WEBVTT

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This is Chris Voss from the band The Record Company.

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You're listening to My Weekly Mixtape with Brian

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Colburn, a place where music is spoken of with

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intellect and integrity. Welcome to My Weekly

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Mixtape, a podcast that takes the classic mixtape

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approach to building a modern playlist. I'm your

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host, Brian Colburn. Tonight, I'm excited to

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welcome Chris Voss of the record company of the

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program. Chris, thank you so much for joining

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me on my weekly mixtape. Thanks for having me,

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Brian. I'm of the era where I know a lot about

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the mixtape, so it's all good. Well, that leads

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right into my first question then. What does

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the word mixtape mean to you? Well, I started

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by buying cassettes, so I have all of that meaning,

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all the classic meaning. You know, it could be

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a love letter through a succession of songs.

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It could have been just trying to, as a kid,

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make yourself a little tape that just hits all

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the songs that you want to hear in a given, you

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know, run or hanging out with your friends or

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make a mixtape to have an hour of good music

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that, you know, you don't ever have to walk over

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and lift the needle or skip in the CD. Now, it's

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a great invention that it went the way of the

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wayside. But now it's like I think people really

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enjoy having their hands on physical product.

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cassette on the last record and it was great

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i love that we didn't do a big run but it was

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fun well let's dive into the record company now

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and i've always wondered what is the story behind

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the band's name because it's one of those names

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that when i first heard it back in 2016 my immediate

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thought was how the hell did nobody think of

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this sooner yeah uh we thought the same thing

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you know there's two different elements of play

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there for one thing you know you think about

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bands that kind of name themselves in a name

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that's ironic like the band being named that

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because they were bob dylan's band everybody

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just referred to them as the band like we'll

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be the band or the who you know what i mean just

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all of them have a little bit of an attitude

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to it when you think about the name and we were

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living in la and uh we had been playing a little

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bit and we had a sound already we had some recordings

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and we're just trying to think of something that

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wouldn't destroy what we're trying to build naming

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a band is not easy that's why as much as people

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make fun of some artists for changing letters

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these days it's like what do you want these kids

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to do man it's all it there's everything's in

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one or two words is taken one way or another

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you know so i certainly give sympathy to that

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it's like you want to name yourself something

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or the cars there's another good reason but if

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you wanted to say that nowadays you'd have to

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change the lettering around the name came out

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of just desperate necessity Alex stiff, our bass

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player called me one day. I was out to eat with

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my wife and he was like, I think I just thought

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of the name. And I was like, what is it? And

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he said, the record company. I was like, you

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gotta be kidding me. That's not taken. He says,

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nobody has it. No website, no Facebook. That

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was all that was going on at the time. Facebook

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is 2012. It's like nothing. And I said, well,

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let's take it. And the thought process behind

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it. And in that first conversation, I said, I

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love this man. We live in LA. We don't think

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we're going to ever get signed because we were

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so out there and weird compared to what other

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people were doing at that time around L .A. anyway.

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And there was also the conversation about the

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validity of record labels and what their future

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was. So I was like, I think the reason nobody

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ever took that name is because labels were it

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was like naming yourself like that would have

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been like kind of a crazy thing to do because

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labels still were really the only way. And we

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were in a position where people are asking, is

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that the only way? And we kind of thought it

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was a little bit of a punk rock thing to name

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ourselves after the thing that most artists either

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crave or fear or both. You know what I mean?

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Nice. It had a little bit of punk rock in it.

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It had a little bit of a joke in there. But the

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thing I love about our name is people either

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get it and love it or don't get it. The record

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company, why didn't you think longer on that?

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It's like, dude, we thought for weeks. There's

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a lot of thought that went into that. And it

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worked. You know, it worked. Thank God. Well,

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I want to touch on something you were just talking

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about there, which is the L .A. music scene,

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because when people think about blues and blues

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rock and blues rock adjacent bands, L .A.'s not

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the first area that comes to mind. Was that a

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challenge for you guys in your formative years

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to kind of cut through the mold of a scene that's

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not really geared all the way towards the blues?

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Well, surprisingly enough. We formed in October

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of 2011. And by the 4th of January, we had one

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of our demos spun on a radio by Nick Harcourt.

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And Kevin Bronson was spinning us out here and

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a bunch of other people. And then Bruce Warren

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out in Philadelphia started spinning our music

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really early. And one of the cooler, none of

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us had experienced this, I think because our

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recordings were so lo -fi and just kind of like

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didn't give a crap. but we gave a crap about

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the songs and the music, but we were like, we're

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going to leave it dusty and rusty. Like there's

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this old John Lee hooker record with canned heat

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called hooker and heat. It was like, so obvious

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they shot, it was a four sided LP. So clear.

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They recorded it in like a day or two all live,

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you know? And we're like, we're just going to

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do it that way. Hung up a couple of mics. We

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didn't really know how to make a record or a

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good recording and just did it. And just, it

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was like, if it sounded good going in, that was

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enough. And somehow. in la the local promoters

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took to us right away so not only were we got

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to play at the time there was a venue called

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harvard and stone we got asked in march of that

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year to do their residency which was crazy because

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we hadn't played but maybe one or two gigs and

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then it just kept going from there so we didn't

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have any trouble getting booked in la at all

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we played quite a bit actually locally we played

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like 50 times in the first year you know or something

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like that in in the region That gave us a nice

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head start, you know, but all of us had been

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in bands. The funny part is all of us had been

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in bands that, that are similar to, you know,

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the story you hear most of the time was like,

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well, I sent my stuff in, nobody's getting back

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to me, you know? So we were all in our, our going

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into our like earlier mid thirties at the time.

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So for that to happen was not something I think

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we expected. You hope that something special

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when you record it, but you know, you never know.

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The one thing we had going for us is we knew

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what we wanted to sound like. We knew what we

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wanted to be about. right off the bat you know

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and that what we were whatever that was was very

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clear when you listen to the demos so i think

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that helped us so yeah it was the opposite uh

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we had a relatively painless time getting booked

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in la it was when we tried to take the next step

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that it got a little tougher meaning getting

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out of la because we're all the way out here

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on the coast and without the assistance of a

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record label you can't really do any decent touring

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because getting across to the rest of the country

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is a little bit of a journey you know you're

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not in nashville where there's all those markets

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right around you so right right that's another

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story so the record company needed a record company

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in an ironic twist of fate yeah and when we got

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signed it was hilarious because to concord records

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which was the same label at the time that was

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doing nathaniel rateliff and like stuff like

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that when we got signed to them The owner, well,

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the president of the company at the time was

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this really sweet guy named John Burke. He joked

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with me, he's like, you know how wacky it is

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to sign the record company to a record company?

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He's like, you know, that contract, right? But

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that was fun. You know, we just called them the

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label and they called us the record company.

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Well, let's start at the beginning of the record

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company's 2016 debut album, Give It Back To You

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and the song Off The Ground. I gotta give myself

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all to... Correct me if I'm wrong here, but Give

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It Back to You was self -produced and recorded

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in a living room? That is correct, yes. And everything

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that happened off that record was like seven

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mics. Another thing, a little kind of wool over

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the eyes thing we were able to pull was when

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we brought in our demos or our recordings to

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the label, they were like, oh, this sounds great.

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They had like no notes on them at all, except

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for I think they asked us to turn up the kick

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drum on one or two things. and they're like where'd

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you record this and we're like oh you know i

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don't remember how we got around that one but

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i don't think they had any idea that we had it

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in a living room until we were so down the road

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with them that they were like we started making

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a part of the story because it was a good thing

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to hear it's like not every time you make an

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album in a living room as musicians do you like

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end up on the radio like the way we did and all

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that stuff and on television you know and it

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was just not it was not what we were expecting

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but yes we did and uh we're very proud of that

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fact it was it was who we were you know it took

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two and a half years to get well started in 2012

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labels started coming around late 2014 we signed

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in 2015 and we put out the first single in january

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of 2016 that was off the ground and that went

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up the charts and ended up hitting number one

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on triple a yep and that shocked everybody especially

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us because the names on the top of that I remember

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seeing our name in a top 10 with like David Bowie's

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like Lazarus and like just crazy bands that it

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was like, how are we even in the same conversation

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chart wise as this, but it was a different sound

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and people enjoy it. And I'm glad we wrote that

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song. I tell you, that changed everything. That

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song. Now, do you think the recording of the

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album in the living room lent itself to that

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intimate yet live? comfortable feel of the songs

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that kind of gave it its own vibe because when

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you compare it to the rest of the albums in the

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band's discography this one definitely feels

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like it's cut from a little bit of a different

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cloth as the band expands across the rest of

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the catalog yeah i think it just was the old

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you don't know any better so you do what you're

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doing you know kind of thing we we have one rule

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do we dig it or not and does it does this sound

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belong with the rest of the songs and and There

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were just some little tricks that were, I was

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singing through a, I had a 57 taped to an old

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like cardioid. Um, I think that's how you say

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it now. Kind of like what a green bullet would

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be, but this one was old and from the fifties

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and it had a notch out of the side where you

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could put it next to a 57 and we'd run the 57

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into the board and I'd run the cardio mic into

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a 1964 twin reverb, like a actual one that I

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owned and turn it towards the wall. We'd mic

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that. And then we'd put the guitar in a corner

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and we never, if the guitar sounded good, we,

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I remember we didn't even have a, we would have

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a stand for the guitar on the first record. Alex

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had a candle, like one of those big candles that

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was, it was just the perfect height. We just

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lay the microphone on top of the candle. Cause

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we were like, who cares what it looks like? Nobody's

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going to see it. I'm like, let's just do it.

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And I played on a Tiesco Del Rey that I, my friend

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had fished out of the trash and I didn't play

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on that. Because I wanted to be able to say I

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played on this old junkie guitar. It was because

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it was so microphonic. And for those who might

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not be familiar with the term for microphonic

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is a little bit of an audio word in case there's

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somebody out there listening. Microphonic is

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not what you want a guitar to be. That basically

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means like you can talk into the front of the

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guitar and you can hear it in the amp like a

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microphone. That's not great. But we were in

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such a small space that using this old guitar,

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A, it didn't let me get. too wild. Cause I can,

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you know, if I got to play fancier stuff, I can,

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this wouldn't let you do that. It's like, if

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you bent a string, you were out of tune. So they

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want to bend that string and, and the guitar

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somehow captured the sound of the whole room

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and went into the amp. And so you had on a guitar

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track, you'd kind of hear a cymbal crash or,

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and it made everything sound bigger. The guitar

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sounded big. but it was quiet because we couldn't

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be in it too loud so i think that was like a

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secret there was just a lot of bleed and a lot

00:13:35.620 --> 00:13:38.019
of things that are traditionally considered a

00:13:38.019 --> 00:13:40.860
problem that we just would go that sounds great

00:13:40.860 --> 00:13:44.419
let's go and uh there you go that's that's kind

00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:46.700
of one of the reasons that album worked and then

00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:50.159
every take on that was either live or cut live

00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:52.919
with the band as a band and then a vocal take

00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:55.960
and usually the vocal takes i do uh would be

00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:59.039
the first or second take We'd do one, maybe we'd

00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.580
do a second one if we wanted to get it. What

00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:03.980
we were trying to go for was like the spontaneity

00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:08.220
of the first take. And it wasn't for any major

00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:10.200
reason other than it just kind of made sense

00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:12.820
to what we were doing. We had nobody telling

00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:16.139
us what to do. So our artistic guts were very

00:14:16.139 --> 00:14:18.740
pure, you know, and our decisions were pure.

00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:21.120
It wasn't to do it to be cool. It was to do it

00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:22.419
because we wanted something. We had that John

00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:24.480
Lee Hooker record and we were like, we want it

00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.659
to sound. And I mean this in the greatest way,

00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:29.860
nasty. You know, we want it to sound achy. And

00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:33.320
if something's dark, we want it to sound creepy

00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:36.419
dark, not like, oh, that's a little bit bassy.

00:14:36.419 --> 00:14:38.820
That's like, get out of that mentality and see

00:14:38.820 --> 00:14:41.620
if we can create a real sound. And I think along

00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:44.019
with that is where the authenticity comes out

00:14:44.019 --> 00:14:46.299
in this album. And I'm not the only one that

00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:48.940
feels that way, because Give It Back to You was

00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:52.059
nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album at

00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:56.559
the 2017 Grammy Awards. Did reaching those heights

00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:00.759
on your debut album put any pressure on the band

00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:03.919
as you wrote and recorded all of this life as

00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.080
the follow up? Good question. I think I'd be

00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:09.600
lying if I said it didn't create pressure. I

00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.360
remember. But it was we're weird guys. We don't

00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:14.679
you know, we just have been so down the road

00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:18.019
of so many different directions and come from

00:15:18.019 --> 00:15:20.639
crazy backgrounds that I could go into. But I'll

00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:23.539
stick with your question. what I had said just

00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:25.539
speaking for myself I said I've never made a

00:15:25.539 --> 00:15:27.940
second record where so many people give a crap

00:15:27.940 --> 00:15:31.139
that right there just knowing that you know I'd

00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:33.759
made however many records in my life and Alex

00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:35.460
and Mark had both made records and it's like

00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:37.159
it was always the same story you know you made

00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:39.759
records and maybe it did local or regional I

00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:41.919
grew up in Wisconsin I was a dairy farm kid on

00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:43.980
Wisconsin moved to Milwaukee for college and

00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:46.200
had college bands and played around Milwaukee

00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:48.399
for a while after that so I had put out records

00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:51.389
and CDs or whatever back in the day And you'd

00:15:51.389 --> 00:15:53.429
have some people that cared and bought it, but

00:15:53.429 --> 00:15:56.070
not thousands of people. Give it back to you.

00:15:56.649 --> 00:15:58.350
We're still in that era where you could sell

00:15:58.350 --> 00:16:02.470
CDs in 2016. Sold like 100 ,000 plus albums.

00:16:02.830 --> 00:16:05.389
And we were projected. I only know this because,

00:16:05.409 --> 00:16:08.889
again, the great label guy, John Dulles, they

00:16:08.889 --> 00:16:11.769
projected us at like 10 ,000. And we went 10

00:16:11.769 --> 00:16:15.470
times bigger than they had thought. So, yes,

00:16:15.730 --> 00:16:18.190
there was a lot of anticipation and there was

00:16:18.190 --> 00:16:20.759
a lot of. fresher but you know it just came back

00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:23.639
to making the songs as good as we could the difference

00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:26.039
in your second record the old cliche you have

00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:27.700
your whole life to write your first record and

00:16:27.700 --> 00:16:29.580
you know a couple of months to write your second

00:16:29.580 --> 00:16:32.200
the difference was just getting people going

00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:34.559
hey there's a timeline here we need to have a

00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:36.220
new album out by this point or we're going to

00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:38.639
lose momentum and you're like well boy i really

00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:41.139
don't want to lose momentum but we were lucky

00:16:41.139 --> 00:16:43.259
we stuck to our guns we recorded a lot of the

00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:45.240
record in the living room we recorded some of

00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:47.779
it at this great studio down the street our buddy

00:16:47.779 --> 00:16:50.259
clay blair he owns a place called boulevard recordings

00:16:50.259 --> 00:16:53.120
right on uh i think it's on sunset actually and

00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:56.039
uh that room is old and stinky and everything

00:16:56.039 --> 00:16:58.120
you kind of want it to be you know what i mean

00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:00.960
and yeah that it's i when i walked in i said

00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:04.009
this smells like how we should sound you know

00:17:04.009 --> 00:17:07.009
a little murky a little a little gray you know

00:17:07.009 --> 00:17:09.970
and uh it was it was a beautiful space so that

00:17:09.970 --> 00:17:11.569
record definitely got a little more of a sheen

00:17:11.569 --> 00:17:14.309
from the production standpoint but the songs

00:17:14.309 --> 00:17:16.930
they were a little harder to write on that record

00:17:16.930 --> 00:17:20.210
because we had so many on the first record just

00:17:20.210 --> 00:17:22.210
ready to go and this was starting from scratch

00:17:22.210 --> 00:17:25.250
but i was very proud when we put out that record

00:17:25.250 --> 00:17:27.049
when life to fix came out it went right back

00:17:27.049 --> 00:17:30.640
up the chart again and uh Not that that's the

00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:32.599
measure of anything, but our fans were saying

00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:34.680
we're really stoked on the message of the song

00:17:34.680 --> 00:17:37.599
and the bass line and the vocal and just the

00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:39.880
overall feel. So the pressure was there. But

00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:42.500
I think in the end, we always and I always say,

00:17:42.660 --> 00:17:47.420
do we believe in this? If the answer is no, if

00:17:47.420 --> 00:17:50.480
it feels forced, we cannot say yes to anything,

00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:53.660
even if it makes people mad or hurts feelings.

00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:56.980
We're the ones that are going to have this be

00:17:56.980 --> 00:17:58.740
our second record for the rest of our lives.

00:17:59.290 --> 00:18:01.089
So I think it's important when you're an artist

00:18:01.089 --> 00:18:03.430
to know when, well, you always should have a

00:18:03.430 --> 00:18:05.829
good handle on what it is you want to do. Consideration

00:18:05.829 --> 00:18:07.809
of other people's ideas should all, you know,

00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:09.869
you don't want to be what my dad would call a

00:18:09.869 --> 00:18:12.190
stubborn mule, but you also need to know who

00:18:12.190 --> 00:18:15.230
you are, you know, allowing for growth. If somebody

00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:16.650
says something that really makes sense, we had

00:18:16.650 --> 00:18:18.950
a really good team around us. So it was, it was

00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:21.670
a really fun experience to second record. Well,

00:18:21.710 --> 00:18:24.650
since you mentioned life to fix from 2018, all

00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:26.829
of this life, why don't we give that a spin now?

00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:32.759
Threw it all out in a ditch. Broke it down when

00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:35.720
I was sick. Gotta build it back up brick by brick.

00:18:35.839 --> 00:19:03.759
I got this life to fill. Now, make no mistake,

00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:07.799
Chris, this is a blues song, but it's also swamp

00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:10.200
rock adjacent. There's a touch of pop. There's

00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:13.240
a touch of Americana at play, which, in my humble

00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:16.880
opinion, is a hallmark of the record company

00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:20.440
sound. Because while it's undeniably bluesy,

00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:23.319
there's these tentacles that reach out in different

00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:25.740
directions and grab from different genres and

00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:28.670
different mindsets. Can you talk about that approach

00:19:28.670 --> 00:19:32.569
that you took as a band to kind of hone in on

00:19:32.569 --> 00:19:37.450
the group's overall musical voice? Good question.

00:19:37.569 --> 00:19:40.250
I just think the three of us have just always

00:19:40.250 --> 00:19:42.309
had a very natural way of communicating musically.

00:19:42.730 --> 00:19:46.089
If Alex goes up high on the bass, Mark, our drummer

00:19:46.089 --> 00:19:48.250
knows we're a three piece. So, hey, I'm going

00:19:48.250 --> 00:19:50.369
to go down and work the floor, Tom. And, you

00:19:50.369 --> 00:19:52.789
know, I don't think we had more than one or two

00:19:52.789 --> 00:19:56.069
like straight kick hi -hat snare beats on the

00:19:56.069 --> 00:19:58.900
first two. maybe three records like we just it's

00:19:58.900 --> 00:20:01.700
because when you're a trio those kinds of beats

00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:03.640
are harder to fill in unless you're like you

00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:05.960
know rush or something where you've got yeah

00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:10.039
not like these monstrously ridiculously talented

00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:13.680
players you know playing this crazy music we

00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:15.880
had good instincts and alex had been working

00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:19.440
composing music for movies and television for

00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.180
a while he always has had a really good thing

00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:25.299
mark actually was uh for about eight years he

00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:28.740
was the right -hand man to quincy jones um wow

00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:31.799
yeah it's something that he never talks about

00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:34.380
but it's there and just being next to that guy

00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:37.160
for those those years and then he left to go

00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:40.660
to go play live music i think quincy said something

00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:42.259
to him like good luck buddy you know you know

00:20:42.259 --> 00:20:44.960
my number you know it's like even quincy's like

00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:47.440
this is a crazy thing to do but those two guys

00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:51.900
had a huge knowledge base of recording and just

00:20:51.900 --> 00:20:55.380
what songs are Mark's brother -in -law is a producer

00:20:55.380 --> 00:20:59.559
called named Walter a Walter a wrote hero with

00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:02.200
Mariah Carey wrote that all I want for Christmas

00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:05.059
is you he's done you know he just was in the

00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:07.539
studio with Barbra Streisand and Paul McCartney

00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:09.539
so this is a guy that we just hang out with and

00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:13.279
talk music and he's super cool and has like obviously

00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:14.900
that's a different kind of music than what we

00:21:14.900 --> 00:21:16.680
do but it's like to be around people with that

00:21:16.680 --> 00:21:19.400
kind of knowledge it hones your instincts and

00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:21.839
perspective and even though what we would do

00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:25.180
It doesn't seem like it's anything near to that

00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:28.720
stuff. What those kinds of people show me is

00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:31.380
they know who they are and they know what flips

00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:33.960
the switch on for them. They know what the goal

00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:36.680
is. And our goal, like I said, the first record

00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:39.299
was that John Lee Hooker, not trying to sound

00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:42.099
like John Lee Hooker, impossible, but the aesthetic

00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:46.539
was a nice place to start. And then moving from

00:21:46.539 --> 00:21:50.400
there, you broaden it over time. The next record,

00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:52.809
you don't go... oh, let's just make one that

00:21:52.809 --> 00:21:54.390
sounds like the first one. That was a success.

00:21:54.829 --> 00:21:57.329
You go, no, let's make one that shows an evolution

00:21:57.329 --> 00:22:00.410
of this band. We are actually at the point where

00:22:00.410 --> 00:22:02.029
we had songs that could have gone on the first

00:22:02.029 --> 00:22:04.569
record that went on the second record or even

00:22:04.569 --> 00:22:07.190
the third record that we were like, nah, that's

00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:11.109
not this song's time yet. I do want to dive into

00:22:11.109 --> 00:22:14.650
that Quincy Jones mindset for a minute here because

00:22:14.650 --> 00:22:20.130
talking about producers, in 2019, you reimagined

00:22:20.589 --> 00:22:24.109
the all of this life track you and me now with

00:22:24.109 --> 00:22:28.390
t -bone burnett yes so i'm beaming through the

00:22:28.390 --> 00:23:43.200
door Now, earlier this year, we talked extensively

00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:46.579
about T -Bone on our August and Everything After

00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:49.140
album dive with Counting Crows original drummer

00:23:49.140 --> 00:23:52.420
Steve Bowman. And Steve talked about his takeaways

00:23:52.420 --> 00:23:55.720
from his experiences with T -Bone. Having somebody

00:23:55.720 --> 00:23:58.819
in the band working alongside of Quincy Jones

00:23:58.819 --> 00:24:01.500
for all those years and then sitting down with

00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:04.500
somebody like T -Bone, what are some of the experiences

00:24:04.500 --> 00:24:08.019
and lessons the band has learned from these legendary

00:24:08.019 --> 00:24:11.460
producers? Well, the Quincy Jones thing, I'll

00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:13.859
just put this right there. It's like, that's

00:24:13.859 --> 00:24:15.740
Mark's experience. So whatever he learned from

00:24:15.740 --> 00:24:17.259
hearing comes into the room with him. I never

00:24:17.259 --> 00:24:20.099
had the pleasure, you know, just, I don't want

00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:22.019
to take accolades for something that is not at

00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:24.900
all, not at all. But he brings that, that knowledge

00:24:24.900 --> 00:24:26.220
with him, you know, he's been around him. He's

00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:28.279
seen it, you know, he's been in the studio with

00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:30.460
him a bunch of times, you know? So there's a

00:24:30.460 --> 00:24:32.839
lot of, you learn things if you're observant,

00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:34.799
even if you're, especially if you're quiet, Mark

00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:37.619
tends to be a pretty silent guy, you know, even

00:24:37.619 --> 00:24:40.430
to his good friends, he's very. last one to speak

00:24:40.430 --> 00:24:43.369
and he speaks three words where a guy like me

00:24:43.369 --> 00:24:45.789
might speak like 15 words to his one you know

00:24:45.789 --> 00:24:49.150
what i'm saying and then t -bone burnett that

00:24:49.150 --> 00:24:51.809
came as a total shock you know there was an opportunity

00:24:51.809 --> 00:24:55.450
to record a song and his camp and our camp somehow

00:24:55.450 --> 00:24:58.470
hooked up and they asked us if we'd be interested

00:24:58.470 --> 00:25:01.529
and of course we were you know and then we sent

00:25:01.529 --> 00:25:03.309
him some songs and that was the song he picked

00:25:03.309 --> 00:25:08.069
and we went over to his house and he had a picture

00:25:08.069 --> 00:25:10.720
of jimmy reed above his fireplace, which Jimmy

00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:13.000
Reed's an old Chicago blues guy, not necessarily

00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:15.779
the top guy they named, but other than Muddy

00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:17.779
Waters, he's like my favorite blues guy ever.

00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:20.019
So that right there started a kinship. I'm like,

00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:22.599
Jimmy Reed. When we were nominated for the Grammy,

00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:25.000
you know, I remember a lot of times I just, I

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:26.900
said to people, I'm like, I'm going to afterwards,

00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:29.700
what did I do? I just hung, I called my mom and

00:25:29.700 --> 00:25:31.809
I, then I went and listened to it. two jimmy

00:25:31.809 --> 00:25:33.869
reed records back to back while i sat and hung

00:25:33.869 --> 00:25:35.829
out with my wife and drank coffee you know so

00:25:35.829 --> 00:25:37.589
jimmy reed's really important to me so that was

00:25:37.589 --> 00:25:40.029
a connection right there i'm like oh my god we

00:25:40.029 --> 00:25:42.509
reworked the song in his house and then we went

00:25:42.509 --> 00:25:44.509
into a really beautiful studio and we did it

00:25:44.509 --> 00:25:47.109
all in one day and he was great because the day

00:25:47.109 --> 00:25:50.130
that we went in there and this can happen i was

00:25:50.130 --> 00:25:53.630
not feeling great like i i had a bit of a cold

00:25:53.630 --> 00:25:57.009
and you know again this 2019 2018 so it's like

00:25:57.009 --> 00:26:00.180
before the whole COVID thing. So, you know, it

00:26:00.180 --> 00:26:01.839
was just like, I have a bit of a cold. Are we

00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:03.440
going to work today? Yeah, we have to work today.

00:26:03.579 --> 00:26:07.039
Everything's booked. So he really helped me coach

00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:09.200
me through what otherwise would have been a very

00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:11.500
tough vocal day for me. I don't have many of

00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:13.220
them, but it was like one of those things where

00:26:13.220 --> 00:26:15.660
you're going in and you're like, this is like

00:26:15.660 --> 00:26:17.940
one of my dreams come true. And I'm, I can't

00:26:17.940 --> 00:26:19.980
come with my best stuff. This really, really,

00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:22.119
really hurts, you know, me inside. And I was

00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:25.559
stressing and he could tell. And, uh, he just

00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:29.000
was very warm. and uh just had a monstrously

00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:31.859
big presence and he knew what he wanted you know

00:26:31.859 --> 00:26:34.500
he brought in the drums and the bass that he

00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:37.480
wanted and it just it was interesting and really

00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:40.400
he was such a sweet guy to us i can't stress

00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.819
that enough and generous with his time uh when

00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:46.759
we went back to listen to the mix of the track

00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:50.720
afterwards which turned out great i felt even

00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:53.319
regardless of the fact that i me not having my

00:26:53.319 --> 00:26:56.500
absolute what i felt was my best stuff it made

00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:59.700
me sing different and he found a way to coax

00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:01.700
out of me a take that wouldn't have in any other

00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:04.980
way happened which is good that's what you want

00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:08.279
so to do something that it's going to last and

00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:10.579
you walk away from go i did what i should do

00:27:10.579 --> 00:27:13.519
and it was good you know instead of like what

00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:15.460
i would have done as a kid where i would have

00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:17.660
been like oh man it's just a bummer that i didn't

00:27:17.660 --> 00:27:20.799
have better doesn't matter it happened and did

00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:22.460
you do your best you could yeah i did and it

00:27:22.460 --> 00:27:25.140
turned out good so i don't have any regrets there

00:27:25.140 --> 00:27:27.380
but i remember going to his house and listening

00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:29.539
to him play it on his big board that he had in

00:27:29.539 --> 00:27:32.559
his house either and it was like some crazy board

00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:34.819
like i can't remember the name forgive me out

00:27:34.819 --> 00:27:37.539
there if somebody knows better he would ever

00:27:37.539 --> 00:27:39.359
catch wind of this, but I think it was from one

00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:41.359
of the Zeppelin records. It was like a, it was

00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:43.059
like a Zeppelin four board. I don't know which

00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:45.200
board it was, but it was a board that had some

00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:50.220
stuff go through it. He played the track and

00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:53.299
he played it back about as loud as, as you could

00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:56.339
handle hearing it. And it was awesome. Like the

00:27:56.339 --> 00:27:59.099
beginning happened and I just heard it and I

00:27:59.099 --> 00:28:01.380
was like, wow, we just did a track with T -Bone

00:28:01.380 --> 00:28:03.319
Burnett. I'm like, this is crazy. We stood up,

00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:05.569
him and I stood on his front lawn and. hung out

00:28:05.569 --> 00:28:07.890
for about an hour. And then I believe the next

00:28:07.890 --> 00:28:09.950
day we had to fly somewhere to play a show. So

00:28:09.950 --> 00:28:12.910
I ran home, packed my bags and left. Now, when

00:28:12.910 --> 00:28:15.369
you look back at the two different versions of

00:28:15.369 --> 00:28:19.329
the song, do they feel like two different pieces

00:28:19.329 --> 00:28:21.690
of art to you? Or is there a version that maybe

00:28:21.690 --> 00:28:24.170
you prefer more than the other? They're both.

00:28:24.349 --> 00:28:26.890
Well, the one on the albums in the key of C and

00:28:26.890 --> 00:28:29.150
the one on the T -bone did is in the key of A.

00:28:29.430 --> 00:28:32.670
So it's like a step and a half down. So like,

00:28:32.730 --> 00:28:35.140
yeah. It brings out a bit of a shadow in the

00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:37.779
song. Lower or higher, it sounds kind of more

00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:40.359
of like more of a reaching for it love song.

00:28:40.539 --> 00:28:42.920
Down lower, it sounds like maybe a more settled

00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:47.740
in love song. So I don't have a true preference

00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:51.180
of either one because there are people that love

00:28:51.180 --> 00:28:54.599
each one. And I really firmly stand behind the

00:28:54.599 --> 00:28:57.440
fact that in this band, I made a promise to myself

00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:59.980
that I don't say something's done until I feel

00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:02.819
like it's. completely done and i can stand behind

00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:05.920
it so i can stand behind either version you know

00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:08.180
what i'm saying and yeah i'm sure this doesn't

00:29:08.180 --> 00:29:10.220
sound like a i don't sit around and listen to

00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:12.380
our stuff all day long you know once it's done

00:29:12.380 --> 00:29:14.259
i'm moving on trying to think about the next

00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:16.839
thing as a matter of fact sometimes you'll be

00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:18.740
in a bar or something and one of our songs will

00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:21.200
come on alex just had this happen the other day

00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:24.180
he was out hanging out at somewhere and and all

00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:26.740
like some grocery store and our song turn me

00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:29.140
loose came through the speaker and he he didn't

00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:30.700
even recognize it at first because it's been

00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:35.279
so long since he'd heard he's like hey this sounds

00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.680
pretty good you know so i think that's the only

00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:40.319
way to progress you know it's like it's when

00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:41.880
i listen to a song it's like looking at an old

00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:43.400
photo of yourself and your buddies it's like

00:29:43.400 --> 00:29:46.180
cool that happened but it's like you don't live

00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:49.559
there and uh it is fun though every once in a

00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:51.279
while to hear hear one of those old songs so

00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:54.059
you know what where you were Well, now we're

00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:57.059
going to go back to where you were in 2021 when

00:29:57.059 --> 00:29:59.940
the band released Play Loud and the lead single

00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:51.299
How High. This song was featured in NFL broadcasts.

00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:55.019
It was also on the MLB, the show video game soundtrack.

00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:58.559
And along with that, the band's music as a whole

00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:02.119
has been featured on shows like Suits, Nashville,

00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:07.559
Shameless, and CSI, just to name a few. Do spotlights

00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:12.039
like that in this era of music move the needle

00:31:12.039 --> 00:31:15.660
for a band? Because when I think about the resurgence

00:31:15.660 --> 00:31:20.420
of the show Suits, It happened long after the

00:31:20.420 --> 00:31:24.119
songs that appeared in the show made their run.

00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:28.420
Did the explosion of suits bring a spotlight

00:31:28.420 --> 00:31:32.359
to the songs that were featured from six, seven

00:31:32.359 --> 00:31:37.039
years earlier? Definitely. Definitely. When you

00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:38.839
say move the needle, it just depends on what

00:31:38.839 --> 00:31:40.779
you think. I mean, in this day and age, anything

00:31:40.779 --> 00:31:44.819
that gets you listeners, you know, is moving

00:31:44.819 --> 00:31:47.859
the needle. Yes. You never know when the next

00:31:47.859 --> 00:31:50.559
person that's going to, you know, we, well, to

00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:53.400
answer your question, not spin off. Yes. It moves

00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:56.480
the needle. Yes, it does. The needle moves in

00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:59.180
different directions, you know, different various,

00:31:59.319 --> 00:32:01.920
uh, you know, it's not like the old days of like,

00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:03.559
when they talk about a comedian on the Carson

00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:06.119
show, if you hit it on Carson and you got on

00:32:06.119 --> 00:32:07.920
the seat, you're, you had a career for the rest

00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:09.960
of your life. I've never experienced that, but

00:32:09.960 --> 00:32:13.039
I have experienced like songs that there were

00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:16.259
three songs on that suits. All of which predate

00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:20.259
2016's record. And they're on an album we call

00:32:20.259 --> 00:32:22.799
Early Songs of Rarities that were released. And

00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:25.400
that album was released because we had this pile

00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:29.460
of even raw, more raw than the first record recordings.

00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:32.500
Like the recordings we made in 2012, 2013, when

00:32:32.500 --> 00:32:34.960
it was just literally five microphones and dudes

00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:36.480
playing live. And we were like, screw it, we'll

00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:38.039
just put it up on Record Store Day. And then

00:32:38.039 --> 00:32:40.539
that went out. So we definitely did see a spike

00:32:40.539 --> 00:32:44.940
in certain things. We did a cover in 2012. When

00:32:44.940 --> 00:32:47.660
you go back to that, talking about us getting

00:32:47.660 --> 00:32:49.420
that residency in March, well, we didn't have

00:32:49.420 --> 00:32:53.059
enough songs to play every Tuesday for a month.

00:32:53.180 --> 00:32:55.619
So we would do two cover songs a night, and we'd

00:32:55.619 --> 00:32:58.000
make it by the same band. We did Muddy Waters

00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:00.119
one night, and then MCA passed away, and we did

00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:02.859
the Beastie Boys, which isn't immediately what

00:33:02.859 --> 00:33:05.619
looks like we should be doing. But here we are,

00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:09.039
ironically, all these years later, a version

00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:11.740
of So What You Want that we did and jamming the

00:33:11.740 --> 00:33:13.980
van. Which, if you aren't familiar with that,

00:33:14.019 --> 00:33:17.660
listeners, is a great series of artists. Jam

00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:19.460
in the Van is just a channel everybody should

00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:21.599
follow. They find artists at the beginning, and

00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:24.759
you'll see Gary Clark. You're playing basically

00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:27.460
a camper, and it sounds awesome. We did a cover

00:33:27.460 --> 00:33:30.319
of So What You Want, and it went, for us, viral.

00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:34.880
Out of nowhere. For no reason. Alex decided to

00:33:34.880 --> 00:33:37.339
put it back up on Instagram, and it just exploded.

00:33:37.700 --> 00:33:41.319
Millions of views. I can't tell you why or what,

00:33:41.380 --> 00:33:43.539
but... All I know is every time, if you've got

00:33:43.539 --> 00:33:45.160
music you believe in, every time it gets put

00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:47.519
somewhere, played somewhere, every time something

00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:49.720
like this happens, you've opened the door a little

00:33:49.720 --> 00:33:52.660
wider for the wild world to hear what you're

00:33:52.660 --> 00:33:55.460
about. So it definitely moves the needle. Does

00:33:55.460 --> 00:33:58.240
it move it in ways always that you can like immediately

00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:02.599
feel? Not always, but it still did. There's no

00:34:02.599 --> 00:34:05.200
question about it. Suits was a great example

00:34:05.200 --> 00:34:08.650
of saying yes to something. a long time ago and

00:34:08.650 --> 00:34:11.150
then all this and it was a usa channel show and

00:34:11.150 --> 00:34:13.469
it had a good loyal audience and then it got

00:34:13.469 --> 00:34:15.809
bought by netflix and all of a sudden the you

00:34:15.809 --> 00:34:17.809
know millions and millions and millions of people

00:34:17.809 --> 00:34:20.289
heard these songs and and there was one song

00:34:20.289 --> 00:34:22.429
particularly called ain't love warm that is like

00:34:22.429 --> 00:34:25.289
a two minute feature in one of the one of the

00:34:25.289 --> 00:35:02.110
things and it's prominent So, you know, that

00:35:02.110 --> 00:35:04.489
definitely probably had an impact. You know what

00:35:04.489 --> 00:35:07.829
I mean? By all means. Now, you brought up the

00:35:07.829 --> 00:35:10.670
Beastie Boys, so what you want? I am a product

00:35:10.670 --> 00:35:13.030
of the 90s, so we have to go there for a minute.

00:35:29.900 --> 00:35:32.539
Listen, the reason that you're smiling and wiling,

00:35:32.619 --> 00:35:35.900
listen to my head, I just want to shake him down.

00:35:36.059 --> 00:35:39.059
Imagination set loose, I take him down, let it

00:35:39.059 --> 00:35:42.599
flow like a mudslide. When I get on, I like to

00:35:42.599 --> 00:35:45.780
ride and I got depth and perception in my text,

00:35:46.019 --> 00:35:48.699
y 'all. Props that dimension cause I flex, y

00:35:48.699 --> 00:36:05.400
'all. So what you, what you, what you want? Taking

00:36:05.400 --> 00:36:08.940
a classic 90s hip -hop jam and turning it into

00:36:08.940 --> 00:36:13.380
a swampy blues jam. Bravo, because you guys absolutely

00:36:13.380 --> 00:36:16.860
nailed it. But I think the reason it works so

00:36:16.860 --> 00:36:20.119
well, there's an authentic love of the source

00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:23.260
material coming out in that cover. And I'm also

00:36:23.260 --> 00:36:26.239
going to extend that to the band's incredibly

00:36:26.239 --> 00:36:30.019
unique take on Cypress Hills' I Wanna Get High.

00:36:33.900 --> 00:36:36.960
twisted to slam a fat boot of fat funk for your

00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:40.440
discus what you messed with you got to bear witness

00:36:40.440 --> 00:36:44.280
you catch one another a merry christmas yes i

00:36:44.280 --> 00:37:28.349
smoke shit straight off the road have to go here

00:37:28.349 --> 00:37:32.210
who's the 90s hip -hop head in this band and

00:37:32.210 --> 00:37:34.909
how did you guys decide to incorporate that into

00:37:34.909 --> 00:37:38.889
the record company sound well the mca thing happened

00:37:38.889 --> 00:37:41.610
he had passed and we needed songs and i just

00:37:41.610 --> 00:37:44.429
had the lyrics in front of me and i just started

00:37:44.429 --> 00:37:46.750
playing like the guitar and just was like you

00:37:46.750 --> 00:37:49.289
know kind of doing a talk thing over it and and

00:37:49.289 --> 00:37:51.090
the guys were like oh that sounds cool and we

00:37:51.719 --> 00:37:54.139
We cut it. I do believe we may have cut it live

00:37:54.139 --> 00:37:56.139
with the paper in front of me, you know, and

00:37:56.139 --> 00:37:58.579
I didn't know what we were doing or how to do

00:37:58.579 --> 00:38:00.420
it. We worked up a little thing and I'm like,

00:38:00.460 --> 00:38:04.099
okay, when it hits that, I'll just go up here

00:38:04.099 --> 00:38:06.340
on the neck and play us, you know, and we'll

00:38:06.340 --> 00:38:08.760
let the emptiness be there. And, you know, it

00:38:08.760 --> 00:38:11.300
was, but you have to understand when we did that,

00:38:11.340 --> 00:38:14.619
that was in like February of 2012 when we came

00:38:14.619 --> 00:38:16.559
up with that idea and we thought we were playing

00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:20.059
it for. a handful of buddies one time at harvard

00:38:20.059 --> 00:38:22.400
and stone it was just a very pure thing it wasn't

00:38:22.400 --> 00:38:26.280
wasn't like we didn't see what has happened to

00:38:26.280 --> 00:38:28.900
it where you know people come to our shows now

00:38:28.900 --> 00:38:31.559
and yell for it you know what i mean like which

00:38:31.559 --> 00:38:34.239
is great but it came from an authentic place

00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:35.960
you know we weren't if it would have been lame

00:38:35.960 --> 00:38:38.260
i mean we've done we've done things that we thought

00:38:38.260 --> 00:38:40.880
would work i remember one time we tried to cover

00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:42.579
in those early days when we were thinking of

00:38:42.579 --> 00:38:44.940
things we tried to do a like a phil collins thing

00:38:44.940 --> 00:38:47.800
in a very our own way and i remember alex's dog

00:38:47.800 --> 00:38:53.099
threw up on the carpet and my drummer my drummer

00:38:53.099 --> 00:38:56.639
mark has a great sense of humor and he says well

00:38:56.639 --> 00:38:58.599
that's the vote i think that counts the most

00:38:58.599 --> 00:39:01.780
it just wasn't it just wasn't freaking working

00:39:01.780 --> 00:39:04.119
you know it sounded stupid it sounded lame it

00:39:04.119 --> 00:39:06.480
sounded like we were pushing for it so you know

00:39:07.000 --> 00:39:08.840
when you do something like that you have to have

00:39:08.840 --> 00:39:11.360
the backbone to say i'm gonna stand behind this

00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:14.300
you know and like the cypress hill thing i came

00:39:14.300 --> 00:39:16.539
over to those guys house and i just had a acoustic

00:39:16.539 --> 00:39:18.420
i was just strumming a and you know i was like

00:39:18.420 --> 00:39:20.539
oh what is this like it's the punk elastic the

00:39:20.539 --> 00:39:22.980
blunt you know i just started doing that for

00:39:22.980 --> 00:39:24.860
the hell of it because i grew up with that shit

00:39:24.860 --> 00:39:28.179
and all of us are you know alex would always

00:39:28.179 --> 00:39:30.599
say when i want to listen to funky beats on a

00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:32.500
friday night i'm putting on a cypress hill record

00:39:32.500 --> 00:39:35.699
you know or like They just have some of the best

00:39:35.699 --> 00:39:39.980
beats of that era. And we think drums out. We

00:39:39.980 --> 00:39:41.639
definitely do. And I think that's a big part

00:39:41.639 --> 00:39:44.760
of why we're a rock and roll band. People will

00:39:44.760 --> 00:39:46.519
always ask me, what kind of genre do you think

00:39:46.519 --> 00:39:48.460
you are? I say, I say rock and roll because,

00:39:48.500 --> 00:39:52.000
as Keith Richards said to us, the roll and the

00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:55.969
rock are equal. And to me, the role is the drum

00:39:55.969 --> 00:39:59.050
kit. It's the rhythm of it. It's the bass. It's

00:39:59.050 --> 00:40:01.110
the way they're interacting. And the role is

00:40:01.110 --> 00:40:03.409
the thing that makes people grab each other by

00:40:03.409 --> 00:40:05.110
the hand, go in a bedroom, and turn the lights

00:40:05.110 --> 00:40:07.769
off. That's what makes rock music sexy. You know

00:40:07.769 --> 00:40:11.309
what I mean? Yeah. So we had that role in there

00:40:11.309 --> 00:40:13.489
on both of those. And that's why I think we got

00:40:13.489 --> 00:40:17.210
away with it. Be Real actually heard it and dug

00:40:17.210 --> 00:40:19.690
it. They put it up on their site at one point.

00:40:20.339 --> 00:40:22.719
And they were like, what do you think? And we

00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:24.260
thought we were going to get just butchered.

00:40:24.260 --> 00:40:26.519
And their fans were actually like, this is cool.

00:40:26.599 --> 00:40:28.940
You guys deserve more bands giving you cred like

00:40:28.940 --> 00:40:30.940
this. And it's like, glad that was the way it

00:40:30.940 --> 00:40:33.260
was received because it's all love. It's just

00:40:33.260 --> 00:40:36.880
love. And our generation of people, we were the

00:40:36.880 --> 00:40:39.880
first ones that kind of, it was permissible to

00:40:39.880 --> 00:40:44.139
say you love Led Zeppelin 4 or Led Zeppelin 2

00:40:44.139 --> 00:40:46.719
and then turn around and talk about Check Your

00:40:46.719 --> 00:40:50.010
Head. in the same sentence as like, I also love

00:40:50.010 --> 00:40:52.869
this. And then, you know, all the hip hop from

00:40:52.869 --> 00:40:55.829
that era, you know, I, I really, it was, it was

00:40:55.829 --> 00:40:57.909
there in the formative years. So it's, it's in

00:40:57.909 --> 00:41:00.030
there. You know what I mean? Well, I'm not going

00:41:00.030 --> 00:41:03.239
to lie. I would love to hear the record company

00:41:03.239 --> 00:41:06.360
take a stab at like the far sides passing me

00:41:06.360 --> 00:41:09.800
by or Onyx's slam. I don't know. I could just,

00:41:09.820 --> 00:41:13.079
I could hear Onyx's slam getting a down and dirty

00:41:13.079 --> 00:41:15.719
blues groove going behind that. And at that,

00:41:15.760 --> 00:41:18.579
I could hear with the tone in your voice, picking

00:41:18.579 --> 00:41:20.739
up some of Shifty's lines. I could hear it. I'm

00:41:20.739 --> 00:41:23.860
just saying, throwing that out there. I'll keep

00:41:23.860 --> 00:41:26.260
that in the back of my mind. I think the truth

00:41:26.260 --> 00:41:27.900
is, I don't think you're probably ever going

00:41:27.900 --> 00:41:30.289
to hear us do another. cover of that nature and

00:41:30.289 --> 00:41:32.889
the only reason is the first two were great because

00:41:32.889 --> 00:41:35.650
they came naturally you know if something comes

00:41:35.650 --> 00:41:38.309
naturally yes but it's like you don't want it

00:41:38.309 --> 00:41:42.289
to become a shtick yes and you can the ideas

00:41:42.289 --> 00:41:47.349
like this can get very sticky very quickly and

00:41:47.349 --> 00:41:50.030
i think it's just like uh you just got to use

00:41:50.030 --> 00:41:51.750
your gut and your instincts believe your ears

00:41:51.750 --> 00:41:53.920
believe your guts you know what i mean Yeah,

00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:55.699
and I think you guys do that, though, because

00:41:55.699 --> 00:41:58.139
when you cover a song like, let's play a clip

00:41:58.139 --> 00:42:01.280
now of your version of Big Mama Thornton's Ball

00:42:01.280 --> 00:43:28.460
and Chain. Now, not only does this gender flip

00:43:28.460 --> 00:43:31.800
the song, but your version is so unique. If you

00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:34.639
play Big Mama Thornton's version and your version

00:43:34.639 --> 00:43:38.199
back to back, it's two different listening experiences.

00:43:38.599 --> 00:43:41.119
Is that part of the record company's MO when

00:43:41.119 --> 00:43:44.639
it comes to cover songs in general? Yes. You

00:43:44.639 --> 00:43:46.860
know, for one thing, when we did that record,

00:43:46.920 --> 00:43:49.000
it was during a pandemic. And here's a crazy

00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:51.619
thing about that record, the side project, which

00:43:51.619 --> 00:43:53.639
is kind of flies under the radar a lot of times

00:43:53.639 --> 00:43:56.210
for us. Just because it didn't get properly released

00:43:56.210 --> 00:43:58.550
at proper time or we went out on tour. It was

00:43:58.550 --> 00:44:02.050
all covers. It was five songs. And we did two

00:44:02.050 --> 00:44:06.269
Big Mama Thornton songs. Hound Dog, which is

00:44:06.269 --> 00:44:11.170
yes. She recorded it first. And Ball and Chain.

00:44:11.489 --> 00:44:14.570
Now, I had always been a huge fan of hers. And

00:44:14.570 --> 00:44:16.889
I want to also say this came out before the Elvis

00:44:16.889 --> 00:44:19.139
movie hit. where you know there was there was

00:44:19.139 --> 00:44:20.960
something that i when we did hound dog i was

00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:22.940
like we're going to do the version with the lyrics

00:44:22.940 --> 00:44:26.000
that are on the original recording thorton recording

00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:29.320
which kind of takes okay now we're removing it

00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:32.639
from the elvis version of hound dog which is

00:44:32.639 --> 00:44:35.659
you know already a reinterpretation of a woman's

00:44:35.659 --> 00:44:39.000
music in his way i'm like let's do our own reinterpretation

00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:43.340
of of that original groove and uh it was also

00:44:43.340 --> 00:44:45.579
to in our own little way to give credit where

00:44:45.579 --> 00:44:47.960
credit was due you know because she had you know

00:44:47.960 --> 00:44:50.679
she did ball and chain which is what made janice

00:44:50.679 --> 00:44:53.659
joplin famous at monterey you know uh she got

00:44:53.659 --> 00:44:55.440
signed immediately off that if you've ever seen

00:44:55.440 --> 00:44:57.199
the monterey pop film that's one of the highlights

00:44:57.199 --> 00:45:01.800
is janice joplin playing ball and chain it's

00:45:01.800 --> 00:45:03.440
what like you want to talk about watching someone

00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:07.360
just completely on fire watch that janice joplin

00:45:07.360 --> 00:45:11.099
ball and chain But also if you look at like there's

00:45:11.099 --> 00:45:12.599
now you can find anything. If you look up Big

00:45:12.599 --> 00:45:15.320
Mama Thornton Ball and Chain or Big Mama Thornton

00:45:15.320 --> 00:45:17.199
Hound Dog, there's some really great footage

00:45:17.199 --> 00:45:20.880
of her like in the early days, like in the 60s,

00:45:20.880 --> 00:45:23.119
which actually was a little later for her, you

00:45:23.119 --> 00:45:25.579
know, doing it with Buddy Guy at some German

00:45:25.579 --> 00:45:28.519
television series that had all the blues people

00:45:28.519 --> 00:45:31.039
over there. We wanted to do something that was

00:45:31.039 --> 00:45:33.920
a tip of the cap to her because I am, I of all

00:45:33.920 --> 00:45:36.260
the three of us, am the biggest, purest blues

00:45:36.260 --> 00:45:39.829
fan. when i came to the band i brought that element

00:45:39.829 --> 00:45:42.869
now those guys loved the blues but i looked at

00:45:42.869 --> 00:45:45.929
the blues as like muddy waters howlin wolf john

00:45:45.929 --> 00:45:49.190
lee hooker you know lightning hopkins you know

00:45:49.190 --> 00:45:52.969
uh mems any stuff like that you know and then

00:45:52.969 --> 00:45:55.690
i look at like stuff that we would probably a

00:45:55.690 --> 00:45:57.090
lot of people would traditionally call blues

00:45:57.090 --> 00:45:58.989
music and i'm not saying it isn't but like you

00:45:58.989 --> 00:46:01.630
know John Mayles, blues breakers and on where

00:46:01.630 --> 00:46:03.670
it becomes a little bit more about guitar playing

00:46:03.670 --> 00:46:06.309
because it's so fiery and astounding and Clapton's

00:46:06.309 --> 00:46:08.670
in his beginning and, you know, Hendrix and post

00:46:08.670 --> 00:46:12.409
Hendrix blues post Clapton, Hendrix and early,

00:46:12.449 --> 00:46:14.449
well, Fleetwood Mac's early stuff with Peter

00:46:14.449 --> 00:46:16.949
Green was pretty purist, you know? Oh God. Yeah.

00:46:17.050 --> 00:46:18.829
Yeah. So I don't know if this has anything to

00:46:18.829 --> 00:46:20.489
do with those guys, but like you think about

00:46:20.489 --> 00:46:22.510
like artists like that, it's like, it's kind

00:46:22.510 --> 00:46:24.989
of like a drum, what the drums meant to rock

00:46:24.989 --> 00:46:27.909
and roll before John Bonham. or before Black

00:46:27.909 --> 00:46:30.230
Sabbath and after. You know what I'm saying?

00:46:30.289 --> 00:46:32.190
Like there are certain people that came through

00:46:32.190 --> 00:46:35.309
and brought so much fire with them that it changed

00:46:35.309 --> 00:46:37.909
the landscape of the whole genre. To me, that's

00:46:37.909 --> 00:46:41.130
like a buddy guy to what he did for Jimi Hendrix.

00:46:41.489 --> 00:46:44.989
Right, exactly. So to me, it's like the blues

00:46:44.989 --> 00:46:48.610
is these pure beginning electric artists and

00:46:48.610 --> 00:46:50.469
acoustic artists all the way back to like the

00:46:50.469 --> 00:46:53.309
Alan Lomax recordings, right? In the fields and

00:46:53.309 --> 00:46:57.349
in their living rooms and on their porches. I

00:46:57.349 --> 00:46:58.690
can't even remember what the first question was

00:46:58.690 --> 00:47:00.929
because I got so deep into this idea of blues,

00:47:01.070 --> 00:47:04.869
but we want to stick to the purest form of who

00:47:04.869 --> 00:47:09.190
we are. That's what they did. I cannot replicate

00:47:09.190 --> 00:47:11.969
nor understand their perspective because it came

00:47:11.969 --> 00:47:14.369
from a different era and often a far different

00:47:14.369 --> 00:47:16.590
circumstance that was way tougher than anything

00:47:16.590 --> 00:47:19.829
I will ever endure. So I have to have respect

00:47:19.829 --> 00:47:23.289
for that, but I still can learn from the honesty.

00:47:24.030 --> 00:47:27.409
And challenge myself to remain honest in what

00:47:27.409 --> 00:47:29.469
we do. And that's what the three of us try to

00:47:29.469 --> 00:47:31.389
do when we do these covers. It's a simple rule.

00:47:31.730 --> 00:47:34.690
Did it flip the switch on for all of us? Yes.

00:47:35.349 --> 00:47:38.710
Let's put it out. Well, the band's latest album,

00:47:38.849 --> 00:47:41.369
the fourth one, came out in September of 2023.

00:47:41.909 --> 00:47:45.329
And when I pressed play on my CD for the first

00:47:45.329 --> 00:47:48.400
time, I was met. with this opening line from

00:47:48.400 --> 00:48:00.639
Dance on Mondays. I ain't never given up. Stuck

00:48:00.639 --> 00:48:07.199
in a dead end, but you didn't know it. The roads

00:48:07.199 --> 00:48:10.900
don't all connect. Your body stopped moving,

00:48:11.340 --> 00:48:17.309
but you didn't notice. Sometimes. And it's all

00:48:17.309 --> 00:49:19.400
you get. This album shows the band's sound continuing

00:49:19.400 --> 00:49:22.760
to evolve and stretch the boundaries of what

00:49:22.760 --> 00:49:26.400
the, I'll use quote marks in the air here, blues

00:49:26.400 --> 00:49:30.380
genre has to offer. Can you talk about the band's

00:49:30.380 --> 00:49:33.699
evolution over the last 10 plus years of the

00:49:33.699 --> 00:49:36.820
band's history and what factors contributed to

00:49:36.820 --> 00:49:40.840
that evolution? Yes. For one thing, after we

00:49:40.840 --> 00:49:43.599
did Play Loud, which was like... that was the

00:49:43.599 --> 00:49:45.840
you know i like i said we all had the we had

00:49:45.840 --> 00:49:48.059
four records out if you include the early songs

00:49:48.059 --> 00:49:50.280
rarities and then or five if you can include

00:49:50.280 --> 00:49:52.880
side projects so here we are coming into what

00:49:52.880 --> 00:49:55.099
is our officially called our fourth record but

00:49:55.099 --> 00:49:57.239
there were also these two sidebar records on

00:49:57.239 --> 00:50:01.059
the side right so we wanted to go back home we

00:50:01.059 --> 00:50:04.460
had gone from living room to bigger sound to

00:50:04.460 --> 00:50:06.780
really big sound with david sardi producing on

00:50:06.780 --> 00:50:09.360
on play loud and a whole different perspective

00:50:09.360 --> 00:50:11.199
and working the only time we've ever worked with

00:50:11.199 --> 00:50:13.980
like a what i would call almost a superstar producer

00:50:13.980 --> 00:50:17.360
who who got us but wanted to take us where he

00:50:17.360 --> 00:50:19.440
could take us and we went there and it was great

00:50:19.440 --> 00:50:22.119
you know it was it was uh unfortunately it had

00:50:22.119 --> 00:50:26.119
the unfortunate uh pleasure being released during

00:50:26.119 --> 00:50:28.980
the pandemic which stifled that record's potential

00:50:28.980 --> 00:50:31.000
but that's okay you know you live you learn you

00:50:31.000 --> 00:50:33.000
move on well there wasn't much to learn except

00:50:33.000 --> 00:50:35.159
for there was just bad scene for everybody in

00:50:35.159 --> 00:50:38.559
the world yes what can you do so but you know

00:50:38.559 --> 00:50:42.059
afterwards luckily we still had enough gas in

00:50:42.059 --> 00:50:43.820
the tank to go back to the drawing board and

00:50:43.820 --> 00:50:46.760
alex our bass player he he came to us with like

00:50:46.760 --> 00:50:48.099
you know i think this one should go back to the

00:50:48.099 --> 00:50:50.280
living room man and i was like sounds good to

00:50:50.280 --> 00:50:52.739
me man i love that So we did it all ourselves

00:50:52.739 --> 00:50:56.900
again in the living room. And because we've grown,

00:50:57.159 --> 00:51:00.059
it doesn't sound like the living room of the

00:51:00.059 --> 00:51:02.239
first record. It's a different thing. It was

00:51:02.239 --> 00:51:03.840
actually done in a couple of different places

00:51:03.840 --> 00:51:07.179
because we were in one spot and then had to move

00:51:07.179 --> 00:51:11.900
to another spot because of moving. And then there's

00:51:11.900 --> 00:51:16.679
this journey as a family, as a band. I have never

00:51:16.679 --> 00:51:19.639
talked to any band that's gone over the 10 -year

00:51:19.639 --> 00:51:22.699
mark that hasn't had... those family growing

00:51:22.699 --> 00:51:25.320
pains at times too, where you're not always seeing

00:51:25.320 --> 00:51:27.179
eye to eye and you're, and you are brothers,

00:51:27.300 --> 00:51:30.079
but your perspective changes, which flips your

00:51:30.079 --> 00:51:33.079
switch changes. And it's just like having a relationship

00:51:33.079 --> 00:51:35.820
with a, with a partner or a family member is

00:51:35.820 --> 00:51:39.400
very similar, believe it or not. So those kinds

00:51:39.400 --> 00:51:41.960
of discussions help shape the perspective of

00:51:41.960 --> 00:51:44.260
your sound because whatever you come to is a

00:51:44.260 --> 00:51:47.659
new, is a new agreement based on the same principles.

00:51:48.579 --> 00:51:52.340
So this one was just, we had evolved a lot of

00:51:52.340 --> 00:51:55.579
songwriters come a long way as far as like how

00:51:55.579 --> 00:51:59.260
to produce a record alex said uh would was had

00:51:59.260 --> 00:52:04.400
come a long way in how to mix a record and um

00:52:04.400 --> 00:52:07.860
it just felt right and that that album did really

00:52:07.860 --> 00:52:10.900
well with their fans you know uh it's fun to

00:52:10.900 --> 00:52:13.219
be able to play we're just underground enough

00:52:13.219 --> 00:52:15.559
that if we can put we'll play like off the ground

00:52:15.559 --> 00:52:16.960
in the songs that were on the radio and everybody

00:52:16.960 --> 00:52:20.880
knows those but We're very lucky because we don't

00:52:20.880 --> 00:52:25.440
sell tens of thousands of tickets yet. Yet. Yet.

00:52:25.719 --> 00:52:28.639
You will. I always keep the dream alive, baby.

00:52:28.739 --> 00:52:31.099
I'm like, you never know. But we're more of a

00:52:31.099 --> 00:52:33.800
like sell 700 to 1200, maybe if we're lucky,

00:52:33.900 --> 00:52:36.800
1800 tickets kind of band right now. But everybody

00:52:36.800 --> 00:52:39.030
in the crowd. Two thirds of them. You'll see.

00:52:39.070 --> 00:52:40.809
I said this to our manager the other day. I said,

00:52:40.809 --> 00:52:42.829
they're singing the songs, man. We're playing

00:52:42.829 --> 00:52:46.190
like B sides, C sides. Like the people who are

00:52:46.190 --> 00:52:48.150
there want to be there. They're not there because

00:52:48.150 --> 00:52:50.090
it's trendy. They're not there because it's like

00:52:50.090 --> 00:52:53.309
some new thing. That's like the new flavor. Everybody's

00:52:53.309 --> 00:52:57.030
chasing. It just got out there. And for an artist,

00:52:57.110 --> 00:52:59.510
for me, I want to play till the day I die. If

00:52:59.510 --> 00:53:02.309
I can play at a high level, just like my heroes

00:53:02.309 --> 00:53:05.190
did, you know, we played with BB King a couple

00:53:05.190 --> 00:53:07.460
of weeks before he passed. muddy waters played

00:53:07.460 --> 00:53:10.639
all the way to the end you know elvis in a much

00:53:10.639 --> 00:53:14.320
more tragic way but just playing as long as you

00:53:14.320 --> 00:53:18.420
can as good as you can so that kind of fuel people

00:53:18.420 --> 00:53:21.320
telling each other about this band word of mouth

00:53:21.320 --> 00:53:24.880
that's our kind of what i encourage whenever

00:53:24.880 --> 00:53:27.480
we play a show i always say if you really love

00:53:27.480 --> 00:53:29.880
the show if you want to do something because

00:53:29.880 --> 00:53:32.099
i get asked all the time just tell one person

00:53:32.099 --> 00:53:36.289
one with a little passion that trusts you Tell

00:53:36.289 --> 00:53:39.309
him to come see us. And that has worked. It's

00:53:39.309 --> 00:53:41.989
a longer road, but I'm not in this for the short

00:53:41.989 --> 00:53:44.510
term and neither are the other two guys. And

00:53:44.510 --> 00:53:46.869
I hate to say it. I know it's apples to oranges

00:53:46.869 --> 00:53:48.650
here, but that's kind of the same approach I

00:53:48.650 --> 00:53:51.050
have with this podcast. I tell people, if you

00:53:51.050 --> 00:53:53.769
like the conversation, just tell somebody because

00:53:53.769 --> 00:53:57.530
word of mouth is so, so, so important to any

00:53:57.530 --> 00:54:00.489
creative type. It doesn't matter the medium.

00:54:00.550 --> 00:54:02.550
It doesn't matter the format. It doesn't matter

00:54:02.550 --> 00:54:05.079
the genre. But with all you were just talking

00:54:05.079 --> 00:54:07.619
about with being on the road, what does the road

00:54:07.619 --> 00:54:10.179
life look like for the record company in 2025?

00:54:11.059 --> 00:54:13.440
Well, we're going to play a lot, booking all

00:54:13.440 --> 00:54:15.260
the time. So, you know, there's going to be a

00:54:15.260 --> 00:54:18.440
lot of the big differences. We did end up going

00:54:18.440 --> 00:54:22.400
from all of us stuffed into one one vehicle to

00:54:22.400 --> 00:54:24.880
like, you know, the sprinter to tour bus. That's

00:54:24.880 --> 00:54:28.260
where we were before the pandemic. And now we've

00:54:28.260 --> 00:54:30.599
done a couple like that again since the pandemic's

00:54:30.599 --> 00:54:33.329
over. Right now, it just feels real good to just

00:54:33.329 --> 00:54:36.610
fly in, play a handful of dates, and we fly out.

00:54:37.170 --> 00:54:40.210
It's better profitability for the group and refresher

00:54:40.210 --> 00:54:42.750
for the crowd, which is the most important thing.

00:54:43.289 --> 00:54:46.869
So we're doing little pockets, but I'm hoping

00:54:46.869 --> 00:54:48.610
by the end of the year, we'll have played 110,

00:54:48.829 --> 00:54:51.630
100 some odd times. We got a ways to go to hit

00:54:51.630 --> 00:54:53.690
that goal, but I'd like to do that. And then

00:54:53.690 --> 00:54:55.329
we got to get back overseas. We haven't been

00:54:55.329 --> 00:54:57.610
over there in a while. That's very important.

00:54:57.710 --> 00:55:00.480
That's critical. Some really great rock and roll

00:55:00.480 --> 00:55:02.840
fans over there. And every time we go over there,

00:55:02.940 --> 00:55:06.960
it's just an amazing experience. So we'll just

00:55:06.960 --> 00:55:09.139
going to keep on juggling, man. Keep the ticket

00:55:09.139 --> 00:55:11.280
prices where we can make a little bit of money,

00:55:11.300 --> 00:55:13.519
but not like, you know, it's like 25, I think

00:55:13.519 --> 00:55:16.420
they're like 25 bucks or 30, 35 bucks. You know,

00:55:16.420 --> 00:55:20.079
we, we intentionally don't raise those because

00:55:20.079 --> 00:55:22.019
we want people to feel that the new people to

00:55:22.019 --> 00:55:24.880
feel encouraged maybe in a couple of years. They

00:55:24.880 --> 00:55:27.059
can go up a bit and then there's the fees and

00:55:27.059 --> 00:55:29.519
everything they charge the listener. If we could

00:55:29.519 --> 00:55:31.920
ever get that sorted out, you know, then you

00:55:31.920 --> 00:55:34.880
want the people who are spending money to see

00:55:34.880 --> 00:55:38.760
you to either give it to the band or the workers

00:55:38.760 --> 00:55:41.039
at the, and the workers that work there, the

00:55:41.039 --> 00:55:43.539
owner of the place that makes it happen. And

00:55:43.539 --> 00:55:46.119
then the bartenders who are there, everybody

00:55:46.119 --> 00:55:48.000
should walk out feeling good. So that's why we

00:55:48.000 --> 00:55:50.900
try to keep our ticket prices as reasonable as

00:55:50.900 --> 00:55:53.219
we can with, while still turning. enough of a

00:55:53.219 --> 00:55:56.059
profit where we can continue. You know, that's

00:55:56.059 --> 00:55:59.960
really key. Of course. Now I have to put on my

00:55:59.960 --> 00:56:02.820
newsman hat here for this next one, but is the

00:56:02.820 --> 00:56:07.320
band working on the fifth one? And if so, can

00:56:07.320 --> 00:56:10.300
you share some details on some of the new music

00:56:10.300 --> 00:56:12.239
that fans can maybe expect to hear from the band

00:56:12.239 --> 00:56:15.880
in 2025? Well, you know, there, there's just

00:56:15.880 --> 00:56:17.960
some really beautiful themes coming out in all

00:56:17.960 --> 00:56:20.760
these, these songs are our bass player or Alex

00:56:20.760 --> 00:56:23.510
had a baby. He's the first and probably only

00:56:23.510 --> 00:56:26.309
TRC baby. So that kid's going to get spoiled

00:56:26.309 --> 00:56:29.769
rotten because Mark and I were, we're not going

00:56:29.769 --> 00:56:31.670
to go down that road. And I don't think Alex

00:56:31.670 --> 00:56:35.289
is, I think this was his one, one, this is one

00:56:35.289 --> 00:56:38.369
effort. So I've been writing a ton. He's writing

00:56:38.369 --> 00:56:42.730
a ton. I'm excited about where we're at going

00:56:42.730 --> 00:56:45.889
into this writing and we just need to get in

00:56:45.889 --> 00:56:48.639
the same room and do it together. But right now,

00:56:48.639 --> 00:56:51.980
what I can say for sure is our live shows are

00:56:51.980 --> 00:56:54.599
really popping. We change the set list every

00:56:54.599 --> 00:56:56.840
night. It's different every single night. That's

00:56:56.840 --> 00:56:58.519
why we'll have people who've come back multiple

00:56:58.519 --> 00:57:00.980
times. We had one gentleman, his name's Bruce.

00:57:01.420 --> 00:57:06.739
We just hit his 70th show, 7 -0. And we're not

00:57:06.739 --> 00:57:09.400
the dead man. You know, it's like, it's a strange

00:57:09.400 --> 00:57:11.119
phenomenon, but it's like, we kind of looked

00:57:11.119 --> 00:57:13.019
at like what my morning jacket was doing or Pearl

00:57:13.019 --> 00:57:14.920
Jam. And we're like, you know, there's a point

00:57:14.920 --> 00:57:18.119
where you start changing it around. And that

00:57:18.119 --> 00:57:20.300
will make people loyal because they know they're

00:57:20.300 --> 00:57:21.420
not going to see, you know, we have a whole,

00:57:21.500 --> 00:57:24.340
we know what we played in what city, you know?

00:57:24.960 --> 00:57:26.559
So if we come back the next time, you're going

00:57:26.559 --> 00:57:27.880
to get a little different show than you had the

00:57:27.880 --> 00:57:29.980
first time. Certain songs are always going to

00:57:29.980 --> 00:57:31.460
get played like off the ground. If we didn't

00:57:31.460 --> 00:57:33.480
play that, I think people would feel real disappointed.

00:57:33.559 --> 00:57:35.239
And like, that's just not a song we're going

00:57:35.239 --> 00:57:37.659
to leave off the list. But then after that, there

00:57:37.659 --> 00:57:40.579
are all these songs that people pine to hear

00:57:40.579 --> 00:57:43.599
and they write us. And it's nice to get those

00:57:43.599 --> 00:57:46.889
songs up to the surface and get some air. Our

00:57:46.889 --> 00:57:48.710
big thing is building through the live show and

00:57:48.710 --> 00:57:52.010
then releasing a record every 18 months or so.

00:57:52.349 --> 00:57:54.510
Probably do a live record here at some point.

00:57:54.530 --> 00:57:57.230
That would make a lot of sense. Because live,

00:57:57.250 --> 00:57:59.250
we put the pedal down. You know, the recordings

00:57:59.250 --> 00:58:02.170
are the recordings and live is live. So you're

00:58:02.170 --> 00:58:04.949
going to get the same heart of what you like,

00:58:05.010 --> 00:58:08.250
but it's not us trying to do the album again.

00:58:08.409 --> 00:58:10.610
You know, there's a lot of minimalism and a lot

00:58:10.610 --> 00:58:13.210
of like pulling back on the reins to let the

00:58:13.210 --> 00:58:17.150
song shine on the record. Whereas live, you put

00:58:17.150 --> 00:58:19.650
the super injector on it and just give it, give

00:58:19.650 --> 00:58:22.610
it. So one of the things I take a lot of pride

00:58:22.610 --> 00:58:26.050
in is people will oft remark on our live show.

00:58:26.369 --> 00:58:29.889
And that is only earned through hard effort by

00:58:29.889 --> 00:58:33.130
a band. You have to keep doing it. So every time

00:58:33.130 --> 00:58:35.590
you step on stage, that's one thing I said to

00:58:35.590 --> 00:58:38.070
my wife. I'm like, you're judged by every performance.

00:58:38.289 --> 00:58:41.449
That room didn't know that you destroyed the

00:58:41.449 --> 00:58:44.170
room in Cleveland. The next night in Des Moines,

00:58:44.289 --> 00:58:46.239
they don't. They don't know that you got to do

00:58:46.239 --> 00:58:49.239
it again. So, you know, take care of yourself

00:58:49.239 --> 00:58:53.539
and, uh, fuel up, you know, get rest and, and

00:58:53.539 --> 00:58:55.900
put on a good show overnight. And, and if you

00:58:55.900 --> 00:58:57.579
do a different kind of set list, you try some

00:58:57.579 --> 00:59:00.059
new things, believe in it, play like you believe

00:59:00.059 --> 00:59:02.780
nobody wants to see fear in the face of their

00:59:02.780 --> 00:59:05.579
artist. It's like fear in the face of an audience

00:59:05.579 --> 00:59:08.820
is, is, is not a good thing. You have to just

00:59:08.820 --> 00:59:11.389
throw down with everything you got. The record

00:59:11.389 --> 00:59:14.150
company's fourth album, The Fourth One, is available

00:59:14.150 --> 00:59:16.710
anywhere and everywhere you listen to music.

00:59:17.010 --> 00:59:20.210
Chris, this has been an absolute pleasure. Thank

00:59:20.210 --> 00:59:22.570
you so much for joining me today on My Weekly

00:59:22.570 --> 00:59:25.989
Mixtape. It has been my pleasure, and I hope

00:59:25.989 --> 00:59:28.769
that you have 100 ,000 more episodes and get

00:59:28.769 --> 00:59:31.670
millions of followers on this thing. From your

00:59:31.670 --> 00:59:34.469
mouth to God's ears. Thanks, man. And to those

00:59:34.469 --> 00:59:36.829
listening, I've put together an entire playlist

00:59:36.829 --> 00:59:39.809
of all the record company songs over on the episode

00:59:39.809 --> 00:59:43.389
page at myweeklymixtape .com. And remember, you

00:59:43.389 --> 00:59:45.750
can also find My Weekly Mixtape on almost all

00:59:45.750 --> 00:59:49.170
the social media haunts at myweeklymixtape. You

00:59:49.170 --> 00:59:51.750
can also head to myweeklymixtape .com to check

00:59:51.750 --> 00:59:54.510
out the full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape episodes.

00:59:54.889 --> 00:59:56.769
And if you like what you're hearing on the show,

00:59:56.929 --> 00:59:59.170
you can help me out by either telling a friend,

00:59:59.369 --> 01:00:01.610
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01:00:01.610 --> 01:00:05.159
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01:00:05.159 --> 01:00:09.099
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01:00:09.139 --> 01:00:11.739
There you can find ad -free episodes of the show,

01:00:11.920 --> 01:00:14.780
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01:00:14.780 --> 01:00:17.199
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01:00:17.500 --> 01:00:20.260
and so much more. That's all for this week. Thanks

01:00:20.260 --> 01:00:22.940
again for listening, and until next time, enjoy

01:00:22.940 --> 01:00:23.519
the tunes.