We sat down with country music superstar Eric Church and asked him to explain a few things—from the truth behind getting fired from the Rascal Flatts tour to how he got his iconic nickname 'Chief'. Plus, Eric talks singing the national anthem at The Super Bowl.
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00:00 Would you be able to score any points in a one-on-one game with the GOAT, Michael Jordan?
00:06 He's 60.
00:07 If I get the ball first, maybe in 10 years.
00:14 If he reads that question before we play, no fucking way.
00:21 Hey everybody, I am Eric Church and Esquire has asked me to explain some things.
00:27 So the explaining will now begin.
00:36 Where does my nickname "Chief" come from?
00:39 I have a thing with my eyes that when we play these bars and clubs and it's hot, my contacts
00:46 would dry out and they would pop out on stage.
00:48 Somebody in the band just randomly suggested, "Hey, why don't you wear shades?
00:53 See if that'll help."
00:54 I started wearing them.
00:55 It helped.
00:56 It started to grow and we had an album called "Chief" that was the cover of the album with
01:00 shades and a hat.
01:02 My band was joking with me that I looked like a police officer and they started calling
01:06 me Chief.
01:07 Plus it sounds better than Eric's.
01:11 Explain why Taylor Swift wrote a thank you note to me.
01:15 Early on in our career, we opened for a band named Rascal Flatts.
01:21 Horrible match.
01:23 Horrible combination.
01:25 We didn't do things exactly like we were supposed to.
01:27 We played too long.
01:28 We were a little loud.
01:29 We were a little rowdy.
01:30 We were a number.
01:31 A lot of rules.
01:32 A lot of rules.
01:33 I broke all of them and got fired from the tour at Madison Square Garden.
01:40 Taylor Swift was the replacement for that tour.
01:44 Taylor called because she's great and said, "Hey, I don't want there to be any bad blood
01:49 here between us.
01:50 I hope everything's good."
01:51 I said, "Nah, it's great.
01:52 They're going to love you."
01:53 I said, "Only request I have is your first gold album.
01:57 I want it."
01:58 About nine days later, she walked up on a bus somewhere and had a gold album and said
02:05 to Eric, "Thanks for playing too loud and too long on the Flatts tour.
02:09 I sincerely appreciate it, Taylor Swift."
02:13 Still have it.
02:14 It's in the Country Music Hall of Fame now.
02:15 One of the little tidbits of country music history.
02:19 Why do you think it's important to be outspoken about important issues?
02:22 I just think a lot of this is somewhat second nature for me.
02:26 It's just always been an honesty that I feel like I have with our fans.
02:31 I've always had.
02:32 I think they want that honesty and I think they're okay with wherever I fall on the side
02:37 of that honesty.
02:38 Whatever side I take, whatever opinion I have, we have that kind of relationship.
02:41 It's not judgmental.
02:42 It's just what it is.
02:45 What was your go-to song during your dive bar days?
02:50 This is really important.
02:51 It's really whatever keeps people from fighting.
02:56 The biggest thing about coming up in dive bars versus now, they're not going and dealing
03:00 with feedback in a shitty bar somewhere.
03:02 It's just a different nuance than it is now.
03:05 It's tip jar money, right?
03:07 So I would play just about anything.
03:10 The low point for me was "Like a Virgin" by Madonna.
03:15 How has Bruce Springsteen influenced you over the years?
03:18 He's kind of a creative compass for me.
03:20 If you look at the way he's built his career, played with the E Street Band, not played
03:24 with the E Street Band, done passion projects, done commercial projects, really chased creativity.
03:33 A lot of times we lose that when money gets involved.
03:37 Would you be able to score any points in a one-on-one game with the GOAT, Michael Jordan?
03:44 He's 60.
03:45 If I get the ball first, maybe in 10 years.
03:51 Maybe.
03:52 Probably not today.
03:53 He's competitive as hell.
03:54 If he reads that question before we play, no fucking way.
04:02 Does cannabis help you sing better?
04:05 I'm going to say it makes me feel better about how I sing, whether it's good or bad.
04:10 It tends to make it, you know, okay.
04:14 So I'm going to say yes, it does.
04:17 How do you prepare to perform the national anthem at the US's biggest sporting event
04:21 of the year?
04:23 It was nervy.
04:24 There's only been a few things in my career that I would consider that there's a different
04:28 level of nerves.
04:29 The Super Bowl is certainly that.
04:31 Jasmine's such an incredible singer that a lot of my role was to do my part and then
04:36 try to stay out of her way and let her do exactly what she was going to do, which is
04:40 go as high as she can and just be incredible.
04:45 Who would be in your dream band?
04:49 Out of this group, give me Willie, give me Waylon, give me Haggard, and give me Loretta
04:59 Lynn.
05:02 I left Cash off, which is what the fuck?
05:06 Do you think bro country is good for the genre?
05:12 Probably no.
05:13 I look at it through a broader lens.
05:16 What's popular right now, what's hot right now, could very much be not that way and somewhat
05:23 not ten years from now.
05:25 I think it's about not ever looking at it through that lens.
05:32 Whiskey neat or on the rocks, as you can see, it's whiskey on the rock.
05:39 So that's how I drink my whiskey gipsy.
05:46 This is Eric Church, thank you very much for watching.
05:49 Hope you learned something.
05:50 See you next time.
05:51 [music]
05:51 next time.
05:53 (upbeat music)