Podcast Transcript
Announcer:
00:00:00.97 – 00:00:29.969
Welcome to the Takin a Walk podcast where your host Buzz Knight talks with musicians and industry insiders about music If you like this or other episodes please share with a friend Buzz Knight talks with Hall of Famers and he talks with new rising stars And on this episode he talks with the Salt of the Earth New Country artist on Big Machine Label Group Shane Profitt In 2022 Shane was mowing lawns in the town He lived in outside of Nashville
and now he’s touring writing material and releasing new music Let’s join Buzz as he visits with Shane Profitt next on taking a walk
Buzz Knight:
00:00:40.869 – 00:00:52.619
Well it’s so good to be uh inside the hallowed halls in front the Big Machine Label Group a place I love Very cool Hang out and uh I’m meeting up for the first
Shane
00:00:52.63 – 00:00:59.36
time with Shane Yes sir Yes sir This is great I thank you for having me
You were on quite a little ride I am glad Yes sir It’s a roller coaster ride to say the least I’m blessed enough to have a front row front row scene on it So
Buzz Knight:
00:01:11.169 – 00:01:13.919
how are you feeling about it all It’s happened pretty quickly
Shane
00:01:13.93 – 00:01:20.709
for you Oh it’s happened real quick I’m like a kid in a candy shop though I’m uh I’m having a blast with it It’s a lot of fun
Buzz Knight:
00:01:21.379 – 00:01:34.519
So let’s see sometime in the 2022 The legend has it You were uh you were working for the city that you uh you hail from and yes sir Tennessee
Shane
working Doing what So I was I was uh I was working I was the guy that cut the grass on the medians of the road in Columbia Tennessee just south of here and I was making
like $11.5 an hour I was not making hardly any money at all But um
that’s what I did right out of high school and I just kind of stuck with it until uh until this came about
Buzz Knight:
00:02:02.629 – 00:02:07.449
but it didn’t just happen I mean you sort of had a light bulb go off and
Shane
go Yeah Yeah So I was the whole time I was working for the city I was also kind of writing and playing as many little bar gigs as people would have me
nowhere in my hometown at all sells guitar strings So any time I need anything to do with music I have to drive 45 minutes north towards Nashville That’s the closest guitar center to where I live
I was trying to be slick I was I wasn’t dating this girl We were at the talking phase as people call it now and we were talking quote unquote and uh I was trying to be slick and kill two birds with one stone and make a date out of going to get guitar strings So I called up this girl I asked her if she wanted to ride with me to Guitar Center I told her I’d take her out to eat She agreed to it and
we made that 45 minute ride to Guitar Center I go in I get my strings I come back out and I hopped in the truck and asked what she wanted to eat
She thought for a second she said you know Shane I really like sushi
I was like oh my goodness No please No The thought of sushi just turns my stomach right But I wasn’t gonna be like no let’s just go to let’s go to you know get a cheeseburger instead I wasn’t gonna say that So I punched in sushi near me on my iphone
we go to the close closest sushi restaurant to that guitar center and we go to walk in and Chris Jansen holds the door for me when we went to walk in
Now here’s the deal about that
I’ve been to seven concerts my whole life and to see Chris was five of those seven So I immediately knew who it was I was immediately nervous And anyways they see us and I decide while we’re sitting there eating that I’m gonna go up and introduce myself and tell them that I write songs
So I ended up going up to him introducing myself telling him what a fan I was and that I wrote songs and that it would mean the world to me if he would listen to some of the music I’d been writing Well his wife was sitting right beside him She spoke up and she goes hey I’m Kelly I’m Chris’s wife I’m also his manager and I’m also a music publisher Is that a receipt you’re holding in your hand I’ll write my email down on it and you can send us some songs
I said yes ma’am that’d be great Thank you And Chris immediately looked up at me and he said you just say yes ma’am And I said yes sir He said I like that pull up a chair and talk to me So I did
and we sat there for over an hour and we talked about anything you could imagine from hunting and fishing to writing songs to you know God and going to church and just anything you could imagine We talked about it literally
And as soon as I got up
and I went out to my truck
I sent some songs to that email that his wife had given me And at the bottom of it I said if you ever need anything give me a call and I wrote my phone number down
fast forward Two weeks later it was a Tuesday morning
I was weed eating in the median of the road
I felt my phone ringing in my pocket I pulled it out and I looked at the caller id and it said Chris Janson
I answered it I said hello He goes What are you doing Shane I said well it’s a Tuesday morning Like most people I’m at work What are you doing man
He goes well
I said uh
I want you to go put your two week notice in and come out on tour with me
That’s literally how it started Wow that is how it started And so I went and put my two week notice in and
he offered me a publishing deal too which means you get to write songs you know for other artists for a living And
uh I didn’t even I wasn’t even thinking about a record deal at the time because I was just so you know I was a kid in a candy shop just
so happy to even be in the music scene at all You know whether it be singing the songs myself or writing them for other people to sing And
so anyways we went out on tour and that tour uh I was opening up for him Um I was playing those shows just me and my guitar and I was playing a lot of a lot of the songs I’ve written and I saw people were like man you know that song you wrote and played tonight was great So
I just kind of kept on doing that and
fast forward towards the end of the tour Uh
he set up a meeting here at Big Machine with Scott Borchetta and Jimmy I’ve heard of those Yeah those people have Um but no so uh we had a meeting with them on a Wednesday and
the next day we were playing a sold out show at the Ryman Auditorium right down the road here
I’ve heard of that 10 yeah And uh Scott asked if we had a couple of comp tickets to spare
because he would like to come
and I don’t know Scott I don’t think we can do that Well and you know what’s weird is that what’s crazy to me is how can Scott Borchetta not just walk into the Ryman and they’d be like here’s our front row seat you know But anyway so I had four comp tickets to that show
I gave one to my mom one to my dad and into the Scott Shut up
And so I didn’t tell my parents that I was even meeting with a record label because I didn’t want them to get their hopes up and then get let down you know
So mom had no idea that she was sitting there crying on Scott Borchetta shoulder the whole time I’m playing I look out in the crowd I see Scott Borchetta in one seat and my mom sitting right next to him wiping the mascara off of her eyes Right
So anyways
Shane Prophet:
00:08:16.07 – 00:08:25.88
after the after the Ryman Auditorium show um I I got two standing ovations that night opening up for Chris just me and my guitar
Shane Prophet:
00:08:26.429 – 00:08:32.169
And as soon as I got off stage I see Scott Borchetta walking backstage
and I take my guitar off and I’m sitting there cooling off and Scott walks up to me he sticks his hand out and he says welcome to the machine team That’s exactly how it happened That’s incredible Yes sir It’s a Cinderella story It’s a really beautiful Did you
Buzz Knight:
00:08:50.929 – 00:08:54.609
look around and go Am I being punked here or something
Candid camera Yeah I mean I was I I didn’t want to be like can you just pinch me real quick You know So no but it
honestly it really is It’s a Cinderella story that I don’t know how everything kind of took place and
I would say
within three weeks So that was on that was on a that was on a Thursday We went in for the original meeting on a Wednesday
the next day like I said was the Ryman
The next night we were in Kentucky and the next day we were somewhere else
and then we were coming back home on Sunday and Monday morning I came in and I signed the contract and within three weeks we were in a studio recording an album
Shane
Those gentlemen move fast They sure do They sure do They move fast And
00:09:47.359 – 00:10:00.059
uh you know I’m just I’m super blessed to be around a team like them where they believe in me and I trust them And um it’s just you know you hear
Shane
you might hear a couple of horror stories you know in Nashville and you know
maybe the record label or something or you know just you you just hear bad stuff in general sometimes But
Shane
man I gotta say I I would do anything for these guys and they do anything for me And I’m just I’m really fortunate to have a team like that
Buzz Knight:
00:10:21.34 – 00:10:34.38
Well they do have an impeccable relationship They do it with the industry with the artists and a respected relationship and for a new artist I think you you know you’re in tremendous hands
certainly Well I mean just like the other day I just had I had a simple question and I was texting Scott
Shane
and he said man just call me And so I did like there I
Shane
I don’t know I don’t know any other record label where you could just call the label president and founder and ask him a simple question And Scott I mean he I don’t know I don’t think that man sleeps at all uh from what I’ve been told But
Shane
you know I I’ve been told he’ll be sending emails at 3 a.m. And I’m like man when do you sleep You know you’re not human but he’s uh the the thing about you know Scott and Jimmy both and everybody here at the label
they don’t hold ourselves at a higher standard than anybody They’ll they’ll do you know from what I’ve seen they’ll do what what they ask people to do Um And that’s just I think that speaks volumes for everybody here and
Shane
everybody that I worked with even before uh I was signed and I was still writing you know for other artists Um Everybody speaks highly of everybody here So it’s great
Buzz Knight:
00:11:45.78 – 00:11:47.9
Who were some of the other artists that you had
Shane Prophet:
00:11:47.909 – 00:11:52.45
written for Well so I’ve got I’ve got some songs um
Shane
that are kind of on hold right now for other artists But I’ve I have written I’ve got some Chris Jansen cuts so far So hopefully I can keep those racked up and keep on racking other artists too you know just grow that grow that resume
Buzz Knight:
00:12:09.09 – 00:12:12.219
And what’s your favorite part of the writing process
Shane
I would say my favorite part of the writing process would be obviously the writing process in itself is just a lot of fun But after the song is written and demoed and everything
Shane
I absolutely love because I live about an hour away from here So after we write it and get a rough demo and everything
Shane
I’ll get whoever the track guy is to send it to me and I’ll listen to it the whole way home and I’ll come up with ideas Hey well let’s try this instead of this and then I’ll get them to make those you know quick changes if if they’re still there And uh that that’s probably my favorite part because I’ll spend an hour listening to the same song just over and over and over and trying to perfect it in any way that I can Is
Buzz Knight:
00:13:02.96 – 00:13:05.5
there a part of the writing process that you don’t like
Shane
There is uh I would say tossing around the ideas because
you have to be in I guess a certain mentality and if you know
Shane
if you’re tossing around these ideas and one person might they might have broke up with their girlfriend right For this Right And this other person he’s ready for Friday because he’s ready to drink a 12 pack of beer So you’re trying to find the common ground there trying to come up with the best idea for everybody
Buzz Knight:
00:13:40.359 – 00:13:45.969
And when you get stalled at all in the writing process how do you break out and be
Shane
installed
Go get a slim gem That’s my that’s my uh that’s kind of my my secret I’ll go get a slim gem or a pack of goldfish or a rice crispy and I’ll sit there and snack And
uh you know obviously somebody has to
well everybody has to take a leak and relieve themselves And I’ve had several ideas where I’ll be standing there at the urinal
Shane
and something will hit me and I’ll cut it off and I’ll zip up my pants Hey let’s try this and then I’ll go back in there But uh yeah I mean there’s several things you can do when you get stumped Everybody’s different That’s what’s so cool about songwriting is one thing might not work for the next person you know but you just you find what works for you
Buzz Knight:
00:14:33.419 – 00:14:36.53
Some people like to take a walk to break out of their little
slump They sure do You wanna do that We’re not in a slump though We’re not we’re yeah we’re we’re grooving We’re in a
Buzz Knight:
00:14:45.289 – 00:14:50.44
groove All right We’ll take a walk and talk some more So sweet
Buzz Knight:
00:14:52.599 – 00:14:55.53
So we’re taking a saunter now in the
Buzz Knight:
00:14:56.219 – 00:15:08.39
music What do you call this music row What does it make you feel like when you’re just in this area No less in this building Does that really Well just uh put
it all in perspective So I literally wrote a song about
Shane
half a block away a couple of hours ago He did I did And so chances are most of these songs that you hear on radio are probably written on this road somewhere right So it’s really cool getting to kind of getting to kind of see where everything happens kind of behind the scenes
Buzz Knight:
00:15:34.45 – 00:15:46.52
There’s so much here That’s I don’t know the vibe the history the inspiration Oh Yeah So do you remember the first songs that you heard on the radio that connected
Shane
00:15:46.53 – 00:15:50.77
with you know what’s crazy is
whenever I was growing up I was born in 2000 So whenever I was growing up Smiley was popping off really strong on the radio Uh Tim McGraw was on the radio real heavy And you know it’s just
I would say that there’s not just one specific song that really sticks out more so than artist There’s a lot of artists that stick out whether it be well And see here’s another thing though My mom is like a walking jukebox right So I grew up listening to Merle Haggard I grew up listening to Waylon uh Willie you know Merle and just
Shane
Hank Junior Hank Junior is a big one Conway Twitty Uh There’s all kinds of people My mom I can still remember her standing in the kitchen frying chicken whenever a Bluetooth speaker had just came out and she went and bought you know a Bluetooth speaker for the first time and she was sitting there listening to Gretchen Wilson on that Bluetooth speaker
Shane
You could just still picture I remember that Yeah But
Buzz Knight:
00:16:58.28 – 00:17:10.53
you I watched some of your uh Tik Tok stuff which we’ll come back to a little bit more You clearly have an appreciation for you know different eras different styles of music
Shane
00:17:10.54 – 00:17:12.109
Absolutely
Shane
I’m almost a believer and there’s different genres inside of country music There’s new country there’s that old school sound and country You know there’s the pop country and uh there II I feel like every kind of music has paved the way to what it is now Um you know some people might not like that pop sound and music country you know music
Shane
some people might not like the old school sound of music And so in my music I try to get a little bit for everybody in in in anything that I do
Buzz Knight:
00:17:48.849 – 00:18:07.959
So let’s walk through some of the songs walk through you get that let’s walk through let’s walk through some of the songs that will be these are out but will be part of the forthcoming release All right So tell me uh cut one that you recorded uh how
Shane
it ought to be Yeah Uh so how it ought to be I love that song I’m well thank you
I’m a firm believer that there’s a difference in a house and a home
And what I mean by that is you know my mom and dad raised me to wear
we sat down at the supper table every night
00:18:36.569 – 00:18:42.92
and they felt like that was really important We sit down we’re a normal family every night for supper And
I feel like if everybody in today’s world had a little bit more of that family life this world wouldn’t be so crazy And then of course it says the world ought to try a piece of mama’s chicken and feel the love around her table top in the kitchen I’m not trying to preach it to anybody but I think everybody can agree You know hey that personally for me that’s one of my favorite memories growing up was having those you know family dinners and just being a normal family
Just simple That’s it Just simple
Buzz Knight:
00:19:16.68 – 00:19:20.579
not complicated Real and with good chicken at
00:19:20.589 – 00:19:23.9
that I didn’t get this big from not eating good food
Buzz Knight:
00:19:25.18 – 00:19:28.27
What did your dad do for a living or does he do for a living
Shane
Yes So my dad actually he’s in the HV AC business
So uh you know we always had cold air growing up thankfully Um but even whenever I was fresh out of high school I was helping him on top of working for the city Uh I was getting in crawl spaces and getting in attics and helping him change out units and do anything that I could do to help him
Buzz Knight:
00:19:54.64 – 00:19:57.369
Let’s talk about some of the other songs that you’ve uh
Buzz Knight:
00:19:57.63 – 00:20:11.339
you’ve released as part of the the full release You know what’s another of your favorites I know you love them all They’re all they’re probably all like uh your favorite you know favorites favorite kid Yeah
exactly That that’s actually what I was about to say when you’re growing up If you have siblings chances are you ask your parents who the favorite child is Right And it’s like
00:20:22.64 – 00:20:28.39
now I kind of know what my parents mean when they say I don’t have a favorite I love them all the same But
I would
00:20:31.109 – 00:20:34.989
I would say next on the list would probably be better off fishing
That that would be uh that would be another one And that song it actually it came from a very real place Uh I was dating this girl
00:20:47.599 – 00:20:47.869
she actually ended up breaking up with me one day
because I decided to go fishing instead of hanging out with her
we ended up breaking up and I remember what’s funny is my mom was my mama didn’t much care for the girl anyway But what really made her mad was that Friday
We uh we were having a fish fry right from the fish we caught and
Shane
my mom was so mad because we didn’t have coleslaw at that fish and I didn’t tell her me and my girlfriend had broke up and we didn’t have coleslaw at the fish fry So my mom was mad about that
Buzz Knight:
00:21:33.569 – 00:21:36.579
What happened to the girl that the sushi
Shane
00:21:36.709 – 00:21:45.319
the sushi date That was a different girl Are you sure Oh man I I sound terrible right now flying through all these women like crazy but
no uh that was actually our first and last date So something about that girl So
as I thank you know for you know hanging out with me and putting up with me as I kind of ditch you talking to Chris Jansen for over an hour that night
Shane
Just simply as a thank you I bought Ryman Auditorium tickets for this girl because I gave all my cop tickets away like I said
Shane :
so I bought tickets from a scalper and I paid like quadruple the price right
Shane
00:22:22.77 – 00:22:29.92
And I buy these tickets I put them in an envelope put them in their mailbox and I just wrote Thank you on the outside of the envelope Right
Shane
00:22:31.26 – 00:22:43.38
Well after the Ryman Show I’m scrolling through Facebook or Instagram I can’t remember which one and she had the audacity to bring her new boyfriend to the Ryman Auditorium show
Buzz Knight:
00:22:45.349 – 00:22:46.3
Wow Yeah
Shane
00:22:46.609 – 00:22:50.4
that’s rough So that was our first and last name Oh I see Well
Buzz Knight:
00:22:50.76 – 00:22:54.92
you never know Right You guys might be back together sometime
Shane
00:22:56.479 – 00:22:59.38
You got a girl Now I do I have a girlfriend that’s
Buzz Knight:
00:22:59.39 – 00:23:01.319
not gonna happen if your girl’s
Shane
00:23:01.329 – 00:23:05.28
listening Yeah my girlfriend’s gonna great You’re stuck
Buzz Knight:
00:23:05.29 – 00:23:07.609
with him right
00:23:08.54 – 00:23:13.569
Let’s talk about some of the other songs I know you got one or two other favorites that you
Shane
want to highlight uh still picks up Just came out with that One Yes still picks up Uh it comes from a very real place I’m a I’m very proud to say look there’s a songwriter right there leaving uh leaving a publishing house
Shane
just got done writing a song I’m sure he’s probably been there since 11 o’clock
Shane
Um but anyways so it still picks up
Shane :
such a sweet song Well thank you Um everybody that’s listening to this has at least one person that I wish they could still call and talk to just one more time At least one person
Shane
And I was on a hunting trip with my dad in Eastern Kentucky and he had a massive stroke while we were on a hunting trip And I had
Shane
00:24:03.65 – 00:24:09.339
a lot of time to think in that waiting room You know I didn’t I didn’t know if I was ever gonna see him again
Shane
00:24:09.979 – 00:24:14.699
And you know in that moment when you don’t really know what’s going to happen
Shane :
I tried to think on you know all the good times instead of the bad you know me and my dad were best friends but we’ve had fights and stuff and
in that moment when you don’t really know what’s gonna happen you just try to think on all the good times And that’s where that song came from
Buzz Knight:
00:24:32.969 – 00:24:46.989
It’s so beautiful and it’s once again so simple and it’s uh roots and it’s uh respect for relationships which you know like we’ve talked about is a part of society that sometimes feels like it’s uh absent
Shane
Yes sir Absolutely Thank you
Buzz Knight:
00:24:49.229 – 00:24:51.31
What else inspires you in your writing
Shane
you know what’s crazy is there’s not just
five or six things You could literally be driving down the road and see a billboard of a of a word and be like well
Shane
that could be something right there You know we could be sitting here having this conversation and you say something and me write it down whenever we get done thinking hey that might work in this song And you know that could be a cool title for a song There’s not there’s not
a certain thing that I look for there’s multiple things that kind of stick out
Buzz Knight:
00:25:30.209 – 00:25:40.189
and then how do you like you know put the detector on it to go Is this really gonna stand the test of time as a lyric or a vibe
man or can you there there’s really no way to know until you do it I still write terrible songs to this day
But
for every for every 50 songs you write you can count on one of them being all right And that’s no joke I mean you don’t
you don’t know if you can write a good song until you write a bunch of bad things Um I mean like I said to this day I still write some terrible songs
Buzz Knight:
00:26:12.68 – 00:26:28.18
And how do you stand with your conviction in something if other people in your circle kind of maybe I don’t know don’t seem to get it or roll their eyes How do you stand true to it Thinking darn this is mine I’m going to believe in it
Shane
Well you know if it chances are if you feel a certain way about a song other people will too
Shane
And I think I think that’s probably the biggest testament to it is
if you feel a certain way chances are there’s somebody else out here that that feels the same way about it
Buzz Knight:
00:26:49.699 – 00:26:55.339
who are some of the other uh writers and performers of today that you really are digging on
Shane
Obviously Chris is a big inspiration Um I’m a huge Jamie Johnson Hank Junior fan Um I would say newer though for sure Chris Stapleton too Not too bad right What a what a set of Longs on him huh
No
Uh Yeah And Justin Moore huge Justin Moore fan loved Justin Moore Um And you know
what’s crazy is
Shane
yeah I love I love you know certain artists but I don’t even think
it’s necessarily about the artist for me anymore It’s about the songs because I am behind the scenes and I’m writing these songs and I may hear a certain line in a song and think that is just absolutely genius
So isn’t that the it’s all about the song the uh the Singer Songwriters Association Isn’t that the uh the motto the logo
I think it is Yes sir Absolutely Uh
Buzz Knight:
00:28:00.849 – 00:28:03.01
Bert Harbison you know that
Shane Prophet:
00:28:03.02 – 00:28:06.3
gentleman I don’t know him personally I know the name
I guarantee he knows you How
man I feel bad I don’t know what I mean Well he’s
Buzz Knight:
00:28:13.359 – 00:28:25.199
a he’s a good guy You’ll get to know him So we talked about TikTok earlier So how did you sort of get so natural on all your social media TikTok especially
Shane
I uh man I saw everybody kind of I saw a trajectory of people’s careers through TikTok and when I was working for the city um
I was just posting as many covers and you know songs I’d written as as I could really And I saw II I would do Tik Tok live quite a bit and people would be like man this guy is great and you know II I just stuck with it because I enjoyed it You know I I wasn’t doing it for the for the amount of likes is you know some people may do it but I was just doing it for me more or less and
I saw it you know people were really into that and I just stuck with it
Buzz Knight:
00:29:14.0 – 00:29:27.109
So what do you tell an artist who’s listening to this wherever they are across the country or across the world Because we have listeners all over the place So what do you tell an artist that maybe has been at it a long time
hasn’t really broken through What advice would you give them
Shane
I would say keep at it
ll you it’s a waste of time because like I said if you feel a certain way other people will too it’s just a matter of time And I mean I was very blessed and fortunate you know to get the break that I did Um but keep going out keep playing those shows keep writing those songs and I promise you it’ll happen It might be tomorrow or it may be 10 years from now but
something great will happen
Buzz Knight:
00:30:08.15 – 00:30:14.06
So how are you gonna keep your head on straight with all this uh newfound success
Shane
Well I think if I think if my head got a little crooked my mama would pop it back in place for me But I just I like I said I’m no different than nobody listens to my music Uh There’s no amount of songs no amount of number ones no amount of money that’s ever
ever gonna change where I come from and I’m very proud of that
Buzz Knight:
So what’s the fourth quarter gonna look like for Shane ?
Shane
Well we’re gonna have new music I’m gonna keep being on the road playing these shows and getting to meet as many people as I can Uh getting to travel around and play for people that maybe haven’t heard me and
Shane
quite a few that have and uh just having fun with it meeting as many people as I can and shaking as many hands as I can
Buzz Knight:
00:31:05.91 – 00:31:08.959
What was it like The first time you heard one of your songs on the
Shane
radio I cried like a baby I cried like an absolute baby And I facetimed my family I was in Atlanta Georgia when uh when I when I first heard my song on the radio and uh I facetimed my family we got a quick video of the first part of the song
And then what So was it was how it ought to be and got a quick video of the first part You actually that videos on my Instagram too Uh
of the first time I heard it on the radio and
Shane
listened to I think first verse and chorus Uh they were videoing it and then they cut it off and I face time my parents and we all sat there and cried together
Buzz Knight:
00:31:54.76 – 00:31:57.709
I’m blessed to have had you on my podcast
Shane
00:31:57.79 – 00:32:00.719
you for having me a lot of fun
Buzz Knight:
00:32:00.729 – 00:32:08.76
we set the Saunter and we got behind the scenes but I only see bigger and brighter things for you
Shane Profitt
00:32:08.849 – 00:32:11.3
Thank you very much
Announcer:
00:32:13.04 – 00:32:21.54
Taking a walk with Buzz Knight is available on Spotify Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts
About The Author

Buzz Knight
Buzz Knight is an established media executive with a long history of content creation and multi-platform distribution.
After a successful career as a Radio Executive, he formed Buzz Knight Media which focuses on strategic guidance and the development of new original content.