The Country Star You’re About to Know | Justin Andrews DSH #1255

I invest in people. I love people.

And when people see an artist, an up-and-coming artist, they're like, oh, he just wants to be the next thing. Well, everybody wants to be the next thing, but my purpose and my reason for why I do what I do, I left a great job for 10 years to just chase a dream.
Right. And I enjoy people, and people make me happy.
You know, like when we can share stories about food or, you know, like I really enjoy people.

And so that is why I would love to be out in the world and doing these things because people make me happy.

Yeah.

You know, and music makes me happy. And food or whatever that people vibe with, I'm like, man, just do what you love and damn everything else.
Facts. I love that living, man.
All right, guys, Justin Andrews, country artist up and coming and about to make his name known, I think, soon. Thanks for coming on, man.
Absolutely. It's my pleasure.
Thanks for having me. Yeah, you've been traveling a lot lately, huh? Yeah, I've been moving here and there and, you know, trying to make the dream happen like everybody else.
I mean, honestly, it's been an exciting start to the year so far. We've got a lot going and, you know, looking forward to all the shows we're going to do.
And, I mean, it's just, to me, it's, you know, growing up in the middle of nowhere, you never thought you'd be where you're at right now. Yeah, must be a big change for you, huh? It is.
Yeah. I mean, I grew up in a little, in a little small town and, you know, there was 16 in my graduating high school class.
What? Yeah. That was the size of like my gym class.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. There was, well, I think there was supposed to be 22, but some of them, some of them didn't quite.
Okay. Six of them didn't make it.
Yeah. So, but yeah, I mean, it's just, just trying to make it happen.
I mean, I, I don't, sometimes you,'t sometimes you you think about it in your brain you're like man i don't know how to make this work but i'm just going to keep doing it and see what happens did you always have these big dreams even when you were young like that in high school man honestly i always wanted to be a musician i knew that my grandparents raised me when they were in their fifties and, and they had a, a traveling gospel band. And so, you know, it was, it was more like, you know, them, them saying, Hey, you know, get up and sing a song, you know, me and my sister.
And, and then it kind of turned into, I was watching, uh, movies with George Strait in it and stuff like that. And then I kind of got that hunger to where I was like, man, I want to be George Strait.
I love it. You know? Wow.
Traveling gospel band. Yeah.
First time I've heard that. Yeah.
It was, we would go to, go to different churches and, and just, you know, my aunts and my uncles and my dad would play a little guitar and my cousin and all that. And I don't know.
It was just, I think it was just more of something to do and meeting people that were like you and, know yeah so something about church music makes your body feel good you know i'm not even like religious or anything but like just the energy from that type of music well i mean our church you know it was hooping and hollering and jumping up and down and running and all that you know it was pretty it's pretty active but i mean looking back at it now i mean i don't know why i mean i know why i love music and the reason why anybody loves anything is because that's what you like and it don't really matter if anybody else likes it or not but but looking back at it now i mean we traveled to a lot of churches did a lot of shows and you know playing with other people and meeting people and and just uh enjoying ourselves and experience in other other. Cause I mean, we'd go to any church.
It didn't matter if it fell into, you know, our exact style of religion or whatever, you know, we just, it was more so just meeting people, I think. And enjoying people.
So it didn't matter what branch of religion it was? I mean, it was all, I mean, we do like Baptist and we do free will, we do holiness and stuff like that. But it was all for the same purpose, you know, because everything kind of went hand in hand, I guess.
That's why I love music and food. Like those two things, like bring people together.
It doesn't matter what walk of life, you know, it's powerful. I don't know if there's anything that makes me more happier than food.
Yeah. You're talking to the right guy about this.
It's weird because I'm a foodie. Yeah.
And I like everything. Like there's really not anything that I don't like.
Yeah. They're talking the right guy about this.
It's weird because I'm a foodie. Yeah.

And I like everything. Like there's

really not anything that I don't like.

Yeah, I like pretty much everything. There is a tier

list for me, but yeah, most food is

really good. So what is your favorite thing

you've discovered here recently? Ooh.

In Vegas or just overall? Just anywhere.

I didn't eat pho. Have you

tried pho? I have. I didn't eat that for like

my whole life. I just had some last night, some short rib pho.

Oh my God.

That's what I had.

I had that about two weeks ago.

Fire, right?

Yeah.

So good.

I didn't really eat Indian growing up.

Indian food smacks.

Oh yeah.

Like some good curry.

I mean, I don't really like too spicy.

Yeah.

And so it's like kind of right there in the sweet spot for me.

It's that balance. Yeah.
Sometimes it's way too spicy. Yeah.
And you're screwed for the rest of the night, you know? Yeah. You gotta be careful with certain Indian curries or, oh my God.
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Take the next step in your career today at srgpros.com well I mean I'd never tried it when I first moved to Nashville there was a restaurant and and I was working for this gentleman and and it was pretty much like fire you know restoration for businesses and all that stuff and, you know, repairing sheetrock and doing all that stuff. And we had to go in and we had to work on this Indian restaurant.
And I really was curious because, like, when you walk into those places and you, like, you know, loving food, you walk into a place and you just, and you smell and you're like, I wonder what that is. You know, and it was it was specific.
And I had never tried Indian food before. And then after that, I wanted to.
I was like, I want it because I want my nose and my tongue to match what's going on here. You know, yeah.
And after I did, I loved it. Let's go.
Being in Nashville, where do you where do you rank Southern food? You got that pretty high on your list? Yeah. I think I'm not really a hot chicken fan.
Okay. And that's kind of Nashville's thing.
But I love chicken. I love breaded, grilled, whatever.
It doesn't really matter. But, I mean, I think just steak and potatoes.
Asparagus and things like that is probably about as good as it gets for me, a good steak. Yeah, I'm with you.
Southern food I like. Like, it's not a daily thing, though.
No. Because it's so heavy.
Right. So I'll eat it maybe once a week or whatever.
But daily, it'd be tough to live off Southern diet daily. Yeah.
I mean, I'd probably be 30 pounds heavier. And I don't know how.
And that's so true because I don't know how I've managed to stay as small as I am. Because, I mean, in an old normal scene, you would be 500 pounds.
And just because, I mean, but I eat like a bird, though. Like, I will eat a little bit here, eat a little bit there.
Because you're so busy, right? Eat a little bit there. and you know just last week i i told my lady i was i was like you know how how if i went till three

o'clock I will eat a little bit here, eat a little bit there. Because you're so busy, right? Eat a little bit there.
And just last week, I told my lady, I was like,

how have I went until 3 o'clock p.m.

and just realizing that I haven't ate today?

Yeah, you're so locked in, right?

Yeah.

That happens to me.

I'll be just filming nonstop or working on preparation for the guests,

and it'll be like 2 p.m.

I'm like, I didn't eat yet today.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's a good point, man.

Sounds like you're working hard.

I've been really big into yogurt parfaits here recently. Ooh, I like yogurt eat yet today.
Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point, man.
Sounds like you're working hard. I've been really big into yogurt parfaits here recently.

Ooh, I like yogurt.

Greek yogurt.

Just chop up some apples, chop up some raspberries,

some blueberries, and grapes, and put them all in there

and drizzle it with honey and put some smoked almonds on.

That sounds good.

Smoked almonds, wow.

Yeah, I love me some fresh fruit.

I'm a big fruit guy growing up in New Jersey.

Oh, yeah.

Known as the Garden State. Mm-hmm.
Man, got some good fruit out there. But now I'm in Vegas, dude.
Well, I mean- I'm in the desert. I don't hardly eat at all when I'm in Vegas, and that's horrible.
Because, I mean, there's all the fast food places, and you have the really nice restaurants where you want to go sit down with signature chefs and all that stuff and the Michelin stars and all this. But I never find myself eating at a lot of those because I'm like, I need to get from point A to point B.
And that would require me to leave the casino to go do that. Right.
You know, so you'll settle with in and out. Oh yeah.
I mean, I mean, just, I mean, at some point, you know, you're having alcoholic drinks and then you really don't care what you eat. Yeah.
You know, in and out slaps. I mean, I'll eat'll eat it sober.
It's really good. Well, my lady's from California, and that's her- That's her go-to? Yeah, she loves it.
Yeah. Every time we go somewhere and there's an In-N-Out, she has to go straight through to go do that.
Yeah. There's none on the East Coast, right? No.
Yeah, Nashville, Hattie B's, that's what they're known for. Hattie B's.
We just recently got a Whataburger. Okay.
And Whataburger is my favorite. Really? Yeah.
Wow. I got to try it then.
They've got an avocado bacon burger. I love avocados.
Amazing. And I'm not a big avocado guy.
So I guess it's just, I think my palate is just weird. Like it likes, you know, different combinations of things.
Okay. What about guacamole? I like, well, so the weird thing about it is, and this is so strange, and I've been to the doctor about this and everything, if it touches the outside of my lips, my lips will swell up.
But if it doesn't touch the outside of my lips, I can still eat it. That's crazy.
And it makes nothing. What? So only your lip is infected? Only my lips.
Like, it'll swell up noticeably. Whoa.
I've never heard of that. And it's just with avocados.
Avocados. Wow.
That is interesting, man. Yeah.
Yeah, I'm not allergic to anything that I know of. I didn't think I was either.
I mean, I can eat anything. I mean, I don't really even get sick.
That's impressive because you travel a lot. Yeah, I mean- A lot of people get sick at that travel a lot.
I've never had the flu. I've never had a flu shot.
I never got COVID. I'm a knock on wood for you because.
I never got COVID, you know, thanks.

That's insane.

I got it four times.

I mean, and so I got a call from my band leader one day.

And he goes, hey, man, you feeling sick?

And I was like, no, not really.

Why?

And he goes, well, I said, I've just been on the phone with everybody today and the whole band has COVID.

Wow. And he goes, so just go get checked.
And, and you know because some of them are you know have no symptoms you know you don't even know that you have it yeah and so i went and got a covid test you know and they shoved that thing into my brain it felt like for real and and so tested negative and i was around the band the whole weekend and so i was like i was like okay well was weird. Maybe just some freak thing happened.
Well, then I was in circles with people, because then they'd be like, hey, man, tested positive today. Just make sure you're all good because we were around each other and all this stuff.
Still never got it. That's insane.
So I have no idea why. Your immune system is just amazing.
Were you sick a lot early on, like as a kid? No. So my grandfather, he had this metal shop, and we would travel a lot and deliver metals, and they would make playground equipment out of it.
Yeah. And so we would go to Dallas a lot.
And right before leaving Dallas, we would always hit the fruit market. And we would load up, we would unload the truck when we were delivering the metal, and then we would load up the back of the truck since it was empty with all kinds of fruits and veggies and things like that.
So like when I was growing up, you never seen me without an orange or an apple or a pear or, you know, a grapefruit or whatever. Like I always had something in my hand that was fruit or veggie.
And so I think that has to have something to do with it. Must be.
And you were washing it. You were just eating it, right? Yeah.
That probably built your immune system because it's whatever's on there. You're just eating it.
I mean, I don't know what was on it, but I never noticed it when I was eating it, I don't guess. Damn, dude, that's impressive.
There's a nasty flu going on right now. I heard about it.
So many people I know are getting it. And they're saying it's like the worst, like the most sick they've ever been.
So i'm kind of worried but well my i'm worried about getting the flu just because like my my aunt kind of spooked me a little bit because she's a school teacher and so they have to get a flu shot every year yeah and she was like i'm just kind of scared that if you ever do get the flu that it's just going to be really bad and i was like hey don't put that on me i was like don't try to scare me. It could get bad, man.
I had COVID and then that turned to pneumonia. Yeah, I did get some strong antibiotics.
I still have some damage from that in my lungs. Really? Yeah.
I got an MRI and my lung has a, what's it called? A tear in it. Oh, really? From coughing so hard? Yeah.
Coughing up a lung is what they say. I literally almost did that.
Oh my God. And now it sucked for someone like you, you need your lungs.
Man, it's, you, you never realize, you know, and I never realized it until, you know, like after you have like, because I'll get like really bad allergies, you know, or a small case of, you know, an upper respiratory infection, like either in the spring or the fall of every year. And it's not anything major, but you never notice like how much you're using your lungs until you get like a small sickness.
Yeah. And then you're on stage and you're singing and you know that like a quarter of your air is gone.
Wow. It's not noticeable.
Oh yeah. From a little cold.
Yeah. And, and just having like a stuffy nose or whatever, you know, when you're, when you're up there singing, you can tell how like one side of your nose clogged up, how much the notes change.

That's crazy.

And it's just so weird because like one one day this nostril will be stopped up and then the next day this nostril will be stopped.

And so it's it's weird how it affects you. I get amazed when I see performers on stage not only singing, but dancing they're singing.
Oh, man. Because you got to be like, your lungs have to be in great shape for that.
I really don't know. And going back to the 90s, watching Garth Brooks do his thing, you know, running back and forth on stage.
And while he's singing these notes, you can tell that he's, and I'm like, dude, I stand up there and sing and I move around and I entertain and I do all this stuff, but I don't know if I could ever have done that. You got to be built different.
Like, Michael Jackson, Chris Brown. Absolutely.
They are literally doing a full workout. Justin Timberlake.
Yeah. All these guys.
Full workout while singing. Have you ever seen Justin Timberlake in a concert? I saw him at the Super Bowl.
Do you see that one? Mm-hmm. Super Bowl? Yeah, that was impressive.
Yeah, Super Bowl concerts are, like, my favorite to watch. I've never been to've never been to a Super Bowl.
What? Never been to one. Damn, you got to go.
Well, it might be too late, but New Orleans next week. That would be a little too last minute.
Yeah, your calendar is probably booked for the year at this point. Well, I mean, honestly, we're just trying to do all we can.
And honestly, I really would just love to just be on the road. And And this is I mean, everybody would be like, oh, I bet you would.
But I invest in people. I love people.
And when people see an artist, an up and coming artist, they're like, oh, he just wants to be the next thing. Well, everybody wants to be the next thing.
And but my purpose and my reason for why I do what I do, I left a great job for 10 years to just chase a dream. Right.
And I enjoy people and people make me happy. You know, like when we can share stories about food or, you know, like I really enjoy people.
And so that is why I would love to be out in the world and doing these things because people make me happy.

Yeah.

You know, and music makes me happy.

And food or whatever that people vibe with, I'm like, man, just do what you love and damn everything else.

Facts.

I love that living, man.

I love that.

What was your job?

You said you had a 10-year job?

Yeah.

So when I graduated high school and all of my friends were going to college and people were going to the military and all this stuff, and I was like, man, I really don't know what I want to do. And my older brother was working for this company in Yukon, Oklahoma, and I was like, man, do I want to do that? I really don't.
And I knew. I was like, man, I really don't want to go to college.
And I had great grades and everything like that.

And I was like, I don't really want to go to college. And everybody's going to OU, Oklahoma State, you know, going down to Texas and doing all this stuff.
And I just had to talk with myself in the truck one day. And I was like, I know you don't want to go to college, so don't go to college.
And so my brother was working for this company. And I was like, do need any help and and he was like yeah they'll always hire people and stuff so i was i was the gopher guy you know go get this go get that you know go get this go get that and and then we started working for another company that was doing the same thing but i did that for 10 years and you know it was like 290 days out of the year dad i mean you made you made great money but i mean and then when you were off you bought a brand new truck or you bought a boat or you bought a motorcycle and so where everybody where i'm from is making all this great money but they're broke because when they're off you know you work hard and you play even harder yeah they spend it all and but you know i mean i made a lot of, everything's heavy.
You know, somebody was asking me the other day, they was like, did you do anything like that Landman show? And I was like, I did a lot of things like that. Like, every day.
It's a hard physical labor. Seeing people get injured and some people losing their life and, you know, all this.
I mean, I did it for that long, you know, and every single day is hard work. Like, it's, everything's heavy.
Yeah, I respect people like that and construction workers and stuff. That shit ain't easy, man.
Physical labor, you can't catch me doing that personally, but I respect those guys for sure. I mean, it's, that's how the world was.
They're the United States, all these other countries, you know what I mean? You have the people that will do the stuff that you don't want to do. Yeah, absolutely.

And a lot of it, they get paid that good because it sucks.

No, it sucks.

But listen, plumbers are making $150K a year, but it's needed, man.

You know, toilets clogged and people need skilled people like that.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's cool, dude.

Where are you performing next?

I think we're doing Isla Mujeres in Mexico next.

Wow, Mexico.

Mm-hmm.

Thank you. performing next uh i think we're doing isla mujer is uh in mexico next wow mexico so country's big out there it's well there's a lot of festivals that go on around around the country and around the world and stuff like that i mean there's i was talking to a gentleman the other day about about going to denmark and they're a big country music loving family over there.
But we're doing Mexico. We're doing Fremont Street in Vegas.
That's going to do well there. In March, we're doing...
I think we're going down to do Monday after the Masters. I think we're doing that.
But we're just trying our best to get out there in the world and just hoping people love it and hoping people love it as much as I do. Yeah.
Country's blowing up, man. It's, it's a great timing for you too.
It's amazing to me. I mean, I've never seen more cowboy hats and boots for real, you know, like even at the inauguration, I don't want to get too political, but like country was there.
It was everywhere. Yeah.
The art, the artists they hired, most of them were country. Yeah.
And it's, I love it because, I mean, I grew up in those little shithole honky tonks where you breathe 72 packs of cigarettes while you're in there dancing around. And you start to go into these bars, even not in Nashville and Oklahoma.
And I go to these bars and people are two-stepping, spinning each other around and doing all this stuff. And I'm like, what is going on? You know, and it's just, it's screaming back to how I grew up.
And it's exciting to me. Yeah, it is.
There's even country bars coming to Vegas now. Yeah.
Aldine's bringing his bar, I believe. Yeah, I saw that.
Yeah. You know, and it makes my heart smile because it brings me back, you know, where everybody grew up, that's their favorite place for the most part.
And everybody loves where they grew up and everybody.

But it makes my heart smile because it reminds me of home seeing what people are doing now in different places.

Yeah.

Because you grew up in a real small town, so you were probably super tight with everyone.

Oh, yeah.

Everybody knew everything about you and stuff you didn't want people knowing about you and everything else.

It's good and bad, right? Yeah. I'm on the opposite.
My class had 820. Oh, wow.
Yeah, it was huge. But I had cousins in Pennsylvania, you know, 50 people.
Yeah. And they were tight with each other.
And I would go there and play dodgeball and whatever, and it'd be fun, dude. I worked in Pennsylvania for a little while in, like, Scranton area and stuff like that.
And it reminded me a lot of home. I could see that.
Yeah, because it's a lot of family values. It's a little prettier, greener, you know, but Oklahoma's flat and you can watch your dog run off for two weeks.
Yeah. You know, and just, but I like Pennsylvania.
Yeah, shout out to PA. Shout out to Quakerstown, Pennsylvania.
Yeah. Small little town up there.
But man, you got acres of land, you got farm animals, you got a tight community. Sometimes you can live a very happy life not making that much, I realized.
Man, people don't realize, and I never knew when I was growing up, I never knew that we were broke. Like, I mean, you say if somebody drew, you know, somebody come down the road and they had a brand new truck, you're like, dang, that guy's got a brand new truck, you know, and he must be making a bunch of money and all this stuff.
And I never knew until this moment that, that we were broke until I went over to my, my grandmother, like sheltered me a lot, wouldn't let me go out. You know, I was the baby boy, you know? And so she would never let me go out and do anything or, or, you know, on, on my prom night, my senior year, I had to be home at 11 o'clock.

You know, I mean, it's one of those things.

But I never knew that we were broke until my grandmother finally let me go stay at my friend Aaron's house.

And he had a TV in his bedroom.

And I was like, damn, y'all rich?

Because I didn't have a TV in my bed.

We had one TV in the whole house. Wow.
You know like that's that's when but we never knew it we didn't care you know we weren't starving to death we we had everything that we needed you know we had clothes we had shoes we had food and you know just grew up on a little farm and you know broke was good enough for us i guess you know i mean yeah that's one of the side effects i of social media. Now everyone compares their life to other people's lives.
Yeah. So you know if you're broke, basically.
Yeah. Yeah.
But back then you could grow up and realize, oh, you know, this is my life. Well, I mean, it was as simple as, you know, if we had steak one night of the week or something like that, or, you know, we were set.
We're like, man, that was great. That's awesome.
You know, you didn't worry about anything else. Did you know your grandparents were strict at the time or you didn't know until later? I didn't realize it.
Wow. You know, because I mean, I knew, I knew that, you know, they were trying to keep us on the path of, of just, and it wasn't really extremely religious and it wasn't, you know, anything else.
It was just, they're, they're trying to make you a good person, you know, And I didn't realize it at the time because, you know, there was a lot of scoldings and there was a lot of all this, you know, like every parent would do, you know. But I'm glad of that because it made me and built me into the person I am.
Yeah. You know, and I think, you know, probably shouldn't say this, but I think more kids need more ass-whipping sex every day.
You know, because, I mean, when you go to restaurants or you go somewhere, you know, to a public event or something like that, and kids are just going crazy, like, now I look at that and I'm like, somebody needs to get that kid. Yeah.
You know, because, like, and it's probably going back to my childhood, but I realize now that it made me who I am. I feel that.
And it made me the person that I am and to respect people and respect people's properties and, you know, their opinions. And it's okay to have your opinion.
So it's okay to have whatever, you know, like it just made me the person that I am. And I'm thankful that I got my ass whipped when I was a kid.
I love that, man. Yeah.
That perspective is cool. I got a couple of spankings growing up and of course I hated it at the time, but I was all over the place.

I was jumping off the walls and like causing a scene, you know,

I probably deserved it to be honest.

I did. There's no doubt that I deserved it.

Looking back, I'm like, man, I deserved every one of those.

But you need to have that, that,

that respect level of whoever your parents are, whether grandparents,

parents, um, cause if you don't have that,

you're just going to do whatever you want.

Yeah. I mean, when I was in high school, you know, that, the wave of get back at somebody that did you wrong was keying their car, you know, or giving them a flat or whatever.
And I was just like, man, like the way that I was raised, somebody worked hard to get that, you know. Yeah.
And for you to destroy something that somebody worked hard for is a no-go for me, buddy. Yeah.
I was never a fan of that, keying and flat tires or whatever. That seemed too extreme for me.
Man, if my grandfather found out I was doing that, shit, buddy. So what would cause you to do that to someone? Well, in Oklahoma, it was, you know, somebody cheated on you in high school or, you know, or whatever.
And so they would go key their car or something like that. And I'm just like, and you're in high school at the time, but growing up the way that I grew up is like, grow up, man.
Like, be the bigger person. You know, but then you got to think about that they didn't have the same raising that you had into where it's, you know, my grandparents were on top of me all the time.
You know, just making sure that I'm doing what needs to be done. And, and like I said, it wasn't strict and it wasn't like overbearing or anything like that.
It was just like, when you say you're going to do something, do it. And if you need to do it, do it.
You know, your word is valuable. Absolutely.
It's gold. Yeah.
Yeah. There's a limit.
I think, uh, you know, they call them helicopter parents when they're two hands on and then you don't want to be the other end. I've never heard that term.
Oh, helicopter. Yeah, they're up your ass all the time.
And then the other way is not any involvement at all. And then the kid, you know, goes crazy.
Yeah. So you need to find that balance.
Man, it's it's just I feel like more and more every day that the world is just losing grasp of of just great people, you know, and treat somebody like you want to be treated, you know, and you hear people talking to people and in a tone. And I'm like, man, I don't know if you even noticed that you spoke to that person that way.
You know, it's just like you would, why would you speak to somebody that way? You know, and life is beautiful and people are beautiful so treat it that way absolutely

when i went to nashville for the first time last year it was my first time ever in the south yeah first time ever in the south i hear heard all these people telling me in my ear that it's racist and all this shit right i didn't experience any of that to be honest man i hate that word so much you know it's to me it's you, you know, like I said, how I grew up is, you know, if you love somebody, you love them.

You know, and it doesn't matter if they're black or white.

It doesn't, like, love everybody.

I mean, and it's, that sounds, you know, and this is not derogatory, like hippie-ish.

But, like, to me, it's like, man, like, how can you not care for somebody for them just being a human being? Yeah. You know, I can understand if they did something to you, you know, and you don't like that person for the person that he is or, you know, his character or his integrity.
But Nashville is pretty mixed up, you know, with the cultures and everything like that, you know, just making a great environment for people to live.

Especially these days.

I don't think I've experienced it in Nashville.

No, but you hear all this stuff about the South, you know, it's crazy.

So people have these preconceived notions.

Yeah.

So you got to be careful.

Yeah.

But yeah, I experienced none of that, dude.

So shout out to Nashville.

Nashville is like I've lived there almost 10 years and Nashville never ceases to amaze me.

Thank you. So you got to be careful.
But yeah, I experienced none of that, dude. So shout out to Nashville.
Nashville is like I've lived there almost 10 years and Nashville never ceases to amaze me.

The energy is something about, yeah, when I landed there, just energy felt amazing.

Yeah.

Certain cities you land at, you could feel it.

Nashville is one of those cities. Man, I never saw it before.

And I packed up my bags one night in Oklahoma and I was like, I'm moving to Nashville.

So I packed everything in the car, drove into Nashville and it was dark when I got there

and I come over the hill and the first thing I see is the skyline.

And I was like, we're doing something because I'd never been anywhere.

I'd never lived anywhere else.

You know, I mean, let alone live in a city.

Yeah.

You know, big change for you.

Oh yeah.

And so when I moved to Nashville, I pulled over the hill and I saw the high rises and the lights and all this stuff. And for the first time in my life, I was like, this is going to work.
I love that. You know, or if it don't work, you know, what level of success are you satisfied with? You know, and for me, it's just like I said, I want to be out running the roads and making people smile and putting some boogie in their boots.
with you know and for me it's just i like i said i want to be out running the roads

and making people smile and putting some boogie in their boots and you know just having a good time yeah there's a lot of talent in nashville man i mean between country and between podcasts there's a lot of talented people out there there's there's a lot of of talented people there that i've seen that don't really know that they're talented. Because you get so desensitized to great songwriters living in Nashville and being there every day and living that life that I think the world kind of forgets about them a little bit.
Yeah. You know? And it's just because that town moves so fast.
But it's a small town in a big city. And there's so many great people that I hope it never happens, but they'll never see the light of day just because there's so many people there doing it that some of these great people that I've seen, they'll just slip through the cracks.
Wow. Yeah, it's a competitive industry too.
And you need the right team around you. There's a lot of different factors, right? The timing.
Yeah. Yeah.
It's not easy. I mean, you've been at this for how long now, man, I've been playing music for and singing most of my life, but I mean, I've been doing it professionally probably 11, 12 years.
Wow. That's nuts.
Not a lot of people are willing to dedicate that much time to something, you know? Well, you got to really want it. Yeah.
No facts. You got to really want to do it, you know? And, and there, there's good days and there's bad days.
You know, there's, there's days when you wake up and, and you're like, man, is this, is this going to work or not? You know, but I've never been labeled as a quitter on anything ever in my life. And, and so if you tell me that I can't have it, watch me, you know, if, and if you don't want to help me do it, I'll do it by myself, you know? And that's, that's just a way that I, that I've always looked at it.
And when you love music as much as I love music and the reason I love music so much is because you can hear a song that you haven't heard in forever, or you've never it in your life, and it can change the mood that you're in. Facts.
And I just, it can take you any place. Like when you hear a song that you haven't heard from middle school, you remember where you were at, what you were doing, who you were with, and all of that.
And I don't know if there's anything else that does me that way. Just music and food.
Like we're bringing it back full circle now. Those two things, man.
You know, I mean, we used to have, do you like moon pies? I've, have I had one? That sounds familiar. What, what is it? It's just like a chocolate covered flaky and it's got marshmallow in the middle.
No, I haven't had one. I heard of it though.
So that was a big thing in Oklahoma growing up. So every Sunday before church, my grandfather would take me to the flea market and he would get me a yoo-hoo and a moon pie.
I've had yoo-hoos. The chocolate milk, right? Yeah.
And the moon pies, okay, so Amish people make those, right? Yeah, I believe so, yeah. Yeah, that's how I know about it.
I don't know that. I saw it at an Amish farm once, I think.
Oh, you probably know that. Yeah.
I mean, I just ate the shit out of them. But my grandfather would get me a Yoo-Hoo and a moon pie.
And then later on in Nashville, I got to do some shows that was sponsored by moon pie. And they put my face on the side of the box.
Wow. And all this stuff.
And it's just like the full circle thing that you're talking about is like food, music, you know, things like that. And my girlfriend had never had a Moon Pie.
And now her nickname is Moon Pie for a reason. I love it.
You know, and so it was, there's not a lot of things that will make me smile more than great food and good people and music. Yeah.
You know, it's just. And that's why you don't screw people over guys.
Cause there's so many full circle moments when I look back on my life, like even with this podcast, the guests I'm having on are people I watched when I was a kid. Like that's 15, 20 year full circle moment.
Yeah. So I never burn bridges, never scam, never do any bad business with people.

You know, your reputation is important.

Even when it probably deserves.

Oh, there's been people that deserve it for sure.

Yeah.

I've been fucked over for sure.

You know, and it's, which I mean, and you can agree with me on this.

Like it is, it's way harder to be a dick than it is to be a good person.

I think it's way harder. Yeah.
You know, like just. Because you got to put in so much effort to be a dick than it is to be a good person.
I think it's way harder, yeah. You know, like, I just...
Because you've got to put in so much effort to be a dick. I mean, there's been times where I have been, but it was warranted.
You know, I think everybody's had those days where, you know... But in the music business and in your line of work as well and a lot of other, you know, lines of work, you know, you're not allowed to have a bad day.
You have to show up for people because people are showing up for you. Right.
You know, and so if you're having a shit day, tough shit. Yeah, you can't.
Get over it. Get over it.
Yeah, you can't show that in your space, right? Because it will affect the way you perform. Absolutely.
Damn, that must be tough. You know, I mean, there's always a part of it, you know, in the music business to where, you know, you've met people that was one of your heroes, you know.
Yeah. And they turned out to be an asshole.
I hear that all the time in movies and acting too. Movies, you know, and so, and that might have been a bad day for that person.
True. You know, but the word of mouth travels so fast.
And a lot of times, times you know people don't care and i don't care i mean if you if you tell me you're having a bad day i'm like i'm sorry buddy how can i how can i help you you know along today right buy you beer need a dip of snuff like what do you need you fat on the back you need to cry or hug you know i got you and but you know it's one of those things where you know like it's i've met people that i wish i never had met yeah because when because of a bad day or yeah when you put these people on a pedestal right people you look up to and then you meet them it's like you kind of get let down no matter what because you idolize them yeah i mean because i always wanted to be these people that i saw you know and the people that i idolize as musical heroes and i always wanted to be these people that I saw, you know, and the people that I idolize as musical heroes. And I always wanted to be those, you know, in their shoes.
I wanted to experience what they were feeling while these people are yelling their songs and having a great time. And you meet that person and you're like, that just killed all those memories.
Yep. That were positive, you know.
And so, yeah, be careful what you wish for.

Absolutely.

No, you hear this.

It doesn't even have to be music artists.

Just with anyone you look up to, dude.

Yeah.

It's crazy.

Yeah, so now I just treat everyone the same, dude.

Yeah.

Are you a music lover?

I used to be.

Not as much anymore, if I'm being honest.

And country wasn't huge where I grew up. We kind of got a little, do you consider Taylor Swift like country or? Oh yeah, of course.
Okay. Cause I know some people are like, no, she's not anymore.
Well, she started out really, really country. Yeah.
So that was like what I saw people listening to, but not anything else past that. I mean, I don't, I don't get into the politics of things because, you know, A, it's your opinion.

Yeah.

You know, which you're entitled to.

But, like, I just don't get in dogfights with people about music or politics or religion and all this stuff.

I'm like, at the end of the day, I respect you for what you believe and do the same for me.

Yeah.

You know, but I think Taylor started out really country.

I think so, too.

You know?

Yeah, now I listen to it with intention.

Like, if I'm going to my basketball game, which I had one last night, I'll put on a playlist to get me pissed, get me angry, you know. Stuff like that.
If I'm trying to relive some old moments, I'll play some 2000s pop, whatever. So yeah, I have more intention these days.
So you're a hooper. I am.
Are you? I used to play. Oh yeah? What was your...
I was a shooting guard. Okay.
Yeah, and I was talking Marcus, and he was like, you ever been to Australia? And I was like, I played basketball in Australia. Oh, so you were nice.
So I did like this international tournament, and I played in Honolulu, and I played in Sydney. Wow.
And so I was like, when they said international, I'm like, you said Hawaii. Like, you know, that's what I'm thinking in my head.
And they were like, no, no, you're going to Sydney also. So I loved basketball and I would never miss a Michael Jordan game.
Ooh. And Sean Kemp, you know, but then you go back to the greats like Dr.
J and like all these people, you know, but like some of my favorites, when I went home for Christmas this year, my grandmother was saying, hey, you still got a bunch of stuff out there in a tote that I found in the closet. And I open it up and it's got my, um, Alonzo morning Jersey in it.
Wow. It had Charles Barkley from the Magic and the Suns.

Damn.

In there.

And I had, I can't remember what the Dream Team jersey was.

Dream Team.

Was that the USA team?

Yep.

Yep.

Pippen?

It wasn't Pippen.

I don't remember which one it was.

But I took all of them back to Nashville with me.

It's actually right here.

So if you can point them out.

Stockton. No, it wasn't John.
Larry Bird. Robinson.
Oh, it was Robinson. It was Robinson, yeah.
Nice. And so, but yeah, I mean, but they're all like this big.
You know, when I was younger, because when I graduated high school, I was six foot 127 pounds. Wow.
You were skinny. I was small.
Damn. And so my grandfather's brother that passed away the same year that I was born, he was 6'7".
So when I hit eighth grade and I was six foot, I was like, man, we're tall. Now we're tall.
That's pretty tall in eighth grade, actually. Yeah.
And I never grew another dammy. Oh.
Peaked in eighth grade? In eighth grade, bro. Damn, that's young.
I still grew until I was like 20. How tall are you now? 6'6", 6'7".
6'6", yeah. Yeah, but I was growing in college.
Oh, really? Yeah. Wow, six foot and eighth is tall, though.
You were probably dunking in middle school then. Man, I was dunking.
So my, this is insane to think, and it still aggravates the shit out of me this day. I never got my first dunk until I was in Hawaii when I was playing.

Because I could get just high enough to where I couldn't get the ball through the cylinder.

And so, I mean, hundreds of days that I can remember my wrist being sore from banging it off the rim,

but I never made one. It would always back iron because I couldn't literally get it down.
Yeah, because the ball's so big. Yeah.
You had the height probably, but you just couldn't grasp the ball. I couldn't get it down anything.
So it pissed me off for so long. All my buddies are dunking in high school and all this stuff, and they're like, dude, I get fast breaks in the game and stuff like that and just lay it up.
Oh, they always give me shit for that.

Every time I'm wide open, they want me to dunk it.

And you never do it?

I mean, I'm gassed sometimes.

It's late game.

Or you're between steps and you're trying to figure out.

Sometimes it's awkward with the steps, yeah.

But no, I love hooping, bro.

Ball is life.

Well, I seen the goal that was out front.

And as soon as we was walking up, I was bumping into him. I love it, man.
Yeah, men's league I look forward to every single week. When you come to Nashville, just come.
I played in the league last year and realized for the first time in 10 years, I was like, dude, this is not for you anymore because my knees don't have it anymore.

And so, like, we get out there, and we're playing in C League,

pretty much beer ball.

Yeah.

And they're throwing the rock to me and all this stuff,

and I'm trying to cross people over, and I'm like,

that was slow as shit.

You know?

Their minds, they can fight so bad in your body.

And then the first game, we show up to C League. These guys are full court pressing this and stuff like this,

and I'm like, hey, man, can we just calm down just a little bit? Well, I'll show up and we'll win for sure. Yeah, so.
C-League, wow. They're full-court pressing this.
They don't even do that at the Lifetime League where I play right now. It was amazing because, like, there was three or four guys.
We played the whole season. There was three or four guys on each team that could walk on to any damn college.

And like,

there's people out there,

there's people out there dunking on us and shit.

And I'm like,

wait a minute.

What kind of C league is this?

I thought this was pickup.

Yeah.

You know, I thought,

I thought we were,

you know,

like you're not breaking down and,

you know,

trying to guard me,

you know,

trying to press on me and shit when I'm trying to get a board.

Okay.

So Nashville got hoopers,

hoopers.

I mean,

if that's the C league,

I can't even imagine a league.

That's what I told him. That's what I told him.
I was like, I was like, man, if this the C League, I can't even imagine the A League. That's what I told them.

That's what I told them.

I was like, man, if this is C League, I want to come watch an A League game.

Because any of those dudes could go play college at any major college,

and they would have them.

Yeah.

You know?

That's nuts, man.

And so we were at Red Door the other night.

We were walking into Red Door, and my buddy Connor that works there,

he's 6'6 or 6'7.

And we played together.

And he goes, man, are you going to play this year? And I was like, man, I don't think so, dude. I don't think I'm going to have time.
And he goes, yeah, we're back in. We're back in and all this.
And we had guys that played college. You know, all this stuff.
And these guys are beating us by 20 in C leagues. And I told him, I was like, man, I don't think, I was like, by the way, that league by the way, I was like, that league's bullshit.
You know, it just reminded me, you know, but. That's funny, man.
Have you ever played against anybody from Australia? No, I can't say I have. Like any big Aussies? Different style though, right? Oh man.
Like. Yeah.
I never realized how good I wasn't. You know, and, and so just big, strong, fast, you know.
More physical, right? Oh yeah, very much so. so yeah it's a different game in europe too yeah when we were in sydney i realized because i mean six foot i never grew you know and so i'm playing against these aussies that are six six six seven and when they come down they get a board they come down their elbow is right here you know yeah so but i mean six six is like the average height these days in the NBA.
I know. I grew up playing center.
I'm like short for center now. I can't play center anymore.
Dude, my Oklahoma City Thunder is making a push this year. They're nice this year.
They might win it, bro. I'm not going to lie.
I hope Shea gets the MVP. They're looking unbeatable right now.
I don't know who could stop them, personally. I mean, dude, we're beating people by 20, 25, 30.
You guys only lost, what, seven games? Seven games. Oh, wait, maybe the Cavaliers are good this season.
The Cavs are good. I thought the Bucs were going to give us some trouble.
Bucs are streaky, man. Sometimes they'll be really good, but we'll see what happens.
I hope we get it. I mean, honestly, because Oklahoma City, I remember going to Oklahoma City and watching it when the Hornets were there, when the hurricane came through.
Yeah. And so they were playing there.
And it's funny because, like, there used to be such this really cool, groovy music scene for country music and red dirt music in Oklahoma City. So you'd go watch Thunder Game and walk out and go into a honky tonk and watch somebody play some country.
And, like, that was right up my alley. You know, music and basketball and all that, you know.
But now all those things But now all those good bars are gone, but we've never won a title, and I just would love that for the city. I would love it for you guys.
Yeah, you need one. That would bring the city together.
Yeah, and Oklahoma City's growing, and I don't know. Everybody's asked me what's my favorite NFL team, and I'm like, well, it's the Titans now because I never had an NFL team in Oklahoma.

Yeah, they never had one.

That's a good point.

And so, I mean, I love sports.

It don't really matter what it is.

I'll watch it.

But I hope we get it this year.

Absolutely.

Justin, it's been awesome, man.

Where can people keep up with you?

Justin Andrews' music on all platforms.

And thank you so much for having me.

Absolutely.

That was a blast. We'll have to do part two in Nashville.
Get some food together. Yeah, let's do it.
Let's do you so much for having me. Absolutely, that was a blast.

We'll have to do part two in Nashville.

Let's do it.

Thanks for watching guys. Check them out.