WEBVTT 00:00:19.730 --> 00:00:23.489 Welcome back to Shecky's Jam Bands. I'm Shecky, 00:00:23.789 --> 00:00:25.929 and I want to start out today with a scenario. 00:00:26.809 --> 00:00:29.370 You're a bartender in Charlotte, North Carolina. 00:00:29.969 --> 00:00:32.950 It's Tuesday night, and the bar isn't exactly 00:00:32.950 --> 00:00:37.310 packed. A solo musician walks in, sets up his 00:00:37.310 --> 00:00:41.490 gear, and starts playing. You pour drinks, you 00:00:41.490 --> 00:00:45.289 half listen, and then you stop. You put down 00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:49.929 the glass, and you think, who is this guy? That 00:00:49.929 --> 00:00:53.450 bartender is Chris Sheridan, the solo musician 00:00:53.450 --> 00:00:57.649 is Clee Laster, and that chance encounter in 00:00:57.649 --> 00:01:01.710 a Charlotte bar is the entire reason Simplified 00:01:01.710 --> 00:01:05.829 exists. One of the most quietly beloved rock 00:01:05.829 --> 00:01:09.370 reggae bands in the American Southeast, with 00:01:09.370 --> 00:01:15.150 over 3 ,000 shows, a song on every Caroline Panthers 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:19.840 home game, Pandora Play Count's in the millions 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.640 and a following that has stayed loyal through 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:28.239 every reinvention the band has made. Today we 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:32.019 find out why. Today we're talking about simplified. 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.060 Chris Sheridan is from Michigan. Clee Laster 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:39.280 is from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Two different 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:43.120 backgrounds, two different coasts of two different 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.609 states. But both of them wound up in Charlotte, 00:01:46.730 --> 00:01:49.629 North Carolina at the same time. And both of 00:01:49.629 --> 00:01:53.150 them were in the same bar on the night that changed 00:01:53.150 --> 00:01:57.390 everything. Sheridan was the bartending. Laster 00:01:57.390 --> 00:02:00.290 was performing as a solo act at the Charlotte 00:02:00.290 --> 00:02:04.489 Uptown venue, then known as The Graduate. The 00:02:04.489 --> 00:02:08.210 two struck up a conversation after the set. They 00:02:08.210 --> 00:02:11.669 both played music. They both had the same restless 00:02:11.669 --> 00:02:14.830 feeling that they were meant to be. doing something 00:02:14.830 --> 00:02:18.430 bigger than what they were doing. And they both 00:02:18.430 --> 00:02:22.590 grew up on the water, Sheridan near Lake Michigan, 00:02:23.210 --> 00:02:26.210 Laster on the shores of Myrtle Beach, which meant 00:02:26.210 --> 00:02:30.169 they both had that beach life rhythm built into 00:02:30.169 --> 00:02:34.610 their DNA from childhood. Cleo's talked about 00:02:34.610 --> 00:02:37.969 how both of them were inspired early by the ocean, 00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:41.449 by the way it moves, by the way it breathes, 00:02:41.490 --> 00:02:45.080 the way it pulls and pushes. The energy is all 00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:47.740 over their music, and it's not an accident that 00:02:47.740 --> 00:02:51.879 their sound is described as island rock. It comes 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:55.879 from a real place. They formed an acoustic duo 00:02:55.879 --> 00:03:00.240 in 2002 and started playing Charlotte bars and 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:03.180 clubs together. Their sound immediately caught 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:06.240 on. Charlotte crowds responded to the combination 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:09.979 of Sheraton's gritty, Springsteen -tinged vocals 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:13.659 and Laster's guitar. and the reggae and rock 00:03:13.659 --> 00:03:17.360 influences woven through the songwriting. They 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:22.979 called themselves Simplified. By 2003, they were 00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:26.699 already thinking about a full band. In 2004, 00:03:27.259 --> 00:03:30.360 they held auditions, added a bassist and a drummer, 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:35.879 and the quartet was complete. In 2005, they started 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:39.060 touring the Southeast, and they never really 00:03:39.060 --> 00:03:43.370 stopped. The name simplified didn't come from 00:03:43.370 --> 00:03:46.849 the band themselves. A fan suggested it, and 00:03:46.849 --> 00:03:49.310 when Sheridan and Laster heard it, they knew 00:03:49.310 --> 00:03:53.349 immediately it was right. Sheridan said it described 00:03:53.349 --> 00:03:57.289 their sound well. Acoustic -driven rock and reggae, 00:03:57.689 --> 00:04:01.490 funk and roots undertones, and it felt memorable. 00:04:02.650 --> 00:04:05.729 But I think the name resonates on a deeper level 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:09.259 than that. In a music world, that was increasingly 00:04:09.259 --> 00:04:13.159 complicated, overproduced, and driven by industry 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:17.100 machinery, simplified, made a conscious choice 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:21.339 to play music that felt human. Real, direct, 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:26.959 no nonsense. There was a Klee quote that I love, 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.199 and here it is. We were writing new songs for 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.120 ourselves and our fans, not for a producer or 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.509 a critic. We are getting right back to where 00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:42.389 we started with what we know and love. Music 00:04:42.389 --> 00:04:45.490 that makes you smile. That's simplified in a 00:04:45.490 --> 00:04:48.509 sentence. It's right there. Music that makes 00:04:48.509 --> 00:04:51.470 you smile. There's nothing simple about creating 00:04:51.470 --> 00:04:55.509 that constantly and consistently over two plus 00:04:55.509 --> 00:04:59.730 decades. But the intention behind it is as clean 00:04:59.730 --> 00:05:03.779 as the name. Ironically, Simplified has been 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:06.120 described as one of music's most interesting 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:09.680 and complex bands on the circuit, because within 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:13.680 that simple sounding, feel -good exterior, there's 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:17.379 a genuinely intricate songwriting, versatile 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:21.259 arrangements, and live performances that stretch 00:05:21.259 --> 00:05:25.240 and breathe in ways that pure pop music never 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:29.100 could. The simplicity is a philosophy, not a 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:33.170 limitation. My one song for Simplified is Wake 00:05:33.170 --> 00:05:38.189 and Bake from their 2006 album Smile. I know 00:05:38.189 --> 00:05:41.670 what you're thinking, and yes, that song is exactly 00:05:41.670 --> 00:05:46.290 what it sounds like. It's a joyful, unambiguous 00:05:46.290 --> 00:05:50.269 celebration of the road trip ritual that many 00:05:50.269 --> 00:05:53.410 touring musicians know well. But here's the thing. 00:05:53.550 --> 00:05:56.350 It's also one of the most perfectly executed 00:05:56.350 --> 00:05:59.790 pieces of island rock, this side of Sublime. 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:03.600 And there's a reason it has been played between 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:07.980 1 .6 and 2 million times on Pandora per quarter 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:11.639 for years running. That's per quarter, by the 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:15.879 way. Every three months between 1 and 2 million 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:20.579 streams on Pandora alone. The song once simplified 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:23.839 the Charlotte Music Award for Rock Album of the 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:28.759 Year in 2007. The whole Smile album, not just 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:33.050 the single. But Wake and Bake became the signature, 00:06:33.589 --> 00:06:36.970 the calling card, the song that was introduced 00:06:36.970 --> 00:06:40.209 thousands of people to this band. Start here, 00:06:40.649 --> 00:06:44.050 then work backward and forward through the catalog. 00:06:45.649 --> 00:06:48.350 Now I want to tell you a story about a drummer 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:51.529 from a small town in West Virginia. A national 00:06:51.529 --> 00:06:55.750 competition and the Night Simplified's live show 00:06:55.750 --> 00:06:59.949 became something truly extraordinary. His name 00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:03.889 is Donnie Marple. He started playing drums at 00:07:03.889 --> 00:07:07.250 three years old, never had a lesson, just sat 00:07:07.250 --> 00:07:10.509 behind a kit one day, and the music was already 00:07:10.509 --> 00:07:14.629 there. He played all through school, local bands, 00:07:14.870 --> 00:07:17.970 jazz bands, concert bands, and then he heard 00:07:17.970 --> 00:07:21.449 about the Guitar Center Drum Off, the national 00:07:21.449 --> 00:07:24.430 drumming competition that draws thousands of 00:07:24.430 --> 00:07:28.860 competitors and accumulates in a Hollywood final 00:07:28.860 --> 00:07:33.100 judged by legends. Alan White of Yes, Steve Smith 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:37.259 of Journey, David Garibaldi of Tower of Power, 00:07:37.660 --> 00:07:41.939 Vinny Apis of Black Sabbath. These are the people 00:07:41.939 --> 00:07:45.600 who watched Donnie Marple sit down and play a 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:49.620 five -minute solo in 2007 when he was 20 years 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:53.079 old, and they crowned him champion. That win 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:55.420 gave Donnie the courage to leave West Virginia 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:59.050 and move to Nashville to pursue music as a career. 00:07:59.670 --> 00:08:03.170 He knocked on doors, he put in the work, and 00:08:03.170 --> 00:08:06.870 eventually he got the call from Simplified. The 00:08:06.870 --> 00:08:10.509 band's own bio described this moment this way. 00:08:11.050 --> 00:08:14.170 Donnie Marple beats out 6 ,000 other drummers 00:08:14.170 --> 00:08:17.790 in a national contest to join Simplified. That 00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:20.810 is not a footnote. That is a statement about 00:08:20.810 --> 00:08:23.709 the level this band was playing at. They didn't 00:08:23.709 --> 00:08:26.860 want just any drummer. They wanted the best drummer 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:29.839 they could find. And the best drummer they found 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:33.299 happened to be a guitar center drum -off national 00:08:33.299 --> 00:08:36.820 champion. Alright, things you should know about 00:08:36.820 --> 00:08:41.019 Simplified. First fact, the Carolina Panthers 00:08:41.019 --> 00:08:44.740 play their music. Simplified's song was featured 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:48.700 as official tailgate music and played every Carolina 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:52.279 Panthers home game under the black and blue. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:56.190 The official music Carolina Panthers release. 00:08:56.509 --> 00:08:59.750 Walk into the Bank of America Stadium on a Sunday 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:02.730 and you might hear simplified warming up the 00:09:02.730 --> 00:09:07.710 crowd before the kickoff. Second fact ESPN and 00:09:07.710 --> 00:09:11.649 NASCAR both called. Shall We Begin was featured 00:09:11.649 --> 00:09:15.990 on ESPN's kickoff to college game day in 2011 00:09:15.990 --> 00:09:19.789 and stayed in the top 10 of the adult charts 00:09:19.789 --> 00:09:24.139 for the month of August. Then getting home landed 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:28.179 in the NASCAR The Game video games. First in 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:32.580 2012, then again five years later in NASCAR Heat 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:37.019 2 with a different developer. Two different video 00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:40.720 game companies, five years apart, both chose 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:44.919 the same simplified song. That is a repeat endorsement. 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:48.639 Last fact, the music is really written for fans, 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:52.679 not labels. Simplified has remained proudly independent 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:56.659 their entire career. No major label deals, no 00:09:56.659 --> 00:09:59.779 corporate creative decisions. Sheraton says it 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:01.980 directly, the advantage of being independent 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:05.000 are you have more creative freedom, you aren't 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:08.519 locked into a nasty deal, and you keep a larger 00:10:08.519 --> 00:10:13.399 percentage of your sales. 3 ,000 shows and millions 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:16.539 of Pandora streams all built without a label. 00:10:16.940 --> 00:10:20.100 That's the simplified story. Here's what I keep 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:23.600 on coming back to with simplified. Two musicians 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:28.240 in a Charlotte bar in 2002 one behind the bar 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:31.860 one on the stage Neither of them knowing that 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:34.360 the conversation they were about to have would 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:39.220 produce over 3 ,000 shows millions of plays Carolina 00:10:39.220 --> 00:10:43.639 Panthers tailgate parties ESPN college game day 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:47.360 NASCAR video games and a devoted following that 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:50.740 has followed them through acoustic to full band 00:10:50.970 --> 00:10:55.509 to pop reinvention and back to island rock roots, 00:10:55.950 --> 00:10:59.629 always waiting for them to come home. The name 00:10:59.629 --> 00:11:02.389 is simplified. The mission is music that makes 00:11:02.389 --> 00:11:06.549 you smile. The execution over 20 plus years has 00:11:06.549 --> 00:11:09.710 been anything but simple. It has been the product 00:11:09.710 --> 00:11:13.509 of two musicians who love the ocean, love the 00:11:13.509 --> 00:11:16.450 road, love the stage, and love the feeling of 00:11:16.450 --> 00:11:20.129 a room full of people who have let go for two 00:11:20.129 --> 00:11:24.409 hours and just felt good. Start with Wake and 00:11:24.409 --> 00:11:28.950 Bake, find the Smile album, then find Brighter 00:11:28.950 --> 00:11:32.230 Days, then get on their website and look for 00:11:32.230 --> 00:11:36.129 the show near you, because Simplified Live, with 00:11:36.129 --> 00:11:39.590 that island rock groove, with Clee's guitar and 00:11:39.590 --> 00:11:42.870 Sheraton's voice, and a rhythm section locked 00:11:42.870 --> 00:11:47.250 in like the tide, is exactly what this podcast 00:11:47.549 --> 00:11:50.669 is always chasing. Something real, something 00:11:50.669 --> 00:11:53.169 that moves you, something that you didn't expect 00:11:53.169 --> 00:11:56.529 to need, but can't imagine not having found. 00:11:57.190 --> 00:12:00.289 That's Simplified. That's Shecky's Jam Bands. 00:12:00.750 --> 00:12:03.149 Thank you for listening and I'll see you next 00:12:03.149 --> 00:12:03.470 time.