WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.459 All right, I want you to picture something. Imagine 00:00:02.459 --> 00:00:04.759 you've got a startup. Okay. And not just any 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:08.380 startup. You've just landed funding from, like, 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:11.320 the absolute titan of the industry. The person 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:13.800 who basically invented the market. Dream scenario. 00:00:14.669 --> 00:00:17.030 Exactly. And your product is being developed 00:00:17.030 --> 00:00:19.890 by the same mine that built the iPhone. You've 00:00:19.890 --> 00:00:22.070 got partnerships lined up with the biggest names 00:00:22.070 --> 00:00:24.190 in the world. I mean, by every single metric, 00:00:24.370 --> 00:00:27.170 you are about to be a unicorn. A billion dollar 00:00:27.170 --> 00:00:29.690 exit is practically a guarantee. It's a mathematical 00:00:29.690 --> 00:00:33.609 certainty. And then, poof. Oh. The whole thing 00:00:33.609 --> 00:00:35.630 just evaporates because of some corporate merger 00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:38.109 you had absolutely nothing to do with. A signature 00:00:38.109 --> 00:00:41.750 on paper, 3 ,000 miles away. You lose your funding, 00:00:41.829 --> 00:00:44.049 you lose distribution, you're left holding the 00:00:44.049 --> 00:00:47.090 bag. And then, just to twist the knife, it happens 00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:49.689 again. Twice. That sounds like a Silicon Valley 00:00:49.689 --> 00:00:51.729 nightmare. It does, but that is basically the 00:00:51.729 --> 00:00:53.710 story we're covering today. Except it's not a 00:00:53.710 --> 00:00:56.369 tech company. It's a rock band from Portland, 00:00:56.530 --> 00:01:00.009 Maine. A band called Rustic Overtones. And honestly, 00:01:00.189 --> 00:01:01.869 just calling them a rock band feels like we're 00:01:01.869 --> 00:01:03.630 selling them a little short, doesn't it? Oh, 00:01:03.630 --> 00:01:05.709 absolutely. This is a group that just defied 00:01:05.709 --> 00:01:09.680 any easy label. But the real headline here is 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.939 that this is the band that had David Bowie, Clive 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:15.959 Davis, and the entire major label machine behind 00:01:15.959 --> 00:01:19.099 them. And somehow still ended up as maybe the 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:22.280 greatest what -if story in modern music. Yeah. 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:24.060 And for this deep dive, we pulled together their 00:01:24.060 --> 00:01:26.859 whole discography industry notes from the late 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:29.700 90s, a bunch of interviews. And our mission today 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:31.900 isn't just to talk about a band you might not 00:01:31.900 --> 00:01:34.560 have heard of. Right. It's to use rustic overtones 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.859 as a lens to really understand the brutal mechanics 00:01:37.859 --> 00:01:41.140 of the music industry, the so -called major label 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:43.780 curse and what resilience really looks like when 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:46.040 the corporate world just collapses around you. 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:48.469 It's a perfect case study. Yeah. Because on paper, 00:01:48.609 --> 00:01:50.150 Rustic Overtone should have been one of the biggest 00:01:50.150 --> 00:01:52.629 bands in the world by 2002. For sure. With the 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:54.430 fact that they weren't. Yeah. Well, that tells 00:01:54.430 --> 00:01:55.989 us a lot more about the industry than it does 00:01:55.989 --> 00:01:57.930 about the band. So let's get into it. Let's rewind 00:01:57.930 --> 00:02:00.189 the clock. Early 90s. We're in Portland, Maine. 00:02:00.370 --> 00:02:02.310 Right. 1993. It's a totally different world. 00:02:02.370 --> 00:02:04.109 And you had this little three -piece cover band 00:02:04.109 --> 00:02:06.709 called Aces Wild. Aces Wild. Just Dave Gutter, 00:02:06.810 --> 00:02:09.659 John Rudes, and Matthew Esty. That sounds like 00:02:09.659 --> 00:02:11.919 every band playing in the corner of a dive bar 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:13.900 on a Tuesday night for free wings. And that's 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:15.900 exactly what they were. They were grinding. But 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:18.080 what the source material points out is that they 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:22.080 had this uncommon work ethic for a high school 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:24.379 cover band. They didn't stay in that lane for 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:26.860 long. Okay. They moved to original super quickly 00:02:26.860 --> 00:02:29.919 and put out this rare early album called Smile. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:33.009 Which is... Basically impossible to find now, 00:02:33.090 --> 00:02:36.069 right? A total ghost. Practically. But the real 00:02:36.069 --> 00:02:38.569 shift, the moment where they go from local band 00:02:38.569 --> 00:02:42.969 to a real prospect, is the mid to late 90s. Right. 00:02:43.030 --> 00:02:45.270 They start touring the Northeast, paying for 00:02:45.270 --> 00:02:47.870 everything themselves, crammed in a van, sleeping 00:02:47.870 --> 00:02:50.729 on floors, the whole deal. And out of that grind 00:02:50.729 --> 00:02:54.289 comes the 1998 album, Rooms by the Hour. And 00:02:54.289 --> 00:02:56.490 this is the turning point. For anyone listening, 00:02:56.610 --> 00:02:59.030 you have to understand. In 1998... With no social 00:02:59.030 --> 00:03:01.289 media, breaking out of a place like Maine was 00:03:01.289 --> 00:03:03.110 so much harder than it is today. You couldn't 00:03:03.110 --> 00:03:05.270 just, you know, go viral. You had to physically 00:03:05.270 --> 00:03:09.050 move records. And they did. Rooms by the hour 00:03:09.050 --> 00:03:11.909 made enough noise that it ended up on the desk 00:03:11.909 --> 00:03:15.189 of, well, arguably the most important man in 00:03:15.189 --> 00:03:17.169 the music industry at the time. Clive Davis. 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:19.569 Clive Davis. Let's just pause on that name for 00:03:19.569 --> 00:03:22.229 a second. Because if you don't follow music industry 00:03:22.229 --> 00:03:24.330 history, you might not get the weight of that. 00:03:24.650 --> 00:03:27.490 This isn't just some A &R guy. This is the president 00:03:27.490 --> 00:03:29.750 of Arista Records. He's the kingmaker. He's the 00:03:29.750 --> 00:03:32.849 kingmaker. He discovered Whitney Houston. He 00:03:32.849 --> 00:03:35.389 signed Patti Smith. He orchestrated the comeback 00:03:35.389 --> 00:03:38.889 for Santana. So if Clive Davis signs you, you're 00:03:38.889 --> 00:03:40.509 not just getting a record deal. You're getting 00:03:40.509 --> 00:03:43.210 anointed. You're being told you are next. That 00:03:43.210 --> 00:03:46.210 is the perfect word for it. An anointing. And 00:03:46.210 --> 00:03:48.789 he personally signed them. That endorsement just 00:03:48.789 --> 00:03:51.610 opens doors that are usually welded shut for 00:03:51.610 --> 00:03:54.139 a band from Maine. And suddenly their song Hardest 00:03:54.139 --> 00:03:56.460 Way Possible is in the Rob Schneider movie The 00:03:56.460 --> 00:03:59.669 Animal. Exactly. Which, okay. Looking back, the 00:03:59.669 --> 00:04:02.930 animal is maybe not Citizen Kane. No. But in 00:04:02.930 --> 00:04:05.909 the early 2000s, a soundtrack placement in a 00:04:05.909 --> 00:04:08.789 big comedy, that was a huge deal, a massive marketing 00:04:08.789 --> 00:04:11.310 tool. Absolutely. It put them in front of millions 00:04:11.310 --> 00:04:14.389 of people. And Arista didn't stop there. They 00:04:14.389 --> 00:04:17.370 paired the band with Tony Visconti to produce 00:04:17.370 --> 00:04:20.310 their major label debut. Okay, again, context 00:04:20.310 --> 00:04:22.649 is everything here. Tony Visconti isn't just 00:04:22.649 --> 00:04:24.910 some producer. Not at all. This is the man who 00:04:24.910 --> 00:04:28.199 shaped David Bowie's sound. He did T -Rex. This 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:30.540 is the architect of glam rock. So let's just 00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:33.019 take stock. You have the legendary executive, 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:36.279 the legendary producer, the Hollywood movie placement. 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:39.519 The rocket is on the launch pad. The engines 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:41.560 are firing. But this is where we have to talk 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:43.540 about something called an orphan project. And 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:46.060 this is where the dream starts to glitch. The 00:04:46.060 --> 00:04:48.879 music industry is just so volatile. As Viva Nueva 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:51.660 is getting ready to launch, there's a massive 00:04:51.660 --> 00:04:54.600 corporate shakeup at Arista. And the unthinkable 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:57.660 happens. Clive Davis is out. He leaves the company. 00:04:57.800 --> 00:04:59.899 And this is the critical part for anyone listening 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:02.420 who works in any corporate job, not just music. 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:05.600 If you're champion, the person who hired you, 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:08.279 who signed you, who vouched for you, if they 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:11.019 leave, you are in immediate danger. You become 00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:13.579 a liability overnight. You're part of the old 00:05:13.579 --> 00:05:16.139 guard. The new executives want to launch their 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:18.879 projects, not the last guy's. So even with the 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:21.120 talent, even with the Visconti production, the 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:24.329 deal just... falls apart that are orphaned that's 00:05:24.329 --> 00:05:26.949 devastating you have the finished product but 00:05:26.949 --> 00:05:29.490 the store just closed down but looking at the 00:05:29.490 --> 00:05:32.329 timeline they didn't just fold no they pivoted 00:05:32.329 --> 00:05:34.449 and they got picked up pretty quickly by tommy 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:37.089 boy records which feels like a good fit tommy 00:05:37.089 --> 00:05:39.230 boy was cool they had credibility it seemed like 00:05:39.230 --> 00:05:42.750 a lifeline so the album viva nueva finally comes 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:45.209 out in 2001 and we have to talk about this album 00:05:45.209 --> 00:05:48.879 yeah because the liner notes are just Okay. You've 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.980 got David Bowie making a guest appearance. Which 00:05:51.980 --> 00:05:54.399 I'm guessing came from that Tony Visconti connection. 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:56.720 Almost certainly. But you also have Imogen Heap 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:00.379 and maybe the weirdest of all, Funkmaster Flex. 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:03.040 Wait, Bowie, Imogen Heap, and Funkmaster Flex? 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:05.279 That sounds like a guest list created by a random 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:08.000 word generator. It does. But it really speaks 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:11.240 to the band's sound, which was this super ambitious 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:14.100 fusion. But before we get into the music, we 00:06:14.100 --> 00:06:15.879 have to close the loop on this curse. Right. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.639 So Arista failed. Now they're with Tommy Boy. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:21.500 The album is out. People can actually buy it. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:24.459 And then history repeats itself. But this time 00:06:24.459 --> 00:06:26.980 it's not an executive leaving. It's a distribution 00:06:26.980 --> 00:06:29.680 collapse. You're kidding me. Tommy Boy had their 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:31.579 distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records. 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:37.620 In 2002, that deal ends. So just because of paperwork 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:41.459 between two massive corporations, the band loses 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:45.110 their entire platform. Again? Yes. They literally 00:06:45.110 --> 00:06:48.430 achieved the dream twice. And twice it was dismantled 00:06:48.430 --> 00:06:50.410 by lawyers and accountants before they could 00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:52.529 even properly tour the record. That has to be 00:06:52.529 --> 00:06:55.129 just psychologically crushing. To get to the 00:06:55.129 --> 00:06:57.310 finish line and someone just moves the tape. 00:06:57.509 --> 00:06:59.910 It was too much. The emotional whiplash was staggering. 00:07:00.129 --> 00:07:03.310 So in 2002, the band broke up. Wow. They played 00:07:03.310 --> 00:07:06.290 this three -hour marathon final show at the State 00:07:06.290 --> 00:07:08.569 Theater in Portland. Basically a week for the 00:07:08.569 --> 00:07:11.069 dream. Three hours. That's a long goodbye. They 00:07:11.069 --> 00:07:13.279 left everything on that stage. Okay. But I want 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:15.319 to challenge this idea for a second, that it 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:17.620 was just bad luck. You mentioned that guest list, 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.040 Bowie and Funkmaster Flex. Is it possible the 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.000 band was just, I don't know, too weird for a 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:24.399 major label? That's a very valid question. I 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:27.459 mean, was the curse really just a lack of focus 00:07:27.459 --> 00:07:29.779 on their part? Well, let's track their sound. 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:32.399 They started with influences like Earth, Wind 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:35.620 and Fire and Tom Waits. Okay, so soul and gritty 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:38.259 storytelling. I get that vibe. Then on Rooms 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:40.279 by the Hour, they get much more jazzy. You have 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:43.060 tracks like... Pink Belly. But by the time they 00:07:43.060 --> 00:07:45.839 hit the major labels, they're pivoting hard into 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:48.040 hip hop. Right. I even found a note that they 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:50.040 actually appeared on a Naughty by Nature album 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:54.439 in 1999. Wait, seriously? Rustic Overtones is 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:56.759 on a Naughty by Nature record? They are. And 00:07:56.759 --> 00:07:59.209 their own song, Smoke. would often have a guest 00:07:59.209 --> 00:08:01.250 rapper come out during their live shows. They 00:08:01.250 --> 00:08:03.629 were blending everything. So, okay, put yourself 00:08:03.629 --> 00:08:06.470 in the label's shoes. You sign a rock band that 00:08:06.470 --> 00:08:08.870 sounds a bit like Tom Waits, and two years later 00:08:08.870 --> 00:08:11.910 they hand you this hip -hop hybrid album produced 00:08:11.910 --> 00:08:14.589 by the guy who did Ziggy Stardust. Exactly. It's 00:08:14.589 --> 00:08:16.769 the classic artist versus repertoire conflict. 00:08:17.350 --> 00:08:20.389 The label wants product A that fits neatly into 00:08:20.389 --> 00:08:23.329 an alternative rock radio slot. The band evolves 00:08:23.329 --> 00:08:26.290 and delivers product B, this genre -bending thing. 00:08:26.569 --> 00:08:29.050 And without Clive Davis there to say, trust me, 00:08:29.129 --> 00:08:31.629 this works. New execs probably looked at it and 00:08:31.629 --> 00:08:34.330 said, what do we do with this? Is it rap? Is 00:08:34.330 --> 00:08:36.590 it rock? We don't know how to sell it. We're 00:08:36.590 --> 00:08:39.490 out. So the bad luck was made worse by the fact 00:08:39.490 --> 00:08:41.289 that they were maybe too far ahead of the curve. 00:08:41.490 --> 00:08:43.570 They were doing the genre blending thing way 00:08:43.570 --> 00:08:46.669 before Spotify made that normal. Exactly. If 00:08:46.669 --> 00:08:48.350 they came out today, they'd be celebrated for 00:08:48.350 --> 00:08:51.029 that. In 2001, it was a marketing nightmare. 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:54.700 So 2002 hits, they break up. But this period 00:08:54.700 --> 00:08:58.519 in between from 2002 to 2007 is really interesting 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:01.539 because it's almost like a control group for 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:04.240 this whole talent versus luck experiment. That 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:05.899 is a great way to put it, because if the band 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:08.120 failed because they weren't good enough, then 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:09.720 the members should have just faded away. But 00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:12.200 that is not what happened. Not at all. They thrived. 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:15.019 Dave Gutter and John Rudes formed Paranoid Social 00:09:15.019 --> 00:09:18.440 Club. And what happens? They get a song, Wasted, 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:21.399 in the movie Beer Fest. Another cult comedy soundtrack. 00:09:21.720 --> 00:09:24.279 These guys are magnets for that genre. They found 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:27.100 their niche. Then you've got Spencer Albee, the 00:09:27.100 --> 00:09:30.080 keyboardist. He forms a band called As Fast As. 00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:33.500 Their album gets a four -and -a -half -star review 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:37.500 from AllMusic. Wow, that's a huge, critical success. 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:40.700 And the drummer, Tony Mactebo, he goes on to 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:42.860 become the touring drummer for Ray LaMontagne. 00:09:43.179 --> 00:09:46.120 Whoa. Ray LaMontagne is a massive artist. That's 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:50.100 a serious, high -level gig. A huge gig. And Ryan 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:52.440 Zoidas, the sax player, was splitting his time 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:55.919 between two monster funk bands, Lettuce and Solif. 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:58.519 Okay, so the theory holds up. The talent was 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:01.519 undeniable. The vehicle, band itself, was the 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.399 only thing that was broken. Which brings us to 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:05.639 the reunion. And this is where the story goes 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:08.019 from a corporate tragedy to something more like 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:11.019 a buddy comedy. The Tony McNabo strategy. I love 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:14.320 this. It's brilliant. It's early 2007. Tony starts 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.500 calling the old members one by one. He calls 00:10:16.500 --> 00:10:18.679 Dave and says, hey, I talked to everyone else. 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:20.440 They're all in for a reunion. Are you in? Dave 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:22.820 says yes. So he just lied to him. He lied to 00:10:22.820 --> 00:10:24.399 all of them. Then he calls Spencer. Hey, Dave's 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:26.440 in. Everyone else is in. He just fabricated the 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:29.200 consensus. The prisoner's dilemma, but for getting 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.600 the band back together. And it worked. Once they 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:34.659 were all finally in a room, they realized they'd 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:36.779 been tricked, but they also realized how much 00:10:36.779 --> 00:10:38.899 they miss playing together. So they make the 00:10:38.899 --> 00:10:41.899 announcement on Portland Radio. Of course. On 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:47.000 WCYY in May 2007. Total surprise. They book a 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:49.120 couple of shows, and they announce a new album 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:51.629 is coming. A new album, Light at the End. But 00:10:51.629 --> 00:10:54.629 did anyone still care? I mean, five years is 00:10:54.629 --> 00:10:58.049 an eternity in music. Did anyone care? Light 00:10:58.049 --> 00:11:00.029 at the End, which they released independently, 00:11:00.450 --> 00:11:03.429 became the fastest selling local disc ever in 00:11:03.429 --> 00:11:05.750 the state of Maine. That's incredible. It just 00:11:05.750 --> 00:11:07.669 goes to show you how loyal that fan base really 00:11:07.669 --> 00:11:10.190 was. And the band felt it. They'd originally 00:11:10.190 --> 00:11:12.289 said this was just a summer fling reunion, but 00:11:12.289 --> 00:11:14.769 at one of the shows, Spencer Albee told the crowd, 00:11:14.929 --> 00:11:16.730 we're never going to leave you again. That's 00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:18.710 a powerful moment. It feels like they finally 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:20.769 realized their success wasn't going to come from 00:11:20.769 --> 00:11:22.690 a boardroom in New York. Exactly. It was going 00:11:22.690 --> 00:11:24.429 to come from the people right there in Portland. 00:11:24.769 --> 00:11:27.330 They stopped chasing the machine and just embraced 00:11:27.330 --> 00:11:29.570 their community. And speaking of being ahead 00:11:29.570 --> 00:11:32.289 of the curve, there's that little historical 00:11:32.289 --> 00:11:36.090 footnote I love. Oh, the radio thing, yes. Rustic 00:11:36.090 --> 00:11:38.909 Overtones was the very first group to ever perform 00:11:38.909 --> 00:11:42.169 live on XM Satellite Radio. The very first. The 00:11:42.169 --> 00:11:44.230 first. So again, you see them positioned right 00:11:44.230 --> 00:11:46.090 at the cutting edge of culture and technology, 00:11:46.370 --> 00:11:48.830 even if that mainstream fame never quite hit. 00:11:48.990 --> 00:11:51.970 So they're back. They're local heroes. But bands 00:11:51.970 --> 00:11:55.129 are living things. They change. They do. In 2008, 00:11:55.409 --> 00:11:58.389 Spencer Albee left the band. It was totally amicable, 00:11:58.490 --> 00:12:00.850 but he had been a core member. They brought in 00:12:00.850 --> 00:12:03.269 Nigel Hall, other incredible keyboardist for 00:12:03.269 --> 00:12:05.970 the band Lettuce. They just kept moving. Released 00:12:05.970 --> 00:12:08.549 another album in 2009, they proved they could 00:12:08.549 --> 00:12:10.750 work as a successful independent band. But the 00:12:10.750 --> 00:12:13.210 resilience test wasn't over. And we have to talk 00:12:13.210 --> 00:12:15.830 about 2019 because the story takes a turn that 00:12:15.830 --> 00:12:18.210 has nothing to do with contracts or labels. Yeah, 00:12:18.230 --> 00:12:20.370 this is the toughest part of the timeline. In 00:12:20.370 --> 00:12:24.470 March 2019, Dave Noise, their trombonist, died 00:12:24.470 --> 00:12:27.029 unexpectedly. And from everything I've read, 00:12:27.110 --> 00:12:29.629 he wasn't just, you know, the horn player. No, 00:12:29.649 --> 00:12:32.929 he was described as the glue that held the whole 00:12:32.929 --> 00:12:35.490 thing together. In a big band with all these 00:12:35.490 --> 00:12:38.169 big personalities, you often have that one person 00:12:38.169 --> 00:12:41.590 who is the emotional anchor. That was him. That's 00:12:41.590 --> 00:12:43.950 just devastating. How does a band even continue 00:12:43.950 --> 00:12:46.629 after losing someone like that? Well, true to 00:12:46.629 --> 00:12:49.350 form, they used the music. They released a self 00:12:49.350 --> 00:12:52.990 -titled album in November 2019. And the way they 00:12:52.990 --> 00:12:55.649 made that album is so unique, right? It is. They 00:12:55.649 --> 00:12:57.649 built it around recordings that Noise had made 00:12:57.649 --> 00:12:59.750 before he passed away. So they were essentially 00:12:59.750 --> 00:13:02.230 collaborating with him even after he was gone. 00:13:02.409 --> 00:13:04.590 It wasn't just a tribute to him. He was a record 00:13:04.590 --> 00:13:07.309 with him. That's beautiful. And the band is still 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:09.590 active today. They are. They have new members. 00:13:09.690 --> 00:13:11.870 They're still playing shows, still writing. So 00:13:11.870 --> 00:13:14.409 let's zoom out here. We started this whole conversation 00:13:14.409 --> 00:13:18.129 talking about the major label curse. But when 00:13:18.129 --> 00:13:20.470 you look at the whole picture, from a dive bar 00:13:20.470 --> 00:13:23.470 to David Bowie to getting crushed by two labels, 00:13:23.610 --> 00:13:27.299 breaking up. reuniting, surviving tragedy. What's 00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:29.399 the real takeaway? I think the rustic overtone 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:33.159 story really forces us to redefine the word success. 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:35.840 How do you mean? Well, if success is a platinum 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:38.000 plaque on the wall of a mansion in Beverly Hills, 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:40.519 then yeah, they failed. They don't have those 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:43.379 top 10 hits. Yeah. But... If you look at the 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:45.659 longevity, the artistic respect, collaborating 00:13:45.659 --> 00:13:48.279 with legends like Bowie, the record -breaking 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:51.740 local sales, the sheer survival. They're incredibly 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:54.720 successful. Incredibly. It's about the ability 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.539 to just keep. creating. Even when the machine 00:13:57.539 --> 00:14:01.259 breaks down all around you, they literally outlasted 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:03.419 the executives who dropped them. That's a powerful 00:14:03.419 --> 00:14:06.139 way to put it. Those executives are long gone. 00:14:06.179 --> 00:14:09.159 The mergers are ancient history. The band is 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:11.100 still playing. It just highlights the survivor 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:13.620 bias in music, doesn't it? We think the best 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:15.559 bands are the ones we hear on the radio. Exactly. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:18.620 But the radio plays the bands that survived the 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:21.740 boardroom meetings. Which makes you wonder. How 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:24.299 many other greatest bands in the world are out 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:26.360 there, sitting on a hard drive in a vault somewhere, 00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:28.799 unreleased because of some corporate merger in 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:31.799 1999, just waiting to be rediscovered? That's 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:34.539 a haunting thought. A library of lost classics. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:37.379 It really is. But luckily for us, Rustic Overtones 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:39.200 fought hard enough that we actually got to hear 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:41.529 them. Well, I'm glad we did. If you want to hear 00:14:41.529 --> 00:14:43.990 what the major label curse couldn't kill, go 00:14:43.990 --> 00:14:46.850 listen to Rooms by the Hour or Light at the End. 00:14:46.950 --> 00:14:49.309 It's a piece of music history that really deserves 00:14:49.309 --> 00:14:51.470 your ears. Absolutely. Thanks for diving in with 00:14:51.470 --> 00:14:52.909 us. We'll see you on the next one.