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Hey, everybody. It is I, Rob Lowe. My mom was an English teacher, and she used to insist that I say, it is I. It is I, Rob Lowe. It is me, Rob Lowe? Listen, in theory, it's supposed to be, it is I. So I want all of you to start saying that. Somebody calls you on the phone, it is I. Anyway, it is I, Rob Lowe, and it is literally. Today, the legend, Trace Atkins, country star,
Just the voice of, I mean, his voice sounds like you're pouring maple syrup all over your body and then putting whiskey on top of it and then lighting it like a flambe. And he also has the greatest song ever written, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk. I mean, to me, I can give you a lot of stats about all his top 10 hits, all his top 20, all his Grammys, his, you know, 25 year career and all. I could do all of that, but bro, Honky Tonk Badonkadonk. I got nothing more to say.
And a super interesting man. I mean, he this man was born, born to be a country star when you hear about his life. So pour yourself a whiskey and settle on in. You're not currently shooting the show, right? You're you're you guys. Do you guys did your show before?
Like what a year ago and then COVID they held it as something like that. We started in September. We were supposed to wrap February 15th and we ended up wrapping April 15th. So yeah, a couple of months we got delayed by COVID several times, um,
But we finally got it done. So, yeah, we're not shooting now. I don't know when. They haven't told me if we're going to do a second season or. Welcome. Welcome to the world of of being an actor.
Well, I, you know, I'm, I'm still doing shows and stuff. So, you know, I got my side hustle that's still going. So I'd say your side hustle is working out good. Let me ask. So you work closely with, um, Susan Sarandon on the show, who obviously is a legend and, um, Anna Friel, who I saw, I did a movie with her and, um, saw her on, in, on Broadway. Yeah.
And she's just spectacular. What were your observations, if anything, about working with those two? Because they're really just amazing actors, the both of them. Yeah, they are. And so I was terrified to work with both of them because I'm not an actor. And so I was really nervous about all of it. But I quickly realized that when you're working with people like that,
you just, they're going to carry it. So you don't, all you have to do is just try to swim in their wake and try to keep up and it's going to be okay. And once I realized that, there was a strange calm that came over me and I enjoyed every minute that I got to work with both of them. And with Anna, especially to watch her go from her normal British accent and then straight into East Texas and
You know, as soon as they said action, it was pretty amazing. Yeah, she is spectacular. There's one of my favorite movies is the movie Closer. Mike Nichols directed it. She invented the part that Natalie Portman plays in the movie on Broadway. And she was just amazing.
Amazing. I was doing my research on you and bro, you got into a lot of accidents as a kid. Did you ever think at one point maybe you should put a bubble around yourself? Because my bro, you should have bubble wrapped yourself. It's unbelievable the amount of of accidents you got in. We got broken ribs, punctured tooth, lungs, nose partially torn off.
We've got knee injuries in football. Well, I just, you know, I don't know. Lucky, unlucky, I don't know. I guess I'm still here, so maybe there's a little luck involved in that. But, yeah, I've got – I terrify kids when I go to the beach. I'm scarred up from one end to the other, you know. I mean –
two open heart surgeries and all kinds of things. So, uh, broken legs and all, I broke both of ours, broke one of my legs. Yeah. Busted my ribs. I've had multiple surgeries and truck wrecks and, uh, you know, oil field accidents and bullets and knives and beat up. And, you know, I've not led a sheltered life. So I put myself in those positions from time to time. I'm afraid. Well,
I mean, it's almost like you were destined to write country hits. It's like, if you have that kind of a life, it's like you might want to be a country star. The day I broke my ribs on the oil rig. I mean, you're in. You're in. That's an opening line. It's over. It's on its way to number one. Well, I cut my finger off on the drilling rig, and then they...
They put it back on, but they said it wasn't going to work. So they asked me if they wouldn't put it straight or what.
And I said, no, put it in the sus position. And he didn't know what that meant. And I said, so I can suspend a D chord or a G chord on the guitar. If you put it straight, might as well just cut it off. It's going to be useless. So I had him put it like that so that I could at least hammer a string on the guitar with it. And, and you can, obviously it works. You can still hammer. Yeah. I can't reach up the neck, you know, to make bar chords and stuff that I used to be able to, but Hey,
Hey, I've got some of the finest guitar players in the world that are on stage with me every night, so I don't have to worry about it. How many dates a year do you feel like are ideal for you to be out on the road? Where you're like, yeah, this is great. And then there's that moment you're like, you know what? Enough already. I want to be home. Yeah. At this point, I want to be about a 40 kind of guy. That's about what I want to do now.
I've done 140 or more over the years. I just don't want to do that anymore and I don't have to. So, you know, and plus my voice, it's like if I do three shows in a row, three consecutive nights, I can tell it's starting to get a little scratchy. And then once I get to four and five, I'm having to fake my way through it. And I don't I don't like doing that. You know, I used to
play, you know, five hour dance gigs in bars, seven nights a week. And I had tungsten cords and I just can't do that anymore. You know? So, uh, I, I want to keep it about three nights a week and, uh, have a shortened, uh, season that we do that in. And I'd like to get in about 40, maybe 50 shows next year. Do you have a vocal care regimen or vocal warmup regimen?
Yeah. Before I go on stage, I smoke a Marlboro and drink a cup of coffee. You literally smoke a Marlboro. Yeah. I think there's a lot of voice coaches listening right now who just had aneurysms hearing that. Well, I took voice when I was in college, and so I know the way you're supposed to do it. I know all the...
the warmup techniques and the breathing, breathing techniques and things you do to loosen up and everything. And I just, you know, I just don't anymore. I know what I'm supposed to do, but you know, that's like a lot of other things in my life. I know what I'm supposed to do. I just don't do it. See, I'm just telling you as a guy doesn't know you well, but is just being around you about every third thing out of your mouth is a song. And right now I know what I'm supposed to do, but I don't.
is a great title for a country and western song. I'm recording all this so I'll go back and... Okay, I just want writing credit. I've never had writing credit on a song. Maybe if that takes off, you can be on one of my bucket lists of having writing credits. Okay, so country and western, who were your influences, like your earliest influences?
The albums that my dad had, he had all those classics back in the day. Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Don Williams, just all the ones. George Jones, of course, Merle Haggard. So that's what I grew up listening to. That's what I aspired to do.
But I started out singing bass in a quartet, in a gospel quartet. Oh, wow. And I did that for about four years before I finally got the confidence that I thought maybe I could stand up there by myself and do it. So I started taking my guitar around to local jamborees and hayrides. That's kind of how I finally got the guts to do it by myself.
And what age would this, how old were you? I mean, because you worked really hard at a lot of insane regular jobs before you really launched into it. So what age is this? Yeah, I was probably about 22, 23 when I finally started playing country music in front of people. Yeah, and I was working in an oil field then. I worked in an oil field until...
1992. So, you know, music was my hobby and I loved it. And, you know, I'm one of those incredibly fortunate people that my hobby turned into my career. And I joke about it sometimes, but it's really true. It's just my music career is just a hobby that got horribly out of control and just consumed my life. Yeah.
Was there a moment when you went, hmm, maybe this is going to happen? Yeah, I think after my second single came out and Cletus Judd did a parody of my song, that's when I thought I had made it. Yeah, for sure. 100%. I once had a movie come out, and like you said, your second single wasn't your first. We went, aha. I'd had a couple movies come out, but it wasn't until I saw people dressed up as me at Halloween. Yeah.
That I went, oh, maybe this thing's going to have some staying power. Quick question. Why was it called, when I was a kid, Country and Western, and now it's just Country? What happened to the Western? I don't know. They dropped that a long time ago. They did. They did some market research down in Nashville. A bunch of guys in ties got together and said, we think you should get rid of Western.
I don't know. I don't know when that happened. I don't know what meeting that was. I wasn't there, but I remember when I used to say I sang both kinds of music, country and Western, you know, so, but they dropped the Western. Do you feel, I mean, everything in the world and everything in the entertainment business continues to evolve and is changing.
almost unrecognizable from the times that we both came up. What do you see as the biggest change or difference in country now versus when, Jesus, when you were listening to your dad's albums, it was different eons ago, guys like Buck Owens. Nobody plays that kind of music anymore, really. What do you see the changes as?
And if they do play that kind of music, they're considered retro. You know, yeah, there's traditional country music now is retro. You know, so. Wow. It's I remember when I first came out and my first number one, actually, this ain't no thinking thing. I basically had just taken my beer joint show and put it on a bigger stage and
And I danced just like I did, you know, in the honky tonks on stage. If I felt moved to dance, I would dance. So I did that in the video for that song. And it just people went kind of crazy. And the traditionalists and the purists all started railing about it. You know, it's like, oh, that's not country. Look at him up there dancing and stuff. No, you don't do that in country music and stuff.
You know, so I had to deal with a little bit of that. And now it's like that's so benign, you know. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, right. It's ridiculous. But I think the biggest thing for me, the biggest change is just the medium. I mean, you know, it was...
solely radio when I came out and the videos were, you know, that was a new thing at the time, kind of new.
But now, I mean, with the computers and the internet and everything, to me, that's the biggest change. You can get your music out there. You don't have to have a record deal. It's just a free-for-all now. I don't know if that's helped or hurt, but I do know that country as a format is never more, it's never been more popular or bigger than it is now. That's what it seems like to me. It feels like
It's bigger than it's ever been. All set for your flight? Yep. I've got everything I need. Eye mask, neck pillow, T-Mobile, headphones. Wait, T-Mobile? You bet. Free in-flight Wi-Fi. 15% off all Hilton brands. I never go anywhere without T-Mobile. Same goes for my water bottle, chewing gum, nail clippers. Okay, I'm going to leave you to it. Find out how you can experience travel better at T-Mobile.com slash travel. ♪
Qualifying plan required. Wi-Fi were available on select U.S. airlines. Deposit and Hilton Honors membership required for 15% discount terms and conditions apply. My dad played country. He was a Jerry Jeff Walker guy. That was his thing. I love Jerry Jeff. And other stuff. And, you know, I've certainly, you know, I like country music, but it's not like I really grew up steeped in it. But what my...
my understanding is, is like all of the music I loved as a kid today would perform better under the country umbrella. Like songwriter, like, like singer, songwriter, story, song, lyrics being important, harmony, melody, like that's gone for the most part from, from
from let's call it popular music and it, you know, continues to thrive in, in country. So I think a lot of the bands that I love that were rock and roll or wherever the hell they were, you know, today wouldn't, wouldn't be, they'd be, they'd be country stars. A lot of them, a lot of them. I, I believe that two of the, you know, sainted rockers, Bob Seger and Tom Petty, I think if either one of those guys came out today, they'd be country acts.
100%. They may get mad at me for saying that, but they're older. Bob's really old and Tom's gone, so no disrespect. But I think if they came out today, they'd be country acts. Well, and then the Eagles? The Eagles for certain, yeah. The Eagles, yeah. And all those Southern rock bands, Leonard Skinner, 38 Special, they would – Molly Hatchet –
All my brothers, of course, would be a country band or a blues band. You know, and also in those days there were regional bands. I remember I grew up in Ohio and then like I was like 13, I moved to California and you would hear music in California that you would never hear in Ohio on the radio. And you would hear music in Ohio that you would never hear in California. And it blew my mind. Like Molly Hatchet, I promise you, was never played in Southern California.
Not once. And you'd land on the plane and date in Ohio, and I'd be like, who are these? Molly who? What? And I really miss that. I miss traveling across the country and hearing a song 17,000 times in a row that you would never hear in a different part of the country. Yeah. There are a couple of places still that I know of where that happens still, and that would be...
South Louisiana and Texas, they're still regional stars in Louisiana and Texas. South Louisiana is because of Zydeco. You're not going to hear Zydeco anywhere else. No, don't know those guys. South Louisiana.
Yeah. And and then there's a lot of that red dirt, Texas music that there are stars in Texas that people around the country may not be aware of. But in Texas, there are stars. You do you have favorite collaborators in terms of your writing? I do. I have.
I have these go-to guys that I have an idea and I think unfortunately I've become one of the laziest songwriters on the planet because I have the good fortune that I've been in this town and been in this business long enough and I know some of the very best songwriters in the world because I think that's what we have here in Nashville and that that's the pool we have to draw from that's the well we draw from but if I have an idea
whether it's melodically or lyrically, I think, okay, whose wheelhouse is that in? And then I'll call him up and I'll go, hey, Monty or Casey or Rivers, you know, here's my idea. And so that's the way I do it now.
Do you write on guitar? Do you write on piano? How do you write? I write. If it's just me, I'm writing on guitar, but I would rather write with piano. I'd rather... For me, it's just such a bigger world. Piano just...
It's, you know, there's so many more places that I feel like I can go. And that's that may not be true. And there are some musicians out there that would listen to this and go, ah, you idiot. But I don't know, just for me, if I'm if I'm writing with a good piano player, it's just a bigger world. Are you a Strat or a Tele guy?
Oh, wow. That's it depends on the song. It depends on the song is what tone I want. Yeah. Right. You know, whether it's going to be a Strat or a Tele. I feel like I feel. Well, no, I guess you're right. I always feel like the Telecaster is the ultimate kind of.
Well, yeah, the telly's just grittier. It barks at you. It's a little nastier. You know, the Strat is more melodic. And I don't know. For me, it just depends on what kind of song you're doing. You must have seen a lot of changes in Nashville. I mean, good Lord, that town now is...
hot as a pistol and people coming from all over the world there. It's one of my favorite places on the planet. I always try to talk to my wife about fleeing California to go to Nashville. I haven't gotten her there yet, but we may end up as neighbors one of these days. It's pretty great. Well, you may be the last one to get here because everybody else is coming. Oh, it's unbelievable. You guys should just have people at the airport going, Californians, go home. I mean, it's unreal, isn't it?
Yeah, well, yeah, it's I swear I moved here in 92 and I've seen this place grow into a legitimate city. I mean, the sports franchises that we have now and the infrastructure is
Uh, and the, the whole, this, the downtown is still, you know, a forest of cranes because there's so much construction still going on. It's insane. Where are all these people coming from? What do they do for a living? I have no idea, but it's not stopping. Yeah. It's on, it's unbelievable. I, my first time I came to Nashville, I was, uh, I was developing, um, a movie for, um, about the life of Eddie Cochran, who was, uh,
you know, a young rocker who died tragically in London with Gene Vincents. It's kind of a semi-famous rock and roll story. And I think a couple of his songs were written by a guy named Hank Cochran. No relation. And of course, Hank wrote The Chair and Hank wrote I Fall to Pieces for Patsy Cline. And boy, I thought I knew about partying
Dude, I mean, I've been all over the world. I survived the 80s. I came to Nashville with Mr. Hank Cochran to develop, and man, they almost took me out on a stretcher. And I was like, these boys down here are not playing. And I was like, I'm going to get back to this city somehow. Yeah, those old guys were notorious. They were hardcore. That wasn't for the faint of heart if you wanted to hang out with those guys. Yeah, Hank's pretty...
He was pretty well known for, yeah, he was going to be the last one to get up and walk away from the table. It's unbelievable. I don't know why I didn't expect it. I mean, but, you know, you think, hey, the Rolling Stones, or if I hang out with Keith Richards, uh-uh, sorry, bro, take a seat. Hank Cochran, icon, icon. Do you have a favorite music?
movie musical like i was just thinking about patsy klein i was thinking about that great jessica lang uh movie where she played patsy and sissy spacek and coal miner's daughter do you have like a favorite movie in that genre oh wow that's a that's an interesting question i love i love movies about the creative process love it and particularly about about
The great movie about Brian Wilson, Love and Mercy. But Coal Miner's Daughter is pretty damn great. Yeah, that was good. I don't know, man. I think the first thing that comes to mind is when George Hamilton did that first Hank Williams movie. Just so tragic. And they've since done that new movie, that Hank Williams movie. Yeah.
I don't know, I just find that story so compelling. He was so talented and so proficient and yet just could not defeat that demon, you know, and only lived to be 29 years old. And what a legacy he left. And I just, I think that, I think those two movies would probably be the ones that I would go to. I can't believe he was 29. You think about him, he seems so much older. I know.
All set for your flight? Yep. I've got everything I need. Eye mask, neck pillow, T-Mobile, headphones. Wait, T-Mobile? You bet. Free in-flight Wi-Fi. 15% off all Hilton brands. I'll never go anywhere without T-Mobile. Same goes for my water bottle, chewing gum, nail clippers. Okay, I'm going to leave you to it. Find out how you can experience travel better at T-Mobile.com slash travel. ♪
Well, first of all, I have to say that I'm putting honky-tonk, badonkadonk up there. It might be the greatest title I've ever heard. How did you come up with that? It's the best. I didn't come up with that. That was Dallas Davidson and James Johnson.
And, oh, wow. Who else was the third rider on that? I can't remember now. Oh, Randy Houser. Randy Houser, Dallas Davidson and Jamie Johnson were all down at the Wild Horse on Saturday night. Big dance bar in downtown Nashville. And they were standing up on the balcony looking down at the dance floor and they were having a line dance party.
uh, lesson. So all these people were out there learning how to land it. And so one of the young ladies was just, you know, endowed with something special. And, uh, one of them said, look at the donk a donk on that one because, uh, Missy, uh, what was her name? Missy Elliott had come up with that, but donk a donk, but I think she called it, but donk a donk anyway, uh,
One of them said, look at the donk donk on that one. And the other one said a honky tonk, but donk donk. And they were all drunk and they laughed. And then the next morning they got together and wrote that. And Jamie sent it to me and it was his old country voice on the demo. And it made me laugh out loud. I was sitting in my producer's office the first time I heard it.
And I laughed out loud when I heard that. And that's hard to do, make me just gut laugh like that. And I said, let's record this. I said, you know, nobody's ever going to play it, but it's funny and it's cleverly written. So I recorded it and it ended up probably being, it'll probably be chiseled on my tombstone.
As it should be. Greatest song title ever. I know what I also want to ask you. What was your life like? Would you be considered a wildcatter? Is that what you, if you're out there, or are wildcatters the guy who are actually paying for the drilling and the guys on the rigs are? Well, wildcatters is an old term that's not hardly used anymore. Wildcatters used to be the ones that would go to
into a new area and drill test wells to see if there was any oil around there. That's the way they used to have to do it. But now, you know, that's what you would have been. You had a rough neck. Yeah, I was a rough neck. And then I rough neck for a couple of years, I guess. And then I worked my way up to Derrick Hand, which is the guy that works up in the top of the derrick.
Um, so I stayed out there offshore on a drilling rig for about six years. I loved that job. It was dangerous. And, um, but, uh, I don't know back then, you know, the more dangerous it got better, I liked it. So that was good for me. Did you, uh, did you see any really radical weather when you were out there? Oh yeah. A lot of water spouts, uh, got stuck out there. Uh,
when Hurricane Danielle came through in 1990, I think it was, somewhere around there, came in and hit Galveston and Houston, but they got everybody off the rig except for 10 of us, and they radioed out there and said it was too rough, they couldn't fly anymore, and so we had to ride it out. But again, it was just, it was exhilarating and exciting.
I didn't, I didn't feel frightened at all. What was the, what was the most radical thing you saw? Cause it's dangerous. People, crap goes down all the time there. What was the most radical thing you saw out there? I saw a guy get his foot completely smashed off. You know, um, it was one of the most gruesome accidents that I had ever seen. Uh, it was, it was, it was bad. And, um,
I saw guys get hurt, fingers cut off, ribs busted and heads split. But that was the worst one I saw. Why is it so dangerous? I mean, obviously it's dangerous, but what is it in specific? Is it just too much heavy equipment and it's wet? There's a lot of iron. There's a lot of iron moving out there. It's not as bad as it used to be. I had an opportunity to go back out there.
three or four years ago and visit with the old company that I used to work for and went on one of their brand new rigs and was just amazed at the automation now that it's so much safer and cleaner. And I was like, wow, I wish I was still doing this. Now, so I'm looking at the credits of stuff that you've done and I come across two Appomattox
So, do you know that I'm one of the original producers on that? Really? And Michael Frost Beckner, who wrote it, is, you know, this is, so folks, this is an amazing story of the Civil War that I have been obsessed with. And it's one of the most beautifully written miniseries I've ever read. We've
been very close to getting it made a bunch of times. And at the end of the day, for various reasons, nobody wants to pull the trigger on it. I mean, it's expensive and, you know, it's a historical thing, but by the way, no civil war thing has ever done anything than be a hit. It's like submarine movies, submarine movies always work. Civil war movies always work. Um, and,
I see you're attached to it. We've had amazing people. Who are you going to play? I don't even remember. I didn't even care, though. You know, it's like, okay, this is a historical, and they assured me that they were going to try to, you know, make it as historically accurate as they could. And, you know, it's a great story. And I was like, I don't care who I play. I don't have to play anybody. I'll just ride up on a horse and be an extra and get shot. I don't care. Amazing. I just want to be in it, you know.
I was going to play Ulysses Grant. Oh, yeah. And my great-great-great-great-grandfather was what they called a graybeard. And that was somebody who was old and enlisted. He fought in the Indiana 148th Graybeard and then was a part of the
uh, of sure under the command of general Sherman. Um, so I've always been obsessed with, with everything about it, but, uh, I don't know, maybe somebody listening to this, we'll, we'll know somebody with a big checkbook that wants to make an amazing, amazing thing. And then the other thing I see is moonbeam city. This is a cartoon by the way, IMDB always has mistakes in it.
So Moonbeam City is a cartoon on Comedy Central, and I'm the lead of that. I play, which I can't even remember. And I'm like, how many? And then you and I were together in a movie called Square Dance. Right. That was my very first. That was your very first. And I was, it was me, Winona Ryder, in her second job. I think she was about 16, 15.
Jason Robards and Jane Alexander. And it's one of my favorite things I've ever done. And, and you weren't you in the bar, the bar band that was playing. Is that right? Yeah. Yeah. I was, I was in a band. We were playing in Bell star on central expressway in Dallas and,
And one night, Michael Nesmith with a bunch of folks came in and Michael Nesmith, the monkeys of the monkeys fame produced the movie, produced the movie. And so they came in that night and some one of the representatives came up and talked to me when I went on break and said, hey, you know, would you guys like to be in a movie? And I was like, yeah, sure. I was probably drunk. And so I just blew it off.
And then the next day, my agent called and said, hey, I just got a call this morning from Michael Nesmith and blah, blah, blah. And I went, those people were real? I was like, I just blew them off. I thought it was a joke. And she went, no. So, yeah. So they let us do a song. I had a song on the soundtrack that I wrote, which I hung my hat on that nail for a long time. That was great. I love that. That was a big, important movie for me, too. I think my...
I got to play it, you know, intellectually challenged character, you know, up until then I'd only been playing sort of, you know, ingenues and, uh, to play that character was a big, big step. And one of the first things I ever got nominated for, it was a big, big deal. And I think it's funny how you, you forget, and then you hear something in it.
unlock some memory. I was with Ness Smith that night when we came and saw you. I'd forgotten about it because I know I was drunk. And I'd forgotten about it until just the... Yeah, because it was in Dallas. God, Dallas was wild. That was a rough bar. They had a sign over the door in that bar that said, if you start a fight in here, we'll finish it. And they had, I mean, badass bouncers in there. And I saw many a night from the stage just...
The best brawls. I mean, stuff like you'd see in the movies. It was it was a great club. Dallas was so fun that I'm sure none of that. I mean, they had a they had a club that same time called the Stark Club. And it was like a dance club. And they I'm not kidding you. As you walked in, they handed you ecstasy.
Yeah, in Deep Elm. Right. Yeah, oh my gosh, there was another club up the road from Bell Star called Borrowed Money, and that place was crazy. It was insane, and I just thought that was the wildest time of my life, those four years that I'd taken a leave of absence from working offshore because I'd
gotten into a music competition thing and we had won the locals in South Louisiana, then we won the regional in Dallas, went to Nashville for the finals and choked. But some people in Dallas saw us that night in that contest and wanted to book us in those big clubs out there in Texas. And so I took a leave of absence.
From offshore, I told him I was just going to try it for six months and see. I stayed out there for four years. And then I went back to work in oil field because I was just fried. I was burned out. You know, I was just a shell of myself by the end of that four years. I had to get away from it or it was going to kill me. Why do you think you've survived with all of your brushes and ups and downs and
What do you attribute it to? I got some hard bark on me, I guess. I don't know. I'm just... I don't know. I just dog a determination and I just, you know, giving up has just never been something that I even consider, you know. Unless I'm playing cards, I will fold from time to time. But... As the great man said, you got to know when to do it. Yeah, that's right. And that's about it. So I just...
I don't know. I'm just hard to get rid of. Well, you country boys know how to do it, man. I will tell you. I still remember I was at Farm Aid, the second Farm Aid. I mean, Farm Aid is still a wonderful thing, but there was a moment where it was massive. Yeah. And it was in Austin. And Willie had me come. Willie Nelson had me get on that crazy old bus that he had, that amazing. Oh, no.
The mahogany. Yeah, exactly. The mahogany bus, bro. And I was never a pot guy. That was not my, I had other vices. Man, pot was not one of them so much so that I was faked smoking it to be polite if I had to. And it's me, Willie, a bunch of his band and Dennis Hopper. And the joint gets to me and I kind of, I fake do the, the fake faked it. Okay. I was so high. Yeah.
From Willie Nelson's weed that I couldn't get off the bus for at least five hours. I was so disoriented. And he was smoking it like...
Just like chain smoking. It was unbelievable. He's done that to a lot of us. So don't feel like the Lone Ranger, all right? You never smoke weed with Willie. I mean, unless you've got the rest of the afternoon to be incapacitated. Yeah, just don't do it. It's amazing how he does it. It's just, it's absolutely amazing. He's, I mean, what a legend, right?
Yeah. I love Willie. Everybody loves Willie. So good. How old is Willie now? He's got to be 80. Wow. 80-something. I'm not sure. Got to be. I heard they were doing another Farm Aid coming up. They may have already done it. They did. They did one this year. They did do one this year. And I think he was gone. It's on the East Coast now, I feel like. I could be wrong, but it felt like it was...
It was in the East Coast. Well, Trace, this has been great, brother. I loved having you on. This is good. Hopefully we'll be together with fake beards. Well, you have a beard. You'll be good. But I'm definitely wearing a fake beard in two Appomattox. All right.
Look forward to it. Hey, man, it's great talking to you. When they told me I had a chance to be on your podcast and talk to you, I was like, just tell me when and where I'll cancel something. I've always been a fan, and I just think you're a stand-up guy. It's a huge honor for me to talk to you, and we'll see each other again, I'm sure. Absolutely, brother. Thank you so much. My pleasure.
I want to talk like him. Maybe I just need to be closer to the microphone, but then I have to have a microphone everywhere I go. God damn. What a guy. What a man. I hope you had fun. All right. Just one more thing before we end today's episode. Let's check the lowdown line. Hello. You've reached literally in our lowdown line where you can get the lowdown on all things about me, Rob Lowe. 323-570-
So have at it. Here's the beep.
Hey Rob, this is Elias from Toronto, Canada. I'm a big fan and thankful for the podcast. I find it to be really uplifting and I actually find you to be a very good interviewer. So my pleasure to call in. I was curious in particular about your performance in Wayne's World and the scene in which you spoke Cantonese to order Chinese food. Yeah.
for Cassandra and Wayne. In scenes like that in film, do you receive lessons on what the particular words mean or do you simply learn the lines for that particular sequence? And what is it like to learn or speak different languages in film? Anyway, thanks a lot and I hope you have a great rest of your day. Take care. Oh, thank you so much, Elias. Appreciate it. Love Toronto, one of my favorite towns.
And the birthplace of Mike Myers from Wayne's World fame. Yeah. So I remember that very vividly. I was given a CD. That's that was the era of the phonetic pronunciation of whatever the hell I ordered. I remember I can still remember. Yeah.
I remember that. I don't remember what it means, but I remember that. And, you know, learning a language or learning an instrument, seeing almost fire saxophone, you know, learning American Sign Language, all the things that you sometimes have to learn as an actor, which is super fun. At the end of the day, what you you need to do is really master the specific thing you're going to.
to do. To the extent that you want to learn more of it, that's great if you have the time, and I've certainly done that, but you really want to look like an expert. And that's repetition and someone teaching you that little snippet, and you just drill it and drill it and drill it and drill it and drill it and drill it. It's the same thing as when I played JFK
um, getting that accent and you just listen to it and drill it and listen to it and drill it and listen. And it goes on for months till you finally can do it without even thinking about it. So whether it's Cantonese, JFK accent, saxophone, it's all the same. It's one of my favorite things to be able to do. You know, it's funny. You remember that line? Cause it's a funny line, but it's still not as funny as Wayne Campbell. I mean,
You know, you just can't compete with Mike Myers. Thanks for calling. We will be back next week. Great stuff. Don't forget to subscribe to the full season so you don't miss anything because it's easy to miss a week. And then the next thing you know, you've missed somebody great. And we always have somebody great. So you got to do it. And I'll see you next time on Literally.
You've been listening to Literally with Rob Lowe, produced by me, Rob Schulte, with help from associate producer Sarah Begar. Our coordinating producer is Lisa Berm. Our research is done by Alyssa Grahl. The podcast is executive produced by Rob Lowe for Low Profile, Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and Joanna Salatara for Team Coco, and Colin Anderson at Stitcher. All of the music you hear is by Devin Bryant. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next week on Literally with Rob Lowe.
This has been a Team Coco production in association with Stitcher.
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