In this episode of the Biscuits & Jam Podcast, Southern Living's Sid Evans sits down with Mitchell Tenpenny, whose journey into music was inspired by his family's deep roots in the industry, with a grandmother who was the CEO of Sony Publishing and a mother who advocated for songwriters. Though his path took time, a connection made on a construction site led to his breakthrough. Now, with his new 20-track album, “The Third,” Mitchell reflects on his personal experiences, favorite songs, his grandmother’s cooking, his rescue dogs, and how faith plays a role in his career.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Mitchell Tenpenny, welcome to Biscuits and Jam.
00:02What's up? Thanks for having me.
00:04Great to have you here. Where am I reaching you?
00:06We're in Nashville. We're in Nashville right now at the Red Light offices.
00:11Okay, nice. Home base for you?
00:13Yeah.
00:14Well, Mitchell, I have interviewed a lot of people in Nashville over the years,
00:19but I don't often interview people that are from Nashville.
00:24And you were born and raised Nashvilleian.
00:26And talk to me a little bit about where you grew up in town
00:31and what your version of Nashville was like as a kid.
00:37Yeah. First off, I'm super proud to be from Nashville.
00:41I love this city and everything it has to offer.
00:43And it's grown so much.
00:45But growing up, it was such a special place.
00:48It has the city life, the music, obviously.
00:51But just 15 minutes out, you're in beautiful country and outdoors,
00:55which I absolutely love.
00:56And so we lived kind of in the heart of Nashville, the suburbs,
01:00but 10 minutes from downtown, generally growing up.
01:03And now I moved out to the woods here recently, a little further out.
01:07But we were always around the growing music scene.
01:10My grandmother was in the business and ran Sony Publishing back in the day.
01:15So I was just always in town hearing songwriters and hearing songs before they were put out.
01:20And that was kind of my life, Nashville, playing sports, going to high school and listening to music and listening to new songwriters.
01:26And I don't know, I absolutely love my city, but it's crazy that it's grown this much.
01:32We actually have good places to eat now and restaurants that aren't just chain restaurants.
01:37But it's just, I don't know, it's exploded.
01:40And it's crazy to see my city do that.
01:42It is crazy how much it's changed.
01:44I mean, my wife's from Nashville and I've been going there since, you know, late 90s, early 2000s.
01:53And it's just, it's a very different place now.
01:55There really weren't that many places to eat, not great ones anyway, back in the day.
02:02So Mitchell, I know your mom's in the music business.
02:06So you really grew up around the music business in a really unique way.
02:13I mean, you know, in a way that most people do not.
02:16What are some of your memories and impressions of your mom's career?
02:21Yeah, so I mean, my mom, like I said, my grandmother was president at Sony Publishing.
02:26And my mom works for the songwriters, you know, demo billing and studio time and booking players for songwriters.
02:33And so she's, you know, they're both, they both were just massive advocates for songwriters.
02:38They would do whatever it took to take care of them, to keep them creative and, you know,
02:43make sure that they feel like they're loved at a company, which was, it's important.
02:48And this town's built on songwriters.
02:49And so I got to see that and grow up with that and watch, especially my grandmother,
02:55watching her, you know, work her way up from exceptionist to CEO.
02:59You know, it's pretty wild.
03:02I mean, she signed everyone from Brooks and Dunn to Taylor Swift.
03:05And so I got to see the catalog sales of some of these things when she purchased a Cuff Rose
03:10and even part of the Michael Jackson catalog when, you know, it's just big, big moves,
03:16like things in town that were pretty crazy.
03:18But I was a kid.
03:19She was a grandmother.
03:20So I was just, I was just seeing her and my mom just getting to work with all these awesome songwriters.
03:25And I kind of just fell in love with it so young.
03:27I thought songwriters were the coolest thing in the world.
03:30And I don't know, it was just really cool to watch them, how they work and interacted with them.
03:34And so I kind of got bit by the bug early, I guess.
03:37Tell me your grandmother's name.
03:39Donna Hilly.
03:40And, you know, I would think at the time that she was really coming along and emerging in that business,
03:49I mean, this is a business that, you know, has historically been really dominated by men.
03:55Absolutely.
03:56So, I mean, what a remarkable thing for her to be such a trailblazer and to have so much success in that business.
04:04Absolutely.
04:04I mean, yeah, in that time, it was just unheard of for her to be a woman and to do that.
04:08And her other friends, Frances Bradley, or Frances Preston and Connie Bradley, they were BMI and just three powerful women that were kind of running Nashville at the time, which is nuts and an amazing thing.
04:23The companies they built and what they did at that, like I said, at that time was just so impressive.
04:27And I'm, you know, honored to call her my grandmother.
04:30You had a tribute to your mom a couple of years ago called Mama Raised the Hell Out of Me.
04:35Yeah.
04:36Were you kind of a handful growing up?
04:39I don't think so.
04:40I don't think I was too bad.
04:41You know, we didn't really get into too much trouble.
04:44We were good kids.
04:45You know, we had our fun.
04:46But that's kind of what the song's about.
04:48You know, she raised the hell out of me.
04:49She did a great job.
04:50And same with my brother.
04:51My brother's on the road with me.
04:52He plays bass.
04:53And so me and him together, you know, it's got to be hard.
04:58I know it's got to be hard to raise kids, but two brothers right that close, three always competing and button heads and whatever it was, man.
05:05My mom was a saint and she, you know, she raised us right.
05:09She truly did.
05:10And so I just thought that title was interesting when I came up with it.
05:13And, you know, it's kind of a play on words.
05:15And so it's just one of those Thank You Mama songs, but with a title that was pretty unique to me.
05:20Yeah, and I hear some echoes of Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys in there, too.
05:26Yes, absolutely.
05:27That's what the whole thing is.
05:28Yeah, it's 100%.
05:29I love that song.
05:30It definitely was part of an influence.
05:32Mitchell, with all these musicians around and songwriters that you talked about, were there people that you met that had a particularly big impression on you?
05:41Oh, yeah, absolutely.
05:43I mean, Brooks and Dunn, for me, artist-wise, like getting to see them up at my grandmother's office and walking around the buildings was pretty special.
05:51But, I mean, for me, the most impactful was I went up to her office one day as a kid to say, hey.
05:58And there was a Curly Putman was in there, and he wrote He Stopped Loving Her Today.
06:01Bobby Braddock was up there as well.
06:03And she goes, these are the guys that wrote He Stopped Loving Her Today.
06:07And I remember it just snapped on me.
06:09I was like, this is what a songwriter does.
06:12Like, this is what my grandmother does.
06:14I was like, they're the coolest people.
06:16Like, you wouldn't know unless you know.
06:17So, and, you know, I was a kid, so at the time I just kind of assumed that all artists wrote their own stuff.
06:22But that day I discovered, you know, truly what a songwriter was and what Nashville songwriting was about.
06:27And I don't know, I kind of, that day I was like, I want to be those guys.
06:30And one day I'm trying.
06:33Well, you seem to have done a pretty good job of stepping into that.
06:38I'm trying every day, man.
06:40But I was definitely inspired by the best of the best, for sure.
06:43Mitchell, I want to ask you about your dad a little bit.
06:46You know, I know you lost your dad to cancer about 10 years ago.
06:52Tell me a little bit about him and what he did for a living.
06:57Yeah, he, I mean, he was a man's man.
07:00Same with my granddad from his side, too.
07:03My dad worked at Bell South, which is now AT&T, climbing telephone poles and going down manholes.
07:10I mean, so it wasn't a, wasn't as glorious looking as my mother being in the music industry.
07:16He was, you know, a nine to five blue collar and, you know, could fix anything handy, man.
07:23I loved, you know, being, you know, learning a lot of lessons.
07:26I learned watching him fix things and work on things, which is, I think, very valuable.
07:31But just a great, a great guy, man.
07:33He always let me pursue anything I wanted to pursue, whether it was sports, music.
07:40You know, I got a lot of friends that moved to town to do music and their parents, you know, would turn them away and be like, don't do that.
07:45That's so stupid to be a musician.
07:47I was very lucky I didn't have that.
07:48My dad and my mom always gave me their blessing.
07:51And that means the world to me, especially as, you know, you're a new artist or a young kid trying to write, like to have the encouragement from your parents and from your father figure who you look up to is, is everything.
08:02And so he was definitely that and just an amazing dad.
08:06I just learned a lot.
08:07I'm so, so glad I got the years I did with him because I learned a lot in that.
08:10I wish I had him today, especially as I'm an adult and, you know, getting married and just things I wish I could have asked him.
08:17But he did such a great job in that amount of time that I'm just lucky I got that.
08:21You've got a new song out that's a tribute to your dad and your grandfather.
08:28It's called Third Time, right?
08:30Yeah, The Third.
08:31The Third.
08:31Yeah, like my name.
08:33The Third.
08:34Yeah.
08:35And yeah, your name is Mitchell Tenpenny, The Third, which I got to say is about as cool a name as I've heard on this show.
08:44Well, thank you, man.
08:45Yeah, my daddy gave it to me.
08:47But talk to me about that song and how that one came together and kind of what it meant to you to put that down on paper and to bring it to life.
08:57Yeah.
08:57You know, I'm the third on my ID.
08:59It's James Mitchell Tenpenny, The Third.
09:01You know, my granddad was James Mitchell Tenpenny, so it was my dad.
09:04But granddad went by James.
09:05Dad went by Mitch.
09:06I went by Mitchell just so we could tell each other apart.
09:09But I don't know.
09:10I'm just very proud, proud of where I come from and honored to share that name.
09:14And I thought this song, I wanted to write a song that kind of told people about where I come from.
09:20But also, you know, just, I don't know, as you get older, I think, and you look back on things, family is everything.
09:29It means everything to me.
09:30And so this song was something I really wanted to share with people that are, you know, listen to our music and kind of tell them where I come from.
09:37And also thinking about kids now these days, I'm married and, you know, do, if I have a boy, do I, is he got to be a fourth?
09:44Like, it's like just those things that play in your head that I just, I need to get out and get on paper.
09:50And so that's what this song was all about, The Third.
09:53And then we have this, it's my third record coming out.
09:55So just all kind of work together to call The Third and write a song about it.
10:00And so, yeah, man, it's just, it's just me just saying I'm proud to be James Mitchell Tenpenny and I'm, and I'm proud of where that came from and I'm going to honor it and, and, you know, spread, spread the good, the good word through the name.
10:12I love the song.
10:12I love how it came together.
10:14I love the story behind it.
10:15And, and like I said, I love the name.
10:19Thank you so much.
10:19I appreciate it.
10:20You know, Mitchell, you, you lost your dad, you know, before really so much of this had happened.
10:29And I'm not sure where you were exactly in, in 2014, but a long way from, from where you are now.
10:35I mean, you're, you're playing in front of, you know, stadiums, you know, is that something that you think would have, would have surprised your dad to see that?
10:44Yeah, man.
10:45I, that's the one hardest part about it is I wish he could see some of the things that we're, we've been able to do, you know, both his sons are on stage together, which is cool too.
10:55And having my brother on the road, playing bass and singing harmonies with me and just the things we've gotten to do and see and travel.
11:02I know he would be, you know, I think it's the coolest thing in the world.
11:06He used to play a little guitar.
11:07He, he always had an acoustic and he would learn, he loved the Bee Gees and the Eagles.
11:11And so he was always playing stuff.
11:13So to see us on this level playing music, I think would have been really special to, to share with him.
11:19I know he's watching, but I think it'd be really cool for him to see.
11:22Because right when he was passing away, I was in metal bands, screaming bands.
11:26And he, and so I was a drummer and a screamer and like, you know, he was always cool with it, but that wasn't his style of music.
11:32So I think it would be really cool for him to see how we kind of ventured into our organic natural lane of back into country music.
11:40But, but yeah, you know, that is definitely one of the hardest parts about it is, you know, not seeing him out in the crowd.
11:46But mom's out there and I think that's so cool.
11:49She's gotten to see a lot of it and yeah, you just want to make him proud.
11:53And so that's definitely a moment that, that sucks that I don't get to have with him.
11:57But he would have liked this music a little better, you think?
12:00Yeah, I think so.
12:01He, he was a harmony guy and just, you know, more, yeah, it's less screaming and rock and roll, like metal essentially.
12:08Yeah.
12:08Well, Mitchell, we always talk about food a little bit on this podcast.
12:14And I've heard you say that you're not much of a cook.
12:17Um, but, uh, but what about your family?
12:21I mean, who was the, who was the cook in your family?
12:24You know, whether it was a mom or grandmother or, or an aunt or an uncle or whoever.
12:30Um, yeah, my grandma was an incredible cook.
12:32And my mom, my mom has her thing.
12:34She's got like five things that she's great at.
12:36And, uh, and we loved it growing up.
12:38We just hated all the time.
12:38So mom was, mom was good at that too.
12:41But my grandma, just Southern, just Southern grandma cooking, man.
12:44I mean, it's hard to beat from breakfast to, to dinner, to pork chops.
12:48Like, I, I mean, just, if you think about Southern food, she was the best at it.
12:53And is this Donna?
12:55Not Donna.
12:56She was, she was good too.
12:57She can make good.
12:57She had good chili and spaghetti, more of that.
13:00But she didn't really cook a lot.
13:01She would take us out to eat.
13:02But my grandma, my dad's mom, Carol Tenpenny was, uh, the Southern, the Southern cook and,
13:09and kind of spoiled me for life.
13:11I wish she was still around.
13:12If I could have her eggs and bacon, biscuits and gravy again, man, I, no one could do it
13:17like she did.
13:17And I'm just, it's the truth.
13:18So I miss that.
13:19And was she a Nashville, uh, person or Tennessee?
13:23Yeah.
13:23Nashville.
13:24We're all, um, that side of the Tenpenny is raw from here.
13:27Okay.
13:28Gotcha.
13:28So Mitchell, with all that family in town, um, were the holidays, a big thing in y'all's
13:34family?
13:35We get together for everything, man.
13:36I've, I've had to tell my mom, I was like, man, I, we're rarely at home anymore.
13:40I'm like, we can't be going to every aunt and cousin's birthdays every single time.
13:45I love everybody, but let's, let's do Thanksgiving and Christmas and the, and the big ones.
13:49But every, yeah, anytime the family can get together, we always did.
13:53And we still do.
13:54Um, but my grandmother, Donna, she would lead a lot of that.
13:57Um, her house would be kind of the, this, the focal point of the family would always
14:02come there to eat.
14:03And, um, and then, yeah, my grandma, my, my dad's side, we would, we would do a lot of
14:08breakfast, um, there with just the Tenpenny side.
14:10And is this people bring in a lot of dishes?
14:13Yeah.
14:13Everyone, everyone can trip.
14:14Everyone brings their stuff.
14:15All the aunts and uncles, everyone's got their, their things they make.
14:18And, um, yeah, thanks Thanksgiving and Christmas are, they're awesome.
14:22Uh, it's, it's, it's, that's why I look like this.
14:25So it's, it's good stuff.
14:27So Mitchell, you've got a lot of references to the church and your music and in different
14:33places.
14:33And I'm just wondering if that was a big part of growing up for you as well.
14:38Yeah.
14:38I grew up Southern, uh, Southern Baptist.
14:40I went to church at Christ school.
14:42Um, David Lipscomb here in Nashville, um, faith, faith is a huge part of my life.
14:47Um, you know, my granddad, my granddad and my grandmother, two daughters, they would teach
14:52at the church.
14:53Um, they, they had their classes or men's class and women's classes.
14:56They were, they, every single Sunday.
14:58And, um, and I don't know, I was just kind of raised on it, raised on, raised on faith.
15:03And as I get older, I love, I love leaning on it.
15:06I need it.
15:07Um, and so, yeah, it's a big part of my life.
15:09Um, something that, that's just been there from the beginning for me and, and been a
15:13staple that's, you know, I'm going to continue on.
15:16It's, it's changed my life in a lot of great ways.
15:19And it, it seems like it's, it finds its way into your music as well, into your songwriting.
15:23Yeah.
15:23I think just trying to be honest and organic and write what I know.
15:26Yeah.
15:26That's, yeah, that's what I know.
15:27I want to talk about your career and, um, uh, just kind of getting into, um, the music
15:34business and, you know, despite all the, um, you know, despite being a lot of
15:39being surrounded by it for much of your childhood, you didn't just waltz into this music thing.
15:45Um, and you know, you were working different jobs.
15:50I think you said you've worked, you worked in construction, um, for a while, uh, you were
15:58parking cars as a valet for a while.
16:01I'm wondering if some of those experiences, um, have found their way into your music.
16:07Oh yeah, for sure.
16:08Um, I think it's a lot of, it's just the music that we're, you know, our audience is very
16:15blue collar and you, and I liked, you got to remember that.
16:19Um, you know, we get treated with a little bit of luxury every now and then in the life
16:23we live, but I don't forget where I come from and who we're writing these songs for.
16:26And, uh, I was, I've lived that my whole life, you know, working construction and doing things,
16:31whatever it took to pay the bills and, uh, um, and just taking any jobs you can take and
16:35get, uh, I think is a foundation for how I write and what I want to write about.
16:40And, you know, who it's, you know, it's who I am.
16:42It's how we stay grounded and stay humbled.
16:44Um, that was lessons learned from backbreaking construction jobs and, and, you know, getting
16:50up at 4am to go, you know, literally work in a hot house, putting insulation and roofs
16:55and, you know, just things that make you appreciate what you have way more.
17:00Um, I think it's an important lessons that life lessons that everyone needs to learn.
17:05Um, it's how you stay grounded and humble.
17:07What was the last job that you had, uh, before you really kind of broke in and had your first
17:13kind of, uh, I guess your first album deal, your first record deal.
17:18It was, uh, it was construction.
17:20Yeah, I was working construction.
17:21I was actually in a roof.
17:23I was, you know, and the Raptors putting up insulation and the guy I was working construction
17:27for at the time, um, he built a studio for the, my now business partner out in California.
17:35And he had told him one day, he said, if you ever meet anybody that does music in Nashville,
17:39I'd love to meet him, send them out our way.
17:41And I had never been to California.
17:43I was, you know, working out of college and the, my, my construct, the guy was working for
17:48and said, Hey man, um, I know you talked about your singing and stuff.
17:51Would you, uh, you know, play me some stuff afterwards?
17:53And I was like, yeah, absolutely.
17:54And he goes the next day, he was like, man, are you, would you be interested in flying
17:57out to California?
17:58They'll fly you out there and meet this guy.
18:00I was like, sure.
18:01I'd love to go to California for free.
18:02I've never done it.
18:03And so we flew out there and I met this guy that's named Matt Swanson, one of my best
18:07dearest friends now.
18:08And we started our first label together and we still own it, riser house.
18:13And, um, and all just kind of happened out of nowhere, being in the rafters of a house,
18:18um, and just talking, talking back and forth.
18:21You never know who you're talking to, man.
18:23Yeah, I guess so.
18:24I know you got to always kind of be ready.
18:26Don't you?
18:26Absolutely.
18:27Say yes.
18:28I want to ask about some of your music.
18:31Um, and there was a song that you had a couple of years ago that really, uh, kind of broke
18:36out and, and I remember hearing this around and it was, we got history.
18:41It felt like, um, I don't know, it felt like a little bit of a breakthrough for you.
18:46And, and I'm just wondering, um, how that one came together.
18:50Yeah, that, that, that was definitely, you know, a great song to have.
18:54It's been awesome for us and, and to keep momentum going after truth.
18:58About You and Drunk Me, it's always so scary to put out singles and be like, oh, is this
19:02one going to do, you know, what that one did or is it going to be worse?
19:05And so I'm very grateful for what that one did.
19:08And I don't know.
19:09I just like a good turn of phrase.
19:10I like a good concept.
19:11And, uh, there was something that I thought was really unique about, you know, we don't
19:15have a future anymore, but we got history.
19:17And my dad used to say too, and I, it's not, I don't, I don't want to have conversations
19:22or hang out with my ex-girlfriends, but I never left relationships bad.
19:26Uh, I, you know, they led me to the next, there's a great song, God bless the broken
19:30road by Rascal Flats.
19:32That kind of was an inspiration for this one as well.
19:34It's thank God for them because they, they led me to my wife.
19:38And so I, I, I do like that idea of, man, we don't have to like hang out on Saturdays,
19:43but, but, you know, that was a big part of my life.
19:45You know, some of the women that I was able to date to move me forward.
19:49And so, I don't know the concept of, you know, we don't have a future, but we have
19:53history is real.
19:54I think everybody's got a story, stories like that.
19:57And, you know, you don't always just have to forget about how you got there, I guess.
20:01Well, they also seem to have led you to a lot of really good breakup songs.
20:05Yeah.
20:06Everyone always asks me if I'm all right.
20:07I'm like, I'm totally fine.
20:08I just like, I like writing about stuff that makes people feel an emotion.
20:12And, you know, everyone's been through breakups and so they kind of, they resonate.
20:16You're like the male Taylor Swift, you know.
20:17Yeah.
20:18Right.
20:18I wish.
20:19That'd be awesome.
20:22You've got a new song out called Not Today, which is another kind of, kind of breakup song,
20:29or it's about, you know, someone who's still thinking about their ex, can't shake it really.
20:38Talk to me about that one.
20:39You know, the lyrics lean towards a breakup, but I wanted to,
20:41that song to feel anything you can't get over.
20:44And it's really about owning and wearing the pain in life.
20:49I think as I've gotten older and hopefully matured a little more and, you know,
20:52I've gone to therapy and talked to things, you know,
20:55accepting reality and accepting pain and hurt is, is important to move forward.
21:00And so that's what this song's about.
21:01It's like, hey, I know I'm going to get over you.
21:03I'm going to get over this, whatever it is.
21:04I know that's going to happen.
21:05I know I'm going to be okay, but not today.
21:08Today I'm going to wear it.
21:09I'm going to own it.
21:10I'm going to hurt.
21:10I'm going to heal.
21:12And so the song for me, and that's why we made the video, not about a breakup,
21:16but more about you in your own head, controlling your destiny, but, but understanding that you're
21:21in control.
21:22That's why I'm in an electric chair and I'm the one who's putting it down and turning
21:25it off.
21:26It's like, that's kind of, I love the concept of that.
21:28And so, yeah, the song's really, I know it's about a breakup in the lyrics, but it's really
21:34a bigger picture of, you know, owning and wearing pain.
21:36Mitchell, talk to me about this new album and, you know, what feels different about
21:46it than other albums that you've done.
21:49Yeah.
21:49I actually just got to go pull it hot off the press, the vinyl this morning, which is
21:53really special.
21:54That was so cool.
21:55So, um, see it, see it in flourishing it's made and holding it in your hands.
21:59I don't know.
21:59I got a little emotional looking at it because it's, I think it's just a stories, stories
22:03and lessons, life lessons over my, you know, the last five years of my life.
22:07Um, just kind of what I've learned and not what I want to share.
22:12Um, I think there's songs all over from different productions.
22:15We, I mean, we have 20 songs on it, so different styles, different concepts, different things
22:19about growing up and learning.
22:21I don't know.
22:21I feel like there's a song for everybody on the record and yeah, it's definitely just kind
22:25of my story over the last five years that I feel like I was very honest on this record.
22:29What's a song on that record that kind of means a lot to you that, that we haven't talked
22:35about, um, that kind of feels like it was, um, special as it came together.
22:42There's one called set it in stone that, um, that I really love and that's, and it's kind
22:49of where I'm at in life right now, which is, you know, I want my basically talking about
22:53your tumor, your tombstone one day and what it's going to read.
22:56Um, I want to make my family and my, my, you know, my friends proud.
23:01And when it's all said and done, when they set it in stone, I want to be known as somebody
23:06that was a good person and that hopefully contributed to the world.
23:09And so it's all, that's all encompasses all of that, but it's, uh, I know it's a powerful
23:14song for me and something that, you know, I think about on the daily basis of how I want
23:19to leave them, what, what my message is going to be when, when it happens.
23:22Well, it's an incredibly ambitious album and, uh, I know you're really excited to get it
23:27out in the world and start sharing these songs and, and performing and getting in front of
23:32bigger and bigger crowds.
23:33And, uh, uh, I hope you find your way through, through Birmingham.
23:37Uh, I would absolutely love to, that's where my, my grandmother's actually from that area
23:42back in, so I love coming to Birmingham.
23:45There's another reason to come through then.
23:46Good.
23:47Absolutely.
23:47You know, Mitchell, just an aside a little bit, I saw that, uh, somewhere that you're
23:52a dog person, which I love.
23:55And, uh, as a, as a dog person myself, um, and I heard you say somewhere that, that your
24:01dogs kind of came along at a time in your life when you really needed them.
24:05Yeah.
24:05When dad, when dad passed, I mean, we've always had dogs growing up, but when I got out of my
24:09home and I was living, living with some roommates and dad passed away, um, man, my dog, sweet
24:16girl, ducky, and she's, she's, uh, she's right there, which sucks to talk about.
24:21She's getting where she can't hardly walk upstairs anymore.
24:24And, but she was so amazing for me to have during that time.
24:28I remember walking into the, I guess, I guess it was a pound, honestly.
24:33And they were come bringing out a couple of dogs and she walked up and she had flat
24:38feet because someone had left her in a cage and would never let her out.
24:41So she couldn't walk.
24:41And I was like, oh my gosh, you're, you're coming home with me where like, she was so
24:45cute.
24:45And we got her back up on her legs and she was walking perfect.
24:48And she became my best friend, man.
24:50And I, I absolutely adore that dog and love her more than anything.
24:54And then my other dog, Cash, just came out of nowhere.
24:57He was, we were sitting at a bar and, um, a bunch of tires squealed.
25:02And I was like, what's going on?
25:02There was this little puppy in the road, just all cowed down.
25:05And I was like, oh my gosh, should we grab him?
25:07No one would take him.
25:08And I was like, man, I don't need another dog.
25:09I can't afford it.
25:10I'm, you know, but here, but I'm, I can't give, I fell in love with him too much.
25:14So he became my other one.
25:16And then, and then when I got married, I got another one through the marriage, um, Annie
25:20and, and they're all, they're all rescues.
25:23They're all mutts.
25:24And I don't know.
25:25I love them, man.
25:26They do so much for me and my wife.
25:28And I'm just a huge dog guy, man.
25:30I like dogs more than people generally.
25:33So, well, you might need to write some songs about them.
25:36Yeah, I know.
25:37I still have not, I still have not found the perfect way to write, write one.
25:41But I feel like, unfortunately, when, when, when it's Ducky's time, there might, there's
25:46going to be a lot of emotions there.
25:47So one's probably going to have to come out for that.
25:49Mitchell, um, you know, you've done some work, uh, kind of giving back, um, and particularly
25:56when it comes to, um, fighting cancer.
25:59And you established this, this fund, um, that's called the 10 penny fund.
26:04Is that right?
26:05Yeah.
26:05Yeah.
26:05Um, tell me a little bit about that and what you hope to accomplish through it.
26:10Yeah.
26:10Um, you know, I just saw and learned a lot through dad's cancer.
26:13Mom, you know, she's in remission right now.
26:15Praise God.
26:16Um, she just battled breast cancer.
26:18My aunt's going through it.
26:20I don't know.
26:20I've been, obviously we've all lost friends and I hate cancer, but watching it from my
26:26dad's perspective, what I, what I saw that isn't really done as well as it could be as
26:34the mental health of cancer.
26:36When you hear that you have this disease, there's great doctors, there's great drugs,
26:40there's new things coming in every day, but people don't talk about being mentally stable
26:44to fight this.
26:45And so we, what we do is give access to mental health.
26:49When you hear that you have this disease, so you can call whenever you need to talk to
26:53somebody, um, to prepare yourself for battle.
26:55And I've seen way more success stories when your mind's right, when you're dealing with
26:59cancer.
27:00And, uh, he didn't really have anybody to talk to.
27:02He's a strong, stubborn man.
27:04He would never tell me how sick he truly was.
27:06And, and I, you know, ultimately, I, I don't know, I'm not going to say what is, but I feel
27:10like if he had access to that care and, and it wasn't as, um, I don't know, taboo at the time
27:17for, for a Southern man to, you know, talk to somebody, which I wish he would have, you know,
27:22been able to do.
27:23Um, so that inspired me to want to try to help people to say, it's okay.
27:27It's like, it's needed and it's good to talk.
27:30And so that's kind of what we do.
27:31We focus on the mental health side of, you know, that disease.
27:34That's great.
27:35Are there other family members of yours involved in that?
27:37Uh, no, it's just me.
27:38Um, but, but, uh, yeah, I mean, they're always supporting when we do any kind of fundraisers
27:43and, um, I do my charity event every year in Nashville.
27:47I do a cornhole, cornhole tournament.
27:49And so, yeah, they're always there.
27:50Part of that spreading the good word.
27:52So, well, uh, Mitchell, I just have one more question for you.
27:55What does it mean to you to be Southern?
27:58I'm proud to be from the South.
28:00I love it.
28:01I love the, I just, I love what we represent down here.
28:06I love the outdoors so much.
28:08I love what Tennessee offers.
28:10And I just, I don't know.
28:11I love how kind people are generally in Nashville growing up.
28:16I know we've got a lot of people moved here and there's more traffic and stuff, but just
28:20the, the whole open the doors, say hello, you know, shaking, waving your hands to people
28:25when you go by.
28:25There's a, I think that's, I, I know it's all over the place in the country, everywhere,
28:30but there's a, there's a Southern way of lifestyle that's a little slower and calmer
28:34that, that fits, uh, that fits my lifestyle that I love, um, that kind of take a, take
28:39a breath, the Southern draw.
28:41There's just things about it that, that, uh, I don't know how I was born and raised here
28:44and proud to be from here.
28:46Well, I love talking to a true Nashvilleian and, uh, and a true Southerner and, uh, Mitchell
28:51Tenpenny.
28:52Thanks so much for being on Biscuits and Jam.
28:54Oh, thank you for your time.
28:55It means a lot.
28:56Cheers.
28:57Cheers.
28:57Cheers.
28:57Cheers.
28:57Cheers.
28:59Cheers.