Joe Rogan Experience #1956 — Luke Combs Transcript

Transcript

0:00 the joe rogan experience train by day joe rogan podcast by night all day you have to be you have to i mean or else you're just you know my biggest fear is like making the Yeah. I think people are more willing than ever to let people take chances. And that wasn't really ever happening at that time. Were you one of the first artists in the country scene that kind of made it off of social media?

3:21 And when you first started doing it on vine we just doing it because gonna market to these people that are already like my voice and stuff and it just worked out didn't connect at that time with whatever the mainstream kind of fan base was yeah and now And that's like I think there's people that lean more into they would rather just do the creative stuff and hope.

6:21 It's a weird world, right? like if it's summer the weather's nice the drinks are flowing you know and dude your songs on the It's crazy man Incredible. Is he like missing or something? He's got a place in Wyoming. A ranch in Wyoming. God, it's fucking beautiful. Is that where Ronella lives? Yes. I just went to by yuppies. Yeah. I love Montana, though. God, it's fucking beautiful.

9:19 How could it be? I mean, I had never seen anything like it. Is it made out of logs? Yep. That's from 1889 I've been to Asheville it was the largest residence private residence in the united states for a long long long long time But I used to go. But they have a hotel on property, but it's not, you don't stay in there. And I actually sang in a choir at the All Souls Cathedral there in high school, which

12:23 It's, I mean, everything's marble, dude. Yeah. That's incredible. should you should if you're ever in asheville you got to go toward that place man it's unbelievable Yeah. mess with it right yeah just let the kids pick them. Also, it's awesome. Me and my parents moved there when I was eight from Charlotte. I mean, we still have the house at the moment and stuff.

15:18 he moved to Nashville and it's like, he doesn't know anybody, you know? And it's like, Yeah. A lot of people are like, I'm getting the fuck out of wherever I am. It's a great place. So not that long. And the guy goes, five years. It makes them feel like, I feel like it's almost like if you're saying that, you're like you just wanted to stay good but you, you know, things change and they evolve.

17:55 still a very like gritty scene and there always has been right so you've got uh you know you've because he's not Sturgill Simpson or whatever it is. Right. Like there's always these people who are trying to discredit you. But there's these definitely these two different sects of like mainstream and non mainstream that exist in Nashville. those things separately and sometimes when popularity on the not chasing that goes through

19:46 because I would be around music. I'd be trying to write music, publishing. I mean, realistically, That guy was a legend in town. And she was watching, and like two lines in, she just goes, holy shit. I had him on a couple years back. Oh, is this it? I felt like a bald eagle Through the perilous fight Dude! Wow. bowl before so it was like i was already soaking it in you know right there's already something

25:12 When did you first think that you wanted to do music? Yeah. to choose chorus or band, but you had to do one music and then you took art and band for six weeks. Actually, I think you got to choose chorus or but i don't want to take it that serious right so i do my first semester i'm in chorus and then I'll do gym or whatever, you know, cause like I like it, but I don't want to take it that serious. Right. So I do my first semester in chorus

27:36 A fourth of my entire high school career was spent in her classroom. And I was in every musical other than music you shouldn't pursue music in college so in my brain i'm thinking okay well i so her husband was actually the band teacher. He taught advanced placement music theory, which was a new class my senior year. I took that class and got like a D because it was like all these, the kids that were the best at band and the best at chorus were who was in that class. Only like eight students in the class. And all it is was advanced. Like, here's the notes. Here's this.

29:44 whoever that was picked out to be. Like, I get it. that loved that and I was just the guy that would like sing at parties or whatever like my buddies They're in Charlotte. I'm an only child too. they didn't even learn to play guitar till they were 21 years old and I was 21 right and so my parties for my buddies or whatever and taught myself all year. And then just kind of became

33:12 Just like at this bar my rugby team always hung out at that night that was more than I made at both my jobs that week. And I was hooked, man. I was like, dude, this is awesome. Like I love doing this. And you hear about those things but it truly was that it was truly an aha moment Like most people. Well, for most people, too, you're looking for something that you could do where you can survive.

36:07 And it's all true, Joe. There's nothing I can tell you. By that time, it's hard to get pregnant. Well, Japan is apparently in dire straits because the way it works is you always have to look 18 to 20 years out from now. Those are the people that ironically are having the most children. had to like help with the farm right like that was the idea at that time for those people it's

39:06 And, you know, it's such a, that music resonates with people. not to mention but he loved that guy so much that he bought every say and i'm talking it's So either way, it's not a low number, right? Yeah, it's interesting what resonates, too. A dude who's been smoking four packs of camels a day. Really? He's just a musician. I guarantee you. It's wild up there.

42:26 and you probably feel the same way man like there's a lot of like machismo bravado stuff in So it started out as like, okay, well, cool. These guys will take me out. That'll be super fun. television you know i want to see this so i start watching stuff and i'm like dude some of these guys are brutal on here like it's just and he's like a wealth of knowledge right yeah and that's the thing that like that gets me like

46:09 this to go to alaska and all these incredible places dude and so i just had my pr team i was I forget what network it was on, but it was a show where he was kind of recreating how, like, the people that traveled across the West for the first time, the early settlers, how they hunted. I'm like, this is different than every other hunting show that I've ever seen.

47:47 Right. And so he took me and my friend Brian Callen to Montana, so it's all new yeah it's amazing dude and that's a ancient ancient animal yeah it is that's the That's what I was so interested. It's so, it was so strange. Oh, wow. i said hey if i do this i want to bring my buddies it's a great episode thanks man yeah i love that And then he was, like, immediately great.

51:20 That's it. Yeah, never been hunting at all. And then next thing you know, we're in Montana and the Missouri breaks. But he loves you. We had a couple days off, and I hit him up. Like, two guys he's never met. Like, it's like his kids are running around, like, dude, he cooked dinner for me and my bus driver and my security guy. Like two guys he's never met.

52:37 and why, why he loves this pursuit and why it resonates. Yeah. Yeah, man. He's wicked. Um, He's cool. Because you basically set up, you have to have an arrow knocked, It just has never worked. yeah it's not supposed to be going on exactly i'm not going out there that's weird you know I got the access. And it's like you got it. that he has dedicated just to bow hunting.

55:15 I do the same thing. I had a heartbreaker this year, man, a whitetail trip. so first night don't really see anything right it's like oh great so morning dude we'll be tagged So we were all going to different spots. So there's like this draw in between me and Dan. I got these three does. inch deer 230 inch deer comes out he's at 60 yards broadside i've got my arrow i'm on the d loop i'm i'm up but i'm not drawing

59:07 stays at 60 and goes all the watch him go all the way into the cedars did the wind swirl no the wind So I sat in that stand for the next three days, just every morning, three hours, night, three hours. these deer would be eating in this field really. So Dan's hunting somewhere else. So I call our guy, those two fences are. So I watch every doe pile

1:01:40 And we pretty good feeling he's going to jump this fence and come right across this field to where we're at. You know what I mean? just standing out in the cotton field this is our last night we're Forever. Yeah, I got him in my text messages. That always rings in my head when I'm doing an interview for some reason. That's a gigantic deer. Mm-hmm. You going back?

1:05:27 goes down what's the number one number one i could look it up it's in the two like 40s range fucking deer on that lease too. when you're going out west dude and seeing these, it's unbelievable to a guy like myself to even see that, you know? it just doesn't do anything for me. It's the wildness. on the ground that's not in a food plot you know Yeah.

1:09:13 or shooting an elk and he's like sack of tom brady's pretty fucking cool but it's not even Turkeys are cool. It's not. When you see them, just the fucking antlers are insane. It'd be real nice. I can't imagine. No. I'm like, what? It's like Steve, dude. Yeah. You know, like some voiceover actor. Yeah. I've ever listened to man And they're sitting there eating sandwiches.

1:12:40 Yeah. No. Like, he was just, like, he went just immediately. that these people could just like shoot you because they want to. Or because they have to. Mariana is a gangster. oxys and there was no database. Like, that's got to be such a specific, like, sect of, like, humanity that wants to, like, get into that kind of journalism, right? and then they would fill up a trunk with AKs and ARs and pistols,

1:16:17 It's happening right now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Members of a violent drug cartel that controls the area mistook the group of Americans as rival traffickers, no matter who they are wow dude yeah i mean that's wild stuff dude it's it's a sketchy place man and Yeah. Yeah, coos and a giant mule deer. Yeah, people go a buddy of mine just went over there and shot up fucking monster

1:20:01 Oh, look at that one. That's like semi-elk, dude. And then they ask you questions and talk to you, And they also don't want to bring heat down on them, which is what happened when these Americans got kidnapped. That's what's crazy the same Well, Steve goes down there every year to hunt coos deer, and he says it's sketchy. He says it's insane. columbia stuff and they just took pictures of us like hanging out right so we get into cabo again

1:23:31 You know, like, seems like we're not going kind of towards it, you know. there's the house and there's like the dunes and then like you walk through the dunes and there's And there's like these two guys there and they're whipping up, like they're making homemade tortilla chips. It was awesome. guitar or whatever i remember looking you can just see like miles down the beach and i just see just

1:26:38 couple from minnesota and i'm like okay this is mega weird. And they're like, what are you, And my manager's asleep. And he's like, well, I got some back at the house. and just rolls this one up, dude, and we rip with these folks. we start ripping tequila shots it's just me and my buddy dan and he's like 60 year old folks hanging that it was george straight or whatever and i was like dude i'm not george straight though dude like

1:29:39 There's no street lights, dude. get back to the house. But I was like 24 or five years old. I was like, dude, we've been hanging out with these old people. It was awesome, dude. I'm going to get some of this. 71. as an independent. i haven't seen the new one the new one's awesome is it they yeah they did a new one about the Like, it's just, that was just a different level, dude.

1:33:35 Look at this guy. He was so jacked. The rocket launcher, dude, was so hard, dude, when he pulled the rocket launcher out. Yeah, this movie's legendary. Yeah, it's Radon Chong. I love it. That's just a qualifier right yeah like She's into a lot of rap, and my 12-year-old is into, like, really cool old music. I'm a giant Hendrix fan. the spirit of the rebelliousness

1:36:54 right yeah jesus christ um you know i used to do uh news radio the sitcom with phil hartman Just crushing. It's a tough question. They're my favorite. about going to high school, like when those cars had, you know, Yeah. was undeniable, you know? Go from Buddy Holly to Jimi Hendrix. like here's my thing man i used to love it dude and when i when it's good it can't be beat right

1:40:55 dude, and I hate that. through i know but it's like it gets to this point where like be around the right people the good outweighs the times like straightening this like Howard Stern style OCD right like you're like everything's life. Right. So one theme of it can be, you have a thought, everybody has crazy thoughts that slip And that thought just it's just a it comes.

1:44:23 essentially the antithesis of the antithesis of the four, five, six months at a time. And then you have another thought that's different, so it just comes in waves and you can't control it. Yeah, pretty much. keeping everybody engaged because the process of filming a television show is pretty it's pretty And he can't talk. say it don't say it think that way or i'm that's not who i am and like that makes your brain send it more so it's like a

1:48:07 I'd be like, you know what? of like i'm gonna reach across this table and just deck you one and i don't want to and i'm afraid of It's all these things that can never be answered, right? Like they don't bother me at all. Oh boy. is almost paradoxical right because the more you focus on it oh boy so it can become a weird slope And it's like I know, dude, that there's so many people that struggle with it and no one would ever know.

1:50:33 And it's terrible. even want no no no like you don't even want to go out of the house because you're on the bus to like, to promote the movie, and I would turn it off. No, for sure. it's like, nobody would even know that, you know? But like, that's, uh, yeah, that's a lonely right so it's not like this it's not depression right it's not like the hyped up, like, oh, I have depression or anxiety or whatever.

1:53:48 because I think the creative side of my brain right like my brain runs with that creativeness and that can be a really Like, really, you have to take them for, what, two or three months, I think, for them to be fully going, right? Specifically in that regard where they're just like it numbs them or nothing bothers them guilty about not feeling the way I feel like I should feel about certain things. Like in what

1:57:26 whole life and you feel like this is the way that people are supposed to feel about things i like i feel like i've been robbed of that of all these things like and maybe they all just to sort of get your place, your mind in this place. like comedic we're like is there an award no thing like we don't want those awards right But imagine being in the crowd.

2:00:36 Yeah. why didn't I feel that like rush like Was I robbed of that rush of emotion? Yeah, you're just a different guy. But I don't think about it like these emotional big moments. That's my mind. idea that that enters into your mind and now you can give life to. I'm never like. I feel like that kind of celebrating is like come on man you know what the fuck you're doing you've

2:03:51 The process and the result. So you go up, you do your bit last night, and it fucking crushes, dude. and let's say, or you finally get home and you're by yourself, what is the thing that, Right. someone else yes on on such a grand scale if it resonates with me it'll resonate with someone over again and then i go over the notes and I go over the fucking recordings and I try to figure out but it's always the thing it's never it's never like look what I

2:06:43 individual creative person has a unique way of addressing ideas and the thing that you're in love with. there's no one else like you you are you and that that's that's what's coming out and that's why that's why like Yeah. like i have one song in particular that's called even though i'm leaving and it's a song um that hey man like even though I'm leaving I'm not going anywhere you know and like there's been

2:09:27 There's nothing wrong with you. or it's like you know like even songs that maybe are mega sad it's like there's something cathartic your heart broken or a loved one passes away like that. the the back side of it is the appreciation of the people that are in your life that you love. I think you're getting the juice out of the right spots. It's like, well, it's not.

2:12:09 Yeah, it's normal. But it is normal it's normal for you yeah what's normal for you is like mind-blowing for 21 year old luke to imagine that one day you'd be that guy yeah no doubt doing I'm out here doing a fucking stadium tour. like grateful I am for all of it. Right. It's like, it's not like I am 1% of the, of the puzzle, necessary for your stuff to go on or my stuff to go on.

2:14:54 on their team like they might not even know this guy that works for them at all they don't even Right. why people love you. doing it do i still have it like good what are my new songs any good are my new jokes any good it's I mean, that's a thing that no one is going to be able to explain to rewarded in country music, which I think is great. Because in some styles of music, it's like rewarded that you become untouchable.

2:17:49 And we've seen it many, many, many, many times that's gone down that road that far, the rare one. It's up to you to navigate that road. Like, I got, that's what I aspire to. tell you like how many beers i shotgunned in college, and now I can shotgun a beer and That's what got me thinking about shotgunning. Yeah, I'll start it, though, this way. it's like it is with the funnel the freedom funnel it goes right to your brain do you think you could

2:20:16 That should be our national anthem. Ready? I don't even know how you did that. I just always heard that. When they open a pack of cigarettes, they flip the first one they touch upside down. You smoke out of the pack There's a rabbit hole You have to like Gracie UFC one guy like I was too young when that was going on but I was he was the guy that launched the UFC really

2:23:06 forrest griffin like that was just a war bloodbath like and i just became like obsessed i was like Dude, I remember screaming. I'm just eat up, dude. higher you think so yeah but it's just because gsp was so good he raised the the bar he raised I think if Masvidal was around during that time, he would be dangerous for everybody. No doubt. Masvidal's a gangster.

2:26:01 Up until that Leon Edwards head kick, so good. I'd have to go back and rewatch it to see if I agree. saying what he did was not as impressive as what usman did with the competition yes if you look at he was coming up, no one would speak his name. And he was doing it with destroyed knees. but below expert knowledge fan right so i'm not a guy that watches every five pay-per-view i'm a guy that buys every pay-per-view i watch a lot of the

2:28:57 It's undeniable. And then everybody said, well, he didn't know that Francis was going to wrestle him, given. the first Jon Jones fight I watched was when he got DQ'd against Matt Hamill. Right. Right. It's like Jon does this thing where he stops this robber and he wins the belt. Really? is they became this like really like, There's, what you're seeing is Kamaru,

2:32:39 Is that all root for and personalities you root against. John is what I would describe is These dominators have always existed. that that there's a thing inside some people that is a driving force that allows them to overcome Because me and my buddies were talking. There's a thing about... of the greatness of martial arts, He was facing Daniel Cormier.

2:35:51 Jon Jones studies everyone. and that's how he knocked out Daniel Cormier. you figure out a way to connect with this thing He's so good, he can beat those guys without being challenged by someone like him. they're still better than everybody. part. And I was like, and then the day of the fight, I don't know what it is, but I think John's It's like a cat just pawing at the thing.

2:39:33 But you know what? That might be a wild fight. You should go. and that's the headline fight. I don't know. Those are the biggest fights the UFC can make. He's the first guy to beat Francis. You know stipe he's the fucking man and he's a legit bona fide heavyweight for the Ngannou rematch Going into the second fight he had that sort of same approach

2:42:50 And he got bigger for this Jon Jones fight. then fighting again three months later right you know especially a heavyweight that got ko'd by Yeah, because, like, Conor broke his leg. This is something, you know? Yeah, so I'm seeing, oh, not there. Oh, yeah. And he's a very good wrestler. if you fight in that style against Conor, to time you, especially in the early rounds,

2:45:25 Okay? the result of natural hormones sure that's generally the result result of natural hormones. and you've disrupted your hormones with exogenous hormones now your body has to get back to developing its own hormones and generally speaking So until he enters into that, we don't know when this fight is going to happen from now. and make sure you're not

2:47:39 and they're gone. This is stuff that the casual fan just doesn't think about. And he just recently competed in Polaris, which is a grappling competition. Oof. Not good. Yeah, and it's kind of a career ender for a the wrong way. Yeah, it's not pretty. Not good. And that's how it broke. Because you don't want it to end that way either. He wants it to be.

2:49:50 Yeah. He might be the first guy to come back from that leg break and be able to compete at the And he does that with everybody. There's nothing like it. Do you exercise at all? size i think it's your brain sure i think, especially when we're talking about all these issues about Like being bigger, that bothers me, right? And it's just all clean, dude. And that's like, it's strange to me, dude,

2:53:07 And I'm sure everyone's going to jump on me when they watch this and be like, be someone like jamie who's thin and healthy and fit and his process that he decides he wants to You you've just you just started your first steps you're not climbing up Mount Kilimanjaro yet Yeah, there's a long process and people get very discouraged in the fact that they don't see tangible

2:55:20 Oh, remember the Titans? It's not a thing that happens easy. of that right like i'm in the middle of that process of like i have wrestled with it for a Writing down what you're supposed to do. Listen, man, I can find somebody to help you. He was the guy that came out with us. So then just do it yeah one night having, having a whiskey. And i was like i was like chris man look

2:59:09 Does that make sense to you? because you're tall. but for the most part. come across as contrite or anything when I say this, but like, I feel like sometimes that I And it's this thing that like I feel like if I don't overcome it in my lifetime, it will be my biggest regret. It's because what it, I feel like it means about me as a man. I want to do that with him.

3:02:01 No doubt. This is something that can be accomplished. We ended it with this. Fuck yeah.