Here's What We Know

Send us Fan Mail

This energizing conversation between a baby boomer and a Gen Zer who is being unapologetically himself is going to make you think, and you'll be excited about exploring all the things that will be bouncing in your head after this conversation.

In this episode:

• Making a book with the word “economics” in it interesting
• What "Value Economics" actually means
• The issue of identity
• Why it’s insulting to think America is so bad right now
• The death of the spirit
• The fallout from being laid off as an air traffic controller in 1981 and how his family held it together
• Defining our values
• The importance of examining the difficult things
• What shaped him
• DC Comics
• Why he moved to Austin, TX from Ohio
• Why he’s not on Twitter
• Why he dedicated his book to those who tell the truth
• Why he’s having a hard time dating
• How values should supersede politics

About Sam:

According to Sam, Sam LaCrosse is a nobody. He hasn't done anything amazing. He is not extraordinary or impressive. He doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry. He’s just an ordinary guy from Cleveland, Ohio, who now lives an ordinary life in Austin, Texas. But if you want to check him out, he's the author of "Value Economics: The Study of Identity, writes blogs on dontreadthisblog.com, and hosts Don't Listen to This Podcast. Sam is the CEO and founder of Don’t Do This, LLC, a company that makes no money. He is also a board member of Thrive Living Corporation and an ambassador for RallyCap Sports.

www.dontreadthisblog.com

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

You definitely know this guest's songs. He's written songs such as "You're Gonna Miss This" for Trace Adkins, "I Just Wanna Be Mad" by Terri Clark & "Ain't My Fault" by Brother's Osborne. The list of artists he's written for is miles long. In this episode, he joined Gary to share stories about some of his songs, his 30+-year-long marriage, how songwriter's actually get paid, and much more! 

In this episode:

• How he got a picture with Aaron Rogers
• How he met his wife
• His thoughts on cliches
• How his wife contributes to his music
• His thoughts on marrying someone in the music industry
• How he’s ruined music for his family
• What his 5-year-old daughter did when Brad Paisley came to their door
• What his daughter said to TJ Osborne
• Behind the song “It Aint My Fault”
• How songwriters get paid
• His favorite Thomas Rhett song
• Possible inspiration for "I Just Wanna Be Mad"
• His answer when Gary asked him, “What songs make you cry?”
• This history of how songwriters began to get paid
• The time a Congressman said to him, “Why would anyone want to do that?”
• How you can help songwriters
• What he thinks about Chris Stapleton

**This was recorded prior to the new agreement reached in late August '22.

About Lee Thomas Miller:
Hometown: Nicholasville, Kentucky
Bachelor degree in Music Theory/Composition (Eastern Kentucky University 1990)
 
FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE NASHVILLE SONGWRITER'S ASSOCIATION (NSAI)

 3 Time Grammy Award Nominee:
 2003 Grammy nomination :  “The Impossible” (Joe Nichols) Country Song of the Year:
2009 Double Grammy nomination :
“You’re Gonna Miss This”(Trace Adkins)-  Country Song of the Year
“In Color” (Jamey Johnson)- Country Song of the Year

Music Row Magazine: Breakthrough Songwriter of the year 2003
Awarded one of NSAI’s  ‘Ten Songs I Wish I Had Written’ 2003: “The Impossible”
Awarded one of NSAI’s  ‘Ten Songs I Wish I Had Written’ 2008: “You’re Gonna Miss This”
Song of the Year at the 2008 NSAI awards for “You’re Gonna Miss This”
Nominated for Song of the Year at 2008 CMA awards for “You’re Gonna Miss This”
2009 Double ACM Nominee: “You’re Gonna Miss This” and “In Color” for Song of the Year
Won Song of the Year at the 2009 ACM awards for “In Color”
Won Music Row Magazine’s 2009 Song of the Year  for  “In Color”
Awarded one of NSAI’s  ‘Ten Songs I Wish I Had Written’ 2009: “In Color”
Won Song of the Year at the 2009 CMA awards for "In Color"
Awarded BMI's inaugural "Champion's Award" 2015
Nominated for Song of the Year at the 2018 ACM awards for "Whiskey and You"
                               
http://www.leethomasmiller.com

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

You know his music, you just might not know you know his music. If you love Lainey Wilson's "Things a Man Oughta Know," you'll love this episode. Jason wrote that song and many other hits. He joined Gary in this week's episode to share stories behind his songs, stories from when he was growing up, and much more.

In this episode:

• "Things a Man Oughta Know"
• The song idea that came up during the interview
• His new song Mary Wanna
• Pushing through fear
• Jobs he had on the way up
• Sleeping in his car
• What songs with minor chords do
• Why he never looks at the charts
• The best kind of sad song

About Jason:
Born in Nashville and raised in South Mississippi, Jason Nix grew up on a blend of his musical father’s Bluegrass and his mother’s love of Motown while introducing his own passion for Classic Rock into the mix. It’s no surprise then that his return to Music City just after high school led to the creation of a sound all his own, driven by his strengths as both a guitar player and a lyricist. 17 years later, having established himself as an award-winning, in-demand songwriter and earning cuts from artists ranging from Keb’ Mo’ to Lainey Wilson (including the recent ACM Song of the Year “Things A Man Oughta Know”), Nix now presents himself as a must-hear artist with brand-new release “Mary Wanna.” Written by Nix together with Driver Williams as the first in a series of concept songs coming soon, the song introduces the free-spirited character of Mary while also introducing Nix himself. 

“I had ‘Mary Wanna’ written down as a title for a long time before I pitched it in a write, because I wanted to save it to write with Driver Williams,” notes Nix. “From the word ‘go,’ or in this case, ‘Mary,’ I never wanted the song to be about marijuana. I remember how fast the song fell out, and as I started working on the demo, I didn't want to stop. We wound up using most of the parts I recorded in that 12x12 guest bedroom on the actual record.”

“‘Mary Wanna’ is the song that got my wheels turning again on releasing music as a solo artist. I love the way it makes me feel,” he adds. “I’ve always wanted to a concept album and ‘Mary Wanna’ paints a very clear picture of what Mary’s role will be in this story. She’s a rebel who feels trapped by her parents’ idea of who she should be; she feels smothered by her community’s expectations of how a young woman should act. She is desperately looking for the freedom to find out who she is, even if it means breaking some hearts along the way. This song is the cornerstone for a project I didn’t realize I was starting at the time and was born from a personal experience that I never intended to write about. Mary gave me the opportunity to write about the things I’ve been holding onto for years.”

https://www.jasonnixmusic.com

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

Calling all Star Trek fans! Chester L. Richards, the co-writer of "The Tholian Web" episode of Star Trek, joins in the conversation, and it's fascinating!! Some of his stories are almost unbelievable like the story about almost being killed by the great potato, the Colorado River, a crocodile, a crazed gunman...

In this episode:

• What it was like when a rocket engine blew up
• Working with the royalty of the industry
• Meeting astronauts
• Making something that’s actually space-qualified
• What hooked him on science
• His UFO encounter
• SR71 planes
• UFOs or swarms of insects?
• How he came up with the Tholian Web
• What he thinks of William Shatner
• What he thinks about the newer Star Trek
• The closest to death he’s come
• How his wife’s eulogy affected him
• Losing his wife

About Chester:
Prior to retirement, Chester L. Richards was an Engineering Fellow at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems Division. At Raytheon he was Chief Architect for Advanced Concepts and Architectures. Before joining Raytheon Mr. Richards had an engineering consulting business. His diverse technology career spans half a century.
 
At the beginning of his professional life as a scientist, Mr. Richards invented and patented the first successful automatic focus sensor using real-time image analysis. It was used in aerial reconnaissance cameras.
 
Subsequently, while at the Ford Aerospace Corporation, Mr. Richards was Chief Engineer for Strategic Systems. At Ford he developed the flight instrumentation for the AGNT space flight and re-entry experiment. Mr. Richards invented and patented the Holographic Optical Element which is widely used in large aperture adaptive optics telescopes. Mr. Richards also invented, and successfully field tested, sub-resolution tracking techniques which improved tracking accuracy by two orders of magnitude.

During part of his career Chester L. Richards served as a System Engineering Technical Assistant (SETA) consultant to the U.S. Government. In this role Mr. Richards developed the modern Space Based Laser architecture for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. He was a member of SDIO’s Mission Analysis Working Group and its Innovative Science and Technology group. As SETA he helped define the functional architecture of Schriever Space Force Base and wrote the Statement of Work establishing the requirements for the base.
 
For the Air Force, Chester L. Richards created the definitive high fidelity sensor model for the DSP satellite series. In addition, he developed high precision target tracking techniques for the Hover Test Facility at Edwards Air Force Base.
 
At Raytheon one of his most important discoveries was the complete quantitative theory of bistatic radar, which previously had been only partially understood. This led to multiple fielded applications.
 
The technical interests of Mr. Richards include system architecture, space systems, physical optics, high energy lasers, image processing, radar, ergonomics, and jet and rocket propulsion.
 
Other activities include: Co-author of “The Tholian Web” script for the third season of the original Star Trek series. 
 
Chester L. Richards has a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Physics from UC Irvine. He completed all course work for PhDs in both Physics and Engineering at UC Irvine. Mr. Richards has 19 patents. His latest patent is for a centrifugal gas generator for gas turbine engines. 

https://www.chesterlrichards.com

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

Get ready, science lovers! (and even non-science lovers) This episode is about to blow your mind. Dr. Thomas Sheahen joined Gary to talk about the relativity of time, how science always points to God, and much more!

Also in this episode:

• Consciousness, the higher functions of mankind
• Our view of time vs God’s view of time
• The comprehension of total time
• False gods
• How religion and science can both be right
• The possible existence of UFOs & aliens
• How the moon affects us
• There’s a great intelligence behind “coincidences”
• Constraints humans impose upon God
• Possible realities of different versions of Hell
• Quantum Mechanics

You can get Dr. Sheahen's book here:
https://www.amazon.com/Everywhen-Symmetry-Dr-Thomas-Sheahen/dp/195671510X

Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen is vice president of the Science and Environment Policy Project (SEPP), Director of the Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (ITEST), and president/CEO of Western Technology, Inc., an independent consulting firm specializing in energy technology issues with business implications,

From 2005 – 2009, Dr. Sheahen served as a Senior Analyst in the Systems Integration Office of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. From 1993 - 2002  he was a senior scientist in the Energy Systems Group for Science Applications International Corporation, where he led a team of evaluators in selecting renewable energy projects for support by NREL. He previously held positions with Argonne National Laboratory, Energy Research Advisory Board to the Department of Energy, SRI International (Stanford Research Institute), Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, National Bureau of Standards, and Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Dr. Sheahen is the author of Introduction to High-Temperature Superconductivity  (Plenum Press: 1994). His research papers have appeared in many peer-reviewed scientific journals, including Physical Review, Applied Optics, Journal of  Technology Transfer, Reviews of Modern Physics, Energy the International Journal, Strategic Planning, and Energy Management, and The Science Teacher.

Dr. Sheahen has co-authored numerous reports on topics including rocket re-entry instrumentation (Bell Labs), industrial instrumentation and analysis of measurement economics (Industrial Nucleonics), research program plans (National Bureau of Standards), industrial energy conservation (Office of Technology Assessment), national energy policy planning (DOE), and renewable energy technology (SAIC).

Dr. Sheahen holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

Julie’s back! In this episode, Gary and Julie introduce you to some new artists you'll love and talk about what's changing for women in Country Music.

Also in this episode:
🎙Why Julie gets mad when she deep dives on music
🎙What Julie is excited about for women in Country Music
🎙What made Shania Twain such a big star
🎙Chris Stapleton’s anger at the industry
🎙The Chris Stapleton interview I had to throw out
🎙Why they love Hailey Whitters
🎙Lainey Wilson's style
🎙William Beckmann
🎙Hunter Girl Music
🎙Bailey Zimmerman
🎙Walker Hayes
🎙Drake Milligan
🎙Colter Wall
🎙Morgan Wade
🎙How Covid helped the music industry
🎙The last Country artist to be able to make all their money off record sales

www.GaryScottThomas.com

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

If you love P!NK's song "Love Me Anyway," featuring Chris Stapleton, you're going to find this episode very entertaining. Multiple award-winning music producer Sal Oliveri joined Gary Scott Thomas for an episode where Sal takes us behind the scenes and shows us how hit songs are brought to life. He also talks about being the son of an immigrant who is living out his dreams, including working with Billy Joel. 

Also in this episode:

• How a band he wasn’t a fan of won him over
• How extending grace can produce something amazing
• Letting kids find their own way
• Starting in music at age 4
• The fantasy Sal’s living and Gary wishes he could
• How music is a different language
• What a producer actually does
• Taking a demo and making it fit the artist
• Building a studio
• Working with Billy Joel
• Advice he gives to younger artists
• A big skill artists must have
• Picking the right song
• Women in Country music
• How he blended Chris Stapleton & P!NK
• Working with Haley & Michaels
• How different the world of music is once you’re actually in it

 About Sal:

This Nashville based Producer/Writer has played a pivotal role in the careers of artists and songwriters for over a decade. Often behind the scenes, Sal is providing the sound, inspiration and development needed to launch artists’ careers into the forefront of the music industry.

Raised in the shadows of Manhattan, Sal Oliveri developed a diverse musical background. His grandmother, an opera singer, and father, a golden-voiced “crooner”, set the bar high for Sal when it came to execution and musical taste. By age 4, Sal was riveted to pop radio and his upright piano. Before long, Sal was performing as musical director and keyboardist at Harlem’s famous “Cotton Club” and hitting the NJ/NY studio scene. Soon after, Sal relocated to Nashville where his musical efforts quickly earned him a #1 single he co-wrote and a Grammy Nomination for Best Rock Album.

Sal is known for his attention to detail and instinctive gift for bringing out the essence of the Artist and making it extraordinary.

Pop/Rock/Urban: P!NK, Jack Antonoff (FUN, Bleachers), Dan Wilson (Semisonic, Adele), Stan Lynch (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Billy Joel, Emily West (America’s Got Talent 2014 #2 finalist), Brooke White (American Idol), David Cook (American Idol), Daniel Powter, John Paul White (of The Civil Wars) Dia Frampton (The Voice), Lucie Silvas, B.Reith, Room for Two, Jaren Johnston of “Cadillac Black”, Andy Davis, Kevin Griffin (of Better Than Ezra) David Hodges (Evanessence)

Country/Americana: Parmalee, Carrie Underwood, Charles Kelly (Lady Antebellum), Kenny Chesney, Brett Eldredge, Sheryl Crow, The Band Perry, John Paul White (The Civil Wars), Garth Brooks,  Lee Brice, Kip Moore, Keith Urban, Randy Houser, High Valley, Leigh Nash, Haley & Michaels, Ricky Skaggs, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina, Lee Ann Womack, David Nail, Lori McKenna

Awards/Recognitions:

Multiple Billboard & iTunes #1’s in Pop, Country, Soundtrack, CCM/Gospel

#1 Country Video on CMT w/ Haley & Michael’s “Me Too”

Grammy Nomination for Best Pop/Rock Album

https://saloliveri.com

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

If you loved Top Gun, you're going to love this episode! F-14 Fighter Pilot Francesco “Paco” Chierici joins Gary Scott Thomas to get our adrenaline going by taking us through the excitement of a "dog fight." Oh, and did we mention he's an author, trainer, and video game script writer? He's lived quite a life so far!

In this episode:

• How he got the name Paco
• Being the FNG 
• What G-force feels like
• Dog fights*
• How to prevent the air from getting the air sucked out of his lungs
• If there’s a fear 
• The violence in the cockpit
• The artistry involved in an aerial dog fight
• How many people it takes to carry out the mission
• The real legacy of the first female fighter pilot in the U.S. military to die in a crash
• How he navigated the geopolitical aspects of the book
• His thoughts on drones’ effects on pilots
• One of the coolest moments he experienced
• Being a fighter pilot trainer
• Writing a script for a video game
• His book Lions of the Sky

About Paco:
During his active duty career in the U.S. Navy, Francesco “Paco” Chierici flew A-6E Intruders and F-14A Tomcats, deployed to conflict zones from Somalia to Iraq and was stationed aboard carriers including the USS Ranger, Nimitz and Kitty Hawk. Throughout his military career, Paco accumulated 3,000 tactical hours, 400 carrier landings, a Southwest Asia Service Medal with Bronze Star, and three Strike/Flight Air Medals. Unable to give up dogfighting, he flew the F-5 Tiger II for a further ten years as a Bandit.

https://www.lionsofthesky.com

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

Stephen Joseph is an attorney turned children's book writer. In this episode, he talks with Gary about his interesting take on crankiness, craziness, and more.

In This Episode:

• The unusual thing he did after getting diagnosed with COVID
• Growing up in the Bronx
• Being a “reformed fat person”
• Losing 85 pounds quickly
• How he stopped being a “garbage can”
• The word he prefers over “habit”
• The unique way he writes his stories
• Running a marathon for his ex-wife
• His mother, a Holocaust survivor
• His spin on The Wizard of Oz
• Pulling yourself out of crankiness
• Giving people permission to be crazy

Steven Joseph is an excellent attorney and a remarkable writer. He’s gone from writing comprehensive legal briefs to penning award-winning non-fiction for children and adults.

Being a son of a Holocaust Survivor, Steven recognizes and celebrates his Jewish heritage. Most of his writing is based on the concept of survival, which was ubiquitous in the household he grew up in, and acknowledgment which he learned through his zen practice. As a crankiness expert, Steven can help you manage your emotions, embrace your crankiness, and improve communication with friends and family.

Steven is the author of the Mom’s Choice Award-winning The Last Surviving Dinosaur: The TyrantoCrankaTsuris and The Crankatsuris Method: A Grownup Guide to Effective Crankiness.

You can learn more about Stephen on his site: www.stevenjosephauthor.com

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!

Send us Fan Mail

If you love Lady A, you're going to love this episode. Hear behind-the-scenes stories from Lady A's very own Charles Kelley. This episode is so unscripted and authentic; you'll even hear a cameo from someone else in his family.

In this episode:

• Who he gets to golf with
• How he feels about being a dad
• Going from a finance degree to Lady A
• Who supported him more--his friends or his parents
• Which concert recently blew his mind
• How he got an appreciation for his fans
• The time he bombed on stage
• His favorite live shows
• The various roles each person in the band has
• Having Boyz II Men open for them

Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and lead singer, and founding member of the country music trio Lady A, which was formed in 2006 and signed to Capitol Nashville.

Connect with Gary:

• Gary's Website
• Follow Gary on Instagram
• Gary's Tiktok
• Gary's Facebook
• Watch the episodes on YouTube
• Advertise on the Podcast

Thank you for listening. Let us know what you think about this episode. Leave us a review!