And all five of those songs were five monster number one hit. You know, and he just took that as, well fuck you, and he kept going. And that's it, you know, hit that door. So that's the role that you play every day with a thug is.

22:59
You just, you do the best you can and you put it in the chamber and, and pull the trigger, man. And, and you don't know what's going to happen. Well, let's just go there. Cause I was texting you while I was having, you know, probably my fourth Margarita in Mexico, you know, listening to, uh, this, you know, listening to, uh, uh, this ain't no drunk dial. And which, which was, I don't know what's number one versus number seven, but let's just call it, it was a, it was a fucking jam hit.

23:28
And, you know, I know I, I, I'm not good at a lot of things, but I've always been good at hearing a ringer and that was, that's a ringer. I don't know how much you can share. I mean, I know you're not going to bash the label or anything, but like that thing was rising and I'm trying to understand exactly why or how you're with a label, you have smoke, number one fastest song on charts ever. You've got a clear.

23:58
Even if it wasn't smoke, it's not, you know, 20 steps behind it. It's a close number two to being a hit jam. How did it go south or why did that momentum? Like what makes them not go, well, there's not another one behind this. You know, I can't quite get my head around that.

24:19
That makes two of us.

24:27
You know, those kind of things are above my pay grade when it comes to it. I don't know what happened with that song. I don't know where, you know, any if or any what balls got dropped. You know, like I said, we were kind of on that rocket ship. I mean, that was frustrating, you know, for us coming out of the gate with such a heater.

24:54
But in all things considered, that song was a hit. It just didn't ring a number one. It was top 20. I mean, so that's a winner, right? Yeah, and it didn't ring a number one, Bill. Looking back now was a bummer then, but now I look at it and go, well, shit, man, it's still a hit. Yeah, it was a hit. That's incredible. But that's the things behind the scenes and the politics of things that I don't know.

25:21
That's where whatever the label was thinking or whatever they had coming or whatever they wanted to go with, or they always call out research and all these things that, as an artist you're like, what are you talking about? Are you calling people on the phone and playing 20 second clips? However many people hang up goes against you if the song's good or not. So, that was a...

25:51
You know, that was deflating at the time. But why didn't they go, but if you had, you've got, look, by any measure of success, I would, you correct me, you have a heater number one and a top 20 number two, two songs that hit that high, I think, would be a marker of success of the album overall for just about any group. A number one, if you get one number one, I mean, that's probably a successful album.

26:19
So why did it fall up? Why, why it wasn't immediately, we all need to, you know, Michael, we need four, 10 more songs and you know, let's, let's ring it up again. I mean, you know, so maybe there's no, we'll never quite understand that one song. I guess I just don't follow why it wasn't like, let's ring up another, you know, and, you know, and those conversations were had and we had songs lined up, but then we kind of got caught, we kind of got lost, you know,

26:49
is a band, to be honest, and with the business of the music world and the pressures coming from the other side of changing producers, changing who you're writing with, changing, trying to find, it's kind of like, I always describe it as like the sky is falling mentality. And it never really was, but it was being treated that way. So as an artist, like it's...

27:18
It happens all the time where you get lost and you lose your identity that made you what you were. And you lose focus on what you started in the beginning because you got all these other... You got pressure on you from the other side and you know, it gets rushed and you know, haste makes waste. And money gets spent and you know, it...

27:45
It just kind of implodes, you know, it's a great recipe for disaster. For an artist's career, you know, it's like we love you, you're great, we wanna do this, can we change everything? You know, and it's fucked up, but it happens. It happens a lot, you know, people wonder what happens to people or people, you know, wonder what happens to songs. And I think that's kind of what we got caught in, man. It was just, it was a, it is wild that that's how that played out.

28:13
Because like any other person or any other situation, you go, all right, man, shoot, we have two hits off first record, let's go in and make another record, and let's have a couple hits off that, and then make another record. We're building this thing. Exactly. For long term. And that wasn't the case for us in the situation we were in. Come to find out. Yeah. So we've gone independent, right? We're independent. Yeah, right now. I mean, officially. I mean, but open to...

28:42
possibilities, right? You're not necessarily... Absolutely, man. I mean, you know, we're older, wiser, and more experienced now. And we got to go make the record we wanted to make. And we used our judgment, our inner compass to do that. And there are other opportunities out there for us now, which we're incredibly grateful for. And we'll continue to strive. So yeah, we're open to...

29:10
kind of any scenario to help level up what we've already built, you know? The business has changed so much. I mean, like talking with Michael Hobby, lead singer of a thousand horses. Uh, you know, we talked about this. I mean, the streaming game and tick tock and like, you know, there's never been a time to, you know, to be able to do it your own self, like you don't, you need it. Don't get wrong. Radio is still important, but damn, like you can.

29:39
Make a lot of hay on your own these days. It's a little different, isn't it? Absolutely, man. We talk about that all the time, how much the landscape has changed in the last five years. And yeah, it's unbelievable, man. I mean, the opportunity for people to get their socks out and get them heard and build a career and really make a living doing it and do what they want to do, it's limitless, to be honest. And that's exciting.

30:09
You know, I think artists are kind of realizing that. And I think, and labels realize that for sure. And they're still, you know, the gatekeepers of the world and all that, but it's changing. Yeah. And just like you said, through TikTok and through social media platforms and where you can be heard and reach an audience is wide open, which also is kind of scary because it's not the way it used to be.

30:39
So you gotta change and adapt and move towards that and go against things that you don't know how to do. You know, we're kind of a band that was caught, we're caught in like the middle of an old, like you know, when we had smoke in Big Machine, like Spotify was not something that we were allowed to really support. You know, it was a new thing. Nobody knew what to do with it. We loved it. And they've been incredibly great, they've been great to us. And

31:07
and then it came in and out, what it's all about. I'll tell people like the gut instinct that used to be on something is very hard to come by now. It's really based off, the word metrics always comes to mind of what you're doing, similar thing with what you do with your podcasts, you know, I mean, you know who's listening, you know when and all that. And we didn't have that back 10 years ago.

31:37
Yep. The algorithms and everything else. So I mean, are you guys shopping? Look, for everybody listening, the new album's fire. It's like, if you go listen to a couple there of Michael and the groups of original songs, it'll sound familiar. It's like a familiar, but I asked you like,

32:05
What is it? What's the, you know, it's like, it's like country, but fucking way bigger. It's like, I'm like, but it is man. It's just, there's like this Americana, this rock to it. There's, you know, I know I always throw that. I don't know. And I grew up like black crows, loving it. Like there's a certain just rock vibe with your stuff. That's always present.

32:33
It's always got a little bit of the country. It's, it's there, but dude, I mean, there's just some jams on that. And they're all different. Like I just, I went from track to track. Um, and in a really good way, it just felt almost, it felt like a thousand horses, but it, it felt like every song felt like an experience in and of it. Sometimes you listen to an album and you kind of like, not every song sounds the same, but like, there's just like this thing, but I was like,

33:01
I just kind of felt like I was going on a different trip every time. One was a trip down to Charleston. One was, I was headed to Nashville to party my ass off. One I was like going out to the field to make out with my wife. I mean, it was just, it was like all over the map. Yeah, that's good. Well, man, I mean, that's, that's thank you for saying that. And that's what we were kind of going for. You know, we, we want our record to be a jury through the whole thing. You know, we want.

33:29
pay attention to that detail to give people an experience. I mean, just because it's a singles world and songs come out that way, it's like, well, we can still create, keep a little bit of the old craft, a record that's good, like a play of work that says who you are and expresses your emotions and your feelings towards it that hopefully connects, a song on that record may connect with somebody and not the other person, but they got, there's one for everybody on it. Yeah. And...

33:58
and apply it to your life and story. So, yeah, I'm glad you feel that way. That was what we were going for, just what we loved and kind of arrived through the whole thing. I mean, we even got like an intermission track in there that's just us jamming in the studio, you know? I'm glad you said that because I'll say this. So, you know, since we met, I've become like the world's greatest thousand horses fan, just because, you know, it's just when you meet somebody and you like them and then...

34:27
You knew, and I liked your music. I mean, I liked Smoke and I knew that I'd heard Drunk Dial a little bit, but I knew I didn't hear it enough. You know, now, worn it out. At least with like my wife or something. She's like, are you gonna play that song again? Yeah, I am, get over it. The, but in all seriousness, here's where I'm going with that. The level of craftsmanship and the quality of the music and the abilities, like I told you, I felt like every song had like 18 instruments going. Like,

34:56
Dude, I'm just saying like it is really quality, quality, like music, music, anship or whatever the hell you call it. But like just the quality of the instruments, the sound, like I just felt like there was a depth on every song that felt like there was a lot of attention paid to this. Yeah, man, there, there was. And, and, and, and we, you know, we wore musicians, we play, we

35:25
And we can do that and we do that well and we worked hard on getting to that level of Being to do that and I'm I appreciate you saying that again about the record and we we took time with it You know we had time and we took time to really craft opposed to doing it the easy way What's the I mean are you gonna shop that record to try to get a deal or y'all just going full-bore independent launching it?

35:53
Man, it's all up in the air right now. Okay. You know, we're gonna forge ahead like we do. And, you know.

36:04
the opportunities that have arisen from it already, take it slow. We've been in the mix of it for a long time. We're open to any and all opportunity that comes, as long as it fits our narrative and fits our vision for what we wanna do with the band and the record. When does the decision have to be made though, like, okay, you've mastered it, you've got some other stuff going on, artwork, music, video, whatever that might be, but...

36:34
When do you have to decide if you're going to self release it or if it goes elsewhere? I mean, is there a, is there a line in the sand or one way or another, you're going to self release us, it just might get picked up or something. Yeah, we're kind of in that process right now. Figure out how, how long we want to wait or, or do we just want to go ahead? Yeah. Um, and that's to be honest with you, that's exactly where we are. We, you know, it's done.

37:03
The hard part's done, now it's the planning that goes into it. There's a lot of 18 to 24 month plans you write out for something, for a release. That's kinda where we're at. You know, we like doing it ourselves and on our time load and being in control of it. And if that leads to...

37:30
another deal in the future because we've built it more and more. And you know, that's best for all parties involved. But you got to keep moving, you know, and like I said, the world's changed and releases have changed, the music's changed and how people can say has changed and, you know, we want to give our audience and our fans music. You know, that's that's that's why they're there. And they're the best in the world. And they've stuck with us through this whole time. And they don't care about any of this business stuff that you and I talk about. Like

38:00
It's just great music, go put on great shows, and have a great time. Where's your tour gonna be? Oh man, you know, right now, we're up in West Virginia, and then we got a few things, and we're going to Ontario, Canada for a show this summer. We're gonna be announcing soon, we just released this Wood and Wire project, what it's called, and it's acoustic songs. So we take some of those songs off the last record, and reimagine them acoustic.

38:29
and then we added a new one, on it called Don't Move to Tennessee. And we're gonna go out and do an acoustic run of shows, like in small venues, and play the songs in a different way. And like, you get the wooden wire experience of A Thousand Horses, and then come out this summer and you get the big band Full Blown Thing with the record. So we're working on putting that together starting in May. And I'm sure we're gonna be close to Greenville.

38:57
I think that's on the list of cities. And... Close! You're coming to Greenville, come on man. Yeah, why not? That's the only place close, man. So, that'll be out there once we finalize the details of it. And we're looking forward to that. We never done it. And we love playing acoustic and stripped down. And that's gonna be a lot of fun. It's gonna give you that wooden walk experience. And we're gonna continue wooden walk.

39:25
Series one, two, three, and four after every record. Just to give, you know, a different way of listening to music, a different way of, of, uh, of doing it, you know, that a lot of people don't get a chance to see. It's smart. Talk to me like, like, you know, when you go back out on tour, is it still politics, like as long as you're independent, will there ever, is there just not going to be like.

39:53
a thousand horses opening for, uh, Eric Church. I mean, you know, like is, is that just, even though things have changed a lot, are the, if it's, if you're not on the same record label or something, does that just become like impossible? No, not at all, man. I mean, those kinds of things come from, you know, usually guys like Eric Church. Like if they like your record and they like what you're doing. And obviously we're, it's a small community around here. You know,

40:23
friends, you know, they'll, you know, graciously ask you to come out and, and play with them and, you know, you jump on those opportunities. Okay. So those are still open. Those things are still out there. It, they don't, they're not, cause I imagine 10 years ago, it was probably record label driven stuff, even if they wanted them, I guess that they got enough power, they can do anything they want, but that you guys, they'll, they'll, they'll bring independence on the road with them. Oh yeah. I mean, just because you're independent and on a major or, or whatever.

40:54
That has nothing to do with who you tour with and who you go out with. That has to do with what kind of band you are, does it fit what they do, do they like what you do, and what opportunities are in the play to help out the whole package. It's not really a, well I can't take you out, you're not on capital. I didn't know that level. Company's gone for their artists to go out with other people and thing, why wouldn't you?

41:23
It doesn't really play a role. Nobody really cares, I don't think, artist-wise, you know, who you're on or what you're doing. It's just more about the personal relationship and then the music that you make, you know, and if it's something that they like.

41:41
Where's it all headed, brother? I know you, I know that's always the million dollar question. Like let me say, let me rephrase it. Where do we, where's Michael hobby want this to go the next 10, 20 years? Like, you know, like where, what, what, what's, uh, what's the perfect playbook for you? Man, as far as we can take it, you know, this is something, you know, music to me. I can't stop.

42:10
being a musician and an artist. And it's what I signed up for, and it's what I love, and it's what God gifted me to do. I believe all of it comes from a higher power in this world. And to have fun with it and take it as far as you can take it. And everybody will tell you, I wanna do stadiums, I wanna do this, that. Well, yeah, those are obvious things. Who doesn't? But.

42:40
enjoy it while you do it. Because it can get to the, it can very easily not be enjoyable in the throws of it. And finding, you know, we get to play music for a living, man, I mean, that was my dream when I was, and so I'm livin' it. And living proof that you can do it too. It's just so, I wanna take it as far as we can take it. And I love my band, I love, we're all family.

43:10
and we love our fans and playing for people and meeting people and that's never gonna stop. So, you know, to put a, to put a, I'll know I've made it when. There's no, there's no limit to that. It really is, it's, you know, you'll get to the top of one mountain and you gotta go right back down, get back up to the other one. You know, but enjoy it along the way, you know, more important things than.

43:38
than fame and success in life, especially where we're all at at our age. And we're young, you know, but still with families, there's just more to it now than there was when we were 20. Of course, but you know.

43:55
Business and life and everything is driven by relationships and you know, I'm just glad and music brings people together I mean, I'm just glad I met you man. I can't wait. Yeah, man You know a dy granny right? I want Grammy Grammy. All right. Yeah. Hey dude, you're talking to the right man I make shit happen. All right. That's why I did this You know, I

44:21
If only by sure will and manifestation and just that's it, you know, like I just You know, I uh, I don't know. I just don't take no or uh, except uh anything but uh Pushing shit man and stuff that I love and I don't know I get blessed to do what I love and talk to guys like you and you know make connections and But you're blessed man Caroline's wonderful. Sonny is awesome. You know, she is. Thank you

44:51
I love them. They're the best. How can everybody keep up with everything, A Thousand Horses and Michael Hobbie? Man, A Thousand Horses, all our stuff is at A Thousand Horses. A Thousand spelled out horses. And then at Michael Hobbie's, all my handles on social media and whatnot. But you can follow along our journey and say hello, and we'll see you in a town.

45:21
at some point and it'll be a good time. You'll have a great night. Yeah, man. So if you're listening, go follow these guys. You can see how good of a guy Michael is, how real, raw, original this group is. And you'll thank me for it later, especially once you hear the jams, man. They are off the chain. And you know what? If you don't sign them with the record label on this new album, we're gonna do something.

45:47
get this thing just to fucking blow up on TikTok and everywhere else. So we're going to figure that. We're going to, we're going to break the algorithm. All right, let's get out. Let's do it. Let's break the algorithm. Hey guys, you know where to find us. We're at the radcast.com. If it's radical, we cover it. That's why we have the best in the business, including Michael hobby with a thousand horses. You know where to find me. I'm at Ryan Alford on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, verified on all the channels because you know, you're going to get it raw and real. We'll see you next time.

46:16
or Radcast.