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Clayton Anderson
Clayton Anderson
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About this episode
Clayton Anderson, Indiana native and country musician, shares his journey from local gigs to opening for Kenny Chesney and becoming a beloved figure in the IU community. The conversation highlights the recent success of Indiana University football, the significance of the song "Indiana" as an unofficial anthem, and Clayton's ongoing efforts to grow his music career independently. He reflects on the challenges of the music industry, the parallels with racing, and his passion for songwriting. The episode also touches on Indiana sports culture, fan loyalty, and Clayton's plans to keep connecting with fans through music and live shows.
Topics:
clayton anderson music career
indiana university football success
song indiana as anthem
independent artist challenges
music and racing parallels
iu and purdue rivalry
fan loyalty and sports culture
songwriting process
live performances
music industry struggles
Cars:
Ford Cougar
Clayton Anderson took some time off from his absurdly busy schedule around the IU Championship game in Miami to come on and chat with Hinch and Rossi, going into what this win means for IU, and what his journey through the music industry has been like. Also, he has a bar downtown, couldn't figure out how to bring that up organically in the show notes, but go check it out. And, if you want to know more about Clayton, check out his website!
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"...y. Seymour Indiana, famous for two things, Gianni Cougar Mellencamp, and the Last City to still have a vic..."
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This is, is off track totally.
A totally on record conversation. Uh, right.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Off Track with Hinch and Rossi on a Tuesday.
And it's a celebratory Tuesday.
So we brought in a celebratory guest who I'm hoping hasn't stopped celebrating the incredible national championship for the Iers, Mr. Clayton Anderson, Mr.
Indiana himself. Welcome to the
show, .
Oh, thanks for having me, guys.
I tell you what, uh, I'm barely hanging on by a thread .
Yeah, that's what we wanna hear.
It's been, uh, we were in, um, Phoenix for a big dirt track race out here on Saturday.
And then two hours sleep, got to Miami, played a huge event for IU that was just unbelievable.
Like a career highlight moment.
Um, it's right up there with playing farm aid in the Indy 500.
And, um, and then we went to the football game and I screamed my head off.
And, uh, then we played an after party and I got about an hour and a half sleep.
Um, and we're back in Phoenix again to end on a dirt track race party.
I just gotta get through the night.
Oh my God. So One, one more show.
Does, does a singer, like, do you need your voice?
Is that a important ?
Yeah, tonight. Tonight.
Uh, I wish that I could be, uh, doing comedy, but, uh, sure.
It's, yeah. It's, it's gonna be a struggle tonight.
I'm not gonna lie. It's gonna be okay.
Okay. Well, well, clay, let's,
let's give the people a little backstory here.
Um, explain a little bit about, you know, the music career in general, but then also what the tie in is with iu, why you are Mr. Iu.
Yeah, I, I, you know, I'm a hillbilly from Bedford, Indiana.
Born and raised in Indiana, Hoosier. Uh, I went to iu.
I fell in love with music.
I started playing, you know, it was easy way to get girls' attention playing on the couch, or the parties after, after, uh, after going out to the bars or something.
So, um, one thing led to another.
I opened a, I won this contest, got opened up for Kenny Chesney.
Um, I'm the biggest IU homer ever.
I wrote a song called Indiana and ESPN blasted it all over the Peach Bowl.
They played it again last night, um, only one time, you know, but, you know, uh, it is, but they still played it.
Yeah, they still played it.
So it's just, it's been really cool.
It's been really cool to see people kind of come around the song.
'cause I've had the song out since 2000 and 2001 or two.
So it's been, it's been a huge blessing.
I mean, IU right now is like raising all tides, like, or their tide is raising all ships.
It's unbelievable. I'm happy to be caught in a wake
and, uh, I mean, you guys saw us like down on Peach Bowl is unbelievable.
Just imagine that five times bigger last night celebrating what?
I still can't believe we even won. It's unbelievable.
It's so fun in the airport today.
Everyone congratulating you.
I'm hugging and kissing strangers. It's
Unbelievable.
I mean, to be fair, you do that most days, but it's like different, you know, there was a reason for it.
They were initiating it now rather than you just walking out to 'em, which is good. Yeah,
Exactly. ,
Walk us through, uh, 'cause 'cause the friend group that I found myself a part of in Indianapolis, uh, yourself included a lot of IU alum.
Explain to the people because there, there's, there's so many storylines around what this past two and a half, three years have been like.
Right. Indiana's always been a basketball school.
It's been arguably the worst football program in the country.
All of these things. And why does it
mean so much?
Explain it to James and I really, people who didn't go to college.
Why does it mean so much now that the football program, 'cause you always had basketball, right?
You always had that going for you.
It's a great school in, in other departments.
Why is the football team so important?
You know, I think, I didn't even know football was so fun.
I mean, we were always a great tailgating school .
We, uh, we tailgate like crazy.
We dreamed of making a bowl game every year.
We just wanted to win six games.
And that would usually come down to playing Purdue at the end of the season.
Um, but we were undefeated at tailgating.
We really know how to throw a party .
Um, but it, uh, it's kind of like, you know, I mean, we've had a drought.
We were also unrealistic basketball fans because we haven't really been good at basketball for, uh, quite a while.
I mean, a long time. Uh, so to, to see.
I think, I think everyone was just, the IU fan base was so starved to have a win, to have something to rally behind.
Um, and everyone's just come together.
You got this coach who, who is, is like us. You know?
I feel like we feel like he's one of us.
Uh, blue collar bootstraps kind of guy goes out there and gets the job done.
Um, and to me, I would describe it like in the racing world, it's like you take the, you take the team that's running the back of the pack forever and it doesn't have that, doesn't have the funding, doesn't have the nicest gym to work out.
Does has the crappiest crew chief, or has a crappiest crew.
But by golly they decide they, they go out and make this random crazy hire to get a engineer to, to put the car together.
And you all of a sudden are America's team because everyone's rooting for this dang underdog.
You know? And it's, and and some those goes. I
Feel like you just talked the, I feel like you just said the plot of Days of Thunder, but Yeah, yeah.
Only we're not as handsome as Tom Cruise, but, uh, , um, yeah, it's just, it's just an unbelievable feeling for us Hoosiers, because we just we're so passionate about iu.
Um, it's not just about the sport, it's about the college town.
It was about the experience.
I think Bloomington's one of the coolest college I've been to every, almost every big college town in the country.
And it's just, it's just cool.
And IUP there's something about Indiana people and I hope that you guys feel this, um, that that, uh, that there's, it's, there's a charm to it, but we also take care of one another.
And it's just, it's just when we have these good things going, it's just, just wanna hug everybody and kiss everybody and say, God, Daniel worked at National Campus.
So what I, what I find so fascinating right?
Is, is in Indiana you've got this IU Purdue rivalry, right?
And in, in said friend group, we've, there's like one or two pur doers right in the sea of iu.
And there's always those fun kind of days where you guys are playing each other in whatever sport it is.
And, and the tension's up.
But I mean, everybody in Indiana, I, I mean, I can think of one guy that kind of stuck, you know, stuck his guns and didn't cheer for iu, but the rest of 'em, they're like, no, look, it is an Indiana school and we're gonna go for it.
Obviously there was a lot of people that, let's call it Spade Spade, were bandwagons when they started doing well and have jumped on board.
Right? , like everyone here hands up.
Do you think though, with, with the success that they've had and, and like watching this happen, right?
Like, it, it was really fun to, to be in the middle of, and like watch how everybody got into it.
Do you think that this has kind of helped solidify Indiana or like Hoosier football fans, IU football fans, because now they have been good, hopefully the program will continue to be good.
Or do you think if next year's not a great season that that popularity tapers off?
'cause I'm from Toronto, we haven't won a cup in hockey since 67.
Every lease game is still sold out. We are not bandwagons.
We know what it's like to go through a drought, but we stick by the team.
Do you think that this is a cool enough story that it's made lifelong fans outta people? Um,
Yeah.
I mean, I, I definitely think there's been lifelong fans made.
Um, I, I don't know.
I was really pulling for you guys this year, by the way.
I don't really Thank you. I don't, I don't know.
I don't know if, uh, I, I have a hard, like, people wanna see a winner.
Like when I was at school, they would come to me and ask me like, Hey, how can we get more of the students to come to the football games?
I'm like, put a winner on the field.
Win games, , you'll get, you'll get people to come.
I, I do think that people are so bought into what Signi is doing.
Uh, they're so bought into all of our, um, I, I, I don't think, I don't think we're gonna drop off even if we don't have the season.
I mean, obviously the first time is always gonna be the greatest.
Um, but I don't think we're going anywhere.
And I don't think our fan base is gonna fall.
I mean, if, you know, if you lose, I, they might, I don't, I don't, I don't think we're gonna go anywhere.
I mean, we would have to tank so bad and go like, oh and two or, or, or, you know, oh, not, not win any games for people not to show up.
I do think that could happen.
I mean, people have a short memory span.
Coaches get fired left and right.
I mean, you see it with the Colts.
If we're not doing great, sometimes attendance falls.
Um, but think, well, The difference is the Colts doesn't make any adjustments.
But that's a comment for, for another day As a Colts fan and a USC alum, if you guys need some advice on how to disappoint really quickly, , uh, those are two programs that could teach you something. Mm. You
Should really lean into the life Lessons There.
We can just go to you for, for life disappointment advice.
I mean, so Clayton Anderson is, is not the spokesperson for IU football.
Uh, I want to get into a little bit about you, um, and, and what is on the horizon.
You mentioned how this song Indiana came out 20 years ago, I guess 20 plus years ago, , um, since then you've had, you've had some, some bangers like Tennessee, I mean, it's another state, but this Yeah. ,
Tennessee, take me Down. Incredible song.
You talked about how you opened for Kenny Chesney, like your career trajectory has, has kind of been like, there's been these, these massive momentum shifts and then not the quite right group or opportunity or label or whatever, right?
And then it's another peak and it's kind of this stair stepping journey.
So, so where are you at in that now?
And, and, you know, what do you think is is on the horizon?
You know, I'm a I'm a totally independent artist right now.
I mostly have been my entire life.
I got caught in a record deal scenario, but I'm out of that.
Um, I, you know, I've, I've kind of been trying to put together a plan of how do we do this?
I think with the internet, you know, we can, you can reach millions.
It's gonna take, I'm gonna have to try to rally everyone up.
I mean, I've been so supported by mainly Indiana people, you know, that, that have known me.
Um, once I go outside of that, the further away I go, the, the less people know about me.
But yeah, it's, it's just been a constant battle and, and, and you're always hitting, when I get to that peak, then it's like, oh, I hit a ceiling and then I can't get above that.
So I'm always trying to push through, trying to, just trying to get somebody to listen to my songs.
I mean, like, it's cool when that cool when somebody wants you to play a cover song, but I'd, I'd really rather you listen to my original songs, that that actually means something to me.
And it's, it's frustrating. I'm not gonna lie.
It's frustrating as crap.
I know I can entertain with anybody else.
It's just I haven't got, I I didn't get that slot or opportunity in the machine of Nashville to have that.
You know? I mean, Scott Boto was backstage at the
500 show we played.
I played way better than his artist did.
And I'm like sitting there trying to challenge him to a go-kart race to try to get a record deal.
You know? I'm like, what can I do to, to win? Huge
Job, man. .
Yeah, I had it. I, I went at it.
He wasn't amused, but I, I tried.
Um, so right now, right now, at the age that I'm at, um, I'm no young pup anymore, so I'm trying to push all my chips in.
The crazy thing that I have right now is, it's so dumb.
I haven't changed. I'm still the same person I was
2, 5, 6 years ago.
But we have a successful bar downtown Clayton's Country bar that's rocking.
So people are really super interested and pumped in that.
Um, ESPN playing Indiana all of a sudden got everybody even more fired up for it.
It's like, man, I've, I've been begging you to use the song.
Like, so I gotta push all my chips in, call all in all my favors of anybody knowing the industry.
Um, there's a guy in Nashville that, uh, uh, that I, he used to be president of IndyCar.
I would love to have him help manage me.
It's about phone calls in this business, it's about relationships.
It's about, I mean, I would love to go on tour with John Mellencamp and his world tour that's coming up, but I need somebody to work his manager to, you know, get John to agree to it.
There's so many different levels to it, you know?
And, and, and that's what we make the most fans by going out and playing a show.
I've always tried to stay tight with IndyCar, with dirt track racing, with all that stuff, because it's such a great fan base.
And I think music goes hand in hand with racing, especially some country music stuff, um, on certain demographics.
But it's always about trying to find a new fan and somebody to listen to you and watch you.
And, and we, we do better live than anything else.
It, it's funny, man. I mean, just listening to that sort
of story and the trajectory and the, the roller coaster of it all, like, there's so many parallels to being a driver as well, right?
We're in, in both of our businesses, we're independents that are trying to find that opportunity, find that, you know, that time when you get discovered or like you really blow up.
And, um, I, I'm, I'm curious if, you know, with, with Indiana being used by ESPN now, I mean that's exposed you to a, a national audience, a very passionate national audience.
I mean, have you started to see like, immediately some after effects of that and, and have, you know, do we think that this is kind of now the unofficial anthem of the school and it's gonna play on every Hosiers game next year? I
Sure hope so.
I mean, the Shazams have been out.
I mean, the Shazams was trending, uh, in, I I think that's Awesome.
Yeah. So that was really cool, um, to see that,
that means it's, that means somebody liked it enough to either rewind the dang TV and Shazam it or something.
So that was amazing. Or Streams have really
went up on the song.
So that's been incredible. So it, it is definitely working.
Here's the hard part. How do we, um, talking about
how do we keep Indiana football?
Are the fan base gonna stay with it or whatever.
So now it's up to me to try to figure out, you know, keep pushing the song, keep pushing other songs.
We we're gonna do other things and I'm gonna start releasing new music, but how do we, how do we just keep growing it, get on, get on board with our thing.
It's not, it's not about just music anymore.
You know, it's about lifestyle and even you guys, you know, it's like, like it's not just about the racing anymore.
People wanna see all these different facets of you on social media.
Like, I love, I love Rossi's, gosh dang accidental.
I, I think it was accidental.
The, the, um, oh gosh, the best chicken and dumplings.
What's the Cracker Barrel? Cracker
Barrel. Cracker Barrel, yeah. Yeah,
I love it.
I mean, that was so awesome and so genuine and, and yeah, and, and organic.
So I, I gotta find a way just to keep telling our story and, you know, being a part of getting to go to get big shoot, getting to go and be a part of IndyCar races, getting to be out here in Phoenix, although I'm dragging butt right now, but like, getting to be at this dirt track race.
And if we can win over a few hundred fans tonight, man, it's worth, worth being out here on an hour and a half sleep.
So a, as an artist, is, is the songwriting part of it enjoyable, or is that kind of like a, a burden that you have to like, get through in order to, to continually have new music and, and play fresh stuff?
Or is it something that you truly enjoy sitting down and going through that process?
I, I think it's pretty fun.
Um, you know, it's, you, you take silly things that either, either you're, uh, a witty guy, like our friend Depu throws out all the time.
Or you take you, you just take things that your friends say or, or, or you hear some random person say or, or something that made you feel like all this, this football game's giving me so much emotion, you know, it's like, and, and like, you, you, you, it's really cool.
It's also very frustrating sometimes when it's not going right.
You know, it's like you're, you, you know, you're sitting in a car that's really good, but there's just like one thing that's just off that's, that's keeping you, holding you back.
So it can also be very frustrating.
But also I think it's one of the coolest things ever.
Like, you can craft something that means something to me, and it might mean something different to Tim, or might mean something different to Hinch, but it, it really bold, it brings us together, all of this for the same thing though.
And I think that's the coolest part about the artist songwriting and, and something I've kind of done here recently.
A lot of people ask me to do charity stuff, and instead of giving 'em some crappy t-shirt anymore, it's like I came up with this thing called the Gift of song where, and because it's, it's priceless.
Not everyone can do it, you know, songwriting, it's hard.
It is very, songwriting is hard.
And so we're taking, we're giving these things up at auction, and then whoever wins gets to come to Nashville, I get to pay a songwriter friend because songwriters ain't making any money.
Um, so it's cool to pay a songwriter friend, this person that gets to come down.
We write on Music Row, they get to see what it's like to be a songwriter for the day, and they create an awesome song with us, which has been really cool.
And, and, and seeing their face when we're done.
It's like, that's, that's when, you know, songwriting is awesome.
Queen is there, this is, this is kinda a weird question, but in any sort of arts, right?
Whether you're a musician, whether you're an actor, whether you're a painter, whatever, like that's, that arts are a tough business to, to make a living in.
It's a, it's a tough gig.
And there are, you know, the peaks, you know, there's the, the, the heroes of yours that are doing X, Y, Z.
And it, it'd be so cool to be at that level, but at the same time, you know, you are a career musician like you are, that that's your job.
You're not waiting tables at Clayton's Country Bar, you're not slinging beers, right?
Like you have managed sometimes Yeah.
To make a Well, yeah, but that's just for fun, , right?
That's just because, you know, the, the, the bartenders were busy, so he just goes back there and gets his own, uh, which we benefit from sometimes.
So thank you. Um,
but no, I mean, there's gotta be a sense of pro.
I know there's, look, humans are so, uh, annoying and we're never satisfied, and we always kind of like want the next thing and want the bigger thing and whatever, but do you ever get that, that feeling sometimes laying in bed where you're like, man, I, I kind of did it and I'm doing it.
Like, I moved to India in 2009.
You are like the first artist I heard of from Indianapolis, and you've been, you've been in everything that I've seen in Indianapolis for the last, you know, 20 years.
Uh, almost. You've got this staying power
and is it, you know, are you selling out arenas in, in Rio de Janeiro?
Not yet. But like, you've had an incredible career.
You managed to be a musician, be a performer for that amount of time.
There's gotta be some kind of, some kind of pride in that.
Yeah. I, I appreciate that. Thank you.
Um, yeah, it, it is, it's, uh, you know, I, I don't have to work a factory job.
I, I've, I get to, I get to do this my entire, you know, this is my full-time job.
It's, it's frustrating, but, you know, and, and there's, I was always so nervous about it and like, you know, there's no guarantee for tomorrow.
I, I'm a gig player, like at the, the entrepreneurial rollercoaster.
But, but that happens for everyone, you know? Mm-hmm .
And getting the big friends, you guys, I get to see this, that side of the sport and the stressfulness of our friends trying to make sure they got a ride they gotta seat the next year.
Um, and, and it's, and it's not always on talent, you know, just like the music thing.
It's, it's not always on that, on that side of it.
Uh, I, I get, I get bummed sometimes because I don't have that, but, um, here lately with some life changes and different things, I've really just become more comfortable being me and enjoying what I have and being a lot more thankful for it.
And it's funny because, and that's just been recently, probably last fall, um, because 2025 started out the worst year ever.
And it turned into one of my best years I've ever had.
And I think by focusing on what I don't have, by not focusing on that, but focusing on what I do have and being thankful for it, it's allowed me to grow and, and have, have a lot different opportunities.
Listen, man, love that. I, I think, I think there's
so much relatability to that.
I think you're absolutely right that it's not specific to the industry that you chose.
Um, it's, it's humanity, right?
It's, it's what we're all, you all are driven by one of one of two things, right?
It's either the fear of, of failure or it's the success that you're, you're currently enjoying.
But it's, it's nothing in between.
Um, I don't wanna take up, I don't, none of us wanna take up too much of your time considering you have a voice you need to save.
We want you to get a nap in before you show , um, because you got, you got fans to win over.
But I would be remiss if I didn't ask.
I mean, I know the answer, but our viewers Dunno the answer.
Um, Clayton Anderson's top three country songs.
Songs, this goes songs.
But I assume they're gonna be country of all time.
Yeah. Of all time.
Oh man, I tell you what they change daily, you know, but, um, I'm assuming a lot of Abba Well, you're talking about, Oh my gosh.
I mean, I, I don't know how many times I sang Fernando last night, uh, down in Fort Lauderdale, the stars.
The stars, I don't even know the words, but by golly I was letting a rip, you know?
Um, that's definitely on, that's, that's making my Spotify top, uh, rap thing next year for sure.
Right? , I'm a John, I'm, I'm, I love John Mellencamp.
I think Pink Houses has always been one of my favorite songs.
Should have been a Cowboy by Toby Keith is up there in my top three songs.
And if I was going to play one more song right now, if I had the guitar, I would say I was always enamored with Johnny Cash and, and Folsom Prison Blues, you know, that, that would be, there you go.
I could go on and on. I mean, shoot. Ask me tomorrow.
They might be a little different.
Well, what's funny is Tim doesn't know any of those songs. , I know
All those songs.
Oh, yeah. I'm from Indiana .
There's a mural of John Mellencamp, uh, in Seymour, Indiana where my grandparents are.
That's nickname growing up was Beco.
I mean, he's a, he's a Mellencamp guy.
Seymour Indiana, famous for two things, Gianni Cougar Mellencamp, and the Last City to still have a victory over Japan Day parade.
They stopped in 2020 because of COVID. Hmm. No
Kidding.
Wow. Wow. Oh
Man.
That's a bit of knowledge I did not know and almost kind of wish I didn't have.
Yeah. But, um, there you go.
You learned something today, folks.
Um, Clayton, look man, congratulations on a great season.
Congratulations on a great year, personally, uh, some exciting stuff in your personal life too.
But I was wondering if, like, maybe just one quick little verse of Indiana to send us off.
I know you're tired, I know your voice is gone, but like the people need to hear it, man. Yeah,
Indiana, come on.
What you know about softball? I don't know. Oh man.
I am gonna have to get this voice warmed up. Oh my God.
Nobody's gonna listen to me sounding like that.
Oh man, Indiana. No.
Hey, thank you guys for having me on and thanks for being my buddies and I appreciate it very much and looking forward to, uh, the IndyCar season firing up. Hell
Yeah, man.
Enjoy Phoenix, get home safe, and, uh, we'll see you very soon.
We'll probably see you on Saturday, actually, So, yeah.
Bye, God. We got a, we got a parade in Bloomington.
We, I gotta go now.
We all gotta go. I wish I'll be,
I'll be down in Florida waving and thanking you guys, but, uh, thanks again for coming on everybody.
Check out Clayton Anderson's music. It's fire, it's awesome.
It's now basically a theme song for IU and for the state of Indiana.
Thanks again for coming on, buddy. Appreciate you.
Alright. See you guys. This has been off
track with Hinch and Rossi.
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