This drinking conversation is greatly appreciated. Steve’s take on drinking and having young kids is so relatable and has convinced me to stop. I was looking for a reason and this was it for me. Thank you guys for all you do.

Turnpike and Meateater!? That’s like 99% of my Spotify 👏🏽

Perfect example of a dude who just doesn’t have a ton to say, then picks up his guitar and starts singing and you realize that’s his outlet

This may be the best one y’all have done. Bold Statement Alert: I really think The Turnpike Troubadours are the most important group since The Beatles. The Beatles were before my time, and I really don’t like them but acknowledge the impact. The lyrics these guys write resonate on a level that rarely happens in literature, music, theatre, or any other form of performance art. I have taught writing. I have taught theatre. You cannot teach what they do. I am glad they are back. And I am glad you had him on the show.

Evan is definitely one of the best song writers of his generation and one of the more private musicians out there. I loved getting to hear his perspective on all the ups and downs over the years. Sadly though I don’t think 95% of FM country radio has ever played a turnpike song.

The sobriety talk- was on point. 43 years old and finally trying it for the same reasons. Great show.

I got sober right after Evan did, have been one of his biggest fans for as long I can remember. I live on the OK KS border so most of his lyrics are close to the heart for sure.

The crossover I didn't know I needed. Glad to see Evan is doing better.

Haven’t even listened yet and it’s already the greatest Meateater podcast of all time.

The bird hunter is not only the best hunting song it's also the best written turnpike song!

Evan is worthy of the greatest love we can give him. I am a Texas boy who doesn't like many living artists. Evan bridges that gap. Do well. One day at a time.

I’m a huge turnpike and meat eater fan so I can’t believe this is goin down. Also Steve and Evan have always reminded me of each other for some reason.

Am I the only one that’s blown away at how good he sounded live on the spot?

Glad Evan is doing well! Love that the band is back!

I was hoping someone would mention the line in “Come As You Are” where he says “I blew a bad woodwind.” Thank you for having our favorite songwriter on your show.

Excellent interview… I’ve had continuous sobriety since 1986…and happily married to the girl I fell in love with in 1985 and almost lost her due to drinking. I hated seeing Evan going through his shit. I’m a big fan, but when he stoped playing, I knew it’s what he needed to get sober. BTW…Our daughter goose hunts with her “belgium made” browning, so I’ve always loved that line.

This was a great podcast! Steve did an excellent job with his questions; when it came to more of a personal interview w/ drinking…not easy.

Saw Turnpike a few months before they went off tour. It’s so good to have them back and even better to have Evan in a good place! Great episode

Evan is the Goat! Best songwriter around. Hands down.

Oh absolutely stoked. Have listened to these guys for years after they opened for Corb Lund in Calgary.

Song makes me emotional from memories made driving to the Cookson Hills in Cherokee County to hunt public land with my son and my dog.. While currently living in Tulsa. Cherokee County is a beautiful place.

Felker did mess up his own song a bit: he sang the 2nd prechorus after the first verse and then sang it again after the 2nd verse, cutting a lot of the story out of this performance. Its an easy mistake to commit as he frequently changes the words to his prechorus's (and sometimes the chorus's) as a song progresses to advance the story. I consider Bird Hunters a classic (chasing a master piece) story song: the verse & prechorus lyrics shift between what the narrator is thinking, what Danny is saying, and description of what is happening during the hunt, all woven together seamlessly. Great tune. The band arrangement is spectacular with a rocking waltz that gives it an epic ballad feel. I get goose flesh when he sings "Dan says look at old Jim !". I could go on and on. A truly great song. Bravo!

Holy crap I had no expectations for him to sing at the end! What a treat!

You can always throw a wrench in a machine but who throws it decides if it's a monkey. BEST ADVICE an old timer ever told me lol.

An amazing musician 😎👍. Was a well spent hour and forty minutes. Quite the cross section of subjects. Enjoyed it immensely. Thanks Steve

Steve is a one of a kind podcast host, keeps me coming back. 😆

Great podcast and video. PHIL….. AWESOME JOB on the sound! Both this video and the podcast sound worthy of a released recording!

Great show! I'm a Turnpike Troubadours fan now! Thanks for sharing!

This man can write a song like no other, they are my FAVORITE band I’ve been a fan from the first time I heard them more than 10 years ago at a River “Resort” called Diamondhead on the Illinois River here on the Cherokee Reservation of East Oklahoma back when there were less than a hundred people in the crowd all the way to last year at their sold out show at the BOK In Tulsa. They are from here. The funeral, bird hunter, mean old sun, Long Hot Summer Day, 1968, Evangeline, Gin smoke and lies. A few songs to start with, they have several albums and you can listen to all of them without skipping songs.

What a crazy crossover of worlds. I live in Oklahoma and have been listening to the Turnpike Troubadours for about 15 years now and I’m certain they haven’t ever released a bad song. I’ve seen them play live shows from smoky bars in the backwoods of Oklahoma to them reuniting and playing two sold out shows at Red Rocks in Colorado. Such a special piece of my heart. Thanks for such an awesome treat 🤝

When I was just out of high school I helped out at the Coupland Inn Dancehall I'd help bands load equipment and I'd get in the concerts for free. One of my buddy's told me "Turnpike Troubadours is playing this weekend" and I told him I wasn't gonna go because thats a stupid name for a band 😂 I didn't get to see them play for probably 8 years after that.

TPT did a show in Östersund in the north of Sweden bout 10years ago that i whent to see, really lit up our little town . Awsome band, this pod made my day.

Great show! Loved the discussion on NA beers!

Trust me, folks who know guns get the Belgium made browning reference. Honestly it’s what draws me to that song. Would love to shake Evans hand one day and thank him for some of the stories and songs. Enjoyed the interview.

Saw them earlier this month. Best show ive ever been to. Amazing

The drinking conversation is a conversation that needed to be had and connects to a lot of people listening a guarantee it.

Love the Vasser Clements refrence. He played a live show in my hometown 25+ years ago and it was an incredible show, he had a Gentleman on guitar accompanying him and rock our small music hall.

Great guest, been a fan since before they were "cool" too, met Evan once in Scottsdale at The Rockbar., doubt he remembers, but was definitely fanboying! Saw them at Red Rocks in 2018, best concert of my life.

I hunted with my dad and his dad since I was 5 or 6. Age 11 got a marlin 30-30. 16 I got a Browning BAR in 30-06 because that’s what they used. Only mine was new and their matching rifles were bought in 1968. I am one of the few people that heard, and understand the Belgium reference. In my bedroom today, age 46, I have the gun cabinet my mom gave to my dad in 1976 as an anniversary present, and inside that cabinet I have my late grandfather’s Belgium Browning 30-06 next to my dads and they are the highlight of my collection. The blonde stocks, the faded blueing on the receiver from years of carrying it through the Northern California mountains. The well worn leather slings. And the memory of the distinct high pitched crack they make when fired that is more unique than someone who hasn’t experienced it will ever understand.

I’ve hoped for an acoustic version of this song forever. Fantastic!

The Conversation by Waylon & Bocephus as well as The Ride by DAC are two songs that have plenty of consistent dialogue. Surprised they weren’t some of the first songs mentioned!

Greatest songwriter ever.

Love me some turnpike! Just saw them in Nashville a few months back.

In many ways this is the BEST version of this song I have heard. Better than the studio production with the Fiddles etc. It is more intimate and the lyrics REALLY hit you. I think Evan and TourpikeTroubadours should do an "Unplugged" album of accoustic versions of their best lyrical songs.

I live in the same place where Stormy Kromers are made. If you come to Ironwood, Michigan you can even take factory tours and shop at the OG Stormy store.

Thanks MeatEater team! New fan for Turnpike Troubadour too!

This was a really great episode.

This is the ultimate mixing of worlds

Totally ate the dead live fish at a fancy dinner in Dalian, China. Only it was RAW! A huge flounder skinned and sliced on a platter. They also had the biggest effing lobster I have ever seen shelled, sliced on a platter and also RAW. It was still "alive" 'cause the antennae were moving around. It took several bottles of Tsingtao beer and a number of shots of Maotai to get up the courage to wade into that meal! It was delicious! Good stuff, folks. Keep it coming!!

I understand Evan not wanting that first album, Bossier City being out, but that album was great. If they re-released it, it would definitely sell. Same with Road of Life by Whiskey Myers.

I remember seeing Turnpike for the first time at 19 in 2012-2013 Raleigh NC $20 door tickets. At this old venue that is now a smoke shop called the Berkeley cafe. I had just gotten home from the road laid off working construction and it was my now wife and I's first date after I came back home. I heard turnpike on the road in Kansas and they became my favorite band at the time instantly. I had never been to a "concert" before but I figured we had to get there early or else we wouldn't get tickets. We got there an hour early and bless my wives heart she stood there excited with me so I wouldn't feel stupid until 20 minutes before doors opened and then the line started to wrap around the block. We couldn't drink so we just stood front stage and danced all night. Bj barham came out with them and they did a cover of American aquariums "Ain't going to the bar tonight". We saw them a handful of more times in Raleigh and got their autographs on a few things. I remember telling Evan felker I heard them on a radio station in Kansas. He asked me "In Kansas? What station in Kansas?" I told him the station (IDR now it was coyote something) he said "Oh shit, I forgot they were playing us." One night my girlfriend and I just needed Kyle Nix autograph on something so the band told us to just go to the trailer. Kyle said he was under the weather, he signed our stuff then asked if we wanted to hang out with him cos all the bands were going to slims but he ordered a bunch of pizza and had 2 half gallons of Jameson. We couldn't do it though cos we brought a friend who had to be home an hour ago for work. Biggest regret of my life but happy as a lark to see these dudes as big as they are now bands always been talented as hell and keep country music real.

Evan mentions that Browning in several different songs-in the Housefire he refers to it as an "auto-5' in one part of the song and in another as an "AR5'. The man is a writer with a capital W. The Browning Automatic 5, most often Auto-5 or simply A-5, is a recoil-operated semi-automatic shotgun designed by John Browning and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, starting in 1890. It was the first successful semi-automatic shotgun design, and remained in production until 1998. The name of the shotgun designates that it is an autoloader with a capacity of five rounds, four in the magazine and one in the chamber. Remington Arms and Savage Arms sold variants called the Remington Model 11 and Savage Model 720 that were nearly identical but lacked the magazine cutoff found on the Browning.

Enjoyed the whole pod. The live song struck me good while I was driving. Never heard em. Thx

Janis turning beet red when Steve mentioned he asked to talk about drinkin was pretty funny.

I enjoy seeing the all the attention to the Kromer, made up in my neck of the woods

Terry Gross interviewing Steve would be an awesome show.

Hell yeah, been a fan forever!!

I think berries works better then beans... Great show, I loved the performance at the end.

Good lord lorie and the mercury are two of my favorite songs of all time. Just fantastic music. Lorie lit a cigarette and smiled and waved the smoke out of her face, black hair brown from the summer sun green eyes looked around the place, she told me that she loved me i and grinned and grabbed her hand and said i know, lets get from here now darlin if we’re goin, lets go on n go. Its throw back punks and day time drunks and PBRs and stouts.. lorie’s over by jukebox now dancing to the twist and shout, jimmy’s stormin out the front door lord, you’d think someone had died, I ain’t goin anywhere at all lord i’m about to hit my stride 😈 Gold. Man just gold.

Wow! Blown away by that song!

"I got too sick of the hangovers..." THERE'S YOUR DAMN SONG, ladies and gents.

49:50 Can confirm, the first album is still out there. I bought all the .MP3 files and burned them to a CD

Evan is so good at what he does!

Holy crap what a guest!

2015 at the Hard Rock in Vegas, Evan laughed at me when i walked up and told him after the show that they kicked butt.

New to this podcast. Sure seems like this Steven person loves the sound of his own voice. Would have been nice to hear more from Evan.

Love this!!!!!!!!!!!

The bird hunters is the best hunting song ever written.

NO WAY!!! I been listening to those guys since they dropped their live video of before the devil knows your dead! I think it was like 2013 or 2014.. long time fan. Every time people ask me if i like country music i say, i like the turnpike troubadours, trampled by turtles and the steeldrivers. They usually say, thats not real country music. I think no, its music from the countryside. Small-town countryside music. Nashville be damned.

I will remember this day for the rest of my life

Great song at the end. I should invest.

Love hearin’ Dierks pronounced “Dericks,” that’s how ya know folks are really from around there (SE OK SW AR). Grew up in the Ouachitas huntin’ Weyerhaeuser lands.

I love the NA beer talk! I've been in recovery for 15 months; I will drink NA beer. Sobriety VS recovery are two different things. I love the taste of IPA's and beer in general. I drank beer for the taste and hard alcohol to numb the pain.

Been listening to Turnpike for 17 years. Woke up this morning to find out that Evan and The Boys are playing here in Minot ND for our state fair in July!!! Looking forward to finally seeing them live in concert.

Love everything meateater/ rinella does, especially when turnpike is involved, but Steve LET THE BEANS SAYIN GO. It’s ok to not have it in every podcast 😂.

Corins only half chinese had me rolling damn but what a great podcast. I have 8 years of sobriety myself, and the outdoors have helped me along the way.

Anyone know what the writing prompt book that Evan and Jamie Lin Wilson used is called?

At the dawn of the American century, In World War I the Germans nicknamed U.S. Marines "devil dogs." Heidegger famously touted authenticity (among other things). This podcast episode -- rural American life, hunting, addiction and recovery, language, writing, humor, music -- capped off by the acoustic performance of an the humble artist -- seems to capture that vestigial American spirit, and authenticity, in a way certainly no existentialist could have ever matched. Or, perhaps, I've been drinking?

Love you Evan!

That’s one helluva cross over. Steve was a bit barbaric in his questioning at times but I think it generated pretty authentic response from Evan. The two guys are great at what they do.. and they inspire other men to be great as well. Chapeau!

Three rivers song is still one of my fav

They need to put a link to the guy singing the news in the description, or atleast add the name of his channel.

This podcast made me want a beer but it also made me realize I might be an alcoholic…

Literal collision of my two worlds

On famous songs that have dialogue… Sand in My Boots by Morgan Wallen (great song btw) has a whole stanza of dialogue “I said…” then “she said…” back and forth. I just noticed this the other day so it’s funny that the topic got brought up here. Just thought I’d share

Johnny Horton songs are on a whole different level than The Green Berets. Evan handled it tactfully though.

Glenn is a precision dissector

Tornado warning is one of the best lyrical ones he’s written.

Turnpike Forever ❤

Turnpike are my gods that get me through life

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

I want someone to ask Evan who the heck Lorrie is!

Flip side of green beret on the 45

32:14 I also have tried to get my kids into Johnny Horton and they just don't like it. As a kid, Battle of New Orleans and Bismark were my two fav songs.

George’s landlady says “that don’t CONCERN me” 😂😂

Saw them live in Houston and I was definitely the only Mexican guy in the place lol

I’m convinced that Steve may be Mexican by the way he does that whistle

What’s the name of the song at the end?

Gimme three steps by Lynyrd Skynyrd has dialogue in it 😋 hopefully Evan will write some cowpoke songs my favorite song writer is Chris Ledoux

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.... While made famous by George Thorogood, it was a John Lee Hooker song and you all will thank me after you listen to it. George did it great, but the original is fantastic too!