Welcome to Overeducated and Underemployed. This
is the first episode that we taped live, and
it was accompanied by a concert. We did the interview,
and then he played a show. This is Cody Shade
Harrell, somebody who I grew up with his brother.
His brother and I turned each other on to a ton
of music. Kane Harrell, who was quite the player
himself in his own right, to be honest. He's
made a path for himself to do it professionally
now. He is the bass player for Cedric Burnside.
He works at Luther Dickinson's studio as an assistant
producer. It was a real pleasure talking to him.
It's a little bit of a shorter interview because
we were doing it before concert. We wanted to
get to the show, let him play the show. About
35 minutes. We had a great talk. He put on an
amazing show. Definitely catch Cedric Burnside's
band this summer. They're on tour. And definitely
check out the North Mississippi Hill Country
Picnic this weekend in North Mississippi. I'll
have linked all the details in the description
here. I'll also link the Herald Brothers CD or
EP or whatever you want to call it. It's about
eight songs. It's really great. Cody and Kane
playing together. And I'll link Cedric Burnside's
Grammy -nominated album that Cody worked on and
is touring behind with Cedric right now. Without
further ado, here's the live episode. Thanks
for listening to Overeducated and Underemployed.
We're going to be taping a live episode of the
podcast Overeducated and Underemployed right
now. Thank y 'all for coming out. This is Cody
Shade Harrell. Everybody give it up for him.
How y 'all doing this evening? What's the first
song that you ever remember loving? Man, off
the top of my head is I'm Your Captain, Closer
to Home, Grand Funk Railroad. That was one of
our dad's favorite songs. That was one of the
ones the classic rock radio was always on, but
if that one came on, everything got turned up
a little louder for that nine minutes and something
of that song. So yeah, that's probably the earliest
that I can think of that I really enjoyed and
didn't know why as a kid, but it sounded cool.
It was like two songs in one. or something, and
yeah. So what age were you, do you remember?
Like the first time you kind of were like conscious
of the song? My best memory that I can remember,
it was like a Halloween, and we were at the house,
and I was probably seven, six or seven, seven,
eight, something like that, somewhere around
seven, I would assume. And when was the first
time you picked up guitar? Whenever I was a kid.
Kane played guitar whenever I was a kid. And
so he had like a Harmony, I guess it was like
a Strat copy or something. But it was like a
Harmony Sunburst guitar that I messed with and
tried to learn. And it was around that time because
I was in elementary school. And the talent show,
I decided to try to play guitar for the talent
show in my elementary school and played Voodoo
Child. Jimi Hendrix, and I played that beginning,
and just played that on repeat for like two minutes
until everybody was like telling me to get off
stage so that the girl could do gymnastics next.
But yeah, I was, I don't know, sometime in elementary
school, like third grade or something maybe.
But I didn't stick with it. I dropped it not
long after that, and I've played a ton of other,
attempted to play other instruments over the
years after that, and then I picked guitar back
up. high school, little, and then really in college.
So like 18, 19 timeframe. And you're how old
now? 33. You're 33. So you've been playing, I
guess, for about 15 years, if that sounds. Yeah,
I guess so. My first live gig was in, man, when
was that? Was that 2015 or something? Whenever
I went with the Burnside's. But before that,
I'd been playing for several years just trying
to learn and stuff. So yeah, playing guitar in
my bedroom and stuff, yeah, 15 or something,
15 years or something. About 15 years ago. So
full disclosure, I grew up with your brother.
I've known your brother for 25 years probably
at this point. And I have a memory of him and
I in like 2005. hanging out in my bedroom, just
listening to the North Mississippi All -Stars
Hill Country Review, the Live at Bonnaroo record.
And he's playing guitar and I'm singing along.
And I mean, and they were our heroes, you know
what I mean? And now, like, you've shared the
stage with them. You work with Luther on a regular
basis. You are, you know, you're a part of the
insider now. What is it like to go from being...
like a fan like that because I mean I know you
know we loved their music growing up yeah and
then now you get to play it with them what is
that like for you is um I don't know I mean I
could use any cliche word like surreal or whatever
but it is it is really interesting to go from
yeah from once from the front of the stage to
being on the stage or being side stage or something
and I wouldn't have expected it because you know,
it's the North Mississippi All -Stars, and they're
all over the world all the time, and they've
been hitting it since the 90s, and they do their
thing, and I'm a fan, and that's just the way
that it is, but I kind of weaseled my way in
and made friends with Luther and Cody, and it
is wild to think about that a handful of years
ago, I was just like watching them on YouTube
and trying to learn their licks and stuff, and
now I have like... time with Luther whenever
I help on shows or when we're traveling or something
to sit and him play guitar with me or have me
play guitar and then point at me and be like,
nope, no, that wasn't it. He let me show you
and set me straight. But especially at this point
as a musician, that is such a dream come true
to me to have that opportunity because it's super
special that not everybody gets. I'm just like
super appreciative because people talk about
don't meet your heroes because you may not like
them or whatever that that phrase is. But I'm
glad that I met my heroes there because they
have been super awesome dudes and took, you know,
taking me under their wing and, you know, help
me out. And it's a partnership because like I
do help for them. And they help me out. They're
not doing charity work. Exactly. Yeah. I mean,
not when it comes to their recording sessions,
at least. I mean, I know they actually do do
a lot of charity work. So let's zoom back a little
bit in kind of like a similar fashion. What was
the catalyst for you to switch from being just
a music fan as a kid? And dabbling in guitar
growing up to really committing it, like 18,
19, to taking it seriously, starting to play
live, and that sort of thing. What was kind of
the thing that switched in your head? I'm trying
to think, because it's kind of a long -ish timeline
that goes over several years. I liked guitar
music. And I liked all the guitar that's on classic
rock radio. And then as I learned about like
North Mississippi Hill Country music and how
guitar riff driven the music is and how you feel
it, like all of that, you feel it. That really
pulled me into the music itself. But I was kind
of trying to learn guitar just as the hobby.
And like maybe one day like I'll play with some
folks and like piddle around and make some music.
But I was on like a trajectory like. college
and career and like corporate world and stuff
so I thought that like well I gotta have a life
outside of that and I love music and I love guitar
and I like to play guitar so like I'll work during
the day and then I'll like play a little music
in the evening and that'll be fine but um so
that's the kind of way that I went for a while
But then once I got out of college and got into
the working world, I worked in manufacturing
plants and stuff doing like improvement work
and got into that and quickly realized like,
man, this is the next 40 years. Cool. This is
all right. This is it then. And felt that way
for a while and started to realize it more and
more like, you know, I'm working and it's just
work and I'm good at it and it's good and cool
and I'm making money and all that stuff. Whenever
I got home and played the guitar, I was like,
man, but this is fun. This is good, and this
is fun, and this is what I love. The music that
I love, the people making the music make it work.
They do it professionally for a living, just
like I'm working in these factories for a living.
Maybe, just maybe, if I set myself right, I can
try and save as much money from my job as possible
and build up some type of nest egg that I can,
end up leaving that and like jumping into music
full -time if the opportunity ever presented
itself or if i ever got good enough to actually
do it so this was i don't know before the pandemic
i was feeling that way um and i'd been playing
stuff around that time i'd been getting stage
time and playing with like all all my heroes
and all the burn sites and kimbros and everybody
in that north mississippi community so i already
have like my toe in the water and was pretty
hooked on it. And then during the pandemic, you
know, everything that happened there happened.
And I ended up thinking like, man, maybe now
is the time. Maybe now is the time to just jump
and try it. So that's what I did. It was like
on a whim a little bit. At that point, it was
part of my plan, but I didn't know when to pull
the trigger. And that was when I did. which is
a weird time to do it in the middle of a pandemic
when nobody's talking without a mask on and everybody's
washing hands and nobody's wanting to go out
in public and stuff. What a time to try to jump
into live music. I don't know. I'm rambling about
it because it's hard to piece it all together,
but that's kind of the flow of how that happened.
Yeah. So you've played with your brother for...
a long time, like since you were, you know, obviously
since you were kids, but I mean out in the world,
like y 'all play together as a band and in bands
together. How did that start as being like something
that you were going to be like, okay, we're going
to let like, let's do this outside of our living
room and maybe even in somebody else's. Yeah.
Kane and I never really played a lot together
until recent years. Kind of like piddle and stuff.
Like whenever I was a kid, I think you tried
to show me some stuff. You showed me Voodoo Child
and stuff like that. But in recent years, whenever
I've been in bands or played with folks and stuff,
I knew that I wanted to have a band. So I got
with a buddy of mine, Connor. We were already
playing together, and we started a band called
Proud Hound. And we were going to do it as like
a... trio, like two guitars and drums with this
bass thing that I have set up that I use tonight.
But Kane was living down here in Florida and
then up in Wisconsin, and then he moved back
to Mississippi. And I don't remember if it was
around the time of starting Proudhound or if
it was like just before or something, but it
just worked out to where we were like, man, you
know, Kane plays. Kane's good. We could use a
bass player. That would be really cool. And he
wants to play and he's in the area. So let's
do it. And so we did. He just, like, jumped in,
and we all started playing. And I don't know.
It's fun playing with them and having, obviously,
like, the familial connection and stuff, like
the brother thing is fun. And beyond Proudhound,
we did, like, the Harrell Brothers, and we do
that, which I've got. We've got some CDs over
there, Harrell Brothers things that Kane and
I cut. So we've done that, and we do that here
and there. And it just, I don't know, we have
like similar tastes in music. We've got some
differences in taste, but we have so many similarities
that it's easy to fall in and like play together
and stuff. So it just kind of makes sense to
do at this point. What was some of the music
you, I mean, obviously like you love the blues,
but growing up, was it always just like blues
music for you? Or did, what was the, what was
kind of the pathway there? Oh man, I was a big
Britney Spears fan. No, it was classic rock radio.
Like my parents always had a stereo on or in
the car. It was always playing, you know, 96
.1 The Rocket and later Z95 .3 and stuff. But
it was always classic rock stuff. And that's
what I liked. And that's really all that I listened
to because that's all that I had to listen to
on the stereo. But then Kane, as he got older,
was getting CDs and had his stereo and we shared
a room. And so he was playing stuff. through
the 90s and like early 2000s and stuff that was
all rock, rock realm of stuff. And I really didn't
get into the blues until outside of, you know,
like Stevie Ray Vaughan and stuff like that.
I didn't get into like blues, blues or country
blues or anything until I guess it was high school
time frame. Had a teacher, a... mythology teacher
he is he taught several things but I took mythology
from him and we got to talking about Robert Johnson
and the crossroads and stuff and he had the whole
Robert Johnson discography on CD and I don't
remember how I like expressed interest but he
said that you know I'll send these CDs home with
you and you can listen through them and bring
him back so that I did and like man listening
to those Robert Johnson tracks and hearing that
style of music versus all the classic rock stuff
that I heard That really piqued my interest.
So I really started out trying to play Delta
Blues, trying to play, like, Robert Johnson stuff.
And then from that, it morphed more towards the
Hill Country. And honestly, like, that was high
school time frame, the Robert Johnson stuff and
all those country blues pickers. And then I went
to Oxford, Mississippi for college, and Oxford
is, like, the epicenter of Hill Country. Proud
Larry's is there, and it's an institution for
the Burnside's and everybody. Got up there and
would see, like, you know, Cedric Burnside at
Proud Larry's or Dwayne Burnside here, Gary Burnside
there, and then the North Mississippi All -Stars
at Proud Larry's or at the Lyric. And, like,
this whole community of music is up there. And
I knew about the North Mississippi All -Stars
because my dad, our dad used to take us to Pensacola
Springfest, and we saw the All -Stars there one
year. And I'm honestly, I was too young to really
remember. I remember seeing them, but I honestly
don't remember a lot about the music or anything.
But I guess, Cain, you may have got a CD there
or afterwards got a CD. So I heard that at the
house. So once I got to Oxford and saw that name,
I was like, oh, yeah, I remember that, you know,
that group from my childhood. So I'll go see
them. And then going down that rabbit hole and
learning about the Burnside family tree and the
Kimbrough family tree and how they were all in
Holly Springs and stuff not far from Oxford,
that just wrapped me up. And that's kind of the
progression. Do you remember the first concert
that you went to as a kid? First ever concert?
The first one that really stuck with you. It
would be Springfest. It would be Pensacola Springfest.
And I guess that would have been around 2001
or something like that, 2002 or something. Because
I remember one year they put it in the Coliseum
or something. And then the next year it was like
taking it back to the streets. But it was the
year or two before it went to the Coliseum. So
it was 2002 or something. And I remember seeing
like Willie Nelson. We went up to the front.
Daddy and Kane like pushed us up to the very
front. And I got right up on the rail and Willie
Nelson like winked and waved. And then we saw
like the Black Crows and Foreigner and Eddie
Money. And like all these people that I heard
on the radio. So that's probably my most standout
initial first concert experience was that seeing
all the people that I heard on the radio. It
was kind of weird as a kid. They looked different
than they sounded. Do you want to tell me about
the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic and
how that led to some of the connections that
you have and just all about what it is to the
listeners? Yeah. So every year, the last weekend
in June in North Mississippi, there's an event
called the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic.
And it's put on by Kenny and Sarah Brown. And
Kenny Brown was a guitar player for R .L. Burnside
since way back. So they throw the festival and
it's obviously Hill Country focused. So like
it's kind of like a community or family reunion
for that music. You'll catch all the Burnside
family, the Kimbros. North Mississippi All -Stars,
Kenny Brown, and all of their, like, fringe musicians
in the scene, including, like, Alvin Youngblood
Hart, Jimbo Mathis, folks like that. But it's,
like, the showcase for North Mississippi Hill
Country Blues, in my opinion. And it happens
every June, the last weekend. And it takes place
out... literally in the hill country. It's out
between Oxford and Holly Springs, Mississippi
in kind of like a dead zone where like phones
don't work well. And if you don't have like a
front wheel drive car or like a four wheel drive
and it rains, you may have to get pulled out
with a tractor. And it's awesome. It's all home
done. There's sponsors and stuff, but it's like
all done by hand. It's all like grassroots and
they've been going since I think 2006. But it's
a Friday and it's a Saturday festival with camping
and everything. I think this year they have like
two stages. But it is like the who's who of that
style of blues. And anybody around that community,
it's like that is the thing to go to. It is hot.
It is very hot. It is Mississippi Hill Country
in summertime. So it's like you need an umbrella
or even an umbrella hat or a tent. You can take
one of those canopy tents and people... The trick
is like to take Pedialyte. A lot of people take
Pedialyte and drink it in that heat. Keeps them
going. But yeah, it's just, it's super awesome.
It is a super awesome festival. I can't recommend
it enough for blues lovers to go and make that
pilgrimage to North Mississippi and experience
that. It is something like, it may not be for
everybody because of the environment, but it
is so Hill Country Blues. Like the entire experience
is the music. And I mean that in every way, from
the weather to everything. So yeah, there's that.
And I went for a couple years, but I knew that
I wanted to get into the community and I wanted
to play the music and I wanted to be part of
it. It was kind of pulled to it. So I weaseled
my way in with the picnic and tried to help just
as a volunteer, just as a hand to do whatever
was needed. And one year I helped with the raffle.
They do a raffle every year with some really
awesome pieces from local artists and artists
all over the country, sometimes all over the
world, people send donations in for their raffle.
So I helped with that one year and then I managed
that one year and just tried to get in and get
to know people and let them know that I'm a good,
helpful person in the community. I care about
the music and I care about making things be what
they're supposed to be. And just met everybody
in the community through that and would hang
out with them because the backstage area is kind
of like a big party for everybody to like...
because they may not have seen each other in
a year because everybody's on the road or whatever.
So it's great to be able to just sit back at
a picnic table in the back and hear Kenny Brown
and R .L. Boyce talking about who knows what
kind of moonshine they had or something. It's
just a very cool place to soak that in. And then
also meet the folks one -on -one and let them
know who I am and stuff. like I said earlier,
like weasel my way in. I mean, like I said earlier,
I don't think that they're out there like just,
you're not like a make a wish case or anything.
You know what I mean? I would definitely say
that there's like, in a way there's like a, I
guess a cutting floor or whatever you'd call
it. Like there, people will play in the community,
but people do filter in and out because it's
not like, it's not everybody's thing, but I.
felt and definitely am validated in it at this
point that, like, it is my thing. Like, I love
it. And part of, you know, I know this might
be a little bit, like, bittersweet because you're
going to be missing the picnic this year. Yeah.
Because you'll be on the road with Cedric Burnside.
Yeah. And so what was that, you know, that process
like, joining his band? And did it just start
with, like, a few gigs here and there? Or did
he approach you? Man, you know, it came through
playing some gigs with him. I was in his uncle,
well, both of his uncles, two of his uncles,
Dwayne Burnside and Gary Burnside's bands. I
played with them off and on. Those were some
of my first gigs was with them on stage. And
I just played, you know, second guitar with them
and tried to hang in there with them and did.
And then met Luther Dickinson from the All -Stars
later on and was communal with these guys. But
these gigs, sometimes Cedric would be on drums
for Gary. We played at Proud Larry's one night,
and I just knew that I was coming to play a Gary
Burnside show. And you never really know who
will be on stage or how many people will be on
stage or anything. But we got up there, and then
in walked Cedric in a nice shirt and stuff. And
he's like, hey, man, how's it going? And hops
behind the drums. man, goes at it, beats the
fire out of them. And we just had some like run
-ins like that. We never really like sat down
one -on -one and chatted or anything, but we
would talk on the stage and like, man, that was
awesome. Like, hey, good guitar playing. Like,
man, those feels, you know, that kind of stuff.
But just hanging around the scene and seeing
him more and more, we got more and more familiar
with each other. And then he was cutting the
album that came out last year, Hill Country Love,
which was nominated for the Grammy. He was cutting
that at a place that was going to be his juke
joint in Ripley, Mississippi. And Luther Dickinson
was producing it and played bass on it and stuff.
And Luther called me like the day before and
was like, hey, man, I'm going to be in Ripley
with Cedric doing some stuff. You want to ride
over and hang? I was like, yeah, sure. Yeah,
I'll come over and hang. What's up? And he's
like, oh, just a recording session, no big deal.
And show up, and Cedric's like, yeah, man, this
is going to be my new album. I'm going to be
putting it out in a couple years, or like next
year. So we're just cutting all the tracks for
it and stuff. So you're welcome to hang out.
So I did and just like soaked in that experience
of watching Cedric Burnside and Artemis LeShore,
who played like a junior juke joint. He's been
in the scene for a long time on drums and then
Luther on bass and then sometimes some guitar
stuff. But like just sitting back and watching
that, I was like, man, this is awesome. And then
they take a break and Luther and Cedric sit down.
They're like, man, got to figure this out. You
know, whenever this album comes out, I need to
tour it. and I'm going to need a bass player
because this is my first album with a bass on
it. And Luther's like, hey, man, Cody Harrell
over here, he plays bass. He plays with Eric
Deaton. He plays with us. There's your guy. And
I was like, oh, no, man. I appreciate you sticking
your neck out like that, but whatever. It's cool.
I appreciate that. Thank you. But Cedric was
like, yeah, man, I know you can play because
we've played, and I've seen what you do on guitar.
I know what you can do on bass. And when this
comes out, let's talk. And that's kind of how
it happened. And then, you know, time went by
where the album was being mixed and mastered
and ready to go and everything and release. And
Cedric called me at the beginning of 2024 and
was like, hey, man, it's time to go. Are you
ready? And I was like, let me get some stuff
in line. But yeah, I'm ready. And I called him
like the next day and I was like, all right,
let's rehearse. Like, I'm ready to go whenever.
Send me the music. And it was off to the races
from there. And we did. I'll go past your question
a little bit, but we did three rehearsals in
his back room at his house up in Ashland, Mississippi.
And after the very first one, he was like, oh,
yeah, this is going to be good. And we did three
rehearsals and then hit the road on April 17th
and was out. More than home like from April 17th
to the end of July I think that I counted that
I was home for like a total of 11 days So three
rehearsals and then bam just hit it hard We open
for JJ Gray and mo fro in like amphitheaters
and I went from playing at Proud Larry's for
like upwards of a hundred to two hundred people
to playing these amphitheaters opening for JJ
Gray with like thousands of people, like a sea
of people. I was like, is this real? Well, and
not only that, but touring that intensely was
new to you too, right? Absolutely. I'd never
done more than like, I toured with Cody Dickinson
back in 2019 and Todd Nance from Widespread Panic,
and we did like, I don't know, two weeks of...
of a tour we had like a nine or ten show run
so that was the longest that i'd ever been on
the road outside of like weekend runs with all
-stars and helping the all -stars and stuff like
that so yeah we were out uh for like i don't
know three weeks the very first time and then
i came home for like two days and then went back
out for an entire month from may to may we left
north mississippi and went down through texas
up through california up into california through
the midwest and came back home Yeah, it was crazy
to go from being a homebody to not being home
at all. So when I had J. Roddy Walston on here,
he and I talked about how the road kills people.
And he said sometimes it's a week, sometimes
it's years. How have you made a conscious effort
to stay healthy and keep your head in a good
space when you go on the road? Man, it's really
easy with Cedric because he's such a positive
guy. He's always about uplifting and positivity
and staying away from negatives. Even if there
is a negative thing that happens in the day,
you can acknowledge it, but then move on from
it or find the silver lining and continue. It's
really easy traveling with him because of his
spirit and his energy and everything is so positive
that the bad days aren't really that bad. Health
-wise, as far as food, I haven't figured that
out yet. Like, man, when venues, you know, when
venues offer catering and there's, like, this
awesome food and stuff, like, I could have the
salad. I could, but I don't want to. I want to
have the big, you know, meat and three and then
the dessert and the cake and everything else.
Like, that's good. That's good stuff. So I try
to rationalize it by walking. Every day, like
between soundcheck and the show, I get out and
walk a whole bunch. I know that that doesn't
work off the bowl of ice cream, but to me it
does. What are some of your favorite places that
you've gotten to see on tour? Man, one place
domestically and internationally, I've got a
couple. But one of them is the Fillmore West
out in California. We got to play there in December,
opening for Samantha Fish. And that was awesome
just to know the musicians that passed through
there. back in the day over the over the decades
and stuff like the the history of that room and
the history of music that has gone through that
room that was really awesome I got to leave the
country for the first time with Cedric we hopped
up into Canada to Victoria Canada I think that
that's the one that's out like kind of on an
island or something and we had to take a ferry
to get there through a bunch of straits and that
was super cool to see so there was that but then
we went and Went through Europe last year. I
never, like I said, Canada was my first time
out of the country. But we went to Europe for
like three weeks. And I mean, I can't even pick
any one thing over there because everything was
so awesome. Like the first place that we landed
and played was like a promenade from, I don't
know what it was, the 1100s or something. There
was a big statue of the Sun King out in the middle
of the promenade. And I was like, man, everything
over here. is so much older than anything that
I can ever see back home, ever. And even in Mississippi,
there were civilizations and stuff, but they
didn't build stuff out of stone. It was all sticks
and stuff, like mud and sticks and earthly things
that didn't stand the test of time. So even though
there were people in Mississippi forever, they
didn't have any monuments left in Europe with
the castles and all of that. All that history,
all the cities that were built so many hundreds
of years ago. that never imagined that they would
have vehicles or any kind of wide traffic. So
the streets are like super tiny and everything,
like just seeing all that and no grids. It was
like buildings and streets are just like wherever
they are because that's just where they put them,
where they have the room. And that's, I don't
know, all that was really, really cool to me.
Welcome to Tallahassee. Yeah, Tallahassee, I
feel like they never widened the roads. It's
definitely not on a grid. So, you know, maybe
this will make you, you are actually, you're
about to be going back to Europe. You're going
to be in London at least for the, which blues
festival was it, remind me? I think it's the
Ealing Blues Festival is around London. Yeah,
at the end of July. We've got a Midwest run,
a Midwest tour in like mid -July and then have
a few days off and then we go over to London.
Are you, did you go to London last time? No,
we stayed. East of there, we were in France for
a couple shows, Spain for several shows, Italy,
Netherlands, Austria, Belgium. Oh, that is one
that I will name cool places to have been. We
went to a place called Dixmude in Belgium, and
it was like a World War. like where tanks and
stuff rolled down the cities and buildings were
destroyed and like half destroyed. So I went
through an archive of photos on my phone while
I was there and found a bunch of pictures of
buildings from the World War with like tanks
in front of them. And I went and found the exact
same buildings and took the same pictures from
the exact same perspective of those pictures
with a tank in front of it. And now there's like
a Volkswagen in front of it or whatever. And
that was really, really cool to me. You obviously...
Not just in music then, but have a strong interest
in history and preserving things from cultural
importance from the past. What do you think,
or how does your brain kind of approach playing
a more traditional blues song versus when you're
writing your own music? Let me see. So writing
my own music. I will very quickly say it is always
difficult for me to write a song that I feel
like if I have tried in the past to write in
like the hill country genre, I guess if you would
say, and try to force it that way. And I found
that is not the way to go because it just doesn't
work out for me. And then whenever I do write
stuff that I think that, you know, that I want
to write and I want to put out, by the time that
it's done, it doesn't necessarily sound hill
country. Like tonight you'll hear. Some of my
originals are very pretty and that's the thing
like I love gritty blues like that RL Bernstein
stuff was so Just like raw and gritty and like
in your face, and then I write music that's like
pretty And melodic and stuff so I found like
trying to write in a specific way obviously is
not the right way to do it. And I've struggled
writing music because I can like learn and play
any of the Hill Country songs. I love those.
And I would love to write some to like provide
to the repertoire of the community. But here
more recently, I've been just trying to write
just purely right and just like whatever comes
out. And that actually, as I've been doing that,
I think has resulted in more Hill Country sounding
songs. And I'm wondering if it's just the natural
like... not trying to force it and not trying
to push it, but just letting it come out naturally
and let the influences and the inspirations and
stuff kind of flow through it and have no preconceived
notions of what it should sound like until it's
written. And then it kind of, you know, it piques
my interests better, but it feels like it fits
what I'm trying to do better without being just
a pretty song. It's my spin on what the community
does in a way, you know. And I think everybody
here is getting anxious to hear some of these
songs. So we're going to wrap this up here in
just a couple of minutes. But I want to know,
how much of yourself do you put into your songs
lyrically? And how much of it is more just observational
or something like that? You know, it's definitely
not 100 % me. Some of the songs that I've written
have been things that are more observational
or more... of what i would want to hear whether
or not it's it's true to me or not it like makes
me feel like it's something i would like to hear
somebody do but um oh man i'm losing my answer
here like refresh me on what that question was
well i'm just curious how much how much lyrically
do you put like personal stuff into your songs
versus more just thoughts and observations i
mean are they okay if you're writing a love song
is it is it something that's you're really like
resonating, you know, that you're feeling or
that's resonating with you or how much, how much
of yourself are you putting into that versus?
I am pretty reserved. I'm more and more chatty
as I get older, but I've always said that I'm
introverted and I definitely feel like in music,
in writing, I'm introverted. Like I don't want
to lay too much out there for people to see,
but that is something that I've been working
on more in the past couple of years because that's
what resonates with people. Like the real shit
is what people feel because they go through the
real stuff too, you know? So trying to force
something to write, write something like, yeah,
they'll really like that. Like, yeah, maybe some
people will get off on it and be like, yeah,
that's a cool song. But the people that really
soak it in and connect with it and like it are,
you know, they feel the same things that are
written in it. So I'm trying to work on that
and put more of myself in it without showing
too much. Cedric. really helps with that because
if you listen to Cedric Burnside's music, every
one of his songs, none of them are forced. None
of them are what he thinks people want to hear.
Every one of them is so true and authentically
him. And so many of his songs are from real experiences
that he had. Like the song We Made It is all
about like didn't have a toilet, didn't have
a bathtub, walked three miles every day to have
water in the house for another day. Like he really
did carry buckets up and down the road with water
to take to and from his house and like took baths
in a wash pot. in his house, like in his yard
and stuff. And he puts that in his songs because
that is the real, that is the real Hill Country.
Like he is Hill Country to the bone and that's
the real stuff. And that's why people love his
music because it's so real and they do connect
to it. And it's not forced and it's not like
what people want to hear. So I'm really trying
to, you know, take notes from his playbook and
write more like that. But it's so hard to open
up. You know, it's a work in progress. Well,
it sounds like you've been starting to recognize
the benefits of doing that in your own songwriting.
And I just really appreciate you opening up to
all of us today, tonight. And we're excited to
hear your music. Is there anything that you want
to make sure people check out that you've got
going on? I know you're on tour with Cedric right
now. His record is still doing really well. What
else you got going on? So yeah, playing with
Cedric out and about. You can see all of his
dates on his website. I do a lot of, like, tonight,
playing solo, doing solo shows in between. So
I've got a lot of shows with that coming up.
And I've also got a buddy who's a drummer, and
we've played in the past with the Harrell Brothers,
but we're going to kick things up a little bit
more from solo and have a band set and try to
get out into clubs and stuff. So there will be...
More of that coming down the pipeline. Some of
those more energetic club shows. And, like, that
should be a lot of fun. So those are kind of,
like, my primaries for me personally. So, yeah,
keep an eye out for that stuff. And to find that
stuff, I'm on, you know, I'm on all the social
medias and bands in town and stuff like that.
But I have a link tree where, like, all of my
links are found. So if you want to stream or
if you want to look at dates or if you want to
look at whatever is going on, I think it's linktree
slash Cody Shade Harrell. And you can see all
my dates and stuff there. I'll make sure there's
links to all that in the description of the episode,
too. Well, thanks a lot for being here, Cody.
I'm excited to hear you play. Let's get this
show on the road, y 'all. Let's give it up for
Cody one more time, y 'all. Yeah, thank y 'all.
And thank y 'all for being here for the first
live taping of Overeducated and Underemployed.
Well, that was the first episode that we taped
live of Overeducated and Underemployed. I will
have all the... available links to catch cody's
music in the description as well as information
about the north mississippi hill country picnic
that if you're listening to this as it the week
it came out is this weekend and happens every
year check it out i hope you enjoyed this episode
click that subscribe button and if you feel so
inclined there's a donate button on most platforms
and on our website It's what funds some of the
expenses for these interviews and the travel
that I do to make some of the interviews happen,
especially Athens, Georgia. You've got some great
episodes coming your way. I sat down with Valor
Trucks, who actually taught Cody guitar at one
point, Jonathan Spencer, Laura Slade Wiggins,
Kane Stanley, Francis Thrasher, Jen Bryant, and
Mike White. So... Some really cool stories coming
your way. Click the subscribe button. Donate
if you're in a position to. So I can keep these
stories coming. Thank you so much for listening.