On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Darius Rucker. With Hootie & the Blowfish, Rucker has lived an unexpected life by turning a college party band into a fruitful, chart-smashing career. Over the years, though, his Southern upbringing in Charleston, South Carolina called, leading him to ride out to Nashville and land a record deal as a country artist. It’s given him new possibilities, yielding anthemic hits (“Wagon Wheel,” “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”) and allowing him to share stages with his heroes. Rucker ended up documenting his country fame and accidental journey with Hootie, as well as exploring the music that shaped him, in his recently released memoir, Life’s Too Short. Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps.  ------- Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices