In 2009, when Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of the band Florida Georgia Line met at Belmont University in Nashville, they were just two country boys with guitars and a tailgate to sit on and swap stories.
Once they had a few songs, they took their acoustic act out on the Nashville bar circuit, and it's been a whirlwind ever since.
Their summer party anthem single, "Cruise," shot to No. 1 on the Billboard country charts, and right now, as they tour with Luke Bryan and Taylor Swift this summer, their debut album, "Here's to the Good Times," is the No. 1 Billboard country album.
Before they hit the Sonoma County Fair, Kelley and Hubbard took a quick tour break to chat about hip-hop and weird gifts.
Q: Let's talk about some of the things that have changed over the past year or so. You used to tour in a Chevy Tahoe. Now what do you roll in?
Kelley: Well, now we're in two buses and in the fall we upgrade to three buses.
Q: How about the odd jobs you used to do?
Hubbard: We used to do anything — wash cars, paint houses, cut grass — you name it, anything we could do to make a dollar and pay rent.
Q: What's the craziest thing a fan has given you?
Hubbard: We actually got a puppy dog. This woman gave us a dog and left.
Kelley: We think it's a Jack Russell and pit bull mix. His name's Red. He actually lives in my house now; my roommate adopted him. I guess we're kind of the uncles or step-parents now.
Q: With hip-hop artist Nelly joining you for the remix of "Cruise," how do you see hip-hop mashing up with what you do?
Kelley: We both grew up with a lot of different influences, obviously with country at the core. But we and our friends in Florida and Georgia were listening to Eminem and Lil' Wayne and Juvenile — all that stuff. When we're writing, we're drawing from all those influences and we're just trying to create a sound that doesn't sound like anybody else on the radio.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: