Welcome to Overeducated and Underemployed. I'm
Fedden, and I'm here with a really special episode
for you today. I sat down with Cole Taylor, who
is the owner of Classic City Wrestling out of
Athens, Georgia, which has moved beyond just
Athens at this point. He gave me the inside scoop
on this interview, but they just announced it
between recording this and releasing it, that
they're doing a show in Asheville. They have
already done Nashville and Atlanta, and they've
become a really big part of the scene in Athens
to the point where Kimberly Morgan York recorded
one of her music videos with them at the 40 Watt.
I asked John Neff about it because he's in Kimberly's
band, and he just mentioned that they had a gig
the night before at the 40 Watt. They had a wrestling
show at the 40 Watt the night before. And they
just left everything up and went in the next
morning and filmed a music video. But in addition
to her being like a powerhouse of a songwriter
and singer, her band is like a super group of
Athens musicians. So I'm going to link that video
in the description here because I really think
it captured the feel of classic city wrestling.
Cole Taylor and I met when he was touring with
the Drive -By Truckers. He eventually became
their tour manager. We talk about that quite
a bit as well. And back in February, the Drive
-By Truckers did a Classic City Wrestling. Now,
just to back up a minute, Classic City Wrestling
combines live music, rock and roll music with
wrestling. So instead of having canned music
that the wrestlers walk out to and things like
that, they have a live band. And then the live
band plays a short set after the wrestling matches
are done. So it really has become like a staple
of Athens culture. And I really enjoyed sitting
down with Cole. Here's part one of my interview
with him. Part two will be out next episode.
So make sure you check out Classic City Wrestling.
You can get tickets for, I think there's still
a few tickets available. They've sold out the
40 watt multiple times at this point. So if you
don't have tickets for May 17th with Nicholas
Malice and the Borealis. Then make sure you get
your tickets now. That's just a couple of weeks
away. Nicholas Malice and the Borealis. Classic
City Wrestling. 40 Watt Club. May 17th. And then
you need to make sure you check out their debut
in Asheville, North Carolina at the Orange Peel.
On June 30th at the Orange Peel in Asheville,
North Carolina. You've got Classic City Wrestling
with Rhinestone Pickup Truck as the music guest.
So those are a couple of shows coming up. If
you're in the area, make sure you grab tickets
and check it out. I am not someone who has a
lot of experience with wrestling, and when I
went in February, it was an absolute blast. Without
further ado, here's part one of my interview
with Cole Taylor. Hey, Cole. I want to talk to
you about a few things today, but I'm going to...
Hell yeah. Back up to the very beginning. And
I'm going to ask you a question that I've been
asking most people. I don't know that you're
a musician. If you are, I'm not aware of it.
I'm like half -ass. Yeah. And like by half -ass,
maybe like a tenth of an ass. So I have this
thing, like all comedians want to be rock stars.
So I can relate. I feel you. But obviously music
is like a big part of your... trajectory and
a big part of classic city wrestling so i'll
go ahead and ask you the same question i've asked
other musicians and things like that what's the
first song you remember loving the first song
i remember loving wow that's an interesting question
because i know the moment where everything changed
but that wasn't this i grew up in the country
in rural virginia and man like country music
was just such a part of the culture and the first
song that I remember loving was Always and Forever
by Randy Travis. Oh, hell yeah. I thought about
that song for a long time. Totally. Now it's
playing in my head. Yeah, but it brings me back.
Do you remember how you heard it? Or what the
connection was for you? Do you remember why you
loved it so much or anything like that? Man.
And it can be super simple. I don't think there's
much depth to it. I think that my parents had
one of those 1980s big, huge radios. One of them
happened to get that cassette tape, and it just
worked for me. It was cassette. 100%. I can't
say that I grew up listening to records or anything.
I had records from an old collection, but I never
acquired records until I was in college. Yeah,
yeah. Yeah, and we were too poor for CDs, so
cassettes were where it was at. That came much
later for me as well. Do you remember when you
became aware of... Your love for music in general,
not just a song or even a genre or an artist,
but there's, I fucking love music alluded to
it earlier, but it's a very specific moment.
I remember very clearly, but like a funny thing,
like things were changing. I was 11 years old.
And so that's the kind of point where you start
changing, too. And I was always a little different
than my peers. That's when you grew your mustache,
right? Oh, man, my whole life I wished I could
grow facial hair. And then finally I got to the
point where I could grow a mustache. Hell yeah.
Fuck yeah. Anyway, it was like mid -90s, and
the country music station, 106 .5 The Bear became
106 .5 The Buzz. That was like alternative rock,
and it was this thing that was around. I started
listening to the radio station some. And it was
cool. I was very much influenced by it all. The
Smashing Pumpkins were coming into town, playing
the Richmond Coliseum, and garbage was opening
for them. And for whatever reason, I really wanted
to go. Were you aware of their music at the time,
or was it more like a buzz, like all the cool
people were going kind of thing? I kind of caught
wind of it, and I was aware of their music. Like,
I knew 1979 at that point. The 106 .5, the buzz,
the station that I was listening to pretty regularly,
they were doing this thing where they were advertising
the show. Like, it was clearly they were pushing
the show hard. I understand those types of things
now, but at the time, like, they're just fucking
enthusiastic. It worked. And they played a Smashing
Pumpkins song. They played the song Zero. There's
this moment in the middle of the song where everything
stops. And Billy Corgan goes, Wanna go for a
ride? And I swear to God, it sounds as cheesy
as hell, but the world stopped. There's an eternity
in that moment. And I'm sitting at the edge of
my bed, and I make this conscious decision. I'm
like, yes, take me on this ride. And then he
kicks back in with the guitar. Boom! I've never
been the same since. I've been on that ride ever
since. Did you go to the show? My fucking parents
wouldn't let me go. I give them shit about it
to this day. And they're, come on, Cole. What
the hell? No, that's... I wouldn't let that go
either. I respect that. But in a way, the yearning...
I think that if I'd went, it would have taken
things to a whole new level, but I didn't get
to go. But, like, the yearning to go. Yeah, because
it could have also been really disappointing.
It could have been. And so that desire that never
got checked one way or the other, there's something
magical about that for sure. I'll run into people
as adults. I'll run into musicians and be like,
oh, shit, you're from Richmond? Oh, shit, we're
the same age. Hey, did you go to that show? They're
like, oh, yeah, it was fucking awesome. Oh, God.
And it's funny. It's like it still comes up.
I think that does also point to your sensibilities
in a way. That I think, like, that brings a lot
of us together. It's why I think I've gotten
to know a little bit about a lot of the people
that I'm interviewing in the first kind of initial
round. Is that we all have this ability, this
filter to not just take whatever's thrown at
us and really recognize when something is special.
100%. And whether you get to go to the show or
not, you knew then that it was going to be, like,
one of those events that people are still talking
about. It was a thing. It was a thing. And I
think that's not something that people think
about very often. But having the ability to recognize
when something is great. Yeah. A lot of people
need to be told what's cool. For sure. And then
there's the people that tell other people what's
cool. And not many people know what's cool at
11. So I think that's interesting. Formative
moment. So you said you're a half -assed musician.
When did you start trying to play music? And
when did you accept that this is just something
I'm going to do for fun? Oh, off and on. Off
and on for forever. Around that time, I was obsessed
with it, and I saved my money for an electric
guitar. Do you remember what kind? It was a Yamaha
Pacifica, baby. A crate amp. I had a crate amp,
too, at one point. Once you learn a power chord,
you can get pretty far with... Especially in
middle school or high school. I had a lot of
fun with that. As embarrassing as it sounds,
looking back, I'm like, it just must not have
been meant for me in that moment. But I just
never could get around changing strings. I just
couldn't ever get the hang of it. And eventually
the frustration of it eventually drove me away.
Now, when you went on the road with bands, did
that ever become part of your job? Briefly. I
would do things like I was... Just to back up
for our listeners, there was a time where Cole
was the tour manager, among other roles, with
the Drive -By Truckers, which is how we first
met. 100%. And so just to give a little context
to what we're talking about here, now we can...
Patterson said to you one time... Just in truckers
lore in general, they all liked me and they saw
a lot of potential in me, but they didn't know
what to do with me. And they would just... throw
stuff at me that wasn't right and they'd be like
oh yeah you better not do that but this guy ultimately
what ended up happening was I was not a lighting
director but I was an assistant tour manager
who happened to run lights during the show and
my lights were not outstanding at all because
I wasn't a real lighting person but being able
to help the tour manager at the time back to
run the show like that was where I excelled but
there came a point where Patterson did a solo
tour, and I stepped in and tour managed that
because Matt is already tour managing the truckers.
He was happy to pass that on to me. Yeah, yeah,
and you had some experience under him, so he
knew you could handle it. But they were like,
yeah, so cool, you'll guitar tech for Patterson.
You'll change these strings. You'll do all that.
And I did it, but... Pretty quickly into it,
Patterson was like, oh, don't worry, buddy. I
got it. I'll just take care of it. And I was
able to read between the lines there. Are you
sure you didn't fuck it up on purpose because
you hated changing guitar strings so much? I'm
often accused of doing that with driving. I've
been banned from driving on many tours. And some
people have accused me of just doing something
dumb right away. I like how you're not addressing
whether there's truth to that or not. You're
just letting it sit. And I'll just leave that
there. Let there be a little lore. So when did
you kind of realize that you belonged? So let
me just back up for a second. One of the reasons
you and I always clicked was... For the reason
you were just talking about, we're like the best
fans a band could ask. Totally. You know what
I mean? 100%. And I only say that because I've
been told that by people before. My friend Terry
Clark, he just one day was like, you're like
the best fan. And I see that's what the truckers
saw in you, but they were like, what do we do
with that? This guy will help us to the end of
the earth, but how? When did you accept? Your
role as not being a guitar player not being a
musician and being more running lights running
the tour would it be part of the show but But
not I don't know. I think that it's a perpetual
journey of Trying to figure out your role in
all of it, and I don't know that I've ever really
figured it out And don't get me wrong, I still
have fantasies of being in a band someday. Sometimes
all you need is one chord and fuck you. Exactly.
I was a very serious swimmer, so when things
didn't work out playing music, it was very easy
to just go, that's not even what I'm doing. Music
is very much an escape. So there's that aspect.
When did you start swimming? Competitively? Oh,
dude, like, I started swimming, like, regularly
at, like, age six. So, by, competitively by,
like, age seven. Okay. Yeah. So it was something
you were good at right away. Whenever you get
frustrated with something else, it was something
that you knew you were good at, and you always
fell back on it. Is that kind of what you're
getting at? I don't want to say fell back on
it, but it was something that you knew you could
do. Well, when I was swimming, swimming was very
serious. I was breaking state records by age
10. By age 12, I was the number one swimmer in
America. And what state? In Virginia, okay. Yeah.
No, that is a landlocked state, folks. Of course
it's a landlocked state. There's some beaches
there, but I'm just making fun. Totally. All
Floridians can swim by age five. That was the
driving force in my life for forever. Until,
so ultimately, like, I was extremely serious.
I swam for Georgia. You were very competitive
about it. Yeah, it was everything worked towards
being the best swimmer in the world. And there
was never that moment where I picked up a guitar
and had those same aspirations where somebody
like Patterson, 100%, that's what he's doing.
Maybe not in the literal sense. The way he talks
about it, it's almost like he didn't have any,
he was not good at anything else. He had to figure
out how to make that work. That was how I felt
with swimming. And so like playing, it was all
just for fun. And then like sometimes when some
of those other things. for fun when like when
the tough get going there's really no reason
to really like oh i'm gonna bust my ass and i'm
gonna get over this hard shit because i was already
waking up at 3 30 in the morning doing stuff
that was hard i just didn't playing just didn't
i didn't get over those humps there is something
to be said about having the desire to put in
the work yeah yeah yeah good enough at something
to be great at it yeah when i was talking to
roddy he talked about his aspirations to be a
lawyer and i never knew that when he was younger
and he feels very differently about that now
and i think he concluded he wouldn't have put
in the work to be a good whereas he's never stopped
putting in no i've always admired like his approach
to music he has this awesome little practice
space studio in richmond are you familiar in
there but i yeah i know and he goes there every
day He goes for it. And he just lives in that
world every day. Yeah, yeah. What was it like
for your favorite band to be like, hey, you want
to come out with us? Oh, man. Okay, so let's
jump around. I was out of college. I'd stopped
swimming for a while. We'll go back to that in
a minute. I'd interned with them for a while.
And looking back, I understand that every one
of my peers is full of shit. And if they weren't
full of shit, it was an anomaly. But, like, I'm
scrubbing toilets at the 40 watt, and my peers
are like, oh, yes, I have this amazing job, and
I love it. It doesn't feel like work. And I'm
thinking, what the fuck? I'm interning for the
truckers, and I feel old, which is crazy in hindsight.
But I don't know, man. I'd gone on a couple tours
by that point, but I just truly believed in them.
And Brad. was talking to me. I was at DBTHQ doing
whatever, like, intern work, sorting papers or
some shit. It was certainly important, but...
Keeping the stalkers away from the fan mail.
Like, whatever. Yeah, and Brad's asking me, I'd
just done a tour with a band called Dead Confederate,
and Brad was asking me about the tour, and I'm
telling him, it was very casual. During that
time, he's still like that, but Brad was, like,
the band member that was... He had the vibe of
a crew member as well. You could talk to him
in a different way. Drummers are like that. They
just have so much gear and they have to be in
that world. Sure, that makes sense. And he just
looked at me like, how'd you feel if you toured
with us? And I go, I'd like that a lot. And then
I stopped and I'm like, are you serious or are
you being hypothetical? He goes, oh, I'm serious.
And I'm like, oh shit. He gave me an offer, which
I... took and in hindsight it's hilarious that
i was so pumped about that it was one of the
coolest things in the world and it was brad and
matt d and i looked at them both and i'm like
i know this sounds weird but i just got my dream
job do you mind if i just walk outside for a
second and get my composure and i just walked
laps for about 10 minutes around dbt hq just
like taking deep breaths sometimes yes that's
what we got to do to maintain that position that
like in the first place because totally I think
the part of the reason that I've always been
able to connect with artists and musicians is
partially because like I it took me a long time
to figure out what but I knew I had the same
fire in me right but I also it rarely gets starstruck
and so I feel like that's one of those moments
where like you The potential to, like, fanboy
was there, but you were like, all right, I'm
going to go process this. And I don't mean starstruck
for you, but you were trying to avoid showing
them how excited you were. Oh, yeah, yeah. I
was worried that it would be inappropriate, just
laughing and crying and just all this shit. But
it was just a moment. Probably earlier that day,
I was scrubbing a urinal at the 40 Y. It was
just... And you probably still had to go do that
night, too, but... Totally. It didn't feel quite
as bad. Exactly. So you were super competitive
about swimming. Yeah. Does that bleed over into
other parts of your personality? Are you really
competitive elsewhere in your life? Oh, everything.
It gets in the way sometimes. I'm just hyper
-driven. I'm learning that some things don't
need to be given 100%, and you can even do more
if you give it a little bit less, but that's
quite a journey to go on. But everything I do,
man, I'm just trying to be the best that I can
be. I try to work as absolute hard as I can with
everything. Let's go on that journey for a second.
What do you mean when you say sometimes you've
learned? Can you give an example of where you
think you realized that giving a little less
was more? I guess it's pacing yourself. I get
really burnt out always. I'm always exhausted.
That's something I've learned too. You really
have to fix your priorities and focus on one
thing at a time. Tim Ferriss has this 80 -20
theory. Are you familiar? Yeah, for sure. I've
learned a lot. I can get a lot further given
my 80 -20 to all of the different things than
just wasting all my energy fine -tuning one thing
and not getting anything else done. For sure.
That's been tremendous for me. So let's take
that back to swimming. I have a feeling that,
and I don't know, but I have a feeling you're
about to tell me that something stopped you.
From continuing that. It wasn't necessarily a
choice. I got here in Athens, Georgia. I came
here on a swimming scholarship. UGA. I moved
here when I was 17 and I haven't left. I'm 40
now. It's a special place. I adore Athens. I
adore the University of Georgia. Go Dawgs. Love
it. He's wearing a Dawgs shirt right now. Damn
national championship. I love it. But as far
as personalities go, it wasn't the best fit with...
The thing about swimming, and really any sport,
you wake up at about 5 in the morning at that
time. It was 3 .30 in the morning when I was
a kid. But you wake up at 5 in the morning and
you stare at that pool and you just get your
ass kicked for a few hours. And then you live
your life. Then in the afternoon you get your
ass kicked again. I was seeing this outside world
in Athens. There was just an amazing gravitational
pull to me. I was starting to indulge in it a
little bit. And that doesn't really mix with
competitive swimming. It just got to the point
where my heart wasn't in it anymore and my heart
was so in this other thing. I'm like, I need
to direct my energy towards this. And what was
the other thing? Music. The arts. Fuck yeah.
I just believed in it so hard and I wasn't believing
in swimming and my teammates hated me for it.
Did you think about getting into synchronized
swimming? Because that's... I don't know, man.
Like today, maybe I would have. It's like American
Pie, right, man? You get it from that shit. I'm
just thinking that's one way to implement the
arts into your swimming. But I got in a little
trouble. Yeah, I showed up late for a swim practice
after it wasn't the first time. I got in a little
trouble. I wasn't kicked off the team, but I
was just so unhappy at the time. It just seemed
very natural that... I had this gravitational
pull towards something else. And I didn't know,
I certainly didn't think I was going to become
the tour manager of Drive -By Truckers. But at
the time, I was skipping class to wait in line
to buy tickets to see them. But I knew that something
in that world, that was where I needed to go.
And just for our listeners... There used to be
physical box offices where you had to go and
buy actual paper tickets for concerts. Wait,
can I tell a funny story about two weeks before
I quit swimming? Yeah, it's perfect. I love this.
I was at Nationals, and ultimately I did all
right. I came in ninth, but I wanted to be on
the podium. I was very disappointed. I was very
heartbroken. It was just one of those things.
I had finished swimming, but then still went
on, so I just had to be there. and somebody from
home called me and told me that they had fish
tickets. And I'm like, I'd never seen fish before.
And I'm like, oh man, I want to go. I'm at nationals.
It sucks so bad. I'm not even swimming. And I
went to my coaches and I don't even remember
how I did it. But I think that a lot of it was
that my coaches were just so over it with me
that they didn't even care. But I got permission
to bounce and got my flights changed. And I don't
remember the logistics of any of this, but I
dipped early and I flew to Virginia. I saw fish
play in Hampton and it completely changed my
life again. There was so much energy and it was
just such a culture around that. And I'm like,
holy shit, this is where I belong. Maybe not
fish specifically, but I love fish still. It's
controversial in our communities as to whether
people like them or not. But I was so blown away
by it. And it made so much sense that I quit
swimming two weeks later. It was like the coolest
thing ever. I think that like... Still on that
trip. Yeah. So, did you ever regret it? You know,
regret's a strong word. I wonder sometimes. I
feel like I've never really reached my potential,
and that bothers me. I was 151st in the world
when I quit. Wow. But there's a big difference
between 1 -5 -1 and 1. And it's also just like
a snapshot of time. Right. Totally. And so I
often wonder what I could have done, but I don't
know. I've been on some gnarly tours where every
day of life just fucking sucks. And I'm like,
oh, this is what it was like when I was swimming.
There was no end to the tour. It was just life.
It just becomes another job eventually, right?
All of them do. It totally was. It totally was.
But I give myself forgiveness, but that makes
me think things now. I'm very timid to quit anything
prematurely now because I'm like, I don't want
to make that mistake again. I don't want to wonder.
And maybe to a fault, because maybe sometimes
I'll stay at a place a little longer than I should.
Yeah, I can think of a few relationships where
that's been the case for me. Totally, absolutely.
And I don't mean even romantic ones, just friendships
or whatever. It's just like, all right, this
ran its course a long time ago. And the ability
to recognize that, I think, is hard. It's really
hard, because you never know. You never really
know if it's the right decision and what's around
the corner. But I think one thing that strikes
me about Phish being the band that kind of changed
so much for you, or that show in particular,
seeing them, is they're one of those bands with
a fanatic fan base. Totally. It's true. And there's
something, I'll be honest, that's part of what...
got me really curious the first time I saw the
Drive -By Truckers. I already loved their music.
I'd already had all their records and everything
at that point, but... For sure. When I wasn't
the only one that loved them as much as I did,
it was validating in one way, but it was also
like, you don't feel alone anymore. Totally.
And... A world that makes sense. And I wonder
how much of Fish, like you said, you like the
band, whatever, but... How much do you think
the fan base had to do with that? I think that
it definitely showed me that there was another
world that I could belong in, for sure. There's
definitely that. You didn't even feel like you
belonged in the swimming world anymore. Man,
it was brutal. It was brutal. Do you remember
when you stopped? Was there a moment where you
knew that you were done? Like your heart wasn't
in it? And not the fish show in the sense that
here's something else, but was there a moment
where it died, if that makes sense? You know,
it's funny. When I look back on it, I think that
I was beginning the process of dying years before
the death actually happened. And I didn't pick
up on it. Sounds like all my ex -girlfriends.
Oh, totally. Every one of them. I started dreading
swim practice pretty early, but I feel like everybody
does. Michael Phelps does. I grew up with him,
actually. I'm not here to talk about who you
grew up with, anyway. If that somehow affected
you, then I think it's relevant. That's the degree
of dislike intensity. I gotcha. You think that's
good context? I don't know, man. I had one swim
meet. It was SEC Championships my freshman year.
I was expected to place very highly and do very
well. I ended up just completely bombing. Later
years, I experienced heartbreak a little worse,
but at the time, that was the worst heartbreak
I'd ever experienced. I used to always joke to
my coach, I'm like, hey, after all I put into
this, if this doesn't pay off, I don't know if
I can do it again. I was just joking, but in
hindsight, I meant it. I was never really the
same after that. But I was already on my way
before that. That might have been the kick in
the balls that broke the camel's back. So what
I think is really interesting about the switch,
especially with your competitive nature, music's
not competitive. It's almost like the, especially
in Athens. It took me a while to understand that.
Interesting. Do you mind sharing a little bit
about that? Just don't get me wrong. I think
that, like I was talking to Jay Gonzalez. and
we were talking about Drive -By Truckers specifically.
And he said to me... He'll be on in a couple
of weeks. He said to me, I don't know if he was
referring to himself or referring to other band
members. I can't remember the exact context,
and I'm leaving it vague, looking out for Jay,
because I don't want to misspeak on his behalf.
That's cool. I'm just kidding. But he said something
of, if you don't believe you're the best band
in the world, what are you even doing it for?
And I think that on that level, when you're stepping
out on the stage, you've got to believe. But
there's not a ranking. Totally. There isn't swimming.
Totally. That's, I think, the difference, right?
Yeah, and I had to learn that results were abstract,
that progress is a little more messy. It's not
as clean as, like, seeing your time drop. And
that navigating relationships, it's not as simple
as just, I do the best, I get rewarded. But I
don't know, like, I'm a people person, so it
worked out organically anyway. Yeah, yeah. That
sometimes things are happening when you don't
even realize that was a life's lesson. Like...
A lot of those basic life's lessons happened
in the transition. Still happening. So, when?
Yeah. Because I feel like there's a few threads
here that I'm following, and they all come together
at the end. Okay. Who's your favorite wrestler
as a kid? Tell me about... Because I'm going
to come back. Oh, man. Because I'm somebody who...
I've never really been into wrestling. Had a
fucking blast at Athens Ass -Wolfing. Yeah. And
I'm a convert now. But... It's not something
I experienced as a kid, I guess is what I'm getting
at. What was that like? What is that wonderment?
And how did that change as you grew up? Because
I imagine that your relationship with it has
to change as you age. I want to ask you something.
Okay. Who's your favorite guitar player? Frank
Zappa. Oh, damn. You're able to name one. Good
job. And that doesn't mean I think he's the best.
Right. He's just your favorite. And I wouldn't...
stop listening to others just so i could listen
to only him so i understand the complexity of
your question as far as favorite wrestlers oh
my god how can i pick a favorite child yeah it's
like zappo like i'm thinking about a certain
set of criteria whereas if i change the criteria
just a little bit i could name a different guitar
player that would be my favorite rick flair is
the greatest of all time there's a lot about
him as a man that just terrible, but I think
that Hulk Hogan did some great stuff for professional
wrestling. Yeah, I'm totally over the idea that
our entertainers need to also be good people.
God, The Rock, like, nothing channeled my, like,
Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was amazing. Have
you seen a picture of The Rock lately? He's huge.
He's looking a lot like Jeff Ross. Jeff Ross.
The Roastmaster. Okay. I'm a comedian. I don't
know, man. It's not a compliment. Undertaker.
Is there anyone more iconic? So as a hardcore
wrestling fan growing up, did it surprise you
when all these wrestlers started branching into
acting? Or did that seem like a natural progression?
Natural? I didn't really pick up on that until
maybe adolescence. Yeah, yeah. Did you like Hulk's
movies growing up? I wanted to dig Suburban Commando,
but I just... So, did you view that stuff as
them selling out? Oh, I didn't know what selling
out was yet. Does that even exist anymore? I
think it should. Yeah. It'd be very loose. You
gotta get paid. I mean, I feel like selling out
is... Are you being true to yourself? Yeah, no,
I... Yeah. And so, when Hulk makes Mr. Nanny...
Yeah, man. I'm getting off point here a little
bit, but... Wrestling came, it was just like
part of my Saturday morning cartoons. When I
was six, it was advertised to six -year -olds.
And then when I was 16, it was also rebranded
to me. So they kept rebranding to my age. Yeah.
And I... It grew with you. Yeah. And I think
with wrestling, it's a little different because
it changed with the times and audience. With
great art, even static art, your perception of
it changes as you age. Absolutely. And so I'm
really curious how you viewed it as a kid versus
how you viewed it as an adult versus then the
professionalization about that. And that's where
I want to end up is how all this came together.
Okay. Because obviously wrestling is competitive.
It is. But wrestling... I wouldn't bet on the
outcome. Wrestling was never meant to be competitive.
Wrestling is very much escapism. As music was
as a kid. Really, the transition. Like, we can
come to it. Like, music was the escape of athletics.
Then I work in music and wrestling becomes the
escape of working in music. The attire is very
similar in the 80s, I think, between stars and
wrestling. But that's a very specific thing.
It's called the rock and wrestling connection.
See, I don't know what that is, but it's obviously
something that people pick up on. Yeah. Escapism
as a kid. It was just cool as shit, man. It was
like your Saturday morning cartoons as a kid
and just like fun. And then it became more escapism
later on. Is that what you mean? It was. Like,
what are you escaping from at six, bro? Oh, man.
Maybe there's a real answer to that. Getting
lost in comic book shit. Like, it was very comic
book -y at the time. Like, Papa Shango was putting
spells on the Ultimate Warrior, so the Ultimate
Warrior had to have his diarrhea and then kick
some ass. Yeah, no, I've always thought about
the similarities between, like, superheroes and
wrestlers. And it's not really like that anymore,
which I think is good. But I think that was a
very... cool era for someone pre -adolescent
when they weren't making marvel movies back then
either it was like like that niche has been filled
now totally totally something fun but you're
finding in mexican wrestling you're finding some
marvel characters are wrestlers oh somebody's
gonna get sued yeah and you think back to spider
-man's origin story Wrestling is a larger -than
-life presentation of something great and something
phenomenal. And rock and roll is that, too. Yeah,
absolutely. That concept, that belief, that...
And Phish is that. Just this great, this huge
thing. He's like mythology surrounding it. Drive
-By Truckers is that, in a different way of just
being the greatest rock and roll band on Earth
and walking out there and cranking it and blowing
your fucking face off. Like, it's all there.
It's all this... bigger larger than life beautiful
thing that's happening yeah so where did the
idea to put it all together come from was this
something that you had because obviously like
wrestlers have their walkout songs and things
like that but first of all just tell us a little
bit about what classic city wrestling is what
the inspiration for it is and because The way
you put it to me is it's like I wanted to show
the world wrestling the way I saw wrestling.
That's what you said to me one time. What makes
you see wrestling? What led you to see wrestling
that way? And had anybody ever done anything
like this that you'd seen that kind of inspired
you? I have no shortage of ridiculous ideas.
So I've fantasized like how my pro wrestling
company would work in my head forever. And I
felt like if it was an Athens brand, you'd really
be missing the point if you don't have live music
as a part of it. Absolutely. And so I'd been
viewing that forever. All right. That was part
one of my interview with Cole Taylor. Make sure
you hit that subscribe button and the next episode
we'll give you part two. I really appreciate
you tuning in today. Check out my website, Fedden
.net. That's F -E -D -D -U -N .net. Shout out
to Lee Baines for the inspiration for the title
of this podcast, Overeducated and Underemployed.
Make sure you check out Classic City Wrestling.
You can still get a few tickets. As of the release
of this podcast, there are still a handful of
tickets available for the 40 Watt on May 17th.
And then on June 30th, they're making their Asheville,
North Carolina debut at the Orange Peel with
Rhinestone Pickup Truck. As the musical guest.
So, for tons of excitement, cold beer, rock and
roll, and honestly just like pure mayhem, there's
so much going on at one of these events. Check
out the music video I'm linking in the description
if you want to get a feel for what it's like.
Thanks for tuning in. This has been Overeducated
and Underemployed.