As Kenny Chesney gears up for a massive summer tour with 23 major stadium plays, he’s also getting his head right for the focus needed to deliver his intensely high energy shows. That commitment to his fans and music made the perfect reason to join his good friend, as well as acclaimed actor John C. McGinley’s groundbreaking Connective Tissue podcast.
“I don’t know anybody smarter than John C.,” Chesney says of his first media appearance of 2024. “He is a thinker, a dreamer, but also someone who believes in the power of preparation and story in creating a life that really matters. I knew talking to him would go to places that really matter, and we did.”
From the power and process of flow, the work that goes into being ready, the role of gratitude and the reality of being smart in achieving success, the two men went to more thoughtful places than most modern media. Unguarded, personal and sifting through the white noise that surrounds success, the man known for pivotal roles in “Scrubs,” “Platoon” and “Office Space” created what is almost a late-night philosophical conversation between old friends.
“My favorite quote in the Kenny episode is Ernest Hemingway saying, ‘Just because it happened to you, that doesn’t make it interesting’,” McGinley says. “The subjective part is what’s hard, the thing that makes it matter – and that’s where Kenny excels. You’ve got a couple gems that I’ve never heard him talk about; for those who’ve seen him a couple of times, who hear their life in his songs, now they have insight into him for what is basically a 30-minute investment of time.”
Built around McGinley’s affinity for storytelling, storytellers, current events, conflicts and kindness, Connective Tissue is meant to mine the connections between those things to create a space for different perspectives and critical thinking. Whether world class businessmen, Oscar-winning screenwriters, creatives from film, music, the arts or hybrids, Connective Tissue seeks the heart of what drives and inspires his guests’ lives, commitment to excellence and success.
“There’s a fascination with exploring these things,” McGinley explains. “Whether it’s a real estate guy getting you to spend 20 million on dirt, a director whose worked with some of the biggest stars or Kenny, it’s the stories they tell that draw people to them. These are all people who’re erudite, who are reluctant to talk about themselves, having conversations people rarely get to hear. I’ve kept them to 30-40 minutes, but you’ll learn things you won’t anywhere else. With Kenny, when we leaned into the wisdom of living in gratitude, we really had a stunning conversation, and I can’t think of ever hearing Kenny having a conversation like this.”
With a friendship spanning more than a decade, both men share a work ethic and desire to create performances that will endure, including McGinley’s inspired professorial monologue that opened Chesney’s “Rich & Miserable” video. Across different disciplines, McGinley mines the places where excellence emerges, is fought for and empowered, as well as the doubts and pitfalls that all those who excel must meet and overcome.
“These are the kinds of life-defining conversations we’ve had over the years,” Chesney says. “It was cool to sit down for Johnny’s podcast and go to places that matter. Hopefully somebody listening can find some inspiration for chasing their own dreams. I sure hope so.”
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