Gig Gab, episode 542 for Monday, July 13th, National Barbershop Music Appreciation Day, 2026.
I know. That's every day's Barbershop Music Appreciation Day, isn't it? I think.
Maybe we can sing three-part harmony.
This is good barbershop. I've never heard of a three-part barbershop before, but we can try.
Well, one guy had to pee, so, you know.
Oh, okay. Exactly.
Greetings, folks, and welcome to GigGab, the show by, for, and about working
musicians. As usual here in Durham, New Hampshire, I'm Dave Hamilton.
And my guest co-host this week literally grew up on a tour bus.
They are cousins, as I believe. I have it right. They are the sons of Don and
Harold Reed of the Statler brothers.
And together they are the country duo Wilson Fairchild. They opened for George
Jones for the better part of four years, and they have graced the Grand Old Opry.
They've got a new album and DVD, American songbook, country classics,
and gospel favorites. Maybe Barbershop's on the next one.
They carry a family legacy forward while making their own footprints.
Will and Langdon Reed, thanks for coming on Gig Gab.
Thank you so much for having us. We appreciate the invite. We're used to getting
kicked off of podcasts instead of actually being invited on them.
So we're hoping this one goes better.
The day is young.
The day is better. Sure. Yeah.
We're fine. We'll get there. We'll get there.
Thanks for what you do, too, with the spotlight and the musicians. That's pretty cool.
Well, as I say to people, especially people who are hesitant to come on the
show, aren't used to being in the spotlight.
In this way, I always say, look, you know, this is the stories that bore your
non-musician neighbors at cocktail parties, but slay in the green room.
That's what we're about here.
That's great. Say no more. We understand.
Right. Well, and that's and usually that's the response I get is,
oh, oh, OK, like I'm comfortable in the green room. Of course we are.
That's the only place we're comfortable talking is in the green room a lot of
Times this is also the same transition of when i get home and try to tell my
wife a story or something that happened on the bus and it just doesn't translate
sometimes they just stare at you like that's funny why are you telling me this we're like well
the band thought it was funny it was funny when we had no sleep and we just
got got in from the truck stop it was funny then yeah
It's true it's true My kids are in their 20s now, but when my kids were young,
by the time I got home from a gig...
My wife would be asleep because she would have been up with the kids and exhausted
and doing all the things. And it made perfect sense.
And then as the kids got older, I get home from a gig at like two in the morning,
three in the morning sometimes. And she'd be awake. And it's like,
uh, what are you doing up? Like I'm used to having the house to myself. Like, this is my time.
Yeah.
In the kitchen. You're not a musician. Why aren't you in bed?
Right. Yeah. Why are three in the morning eating a Twinkie, drinking chocolate
milk? you're like this is this is me
This is me oh that's right yeah well you and i
Deserve this twinkie i just played for five hours
Exactly yeah yeah yeah yeah why why is there someone else here while i'm making
my nachos like what's going on yes
Right oh we're so glad we found you this is
Great this is great see this is and these are the things that would bore that
there you go we've Just board everyone who is not a musician or not involved in this crazy world.
And you know what, too, right there, if you are a musician, you understand this.
And if you're not, you won't have any idea. But just to let you all know,
I don't care if you ate at 10 o'clock p.m. that night, even after the show.
But when you get home, whatever time that is, you still, we all stand in the kitchen.
Scrounging around the counter. And you're eating like sour cream and onion,
potato chips and a chocolate milk. Well, it's disgusting, the stuff you eat.
But you have to eat something in the kitchen before you go to bed.
Yeah, it's weird. I don't know.
I think so.
It is weird.
Yep. Yeah.
So we've got nachos, we've got chocolate milk, we've got Twinkies.
Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But we're health food nuts. So we don't really
do that. It was just a joke. Yeah.
Sure. That's fine.
Yep. It all, all of the rules are suspended between the moment you get home
from the gig, the food rules.
I don't want to, I just want to make it clear. We're not condoning anything,
you know, but if between the moment you get home and the The moment you go to
sleep, the calories don't count
because you've just made a gig like you're you're negative on the day.
Yeah, that's right. Yeah. It's not on the pyramid. It's not on the food schedule.
It's free time. You know, like you said, what are you doing up during my free
time? This is my you're not supposed to know what I'm doing down here in the kitchen. Right.
Oh, that's awesome. So, uh,
like you guys, you really, you really did grow up on a tour bus traveling around
with, with your families and your dad, while your dads were,
were, were doing the stage thing. Is that right?
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure. Uh, so all of our inspiration,
there, there's no doubt, uh, in our childhood, uh, growing up in the seventies
and the eighties came from our dads who were huge in the country music business.
Uh from from their early start with uh uh
johnny cash who they worked for for eight years until they went out on their
own and started having their own
hit records in the early 70s and um but langdon and i just were always eat up
with the singing learning how to write a song like they did learning how to
sing harmony like they did
and uh but even the excitement of being on the road with them we we tell it
and this is true when we were kids and they would take us out on the road for
a weekend of of big county fairs in august uh across the country
and they'd have eight or ten thousand people at the show we would literally
stand on the side of the stage
take in every note every laugh watch them perform uh standing ovations that
was our inspiration that we always wanted to do music that you know and it was
that just what what that was
Our childhood and not only inspiration, but education, too.
I mean, that's it. We were watching them and then we'd watch the audience and
we'd see, you know, what was working and what was working even better and how
they were moving and saying. And it was a.
Yeah, that's a master class right there.
Oh, we were taking in everything. And I don't even think we realized it maybe
at the time, not till later.
You start, you know, you don't ever realize you're in the moment when you're in the moment.
Sure. It's always still later on. You look back and think, man,
I really need to soak that up and appreciate that and learn from it. And we did.
And so, you know, and that translated to when we were teenagers and we remember
it so well because I was 16 and could drive and Langdon was 14 and didn't have his permit yet.
But I would literally go pick him up on Sunday evenings and we started band
practice. I mean, that's what that's how it started.
Before that, we were singing in church and learning how to play guitars and stuff.
But it literally started that early because we just loved it,
you know. And so we started playing the local gigs and the Ruritan Club meetings
and anywhere anybody would let us play.
So, you know, it's been a lot of years of that. And we can talk about,
you know, dead-end roads in the music business.
But it's been genuine with us all these years.
And, you know, our dads would try to stay out of the way and give us advice
without, you know, getting in the middle of what we were doing.
And that's a tough thing, too, because they would say, you know,
I remember dad telling me, he said, nobody can put you in the music business
and nobody can take you out.
Which I thought was really deep.
But he would also say, you know, everybody's got to have their own thing.
You've got to have something to offer.
We've heard advice from all kinds of people over the years. But it's true.
You know, it's all over the place.
Whether you're a really good writer, a really good singer, or you're just in
the right place at the right time, or you're with the right group of people,
or you met the right manager, it's all over the place how to survive in the music business
Um and it usually takes more than one of those things but yeah and i just stepped
on you saying the most important part say that again would you please
You gotta love it that's it you gotta love the life you gotta want it really
bad you know i've also heard people say about artists that didn't survive and
and they would say well they didn't want it bad enough
and that's true yeah you gotta love it yeah yeah and you know So we share stories,
you know, battle scars and everything from our years and experience with our boys.
And we can talk about them here a little bit, Jack and Davis.
But when we're telling these stories, we realize them then, too,
just as much as you learn what to do, you learn what not to do from a lot of people also.
And our dads were the same way with their experiences and the people that they worked with.
But, you know, you start sharing a funny story like you just said,
a manager, he just said the word manager. And I can tell you like three crazy
stories about three managers that we definitely never wanted to deal with in
our lives. But at least you know that, you know, you
Know that I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to ask you pick one.
You don't you don't have to name the manager.
It's like we're not, you know, but.
But at one point in our career, probably late, late 90s, early 2000s,
when Langdon and I were writing songs, demoing songs, trying to get a record
deal the old traditional way, when the music industry was going the other way.
That was we had a good friend in Nashville who was a booking agent.
And he was like, man, maybe you need a manager.
He said, you know, here's the name of a guy, you know, that's not doing anything right now.
He's had some big success. You know, go see him. you know so that uh langdon's
right two or three different ones and and what you learn in this business and
this is where what we always got caught in
we had enough talent that everybody thought this might happen you know
They might they might they might get a deal you know there might be a really
good 10 down the road on this act but but the whole time as an artist you're
wanting them to do something for you
They're just hanging on to you in case something happens. And that is the music
business. And then they're right there. Exactly. Yeah, these are my guys.
Yeah, I represent these guys.
So we got caught in that several times. And, again, we live in Virginia,
so we would be in Nashville.
And, you know, we'd go to the same parties everybody else went to, met the same people.
And it is so hard, until you live it, to understand how it works.
Uh the the management story i remember one manager that we we met with
and you know we sat down and and they immediately want to tell you how important
they are and you know and that's not important not important we are but i remember one guy that we
met with let's just call him peter all right let's just call him peter one guy
named peter hi peter that we met with that lined and i again but our background
of coming from the statler brothers and our dad's approval and then they're
they're wanting they're letting us you know
do it on our own like you know trying to figure this out right
And there's some value to that like you you gotta like at some level you there
are lessons we can only learn from i i call my mistakes my tuition right and
sometimes you've got to pay some tuition
Yes that's awesome i couldn't agree more that's great so this was one of those
times that we were in nashville on our own trying to make our own connections
own relationships and we're meeting with this manager telling him,
yeah, we got these demos.
We're out doing some county fairs and, uh, you know, yeah, you sing good,
young sing harmony and all that.
Well, all he wants to tell about is the artist, the young artists that he had,
then they won't pick his underwear up off the floor.
And we're like, what? He's like, yeah. He said, you know, I'm representing such
and such. And he said, oh my gosh, what a handful he is. You know,
we're trying to get a deal over at RCA and, and my God, nobody's staying here
in my office and he won't even pick up his laundry off the floor. And I'm like.
You don't have that problem with us. We don't need anybody to do our laundry.
Do you like this song? Can you help us get a record deal?
We want to do more concerts. And that's what we ran into over and over again
Is these crazy stories of things that didn't apply to us.
So we would go on to the next person, you know?
And it was. Again, that's something we learned from our dads because they were
obviously not just top-shelf entertainers and songwriters and performers and
singers. They were businessmen.
They took care of their business, and they treated it like a business.
It made them different than a lot of people that they were friends with in the music.
And so much so that even when they retired in 2002 from the road,
they were able to retire and stay retired and enjoy retirement.
Right. I'm just saying that's the business.
That's the business side right there.
That's the business side. A lot of people, they've had a lot of other artists
that have talked to our dads, and we've even been in on some of those conversations.
And they would ask, how do you mean? I know how to make the money,
but I don't know how to keep the money.
I mean, you know, and you're like, you know,
That's not unique. So I mean, I love that we're talking about the music business
here, because in a lot of circles,
a lot of times, and even in these circles, like that, that that's a that's a
that's a naughty phrase.
Right. But the reality is, like, why is it a naughty phrase?
Why can't we be in business doing this thing that we love i think that's i do
this other show called business brain for entrepreneurs
but every musician is an entrepreneur for the most part right right i mean you
might find somebody who's on salary somewhere but that's that's atypical at best right you know so i
you know it it is common amongst amongst entrepreneurs though every entrepreneur
hopefully is doing something that they love because you're going to do it for
80 hours a week for a long time and not get paid, you know, while you're still figuring it out. But-
What you just said that that that thing, we know how to make the money,
but we don't know how to keep the money.
You know, in the entrepreneur circles, we say we know how to we know how to
earn. We don't know how to build wealth.
Right. And and and that is very true, not just of musicians.
Most entrepreneurs, you figure out something that you can do and make money
and then you just keep squeezing the money machine, you know.
But stopping to think about, OK, well, wait, what what what about the day when
I want to stop squeezing the money machine? Some that that doesn't factor in
for most people is like, well, I want to keep playing my instrument.
I want to keep doing the thing. But who cares?
I get to make a living doing this thing that I love. Who cares about my retirement?
Well, you might be the one that cares later, you know. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
And and again, like Langdon said, we are so fortunate. And our story is so different.
And our dads were so good at that, not only taking care of their business,
but everybody that worked for them, everybody around them. And it was,
you know, a really, a really big thing. And you know why?
They came from nothing. They came from middle class family, you know.
Sharing a bedroom. Yeah, sharing a bedroom, making enough money to put food on the table.
You know, they were very aware of that. But they told so many stories over the
years of all the other people that they ran into in the music business.
And I'll never forget one, and I can't remember the guy's name, and it doesn't matter.
But his story was it was a songwriter that made it in Nashville.
And he finally got, you know, he was down to nothing and wrote a song, and it became a hit.
And so his first royalty check, I don't know, maybe $30,000. I don't know what it was.
He left with his check and went to the first jewelry store and spent it all on jewelry.
That's smart. That's smart right there.
But we've heard more stories, and I won't name names again, but about artists
that couldn't get off the road because every time they came home, they bought a new car.
And so, I mean, but it's it was rampant in country music. I don't know about
rock music. I don't really know about other genres.
No, it was rampant in rock music, too. I mean, yeah. Oh, yeah. Of course.
Of course it was. I mean, you know, and it when you look at it objectively, it makes sense.
You know, you you you have there's a scenario that that I'll just kind of generalize
and call suspended adolescence.
Right. where you know you start making music as a kid and you don't stop doing that thing but
some small percentage but some can get to keep doing that thing and and suddenly
a lot of money shows up but you haven't worked in a way to build up to earning
that kind of money and so you don't know what
you like unless there's someone there to say whoa
right stop and think this you know i a um
I've had business partners like this, too, and it drives me crazy. You know,
in any kind of business, you have, if you're lucky, you have,
you know, periods where revenue goes up and then you will naturally have periods
where the revenue goes back down.
And it's cyclical, right? If you're lucky, it's cyclical. If you're not lucky,
then it just stays at zero and it doesn't matter. Right.
If you're lucky, it's cyclical. but i've had partners that are like that just
think that oh well we're earning x amount per per month or per year whatever now
That you're always going up the mountain it's
Always going to go up and it's like why do you think like we've actually been
partners for 10 years you've seen it go up and down why do you think it's going
to stay here of course it's not right
Stay here yeah right when it
Rains fill up your buckets
Yes so let me say this about the music industry as a whole overall genres are
in one defense of the industry.
The people that end up making the money are not the financial guys.
It's people that are dreamers and they're writers and our brain works different, you know?
So in, in defense of that, I get that, you know, it's like it was,
it was never about, I want to be an investment guy. You know,
it was never about, I want to be a financial planner it.
So, but the, I think the ego gets in the way and whether it's a success on the
road or success with the song,
They immediately think, well, that was easy. I can do that again.
You know, it's always going to be here and they learn the hard way that it's not
As a dreamer. You have to believe that at some level. And again,
I'm talking about like not just music, any entrepreneur, right?
You have any vocation you are. Yeah.
Yeah. Especially if you're creating something and you're doing something that
most people, when you tell them your idea, they're going to say,
well, that's not going to work.
And i always you know my my my default filter for that is i add a
for me on it so it's them saying that is never going to work for me and say
great it doesn't have to work for you it's going to work for me though i believe
it right but you have to have that
that optimism
but at the same time there needs to be a dose of reality in there especially
when it comes to you know filling up your
Buckets you gotta you gotta balance it mix it up and you're right at work and
like you just said about buckets that's exactly right lingo and i did that years
ago uh especially in the early days
uh recording locally making our own cds and then going out and doing shows
and and treating it as a business and you know we got caught like a lot of people
do putting personal capital back in the business so that we could keep playing
music and then we said at some point in time said you know what here's the deal
always trying to to decide how successful you are or not what you know he said okay well
regardless of our other jobs when we come home whether it's you know real estate
or working part-time or whatever it is
this is this business so if if we can't
use the money that we're making for that then then we're not doing it and when
we quit doing that and sure enough then that worked for us too it's like you
know uh we just this is that pie and you know So to stay in it,
you've got to treat it that way.
Love that. Yeah, I think so. Let's let's let's tug on that thread a little bit,
because I think this is a really important thing.
You you're talking about making sure that
your music business, not not not the music business, but your music business
was bringing in more than it was spending.
Is that essentially it? Like you put together a profit and loss statement,
a P&L, right? Yeah, exactly.
Yeah. And again, it doesn't mean that that that was our sole income, you know.
So, you know, but just like, but that's the difference in business people and
just musicians, you know.
But we've done that, you know, both of us over the years, whether it's investment
property, rental property, flipping houses, trying to do other things to keep our schedule free.
So we're not working a full time job so that we can keep doing the music because
it is producing enough money that it's Lisa. If it's not the business, it's a business.
It's a business. Yeah. Yeah.
And create it like a business. Right. Yeah.
I love this. It can be, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm kind of,
you know, translating what you're saying here a little bit.
It's okay for it to be a part-time business that takes up a lot of your time.
You're saying make sure whatever it is.
It's not a money loser. And then and then and then you're good. Right.
You know, yeah, it will eventually. Yeah. Before it can become a moneymaker,
make sure it's not a money loser.
That's right. I mean, you might say, well, that's pretty simple.
But a lot of people don't approach it that way or look at it that way. So sure.
Everybody's life is that way, whether it's your life of the portfolio or you're
diverse over the place, you know, to make different incomes and that thing.
So the same thing when you get into this pie, the music business,
we're diversified, too. You know, all these years before we got our deal a few
years ago with the Gaither Music Group, you know, we put out several self-produced
CDs like a lot of people do.
And now that with digital media, you know, we have CD Baby.
So you know you you have all these different places whether it's concert pay
or whether it's cd baby or whether it's from the record or whether it's from
royalty something you've written it's a business you got to manage it
Yeah yeah and and i what i've what i'm hearing you saying it reminds me of something
my father-in-law who who is
he's got the midas touch any business he touches he just like it's i love it
for him it's great uh but he said something to me that has stuck with me with
every business I've ever had, and that is
manage your cashflow first because you can create a profit and loss that shows
that, Oh, we're making tons of money.
But if it, but you know, if you're not going to see that money for six months,
doesn't matter. You're out of business, you know, that's right.
So manage cashflow first. The profits will come if you can do that. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. You got to be able to pay your bills.
You got to pay your bills. That's it. And yeah, you got to be able to make the
business survive. Even, even if that's not the only thing helping you personally
survive. Yeah. That's right. Love that.
Well, this is completely off the rails from where I thought we'd be.
Oh, I think it's great. No, these are the lessons that I think aren't talked about enough. I love it.
Yeah, that's good. Well, of all of our years in the music business,
we're not here to brag, but of all the hundreds of dollars we've made.
Yes, that's right.
Hundreds and hundred twenties of dollars.
You know, I have a friend who says it like. Like, and this is actually true.
He says, you know, all I worry about when I start something new is can I make
a hundred bucks doing it?
If I can, then I know I can do that 10 times and make a thousand and I can do
that 10 times and make 10,000.
But I like that. Right. I mean, don't worry.
Don't worry about making a million dollars right out of the gate.
It like you never. No one does that.
You start with just figuring out how to make the cash flow in. That's it. Yeah.
That's right hey you know part of that too and this is you know every musician
every artist uh has taken plenty of gigs that they didn't want to take probably um
or or like you know what this doesn't really fit in my travel schedule it's
not on the way back home or on the way out and uh i'm probably losing some money
on on the fuel or lodging or something just to get there to make it happen.
But you also have to have that mindset that every gig, there's going to be an opportunity there.
And I mean, it has to make sense. I mean, you know, you're not going to,
you know, travel from Virginia to Oregon and then back to Texas and back.
I'm saying that route, but I'm saying there are things that we have done and
we've even talked about and think, man, this, I don't know, it seems like there
might be a good opportunity, even if it doesn't, you know, pay what you're thinking
it might sure or or whatever um so
that's the other side of it too is you you have to look that they're not just
it's not always about the dollar amount or how many is going to be at this you know venue um
you have to look at you know what this might be a good opportunity that
will exponentially increase and and we'll see some benefits from this playing
this one gig that don't necessarily want to and we might book four more from
it well i mean that's just the simple version of that sure and
Is i think dad told me this years ago he's like you never know exactly who's
in the audience he said so it you might think that you're in a little town in illinois and
this date is going nowhere and sure enough
it's the sister of a guy that runs a
record label in nashville that saw you perform and so make sure you give it
all to them wherever you're at you know and and we've done that over the years
uh if you show up and you only got 10 people at the show it's really hard but
you got to do it like there's a thousand people there you've got to
Absolutely absolutely always we i had i had somebody on the show that the late
great parthenon huxley uh
who played with uh the elo part two for the the last portion of his career and
he said something really interesting to me.
He said, never punish the people who showed up.
That's great. I love that. I love that. That's exactly right.
We remind each other too, Charlie Daniels, his motto in the title of his book
was don't play to the empty seats.
And that's really important too, because you can get focused on how many people
aren't here or what's going on. But if you don't play to those empty seats play
to the ones that are full even if it's 10 people there whoever yeah so they came to see
You yeah i love that yeah that's great yeah same yeah same same
Same approach yeah same thing
I love that so you mentioned that you guys have been singing together since
you were kids and of course you share what what we all commonly call blood harmonies
right because you are related
So it might be really difficult for you to share what it is that you do to make those harmonies work.
But I'll ask anyway, because it's something every musician that sings wants
to get better at, or at least the ones who want to get better at it,
you know, improve their craft.
What are some of the tricks as you're kind of learning harmonies together for
a new song or arranging things?
What are some of the things that that you guys do if you can even articulate
that and i realize you might not even know at this point
So so let's start at the beginning for us okay great yeah we're our dad's uh
brothers were first cousins right um back to this upbringing with with our dads
being the statler brothers uh
we literally learned a lot of harmony just listening to their records to pick
out i mean i remember you know having a cassette tape of of records that i hadn't
heard because i was too little when they came out
you know back when i was learning to drive put in the cassette tape but it was
a challenge to listen to them sing as four guys and every time i listened i'd
try to sing somebody else's part
you know so singing the lead or then singing the baritone uh didn't never had
much tenor voice but you know faked it with falsetto uh
but that again back to the the thing about being eat up that was a challenge
so you know listening to them is a lot of that uh
langdon and i both play piano so that's kind of a base by ear but that was a
base learning of how the notes work how they work together what the chord looks like um
you know and then that led to guitar but go ahead yeah no if you look at the
The Statler brothers, they've said this too, their formula,
they were country lyrics with southern gospel harmonies.
And so you put those things together and you come up with the Statler brothers.
And so, again, we grew up in church. We're singing hymns.
And that was one thing I would do, too, just as he said, if you're listening
to the Statler brothers song and each time around, you would pick a different
part to try to sing with to learn that, to see where it would go and when it
would go under and all that.
So I did the same thing in church with singing hymns.
The first verse, you know, I'd sing the lead. Second verse, I'd sing the tenor.
Third verse, you sing. All right, I'm going underneath the melody here.
I still do that, by the way. I still do that because if it's not in my key,
then I'll pick a part that it suits me. Yes.
Oh, same. Yeah. Oh, yeah.
And on Sunday mornings at 10 o'clock, sometimes it's tough to hit that.
I always pitched out of my range. I don't know.
But anyway, I never hit that high tenor now.
No, but that's the right time. so this is really interesting because i um
i always sort of sang in bands as a teenager in college i took uh harmony and
theory class and my listeners are sick of me saying this but it's all true it i
i went to school in connecticut uh it was the winter semester and my class was
at my sight singing lab was at 8 a.m on the other side of campus a 20 minute
walk in like the cold wind
And and you're hurting man
Oh yeah but but the great part was so was everybody else right no one was in
you know proper voice at 8 a.m and no one cared
if you were or not and our teacher didn't care and he made it clear he was like it
i don't care about your tone we are singing notes and we and we were learning
it was all interval training and you know all of that stuff interesting but
But to learn how to just do it no matter what at 8 a.m. because your grade depended on it
It was perhaps one of the best lessons I've ever had and doing it,
you know, whatever it was twice a week or three times a week.
However, it felt like it was freaking every day, but it wasn't,
you know, but like it's similar to, you know, you're 10 a.m.
At church. Like, I'm not ready to like belt or anything, but you do it and you
learn how it all fits together.
Then you can worry about your tone and blend, which is like also a thing to talk about here.
But I don't I don't I don't think you get the second without the first.
I think you've got to kind of have that, even if you don't know what it is you're doing.
If you know, you might not understand that. OK, well, this is a I'm saying in
the fourth to the third to resolve that that chord or whatever.
Like, you know what it sounds like. And then eventually you can apply names to it if you want. Yeah.
You know, that's that's funny. Talking about the church singing in church and
then also the parts that you're in, the true part.
The range parts are different ways to approach music with music theory there.
And I can remember a dude standing beside Dad in church, and he could hear the
part I was singing, and then he would say, okay, now you flopped on that last
time around, so make sure you stay true to the part.
And then I would laugh and say, well, y'all flop all the time.
As long as you know where the other guy's flopping. Exactly.
And if you listen to their harmonies and the way that they structured a song,
they were always looking to lift.
They were always, the song would start here, it would increase,
and by the last chorus or the repeat chorus, they would even switch and flop parts
Put the lead on top. Put the lead on top, and then the baritone would be singing
over top the lead, and then they would do it that way. So they would stack very differently.
And that messes with you if you're a music theory guy.
But that was their signature tale. Buck says no. That's right.
Exactly. My textbook is not anywhere in my textbook.
But they had the range and the ability and the talent to do that,
so that was why they structured a song for that energy and that lift.
And so that was four parts. So you're right. that one if one guy had to know
what the other three were singing to make sure he wasn't stepping on his part
and um and so with us being a duo um
you know i've always let will mainly sings the leads and and i mainly sing the
harmonies okay and i've kind of laughed before and by the way i sing really
good harmony i just can't sing it by myself
There you go
Terrible by himself see yeah there you go i
Got it but
I've got a laugh too is and you know as long as i'm not singing the melody i'm
good right you know the duo guy has a lot of freedom
Yes i i'm i'm i'm the same as you langdon i i can sing leads if i
if i need to but my preferred role is singing harmonies because i because i
like to learn all the parts like to me that's the only way
i can be effective and confident as a harmony singer is if i know everyone's parts and
and really kind of have it all and can see it and understand how they lock in
or don't lock in and move around each other. That that's to me,
that's where it is. Yeah.
Here's another thing too. And he said a minute ago, we both play piano now on
stage and our primary instruments are guitars. Sure. He's electric and I'm, I'm acoustic.
Uh, but we, so we're always, most always playing guitar, um, in our shows, of course.
But for me is if I'm thinking of a part that I need to be singing,
I may have the guitar in my hand but I'm thinking of a piano yep
I'm thinking of one, three, and five on the piano.
On the piano. Yeah, because you can see it. Like the piano, the staff piano
relationship is one-to-one. There's only, unlike the guitar, right?
You know, you can pick a note on the staff, and there's only one place on the piano that note lives.
And it makes it really easy to just learn how to map it out mathematically, if you will.
It does. That's the template. That's where I go. I mean, even if we're working
parts out with other singers and I'll have a guitar in my hand and I'm always
looking, I'm thinking, all right, I'm picturing the piano. And I'm like,
you know what? Let me put the guitar down and go to the piano and figure this out. It's just easier.
Yeah, it is.
It's just easier. So let me add this while we're in the harmony discussion, which I love.
That's another part of our career. So we learned from our dads,
the Hall of Fame Stadler brothers.
But Lomond Langan and I started out.
We ended up as a duo really by preference because we really liked what we did
with each other. But we didn't want to recruit.
There was no way we were going to get two guys and make a quartet because it
would never end. That we weren't the Stadler brothers.
We fought off riding coattails our whole lives.
Did not want to be accused of that. You know, these are the songs we write,
these are the songs we sing, establishing our own identity. Sure,
of course! So that pushed us to being in a duo, you know?
And we thought, but what's really been tough about that is growing up with the
four voices and two harmony parts and bass in your head,
we're always pushing it to is is two guys good enough it's two guys singing
together good enough because it's not
what that was right sure you know even our dad's talking about years ago you
know they were they were the first group in country music by the way which is
a huge historical uh mark
because they they are solely responsible for being the first group in country music
so with with four voices live even single country music artists they didn't
want to follow them And rightfully so. Oh, yeah.
Right. You know, the power of four voices, they changed that game.
So that's, you know, a little historical marker, which is pretty cool. That's very cool. Yeah.
But in our lifetime, so Lang and I do the duo thing. And, you know,
every time, you know, a demo didn't work or the record didn't work or,
you know, we're trying to do something else. We're always questioning ourselves.
Well, you know, do are we good enough?
You know, these two voices together good enough when, you know,
if you're not Brooks and Dunn, you know, this is just not going to work because
we're not going to, you know, throw things at the crowd.
But anyway, so then fast forward.
Well, you could take the underwear that that other guy left on the manager's
floor and throw that to the crowd.
See, it did have a use. You just got to play the long game on that.
We should have kept that guy's underwear. So that leads me to,
over the last few years, we're thrilled about what we're doing in these Gaither
records, and we're working a lot more.
So in the last three years,
Our sons, who are really young, they're now going to be 21 and 20 and 21.
OK, so this is Jack and Davis, who you mentioned earlier,
Jack and Davis Reed. Yeah. So they've come on so fast with their talent,
their ability, their stage presence that here within the last year or so,
we do our own exclusive cruise. It's a Wilson Fairchild cruise.
We've been doing it with our boys for small groups that come out.
Well, we started singing some four part together and and we really like it and it's really good.
So that led to when we did this last TV special for Gaither,
American Songbook, Paul Sizelove asked us that, hey, do you boys want to come
on stage and do something with you live? And was like, sure, we'll ask them.
Well, that was a huge success that they did one of the Stadler Brothers songs with us as a quartet.
So so what reminded me of this also is what you said a minute ago about blend
this is not something that we thought about ever because it we took it for granted
Yeah you were doing it already and blend is way easier with two people
not i don't want to say that it's easy but it's easier with two people than
it is with three or four like sure you you have to think You have to be more
intentional about it with three or four, whereas with two,
you sing together long enough and it's just like, oh, yeah, I know where you're going.
I got you phrasing everything down. Yeah, you got it down between you.
We got it down. Yeah. Right. Oh, yeah. The two of us. So, yeah.
Back to the two of us for years.
When we go to do a arrangement on a song, we don't even talk about it.
We just do it. Right. We just do it.
So what has happened now, which was really cool within the last year,
the more we had sung with our boys, the more songs we worked up,
that's what we're hearing from our producers now.
They're freaking out of the blend of four guys. It's two fathers and two sons.
I don't know that this has happened before.
Oh, that's a good point. I mean, it's all still blood harmonies, right? It is.
Yeah, it is.
So we're digging it. We're going to chase it. We're doing it.
It's fun.
But, yes, so not only the blend of four-part harmony, but the blend of four
men, four reed men singing together, who are related, it's a pretty cool thing. Yeah.
Yeah, that's a cool thing, just like from just a father-son kind of thing.
Let alone a thing for others to watch right like there's it's cool on a lot of levels i love that it
Is so certainly in bluegrass and gospel there's been lots of family groups and
most usually you know it's either you know in bluegrass it's either you know
really high tenor type thing or
in gospel there's a lot of times a woman involved in the the group for sure
you know for the high part uh but yeah this thing we're doing with our boys
it's kind of freaking us out but it's a lot
But it is interesting, too, to go from years of just singing a duo to now you
really have to be considerate of two other parts and arrangements and that kind
of stuff. So it is a different way of thinking.
And again, it's not totally foreign to us because we grew up hearing the Statler
Brothers. We've always heard those four parts in our head.
And even our boys have, too. My gosh, they know their granddad's music just as good as we do.
Okay, that's cool. All right. Okay, so you've got the foundation of four-part
harmony kind of in your blood or in your bones, I guess, so to speak, right? Yes.
Because that's what you said, Langdon, about you've got to be more respectful
and aware of those other parts. With two parts—
If you're not hearing it in that moment, you can always just find another note
and, like, make it blend and it works. You know, it might not be,
quote unquote, perfect, but the gig sounded good. The audience was entertained.
Everything's great, right?
Yes.
When you got four people, you don't get to do that. You must stay home. Yes.
And if one guy's out of line, you won't get the next gig.
Right. I mean, it's a,
It's a, you, you, not until you do it. Can you really respect everybody that
has come before you that made a career out of it? You know, it's pretty amazing.
Yeah. It's hard. It's hard. I've been doing a lot more four part stuff this
year with this one project that I've been part of.
And it, it was, um, I resisted it at first.
Because of how much of a challenge it was like it really hurt my brain to be like no
i can like i can do this with two parts even with three as soon as it's four
it's like oh man like yeah shoot i gotta put in the time like and that's really what it is
that's it and once i wrap my head around it was like wait a minute i can't just
show up at rehearsal having heard whatever it is we're gonna do and find my
spot like i can with two especially if it's somebody else i sing with all the
time right right but that i know where to go it's all fine
with this it's like no just like i need to sit down and chart out the the stops
and the breaks for the drum part
i gotta sit down and learn all four parts that like i said that's the way my
brain works so i just gotta know it before i get to rehearsal and then once
i started doing that i was like but i resisted that i was like i don't need
to do this i haven't had to do this for years well turns out yep gotta do the work dave
Yep gotta do the work that's right isn't it cool though i'm sitting here thinking
about all the harmonies and especially with groups
of you know it's all relative of course but they're but the styles are different
whether it's a country group harmony
or southern gospel group harmony barbershop we laugh we open up talking about
barbershop harmony yeah uh and the way that those certain notes are structured as far as where the
Oh yeah bus
Cords or the inverted thirds and all that come in like the beatles when he came
along like or not they had their sound because of the way they
Stack that harmony. They stack their harmonies. Yeah. And they did it differently
than other people, right? You know, Lennon oftentimes is singing that.
I always call it the Lennon harmony, but it's, you know, the fifth below the
root, right? You know, it's that part that just kind of... And then George...
George had the hardest job any singers ever had in a multi in like a multi singer
group because they would give him it'd be like, no, George, let's just sing that.
And like it's the hardest note to find in the middle of the soup live.
Right. But he would find it, man. gosh yeah yeah yeah i've been
the last in the last month this this one group that i do we kind of do celebration
of nights tribute nights if
you want to call it that whatever and we just finished doing a yacht rock
night and a month prior to that we finished doing a boston night and
we had the same four of us were singing these harmonies
and they couldn't possibly have been more different four-part harmonies for
for each of those right right but like
and so it was just like we nailed the boston stuff and i mean it was it what
a pleasure it was to to be a part of doing that we have a lead singer who can
hit all that brad delt stuff and so it was it was great
I have a new i have a new respect for you if you nailed all the boston stuff that's great
We did nail the boston stuff
That's great album
Yes yeah yeah and and i was usually we we did have a uh it was there's three
guys and a woman, but we decided, and this was me kind of pushing this,
and of course then I gave myself the hard job,
We decided, you know, these songs and Alyssa has a great voice and she blends
well with with men. She's got like a nice rasp to her voice. So it really can work.
But there's those Boston harmonies where you hear that top harmony is Brad Delp.
I mean, it's a guy, but it's all those harmonies on the records are just Delp
stacked. You know, it's a stack of Delps. Right.
And and that high harmony is a guy screaming at the top of his lungs to falsetto to hit that.
And we initially just by default assigned it to Alyssa, the woman on the team.
And it was like, no, you and I got to swap for that. I need to like I need to
hit that falsetto. And as soon as we did it, it was like, there it is.
That's the sound. You need to do that stuff.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, we represent the other part of the staff.
We're really two baritone singers.
So, you know, we we listen to all that stuff from the 70s. Sure.
Love that rock stuff. We could not sing it.
You know, so we we represent the bottom half.
Well, but that's a friend of mine who I've played rock gigs with and country
gigs with, and he's been on the show, Dave Brunyak. He calls himself Dallas
Corbin in the country world.
He said, you know, the there's the hyper masculinity is how he described it.
I don't know if that's the right term, but, you know, there's that you're the
the showing off in rock and roll is how high can you go?
Right. And in country showing off is how low can you go? Right.
So the bottom, the bottom end of your voice. That's right. Yep.
So it's really, and it's, but it's, it was an interesting thing that when he
pointed that out to me, I was like, Oh, you're totally right. He's like, yeah, yeah.
It was a big shift going from one to the other.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was. It's always been a chore just for me to sing baritone
with Steve Perry. Steve Perry.
Yeah. Yeah. I love singing with that guy, but I'm not singing in his reign.
No. We'll be underneath of him. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
And all those guys in the 70s, you're right. The 70s, by the way,
hands down, the best decade for music of any genre is that's what we think.
That's what we'll hang our hat on. Yeah.
But it's really interesting. never thought about that with the uh rock it was
how high can they go and then
with country it's uh you were impressing people with how low you and what happened
like how did all those successful rock bands have those guys that could sing
that high and there's none now like it's over like what happened to all those that people
Yeah that's true
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah where is skid where is like skid row of of 2026 right exactly
Wow
oh like what happened yeah i don't understand yeah
Yeah i don't know that's a it's a great question are we are we not prioritizing
that right now right like that like you know also another question to ask is
and and there have been studies done on this and i love the nerdy stuff so here we are but let's do
A skid row we're gonna do a skid row tribute album in a baritone
Ring heck yeah that'd be amazing yeah
Yeah that would that would really not sound good
Okay uh but like all the the modulation
in in songs is not it like that trick was used on you know half the songs
in popular music for such a long time and then it really just stopped like most,
I'm not saying you guys don't necessarily, but in general music,
we've stopped using the modulation trip
to give a song a lift at the end.
Yes, absolutely. So that's so funny that you say that because
We were raised on the modulation, that it was a thing, and it was a crowd-pleaser.
It was good on the record. It was good for the quartet thing.
And if the story took a turn, then you'd modulate.
Of course.
Yes. Accompany the lyrics. Go ahead. But I'll never forget a good friend of
ours who's successful in the guitar world.
Producer world. Producer world. And songwriting world. And he was producing
some records on us, which were in the country field.
And he was totally against the modulation. He's like, yeah, there's no reason
to do a modulation. You know, don't, you don't, wouldn't, what was his reasoning?
You didn't do it unless you had to.
Yeah. We were like, you know what? We want to change. Yeah. Let's do this second
course. Let's come out of the break. Yeah. I mean, yeah.
He was like, you know, you don't want to do that. Like he was totally against it.
It was the first guy I'd ever heard say, you know, that's, you know,
nobody should have ever modulated in the history of music. I'm like,
well, I don't understand that.
I think, I think John Bon Jovi might agree with him because bon jovi has has
cursed himself for that modulation at the end of living on a prayer he's like
who was i thinking that that was a good idea he's like i can't deliver that now like
yeah yeah exactly yeah it it's interesting but like i mean but everybody i mean
you know just songs off the top of my head like like uh already gone has a modulation
in it right is right yeah Right at the harmony, right?
Like at the acapella break into the second chorus, right? It just jumps way up. It's crazy. Yeah.
Oh, yeah. It is.
And there's a ton of songs. But the working theory that I have heard is that
when rap music started to become popular, it became more about...
The lyrics and less about the chord structure and the melodies and that is where
people i mean you can kind of point to it so coincidentally that's where the
the modulation stopped being used as frequently whether whether it's because
of that or not it's sort of hard to say right obviously we don't have another
sure but another timeline to look at but
Yeah it did not fit that type of music no exactly
Right yeah there's no reason for it like that yeah like i can see where you
know your producer friend saying that why would you do that there's no reason
for that well not there but here yeah man it gives you that oh yeah yeah oh
Yeah but it's probably because we're always on the bottom yeah we have room
for we got room yeah if we were screaming the first key we probably wouldn't
want to scream the mod so yeah
Yeah it's different i like the sound of the modulation i don't always like having
to deliver the modulation because i'm usually up top somewhere so i totally Exactly.
I totally understand.
Yeah.
Yeah. But you can turn it around. Like, we actually do live in our prayer in
one of the cover bands I'm in.
And I will sing unison for those lines in the chorus with our singer.
And then we kind of break into a harmony.
And for the modulated chorus, I'm singing a harmony with them the whole way
through because I don't have to go up there. Screw that.
Yeah. I understand. Yeah. Do all you can do.
Yeah, that's right. Discretion is a better part of valor in those moments,
man. Find a note in the chord and enjoy.
Exactly. Jump in and hang on. Turn the guitar and nobody will notice.
No, nobody knows. The crowd's singing along at that point. It really doesn't matter what we do.
Right. At that point, save your voice.
Yes. Yeah, you've got the next song to start. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
So I know we're going longer than we discussed, but I want to make sure to tell
people you have this new album and DVD out, American Songbook,
right? The country classics, gospel favorites.
We do. So that's our new album release off of the Gaither Music Group.
And what's really cool about Gaither over the last few years,
We have always been a country music duo. That's what we do.
And we do gospel music as well. But they were willing to release these as country
records for us. So we're able to do traditional country and do gospel and that type of thing.
But on American Songbook, it was a look back over the last 60 years in American
music of songs that influenced me and Langdon, and things that we've covered
over the years, different artists that we know.
And this goes back to Chuck Berry with Johnny B. Goode in the 50s,
we love all things Elvis. So we did an Elvis cut from the 50s.
Coming up to Simon and Garfunkel, we did a version of Bridge Over Troubled Waters
with an acoustic guitar on the front instead of piano. You know,
we did that type of thing.
Um, we also did, uh, with some other, we did mean Bobby McGee on there,
which is kind of a funky arrangement that we've been doing for 20 years.
Um, so these are songs that have always been a part of us. And another one we
talked about growing up, uh, of course, again, we got, you know,
amazing grace and I saw the light as far as, um, with, with gospel songs.
Uh, but one that really stands out on there too, is, uh, Bill Withers song, lean on me.
And uh we you know we of course he had it first and then
uh you know a long comes in the 80s you know and the version we heard was what
club nouveau yeah that's right club nouveau's thing that real uh another hit
synthesizer infused lean on me
and uh but that i don't care who's doing it it's always had that beat that you
just gotta move your head and clap your hands to probably that's that's the turing
Test right you know you're a robot if you don't move to that song
So exactly exactly so uh what's funny is how we got to that song
i remember i was in stanton virginia one day at 7-eleven getting coffee and
i think the club nouveau version was on and i heard it and i remember when we
were teenagers we liked when that song came out and we heard it the second time
around but i called langdon i was like
we could pull this off we could actually record this song and bring something
new to it i'm sure there's a lot of people that like the song that might not
like our version but uh it's the first country version like there's a steel guitar on our version
and it's got a real when we go into it it's got a real uh uh wayland wayland
drive to it and it's yeah you know
All right i gotta check this out yeah
Oh yeah yeah so uh so it was fun but that's what's on american song it was our
american songbook you know and it
Looks like i just don't want to leave that topic without calling out it you
have jack and davis uh singing uh i'll go to my grave loving you on this with you so there's
That's on the dvd and the video version of it okay okay a little little taste
of the four of us singing together exactly yes
yeah very cool so it was fun um picking these songs for this project And then
also the songs that, again, when
this is a process that we go through, Will and I, we each keep a long list on
our phones of songs you hear and like and that are maybes always along the way.
Then we get with our producers, Michael Sykes and Johnny Minnick,
and we hash it out and use them as a sounding board.
And then they'll throw out, hey, have y'all ever thought about doing this song?
And we're like, oh, my gosh, no. I don't know if we can do that.
Oh, just try it and think on it. All right. You know, and then you kind of back
into it. And then we get together a week later and think, you know what?
It might work. It might work. So I will say that though, too, there's,
I think it's important. It's important to push yourself as an artist,
as a songwriter, maybe write a song that you wouldn't ordinarily sit down and
write or form or sing a song that may not be in your wheelhouse.
But but also but don't ever go outside too much to sing something and perform
something that's not believable.
And I can remember too I know you do as well sitting in
A record office in Nashville talking to a really good friend and this was early
on too I hate the term trying to find ourselves but we were experimenting with different
different ways to sing and and what was hot and were we chasing the trends or
what we were doing and and just let you know what he's talking about is a period
of us cutting our own demos trying to get a record deal sure uh
we cut a couple things that sounded a little boy bandish i'm gonna go ahead
yeah and and we we did some false setup harmonies and uh and the songs were
pretty good but we were chasing what was going on to try to get somebody's attention
yeah whether it was to to record the song that we had written or
To, uh, to record our sound.
Uh, but I remember talking to him and going back and forth and we were having
an honest conversation about our identity and what we should be doing. Yeah.
And, and he said, guys, you know, push yourselves and think outside of the box.
But he said, I promise you, I know both of you all well enough that you are
not going to do anything that's not believable.
So we're not going to, you know, spike our hair and, you know,
and pierce our noses and and and sing punk rock music or scream the falsetto you know i mean
but i mean you know if we all of a sudden did that and you'd be like what that's
not believe they're not doing you know so and and he knew us well enough and
we know ourselves you know that we would not do that but don't be scared to
push yourself a little bit
that realm of i don't think people are going to believe that we're singing this
you know um But it's something like Lean on Me.
We pushed ourselves, and it's so cool, and it is so believable. Oh, yeah.
Well, I mean, you don't even have to say that it's – but just the way you're
talking about it shows, proves that it's believable, right?
This is something that comes from you. I've always –
said uh that i love when we
on the show a lot we will talk about um especially in the early days of this
this show the first five or six years we talk about you know including quote
unquote vanity songs in your set the songs that you put in there for you not
for the crowd or whatever
and right i you know when i'm going to see a band that's that's singing their own music
i think the cover songs that they choose are those vanity songs right i mean
yes it's a song that everybody knows but you're showing me a piece of who you are now we might
i might realize oh we relate on this i'm into that too right and then that that
creates a deeper connection and it's wonderful and it is nice especially if
you're playing for a crowd that's never seen you before to give them something
they might have heard before there's all that but i really see those as as like the
the most vanity of vanity songs because you're you're picking something hopefully that you love even
especially if it's outside the realm of
the genre that that that you are known for writing songs and performing songs and i think it's great
Yeah oh sure yeah no you're talking about that as your cover songs and again um
we have been um of course influenced by the statler brothers and southern gospel
harmonies and groups and we can tell you all those
but again growing up in the 80s was our was the bulk of our childhood so all
of that music it would definitely impact it we both have older siblings so we
were always listening to whatever they were playing in the car and
um but there was a time uh
you know in our show to where we would we would do a crystal gale song
and then we would do a conway twitty song and then we did the cars you might think oh
yeah you know and it was our country version of that and then and it was so
cool to see the because we grew up listening to that i mean it was so cool because
we saw people of our generation they're like
wait a minute i know this song it you know and they were singing the words they're like who had
This song why do i know the words yes and
They weren't expecting us after after leading with those two artists to come
back and sing you know a car song and so that was fun i mean that's but that's
who we are and that was believable
Too but that's the thing like a well written song can be adapted in those ways
too oftentimes not always but you know oftentimes you can just kind of you i've
always said even if it's a cover band
unless you're working really hard to be a tribute band or something
you know the the the song sounds like whatever
that group of people sounds like when they're playing like
you you put the song in the top of the hopper and the machine of the people
grinds it out and it comes out is it going to sound like if i go play a cars
song with my band is it going to sound just like the cars i don't think so you
know it's but it's it's going to sound like us
and and and if you can like you said if you can deliver it and show people that
you believe in it, then then you've succeeded.
I think so.
So along so long with all that, there's two things I just wanted to mention.
So on American Songbook, Langdon and I did get a song on there that we wrote
together. It's called Amazing What a Hug Can Do.
And it's a story song. And the interesting thing about this,
and I want to tell it to any anybody out there that's coming along,
writing, singing, looking for advice.
Langdon and I went through a period in the early days and we wrote a lot of
songs together and we wrote some good songs.
And, you know, but we were demoing like this song at a time that nobody in the
country music industry wanted to hear a story song. You know,
it was going it was going rock. It was going bro country. They did not want to hear this song.
So we were doing this project and along with the country and the gospel flavor.
We said, you know what? This is just an uplifting song. You know,
there's nothing with everything going on in the world in 26,
you know, everybody can relate to a hug. You know, I mean, it's just that's
pretty easy. So we pulled this out of the folder.
I can't offend anybody with a hug.
It's not 2020 or something.
Exactly. I couldn't help it.
Yeah, you couldn't pass that up.
If you're going to tee it up, I'm definitely taking a swing at it.
I'm glad you did. So we got to finally record this song and put it on this new
record, and it had been in the folder for at least 20 years.
Wow. That's awesome.
But a good song is a good song.
You said it's an uplifting song. Does it have a modulation in it?
You know, we did not. We didn't mod it. We did not. Did we mod it on the demo
early? We modded it on the demo. Originally. And then talked ourselves out of it.
So listen, we're liars.
But when we recreated it and sped the tempo up and uh we did not model
Got it got it yeah yeah i had to ask again oh
Yeah i'm glad you did so go listen to it's amazing what a hug can do and let
us know should we have modded right yeah that's
Right there you go yeah uh so if people wanted to let you know where would they find you
We are at wilsonfairchild.com, and we are on all social medias, Wilson Fairchild.
Amazing. Yeah. And our music streams everywhere. Like we tell everybody,
no matter what river you're in, we're streaming there. So you go right ahead.
Look at that. That's good.
Whatever, no matter what river you're in. I like that. That's a good line.
That's good. I'll give you credit the first few times I use it,
and then I'm just going to steal it. Then it's yours.
You tell people. That's fine. You can't copyright a line. That's fine.
I mean, you can't. You literally can.
Right.
Thank you for doing this. This has been obviously an absolute pleasure.
And I think there was something for everybody in this audience here today.
So I really love that. And we have so much more we can talk about.
So let's stay in touch. We'll revisit.
We'll do it again. Thanks for having us. And I really enjoyed it.
My pleasure. Sure. Before we go there, there is one thing that that I we always
say three words that we always say at the end of every episode.
And earlier in the episode, Langdon, you shared that the sentiment of always
be believable when you're performing. And I think that's important.
But there are these three words. It would I could certainly say and but it'd
be even better if one or even the both of you you wanted to say or however you
want to do it. the floor is yours.
Very good. Very good. You go first because there's something I want to say about
this. Oh, yeah. I'll say the three words then. Go ahead. Okay. Then you end it.
Let me tell the story. Then you end it. Sure. All right. Let's do it that way. That's fine.
Very good. So I just saw a video on socials recently of Jimmy Buffett had said
sometime in his career, which I love because he had his own success story, huge success story.
But he was giving advice and he said, you've got,
If you're going to make it in this business at any level, you've got to get
on a stage and you've got to sing in front of human bodies.
You've got to share that experience one-on-one with other people,
you know, aside from the records, aside from TV appearances or whatever.
And, you know, I've never really broken it down to think how important those
live performances are. It's personal. It is personal. Yeah.
And you have to make that connection to build that audience, to have a following.
And that leads exactly to the three words. Always be performing.
Well, I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for coming on the show,
Will and Langdon Reed from Wilson Fairchild. Make sure you check out the show
notes at giggappodcast.com. And, of course, Gig Gap Podcast and all the socials.
We'll see you there and we'll see you next week. Thanks, guys.
Thank you, Dave.
Fun one. Love that. You guys are professionals. It's like you've done this before.
Hey, I don't even have a real phone case. It's just black. Look,
it's just a boring brown phone case. Black and brown. It's just functional.
I love that an inside joke is just going to make it here at the end. Later, folks.
