Originally from Kentucky, Everette – named after George Clooney’s character in the hit film, ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ – have been began performing together for 16 years now. They released their debut EP, ‘Slow Roll’, back in 2018 and put out the follow-up album, ‘Kings of the Dairy Queen Parking Lot Side A’, last year. They made their UK debut at the C2C festival last March and played the Nissan Stadium during this year’s CMAFest in June too. With ‘Kings of the Dairy Queen Parking Lot Side B’ due for release on October 7th things are all go in their world. We were thrilled to grab 15 minutes of their time to talk all about it at the Long Road festival.
Thank you for your time today, it’s so great to talk to you. What a great year you are having. Opry shows, European shows and a slot on the bill at the Nissan stadium in June for the CMAFest. Were you nervous or excited about playing that show?
Yes! (laughing) We had some technical difficulties we had to fight through with the monitors and the in-ears that we didn’t quite get sorted out before the show. That was a little nerve-inducing, for sure!
It was a little distracting and we had to put our poker faces on but we were definitely more excited than nervous. As a musician you hope a moment like the Nissan stadium will happen in your career, where you can play in front of so many people and it was a blast.
We had you over here for the C2C festival in March. Both at the Songwriters night and on the main bill too. What memories did that trip leave you with?
Coming into that trip we were unsure as to whether anybody would know or even care about our music. We asked our manager if anyone would show up if we came! (laughing) The response was overwhelmingly positive and loving and we were blown away by you folks, really. So much so that here we are, back again! (laughing)
We will definitely be coming back again, too.
American artists often tell me that there is a perceptible difference in the listing skills between American and European crowds. Have you found that?
100%. Other artists that have been over have told us that it’s kinda like a tennis match. People listen here, they are quiet and then they erupt at the end. We work really hard on our songs in the hope that thy connect with people and to know that crowds are soaking them in for what they are is so rewarding.
You two guys have been together for 16 years. What’s the secret to your longevity and friendship?
(Laughing) It’s just about simple love and respect. That’s how friends, spouses, families and communities stick together. We’re friends first and foremost and that’s what glues us together. We’ve had more than a couple of rough roads in our journey and we’ll put the guitars away and go and have a few beers as friends. That’s the core of who we are.
You even split up for a while a few years ago. What drew the pair of you back together?
When we moved to Nashville we had to go where the doors were opening for us and they were opening differently for both of us. The more we got busy with our separate careers the more we realised it wasn’t as fulfilling. We got to talking and decided that we both knew that we had to put Everette back together.
So, for people over here in Europe, where we don’t have the Dairy Queen chain, tell us what a Friday night in the Dairy Queen parking lot is like. What’s going on?
The song is really about being able to drive for the first time at 16 or 17 and experiencing freedom. That first taste of freedom is so exhilarating. We wanted it to be relatable so that whether you are in New York city or in small town Kentucky or even here in the UK, you think about that first time you began to exist away from your parents, sneaking alcohol and having a good time.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be about the Dairy Queen. KFC was the place where one of us worked and everybody in our town came there. The song and the message is all about freedom, souped up trucks, cigarette smoke and girls!
My favourite song of yours is ‘Mama, I’ll be Okay’. How much of yourselves is in that song or is it more of a fictional ‘troubadour’ song?
The only fictional part of that song is the bit about the girl in California. California sounded so cool inserted into the line in that song. Our wives are from Mississippi and Kentucky so they were very interested to know, when they first heard that song, who the ‘girl from California’ was! (laughing) We were like, ‘No, no no no! It’s just there because it feels good on the tongue to sing it!’ (laughing)
The entire song is straight from our hearts to our mothers’. We wrote this a few years back but we were putting ourselves into a 22 year olds’ bodies, when we were first heading out on the road.
Jordan Davis had ‘Gonna Be a Problem’ for quite a while. How did you wrestle it back from him?
We just tackled him to the floor and then Anthony had a beard-off against him! (laughing) He had it for a good while and he’s a buddy of ours and we were like, ‘Sure, record it and take it number one!’
We were talking after the record had been recorded, even ‘Side B’ had been finished and we were still talking about ‘Gonna Be a Problem’. We were playing it acoustically one day and it just felt like our song. We happened to be out on the road with him a couple of weeks later and we were, like, ‘Hey dude, we’ve kinda recorded that song,’ and his reply was, ‘Cool, well, I wanna come and be on it too,’ so he came in and did some vocals for it as well!
What else can the fans expect from ‘Kings of the Diary Queen Parking Lot’ Side B, which is out on October 7th?
One of our favourite records is Tom Petty’s ‘Wildflowers’ album. It’s so all over the place in terms of Folk, Rock n Roll and Americana. That’s our ‘Side B’. There’s stuff on there that is super-Country. There’s a song where the lyrics in the chorus and the title are reversed called ‘Shunk as Drit’ so watch out for that one! (laughing)
Our humour comes out a little more on ‘Side B’ as does our diversity of style and sound.
You absolutely nailed ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’. Did you feel the pressure in recording that given the history and gravitas of the song or did you just go into the studio and let rip?
Yes. And Yes! (laughing) Both. We put out a video of us playing it on social media and people were like, ‘You should record that song, for real.’ But we were a little unsure, it’s sort of sacred, you know?
We went in and recorded it, more for just ourselves really, not really thinking we would put it out. That took the pressure of us a little because we didn’t think about who would hear it or not and then all of a sudden the label said it’s going to be a single! We had no idea!
We have a reputation for recording cover songs that are difficult to touch or iconic. We did Elton John’s ‘Rocketman’ too! (laughing) Why not, right? If you are going to be a bear, why not be a Grizzly!
Which of your songs that you’ve recorded in the studio has been your favourite and which song do you like to play live the most? It’s not often the same song. I love ‘Dang the Whiskey’ live.
We love that one too. When we can see that one in the set coming up it always gives a boost and a bit of excitement, still, to play. The recording of that song was cool too because when you record a song in the studio you don’t always feel you’ve captured the feel and essence of it but we did with that one. It also rocks live so we would say ‘Dang the Whiskey’ fits both criteria.
When you write a song do you have half a mind on your live set and how it sounds in that space or does the song win out no matter where it would fit live?
A lot of the time we do have to think, ‘how would this feel onstage?’ Then there are other times you’ve just got to express yourself, so with ‘Mama, I’ll Be Okay’ we didn’t really think about how that would work or sound live we just wanted to record it but it’s evolved into one of our favourite songs to play live now as well.
There are times when we are writing a song and it might be almost finished and we need a line or a way to finish the song and we’ll say something like ‘….and this part needs to get all them Budweisers up in the air dude!’ (laughing) Most of the time our writing is more organic and authentic than purposely going for a feel or mood but you can’t rule that out either sometimes.
What’s next in the ‘Side B’ phase of your bucket list things you want to achieve going forward?
Oh man. We played the Opry earlier in the year which was one of our bucket list things. We’ve got a tour coming up with The Cadillac Three in the States which we’re excited about but we want to just keep playing as much music as we can – live is where we feel most comfortable about who we are. We love connecting with people, having a beer and playing music.
We’d love to come over to Europe with our wives and kids for, like a month or an extended stay. Play anywhere and everywhere that will have us, that would so cool.
Everette ‘Kings of the Dairy Queen Parking Lot: Side A’ is out now and side B will complete the release on October 7th.
