WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.980 Have you ever like looked at someone who has 00:00:02.980 --> 00:00:06.200 survived in a notoriously brutal high turnover 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:09.900 industry for decades? And you just wonder how 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:13.019 on earth are they still standing? Oh, yeah, because 00:00:13.019 --> 00:00:15.500 you see these rare individuals who don't just, 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:17.879 you know, survive the grind, but they actively 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:20.760 evolve while everyone else around them from the 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:23.039 old days has either like burned out, faded away 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:25.260 or just completely quit. Yeah, it's an incredibly 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:29.480 rare trait. And when you find someone like that, 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:32.659 They usually have a very specific, almost hidden 00:00:32.659 --> 00:00:35.640 architecture to their lives. Absolutely. Something 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:38.399 that allows for that kind of longevity. It is 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:41.539 never just luck. No, never. It requires an underlying 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:44.439 mechanism that most people just never see. And 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:46.200 uncovering those hidden mechanisms is exactly 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:48.380 what we have for you today. So for you listening 00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:51.000 right now, today we are taking a deep dive into 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:53.659 a stack of sources you sent us. Which is really 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:55.740 a fascinating pile of documents. It is. We're 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:58.200 specifically focusing on the historical records 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:00.770 and Wikipedia. archives of the musician Billy 00:01:00.770 --> 00:01:03.609 Grazia Day. Now if you are familiar with the 00:01:03.609 --> 00:01:05.250 heavy music scene you definitely know the name 00:01:05.250 --> 00:01:08.969 but our mission today isn't just to like list 00:01:08.969 --> 00:01:11.150 off his discography. No that would be missing 00:01:11.150 --> 00:01:14.530 the point entirely. Exactly we're going to extract 00:01:14.530 --> 00:01:18.340 the exact mechanisms of his survival. We are 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:21.540 unpacking the anatomy of a lifelong creative 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:24.719 survivor. Right. Exploring what it takes to remain 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:28.000 the absolute only continuous member of a legendary 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.680 band since 1987. Yeah, 1987. While constantly 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.060 reinventing yourself across completely different 00:01:34.060 --> 00:01:36.439 genres. OK, let's unpack this. And you know, 00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:39.180 for you listening, whether you are a diehard 00:01:39.180 --> 00:01:41.739 metal fan or you have literally never intentionally 00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:43.680 listened to a distorted guitar in your entire 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:46.340 life. Which is probably some of you. Right. matters 00:01:46.340 --> 00:01:48.439 because what we are really looking at here is 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:51.219 a master class in longevity, in adaptability, 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:53.799 and in the sheer grueling discipline required 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:56.480 to thrive in any fast -paced industry. Yeah. 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:58.500 The principles of survival we are about to discuss 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:01.420 are entirely universal. Totally. But to understand 00:02:01.420 --> 00:02:04.219 how someone evolves over 30 years, we have to 00:02:04.219 --> 00:02:06.609 start at the foundation, right? The anchor. Exactly. 00:02:06.829 --> 00:02:09.030 Before all the genre -hopping spin -offs, before 00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:11.449 the solo projects, we have to look at the core 00:02:11.449 --> 00:02:14.270 identity he built. And according to our sources, 00:02:14.689 --> 00:02:17.770 that takes us all the way back to 1987. A very 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:20.469 different era. Yeah. So, Gracia Day joins a band 00:02:20.469 --> 00:02:23.430 called Biohazard alongside Evan Seinfeld, Anthony 00:02:23.430 --> 00:02:26.409 Mio, and Bobby Hamble. Right. In the late 80s 00:02:26.409 --> 00:02:29.520 in New York City. which was a very specific, 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:32.340 highly pressurized time and place in music history. 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:34.919 Oh, absolutely. And their sound was undeniably 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:37.080 aggressive. Like to break this down, if you aren't 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:39.039 familiar with the terminology, we're talking 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:44.580 about hardcore punk. crossover thrash and groove 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:47.340 metal. It's a massive wall of sound. It really 00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:49.819 is. Basically imagine taking the lightning fast 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:53.400 raw anti -establishment energy of punk rock and 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:56.740 colliding it head on with the heavy complex churning 00:02:56.740 --> 00:02:58.840 guitar riffs of heavy metal and then eventually 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:00.979 adding elements of rap. Yeah, actually rhyming 00:03:00.979 --> 00:03:03.240 over these incredibly heavy rhythmic grooves. 00:03:03.340 --> 00:03:05.379 It's a genre designed to literally hit you right 00:03:05.379 --> 00:03:08.370 in the chest. Exactly. But the source material 00:03:08.370 --> 00:03:10.810 highlights something really specific about their 00:03:10.810 --> 00:03:14.590 lyrical content that set them apart from the 00:03:14.590 --> 00:03:16.930 pack. Yeah, they weren't just singing about typical 00:03:16.930 --> 00:03:19.610 heavy metal tropes. They were taking on the gritty 00:03:19.610 --> 00:03:22.189 realities of inner city New York life. Right, 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:24.969 heavily promoting tolerance. Speaking out against 00:03:24.969 --> 00:03:28.409 racism and fiercely opposing drug abuse. And 00:03:28.409 --> 00:03:30.189 actually, just as a quick reminder for you listening, 00:03:30.449 --> 00:03:33.110 as we pull from these sources, we're simply reporting 00:03:33.110 --> 00:03:35.370 on the band's historical messaging, right? Right, 00:03:35.370 --> 00:03:37.430 just the historical record. Yeah, we aren't taking 00:03:37.430 --> 00:03:40.150 a stance or endorsing any specific political 00:03:40.150 --> 00:03:43.069 or social viewpoints ourselves. But objectively 00:03:43.069 --> 00:03:45.419 looking at the text, their lyrics were laser 00:03:45.419 --> 00:03:48.280 focused on those urban realities. It's a very 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:51.479 distinct, constructive message. It is. And the 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:53.719 way I see it, to put this in perspective, you 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:56.060 almost have to think about early biohazard as 00:03:56.060 --> 00:03:58.819 a team of aggressive urban journalists. Oh, I 00:03:58.819 --> 00:04:01.539 like that. Right. Instead of writing a standard, 00:04:01.979 --> 00:04:04.479 neatly -sormatted op -ed for a Sunday newspaper 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:07.259 about the struggles of the city, they took those 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:10.439 exact same harsh, street -level realities and 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:12.840 turned them into these massive crossover thrash 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:15.340 anthems. Right. Reporting from the pavement. 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:18.120 Exactly. Reporting from the pavement, but using 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:20.560 a stack of amplifiers to deliver the broadcast. 00:04:20.860 --> 00:04:22.800 That is a brilliant way to frame it. And what's 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:24.879 fascinating here is the juxtaposition. Yeah. 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:28.990 You have this incredibly harsh. aggressive sonic 00:04:28.990 --> 00:04:32.790 landscape. I mean, hardcore punk and metal are 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:34.910 genres traditionally associated by the mainstream 00:04:34.910 --> 00:04:38.829 with either pure unbridled anger or blind rebellion 00:04:38.829 --> 00:04:41.829 or sometimes even a kind of dark nihilism. Yeah, 00:04:41.930 --> 00:04:44.189 definitely. But Grazia Day and his bandmates 00:04:44.189 --> 00:04:46.930 took that sonic aggression and paired it with 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:49.790 highly constructive positive social messages. 00:04:50.050 --> 00:04:52.170 It's like a Trojan horse of positivity wrapped 00:04:52.170 --> 00:04:55.100 in barbed wire. I love that image. And by doing 00:04:55.100 --> 00:04:57.240 that, they shattered the stereotypes of their 00:04:57.240 --> 00:04:59.620 own genre. It forces the listener to actually 00:04:59.620 --> 00:05:01.579 engage with the material. Right. You can't just 00:05:01.579 --> 00:05:05.060 passively listen. No. You are hit with this intense, 00:05:05.420 --> 00:05:08.139 visceral groove metal. But the message is demanding 00:05:08.139 --> 00:05:10.160 that you think critically about your environment, 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:14.139 about the concept of tolerance, about the very 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:16.639 real destruction caused by drug abuse in your 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:20.339 neighborhood. Artistically, marrying that highly 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:23.759 specific ethical message to that unapologetically 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:27.660 heavy sound is what anchored his career. It gave 00:05:27.660 --> 00:05:30.519 all that musical aggression a very clear purpose. 00:05:30.699 --> 00:05:33.079 Exactly. A purpose that clearly resonated because 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:36.079 that anchor held them steady through decades 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:40.220 of industry turbulence. Here's the thing about 00:05:40.220 --> 00:05:43.199 longevity. You can't just shout a powerful message 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:45.639 into the void for 30 years without some kind 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:47.860 of infrastructure to support it. No, you'll burn 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:49.800 out. Right. And this is the part of his story 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:52.199 that really caught my attention. We move from 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:54.800 the message of the music to the actual physical 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.160 architecture required to sustain it. Ah, the 00:05:57.160 --> 00:05:59.720 evolution of his recording studio. Yes. Because 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:02.740 to maintain an authentic voice over decades, 00:06:03.379 --> 00:06:05.660 an artist eventually needs total control over 00:06:05.660 --> 00:06:07.279 their creative space. Yeah, they have to own 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:10.819 it. Graziade didn't just play the music, he literally 00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:13.060 built the environments where the music was made. 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:15.899 And the timeline of these studios is incredible. 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:18.420 Let's chase it. Okay, so let's look at the progression. 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:21.660 It's the year 2000, the music industry is shifting, 00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:24.199 and the band decides to renovate a rehearsal 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:27.560 space in downtown Brooklyn into a digital recording 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:30.540 studio. Right. And they name it, wait for it, 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:35.459 Rat Piss Studios. A deeply evocative, quintessentially 00:06:35.459 --> 00:06:38.620 gritty Brooklyn name. It paints a very specific 00:06:38.620 --> 00:06:40.600 picture. It really does. You can almost smell 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.259 the authenticity and the rodent urine. Yeah, 00:06:43.420 --> 00:06:46.019 unfortunately. But then fast forward to 2005, 00:06:46.540 --> 00:06:49.060 they are working on their eighth studio album, 00:06:49.579 --> 00:06:52.199 Means to an End, and they leave Rat Piss behind. 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:54.879 A wise move. Right. They upgrade to a larger 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.319 but crucially less expensive space in South Amboy, 00:06:57.379 --> 00:06:59.420 New Jersey. Getting out of the city. Exactly. 00:06:59.699 --> 00:07:02.060 And they call it Underground Sound Studios. And 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:03.879 then finally, in 2010, Gratier Day moves his 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:06.470 whole operation out west to Los Angeles. And 00:07:06.470 --> 00:07:10.730 he rebrands it as Firewater Studios, which is 00:07:10.730 --> 00:07:12.870 a professional facility that he owns outright. 00:07:13.730 --> 00:07:15.930 So here's where it gets really interesting. OK. 00:07:16.189 --> 00:07:18.610 Does changing your physical creative environment 00:07:18.610 --> 00:07:22.329 from a gritty Brooklyn room named after rat urine 00:07:22.329 --> 00:07:26.509 to a professional studio in LA fundamentally 00:07:26.509 --> 00:07:30.310 change the art you produce? Well. It is the classic 00:07:30.310 --> 00:07:33.329 debate of environment versus essence. But I would 00:07:33.329 --> 00:07:35.389 argue that in this specific case, it doesn't 00:07:35.389 --> 00:07:37.649 change the art. It actually preserves it. Oh, 00:07:37.649 --> 00:07:40.329 really? Yes. The business acumen behind this 00:07:40.329 --> 00:07:43.089 evolution is exactly why he is still a working 00:07:43.089 --> 00:07:45.870 artist today. But wait, hold on. Let me push 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:47.569 back on that for a second. Sure. Doesn't owning 00:07:47.569 --> 00:07:50.689 your own studio sometimes, like... backfire on 00:07:50.689 --> 00:07:52.790 an artist? How so? Well, without the ticking 00:07:52.790 --> 00:07:55.509 clock of an expensive hourly rate breathing down 00:07:55.509 --> 00:07:57.790 your neck, couldn't a band just noodle around 00:07:57.790 --> 00:08:00.449 forever? Uh, the endless perfectionism. Yeah. 00:08:00.750 --> 00:08:03.370 I feel like that financial constraint, that pressure, 00:08:03.569 --> 00:08:05.730 is necessary for some artists to actually finish 00:08:05.730 --> 00:08:08.430 an album. Does owning the sandbox sometimes make 00:08:08.430 --> 00:08:11.329 you lazy? It absolutely can if you lack discipline. 00:08:11.709 --> 00:08:13.490 And we will definitely get to his discipline 00:08:13.490 --> 00:08:15.819 in a moment. But... You have to understand the 00:08:15.819 --> 00:08:18.240 economic realities of the music industry to see 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:21.759 why this was a masterstroke. Renting studio time 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:26.620 is like riding in a taxi in heavy. gridlock traffic. 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:29.379 Oh, that's a stressful feeling. It is. You were 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:31.439 just sitting there staring at the meter going 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:34.779 up and up while you are going nowhere. That pressure 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:37.960 destroys so many bands. It forces compromises 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:39.759 because they just run out of money. Exactly. 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:43.200 So by renovating their own space in 2000, then 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.039 making the calculated financial move to New Jersey 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:49.299 in 2005 for their eighth album to get more space 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:51.840 for less money. Yeah. And finally, establishing 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:54.929 Firewater Studios in L .A. He finally bought 00:08:54.929 --> 00:08:57.889 the car. He stopped paying the taxi meter. Precisely. 00:08:58.149 --> 00:09:00.009 Controlling the means of production is the ultimate 00:09:00.009 --> 00:09:02.610 defense against industry burnout. When you own 00:09:02.610 --> 00:09:05.629 the studio, that paralyzing ticking clock stops. 00:09:06.029 --> 00:09:08.009 Right. You can experiment. You can fail without 00:09:08.009 --> 00:09:10.509 going bankrupt. It allows an artist to pivot 00:09:10.509 --> 00:09:12.830 from merely being a disposable participant in 00:09:12.830 --> 00:09:14.870 the music industry to actually becoming a foundational 00:09:14.870 --> 00:09:17.740 pillar of it. Wow, yeah. He controls the infrastructure. 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:19.879 And because he owned the infrastructure, he didn't 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.320 have to just, you know, build the exact same 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:24.379 heavy metal sand castle over and over again. 00:09:24.580 --> 00:09:27.240 No, he had the freedom to branch out. Which brings 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:30.080 us to his collaborations. Once he owned his own 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:33.059 space, the genre walls completely dissolved. 00:09:33.220 --> 00:09:35.590 They did. He didn't have to stay strictly in 00:09:35.590 --> 00:09:38.809 his hardcore lane. He became a restless serial 00:09:38.809 --> 00:09:41.309 collaborator. And the sheer variety of projects 00:09:41.309 --> 00:09:43.570 he took on is staggering when you look at the 00:09:43.570 --> 00:09:46.330 source material. It really is. And if we group 00:09:46.330 --> 00:09:49.070 these together, you see two distinct sides of 00:09:49.070 --> 00:09:52.090 his creativity. On one hand, you have him doubling 00:09:52.090 --> 00:09:56.190 down on heavy music, but in entirely new configurations. 00:09:56.679 --> 00:09:59.879 Like, in 2004, he forms a band called Suicide 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:02.659 City with members of Groovenics and Kitty. A 00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:05.480 solid crossover project. Yeah. Then in 2005, 00:10:05.659 --> 00:10:07.779 he steps into heavy metal royalty territory. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:10.120 He participates in Roadrunner United. Oh, right. 00:10:10.139 --> 00:10:12.559 That was a massive collaborative project celebrating 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:14.980 Roadrunner records. Exactly. And he performs 00:10:14.980 --> 00:10:18.259 the biohazard song Punishment alongside absolute 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:21.019 legends from Fear Factory, Sepultura, Machine 00:10:21.019 --> 00:10:23.519 Head, and Slipknot. That's quite a lineup. It's 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:27.379 huge. Then, in 2017, he forms Power Flow, which 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:29.960 is this incredible hybrid of metal and hip hop, 00:10:30.100 --> 00:10:32.700 teaming up with Sendog from Cypress Hill. He 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:34.659 is constantly surrounding himself with different 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:37.519 types of heavy musicians. Right, and even acts 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.980 as like a humble hired gun. In 2010, he fills 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:43.259 in on guitar for the Boston hardcore band, Blood 00:10:43.259 --> 00:10:45.840 for Blood. Just stepping in. Yeah, he's in fronting 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:47.600 the band, he's just stepping in to help out, 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:52.309 which shows zero ego. Buried in this source text 00:10:52.309 --> 00:10:54.870 is the wildest pivot of all. Oh, the side project. 00:10:55.149 --> 00:10:57.710 Yes. Yeah. Alongside all this aggressive metal, 00:10:58.090 --> 00:11:00.750 he secretly formed a trip hop project. The blue 00:11:00.750 --> 00:11:04.049 project. Yes. a project named Blue with Jennifer 00:11:04.049 --> 00:11:06.950 Bear, the band Hilo. And if you aren't familiar 00:11:06.950 --> 00:11:08.809 with Trip Hop, let me explain just how crazy 00:11:08.809 --> 00:11:11.129 this is. It is a massive departure. Trip Hop 00:11:11.129 --> 00:11:14.309 is this hypnotic, slow, atmospheric blend of 00:11:14.309 --> 00:11:17.350 electronic beats, heavy bass, and moody vocals. 00:11:17.889 --> 00:11:20.629 It is the absolute sonic opposite of the 200 00:11:20.629 --> 00:11:22.870 -beat -per -minute aggressive screaming guitarist 00:11:22.870 --> 00:11:25.129 he is known for. Completely different. It requires 00:11:25.129 --> 00:11:27.190 a completely different musical vocabulary. Yeah. 00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:29.750 And they wrote and recorded roughly 20 songs 00:11:29.750 --> 00:11:33.220 together. Wow. but Baer left for Los Angeles 00:11:33.220 --> 00:11:35.919 to pursue an art career, the project dissolved, 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:39.279 and only three demo tracks survived. The rest 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:42.039 remains unreleased. Lost to time. I was genuinely 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:45.139 shocked reading this. To me, discovering this 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:47.860 hardcore pioneer had a secret trip hop project. 00:11:48.090 --> 00:11:50.389 is exactly like finding out that Gordon Ramsay 00:11:50.389 --> 00:11:53.529 secretly runs a quaint little vegan cupcake bakery 00:11:53.529 --> 00:11:56.009 on the weekends. That is quite the visual. Right. 00:11:56.169 --> 00:11:57.809 It completely shatters your perception of the 00:11:57.809 --> 00:11:59.850 brand. It does shatter the conventional brand, 00:12:00.049 --> 00:12:02.250 certainly. But if we connect this to the bigger 00:12:02.250 --> 00:12:06.779 picture... This is the hallmark of a true lifelong 00:12:06.779 --> 00:12:09.940 creative. True creatives are ultimately driven 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:13.799 by an insatiable curiosity, not by strict genre 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:16.139 loyalty. Curiosity over loyalty. I like that 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:18.460 phrase. It is essential for survival. If you 00:12:18.460 --> 00:12:21.279 only ever play one style of music, if you only 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.419 ever flex one creative muscle, you stagnate. 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:27.539 You burn out. You become a caricature of yourself. 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:31.159 His ability to blend into rap metal with Cypress 00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:34.080 Hill alumni, step in as a rhythm guitarist for 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:37.100 a Boston hardcore band, and then completely switch 00:12:37.100 --> 00:12:40.440 gears to write. atmospheric electronic trip hop 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:43.940 shows a profound, deep -rooted musical fluency. 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:45.879 Yeah, he's not just a guy who knows how to play 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:48.639 loud and fast. Exactly. He understands the intricate 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.740 mechanics of rhythm, pacing, and emotional tone 00:12:51.740 --> 00:12:54.659 across the entire musical spectrum. And again, 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:56.480 this circles back to the infrastructure. Right. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.980 Having his own studio facilitates that exact 00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:02.820 curiosity. Because he doesn't have an A &R guy 00:13:02.820 --> 00:13:04.580 from a record label looking over his shoulder. 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:07.159 Tapping his watch. Yeah, tapping his watch, asking 00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:09.539 how trip -hop track is going to sell to a metal 00:13:09.539 --> 00:13:12.080 audience, you can explore those tangents safely. 00:13:12.740 --> 00:13:14.759 Exactly. The exploration becomes part of the 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:17.220 daily practice rather than a risky financial 00:13:17.220 --> 00:13:19.419 gamble. But you know, all of this collaboration, 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:22.019 all of this building of studios, playing in super 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:25.539 groups, and jumping between bands, it was all 00:13:25.539 --> 00:13:28.139 leading somewhere. It was building towards something. 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:30.299 Yeah. All these roads, all these experiments 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:32.000 eventually pointed him toward the one frontier 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:34.480 he actually hadn't fully explored yet, stepping 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:37.059 out entirely under his own name. The solo projects 00:13:37.059 --> 00:13:40.200 in his later career. Right. In 2018, he launches 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:43.419 his solo project, simply called Billy Bio. He 00:13:43.419 --> 00:13:45.399 releases his first solo album, Feed the Fire, 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.559 in 2018. OK. And then follows it up with Leaders 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:52.279 and Liars in 2022. He's out there touring with 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:55.159 acts like Life of Agony and Mad Ball. Still grinding. 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:57.639 Still grinding. And right around the same time, 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:01.039 in 2019, he forms an industrial crossover project 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:04.320 called Viral, releasing a single called Disorder 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:07.240 and going on a European tour with the German 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:10.080 industrial band Die Krupps. That's a heavy schedule. 00:14:10.379 --> 00:14:13.059 It is. Now think of the timeline here. Why wait 00:14:13.059 --> 00:14:15.820 until 2018 to launch Billy Bio? He is launching 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:18.320 a brand new solo career, fronting new bands, 00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:20.419 and heading out on grueling European club and 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:23.100 festival tours in his late 40s and into his 50s. 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:25.600 Which is an age when most musicians in his genre 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.539 are either retiring or just lazily playing the 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:31.460 hits from 30 years ago on a reunion tour. Exactly. 00:14:32.419 --> 00:14:36.200 By waiting until his 50s... He bypassed the trap 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:38.419 of trying to compete with his 20 year old self. 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:40.500 He had a new foundation. Right. He already had 00:14:40.500 --> 00:14:42.259 the infrastructure. He had the network. He had 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:44.980 the studio. His solo leap wasn't some desperate 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:47.659 grab for fame. It was a calculated expansion 00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:51.870 of his empire. Well said. But doing that reestablishing 00:14:51.870 --> 00:14:55.850 a brand from scratch at that age requires a staggering 00:14:55.850 --> 00:14:58.490 level of internal discipline. Yeah. And according 00:14:58.490 --> 00:15:00.450 to the source material, the secret to that discipline 00:15:00.450 --> 00:15:03.029 was cultivated entirely outside of the recording 00:15:03.029 --> 00:15:06.070 studio. Ah, yes. You're referring to his extensive 00:15:06.070 --> 00:15:09.250 martial arts background. Yes. Grazadei has been 00:15:09.250 --> 00:15:11.590 training in Brazilian jiu -jitsu for years. He 00:15:11.590 --> 00:15:13.669 actually holds a black belt. Which is no small 00:15:13.669 --> 00:15:16.389 feat. No. And we aren't talking about a casual 00:15:16.389 --> 00:15:19.429 weekend hobby here. He trains under UFC co -founder 00:15:19.429 --> 00:15:22.330 Rory and Gracie, and his sons, Ryron and Renner, 00:15:22.730 --> 00:15:24.710 at the legendary Gracie Academy in Torrance, 00:15:24.870 --> 00:15:27.269 California. The absolute mecca of jiu -jitsu. 00:15:27.490 --> 00:15:29.370 It is. So what does this all mean? I have a theory 00:15:29.370 --> 00:15:31.409 here, and I want you to tell me if I'm off base. 00:15:31.429 --> 00:15:34.330 Let's hear it. You have this guy operating in 00:15:34.330 --> 00:15:38.350 the chaotic, volatile world of music for decades, 00:15:39.230 --> 00:15:41.600 but he survives. I think the pressure cooker 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:44.679 environment of hardcore music is exactly like 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:47.240 the physical mechanics of Brazilian jiu -jitsu. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:49.840 That's interesting. How so? Unpack the mechanics 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:51.679 of that for me. Okay, think about what happens 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:54.279 on a jiu -jitsu map. You have someone who might 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:56.559 be 50 pounds heavier than you, literally sitting 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:58.899 on your chest. Right. The physical weight is 00:15:58.899 --> 00:16:01.419 crushing you. You can't breathe. The natural 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:04.000 human instinct is to thrash around, to panic, 00:16:04.299 --> 00:16:06.179 to spend all your energy trying to bench press 00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:08.620 them off you. Which never works. Exactly. If 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:11.899 you do that, you gas out and you lose. To survive 00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:14.720 jujitsu, you have to stay incredibly calm under 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:16.919 that crushing weight. You have to conserve your 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:19.299 energy, control your breathing, and look for 00:16:19.299 --> 00:16:22.840 the tiny strategic sweep or escape. Yeah. And 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:25.840 to me, that is exactly like managing band dynamics 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:28.759 or dealing with a failing record label or facing 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:31.720 the exhaustion of a nine -month tour. It is all 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:34.179 about breathing under immense pressure. This 00:16:34.179 --> 00:16:37.350 raises an important question. How much of our 00:16:37.350 --> 00:16:39.690 professional endurance is actually fueled by 00:16:39.690 --> 00:16:42.129 the physical and mental practices we cultivate 00:16:42.129 --> 00:16:44.590 entirely outside of our day jobs? Oh that's a 00:16:44.590 --> 00:16:47.059 great point. Because your theory is spot -on. 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:49.519 The intersection of martial arts and long -term 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.860 career survival is profound here. Earning a black 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:54.960 belt in Brazilian jiu -jitsu, especially under 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.779 the Gracie family, takes years of grinding, ego 00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:01.279 -destroying discipline. You have to literally 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:03.820 tap out constantly. Yes. You have to learn to 00:17:03.820 --> 00:17:06.359 be comfortable with profound discomfort. You 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:08.880 literally get choked out, you tap the mat, you 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:10.859 swallow your pride, and you come back the next 00:17:10.859 --> 00:17:13.640 day to try again. Precisely. You learn how to 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:16.349 systematically solve highly complex problems 00:17:16.349 --> 00:17:19.230 while under extreme physical and mental duress. 00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:22.349 That exact same discipline, that ability to check 00:17:22.349 --> 00:17:24.430 your ego at the door, to keep showing up after 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:27.529 a defeat, is the mechanism. It is very likely 00:17:27.529 --> 00:17:30.250 the exact reason why he is the only continuous 00:17:30.250 --> 00:17:34.470 member of biohazards since 1987. Band dynamics 00:17:34.470 --> 00:17:37.440 are notoriously volatile. The music industry 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.700 is built on shifting sands, but a martial artist's 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:43.859 mindset is built on resilience, situational awareness, 00:17:44.099 --> 00:17:47.279 and steady, incremental progress. It makes so 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:48.720 much sense when you look at the whole picture. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.099 He took the resilience he learned on the mats 00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:53.839 in Torrance, California, and applied it to every 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:56.400 stage, every studio build, and every chaotic 00:17:56.400 --> 00:17:59.099 band lineup he ever dealt with. Exactly. It's 00:17:59.099 --> 00:18:01.099 all the exact same practice, just applied in 00:18:01.099 --> 00:18:03.859 different arenas. It really is a unified philosophy. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:07.099 So as we synthesize this deep dive into Grazia 00:18:07.099 --> 00:18:09.500 Day's career, the main takeaways for you listening 00:18:09.500 --> 00:18:11.700 are very clear. Yeah, let's break them down. 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:14.900 Longevity in any competitive field isn't just 00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:18.059 about stubbornness or luck or just sticking around 00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:21.259 long enough. It requires three very distinct 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:24.339 pillars. First, you have to build your own infrastructure. 00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:27.259 Like the studios. Just like his evolution from 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:29.759 a rehearsal space called Rat Piss to owning Firewater 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:32.180 Studios in L .A., you have to control your own 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:34.380 tools so you aren't beholden to the industry's 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:36.420 ticking clock. Right. And second, you have to 00:18:36.420 --> 00:18:39.440 remain endlessly curious. Don't get trapped by 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.559 your own past success or the expectations of 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.660 your specific genre. Go build the musical equivalent 00:18:45.660 --> 00:18:48.500 of a trip hop side project, even if nobody ever 00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:51.839 hears it. Let your curiosity, not your ego, drive 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:54.880 your collaborations. And third, you must maintain 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:57.819 immense personal discipline. Yeah. Find a practice 00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:00.460 entirely outside of your professional work like 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:03.400 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that teaches you how to survive 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:05.880 under crushing pressure, how to solve problems 00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:08.660 systematically, and how to keep your ego in check. 00:19:08.829 --> 00:19:11.329 That is the true anatomy of a creative survivor. 00:19:11.910 --> 00:19:14.009 Absolutely. But before we wrap up today, I want 00:19:14.009 --> 00:19:15.829 to leave you with a brand new thought to ponder. 00:19:16.210 --> 00:19:18.230 Something entirely separate from the discipline 00:19:18.230 --> 00:19:20.690 and the success we just discussed. OK. Think 00:19:20.690 --> 00:19:23.190 back to those lost projects we mentioned, like 00:19:23.190 --> 00:19:26.569 those 17 unreleased trip hop tracks from The 00:19:26.569 --> 00:19:28.630 Blue Project. Right, the ones that just vanished. 00:19:28.829 --> 00:19:31.309 Exactly. They were fully written, they were recorded, 00:19:31.329 --> 00:19:33.849 and then they just vanished into the ether. Yeah. 00:19:34.109 --> 00:19:36.269 And every creative person has a graveyard of 00:19:36.269 --> 00:19:39.069 ideas like that. Oh, for sure. What hidden failed 00:19:39.069 --> 00:19:41.809 or completely abandoned projects do you currently 00:19:41.809 --> 00:19:44.289 have locked away on your own mental hard drive? 00:19:44.910 --> 00:19:48.509 And more importantly, how are those unseen seemingly 00:19:48.509 --> 00:19:51.269 failed efforts secretly shaping the work you 00:19:51.269 --> 00:19:53.630 actually put out into the world today? That is 00:19:53.630 --> 00:19:55.829 a fascinating question to carry with you as you 00:19:55.829 --> 00:19:58.009 evaluate your own creative journey. Thank you 00:19:58.009 --> 00:19:59.809 for joining us on this deep dive. We'll see you 00:19:59.809 --> 00:20:00.130 next time.