The beautiful thing about music is that it’s open for everybody as long as you have what it takes to muster your skills and courage. Colt Ford, the Co-owner and Cofounder of Average Joes Entertainment, is a perfect example going from a pro golfer to a country rockstar. In this episode, Colt will talk you through his transition into producing hit songs using hip hop and country music as inspiration. He also shares his insight with regards to the music industry and gives his appreciation to those people that manage to stick together. Colt explains why music is powerful enough to transcend politics, religion, and language. Learn why oftentimes the biggest roadblock to your success is yourself and listen to how he dealt with this dilemma personally.
Listen to the podcast here:
Colt Ford: Pro Golfer to Country Rockstar – The Rich Redmond Show Ep 32
This is another exciting episode of the show coming to you from Music City USA, and as always, Jim McCarthy, co-host, co-producer, closet drummer. He also does his voiceovers in his closet.
I do those in the closet.
Do you ever come out of the closet?
Occasionally.
I don’t know when this is going to air because we put out things when we want to put out things. We record 3 or 4 of these things when I’m in Nashville a day and it’s awesome. Happy New Year.
You too?
Yeah. 2020, not only is it a New Year, it’s a new decade.
It’s a new vision.
New everything.
2020 vision. This is the year of clarity.
What did you do? Did you camp out in the woods? You need to glamp. I am a glamper. I want Wi-Fi and coffee.
We have Wi-Fi and coffee. We’re glamping.
I’ll consider coming next time, especially if you have alcohol.
Discussing with our next guest, I saw what he pulled up in and I said, “Do you pull with that?” I’ve gotten big into towing stuff with my truck.
Man’s man. I’m always excited about our guests, but I go back many years with our guest, Average Joes’ recording artist, over one billion streams. Mr. Colt Ford.
How are you?
Great to see you.
Thanks for being here in the rain.
Glad to be here with you. It’s awesome. You go way back.
You came in off the bus. You were in Denver.
I did a New Year’s Eve show in Fort Collins, Colorado. I was telling you don’t have to take them long bus rides no more. You going to hop in private jets and cruise on that.
Back in the day, it was like, “We’re in Florida. We’re going to work our way clear across the country to Los Angeles.”
It’s funny how they sell it to you back then.
It’s going to be much fun.
We have because we both had Kevin Neil for a while. You don’t have to go do this. It’s easy to say. “Yeah, sure. He can’t be in New Jersey.” This is no problem.
Who did this routing? Kevin Neil, he’s a dream maker. He’ll take a band and put you out on the road and make you work. We used to do back in the day with Aldean and we were doing 220 shows a year.
When you all started blowing up, I came along and Jason now we’re friends and friends with all you guys and Toe and Kurt. I start playing with you also. I fell into your place under Kevin who’s like, “You guys are blowing up. You all have to do the 200 shows anymore.” They were like, “Colt will do it.” I jumped on in there now if I can get up there more where you are. I’ll be doing something.
You’re a workhorse and you’re always taking the music to the people and a billion streams.
That’s crazy. I didn’t know that the other day.
You got your muscle here. Taylor’s here. He’s the muscle. He’s got all the factoids too. I said, “How should I introduce you?” “Over a billion streams.”
That’s a big deal.
Run with it.
I’ll take it. The music is who I am. It’s who you are. We’re lucky to be able to do what we do.
It’s in our DNA. We’re entertainers.
People like, “You look like you’re having much fun.” I’m like, “I am.” The same way you play drums. I love watching you play because you’re smiling and making faces.
Your drummer is Tim. I used to see him play out at the Courtyard Cafe in Antioch, Tennessee in 1997.
Tim grew up around here. He played with jazz. He plays with Jo Dee Messina and I met many different people and Trip Pony. It’s cool. Being a drummer at heart for me, which is what I grew up doing, I’ve only had two drummers, him and Rick Brothers, both of them excellent drummers.
I didn’t know you played drums.
That’s all I’ve ever done. When Rick was with me for five years, I would play drums one song every night.
He had that thing.
It was in the drum but I wouldn’t let him go out and sing old rock and roll song and I’d play drums. I found my black Vistalite Ludwig kit from 1982 or ’03.
There’s a green one right over there.
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I have a black version of that and with three rototoms. That’s what you can do. Those are coming back, like the same thing. That’s funny.
When you originally got on my radar, we have a mutual friend Jeremy Popoff, A. Jay Popoff from the band, Lit, My Own Worst Enemy. For years, Jeremy was ahead of the curve. Everyone is, “This is songwriting capital of the world.” He was flying to Nashville all the time to write songs, to dip his toes in those waters. He goes, “I was doing this recording session for him at a studio that’s across the street from The Red Door.” This is now a giant super condo complex.
Did you go down there? How do you know what’s going on in there? It’s a different place.
They knocked down the studios to build these high rises. I saw that happening right in front of me, but I was doing a recording session. We go out and break to his car and he goes, “Have you heard of this guy? Check this out.” It was your first record. What was that?
Ride Through the Country. It went gold. That came out in 2008.
Did it go gold?
Yeah. Jeremy got a plaque for that. It’s funny how the music evolves and we’ve all been out there and even when you’re successful, sometimes you get down about something and he had got his plaque and I happened to click on Instagram and he wrote this coolest message. It was cool to see. It was a good time. Like, “I needed to hear that now. This is inspiring, even though it was nice to hear.”
2008.
Crazy. It doesn’t feel like that but I put out my seventh record. I never thought I’d get to make one.
There are some other things to celebrate here. You charted six times on the Hot Country Songs chart, which is great. The first album, everybody can get this on Spotify. I’m a Spotify guy, I like it. I resisted it forever because I was like, “No, this is destroying the music business. We only get fractions of a penny.” A band leader will call you and say, “For this show, I put the Spotify playlist together.” I’m like, “No, I have to do this.” For $10 a month, I get all the world’s music. I am going to have to join them.
Honestly, where we screwed up in the whole streaming thing is when the kid created Napster. If we had have embraced it as an industry, because once the technology is out there, it isn’t going backwards. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. If we had it and embraced it, but all the megastars, all these big stars, which they didn’t know, but in their mind, they never even thought about new artists or younger artists and what was coming up. If we’d embraced it and gone, you could have had everybody in one place instead of broken up and all these different places. If you didn’t embrace it, you could send a new record out and send it to 100 million people with the push of a button.
The record labels got cocky. It went south. If we want to survive in this business. I had Mr. Paul Leim was sitting there and he’s an eight-time winner of the Academy of Country Music Drummer of the Year, responsible for record sales, $250 million because of his backbeat, all the Schneider records. To survive, not only survive, but thrive in five decades of the music business, you’ve got to change, grow, evolve, be ahead of the curve, have a smile on your face. We have to tour more. It doesn’t bother me because I’ve been living out of a suitcase. I don’t know about you.
I’ve always been such a huge fan of yours. You’re always hustling and I’ve always appreciated that. You’re all I was like, “What is Rich doing?”
Depending on the person and the context, hustling is a good thing or a bad thing.
It’s a good thing to come from me. It is a 100% compliment. When you first come to town and meet and people always have little snarky remarks. I’ve heard people in the current talent, I’m like, “They’re good.” They’ve stuck together, that doesn’t happen either and you’re all still close friends. That’s a big deal in this business.
Finish the start of sentences.
You have always been good to me that it’s been always a first.
Wherever I was the same bill, dirt Road Anthem is towards the end of the set and we can always count on you to pop up there like, “The writer of the song.” Here it is, boom. That’s always fun.
One of my favorite things, I don’t know if I’ve ever even told you the story, the first time I did it, you’ll get a kick out of this. The first time I played it with him, we didn’t do any rehearsal. We played, we did it. I wasn’t thinking and I’m being a drummer at heart. I tell my guys all the time, “I’m listening to Tim or I’m listening to rest of you, no offense.” When I get up there, I love Jason, but I don’t care what he’s doing. I’m trying to hear what Rich is doing. I start going and what’s his name forgot to cut the mic off. You’re playing and I hear, “Go, Colt. Give it to them, Colt.” He’s talking in his mic, but it’s coming in my ears almost started laughing.
That would’ve been Evan our monitor guy.
Evan forgot to cut it off so I can hear it and Rich is going, “Yeah, Colt. Give it to them, Colt.” I’m trying the block and shooting out and I’m trying to save time.
Here I am being the motivational speaker behind the drums.
Even behind the drums, you’re motivated.
I’m like, “I’m doing it, Rich. Stop talking.”
Sorry. I didn’t know about that.
No, it’s funny. It’s hysterical. You as a band, not to mention this, all the stuff, you can tell that you love what’s going on and the music. I tell people all the time, you might not buy every Colt Ford record, but you will know that I meant everything I was doing up there and I was giving you everything I had from the moment I stepped on there to the moment I walked off. If you can’t see that in my face, then I don’t know, you’re going to have fun regardless if you need to lay on a couch and talk to somebody or something. That’s what it’s supposed to be about. Come on, I love it.
Off this first record in 2008, I would love to play a little bit of this version of Dirt Road Anthem. “My name is Colt Ford. I got my boy, Brantley Gilbert in there. We did some country boys in Georgia. We’re going to do a little something about the Dirt Roads that we came from. I’m going to rap a little bit. You feel like singing? Yeah, brother, let’s go.” “Yeah I’m chilling on a dirt road. Laying back smoking like I’m George Jones. Smoke blowing out the window. An ice cold beer sitting in the console. Memory Lane up in the headlights. Got me reminiscing on the good times. Said I’m turning off the real life drive and that’s right. Hitting easy street on mud tires. Back in the day Potts’ farm was the place to go. Load the truck up hit the dirt road. Jump the barbwire, spread the word. Light the bonfire, then call the girls. King in the can, and the Marlboro man. Jack and gin were a few good men. We learned how to kiss and cuss and fight too. Better watch out for the boys in blue and all this small town he said, she said. It isn’t as funny how rumors spread. Like I know something you all don’t know. Man, this stuff is getting old. Man mind your business, watch your mouth. Before I have to knock your loud ass out, no time for talking you all aren’t listening. Them old dirt road is what you all missing.” How long does it take to write that rap?
Brantley and I, we were getting started. We were starting our career together. We didn’t know what we were doing. We were writing songs. I didn’t have any idea. The first time we were meeting to write and I was picking him up because he only had a motorcycle at the time. It was cold and he goes, “I got an idea for this thing.” We sat down and wrote the Dirt Road Anthem in about 30 minutes then went to lunch and went to write with our friend Mike Dekle. We spent 5 or 6 hours writing a song that I couldn’t even tell you what it was. We didn’t know. We thought Dirt Road Anthem was something that we liked. I’ll never forget I was opening for you in 2009. It may have been our last show, Florence, South Carolina. After the show, we were sitting there and Jason, sitting around and talking and he’s like, “I know it’s crazy to see 10,000 people sing the worst of the song. It’s never been on the radio.” I’m like, “Yeah. I don’t know.” At the time also, Michael Knox was going to work on producing Brantley’s record on his record deal.
Like a pop deal.
It was a completely different deal than what was going on here but he was like, “I want Jason to cut this song.” He goes, “It’ll take it to the next level.” That song changed my life, Brantley’s life, your life, Jason’s life. I didn’t think Jason was going to cut it at first either because he calls and said, “I cannot do this like you.” I said, “Stop doing it like me and do it like you. Make it conversational talk the way you talk.” He killed it. When you did that there at church, it was 2010, Eric calls me the first show you played in the show and I’d got a message from him. I called him back and he was like, “I watched them play. I told Jason if he doesn’t put this song out as a single, he’s an idiot.” He’s like, “That is crazy watching.” He said, “This place went insane when they started singing it and they still do.”
This thing impacts you. It’s incredible.
There hasn’t been a song out like it since either.
I looked up, it’s over eight million and it’s getting close to being diamond single. That’s crazy. Brantley and I didn’t know.
When those checks come, you’re like, “Yes. We’re going to the Palm.”
I was far in debt that only got me to Applebee’s at that time but I was deep in the hole.
What’s funny is that me, Kurt, Tully, Adam Shoenfeld and the whole gang recorded it with Brantley. Brantley didn’t want the pop deal so it never saw the light of day.
He didn’t do that deal. He ended up signing with us at Average Joes at that point.
This is smart because not only are you a great entertainer, you have an amazing work ethic and you’re loyal to your people.
Don’t forget he’s good-looking.
You’re an entrepreneur at heart. You’re like, “I’ll put my music out on my label.” How did that all get from the idea to execution?
When we came to town and you’ve been in this town for a long time. You have been on an independent record label, but no independent record label in town has ever done what we’ve done because we have zero affiliation with any major, no distribution, no manufacturing. We did every deal, direct deal with iTunes, Spotify. We truly have done it without any of it. We came to town and everybody would hear the record in town they were like, “This is incredible. We have no idea what to do with it.” They loved it. They were fascinated by the record, but they didn’t know they were scared to death of me, and to some extent, they still are in some ways. We didn’t have any choices, it’s like, “We got to do it our self.” Shannon Houchins, who’s the CEO of the record label. Shannon sold 40 million records as a producer.
He produced TLC, Usher and all stuff, but we didn’t know anybody in the country world. We went to LA, we go to Warner Brothers and we know everybody there. We walk in it’s like a pop office, rap office, rock office. Where’s the country? That’s Nashville. Who runs it? We don’t know. They’re like, “You don’t know?” We don’t even know. We don’t know anybody there and it’s like, “This might be harder than we thought.” We came to town and started staying at the Hampton right over there by Longhorn off the west end. We paid for that renovation there because we stayed there for about two years. We were too hard-headed or we’ve been friends for all these years and Shannon was like, “The worst-case scenario, if it doesn’t work, we had a three-year Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure with your best friend. You tried and it didn’t work.”
It is working. Who else is on the label?
Pro Golfer Country Rockstar: When you overcome your fear and feel comfortable, you’ll realize that it’s interesting to watch yourself evolve.
I don’t even know all the people on the label.
It’s growing that much.
It had. People are asking me all the time I’m like, “Yes, I own it but I’m busy being cold forward and not running.” Sometimes people go, “He’s on Average Joes.” I was like, “Awesome. I did not know that, but that’s great.” We’ve had some different things come and go. Montgomery Gentry, we had finished the last mix is on Eddie and Troy’s record a week before Troy passed away.
I played on one of the records with Knox.
That first record they did with us.
Headlights.
When they came over and it was interesting because this business summit, they went from major label to our label and then we cut this record and in one year the first time they’d ever recouped in a record deal. We have a different model and maybe not to say that anybody else’s is wrong, ours is different. We started doing all things. There’s stuff, I go over to our office and I’m like, “When do we get that?” Shannon’s like, “We bought it from them.”
You don’t have a Monday morning catch up?
We don’t. Him and I try to because, at the end of the day, it’s me and him and the CEO of Zaxby’s, the chicken finger place. It’s the third partner in our record label. It’s a crazy story. You had me doing something that nobody had ever seen anything like me when I was coming out and you had Shannon who had sold all his records and the white kid from Valdosta, Georgia grew up on a Dirt Road, produced all these hip-hop records. We walk into Zax and I go, “We want to put this record where you’re going to have to start a record label.” He’s like, “How much is that?” We’re like, “Here’s the number?”
He’s like, “I like this music. He didn’t even know Shannon, never met Shannon before, me and him were close.” He’s like, “I trust you and you told me that he knows how to run it. At Shannon did run other record labels?” I’m like, “Yeah.” He goes, “Here’s the money.” He doesn’t have anything to do with it. He’s running up gazillion-dollar. It was crazy that he gave us the chance to do that. I’m like, “Why?” At the time, a 300-pound, 36-year-old dude in a cowboy hat trying to do something that is not at all. It was crazy. I met lots of stuff. Look at Jason’s career where he’s at as big as there is in our genre or any genre and nobody in town wanted to give him a record deal. He almost went back home.
At least your case 40 times.
That’s multiple times. That’s the other thing to me that makes it me satisfying to watch from behind with you is that you all stuck together and stuck through it and did it. That’s got to be even more satisfying. People are wishy-washy in this business that you stuck together and that’s way cool.
Grateful that we’ve surrounded our family because we see each other more than blood relatives.
That starts at the top with Jason and it trickles down. You can tell that within certain camps you’re like, “I bet I know how this artist is because I see how the rest of their band and their crew, how everybody act if don’t know him, you can get a good idea of maybe who they are.” By the way, some of the people act around and then you have always been a tight-knit group and Brantley has done the same thing. I love what some of them had done and Eric and not the band like, crew guys, everything, it’s real fun. As much as we have to do what we do that’s a big deal.
Speaking about culture and forward-thinking, do you remember when we were learning music?
School of Rock has 250 locations near the sponsor of the show. I’ve known Angie and Kelly McCreight. Jim, I’ve known these guys for almost a decade. I got involved early on. They’re big believers in music education. I’m a product of music education. I started playing the drums when I was 6 or 7 years old, all these years later about to have my 50th birthday party.
I had one.
Did you go big?
No, they did a surprise for. I didn’t know nothing about it.
Did they surprise you?
Yeah. They got me. I don’t know.
I’m going to big. We’re talking strippers, firetrucks, and midgets.
That’s what you do every day on the road and then it plays music. I don’t know how you’re going to do it.
Otherwise, every other day we’re ending why.
Everybody acts like that.
I am going big. They’re great over there. If your kids are interested in learning how to sing or play bass, guitar, keyboards, or drums, this is the spot. Even if your kids never become a professional musician, they learn life skills. How to show up on time? How to manage their time? How to work with others, setting goals? All that stuff that’s going to help them in life. Two hundred fifty locations, a great history, a great movie, School of Rock, Angie and Kelly McCreight. Tell them I sent you two email addresses Franklin@SchoolOfRock.com and Nashville@SchoolOfRock.com.
They don’t put on shows to play music? They don’t learn music to put on shows. They put on shows to learn music.
For all you people out there, Jim is a workhorse. Not only is he a professional voice actor, he also does video work. If you need video work, boom, he’s right there Jim McCarthy.
Music and how long it’s lasted and Popoff back to Jeremy. I was friends with Adrian Young, the drummer for No Doubt.
Is this the golf connection?
Yes. We have met through a golf thing and Adrian’s a good golfer. Here’s a guy from Southern California off North, we couldn’t be no more different. The music and golf brought us together. I’d sent him the songs that I’d recorded and he’s like, “This is crazy. It’s cool.” He went to the slide bar one night and Jeremy was there and he goes, “Come out of the car, I’ll play something, my buddy’s trying to do.” They play it and Jeremy’s like, “That’s cool. I’ll set up something.” Adrian flew to Nashville. We came to Nashville. The first song I wrote was me, Jeremy Popoff and Jamey Johnson because he was writing with Jamey all the time.
I haven’t seen Jamey forever.
That’s how Jamey became one of my best friends. The first sign Jeremy goes, “Do you know who Jamey Johnson is?” I said, “Yeah, I know.” He goes, “He’s a little bit different.” I was like, “Okay.” He goes, “He’s coming over here. I don’t know if we’re going to write a song, if you are going to fight, if he’s going to tell us the F off and leave.” I was like, “I’ve done all of those things before. Let’s see what happens.” He showed up and we ended up, it’s funny to hear Jamey tell the story because he’s a genius. He’s to me one of the greatest playing tons of shows. He’s one of the greatest country artists I’ve ever heard.
He’s our modern-day model.
If you say you’re a country music fan and you don’t listen to him, you’re not. There are all different styles. I’ll do stuff. Jason does whatever, but to hear him describe it as the way when we first met and it’s cool.
That Stapleton record, Traveller, that’s my Southwest Airlines record. I put that song.
We didn’t know. We met and we didn’t know what we were doing and I’d never even seen a studio. The next day we write this song. Matter of fact, we used to own Jeremy’s old house, which is right down the road here. Since you to come into your set of vision to the right, him and Jennifer Wayne used to live there and we bought it from them.
Do you sell?
Yeah. I hadn’t been there in years. That’s where we wrote a song Tailgate from. You never know and we’d go to the studio the next day to a big studio. I don’t know what’s going on. We’ve only got an acoustic thing and they go, “We’re going to track it.” I’d never seen number six. I didn’t know what any of that was. Neither did Shannon so we didn’t know. We go in there and Jamey’s playing the song down and he’s like, “Do the verses.” I’m looking at these musicians. Don’t know who any of them are. I’m watching the stuff they’re writing down. I’m looking and I was like, “What are they writing?” Like hieroglyphics to me. I’m like, “Diamond 74 flat, what?” I didn’t know and then we walk in the studio and I’m still looking at Shannon, like, “What are we doing? We don’t have no music.” It was second take is what you hear on the record. I’m sitting there, Swan was playing bass. Rob Hajacos was playing a fiddle. Jim Brown was playing keys. Maybe Jeff King was playing guitar and County Q was playing drums.
Paul?
Yeah. I didn’t have any idea. I didn’t know who any of these people were, in the second the beat I’m like, “What happened? They just played the song. We haven’t done anything.”
One time?
Yeah. It was the second take. It was like being from blind to light. How it all came to fruition is crazy.
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That was 2007. That studio is gone. It’s a high-rise condo.
I know but all that being said, TW Studio was partners with Noah Gordon. Noah to this day still works for me and has produced my last four records and runs A&R for our label and does a lot of production. All these years, it’s cool.
I have known him and I’d love to have him on.
He’d be a good one to have.
James Brown is coming in.
He’s the greatest I said, “You played good on that.” He’ll walk out of the studio because I use him all the time. He goes, “Nobody is more surprised than me.”
We played Dirt Road Anthem off the first record through the country that went out gold. What would be the next song in the evolution of Colt Ford?
There were many off of that first record because it was different at the time. After that, we moved into Chicken & Biscuits, which was a huge song for me. I wrote it with Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip. We walked in there remember when Mrs. Winters was over there across from Longhorns out on that corner? I was meeting them right. I went by and grabbed some biscuits and everything. I walked in the room and Rhett goes, “Let’s write that.” I was like, “What?” He goes, “Chicken & Biscuits.” I’m like, “What is that?” Being a songwriter, you come with an idea and sometimes you’re like, “What that is?” We had to figure out what that was and who would’ve thought Chicken & Biscuits would be a love song? Inevitably that’s what it was. It was a love song to all country girls who can do their own thing.
Do you want to play a little bit of that?
“Lord have mercy, here she comes behind the wheel of a pickup truck. Mudslinging, she’s singing. Country girl just doing her thing and isn’t nothing like a backwoods baby. Drive my tractor, drive me crazy. Likes hunting, loves fishing and she can hold her own in the kitchen. And by the way boys, did I mention. She’s pretty as a field of daisies. She’s sweeter than watermelon wine. Way hotter than the Alabama asphalt and when I get her in these arms of mine. Lord have mercy, I love her kisses. Man, I can’t get enough. Kind of like chicken and biscuits.” A fun song, my buddy James Otto singing on there. He’s such a great singer.
I like your business model. It’s these cool catchy grooves and rifts and the hick and the hop or on the verse. You have the giant explosive chorus and you invite all your friends to come in. You got guys like Randy Houser, Josh Gracin, Darryl Worley, Rhett Akins, and Joe Nichols, Kevin Fowler, and Rachel Farley. I played on her records. I hope she’s okay. I haven’t seen her in a while.
Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Charlie Daniels, and Keith Urban on the song that we wrote.
The song that we wrote, She’s Like. Let’s hear a little bit of that then. We wrote it in this house.
We did this in-house downstairs.
This is my divorce survival house. I see her. She’s like, “We’re going to look it up here.” You get many records.
Seven hours. That’s crazy.
This is good. “Man she’s, she’s like everything you’ve ever dreamed of.” I got my plaque downstairs. Thank you. Yes, sir. “She’s so perfectly imperfect. Watch the way she works it. Blowing like a summer breeze, sweeter than a Georgia peach. She’s like rolling with the top down, every little small town. Even in the big city, everywhere you look around. She’s like a free round of drinks at my favorite bar. She’s like a new set of strings on my old guitar. She’s like a pedal to the metal in my muscle car. She’s a wide-open road. She’s like a hit song on the radio. And I can’t escape her everywhere that I go. She’s got me singing along when she comes on. Her memory moves me all night long. She’s with me everywhere that I go. She’s got me singing like, woah oh. She’s got me singing like, woah oh.”
That was such a cool song and then to have Keith be a part of it, he’s one of the best people in our industry the way he treats people and the way he acts. I was a huge Keith Urban fan since back around, like I always have been.
He’s on one of your songs.
The first time or I was walking down the back hallway and he was coming down the hallway, him and Nicole, and they were on the other side and he starts veering over towards me. I’m like, “Did I sit in a seat or something?” I’m still going. He’s little line, take Keith, why worry about that? He walks over and he’s coming right for me. He’s like, “Mate, how are you going?” It blew me away. He’s like, “I love Chicken & Biscuits.” I’m like, “You know something that I do.” I’m looking at him and we exchanged numbers. To this day, I’ll send him a text unless he’s completely out of pocket. He normally hits me right back.
He is always up on what’s happening.
We played a festival together. The first show we’d ever played together as me and him and maybe Charlie Daniels. I go on stage. I’ll never forget this, the Runaway Country, which used to be in Cocoa Beach, Florida. We were all doing our 90-minute set. It was all three of us doing somewhat 20, 40 minutes, and I start the set and Sarge, my TM goes, “Keith walked up here on stage and he’d walked right up next to the soundboard.” I’m like, “That’s cool.” You’re like me, you watch other drummers play. I’ve seen Jason play. I don’t know how many shows we’ve played together but when he still plays, I still watch because I love it. I’m curious. Is there something that he does that I might borrow or do? I love that.
Steal.
I love to see what other people are successful do. I kept looking over there, I’d play another song looking at him and 90 minutes later, he never moved. He watched my entire show and I was blown away by that if somebody of that statute and the first person I saw when I walked off stage, he was like, “That was effing amazing.” I didn’t know what it was. He’s like, “I didn’t know what you did and your band was unbelievable on that.” Paul Chapman was still playing with me then and Brad was playing with me, Henderson. I’ve always had rock and band. He’s like, “This is great. We should do it.” I said, “I got a song that might be cool.” He’s like, “Yeah, I dig it.” He was doing American Idol at the time and he goes, “Send it to me and I got to go in the studio.” I’m like, “I’ll pay for the studio.” He was like, “No, I got it. Do you care if I play banjo on it?” I’m like, “You can play the juice harp. I don’t give a crap. What do you mean you care if I play? You can play on it.”
A lot of outsiders think like, “How can I break into the system? How does it work?” I write songs in my bedroom in Des Moines and they’re thinking like, “It’s surely there’s a gatekeeper and I can get their email address.”
Not anymore.
The way it gets done is you’re in the room with the artist or you’re having a beer with the artist.
It’s organic. Honestly, I prefer that nobody’s done more collaborations and certainly in this town than I have, I started it. At the time what’s funny where I’ve evolved to, as an artist, a lot of my stuff I am singing in everything all by myself and people are like, “That’s you? You can do that?” I was always afraid to do that. This recitation, rap, whatever. That was always easier for me, I felt more comfortable. I was afraid to sing. It’s been interesting to watch it evolve. I started doing all these clubs and now that’s the cool thing to do. They’re like, “This is cool.” I’m like, “I was doing this for you doing there. What are you talking about?”
We had Lindsay Ell and she had her first number one with Brantley.
It’s fun. The fans like seeing that. They like seeing stuff mix up and for me, it’s magical to jump on stage. You are such a good band. Dirt Road Anthem is a difficult song for most drummers to play.
It is. I quit it.
Here’s the problem, you know what you’re doing so you lay it right in there. The song is a slow song tempo-wise. I’m fast, vocals fast. Most drummers they’re like, “We know Dirt Road Anthem will jump up with us.” I’m like, “Can you not play it at 125 beats. I’m up there.” I can do the platform.
They feel downtown.
They know it. It’s cool to jump up there. I’m like, “In the pocket, boys, the song is slow.” That’s one of the hardest ones I ever have to do with anybody.
The key to that for any drummers out there is you have to think of the chorus tempo. When you get to the rap, that doubles.
Yeah, but it’s not. If people think that it is because the vocal, the rap part is faster. That one always kills me when I’m like, “Please, I can do it fast like that if I had to.”
Once they kick it off, you’re screwed. You got to go.
It’s like, “They started this off about fifteen beats too fast. I’m going to have to speed it up.”
I play that song for a work function when I was working for Jack FM. One of our guys was our general sales manager, he did the rap part. It was a lot of fun to play that.
We were talking about our friend Liberty DeVitto I’ve known forever. He was 30 years as the tremor with Billy Joel. He was a big influence growing up and also Stewart Copeland, the drummer for The Police. My drum part where I took your guys’ song, the way you did Brantley, was mostly drum machine.
That was all automated because we didn’t know at the time when we made that record the five-star production, that was all automated tracks. We did it the way we did it.
I had to figure out how to make it sound like a good on an acoustic set of drums. I was like, “The Police.”
You killed it because Tim plays it the way you did. When we send it out, they can understand it more that way. I’m like, “Let’s do it this way.” It lays in there better.
Pro Golfer Country Rockstar: Everybody makes mistakes and all that, but if the drummer can’t turn it back around and you are you are in serious trouble.
I always like the syncopated hi-hat pattern that you did on that.
Stole it right from The Police.
No, it’s yours, even at the beginning.
What you did what your ideas and what Knox did, it was great. I thought it was a great job production.
It’s crazy looking back like a body of work. It’s like, “I’ve been playing music with Kurt Allison, Aldean’s guitar player, for many years nonstop.”
Never walked away. You’ve been playing, but it’s what you do. You love playing and music is powerful. It transcends politics and religion. I remember the first time playing a big festival where they had the sign language, people on the side, and every time I see that I walk over and go, “I’m sorry.” You did look, I’ll say for worst his one almost every time in my songs and I’m like, “I’m sorry, you’re going to get at your workout.” That being said, it’s funny though, from the standpoint of I’m watching a whole group of people that are deaf, but they feel this crap. They feel it. They can’t hear me. They don’t hear from you. They feel it and that is what music is. That’s what I love right before Michael Jackson dies.
How do they feel it? It’s like molecules in the air moving or something?
Do you remember when Michael Jackson died, he was working on that big show, which would have probably been the greatest live musical concert the world has ever seen? I remember watching it in the rehearsals and he was like, “I’ll be here and doing this.” The production guy goes, “How are you going to know when to do it? You can’t see what’s going on.” He didn’t, it wasn’t arrogant. It wasn’t cocky. It was the right answer in his mind. He went, “I’ll feel it.” It’s simple like, “What is wrong with you?”
Being counter, I’ll feel it.
That was the truth though like, “I’ll feel it.” Drummers, that’s what I love. You can make the show the greatest ever or the worst ever more than any other person on stage.
You’re only as good as your drummer and the fact that you realize that is awesome.
More than anything on stage. Everybody makes mistakes and all that and something gets turned around but if the drummer can’t turn it back around you are in serious trouble.
The bass player doesn’t know how to play. That is bad.
It’s cool. That’s why I’ve always loved playing with you because only I screwed up one time on stage doing the song and we got to the second verse. I didn’t have crap.
What do we do?
You kept playing. We’ve been at WE Fest there are 65,000 people. The second verse starts and I swear to God, I got nothing. Jason looks right at me, he goes, “You wrote it.” He straight threw me under the bus. I’ll go, “Sing the chorus.” I had nothing. I couldn’t remember things. It does.
Yeah, you’re human. It’s going to happen from time to time.
You got to feel it. Do you know what I’m feeling?
Colt Ford, over a billion streams. Congratulations.
That redneck boy from North Georgia. Who knew?
What was the golf thing? Were you a pro for a while?
Yeah. I played professionally for about ten years. Most people know now, but they didn’t know that.
That’s what you did from 26 to 36?
Yeah. They always think male model when they see me mostly. I get that a lot and I have to tell them no, I can do some other stuff besides being good-looking. My mom told me, “God never gives you anything he doesn’t intend for you to use.” Music and sports, it’s what I’ve always done. I’ve never known any different. I get it when people go, “That is bizarre, you did this and that.” It doesn’t seem bizarre to me because I’ve always done it. I never knew any different. I didn’t know. I tried to do my thing.
I’m looking at pictures on the Googlenater of you playing golf. You fit right in. You look like you’re on the PGA Pro Tour.
I used to be in a little better shape. It was tougher when you’re bigger. Many fat guys out there playing. They’re all in such good shape.
You don’t ruin it if everybody’s Tiger. Here comes ninja.
He did, but he made the purses increase 100%. They should all send him a thank you card, Christmas card every year.
You were mentioning your mom. Are your parents still around?
Yeah, they are. My dad’s 85. You get home on the holidays, my dad would always think he was Superman and you see it in time slowing down. It’s a real thing. Even like when I do my song back that I did with J Cole and that another song that won gold. That song I’m talking about my parents and my mom. It’s real for me. That’s realistic. I said, “My son and my dad are best friends. I wish it could last forever.” It’s not going to last forever. That’s the reality of it. When I do that song every night, I can’t let my mind go to that place where I think about the reality of what I’m saying. That’s what makes music awesome and powerful.
Did you get to visit them for the holidays?
Yeah, absolutely. They’ll be at the show in Georgia.
Your mom, is she a good cook?
Yeah. My mom can throw it out.
I threw down to the holidays because my mom’s Italian. I got to meet my girlfriend because I’ve been dating my girl for a year. She hasn’t met my parents. I said, “Make it to the end of the year. You’ll meet my parents and everything would be great.” It was a lovefest.
Music, it’s interesting what this talent, how it’s evolved, and how it’s changing. I did an interview and he was asking about the writing process. For the most part, most of these younger kids, I’m like, “They only want a write if they haven’t got a track guy.” When I first came, there was no track guy. They’d be like, “You want to bring somebody that runs over here?” He was saying both, it was what we’re about to do with this country music.
The readers out there that are musicians, there’s a track I would be a guy that owns an Apple, the laptop fully-loaded. It’s like a drum machine built-in and he’s building a virtual with fake instruments.
As we go along, it does sound great. Some of it you can’t even hardly tell. I still like to live though. That’s important to me to have as good a band as I could have. I don’t want to say who, but a younger band asked me about Ableton or some of it. For those of you, that’s like some track machines, play stuff underneath what we’re playing live on stage. I said, “We use it a little bit because I don’t have four guitar players. I don’t have fourteen people on stage.” It’s ear candy and they go, “We had to cancel the show because our Ableton went down.” I was like, “What?” They said, “What do you do when it goes down?” I said, “We keep playing. I don’t need that. It’s only an enhancer, but I’m still good either way.”
Technology can become such a crush. We were using it when we were doing the Kelly Clarkson song because she’s got her own life. She can’t come on tour with us.
She’s not going to be there every night to do that.
Miranda’s in there. If there’s a tambourine that lifts the chorus, I don’t want my drum tech up there, taking the thunder away from me. We put it on the computer.
Have Jason play it.
In this wishy washy business, seeing people stick together is very satisfying Click To Tweet
What’s the song you were mentioning? What’s the song off the record that you’d love to spin?
The song that’s been going crazy is the thing I did with Mitchell Tenpenny called Slow Ride. I love that kid’s voice.
Is that going to be single?
It is.
How’s it doing good?
We put it out a few months ago. It’s almost 27-million something. This range is crazy. It’s like Dirt Road, which I haven’t made any songs like that in a long time because I feel like I have evolved as an artist and some of the new stuff I’ll put out, it’s me singing and stuff. Even my friends are going like, “That’s you?” I’m like, “Yeah.” Some of the people radio that would never play me before when I gave them not this Slow Ride, one before I had a song called 4 Lane Gone, completely me singing. I’m right down the middle of the main street because the song that Jason or Luke or anybody could do.
People on radio that have never played me because they said I didn’t sing. I gave them that they go, “Why aren’t you doing what you normally do?” I’m like, “Are you messing with me? You didn’t blame me because I couldn’t do this, now I’ll give you that and you asked me why I’m not doing the other.” It’s like music and I like to experiment and try and stuff. I did that little covers record, which is fun. I did Let’s Go Crazy by Prince. We play that every night and I’m like, “I know I don’t sound like Prince, crap I am not an idiot.” It’s fun and playing Let’s Go Crazy with the fiddle is fun.
Who’s your fiddle player?
Justin David, you met Justin. Justin played Roy Clark for fifteen years
It’s time for fiddle players out there. I worry about the fiddle.
They are few and far in between. When Rob Hajacos calls and asked for a road gig, you’re like, “What?” I love the fiddle and steel. It’s always going to be a part of what I do. To me, that’s fabricating.
We never had a fiddle player.
It’s the fabric of the country. You’ve always had a great steel player and I love that. I’ve had Doug Moore play on a lot of stuff and many great guys. Those are the sounds to me that are authentic country. Quite honestly, I have as much or more of that than most anybody in Nashville these days. Many of them were like, “Did Sam Hunt did a whole tour? He didn’t even have a bass player.” I’m like, “How does that work?”
That was a running joke for a long time.
They were out with Charles Kelley and Charles said everybody in their crew came out on stage with the bass guitar. He finally got a bass player, but fun.
Are you still making it a point to write a lot? You wrote with Jeffrey, Popoff, Shane Minor, Vicky McGehee, Jamey Johnson. It’s the who’s who of writers in that show.
I am lucky to be able to write with all those people and Dallas Davidson and Rhett Akins and Craig Wiseman, guys are as good as there’s ever been. I’m having fun writing with a lot of the younger cats that are coming up, which is fun because they got a whole different perspective on stuff. I’ve been writing a lot with Josh Miranda. He’s brilliant. He wrote a song for you. That was number one, a great melody. I met Taylor Phillips. That kid might be the best young songwriter that I’ve seen in town. It’s fun being 50 and going to write with these kids that are 25.
How did that happen?
I don’t know. It’s five minutes with Tenpenny. When I asked him about doing the song, he goes, “That’s awesome. I’ve been such a failure. We used to rock your crap in high school.” I’m like, “Was that right? Was that last year?”
I love it when I hear kids. Like, “I grew up listening to you and playing along with your records in junior high.” I’m like, “What?” That’s great.
I tried to call you. We couldn’t get you the girl you met we were up in Connecticut or somewhere. This girl comes and she’s like, “I’m here, you’re not. Take lessons from Rich Redmond.” I’m like, “You did what?”
Sarah Cordial. She’s great. She lives right around the corner from the Mohegan Sun. If someone’s coming through the Wolf Town or the arena, she’s there and she is a sponge.
How do you find the way to get herself up on stage to play?
She’s super passionate. She’s cool.
Big Rich pulled her up on stage.
I didn’t meet her until after the show or I would have done that because a couple of songs you know that he plays surely you know them.
I guarantee the next time you’re there she will be there and she will ask to play. You’ll see her air drumming and you’ll be like, “Get up.”
It’s fun though to throw people on stage.
She’s 24. She’s got to get to now. She’s got to get the talent, “Let’s go, come on.”
Based off some of the videos and stuff I watched and saw from her, she’s got talent. She can get a gig in 4 or 5 years of playing with somebody, she’ll be able to play with anybody. It’d be cool to see a country act up there with a girl drummer beating them to death.
I was talking to Lindsay Ell and I’m like, “There are not a whole lot of you, a front female step slings the guitar like that.”
There’s some that play like they all play it old. She can shred it for real.
An electric.
She’s not strumming along with acoustic. She can get it all.
I know these three chords.
She knows them all and she’s hotter than fish grease. Let them heard either.
What’s exciting you? What are you excited about? We got a fresh decade. Where do you see yourself in five years?
I’m excited about making music. I’m doing a lot more. I’ve done a lot of film and TV stuff. I’m doing a lot more stuff like that. I’m doing a lot of producing for some younger artists, which is cool for me to do that.
If Tim’s not around, you call your old Rich Redmond.
I have to get you all on a session. That’d be killer. That’s a lot of fun working on a bunch of different things and a kid named Sam Grow. He’s from Maryland. He’s much like Brantley and Jason, an edgy rocker, but selling tons of tickets and an incredible singer. Working on him. Got this eleven-year-old girl named Ella Gross that is more pop. I’ll play some when we get done, you’re going to be like, “She’s eleven?” It’s amazing.
Pro Golfer Country Rockstar: God never gives you anything he didn’t intend for you to use.
Younger and younger.
I’m having fun. I turned 50. I’ve gotten a lot better shape than I used to be. I want to keep playing music as long as I can kind of the same thing you do.
You seem happy and positive experience side.
I’m in a good place. In 2019, I had a lot of changes for me in my life. A lot of things, but everything’s working out.
Everything works out for a reason.
Sometimes you’ve got to get out of your own way.
Get that third-party perspective.
What film and video of you are you in?
I’ve done a couple of different movies already and Joe Dirt 2. I did the theme song for that and a couple of different things.
Acting at all?
Yeah. I have voiceover stuff. It’s funny. I’m doing some of that. I didn’t know much about the voiceover deal. They got me a call to read for the Firestone thing and it came down to the final two was Sam Elliott and me. I’m like, “I know Sam Elliot is probably going to get it.” They went ahead and set the contract out. I said, “In case this is going to be fast. If they sign you, you need to do this.” I assume the contract. I’ll call up Kevin. I was like, “Are you messing with me? This says XYZ number for this.” I was like, “You’re kidding?” He’s like, “No, that’s how much they pay.” I’m like, “I want to read everything.” Every voiceover I’m like, “They pay, what?” I have no idea, I’m like, “I will read everything. I don’t care what it is.”
How much can I make in three hours?
I’m at Tampons Tacos. I don’t care whatever it is. That sounds like a restaurant. I don’t know what that is. Maybe a book title.
That your next step like Chicken & Biscuits.
There are a lot of different ways.
What about the acting stuff?
Somebody has to pull some strings and get that to work.
Make sure you get the one with wings. Joe Dirt 2, is that David Spade?
Yeah. It’s funny they waited too late.
It was many years ago.
They did it a few years ago and they waited too late. They all got busy and Fred Wolf who writes all that stuff for them and Sadler and it was cool. Kid Rock, Bob didn’t want to be in the next one, so Sugar Ray took his place and it was cool. There were still some of the regular characters in there. It was old crackle, Sony’s deal that went straight to that. It was fine, but it didn’t have the magic. It went too long, you needed to get to its second version faster.
There’s something about sequels. It’s like a curse.
It’s hard. Deadpool 2 has been the first thing to come out in years that I went like, “That may be better than the first.” It’s hard to do that. Same with the band, how do you keep them together? You keep everybody together and keep everybody’s egos and all that out of the way. For the sake of what you’re doing, some people can get it. Some people don’t.
Did you get an acting coach? Are you studying with?
No, I did a lot of that when I was younger and I did lots of plays and stuff, so I’ve always done it. We own a film company. We have an office in LA. The new Jay and Silent Bob Reboot movie, our company did that movie. The Billy Ray Cyrus show, the Still The King, we wrote, produced a film, edit that entire show. Remember Patsy works for us now and had our pictures, mine, him and Shannon’s company. Lots of TV shows and production. Lots of movies. Keep trying to figure out new ways, as you said.
Keep growing and evolving.
Keep trying.
ColtFord.com, is that your website?
Yeah, it’s out there everywhere, ColtFord.com. All the social media stuff.
This is the single Slow Ride.
I figured out that TikTok thing.
I’ve joined TikTok and I’m like, “I don’t get it. It seems like Snapchat.”
It’s a kid thing but it had some records blow up off of it.
We’re too old.
Maybe a true story.
What’d you learn, Jim?
I learned that I need to get up in some voiceover gigs where I’m up against Sam Elliott.
You do that. I don’t even want to say the number, but I thought they were pulling my leg. I thought they were messing with me. That’s what made me go. I want to read. I’ll read it all, whatever it is.
Tampons and tacos.
What did I audition for? I auditioned for the Hardees Steak Burger and I auditioned for the new voice of Jack in the Box, but it’s a shot in the dark.
They’re looking for Universal Orlando.
Did you get it?
Music is so powerful that it transcends politics, religion, and language Click To Tweet
No, I’ll find it.
Otherwise, you’d be celebrating. Check your email after this.
Will do.
We’ll go celebrate. I appreciate you being here and catching up with you. All the success.
Congratulations to you and the boys and Jason. That song changed my life.
You help changed our lives and you gave permission to a lot of people that are doing hip hop-influenced country, country-pop, the permission to do what they do.
I’m like, “I didn’t set out to do that.”
You did it in 30 minutes. That’s cool.
I wasn’t trying to do that. I never thought about it. I was trying to make the best music I could make and it happened that some things worked out and it’s created this sub-genre stuff. I’m glad that I can still make music and still be a part of it, whatever it is. That’s a killer.
Thank you for being here. Happy New Year.
Thank you. Same to you, my friend. I enjoyed it.
Jim, thank you for all you do for your time and talent. Check out ColtFord.com and look them up on all the socials. Reach out to him, support his new music. As always, thank you, School of Rock for sponsoring the show. Leave a rating and a review on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Google Play. Leave us a comment on YouTube. We love it. Keep coming back for the good stuff and we’ll see you next time.
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About Colt Ford
Colt Ford consistently blazes his own trail. By doing so, the Georgia singer, songwriter, rapper, musician, performer, and co-founder and co-owner of Average Joes Entertainment keeps up pace as country’s preeminent independent maverick.
By 2019, Colt built a series of staggering successes as he rose to mainstream notoriety. He notched five consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart with Declaration of Independence bowing at #1 in 2012. Two years later, Thanks for Listening ascended to the Top 10 of the Top 200, with the album reaching #1 on Billboard Rap & Independent charts. Meanwhile, he lobbed six songs onto the Hot Country Songs Chart with “Back” [feat. Jake Owen] going Top 40. Among many accolades, Ford received a nomination in the category of “Vocal Event of the Year” at the Academy of Country Music Awards for “Cold Beer” with Jamey Johnson.
Selling over 3 million albums, attracting millions of followers on social media and hitting 1 billion-plus streams, the country rap pioneer’s dynamic discography spans collaborations with everyone from Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, and Jermaine Dupri to members of No Doubt, Lit, and Lady Antebellum. Additionally, he co-wrote Jason Aldean’s #1 hit “Dirt Road Anthem” and Brantley Gilbert’s #1 hit “Country Must Be Country Wide” as a behind-the-scenes force in the studio. Moreover, Ford’s solo tradition of genre-blurring continued on Love Hope Faith in 2017 by way of cuts such as “Reload” [feat. Taylor Ray Holbrook].
For his seventh and eighth albums, We The People, Volume 1 [2019] & We The People, Volume 2 [2020], Ford once again tossed the rule book out the window, perfecting his dynamic and definitive distillation of country, hip-hop, and rock like never before on nearly 30 songs.
“Making this one, I went back to the beginning when I really didn’t know any better,” he explains. “I didn’t let anybody tell me the rules or say, ‘You can’t do this; you’ve got to do that.’ Instead, I let the feeling of the songs guide me. The record reignited my passion for playing and making music. My music transcends politics, religion, and rules. That’s what this whole project is about.”
This passion is brilliantly captured on the album, produced by Noah Gordon and Colt Ford, with Shannon Houchins serving as Executive Producer (Colt and Shannon co-own Average Joes Entertainment). In between a marathon tour schedule of nearly 150 shows in less than 12 months, they recorded at Colt’s studio in Nashville. Throughout the process, the star pushed himself like never before, maintaining the hallmarks of his signature style, charting new territory, and hitting his most prolific stride to date with the two-part project all at once.
On We The People, Volume 1, Ford continues to evolve his artistry and—as only he can—amp things up even further.
Fittingly, he introduces the album with the title track and first single “We The People.” The twang of clean guitar resounds between boisterous organ and a steady beat as Ford delivers a brazen and beer-soaked state of the union address of his own. At heart, it’s a song about unification—no matter race, color, or religious affiliation. Music has a way of bringing people together, and that’s the exact message in this song.
“‘We The People’ is really me,” he elaborates. “So much of my success is a result of the fact that I am my songs. You’re getting me in the lyrics! I don’t have chauffeurs, ten sports cars, or my own jet. That’s all cool, but I’m just Colt Ford. It’s relatable.”
In order to clearly expound upon this message in black-and-white, Ford penned an essay about what unites, not divides, Americans, as shared by CMT when premiering the accompanying music video. He wrote, “We have so many things we can agree on, like how cancer sucks. We want clean air and water for the entire world. I promise that people from every background, upbringing, race, and religion all want good things for our kids and for our families.”
The album opener “I’m Still Me” upholds a pervasive theme of independence. Swinging from hummable verses into a magnetic chant, he reaffirms, “I’m still the guy you found on MySpace no matter how many things have changed in the world!” He cuts loose on the raucous “Bass Like That,” which he appropriately dubs a “good old country song with some clever innuendos.”
Overall, the album doubles as a soundtrack for positivity and living life to the fullest for these times. Of course, Ford preserves the right amount of grit and wit to liven and light up any party as his blend of Southern rock, modern country, and rap remains downright unbeatable. Alongside guests such as Jimmie Allen [“Back To Them Backroads”], Mitchell Tenpenny [“Slow Ride”], Michael Ray [“Nightcap“], and more, his lead vocals and raps remain as robust and uniformly strong as ever, uniting the disc in a seamless flow. Nevertheless, “How You Lose A Woman” marks an emotional high watermark for We The People. This vulnerable, vibrant, and vital ballad illuminates Ford’s impressive range as he carries a heart-wrenching hook to the heavens and back.
“I have to say ‘How You Lose A Woman’ is a real, true, and defining moment for me,” he admits. “It’s how I sing and where I feel good at. It’s a straight-up country power ballad that honestly every man in the world should listen to and realize what mistakes not to make. It changed a lot for me.”
As Ford kicks off his most prolific and powerful chapter yet, he holds nothing back on We The People.
“Listen to these records…you’ll know exactly who I am,” he leaves off. “Colt Ford is about God, family, friends, and America. I’m just a guy who loves life. I love people. That’s We the People in a nutshell. I love knowing I could make a difference in somebody else’s life with a song. I hope you walk away with a smile on your face. I poured my heart and soul into this one. This ain’t a hobby. It’s life. The fans are the reason I’m here. I’m going to keep doing it for them. I feel like the luckiest man on planet earth, so I’m not stopping. I’m in such a creative space you might hear Volume 3 sooner rather than later,” he laughs.
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