Tony Scott: 0:13

Welcome to The Jay Franze Show, a behind-the-curtain look at the entertainment industry, with insights you can't pay for and stories you've never heard. Now here's your host, Jay Franze.

Jay Franze: 0:42

Well, hello and welcome to the show. I am Jay Franze and this is your backstage pass to the entertainment industry. This week we get to talk with a country music recording artist. We get to talk with Kyle Fields. We'll talk to him about how a gift from his grandmother started his career, what it was like to make the move to Nashville and we'll discuss his run-ins with Post Malone and Pam Tillis.

Jay Franze: 1:05

Now, kyle, he's a great artist and an all-around great guy. He just opened up for Kid Rock in front of 32,000 people and I can't wait to talk to him about that tonight. So if you would like to join in comment or fire off any questions, please head over to jayfranze. com. Now let's get started. Kyle, sir, how are you?

Kyle Fields: 1:27

I'm doing good. How are you?

Jay Franze: 1:29

I am fabulous, sir. I'm looking forward to this. I'm glad you're here, I'm glad we can make it happen, and I am looking forward to talking to you for the next six, seven hours.

Kyle Fields: 1:40

Yeah, I've got the coffee brewing over there, so I know it's going to be a long night.

Jay Franze: 1:45

There you go, all right, buddy. Well, let's go ahead and just jump right in. Can you tell?

Kyle Fields: 1:55

us about the guitar that your grandmother bought you and how it sparked your career. Yeah, I was about 13 years old I think when I first got it. She got it for me for Christmas and it was a cheap little finger guitar is all it was. But I love that thing and I learned from a guy in our neighborhood a couple of them actually that play guitar and they kind of showed me the. You know the basic beginning chords G, C and D and E minor, and you can play almost about any country song there in some form and so just learned those and started basically looking up easy stuff you know three chord songs and then trying to add more chords to the repertoire and scales and things of that nature. So I think I was 13 when I got it and she was always very supportive of me musically and she was a big part in putting me in direction to do this. Very thankful for her.

Jay Franze: 2:54

So was that the actual start or were you dabbling before that?

Kyle Fields: 3:00

I'd always kind of sung ever since I was a child, honestly. But yeah, I mean I would say that that was the first actual wanted to put time and effort into it and, you know, develop a passion for it. That was definitely the beginning of that. But I mean my uncle, dean, he always played guitar and then my great-grandpa fields he, he was always banjo picker and I mean I've always grown up around music. And then my aunts, they all sing great, my mom's pretty good singer and and sister's actually pretty good. But yeah, the whole family is musically inclined. So I mean I think I was going to pick it up at some point, regardless just being around it. My mom used to have an old karaoke machine and when I was like 8 or 10 years old, I mean I would sit there and sing Merle Haggard songs on karaoke machine. When I was ten years old, and this was in Greenup Kentucky.

Kyle Fields: 3:59

Yes, sir, yeah.

Jay Franze: 4:00

What was it like growing up there?

Kyle Fields: 4:03

It was great. I love where I'm from. You know, pretty rural place, grew up playing outside and everybody fished and hunted and you know a lot of people played guitar in high school. Just raised hell, you know, did all the, all the things you do in a small town, but uh, yeah, I love where I was from. It was, uh, you know, it's part of who I am and grateful for growing up around there well, you say that the people play guitar and sang in high school and stuff.

Jay Franze: 4:35

I know you're a solo artist, but did you participate in any of that while you were in high school?

Kyle Fields: 4:40

oh, yeah, we would. Uh, we would take numerous people would take guitars to school and we would just jam, like on lunch break or in the PE class whenever everybody else was running or something. There'd be a few outside from the bleachers and just. But yeah, I mean I went to school with a lot of guys that played guitar and we would all just kind of jam and stuff. And actually I think it was my sophomore or junior year we started a little band, being a few buddies and we never really did a lot of gigs or nothing. I think we did one or two maybe, but it was more about just having fun and learning songs. You know, we'd get together and another buddy's garage, the drummer at that time and we would just jam on country songs and southern rock, winter skinner, you know, marshall tucker and all that stuff. And yeah, pretty much started like with bar sets, learning kind of that stuff that you would do.

Jay Franze: 5:38

And yeah, I think that was a lot more junior year so then you moved to nashville in your early 20s and, coming from a rural place in kentucky, what did that feel like for you?

Kyle Fields: 5:52

It was complete culture shock. Honestly, it was crazy. Honestly. I moved down here when I was 22, and I was working at the time. I was working for Centos. They do like uniforms and all this stuff, mats and all this for these big. I'm sure a lot of people's familiar with that. But yeah, I worked for them Originally in Ashland is where I started, and then I moved down here, transferred to Nashville and total. I was here nine years.

Kyle Fields: 6:23

But the reason I say that's because I was having to skip routes whenever I moved here. So I've covered vacations and sick times and they kind of like yeah, we're going to let you ride with somebody for two months and you're gonna get to know the area and all this stuff, and that's complete bullcrap. After about two weeks they were like here you go, take this truck and go to downtown nashville and go to the 18th story of this building and go drop this stuff. And it was just like it. It was wild for a few months. But yeah, it's definitely a lot different, you know, from what I'm accustomed to growing up so how long did it take you to get used to it?

Kyle Fields: 7:05

uh, I still don't think I'm fully used to it. I get road rage pretty bad out here, but no, no, I would say after probably about two years, comfortably, I started meeting people and got familiar with the area and I enjoy it. I love Nashville. I hate the amount of growth that has happened down here and which is good for the city, you know. But I just I live about 35 minutes outside of town and Kind of where I'm at, more rural, kind of reminds me more of home. So I love where I'm at. But the first few years I was in town I lived in various parts of town, but you could not pay me to live in city limits in Nashville anymore. I just would never do this. I still go down there, you know, four to five times a week, but I like going in and getting out, sure.

Jay Franze: 7:58

What area of town did you move to?

Kyle Fields: 8:00

I'm out in lebanon, tennessee, now out in wilson county all right 35 minutes down, 40 there. I know you're somewhat familiar with there.

Jay Franze: 8:08

You lived down here for a oh yeah, I lived there for 20 years, started off in bellevue and then Murfreesboro.

Kyle Fields: 8:17

Oh, wow, cool. I lived in Antioch. That was an experience. That was rough. Yes, I was eight mile or something.

Jay Franze: 8:26

Right, that's what it is. I don't know what year did you move there?

Kyle Fields: 8:30

It would have been 2012.

Jay Franze: 8:33

All right, I moved there in 99. 99. Yeah, when I moved there it wasn't all that bad. The mall was still there, but they eventually closed the mall just because of all the trouble that was going on there.

Kyle Fields: 8:45

It was kind of crazy. It was empty basically the entire time.

Jay Franze: 8:49

Yeah, so now you move there and you're in that area, which isn't that far away, but, like you said, with all the congestion and stuff, now the traffic, what should be a 10-minute drive takes you about 30 minutes. You said you go into town a couple times a week and that's because you're playing in town. You play at Losers a lot. What do you like about playing at Losers?

Kyle Fields: 9:12

That was the first gig that I got when I moved to town. It's called Swingin' North Saloon on 4th and then you know they've always had the losers there in Midtown. But I love playing there. They've always treated me well and it's a good place to be where it's so close to Music Row. There's a lot of cool stuff that happens there at the Midtown.

Kyle Fields: 9:37

I do Thursdays there at the midtown, I do thursdays there, the midtown, and it's always something interesting going on over there. I've got to meet some really cool people and post malone was in there last thursday and got hung out with him and make friends with him. His number in my phone and all this stuff. So that's what's neat about playing over there is you never know who's going to stop in and they're just in there to drink and have a good time and listen to music and they're usually pretty cool. I met John Daly over there and I like Losers in particular because I've played about all those down there over the years. I've done the stage, I've sang at Tootsie's once or twice, alan Jackson's and all of them, but Losers kind of always. There was a few places down there that I've played that they're very strict on the set list and things of that nature.

Tony Scott: 10:28

I've never liked doing that.

Kyle Fields: 10:31

I just never liked doing that. They've always gave me kind of free range to do what I kind of want to do. You know, they encourage you to play a few originals. They encourage you to keep it country, which is, you know, obviously my realm of things. But they encourage that and they've always treated me well and that's why I enjoy playing there.

Jay Franze: 10:52

Well, midtown's pretty cool because you get more of the locals than the tourists and, like you said, you get people who are in the know, like Post Malone, coming by.

Kyle Fields: 11:06

It's my understanding, too, that you also do a residency for them out in Vegas, right? Yes, I just got back two weeks ago. I think. I started doing that, I think in 2019. That's obviously another perk of playing for them is you get to go out there. But, yeah, I love going to Vegas. It's a good time.

Jay Franze: 11:25

What's the difference about going out there with them versus being in Nashville?

Kyle Fields: 11:30

Well it is.

Kyle Fields: 11:32

It's definitely a different setting. You know, like I always like going to Vegas just because it was like a I don't know it's just like its own thing. You know like, uh, I always like joined vegas just because it was like a I don't know it's like its own thing. You know, but like, in terms of the crowd, honestly, that they're pretty much the same. You know they'd like to get them in sing and dance and you know you get a lot of country music doors in there because it's a side of mgm. So I mean it's a very big hotel.

Kyle Fields: 11:58

You get people from all over the country, all over the world. But it's different because you know nashville it's like broadway's become like a so much music that, and vegas has a lot of music but there's so much that I think people honestly, it doesn't matter how great you are If you go to, if you're downtown and you go to 10 bars and each of them four floors that Each floor has a band and yeah, and it's like I feel like, as opposed to that casino, really you're walking through and like, unless they're going to a show or something like that, you're really the only thing going on.

Kyle Fields: 12:39

So I don't know, it's a different thing, but I, just as the city I just made vegas I always wanted to go there just to see what it was like, and it's clearly a unique place. You know, it's like I've always said that they're like 10 to 12 years, like ahead of everybody else. Everywhere I go, anywhere, it's like it's just, it's a crazy town for sure.

Jay Franze: 13:04

Yeah, I did a six-month stint there myself and it was great. It was a blast. I mean, I don't think I would want to stay there, but knowing that I was only there for a short period of time and going out there, it was pretty cool. I took in everything I could take in. In between every show I would take in other shows and try to do other things. It was really fun.

Jay Franze: 13:25

So, like I said earlier, you moved to Nashville in your early 20s and you started in that scene down there. What kind of challenges did you have out of the gate to break into that industry?

Kyle Fields: 13:40

Pretty rough really. I mean, it's just kind of I was working, you know, and doing the CentOS gig there and, like I would just have to, I finally got to where I was doing consistently one or two gigs a week and I started out and I still have that same slot there but started doing Monday nights 10 to two. So I would do that, and then I would get up the next morning and have to be at Cintas at, like you know, six o'clock or something. So it was just kind of tough to balance the two really, and I started shifting into recording and writing and putting an album out, and then that's finally like whenever I've decided I need to dedicate my time and effort on this so that's when things started to take off.

Jay Franze: 14:35

What was the first sign of success?

Kyle Fields: 14:38

You know, just in the moment you don't think about it. But just getting a gig down there and a consistent one, I mean that would probably be one of the biggest things that helped me. But probably the first thing that I was like, really get serious about this, you know, pursue my passion would be. When I released the album, it got up in the top 20 on iTunes country charts and then it reached the top 20 on the Amazon music charts that same week. So I just got a great response, you know, from people, and I've always enjoyed writing songs and performing and singing. That's always been, like I said, ever since I was a child. That's always been really deep down, I think, what I wanted to do and knew I was going to do one day.

Jay Franze: 15:23

So Well, let's talk about that first album for a minute. What was the inspiration behind it?

Kyle Fields: 15:29

There's kind of a lot of different things. Honestly. It's uh, there's some songs. There's some drinking songs on there. You know a couple of breakups I went through and drinking and all that stuff. A couple of songs on there a song about opioid addiction, which affects a lot of people back home in the tri-state area that I know, and stuff. And there's a song about Conway Twitty on there, a song about Missing Kentucky. But yeah, there's kind of a lot of inspirations. During that time I was just breaking into writing and really didn't know what I was doing at the time. Everybody seemed to like it, so that was good.

Jay Franze: 16:12

When people talk about putting their first project together, they often talk about the writing process being up to a 10-year period of time for their first album.

Kyle Fields: 16:22

Right.

Jay Franze: 16:22

And then their second one needs to be put out right away, right away, right away, so they don't get to spend as much time writing it. So, how much time did you spend writing this first album?

Kyle Fields: 16:33

I would say, probably before I went in and finalized it a couple of years. You know, getting all the songs wrote, but that one I kind of just again, I didn't really know what I was doing at the time and I just would co-write with a few people and then I'd write a lot on my own down here and then if it was like a song that I was like I think that one needs to be done, you know I'd go in and record it. There wasn't really no particular. You know, a lot of people put songs together, an album together, to say, oh, it needs to be the same theme or concept or whatever. But I never really did that. I mean, I just thought if it was a good song it should be recorded.

Jay Franze: 17:21

Well, tell us the difference between your writing process when you're on your own versus with a co-writer.

Kyle Fields: 17:23

Well, if you're on your own, I think it's a lot more personal. Most of the more personal songs I've always wrote has been alone, and then I like you know doing it both ways, but I enjoy having another songwriter there that you can bounce ideas off or they have an idea or something, or they've got the title, and I definitely enjoy doing that and you get to know people and I always like just getting to know and talk with people and that's always been one of my favorite things about the writing co-writing process.

Jay Franze: 17:59

So, living in Nashville being a songwriting town, they usually have a very strict schedule when it comes to writing songs. So when you're writing with your co-writers, are you following that system, where you go in in the morning, you write with people for a few hours or you might go into a publishing house? How are you connecting with these co-writers?

Kyle Fields: 18:21

Yeah, I've never been in a publishing house or nothing. Honestly, mostly people that I've wrote with down here are really just other musicians and buddies that I've got to know playing gigs with or met playing the same bars and venues over the years. So usually if it's somebody I asked to ride at, somebody that I've became buddies with, I don't, I don't think I could ever do what they do down there on music row and just um, you know they'll show up and meet somebody for the first time and then three or four people in a room. You know, just like I don't think I could ever do that, I feel like it has to be a personal relationship that if you're going to write with somebody and somebody that kind of knows you and kind of knows what style you like or you know their styles, vice versa, you know knows what style you like or you know their styles.

Jay Franze: 19:15

Vice versa, you know. I think if you write with somebody you know, it also helps because you're more open. You're probably a little bit more laid back and free to share your opinions and your thoughts without you know, feeling like you don't know what the what the other person's going to be like. Right, it's just the comfort, yeah, when you're writing these songs with your co-writers or even on your own how important to you is the storytelling process saying that it's country music?

Kyle Fields: 19:41

uh, that's always been very important to me. I mean, that's always kind of been the realm that you know I've stayed in and but I feel like the kind of music I do, I love the fiddle and steel guitar, you know, and I've always wanted that to accompany my vocals and be more the sound of lean forward kind of represents, you know, an area that I come from too. But it's it's important to me. I mean, I just storytelling is, uh, one of my favorite qualities in country music the instrumentation, the storytelling. But that's what made all these iconic songs. You know, it was just real stories and just straight up. You know, country, they don't try to get real, real fancy with it, they just three chords in the truth, as they say, you know.

Jay Franze: 20:34

Well, story is the heart of country music, for sure. So you're putting these songs together, whether you're writing them individually or with a co-writer, and when you get to a point where you're ready to take them into the studio, are you doing it in Nashville or are you doing it back in Kentucky?

Kyle Fields: 20:49

Well, both you know, jason's got his place, I well both.

Jay Franze: 20:54

Uh, you know jason's got his place. I know you know that I think you've been there, hadn't you? Yeah, jason hale, he was on the show a while back. He plays bass for you on occasion and he's got a studio in his area of kentucky, which is again out in the boonies. But yeah, oh yeah, I liked it because it had a really cool vibe place you'd want to hang out oh yeah, it's really cool.

Kyle Fields: 21:11

I love going over there. But yeah, we'll cut a lot of stuff up there, you know, and then most of the album tracks I always do, I'm cut down here and I hadn't really recorded anything for about a year and a half now two years, like nashville, you know stuff. They were actually going in next wednesday and, uh, started working with a guy that John Bernos. I started working with him over at Farmland Studio. He produced the last two singles before the most recent one.

Kyle Fields: 21:44

But I like the Nashville recording style and just the amount of players. That the quality of players, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. But you know, I had brent mason on a lot of the guitar stuff on the second album and then I got miss janae flinter on this upcoming session fiddle player and she played on a couple other tracks for me. But just having people like that that are so seasoned and veteran in the studio and they came up with all these iconic licks that you know which. Jason, he's a great session player, he's played on a lot of great stuff, but it is always a different world. Yeah, it is. I've always preferred just to do the session thing and it's a. Let you get that.

Jay Franze: 22:34

Brent Mason's probably considered to be the number one guitar player, session player in Nashville.

Tony Scott: 22:40

Oh yeah.

Jay Franze: 22:41

He's definitely sought after. He's known for that finger picking style and that chicken picking Right. So when you're doing that, you're going in the studio with this the guy who's producing what's his name, the guy who's producing your record.

Kyle Fields: 22:54

John Brenos.

Jay Franze: 22:56

Okay, so when you're going in with John, is he the one selecting the musicians for you?

Kyle Fields: 23:01

Yeah, pretty much. He got those two singles we put out last year was You're my Natural High and Willie's Roadhouse, and it's basically that same crew that played what is to the t, the exact same crew that was on that. So, but yeah, he picked him out and I mean, whenever you know, I saw janae on there.

Jay Franze: 23:20

I just was like yes, because she's uh, she's a badass, oh yeah so you go in the studio and you said it's done the traditional national way, so you get the core group of people out in the room at one time and then they they perform the record as a whole or the song as a whole.

Kyle Fields: 23:41

Yeah, pretty much. I mean we'll talk about kind of what we're thinking here and uh, but we'll listen to it as a group, collectively, and everybody's got their charts and make notes.

Kyle Fields: 23:53

I'm sure you say, yeah, I'm just making notes. And then they go in and usually those guys and girls there's session players down there they can just, I mean, it blows you away. They just come up with something off the top of their head like that and it's like man, like it takes. It's a different breed of musician, not that they're the technical part of it, that there's other people that play live and are just greater players, but to come up with stuff like that on the fly, it's just. It's always amazed me to watch those professionals just do that.

Jay Franze: 24:26

Well, it's pretty cool. You get those guys, you hand them a chart and then they go in the room after only hearing like 30 seconds of the song. And they go in the room and like three and a half minutes later they actually have a, a finished product. That's, you know, done and ready to, ready to go. It's definitely an impressive thing.

Kyle Fields: 24:44

Oh yeah.

Jay Franze: 24:45

So when you're in the studio with John, what kind of style does he have?

Kyle Fields: 24:51

He's done all kinds of stuff. He's working at a studio over there in farmland and I met him. I met John through a mutual friend that we had, jeff Buell. He's a musician, still player, singer, he does it all. But he, I told him I was wanting to, you know, get back in the studio and looking around for some different places, try something else, and he told me that, uh, he had a great guy that he'd worked with in the past. So I went over there and recorded some acoustic stuff with him. But I mean, I think he's, you know, he's kind of done a lot of the modern country stuff. He's done a lot of rock and he's very well-rounded. I don't think he's really in one box, but he's great to work with. He lets you be creative and I like really working with him just mostly because of that. He lets you do what you want to do and he gives great advice and he'll chime in and say, maybe you should do this, but it's great to have somebody have feedback, you know, bounce ideas off of.

Jay Franze: 25:58

Well, it's cool to have somebody you can collaborate with, that's open to your ideas and, like you said, you're able to bounce things off.

Kyle Fields: 26:05

Yeah.

Jay Franze: 26:05

But Farmland Studios itself. What did you like about working there? Because I mean, it's probably a small to mid-sized studio. It's more of a vibey type place than some of the other studios in Nashville. Yeah, what did you like about that location?

Kyle Fields: 26:21

Just honestly, the first time I went over there, you know I wanted to go check it out and stuff. But kind of you said about the vibe of it, it's really cool. It's kind of over there by Belmont, right by Belmont, and it's it's an old house, pretty much is all it is. That's like I'd rather cut somewhere like that, honestly, than you know you feel comfortable when you go in and I've cut other some of the best studios down here I've cut in and sometimes in that setting it just feels more like you're coming in cutting a demo basically, yeah, let's get it in, let's get it out.

Kyle Fields: 26:56

You know, and here it's kind of like you're just, you're hanging out, you're talking yeah, it's like it's a connection, the vibe, the, I mean it's the whole thing you get to spend a little bit more time working on stuff.

Jay Franze: 27:09

Yeah, I mean, it's funny how you you mentioned it's in an old house, music row, right there at the foot of Belmont is just two streets, you know, you go up one way and then back down another way and it's nothing but old houses. And now, granted they're they're starting to take them away, but they, they were just all record companies, recording studios, publishing companies, all in their own little house. So when we say house, it's still a fully functional studio, right, it's the whole area. I mean, that's what Nashville was known for.

Jay Franze: 27:46

And unfortunately, with the influx of people, that's starting to change Right. People are starting to go over to Berry Hill. Have you been over to Berry Hill yet?

Kyle Fields: 27:55

Yeah, I have. I've been over there at Larry Beard's place once and I mean I know there's a few good videos out there, but that seems like that's more the area of town where more and more studios are popping up and people are going for sure. I mean, like you said, the Music Row. It's definitely changed a lot the last few years, as if they don't have enough of them.

Jay Franze: 28:22

They're taking away all of the studios and publishing houses and record labels and putting up apartments.

Tony Scott: 28:29

But Berry.

Jay Franze: 28:29

Hill is pretty cool. I mean, they're considering that the new Music Row, and I don't know if you had a chance to work over at Blackbird yet, but that's John McBride's studio. Martina McBride's husband. It's a beautiful facility and I mean they've just got some amazing, amazing studios in that building and some great people. But that's what Nashville is all about it's meeting those people, it's working with those people and so on. So, it's an industry, it's a business. It's definitely something that is in.

Jay Franze: 29:02

Nashville. It's truly a business. So, with that said, have there been anything that has surprised you working in this industry?

Kyle Fields: 29:11

Yeah, I mean, it's kind of Nashville's a blessing and a curse really. I think it's necessary, I think if you're serious about long-term, like being in the music industry, but you learn so much being down here, I think, just being around people that have been here for years, and you get so much insight. But like you learn how like the songwriting process works, you know you run, get on there, you learn how to register songs, things of that nature that you, you know, back when I was in kentucky I didn't have that's like a foreign language to me, right, and now it's like oh yeah, we wrote a song, I need to get on here and get this turned in, get everything registered. So so, yeah, just getting familiar.

Kyle Fields: 29:55

And then you know, being here I've missed home very bad, you know, since I've moved here and I hate I can't get home, but as often as I'd like. But just, you know, being on broadway, even I get burnout on that sometimes but it's like it's truly the best place that you can go and learn how to entertain a crowd and build your chops up, just get comfortable doing the elements. But yeah, I think Nashville is a unique place. It's still a gripe about the growth and all that, but it is still music city. There's a reason.

Jay Franze: 30:31

Everybody came here to record, and the best players and songwriters everybody comes here well, you talk about playing at losers and up there in midtown, but you're also talking about broadway. What has been the biggest accomplishment so far?

Kyle Fields: 30:48

uh, man, I'm. I've been pretty blessed lately. Honestly, I've had a lot of great things happen, and I mean the last few months it's. I mean I've been at this a long time. I've definitely thought about hanging up, you know, but like we did the rock the country thing there 32 000 people opening up for kid rock yeah, that that was like probably probably the moment. That was definitely the highlight that I'll never forget, just being on that stage.

Jay Franze: 31:19

What did that feel like? You walk out and see that many people staring back at you.

Kyle Fields: 31:24

It was insane. I hardly ever get nervous anymore. I've played bars for years. I've done college bars, dive bars, bfw's restaurants, I mean I played every type of venue that you could possibly play and I was like I mean, I just you kind of just get accustomed to it and get used to it. You know, I always enjoy entertaining people.

Jay Franze: 31:49

But I first saw you at laurie's roadhouse opening up for clay walker and that was a large crowd. Yeah, man, 32 000 people yeah, it was crazy.

Kyle Fields: 32:00

Um, the second we we were the only band that got to play two days and I played friday, acoustic, and then saturday. I had, you know, don and Derek and Chelsea Jason Mark with me, but that one, the acoustic one I walked out there and I was just I felt my stomach just like turning and I was like sweating. I was honestly getting like really like, and then I walked out there and started singing and then, you know, I'm from that area, so I looked out in the crowd and I saw a bunch of people I knew and just had a lot of support how could you pick out people you knew from 32 000 people?

Kyle Fields: 32:40

well, there was. There was a lot of them that you know. They've supported me throughout the years and they've been at gigs and they made a point. You know I was the first band on stage. They made a point to get up there in the pit. That's awesome, yeah, and I, I mean I wouldn't be getting to do the things I do, you know, if it wasn't for the support of people like that, and I've always I looked out and saw quite a bit, quite a bit of familiar faces, honestly, but it was really cool, and after I started playing, they everybody was singing along or people, a few people singing along originals, and then, after I got off stage, it was just like wow, like I had a surreal.

Kyle Fields: 33:18

I kind of was lightheaded. I, I swear it was like an adrenaline rush and it's, it gets you hooked for sure, I mean. The very next day, though, after we got that out of the way, after the acoustic was done, I was like all right, let's just go have fun now with the band. I mean it was look over, and all your best friends are over with you, you know, and it's. It was just.

Jay Franze: 33:40

I'm somewhat more laid back and relaxed the second day, but so more nervous doing the acoustic set more comfortable when you're up there with your buddies doing the the full band which did you prefer performing uh, I mean, there were highlights of both.

Kyle Fields: 34:00

It was really cool. But to stand on stage with your friends I mean my band, they don't ever get old, you know, but that was probably my favorite, you know the two but also to stand out there with a guitar and you're 30,000 people, whatever, sing along with you, that's that's a feeling that just you and a guitar and them, that that's an indescribable feeling, like I don't. I don't know if I'll ever feel that again. You know that's a lot of people to do, like.

Jay Franze: 34:27

I hope so but Wow, we go back to it. That's got to be one of your biggest accomplishments, I would think.

Kyle Fields: 34:33

Definitely yeah, for in terms of live there's no comparison. But I mean, got to do some cool stuff lately, you know open up for Dom and Rio there and Clay Walker, and we're opening up for Tracy Bird here a couple of weeks, and some of those guys are people I grew up listening to. I love 90s country music and you know those three were three of my favorites and get to share the stage with them is just it's a complete honor and surreal.

Jay Franze: 34:59

Honestly, where are you going to open up for tracy bird?

Kyle Fields: 35:03

up in ashland, kentucky again. Um, their big fourth of july firework festival thing. But it should be a pretty decent crowd there too. I think they usually get 23,000 around that ballpark for that.

Jay Franze: 35:19

I got to work with him once. I worked in Nashville for a guy named Bob Bullock for years and one of the projects we did was Tracy Bird, watermelon Crawl and all that it was really cool. Oh, I bet, yeah, that's awesome well, speaking of things like that, you know you talked about post malone earlier. You know what kind of collaborations have you had and what kind of collaborations would you like to do in the future uh, really none in the studio yet, honestly.

Kyle Fields: 35:51

But, like you know, post was super cool. I mean, he's the most down-to-earth guy I've honestly ever met, like he. He was very supportive of me that day and, like, when I got done, he was like man, come over and hang out, you know, but he was singing and dancing, requesting songs, and he's like man, come here and hang out, you know, but he was singing and dancing, requesting songs and he's like man, come here and hang out, you know, when we got done and I got to go over there and sat there with him for probably 45 minutes and he, uh, he took his phone out and he's like I want to check your music out and he downloaded all my music there in front of me. And then he to take my number, you know, I want to jam and I was like what is this happening right now? But then he, uh, he put his number in my phone and I've texted.

Jay Franze: 36:39

There's your future collaboration right there I hope so.

Kyle Fields: 36:42

I'd love to work with posty I. I respect the heck out of him. He's an all-around musician. He's very versatile. He does about every genre. But I'm excited about his country album, getting to meet him and get close with him and his camp there. Last week I talked to his manager actually today but yeah, they're great guys. Pretty cool to be somebody that big, just to be that down to earth is just. I mean he's, he's truly like super down to earth, probably the nicest guy I remember.

Jay Franze: 37:19

Yeah, that's. That's cool. I mean, with all the times I spent in the studio, the you meet so many people and you know when they're super nice and down to earth, that's when it's the best, for sure, and it's when you get the best work out of everybody as well, not just the performers themselves, but the people in the studio. I mean, I worked on the engineering team. If we were more relaxed, you're going to get a better product if the producer is more relaxed, if you know if everybody's more relaxed.

Jay Franze: 37:44

You're just going to get better product overall. Oh, yeah, for sure. I want to circle back. Earlier you were talking about looking out over a sea of 32,000 people and seeing all the people that you knew. You have a very supportive following. How do you stay engaged with that following?

Kyle Fields: 38:06

Honestly, for me it's always been. I've never been big on the social media stuff. I wish I would and I know I need to be better about that, but I just don't like doing that. But, honestly with me, I've got to know people at shows and that's the thing of coming up playing bars and doing that stuff is I'm thankful for the journey because I legitimately got to meet these people out in the crowd doing that stuff is I'm thankful for the journey because of you know, I legitimately got to meet these people out in the crowd and you know some of them has been come watching me for 10 years.

Kyle Fields: 38:37

You know that's. That's why I get to do what I get to do. You know, and whenever you get discouraged or something like that, you know, when you have people, when you see people that have supported you and come back and see you and you're're you know the social media they'll comment and stuff, saying they're excited about that. You know that if you're in it for the long haul, it's definitely a roller coaster, you know. But yeah, having people like just getting to know them on a personal level, I feel like that's what I'm thankful for and that's how I stay engaged with them.

Jay Franze: 39:09

Mostly I feel like so you're connecting with them at these shows and everything, which is probably the best way you do it in person. You get to do that and then they see your. I mean you post enough on social media that lets everybody know where you're going to be and what's going on, so they come out to your shows on a regular basis. What are you hoping they take away from it?

Kyle Fields: 39:30

Just hoping that they had a great time and they walked away and said that guy, if I'm playing acoustic or that band they kicked butt. Tonight I want to come back and see them, I want to support their music, I want to get behind, hopefully, just have them have a good time. Really, I feel like is my biggest thing. You know they, they work all week and they want to. If you're in a bar, they want to come in there and get your buzz and dance, do whatever. But just always try to put on a good show and sound as good as as I can and I hope that they take away a positive experience from my show. But there's always there's been some few not so positive bar fights and things of that nature. But yeah, for the most part.

Jay Franze: 40:21

Oh yeah, a lot of honky tonks and stuff.

Kyle Fields: 40:26

Oh, I have seen some brawls. I've been a part of a couple actually.

Jay Franze: 40:34

Well, tell us about your most crazy backstage story or behind the scenes story.

Kyle Fields: 40:44

The Post Malone thing was pretty cool, I mean, in in terms of that, that's probably good. But something that was really neat happened a couple weeks ago as I was heading out to vegas for my gig out there and I was in tsa line and, uh, pam tillis, her tsa pre-check had expired. So she got all the way up there and they made her turn around and then go back through the, the regular you know line, and it was a busy day, it was a Tuesday, it's heavy travel day. So she had to go all the way back to the back and she came up and she saw I had a guitar and she was like, hey, I'm Pam Tillis. She was like I'm having some problems. And I was like, hey, I'm Pam Tillis.

Kyle Fields: 41:30

She was like I'm having some problems and I was like, well, I know who you are, you know, and she was just the sweetest lady, though I got to sit there and talk with her probably about 35, 40 minutes going through the, the TSA line, but she was just very sweet, you know, and that's something that was just really cool. I could never, you know, she just happened to be walking and see a guy with a guitar and then she she basically asked if she could cut in front of him because she was going to miss her flight and I said, of course you know so. But that was pretty neat just to be in a setting where it's you're not at a bar or something. It just kind of organically happened like that, that is really cool.

Jay Franze: 42:10

I mean, when you get to do something like that, you know, even if it's for her to to save time in a line or whatever, and you get to spend that much time with her and talk to her, I mean she's an icon. I mean that would be, that would be awesome.

Kyle Fields: 42:23

It was great, yeah, and she was just. She gave me advice and, just down to earth, wanted to know about me you know how long you've been in town and she said that, uh, she appreciated me just a genuine person, you know. And she sent me a message after on instagram and said I made my flight. Thank you so much. So you're just that's really cool. She's one of the nicest people I've met in the business, for sure.

Jay Franze: 42:51

We had Tommy Harding on the show and he's a producer-engineer in town and he's worked with her a couple times. He's got nothing but good things to say.

Tony Scott: 43:03

That's pretty cool.

Jay Franze: 43:03

I mean, we have this thing here we call Unsung Heroes, where we take a moment to shine the light on somebody who's worked behind the scenes, somebody who may have supported you along the way.

Kyle Fields: 43:13

Do you have anybody. You'd like to shine a little light on my mama. For sure, she's been my biggest supporter day one. You know, she stood by me thick and thin. She's been my biggest fan, she's been my biggest supporter. She jumped in a car with me and she drove me to Chicago to the first year that they did the Voice and drive about eight or nine hours, whatever that was and she just always been supportive. She was freaking out driving in Chicago traffic not knowing where we were going. So, yeah, my mom I definitely I would have to say her she's, she's always been my biggest supporter. And you know, my dad's always been supportive too, and my wife, I mean, I could go on and on, but I would say the longest and biggest supporter has always been mama. So that's.

Jay Franze: 44:07

That's great. That's what mothers are for exactly, I got a good one, the best a big thanks to Kyle for taking the time to share stories with us and thank you for taking the time to hang with me here. I really do appreciate it. If you know anybody that would enjoy Kyle's story, please be sure to pass it along. You can do that and find the links to everything mentioned over at jayfranze. com/ episode/ 79. Thanks again for listening and I'll see you next week.

Tony Scott: 44:38

Thanks for listening to The Jay Franzy show. Make sure you visit us at jayfranze. jfranzycom Follow, connect and say hello.