Intro

Russell Ries 0:34

Good morning, afternoon, or evening to you, wherever you are listening from. It's Saturday, May 30th, and this is the Nashville Sports Report. Alright, alright, alright. Thank you for joining us today. We got a great show coming up, including an interview with my guest this week, sports fan and super talented musician Derek Pell, coming up later in the show.

Nashville SC

Russell Ries 1:11

But first, let's hop into the news from this week. Nashville SC closed out the pre-World Cup portion of their schedule with a 2-1 win over NYCFC on Saturday night. The clip you heard in the intro there was center back Maxwell Loedzi scoring the winning clip. Both he and fellow center back Jason Palacio scored in the win. That clip, of course, was the great Tony Husband calling the game winner, formerly the official Nashville SC sports announcer, but now with Apple TV. Nashville SC enter the break with 33 points from 14 games. They're number one in the supporters standings, and they have a game in hand over Miami, who is second in the Eastern Conference, with 31 points. Now with the break, they have until July 17th to get their team healthy. As many people know, there have been a lot of injuries. Sam Surge finally returning to the pitch on Saturday. But Patrick Yasbag, Eddie Tagsith, Andy Nahar all still out. They will have at least until July 17th when Nashville returns to face Atlanta United. And they will be looking to get ready to continue their strong form during the back portion of the season. It'll be an interesting test for the organization to see how they navigate such a long break and if they're able to successfully regain their momentum when they do come back. But it's not all sunshine and roses right now for NSC. Warren Madrigal, the exciting newcomer and the team's third leading scorer, was dismissed from the Costa Rican national team earlier this week along with two other players. From what I can tell, the details are still pretty murky, but Madrigal and the other two players were involved in an incident late on the night before they were supposed to start training, in which nine bullet holes ended up in their car. The other two players, Kenneth Vargas and Alejandro Braun, have already been released by their domestic club LDA in Costa Rica, in addition to being let go from the national team. National SC has released a statement that they are aware Madrigal has been sent home from the Nashville team, but so far that's all they've put out on the situation. By all accounts, Madrigal has been a model citizen and teammate since arriving to town. But I came across an article from a site called Nashville Total Sports that suggests that this is not unheard of behavior for Madrigal in Costa Rica, and that he and the other two players involved are known to run together in social circles. I'm not familiar with Nashville Total Sports and can't speak to the veracity of the reporting, but I also don't see any reason why their reporting shouldn't be believed at this point. I'll leak the article in the description below and you can take a look for yourself. One thing that does strike me is that LDA, the local club, who presumably would have access to more information and quicker than Nashville FC, have already cut ties with Vargas and Braun. It makes me wonder if they know something that Nashville SC does not, or if they had previous issues with those two players. Many different scenarios that could be playing out, and don't want to put any sort of pre-judgment on Demadrigal, but one way or the other, it feels like there's more to this story than was come out so far, at least in the national media. So that's something to keep an eye on.

Tennessee Titans

Russell Ries 4:14

Moving now to the Titans. Organized team activities or OTAs continued this week. There's not a lot that we can glean from OTAs because most aren't open to the media, and even the ones that are don't include pads or tackling. However, the Carnell Tate hype train has continued to pick up speed as it leaves the station. This week Titans social media released a couple of clips showing Tate making spectacular catches. One a one-handed grab and one a contested catch over the middle. I'll link the videos below. These are exactly the types of catches any fan will be hoping to see from their presumed number one wide receiver, and as a Titans fan, it's given me a lot of hope. If Tate and Ward can continue to build their connection, they should be an exciting tandem for this season and many years to come. Thursday and Friday of this week, many Titans players and coaches had a chance to speak to the media. While I haven't had a chance to listen to everything that's come out yet, an early personal favorite was defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton comparing his coaching style to a deranged raccoon.

Aaron Whitecotton 5:17

My mentor Jim Washburn used to always say coach him like a raccoon that's on something. That's kind of how I look at it. You know what I mean? It's just really like a deranged raccoon out there. You go out there and get after it and really really push the limits of what we can do in practice and then we're going to be alright in the games. That's just the way, that's just the way we were all brought up.

Russell Ries 5:40

I'll try to parse more of those press conference clips and serve them up some of the best lines next week. For now, though, moving on to the Nashville Sounds. They are currently 33 and 22 and tied with the Memphis Redbirds for first in the West Division. They lead their current series against the Gwinnett Snappers 3-1 with two more games today and tomorrow

Nashville Sounds

Russell Ries 6:01

here in town. If it's not raining, try and get out there and support them. Next week, they head on the road for six games against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp starting on Tuesday.

Derek Pell Intro

Russell Ries 6:12

My guest this week is a good friend and fabulous fiddle player, Derek Pell. In addition to touring with country legends like Ray Price, Derek has played and recorded around town for many years. On top of that, he is a Nashville native and huge Nashville sports fan. I caught up with him this week to talk about Nashville sports, playing on Broadway, and interacting with visiting fans. I also got to find out about his grandfather who played for the Boston Red Sox over a hundred years ago.

Derek Pell Interview

Russell Ries 6:38

Okay, well, Derek, thank you so much for joining me on the show today. I really appreciate you coming on. We've been friends since high school at least, played some gigs together and you know have always talked ball. So I'm really excited to have you.

Derek Pell 6:52

Well, thank you for having me here in the National Sports Report. Very excited to be here. And uh again, we're gonna get to reconnect with you. And uh, we always with that music music side that we have. Talking sports is one of the one thing that you and I would always do that the rest of the band usually did not do. So yeah.

Russell Ries 7:06

Thank you for having me on. Yeah, I'm really excited to have you. I'm just gonna dive right into the questions that I ask everybody who comes on the show, starting with what is your favorite sport to play?

Derek Pell 7:17

Easily it's gonna be basketball. I'm a long and lanky individual, so being able to run and jump is one of my favorite things to do. I was a figure skater here and got second place in junior Olympics every morning at the Sportsplex. Me and my partner Sarah Davis, we would uh skate every morning. And so that jumping innately kind of took me to basketball. When while I was not the best mid-range shooter, I could somehow shoot threes and just crash the boards. So that was my favorite thing to do, and uh still one of my favorite things to do.

Russell Ries 7:44

That's awesome. And we've got a couple questions coming out of that. One, when was the last time you went skating?

Derek Pell 7:49

Only in my dreams. Apparently, now if I tried to do that, I would be scared to bust my entire body and be out of work. But uh, so that I would say six when I was sixteen, I'm 43 now, so you do the math.

Russell Ries 8:01

I will not do the math, but thank you. All right, and when you're playing, who do you model your basketball? Who do you model your game after?

Derek Pell 8:08

Oh, that's a good question. I don't know. I want to say Jason Tatum. I always wanna I want to get right up in there as a Celtics fan, everything. My family's from Boston, but I was born here in Nashville, and so that is kind of my the one team that I do like to watch, and I like the way he crashes those boards.

Russell Ries 8:22

Love that, yeah. Like that dirty work kind of stuff. All right, well, moving right along. Uh, what's your favorite sport to watch?

Derek Pell 8:29

All right, well, this is gonna be a two-parter question for me. When it comes to live sports, it's gonna be for me, hands-down hockey. You cannot be at a live preds game experience, especially in the playoff atmosphere, when you can see the puck flying around. There's nothing like that to hear the crashing of the boards, the stadium, you can hear everything that's happening on the field or in the ice. Football is my favorite sport to watch on TV just because of I can hear all the sounds, I can get a better look about what's going on in the game itself. Whereas trying to watch hockey on TV, you can find the puck as easily. So hockey is gonna be number one live, and football is gonna be number one on TV.

Russell Ries 9:07

Yeah, I totally dig that. And I I think I'm pretty much in agreement with you on both those things. I love a live hockey game, a lot of fun, and obviously football is uh I think the best television sport going right now. Okay, so what is your earliest sports memory?

Derek Pell 9:24

Well, my earliest sports memory, I mean, if we're talking about for me, getting actually interested in sports, it would have to be it's gotta have to be the Music City Miracle. I worked at Compton's grocery store, right across from Brown's Diner there near uh Hillsboro Village. And so I worked all Sunday, so I didn't get to see a single game when they were here at Adelphia Coliseum. And the first uh Saturday I woke up, I didn't work on Saturdays, so I forgot, oh, a playoff game is going on. I woke up in the fourth quarter and watched the Music City of Miracle, being like, Oh, I got to see one quarter of football. I guess I'm not gonna be able to watch. That's all I get to see. We're out of the playoffs. And then when that happened, I became a Titans fan for life, and I know I'm not the only one.

Russell Ries 10:02

Wow, that's awesome. The Music City Miracle was such an amazing moment. We were at home, and my sister, after the Bills kicked that field goal, my sister turned the television off. And she's like, I guess that's it. And I was like, No, no, no, no, we gotta watch. And I turned it back on, and and she's not much of a sports fan, but I I always remember that and and I'm glad that I turned it back on.

Derek Pell 10:22

But so many people do the same thing of uh leaving, hear stories about people leaving the stadium, you know, and just hearing the place erupt.

Russell Ries 10:29

And I bet every one of you now would be like, Oh, no, no, I was there, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Derek Pell 10:33

Oh, yes, I was there just to have missed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Russell Ries 10:36

That's funny.

Derek Pell 10:38

Never never leave until you know who sings.

Russell Ries 10:40

It ain't over till it's over.

Derek Pell 10:42

Absolutely.

Russell Ries 10:43

Okay, well, you kind of touched on this earlier. The the next question is how did you end up in Nashville? And how did your family m end up here since you said you were born here?

Derek Pell 10:52

My father moved down here. He's a musician from Boston, and he had a buddy that was gonna help him out in music down here. So my dad, John Pell, uh, moved down just to search, you know, just test the waters here with a man uh we just call Mike Figlio, and he was in the business, and he comes down, and then all of a sudden there's a Chet Atkins International Guitar Fingerstyle Contest, and my dad enters that and gets first place. So he Chet was gonna produce my dad's first two records, which he did, and they also recorded the first Nashville guitar quartet with Muriel Anderson, John Knowles, my dad, and Chet Atkins. And uh my dad arranged a lot of that record, and so after that, he and asked my mom to move down and proposed to her pretty much when she got here. So that's kind of the story of why I'm here in Nashville and my brother as well.

Russell Ries 11:37

That's pretty incredible. That's I would argue probably an atypical Nashville musician story coming down and striking it big right away.

Derek Pell 11:44

And actually having success, correct. That is not the normal way to do it.

Russell Ries 11:48

Oh man, that's that's really amazing. Pivoting now to what is your favorite Nashville sports team?

Derek Pell 11:54

It's gonna have to be the Titans. It's I'm a diehard Titans fan. Um until we win, I'm just all I'm gonna focus more of my concentration efforts on following this team because being at that playoff game, the Hunter Bernstein actually invited me to for the Bengals, and you know, to have that first play of the game intercepted and the last play of the game on the offense intercepted. The stadium and the energy in that stadium was absolutely amazing. I was actually tearing up during the opening ceremonies just to see how many people were there for our team in Nashville. So I I I know it last few years have been rough, but this is the cycle of the league. We're gonna get back there, and I believe this year is gonna be a good stepping stone towards that.

Russell Ries 12:35

Yeah, I totally agree with you, and I feel you on that. It's it's pretty amazing to see that sort of camaraderie and the community spirit of of fandom when you get into a stadium. I can remember after 9-11 when the Preds started playing again and just how impactful being there and hearing the anthem was. You know, those sort of moments are things that I think stick with you in in ways that might not otherwise. So that's really cool to hear.

Derek Pell 13:01

And then it's just like musicians that have those concerts that are big and everyone comes together. Uh, I think sometimes musicians can forget that you know there's other sports and there's other places to gather to have these same kind of, you know, not religious experiences, but a communal experience to where we're all we're all together, you know. So it's it's it really is fun and exciting. And I really sometimes wish I didn't work every Sunday so I could get up to all the games.

Russell Ries 13:25

Yeah. That's such a great point, too, about sort of that communal spirit and and sort of the similarities between a performance and a sporting event. And you know, I think that that's something that kind of arts get a little bit more credit or acknowledgement for, and and sports, while they play a similar role, maybe it's just because of sort of the jockey nature of it, or I don't know, I don't really know why, but it seems as though sports don't get the same sort of credit for being that kind of gathering space where where we can all come together as a community. So I think that's a really great point you bring up.

Derek Pell 13:56

I mean, the Coliseums were going way before bringing people together in Rome way before big concerts were happening. So the origin the original bring it together. But also no one notices if the bass player missed one note in the song. But you know, we all noticed the first, I forget which season it was as a Titans fan, our return guy with kickoff.

Russell Ries 14:15

Oh, I guess.

Derek Pell 14:17

And he just steps over the line, like no one's gonna see it, and then steps backwards. Yeah, like you had you have one job, you know, but that's it's cutthroat, they live and die for their families, and the the stuff that they do, it can really change the legacy of their families by just having a solid career, so and putting their lives on the line.

Russell Ries 14:35

It's pretty amazing stuff. As a Titans fan, I'd like to know what are you what are your thoughts on the new rebrand, the jersey, the logo.

Derek Pell 14:42

It's taking some getting used to. I do like the look of it. I do kind of miss to where you know I hear Derek Mason talking about how he feels that there's no it does, there's no semblance of the Titans. There's nothing that Roman, it's it's going almost just full oilers. But you know what? If that breathes some life into the organization with a rebrand having new stadium, I'm all for it. But I am looking at the stars sometimes and I, who's that team? Oh, that's our team, yes. So I think I'll get used to it and I'm excited to see what it looks like on the field.

Russell Ries 15:09

I agree with you there. I really like the simplicity of the logo when it when that leak first came out, and it was sort of like, oh, this is it. I think maybe it was just the particular product that it was leaked on. It was like a weird dog chew toy and it looked kind of funny. But the more it hangs around and the more we see it. I like the balance of it. I love the color. That light blue is really nice. And actually, I really like that secondary logo that they've done with the TN overlaid, kind of like an old, more of a Yankees style. If they got rid of the football on that one, threw that on a hat, I'd be buying it right away.

Derek Pell 15:40

That's that's uh something for the marketing team out there to take a listen to here.

Russell Ries 15:43

Yeah, uh, hopefully Titans marketing people are tuning in religiously.

Derek Pell 15:48

Absolutely.

Russell Ries 15:49

Okay, moving on. We may have already touched on it, maybe not. Uh, what is your favorite Nashville sports memory or moment?

Derek Pell 15:55

It's gonna have to just be that uh the Nashville, the Music City miracle, because that there's not really anything that can top that. But I do want to say that for me, going to for a game that I've gone to, it's gonna be the clinching game uh against the Anaheim Ducks here for the preads to go on to the Sandy Cup final. So I think that was an exciting just to hear the fans walking out of the stadium cheering and chanting, you know. It's it was nothing like it. And then to watch that Washington Pittsburgh game, you know, they go into extra overtime. So I'm thinking, oh great, they're gonna be so tired. We're gonna, you know, definitely. You know, for losing our centers like we did that that playoffs, it was uh and Kevin Fiala breaking his leg. You know, we dealt with a lot of injuries like all teams do, so that I'm really proud of that team, that 2017 team.

Russell Ries 16:41

Yeah, that was that was an incredible game. That was Colton Sissons had the hat trick. Yeah. Here's an underrated Nashville guy for you for sure. Well, right on, I feel you on both of those. I I think those are both touchstones. And you know, honestly, for people our age who grew up in Nashville where there weren't any really professional sports. You had the sounds, you could go to Vandy basketball, they were kind of good in the 90s. But like for the Titans and the Preds to come in in '98, and then sort of particularly that run with the Music City Miracle, and then Eddie George looking into the Jumbotron in Indianapolis, and then going down and beating the Jags for the third time, the only team to beat them that year.

Derek Pell 17:19

Only team.

Russell Ries 17:20

Yeah. I think that was a pretty monumental run. I think it really marked them out, and I imagine folks of our age will always feel fondly about that era.

Derek Pell 17:29

But a perfect storm. And uh also thinking about the same time where Vanderbilt Athletics, besides basketball, was kind of null and void. And you know, we would ride our bikes down all the way from Hillsborough Village down to the stadium, and you could get in for free after halftime, and they just let you come in and just sit wherever no one was watching the game, and to watch, you know, completely full stadiums for Vanderbilt football, even taking out Alabama and watching Nate Bargatszi mentioned that on Saturday Night Live. What a long way, and really proud of that program.

Russell Ries 17:58

Yeah, pretty amazing stuff. You saying that reminds me of my dad used to take us to some of those games, and you know, the the whole bowl section, the bowl end of it would be empty, and he just let us go run because he could see us from wherever we were in the stadium. It's like I got my eyes on you. You're the only ones in the whole section.

Derek Pell 18:16

Just look for the movement and then there you are. It was a different era back then, though for sure.

Russell Ries 18:24

It sure was. Okay, so speaking of sort of Nashville sports and sports history, who would you put on your Mount Rushmore of Nashville sports?

Derek Pell 18:33

Well, you know, Rushmore's got four, and I'm always thinking, man, if I just had one more, so that makes it a tough pick. But for me, it's gotta be Eddie. It's gotta be Steve, it's gotta be Derek Henry and Pekka Renee with uh honorable mention for Chris Johnson.

Russell Ries 18:50

I understand those for sure. Eddie and Steve, obviously, uh what they did when they first came in, pretty amazing. Pekka, just one of the best, best to do it.

Derek Pell 19:00

The diving play there in game one of the that 2017 run against the Blackhawks. I mean, just watching him, he was like those guys all did something on TV that was amazing. They all put on a cape at one point or another and became superstars. There's always a memorable play or two. You know, I think about Eddie against the Ravens, and he just he pushed Ray Lewis back and got up in his face and just watching that run through power against Ray Lewis and him knocking him over and pushing him out of bounds. You know, obviously Steve McNair against the Super Bowl when he's dragged down by his shirt or his jersey, somehow gets off the ball, gets up and 20 yards down the field for a first down. You know, Derrick Henry's run against the Jaguars. I mean, how many people did he just push off him like it was nothing? Yeah, and then we just talked about Pekka. So these are these are gonna be my four Mount Rushmore of Nashville sports history people.

Russell Ries 19:50

I totally love it. That's great. Okay, and do you have any Nashville sports conspiracy theories or hot takes that you want to share?

Derek Pell 19:58

Not any conspiracy theories that uh probably anyone else has already hasn't said already. The Chad Brinker thing was interesting, just how he, you know, wasn't sure like how close he was to the family. There's a lot of you know speculation, it was just that. And you know, listen to your you talk about him really just wanting to get back to football. And I think it's gonna be a great move for him. But for me, it just kind of seemed like some sort of not nepotism, but a little off that. But uh, he's not here anymore. So no hot takes for me. That's I'm sorry, I have a hot take, but not a conspiracy theory. My hot take, Titans are gonna go eight and nine this next season. That's eight wins. That's five more than we previously had. And I think that's gonna be a huge move forward going into the next season with the new stadium. There's gonna be a lot of hope and optimism. And I think a lot of our wins are gonna come at the end of the year, which just like the Ravens did in 2000 before the 2001 season, they just kind of like built up uh some great report the end of the season. Then we just padded in with uh hopefully a Javon Kirse or someone that takes us to the next level next year and puts us into the playoffs.

Russell Ries 20:56

Nice. I like that. Yeah, I uh I have high hopes as well. I think that a lot of the league is, or not the league, but a lot of the media around the league. You can tell who hasn't watched the Titans last year. Everyone that's like all this number-driven stuff, talking about Cam Ward. It's like this guy faced what, like the 10 toughest defenses. He had one of the hardest strengths of schedule. He just got better and better. He had the most drops, I think, by any receiving core in the league. I mean, just everything was stacked against him, and we watched him just grow and grow. And I I think with Tate in particular, I think you're right. I think Cam Ward's gonna lead this team to some good good stuff.

Derek Pell 21:32

I mean, any quarterback would have had a tough time with that, but not to mention a rookie quarterback coming in and with that offensive line just kind of still gelling. And now we're this is gonna be the same thing this year, but I think we have a smarter. I think Dable is gonna be getting the ball out of the hands. I think we're gonna we're gonna run the ball more, which we started to do later in the year once Callahan left. And it's hey, how about that? We run the football, we win games and play defense, like any team that doesn't have a superstar offensive. I mean, look at what happened to the Chiefs. Last year. You know, just if you can't protect your quarterback, you need to alter the way you play the game. And I think we're going to have some common sense football. I know that sounds crazy to hear. We're not going to make up stuff like Smash Mouth, you know, exotic smash mouth. We're just going to play football. And I'm excited for Salah getting a second chance after what a debacle and the Jets organization for him. And I'm really excited about Dayball. I mean, just both these New York guys coming down here with plenty of experience. I really am excited to see what this looks like in the preseason, but I know we're never going to get a glimpse of it until game one because no one shows anything in the preseason. So I think it's going to be good.

Russell Ries 22:32

I'm with you. I'm very excited about the staff that's coming in. I like how much Dayball like really, really wants to work with Cam Ward, how interested he was in him in the in the pre-draft process last year. You know, that that's what brought him down here, basically. I think we're a question.

Derek Pell 22:48

Yeah. Are you scared that if Dayball and us offense flies off the handle and does such a great job? Are you always scared like me? As soon as that happens, then we someone just comes up and gets Dayball and you know he's got a new head coach position. We got to start all over again. That always terrifies me when we have a good that was the promise about Brian Callahan. Is if it works, then you still got a great play caller that's still gonna be there calling the plays and not just ripping the rug out under the quarterback's feet for maybe yet a third new system in three years.

Russell Ries 23:14

I would love to have that problem, honestly. Okay. That would mean success. Yeah. People haven't been coming after the Titans folks in the front office or on the coaching staff for years. So, like if anyone is interested in coming to steal our OC, that means that we have done really great things. I do also think that Dable will be here for at least two years, though. I think he'll probably want to, you know, really work with Cam, see this project through. I think we're gonna see some really good results on both sides of the ball, and I think that there's gonna be real potential for this team to make noise, kind of like you were saying, not this next season. I think it will be better for sure, but you know, they've really kind of lined it up well to move into the stadium with some momentum and with a really solid team. I imagine next year in the draft, they'll be looking at an edge rusher and a left tackle as sort of their two primary things that they want to do, you know. And if they can figure out the interior line, I think we're looking at a really decent ball club, a team that can compete in ways that have it in a long time. So, yeah, if folks are eyeing up the Titans coaching staff and trying to poach them, like, yeah, that'd be great.

Derek Pell 24:17

I I love that. That's that's exactly the way I should be thinking about it, instead of always looking towards the future when the right now is right now, and looking at that offensive line from 2017 at those Preds games, chugging beer out of a fish. That was that offensive line was I think my favorite besides our you know, David Stewart and right big country and all those guys. Exactly.

Russell Ries 24:36

Dude, I think we as Titans fans, it's been so long, and there's just such so much just a downtrodden, beat down kind of mentality. Like I used to literally I would mute the game and I would just play yakity sacks on mute just to try and like make myself feel a little bit better. And I did that for years because it was just like, what else are you gonna do? It's it's comical. It's like you were mentioning the opening kickoff in Pittsburgh, kneeling down for a safety. Like, what?

Derek Pell 25:03

How do you do that? He doesn't play on offense, he doesn't play on defense. His one job is to look up at the air and look down on the ground and see if I cross the line, I better just go. And I no one's gonna see this. Yeah, we got it, we're good.

Russell Ries 25:13

I think as Titans fans, uh, we we are that way. You know, we're we're beat down, we expect the bad thing to happen. And I hope that new quarterback, new uniforms, new coaching staff, hopefully new stadium. Like, I hope that there can be a larger shift in perception within the organization and around it because we want a winning team, we want a winning product, and and that puts our own fans in the seats on right now, you guys.

Derek Pell 25:38

You know, how is how this one the team is bad? It's getting sold out by everybody from outside of Titans Nation and fandom. And so it's kind of embarrassing to see you know the stadium just completely. But I understand it, it brings a lot of money to the city. A lot of people know that they're gonna have a great vacation, their team's gonna win, and then they go down and tip the beer, uh, tip the bands down in Broadway, maybe so it's fine when they're at least there's some some reason which is fine if they're not winning. But for me and the rest of the Titans fan, we're ready to take that stadium back. And that means that if they're playing well, I'm even gonna take my Sundays off to make sure I get in that stadium and I pay those, pay the tickets and do not sell them and resell them.

Russell Ries 26:16

There you go. Okay, so focusing a little bit more on Nashville in particular, and I I do want to ask you some more about Broadway in just a second, but before we get into that, I want to know what is your favorite restaurant in Nashville?

Derek Pell 26:27

Well, it's gonna be the uh Southern Steak and Oyster.

Russell Ries 26:30

Okay.

Derek Pell 26:30

There uh and also I play there every Saturday and Sunday for brunch from 11 to 2, plug. Yeah. And that that and also, you know who else likes that restaurant?

Russell Ries 26:39

Who's that?

Derek Pell 26:40

Mike Frabel. Hey, yeah, even when he comes back in town, he'll go there. He took his family there, and uh he even one time comes in there and sees me drinking a beer while the guitar player is taking a solo, and he looks at me and goes, don't you drink in here on the job? Nice perk. Just a little, you know. Usually musicians are drinking light beer on the gig. That's kind of like a normal thing for a three-hour, four-hour gig. But it's just really funny how he said that and uh came back and tipped us a nice tin. And hey mine. Uh not the same, not the same. I got a great picture of me with him, and I look so tiny. And then two weeks later I go and I and who's sitting at the same booth? It's Diane Evercini.

Russell Ries 27:13

No.

Derek Pell 27:13

So maybe they were they were talking and saying, hey, this is a great restaurant. You should go there. And so I remember her pink outfit on. I went and talked to her and her little team. I just said how grateful I was that they're and what she does for the uh business. You know, I know being a woman in sports can be very tough. I don't know that. I just I just assume that and the stories I hear. So but I just anyway, just thanked her for the great job that she does covering the Titan. So, you know, we're looking back now at five years on this, six years on this. It's just it paints a different picture now. If like if was it just them working together or was there a little juice going on? But that's uh that's a little bit of drama that I'm not getting into at all. Here you go, he's nice to me.

Russell Ries 27:46

Fair enough. Yeah, I mean seems like a nice guy. She's she does too. Obviously, they've made personal mistakes. That then the more stuff that comes out, it's kind of like let's talk about operational security here, gang. Like you guys were just out there doing it, like people taking five.

Derek Pell 28:00

And it just seems the whole thing about the draft and us not getting our quarterback from Ohio State, uh, who ended up with the Texans. I mean, that just seemed like a total we showed our hand in every which way, and that is unforgivable in a way if indeed that is what happened. But again, I'm not saying that's what happened, but if that was what happened, that would be, like you said, operational security, and that does affect the team. And like you said, don't do dumb blank to hurt the team.

Russell Ries 28:23

Yeah, well, and to put a pin on that one, I do think in the long run, I think we're gonna be happy to have Cam Ward instead of CJ Stroud. So yeah, we'll see. I'm excited.

Derek Pell 28:32

Uh everything happens for a reason, and I'm ready for the Cam Ward air.

Russell Ries 28:35

Yeah. Okay, so let's talk a little bit more about working downtown on Broadway and stuff like that. Have you had any crazy experiences with visiting fans or anything you want to share with the team?

Derek Pell 28:47

Well, I do work at Roberts Western World, my favorite hockey talk on Broadway, and I would have to say that the favorite fans I think I have are the Chicago fans, the Blackhawks and the Bears fans. This is the only time that I know of on Nashville that a Lower Broadway bar has completely sold out of light beer, completely sold out of beer. Like all your Millers, all your Cores, I mean, just Bud Light, Mickel, Ultra, all of them completely sold out that weekend when the Chicago fans came here. So they were great tippers, they're a lot of fun. I know that could be divisive because of our rivalry with them, but if you're gonna have it, I'd rather have the fun people come into town. And then if you want to hear the worst, yeah, I would say it's it's usually gonna be your college, young college fans. So, and especially the young ones that are like six foot eight and like five 400 pounds, they just have too much to drink. And then uh, like an operant fan not too long ago was trying to get in a dragged down fight and was held down by seven police officers. And uh and then he just every time they let him get up, he started bull rushing him. Like, but there's seven of them. What are you gonna do? So I would say some of the college fans that are younger not don't have the experience for the drinking and how it gets to them, and then also then they're not used to tipping the band. So not only did we not make any money, they're also trying to fight us. And if you know me, I'm uh about a hundred and thirty pounds soaking wet.

Russell Ries 30:02

Yeah, your fighting days are behind you, anyways, I'm sure.

Derek Pell 30:05

Oh, yeah, I don't think I ever had them.

Russell Ries 30:06

You know, I worked at Mercy Lounge for about a year, and I remember being shocked at the Raiders fans being just far and away much nicer and better tippers than any of the other teams that came in. You know, this was when they were in the black hole in Oakland and they had sort of that they look like the most intimidating fans. Yeah, and there was kind of that oh, Raiders fans, like they're crazy, they're rude, and at least the ones that came into Mercy, they were great. And I just remember thinking, like, wow, these guys are awesome and they're tipping well, and I hope they lose.

Derek Pell 30:34

But oh man, our RIP Mercy Lounge, what a great spot.

Russell Ries 30:38

It was. It was a good one. Well, speaking of stuff like that, you spent a lot of time touring out on the road. Do you have any memorable moments catching a Titans or a Preds game on the road?

Derek Pell 30:48

No, went to uh speaking of Chicago, went to uh Chicago's White Sox game uh last year, and and with the new rules, I would just say that the game flew by it was one to zero. Ben Atendi hit a home run. He used to play for the Red Sox, which is my team, my grandfather played for the Red Sox 80 years ago. So it was a long time ago. And so I'm gonna be, I was always a Red Sox fan.

Russell Ries 31:08

What's your grandfather's name?

Derek Pell 31:10

Fred McGaffey, nicknamed Slugger McGaffey. And he was funny story, he was also on a minor league team with uh Jim Thorpe. And Jim Thorpe, they were he's like, you know, if you know the story about Jim Thorpe, it's a beautiful story, but he it was one of the true heroes of baseball. But my favorite story about Jim Thorpe is my grandfather was playing with him on the triple A team, and back then, you know, everyone would dress up in ties and suits, they go to the game. You have rocks on the sidelines, so not just dirt and and and field, and it's actual rocks. So my grandfather, an Irishman, so a little bit of a hothead, let me just say that. So maybe that's where I get that from. So the fans start booing at him, so he just turns around and starts pelting rocks at them. So they're having a rock exchange fight. Jim Thorpe comes up and he gets them and he pulls them down into the dugout and pulls him down into the stadium and knows of a side door to get him out, sneak him out the side door because on the main door where the team was gonna leave, there's police waiting to arrest my grandfather. So he was able to play two years in the Red Sox, broke his playing right field and broke his arm diving for a ball. And that was the end of his career.

Russell Ries 32:13

So Slugger McGaffrey, is that right?

Derek Pell 32:16

McGaffey, yes. McGaffey.

Russell Ries 32:17

I'll try and find his stats and hopefully link them in the description of the podcast. So yeah, absolutely. All right. Well, speaking of athletes, have you had any memorable moments encountering athletes either downtown or while on the road?

Derek Pell 32:31

Yes, actually, not too long ago, I was sitting there and this gentleman was loving our band on a Friday night. I was down there with uh Brandon Burkadal and the beer joint jumpers. Normally I play with John England and the Western Swingers at Roberts. So when I get to sub-end, there's like a different energy. It's really, you know, just I'm mostly focused on trying to play the songs that I don't play regularly. So that's just my job to make sure I'm doing my best job for the band. And I recognize this guy, but I'm not gonna stare at him too much. And finally, he comes up to go shake my hand when he leaves. A lot of people do that because I'm right next to the door. And I usually have to bend down on my knees or, you know, just to shake her hand when they say, That's fantastic fiddle playing. I'm just thank you so much. And then they're on the way, then I'm back to the song. Well, I noticed this gentleman comes up, he's just been smiling, grinning from ear to ear. He comes up and I went to get down, and I realized I didn't have to because he's pretty much eye-level with me. I said, My name's Derek. He goes, Oh, my name's Joe Kim. I said, Wait, Joe Kim, like J-O-A-K-I-M. And I don't know why I just spelled his name. And he says, Yes. And he walks out, and then I realized it was Joe Kom Noah from those legendary Florida Gators teams on basketball, and then also the uh Chicago Bulls. Another Chicago reference here, I guess. Yeah. But he was so such a nice individual. We we did not get to talk much. But I would say, over at Rudy's Jab's room, where we do our little hot club happy hour uh every Thursday from 6 to 8, 15, plug. I was sitting there and I recognized this gentleman. I knew I knew him, and I went to talk to him on the upset break. He was so nice, and he mentioned he plays football or he played football. And it says, Okay, can you tell me your name? And it was Jabari Greer. He was in the Saints Hall of Legend cornerback, and he's my age, he's 44, I'm 43. And he was so nice. And we talked about how musicians want to be athletes, and athletes they think it's cool to be a musician. And I thought that was so funny. And I said, you know, we both put a lot on the line. You know, you put your body out there in one way that you could really damage your head and damage, you know, an arm or a leg. And you know, us musicians, we put ourselves out there to damage our livers. But he was just such a great individual, and we had such a great talk. It just got so quiet in there for that one moment. It felt like to me the noise went away. And he's one of those people that I really would love to run into again. And uh, hey, maybe he's picked up an instrument by now and he's uh already ready for Lower Broadway. We'll see.

Russell Ries 34:39

That's awesome. Yeah. Look out for uh Jabari Greer coming to honky tonk near you. Absolutely. All right. Well, before we wrap it up, I know you've done a few plugs, but where can people come out and hear you play, which I highly recommend they do?

Derek Pell 34:52

All right. Well, first off, my my Instagram handle is Bo B O W underscore Derek D-E-R-E-K underscore Nash. Again, that's Bo underscore Derek underscore Nash on Instagram. And you can find me every Monday night, Roberts Western World from 6 30 to 10 with John England and the Western Swingers every Thursday from 6 to 8.15 at Rudy's Jazz Room playing that hot club style jazz. And then it's every Saturday and Sunday, you can find me at the Southern Steak and Oyster playing from 11 to 2 for brunch.

Russell Ries 35:20

And possibly Mike Vrabel or Diana Rossini as well.

Derek Pell 35:23

Absolutely, and hopefully not at the same time.

Russell Ries 35:26

I doubt it at this point. Well, awesome, Derek. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to come on and speak with me. And I will put your handle down in the in the description for people to reach out and follow you on Instagram as well.

Derek Pell 35:39

I love the podcast. I cannot wait to see the future episodes, and really thank you so much for having me to be a part of this National Sports Report. It's been a pleasure.

Russell Ries 35:48

Okay. That was my interview with uh very funny, very talented, and just overall great guy, Derek Pell. Uh, thanks again to Derek for coming on the show. I really appreciated having him. And you know, after speaking with Derek, I got to reflecting on

Outro

Russell Ries 36:03

the fact that while a lot of things have changed in Nashville lately, the fact that people can go see uh musicians of Derek's caliber playing all over town pretty much any night of the week is one of the really special things about Nashville that has not been lost as the city has grown and changed. While he is a good friend of mine, Derek is truly a world-class player, and the fact that we have people like him plying their trades every day in this town is something that it can be easily taken for granted, but I think that we should not lose sight of because it is a very special feature of this town. Okay. That is going to do it for us. Don't forget to follow us on the social medias. That would be Twitter and Blue Sky at NSH Sports Report. You can also contact us through the link in the description below. I have included Derek's Instagram handle down there, as well as links to the videos and articles referenced during today's show. As always, if you'd love to come on, please reach out. I'd love to have you. I'm excited to hear about any and all perspectives on Nashville, Nashville sports, and what that experience is for you, even if it's not a positive one. I think all these conversations are worth having, and I appreciate you tuning in every week to join me in the middle of the house.