June 19, 2018 • 13 mins
Pick a spot on any old map and chances are LaVonda has been there to see Jake in concert. How does she do it? A great talk with a super-fan.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, this is Jake Owen and this is Good Company Company.
Welcome to Good Company, a podcast where we talk about
everything under the sun, friends, good times, company. Now here's
your host. What's up, y'all. It's Jake with the Good
(00:23):
Company Podcast. I am backstage in Little Rock, Arkansas at
the UH. I don't even what's the name of the
Spaceball Stadium, Dicky Stevens Park, North Little Rock here playing
with Chris Janssen Jordan Davis on the Life is What
You Make a tour. And I looked out in the crowd,
uh during our pre show kind of meet and greet,
(00:46):
and I saw a good friend of ours, Lavanda Harrison.
And I've been wanting to talk to Lavana for quite
some time. I kind of talked to her once before
on my bus. UH. I guess that's been I don't know,
go a year or two ago. And um, I thought
I would love to have you on, Lavanda, just to
talk about how much of a fan that you've become
of what we do, but just a fan of music
in general and the experiences you you you've been through
(01:09):
and anyways, Lavanda, it's nice to have you. Glad to
be here. Are you nervous right now. Absolutely, Lavanda was
Lavanda was um in the crowd today, like I said,
when I saw her, and so I wanted to, uh
to talk to her. Pearl is standing here as a
co host right now, Pearl, what's up? Say hey to everybody.
(01:29):
She's being stubborn right now. All right, Pearl, you don't
have to say I don't want to say hi to
the people out there. All right, it's all good. Well,
so we we can Lavanda into coming backstage to Lavanda,
I've seen your signs. You have been to how many
of our shows? Now toned thirty four a hundred and
thirty four shows? Do you remember your first show? Absolutely?
(01:52):
You do? Well, where was that Alexi, Mississippi? And you
opened up for Keith Urban? I remember that show. That
was the first show of the Keith Urban tour. And
what was that two thousand twelve? It was in Biloxi eleven.
Get closer to her, I believe that was. And uh
(02:13):
so had you how many? How many Keith Urban shows
have you been to? Not? Uh so? I kind of
thanks to Keith Urban. I met you really because you're
a big Keith Urban fan and still are. And uh
but uh so, you so hundred and thirty four shows,
because it seems like it wasn't but not too long ago.
I remember seeing your science san This was my hundred show. Yes,
(02:37):
that was last May. Where was that? Where was the
hundred show? Market Dardnell, Arkansas? Oh yeah, home of the
great John Daly, speaking of which your hundred show was
in Arkansas. Right, So we're back in Arkansas tonight and
you are here. Who'd you come out with? Rachel Mackenzie,
Stephanie Lena And they're both from Louisiana. No one is
(02:59):
from here and then one is from Louisiana. So do
you guys meet up often? And that's what's intriguing to me.
And I know I've talked to you about this before,
but one thing that I think is fun to talk
about is how I see so many of you all
come out to shows. And it's not just about the music.
You've told me before, it's not just about the music
that we're playing. It's about the experiences in the weekend
getaways that you have with your friends. And a lot
(03:20):
of these friends you've met because of the music. Right,
I have a tremendous amount of friends because of you. Yes,
Oh well, that's really cool. I was, that's a that's
a big compliment that I appreciate, and I wasn't digging
for that, but uh, but there are I've made a
bunch of friends because of the music and thanks to
you guys and um, and so I was just there
(03:43):
was a time if you remember, do you remember where
that was when I brought you on the bus and
just to ask you, I could tell you the day. Yeah,
why what was it? It was August nineteen sixteen, and
that was an Imperial Nebraska. That was an Imperial Nebraska.
So I don't know how many shows you've been to
at that point, but even to quite a few. And
the cool thing about you, Lavanda is that no matter
(04:04):
how many shows you've been to, um, you've never made
anyone feel uncomfortable or weird or anything. You're just like normal,
every everyday person. We love to do special things for
people that we can tell have been following us and
have a passion for what we're doing, and you've always
been so great to us. So there's so many times
where we've given you and quite a few other people
some preferential treatment. And and it's there's those folks every
(04:27):
now and then where you get that, like you give
them an inch and they want to take a mile, right,
And we can't always do everything, but you have been
the most uh polite and respectful person to all of us,
not just me, and I hope you know how much
how much we appreciate that. So I got asked this
question because we always talked about it in the band.
What so your husband, You guys have been married for
how long? Oh, it'll be thirty years this August, thirty
(04:50):
years and you have been gone at least a hundred
and thirty weekends at least, but at six several years.
You brought him out a couple of times though Yeah, yeah,
he was supposed to be here tonight that he's got
something else going on. Yeah, well he knows that when
you come out, we take good care of you. So that's, uh,
that's super cool with that. You So, what's what are
(05:13):
your hobbies are coming out, being with your friends, coming
to the shows. What's your favorite part about going to concerts?
To travel? I love to travel, and the lead up
to the show, the first thing is getting the best tickets.
So it's like the chase, right, So it's almost like
certain people have their thing where it's just it kind
of gets to them in there. But you know, some
people like to, I don't know, raise dirt bikes. Your
(05:34):
thing is that feeling of getting a good ticket because
you've spent a lot of money on tickets, a lot
because you've never asked for anything. You've never asked for
anything from us, and we appreciate. I look at you,
at you a lot, and I think, man, you've spent
an incredible amount of money to come out and and
and support what we do. And I hope you know
how much that means to me. But like, yeah, you
(05:55):
you've spent thousands and thousands of dollars not just on tickets,
but travel and work hard to hard. Yeah, right, it's
what I like to go and do. So what what
is your day to day job? I am over a
finance department for a very large electrical supply company. It's
about a six and fifty million dollar a year company,
wow in Texas. Yes, So you work hard during the
(06:18):
week too, then leave on a because some nights we're
playing Thursdays or Fridays and you're out there on a Thursday, Friday.
You must have a you have a cool husband, must
have pretty cool boss too. Yes, I do, and I
can work from anywhere. So if you see me on
a Thursday night, I've worked in my hotel room that
day on my computer. So set in line waiting for
a g a situation working on my computer. Really. Yeah.
(06:39):
So has there been a show out of all the
hundred and thirty four shows that you've been to where
you've you remember that show being not only a fun
experience for you and the people you were with, but
just the music and the show and the way it felt.
Was there one in particular? Yes, all right, tell us
about it. And it's Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas when
(07:00):
you did the show on the beach and then, yeah,
that happens to have been has the anniversary and I
just had the tiny little sign and you kind of
made a big deal of it, and that's a big memory. Well,
I'm glad because that. I always try to look at
you and you're in the crowd and I see you
out there to let you know, appreciate you being there. Um.
(07:22):
But it's cool because it's moments like that that you
realize small, simple little things mean a lot to somebody.
So I didn't I think at that moment until I
probably saw your sign. I didn't know that was y'all's
wedding anniversary. That's a big deal. That's pretty cool. So
how many more shows this year you think you're going to?
I'm not putting on the spot, but I'm sure you
(07:42):
have some of them. Plan. I have nineteen more coming
up so far? Nineteen more? Yes, what do you think
so far? The life's what you make it to her? Well,
this will be the first stadium show I've been to
two or so. I saw the full show in Vienna, Virginia,
but that was an amphitheater situation. Okay, it's awesome. It Well,
I tweets you if you would ever read it. I
(08:03):
have a hard sign with tweets. That's why I I do.
I love Instagram because I can post uh photos, It's
pretty I love posting photos anyways. But Instagram my my
I needed I guess change it or something. But my
feed refreshes after every fifty or a hundred, so if
I don't catch it in a certain amount of time,
I didn't see it two million followers do you might
have something to do with that. But yeah, this show
(08:25):
is incredible and I would encourage people to get out
to this show. Thank you just did a sales pitch
for amazing. Thanks. Are there any songs you wish we
were playing that we're not playing because it's always hard
for me each year to do a show, and I
trust me, I think about you and a lot of
other people that come out to our shows. Shout out
to Jane Powers out there that was in Las Vegas
(08:47):
with us, um during that crazy October one experience, but
last year. But um, there's a lot of you all
that come out to these shows. And I do think
about you when I'm making my set list and I'm
thinking about each year, you know, the those folks like
yourself that come out to a lot of shows. How
do we each and every night make sure that you're
having a great time. So I always wonder what songs
(09:07):
I should play, and maybe there are songs I don't
play that I should play. So I know you've got
some thoughts on that, some of the really old stuff
that I would like to hear, Okay, like something about
a woman. Oh wow, that's a big pull. We haven't
done that in a very long time. So yeah, anything
else mm hmm. Journey of your life doesn't end up
(09:31):
in the set list very often and I really love
that one that has some personal meaning. Yeah, how do
you like the new songs? Are you digging the new stuff?
I love them? Um something to ride to it's fantastic. Yeah,
we haven't really played that yet, and I played it
once or twice in some shows that we haven't put
it in the life switch and make it to her.
I hope to see a push to radio for that one.
(09:52):
Oh yeah, we uh, we have some ideas set for
the next single, so you might see it, you might not.
You never know. And shout out to Chris Jansen and
Jordan Davis that are out here on tour. This is
this your first experiencing them. Actually, I saw Chris for
the first time in Vienna, Virginia. Man, he's a firecracker,
is right? Yeah? He uh. I love having him out
(10:15):
here because he's always been that way. I mean I've
known him for ten years and he's always been a
super entertainer. He's a great singer, a great musician, so
it's great to have him out and Jordan Davis is
a great singer songwriter. Um, so are you enjoying their sets? Yes? Yeah,
we didn't go out and get beer. We stuck around
for their set. Do you drink much beer? Not usually
(10:36):
at a show? Well, you know, if you drink too much,
you gotta leave, and I'm not leaving front row, right,
I never thought about that, So give me the inside
scoop on, like if you want to be front row
at a show for those out there, because you're always
front row, So give give me a quick idea of
what it's. Well, I mean, you don't have to give
(10:56):
away all your secrets, but I mean you know, like
you can ask you, if fishing guide, how do you
catch fish? And you can tell you you're a You're
a great person to talked to about going to concerts
because you've been to a hundred and thirty four of ours.
So if you want to come out to a concert
and have a great time, what did your recommendations to
people out there? Because how many people every day that
have never been to a concert? So what's your you've
been a hundred thirty four of ours? How do you
(11:17):
have a great experience at a concert? It's a general
admission show. You're going to research the venue and see
where the entrances are to the field, for instance, because
not all of these stairways come to the field, so
you need to be sure you're the right one. Uh,
it's hours and hours in line. You cannot imagine how
many hours I've waited for you. It's a lot. It's
(11:39):
a lot. It could be an eight hour day in line,
it could be a twelve hour day. Is it all
because you just want to be up closer? I mean,
once you're up close, you don't want to be back
right or what. I don't know, it's true. Yeah, once
you've been at the front of the stage, you don't
really want to be in the back. And we also
we chit chat in line all day long. We have
a party out there. Yeah, so you guys have like
(12:01):
a little pre party and yeah, that's so cool. It
makes me feel great to just see you guys out
there and see how you all have become friends to
the years of coming to shows and experiences that you
have together, and um, I mean a lot to me
when I saw you out there today and I knew
that I had to do a podcast coming up soon,
and I told Zeke and the guys, I was like,
let's talk to Lavanda because I've been wanting to talk
(12:21):
to you anyways. So thank you for not only chatting
with us today, but thanks for always coming out and
supporting what we do. And I hope we see you
for many years to come. And and you know that
if you ever need anything, we got, we got you,
We got your covered. Thank you for the music and
your friendship. Thank you, Lavanda. Well we uh we love
people like Lavanda Harrison and um, that's what Good Company
(12:43):
is all about, that's what this podcast is. We've talked
to so many random people and uh we're happy to
have you on. Thanks Lavanda. I'll talk to you guys
next week on Good Company. Appreciate you, I love you,
and we'll pay you up
Hey, this is Jake Owen and this is Good Company Company.
Welcome to Good Company, a podcast where we talk about
everything under the sun, friends, good times, company. Now here's
your host. What's up, y'all. It's Jake with the Good
(00:23):
Company Podcast. I am backstage in Little Rock, Arkansas at
the UH. I don't even what's the name of the
Spaceball Stadium, Dicky Stevens Park, North Little Rock here playing
with Chris Janssen Jordan Davis on the Life is What
You Make a tour. And I looked out in the crowd,
uh during our pre show kind of meet and greet,
(00:46):
and I saw a good friend of ours, Lavanda Harrison.
And I've been wanting to talk to Lavana for quite
some time. I kind of talked to her once before
on my bus. UH. I guess that's been I don't know,
go a year or two ago. And um, I thought
I would love to have you on, Lavanda, just to
talk about how much of a fan that you've become
of what we do, but just a fan of music
in general and the experiences you you you've been through
(01:09):
and anyways, Lavanda, it's nice to have you. Glad to
be here. Are you nervous right now. Absolutely, Lavanda was
Lavanda was um in the crowd today, like I said,
when I saw her, and so I wanted to, uh
to talk to her. Pearl is standing here as a
co host right now, Pearl, what's up? Say hey to everybody.
(01:29):
She's being stubborn right now. All right, Pearl, you don't
have to say I don't want to say hi to
the people out there. All right, it's all good. Well,
so we we can Lavanda into coming backstage to Lavanda,
I've seen your signs. You have been to how many
of our shows? Now toned thirty four a hundred and
thirty four shows? Do you remember your first show? Absolutely?
(01:52):
You do? Well, where was that Alexi, Mississippi? And you
opened up for Keith Urban? I remember that show. That
was the first show of the Keith Urban tour. And
what was that two thousand twelve? It was in Biloxi eleven.
Get closer to her, I believe that was. And uh
(02:13):
so had you how many? How many Keith Urban shows
have you been to? Not? Uh so? I kind of
thanks to Keith Urban. I met you really because you're
a big Keith Urban fan and still are. And uh
but uh so, you so hundred and thirty four shows,
because it seems like it wasn't but not too long ago.
I remember seeing your science san This was my hundred show. Yes,
(02:37):
that was last May. Where was that? Where was the
hundred show? Market Dardnell, Arkansas? Oh yeah, home of the
great John Daly, speaking of which your hundred show was
in Arkansas. Right, So we're back in Arkansas tonight and
you are here. Who'd you come out with? Rachel Mackenzie,
Stephanie Lena And they're both from Louisiana. No one is
(02:59):
from here and then one is from Louisiana. So do
you guys meet up often? And that's what's intriguing to me.
And I know I've talked to you about this before,
but one thing that I think is fun to talk
about is how I see so many of you all
come out to shows. And it's not just about the music.
You've told me before, it's not just about the music
that we're playing. It's about the experiences in the weekend
getaways that you have with your friends. And a lot
(03:20):
of these friends you've met because of the music. Right,
I have a tremendous amount of friends because of you. Yes,
Oh well, that's really cool. I was, that's a that's
a big compliment that I appreciate, and I wasn't digging
for that, but uh, but there are I've made a
bunch of friends because of the music and thanks to
you guys and um, and so I was just there
(03:43):
was a time if you remember, do you remember where
that was when I brought you on the bus and
just to ask you, I could tell you the day. Yeah,
why what was it? It was August nineteen sixteen, and
that was an Imperial Nebraska. That was an Imperial Nebraska.
So I don't know how many shows you've been to
at that point, but even to quite a few. And
the cool thing about you, Lavanda is that no matter
(04:04):
how many shows you've been to, um, you've never made
anyone feel uncomfortable or weird or anything. You're just like normal,
every everyday person. We love to do special things for
people that we can tell have been following us and
have a passion for what we're doing, and you've always
been so great to us. So there's so many times
where we've given you and quite a few other people
some preferential treatment. And and it's there's those folks every
(04:27):
now and then where you get that, like you give
them an inch and they want to take a mile, right,
And we can't always do everything, but you have been
the most uh polite and respectful person to all of us,
not just me, and I hope you know how much
how much we appreciate that. So I got asked this
question because we always talked about it in the band.
What so your husband, You guys have been married for
how long? Oh, it'll be thirty years this August, thirty
(04:50):
years and you have been gone at least a hundred
and thirty weekends at least, but at six several years.
You brought him out a couple of times though Yeah, yeah,
he was supposed to be here tonight that he's got
something else going on. Yeah, well he knows that when
you come out, we take good care of you. So that's, uh,
that's super cool with that. You So, what's what are
(05:13):
your hobbies are coming out, being with your friends, coming
to the shows. What's your favorite part about going to concerts?
To travel? I love to travel, and the lead up
to the show, the first thing is getting the best tickets.
So it's like the chase, right, So it's almost like
certain people have their thing where it's just it kind
of gets to them in there. But you know, some
people like to, I don't know, raise dirt bikes. Your
(05:34):
thing is that feeling of getting a good ticket because
you've spent a lot of money on tickets, a lot
because you've never asked for anything. You've never asked for
anything from us, and we appreciate. I look at you,
at you a lot, and I think, man, you've spent
an incredible amount of money to come out and and
and support what we do. And I hope you know
how much that means to me. But like, yeah, you
(05:55):
you've spent thousands and thousands of dollars not just on tickets,
but travel and work hard to hard. Yeah, right, it's
what I like to go and do. So what what
is your day to day job? I am over a
finance department for a very large electrical supply company. It's
about a six and fifty million dollar a year company,
wow in Texas. Yes, So you work hard during the
(06:18):
week too, then leave on a because some nights we're
playing Thursdays or Fridays and you're out there on a Thursday, Friday.
You must have a you have a cool husband, must
have pretty cool boss too. Yes, I do, and I
can work from anywhere. So if you see me on
a Thursday night, I've worked in my hotel room that
day on my computer. So set in line waiting for
a g a situation working on my computer. Really. Yeah.
(06:39):
So has there been a show out of all the
hundred and thirty four shows that you've been to where
you've you remember that show being not only a fun
experience for you and the people you were with, but
just the music and the show and the way it felt.
Was there one in particular? Yes, all right, tell us
about it. And it's Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas when
(07:00):
you did the show on the beach and then, yeah,
that happens to have been has the anniversary and I
just had the tiny little sign and you kind of
made a big deal of it, and that's a big memory. Well,
I'm glad because that. I always try to look at
you and you're in the crowd and I see you
out there to let you know, appreciate you being there. Um.
(07:22):
But it's cool because it's moments like that that you
realize small, simple little things mean a lot to somebody.
So I didn't I think at that moment until I
probably saw your sign. I didn't know that was y'all's
wedding anniversary. That's a big deal. That's pretty cool. So
how many more shows this year you think you're going to?
I'm not putting on the spot, but I'm sure you
(07:42):
have some of them. Plan. I have nineteen more coming
up so far? Nineteen more? Yes, what do you think
so far? The life's what you make it to her? Well,
this will be the first stadium show I've been to
two or so. I saw the full show in Vienna, Virginia,
but that was an amphitheater situation. Okay, it's awesome. It Well,
I tweets you if you would ever read it. I
(08:03):
have a hard sign with tweets. That's why I I do.
I love Instagram because I can post uh photos, It's
pretty I love posting photos anyways. But Instagram my my
I needed I guess change it or something. But my
feed refreshes after every fifty or a hundred, so if
I don't catch it in a certain amount of time,
I didn't see it two million followers do you might
have something to do with that. But yeah, this show
(08:25):
is incredible and I would encourage people to get out
to this show. Thank you just did a sales pitch
for amazing. Thanks. Are there any songs you wish we
were playing that we're not playing because it's always hard
for me each year to do a show, and I
trust me, I think about you and a lot of
other people that come out to our shows. Shout out
to Jane Powers out there that was in Las Vegas
(08:47):
with us, um during that crazy October one experience, but
last year. But um, there's a lot of you all
that come out to these shows. And I do think
about you when I'm making my set list and I'm
thinking about each year, you know, the those folks like
yourself that come out to a lot of shows. How
do we each and every night make sure that you're
having a great time. So I always wonder what songs
(09:07):
I should play, and maybe there are songs I don't
play that I should play. So I know you've got
some thoughts on that, some of the really old stuff
that I would like to hear, Okay, like something about
a woman. Oh wow, that's a big pull. We haven't
done that in a very long time. So yeah, anything
else mm hmm. Journey of your life doesn't end up
(09:31):
in the set list very often and I really love
that one that has some personal meaning. Yeah, how do
you like the new songs? Are you digging the new stuff?
I love them? Um something to ride to it's fantastic. Yeah,
we haven't really played that yet, and I played it
once or twice in some shows that we haven't put
it in the life switch and make it to her.
I hope to see a push to radio for that one.
(09:52):
Oh yeah, we uh, we have some ideas set for
the next single, so you might see it, you might not.
You never know. And shout out to Chris Jansen and
Jordan Davis that are out here on tour. This is
this your first experiencing them. Actually, I saw Chris for
the first time in Vienna, Virginia. Man, he's a firecracker,
is right? Yeah? He uh. I love having him out
(10:15):
here because he's always been that way. I mean I've
known him for ten years and he's always been a
super entertainer. He's a great singer, a great musician, so
it's great to have him out and Jordan Davis is
a great singer songwriter. Um, so are you enjoying their sets? Yes? Yeah,
we didn't go out and get beer. We stuck around
for their set. Do you drink much beer? Not usually
(10:36):
at a show? Well, you know, if you drink too much,
you gotta leave, and I'm not leaving front row, right,
I never thought about that, So give me the inside
scoop on, like if you want to be front row
at a show for those out there, because you're always
front row, So give give me a quick idea of
what it's. Well, I mean, you don't have to give
(10:56):
away all your secrets, but I mean you know, like
you can ask you, if fishing guide, how do you
catch fish? And you can tell you you're a You're
a great person to talked to about going to concerts
because you've been to a hundred and thirty four of ours.
So if you want to come out to a concert
and have a great time, what did your recommendations to
people out there? Because how many people every day that
have never been to a concert? So what's your you've
been a hundred thirty four of ours? How do you
(11:17):
have a great experience at a concert? It's a general
admission show. You're going to research the venue and see
where the entrances are to the field, for instance, because
not all of these stairways come to the field, so
you need to be sure you're the right one. Uh,
it's hours and hours in line. You cannot imagine how
many hours I've waited for you. It's a lot. It's
(11:39):
a lot. It could be an eight hour day in line,
it could be a twelve hour day. Is it all
because you just want to be up closer? I mean,
once you're up close, you don't want to be back
right or what. I don't know, it's true. Yeah, once
you've been at the front of the stage, you don't
really want to be in the back. And we also
we chit chat in line all day long. We have
a party out there. Yeah, so you guys have like
(12:01):
a little pre party and yeah, that's so cool. It
makes me feel great to just see you guys out
there and see how you all have become friends to
the years of coming to shows and experiences that you
have together, and um, I mean a lot to me
when I saw you out there today and I knew
that I had to do a podcast coming up soon,
and I told Zeke and the guys, I was like,
let's talk to Lavanda because I've been wanting to talk
(12:21):
to you anyways. So thank you for not only chatting
with us today, but thanks for always coming out and
supporting what we do. And I hope we see you
for many years to come. And and you know that
if you ever need anything, we got, we got you,
We got your covered. Thank you for the music and
your friendship. Thank you, Lavanda. Well we uh we love
people like Lavanda Harrison and um, that's what Good Company
(12:43):
is all about, that's what this podcast is. We've talked
to so many random people and uh we're happy to
have you on. Thanks Lavanda. I'll talk to you guys
next week on Good Company. Appreciate you, I love you,
and we'll pay you up
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