WEBVTT

00:01.466 --> 00:02.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[FEMALE NARRATOR] Funding for
"Overheard with Evan Smith"

00:02.866 --> 00:04.733 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
is provided in part by

00:04.733 --> 00:06.200 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
Hillco Partners,

00:06.200 --> 00:09.166 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
a Texas government
affairs consultancy,

00:09.166 --> 00:11.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Claire and Carl Stuart,

00:11.200 --> 00:13.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and by Laura and John Beckworth,

00:13.900 --> 00:16.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
The Hobby Family Foundation.

00:16.533 --> 00:18.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[EVAN SMITH] I'm Evan Smith.

00:18.000 --> 00:20.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
He's a four-time Grammy
Award-winning blues musician

00:20.100 --> 00:22.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
whose latest album
is "Oklahoma."

00:22.700 --> 00:24.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
He's Keb' Mo'.

00:24.133 --> 00:25.566 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
This is "Overheard."

00:25.566 --> 00:26.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
(upbeat electronic music)
(audience applauds)

00:26.433 --> 00:27.700 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
Let's be honest.

00:27.700 --> 00:29.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Is this about the
ability to learn,

00:29.466 --> 00:31.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
or is this about the experience

00:31.033 --> 00:32.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
of not having been
taught properly?

00:32.566 --> 00:34.066 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
How have you avoided

00:34.066 --> 00:36.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
what has befallen other
nations in Africa?

00:36.566 --> 00:38.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You could say that
he made his own bed,

00:38.200 --> 00:39.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but you caused him
to sleep in it.

00:39.766 --> 00:43.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
You know, you saw a problem
and, over time, took it on.

00:43.200 --> 00:46.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Let's start with the sizzle
before we get to the steak.

00:46.166 --> 00:47.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Are you gonna run for president?

00:47.466 --> 00:49.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I think I just got an
F from you, actually.

00:49.033 --> 00:50.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(audience laughs)
This is "Overheard."

00:50.966 --> 00:55.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(audience applauds)

00:56.833 --> 00:57.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] Keb' Mo', welcome.

00:57.966 --> 00:58.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[KEB' MO'] Thank you, Evan.

00:58.933 --> 00:59.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] Good to be with you.

00:59.900 --> 01:01.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] It's good to be here.

01:01.200 --> 01:02.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] May I say,
I don't believe

01:02.600 --> 01:04.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I've had a two-apostrophe
guest in 17 years?

01:04.400 --> 01:06.000 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
(laughs)

01:06.000 --> 01:07.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
First time for
everything, right?

01:07.233 --> 01:08.400 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
[MO'] Yes.

01:08.400 --> 01:11.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] For the record,
it's Kevin Moore.

01:11.100 --> 01:13.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] Yes, that's my birth name.

01:13.133 --> 01:14.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Birth name
is Kevin Moore.

01:14.066 --> 01:16.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] Kevin Roosevelt Moore.

01:16.033 --> 01:17.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] Kevin Roosevelt Moore.

01:17.333 --> 01:19.933 align:left position:30% line:5% size:60%
We have a former
drummer of yours

01:19.933 --> 01:23.666 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
to thank for christening you
or coining Keb' Mo', right?

01:23.666 --> 01:24.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
[MO'] Yes.

01:24.500 --> 01:25.433 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[SMITH] Tell that story.

01:25.433 --> 01:27.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] Well, there was a band

01:27.300 --> 01:30.633 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
called The Billy Mitchell Trio,

01:30.633 --> 01:33.400 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
and Quentin Dennard was
the drummer in that band.

01:33.400 --> 01:35.933 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
They played at a club
called the Nucleus Nuance

01:35.933 --> 01:39.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in L.A., durin' the
late '80s and '90s.

01:39.833 --> 01:43.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
They didn't have a guitar player
because it was a jazz trio.

01:43.700 --> 01:47.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So I would go in
and play for free.

01:47.333 --> 01:51.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
My job was to play
along with the band.

01:51.633 --> 01:52.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
It wasn't really a job,

01:52.933 --> 01:54.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It was just kinda, I
would just come in--

01:54.366 --> 01:56.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] It was a gig.
[MO'] Whenever I felt like it.

01:56.400 --> 02:00.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And I would play the blues.

02:00.000 --> 02:02.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
When it was blues
time, I was on.

02:02.700 --> 02:06.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So then, they'd go,
"Keb' Mo', all right!"

02:06.566 --> 02:08.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So with Kevin,
you can't go like,

02:08.400 --> 02:10.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Kevin Moore and the blues."

02:10.100 --> 02:11.566 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
(laughs)

02:11.566 --> 02:13.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Kevin Moore is
not much of a blues name.

02:13.433 --> 02:14.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
It's more like an accountant.

02:14.700 --> 02:15.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Yes.
[SMITH] Right, I get that.

02:15.700 --> 02:16.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(audience laughs)

02:16.833 --> 02:17.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So, Keb' Mo', that's it.
[MO'] Keb' Mo'.

02:17.933 --> 02:19.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] And it stuck.
[MO'] Yeah.

02:19.166 --> 02:20.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Let's start
about Los Angeles.

02:20.100 --> 02:21.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I wanna start, actually,

02:21.333 --> 02:23.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in the reverse order I
would ordinarily start.

02:23.366 --> 02:24.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I'd want to talk about
the record first,

02:24.800 --> 02:26.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and we'll get to the
record, eventually.

02:26.266 --> 02:28.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But I wanna talk about the
origin story here of Keb' Mo'.

02:28.733 --> 02:30.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
So you grew up in Los Angeles?

02:30.900 --> 02:32.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Los Angeles, in
the City of Compton.

02:32.800 --> 02:34.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[SMITH] City of Compton.

02:34.900 --> 02:37.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Your parents, actually,
were not from Los Angeles.

02:37.233 --> 02:38.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
They were from the
Deep South, right?

02:38.733 --> 02:39.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] Yes, they were from,

02:39.800 --> 02:42.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
my mother was from Hooks, Texas,

02:42.133 --> 02:45.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and my father was from
Heflin, Louisiana.

02:45.400 --> 02:47.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Yeah, do you remember
listening to music as a kid,

02:47.700 --> 02:48.933 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
in the house or?

02:48.933 --> 02:50.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] We had some
records in the house.

02:50.400 --> 02:53.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I remember like, the
first record we had,

02:53.100 --> 02:54.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
not the first record we had,

02:54.400 --> 02:56.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but the record that I
would listen to a lot

02:56.400 --> 02:59.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
was not what you think the
record I'd be listening to.

02:59.666 --> 03:02.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I listened to Johnny
Mathis' "Greatest Hits."

03:02.133 --> 03:03.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] Well, nothing wrong.

03:03.066 --> 03:05.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
(audience laughs and applauds)

03:05.466 --> 03:07.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
If we agree on nothing else,

03:07.533 --> 03:09.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
let's agree, nothing wrong
with Johnny Mathis, right?

03:09.500 --> 03:10.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Johnny Mathis' "Greatest
Hits" was a great album.

03:10.966 --> 03:12.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] That's a great record.

03:12.200 --> 03:14.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] It stayed on
the charts forever,

03:14.366 --> 03:17.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
not unlike "Tapestry" or
"Dark Side of the Moon."

03:17.600 --> 03:22.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It was a great record with great
songs and great production.

03:22.200 --> 03:24.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So that was part of my
introduction into music.

03:24.700 --> 03:27.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Did you know
from an early age

03:27.000 --> 03:28.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that this is what
you wanted to do?

03:28.933 --> 03:30.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Did you think, I wanna?

03:30.633 --> 03:32.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
I know there are a
lot of stories about
you as a young kid,

03:32.933 --> 03:34.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
you know, going to
get your first guitar.

03:34.433 --> 03:35.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I've heard, in fact, you
interviewed on the subject

03:35.833 --> 03:37.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
of buying your first
acoustic guitar

03:37.266 --> 03:38.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and then, buying your
first electric guitar,

03:38.733 --> 03:40.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I think in a pawn shop, right?

03:40.000 --> 03:40.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Yes.
[SMITH] In Compton, right?

03:40.800 --> 03:42.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I've heard that story.

03:42.033 --> 03:43.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I know that you
kinda kicked around

03:43.600 --> 03:46.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and played at a young age
with some other people.

03:46.333 --> 03:48.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
But I wonder what
got you to think,

03:48.333 --> 03:49.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
this is something I wanna do?

03:51.066 --> 03:54.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Hmm, that's
a long decision.

03:54.600 --> 03:57.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Because I wasn't
one of these guys

03:57.200 --> 03:59.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that was like, "That's
what I'm gonna do!"

03:59.233 --> 04:01.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Yeah, you didn't
have a moment of revelation,

04:01.033 --> 04:01.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
right, and that was it.

04:01.966 --> 04:04.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] But it was in my late 30s.

04:04.000 --> 04:05.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
(audience murmurs)
[SMITH] In your late 30s?

04:05.533 --> 04:07.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] When the actual
moment of revelation came.

04:07.666 --> 04:09.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Right, so you
were just doing this

04:09.300 --> 04:10.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
for the time being.

04:10.533 --> 04:11.733 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] I started out,

04:11.733 --> 04:14.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and I was always coaxed
into playing music.

04:14.366 --> 04:15.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[SMITH] Coaxed, really?

04:15.833 --> 04:18.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Yeah, invited,
so to speak.

04:18.000 --> 04:20.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Hey, you wanna come play?"

04:20.233 --> 04:21.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
My first experience
was playing the trumpet

04:21.933 --> 04:26.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
in the fifth grade at General
Rosecrans Elementary School.

04:26.133 --> 04:29.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
My mother said, "Do you wanna
try for the band at school?

04:29.333 --> 04:30.166 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"You wanna play music?"

04:30.166 --> 04:31.300 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I said, "No."

04:31.300 --> 04:32.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(audience chuckles)
And I said,

04:32.433 --> 04:33.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
she looked and she,

04:33.366 --> 04:34.566 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
you didn't say no to my mother.

04:34.566 --> 04:35.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Right.
(audience laughs)

04:35.300 --> 04:36.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I'm not asking.

04:36.133 --> 04:37.400 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I'm telling, right?

04:37.400 --> 04:39.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] She says, she
says, she says, "Oh!

04:39.366 --> 04:40.800 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
"Well, you gonna
play something."

04:40.800 --> 04:44.633 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
(laughs)

04:44.633 --> 04:46.900 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70%
[SMITH] Your mother
was everybody's
mother, I have to say.

04:46.900 --> 04:48.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
We've all had a
version of that story.

04:48.166 --> 04:49.433 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
[MO'] So I went.

04:49.433 --> 04:52.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
They tried me out, and I
ended up on the trumpet.

04:52.466 --> 04:55.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
The following year we moved,
and I went to a new school.

04:55.900 --> 04:58.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
They kicked me out of the band

04:58.333 --> 05:00.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
'cause my grades
weren't good enough.

05:00.366 --> 05:01.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
They were good at
the other school,

05:01.833 --> 05:05.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but the next school was
kinda like, different deal.

05:05.500 --> 05:08.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
So I got kicked out of the band.

05:08.233 --> 05:10.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
So then, we moved again.

05:10.366 --> 05:14.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And that's the house that
we stayed in for the next,

05:14.066 --> 05:15.266 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
that house is,

05:15.266 --> 05:16.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I still, I own that
house right now.

05:16.600 --> 05:17.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Still?
[MO'] Yeah, that house,

05:17.833 --> 05:20.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I bought that house
when I was in Compton.

05:20.966 --> 05:23.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
So we stayed there,

05:23.533 --> 05:28.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and on that block
was Chuck Count T.

05:28.533 --> 05:31.333 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
He had a steel band,

05:31.333 --> 05:33.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
playing music from
Trinidad, calypso music.

05:33.000 --> 05:34.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Calypso
music, right, yeah.

05:34.533 --> 05:37.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] And his son, Carlos, who
is still my good buddy today,

05:37.333 --> 05:39.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
who lives in the neighborhood,

05:39.600 --> 05:40.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
he says, "Hey, come down.

05:40.533 --> 05:42.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"I wanna show you these drums."

05:42.166 --> 05:44.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Meanwhile, I just got
kicked out of the band.

05:44.566 --> 05:46.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He started playin' these drums,

05:46.200 --> 05:48.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and he said, "Look
at this," he says.

05:48.800 --> 05:50.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
He played somethin',"
da da da da da da da da.

05:50.633 --> 05:51.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I just played
it right after,

05:51.833 --> 05:54.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
daga daga daga
daga daga. (laughs)

05:54.300 --> 05:59.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And so, I guess his dad
got wind of that I could,

05:59.066 --> 06:00.600 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
you know, could do that.

06:00.600 --> 06:01.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] We need you to
come play with us, right?

06:01.800 --> 06:03.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Yeah!
[MO'] Yeah, so next thing,

06:03.000 --> 06:04.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I'm in there, playin'
a steel band now.

06:04.400 --> 06:05.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Right, it's
interesting to me, you know,

06:05.866 --> 06:08.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Johnny Mathis, and the
steel band, calypso music.

06:08.733 --> 06:10.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Over time you've played blues.

06:10.800 --> 06:12.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You've played what
I think of really,

06:12.333 --> 06:14.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
as almost something
like rock 'n' roll.

06:14.433 --> 06:19.000 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
You've had jazz, elements of
jazz in your music, over time.

06:19.000 --> 06:21.066 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
It's really hard to
put you in a bucket

06:21.066 --> 06:22.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
or one category, right?

06:22.633 --> 06:24.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
That you're this kind, I mean,
I called you a blues musician

06:24.933 --> 06:27.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in the introduction to
our conversation today.

06:27.033 --> 06:28.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
That's true, but not accurate.

06:28.433 --> 06:30.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Really, you're a
lot more than just--

06:30.033 --> 06:31.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Well, there's
not really such thing

06:31.166 --> 06:32.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
as a blues musician--

06:32.633 --> 06:33.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Right.
[MO'] --or jazz musician.

06:33.866 --> 06:35.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] How do you
talk about yourself,

06:35.100 --> 06:36.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
or how do you want
people to think

06:36.033 --> 06:36.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
about the work that you do?

06:36.833 --> 06:38.266 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] I'm a musician,

06:38.266 --> 06:40.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but I don't think of myself
as a master musician.

06:40.066 --> 06:42.500 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I know music.

06:42.500 --> 06:46.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I'm not a virtuoso on any
particular instrument,

06:46.533 --> 06:47.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
but I know music.

06:47.500 --> 06:48.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I know how it's built.

06:48.466 --> 06:49.733 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I know the theory.

06:49.733 --> 06:51.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I know the math of it.

06:51.833 --> 06:55.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I have a reasonable amount
of dexterity on a guitar

06:55.900 --> 06:59.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and a banjo, or a
mandolin, things like that.

06:59.700 --> 07:01.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Right, you're
being very modest.

07:01.100 --> 07:03.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
You have more than a
reasonable amount of dexterity.

07:03.000 --> 07:04.433 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
(laughs)

07:04.433 --> 07:07.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Clearly, you haven't
heard Tommy Emmanuel. (chuckles)

07:07.633 --> 07:09.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Well look, I
think that if you go back,

07:09.500 --> 07:11.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] (chuckles)
[SMITH] As we sit here now,

07:11.533 --> 07:14.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
25 years since
your first record,

07:14.766 --> 07:16.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
we go back and listen
to that record today.

07:16.766 --> 07:20.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
There is more than just a
reasonable amount of dexterity.

07:20.766 --> 07:22.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And that was then, right?

07:22.200 --> 07:24.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Over time, obviously,
you're a different musician

07:24.366 --> 07:27.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
than you were back then.

07:27.033 --> 07:29.033 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
[MO'] What I love
is songwriting.

07:29.033 --> 07:31.400 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
You know, I think the
songwriting factor,

07:31.400 --> 07:32.600 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
all that leads up to there.

07:32.600 --> 07:35.433 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
Like I say, I was always
coaxed into things.

07:35.433 --> 07:36.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I could tell you
story after story,

07:36.866 --> 07:41.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but just know that I
wasn't the impetus for the

07:43.033 --> 07:44.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
goin' in there, you know.

07:44.866 --> 07:46.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
But I loved music.

07:46.633 --> 07:47.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I always loved music.

07:47.833 --> 07:49.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I'm really thankful
for those people

07:49.333 --> 07:52.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
who did invite and coax
me into musical situations

07:52.333 --> 07:54.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
because I wouldn't be standing
here now without them.

07:54.333 --> 07:57.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Well, no
success is your success.

07:57.300 --> 07:58.233 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
It's everyone's success.

07:58.233 --> 07:59.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
All of us feel that way, right?

07:59.166 --> 08:00.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Everybody contributed to it.

08:00.533 --> 08:03.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Yeah, so I
played the steel drums,

08:03.366 --> 08:06.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and then in high school,
I played French horn.

08:06.166 --> 08:09.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
So I was in the Compton
Community Youth or Compton.

08:09.166 --> 08:10.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Actually, when I was
in Compton, we had,

08:10.966 --> 08:13.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
there was a symphony in Compton.

08:13.466 --> 08:15.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It was a junior symphony
in the 60s, in Compton,

08:15.500 --> 08:19.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and I was in it,
playin' the French horn.

08:19.033 --> 08:21.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
'Cause I was very first French
horn at the high school,

08:21.566 --> 08:22.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and the first French horn person

08:22.766 --> 08:24.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
got to go play in the orchestra.

08:24.733 --> 08:27.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] It's
amazing, French horn.

08:27.066 --> 08:28.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Yeah (chuckles)
[SMITH] Probably all over

08:28.333 --> 08:29.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the country, there are
kids who are thinking,

08:29.500 --> 08:30.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I'm playing the
French horn in school.

08:30.733 --> 08:31.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
This is going to
amount to nothing.

08:31.933 --> 08:33.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
This is like being a math major.

08:33.933 --> 08:35.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Yeah, and it
didn't amount to much,

08:35.300 --> 08:36.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
but I was in the band.

08:36.866 --> 08:38.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It wasn't about the--
[SMITH] Well, if you're around

08:38.266 --> 08:39.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the stuff, that's
what happens, right?

08:39.500 --> 08:41.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] It's about
being in the band.

08:41.700 --> 08:43.433 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I met these two guys,

08:43.433 --> 08:46.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and they were in the
band, playing French horn.

08:46.600 --> 08:47.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I was hangin' with them.

08:47.533 --> 08:48.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
They said, "Why don't you come?

08:48.766 --> 08:50.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"They may need another
French horn player.

08:50.000 --> 08:50.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"Why don't you play it?"

08:50.966 --> 08:51.900 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
It was not glamorous.

08:51.900 --> 08:52.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
French horn was not glamorous.

08:52.833 --> 08:53.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] Yeah, I can imagine.

08:53.766 --> 08:54.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
It's not glamorous, right, yeah.

08:54.733 --> 08:56.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
It's the French horn.

08:56.200 --> 08:58.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] I hadn't been playing
trumpet for years, and that was.

08:58.800 --> 08:59.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
The teacher said, "Okay, here!

08:59.900 --> 09:01.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
"It's the French horn.

09:01.133 --> 09:02.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Get in line!"
(audience chuckles)

09:02.100 --> 09:03.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
And I was in the marching band.

09:03.200 --> 09:04.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] That's pretty great.

09:04.900 --> 09:06.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] (laughs)
[SMITH] What was your way,

09:06.900 --> 09:09.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Keb', into the business,
into the music business?

09:09.100 --> 09:11.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You started out not
actually as a performer.

09:11.000 --> 09:12.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You started out working
in the business,

09:12.366 --> 09:14.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
but not performing, right?

09:14.366 --> 09:15.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] I was performing.

09:15.766 --> 09:18.233 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
The steel band had gigs.

09:18.233 --> 09:19.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] But I'm
talking about the real,

09:19.366 --> 09:20.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
like honest-to-goodness
music business,

09:20.733 --> 09:21.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
recording business, right.

09:21.933 --> 09:25.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Oh, that started
in Dallas, Texas,

09:25.300 --> 09:27.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
when I was in a
play called "Spunk"

09:27.833 --> 09:32.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
at the Dallas Repertory Theater.

09:32.300 --> 09:36.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I was a guitar
man in that thing.

09:36.200 --> 09:40.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I was playing
acoustic, you know,

09:40.200 --> 09:42.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
country blues part and singing.

09:42.700 --> 09:45.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
A woman came up and asked
if I had anything to sell.

09:45.733 --> 09:47.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Her name was Vicky.

09:47.033 --> 09:49.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
She said, "Do you have
anything to sell?"

09:49.200 --> 09:50.433 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I said, "No."

09:50.433 --> 09:51.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
She said, "Why don't you
have anything to sell?

09:51.900 --> 09:53.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
"What do you mean, you don't
have anything to sell?"

09:53.566 --> 09:57.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
She just like, just
reamed my you-know-what

09:57.533 --> 09:59.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
about not having
anything to sell.

09:59.066 --> 10:00.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
So I got somethin' to sell.

10:00.733 --> 10:02.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I took some of my tapes
that I had brought with me,

10:02.366 --> 10:03.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and I put them together--
[SMITH] Put it together.

10:03.833 --> 10:07.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] --and went to
a studio in Dallas.

10:07.466 --> 10:10.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Had 'em run off a
hundred cassettes.

10:10.200 --> 10:12.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I had a guy draw up a
little character of me.

10:12.400 --> 10:15.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I went to Kinkos, put
it on a piece of paper,

10:15.266 --> 10:16.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(audience laughs)
put it in there,

10:16.500 --> 10:17.733 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
folded it up and
put it in there,

10:17.733 --> 10:19.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
cut it just right and then--

10:19.000 --> 10:20.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Total DIY
deal, right, yeah.

10:20.233 --> 10:21.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] I did a hundred of those--

10:21.700 --> 10:22.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Hundred of those--
[MO'] and put 'em up.

10:22.866 --> 10:23.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] and started
selling them.

10:23.800 --> 10:24.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] And I sold all of them.

10:24.466 --> 10:25.700 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I made $1,000!

10:25.700 --> 10:27.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Did you?
(audience laughs)

10:27.233 --> 10:28.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
You probably never thought
in a million years, right?

10:28.700 --> 10:30.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] And that's the point when
I was in the music business!

10:30.433 --> 10:33.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(laughs)
(audience applauds)

10:33.100 --> 10:35.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] $1,000 is
real money, right?

10:35.100 --> 10:37.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] That's right.
[SMITH] That's real money.

10:37.166 --> 10:40.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So you've just had your
first studio album,

10:40.466 --> 10:44.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
solo studio album come
out in the summer of 2019,

10:44.033 --> 10:45.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
in five years, right?

10:45.833 --> 10:48.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
First studio album in five
years, right, "Oklahoma"?

10:48.666 --> 10:52.033 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] No, I have a solo one
called "Blues Americana."

10:52.033 --> 10:53.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] But that was 2014.

10:53.233 --> 10:54.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Oh yeah,
yeah, you're right.

10:54.200 --> 10:55.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] So it's five years.

10:55.466 --> 10:56.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] You're better
at math than I am.

10:56.300 --> 10:57.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(audience laughs)

10:57.833 --> 10:59.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] There's a lotta things
you can do that I can't do,

10:59.166 --> 11:00.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
beginning with the French horn.

11:00.966 --> 11:03.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But I know that it's been five
years since the last record,

11:03.533 --> 11:05.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and I think people were waiting
around to see what this was.

11:05.266 --> 11:06.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
This is a really
pretty terrific record,

11:06.733 --> 11:09.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
this record "Oklahoma."
[MO'] Oh, thank you so much.

11:09.000 --> 11:10.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] There are
so many songs on it.

11:10.200 --> 11:11.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I mentioned to you,
before we came out here,

11:11.333 --> 11:13.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that when I've
listened to the record,

11:13.300 --> 11:14.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
they've stuck in my head.

11:14.533 --> 11:16.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I find myself thinking
about the songs

11:16.500 --> 11:18.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
when I'm not listening to it.

11:18.066 --> 11:19.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Would you talk a little bit

11:19.233 --> 11:20.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
about how this
record came to pass?

11:20.466 --> 11:22.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I mean, there are a lot
of interesting stories

11:22.233 --> 11:23.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
about this record.

11:23.500 --> 11:24.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
One thing is that it's
dedicated to your mom.

11:24.433 --> 11:25.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Your mom passed away last year--

11:25.466 --> 11:26.900 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
[MO'] Yeah.
[SMITH] --right?

11:26.900 --> 11:28.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It's got personal aspects
to it, I understand.

11:28.600 --> 11:32.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But talk about this record and
why it's called "Oklahoma."

11:32.133 --> 11:33.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] Okay well, it started out,

11:33.833 --> 11:35.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I called my friend Colin Linden.

11:35.400 --> 11:37.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I said, "Man, I'm tired.

11:37.033 --> 11:38.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Come help me make this record."

11:38.300 --> 11:40.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Come, you know, help me."

11:40.166 --> 11:42.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
So he coproduced with me.

11:42.333 --> 11:43.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I sent him the songs.

11:43.633 --> 11:45.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I went through all my computer

11:45.533 --> 11:47.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and looked at all these
things that I had written.

11:47.633 --> 11:49.066 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I said, "Aw."

11:49.066 --> 11:50.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I'm thinking, I'm
gonna have to write

11:50.200 --> 11:52.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
a whole album in two weeks.

11:52.666 --> 11:54.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Colin calls me back.

11:54.366 --> 11:55.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
He says, "I don't know, man.

11:55.766 --> 11:57.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"I think you got a record here."

11:57.400 --> 11:58.366 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
You know?

11:58.366 --> 11:59.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] That's how this works

11:59.900 --> 12:01.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
for those of us who are
not in this line of work.

12:01.400 --> 12:04.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
You have a file on your computer
where you just keep things

12:04.433 --> 12:05.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
that you're working on, ideas.

12:05.900 --> 12:07.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Throughout the year,
there'll be writing sessions.

12:07.766 --> 12:08.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You work with these
people, everything.

12:08.800 --> 12:10.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] So you don't just write

12:10.133 --> 12:11.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
when you have an
album coming out.

12:11.100 --> 12:12.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
You just write when you write,

12:12.333 --> 12:13.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and you just save it.
[MO'] All the time,

12:13.133 --> 12:14.400 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
you always write.

12:14.400 --> 12:15.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You're always writin',
and then you have it.

12:15.600 --> 12:16.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] You're puttin'
it in a pipeline--

12:16.566 --> 12:17.733 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
[MO'] Mm-hmm.
[SMITH] --right?

12:17.733 --> 12:18.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] So the story
about "Oklahoma," to me,

12:18.966 --> 12:20.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
is the most interesting
thing about the album.

12:20.433 --> 12:22.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Why is it called "Oklahoma"?

12:22.433 --> 12:26.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
So it was originally gonna
be called "This Is My Home."

12:28.166 --> 12:31.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
But "Oklahoma" came up.

12:31.633 --> 12:34.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
The way it happened is, I
had this idea, this riff,

12:34.733 --> 12:37.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
goin' dang dang dang adanga
adanga da blanga da blanga.

12:37.566 --> 12:38.833 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
I'm just playin'
it over and over

12:38.833 --> 12:41.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
about two weeks
around Christmas time.

12:41.066 --> 12:42.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I'm goin', "I like playing this.

12:42.033 --> 12:44.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"It just feels good to play it.

12:44.066 --> 12:45.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"I know it needs a hook."

12:45.700 --> 12:47.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I'm goin', "Okay."

12:47.133 --> 12:48.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I was in L.A. at
my sister's house.

12:48.066 --> 12:49.066 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I'm goin',

12:49.066 --> 12:51.266 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
♪ Oklahoma ♪

12:52.933 --> 12:54.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I was like, "Oh that's crap!"

12:54.400 --> 12:55.666 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
(laughs)

12:55.666 --> 12:57.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] You have no
connection personally

12:57.233 --> 12:58.366 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
to the state of Oklahoma, right?

12:58.366 --> 13:00.233 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] Yeah, I do have.

13:00.233 --> 13:01.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I'll get to that.
[SMITH] Okay.

13:01.433 --> 13:04.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I thought the fact
that it was "Oklahoma"

13:04.300 --> 13:07.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
was kind of this odd
thing for that reason.

13:07.000 --> 13:08.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] I'll get into that.

13:08.433 --> 13:09.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Okay, good.
[MO'] I'll get into that.

13:09.233 --> 13:12.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
So I got this idea.

13:12.966 --> 13:14.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
New Year's Day, I have a party.

13:14.466 --> 13:15.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
My wife and I have a party
at the house every year,

13:15.766 --> 13:17.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and we invite everybody over.

13:17.200 --> 13:20.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
We got food, liquor,
music, everything.

13:20.466 --> 13:21.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Everybody just comes over.

13:21.933 --> 13:24.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Bring anybody you want
and, you know, like that.

13:26.966 --> 13:29.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
My drummer, Marcus Finnie,
when I do have a band,

13:29.300 --> 13:32.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
he says, "I want you to
meet this lady, Dara Tucker.

13:32.366 --> 13:33.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"You should write with her."

13:33.966 --> 13:35.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
You know what I mean?

13:35.466 --> 13:38.033 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
And I'm goin', "Okay, now
that I got this record,

13:38.033 --> 13:40.400 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
"I don't have any songs."

13:40.400 --> 13:43.533 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
So, I give it to her, and she
comes over like the next day.

13:43.533 --> 13:45.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I say, "Where are you from?"

13:45.900 --> 13:49.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
She says, "Oklahoma."
(audience chuckles)

13:49.466 --> 13:51.433 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
Bing! (chuckles)
[SMITH] Right,

13:51.433 --> 13:52.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
that's divine intervention.

13:52.666 --> 13:56.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] So I've got an
idea now, "Oklahoma."

13:56.500 --> 13:57.333 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
What about this?

13:57.333 --> 13:59.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Let's just work on this.

13:59.200 --> 14:00.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I explained to her that I didn't
have much of a connection.

14:00.900 --> 14:02.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So we on the Wikipedia
(audience chuckles)

14:02.966 --> 14:06.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and started lookin' at
stuff and thinkin' about,

14:06.200 --> 14:08.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
what's happenin' in Oklahoma?

14:08.333 --> 14:09.766 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
I knew,

14:09.766 --> 14:12.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I had been to Oklahoma
and seen a tornado.

14:12.033 --> 14:14.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Aftermath now of a
tornado, that's a big one.

14:14.433 --> 14:16.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I went there with
Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

14:16.233 --> 14:17.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
We did a benefit.
[SMITH] Did a benefit concert.

14:17.766 --> 14:18.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I remember that, right.
[MO'] Kenny Wayne Shepherd,

14:18.666 --> 14:20.000 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
Robert Randolph.

14:20.000 --> 14:22.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Like I said, we did a benefit.

14:22.100 --> 14:24.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
So I got to go look at this.

14:24.266 --> 14:29.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I was like, "Oh, a tornado
is no joke." (chuckles)

14:29.233 --> 14:30.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
That thing grinds
like a meat grinder,

14:30.966 --> 14:32.166 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
but it's not meat.

14:32.166 --> 14:34.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It's wood and steel and
just all this stuff.

14:34.466 --> 14:35.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Destruction
left's so bad.

14:35.400 --> 14:36.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] It's so bad, definitely.

14:36.600 --> 14:39.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Also, I became friends
with Garth Brooks

14:39.133 --> 14:42.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and Vince Gill,
guys from Oklahoma.

14:42.000 --> 14:43.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I started meetin' all
these people from Oklahoma.

14:43.900 --> 14:45.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I started really
lookin' at the people

14:45.200 --> 14:46.666 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
that are from Oklahoma.

14:46.666 --> 14:49.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Even my favorite guitar
player that I grew up with,

14:49.500 --> 14:51.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
David T. Walker, was
born in Oklahoma,

14:51.733 --> 14:53.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Timmy B. Schmit from the Eagles.

14:53.766 --> 14:56.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Oklahoma is a state
of great things.

14:56.800 --> 14:58.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] So you have a
connection to Oklahoma-ish.

14:58.733 --> 15:00.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] It's a connection,
but I kinda like

15:00.300 --> 15:03.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
had to dig and build it. [SMITH]
Right, I'm a little worried

15:03.166 --> 15:05.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
you wrote the song based on
what you read on Wikipedia.

15:05.233 --> 15:06.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(audience laughs)
This is actually,

15:06.700 --> 15:08.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
this has stuck with me.
[MO'] No, no I know people.

15:08.633 --> 15:11.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And the people were in the
area, I'm thinkin' like.

15:11.700 --> 15:13.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Garth Brooks is
like, and Vince Gill,

15:13.400 --> 15:17.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
those are some of the
most down-to-earth,

15:17.566 --> 15:20.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
shameless, good
people I've ever met.

15:20.533 --> 15:22.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
You know, Oklahoma, you know?

15:22.800 --> 15:25.633 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
So I go,

15:25.633 --> 15:27.166 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
we write the song.

15:27.166 --> 15:30.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And there's also, The Gap
Band is from Oklahoma too,

15:30.300 --> 15:31.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
just so you know that.

15:31.966 --> 15:35.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
♪ You dropped a
bomb on me baby ♪

15:35.266 --> 15:36.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(laughs) So there's
all that good stuff.

15:36.966 --> 15:38.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] There's good
things in Oklahoma.

15:38.066 --> 15:39.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I agree.
[MO'] Uncle Charlie's

15:39.533 --> 15:40.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
from Oklahoma.
[SMITH] I get it.

15:40.633 --> 15:41.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I get it.
[MO'] Uncle Charlie.

15:41.866 --> 15:43.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] So this is a
record that actually,

15:43.066 --> 15:45.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I don't think of
you as a political--

15:45.466 --> 15:46.700 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] Oh, I'm political.

15:46.700 --> 15:47.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
- But I don't think of
you as a political--

15:47.633 --> 15:48.900 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
But you're not an expressly.

15:48.900 --> 15:49.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Oh look, you're not
Ani DiFranco, right?

15:49.966 --> 15:51.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
You're not a political artist

15:51.500 --> 15:53.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
in the sense of that you wear
your politics on your sleeve--

15:53.000 --> 15:54.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] No, I hide it.
[SMITH] You hide it.

15:54.800 --> 15:56.866 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
But you know, but there is a,

15:56.866 --> 15:59.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I detected, I thought, a subtle

15:59.400 --> 16:03.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
but unmistakable political
vibe on this record.

16:03.233 --> 16:04.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Yeah.
[SMITH] A little bit

16:04.733 --> 16:06.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
about the environment, a
little bit about feminism

16:06.900 --> 16:09.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and the place of women
in society today.

16:09.200 --> 16:11.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
You have a great
collaboration on this record

16:11.100 --> 16:12.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
with Rosanne Cash--
[MO'] Rosanne Cash.

16:12.866 --> 16:14.400 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] --a song called "Put
A Woman In Charge," right?

16:14.400 --> 16:16.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It's a really interesting
and good song.

16:16.833 --> 16:18.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And there's actually
a discussion

16:18.900 --> 16:20.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
of immigration--
[MO'] Immigration, yeah.

16:20.900 --> 16:22.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] And the
fact that you said,

16:22.133 --> 16:23.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
which I did not know
until you said it,

16:23.366 --> 16:25.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that you had intended
the record to be called

16:25.533 --> 16:26.733 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
"This Is"--
[MO'] "My Home."

16:26.733 --> 16:29.066 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] "This Is My Home."

16:29.066 --> 16:31.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
You actually have a
perspective on what's happening

16:31.333 --> 16:32.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
now, out in the world--
[MO'] Yeah.

16:32.700 --> 16:34.266 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
[SMITH] --about
immigration as a subject.

16:34.266 --> 16:36.400 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
I think it's subtly visible.

16:36.400 --> 16:37.566 align:left position:30% line:5% size:60%
Talk about that.

16:37.566 --> 16:38.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I think that's
really interesting.

16:38.366 --> 16:39.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] That's right.

16:39.766 --> 16:41.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I put the subject of
immigration as a love story,

16:41.833 --> 16:44.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
not as a talk about
people who come here,

16:44.033 --> 16:46.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
not goin' right at the issue.

16:46.700 --> 16:49.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I wanted to humanize
immigration, in a sense.

16:49.033 --> 16:50.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] But you
get there, though.

16:50.366 --> 16:51.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I think you walk away from it--

16:51.833 --> 16:54.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Even in "Oklahoma,"
there's a big political thing

16:54.200 --> 16:57.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in there too that
everybody misses.

16:57.200 --> 16:58.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Well, help us,
give us the Easter egg.

16:58.933 --> 17:00.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Show us the Easter
egg in the song.

17:00.433 --> 17:01.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] It's the bridge
where I go like,

17:01.933 --> 17:05.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"And over on Greenwood,
Archer and Pine."

17:05.400 --> 17:08.000 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
In the '20s,

17:08.000 --> 17:11.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
one of the biggest race riots

17:11.933 --> 17:14.000 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
in Oklahoma,

17:14.000 --> 17:16.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
back then, it was called
Black Wall Street.

17:16.766 --> 17:19.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And there was this
community in Wall Street

17:19.466 --> 17:23.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
where these ex-slaves, you
know, African Americans

17:23.266 --> 17:24.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
had figured out
how to do business.

17:24.900 --> 17:26.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
They had a community.

17:26.533 --> 17:28.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Probably a lot of it was
because of segregation.

17:28.766 --> 17:30.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And like people, you had
to have your own stuff.

17:30.800 --> 17:33.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
But word has it that
a dollar would go

17:33.366 --> 17:35.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
around the community 30 times.

17:36.666 --> 17:40.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And the community
became very prosperous.

17:40.233 --> 17:42.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And then on the other
side of the tracks,

17:42.633 --> 17:45.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
in another part of
Tulsa, Oklahoma,

17:45.700 --> 17:48.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
you think about racial
tension back then.

17:48.066 --> 17:49.200 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
This is the '20s.

17:49.200 --> 17:50.900 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
So...

17:52.566 --> 17:55.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Some black men got accused of,

17:55.733 --> 17:59.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
you know, usually the
thing of inappropriately

17:59.366 --> 18:01.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
something with a white woman.
[SMITH] Right.

18:01.200 --> 18:04.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] They got wind of it, and
it was already probably hot.

18:04.833 --> 18:08.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And the white community
literally came over

18:08.633 --> 18:11.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and burnt and bombed
the place down.

18:11.333 --> 18:13.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Wow, so
that's the reference.

18:13.666 --> 18:14.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] Yeah, and it's like.

18:14.933 --> 18:19.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It was squashed down in
history for a few years,

18:19.033 --> 18:20.400 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
not in any history books.

18:20.400 --> 18:23.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It was very quiet,
but it was the biggest

18:23.433 --> 18:24.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
race riot there ever was.

18:24.966 --> 18:26.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Well, this record,
whether you are interested

18:26.766 --> 18:28.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
in the politics of it or not,

18:28.100 --> 18:30.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
is a really great
record to listen to.

18:30.833 --> 18:32.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I wish you a lot
of success with it.

18:32.300 --> 18:35.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Can I completely pivot away
from music for a second

18:35.233 --> 18:38.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and ask you about
your love of hats?

18:38.133 --> 18:39.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(audience chuckles)
[MO'] Yeah, man.

18:39.533 --> 18:41.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Well, back in--
[SMITH] That's a nice hat.

18:41.466 --> 18:42.700 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I like that hat.

18:42.700 --> 18:46.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] I started
goin' bald in, um,

18:46.600 --> 18:49.700 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50%
1970.

18:49.700 --> 18:50.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Is that right?
[MO'] Yeah,

18:50.666 --> 18:52.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and I went bald very slowly.

18:52.933 --> 18:54.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] I was about to say,
you have been successful

18:54.600 --> 18:55.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
in the getting bald department.

18:55.966 --> 18:57.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
[MO'] Yeah, no.

18:57.133 --> 18:58.366 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] You are
successfully bald now.

18:58.366 --> 18:59.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] But it was
like really slow.

18:59.633 --> 19:03.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I mean, I had hair 'til
my mid-30s and late 40s,

19:03.633 --> 19:06.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
not late, my 40s.

19:06.133 --> 19:07.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And it gradually,
it finally just got.

19:07.633 --> 19:10.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I just kept lower, cuttin'
it lower and lower and lower.

19:10.166 --> 19:11.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Finally got to the
point where I was,

19:11.233 --> 19:13.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Oh, this is ridiculous, dude."

19:13.200 --> 19:14.400 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Just shave it all off.

19:14.400 --> 19:16.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And then, it looks
like this now.

19:16.733 --> 19:18.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(audience chuckles)
[SMITH] Great, yeah.

19:18.000 --> 19:18.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(audience applauds)

19:18.933 --> 19:20.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] I just need somethin',

19:20.933 --> 19:22.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I just need somethin'
to block out the light

19:22.400 --> 19:25.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
from my head, shinin'.
(audience laughs)

19:25.500 --> 19:27.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] But you said to me
again, before we came out today,

19:27.833 --> 19:28.966 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
this kinda really caught my ear.

19:28.966 --> 19:30.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I wanted to ask you about this.

19:30.166 --> 19:32.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You said, "Buying a hat
is an arduous task."

19:32.433 --> 19:33.266 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
[MO'] Yes.

19:34.466 --> 19:35.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] We could do
30 minutes on this.

19:35.700 --> 19:37.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Why don't you do a
shorter version of it?

19:37.166 --> 19:39.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Well, my friend, Colin
Linden, he always says.

19:39.733 --> 19:42.133 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
He's very, you know,
manly like I am,

19:42.133 --> 19:43.733 align:left position:30% line:5% size:60%
you know, on the
top of the head.

19:43.733 --> 19:45.633 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
[SMITH] Quite bald.
[MO'] He says,

19:45.633 --> 19:50.266 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
"A hat is not a toy."
(audience laughs)

19:50.266 --> 19:54.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So I mean, when you go
lookin' for your hat,

19:54.066 --> 19:56.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
this becomes your haircut.

19:56.233 --> 19:57.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Right well,
that's interesting.

19:57.166 --> 19:58.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] This is like, you know.

19:58.666 --> 20:01.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
This becomes your,

20:01.800 --> 20:04.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
you know, either
you can wear this.

20:04.133 --> 20:05.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
This is cool too.

20:05.500 --> 20:06.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Or you can wear this.

20:06.866 --> 20:09.100 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
But this is like a haircut now.

20:09.100 --> 20:11.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
If you've ever had a
bad haircut, you know--

20:11.633 --> 20:13.566 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] You know what it's like.
[MO'] Yeah. (chuckles)

20:13.566 --> 20:15.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Sometimes, the
answer to a bad haircut

20:15.400 --> 20:16.366 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
is a hat, actually.

20:16.366 --> 20:17.300 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
[MO'] Yeah.
(chuckles)

20:17.300 --> 20:18.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] As the case may be.

20:18.533 --> 20:19.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Just wait
and just see 'em.

20:19.600 --> 20:20.833 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
So it's like that.

20:20.833 --> 20:23.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
So buyin' a hat the
right shape, brim.

20:23.133 --> 20:24.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Well, it's
become a signature piece

20:24.600 --> 20:25.533 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
of your own style.

20:25.533 --> 20:26.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
We don't associate you

20:26.766 --> 20:29.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
with anything other than
having a fine hat on.

20:29.133 --> 20:31.300 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] And you can't find 'em,

20:31.300 --> 20:32.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I can't find a bunch of hats

20:32.466 --> 20:34.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
'cause I have a
really long head, too.

20:34.900 --> 20:36.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Because there's some
of 'em, they said,

20:36.166 --> 20:37.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Here come Kevin with
the ol' football head."

20:37.966 --> 20:40.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(audience laughs)

20:40.466 --> 20:41.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] I wouldn't have made the

20:41.433 --> 20:42.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
football head reference myself,

20:42.700 --> 20:44.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
but now I'm not gonna be
able, not be able to--

20:44.766 --> 20:47.166 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] (laughs)
[SMITH] Let's talk about

20:47.166 --> 20:50.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
a couple of things on
you as we wrap here.

20:50.200 --> 20:52.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
The first thing is, you are no
longer livin' in Los Angeles,

20:52.900 --> 20:53.966 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
right, full-time?

20:53.966 --> 20:56.066 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You have--
[MO'] I have a house in,

20:56.066 --> 20:57.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
not full-time but part-time,

20:57.333 --> 20:58.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
'cause I have a
house in Compton.

20:58.866 --> 21:00.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] But you're living
primarily in Tennessee?

21:00.166 --> 21:01.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Tennessee.
Franklin, Tennessee.

21:01.433 --> 21:02.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Why did
you decide to move?

21:02.400 --> 21:03.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
This is again, you know.

21:03.933 --> 21:05.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It's not the Deep South in the
sense that your parents were.

21:05.800 --> 21:08.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But it's the South though.
[MO'] Well, my wife

21:08.100 --> 21:09.566 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
is from Wisconsin.

21:09.566 --> 21:11.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
We have a 12-year-old son.

21:11.466 --> 21:14.466 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
I was, um,

21:14.466 --> 21:17.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
She didn't like the attitude
of Los Angeles, whatever.

21:17.366 --> 21:19.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
She didn't like somethin',
somethin' she didn't like.

21:19.266 --> 21:20.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
She's, "Well, it's too
crowded," whatever.

21:20.833 --> 21:23.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
And she tells me one day
with teary eyes, she goes,

21:23.700 --> 21:25.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"I don't wanna
raise my son here."

21:25.833 --> 21:27.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(audience chuckles)

21:27.933 --> 21:31.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And I went, oh snap.
(laughs)

21:31.333 --> 21:32.133 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
Okay, honey.

21:33.600 --> 21:34.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] 'Cause you've
been in that situation.

21:34.900 --> 21:36.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] I know.
[SMITH] Where are we goin'?

21:36.366 --> 21:39.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] I saw the movin'
trucks, comin'. (chuckles)

21:39.433 --> 21:42.433 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
[SMITH] But you're in
Franklin, Tennessee.

21:42.433 --> 21:45.233 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
[MO'] Yeah. [SMITH] But
does being in Tennessee,

21:45.233 --> 21:47.800 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
which is obviously a
rich musical tradition

21:47.800 --> 21:49.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
in the state of Tennessee.
[MO'] Well, there was

21:49.066 --> 21:51.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
nowhere else for us to
go 'cause of Nashville.

21:51.433 --> 21:55.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] How does it affect
your thinking about music,

21:55.366 --> 21:58.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
about your own performance
or your own collaborations?

21:58.633 --> 21:59.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] It was like a fresh start.

21:59.833 --> 22:00.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] It was.
[MO'] It didn't change

22:00.766 --> 22:01.966 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
my work style.

22:01.966 --> 22:03.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It didn't change
who I was, anything.

22:03.300 --> 22:05.933 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
But I found a whole fresh

22:05.933 --> 22:08.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
bunch of writers to
collaborate with,

22:08.433 --> 22:10.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
musicians to collaborate with

22:10.133 --> 22:15.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
and a fresh perspective
in doin' it there.

22:15.100 --> 22:17.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It was like I just
moved to a new school.

22:17.766 --> 22:19.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] So the work
product, will we see,

22:19.566 --> 22:22.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
will we see a different work
product as a result of there

22:22.066 --> 22:23.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
than we would have, had you
not left the West Coast?

22:23.833 --> 22:25.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] Yes, I believe so.

22:25.300 --> 22:27.300 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
But I don't see it
as much different

22:27.300 --> 22:32.300 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
because I was already rooted
in country and R&B and blues.

22:32.300 --> 22:33.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Nothin' really changed.

22:33.800 --> 22:35.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] The physical location
is not going to affect that.

22:35.600 --> 22:37.433 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] No, but the people around.

22:37.433 --> 22:39.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
But also, you can always
find a really good

22:39.766 --> 22:42.200 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
pedal steel player in Nashville.

22:42.200 --> 22:43.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Well, it's a little
easier to find it there.

22:43.500 --> 22:44.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] You can find
great mandolin players.

22:44.833 --> 22:47.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You can find guys that
are really masterful.

22:47.566 --> 22:50.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I mean, the musicianship
and the songwriting skill

22:50.933 --> 22:53.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
is just masterful.
[SMITH] Right, they have

22:53.200 --> 22:55.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
reasonable dexterity--
[MO'] Yes. (chuckles)

22:55.033 --> 22:56.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] as you like to say,
(audience chuckles)

22:56.933 --> 22:59.033 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60%
in Nashville.

22:59.033 --> 23:00.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
So you're on the road, touring.

23:00.600 --> 23:01.566 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
You tour a lot, right?

23:01.566 --> 23:03.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
You're on the road all the time.

23:03.600 --> 23:04.733 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] Yeah, I do.

23:04.733 --> 23:06.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] And you enjoy it.

23:06.233 --> 23:07.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
This is one of the things
that I always ask musicians.

23:07.733 --> 23:10.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Do you prefer recording,
or do you prefer touring?

23:10.800 --> 23:11.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] It's all the same thing.

23:11.833 --> 23:13.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] It's all the same thing.

23:13.733 --> 23:15.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Two sides of the
same coin, isn't it?

23:15.266 --> 23:16.833 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60%
[MO'] Yes.
[SMITH] Right.

23:16.833 --> 23:18.533 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Do you tour to support records,

23:18.533 --> 23:20.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
or do you make records so
you have something to tour?

23:20.833 --> 23:22.500 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] It's all the same thing.

23:22.500 --> 23:23.800 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] Again, the same thing.

23:23.800 --> 23:25.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It's not one side
or another side.

23:25.633 --> 23:28.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] You tour to
support the record.

23:28.833 --> 23:31.000 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You make the record
to support the tour.

23:31.000 --> 23:33.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You play the music to
connect to the people

23:33.433 --> 23:35.900 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
that will come to the--
[SMITH] Well, fortunately,

23:35.900 --> 23:37.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
you have something to sell now.

23:37.133 --> 23:38.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You don't have to
go to Kinkos anymore

23:38.400 --> 23:39.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
and fold up paper, right?
(laughs)

23:39.933 --> 23:41.166 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
You've already got a product.

23:41.166 --> 23:43.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] I would do it
though. (chuckles)

23:43.266 --> 23:44.666 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(audience laughs)
[SMITH] I get a sense.

23:44.666 --> 23:47.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
The gleam in your eye,
reporting that you made $1,000

23:47.833 --> 23:51.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
tells me that if you had to
go back to Kinkos again--

23:51.066 --> 23:53.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] The thing is, I wanted
to, after a long time,

23:53.233 --> 23:55.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
'cause I had a record in
1980 called "Rainmaker"

23:55.466 --> 23:58.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
by Kevin Moore, the
accountant Kevin Moore.

23:58.100 --> 24:00.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Yeah, right.
(audience laughs)

24:00.633 --> 24:02.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
That was a harrowing
experience of like,

24:02.533 --> 24:04.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
gettin' kicked out of
the record business.

24:04.600 --> 24:07.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I knew that if I wanted to
be in the record business,

24:07.633 --> 24:09.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
I had to go in on my own.

24:09.233 --> 24:10.733 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I didn't go ask
for a record deal.

24:10.733 --> 24:14.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Because when they said no,
it would've crushed me.

24:14.500 --> 24:16.633 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I'm a sensitive guy.

24:16.633 --> 24:18.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I'm not a big,
strong, tough guy.

24:18.333 --> 24:19.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] You'd rather
have your control, also,

24:19.800 --> 24:20.933 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
of your own deal, right?

24:20.933 --> 24:22.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
[MO'] My own destiny.

24:22.500 --> 24:25.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I want to determine,

24:25.800 --> 24:29.400 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I, not want to, but I

24:29.400 --> 24:33.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
decided to decide what
was gonna happen for me.

24:33.766 --> 24:35.033 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
It wasn't about numbers.

24:35.033 --> 24:37.866 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It wasn't about how many
people I could reach,

24:37.866 --> 24:39.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
how much money I could make.

24:39.133 --> 24:41.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
It was about, this
is where next,

24:41.200 --> 24:44.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
that aha moment that
you asked about earlier

24:44.033 --> 24:45.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
in the interview.

24:45.500 --> 24:47.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
That was the aha
moment when I'm goin',

24:47.333 --> 24:50.266 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
"Okay, now you're 39, sucker."

24:50.266 --> 24:51.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
And so, there's no
goin' back on that.

24:51.633 --> 24:53.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] That's great.
[MO'] You know, so it was like,

24:53.833 --> 24:56.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
I could've quit and done
somethin' else, right then.

24:56.133 --> 24:57.800 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] Yeah well,
thank God you didn't.

24:57.800 --> 24:59.633 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[MO'] I decided to keep goin'.

24:59.633 --> 25:00.700 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
[SMITH] It's a great story.

25:00.700 --> 25:02.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
You're a very charming guy.

25:02.233 --> 25:04.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
It's nice to see people who
deserve to succeed, succeed.

25:04.666 --> 25:06.800 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[MO'] Well, thank you. [SMITH]
You've had a great career.

25:06.800 --> 25:08.033 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Let's hope that you continue to.

25:08.033 --> 25:09.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
You have a Christmas
record coming out?

25:09.566 --> 25:11.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] Yes, I do.
[SMITH] What was the,

25:11.600 --> 25:12.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
we have like 30 seconds.

25:12.766 --> 25:14.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
What's the short
version of that story?

25:14.533 --> 25:17.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[MO'] It's a Christmas
record, and it's,

25:17.200 --> 25:19.900 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
the title is "Moonlight,
Mistletoe And You."

25:19.900 --> 25:22.433 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
(audience chuckles)

25:22.433 --> 25:24.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] New songs?
[MO'] Yeah, new songs,

25:24.133 --> 25:26.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
classic songs, you know.

25:26.500 --> 25:29.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
And it, I love it.

25:29.800 --> 25:32.066 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
There's this one
non-Christmas song on there.

25:32.066 --> 25:34.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
[SMITH] How great.
[MO'] It's just,

25:34.133 --> 25:35.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I can't wait for
the Christmas tour

25:35.600 --> 25:37.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
because I got this record now.

25:37.000 --> 25:38.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Okay good.
[MO'] Listen to the song,

25:38.166 --> 25:42.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
"Christmas Is Annoying."
(audience laughs)

25:42.466 --> 25:46.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[SMITH] Christmas may be
annoying, but you are not.

25:46.000 --> 25:47.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Keb' Mo', thank you so
much, really enjoyed it.

25:47.766 --> 25:48.600 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Give him a hand.
(audience applauds)

25:48.600 --> 25:51.800 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Keb' Mo', thank you.

25:51.800 --> 25:54.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
We'd love to have you
join us in the studio.

25:54.400 --> 25:58.466 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Visit our website at
klru.org/overheard

25:58.466 --> 26:00.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
to find invitations
to interviews,

26:00.700 --> 26:02.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
Q&As with our
audience and guests

26:02.700 --> 26:05.333 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and an archive of past episodes.

26:05.333 --> 26:06.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
(upbeat band music)
[MO'] Some people

26:06.233 --> 26:08.000 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
will practice all day.

26:08.000 --> 26:10.433 align:left position:20% line:5% size:70%
Some people will
practice once a week.

26:10.433 --> 26:14.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
Some people will practice
for 15 or 10 minutes a day.

26:14.166 --> 26:16.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
For me, I was not one of the,

26:16.600 --> 26:20.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70%
I was the 10 minute a
day, maybe one hour.

26:20.633 --> 26:22.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
Maybe one day, I played all day.

26:22.600 --> 26:24.066 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
I was very inconsistent.

26:24.066 --> 26:25.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
But I was consistent in
the fact that I kept going,

26:25.966 --> 26:27.466 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
and I never gave up.

26:27.466 --> 26:29.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80%
[ANNOUNCER] Funding for
Overheard with Evan Smith

26:29.500 --> 26:31.300 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
is provided in part by

26:31.300 --> 26:35.400 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
Hillco Partners, a Texas
government affairs consultancy,

26:35.400 --> 26:37.666 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70%
Claire and Carl Stuart,

26:37.666 --> 26:40.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
and by Laura and John Beckworth,

26:40.466 --> 26:42.733 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80%
The Hobby Family Foundation.

26:42.733 --> 26:45.900 align:left position:10% line:5% size:80%
(tinkling electronic music)