CURRENT SINGLE: “Hard Days”
Not long ago, Brantley built the ultimate man-cave on his property down in Georgia, which he calls “The Dawg House.” The huge space has a couple of lounge areas for people to hang out in, a recording studio, a place for people to sleep or take a shower if they’re working all night in the studio or just need a place to crash. There’s room for Brantley and his band to rehearse, a place for him to keep his cars, and The Dawg House is even big enough to house his tour bus.
Even though Brantley quit drinking over nine years ago, perhaps his favorite place in The Dawg House is the one-of-a-kind bar. Brantley has always been a very vocal supporter of veterans and active duty military members, and he says, “Throughout my career, almost every meet and greet, somebody comes through and hands me, like a challenge coin or a patch,” which signifies membership or achievement in a certain unit, squadron or division.”
Usually challenge coins and patches are shared only among members of a particular group or unit, but sometimes, a recipient will give their challenge coin or their patch to someone outside the organization as a sign of respect or gratitude. Brantley has been honored to receive hundreds of them from military members throughout his career, “All of it,” he says, “I’m sure, is stuff they’re not supposed to give me … a lot of it. You know, I’ve had a guy come through and gave me shrapnel – well, several guys that have come through the line and given me shrapnel that was actually pulled out of ‘em.”
Brantley holds all of those things he receives from veterans and service members in the highest regard, but he never knew where to put them. He didn’t want to wear them or display them in a way that would give anyone the impression they were something he’d earned, or that he had ever served in the military. So, when he was putting the bar together in The Dawg House, he had the huge wrap-around bar top built as shadowboxes, and he now proudly displays all of the military memorabilia given to him in the bar top. And Brantley says, “What’s been really cool is having guys come through or come hang out that are Army guys or Marines or Navy guys, or whatever branch of service they were in, they come in and I get to be educated about all that stuff all over again. That’s one of the many reasons I love the bar.”
Brantley Gilbert – bar top in Dawg House :54
“Throughout my career, almost every meet and greet, somebody comes through and hands me, like a challenge coin or a patch. And all of it, I’m sure, is stuff they’re not supposed to give me, a lot of it. You know, I’ve had a guy come through and gave me shrapnel, well several guys that have come through the line and given me shrapnel that was actually pulled out of ‘em. And there’s just a lot of history there and a lot of gifts there, and to be completely honest, when I’ve received this stuff, it’s not anything I’ve earned. I’m really careful not to give anybody the idea that I served or am a veteran in any way, form or fashion. So, for a long time they were just kind of kept up, put in a safe place. And you know, when we built the bar, it was like man, I want to put as much stuff in there as I can fit. And what’s been really cool is having guys come through or come hang out that are Army guys or Marines or Navy guys, or whatever branch of service they were in, they come in and I get to be educated about all that stuff all over again. That’s one of the many reasons I love the bar.”