Welcome back to The Spark.I’m your host, Mark Scrivner, and today I am honored to have a very special guest with us.Uh, Chuck Creasy, he’s a longtime creative director, artist, educator, watercolor painter.There’sThe list could go on and on, Chuck.Uh- But itI am honored to have you on the show.You’ve, uhThere’s been about 10 people that have said, “Mark, you ought to go and see if you could get Chuck to be on the show.”So thank you.Cost, cost a lot to pay those folks to say that.Yeah.Well, thank you for being a part of it.And, uh- Well, you’re welcome, Markyeah.I’m, I’m honored to be here.I, uh, I told somebody the other day, I said, “You know, I’ve got to go in and do this podcast, and behind David Bohan and Dale Addy and Robert Furrow and a lot of folks that I hold in high esteem.”And I said, “I’m gonna feel like a weenie in a steakhouse, you know?”So, so, uh, I’ll do my best.Well, I know you’re gonna, uh, you’re gonna knock it out of the park.But, uh, you know, maybe just to start the show off, and this could be, uh, I know you’re also a prolific storyteller, and so, uh, maybe just take a l- take everybody through your journey.Uh, and we c- we can go pretty quick, ’cause you’ve had a long, uh, illustrious career.Incredible.I was gonna say, you got 2 or 3 hours?Yeah.No, I’ll do the best I can for that.Yeah.I guess I need to start at the beginning.I, uhOh, boy, in the beginning, where is that?Uh, I was in college, uh, 2 years at Tennessee Tech, and, uh, I, I met, that’s where I met my lovely wife our sophomore year, and we decided that we were gonna get married.Okay.So, um, we set out that quarter, uh, thinking we’d both work and come back as married students.That was in 1966.That was in the heights of the build-up to that, what John Prine refers to as that dirty little Asian war.And so I got drafted immediately.We got married in September.Uh, we got an apartment out here in, in, uh, East Nashville.And in, in October I got my draft notice.Oh, wow.So it was, uh, that’s kind of where it all started for me.And, uh, so I had already had 2 years ROTC at, in college, so I knew kind of all the basic stuff.So they started on me from the first day in basic training, “Son, you need to be a officer.You need to go to officer school.”And I’m going, “Yeah, right.”And, uh, so I go to AIT, and they started all, all over again.So finally Marnie and I talked about it, and we decided that I would, uh, I would bite the bullet.So I went to OCS, artillery OCS in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and got commissioned, uh, second lieutenant.And we moved to, uh, the Mojave Desert, Fort Irwin, and I trained on 105 and 155 howitzers, and I knew what for, of course.Mm-hmm.It was inevitable.But 11 and a half months later, I got my, my orders for ‘Nam.And my wife happened to be pregnant with our first child when I shipped out.Mm.And, uh, off I went to ‘Nam.And, uh, uh, over there I, uh, I was attached, I was an artillery MOS, but I was attached to an infantry company, it was the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, uh, as a forward observer.Uh, so I really in essence was an infantryman with a artillery MOS, right?Mm-hmm.Uh, and it was, uh, it was a, a tough year, uh, almost year.Um-I, uh, I spent, we spent three and a half weeks, a, a month in the bush, uh, looking for the enemy.Uh, and my job was call in artillery to support us and if we, you know, were in combat or whatever.Uh, I wound up having malaria, dysentery, jungle rot, um, and then I got hurt.About nine, nine and a half months in, almost 10 months in, I got hurt pretty bad.So they sent me back to the rear in Chu Lai.From there they sent me to Cam Ranh Bay down south to, to heal and go back to my, my unit because I was an officer, right?So-I get to Cam Ranh Bay and they said, “No, this is too bad.We’re sending you to, to Japan to, to recoup, and from there, uh, they’ll probably send you back.”So I get to Japan.Interestingly enough, the orthopedic surgeon that I had, had done his pre-med work at UT.Uh, he knew all kinds of guys that I knew at Tech, and I knew people he was with at UT, and we just hit it off and he said, “You know, this is a, a nasty, uh, deal, Chuck.”But he said, “And, uh, you probably could heal and go back and finish that 2, 2 months or m- month and a half in the field.”He said, “Are you a career officer?”And I said, “No, I’m a draftee and I wanna get home and go to art school.”Mm-hmm.He said, “Well, I’m gonna just, uh, make that happen.”So I came home almost, I don’t know, I can’t remember, a month and a half early.Put in for an early out so I could go back to school, and the deal came back from the Pentagon, “You’re an officer and a gentleman.We’ve spent thousands of dollars training you and you, your early out is denied.”So they shipped us, all of my stuff was at Fort Campbell, where I’d taken basic training.They shipped all of our goods to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and they gave me headquarters company, which was a major slot, and I was a first lieutenant.And, uh, I thought, “Lordy.”I’d been there about 2 weeks and I came down with malaria from Vietnam.Uh, they had not, they had not given me my l- malaria pills to take when I came home.So I almost died of malaria down there.And then 2 weeks after that, after I got over it, my early out came through, and I had a month left to do in the Army.So, uh, that’s the, the, the backstory of it all.While I was in ‘Nam, I had a lot of time to think, uh, about what I wanted to do, and I’d always, uh, drawn and painted and loved the arts.Uh, my folks even over in East Nashville, uh, when I was a kid, gave me lessons.There was a lady in the neighborhood that taught art, and so I started.The first award I ever won was the first prize ribbon, blue ribbon in the state fair when I was in the 5th grade for this goofy little painting I did, and that really energized me, you know?Mm-hmm.And I started thinking about all that and I said, “You know, I was in arc- in pre-architecture and engineering, and I hated it, and I’m just not gonna go back and do that.When I get out of here, if I do, I’m going to art school.”we move back.I enrolled at Harris School of Advertising Art in Nashville.Interesting school.The, it, it was really split between advertising, design, and fine art, which suited me perfectly.Mm-hmm.And it was, I was on a 3year program, and I had been 2 years.The first year, I found out about John Pike in Woodstock, New York, one of the, arguably one of the finest contemporary watercolorists in, in the country.So I went up and took his class in Woodstock that first summer.Fell in love with watercolor.Went back the second summer, and John and I had gotten to be pretty good buds and, um, we were talking one night over a glass, over a bottle of wine, and he said, “You know,” I was, I brought up the name of Norman Rockwell, just, you know, that, who I really admired.He said, “Well, you know, I know Norman real well.”Said, “He just lives over here in Stockbridge.Why don’t you go see him?”And I said, “Go see Norman Rockwell?”And he said, “Yeah.”Said, picks up the phone.”Norm, got this kid here, he’s got a lot of talent, and he wants to come by and see you.””Oh, okay.Bye.”Hung up.He said, “Yeah,” he said, “when he gets through here, just come on over.”And we were camping, my wife and little son were camping that, that summer in New England.So we went and found a camp spot in, uh, Stockbridge, outside Stockbridge, and I went and met Mr. Rockwell, and it was amazing.I wound up spending 3 days with him in his studio, and just, just blew me away.Wow.You know?’Cause I, I really had thought that I, I probably wanted to pursue illustration, and he really discouraged me from that.He said, “You know, Chuck, the Golden Age of illustration’s about over.”And he said, “There’s not many of us left.”And he said, “You know, the camera’s taking over, and if I were you, I’d, if I wanted to get in the field, I would look at design or advertising and, you know, that area.”So I came back to school with all that in my, rattling around in my head.And in the meantime, when I got out of the Army and started art school, I had to, or I started working as a waiter in a restaurant.It was the Brass Scales, which is now Sperry’s.Mm-hmm.They had just opened it.And 4 or 5 of us from art school went and applied and got jobs over there.Actually, I started out as a busboy.Now- Gotta work your way upa few, few months later, I was a first lieutenant.Yes, sir.No, sir.You know, all that stuff.And then I become a busboy, so you do what you gotta do.And, uh, I moved up to waiter, and, uh, a, a gentleman came in one night, was a, a bit in his cups and, uh, uh, seemed like a nice guy, but he just, he and his lady friend he’s with just kept sitting there and sitting there.The restaurant, everything, everybody closed.Everything was out, gone.And, uh, he said, “Come over and sit down and have a drink with me, son.”And I said, “Well, sir, I can’t drink on, you know, I’m working.”He goes, “What are you doing?There’s nobody here but me.”And so I sat down with him thinking I could get him out of there, you know.It’s like 1:00 in the morning.Mm-hmm.And, uh, we talked, and he told me all about himself, and, uh, not braggadociously but, you know, that he worked with, uh, a lot of the greats and that he had been a, uh, an ex-Golden Glove boxer and, you know, was in the Benny Goodman band, played trumpet, and then got in the advertising business.And I’m going, “Wow.”My, my eyes were kinda rolling around, but I thought, “I don’t know if he’s feeding me a line- Mm-hmmor what.”And we talked, and he asked me about myself, and he, you know, I told him about Pike and Rockwell and my, uh, stint in the Army and now in art school, and he said, “Well, that’s interesting.”He said, “I’m about ready to hire a young, a junior art director.”He said, uh, “Why don’t you come see me on Monday?”And I said, “Well, sir, I got a year of school left.”He said, “Pfft, that doesn’t matter.Just put your, bring your portfolio and come see me.”I said, “Well, I don’t have a portfolio.That’s what we’re working on.”He said, “Okay, just bring something you’re doing in your portfolio.”And so I go back to school on Monday.This was a Saturday night, I think.Go back to school on Monday, and I asked my perspe- uh, perspective professor if he’d ever heard of a guy by the name of Eric Erickson.He said, “Oh, yeah.He’s the hottest creative dude in town.He just started his own agency.”And I’m going.He said, “Why?”And I said, “Well, I met him the other night, and he asked me to come see him.”And he said, “Well, Chuck, off the record, you go see him.”So again, I didn’t have, I didn’t have any, uh, I didn’t have a portfolio, so I picked 3 little pieces that I had that I thought were halfway presentable.One was a marker rendering of John Cash I was doing for, like, an album cover.One was a little Cutty Sark painting, gouache painting of a Cutty Sark bottle I’d copied out of a magazine.Mm-hmm.And one was a little bitty mechanical, little paste up that I’d done.Didn’t have a portfolio.And I stuck them in a Harvey’s bag.I don’t know for all of y’all that remember Harvey’s, that was a department store here in town, and their logo was a carousel horse.Mm-hmm.And they had blue bags with this carousel horse painted on it.That’s the only thing I had to put them in, so I stuck them in a Harvey sack and went to see Eric.I figured, “This won’t take long, this interview.”Got over there, went to the conference room.I stuck the bag down un- under the conference table, and Eric came in, and we talked and talked and talked for over an hour.And he said, “Well, I really like you, Chuck.”He said, uh, you know, uh, “I think I can make an ad man out of you.”He said, “Let’s see your samples.”And I thought, “Well, here it goes.”So I pull this little Harvey sack out and dump it on the conference table, and then he said, “What’s that?”And I said, “Well, that’s my portfolio, Eric.”And he kinda chuckled, and I pulled those 3 samples out, and I showed him each one, and he said, “Wow, this is, uh, this is not what I expected.”He said, “But I can see your talent, and I love your attitude and who you are and where you came from, and, uh, when do you wanna start?”I about fell out of my chair.I said, “Well, whenever.Maybe couple of weeks.”He said, “No, no, I need somebody right now.”He said, “Can you start Wednesday?”This was Monday.So he hired me.I didn’t even ask him what it paid.Didn’t care.And I was all excited.I went to a payphone.I called my wife, and I said, “You won’t believe this.I just got hired.”She said, “Great.That is super.What are you making?”I said, “Uh, I don’t know.I didn’t ask him.”She said, “You get on the phone and call him back and ask him what he’s paying you.”So I called Eric back.hesitantly and I said, “Mr.Erickson, I, one thing I forgot,” I said, “I, I forgot to ask you what this pays.”He said, “It doesn’t matter.”I said, “No, I, I agree, but my wife would like to know what I’m making.”He said, he said, “Whatever it is, in a year or so you, you would come out ahead if you were paying me because I’m gonna send you to grad school.”And I said, “Okay, but what am I making?”He said- Wow”I don’t know, 6,500 a year.”This was in 1970.That was not a lot of money.I’m not sure it was even minimum wage.I, maybe it was.Told my wife.She said, “Chuck, that’s stupid.You don’t need to do that.”She was the smart one in the bunch.And I said, “Well, I am.I’m, I’m going to work Wednesday.”So that’s how it started.Wow.And I would highly not recommend to any young creatives listening to this to try that ’cause it’s nothing, I had nothing to do with it.It’s just that I was in the right place at the right time and- Yeahexcuse me, and met the right guy that was willing to take me under his arm, and he did exactly that.He taught me the business.Uh, I’m seeing a pattern here though that, uh, something’s always looked down on you and they’ve, uh, like your time in the military, your, your happenstance to meet the doctor that got you back over here, your serendipity of like working in the restaurant business and you sitting down at the table at the end of the night- Yepwith Eric Erickson to give you the opportunity to come in and learn what you’ve done.There’s just, uh, there’s a pattern here of- It’s so truebeing at the right place at the right time and knowing the right people.Yeah, and I had about that much talent, but I was willing to do whatever it took to, to make a career out of it, I guess.Yeah.You know?And it worked.So, uh, from there I was with Eric about a year and a half, two, and I got offered, uh, double salary to come with a, kind of a startup agency as creative director out here.I was, I was the junior art director at best.Mm-hmm.So I went with this agency and, uh, that turned out good.I was there a year or so, 2 years.And, uh, after that, uh, I went to work for one of the clients of that agency, which happened to be in the NASCAR business as a creative director.And, uh, we were sponsoring NASCAR teams, and he doubled my salary again and, uh, gave me a car and all that.So I did that 3 years and then I thought, “You know, I think I’m gonna start a little design studio.”So I did.I started Chuck Creaky Creative over off Music Row.And, uh, I was doing album, album designs and, you know, music stuff.And- Mm-hmmuh, met a guy by the name of Tom Bell who was doing the first Reagan/Bush campaign.Tom, uh, contracted me on contract to do creative work for the first Reagan/Bush campaign.I mean Reagan campaign, not Bush.Yeah.When Reagan first ran for president.Mm-hmm.Governor Reagan.Well, I did that.Paid well.But he lost and so Tom said, “Okay, I’m merging, uh, my deal with Holder Kennedy” which was a large PR firm at that time, “and I’d like for you to come over with me and we’ll start a creative, uh, arena within Holder Kennedy.”So I did.I almost doubled my salary again and, uh, did that for a couple of years.And then Eric called and, uh, the 3 partners at, uh, 3 of the 4 partners at, uh, Holder Kennedy was Hank Dye, Tom Bell, I mean Tom, uh, J- uh, Tom Lawrence and John Van Mall, and, uh, they left Holder Kennedy and went to Erickson as their PR arm.Mm-hmm.And Eric asked me to come back.He, he beat me up all those years about leaving.He said, “You need to come back.”And I said, “Well, Eric, I’ve been up and down this road, man.I don’t know.”And he said, “Look, you come back.You answer only to me.You’re associate creative director.Uh, I’ll give you this, this, this, and this.”And I said, “Done deal.”So I went back to Ericsson.Okay.And spent 12 years of my life there, and it was, again, phenomenal, the client list we had.And working with Tom and John and, and Hank, um, I didn’t realize at that point was g- was gonna be very important to me down the road.Mm-hmm.Uh, so I was with Eric those years, and, uh, another agency called and said, “We’ve got the Reagan-Bush campaign.We’d like for you to come 0 or a portion of it, and we’d like for you to come over and creative direct this.”And, uh, I said, “Wow.”And I really didn’t wanna leave Ericsson, but I, you know, I, I wanted to prove to myself maybe that I could be a creative director, not working under one of the greatest creative directors- Mm-hmmthis city’s ever seen.So I took ’em up on it, and I went over and, uh, wound up one of the creative directors on the Reagan-Bush campaign in ’84.Uh, we handled all the print and, uh, collateral work for that campaign.Mm-hmm.Pretty heady stuff, you know.Mm-hmm.And, uh, uh, for that year, I spent, uh, most of that year back and forth to DC, and some wonderful stuff happened there and all.But after the campaign was over and he won, I said, “You know, it’s about time,” I was, I think, 39 or 40, “for me to go back out on my own and see if I can make it in the agency business.”So I started a little boutique design creative shop, me and my wife.Mm-hmm.Uh, didn’t have a client, didn’t have anything.We didn’t even have an office.We justI started in my basement.And, uh, I started calling people I’d met in the business that I knew and had, uh, had worked with and knew me.And by the end of the first week, I had 7 clients.Wow.No, no office.You know, no equipment, but I had 7 clients, and, uh, a couple really good ones.So I rented a place down on second Avenue, and we started Chuck Kruesi Creative 2, you know.We did that for several years, and, uh, I was doing a lot of work with my old friends, Hank, John, and Tom.They had spun off from Ericsson and- Mm-hmmstarted Dibble & Mal and Lawrence.And, uh, I was doing a lot of their creative stuff because they didn’t really have a creative department.They were a PR- Mm-hmmfirm.They had an art department.think they had one or 2 artists, you know.And they were so good at what they did and built such relationships with clients that their clients kept saying to them, “Guys, we want you to do this ad campaign.”And they’re going, “We don’t do that.We’re a PR firm.””We want you to, you know, do this film for us, this, these commercials.””Well, we don’t do that.”So they came to me.Mm-hmm.And they farmed that work out to me, and all of a sudden, probably 40, 50, 60% of my work was through Dib- Dibble & Mal.Mm-hmm.People like Johnson & Murphy, Jack Daniel’s, Bridgestone Firestone, people like that.So we did that for a year or two, and they came down one day, all 3 of ’em with a bottle of Jack, and sat on my con- little conference room table, and they said, “Okay, we got a deal for you.””We want you to merge with us.”And I said, “Why would I wanna do that?”And they said, “Well, how long is it gonna take you to be able to go pitch the Jack Daniel’s account?”I go, “Oh, yeah.”And I’d been doing that work and loving it.Mm-hmm.So they, they convinced me to do that, and I came down as a fourth partner.I went down as a fourth partner.Uh, and my mission was to set up a design agency within Dibble & Mal under the Dibble & Mal name.Mm-hmm.And so we went about it, and it started happening.And, uh, when I left, I was there 10 years, 11 years, and, uh, by that time I was getting, you know, a little long in the tooth in the business, and I’d kind of been there and done that, you know.And I thought, “Well, you know, it’s about time for me to semi-retire.”And when I left, I think I had 28 or 30 people in my creative department- Wowwhich didn’t exist- Yeah10 years before that.And we were winning awards and doing great stuff and just kicking butt, so, uh- Chuck, can I, um, let me ask this.Yeah, go ahead.Stop me if you want.No, I actually- Really.No, I could listen to this.This is a amazing story, and I don’t wanna stop you, but I wanna talk a little bit about just your time at DVL the first time and, and just the Jack Daniel’s, I mean, which, you know, we have a bottle here.Uh- Yes, we doand it’s all- Thank you, Chuckdedicated to you.But, uh, you helped really help shape that brand as a big part of, you know, what you were doing at DVL, along with a lot of other brands.And I know you had a big team that helped out, but- Oh, yeahthat was just a huge part of that business was Jack Daniel’s.They still have it today and- They doand it’s a lot to do with the work you put in.Well, my team, me and my team, and Nelson Eddy especially.Mm-hmm.Greatest writer this town’s ever seen.Um, but, you know, the brand was established.There’s no doubt about that.Mm-hmm.That, that brand had, uh, had established itself, uh, really-Because of Frank Sinatra.Mm-hmm.He was a Jack drinker, and when that was just a little distillery and was really local, kinda regional.And, uh, he, he fell in love with Jack, and, uh, he insisted that every show he went to, there was a case of Jack Daniel’s in his, uh, dressing room.Hmm.Boy, did that not help- Yeaha brand take off nationally- Mm-hmmand then internationally.So they were well-established.But what we were doing, we didn’t have their advertising.We had their guerrilla marketing, their PR.We had all the promotional work and that went around the distillery and did the home- hometown stuff in- Mm-hmmLynchburg.Uh, we helped 0 we helped launch Gentleman Jack.I’m sorry.Uh, well, the other brand from, from number 5 was f- I mean, number 7 was, what was the first brand launched after that?Anyway, we handled that launch from a- Mm-hmmquote PR standpoint and sorta guerrilla marketing standpoint.Went great.Then they, uh, then they launched, uh, uh, Gentleman Jack.I’m sorry, Single Barrel.Mm-hmm.Gentleman Jack was was the brand- Yeahthat, that we helped them launch.Was the first brown liquor brand that’d ever been launched without any paid advertising.Wow.Went well, and we, we really did well with that.Then they came along and later and, uh, op- uh, launched Single Barrel, and, uh, we were instrumental in that campaign as well.But with no paid advertising.They always had an a- ad agency in, uh, St.Louis, which they were very loyal, as is, as evident by how Dive Animal is still involved with that brand- Mm-hmmand has a big portion of it.So at one time, we were billing more probably to Jack Daniel’s than the agency was because, you know, there wasn’t a whole lot of paid advertising for liquor back then.Mm-hmm.So it, it was a heck of a ride.Yeah.Yeah.Well, I know that Jack Daniel’s is just one of the major brands you’ve worked on over the years, and I guess after you left DVL, retired, you- Quote, retired.You, umIt seems as though you can never retire.Yeah.Right?Because you’ve got another calling.Yes, sir.I, uh, in that quote retirement years, we bought a little beach house in Mexico Beach, Florida.We were huge scuba divers.Mm-hmm.We dived for 22 years all through the Caribbean, Belize, uh, Bay Islands of Honduras, Nicaragua, um, Caymans, uh, Tortola, the, the British Virgin Islands.Anyway, w- we fell in love with that, and the way we did that is that I met a guy in Belize who asked me to do some, uh, a couple ads for him to trade out for trips.And so I did, and we formed a relationship.Dave Bennett, gone now, but a wonderful guy that owned this little resort called Turneffe Island Lodge off the coast of Belize.Okay.I started doing David’s work for him on the side.I was still working 60, 70 hours a week in- Mm-hmmin the ad business.Um, but I’d do his work, and we’d get 12, 15 trips, and I’d take my buddies and printers that pitched in and photographers and, you know, and we’d go diving.So we did that for 22 years.He int- Dave introduced me to a guy in Honduras, another expat that owned, uh, uh, Posada Del Sol in the, on the Bay Island of Roatán in Honduras.Started doing the same thing with him.Mm-hmm.He introduced me to a couple, a British couple in Tortola that owned a 110-foot trimaran liveaboard dive boat- Hmmthat I started doing work for and we started going there.So we, I, I don’t know how many trips we made to the Caribbean, but there were lots of them, and, uh, they were- They were covered by your creative work, huh?Yeah.They never quote cost me anything- Yeahreal dollars but in my time and effort.So again, old creative didn’t fail me, you know.Yeah.It was great.Is that where you leaned into all your watercoloring, down there?It is, I, ’cause I had been painting watercolor, like I said, all through my career, in times I could steal to, you know, try to do a painting.But when I got down there sort of semi-retired, started painting seriously, and everywhere I looked was a painting.I’d fa- I’d fallen in love with the, with the ocean years ago.But down there it was old Florida, uh, Mexico Beach.And, uh, you know, there were these beautiful old rustic shrimp boats and, uh, oystermen and, um, lighthouses, and yeah, I, I, I just really, uh, took to that.Did real well with my paintings and after about 4 years my wife got homesick and wanted to come home, so we moved back.That’s the next chapter.Mm-hmm.I didn’t know what I was gonna do.You know, I’d worked for about everybody in town that I wanted to, and I owned my own place 2 times, and was kind of at a quandary, you know?And, uh, Butch Spearton, old dear friend of mine, it, used, was an old client of mine, who headed up the Convention & Visitors Corp at that time, called me and said, “What are you gonna do, Chuck?”And I said, “I don’t know, Butch.I, I, I’m just kind of trying to feel it out.”And he said, “Well, why don’t you come up and join the team at the Convention & Visitors Corp as creative director and, uh, you know, you and I always worked real well together and we’ll see what happens.”So I did.And bingo, that was another just was there and it just happened, you know?But- Yeahum, I spent 10, 11 years at CVB, uh, and it was a glorious time.Yeah.You’ve been a big part of shaping Nashville as a city.And, uh- YeahI mean, you played an instrumental role there, and I’d love to just dig into a little bit about some of the stuff that you took on to make Nashville what it is today.Well, there had already been some pretty, pretty good work, some, a good foundation laid by another agency when Butch asked me to come in.And I worked with him for a while.And, uh, it got to the point to where it just, you know, we felt like we could do that internally when I built a small staff, and would go outside for what we needed.And, um, it worked out great.I mean, uh, you know, I’m from here.Uh, I’ve embraced music my whole life.Aside, don’t let me forget where I’m at, aside to that, which is an interesting story- Yeahagain, I was 11 years old, 1957, uh, me and my buddy in grammar school had an, he had an older brother, Chuck, by the way, that was running the concessions at the Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Ole Opry at that time.He hired us the summer of ’57 to sell popcorn and peanuts.We were 11.They’d put you in prison today for that, right?Mm-hmm.Out on the sidewalk?Huh?Out on the sidewalk?No, in the Grand Ole Opry.Okay.Yeah.And so one day, uh, one evening I was sitting out on the, uh, steps of the Ryman in the alley between the Ryman and Tootsie’s and the honky-tonks and all that, taking a break.And I had this little wooden thing of Cokes in it.You know, I think there was 8 or 10 Cokes, and ice was melting.And I was sitting out there trying to get my breath.Well, John Cash stumble, stumbles out of Tootsie’s about half tanked up, getting ready to go back and do his second set, and he sat down beside me and he said, “What are you doing, boy?”I said, “Well, I’m just sitting here taking a break, selling Cokes.”And he goes, “Well, how much are those Cokes?”And I said, I think they were a nickel a piece, I said, “They’re a nickel a piece.”And he pulled out a $20 bill and he said, “I’ll take them all.”And I said, “Sir, I don’t have change for that.”He said, “I don’t want the change,” you know.And we talked, and I’d give anything if I could remember all the stuff he was telling me.Wow.We talked probably 15 minutes.And I didn’t really probably at that point even know who he was, you know?Mm-hmm.And in a minute they called him back inside.So he goes in and leaves.Fast-forward ever how many years later, my first job with Eric, he was doing some set design for the Johnny Cash Show, the, that, that was at the Ryman Auditorium, national TV show.And so I got to work on that.And I was down there one night behind stage and I went up to, to John and I said, uh, “Mr.Cash,” I said, uh, “You know, I first met you”And I told him that whole story back in ’57.And he thought a minute and he goes, “Huh, I don’t even remember 1957.”You know?So that was the second time I met John.And then come to find out, his son John Carter and my son Chuck Junior, my oldest son, uh, went to school together at, uh, Goodpasture.So we hooked up again.And through the years, you know, it was just kind of, we kept bumping into each other.Wow.So- Hmmagain, one of that serendipity thing, you know?I mean, uhAnd then when I went to work for Ericsson, originally we had Opryland that had just started.We had the Grand Ole Opry, WSM-Radio and TV.So music has always been sort of an underlier for me in my career in the business.Mm-hmm.So when I went, now back to when I went to work for Butch at CBB as creative director, I was familiar with all of that.I’d been to those places and, you know, met a lot of those folks in my prior life, and, uh, it just worked out, uh, beautifully.But everybody knows that music was Na- Nashville was music.But where, where we took it in a little different spin, uh, we started saying Nashville is music and more.Butch had a great saying.He said, “Nashville, yes, it’s music.That’s our front porch.But when you walk in that room, I mean, inside, there are all kinds of rooms: culinary, fashion design, arts, you know, other than just music.Music’s kind of what got us there, but here’s who we are now.”Mm-hmm.So we, we sort of coined that line, N- Nashville is music and more, and we, we played on that.And, uh, we just did a, I think a, a, a right decent job establishing the look and the feel of Nashville in those years.That was, uh, and that was in, was that?I left in 2018, so that was in 19I don’t know.It was- YeahI was there 10 years.Y- And that was really sort of the time that Nashville exploded and became that it city like you were asking.Yeah.We didn’t coin that expression, somebody else did.Mm-hmm.But, uh, and if you’re a local and you look around what’s happening today in Nashville, you go, “Oh, geez, it city.”You know what I mean?It, it’s gotten, it’s gotten tough on some locals, but it’s a, it’s a booming metropolis, and it’s not just in this country.I mean, mus- this country music, music city, Nashville, uh, lives throughout this world- Mm-hmmand is, is recognized for that.You, you don’t want me to tell the audience that you were solely responsible for the, uh, for the woohoo wagons that drive up and down- Yeah.Broadway, right?Uh- No, I’ll pass on that one.That’s- No.Let me ask you this.Thinking back to your Vietnam days of- Yeahyou led a platoon.You, you were a leader there.You come back over, you get in the agency world, and now you’re leading creatives.Like, how do you think that helped you shape?’Cause it’s different.You’re, you know, it’s n- no nonsense over there, and over here, you, you know, it is no nonsense, but you still have to be, you know, you have to, that creative side of the brain that- Yeahyou’re using.Tell me how you, like, how you leverage that.Well, I think the reason for that is that I was just so damn good-looking and smart.That’s, that’s why I made it.Like I- Oh, Lordy.No, I don’t know.It’s, uhAgain, I, I’ve just been fortunate, Mark.You know?Uh, I’ve, I’ve been, uh, I guess where I was supposed to be, and I was maybe able to embrace that- Mm-hmmand make the best of it.That’s all I know to, you knowUh, and I worked hard.You know, my mom and dad didn’t have much growing up.My dad was a bricklayer, came off of the farm during the Depression years.And, uh, the one thing, you know, I was never taken to art galleries or the theater or, you know, uh, but what, what was instilled in me was a work ethic.And I’ve said many times, and I know people that work for me have, or with me have heard me say this, uh, there were lots and lots of people that had more talent than me.I tried to hire them all.Mm-hmm.But, but I don’t think there’s anybody that was willing to outwork me.And, um, and it was hard.It was tough on my family.I’ve got 3 beautiful children and a lovely wife whom I lost 3 years ago.We were married 56 years.But she encouraged me and, um, and put up with it.The business is hard if you try to do it right.Mm-hmm.Or was.I assume it still is.Yeah.Uh, 16, 70 hours a week was nothing back then.We’d do overnighters, go home, take a shower, come home, and hit it again.And, uh, I’ve just always felt you’ve gotIf, if, if there’s something you wanna do badly enough and you feel like you can do it, you’ve got to do whatever it takes to make it happen.And I used to tell young folks that were, uh, I was interviewing for a job, you know, and we’d talk through all of that.And, uh, I’d kind of find out who they were, and they’d say, “Well, how did you get where you are?”And all I had to tell them was that I just did what it took.And, um, they’d go, “What do you mean what it took?Well, explain that.”I said, “I can’t.”That, you know.Mm-hmm.You’ve got to be willing to step up and do whatever it takes.So I think that’s kind of the long and short of it- Hmmfor my career, you know.But, uh- Yeah.Would you, um, what did you expect from your teams, like, all along the way, and did it change through the years?Like, um, what’d you expect from your creative teams?I expected their best, and I expected that we all together as a team would do great work.Um, always at the end of a concept session when we’d come down on one or 2 concepts we were gonna try to flesh out, uh, I would say, “Guys, let’s all look at this real carefully and tell me, is it great?”And we ended everything with, “Is it great?”And that was my objective.Mm-hmm.Not, not for self- Mmsatisfaction or awards or anything else, but for what we owed the client, you know.Was the work great?Was it extraordinary?Would it break through the clutter of the crap that was being done out there- Mm-hmmthe pedestrian stuff.And, uh, we were able to do that.Yeah.And I was able to do it with great people.I mean, boy, the people, so many of the people that I hired were justThey turned out to, they’re, they’re leaders in the business today, which just warms my heart.Oh, yeah.Um- The number of people that asked me to get you on the show, I can’t imagine the amount of people you’ve developed in this city and beyond.Now they’ve probably moved on to other cities, but it’s been- Yeah, a lot of them are still herepretty extraordinary.A lot of them are still here.Mm-hmm.And they’re, and the, the thing about it, they’re like family.We’re fri- we’re great friends.We still get together and, take trips together.We, you know, go to concerts.We drink a little Jack together every now and then.And, you know, it’s, uhThat’s better than any award you could ever win.Mm-hmm.You know, and I’ve been fortunate to win my share of them.But, uh- How about running, like, um, how about a creative that goes out and you started your own business twice, you know, Chuck Creasy Creative and then 2.0. Um, what, like, what was it like to, like, run your own business after working for some of the greats?It was different.But, uh, I think, Mark, I waited as long as I did to, to open that design agency shop.Uh, had a little design studio for a while.But the, the creative boutique that I opened that was became an agency, I had learned so much from so many folks in the business.Not people I worked for, but people I worked with, and people I hired.And the, the opportunity to work on business with great clients, that, that were great clients, they expected great creative.Mm-hmm.They demanded it.And you needed to deliver.And when, you know, when you’ve got a client that’s saying, “But is it great?”I mean, that makes- Mm-hmmthat makes you work harder and think longer and, uh, put in the time and work it may, it takes to, to do it.So yeah, it, uh, that, I had learned all of that, and I thought it was time to give it a shot.And it worked.Yeah.As you, um, as you kinda look back through the years, I mean, how do you think, how has advertising changed for people that only know, like, what it is today?Wow.Like, what, you know, what is, what’s changed the most, maybe what’s changed the most in your eyes from back in the day to today?Well, I, I think one of the obvious things is, uh, the box, the computer sh- changed, uh, the execution side of the business a lot.Mm-hmm.And the research side.Even the typesetting side, you know?Yeah.I mean, when I started it was a drawing board, a T-square, a triangle, an X-Acto knife, and, you know, a wax machine.Mm-hmm.If you went to work.Uh-It’s just not that way today.But, uh, what hasn’t changed and, and I hope never does, it takes, it takes integrity.It takes a willingness to do the work the very best you can.Uh, it takes young creatives who are absolutely curious about everything, not just advertising.I passed on so many folks I w- interviewed in the past that just showed me that they had no curiosity.Hmm.Uh, and there was a kind of a way I could probe back then, then- Yeahto figure that out.I think now you probably can’t ask those questions.But, um, I think, I think that’s the number one trait I look for in a creative.Is he, is he or she curious?Do they wanna know everything about around them?Do they understand and appreciate the real masters in, in the world that have created the word creative, the Michelangelos and the, you know, Titians and, uh, uh, folks who, who brought us the Renaissance, you know, and the Henry Fords and those guys that brought us the Industrial Revolution.You’ve got to know history, in my opinion, and I love history.I probably should’ve been a history teacher.But I read a lot.I always have.And, uh, I’m am- I’m amazed at what the human mind has been able to do through the years.Mm-hmm.And I think you’ve got to have a part of that in you, and that comes from curiosity.Uh, I, uh, I think you’ve gotta be willing to work, uh, and do, again, and I hate to simplify this by this term, but you gotta be able to do what it takes- Mm-hmmwhatever it takes- Yeahto make it.Mm-hmm.And, um, I think, I think none of that’s changed.Yeah.The thought process, the time it takes to, to evolve an idea that will solve a problem for your client who’s paying you.That’s really what advertising is.It’s a great- A cynic told me one time, asked, uh, I asked him what hisActually, he was a pretty big wig in advertising, but out of this market.But I asked him one time what his definition of advertising was.He thought a minute and he said, “Well, I think it’s the art of convincing people to, to buy something they don’t need, with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t even like.”That’s a pretty cynical- Well, that’s gooduh, definition.Mm-hmm.But in a way, there’s some truth in there.Yeah.You know, before, um, the episode, I mean, we’ve, we’ve talked for a while now and, um, you know, uh, one thing I’ve gotten from you is how just humble you are in comparison to the way people view you in the city.And the other thing is, is just you’ve got a big heart of giving.And I know we’d talked a little bit about just, you know, creatives and giving to, you know, beyond just getting paid for the work.Yeah.And how you’ve leaned into some opportunities to really give back and, and I, I don’t wanna leave without making sure we cover that too.Well, I appreciate that.And yeah, I, I’ve always felt like, uh, this business has, has rewarded me tenfold, and that I should do something or try to do something or find somebody or some organization that’s worthwhile for me to help with.And I couldn’t do it with money, but I certainly could lend my talents.And, uh, Boy Scouts of America was 0 was one of those that I leaned into years ago.I’m an old Eagle Scout myself.Mm-hmm.And, uh, scouting was very important in my life, and I believe in that organization.So I started volunteering with the Middle Tennessee Council, and, um, they were doing a- annual reports was a typed out one page, you know-black and white thing on a typewriter.And I said, “Guys, we, we can do better than that.”So I started doing their, uh, annual reports.And, uh, it was a labor of love for me.You know, I did it because I wanted to help and because I believed.N- never earned a single penny from the Boy Scouts, but I worked with them for 16 or 18 years.And the work I did there won so many awards, it was amazing.Uh, and that was not my intent.But I think that says something about the ground you have to have to win a lot of awards, is you gotta have, uh, you know, emotion and desire and, and, and a belief in whatever you’re doing, and I certainly did with them.And the freedom to do it, you know?Uh, you know, when you’re doing something pro bono and, and the folks say, “Well, I don’t know, I think the logo needs to be bigger,” that doesn’t work, you know?Mm-hmm.If I’m giving my time.And, uh, so they gave me total and complete freedom.They knew I knew- Mm-hmmtheir business.Uh, so I did lots and lots of work for the Scouts, and I, I was in CA for the first time with a Boy Scout piece.I won my first Gold Pencil at one show for a Boy Scout piece.Hmm.I won Best of Show at, uh, London International Advertising Awards 2 years in a row with Boy Scout pieces.So it comes back to you, but that was not the intent.That was just a wonderful aside from being able to help- Yeahsomebody you believe in.And today I w- I work with Native American Indian Association of Tennessee, uh, which is a fabulous small profi- nonprofit that, uh, deal with, uh, the concerns of Native Americans, uh, in, in this state and ones that are visiting, uh, from their reses or wherever that wind up in Tennessee stranded or whatever.And I believe in that cause too.I’ve always, uh, been appalled by the way our Native people were treated and the genocide they went through, and, uh, just being able to help a little bit- Mm-hmmto help some of those folks, uh, kinda makes me feel good all over.Oh, yeah.Totally.But anyway.Yeah.So giving back is, it needs to be the cornerstone of creatives.Like if you, if you’ve achieved in your career, you should also be able to give back to- Rightcauses that are meaningful to you.And I’ve encouraged young creatives and creatives that have worked with me through the years to find something like that, that, thatAnd, and I would give them plenty of l- leeway as far as work time and all to pursue that.And, uh, I just believe it’s, uh, it’s part of who we are as human beings, you know?Yeah.And this agency can kinda make you wonder sometime if you are a human being.You know, when you have to keep punching, pinching yourself- For sureto make sure you are, you know?You know, there’s about 10 things that I picked up off of this that have just been I’ll never forget, uh, this conversation.And, um, you know, I would just be interested to hear, like as you look back at your career, you know, and beyond the Johnny Cash conversation, beyond all the stuff you’ve shared, is there any other thing that really stands out as like one of the most meaningful moments of your career?Hmm.That’s a toughie.You know, I’ve got several of them, I guess.But, um, one of the highlights for me at that time was, uh, working on a national presidential campaign.And I’m not political, so it wasn’t for that.Mm-hmm.That was pretty heady stuff.I had complete access to White House photography for a year.Wow.And I could go back and go through their files, through the Matthew Brady tintypes, and that’s, for an old country boy from Westmoreland, that was- Yeahthat, that kinda scratched you where you itched, you know?And then, um, uh, I think helping, helping birth the Predators, the NHL franchise here- Mmmight be, stand out as one of the highlights.And we were on the very beginning of that, uh, whole deal.You know, we, my team and I, uh, basically designed, came up with the, the logo, the name for the team, uh, and built a story around that whole Ice Age and Predator, uh- Mm-hmmSabre-toothed tiger thing.And it worked.God, it worked beautifully well.We, I don’t know how much time we got.I, I won’t dwell on it.You got time.Much as you need.But, um- I wanna hear this story.Nelson Eddy and I, my associate creative director at DVL, uh, went to a party one night.We’d heard that they were talking about that Craig Leipold wanted to start a franchise, a hockey franchise in Nashville.Well, Nelson’s from, uh, Detroit.Big hockey fan.I grew up-Going to hockey games.I had a cousin, an older cousin, that would take me to the, uh, minor league, uh, old Dixie Flyers here, and then later on to St.Louis and places to NHL- Mm-hmmSo I loved hockey even though I was a country boy from the country, from the city.But, um, so when we heard that, uh, we went to this party.It was, it was them introducing their new president.Now, this franchise hadn’t been accepted yet by the NHL.There were all kinds of, uh, criteria that they had- Mm-hmmto meet.So we went to this party, and we met Jack Diller, who was their first president.Great guy.New Yorker.Just a hoot.And we wound up at Tootsie’s way into the night.And when we left, Jack said, “You know, I like you 2 guys, and we’re gonna have to have an agency.”And he kinda just tailed off with that.And so, uh, we pulled some business, sent him a, sent him a rooster, uh, put it in the middle of his bed in his hotel room and told him this was from his next ad agency and, you know, stuff like that.Yeah.And he embraced it, loved it, and they hired us.And, uh, our first job with the Predators was to sell f- uh, I think it was 3,000 season tickets in the South with no team, no players, no name.We had theThat was the proof of- Mm-hmmdeal for the NHL.So that was our first assignment.And we’re going, “Geez.”Yeah.So we, uh, we got busy, and we came up with a campaign, uh, called, uh, Got Hockey.Uh, and it was a parody on Got Milk.Yeah.And I was able to convince several of the music stars in town, Martina McBride, uh, Garth Brooks, I don’t know, 2 or 3 others, to, to help us out on this.So we did a, a print campaign, and these guys were in a hockey jersey holding a hockey stick, and I blacked their front teeth out, and they were standing there.And the only copy was, “Got hockey?Call,” you know, “1-800-HOCKEY.”We didn’t have a name.And that went great.Sports Illustrated picked it up.Everybody was raving about this campaign, and so we sold the tickets.They sold the tickets, and, uh- 3,000off we went.They became a franchise.And we did everything for them for the first 10 years they were in Nashville.Wow.Chuck- That’s pretty, that’s pretty cool stuff too.That was just- That, that was really cool.Like, you’ve, you’ve clearly shaped a lot of the Nashville- Well-landscapeso have a lot of other people, man.I tell you, I was just along for the ride sorta.Well, let’s, uh, let’s do this r- before we leave.Like, you’ve touched a lotta people, and you talked about like, hey, a lotta people you’ve shaped, and maybe just shout out a few that, uh, come to mind as you, uh, talk about- Oh, man.See, that-other, other creative.You’re gonna leave- Okay, that’s gonna get me in trouble.You’re gonna leave about 10 people out, but maybe just- Ohyou know- More than thatand, um- Okay.I guess- It’d be, it’d be good to hear First and foremost would have to be Eric Erickson.Bless your heart, Eric.Um, and his wife Janice, they gave me my break.Uh, his senior writer, Tom Jones, another fabulous guy.Now, I didn’t develop these folks.They developed me.But when I got into business and, and finally, and for real and started hiring people, folks like, um, like Dale Addy, who now is a, a wonderful professor at, uh, Belmont teaching advertising design.Uh, Nelson Eddy, who I didn’t h- I didn’t hire, but I inherited.Mm-hmm.And he’s the most brilliant writer I’ve ever worked with.Um, folks like David Bohan.He and I worked together at Erickson, you know.Uh, but you’re talking about people that I developed or helped develop.Well, I mean even- I mean, who-just maybe people that- Umwell, I love this path.Like, just- Yeahpeople that y- have touched you along the way.Art director Tom Wright, one of the first art directors I ever hired.Tom is a fabulous art director and human being.Greg Bowling, uh, who now is, uh, I think, a- President over-management partner at- Yeahuh, GISH.Da- uh, Er- uh, Greg was the first person we hired at Chuck Ricci Creative.Hmm.He was right out of, uh, I think he went to, uh, can’t remember.Somewhere up Knock- in, uh, Clarksville.Austin Peay.Mm-hmm.He was a year or 2 out of Austin Peay, and he came to work for me and my life at Chuck Ricci Creative and helped me build that company, and then merged with me to DVL to help me down there.And Greg’s gone on to do super stuff now.Yeah.So it’s people like that.Yeah.And I could go on and on and on, and forgive me, guys, for the ones who I didn’t name that I should, but this- Yeahwould take all day, you know?Well, you have, umThis has been an amazing podcast, and I really am honored to be able to share your story.I don’t, um, you know, I’m shocked that we haven’t known each other through the years.Yeah.And I’m so, like, grateful that we have the chance to meet here, and that’s the whole purpose of this podcast, is really sharing the amazing stories of all the people that have shaped the creative community of Nashville.Well, I’m just grateful to you guys for doing it.It’s a, it’s a really outstanding mission you’re on here, and I love it.Well.And I’ll do anything I can to help you.We may, uh, we may ask for some free creative work.There you go.No, I’m just kidding.No.Thank- Chuck, thanks so much for everything you’re doing.Thanks so much for everything you’ve done and, um, all the people you’ve shaped in this, uh, community that have begged me to ask you to be on here, and I’m honored again.And, uh, you know, to the audience, thank you for joining us week in and week out, uh, on the show.And hopefully this episode has really sparked some, um, just, just creative, uh, initiative in you.And, um, and, you know, we appreciate Chuck for being on the show.We’ll see you next week on The Spark.