Viral singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony was featured as a guest on today’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The “Rich Men North of Richmond” singer also made an appearance this past Tuesday night at Joe Rogan’s Austin-based comedy club, the Comedy Mothership.
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“It’s funny because the song [“Rich Men North of Richmond”] is not even in my top five,” Anthony said of his controversial hit. “I’ve written songs with similar messages, but as far as that sort of anthem format as people are calling it, that’s not something I would normally write… I had no idea that that song with have the reaction that it did.”
[RELATED: Oliver Anthony Responds to Song Being Used in GOP Debate]
Also during the interview, Anthony discussed AI versions of his song. “Any internet presence I have right now is coming from me, off the phone… I haven’t invested the time to look at everything circulating, but friends and family have sent me stuff, and some of it is pretty funny,” Anthony explained. “They’ve got all these AI remixes of the song with different voices and overlay different faces, it’s funny to see where it goes.”
Anthony and Rogan also discussed how people can be larger than life on the internet without much thought for others. “People bring their best and their worst to the internet. I’ve always tried to stay off social media as much as possible, but I’ve learned very quickly that with Twitter and Facebook and stuff like that, you see feedback from people both in an overwhelmingly positive way that you wouldn’t get in a personal conversation, but also overwhelmingly negative too,” Anthony stated. “People just use that as a vent to take whatever seething hatred they have inside of them and say ‘I’m gonna get that guy with it.'”
[RELATED: 5 Other Songs by Oliver Anthony That Capture Rural Life]
Anthony was recently featured as a special guest at the Comedy Mothership, where he was introduced by comedian Tom Segura. “Guess what? I’ve got a special treat for you,” Segura said. “This doesn’t always happen, but this does happen when you come to really cool places like the Comedy Mothership.
“I’m going to bring on stage, right now – this is so fucking cool – this young man has exploded in popularity, and we’ve all been blown away by this guy’s talent and we’re so lucky that we get to see it here live tonight,” Segura continued. Anthony then came out with other musicians and received a standing ovation. “Alright, so this is my first time at a comedy club,” Anthony told the audience before playing a set.
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